Birthday morning camping

• Author: Digital Mind - Mobile
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Jun 6,2009

Its a great thing to wake up on your birthday in a national park. Yay for =camping!!!=

Camping in oka once again

• Author: Digital Mind - Mobile
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Jun 5,2009

I have spent the last couple of days camping in oka with my lovely girlfriend Marina. I am still there actually and am writing this blog post from my cell phone!

As usual, we are having a great time! Using the list of camp grounds we rated last year, we picked lot 153 in the Dunes section this time. We can walk to the beach in about 3 minutes! It’s very secluded yet right next to the bathrooms…. Very handy!

The mosquitoes are out strong which has been irritating Marina a lot, but the racoons are slightly less annoying this year.

This is also the first time i get to use the screenhouse marina got me last year for my birthday!

Thats all for now, i may post more texts or pictures via my cell. I will be here for another 2 days!

Everyone that knows me is invited to Oka Beach on saturday june the 6th for my birthday! My cell will be on saturday to give people directions…. Hope to see u there!

Our current camping setup

• Author: Digital Mind - Mobile
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Jun 4,2009

Camping with the Ham Mobile

• Author: Digital Mind - Mobile
• Filed under: Camping, Ham Radio, Uncategorized
• Date: May 29,2009

Camping Season is back !  This year Marina and I reserved our camping spot at Oka National Park months in advance to make sure we get a spot we like.  A few weeks before it’s time to leave, I realize I still don’t have a car to get there.  It hardly seems worth renting a car for a full week, just to drive it TO camping and then back, so instead I bought a cheap car !  Strangely enough, one of the most exciting parts of this is the fact that I finally get to use my HAM RADIO Licence Plates that I received almost a year ago but never got to put on a car !!  So YAY, my first Ham Radio ID’d car.  (I should point out that here in Quebec, ONLY ham radio operators get customized licence plates with their call sign.  Everyone else simply gets what they get.

Remembering the BBS Days

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Mar 11,2009

Since this blog is populated mostly by Techie’s, I assume lots of you remember the days of the BBS’s. (Bulletin Board Systems) For those of you who don’t remember but are over 25, shame on you.  The BBS Days were some of the best times of my life.  I was a very young teenager at the time, but it has had a huge impact on my life and the way I handle certain things.

What is a BBS ?

Bbs’s were the predecessors to the internet.  Before the internet was known or publicly available, techie’s like us used BBS’s.  Basically, a BBS is a computer with software that enables people to call in via modem. Bbs’s were not connected to the internet, since there was no internet,  so BBS’s had dedicated phone lines going into that computer in order to receive calls from people calling in with their modem’s. Most Bbs’s only had 1 line connected to it, which means there could only be one user on it at a time.  The more popular Bbs’s had 2 or 3 dedicated phone lines.  Doing this back in the day was complicated. There was no WINDOWS for multi tasking, and getting multiple modems and multiple “windows” of the bbs software to run on a single PC running DOS was not so simple.

About BBS’s :

The fact that most bbs’s only had 1 phone line wasn’t much of a problem because since you had to DIAL IN to these’s bbs’s, most users were local (Otherwise they would be paying long distance call charges).  You didn’t have to worry about being able to have the whole world logging in like you do now days.  There were a few BBS’s that were owned by large companies that had T1’s going into them, (Each T1 means about 23 users can connect at once) these sites were usually used for live chatting with other users, but they usually required you to pay in order to use the bbs. (Those T1’s cost thousands of dollars a month!)  These BBS’s were very popular because chatting on a computer was a totally new concept for everyone.  Remember, there was no IRC, MSN, or anything like that.  (There basically wasn’t any internet !!! …. well there was, but it was too expensive and most people didn’t know it existed at the time)

What does a BBS do ? :

Bulletin Board System’s had more or less the same basic functions of the internet.  You could send private messages to other users of the BBS, you had forums where you would talk about all sorts of random things, you had online games that you could play against the computer or other users of the BBS, and you had file transfers so you can share files with users of the board.

