I will post pictures after !

If anyone wants to come, it’s from Saturday 10am until Sunday at 10am.

Here’s the link to the map of where we’ll be!

EDIT : It turns out the field day is only at the same time in the Canada and the US.  Also, my ham radio club has changed in the sense that it only had 1 station, and we were setup inside the chalet of a park where we had access to electricity.  It’s legal in the contest, it just means we get less points per contact. A video slideshow will be put online in the days that follow.

Everything you want to sync goes up to a server in the sky, and when another computer you’re keeping in sync comes online, it connects to the server to get and send the latest file updates.

Once your free trial is over, the price for a 10 gig online storage “bin” is a very fair $25 per year.  However you only need to think about that once you’ve tried it for free !

Although it was not the point of this documentary, I came to a very unexpected conclusion by watching this.  The planet is not in danger, we are not killing it at all.  If anything, we’re artificially creating things that the earth has been dealing with since the beginning of time.  It’s not the planet that is in danger, it’s the human race.

Yes we’re depleting earth’s Oil resources, yes we’re spewing tons of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, and yes the earth is warming up.

However these are all parts of the natural process of earth.  The earth will make more oil,  the toxic chemicals that we’re putting in the air is what originally CREATED our atmosphere (Volcanoes throwing tons of Co2 and other substances into the air for millions of years), and the earth has always changed from between an ice age and the planet we know now.  Technically, we’ve just finished an ice age.  It’s no wonder the whole planet it warming up.

In conclusion,  lets not be high and mighty and pretend we’re trying to “Save the Planet”.  Lets face it, it’s man kind we want to save.  There’s very little us humans can do to REALLY hurt the planet. Anything we do the earth can fix it a couple million years.  To us that’s forever, for the earth a million years is nothing.  All we’re doing is hurting ourselves and destroying the things that WE NEED to continue existing on earth. Don’t save the planet, SAVE US !

Last Friday I decided to use a spare p3 866mhz with 360mb Ram to test out Ubuntu.   Ubuntu has a very nice graphical point and click interface that’s similar to XP and MacOS.

The installation went VERY well and it pretty much installed everything on it’s own.  Internet worked, file sharing worked (With my XP computers!), bluetooth worked, sound and video worked.  WONDERFUL!  I literally ran out of stuff to do in under 2 hours since there was nothing for me to configure.  It JUST WORKED !!  WOW !

So with that install having gone so well, I decided to install it onto my work laptop.  a P4 1.1GHZ with 256MB Ram.  I was afraid of losing some important windows only software so I decided to install it as a DUAL BOOT system.  Meaning when I turn on the computer, I choose if I boot into linux or windows.

Ubuntu was freezing during the install on my laptop.  I tried lots of things but it just wasn’t happening.  I decided to try install Xubuntu which is basically a slimmed down version of Ubuntu.  The installation of that OS went well, and I didn’t lose my XP data.  HOWEVER, this install did not install everything for me.

I had to manually configure my sound card, I had to manually get my no-name brand PCMCIA Wireless adapter working using NDISWRAPPER, and a few other things.  Considering I don’t know linux, these took a LONG time to figure out. I still haven’t gotten file sharing to work properly.

It took a whole weekend but I know have 2 computers running Linux and being able to do all the same things I always do on my pc’s.  Mostly browsing the web, watching video’s, msn, email, my blog ofcourse, billing and quotes for my business that I used to use Microsoft Office for, downloads, etc etc etc …  The best part is, I do all the same things, but these computers are now running much better and faster than they used to !

All in all, i’m LOVING Ubuntu and Xubuntu.  I have finally free’d myself of the chains of Microsoft !! (Don’t get me wrong, I like XP a lot.  Problem is it’s expensive and can get lots of virus’s - Spyware - adware, crashes, uses lots of resources….etc)  I’ve already learned a lot about Linux in the last few days.  There’s nothing like just throwing yourself into it !!

A couple of summers ago they got a rain water collector that catches the rain that comes off the roof, but it froze and cracked in the winter because it wasn’t drained.

