The Irrelevant Tax Deadline Date

This blog is written mostly tongue in cheek. Some points may be informative. Please provide your feedback.
If you suffer from self-irrelevancy, please seek professional advice.

Hello. Today is tax deadline day in Ontario, and I assume the rest of Canada.
My spouse, the CMA, does our taxes. As mentioned in "The Irrelevant Lead Time", my spouse likes to leave things until the last minute. Taxes are included in that category.
Last night my spouse tried to UFILE our taxes (via the Internet for those who don't know) and received time out problems. Same thing this morning. Needless to say, frustration was setting in. I suspect we aren't the only ones who are trying to file today.
I then asked whether it would be better to wait until Thursday to file. My spouse asked why we should do that. I said because the tax deadline date is irrelevant to us.
Why? Because the Canadian government owes us money. The tax deadline date is only applicable to those who owe the feds money.
More tomorrow.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Dental Consultation

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If you suffer from self-irrelevancy, please seek professional advice.

Hello. Yesterday I took my kids to the dentist. My daughter is now at the age where we can start looking at braces. I talked to the dentist about it. The recommendation was to go to an orthodontist for a consultation. The dentist's preference was to do it soon so my daughter's mouth could grow more naturally.
I tried to relay this conversation to my spouse. I didn't finish.
Why? Because I'm irrelevant. As soon as I mentioned we had talked about braces, I was interrupted. What I had to say had no meaning, even though I was just the messenger.
Will I try to talk to my spouse again about it? Absolutely! My daughter's mouth is too important not to. But for now there's no point.
Always pick a time when your conversation has a chance to be relevant.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Golf "Talk"

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Hello. This morning I was supposed to golf with a lady at a Mississauga course. The weather today is dreadful! I didn't expect to tee off, and I didn't.
What I was hoping for is that we'd meet and catch up on things. Both of us have been packaged off from our full-time jobs months ago. We'd both decided not to rush back into the rat race. I've since taken two part time jobs, plus looked after my kids. I wanted to hear what she'd been up to. We hadn't talked since November.
I decided to go to the golf course anyway. She didn't. And I understand why. I'm irrelevant to her. Only the golf game was the relevant part. Talking to me was irrelevant, since I'm irrelevant. When the game was rained out, all relevant reasons to meet me were washed out too.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant GM Announcement

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Hello. A Canadian pro hockey team that missed the playoffs and fired its general manager announces it's hired a guy who has no managerial experience but who played in the NHL. He also was an agent who signed a player (Bobby Holik) to a contract ($9 million/year) instrumental in leading to the current salary cap.
Front page news for sure in hockey crazed Canada, right? Well, unfortunately if you're the Vancouver Canucks and Mike Gillis, your story is irrelevant.
Why? Because at the same time media darling and current (for the moment) Stanley Cup GM Brian Burke was turning down an offer to manage another Canadian pro hockey team that didn't make the playoffs - media darling Toronto Maple Leafs.
Is this fair? No. The Vancouver story is fact. The Toronto story is a step towards a fact. But that's irrelevant.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Credit Card Slip II

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Hello. Okay, so we give people the credit card slips so they have some confirmation they bought something.
But don't they have the actual item in their hands? And what about their monthly statement? Or the list of items we print out so they can find them on the auction tables? To me these things make the credit card slip irrelevant.
I mentioned these points to my spouse, who agreed with me.
So we both think the credit card slips are irrelevant.
Will we do them next year? You bet!
Why? Because rather than take a survey of our guests to see if they also think the slips are irrelevant, we'll assume they think they're relevant.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Credit Card Slip

This blog is written mostly tongue in cheek. Some points may be informative. Please provide your feedback.
If you suffer from self-irrelevancy, please seek professional advice.

