It is with profound sadness that I bring you the news that the Trailer Park Boys is coming to an end.  Even though producer Mike Clattenburg had announced that the boys would be back for another season after taking a year off to recoup from their movie, millions of fans will be disappointed to learn that it was just a lie.

The boys have done their final season.

The hit mockumentary on television’s Showcase channel aired it’s final episode a few weeks ago.  It was a one hour special that takes place just after their first hit movie – The Big Dirrty.   in which Lahey finally wins and the boys all end up in prison.  Cyrus and Sam Losco even came back for guest appearances, but the best cameo was made by Gord Downey of the Tragically Hip. 

The special episode is full of all the great comedy that fans have grown to love.  For instance Julian is now driving a Delorian, even though he thinks that it might be a “little too flashy”.  Ray is now bottling his own liquor down at the dump, although the seagulls are getting increasingly aggressive.  Bubbles finds a meat slicer at the dump, and uses it to make bologna sandwiches at a singles dance that Lahey and the boys put on.

Randy’s gut makes several guest appearances during the episode as well. 

The boys have one more big hurrah before the lights go dim.  They’ll be making another feature length film, which is scheduled to hit theatres in October 2009.  They are also doing a travelling road show, which we’ll be heading to see this month. 

As a die hard fan, I am truly disappointed in the decision to can the show.  It was bad enough that they only made 6–8 episodes per season, but now to end it all just doesn’t seem right.

It appears that the lies we’ve been told about how piracy could kill the movie industry have been disproven by the story fabricators themselves.

For years the Movie Picture Association of America (MPAA) has tried to convince the world that they are victims of evil pirates.  They’ve spent countless dollars advertising and fighting legal battles to show that piracy is hurting their business in a big way.  From the early days of Napster, the MPAA has been filling our heads full of their heartfelt sob stories about how the industry could completely collapse because of piracy.

So, I’ll ask you just one question that will completely negate any view that the MPAA has ever put into your head about piracy:

If piracy is so bad, why did the movie industry see record revenues at the box office in 2008?

Those record setting revenues topped $9.78 billion in 2008.  The industry saw about 1.36 billion movie tickets sold in the US and Canada, down slightly from 1.4 billion sold in 2007 – according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The reason behind the incredible earnings in 2008 is mainly due to a 4.7% increase in average ticket prices across the US. 

Last year was also the year that The Dark Night hit theatres – earning $531 million and becoming the second highest-grossing theatrical release in history.  The only movie ever to gross higher was 1997’s Titanic.

All of this leaves the public to wonder why the great concerns about piracy?  Clearly the numbers are still there to support the industry.  Maybe now the MPAA can back off a little and stop being drama queens.  You can’t kill piracy.  On top of that, piracy isn’t going to affect the newest movies in the theatres.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Who wants to watch a cammed version of something like The Dark Night?  The quality is beyond horrible.

I’ve been a member of the working class for a long time.  In the years I have spent chained to an office desk, I’ve seen my fair share of coat-tail riders.  What exactly is a coat-tail rider?  It’s someone who lets you do all kinds of great work, contributes very little (if anything at all), then accepts some or all of the credit for said work.  Seems kinda shifty, doesn’t it?

It does.

Now the first thing I ask myself after reading that first paragraph is – why not just stop them from getting credit?  Maybe tell the truth about what they have done, or even call them on it.  Well, it’s not that simple.  Usually when someone realizes that their coat-tails have a rider on them it’s already too late.  The person has already been given the undue credit and to call them on it would often blow up in your face – making you look like the proverbial bad guy.

There are a couple of small things that you can do to try to catch these dirty scoundrels in the act.  First and foremost, you should keep an eye out for anyone who seems to have an unjustified interest in your work.  If it doesn’t pertain to them, try not to be too forthcoming with the details.  The second thing you can do is watch out for anyone who is assigned to work with you on your task or project, however just isn’t delivering any outputs.  They will likely be looking to benefit from your work.

If you’ve been taken by this type of lazy co-workers, try to move past it.  Getting worked up about it won’t help you one bit!  Use it as a learning experience and try to make sure if doesn’t happen again.

If you happen to be one of these people who enjoys stealing the glory from the hard workers, take a look in the mirror.  You’re looking at a greasy slimeball.  

At least that would have been a better name than "The Ultimate 2008".

Last night's Ultimate Fighting Championship was a spectacle indeed, but unfortunately it left much to be desired for hardcore UFC fans.  Touted to be the biggest and most amazing UFC event of the year, the organization lined up an all-star cast of fighters. 

The main event list included:

• Forrest Griffin vs Rashad Evans 
• Minotauro Nogueira vs Frank Mir
• Rampage Jackson vs Wanderlei Silva

It was a pretty impressive line up for the main events and the rest of the fight card was pretty good as well.  We saw the return of some favorites such as:

• CB Dollaway vs Mike Massenzio
• Cheick Kongo vs Mustapha Al-Turk
• Matt Hamill vs Reese Andy

Warning:  Reading any further might be a spoiler for you if you plan to watch the fights later!

The event started off strong with Cheick Kongo knocking out Al-Turk near the end of the first round.  It was the Kongo we've all come to love and respect.  So why all the talk about let downs earlier?  Glad you asked.

All three of the favorites for the main even lost last night.  The recently title-stripped, thrown in jail for going on a rampage, Quentin "Rampage" Jackson delivered a knock out blow to Wanderlei Silva.  This was Jackson's opportunity for revenge against the knockout blow that Silva delivered to him back in the Pride days - one of the most brutal knockouts ever seen in MMA fighting.