I figure that if I put the water collector UNDERGROUND, below the frost line, it will not freeze. Once there’s some sort of underground tank, with a pump that will bring up the water when they turn on the faucet, I have a working source of water. I would like to heat this water.

Solar Hot water heaters are not the same thing as solar panels at ALL. Solar panels generate electricity, where as solar hot water heaters make liquid flow through pipes and/or hoses that are placed in direct sunlight. It’s the same effect as when you turn on your garden hose that has been sitting in the sun for the last couple of hours. The water comes out scalding hot ! Basically you circulate water through the solar panel and back into the hot water tank. Every time that the water circulates it comes back a little (or a lot) hotter and increases the temperature of the entire tank. From then on it’s regular plumbing from the hot water tank to the sink and shower. (Although in this case, there IS NO shower at all)

I’m not ready to get too much into this, but I should mention that when you pump water directly through the solar hot water heaters, this is not a winter friendly setup and the water will freeze in cold environments. Winter friendly hot water heaters pump a kind of anti-freeze liquid through the solar hot water panels. The piping containing this liquid goes THROUGH (or around) the hot water tank and heats the water by transferring the heat from the hot pipe to the water tank. This setup it a little ahead of what i’m willing to try and will not go into it further.

For the sake of experimenting, I went out and bought 30 feet of tiny plastic food grade tubing. I needed a pump to make the water go from my water bucket, through the plastic tubing, and back into the bucket. I first tried a pet store and looked at the water pumps they had there, but they were all 120 volt pumps and I needed a 12 volt pump. So I went to Canadian Tire and found a 12 volt Windshield Washer Fluid Pump that I thought would do the trick nicely.

I was partially right, the pump was able to push the water through the 30 feet of tubing just fine, and it’s 12 volts so it’s perfect. Then I made the mistake of reading the instructions. “Do not turn on the pump for more than 5 SECONDS at a time, and wait 20 seconds between using it in order to not have the pump overheat. Major bummer. I ran it for 5 minutes and stopped it. Still worked. I did this a couple of more times, and it stopped working. Oh well. I will return the pump to the store I guess. (It was only $20)

For the brief period I got to use it, the water WAS in fact coming out warmer than it was going in. (Just barely) I assume it would work MUCH better once the tubing is setup in the right enclosure (I need MUCH more tubing that’s for sure) and once I have a proper pump !

Although this attempt was a small one, it helped me understand the concept of heating water with the sun, and definitely showed me what kind of pump NOT to get. Thomas Edison said it best when he said “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” I learned that saying a long time ago when I was a child, and it is practically my moto in life. Learning something that doesn’t work to achieve your goal is just as important as learning things that DO work.

Please stay tuned for my future attempts at this with a new pump, more tubing, and a REAL enclosure.

Some related articles :

DIY Solar Power

Some interesting sections :

The federal government has introduced a controversial bill it says balances the rights of copyright holders and consumers — but it opens millions of Canadians to huge lawsuits, prompting critics to warn it will create a “police state.”

I’m not surprised. Canadian Laws have been very vague as far as copyright infringment. This was bound to happen.

“Bill C-61 spells out consumers’ rights in how they are allowed to copy media and clears up some grey areas. Existing laws do not specifically allow consumers to copy books, newspapers, periodicals, photographs, videocassettes and music. The new bill would expressly allow them to make one copy of each item per device owned, such as a computer or MP3 player. The bill would also expressly allow consumers to record television and radio programs for later viewing. “

Hey that’s not too bad !

” People caught downloading music or video files illegally could also be sued for a maximum of $500, but uploading a file to a peer-to-peer network or YouTube could result in lawsuits of $20,000 per file. “

Ok, this one is a bit of a bummer. However, atleast it’s letting us know the worst that will happen if we’re caught downloading copyright materiel is that we’ll be fined $500. It really doesn’t encourage the uploaders though … ( I must agree, if anyone gets in trouble for downloading copyright materiel, it should be the person that made it available.) On the other hand, imagine you uploaded a video slideshow to youtube, and it has some music in the background that is copyrighted. It’s no fair to get sued for that. I would really, REALLY hope that for things like that they would give you a warning and let you remove the copyrighted material.

