Howefamily

For me its the following:

• Tail-gating - its like an Olympic Sport here. I am constantly keeping my distance in the slow lane, as I watch a line of tail-gating idiots in the fast line. I wonder why it doesnt cross their minds what the sh1t show accident that they may be about to enter into is going to look and feel like.
• Such a dislike of change. Offices here have so much paper in them that at first it was a shock. Like Jeez - SO MUCH PAPER.
• Love of fax machines - dont get it.

dbd33

My doctor recently asked for a fax and a cheque. I didn't know how to provide either. I understand the photocopiers can fax but I haven't seen a fax used since printers were in dot matrix format.

Tailgating around here is only really a bother if the vehicle being followed is an RV. Passing a car and the tailgater is ok but an RV towing a shitbox SUV followed by some wavering wanker in a little Asian box is a lot of vehicle to blast past (same with Harley Davidsons, always in a pack, always crawling along, always fat old people with facial hair obstructing the carriageway - I'd love to knock them over like skittles). I've come to accept that every car going at less than 60mph will have one or two limpet cars attached. I do wonder why no one indicates before the manouvre but, hey, we're abroad, it's what they do.

BristolUK

Gotta use the trees for something.


Cold enough? works too.

scrubbedexpat091

We use fax machines at work daily... But it's either fax the flight info down to us on the ramp, or ops walks it down and considering its about a 20 min walk from the ops office in the main terminal to our office on the ramp, faxing it makes the most sense and only option...

Tailgating it annoying, especially when there are 3 lanes and and I am in the right lane and there are 0 cars in the other 2 lanes. And the need to speed, ffs if the speed limit is 50 km/h on most city streets, you don't need to go 80+. Now that I ride a scooter, I notice the poor driving a lot more then I did when in a car. Taxi drivers are the worst, odd they proclaim uber isn't safe and taxis are, but by far the worst drivers on the road are the taxi's.

I also find passive aggressiveness to be far more common in Canada vs where I am from originally in the US.

BristolUK

How about this

HGerchikov

FAX machines is the thing that gets me. All the medical offices use them rather than scan and email, because I think they believe they are more secure. Not the case if they put the wrong number, our home number in our last house was very similar to a large medical office. We got so many faxes (which the phone converted to text and emailed to me) giving full details of various folks and their ailments. Being a good citizen I would always call the office to let them know, I started calling the office that should have received the FAX to offer to email it to them, but I was told rather rudely that they didn't have email and I would HAVE to print it and mail it to them. At which point I thought that I didn't have to do anything and deleted the email. The sending offices were generally nicer about it.

BristolUK

And not very effective if you put the original in the machine the wrong way round and send a blank sheet, or the useless side.

At least if you get it wrong when scanning you get to see it's wrong before you do anything else.

DandNHill

I've commented a few times that fax machines are found in museums in the UK. Not sure it goes down too well!!!

As for tailgating, I don't notice it that much...think I might be oblivious to what's around me when I'm driving... I shall pay more attention!!
That being said I hate people who cut in right in front of me!!! I'm sure half the accidents are caused by that kind of driving.

Howefamily

I have said it too, too often. I need to shut my mouth. Having said that, I notice is more prolific in smaller offices, big corps dont have the same love affair.
Yes, and passive aggressiveness too. Its a common behaviour.

DandNHill

But living now in Hamilton and we have seem some changes. People seem less cliquey. We know all our neighbours which is lovely. Doesn't mean we're in each others pockets but we can stop and say hi and chat for a while... all that will change when the wind is blowing at - 30 off the lake I'm sure.
People go to Walmart in their PJs, could be back in NS. There's less "look at me" kind of attitude...unless I'm getting oblivious to it or assimilated!!

scrubbedexpat091

I read an article not long ago (US based but likely pertains to Canada as well) about some of the reasons faxes exist still.

In parts of the US and Canada, internet service can be slow/poor once outside the larger city's and towns, so a fax is easier all around.

If one has a document that needs to be sent to someone, signed, and sent back, easier all around to just fax it then to print it, sign it, scan it, and email it.

Many US government agencies won't use email and so a fax is the only quick method of sending things to them, next best is overnight mail. (I don't know how many gov't agencies in Canada refuse to use email.)

I haven't seen a stand alone fax machine in eons though, maybe 15 years or so, copiers/scanner etc can have fax capability built in. Our printer/scanner home machine has fax capability and believe it or not, I actually had to use it in February to fax BC Housing our application as they don't accept emails.

BristolUK

How outdated. Oh, you mean on display.

I suppose faxing is a bit quicker. Perhaps they're all rushed off their feet.
Don't really know ours. I don't think anyone does. They all come out their front doors and get into cars. Nobody ever reaches the sidewalk.
The couple who used to live one side would sit out back and ignore any "excuse me" when I called over to ask if my stepson could retrieve his ball. If it wasn't for the fact they were talking to each other you'd have thought they were deaf. That house has been empty for about three years now.

The other side will exchange a few words - when they're around, which isn't much. I keep joking they have a grow-op or lab in the basement, occasionally dropping by to make the house look lived in.

Hardly anyone walks in the streets other than a few I assume are on their way to and from work.
Ridiculous - Tim Hortons, Shoppers, 4 banks, Liquor store, decent supermarket, several burger/pizza/chinese/indian/Thai/kfc/food pubs, bowling and other shops all 5-10 minutes walk and hardly anyone walking.

DandNHill

Walking isn't really a thing here is it? Besides how can you go through the drive through if you're walking?!!

I think this thing where we know the neighbours is unusual although a friend in the next street said it's the same... maybe it's just life at the beach! lol

BristolUK

It's not a Rosemary's baby or Wickerman sort of thing?

DandNHill

Well as long as it's not Stepford Wives we should be just fine!!!

Hey the neighbour opposite came to tell us there were coons in our loft space so that was kinda good. Most neighbours wouldn't want to interfere!