The iPad is the kitty's MEOW!

It looks a lot like my iPod Touch but after viewing the demo online, wow! I'm blown away. This is by far the gucciest thing out there.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/

If you're not someone who needs to have a DVD/CD drive/burner then why would you need a laptop when you can get the iPad and do it all?

Now, I'm not saying it replaces a laptop for certain functions but they have designed it with iWork and it runs Keynote, Pages and Numbers as well, you can import Office documents and open PDF files. You have access to 140,000 Apps the minute you turn it on. If you're looking to manage all your daily tasks and activities and remain mobile, this PED is the cat's meow! I would love to see how it handles to read articles, books and watch movies. It has a multi touch screen you can flip anyway you want and the keyboard is almost the same size as a laptop's. For the traveler or just as a means to stay in touch with the world, this is by far the best way to do it. When you add the Wi-Fi + 3G capability (64GB model $829USD) you have just replaced the Rogers stick or Bell's equivalent with an internal modem. You can stay in touch with all your contacts and run your day-to-day activities via the mail and calendar/planner functions. What more can you want? Just the wi-fi capability of my Touch is outstanding, imagine the 3G version where you can access the Net everywhere your cell phone provider serves? With the Skype app, you just turned it into a relatively free cellphone and Bob's you uncle (literally and figuratively).

It's 9.5 inches high, 7.5 inches wide, 0.5 inches thick and weighs only 1.6lbs (with 3G). The built-in lithium-polymer rechargeable battery provides you with 10 solid hours of surfing the web with wi-fi. It charges just like the iPod Touch or iPhone via a charger adapter or USB port and already has iTunes loaded on so no need to sync with another PC/Mac. With pricing (in USD) ranging from $499, $599, $699 (16, 32 and 64GB wi-fi) to $629, $729 and $829 in the 3G model I am sold on this piece of technological gold and I will put it on my Christmas wish list.

I'll be anxious to read comments on Wired to see if it is everything I'm hoping it to be. Once it becomes available in Canada, I will drop in my favourite store (Apple) and play with it a little.

Chuck

Les journalistes en Haiti sont inutiles.

Ce matin j'écoute Radio Pirate en allant au travail. Yves Landrie reçoit un appel d'un copain journaliste du journal de Québec qui est en Haiti pour reporter la nouvelle sur les suites du tremblement de terre. C'est touchant ce qu'il décrit mais tout à coup il nous dit qu'il a vu des casques bleu Pakistanais et Jordanien frapper des gens avec des bâtons parcequ'ils font l'émeute à un centre de distribution d'aide et de bouffe. Il dit que c'est abhérant de voir des casques bleu frapper ces pauvres gens qui n'ont rien.

"OSTIE" que ça me pue au nez d'entendre des nouvelles sans contextes comme ça. C'est exactement des niaiseries commes ça qui détruit la réputation des soldats parce que un journaliste a rapporté quelque chose qu'il ne comprend pas et qu'il n'a pas prit le temps d'enquêter.

Ces centaines voir milliers d'Haitiens qui font l'émeute pour avoir de la bouffe, sont armés de couteaux et machettes et ils sont prêt à frapper pour être les premiers à avoir de la bouffe. Les Règles d'Engagement (ROEs en anglais) des Nations Unis sont très strictes et un soldat n'a droit à utiliser la force mortelle seulement quand SA vie est menacé. Alors ils n'ont que recours à un bâton pour se protèger et maintenir l'ordre autour des centres de distribution. J'ai été témoin de ça quand j'y était et laissez moi vous dire que c'est très dangereux pour les soldats. Bien souvent ils doivent lancer les choses dans la foule pour ne pas perdre une main voir le bras en entier. Le peuple Haitien ne respecte pas L'ORDRE et pour pouvoir les aider, il faut souvent démontrer de l'autorité pour les empêcher d'exploiter même blesser les plus faibles.

Je n'ai vraiment pas de respect pour les médias quand j'entend des choses comme ça. Malheureusement c'est eux qui contrôle l'information et les gens vont se faire un opinion des militaires et des casques bleu basé sur l'observation d'un innocent qui n'est pas capable de faire sa job comme il le faut.

Chuck

Colts vs Saints.

Wow! What a heart break seeing the Vikings loose to New Orleans in overtime. Especially overtime decided by a coin toss where the winner gets the ball and the first team to score wins. I can't believe that the faith of a season is determined that way in professional football. At least if they played a full 15 minute quarter and the winner of that quarter won the match it would be fair. Do like the PGA in the US OPEN (I believe) where the ties play a whole new round (18 holes) to determine the champion. Anyway, the Vikings did not loose, they gave away the game by making some costly mistakes in regulation time.