Canadian internet service providers, meanwhile, would continue to be immune to lawsuits from copyright holders for infringements over their networks. The bill recognizes ISPs as intermediaries and would only require them to pass on violation notices from copyright holders to their customers. “

Good : ISP’s aren’t responsible for what their users are downloading.

BAD : They’re forced BY LAW to give law enforcement details about people violating copyright laws.

” According to the latest survey from Statistics Canada, one in five Canadians aged 16 and older who used the internet at home said they had downloaded or watched TV or movies over the internet, an increase from 12 per cent in 2005. “

I’m sure it’s a lot more ..

” Critics feared the bill will mirror the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which similarly brought in restrictive measures and opened the door for copyright owners to enact huge lawsuits against violators. “

Read the entire article here !

Also, if you want LEGAL almost free satellite TV, check out this place ! Basically, for a one time $50 fee you get free internet satellite TV for life !

Is anyone else interested in owning a TechieNATION hat ? (Girlfriend not included)

Thanks for visiting TechieNATION !

OpticsPlanet is one of the leading optics suppliers with a wide selection of sport optics, tactical and military gear, microscopes, and even Prescription Sunglasses! They have a huge selection of binoculars, spotting scopes, night vision, telescopes, rangefinders, laser sights, flashlights, tripods, radar guns, digital camera binoculars and much more!

One of the things I find the most interesting is the DIGITAL BINOCULARS. Normally, when you go hiking, bird watching, geocaching, or camping, you might take a high end digital camera or expensive binoculars. Instead, take an inexpensive digital binoculars camera and capture the moment while you enjoy the beauty of nature. Integrated Digital Camera binoculars not only bring objects closer, binoculars digital camera let you take digital photo pictures, and, with many models, capture video, that you can share with friends, send to relatives, and keep a memory for years to come.

OpticsPlanet’s site is a great place for people to explore, learn about their hobbies and find the best gear to suit their needs.  The site has a Best Price Guarantee offers Free UPS Shipping on most orders over $29.95.  Check it out !

On Friday some friends and I went to a beautiful spot by the water.  We were surrounded by the st-laurence on 3 sides of where we were.  We made a fire, we fished, we drank, made hotdogs on the fire, and we had a good time !  Thanks to everyone that came !

On Saturday my girlfriend and I drove down to blainville to visit my mum, along with my sister and her hubby who happened to be in town for the weekend.  We had an amazing LOBSTER dinner at a local bar (It’s the Lobster Festival right now) and afterwards setup camp in my mothers backyard.  (We could have slept indoors, but we love our tent, (that we call the TARDIS).   We once again made a nice big fire in my mothers outdoor backyard fire pit.  I really wish I had my camera.

My mum gave me a REALLY good quality jacket with my Ham Radio Call-Sign on the front and back.  I was also given some environmentally friendly socks !!

My sister and her hubby got me a really high end flashlight that straps to your head.  I’ve used these before, but none like this.  It has a brightness setting, and when on maximum, you’d think it’s a car headlight !   To top it all off, it’s lightweight and comes with a carry case that fits on my tool belt.   It will be very handy for all those times I need light but need both my hands to work with.   I was in the process of training a monkey to do this for me, but now I’ll let him go free since he’s no longer needed.

They also got me a Monocular.  You know, those cool one eye’d magnification devices that all the spies use in the movies ! This will be handy for geocaching, bird watching, and maybe sometimes even save me from needing to go get a tall ladder to check something in a cable that’s along the top of a warehouse !

I will be writing more in detail about these things soon.  I need to find my camera first.

Stay Tuned !

