What I learned Today

Kijiji Deals,Redflag Deals Potential Ripoff ? of the day.

2012-02-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

Just recently, I bumped into a few "Deals of the Day" discount opportunities for a store I regularly buy products from.

The Deal was for 50% off. In one instance $15 for $30 and in the other $12 for $25...

I am never one to let a good deal go by, especially 50% off for a store I regularly shop from on-line...

I browsed the rules and regulations before purchase, just to know what I was getting into....

Terms and Conditions

Limit of 2 vouchers per person and an additional 2 may be purchased as gifts
Only 1 voucher may be used per order
Redeem online
A $4.95 shipping fee applies
Free shipping on orders $50 or more after discount
Offer does not apply to OEM or ON SALE products
Voucher expires June 11, 2012
See the details that apply to all offers

Looked standard enough....

All looked good.... I bought 2 vouchers...One from Red Flag Deals, the other from Kijiji deals....About a month later, the time to purchase rolled around.

I purchased products on 2 separate occasions, applying the vouchers accordingly. For each voucher applied I would see a pop up letting me know the unused amount against the voucher when the voucher was applied.

I after completing the purchases I went to my account to review my outstanding credits, only to find none available....!

What! That can't be...I said to myself....

Going back to review the terms and conditions again, there was a link to Global Terms.....
In this link it said.....

Global Terms

These terms apply to all our Deals unless a specific deal's details are different:
Cannot be combined with any other offer.
Does not include taxes or gratuity. Click here for more information.
Voucher has no cash value or cash back.
Entire voucher must be used in one visit.
Vouchers are non-transferable
Only valid for name printed on voucher
Sale, trade or duplication of voucher is prohibited

Yup, there was that killer, Rip-off line....
Entire voucher must be used in one Visit....

I am sure I read this when I purchased the coupons, as I am a stickler for details. But alas my memory sometimes gets the better of me...and let me down this time....

So, yet once again the devil is in the details.....
Now, I don`t want to pick on Just Redflag Deals, or Kijiji Deals for that matter...

This spurred me to review the details for Groupon and SwarmJam....

Same clause...

So first time buyers beware, these deals, unless applied in one single purchase can be too good to be true...

The devil is in the details....(Terms and Conditions)

Earthquake Insurance in Canada

2012-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

What you need to know....

What is covered ?

Fire, Wind, and Explosive damage as a result of an Earthquake are covered under all policies.

What is not Covered ?

Something called shake damage. This is damage resulting from the shaking of a building that can cause a building to collapse..

A Special option must be selected on your policy to protect against Shake Damage.
It ALWAYS has a DEDUCTABLE that is different from your main policy.

It will be one of the following 10%, 5%, or 4% of the total (Summed) amount of all the insurance claimable on your policy....I.E. If your house is covered for 400,000 and your internal valuables are insured for $200,000 then the deductible will be a percentage of the $600,000 total....OUCH !!

What are the ODDS that you will have an earthquake and how big will it be..... ?

You can enter your Lat and Long into this NRC Web Site....

Hazard Calculator

Select the .2 SA Option as this is the frequency that most affects a 1 or 2 story home....

It will provide you with what the Building Code Standard is for the Potential Size of a 2% chance in 50 Year Earthquake.....WOW What the hell does that mean......

In effect the .2 SA # is the # of Gs you can expect to see on one of those rare Earthquakes for your area....

If you want to compare it with a high risk zone compare it to Richmond, Fraser Delta in Vancouver...It has the highest Risk in Canada at this time..

If you want to see how large previous earthquakes have been in the past 350 years....

Important Canadian Earthquakes

Anything higher than a 5, means you can expect to see increasing damage in the local area (Starting with Brick Chimney Damage 80% ), its only when you get to sizes of 7 and 7.5 where we are talking the size seen in Haiti etc....

Areas in Canada that have a significant chance of major damage (Total) for homes are

Charlevoix-Kamouraska Region 1663

Cascadia Subduction Zone

Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland

and any other identified on the map 7 or higher....

For those regions it is worthwhile to get Earthquake insurance as a option in my opinion.

Now if you can deal with reading more detailed data on how insurance companies determine the potential damages and how much money they need to keep reads this

Earthquake Exposure Sound Practices
Office of the Superintendent Bureau du surintendant
of Financial Institutions Canada des institutions financières Canada

The easiest way to determine your potential Damages for your area is to use the Default Loss Estimate Factors that can be found in the appendix, and use your local Postal Code (BC and Quebec) in Canada....