About File Transfers (and speeds) on Bulletin Board Systems  :

File transfers worked differently on BBS’s compared to today’s internet.  All users had to keep an upload/download ratio.  So basically, for example, for every megabyte of files the user uploads to the BBS (That others can download later) that user gets the right to download 2 megabytes worth of files from the BBS.  It’s important to remember that back in the day, BBS’s had 2400 Baud Modem and UP TO 33600 Baud modem as time went on.  This means the maximum transfer speed was between 2.4kb/sec to 33.6 kb/sec.  This is slower than most cell phone’s internet connections now days.  Downloading (or uploading) a single image file could easily take an hour back then!  (Right before the extinction of bbs’s, most boards that survived had upgraded to 56K modems which is as high as it gets on dial-up to this day.  (Which is still VERY VERY slow compared to basic high speed internet)

Still don’t get the hype about Bbs’s? :

Most people I talk to about my BBS days don’t understand the point.  I have trouble understanding that they don’t understand. ;)   Anyone that uses the internet now, would have loved BBS’s back in the 90’s if they knew it existed.  A BBS was the closest thing to the internet that existed back then.  It was the only way to send a “digital” message to someone, the only way to play online games with multiple people, the only way to get pictures, programs, e-books, sound files, and random information ! Bbs’s were slow, only had local people calling in, but that’s all that was available at the time.  BBS users and SysOps (SYStem OPeratorS - The owners of the Bbs’s) were basically the pioneers of the internet !

The Conclusion :

Even though the era of bbs’s is now finished, you can still find a few online that can be accessed via TelNet. There are even a few rogue dial-up bbs’s still up and running.  Bbs’s taught me how to research things online, how to use a computer, and it’s basically where I learned to touch type.  Being a SysOp of my own bbs taught me valuable business skills such as marketing, customer service, and negotiation that I use to this day in my work and the way I run my telecom business.  For those of you who never got to know bbs’s but are internet addicts, you’ve missed out on the beginnings of the online world that we know today.  For those of you who used to go on Bbs’s, I hope this article brought back a few good memories from the past ! (Feel free to share them in the comments!)

Thanks for reading and for visiting TechieNATION !

Collapsible Shower for Camping, Cabin’s, RV’s, and Off-Grid Homes

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Solar Power and Off-Grid Living, Uncategorized
• Date: Jan 1,2009

This article describes a portable shower that I designed that can be folded up and fit under a bed.  It requires no electricity, and no water hook-ups. (no water pressure)   It only requires a bucket of water. (Ideally warm) It can be modified to work great for camping and RV’s too. This is my first prototype, there are lots of things that can and will be adjusted in the future. Click here for the youtube video or just scroll down the page!

What started TechieNATION in the first place was a post written about my now famous Solar Power installation in Kingston which provided a small amount of power for the first time to my little sisters off-grid home.  They have 10 acres of land, a small 600sq foot house, and have chosen to live “the simple life” for the moment.  Their only source of water is from a well at the bottom of a hill 100 feet from the house, and is powered by hand.  (a Good’ol fashioned well pump).  Last Christmas my Mother, Girlfriend, and I put our money together and got them solar panels. This years TechieNATION christmas project was a portable shower that could fit under their bed.

They’ve been sponge bathing for the last few years with the exception of the occasional warm shower at a family members home. This is what prompted me to try and build a portable shower that takes little room and no electricity.

This shower could easily be adapted for camping, trailers and RV’s, and installed in a more permanent and visually friendly manner.

Here are the parts used for construction :

• Large Rubbermade container that’s designed to fit under beds from Zellers
• 2 Thick pieces of scrap wood with holes drilled into the middle so that copper pipes can slide into it.  (I took apart a broken pallet from a loading dock and used that wood)
• 6 Feet of 3/4inch Copper Pipe. I used the thicker copper pipe to make sure it doesn’t bend and can properly hold up the shower head, pump, and shower curtain.
• a 3/4 inch copper pipe coupler so that I could split the pipe into 3 foot pieces and then screw it back together into a 6 foot piece. (This way the pipe fits into the rubbermade container when put away)
• A Guzzler brand hand pump that can move 8 gallons of water per minute if you want it too with about 18 feet of lift. (This is an excellent pump, it’s designed as a primer pump for boats before you turn on the electric pump)
• about 8 feet of garden hose.  The hose was cut into 2 pieces. I put on the hose connector myself to the short piece on top that goes between the pump and shower head. The shorter the hoses, the less amount of water is required just to fill the piping.
• A single setting shower head from Canadian Tire along with an adapter to be able to connect it to a hose.  (Shower head connectors and hose connectors are different sizes)
• About 12 feet of flexible copper tubing which was used as the shower curtain holder.
• 2 shower curtains. (There’s only 1 in the video, and as you can see it only goes half way around)
• 4 clamps to attach the pump and shower head to the copper pipe at the appropriate locations.