Hello. Thanks to anonymous for writing such nice feedback on "The Irrelevant Lead Time". I'm hoping our combined efforts will win the war against Cystic Fibrosis.
During our Saturday fundraiser (which raised $33,000 and counting), my spouse handed out credit card slips to those people who paid that way.
This step puzzled me, because I knew we would give our office the information in another form. We had no need for the slips. When I asked my spouse this question, my opinion was confirmed. The credit card slips were irrelevant.
Why give them out then? My spouse said it was so people would have something to hang on to that proved they did buy something.
More tomorrow.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Score

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Hello. Today I played my first round of 2008. In my shorts. In a cart. In April. In Ontario.
Did I keep score? No.
Why? Because it was irrelevant.
Score had no purpose today. Getting out with my fellow golf course workers, enjoying the weather, and forgetting about a long, cold winter were my only priorities.
Should I have kept score? I was afraid my abacus would blow up. And that was in spite of making some good putts.
The course was in nice shape. I was doing what I loved. Why put something as final as a score to it? That would imply everything else was irrelevant, when really it was the score that was irrelevant.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Biggest Loser

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Hello. The Biggest Loser is one of my favourite TV shows. It's amazing how much weight they can lose in such a short time.
On Wednesday, the season finale was on. Ali became the first female winner. But it's hard to say the others were not winners. As Bernie, who ended up winning the eliminated contestants category said, "We're all winners". And he's right. The actual first place prize is irrelevant.
How can Curtis not be a winner? He started at 381, and is now 231. 150 pounds lost! And more importantly, he now qualifies for health insurance.
Dan, Jay, Roger, Mike, Curtis, Bernie and Trent all lost over 100 pounds! They are all winners.
I think all the candidates lost over 50 pounds. Incredible! They sound like winners to me.
The main show goal is competing. Winning is irrelevant.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Lead Time

This blog is written mostly tongue in cheek. Some points may be informative. Please provide your feedback.
If you suffer from self-irrelevancy, please seek professional advice.

Hello. My spouse is an amazing person. I'm not the only one who thinks so.
One of the big tasks my spouse has for our fundraiser Saturday is to put together a brochure detailing all the auction items.
We've been receiving many auction items over the last two months. However, my spouse decided not to start until last night. Even then, 11pm was the starting time, as TV programs had to be watched.
My spouse could've used this lead time to get a start on the brochure, but lead time is irrelevant to my spouse. It's not part of my spouse's belief system. Neither is getting someone to assist. An irrelevant assistant (me) or a relevant assistant (someone else), it doesn't matter.
No matter what studies say, lead time is irrelevant to my spouse.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Balloons

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Hello. Our main fundraising event is approaching. My main task is to get 100 balloons filled up with helium at a dollar store, then pick them up Saturday morning (50 at a time) and deliver them to our event site.
The main question I have now is, why am I doing it? The balloons are irrelevant.
Why? Because no one is going to miss the balloons if they're not there.
All these balloons do is waste money (helium is expensive!) and get my nerves on edge. I'm sure it will be a windy day like it always is. That way I can have the challenge of putting them in our van without losing or breaking any.
Last year one broke in the van. The sound is deafening! Pressure is getting to your destination with 99 more ready to break.
I'm glad my main task is so irrelevant.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Page Playoff Game II

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Hello. Congrats to Kevin Martin and team for becoming curling world champions. Martin's rink beat Scotland yesterday to claim the title.
Martin, like Jennifer Jones, had to do it the hard way. Both lost the Page Playoff 1-2 game, then won the semi-final, then beat the team they lost the 1-2 game to in the final.
My question is, why have a Page Playoff 1-2 game? To me it's irrelevant. And this year's world results show why. The winner didn't win the championship! And the loser wasn't eliminated!
Wouldn't it make sense to give the round robin winner the bye to the final? In this case it would've been Martin and Canada for the men, Wang and China for the women. And again, as we see in the results, the top round robin team doesn't always win the championship.
For a curling playoff game to be relevant, the loser has to be eliminated.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Paramedics II

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Hello. What's the best way to make paramedics relevant?
How about getting them closer to where the highest potential for accidents is?
Maybe have them stationed at business parks.
Maybe at golf courses.
Maybe at busy intersections.
Maybe at the places research says are the most common for accidents.
In other words, shouldn't paramedics be more like tow trucks?
If paramedics got paid by their response time (more pay for faster response) would they deploy themselves differently?
Maybe that is something relevant to think about.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Paramedics