What is important to understand is that the money estimated in this document is calculated as the losses that the insurance company will be responsible to pay out (Above the deductible limit)

For Example in the Montreal region the PLM is 3.11 %
This means that the insurance company would be estimated to be required to pay out 3% of your policy value (Average) to cover the damages to a claim resulting from the largest 250 year event caused by shaking. Keep in mind your deductible is 5%

So that means that the damage that could be estimated on average for a 250 year event would be about equivalent to 8% of the value of your home.....In reality it could mean a total loss of 8% of the homes in that area (and No other homes damaged significantly)

In Quebec depending on the region, the values range from 5% to 15% (Highest Risk Regions) and in BC from about 5% TO 30%.

Problems with Canada's Earthquake insurance system....

The Fraser institute did a wonderful study detailing many of the shortcomings of the current Canadian system of insurance.

preventing-disaster-after-a-disaster

Insurance Premiums

I contacted 5 companies and asked for their Costs for Earthquake insurance for the same house and same location.

The Lowest cost was $92 for a 5 % deductible
The Highest deductible was $261 for a 10% deductible
The Highest cost was $ 446 for a 4% deductible

So if you feel you need Earthquake insurance, and can not sleep at night without it, make sure you shop around as the rates are all over the place...

Bottom Line

Review all the sites/link posted, review for your area, and make a "Judgement Call" that you can live with. If you are in a high risk zone be on the safe side if you can afford to purchase the insurance.

Also, remember if there is a BIG ONE and you lose everything and have insurance, the deductible is significant and you can expect not to be able to recoup your entire investment in you home.

Note: I am not a scientist,statistical analyst, or insurance expert, so consult an appropriately qualified specialist before making your decision. I take no responsibility for any decision you may make as a result of this document or my personal recommendations made herein. This Blog is for informational purposes only, and represents the personal options of myself, and should be taken as only one small part (If at all) in any decision you choose to make in this regard.

Roomba Affiliate Program

2010-01-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

Effective today I am an affiliate for Roomba Vacuum Products.

By selecting the links above you will receive 10% off all i-robot products until the end of January. In addtion you will also receive free shiping for all orders over $59.00 U.S.

Why am I supporting a product such as Roomba you ask ?

For those of you that know me, I am extreemly leery about any product and I perform considerable due dilligence before taking a step forward. This has been the case and continues to be the case. Nothing has changed...

I am supporting Roomba at this time as it is a mature product, & extraorinarily designed for the task at hand. i-Robot, the manufacturer of Roomba is now in its 5th generation of builing these product and has sold millions worldwide.

Many itterations have been designed and the limitations of previous design(s), as well as its weakest link (Humans) have been taken into consideration with their latest 500 series products.

It has also been designed to be home maintained and virtually all parts likely to wear out have been specifically designed in a modular fashion to be easily changed by the home owner.Parts an be purchased directly from i-robot for ongoing support past the 1 year warranty stage.

It does require ongoing maintenance, and if you want to get the best possible life out of the unit and minimize wear, you need to clean the unit after EACH use. You must be meticulous in cleaning the hair that tends to tangle around the "bushings" as this can casue undue wear and heat build-up if not cleaned properly.

This is no longer just a toy to be shown to your friends, but a fully functional, intelligent robot specifically designed to work in virtually any home layout.

It's limitations are it doesn't do stairs, shag carpet, and its best to pick up your drop rugs (Just link you do for regular vacuuming)before using the roomba.

The Roombas come in many flavours to suit all families and their needs....

The lowest cost Roomba the 510 series has a smaller batery capacity than the larger models providing about 1 hours use on a charge. About enough to cover 2 rooms.. It does not have an auto dock feature, so it is your responsibility to pick it up after its finshed its job and plug it back in to recharge the batteries. It also doesn't support lighthouse technologies (Effectivley a device to separate your home into rooms that can be vacuumed one after the other)so this means you have to take it to each room to clean separately and use a "Virtual Wall" (Included) to keep it in that room until cleaning has finished...There is also no scheduling option availalbe for the 510 series so you have to push the start button yourself....

The 530 series is the same as the 510 series with these additional functions...
Self Chargeing Dock Support
Bigger Battery (Up to 3 rooms)

The 560 series is the same as the 530 series with these additional functions...
Scheduling Supported
Bigger Battery (Up to 4 rooms)

The 570 series is the same as the 560 series with these additional functions...
Room to Room Navigation...(Supports Lighthouses)

In addition to the above Roomba has designed a Pet Series of models specifically for Pet Owners...