Later on we watched as the two coaches from the latest season of the ultimate fighter entered the octagon to fight for the Interim Heavyweight Champion title.  This time Nogueira was the favorite after winning over the nation by being a great coach and stand up athlete.  Mir on the other hand had delivered a Ken Shamrock level of coaching and attitude during his stint on the reality TV show.  Still, Mir managed to beat Nogueira with a TKO in the second round, disappointing fans worldwide.

And last, but certainly not least, the much hyped Griffin-Evans fight topped the night off and sent this fan to bed feeling let down and frustrated.  Everyone's favorite, Griffin, show tremendous heart and true sportsmanship, but was no match for Rashad's quick hands.  No one can dispute that Evans is worthy of the title he took last night, but he certainly would have made many fans happier by losing.  It was painful watching Forrest flop on the mat and appear to ragdoll as Evans delivered blow after devastating blow. 

Hopefully 2009 will be a better year for UFC fans and with any luck the UFC will move away from their quest to be pathetic like the WWE.  I won't hold my breathe though.

Being an employee of a large corporation can be trying for a multitude of reasons, especially if you factor in mandatory union membership.  It’s also tough to take a position on unions.  On one hand they use the power in numbers to ensure a fair and adequate working environment.  On the other hand, they can become enormous and corrupt organizations who capitalize on the fears of the many to benefit only a few.

Over the years I have seen some bold and seemingly inhumane moves by the union as they attempt to represent the best interests of the employee.  Most of their work seems focused on breeding fear and hatred towards the employer. 

In my personal line of work, I think I already have good working conditions.  I feel that my pay is adequate and my safety is ensured.  That’s not the case for everybody.  Some people work in awful conditions, and that’s the place where unions are really necessary.  The hardest part though, is when two unlike groups are brought together in the same union.  The expectation is created that everyone must fight for the conditions to be improved as a whole.  Sounds a lot like communism doesn’t it?

It does.

In these tough economic times, why would anyone want to put themselves into a strike position?  Unions should be working double-time to provide solid collective bargaining agreements in the best interests of the employees.  Many people out there are losing jobs as downsizing sweeps the nation.  A strike that lasts 8 or more weeks could easily cause people to lose their homes.  Is that really in the best interest of the employee?

We need to work on some new labor laws to protect employees from the unions.  We need to protect the interests of the hard workers.  If you’re part of a union, think twice before you vote to strike.  You, and many others, could lose much more than you bargained for.

If you’ve read any of my previous musings about the snow, then you might think that I have a negative view towards the white gold.  That couldn’t be any further from the truth.  I do have a dislike for any city that is completely incapable of handling their yearly accumulation, that’s no secret.  However when it comes to snow, I’m a very big fan.  And no, I’m not talking about that failed Canadian rap sensation from the 90’s.

Back to the point of my post, looking outside only leads to a depressing realization that there’s no snow left.  After last week’s incapacitating winter storm in the Niagara Peninsula, it’s hard to believe that I could be seeing the green grass today.  Yet, there it is.

Unseasonably warm temperatures for the past few days, coupled with a heavy rainfall, has created a disappearing act for the snow that even Houdini himself could commend.  It’s tough living in this region sometimes.  Weather like this leads to a lot of mud and muck, trading the traditional pure white winter for a dirty brown season.  I wouldn’t dare own a snowmobile; the two or three opportunities to ride each year couldn’t justify the costs.

As a kid living up north, I never dreamed that I would enjoy the snow.  I used to long for the end of the winter season, when the snow would melt and the warmer temperatures would take away the winter blues.  Standing outside waiting for your school bus in sub-zero temperatures can really seem like corporal punishment when you’re a youngster.  Especially after listening to frostbite warnings on the radio before heading out, noting that frostbite can occur in only minutes to any skin left exposed.

Years later, I miss the frostbite and wind chill warnings.  A lot of it has to do with the stability of the season.  If it’s winter, it should be snow.  I don’t want to deal with snow, melt, snow, melt.  I would gladly trade for consistency.  

In case you aren’t up on the latest news, we’re neck deep in a recession.  People are losing jobs hand over fist.  Companies are losing money, hand over fist.  People just don’t have the money to spend that they used to.  I could spend days writing about the economics of our society, but I'll save that for another day.

No, this time around I want to talk to you about this auto industry bail out business.  Here is the low-down.  If the North American auto industry doesn’t get a cash bailout by the end of the year, companies like General Motors could be closing their doors for good.  The question I pose to you is this:

Is that really a bad thing?

I own a Chevrolet Colorado, which is manufactured by GM.  So, why on earth would I even consider their demise a good thing?  Well, there are plenty of good reasons.  The auto industry is super saturated with high-priced, low-efficiency automobiles.  We have many instances where two car companies, which are subsidiaries of the same parent, produce vehicles of almost identical design. 

Is there really a benefit to this?  Why should I choose a GMC Canyon over a Chevrolet Colorado?  They are essentially the same truck.  There is too much choice out there.  What we need to do is focus on creating economical vehicles.  This isn’t a save the environment post, but saving the environment is never a bad thing.  Vehicles should be more affordable to buy and to operate.  With the rising cost of fuel, we need to find alternative fuel sources.  Cheaper fuel sources.

We also need to bring down the retail cost of the vehicles.  People go into incredible debt to buy today’s automobiles.  It’s nearly impossible to find a car that you can drive off the lot for less than $15,000.

The saddest thing about the fall of the big auto makers here would be the job loses.  My heart goes out to those who are out of work or who potentially could be.  The need for cars hasn’t disappeared though, and as the remaining auto makers regrouped and rebuilt, I wholly believe that the jobs would come back.

