How to protect your computer from the Internet

There is one correct answer to this question.

Never connect it to the internet.  EVER!

RSA FOB

Now, I know that that sounds a little strong, but it is 100% true.  As an example, RSA (a Division of EMC) one of the leaders in protecting corporate information from the internet got hacked.   RSA has these little devices that allow for something called multi-factor authentication.  This is the best way to ensure that the person who is logging into a system is really allowed to log into the system.   

How bad did they get hacked?  So much so that every FOB out there (oh, there is about 40 MILLION of these) is now compromised.   So much so that some US Government agencies are now throwing out all their FOBs (that is what you call them) and moving to a competitive product.  More of the story here.

According to ZDNet, security expert Dan Kaminsky says that it is not impossible that the database that links SecurID serial numbers to seeds (card's factory-encoded random key) has been compromised, which would mean that the attackers would be able to know all generated tokens at any given time and even know which organizations are using them.

Apparently those that broke in must have gotten hold of the secrets that associate the serial number (stamped on the back of each FOB) with the just how the magic number (which changes every 30 seconds) is generated.

So, if they can't do it right, just how does anyone like your Mom, Dad, etc. stay safe on the internet?  (Speaking of which, my 86 year old Dad managed to get a virus on his system, so it needs to be totally rebuilt).

So option one (stay off the internet) is pretty difficult.  Plan B is:

• Make sure you Antivirus is updated daily (I like Microsoft Security Essentials)
• Make sure you install all the security updates from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, etc.  
• iPAD's are great devices to surfing the net due to their architecture (called Sandboxing)
• Don't click on ANY link in ANY email even IF you know who it is from
• Don't go to any website that isn't mainstream -- yep, difficult to do as even The New York Times web site got compromised

Did you know that it is possible to get a virus just by having a web browser load a picture on your computer....And you did nothing wrong.  

For my technically talented friends, it is now possible for a Virus to hide in the firmware of your video card.  What this means that after you get your computer cleaned out by starting fresh (see below), the virus resurfaces and installs itself again.  Then, you get to start over... and over and over.

What happens IF (make that WHEN) you get a Virus??

• Somehow, move all your data/documents to another disk drive (you do have a backup, don't you?)
• Reformat the hard drive (start with FDISK is always good)
• Rebuild your computer from scratch
• Restore the backup you have

Don't let anyone else tell you that your system can be cleaned without doing the above.  Not the Geek Squad, Not Staples, Not Anyone.  You might think that it is clean, but you will never ever know.  There isn't a software tool out there there can tell you 100% that your system is good again.

Skiing in Revelstoke

Looking at the village of Revelstoke

Late last week, I escaped from Toronto and did Planes, Bus and Automobile to Revelstoke BC.  I flew into Calgary while they were having one of their ice fog weeks, grabbed a Taxi for $15 to downtown Calgary where I jumped on a Greyhound bus (for 6 hours) and then parked myself here in Revelstoke right on the Trans-Canada Hwy.

Drying room

The purpose of this trip is some skiing.  For 2 days, I skied the resort right in the town of Revelstoke.  Over 5000 vertical feet and some amazing terrain to power through.  No crowds and not a lot of fresh snow at this time.  Revelstoke has had one of the years where they have had the most snow in almost 100 years.  The skiing is great, but be warned, this is not a place to ski if you are an absolute beginner.  It is a great place to ski if you want to cruise at high speeds, or get down and dirty skiing the trees.

But, the real reason I am here is to do some Heli-Skiing with CMH helicopters.  CMH takes over the Regent Hotel here and they are one class act.  After checking in Monday afternoon, we had our first introduction followed by several safety meetings.   That was followed by an amazing Prime Rib dinner.

Jump on the Scale

We get a tour of the drying room and all the equipment.  It has a place to hang your boots on dryers complete with your gloves.  As well, lots of hangers in them middle of the room to hang your pants and jacket.  Very very nice!

Today was day 1 of skiing.  Stretching at 6:30am, followed by breakfast, equipment pickup and weighing of all us and stuff (weight and balance for the helicopter) and then catch the van at 8am to the baseball diamond.  I was wondering just why the baseball diamond.  The question was quickly answered while we did avalanche search practicing.  Out come the radios and the probes.

I think we found it

It became apparent that we were not in a rush this morning due to the weather.  Back in the vans and off to the pick up point.  The Bell 212 helicopter shows up right on time and as we are group 1 (out of 4), we get to load first (after another safety meeting on helicopter safety).  I get to sit in the back side seat which gives me a great view out the left side of the aircraft.

Off we go and we all (10 of us) can't wait to get skiing.  The problem is that we can't get through the clouds at 1600 meters and to the alpine above us.  Steve our pilot tries 3 different routes, but no go.  We come back and wait 30 minutes.  2nd try, but again no go after trying 3 unique routes.  Back to the LZ (landing zone) again and we decide to have lunch.  An hour later our 3rd try and it looks like we are going to break through about 1650M asl.  Again, no luck and Steve spins around as we head home.

