Top (numbered) things i learned at PAX

1. Cleanliness: the sad truth of a gathering of nerds is that sterotypes exist for a reason. More than once I was assailed by a usually young man surrounded by a cloud of stank. This morphs from annoyance to torture when you are herded into a under-ventilated room to steam for hours while waiting for a panel. Wash. Somewhere. Also, brush your teeth or use mouthwash. Mouth rot wafting over a shoulder in line is a gag-inducing experience.
Pro-tip: carry deodorant, travel-size mouthwash or gum, baby-wipes, a spare shirt and socks in a back-pack or duffel. If you can smell you, other people can too.

Unlimited pros and the one con:Surviving 3rd Party ISP support

The last year has seen unprecedented public visibility regarding 3rd party ISP's such as Teksavvy due to the CRTC's UBB hearings. While public outcry was initially misdirected as a cry against retail UBB, something that had been in place for a year, it shone a spotlight on wholesale UBB and the place of 3rd party ISP's.

UBB has been placed on the CRTC's back-burner as the 4 major ISP's (Bell, Rogers, Telus,Shaw) re-allign their retail offerings to mask or incentivise consumers to place less weight on UBB concerns. Teksavvy, my current ISP, continues to offer unlimited or near unlimited data plans for less than the unbundled services offered by Telus or Shaw. As I learned over the last week, this gain comes at a cost and is likely the hurdle that limits 3rd party ISP's customer base to less than 10% of the market.

The STAIRWELL TO AWESOME

We bought a house and now we decorate, NERD STYLE

In a van down by the river: the speaker scam

Nearly 20 years ago I had opportunity to be without employment and tried a vast swath of "career's" that I found in the local want ads. All promised quick paths to big money and in many cases that may well have been true.

All that was required was a complete lack of ethics.

Usage-Based Billing (updated rates)

Shaw has announced an updated pricing and cap schedule. While their page explaining the changes is overly convoluted, confusing and missing vital data, they have upped the ante. However, after "consulting" with their customers they have decided to continue Usage-Based Billing over and above montly recurring charges.

Back and there again-Part 2

Arrival in Oakville was welcome, after a torturous drive and a reminder of how of touch I was with Toronto traffic. In the short years I had been away the traffic seemed to double as the roads shrank and crumbled beneath the load. What was unsupportable in the past was becoming unusable, and Canada’s biggest city had no where to grow.

Usage Based Billing (UBB) for the layman

UBB provides ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) the ability to set data plan for their customers and then charge either overage fees or add “insurance” plans when their customer’s exceed their initial plans. Until late 2010, UBB was a non-issue, as most ISP’s including the big four (Bell, Rogers, Shaw & Telus) offered high-usage customers plans that included unlimited data.