The 532 and 562 series.....

Specially designed for these models Roomba has added a different brush (Easy Clean), and has also added a High Capacity Bin for Pet hair.... It replaces the lower capacity Vacuum bin....

Of Special Note: The high capacity Bin does not have a motor like the smaller bin normally used to pick up small particles.

If you want all the functions of the 570 and the extra cleaning option for the pet series you can purchase the easy clean brush and High capacity bin separately to upgrade your 570 to have the same additional features as the pet series.

FREE Photo Stitching Software (Panorama)

2009-04-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well, for years I have been workingwith various programs to stitch photo's together, and have had many hours lost with merging and color matching photo's.

Stop, right now and download this free program for your PC.

Hugin

Hugin is an opensource graphical user interface (GUI) for Panorama tools.

Its absolutely fantastic and absolutely free....

No more looking for 'Control Points" on your photos to match them up....

THIS PROGRAM DOES IT AUTOMATICALLY....

No More Exposure matching

THIS PROGRAM DOES IT AUTOMATICALLY....

No More adjustments to me made for the Camera and Lens

THIS PROGRAM DOES IT AUTOMATICALLY....

Details

Like other GUI front-ends, hugin provides an easy-to-use unified point-and-click interface to a whole range of other command-line tools including:

autopano-sift, autopano-sift-C, panomatic or autopano for automatic creation of control points.
nona for remapping input images and rendering output images.

enblend and enfuse for seamless blending of output images.

The Hugin project's mission is not only to provide a powerful GUI, but also to provide opensource replacements for the small number of closed source components of Panorama tools, especially PTStitcher.

A PTStitcher replacement, called nona has been developed, supporting its most important features.

Among the many flexible Hugin workflow options, it is possible to correct exposure, Vignetting and White balance between photos; generate HDR or exposure blended output from bracketed photos; or use 16bit and HDR input data natively.

Supported operating systems

Windows
Linux and Unix
Mac OS X

Retrieved from "http://wiki.panotools.org/Hugin"

Plastic Logic Electronic-Reading Device

2009-01-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

We have all heard of kindle but now here is something really special.

The plastic reader uses wi-fi to download files.
The battery lasts for days...
It will support DRM media types

Is 8.5x11 inches !

Available Mid 2009 (Limited) 2010 main release.....

Check out the video at Plastic Logic Web Site

FAQs

General Questions

When will the product be available?

Our two-phased entry into the market will begin in the second half of 2009 with pilots and trials with key partners. We expect to accelerate the momentum of our sales in 2010. In order to receive product information and News Alerts, click here.

What is the price?

Product pricing will be announced in early 2010. If you have already signed-up to receive product updates, this information will be sent via email as soon as it is announced.

When will additional features be available?

Our full feature set will be announced in early 2010.
Does your device support any DRM methods, such as Adobe's DRM?Plastic Logic understands that customers have acquired content from a variety of sources, some of which has digital rights management applied to it. We will support digital rights managed content, the specific formats will be announced as we approach the product launch date.

What operating system is your ereader using?

The ereader uses a version of Win CE from Microsoft, but the features of the operating system are not directly visible to the user.
Does my PC need a specific operating system to use your ereader? The ereader comes with supporting software that runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X. We'll provide the detailed compatibility requirements as we approach the product launch date.

How can I buy your stock / Are you listed on the NYSE?

Plastic Logic is currently a privately held company.
What events does Plastic Logic plan on attending?Please visit our News Page for a list of all upcoming Plastic Logic events.

Where can I use my Plastic Logic eReader?

With wireless capability, a long-lasting battery, and a large thin display, the Plastic Logic eReader is designed to be used virtually anywhere.
Do we have other products?The Plastic Logic e-reader is the first product we are announcing.

Can I get a demo/test unit?

Demo / Test units are not available at this time.

Can I sign up to be a beta tester?

Although we do not have any immediate plans for beta testing, we know you must be a die hard tech fan if you're asking. We welcome you to sign up to receive News Alerts that will keep you up to date with all of our latest information.

Product Features/Specifications Questions

What are the current features?
• Thin (<7mm), lightweight (<16 oz), form factor of 8.5" x 11”
• Long lasting battery life: measured in days not hours.
• Support for a wide range of document types: PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint, and others.
• E Ink Active Matrix Display
• Touchscreen interface
• Tools for acquiring, organizing and managing information• Wireless and wired access to content

Can I markup and annotate my documents?