We are fortunate (as group 1) that at least we got in the air 3 times, and then we also got to fly all the way back to Revelstoke along the Columbia River.  Sometimes a few hundred feet above the water.  Pretty cool.

NHL All Star Skills Competition

Some times, you are just in the right place at the right time.  While I was in Austria for the Downhill, Andy asked if I would do the NHL skills competition in Raleigh North Carolina.  I was on the fence about it, as we had been really busy and I did need to get home.  In the mean time, I recommended that Ken from North Bay, ON have a crack at it.  You can read Ken's blog here.

Long story made short, late on Friday I grabbed a flight from Buffalo to Raleigh the got me to my hotel about 3am Saturday morning.   After a few hours sleep, Ken and I had a rehearsal at 8am to test the fastest skater and the hardest shot.  This was videoed and you can see some of it on the NHL network, including JR missing the net completely and blowing all the wires out of the radar magic box.

Carleton makes a big save with a rebound

One cool thing you didn't get to see on TV was the team Mascot's game.  Imagine all these guys running around in full costume and playing hockey.  Some of them can skate and play hockey as well.

Now, I've always wanted to take pictures from the corner of the ice in an NHL hockey game.  Here was my chance.  But, I got the mascots.  ;)

Showtime!  Timing is 99.99% boredom and 0.01% shear terror.  We got 100% of the 0.01% for this event (not that the organizers could tell).  Ken describes some of this in his blog.

Chara with a warm up shot

Ken also built and designed the interface box that works with the radar gun.  All I can say is that his code running in assembler is pretty darn fast.  The radar gun spits out lots of speeds.  Ken's box has to analyze all the data and save the highest reading and then send it to the display.  Since I was shooting pictures at a 8/second rate, I could tell that the update to the Alge display was there about the same time the puck started to slow down as it hit the back of the net.

Zdeno Chara and Ken debating hardest shot

Every event has a highlight of some sort.  We got to brush elbows with some pretty cool guys.  All were very friendly and you could tell they love the sport.  Just after Chara does his record breaking shot (105.9 mph/170kph) he came over to sit on the boards by the timing box.  He even asked permission.  :)   He and Ken get into a discussion who the record holder was and by how much.  Eventually Chara did set Ken straight on his facts.

I was able to grab Ken's camera (actually, it was his son's) and get this picture for Ken.  I'm sure that he will have it printed and framed for his (Ken's) own personal birthday present.  

I have more pictures here.

Ken had the trip home from hell.  We were both at the Airport in Raleigh at 8am Sunday.  I had an 8:30 flight, while Ken had a 2:30pm flight.  He did try to get his flight changed, but no luck.  When he got to JFK they had cancelled the next flight to YYZ which delayed him an hour.  That caused him to miss his flight to North Bay, so he had to spend a night in a hotel at YYZ.  Last I heard, he got home about 8:30am on Monday, in time for him to go to his real job.  BTW, Sunday was his birthday!  Happy Birthday Ken.  Join the timing team and see the world.  You've now made it to the big leagues.

Downhill is done

As I write this, most of you are likely watching the race on CBC.  For me, I've been off the hill for 4 hours, and just finished a wonderful dinner here at the Villa Mellon.

As we lead up to a race like this, the puzzle starts to go together.  We connect starts, finish lines, intermediate eyes, display boards, photo finish cameras and more.  And, that is just the timing side of the show.  Then, all that data gets merged together and fired over to the data guys.  They fire out to the internet, huge video walls, and much more.  That doesn't even include the TV part.

But... leading up to the first forerunner down the course, you never do a full dress rehearsal and you are pretty sure that everything will work, but it takes the first racer on the course to confirm you have all the pieces fully connected and communicating to each other.  The team I am part of has done this a few times and have been pretty successful and thinking ahead and limiting all problems before you can see them on the air.

Yesterday we had the Super G race and today the grand daddy of the them all, the Downhill race.  Tomorrow is 'just' a Slalom race.  The Slalom race is in some aspects pretty simple, but it can also bite you in the ass as there is so much going on on the hill at any time.

A view from beside the start hut

It also means that from about Friday morning until Sunday night we are going full out.  Sadly, there is no time to walk to downtown Kitzbuhel and see the sea of drunken humanity.  Coop described one person he saw that was clearly not on this planet.  All he was capable of doing was walking (not in a straight line) and blowing a horn that he had.

The team I work with are rock stars.  Each bring something unique to the show and make this just a fun place to be even if you don't get lunch for 3 days and all you had for breakfast is a bun.  We all survive.  We all support each other and all cover each others back.  We do this because we love what we do and to bring the best we can to our customer.