I would have loved to see Brett Farve go to the Super Bowl with the Viks. I know Indianapolis is likely the favourites to win but I would have liked to see the 4o year old QB give'em a run for their money. Now we'll have to see Payton Manning show Drew Brees who's the man of the year. I was a Viking fan all the way but in two weeks I'll be cheering for the Colts.

Chuck

Internet in China!

-In 2011, Google, Facebook and YouTube announce their return to the Chinese market -- but the news is censored, so no one finds out- Han Han Chinese Blogger making a point.

Back in the Middle Ages, if you said something bad about the Royal family, Nobles or the religion, you got hanged, burned alive or beheaded. It was a form of "extreme" censorship. As a civilized and free thinking continent it is difficult to imagine not having the freedom to read, write, speak and also view anything, any subject we want. Why is a communist country so afraid to let its people see what is out there and how people from other countries live. Are they afraid their people will want to change? Certainly democracy can be appealing to some who have been yearning to break free from the very strict rules of communism but with the right information they should also realise that democracy brings other problems they may not want to face. In a democratic country you get a certain independence such as have credit that can get you into deep financial trouble and simply ruin your life. China does not let that happen and if you are not poor, and you have a job you can make it through life without too much worries. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my freedom for a communist regime but there is something appealing to the fact that big brother is not letting you get into financial trouble.

Coming back to Google and the censorship of the search engine/websites, how can the leadership of a country so big can be so naive? Unless they know that they have control of the minds by limiting their learning. Having the Chinese people live in a bubble not aware of what is happening around the world is asking for trouble because when the monster awakes (i.e. they finally get free), they will not know how to behave with other countries that have become civilized and conflict is a likely outcome. Isn't it what's happening with Afghanistan? They were asleep for 100s of years and woke up with some technology but no knowledge of how to use it properly and behave among themselves and other nations. They are still in the Middle Ages but with cell phones big bombs and Toyota Corollas instead of messengers, swords and horses. We are now stuck with trying to teach them some manners and hope they eventually get smart and stop trying to kill themselves and the people trying to help.

Chuck

Haiti - Caribbean Jewel or Sh.. Pit?

It was once said the Haiti was "La Perle Des Antilles" or the "Caribbean Jewel". I don't really know when this country had this title but I was there for six months in 1997 and a "Jewel" it was not.
Now for those of you who do not know, Haiti's demise as a country was when they sustained the last of many "coup d'état" that sent their dictator President to exile and with it the collapse of their entire economy, political structure and public safety. The whole middle Class left the country for a better and safer life abroad. Most came to the US and Canada but others fled to DR and other island nations. What was left of the population was a ratio of 5 and 95. That is 5% rich and 95% extremely poor; 5% literate and 95% illiterate; 5% mulatto and 95% black... get the picture?

If this was not bad enough, hundreds of thousands of people from the outlying villages decided that the promise of a new life existed in the Capital city of Port Au Prince. The influx of people and the lack of work and housing became so problematic that the formation of "Bidonvilles" or "Slums" was unavoidable and a very popular one in P-Au-P is called Cité Soleil. It is said that during market day in Cité Soleil, there are over a million people walking the garbage covered streets. The smell is unbearable and the danger of getting mugged is so high that it is not recommended for "Blancs" ,which means foreigners, to go into the market.

If Haiti was rebuilt with solid housing, hospitals and schools, a strong and honest military and police force lead by a innovative and ambitious government, the country might have a chance. This earthquake may be the solution to start anew but I doubt it. I doubt that the population of a country that cannot take charge and rebuilt its economy can do any better with all the money and food the world is throwing at them. I have seen first hand the mentality of the P-Au-P residents and they are LAZY. No one wants to start the recovery process. They all want someone to tell them what to do. They want DICTATORSHIP and that is the only way this country can survive in our world. Elsewhere around the country, small banana farms and sugar plantations are doing well but the are owned by the rich of P-Au-P and the farmers are exploited for a meager percentage of the crop to survive. They live in huts on dirt floors but they live clean and proud. The women travel by foot 10-15 hours to take their meager part of the crop to the closest market so they can get food and other essential goods. Kids learn to steal but cannot afford to get caught because there sentence is immediate amputation of the hand.