• The worlds first TECHIE NATION hat ! With the [Techie NATION] Logo and tag line “If all the worlds a stage, then the TECHIE must be god”. Wow, what a present, I LOVE IT ! In fact, i’m considering having a bunch made and giving out the first 50 or so hats. (Why not, they’re nice hats, and it’s some publicity)
• Coghlan’s Portable Foldable Stove with 2 cans of “Heat Source”. This will be handy for minimalist camping that I plan on doing a few times this summer, and will be permanently in my Emergency “Go-Kit.”
• Escort 12X12 foot Screen House! Oh yeah, this will be a great thing when camping at OKA during bug season. (Which is most of camping season I might add) Tarps are all that is needed to protect from the rain outside while camping, which is great, but this will also keep all the bugs away while we’re eating ! (And it’s a lot more pleasant looking than a series of tarps)
• My Mother has given me my first piece of environmentally friendly clothing. A T-Shirt that is made of Crab Shells !! (Feels and looks a little like silk)

Stay Tuned for these posts !

With the right equipment (Meaning Radio’s that can tune to the right frequencies and good antenna’s) you can also listen to the Space Shuttles communications with Ground Control. Most astronauts are also Ham radio operators and they often spend some of their “free time” in space talking with other ham’s down on earth.

I have tried and failed many times to hear Space Shuttle communications the few times I notice the shuttle being in range, but I must admit I do not have the greatest antenna for this kind of reception AND I only have a VHF radio which really limits the number of “space frequencies” that I can monitor. The best i’ve gotten was hearing morse code via a satellite, and hearing packet radio packet’s whizzing by on the frequencies.

You need to download software to know what satellites are in range of your current location. There are lots of these softwares available. Google “Satellite Tracking software” . This Nasa Page has J-Track available for download which has been recommended to me by a few Ham’s.

If you’d like to read more on the subject, I suggest visiting these sites :

• AMSAT - The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
• NASA - Satellite Tracking Webpage
• NORAD Links - Weather Satellites, Communications Satellites, and scientific satellite frequencies
• Ken Reitz wrote an interesting post on this subject in 1998.
  

Thanks for visiting TechieNATION, stay tuned for lots more intersting techie subjects !

Dilbert is a great office humour cartoon.  It’s the only one I like.

We rated the lots on a scale of 1 to 10, and sometimes put comments. In general however, for tent camping, I recommend THE DUNES section. It’s best to try and get lots that are in the corners, and along the OUTSIDE of the camping section. Not in the middle because this means having more neighbors. (Not always though -  there were a few GORGEOUS lots in the middle sections)

• Lot # 160 - 8/10 - We’ve used this lot and loved it. About 5 minute walk to the beach, and lots of privacy.
• Lot # 161 - 2/10 - Very close to lot #162. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you need 2 lots and in which case lot #161 and 162 go GREAT together and we would give it a 7/10 if using both.
• Lot # 162 - See lot #161 description
• Lot # 163 - 5/10 - Nice wall of tree’s on one side, but somewhat close to lot #164
• Lot # 164 - 5/10 - See lot #163 Description
• Lot # 165 - 4/10 - Close to water outlet, stuck with lot #166
• Lot # 166 - Same as lot # 165
• Lot # 167 + 168 - 3/10
• Lot # 170 - 5/10
• Lot #169 - 2/10 - VERY close to the bathrooms
• Lot # 171 - 2/10
• Lot # 172 - 3.5/10
• Lot # 173 - 5/10 - Near Water outlet / Secluded Camp site
• Lot # 174 - 2/10 - too close to water and neighboring lots
• Lot # 159 - 6/10 - Good beach access. 1 close neighbor.
• Lot # 156 - 2.5/10 - Close to lot #158. Only recommended if getting BOTH lots.
• Lot # 158 - 2.5/10 - See lot #156 Description
• Lot # 157 - 3/10 - Close to lot # 155. Only recommended if getting BOTH lots.
• Lot # 155 - 3/10 - See lot # 157 description
• Lot # 153 - 7.5 / 10 - Corner Spot - SECLUDED - Near Bathroom but not a problem. Easy Beach access. *********
• Lot # 151 - 2/10 - Too many neighbors
• Lot # 150 - 2/10 - Too many neighbors and too close to bathroom
• Lot # 149 - 2/10 - Close Neighbors
• Lot # 142 - 3.5/10 - Near Water Outlet
• Lot # 141 - 2/10 - Lot of close neighbors, near water outlet
• Lot # 140 - 1.5/10 - Too close to 139 but good if grouped WITH it
• Lot # 139 - 2/10 - Very close to lot #140. Good to be rented together.
• Lot # 135 - 6/10 - Secluded - Near Bathrooms
• Lot #134 - 4/10 - Back of lot near bathroom. Otherwise it’s a good Lot.
• Lot # 133 - 5/10 - Secluded
• Lot # 132 - 5/10 - Secluded
• Lot # 131 - 4/10 - Nice lot but water outlet TOO close that it draws people
• Lot # 130 - 5/10 - NICE
• Lot # 128 - 7/10 - No Neighbors ***
• Lot # 127 - 3/10 - Should be grouped with lot #126. Near Water Outlet.
• Lot #125 - 5.5/10 - Open - no Neighbors - Near Water Outlet
• Lot #126 - 4/10 - 1 Close Neighbor. Nice Sized Lot. Neat Water Outlet
• Lot # 124 - 7/10 - Large Secluded Lot
• Lot #123 - 5/10 - Nice Buffer Zone , (except the back)
• Lot #122 - 3/10 - Too close to neighbors
• Lot # 121 - 5/10 - Nice + Big. Just 1 close neighbor. Water outlet on lot.
• Lot # 120 - 4/10 - Nice but close to lot # 121
• Lot # 119 - 3/10 - 2 close to bathrooms
• Lot # 118 - 5/10 - Nice Lot but water RIGHT THERE so possibility of traffic
• Lot # 117 - 5/10 -
• Lot # 116 - 5/10
• Lot # 115 - 2/10 - Too many neighbors. Lot seems small.
• Lot # 114 - 2/10 - Small Lot
• Lot # 113 - 7/10 - Very Nice Lot. Only 1 neighbor. **