No training run today

This morning (Wednesday) started pretty early... about 6am.  That would be midnight for those of you in an eastern time zone.

We all left about 6:30am with it pouring rain out.  The odds are if it is raining that there will be no race today.  That was ok with me as it allowed me to spend some timing working on some of my batteries for the on hill equipment.

As well, the team got to make sure that all the rest of the hill was working.  That includes getting the backup or bad weather start wired up.  For me, it was the ability to get the Slalom finished sorted out with all the wiring pairs.

Let's move forward to today (Thursday).  We did manage to get a training run in, but not without its issues.  

My radar on the video wall

First, it was an early start just to get a training run it.  I went up about 7:30am and got both my radar sites working.  My radars are used on the bottom half of the course and the run into the finish.  On the finish run, the speed is displayed on the very large video wall.  That 'tv screen' is about 40 feet high.

Next I hear that the lift is stopped.  Make that broken.  No idea of the ETA.  I happen to be in the finish hut to hear on the radio that the top 30 racers will be taken to the start by helicopter.  The others by bus.  Bus???   Apparently you have to take a bus to Kirchburg and then take the lift to a different top.  Our 20ish year old starter, Ernst, got a helicopter ride to the start.  Pretty cool for him.

Now, for the bad news.  We had a very bad crash on the first jump.  This course is one of the hardest courses in the world.  You start on a very steep hill.  Then, 2 seconds later, it gets steeper.  8 seconds after you start, you hit the first 'jump' doing about 120kph (we used to have a radar gun here, but they didn't want it this year).  You have to hit this one right and land it perfectly.  Such is not the case for Hans Grogger.  He landed very wrong and has head injuries, broken leg, and much more.  We just heard that he is now out of danger.  He did require cranial surgery.  I hope he pulls through and that it all works out.

Other than the snow that happened during the race, it was pretty calm after that.  You can watch the live camera on the start area if you like at http://hkrlive.com.  Remember, we are 6 hours ahead of eastern time zone for those of you on the other side of the pond.

This course is the real deal.  I mean the real deal!!  You ski this to the bottom in less then 4 minutes and survive, you are nothing short of amazing.  Finish in the top 10, and you can walk on water.  Yesterday just about anyone could have skied this course.  Today it was rock hard ice, much like an NHL hockey rink.  

I guess this is why they invite the guys from Eastern Canada out here.  We are used to skiing ice.

I am trying out a new camera by Sony (hard to believe that anything from Sony actually works).  This is from the Nex-3.

Panorama view of the finish.  Click to enlarge.

Tomorrow is the Super G from a brand new Super G start.  They had a very large wind storm that ripped out acres of trees, all of them in the area of the Super G start.  It really changes the complexion of the hill in the middle.

Just a tad warm here

This morning (Sunday), about 9am, on our walk over from the Villa to the hill, we quickly noticed that it did get below freezing last night as the road was nothing but black ice on the walk down the hill.  For some of us, the walk went a little quicker then normal.

Today, it hit about 11C.  Phips, the Start Referee who has been here for most of the 70+ races said that it was like "Africa" at the start house.  And, this is January.

Not Good! -- Thanks to Brian Cooper for the picture

More importantly is the fracture on the hill just below the Hausburg jump.  With all the heating and freezing going on, who knows what might happen at that point.  They have been using Helicopters to move snow into that area since they can't make snow.

I had to walk down beside that area today (now Monday) in a field that has no snow and the ground was all totally fractured as well, which looked like it was setting up for a big mud slide that would end up in the finish area.  However, for all I know, it could look like that all  time.

Monday was just about the same temperature.  Just beautiful weather.  Just not for a ski  race.  If you like spring skiing, it was wonderful!  The rumor is that it is supposed to snow LOTS on Wednesday and Thursday.  The will really cause some problems, but nothing that our team can't solve.  As long as the snow can be removed from the course prior to the race, then it will be a great race.

Jet Lag ....

After a slightly longer trip that normal due to some train delay (yes, they do happen in Europe), I did arrive at the Villa Mellon and was greeted by Herta the moment I walked in the door.

I did manage to sneak in a quick nap before being whisked out dinner at some castle that was built about 1439 (I have to get more details on that).  When it comes to eating meals here, nothing is done quickly.  First, you have to mill around the bar, then it is the next 4 courses plus the 2 dessert servings.  And, for the first time in ever for me in Europe, I had a great beef meal!

James Broader (aka "The Mighty Skunk")  - dessert

By this time, I had been up for over 30 hours.  I'm seated on a bunch seat with 12 other people, and the bench seat has pillows.  Talk about control not to lean over and put my head on one of those pillows.

The weather here is way too mild.  It is above zero and I can hear the water running down the roof (very relaxing sound).  However, this will take its toll on the race which is to run 1 week from now.