The end result would be cheaper, more efficient, better-built automobiles.  Their loss sounds like our win, to me.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has finally figured out that suing tens of thousands of customers isn’t going to bring back CD sales. 

The obvious truth is that CDs are a dying market.  CDs represent an out-dated way of managing music.  The decades old technology has limited storage capacities and is easily damaged.  A simple scratch can ruin most, if not all, of a music disk.  Anyone who has ever experienced this (that should be everyone out there) knows full well that you can’t just walk into the store and get a replacement.  In fact, if didn’t make a backup copy of your CD, then you are out of luck.  You’ll need to repurchase said album.

Digital music doesn’t suffer from such pitfalls.  Many only peddlers of music, such as iTunes, will allow you to re-download music that you have already paid for, in the event that something happens to your copy.  You can also utilize many different mediums with your mp3s.  You could put them on a recordable CD or DVD, to be played in your portable CD player, stereo, or even your automobile.  You can also load them onto your favorite mp3 player and experience the endless possibilities that become available.

With all that being said, it’s finally become clear to the RIAA that suing people isn’t saving CD sales.  The new tactic is going to take it to a new level.

The RIAA has managed to convince Internet Service Providers (ISP) to become the police, judge, jury, and executioner of would be music sharers.  Working with ISPs, they are implementing a three-strikes policy to manage their perceived violations. 

Sharers can expect to get three warnings from their ISP before their Internet service is terminated. 

No legal fees, no court, no more expenses.  The RIAA is ultimately shifting the responsibility to another body in what appears to be an attempt to lighten the workload. 

While the punishment is certainly more appealing than jail time, the lack of a legal basis opens the floodgates for wrongful accusation litigation.  It would seem that the ISPs will need to increase their legal budgets to compensate for the influx.

Yesterday, southern Ontario was hit with it’s first real blast of winter.  According to the weather man, Mother Nature dumped 20 centimeters of the white gold on us.  After being out there shoveling, I would wager to say that it was more like a foot and a half (45 centimeters).

Regardless of the actual amount, I’m sure you can imagine that it was a fair amount.

Last year I was driving a 2005 Saturn Ion quad coupe.  It had a sweet set of low profile tires which made the car look great and offered significant traction of dry summer roads.  When it snowed though, that was another story.  I actually got stuck on my own street a number of times last year.  I’m pretty sure I even got stuck 4 times in the same day on the same street.

Not this year.

This year I got myself a 2007 Chevrolet Colorado Quad Cab.  As an added bonus, it’s got a z714x4 package.  I never could have imagined the benefit that 4 wheel drive delivers.  I’ve used the 4 wheel low gear a few times, mostly for fun and off-road type excursions. 

All of the snow that I mentioned earlier mostly accumulated between 8am and 4pm yesterday.  I went to work as normal and watched out the window as the snow just kept coming.  At noon, my wife called to tell me that the kids’ school had phoned and advised that the school was closed.  That meant we had to go get them and we both work about 25 – 30 minutes from the school. 

No problem.  I got into the truck and headed out of the parking garage onto the relatively unplowed streets.  I immediately sensed that I needed to engage the 4 wheel drive as the back end of the truck slipped and slid in the deep, slushy snow.  I headed to the highway and then to my wife’s work to pick her up.  Then we headed to get the kids.  Plowed roads, unplowed roads, no problem.

The truck barreled through snow banks and handled the treacherous roads with ease.  Often passing unlucky drivers who were stuck in the wintery mess.  Even on my street I saw two trucks and three different cars stuck in the snow.  I’m pretty sure that I took the truck through the worst of it and giggled as I zipped along.

Aside from the 4 wheel drive, all-terrain tires, and general lack of fear, there was one other reason that the truck handled so beautifully.  I have a few hundred pounds of interlocking patio bricks in the box of the truck.  My box liner has slots in it that allow it to be segregated with 2x10 boards.  This allows me to keep the bricks in the back 18 inches of the truck.  Perfect for added traction!

I’ve been dealing with a chronically intermittent back problem for a number of years now.  In fact, I think that this winter will mark the 13th year.  The problem generally occurs in the lower portion of my spine, with an average of 8-12 months between flare ups.  That being said, the last few weeks have been particularly excruciating. 

This time around, I was in a staff meeting in a typical board room for approximately 30 minutes.  As I got up to leave the meeting, I began to feel the incredibly painful stab that normally comes with the onset of a flare up.  I could barely get upright.

Before I tell you more about the current story, let me take you back to the beginning.  It was a wonderfully snowy December day.  The snow was that light, fluffy kind that is a breeze to shovel.  There was about two or three inches on the driveway, and at the age of 17, I was helping my mother shovel our driveway.  I’d like to emphasize the fact that the snow was very light, not much work at all.

I was nearly done shoveling when an old man came walking down the street.  I recognized him from two doors down, however I didn’t know his name and had never spoken to him before.  He was shouting something about shoveling, so I directed my attention towards him.  He was telling me to stop shoveling the way I was.  He proceeded to ask me if I wanted to ruin my back.  At one point, he shouted “Do you want to look like this?”, and raised the back of his jacket up to show hundreds of scars that adorned his back. i

I couldn’t tell if they were from surgeries or torture.  Either way, it freaked me out.  What happened next had the makings of black magic, voodoo, and witchcraft. 

I decided that the old man was delirious and I was going to escape his rant by heading inside. As I turned to walk away from this crazy old man, I pivoted into a 180 degree turn.  That’s when it happened.  For the first time in my life, I felt a crippling sensation in my lower back.  I could barely move.

