Well as I began using the Windows Vista SP1 update and putting it through its paces on my laptop. Some major concerns have come up which have now caused me to uninstall the service pack and wait till Microsoft gets it right before I install it again.

Problems:

I predominantly use Firefox as my browser but after installing SP1 Firefox began hanging when loading pages, especially during tabbed browsing sessions. I tried to recreate this problem in IE7 but I could not recreate the problem. The router and modem are working fine and tested well on other computers in the network. After uninstalling add-ons and trying an upgrade to Beta 5 of firefox I still found the same problems occurring. Therefore I concluded that this is a conflict between Firefox and SP1, where does the blame lie? I would put the blame on Microsoft myself considering that Firefox was working fine before the update.

When shutting down the laptop the system would hang at “Shutting Down” at one point I left the system to see how long it would hang but after 45mins I decided it was time to hit the power button. After fixing some registry entries the main one being this:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control] On the right panel look for the “WaitToKillServiceTimeout” string and change it value to 5000 by right clicking the string and selecting Modify…

Default Value WaitToKillServiceTimeout=20000

Modified value WaitToKillServiceTimeout=5000

This sped up the shutdown time a little but it would still hang on some shutdowns. With these to issues I have had enough of SP1, a service pack is supposed to enhance the usability of a system not cripple regularly used programs. At this time I am going to wait until the update is available through windows update. [NOTE] On my x64 VIsta system in the office I have not seen these problems, all though on that machine the update came through windows update. The x64 system is also a desktop and built with newer components.

Thats it for now, I patiently await a REAL service pack from Microsoft for Vista.

Posted in Computers, Reviews | No Comments »

Well I keep saying that the new method of raising our children, allowing them to experience EVERYTHING for themselves and not making them face consequences for their actions at a younger age is leading to out of control teenagers. Stories like this prove me right. This lazy method of parenting leads to socially corrupt little criminals like the girls in Florida beating a fellow student to near death for 30 mins after ambushing her.

Kids that are not raised with discipline, structure and consequence do not have the ability to understand right from wrong at the age where temptation and peer pressure is at it’s highest. The parents of these girls in Florida just don’t have a clue about raising kids. You let your kids do what they want so that you don’t have to do any work and when they go out and behave like criminals, you stand behind them and blame everyone except the people responsible YOU.

The parents of the kids that did the beating should be held partially responsible and made to pay the hospital and recovery expenses for the family of the poor girl that was beaten. You people make me sick, asking for protection from the angry public. The spoiled little miscreants you raised should be punished to the full extent of the law and you as parents should be investigated as to how you raised your children. One of the mothers of the CRIMINALS actually said the girl who got beaten “had it coming”. To you I respond ,when you get mugged and raped in an ally you sick twisted wretch I will sit back and say “YOU HAD IT COMING”.

Yes this is one of my most explicit and emotional posts because a man in Victoria was killed a couple of years ago by the same behavior. Yet when I am speaking sternly to my daughter so that she understands that her behavior in public is unacceptable I get evil eyes from other parents, who’s kids are running rampant in the store completely out of control. One afternoon my then pregnant wife was disciplining one of my daughters for having loud outbursts in public when some women in her SUV blocked her in and began to berate her about poor parenting. This woman then got back in her SUV where her pregnant teenage daughter was waiting. This is the kind of parenting that leads to events like what happened in Florida.

When is the world going to learn that kids need to be raised using love, discipline, consequence and YES the odd spanking when its required. I am in my 30’s and I was spanked as a child when I got out of hand, I had strict rules and discipline, suffering consequences for my actions. WOW I’m not in jail and nor are any of the friends that I had growing up raised the same way as me. None of them beat anyone to near death and all are contributing members in society. Well that says something for the NEW methodology of raising children. IT IS NOT WORKING!!!!

Well thats m y Rant on this topic. I hope other parents out there will see this and take a look into how you are raising your kids. Do you know what they are up to? Do you know their friends? Have you talked to their teachers about their behavior at school? If your kids are out of line then discipline is in order. I am not an advocate for beating your children and my kids have never and will never be beaten. A spanked bottom is not a way to hurt your child it is embarrassing and a bit of a shock. It does however instill the understanding that bad behavior comes with a negative consequence. Those lessons are ingrained into memory and sub conscious for later years when it is drawn upon during right or wrong situations where decision is required.

For more information on the beating follow this link:
http://www.local6.com/news/15843904/detail.html

Posted in Rants & Thoughts | 2 Comments »

Well its here and ready to install, Windows Vista SP1. I grabbed the install from the downloads because its not available for Windows Update until April18, 2008.

The Review
This install took approximately a 1/2 Hr. and was uneventful, this installation was on my Fujitsu 6025 Lifebook. Reboot worked without out fail and there it was. Some of the first things that I noticed was that the delay in file transfer estimation was gone as I transferred some large files from one partition to another. The file transfer rate on the 5400RPM laptop drive was approx. 5-6MB/Sec but the update bar is more consistent than it is in the non SP1 setup.

When using FireFox and trying to open html links from within applications like Mail there is an error that pops up saying that the page cannot be found but then FireFox loads the page anyway. It is more of a minor inconvenience than a major problem. There is a driver compatibility problem with SP1 and the Fujitsu shock sensor. A quick check on the Fujitsu site netted me an updated driver that seems to be working properly.

I am still finding that the network detection tools are still weak, often when clicking network my router is not in the list so to log-in to the router I have to go in via http. Other times the router appears and the standard Right Click>View Device Web-page is available. Network access is quicker when navigating through shared folder on the XP machine in the network.

Display adapters
There was supposed to be fixes in this Service Pack for display adapters running multiple displays from a notebook. I have not yet seen the fix I was looking for, when I plug my plasma T.V. into the laptop via VGA I can use it as a second monitor but when I unplug it from the laptop the task/start menu bar goes invisible with a thin outline of where it is supposed to be. In order to get it back I have to stop the dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) from the task manager and let it restart the service for the start menu to appear again. Still no fix for this error in the new SP1.

So far I have seen one of the fixes that I was looking for in HDD file transfer and Network access but other than that there is not much of a change to the general functionality of Vista.

Well that is my first glance, I will make updates to the post as I delve into the update a little more.

Posted in Computers, Reviews | No Comments »

OMG the morons in the oil industry are at it again, gouging us to DEATH at the pumps. As prices creep up past $1.20/L here in Victoria I question why we the general population tolerate this idiotic money grab from the oil companies.

Really people we are the consumers NOT sheep, if all of a sudden for a few days the majority of the population just decided not to drive to work and ALL of those that could find alternate transportation DID then we would be taking control of our own destinies when it came to oil prices.

The extremely stuffed pockets of the thieves in the oil company board rooms are laughing all the way to the bank because they look at us a flock of sheep and they push us to the limits when it comes to what we pay for gas. Seriously they are like 3 year old kids that push and push to see how far they can get before mom and dad SNAP.

Imagine the control we the consumers would have if for one week we ALL carpooled, took the bus, rode a bike or just found another way to get to work or school. That would lower the amount of gasoline used by approx. 1/4 for 1 week, that would be a HUGE dent in the profits of the oil companies for that week and they would be forced to try and get our business again and get us driving. Well the only way to get us back in our cars and going out driving is to make it affordable again. It’s just like interest rates folks the lower the interest rate the more we borrow.

Yes there have been chain emails out there telling you not to buy gas from the big three but thats not going to really help. Reducing the fuel usage by a large percentage would really hurt them. For us really whats the hardship? For those that car pool you can have some interesting conversation with fellow co-workers you might not have had conversations with other wise. For those of us that would take the bus, subway, train we would be able to catch up on some reading or studying etc.

It would not be that big of a hardship would it really, the statement made would give the power back to the people and the big corporations that we are not sheep that can be controlled and brainwashed into thinking that 1.20/L is an acceptable amount to pay for gasoline.

Well that is my 2 cents on gas prices. I remember when I used to pay $0.47/L and that was only 13 years ago are you trying to tell me that inflation rates have forced gasoline up by over 250%. I am going to do a little more research tonight and I will make an addition to this post with the prices of crude oil in the mid 90’s compared to now. WHY ARE WE ALL WAITING FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN WHEN WE ARE CAPABLE OF TAKING CONTROL OF THE PUMPS OURSELVES?

Feel free to comment away.

Posted in Personal | No Comments »

Well its birthday time again! Another year has passed and what a year it has been 2007 was one crazy time, quitting my day job to run my multimedia company full-time. Was the largest step last year, a complete overhaul and conversion of this site to what you see today, SO many client sites and projects this year it was hard to keep track of them all.

For 2008 I plan to continue this blog as well as launching some more targeted blogs in the realm of Golf, Tech Support and Reviews, and working on some passive income channels with other companies. Partnerships, business ventures well you know the routine. Client work is still going strong and I think I will maintain that aspect of the company but farm out more of the work instead of doing it all my self.

I want to thank everyone who is visiting the site and reading my news and rants. Today is a day for rest and maybe a round of golf. I’m sure I will come up with something to rant about tomorrow or maybe i’ll switch it up and go with some advice well see.

M.P.C Out

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I found this ten signs that your job is in jeopardy list on DIGG with an interesting description with it. When reading it some past memories were triggered from when I was able to read these signs in a corrupt organization that I was working for. Most people know this company as Future Shop, to me it is the hell that drained 7 years of my life from me. During my time in this corrupt organization my morals and values where tested on a daily basis when asked to do do things and manipulate systems that went against my own personal values.

By refusing to manipulate numbers and stab my team members in the back I was black flagged as a non conformist by individuals in the company. The greatest part of it all was I could read all these idiots like open books, each time I sensed a plan going into place to remove me from the company I threw a wrench into those plans. See I never stole anything, I never did anything against the company, my performance was not sub par by any stretch of the imagination so the company had no real way to “get rid of me” without a major court case on their hands. The fact that I had incriminating evidence of activities that went against company policies by all the parties in the store that where trying to get rid of me because I did not conform to their corrupt natures.

The store I had been in for 6 years changed store managers, the replacement manager was 1/2 the human being and 1/2 manager of the previous store manager. In capable of running a store without favoritism to people of his own race and manipulating systems to benefit his own store numbers. This corrupt human being made up lies and stories about me trying to discredit my reputation and set me up for the fall. After being not so discretely investigated by the head of loss prevention (nice try guys you people are such morons, you can’t even see that I am incapable of stealing from the place that employs me), guess what nothing turned up. Well if there is nothing to turn up nothing will turn up.

At this point I was not ready to leave the company so I put in a request for a store transfer to another location so as to be out of this poisoned work environment. For a couple of months I was strung along until finally my corrupt store manager called me into the office to tell me that my transfer was denied. To shorten this part of the story I made some calls up the corporate ladder and my transfer was approved one week later. Funny how that works isn’t it.

At this point I was done with this company, once bitten twice shy, so I prepared my exit plan. 1 year was all i needed free from the constant back stabbing and abuse I was receiving from my previous store. Off to the new store I went, in a matter of 11 months I produced 3 times the profit that the previous sales manager had produced in the year before. Then some things in my life aligned, the plan was coming to its completion and I walked in one day and handed the store manager my 2 weeks notice. The most gratifying experience of my 7 year career at Future Shop was leaving on a high note with people questioning why? What happened? These idiotic tunnel visioned simple minded cretins lose more quality staff because they are a corrupt, racist and really don’t care about the people that are really making a difference in their really small world.

Well thats my story, there is far more details and documents to back the story up if anyone finds it too hard to believe. Some may ask why not call HR, HAHA I did call HR they are the ones that started the investigation based on the lies from my racist store manager. (This is a case of reverse racism by the way, I am white).

For signs to look for that you are on your way out Read Full Post >>

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The ever futile power struggle between men and women continues. We have countless lists of women’s rules for men. Like usual they change with the weather, don’t make much sense, and are frankly irrational most of the time. Seriously folks these lists are hilarious and they lighten the days when you get them in your email. However to all the women out there just because an email list says that women act this way it is not an excuse to ACTUALLY DO IT!.

The feud continues as it has for centuries with neither party understanding the other but still feeling a magnetic attraction to each other so they can enter into a life of slavery and never ending battles.

To the men out there we really do ask for it sometimes, I have forever been trying to figure out why men get married or play the game of golf. And for the record I am an avid golfer and have been married for 10 years.

Marriage:
Why do we meet a wonderful girl, have intense physical attraction, enjoy eachothers company and make some pretty awesome memories. Everything is amazing you are happy, she is happy the stars and planets are aligned, things could not be any better. The sex is great, few fights which usually end in make up sex. It’s a perfect union of two complete opposites,MEN and Woman.

Then it happens at some point knowing that everything will change ESPECIALLY our amazing woman, we go out, buy a ring and propose. Knowing full well that women marry men with the intent to change them, and men marry women hoping they dont change and they do. After the wedding there is a short period of bliss and then it begins. The car you had so many fond memories in with together is no longer condusive to a married man and she hates it. The pleading statements “But you always told me you loved my car!” are no help remember the woman in front of you now is not the same one you asked to marry you. Fights end in sleeping on the couch or 3 days of uncomfortable silence and strange looks from across the kitchen.And if you think that all the crazy wild sex you had in the past is going to continue you are sorely mistaken boys IT’s OVER!!!

WHY DO WE WILLINGLY PUT OUR SELVES INTO THIS POSITION! Well to all the women out there I received a great email from my wife that is a simple list of rules of men. Really its simple common sense stuff not so much rules but a guideline for peace and seriously the best way to get the most our of your man! PLEASE ALL WOMEN READ THIS!