And, in case you missed it, read what the Skunk had to do upon arriving here!

Road Trip

It has been awhile since I have traveled by plane.  However, I am fortunate enough to be invited back to Kitzbuhel for the 71st running of the Hahnenkamm.   HP was kind enough to let me have time off to attend this event even though I started with them at the beginning of December.

Having long since lost my Elite status for Air Canada, I was forced to travel in cattle class.  Working the system some, I did get an exit row seat, but the next time I should order the seat that has heat.  I was wearing everything I own about halfway through the flight.  I swear the air temp was about 15C or less for over half the trip.

I did watch the Social Network on the way over.  If you are a Facebook user (over 1/2 a Billion people are), you do need to watch this.  I wonder how much of it is true.

Since I am not in a rush today at all to get to Kitzbuhel, I sat down to wait for my bag to show up.  Yep, no Elite status with Air Canada, yet my bag is the first out.  Go Figure!  A few years ago, with my bag tagged priority I counted the number of bags ahead of mine.  It should have been in the first 20 or so.  Mine was 187.

While having breakfast here in the terminal, I was able to watch the first half of the Super Combined from Wengen.  The course looked pretty good and the Slalom race is later today.  The big DH at Wengen is tomorrow.  This is the longest course on the circuit and the guys are just exhausted at the finish.

In the center part of the terminal, Audi has a display (or is it store), complete with a mountain you can drive up and down on.  They didn't seem to like my Ontario driver's license, so no test drive for me.  I tried to see if I could take it home, 'duty free', but that didn't work either.

It also looks like the internet is becoming more available here.  Even Starbucks has free Wifi.  Just last year you'd have to pay for it.

My train to Kitz isn't until 12:44pm local time (6:44am for those you back in snowy Toronto).  It is warm here... about 10c.  Not good if you are doing the largest ski race in the world.

While purchasing my train ticket, the agent seemed to have trouble with my credit card and kept re-swiping it.  Apparently she charged me 3 times for  my ticket, and then immediately apologized.  She said it was easier to just give me cash in return, so being half asleep, I said sure.  Then, I remembered some scam about this sort of transaction showing up on my visa as a cash advance, which would not be a good thing.  I will have to call Visa when I get to the Villa Mellon just to be sure.

The cost of Hydro (Power that is)

I have lots of things that just plug into the wall (or require batteries that require charging).   That means that they consume energy at some point, with the end result that it ends up on my Hydro bill.

Over the summer, I saw that my canoe trip partner, Barb, had a cool device that sits on her kitchen counter and gives her an instant reading on how much energy she is using at any time.  And, it shows it in dollars and cents if you like.  The geek in me knew that I JUST had to have one.   In the past, you had to run outside and  just see how fast the Power Meter wheel was spinning.  New Smart Meters don't have that of course.

After a bunch of internet research, I found something called a TED 5000 from the Energy Detective.  You can also read more on their web site on just why and how.   I mentioned this to my friend and owner Angelo at Radio World here in Toronto.  He thought they were pretty cool and decided to stock them in the store.  Even National Geographic thought this device was so important that they mentioned in one of their news articles.

I liked this one as it actually clipped on the hydro lines (the BIG lines) inside my breaker panel (which required a little advanced hookup --- most of my friends would do this on their own).   Others should call an electrician.  There are other units that work by clipping onto your power meter, but I learned that they were hit and miss if they actually worked.  Even Walmart sells one from Black and Decker.  You'll need to see if it is compatible with your Hydro meter.

The instructions were excellent and the unit worked right away.  After using a computer to program it with the rates from Power Stream, I could see that it costs about $0.15/hr to run the house at peak dinner time.   I did have to grab my Power Stream Hyrdo bill to see what my On-Peak, Mid-Peak and Off-Peak rates will be.    Off-Peak is about half of what On-Peak is.  This is why we now use the dryer after 9pm or before 7am.

Then, I turned on the Oven for a test.  Wow.  We are now at $0.54 per hour.  Just for fun, I turned the dryer on as well.  Now, we are up to over a $1/hr.    Now, I will be able to watch just how expensive it will be to do the Christmas Turkey.  Or, I could do it on the BBQ or deep fry it (don't knock it if if you haven't tried it). Of course, the model I got that allows me to watch it online from my iPad or just about any computer if I wish.

We are fortunate that our Hydro in Canada is so inexpensive and we do take it for granted, but it does help for us to all thing just a little greener (except when it comes to snow :)  ).

Now, I need to get it integrated into Google Power Meter.  

My return to Canoe tripping

This trip report was totally written on my iPad, just to see if I could do it.