Proofreading and comments are easy with the markup and annotation function.
When will a color version be available?The Plastic Logic e-reader will initially be available with a grey scale screen. We are working to make color a reality in the future. In order to receive product information and News Alerts, click here.

What’s behind the technology?

We use flexible plastic substrates to manufacture our displays. This is dramatically different because it produces active matrix displays that are thinner, lighter and more robust than the conventional glass silicon displays. In September, we opened the world’s first state-of-the-art, commercial scale plastic electronics manufacturing facility, further shaping the landscape of this industry.

Instructables

2009-01-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

Well I am certain that virtually everyone, at some time thought of building or doing something unique.

Well here is a site where people not only show off their fares but provide a detailed, step by step set of instructions enabling you to construct one of the same for yourself.

Instructables

They have divided the site into a plethora of areas where anyone, of any interest can find something to their liking.

I submitted my home built lawn mower generator to the site and it was made one of their Featured Items.

Wonderful site, that I will spend countless hours exploring projects and creating ideas.

Sealed Battery Performance

2008-12-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Todays modern sealed batteries (Valve Regulated Rechargeable Battery) display operational characteristics somewhat different from those that I have expected from a battery.

Namely that their performance is directly related to the current being drawn from the battery rather than the total power drain.

What does this mean ?

Well a picture is worth a thousand words.

The above example is for a 4.5 Ahr battery

That's right, power drain has a non linear relationship on the total battery time available.

If we take for example from the graph (9 A) the battery in this instance will last approx 15 minutes.

On the other hand if we draw .9 A (one tenth the power drain) we will get in return 4 hours of battery life. (Or 16 times the power output at one tenth the current draw)

It all has to do with the capacity of the battery fluid to produce the energy being used.

In reality the batteries capability varies directly with load...

Nominal Capacity

0.05C (0.225A to 10.50V) -> 4.5 AHr
0.1C (0.45A to 10.50V) -> 4.05 AHr
0.2C (0.90A to 10.20V) -> 3.51 AHr
1C (4.50A to 9.00V) -> 2.34 AHr

e.g. So when purchasing a 4.5 ah battery you can expect to get 4.5ah fom the battery ONLY if you draw .05 x C (where C= the battery AH rating) maximum from the battery.i.e (.225 amp)

If you draw 4.5 amps from a 4.5ah battery you can expect to get only 2.34 AHr of power total (and your voltage will drop to 9.0V from 12.78), in this instance about 30 minutes of use
(See Graph. Also note if you are using it in a UPS thay will normally switch off at 10V)

Also the slelf life of a battery is mostly determined by the Storage Temperature

See Graph

Rule of thumb, store your battery as close to 0 deg as possible, and keep it fullycharged.
Once the battery goes below 80% charge it may not be able to be recharged to full values any more.

Oh yea, one more thing

There is a limit to the lifespan of the battery versus the numbers and level of discharges.

So much to learn.....

All this to check out the new battery I just bought for my UPS....

Result....my new battery is only providing 1/8 the expected output power capacity.

OK, now to return it to the store and xplain to them how I tested the battery and why it needs replacing.

Watch Live Streams On your X Box 360

2008-11-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

Well it's something I have dreamed of doing for many years now....That is to be able to watch a live stream of Nasa TV over the internet on my television set.

Nothing like watching those guys floating around in space..

Well first off there is a significant hardware requirement and that is...

You need a PC Running Vista Media Center, and you also need a X Box 360.

I am going to assume you have already set up a connection to yor X Box via a high speed link to your PC etc....I.E> The only thing you need to do is to configure a high speed live stream.....

Well it's this easy....

1) You need to have a source address for your stream......

Nasa TV is (150kbs)

http://www.nasa.gov/55644main_NASATV_Windows.asx

2) Open a Notepad file and add these lines

To get a hard copy go to this link....It will not look like much " Nasa" on your screen...

http://www.metawatch.ca/nasa%20live%20.txt

Now go to the View Source in your editor....These are the lines you need to add to a notepad file.

Save the file with the extension .asx

Make sure this file is viewable by your Media Center...

You are now watching a real live video feed via media center (On your X Box)

Element 4 Water Mill

2008-11-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

Technically speaking, the WaterMill is an atmospheric water collection device that condenses water vapor and purifies it. In English: It's a home appliance that makes drinking water for your whole family - using only air.

