I actually found that very interesting. Thanks Frank. Good question Don.
Dave On 8/7/05, frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On 8/7/05, Don Sanderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Tell Tofu that's a great shot Frank! > > I know! That really pisses me off. <vbg> > > > > Did you teach him the "Rule of Thirds" or does > > he just have the eye? > > Are you kidding? We were having a few beers on the roof (as you can > see from what the subject's holding), and telling Tofu about the Rule > of Thirds seemed much less important than attempting the maintenance > of a vertical position (okay, I exaggerate for the purposes of humour > - we weren't that hammered <g>) > > > I really like that CL lens, very sharp with a nice > > transition to OOF areas. > > I like it, too. Thanks > > > In case you didn't catch my question yesterday, > > how do you communicate with the messengers to > > dispatch them. > > I've never seen bike messengers in action, must > > be a pretty cool job. (Most times) > > Ah, yes, thanks for bringing it to my attention again. I did see it > yesterday, was about to answer it, became distracted, and forgot about > it. > > A Short History of Messenger/Dispatcher Communications, by frank theriault: > > Back in the really old days (before my time), messengers actually had > to go back to the depot after every call or run of calls, and the > dispatcher would physically hand the messenger slip(s) of paper with > the call(s) (ie: the pick-up and drop-off information) written on it > (them). There was this big board, and each courier had his number at > the top of the board, and a bunch hooks under his number, and the > dispatcher would hang these slips of paper (in duplicate) on those > hooks. > > To this day, we say a dispatcher is "on the board", meaning (nowadays) > "sitting at his computer, dispatching calls". We also still say that > calls that are yet to be picked up by the messenger are "on his hook". > > As you can imagine, this system wasn't too efficient, as riding back > to the depot is a waste of time and energy. > > Then, messengers got open-channel two way radios. By open channel, I > mean that everyone - all messengers with a particular company and the > dispatcher - were on the same channel, and we could hear all calls > being dispatched, and we could hear each other responding to the > dispatcher. This was actually good, because we knew that no one was > being "fed" (receiving an unfair number of calls from the dispatcher), > as we knew what everyone else was doing. When we received a call from > the dispatcher, we had to either write it down on a little pad of > paper, or remember it. Since we might have up to 5 or 6 calls yet to > pick up, often with several drops between those pickups (efficient > dispatching will make you work that way), either you had to have a > good memory, or you wrote. > > Most of these radios were big heavy affairs, made by Motorola, and we > called them "bricks". That was the system in place when I started > almost 10 years ago. > > Then, about 5 years ago, we got pagers to supplement the radios, which > was good, because we didn't have to write down or remember calls. > They were one way pagers, so the dispatcher still had to confirm > verbally that we got a call, since sometimes pages didn't come > through. > > Over the past couple of years, almost everyone has gone over to Mikes > (brand name, I don't know what they may be called down there). > Basically, a heavy duty cell phone, with two way radio capability and > two way paging/text messaging. The radios are closed channel, meaning > that I can only talk to one person at a time, and no one but that > person can hear me. > > Now, my dispatcher rarely speaks to me. He sends me call(s) by text > message, I acknowledge that I've seen them simply by opening that > message. I text message when I pick the call up, and I send a message > with POD (proof of delivery, ie: signature), and by keeping track of > those messages, he knows exactly where I am. > > It's efficient, much less talking (usually only when we have problems, > or when we have no calls on and he wants us to stand still - called > "hanging" or "standing by" to cover a certain area). I really like > it, but it's not as much fun as the old open-channel bricks - with a > good dispatcher with a sense of humour, you could joke around all day > and lighten things up a bit. > > Aren't you glad you axed? > > <vbg> > > cheers, > frank > -- > "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson > >