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July 2010 Canoe Trip - French River - Hwy 69 to Wolsely Bay

July 8th, 2010

This is the first trip for me in over 30 years. After having a 1948 Peterborough Champlain canoe refinished, it did deserver to be taken on a real trip. That brings us to today. Barb Schering (McKenny), Ken Smith and his son Keagan join me on this trip. Barb used to trip with me when we were members of the Chippewa Outers Club at Chippewa Seconday School in North Bay, Ontario back in the 70's. Ken has been a very close friend since high school and was the person responsible for my love for Ham radio (and technology). If it has electrons moving in it, then we have likely played with it.

The canoe was refinished by Headwater Canoe in Buckhorn Ontario. Dick did an amazing job, and although Buttercup was yellow in a previous life, she is now the classic canoe red and she is beautiful. Yes, she is still canvas, and yes, she will get scratched, but she is designed to be paddled. The canoe is owned by the Philps family and Carolyn (my better half) allowed me to have it refinished.

On the Thursday night before we left, we met at Ken's house in North Bay. As I had never tripped with him, it is important to make sure you take what you need and try not to carry any duplicate items, especially in the kitchen department. Barb, who loves to cook, had prepared the menu and all the major meals for us. This really helps if you have bad weather or a long day.

July 9th, 2010

We met in Sturgeon Falls for breakfast at about 6:30 in the morning. Ken's wife Holly provided vehicle support. From there we travelled to the French River trading post, dropped off the canoes, packs, etc. and picked up our French River park passes. While Ken and Barb got organized, Holly and I headed back to the end point to drop off my car (Wolsely Bay). About an hour round trip, and I was back to the start with the rest of team.

There has been very little rain or snow in this part of Ontario since about October of 2009. Lake Nipissing is down over a meter and it drains into the French River. The French, which is part of the Voyageur canoe route, is down about 2 meters (depending who you ask).

One thing you learn about the French is that when you can, you paddle from West to East, which is upstream. The French is a deep river and has slow currents. The wind however, blows from the west and that can make for a very easy canoeing day (something that was reinforced in our late August 2010 trip--more on that later in another blog entry).

As we approached our lunch stop, I had just given Keagan a lecture on being careful, don't get hurt and try not to cut your feet). I was trying to keep my sandals dry as I got out of the canoe at lunch and immediately slipped on a rock and cut my foot. Not good, as I do need this feet for portages.

There is a lot of cottages in this part of the French, so you will find lots of boat traffic to deal with. However, there is no power in this part of the river, so lots of cottages (or camps as you call them if you are from Northern Ontario) have alternate sources of power. The wind was building from the west through the day and we watched many other canoe groups struggle westbound while we enjoyed a relaxed paddle to the east.

New to me for canoeing is a GPS (what a surprise). I get rolling detailed maps on my Garmin GPS76, and I can see how fast we are really moving. What I learned during the summer is that you can plan on an average of about 4kph from the time you leave your campsite and reach your next campsite. This takes into account lunch, wind and portages.

As we set up for our first night out, Ken caught a nice looking Pike (which he released). I guess no one wanted to clean it.

We had a great dinner of Beaf Stroganoff at about 5:30pm (thanks Barb). Even then, it was about 24C and the 15kph winds from the west helped to keep bugs away (if there was really any). We all retired to our tents about sunset. I was just about to call it a night, when I looked out and was able to see the tail end of a great sunset with Venus very bright in the western sky and a great reflection on the water. So, I ran out, got eaten alive by mosquitos and in about 30 seconds, captured a great night photo.

July 10, 2010

We crawled out of bed about 5:45 am to a wonderful sunrise and a breakfast of Oatmeal and Baegels. It was a lazy morning and we left the campsite about 8:30. About 20 minutes later, my left foot started to swell (this is the other foot from the cut). I suspect that something bit me (spider?), and it was getting worse and feeling weird. We pulled over to open the pack and Barb pulled out some Benadril. That seemed to really help and about an hour later, I never really noticed that I had a problem in the first place.  Lesson 2 why you have to protect your feet.

The last time I was at any of the rapids was over 30 years ago and since the water was so low, they looked very foreign to me. Some rapids didn't exist, some we were able to paddle up, some we were able to walk up and a some still required a portage.

Our next campsite was at Blue Chute, which still looked like Blue Chute. However, the Ladder part was dry which you can normally paddle right up to.

The campsite is on top of the island and comes with a great view. But, if you want water, you have to walk down about vertical 50ft with your containers and water filters (we use one of the MSR pumps and it works great). But be careful, they don't float if you drop it.

It took awhile, but at this point, we finally had no cell signal at all. This does now take us fully off the grid with no Faceboo, etc.  Life did not end at that point and we didn't fall off the world.  

Blueberries were ready to be picked and in a very short time, we had lots for meals and a pie (that apparently has not been made yet as the blueberries are sitting in Barb's freezer).