Never had I endured pain of this intensity.  For three days I was bed-ridden.  It was at this point that I realized the old man had put a curse on me.  Every subsequent recurrence of the pain, only served to remind me that the hex is still surrounding me.

Back to current day.  I have been to many doctors who have given me many pills.  I’ve had x-rays and examinations.  Nothing every solves the problem, at best I find some temporary relief.  Nothing in particular seems to be the cause of a flare up, in fact it almost seems random.

This time around I decided to visit a witch doctor (chiropractor) to look for some new options.  Yesterday I had my first go at the decompression table, a device that literally stretches and compresses your spine.  The idea is that it creates a vacuum between your vertebrae and draws out the material that is pinching or pressing on the nerve that is bringing the pain. 

Despite my description, the device is quite relaxing and I felt no pain as it separate a good five inches.  I have three more appointments next week, so hopefully the treatment will show some signs of progress in the near future.  I’ll keep you posted.

I can’t believe how awesome this season of Dexter is!  I could never have imagined the plot twists that the show has taken – and not just this season, but the previous two as well.  If you don’t watch this television show already, I would strongly encourage you to check it out.

Note:  Does contain violence, course language, nudity, and plenty of blood.  Viewer discretion is advised.

In case you haven’t been following Dexter since the beginning, let me bring you up to speed.  The first season spends a great deal of time on character building.  You meet Dexter, the 30-something blood spatter analyst with the Miami Metro Police Department, and the star of the show.  He’s a bit of a serial killer.

He’s the good guy though.  Did I just say that? 

I did.  He lives by a code and only murders those who deserve it.  Child molesters, rapists, and murders that the system had failed to incarcerate.  They seemingly got away with their crimes, but Dexter gives the victims the justice they deserve.

In that first season we also met a host of other regulars.  There’s Dexter’s loving yet rough around the edges, crass sister, Deb.  She’s one of Miami Metro’s un-finest.  We met the memory of Dexter’s adopted father, Harry, who is Deb’s actual father.  He was the only one who ever knew Dexter’s secret.  He taught him how to refine his killing skills, and how to not get caught.  Pretty unethical for a police officer.

Harry actually found Dexter in a pool of blood inside of a shipping container.  As a very young boy, Dexter watched as his mother was cut into pieces with a chainsaw, by some very unfriendly dealers.  Dexter’s brother, also a youngin, was at the scene as well.  Harry didn’t take him though. He grew up to be a different kind of serial killer, and became the focus of the first season of the show. 

A few other regulars include Miami Metro staffers Vince the perverse forensics guy, the hard a***and always suspicious Detective Doakes, his partner and previous Captain LaGuerta, and Angel Batista – a good detective with some bad habits.

If that’s not enough to get you hooked, you can read more on the Dexter Wikipedia page.

The show airs Sundays at 10:00pm EST on Showcase.  

If you’re not familiar with the term “domain squatter”, it’s basically a person (or company) that purchases Internet domain names in an effort to sell them for profit.  Squatters will typically look for sites that are likely to become of interest to somebody at some point in time.  Sometimes, they will watch for domains that are about to expire in the hope that they can snag the rights to a currently popular domain.

The case in point that got me thinking about this topic again is in regards to the squatting of GeorgeWBushLibrary.com managed by Yuma Solutions.  The squatters made an instant profit of $34,990 by simply waiting for the domain to expire, purchasing it, then promptly selling it back to Yuma.  That’s a lot of money to make in a short period of time. 

Yuma has been a long time contractor for the Bush family and had accidentally let the domain registration expire.  It’s that easy.  Now Yuma will have to take the financial hit, since it was their negligence that caused it to expire in the first place.

Now the question on everyone’s mind is - “Who is this mystery squatter?”.  None other than Raleigh, North Carolina’s own Illuminati Karate – another web design firm.

Previous cases of Internet domain name squatting include celebrities and organizations such as Madonna, Kevin Spacey, Bruce Springsteen, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and the White House.

Not all have been successful with recovering their domains, despite anti-squatting laws and U.N. intervention.  It would seem as though the Internet is a much tougher animal to police than most will admit to.  Cybersquatting is just one item in a laundry list of Internet related crimes that has yet to be both classified and managed.

At the moment, squatting is primarily just an ethical injustice. 

I live in a side split home, which ultimately means I have four levels.  On the left side of the split there is a top and a bottom floor.  The top floor is bedrooms and a bathroom, the bottom floor is the rec room and bar area.  One thing that I have noticed since we moved in (2 years ago) is that the floor in the master bedroom is always really cold in the winter.  Well, not the whole floor, just a foot or two that meets the outer wall on the front side of the house.

The thing with side-splits is that they often have an overhang underneath the highest floor.  In my case, the over hang is 19" deep.  That means that 19" of my bedroom floor is actually exposed to the outside air, as opposed to the rest of the floor, which sits on top of the rec room.

My rec room has a drop ceiling, so a few days ago I decided to take out one of the ceiling panels and see why the space that makes up the overhang was cold.  What I found was a little disturbing.  The joists run straight out, so they are easy to access.  Most of the cold area contained only a minimal amount of that pink fibreglass insulation and plenty of air.  There was also Styrofoam duct taped to the opening to help keep cold air from flowing into the rec room.

If none of that sounds like it's a good idea, it's because it's not a good idea.

