System Changes Needed

I wanted to post comments received from readers to my BLOG on Bill Marra yesterday as they came in but unfortunately my BLOGhost for the service, Google, had technical problems. It's not the first time either that Google has had a major one but surprisingly there has not been much publicity about their failures.

I know that Google wants to take over the Internet world and beat Microsoft (they now have a beta spreadsheet online) but first they should get their act together and make sure their servers work properly! Can you imagine the outcry if Microsoft had the problems that Google is having? What business would ever rely on them if they needed access to their work if the service was down for this long?

The lack of adverse publicity when things are going wrong must mean that the honeymoon for Google is still not over. Hmmmm Eddie and Google have a lot in common that way.

It is not the first time they have had a major break-down. Here is their notice this time around:

• “Blogger Status
  Thursday, June 08, 2006
  For many users, Blogger will have been extremely slow or down for most of the morning. We continue to work on fixes for this problem and hope to have it resolved as quickly as possible.
  
  Wednesday, June 07, 2006
  This morning, a hardware problem we had been struggling with over the past several days suddenly worsened. As a result, and to stave off future downtime, we have had to take Blogger down for an extended period of time as we address the problem. We will continue to update this blog and the homepage with more information.
  
  Update: We've brought up new hardware which has allowed us to restore the site. We try hard to avoid downtimes of this length and apologize for the inconvenience.”

Now that changes have been made, hopefully everything is back to normal. Hmmm another possible comparison with Windsor isn't it.

Here are some more of the comments I received:

• I would love to see him run for mayor he would have my vote




• I would like to see Bill Marra run for mayor. I would like to hear his views on the border and how he feels about protecting the Ojibway wilderness area.




• He should not run for council. He should run for the Mayor's office.




• If Bill ran, I would support him just like I did before




• Someone should run against eddie and it should be someone familiar with city government so yeah, in that respect he should run.




• GO FOR IT BILL WE ARE BEHIND YOU




• Bill should go up against him in a very heated contest.
  
  If you look at the overall state of Windsor compared to 4 Years ago, absolutely no issues have been settled. Big issues. Not burned out bulbs in a street light.
  
  Business as usual is not a phrase coined today. Windsor has not had new development to jump up and proclaim as "relevant" This city is overtaxed and under advertised. We have seen very little drive towards diversification in our area.I can write a book on comments that customers from all over southern ontario have cited to stay away from here.
  
  None have given indications to set up here "because of the border proximity".
  
  Water parks, ice rinks, museums, science exhibits are springing up in other cities but we seem to be stuck, out of gas (no pun), and sit back on our ever widening butt and complain.
  
  Even the auto industry is outsourcing overseas and not keeping support local.(I can attest to that)
  
  We need a leader. Ralph Kline is retiring and not interested. That is the type we need now. I know the Mayor's office cannot do much on its own, however direction and focus is evidently needed.
  
  Eddie did state that at the beginning. I just can't stand a typical "lawyer"(in jest) response that tells you what you want to hear and completely evades a yes or no answer.
  
  Yes we need a jumpstart. Can Bill do it? Sure he could. With the right agendas.




• Running for mayor is a hard, tough gig, especially when some local media loves the incumbent. Personally I like Bill and hope he does whatever he thinks best for him and his family.
  
  Would I want him as mayor? Of course. I voted for him in 2003 and would do so again. But if he wants to run for council in any ward I'd support him. We need councilors willing to stand up to bullies and we need them now.
  
  Good luck to him, whatever he chooses.

For a guy who has not been much in the public eye since the last election and since Council Close-up was cancelled by Cogeco last year, if Marra ran, there is no doubt that he would get a lot of positive support.

The question remains: will Bill run and, if so, for what? We should know soon if CKLW is right!