July 11, 2010

Holly was to meet us at Wolsely Bay about 3pm, which was not 'that' far away. We didn't have to rush off the campsite at all. It was another very hot day and with the wind out of the west again. Before lunch we had navigated the rest of the swifts, lifts and portages to end up on the same body of water as Wolsely Bay. We stopped for lunch about a 40 minute paddle from the pickup point. Here, you could also see just how low the water was. This was our first time we had a headwind to deal with at times, even though we hugged the west shore to keep out of the wind. Lots of cottages here and we passed many people just out floating in their water toys trying to keep cool.

It was great to get back on the water in this way after being off it for so long. If you are a camping type of person, and haven't done a canoe trip, find some time to go. It makes for much more enjoyable trip if you go with someone who had done it before. Remember, that when you are packing, to divide things into 3 piles. Essentials, nice to have, and luxury. Take all the essentials (toilet paper is a great example), none of the nice to have and 1 of the luxuries...you will have to carry it at some time.

The entire gallery is here.  Some (if not most) of the pictures have GPS data on them, so, if you click here, you can see where each picture is on google earth.

Last, but not least, many thanks for Carolyn for letting me escape for 3 days in the woods!  What would I do without her!

Customer Server --- My A**

Having worked in Customer Service most of my life (if not all).  From the guy who takes the calls, who visits customers, talks to CIO, CFO's, and manages guys who talk on the phone, I figure that gives me the right to complain once in a while.  After all, I do have the T-Shirt!  :)

Let's talk Telus.  Up until 2 weeks ago, I really liked Telus.  But, I had only used their data services (one for my air card and 1 for my iPad).  So, based on that, I decided to trash Bell Cellular and move to Telus for my phone service.  I got a great deal.  Almost twice the services I had before for about the same price (still the most expensive cellular plans of anywhere in the world).

And, after 10  years of using a Blackberry, I decided to jump to a Motorola Android Milestone.  After all, technology is my hobby, so why not.   This phone took some getting used to.  However it has some amazing features.  In a large number of cases it is leaps and bounds better than a Blackberry.

Until 2 weeks ago.  It started doing weird things.  First off, it doesn't have smart dialing.  (You blackberry guys know what that is--if you need to add 1 in front of your phone number it does it automatically).  Great if you have over 2000 phone numbers in your address book.

About 50% of the time, you can't seem to dial the number you want.  Even if the number is in memory.  You get a Telus message "8UT2 - the number can't be completed as dialed".  So, you try 8-10 times and it eventually goes through.

The final straw is it starts to play music on its own.  Nice at 3am.  :)

So, I call Telus (again).  They've never heard of this problem, yet a simple search shows hundreds reporting the problem in North America and the UK.  Telus transfers me to Motorola.  Guess what?  They've never heard of the problem either.

After 2 hours of being on the phone, the short story is that Telus/Motorola want me to send my phone in for repair?  Repair?  Just send me new software.  (Did I mention that Telus replaced this phone once.  It was to be 10 minute visit to the store, but some reason it took over 2 hours do the exchange).    Even Rogers is better than that!

To add insult to injury, I can't return it now or exchange it for a Blackberry unless they agree it is a Lemon.  To get that status, it has to be sent in at least 3 times.  You've got to be kidding!

Not to sound so negative, there is good out there.  If you've noticed that most of my pictures are GEOTAGed with GPS coordinates.  I have a special device attached to my Nikon D300 (essentially a GPS) from the great guys at Di-GPS.  It gets abused some (hence the reason I use nothing by Nikon).  Lately, the special 10 pin connector that plugs this into the camera has started to become intermittent.

After emailing Di-GPS in Hong Kong, I get an email back a few hours later.  CM tells me that if I can solder (can I solder??? Of course I can), that he will through a cable in the mail to me.  No charge!  My hats off to Dawn Technology.  Many thanks guys!

As an aside, I did squeeze in a 3 day canoe trip on the French River a few weeks back.  I owe a detailed update, which I will do shortly, but here are some pictures.  And you can see the GPS mapped pictures here.

French River

Just about to start a 3 day canoe trip. :)

Happy Canada Day

Today is Canada Day.  Today we get to celebrate yet another new Tax in Ontario.  Good thing it isn't Ontario Day!  :)

Like I wrote in a previous blog about a year ago, I will spend some parts of today working the Radio Amateurs of Canada Ham Radio Contest.  Yes, some of us call that fun.  To me, it is about the technology and how I get all these things to play well together.  For most hams, all their equipment is on the table(s) beside them.  For me, it is all far away.  That means I have to be able to control things via remote control.  For the most part, it works wonderfully.

For you technically inclined, this is what my computer screen view looks like:

You may want to click on the picture to see it clearly (or not).  :)

Have a happy Canada Day!

What a sad day to be a Canadian

Today is the G20 in Toronto. I'm someone who really isn't in to politics. I don't really agree with all the laws, taxes, etc., that are in place, but, I love my country, the true north strong and free. The G20 is an event that has to happen (I guess). But then, what why can't they just all use GoToMeeting? Certainly a lot less than the $1 Billion that was spent on this event. But you can't always fit city hall.