Air and moisture have been able to accumulate of in this space for a long time.  The fix isn't that tough either.  I went down to the local Home Depot and bought a bale of Roxul Flexibat (R14) for about $30.  I like using the Flexibatt because it's not as itchy as the fibreglass stuff.  It's fire-retardant and mice won't chew through it.  I also bought some heavy plastic and some Tuck Tape.  Tuck Tape is that red tape that bonds any two unlike surfaces.  It's great for sealing the gap between plastic and wood.  It's very important that you create an adequate vapor barrier, to prevent mold and mildew. 

Once you have all the right stuff, the task is very easy.  I lined the interior walls around the overhang space with plastic and taped it so that there was a good seal.  Then I measured the area and filled it with the Flexibatt.  Last, but not least, I finished covering the opening with plastic, to finish the vapor barrier.  Now my bedroom floor feels much warmer.

The answer to that question would likely be - " far away from the awful movie that takes the same name".

A couple of nights ago we watch the Morgan Spurlock much-hyped documentary about his quest to find the most well-known criminal in the world today.  It's basically a two hour movie about killing time and avoiding his pregnant wife. 

Spurlock starts the movie by explaining that he is an expectant father and that he's been really thinking about how awful the world is.  He talks about all of the things that make the world bad, then focuses in on Osama Bin Laden.  He seems to think that if he finds Bin Laden, the world will magically become a better place.  His travels take him to places like Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.  In each location he attempts to interview the locals just to get there thoughts on Bin Laden an where he might be.

This is where it begins to fall apart.  Most of the people that he interviews are foreign.  Many of them do not speak a word of English and Spurlock does little, if nothing, to compensate for that.  There are no sub-titles, there are no voice-overs.  There is Morgan asking question in English and his interviewee responding in their native tongue.  The viewer is often left wondering what the interviewee had to say.

Meanwhile, his very pregnant wife is getting worried about his well-being.  They often call each other on the phone and express how much they miss each other.  He was gone for about 8 months, so he missed most of the pregnancy.  His quest eventually brings him to the Tribal areas of Pakistan, where a warning sign indicates that outsiders will be punished with death.  On that note, he turns around and decides to call it quits.  Sissy.

Spurlock ultimately avoided a good 8 months of his wife's pregnancy and thus spared himself from some mental anguish.  He arrived home just in time to deliver his baby boy. 

The movie really had no purpose and didn't open our eyes to any new truths.  His previous movie, Super Size Me, was a great success - however Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden was a complete and utter failure.  Thanks for nothing.

Nope, they're not flying anywhere.  I'm talking about the kind of runway where super-models strut, in only the latest and greatest fashions.

It would seem that Microsoft is looking to generate extra revenue in a relatively disconnected place, clothing.  While I don't expect the mighty M$ to become a clothing giant in the likeness of Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren, I do expect to see geeks everywhere sporting these duds.  These new and not-so-trendy fashions are meant to evoke the '80s, a seminal time in the history of PCs.  In the new t-shirt line, we can expect to see retro MS-DOS fonts and possibly a mug shot of a young bill gates. 

These shirts will be a huge success in the geek community, but the rest of the general population may not be as interested.  With dress code policies in effect at most major corporations, you'll have to wear these bad boys underneath your regular button down shirt.  I guess it will be a little like Clark Kent wearing his unitard underneath is mild mannered reporter outfit.  You'll be ready to transform into geek form whenever ID10T strikes.  If using a dirty old phone booth, remember to change safely - always bring protection.

These shirts will likely be a big hit on the college and university scene, where virtually any fashion is somehow acceptable.  Rumor has it that Microsoft may be planning a line of M$ underoos - but only for the most hardcore of fans.  Maybe they could get on the thong Speedo bandwagon and really draw in the attention of gawkers.  :)

I suspect that I'll eventually own the entire collection.  Now I just need an RTFM shirt and I'll be set for life.

The shirts are expected to hit select stores on Dec 15.

Recently I was given the opportunity to replace my aged and ailing humidifier.  It was one of those cartridge ones that attaches to the duct work by the furnace.  The new one, which was given to me, was of similar style, however it was brand spanking new.  A savings of approximately $200.  I didn't realize it at the time, but replacing the old humidifier would not be an easy task.  Here are some of the problem areas and how I over came them.

1.  The hole in the duct work for the old humidifier was much bigger than the new one. 

This was a relatively easy fix though.  I got my hands on some sheet metal (the same kind as the duct work) and made a patch to cover the area that the new humidifier did not.  You can simply use self-tapping screws to mount the patch to the existing duct, however make sure that your patch is big enough to extend a few inches past the hole - you'll need the extra overlap to secure the 2 pieces of metal together.  Once the patch is screwed in place, use aluminium duct tape (the shiny silver stuff, not traditional duct tape) to cover the outer edges of the patch to ensure that no air can leak out.

2.  The old humidifier had a transformer that was wired right to the furnace, the new one has a transformer that plugs into the wall.

This wasn't as easy to deal with as the last problem.  If you are not skilled or trained in working with electricity, the only advice I can give you is to call an electrician.  Luckily, I happen to be handy with electricity.  I simply installed a new plug close to the humidifier.  Another option could be to wire your new humidifier to the old transformer, however you should have a licenced professional inspect it for you to ensure compatibility.  In my case, the new humidifier had a few extra pieces in the electrical configuration that made using existing equipment impossible.

3.  The old humidifier was connected to the water line via one of those clamp on punch connectors, the kind that you just clamp to the pipe and screw in until it pierces the copper pipe, should I reuse that?

