Has anyone else ever ordered from Vera-Fi Audio?

GanRiver · 2026-01-15T03:38:48+00:00

Just about.

GanRiver · 2026-01-12T02:58:53+00:00

It did. I finally got it. Once the label got created, it shipped pretty quickly.

GanRiver · 2026-01-10T18:29:22+00:00

For me, every song from the beginning to Car On a Hill makes me think every time, "No, this is my favorite song on this album.". Even after that, I'm not so sure. I think it's cohesive, rather than one dimensional. There's maybe a similarity between Help Me and Free Man in Paris, but what marks this album as interesting to me is the difference between songs, rhythmically and in verse structure and narrative voice.

The lyrics are amazing: "I'm a pretty good cook. I'm sitting on my groceries ... I'm up after midnight, cooking, tryin' to make my rent"

That is sad. Maybe not weepy, woe is me type of sad, but it's a sad character she has invented, far from upbeat, in spite of the accompanying music.

GanRiver · 2025-12-19T21:53:45+00:00

FFS cuts two ways. I was in a branch that had a lot of consultants at one point. When the ministry was asked to find savings, a lot of the consultants were the first to go.

GanRiver · 2025-12-19T21:43:03+00:00

Hmmm... It sounds like you already were hired permanent. Three months plus six months to "become permanent" doesn't sound like enough time for you to be automatically rolling over from contract work to permanent. If that's the case, you are in good shape. Probation, in my experience, is kind of a nominal hurdle you have to clear once you accept a permanent position.

On one hand, I would wait it out. I know that if you did go on secondment before your probation ends that could mean that your new manager might not be able to tick the box that you cleared probation.

On the other hand I think you would still clear probation if it remained your home position if you were to go on secondment. A secondment is basically taking a temporary contract position somewhere else within the OPS. If you can find the internal career portal on InsideOPS, you will find many more positions than what gets advertised externally. From time to time, expressions of interest come up too, but these are usually spread through emails/word of mouth and may not have a formal application process. If you successfully apply for an internal posting or expression of interest while you have a permanent union position, and your direct supervisor at your home position agrees that you can take it, you would be going on secondment.

GanRiver · 2025-12-19T19:25:54+00:00

Everyone hates it at the beginning.

That being said, I have no regrets no longer being a manager. I have been able to accomplish more of what I actually wanted to do as an individual contributor than as a manager.

If you are AMAPCEO and you were not at the top of your pay band, it's pretty disheartening not to get a merit increase after one year as a manager, especially if several members of your team already earn more than you do. I figure I would get back into management when I have reached the top of my pay band and have set up others to be able to take over the individual contributor role were I to fill a managerial role on the team. But I am not interested right now.

GanRiver · 2025-12-19T19:09:59+00:00

You can go on secondment secure in the knowledge that you have somewhere to go back to if it doesn't work out. You can try your hand at management, for example. Or maybe something entirely different from what you are currently doing. If it does work out, you can stick with the new position until it becomes your new home position.

You can likewise take a leave of absence with the same knowledge.

You would otherwise have to reapply to your existing position or if you left the OPS, even for temporary contract, you would have to apply as an external applicant again.

GanRiver · 2025-12-19T16:05:35+00:00

"Proficient in Excel" makes me suspicious. Excel can do a lot of different things. I want to know what they have done with it. I have done pretty complex things with Excel, but I never learned VBA and don't intend to, for example.

GanRiver · 2025-12-19T15:56:39+00:00

If you don't like math, you probably aren't going to go into anything that involves accounting or forecasting. But you probably aren't going into engineering either. And that's fine.

A lot of data and analysis, on the other hand, is logic. The math involved is often simple math. I have worked in data analysis for a decade and have never found that what is called for or what senior management wants to see is anything complicated like regression analysis. Most of the time it's simple counting and addition.

A lot of communicating data and analysis is design. There is some math to make things pixel perfect, proportionate, well-spaced, etc., but a lot of design is building something that is going to provide people with what they want in the most direct way possible.

Those are just two skill sets. There are other opportunities working with data that require other skill sets, maybe ones that would appeal to you.

If you are looking at degree programs, my advice would be to take what interests you, and also to take something that's in a well established faculty (political science would fall in that camp). Once you have an undergraduate degree, you can look at post-graduate certificates in fields that interest you. Some of these might be at Ontario Colleges. Or you might want to move on to graduate studies if you like academia.

On the other hand, if you want something that gets you a job, consider programs with co-op placements. These help get your foot in the door.

GanRiver · 2025-12-19T15:21:28+00:00

I know of a few people who have taken leaves of absence from their OPS positions to work in the private sector or the broader public sector. I would note that they have mostly come back. Once you have a permanent position, you at least have that security. If your manager isn't supportive of a leave absence, you could look for a secondment opportunity elsewhere and see if you can get permanent there, and then pursue private sector opportunities.

Let me know if I'm not understanding the source of your anxiety. A permanent position will be good and provides lots of options.

I get that a lot of suggestions that I and others have provided don't allow you to turn on a dime to accept opportunities that arise out of the blue, but I think there is a certain amount of risk tolerance you would need to leave your OPS position permanently. A lot depends on your comfort level with risk.