The western world will never let this country fall back into the throws of a dictator so we will keep sending money and troops every cycle whether it's because of a hurricane, earthquake or just the population growing restless. Haiti will unfortunately always remain a Sh.. Pit because the UN needs to keep it that way and keeps pocketing Aid the money coming in. These may be harsh words about the Haitian people, but unless you have witnessed it first hand and can give me a different view than what I SAW, I will always remain with this opinion of the country and its people.

Chuck

Get on the bus,...get off the bus,...

Getting our own Commandant for the school is a good thing because we need someone who is dedicated to our cause 100% of the time. For the last 5 years, the Commandant was split between two schools with completely different missions so we never got the Boss' full attention.

It also means that the new guy is bound to make some changes because he can devote all his time on making this school his own. I'm not one to resist change. I think we need to change things around once in a while to ensure we are more productive and especially to make the staff more comfortable to do their jobs. I, however don't like change for the sake of change without a thorough analysis of the consequences and risks.

When the boss said he wanted to move some people (their offices) around so it would be more efficient to have certain people grouped closer together and also closer to him, others jumped in and pushed their own agendas of who should occupy which space. That resulted in 5 of my guys being targeted to move once again (2nd time in the last year) out of their new digs that we paid 25K to furnish so a few students could have a private office cubicle to do their work in the evening. I'm busting at the seems and I still don't have enough personnel to do the work I'm mandated to do. I'm going to start piling staff on top of each other if they throw my guys out of their top floor cubicles/offices. This is definitely not the way to do business and especially when the staff we are talking about are the hardest working ones in the entire school. We need to make them comfortable so they keep enjoying their jobs. Right now with an average age of 49 and average time in service of 27 years, all of my staff save one can retire from the forces in 30 days. I don't want to piss them off by jerking them around every 6 to 12 months. They want stability at this stage of their careers and frankly they deserve it.

I have a big fight on my hands and will not surrender to this musical office shuffle easily.

You'll hear more when we meet again to discuss.

$$$$LONDON$$$$

So we're starting to book our trip to London England for our 20th Anniversary this summer. This is definitely not the cheapest country to travel to. I sent a reservation request to the Union Jack in London. It's a Private Member military club that offers accomodation to UK military and Commonwealth Officers. Compared to the hotels, it seems like we would save about $500 for 8 nights in a 3 bedroom suite. I checked the flights through Air Canada and with no seat sale at this time, the tickets are $1,750 per person so 7K for the four of us. Right now, flights and accomodation would cost us $9,500. We have not added meals, tours and souvenirs. Outch!

We will wait for a seat sale because the tickets could drop as low as $1,200 per person which would give us a 2K relief for food, tours and souvenirs.

I hope they come down soon!!!

Chuck

Ayoye!

That's the French term for f..k it hurts.

Yea! Once again I pulled my groin and I'm walking like I just sh..t my pants. I over-extended trying to knock the puck off this guy and felt the stretch a little too much. I had a hard time steping over hockey bags after the game to get to the showers. Then I had to climb into my truck. That's was funny to see I'm sure. I just turned 40 and I feel like I'm 90 years old and keep hurting myself whenever I do something that requires a strong physical effort. I've been going around with this sprained/weak ankle for months now and it seems to be the instigator for every other injury I sustain. I rolled my ankle and end up stretching my groin last week. I thought it was going to be ok today but that was a bust.

I don't know what to do because I know that for injuries to repair themselves you need to lay off and give it time to heal. I can't lay off and do nothing because I'll be 200lbs by the time I start back again. The only way I stay "svelt with my boyish figure" ;-0 is because I do sports like hockey and running.

I guess I'll just have to suck it up and live with it. Two more weeks before the start of my 20 week marathon training program.

Triumphs are back!!!

OMG I remember my dad telling me he used to own a Triumph Bike and I actually saw a picture of him and my mom in Wasaga Beach. I use to think that they were pretty rinky dink bikes but now that I've see them up close at my Yamaha/BMW/Triumph dealer, I have a whole new respect for the style.

These two models, the Bonneville T100 and the Thruxton are absolutely amazing machines. The photos don't give any justice to the true craftsmanship and tight lines of these machines. I felt like telling the guy that I would trade my V-Star 1300 Tourer for one of the two models key for key. They are $9,999 so I could do it I'm sure. Nath does not enjoy riding very much because the seat is not comfortable so just to commute to work and the odd evening/weekend cruise it would be awesome to ride a Triumph. It would probably make my dad a little jalous as well. Anyway this is a great brand of motorcycle and I'm glad they are still out there to enjoy.