Here's how it works:The system draws in moist, outside air through an air filter. The moist air passes over a cooling element, condensing the moist air into water droplets. This water is then collected, passed through a specialized carbon filter and is then exposed to an ultraviolet sterilizer, eliminating bacteria.

Outdoor Location

Inside air is up to 70 times more polluted than outside air. The WaterMill is installed unobtrusively on the outside of your home, using outside air, so it won't dry out the air you breathe in your home. And don't worry if your outdoor air is less than pristine - even if you live in a crowded city, the Watermill's filtration system ensures your drinking water will be clean and free of toxins and bacteria - more pure than tap water or even spring water.

Convenience

Where and how you access your water is up to you. The WaterMill can be connected directly to your sink, an existing bottled water system, your refrigerator, or a custom dispenser.

Energy Efficiency

The WaterMill is designed to minimize energy use. It's so efficient that producing one liter of water costs only three to four cents. Alternative bottled water systems typically cost ten cents per liter or more.

Smart Technology

The WaterMill is smart about more than just energy. Our innovative control system enables the WaterMill to adapt to changing conditions in every climate. It automatically adjusts airflow to maximize water production, while minimizing power consumption. Water production is constantly monitored and controlled. The WaterMill displays temperature, humidity and water production, and it will tell you when it is time for service.

Power Source Compliance

The WaterMill system has been engineered to be as efficient as possible, compliant with any power source. Look for Element Four systems that run on a solar panel or wind generator in the near future.

Patented Technology

All innovations found in the WaterMill technology have been patented.

Promise of Quality

The WaterMill by Element Four is a high-quality product, but even high-quality products need to be properly maintained for a long life. The WaterMill comes backed by a 1 year full parts and labor warranty. If you maintain your WaterMill as suggested, you'll get years of use and thousands of gallons of fresh, clean water.

http://www.elementfour.com/home

Great Microsoft Discount Deals (up to 91% OFF ! )

2008-11-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like Microsoft is preparing to release a newer version of it Operating System Mid Next year as well as its office suite.

So before those new releases, they are offering some discounts the likes of which I have never seen before for their Ultimate Office Suit ($64.00) as well as their upgrades from XP/Vista to the Ultimate version of Windows Vista ($70.00) .

If you need any of these packages/upgrades and were thinking of taking the plunge now is the time to take advantage of this outstanding sale.

NOTE: These are educational discounts and you need proof of attendance in one of the applicable educational institutions.

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-ca/default.aspx

Make sure you select the country region Canada on the Top Right of the screen.

Access 2007:

Crucial tools for organizing your information and data.
Excel 2007:

The best way to organize, compile and compare information.
Groove 2007:

Share and store information with others on a group project.
Info Path 2007:

Electronic forms make gathering data more efficient.
One Note 2007:

Keep all your notes and info in one convenient place.
Outlook 2007
with Business Contact Manager:

Not just e-mail: stay notified of tasks and appointments.
PowerPoint 2007:

New formatting and graphics make presentations shine.
Publisher 2007:

Impressive, high quality self-publishing in print or online.
Word 2007:

Classic for creating and sharing crucial documents.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

2008-11-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Afraid of missing out on one of those food recalls in Canada.

Well you can sign up for daily notification of any recalls they send out.
Normally, these days about 1 email every other day or so.

Here is the link

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Lowest Gas Prices In Eastern Ontario & Western Quebec

2008-11-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

Lowest Gas Prices in Hawkesbury

Hawkesbury Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Lowest Gas Prices in Rigaud

Rigaud Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Lowest Gas Prices in Lachute

Lachute Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Lowest Gas Prices in Vaudreuil-Dorion

Vaudreuil-Dorion Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Windows Vista ReadyBoost

2008-02-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

Well I was just reviewing Windows Vista Options and noticed that they now support a feature called readyboost.

In effect thet use a USB Drive as a Cache when swapping files to the disc.
If you need to read it again and its in cache it is substancially faster as there is virtually no seek time (Latency) to access the data.

My system came with 1 GB memory and a 52MB USB flash drive sped it up at least twice as fast.(Huge reduction in swapping)

Typical Disc drive seek times are in the 10 millisec range wher USB drives are in the range of .1 millsec to 1 millisec.

In order to fully optimize this feature you are best to have the fastest possible randome read times from your USB drive. Maximum 4 GB USB drives supported on a Windows Vista 32 bit OS.

Which USB Drive are the fastest....

As of today it appears they are designated as 200X read and about 150X write.

This translates to 30MB random read, and 20 MB sequential write speeds.