But, today, I am embarrassed to be a Canadian. Certainly, everyone has to have their say, and if you wan to protest, fine. And, for the most part, it seems that 99% of those protesting just want to be heard. However, the rest of the cowards out there that have to wear masks to push the envelope, and damage both public and private property can just get back on their bus and head to some far island. These can't be Canadians that have this sort of attitude, can they? (Wait, don't answer that).

My contribution to the G20 Summit was to NOT be around it. I spent the day at the cottage in the Kawarthas. It rained most of the day, but who cares. The skies cleared about dinner time, so after dinner, I jumped in my 1948 Peterborough canoe and had a very wonderful paddle over to some wet lands.

Not by accident, I had my Nikon D300 with me and the 300mm f2.8 lens. I was rewarded with some great shots of some loons and some serious close ups of the Ospreys. That, made me proud to be a Canadian. The Osprey was radio tagged (go figure, that I find the only animal round with a radio on him. Maybe he was working ARRL Field Day!).

As for those idiots and cowards, maybe that need to listen to "The Cherry Beach Express" by Pukka Orchestra.  52 Division must have had it right.

So, enjoy the pictures.  This is how you spend a Saturday being a Canadian!  More photos on my gallery.

RFID World and flying on the cheap

I spent the last few days at RFID World in Orlando, FL. We booked my tickets on cheapoair.com (not kidding) and drove to Buffalo to jump on the plane that was a LOT ceaper than anything flying out of Toronto. After all, I do work for a startup company. We were a little late getting to the airport, but I dropped my colleague off at the terminal while I parked. Over half the large lot was Ontario plates.  It was a very large parking lot.

Meeting up with MB in terminal, I find out he has already checked my bags under my name direct to Orlando on air-i-have-never-heard-of-this-airline-before (not free to check a bag-$25/bag). Wow, try that at YYZ. Flight time was in 20 minutes. MB apologizes for the middle seat as that is all that was left. Moving into my seat, I find out that it is a middle seat, but an exit row seat. Not bad, eh? Again, try that at Air Canada.

Now, MB is the king of doing everything cheap, or it is all about the deal. He books hotels on Priceline (www.priceline.com). So, I never really know what to expect every time I travel with him. For $60 US he scored us a place in Orlando near (more like IN), the Florida mall. I was really glad the GPS brought us to within a mile of the hotel as it was listed as the mall address.  It still took us about 30 minutes to find the 12 story hotel, and yes, even though we are guys, we did call the hotel for directions.  Turns out this is a 4 or 5 star place. The room as large and the bed was a huge large king size.  $60/room.  Check out the web site.  Did I mention it was $60/night?

RFID World was petty cool with just about every gadget to track you or your things down to the last meter no matter where you are on this planet. Some RFID tags are so small, you will never know you have one on you (attached to those new clothes you just bought as an example).

We also visited a supplier that deals with moving chips of silicon wafers and installs them where ever you need them. Some discussions got to the point that we were using measurements down to 250 nanometers.


One other supplier we met with was JD Teck.  JD Teck builds some really neat cell phone boosters to improve you cellular coverage at the cottage or in your basement as an example.  We use their products for some of our commercial products.  A very well run organization.

The flight home on Saturday was on Jet Blue.  Again, booked on CheapOAir, this time with a stop in JFK on the way home.  Just after checking in (you CAN check in online, but it costs $25 to do that...no kidding) and dropping our bags, I notice that there is a direct flight to YYZ leaving in 3 hours.  We find out that we can move to that flight for no charge, if we go standby.  Turns out the flight is half empty as well.  We make the change.

Get this....after making the change, we are told our bags will go on to JFK.  What happened to the fact that the bags have to go with the passenger??

Once on the direct flight to YYZ (which Jet Blue just about messed up on us by somehow forgetting us even though we do have a standby boarding pass), we are sitting just in front of the exit row in the seats that don't recline.  These are the worst seats on any plane.  There are 2 free seats in the exit row behind us.  The door closes on the plane and MB and I jump into the exit row.

Wait... not so fast.  As the plane starts to taxi, the stewardess confronts us and says we can sit there, but for $25 more each.  WTF???  Who every heard of that.  She almost makes us move while the plane is taxiing.  After take off, we move to the empty back of the plane.

Sure enough, after getting to Buffalo, where it is almost snowing, we find out our bags did go the JFK route and do show up an hour later.  MB's warm clothes are in his luggage.  I had a jacket with me.

LP sent me a link to some of the coolest pictures I have seen (and I've seen a lot of pictures). Look at the massive ash emission from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption late in the evening.  Make sure you spend a few moments paging through them.  Many thanks to http://www.swisseduc.ch/stromboli/about/index-en.html for posting them.