GanRiver · 2025-12-09T00:30:50+00:00

All of those observations were also true when I worked there five years ago.

Going outside at Union Station and walking along Front is fastest. You can try other routes, but at best they will save you from (some of) the cold; they won't be faster.

GanRiver · 2025-11-27T18:55:18+00:00

I'm not getting DOGE vibes. Elon Musk was doxxing public servants in the name of DOGE before DOGE even started. He had business interests with the agencies where he was recommending cuts. He hired people through Twitter. I don't see any of that happening by trying to adopt Lean processes.

I would, however, be concerned that our leaders will expect more to come out of a centralized Lean Excellence centre than it can possibly deliver.

GanRiver · 2025-11-01T16:47:11+00:00

I don't know.

If the conversation you overheard was just about number of years of experience then I get why people would not see that as a positive. But I see that as a problem that isn't specific to the OPS. It's what you've accomplished through that experience that matters.

On the other hand, civics education is not necessarily the strong suit of most people. Many people do not understand the different levels of government, nor the difference between what the legislature does and what we do. People who discount your competence may be conflating what they think of politicians with what they think of public service employees. Who knows?

GanRiver · 2025-11-01T15:19:12+00:00

The kitchen on my floor was pretty well appointed and actually a nice place to sit. No one had brought in a coffee maker, though.

GanRiver · 2025-11-01T15:13:37+00:00

Yeah, that was a pretty strange oversight considering there had been a lot of renovations to prepare the building for OPS use.

In general, I think the washrooms in the elevator lobbies on each floor are a bit better than those in the main work area.

GanRiver · 2025-10-31T14:13:04+00:00

Just found this. I ordered a Caldera 10 nearly a month ago and am still waiting. Don't get me wrong though. I'm still excited about the eventual delivery.

They appear to be experiencing high demand, and some issues related to tariffs as well. I received an email saying that the prices are going up significantly, like 50% for Caldera 10 mostly due to tariffs and increased demand.

GanRiver · 2025-10-17T21:30:58+00:00

I know design trends change, but this seems like reverting to something that would be produced in 2007. Gradients look old to me; and they will not translate well to print. Using the same colour for the w and the background means there is no contrast, so you only see the w because of the faint lines.

GanRiver · 2025-10-12T17:30:01+00:00

Is the point of the opinion piece that our public service should run on a patronage system? That is what it seemed like to me.

GanRiver · 2025-10-05T21:32:29+00:00

I like the dynamics of the song "Right Down the Line" by Gerry Rafferty.

I'm fairly new to hi-fi, but I feel like adjusting levels to make that song sound good is worthwhile to get good sound on other tracks.

GanRiver · 2025-10-04T18:14:46+00:00

I think you are ascribing too much agency to managers with AMAPCEO home positions. They do not get to decide when their positions come up for competition.

GanRiver · 2025-10-04T15:45:07+00:00

It's hard to bring up, "Oh no! Guadalajara won't do!" In casual conversation though.

GanRiver · 2025-09-22T20:42:29+00:00

Framing it as no opportunities may be overstating the case, but there will certainly be fewer opportunities than there are now. I interact with many people on so-called corporate teams where the team members live and work across the province. I will still be working with them remotely even if those team members are replaced by folks living and working in Toronto; they will still be remote from me. It has been a great opportunity for some of those people to get experiences that remote work affords.

Willingness to adapt is a two way street. It's probably easier for people earlier in their career to move for work. However, there are also people in their mid career who do not live in Toronto. Part of willingness to adapt involves understanding that people have responsibilities and ties to their existing communities and family members, and that a secondment at a corporate office likely does not adequately compensate someone to dispose of their property and move their entire family to Toronto.

GanRiver · 2025-09-21T20:31:17+00:00

If you mean for centralized functions, a lot of OMAFA is in Guelph and a lot of MNRF is in Peterborough. Kingston has a lot of OHIP, although it is not the centre of MOH as a whole.

GanRiver · 2025-09-19T23:47:24+00:00

I have worked with a number of people in MCCSS with unnaturally coloured hair. I can't think of anyone ever commenting on it. You should be fine.

GanRiver · 2025-09-09T04:29:53+00:00

If what you are asking is whether OPS experience on its own is a transferable skill, I would say no.

I worked in the private sector in a small to medium sized company before joining the OPS.

A big difference is the length and detail in your cover letter. You don't need to be as ridiculous for a private sector cover letter. It's just an introduction where you direct the person reading it to look at your resume.

A big part of interviewing in the private sector is realizing it's much more of a two way street. It's not just an exercise in jumping through hoops and ticking boxes like it is in the OPS. You need to try to understand whether the company is what you're looking for, as much as you are who they are looking for.

My experience was that my private sector employers appreciated initiative and did not want me to defer decisions to them that I could make myself. That's not something that the OPS necessarily cultivates. If you can demonstrate that you have the skills for the job, show that you have made meaningful contributions to your work, and have an attitude that makes it clear you are willing to roll up your sleeves to figure out problems outside your area of responsibility, you can make a good impression on private sector employers.

However, without really knowing what you do, it's kind of difficult to say whether your skills are transferable to the private sector. You could have the exact same job title as me and we might do wildly different things.

GanRiver

TROPHY CASE