Those are all the lots we had time to rate. Next time we go we will do more. If you would like to give us more reviews on specific camping lots at Oka National Parc then PLEASE leave it in the comments and I will add it to the post.

There’s much more to come with maps and pictures !!! Stay Tuned to TechieNATION !

So, in the end of January I ordered my Ham Radio license plate for my car. Although I knew it would take a while, I’ve been checking the mail every day with hopes that it would be there.

Last week it finally arrived. I haven’t yet gone to make it legal so it’s not ON the car, but I enjoy looking at it. It took over 4 months, but that’s how long they said it would take, so it’s ok !

Since I’ve only been back a few hours, I will not be writing anything big about this, but I can let you know about the future blogs that will be following :

• Oka National Park Tent / Car camping review #2
• The killer raccoons of Oka National Park part 2
• Oka National Park Camping Lot Overview / ratings (Marina and I rated all the lots around us, to give you a good idea of what lot to pick when booking your camping at Oka)
• Oka National Park Camping trip May 2008 Picture Album
• Oka Camping Video Slideshow
• Making good coffee while camping with no power using your regular coffee machine

These posts will be added in the days that follows. Stay tuned !

Things to bring and DO when camping in the rain :

• TARPS are your friends when you go camping and are expecting rain. I bring 1 ground tarp, 1 HUGE tarp that goes above the tent and into the cooking area. (So it makes us a roof outside the tent) I’ve also got 1 more emergency tarp that will be used to make a single side-wall on the outside of the tent to prevent horizontal rain from soaking us if it’s really raining hard. (I use rope thrown up into high branches to pull up my tarp)
• Bring lots of Games ! I always suggest bringing games when camping, but when you’re expecting rain, pack a few more in there. You never know how long you’ll be in the tent or under your shelter watching and listening to the rain fall, and it’s always nice to have things to do. Bring whatever games you and your camping companions like to play. I’m bringing a deck of cards, scrabble, Blokus, Guesswho, and Connect 4.
• Rain Gear for yourself : The most important thing when camping is to stay dry and warm. Being wet and / or cold is a perfect recipe for misery. Bring a raincoat, bring a back-up rain coat, rain boots, umbrella, LOTS of socks, and lots of clothing. Don’t keep it all in one spot either. If you’ve got a car nearby, keep a bag of clothes in the tent, and have back-ups of everything in another bag in the car in case the things in your tent get flooded for some reason. Don’t forget back-up shoes ! (I’m a boy scout at heart : BE PREPARED !)
• If it’s raining when you arrive at camp, make sure you put up your “roof tarp” first so that you have a roof on top of you and the tent when you put it up. It’s very horrible to see the tent filling up with rain AS you’re putting it up and having it be soaked before you even get inside it for the first time.
• DON’T FORGET TO SPRAY THE SEAMS OF YOUR TENT WITH WATERPROOF TENT SEALANT ONCE EVERY YEAR! I don’t care if the tent says it’s not necessary, or it has tapered seams or whatever. SEAL’EM anyways, you have nothing to lose.
• Don’t let any objects INSIDE the tent touch the sides. This will make the tent leak at that spot. This includes blankets, yourself, a bag. (It’s ok to touch the sides temporarily, but anything that is touching the sides of the tent while it’s wet will slowly let water in, and overnight that little bit of water can add up to a puddle in the tent)