No.  Simply put.  These connectors are generally only good for a one time hook up.  Anything more than that and you will probably have leaks.  I know this first hand because I tried to reuse it.  Remember, if you are not handy with plumbing, don't try this at home.  I had to go back and re-do the plumbing after the leak started.  This time I had the only handyman with plumber skills that I know, my dad, to come and help me out.  We cut out a 1.5 inch section of copper pipe where the old connector had created a hole.  We did this after we turned the water off and drained the lines.  Then we soldered in a new T shaped connector.  On the new T connection, we then soldered a valve that is soldered on one end and utilizes a compression fitting  on the other end (the one that goes to the humidifier).  Now I can turn the water on or off to the humidifier whenever I need to.  I can also use the valve to decrease the flow of water, this way I don't blow a seal in the humidifier with too much water pressure.

I also opted to use copper tubing, rather than the plastic tubing that was provided.  Copper is way less likely to rupture and leave you flooded.

Hopefully you'll find some of this useful when you do your next humidifier replacement.

Even with the plight of economic downturn, people are still managing to shop 'til they drop... dead... literally.

A Wal-Mart employee in Long Island (NJ) had his life come to an abrupt end on Friday as an out of control mob smashed through the front door of the well-known department store chain.  This incident occurred on a day that Americans refer to as "Black Friday", a day in which huge sales rival the more popular Canadian Boxing Day. 

The story doesn't end there, this tragedy not only killed the 34 year old employee, it also saw four other shoppers injured - including a woman who was eight months pregnant.  I referred to the tragedy killing a human being and injuring others, but the truth is that the tragedy is only the result.  It was other human beings who all but murdered another, just to get a discount on some merchandise.  How is it that mob mentality kicks in and nobody - not one person - stops to realize how foolish they have acted and come to the aid of the injured.  It's sickening.  It's brutal.

Some employees actually climbed vending machines to escape, as 200 raging animals bum-rushed the retail store.  The mob actually took the hinges off of the door, that's how bad it became.  The employee who lost his life was gasping for air as shoppers continued to surge into the store after it's 5 am opening.  Can you believe this?  I had trouble accepting it.  The worker officially died of a heart attack, brought on by the trampling he received.  Every one of those shoppers has his blood on their hands. 

It is estimated that 2,000 people were gathered outside the store in the predawn darkness, waiting for the doors to open.  All of them itching to spend their cash.  They began to chant "push the doors in" and started to press on the glass as opening time drew closer.  The employees tried to form a human chain to slow the savages down, but in the end it was in vein.  A life was lost and a lesson should have been learned, but had it?

The photo shows the mob just moments before the doors opened, courtesy of NY Daily News.

In a move that is sure to anger die-hard, original UFC fans, the fighting-turned-marketing organization has once again disgraced itself.  This time it's about a video game.

UFC Undisputed 2009, due to be released early next year, is expected to be the fighting game of the year.  Unfortunately, the UFC has once again decided that the rights of their fighters only gets in the way of the cold, hard earnings.  This week the UFC is on the outs with popular fighters Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch after the fighters refused to sign away their likeness rights for life.  Yep, you read that correctly.  Life.  Not only would the fighters no longer own their own likeness, but their families wouldn't receive a penny in the event of their death.

With the disagreement heating up to the point where the company decided to cut Fitch, my faith in the UFC as an organization slowly dwindles.  As expected, it was Dana White, the self-embarrassing president of the UFC, who decided to let Fitch go.  It would seem that Mr. White's temper is in need of some restraint, maybe he can afford anger management classes with the pennies he steals from the real stars of the UFC - the fighters.  The only person that can make themselves look like a bigger idiot on nation TV would be George W. himself.

After White took 24 hours to calm himself down, Fitch was back with the UFC and has now signed a contract that will allow his likeness to be used in the game.  The details of his contract are still unknown.  At this time Koscheck is still unsigned and is planning to avoid the mess until after his upcoming fight against Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

Sadly, if a fighter wants to be a star, it would seem they have to sell their soul to Dana White.

Following up on my last post, after Monster Jam last night we decided to stay at the Sheraton right next door to Copps Coliseum.  This hotel was a big disappointment.  Very big disappointment. 

While we were checking in, a homeless person came into the lobby and asked us for help.  The hotel staff promptly advised this person to leave, apparently this is a regular occurrence with this individual.  That was our first taste of this hotel's level of quality.  As a saving grace, this Sheraton is attached to the Jackson Square mall, so there is access to plenty of shops and restaurants within walking distance and no need for a coat.  It's also about 30 seconds down the road from Copps, so it's convenient if there is an event you are attending.

We took the kids down to the pool as soon as we checked in and we were less than impressed.  The pool was a decent size and of moderately decent temperature.  The kids absolutely loved it.  Not being a hotel pool person, I opted for the hottub instead.  It seemed rather small and appeared to be a residential unit that was converted for commercial use.  The tub itself was littered with epoxy patches and had definitely seen better days.  The handrail was wobbly and the temperature was well below the posted 103 degrees Fahrenheit.  There is also a fantastic view of a meeting room, whose glass wall overlooks the pool area.  Fortunately, the kids and I aren't modest.  We'll swim in front of anybody.  The change rooms were little more than glorified bathrooms.

The elevators in this hotel seemed to take forever to get to whichever floor we called them from, often waiting several minutes for one of the three to arrive.  After getting back from Monster Jam, we took the kids for a swim, then brought them up for bed.  They had trouble getting to sleep because half of the floor we were on had been rented out to what appeared to be high school kids who were determined to have a party.  Often times through the evening and night they could be found cursing and yelling in the hallway.  At one point security came to speak to them, but the noise came back minutes after security had left.

A strange knock at my door around midnight turned out to be an older gentleman who clearly had the wrong room.