Salut!

OP HESTIA (Haiti)

C'est une opération qui prend de l'envergure. Ce matin nous avons dicuté de la possibilité d'envoyer de nos membres en Haiti pour supporter l'effort des militaires canadiens. Nous avons déjà des CC-130 Hercules, CC-117 Globemaster, un Griffon et deux navires (HMCS Montréal et HMCS Athabascan) avec un hélicoptère Sea-King qui se déploie. Les chances que notre unité soit demandé de fournir sont minim mais nous seraons prêt néamoins. En se moment, je suis le seul qui serait qualifié et disponible pour y aller dans les mois à venir.

On verra plus tard.

Chuck

The Quad Final part

So it cost me $457 with tax. The piece that broke was a decompression valve pin that kept the valve open and did not allow the engine to fully develop all it's power. The wiring was for the battery and the guy had to replace and heat shrink the whole bundle. The the oil change and a total of 3 hours of labor and there you go a fully functional quad. Glad there is no damage to the engine though.

See you l8tr.

"Another" new Commandant

So I get a new boss today. It's funny how my career went, when I look at how many bosses I worked for. Luc Guillette is my third Commanding Officer in two years at CFSAS. What's more interesting is I counted how many Commanding Officers or equivalent in HQs I worked for since I joined the Army reserve in 1987. Are you ready for this? 23 years in the CF and 23 Commanding Officers.
6R22R - Caya
CFOCS - ?
3 CFFTS - Ken Carr
2 CFFTS - ?
2 CFFTS - ?
434 Sqn - Mike Murphy
434 Sqn - B.C. Campbell
430 ETAH - Jacques Michaud
430 ETAH - Michel Legault
430 ETAH - Jacques ti-loup Lessard
430 ETAH - Serge Lavallée
430 ETAH Bosnie - Pierre Le-Pete St-Cyr (I should count Bernie Faguy as well)
430 ETAH - Guy Hamel
430 ETAH - Jean-Luc Milot (I should also count Chris Drouin)
1 CAD - Derek Joyce
1 CAD - Von Cosman
CFRG - Kevin Cotten
CFRG - Cmdr MacIssac
CFRG - Tony Appel
CFRG - Col Overton
CFSAS - Marc Ferron
CFSAS - Theo Heuthorst
CFSAS - Luc Guillette.

No wonder I never got what I asked for after my first tour in Shearwater with 434 Sqn. There is not continuity in my Chain of Command. I asked to stay on Challengers with 434 but was told no so I went back to what I knew from my Army days and 430 was my new home. 7 years and 7 COs later, I was supposed to got to Ottawa in the Flight Safety directorate for my first ground tour. Wrong! Winnipeg and the Glass Palace of 1 CAD. Then I asked to stay and go to the Survival school as CO . I got the Recruiting Centre as CO. I worked on getting back to flying in the Herc (435 Sqn) or the Dash-8 (402 Sqn), I got CFSAS with a plan to fly in 2010 but again I was wrong. Now there is a plan to get me to a flying position at 402 Sqn in 2011 but with my track record, I'll probably end-up back at the div or taking care of the Cadets.

The Quad part deux!

Alright I got the dreaded call from the mechanic at Yamaha. ...(Pause for effect) He said the issue was a pin that openned a compression valve that was broken and left the valve openned..or is it closed? Can't remember but that's the problem and my engine is not shot or anything that drastic. The oil change, wire repare and that pin replacement will come to a heafty $400 though. I can't complain because the bike cost 14K so it is cheap compared to what it could have cost. I'm going to ask if it is considered a manufacturer's defect. Maybe I can get the $100 part for free.

I hope he is able to fix it without any trouble.

Will let you know once I swipe the VISA if he lied to me.

Chuck

The Quad issue

So I dropped my Yamaha Quad Grizzly 700 off at the dealer for servicing but also to look at my little noise and power problem. The servicing manager/chief mechanic started it and shut it down right away. It didn't give me a warm and fuzzy when I saw the look of confusion on his face. This is a first for him. He will let it warm and thaw out inside and take a look at it tomorrow. Hopefully the news will not be as bad as I'm thinking right now.

I'll keep you posted on the quad saga.

Chuck

New Boss

There's a new sheriff in town. That's right my unit is geting a new Boss this Wednesday and this morning each flight commander had to in-brief him on our particular organisation.