Here is a brief overiew of some of the ones I have found meeting a Read Rate of 30MB/sec.

Corsair Voyager GT (CMFUSB2.0-4GBGT )
Adata 4G PD7 flash memory stick, 200x
Lexar 4GB JumpDrive Lightning 140X
Kingston Data Traveller Hyper X
Memina Rocket 4 GB
Apacer Handy Steno HT203 200X

If you go to toms harware guide you can also find a review of the specs of various USB drives.
They claim the Transcend Jetflash has a read transfer of 27.2 just behind the Rocket memina.
The transcend unfortunately has one of the highest access times of over 2 millisec.

Kingston traveller Elite had access times of only .5 millisec.

Overall recomendation goes for the Memina Rocket 4 GB
(Best read/Write and latency #s overall)

The corsair voyager GT seems to have the highest REAL world specs out there....

UPDATE 10/12/2008

OK if you are looking for a Ready Boost Drive these performance numbers above are not as applicable as they do not represent random read/write testing specifications.

Here is a List of drives with their VISTA Ready Boost Performance specifications.....

Bottom line if you are looking for thebest overall Readyboost drive go with the

Lexar Jumpdrive 4.6 Random Read 12.84 Random Write

or

OCZ2 Rally 2 Turbo 4.96 Random Read 12.64 Random Write

Note: Charts are from XBit Laboratories

DSC 832 Alarm Panel Installer Lockout. (PC5010)

2008-01-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

The first job I ever had when I was 15 was to work for an alarm installation company.This was in the days before microprocessors were around and they were relatively simply devices that monitored multiple zones with an (NO) open or (NC) closed circuit.

Today's alarm systems have built in monitoring of their own status and log events that have transpired in the past.

Just before Christmas (DEC 23rd 03:00a.m.) we had our fire alarm system trigger (Quite The shock) and stay active (I.E) it was not resettable. After fumbling around in the house checking for smoke, I waited for the Fire Dept to arrive (They Didn't) and the Alarm monitoring company to call (They Didn't).

Within about 20 minutes I managed to open the Alarm panel and disconnect the Battery and the main power to the unit. (A False Alarm had taken place)

The next morning I researched the alarm error log and noticed that it indicated we had had manually triggered events from a Key Panel (Buttons). With a little research we found that one of our Keypads located int he Garage had water dripping on it caused by the melting of some snow.

We called the Alarm company on the 24th and asked that they come by to investigate the problem. We also phoned the alarm monitoring station, and they communicated that they had not received any phone calls, or been notified of any problems.

During Christmas week we called our Alarm company once again, and finally received a call back where the technician notified us that they were closed and under an emergency they could come to look at our problem for a minimum of 4 hours. (something Like $250$).... We instructed them that we would wait until after the holidays were over....

I allowed the panel to dry out, disconnected the phone, fire alarm and horn and planned the process of re-activation.

Learning curve # 1

The Alarms these days are very intelligent and they monitor all their connections.
If any are tampered with they log an alarm and make note of the event in their log files.

After a little research, I found the necessary resistors to bypass the main horn (1,000 ohm 1/4 watt), and reconnected the phone and fire detector.(After notifying the Alarm company to ignore any alarms for the immediate future)

After learning to reset the power after connecting all devices the system came up without any errors......except 1.

Gen Sys Supv

A little research into this one and it was evident that the water had created a little more trouble than first thought....

The Error log showed errors like

Error Log

Keypad Panic Alarm Restore
Keypad Panic
Swinger Shutdown
Supervisor Restore 5132

To make a long story short it looks like the water managed to short out the main bus which caused a general system shutdown, took some devices off line and due to the number of alarms being generated it switched in a swinger shutdown (Telephone dialer bypass) to prevent overloading the monitoring station with alarms.

Here comes the clincher....

To reset this last alarm it is necessary to program the alarm system to re-scan the KeBus and look for all the devices currently present.I.E. One of the devices went off line and when this happens it set the alarm to log it as a trouble event. The only way to reset the alarm is for the system to re-learn all the devices that are currently present.

A quick fix with just one small problem.... You need to press *8 <4>902 and the system will perform a scan and reconfigure itself.......Yup, you noticed the <4>. I have a DSC model 832 alarm (5010) and this installer code was changed by the "installers" from its default setting.....It locks out any reconfiguration of the system without their knowledge.....It also prevent the owners, from adding a device, or modifying the configuration.....

In this instance, it prevents me from resetting the system.....