• Bring Food that you enjoy that can be eaten “as is” in case you can’t use your BBQ or make a fire.

Thank you for reading, and happy camping !! Remember, camping is always fun when you’re prepared for any situation ! (Although it leads to really full vehicules and lots of things to remember to pack)

I’ve come back from this camping trip, and added a video-slideshow of Oka National Park here.  I had a great time and I recommend it to anyone as long as you BEWARE OF THE RACCOONS!

Explorer is made by Microsoft. Microsoft has bugs and problems : always. Lets just say Microsoft is actually a good company, the fact of the matter is Microsoft Explorer is what lots of virus’s and ad-ware attack. You shouldn’t be using it. There is a better option and it works BETTER. You are not giving anything up for switching. It’s free. It’s developed by the internet community.

Firefox is the answer to all your web problems. I have been using firefox for over 3 years now. Every once in a while on someone else’s computer I use Explorer and am reminded of why I love firefox so much. Firefox is great at stopping pop-ups and virus’s from infecting your computer. It’s a very noticeable change when you switch to firefox.

Mozilla, the makers of firefox, also made a great email application called Mozilla Thunderbird which I have also been using for years and replaced Outlook with it. To be honest, they’re both very good email applications. I just prefer to support Mozilla over Microsoft when it comes to equal products.

Things techie’s need to take into account :

- CRT monitors draw more than twice the power of LCD monitors the same size. Don’t let a cheap employer fill up an office with CRT monitors just to save some money in the short term. Don’t tell them it’s an option, only suggest LCD monitors.

- Data centers take a LOT of power. Lots take more than they really need because of how they’re set up. Did you know there are lots of GREEN webhosting companies that either power almost everything with wind / solar power or off-set their emissions with Renewable Energy Credits ? Help save the environment by hosting your website with someone who is doing the same.

- Computer Power Supplies draw a lot of power. Now days, with the high end computers that are available at affordable prices, you often don’t need to have all your servers in separate boxes. Put your mail server, web server, SQL server, whatever you can really, into ONE REALLY GOOD server computer. You can install VMWARE to keep it as if they were all seperate computers. You’ll help a lot by having only a fraction of the servers you would in the past in your server room.

- RECYCLE TECHNOLOGY PROPERLY ! Don’t let your customers or people who depend on you throw out their towers, monitors, cell phones, batteries, etc into the regular garbage. A lot of these things contain harmful and dangerous chemicals and need to be disposed of properly. Don’t get me wrong, your 1 AA battery in the garbage won’t blow up your street, but what happens once it’s in the landfill and there are LOTS AND LOTS of batteries in there slowly starting to leek their dangerous chemicals. Staples has started a recycling program for technology.

- Make sure the computers you setup are configured to go to sleep after a few hours of inactivity.

The bottom line is, think about the environment before making decisions. People listen to you and take you seriously. I’m not asking you (or me) to give up on technology, but if there’s a greener way to get the same thing you should go that route even if it’s a little more expensive.

Please take the time to read how to be green at the office, and how to be green at home !