I think he's going to be a nice guy to have around. He's very keen and personable. Hard worker and triathlete so it's good for the runners among us. He will have a lot of things to deal with and we don't know yet what his priority will be. That's the only concern I have right now. With the old boss, we had him figured out already but now we have to start all over again.

I just hope that eventhough he's a brand spankin' new Lieutenant-Colonel he has the caracter to fight for this unit and it's people. It's easy to get trampled by more senior officers in the HQ when you are new in the rank. I hope he does not let that affect his Command.

We'll see.

First run outside;-)

So we're back from the cottage and it's a balmy -8deg C so I decided to start running outside again. My last run outdoors was Sept/Oct and I really don't like the treadmill so this mild weather is my deliverance. A nice "slow" 7k to finish the week.

Have a good night.
Chuck

Good...and bad news.

So I started the quad after charging the battery and heating the shed a bit with a space heater. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's making a funny clanking noise and it does not produce the power that the ponies should. I'm taking it back with me and will bring it to the dealer for an oil change and check up. Hope it's not serious.

Another couple hundred bucks at least and that's if it's not too serious a problem.

Oh! Well! The joys of having toys.

C.U.

At the Cottage

So I'm at the cottage with Nath and it's a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. We got here around 20:30 last night and there was a nice layer of loose snow on the ground. The temperature seems to be warmer (-15 or so) than it's been in the last week - 10 days. The girls decided to stay behind because it's exam time for Steph and Kim, well, she just wanted to stick around the house with her big sister.

Today's main task for me is to start the quad, recharge the battery and hook up the plow to clear away the 2 inches of snow on the ground. Hey! It's Manitoba, so I have to take whatever amount of snow I can get to have fun with the quad.

Lots of reading, relaxing and snoozing will also be on the agenda for the weekend. It's not quite what Cody was hoping for, cauze he keeps bugging me to go outside but then again he freezes his paws after just a few minutes and wants in again. What a short memory!

That's it for now and I'll report back after my attempt to get the bike going.

Cheers!

Off to the cottage

Yes it's the weekend again and for our family it means escaping the city and hiding at our cottage on Pelican Lake. A short 2 hours and change West of the city and we are in paradise,...a cold paradise, but nonetheless our paradise.

Plan is to relax tonight, try to start the Quad tomorrow and if the battery is still frozen, I'll have to take it out and charge it inside. The battery in the Grizzly 700 is somewhere in the noze of the bike so I'll have to take some parts off and in the cold it's never enjoyable. Hopefully it will be nice enough to build a fire in our pit outside so I can warm up there with a beer instead of going inside.

I will try to post via our Rogers stick and hopefully it will work or I will have another subject to rant about when I return Sunday night.

Bonne fin de semaine.

Steamy Virgin Mobile ads pulled..what a croc.

So there are a couple of steamy ads for the Virgin Mobile company showing a man and a woman kissing while the man is touching the woman's butt. Public complaints forced them to pull the ads because it was inapropriate for young children or whatever other bull. What a load of croc and a hypocritical reason. I bet those parents watch soaps during the day and dont mind when the kids are in the room. A man kissing a woman is very natural and if it is a little spicy it makes it even more interesting. The women who complained (cauze I doubt it was guys who did) probably forgot what it was like to be passionate and in love. If they have children of their own, where the hell did they come from, a stork?

I can't believe how prude (and hypocrit) the North American public is and how much little things, meaningless things like a comercial ad gets the public all worked up. BTW this is the only ad that will remain up.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100106/CGY_virgin_mobile_bus_ads_100106/20100107/?hub=CalgaryHome

Can't seem to get any steam going.

I find myself in a state of pain and frustration at my fitness level. I admit I slacked off during the Christmas break but that's only two week's worth. I play hockey twice a week, and run 3 x 5k the days I'm not playing. I also do P90X at home with my wife and daughters at least 4 x week. I'm hurting all over, nursing a "sprained" ankle (no inflammation though) and no juice to push myself to run faster. I run my 5Ks in 28 mins which I know my treadmill times are slower than outside but come on. I can at least do 25-26.
I'm worried about my training program come 1 Feb when I have to log some serious miles every week to make it to the Manitoba Marathon. I need to shake this ankle problem but I can't even after a two week break, it's still super weak. It's a good thing I can run on it without pain. The only time it hurts is playing hockey and only the first few minutes then it gets numb when the adrenaline kicks in.
I guess the answer to my complaints is that I ate too much during the holidays, I don't push myself enough when I run and I keep telling myself that I absolutely don't like running indoors on a treadmill. Once I can run outside without sustaining frostbite in the first Km, I'll feel more at home and will be able to push myself against known distances in my neighborhood.