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Hello. This morning I was recertified for CPR and Defibrillator. I can now respond competently to a medical crisis. My hope is I never have to do so.
The main thing I picked up on today was how important it is to get immediate care for someone who has just suffered cardiac arrest, trauma, etc. In our area it takes paramedics on average 8-10 minutes to get to a scene. While I think that's pretty good, it's irrelevant.
Why? Because in that short time a person can die or suffer severe damage due to lack of oxygen, etc.
A person who can administer first aid quickly is much more relevant than a paramedic. A quick following of the ABC method (airway, breathing, cuts) can make all the difference.
Training should be focused on the relevant first aid people.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant "Double Final" II

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Hello. So why did I feel the "double final" was irrelevant? Because the first place team already had an advantage over everyone else by getting a bye to the final. Why were they also afforded the extra bonus of potentially losing a game on Saturday, and still ending up champs?
I think the organizing committee made the mistake of having the playoffs the same for all divisions, even though the formats were different. The next question then is why were the formats different? Because there were 8 teams in A division, 6 teams in B division, and 4 in C.
This leads to another question - why weren't there 6 teams in each division? Maybe this format was deemed irrelevant, because it was too simple. The top 2 teams in each division could've gotten a bye, and then had a double knockout.
Since my thinking about these playoffs is irrelevant, it's time to stop.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant "Double Final"

This blog is written mostly tongue in cheek. Some points may be informative. Please provide your feedback.
If you suffer from self-irrelevancy, please seek professional advice.

Hello. This past week we had our competitive curling playoffs. Our division (the bottom one) had only 4 teams in it. The chosen format was a round robin. The top team advanced to the final. The 2nd and 3rd place teams played in the semi. In other words, it was like the TV curling playoffs used to be before the dreaded 1-2 Page playoff game.
Our team finished3rd after the round robin, then won the semi. We found out we had to win 2 playoff games against the same team on Saturday, and they only had to beat us once.
Why? Because they were undefeated. And because the other divisions were playing the double-knockout format (lose 2 games and you're out).
My point was the "double final" we had to play was irrelevant, because we weren't playing a double knockout.
More tomorrow.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Presentation Content

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Hello. I had a thought this morning. After I recovered, I decided to pass it on to see what you think.
Do you find when you have an idea you want to present to someone (either formally or informally) you spend most of your time thinking through it logically, anticipating what others are going to ask? If so, you're spending your time on irrelevant matters.
Why? Because people are first looking to see what your presentation looks like. If you're typing it out, using a presentation tool, etc, that's what will influence your audience. And if it's a verbal presentation (either formal or informal) your audience is looking only at verbal or nonverbal queues from you, and not really listening to your content.
If you're going to present, make sure your format is relevant before looking at content.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Lack of Sleep

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Hello. I arrived home at 12:45am this morning after curling and grocery shopping. Everyone else was asleep, thank goodness.
This morning I was asked when I got home. After I replied my daughter said I must be tired from the lack of sleep. I said a lack of sleep for me is irrelevant.
Why? Because I don't have to work today. Or do any thinking.
Actually, because I'm irrelevant, I never have to worry about a lack of sleep. Since anything I do is irrelevant, it doesn't matter what condition I'm in. What's the difference between doing a good irrelevant job and a bad irrelevant job? Indeed, that difference is irrelevant.
In theory, I could stay awake or fall asleep at any time. As long as those actions don't endanger anyone else, the timing is irrelevant.

Regards,
Irrelevant

The Irrelevant Presentation

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If you suffer from self-irrelevancy, please seek professional advice.

Hello. I'm on a golf tournament committee. Our tournament is next month.
Part of my duties have been to get auction items. Believe it or not, I concluded golf clubs may be interested in donating to a golf tournament.
My thoughts were not correct in all cases. Some clubs want us to use their venue next year. They've made presentations about why we should come to their place.
These presentations are irrelevant.
Why? Because prior to making the presentation, the clubs should've asked what we wanted to achieve. If they knew, they'd be able to tailor their presentation accordingly.
Instead, they made generic presentations. And failed miserably trying.
Always know what is relevant to your customer before presenting.

Regards,
Irrelevant