To top it off, at 11:15pm I called down for room service, as the menu had a late night 11pm - 1am section.  I was advised that they no longer do this and were too lazy to update the menus in the guest rooms.  If I wanted, I could be referred to a pizza place, but that was that.  Angrily, I declined and decided to try my hand at sleeping.  Terrible night's sleep due to the partying kids and the dryness of the air in the room.  Don't get me wrong, I was that age once and I am not against a good party.  Just pick you venue better, and don't get drunk and curse when their are little kids around.  I was quite happy to check out of this sub-par, poorly managed hotel in the morning.

That said, the kids enjoyed their first ever hotel stay, but from now on I'll be sticking with the Marriott.

Hey race fans!  Last night we had the dubious honour of attending Monster Jam at Copps Colosseum in Hamilton, Ontario.  It was pretty d***good, despite the small venue.  After seeing Monster Jam at the Rogers Centre (SkyDome) last year, Copps looks like the miniature version.  The complete course was the size of the ice pad that the Bulldogs normally play on.  None the less, we were in the first row and pretty much dead center in the action.

This is the first time that we decided to bring the wee ones and they had a blast!  We brought some ear plugs for them, the kind you roll up and stick in your ears, and they worked pretty good.  I had a pair in and it was incredible to observe how much white noise is cut out - you could still hear the trucks and announcer just fine.  We started off the night by getting the kids some checkered flags and some little pink GraveDigger t-shirts.  I picked up a GraveDigger toque, to make up for the one I couldn't get last time.

Once we got seated, the kids weren't sure what to expect.  The looks on their faces said it all though, as soon as the trucks came out.  GraveDigger, AfterShock, Batman, Maniac and Jurrassic Attack were in attendance.  The Batman truck wowed them with the flames shooting out of the back, but the topper for the evening was that Jurassic Attack was driven by a woman, Kristy Edge.  Being little girls, the kids are always excited when a woman is involved in primarily male dominated sports.  She did great too, despite some early truck problems.

The Quad Wars racers were out as usual, pitting team Toronto against team Hamilton.  They like to put on a good show, and there was at least one good flip.  However, the highlight of the night was the three motocross racers who dominated the intermission show.  These guys were doing crazy 65 foot jumps, one after another, for a good 20 minutes.  Each jump had a driver doing a handstand, or some other crazy trick on their bike.  The final jump included a complete flip of the bike with a near perfect landing.  Very entertaining - great job guys!

I'd say the kids were super impressed and GraveDigger cleaned up, making this Monster Jam a worthwhile event.  Can't wait for the next one in January!

As you probably already know, I love to rant about the price of gasoline.  It was quite high for some time and it seemed as though there would be no relief in sight.  Then it happened.  Gas prices started a rapid decline that led me to fill my tank at $0.79 per litre today.  I should be happy, right?  By my own account, this is exactly the relief I was hoping for.  For months I was longing for a break in the price.  Well, now I have it - but I'm a little bit scared.

Why?  Because something isn't right.

Gas prices haven't been this low in a couple of years and the continual decline is pushing me towards paranoia.  Why have the prices come down so low?  Supply and demand isn't adding up for me.  Consumers continue to consume as much gas as before, so there's no let up in the demand.  OPEC has decreased the production of crude oil by 1,000,000 barrels a day, so the supply has gone down, therefore the cost should go up.  Right?  I'm no economics major, but I do get the basic principles - something isn't quite right.

Gas is one of those things that has systematically risen in price for as long as it has been consumed.  I remember when I got my first car in 1996 and gas was $0.54 per litre.  That is less than half of the $1.34 per litre that fuel prices hit this summer. 

With the economy collapsing around us, maybe this is a sign of sorts.  One more warning that things are about to change for the worse?  Who knows.  For me, I'll shut up and take my cheap gas while I still can.  Who knows when it will pull an about face and skyrocket again.

Personally, I'm a big fan of winter.  I love the snow.  I love to drive in it, I love to play in it, and I just can't wait to bust out my snowblower for the season.  This year I have made a personal commitment to not destroying the neighbour's fence with it.  The leaves have pretty much all fallen and the rain should soon turn to ice.  This year I have an extra special reason for wanting it to get here.  I bought a 4-wheel drive Chevy Colorado and I can't wait to test it against our poor plowing practices.  Last year, I got stuck a number of times with my Saturn Ion, but this year I will emerge victorious!

The week, my wife had us put up the Christmas tree and all the other decorations.  The outside lights are up and the house is really starting to look the part.  Now we just have to roll into this commercial holiday and start buying up the gifts.  My goal is to do better than last year and get all the gifts done before the final weekend before the big day.  Last year I had some trouble with that.

The kids are starting to get revved up about the holiday.  They repeatedly ask how many more days till Christmas and often tell us about all of the wonderful gifts they should be receiving.  It's kinda cute.  Yesterday they were asking about getting some more magical reindeer dust, since we ran out last year. 

I just can't wait to get out there and build snow forts with them, and take them tobogganing!  Playing in the snow is incredible fun for the whole family.  The snowblower is exceptionally helpful for building snow forts, just create a big pile and dig out the middle!  Hurry up winter!

If you know a thing or two about the Xbox 360, then you would probably tell me that I can have DivX on my console.  In fact, an update published by Microsoft in the Fall of 2007 had specific provisions to allow DivX playback on the Xbox 360.  Now you are wondering what I am complaining about, right?  Well, let me break it down for you.