Gotta go buy some new runners too. My MIZUNOs Wave Alchemy 9(the ones who fared the best after Afghanistan) are not in any shape to be used outside. I will definitely buy the same brand and model and not make the mistake to settle for another brand like I did last March. Boy did I (and my feet) regret those ASICS.

cul8tr

iPod touch are awesome

I am writing my first post via my iPod Touch while,... well never mind what I'm doing, the point is this is awesome. If only I could get wireless access everywhere I go. Anyway, gotta recharge my iPod so I'll sign out now.
Salut

Left Wing journalists Piss me Off

Again this morning in the Free Press there was an article by Dan Lett about the fact that the Harper Government is delaying the parlement session until March. This is supposedly a big plot to avoid elections and any heat the govt would get for its actions or lack of toward the international community.

Can't we get at least one newspaper in this country that does not subscrib to government bashing? I mean is it possible that one day a week the papers can print something good about our leaders? I'm not talking about seing the PM kissing babies, cauze I think that would warrant a little bashing as well. I'd like to read about a bill that passed and is good for the people even if it isn't for others, just publish a good article once in a while.

I know most papers are left wing and it is not right to monopolize the media this way. A journalist's mission is to report the news good or bad in a neutral/non-opinionated way. (If that's a word)

On a good note, the PM has stated openly that all fighting troops will be out of Afghanistan by end 2011. It funny though, the papers keep refering to 2500 CF troops but we have at least 3500 CF members deployed for the Afghan mission. I guess we are going to keep rotating 1000 folks in and out for a few more years...until OP Sudan stands up.

What a dissapointment for Canada's Junior Team

This could have been the perfect comback for Eberle if the guys had played with consistence. I wanted to insert the You Tube clip but the PC at work won't let me. Oh! Well I guess I need to get back to work then.

New and Confusing

Well this Blog thing can get a little confusing with all the options for page setup and gadgets you can add. I've been trying to get to my daughter's Blog by searching her URL (and I know I have the right one cauze I help her set it up) but Google doesn't find her.

Also, I found out that whatever I see on my PC doesn't mean it is going to be viewed the same way on other PCs depending on their setup and capabilities. I tried the little fishes and on my Home Lap Top it didn't show the fish.

On another note, great hockey game today, we won 9-2 against TEME and I had to play Defense which was a hoot. I kindda like it although I can't realy skate well backwards and got caught once where the guy went around me like I was standing still. He scored.

cul8tr

Instant Messaging Fraud

Imagine if you will, that everytime you receive a SPAM email, you get billed for it on your next month's internet bill.

That would piss you off to no extent would it? Especially if you programmed your inbox to automatically send those SPAM emails to the junk folder or the trash bin without reading them. When you inquirer with your internet service provider, you are told that if you had read the email, at the bottom, in fine print, it said that if you did not wish to receive those anymore, you had to reply back with the word STOP.

That's what the CRTC is allowing companies who send instant messages to do through your cell phone provider. I once "texted" to Coors for a contest through Boston Pizza and obviously didn't win the trip with the pretty girls at the Coors Mansion but what I did win was the obligation to pay $60-$70 a month in texting fees. That's right, apparently, the company that hosted the contest was sending me text messages and I wanted nothing to do with it so I would delete without reading. BIG mistake! They charge you for that and at a premium rate too.

What I didn't know (because I wasn't reading the texts) was that if I did not wish to receive those text anymore was to reply with the word STOP. It took three months of billing but my wife was able to convince ROGERS to delete all charges on my phone and my 14 year old's phone which totaled upwards of $300 in "premium text".

This is robbery pure and simple and I cannot believe that the government allows such a business to function this way. If you think about the SPAM email example, it is the same thing. Imagine how frustrating that would be.
Anyway, I know better now and so does my family but I'm still cautious about using my phone for anything other than phoning someone.

Hope you don't get caught like I did.

Cheers!

My first post

Well! I guess I'm a Blogger now.

Don't know who will ever read this but my intent is to throw anything and everything I can think of into this Blog. I'm working on a project for the Canadian Air Force Officer Development Program and we are under a tight timeline so a lot of the posts will be me venting my frustration.

I'm also a Pilot by trade and I have not flown since 2002 so as you can see by my Blog Name, I Need to Stretch my Wings very soon.

I'll play around with the Blog page until I'm happy with the setup.

Cheers! For now.