This shower had to meet the following criteria (I think) in order for them to like it and use it :

• They had to be able to hide it from sight and have it not waste any space in their small house.
• It had to take NO electricity because they don’t have enough solar panels to spare for anything other than lights.
• It couldn’t use water pressure to pump the water to the showerhead because they don’t have any water pressure at all. So it needed a manual pump of sorts to get the water from a bucket below.
• I REALLY wanted to connect it to a real shower head to make it more realistic.  It would have been easier to use a hose sprayer (and probably just as functional) but I really didn’t want too.
• It had to be efficient on water because it’s a lot of work to collect and heat in the first place.
• It had to look good.  (Ok so I failed miserably at that part, but it’s my first attempt, I could make it look a lot better looking with a little more time)

Lots of people have commented that I should have a water bucket on the top so that they don’t need to manually pump.  I agree.  However doing this would require making the whole structure much more solid, and there is very limited space above the shower head once it’s put up. (The shower head is a little over 6 feet up) If this was mounted permanently, I would put a temporary water holding tank up in the attic and have the shower head come out of the ceiling.  The pump would be mounted on the wall and only be used to move the warm water from the bucket below to the “tank” above in the attic.  Then they would turn on the shower head and have a hands free shower.

Here’s the video of the portable shower getting put together :

Please feel free to leave comments, questions, and suggestions below ! I read and answer almost all comments !

Merry Xmas !

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Dec 26,2008

I just wanted to take this quick moment to wish everyone and every techie a very happy holiday season !!

Thank you for visiting TechieNATION in this past year, and I hope to hear from all of you over the new year !

Demotivational Picture Generator

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Dec 12,2008

As most of you already know, I have another very popular website called demotivationalpics.com.  I took over this site when it had under 200 demotivational pictures, and it now has well over 2000. I now get over 20,000 page loads every day.

I have spent the last 3 days installing imagemagick on the server hosting this site,  and learning how to write bash scripts, so that I can come up with this :  A demotivational (or motivational if you are so inclined) picture generator !

Basically, you upload a picture, insert a title and description, and the website will generate your very own de-motivational poster ! It still has a few bugs, but it’s basically operational ! Try it out by clicking here !!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the makers of imagemagick for this amazing image manipulation software that can work entirely from the command line !  I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time but never could until I discovered imagemagick.  It’s really not easy to use, but it works!

Samsung Jack Cell phone review

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Techie Toys'n'Games
• Date: Dec 1,2008

After a year of using a cell phone that hangs up on half the people that call me, my cell phone contract has finally expired and it’s time to get a new phone at a huge discount.

My Cell phone carrier, Fido, has never sold blackberry services. (Which is strange because they’re owned by Rogers who was the first to offer blackberry service here in Montreal) I’m an email addict and this has been a pain.  About 6 months ago they finally offered a service like the blackberry, (Called blackberry connect) but was only supported on a specific Nokia brand telephone.  (Although lots of people have been successfully able to use the fake fido blackberry service with unlocked blackberries)

After a visit to the nearest Fido Store in downtown Montreal, I’ve discovered that things have finally changed! (Fido used to have a very easy to use website with all the information that is needed, now they’ve completely changed it and I can’t find anything I wanted on it.  So I had to go in person. Fido, if you’re reading this, what were you thinking?!)

Despite their now crappy website, I’m a big fan of Fido.  They give good service and have affordable prices.  I was happy to hear they now supported the 3G Wireless High speed Network.  They had 2 phones that I could see myself using.   The Iphone, and the Samsung Jack. (Also knows as the Samsung Blackjack 2, or the Samsung i616)

Read the rest of this entry »

Coming Soon : Server room of the week

• Author: DigitalMind
• Filed under: Server room of the Week
• Date: Dec 1,2008

I’m a phone technician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  I see new server rooms almost every day.  Some are very impressive, others are standard, some are just horrible.

I’ve decided to mix my day job with TechieNATION a little bit.  Every week, I will post pictures of one of the server rooms I have visited that week.  For each server room, I will give as much information as I can collect from the customer.  What kind of servers they have, what kind of fire protection they’re using for that room, what kind of battery back up system they have, the size of the company, etc etc etc …  Usually the phone system is in the server room so I will mention that as well.  I will post everything I know except for the actual NAME of the company since it may cause security issues for them.

Stay tuned, the first SERVER ROOM OF THE WEEK post should be up at the latest by next Monday ! (Dec. 8th, 2008)