Mountain Biking - OK, that is a stretch

Mountain Bike in Lvingstone Park

Not really a mountain bike ride, other that I did it on my mountain bike (Trek Flue EX6). However, just meters from my house, I can get into some real trails that run for about 3k. It crosses some very sloppy low lands, has some climbs, jumps and fast (short) downhill sections.

At least I can get out in 10 minutes for about an hour or so.

More spectators than Lake Louise

Last night was the qualifying runs. It is the evening that TV gets to work out its bugs (as does timing and data). Alphasports TV has to perform. We get to pull out all the equipment that we have begged, borrowed or stole (ok, borrowed... Many thanks to Precision Sports Timing as well).

Radar is one of the technologies that should be so simple, but often isn't. It is still a black art. The particular radar gun we use now 'should' send out only the data we want (the max peak speed). However, it doesn't work correctly. After talking to the vendor, they claimed that it 'sort of' works. No kidding. Many thanks to Ken Smith in North Bay, ON who created a magic box that captures the radar data and cleans it up. Without that happening, the radar graphic on TV would be a mess.

On the CBC show tonight, you might get to see some of the trial runs. It now looks like it doesn't come on until 12:40 AM (Sunday morning - Saturday night). You can watch it live on the internet (streaming) on CBC Sports or on CBC 4 (there is a CBC 4??). That may also be known as CBC Bold. Something I am sure you have to pay for if you don't have it already.

Tonight is an elimination night. Every goes in fours. You will see different bib colours on each racer and fastest to the bottom wins. Watch for the Austrian with the coloured Red mustache.

New pictures have been uploaded to my web site.

Almost Winter and the training starts

Friday dawned with a training run at 7am. The first trip out at 6am proved that it was much colder than I thought. Back to the room. Gortex rain pants, Sypder Shell and the North Face jacket. Glad I did that as standing on the start ramp right by the Chateau Frontenac was about the same as standing at the start at Lake Louise. (Ok, not THAT bad, but you get the idea). The wind was howling off the river from the east. Still above zero, but not warm like the other days.

Training was entertaining, if you were a spectator. Many did not make it 20 feet before sliding down on their butts. Others crashed hard into the right turn near the bottom. That is the very steep part that has a 'compression' at the bottom followed by an immediate right turn. Many hit the wall very very hard. Also, it looked like that wall took some damage, as I saw the crews rebuilding it and strengthening it.

The attached video is from the start of the media race earlier today. There are 2 small jumps on the ramp down. That seems to do in about 1/2 the people. If you don't make it over those jumps, you don't make it up the ramp at the bottom. A fair number of media types did spend a bit of time figuring how to climb up that hill.

I did keep looking or Rick Mercer to be in this. Haven't seen him yet.

Just like any sports event, more and more people start to show up who apparently know more about everything. This event is no different.

Yesterday, we got most of the core items in place. Today, my goal was to spend the morning working on the start. I had hoped to get the start eyes connected as well as seeing the start gates. As I jumped over the security gate, I immediately got stopped by security. Fortunately, Richard spoke English and explained we were not allowed on the ice at all. Well, there goes my morning. Hopefully tonight.

I have uploaded some pictures (just click here for those of you internet challenged). Keep that link handy as I will add photos as the days go on.

Tonight will be the crash test dummy test (about 8pm). Tomorrow is training runs and then on Saturday morning will be the time trials.

Crashed Ice - Quebec City

So, another escape from my full time job. The boys in RFID land have allowed me the pleasure to head to Quebec City for the Red Bull Crashed Ice bonanza. Or, maybe they didn't notice as they are on a cruise in the Caribbean. You can watch the short video for an idea on the insanity. 100,000 people show up to watch this. I didn't know you could fit that many people in old Quebec.

I'm going to find out what happened to this class action law suit. One guy doesn't like it as it takes 5 weeks to set up and a few weeks to take down. However, it does bring over $11M to the city. That is hard to ignore. If Quebec City didn't want it, then there are many other cities that would love it. Montreal included. Maybe we could do it in Toronto off the Bloor viaduct!

Many thanks to CBC for the image. It is to be aired at 11:40pm on Saturday night.

Jimmy and I are there, working for Alphasports TV (aka: Andy). As timing gigs go, it is pretty simple (compared to a World Cup downhill race).

Today was a civilized travel day. My sister picks me up and drives me over to the train station in Oshawa. Arrive 30 minutes early, pick up your ticket, get back in the car for a trip to Tim's and back 10 minutes before the train arrives. No security check. I don't need to worry that my bottle of contact lens cleaner is greater than 100ml. You get the picture.

And, you get internet. However, it is best you bring your own. You can plug in your laptop as soon as you sit down, stretch out your legs and plug in your HSBA Telus air card. Now, I have as much internet as I have at home. Very nice.