A little more research and found out that the main board does have a reset feature that will allow you to reset the programming back to the defaults (UNLESS) the installer activated the LOCKOUT feature......

If the LOCKOUT feature is enabled even a reset of the main motherboard will not reset the installer code programmed into it...

In effect once activated your alarm system is no longer your property and is under control by the installer/monitoring company.......

Well, I figured a quick call to my installer and I could be the code to perform a reset..........

No Go, they actually said for legal reasons they "do not release these codes......EVER "

If I wish they can come to my house for a service call, at which time they will perform whatever corrective actions would be required to get the alarm system back into proper operation. (Minimum 2 hr service call @ 69/hr)

Remember all I need to do is enter the codes above and the system will be back to normal.........

I could probably also call another alarm company up on the phone and ask to switch companies for a lower cost.....(but this would still require my current company to reset the code) as the system is currently locked out.....

Or as an alternative I could contact one of these 2 companies

Home Security Metal Products Eastern Canada

Unlock Services.com Western Canada

Other Items of Interest (Supplementary Follow-up)

A) Why didn't the Monitoring company receive a call ? (or Did they ?)
i) A DSL Filter Was Needed On the Line
ii) Payment of services had not been logged...(Suspended)
iii) The Swinger Feature Kicked In
iv) All of the above
v) Unknown

ii) The monitoring company had lost the check for payment of annual services (and suspended service ? without informing the client)

B) What does DSC have to say about companies that activate the lockout code ?

i) It's a necessary feature but can be misused. (Its out of their hands)
ii) They advise their resellers to notify clients when using this feature.
iii) No Comment
iv) All of the above

C) What other features of the Alarm Configuration may worry unsuspecting customers ?

i) Monitoring companies that have the installer code can re-program your alarm.
ii) They can erase your log files without you knowing about them
iii) They can deactivate your alarm.
iv) All of the above

D) How often does your alarm call the monitoring company ?
i) Daily
ii) When there is trouble
iii) The monitoring company will also dial in (daily)
iv) All of the above.
v) Never
vi) Unable to determine (Need Installer code to view this setting)

Final Update

Well after some further investigation we determined that the unit did call our alarm monitoring company before the Lock out was activated.

a) They didn't admit to receiving the call even though it was logged on our system
b) The alarm company contract has now been cancelled with Alarmes Incendie Pré-Signal inc

They refused to provide us the Lockout code, even after cancelling the contract.
They are not even returning our phone calls, or fax notification.

We have now given them notice of our Statement of Claim for the loss of use of our alarm/fire monitoring system and are holding them accountable in the event of fire or theft until such a time as our service can be restored.

We recommend that no one take out a contract with this company.

a) They did not provide a "Map" of the system configuration as it recommend in the manual at install time.
b) They did not ever inform us they would be disabling our access to our alarm panel (and obviously no authorization was given to them to make such a change)
c) Almost 1 year after the failure, and subsequent contract cancellation, they have still not released the lock code to us rendering the alarm system inoperable, and not programmable by another alarm company.

This is definitely not a company I would feel comfortable with in entrusting my safety (Life) from Fire , Theft,or Vandalism.

When should I buy my heating oil ?

2007-10-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

Furnace Oil Price 2007 Year to Date (Montreal)

Thanks to the people at Mervin, I took the liberty to create some statistical analysis graphs of this years Furnace oil prices for 2007.

This years prices for Montreal, Canada

Overall this years prices has only varied by $.05/ltr .

Statistically the best time to purchase is in th End of January.

Of couse we know that the best way to determine average is by taking a larger sample.

The graph below shows the prices for

Furnace oil (Taxes Out) for Montreal for the years 2001-2007

Almost impossible to decern from the above graph the optimum time of year, so I progressed to a Stacked Bar chart of the same data.

Stacked Bar Montreal Furnace Oil Prices (2001-2007)

Clearly July timeframe is the best for purchasing closely followed by January.

A small window of opportunity also arises in the End of Sept/Fisrt Week of October.

I'll be topping up my Tank this week for about .72/ltr or less I hope.....

Skype Shuts Down Free Service Dec 31st 2006.

2006-12-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

End of Service Announcement:Free SkypeOut™ calls to US and Canadian phones ends December 31st.

Skype Shuts down its free skype out service

After December 31st SkypeOut calls to US and Canada will be charged at the standard SkypeOut rate of ¢2.1 USD (or ¢2.4 CAD) per minute.