Golf:
Just like marriage we fall in love with a game that is destined to put us in an early grave or at best drive us to the brink of insanity. We stand in a HUGE field and try to hit a litte ball with peice of metal on the end of a long stick. Just looking at the physics of what we are doing it’t HARD AS HELL! Then when we don’t defy the odds and make a bad shot we beat ourselves up about it. But week after week we return to the course and bet with our playing partners. The difference with golf though is no matter what happens on the course there is a Beer and a Hot Dog waiting on the ninth hole and we are actually outside getting exercise at the same time.

I GUESS US MEN ARE JUST GLUTTONS FOR PUNISHMENT!

Posted in Humour & Jokes, My Golf stuff, Personal, Rants & Thoughts, Why & How | No Comments »

To my readers today was an upsetting day and I really don’t have anything of interest to discuss. I received a call today from a very close friend who lives on the other side of the country. He was diagnosed with cancer, being a mere 30 years old and he has cancer. I know it does not have to be a death sentence anymore and some cancers are beatable but it scary when someone close to you and as young as you is diagnosed.

The rest of my day was spent in contemplation of what I can do to help him and his wife. He is a VERY strong and kind person and I believe he can beat this as long as he keeps believing. When cancer hits this close to home it hits you harder than you can think. I am not a religious person so praying does me know good. All the praying in the world will not change the things that happen, if we really want to make a difference then HELP or DONATE to the organizations that treat these horrible diseases.

The more time and money we put into actual science and research to learn how to beat these diseases the better chance we have of developing a cure. The golf tournament proceeds that I sponsored and played in yesterday were donated to the cancer society, that is how you make a difference and support those that really do need it.

http://www.cancer.ca
http://www.beatcancer.org/

Posted in Personal | No Comments »

What is going on in todays business world? Where has customer service gone? There is no such thing as calling up a company providing you a service that you pay for and have them correct a problem or accept responsibility for a mistake on their part. If you haven’t seen my post on the poor service from my previous web hosting company please read and you will understand why I am tired of dealing with companies that don’t care about customer service.

The latest experience in with my cellphone provider Bell Canada. For the last 3 months my bill has gone up by $20 because the company dropped one of my promotional codes 3/4 of the way through my contract with them. For two months I contacted customer service and was promised that it would be corrected on the next bill (all be it after a lengthy hold and the most annoying automated answering system). The second month there was no correction made for the over payment the previous month, I called and was told my next bill would be $20 less than normal as there would be a correction from the previous month.

The next bill comes and its $60 higher than what it was supposed to be so as you can imagine I was extremely irritated when I called Bell’s customer service. The rep I ended up speaking with looked into the over charge and guess what my 750 minute plan had been dropped to 350 mins. Keep in mind I have a 2YR contract with this company and they can’t even keep the contract accurate through the term. After about 20 mins the minutes are corrected and the extra charges are removed from the bill. Then it comes to the missing credit from the previous billing error. The rep could not even figure out the math for three months of bills even with me walking him through it over the phone. There was a $20 credit that was never applied to my bill. Seems pretty simple well not for this customer service rep is was not.

After another 30-45mins of arguing with this idiot he finally admits that yes I was over charged and the credit was never applied back to my bill and gets my bill corrected for me. Thank god my contract expires in august and we now have number portability because you can be damn sure I will not be continuing with this Bell.ca for my cellphone service.

Ive lost all faith in the service industry, I am a business owner that provides many services and I ALWAYS deal with problems right away, respond to clients and answer calls. When I was a sales manager for a big box retail store I did everything possible to make sure all customers left the store happy no matter what the original problem was. I am still waiting for a company to reinstall some faith in the customer service industry.

That is my rant for the day guess I should expect this from the same company that is throttling its internet service and trying to control what it’s users do on the net. Check out this complaint letter template you can use to get some revenge on the service company if things don’t get worked out in the end.

Posted in Personal, Rants & Thoughts | 1 Comment »

Thanks again to Craig Walters Realestate a client of mine for the invite to sponsor the Old timers hockey Golf Tournament again this year. This year it worked out so that I was able to play in the best ball/scramble at Cedar Hill Golf Course.

These scrambles are always a lot of fun, my team was a pretty solid group of players and we had a great strategy going into the first hole of the round. This strategy and some fantastic golf shots netted us a T1(tie for first) with a score of -10 on a par 67 course.

The Cedar hill cooks had an amazing buffet lunch with some Grade A steaks, taters, mushrooms and all the trimmings. The food was fantastic, the weather turned out wonderful, great golf and tonnes of fun.

I look forward to next years tournament.

Posted in My Golf stuff, Personal | No Comments »