You can also get a full year of unlimited calls to any phone in the US and Canada. Get more information.

SkypeOut – use your computer to call any phone number, anywhere in the world.
Get low long-distance and international rates to stay connected with friends, family, business clients - anyone.

Nationwide callingin the US and Canada

Unlimited Calling gives you a full year of unlimited calls to anyone, on any phone, within the US and Canada for just $14.95.($29.95 after January 31st 2007)

Use SkypeOut to call anyone, anywhere in the world.Just buy Skype Credit to pay low per-minute rates. The credits are deducted as you make your SkypeOut calls.With the unlimited you get:
* 12 months of unlimited calls to any phone in the US and Canada - right from your computer.
* More than an hour of international calls*.
* Over $50 in coupons to get a Motorola headset, Netgear WiFi phone, and a Polycom speakerphone.

Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skypecasts, Skype Certified, Skype Me, associated logos and the ‘S’-symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

Microsoft Releases Beta 2 of Vista (Free Download)

2006-06-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Vista Beta 2 released

Want to get your hands on the latest release of Windows Vista

Here is the link to get you started with an on-line download, or you can purchased a DVD for $7.00 cdn.

Note: You'll also have to pay shipping charges which is by purolator for about another $7.00.

Yup you'll have to add Cdn taxes as well.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx

The on-line download is a 3.5GB download. A whopper if you only have a dial up line.

Also it comes with the a beta warning:

Note: This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment or on a main machine in the home. Beta 2 is intended for developers, IT professionals and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows Vista. Before you decide to use Beta 2, you should feel comfortable with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC troubleshooting. Some risks of using beta operating systems include hardware and software incompatibility and system instability. If you have concerns about installing this beta software on your computer, we encourage you to obtain the final release version of Windows Vista when it is available in 2007.

You get to use Vista free for about a year before it expires. After that, you have to buy a copy.

You can install Vista as an upgrade to Windows XP, but there is no uninstallation procedure to reverse the installation.

If you install it, that's it. The only way out is to do a clean installation of XP.

My copy is on the way!

This is a limited time offer from Microsoft, so if you want it don't delay.

Inkjet Supplies in Canada

2006-01-05T05:44:00.000-08:00

There is no cheaper place to order your inkjet supplies than Metawatch Inkjet Supplies.

They ship the same day via Canada Post Expedited parcel services and deliver in 2 days to Ontario, and Quebec, BC, and Alberta and with a maximum of 5 days to all other areas across Canada.

Quality- Apparently they have a 99.9 % customer satisfaction rating on their cartridges.

Connect With Business Contacts

2005-12-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

Linkedin

The latest and greatest to link in with your Business contacts. Over 8 million linked in to date.

I have met and linked in with over 3,000 contacts in less than 1 week. Unbelieveable.

Check out their job board.

Used DVDs for $1.50

2005-12-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Unbelieveable

Tired of renting DVDs for $3.99, $4.99 or more. $5.99

Well you can now own your own used DVDs for only $1.5o at Peerflix .

These guys have taken the DVD mailer idea one step further and have users trading their old DVs for other DVDs they want. Thay have an excellent on-line collection, and its growing.
They should be hitting their 100,000 trade this week.

They have a rating system to value your DVDs versus new ones and it lets you trade for virtually any DVD you can think of.

Invite your friends.

Furnace Heating Oil

2005-01-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

Pricing

Everything you wanted or needed to know about furnace heating oil pricing.
Spot prices, retail prices, rack prices.

Need a weekly summary of Rates for Furnace Oil? Check out this site....

Gas and Furnace Oil rates across Canada weekly summary

It seems like the government of Nova Scotia references this site and the company specializes in up to date pricing information.

I performed my own regional survey and was consistently able to get quoted .01c less for standard retail prices in the Montreal, Quebec area. A further 2% discount (about .01C) could be realized if you paid up in 10 days or less.

What Type do you need ?

Well it looks like furnace oil comes in 2 varieties

#1 Used primarily for homes that have external tanks as it has a freezing (viscosity) that increases about -40C .
#2 Used primarily for homes that have internal tanks as it has a freezing (Viscosity Increase) at approx -08C. I.E. Will freeze outdoors in Canadian weather....

#1 Furnace Oil is more refined and as a result normally a little more expensive.
Also used in Gas appliances as it tend to leave less residue.

Although I called around a lot I was only given 1 price consistently for Heating oil. Only 1 firm inquired if I needed # 1 or #2 Furnace heating oil.