I currently have an HTPC (home theatre pc), running Vista Media Center, that controls my entertainment centre.  All of the tv that we was is basically DivX movie files that have been PVR'd at some point in time.  When I got my Xbox 360, I wanted to set it up as a Media Center Extender so that I could create additional playback scenarios within my home.  Xbox has some pretty neat and easy to use functionality to configure it as an extender.  Within about 20 minutes I had it up and running and I could see my network storage (provided by FreeNAS).  When I located a previously recorded television show, and selected it for playback, I received the greatest letdown of the week.

I was informed that a codec could not be acquired and the tv show would not play.

To test out a theory, I went back to the Xbox dashboard and setup a connection to my file share.  I then selected the same file for playback.  Low and behold, it started to play.  Now this may just be the geeky side of my coming out, but wouldn't it make good business sense to use the same player and protocols anytime a movie file is played on the Xbox?  Not to mention the fact that it would have been easier and taken less development time.

Back to the issue at hand, I now sit with my 360 still being just a console and the extended functionality still leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.  In this day and age, I expect better from companies like Microsoft.  You're extending your own products, make them work.

So it would seem that I was right in my earlier posts about Yahoo being a bad purchase decision for Microsoft.  I'm glad that deal never went through.  Yahoo would have been a dead weight and would have only degraded Microsoft's already craptastic search engine.  The story gets worse though...  much worse.

Back when Microsoft laid their offer on the table, they were offering Yahoo somewhere around $32 per share.  Yahoo felt this was an insult and responded by saying that they felt their company was worth $48 per share.  Well, I am happy to announce that as of yesterday, Yahoo stock prices had dropped into the $9 per share range.  $9 ??

Yep. 

The truly horrific part of this scheme is actually that the embattled search engine company has actually lost around $31 billion in shareholder value since that initial offer from the mighty M$.  Hindsight is always 20/20, but it's obvious that Yahoo should have jumped on that offer and saved their sorry hides.  Now it's time to face the music.  We're heading into a great depression and the economic downturn is systematically collapsing dot com companies. 

It's been nearly over five years since Yahoo stocks have seen prices this low, but the worst is yet to come.  If and when the Yahoo stocks hit the $5 mark, it could pretty much all be over.  According to CNET News "A number of institutional investors, such as pension funds, asset managers, and endowments have policies that require them to discard stocks that fall below $5".  That means that once it hits that mark, the price's fall will greatly accelerate.  The last time the prices were $5 was in October of 2002.

Goodbye Yahoo, it was nice knowing you.  Maybe someday I can Google you and get a link to the Wayback Machine.

Does anyone else watch this show?  I absolutely love it.  I'm addicted and can't get enough.  The premise alone rocks me.  A drug dealer soccer mom.  How cool is that?  I never quite know how to take the show.  Is it a comedy, or a drama, or what?  I can say this much - it's brilliant.

I'm not sure why or when I started watching the show, but my wife and I simply love it.  We're starting to watch the 4th season now and, like ever season before it, they've taken it to the next level. 

Of you don't already watch it, here is the synopsis:

A typical suburban family suffers the loss of their primary bread winner and father figure.  The wife starts selling a little bit of marijuana to help make ends meet in this tragic time.  Before you know it, she is growing big and fast.  She eventually has employees and starts making deals with gangsters, all while trying to manage a household.  The show stars Mary-Louise Parker as mother/dealer - Nancy Botwin.  SNL's Kevin Nealon makes an excellent addition to the show as councilman Doug,  a pot smoking corrupt politician/account who has his hands in everything that is dirty.  The rest of the cast is also brilliant and the show would fail without all of them connecting so incredibly well.

The clever storyline tackles all kinds of familiar social issues.  Everything is fair game.  From bored housewives to alcoholics to stereotypical racism, no stone is left unturned.  The writers do a tremendously good job at making you associate with the characters and bond with them, yet still keeping a slapstick air of humour about it.  Five stars.

I can't do the show any justice simply by writing about it, you have to see it and judge for yourself.  You can read more about Weeds on IMDB.

The good news is that the update only affects AVG 8 products running on Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, and French versions of Windows XP. 

AVG has long been emerging as a leader in the home PC antivirus market, with their free product protecting millions of users world wide.  Recently, the Czech-based company has suffered from some embarrassing setbacks.  In October, an AVG update detected some ZoneAlarm firewall files as a virus and in July the company had to reconfigure its Linkscanner tool when site operators started to complain about an increase in traffic due to the tool's proactive scanning techniques.

Still, users should not begin to panic about the AVG product.  The company may have made a couple of mistakes, but their software protects millions of users from millions of threats and at little to no charge for the end-user.  AVG 8 continues to be the best performing and widely supported free antivirus program on the market today. 

AVG Free can protect you from viruses, spyware, adware, and identity-theft.  The number of threats out there grows everyday and if you don't have protection on your PC, you are putting yourself at risk.  If you don't already have a virus scanner, I would encourage you to download a copy today.

The downside is in the companies that produce them.  My GPS came with my car.  It's not built in, in fact, it's a Magellan Maestro 3210.  It was a freebie from General Motors for my purchase of a Chevy Colorado this summer.  As an aside, I love my truck.  That being said, the maps in the GPS are limited to Canada only for some strange reason.  To make matters worse, they are from the first quarter of 2007.  That means that they were a year and a half outdated when I received it. 

Now you can argue that what is free should not be complained about, but indeed these products are still for sale.  A while back, I visited the Magellan website in order to check for updates and I was very happy to see that an update was expected sometime in 2008. 

Well, yesterday I checked out their site again and saw that an update is now available!  I can now have the latest and greatest maps to help me navigate the world.  This update is a steal at only $79.99.  What?!?  They want me to spend $80 to have their inferior product updated?  That's half the cost of a new device.  We're not talking about new features here, just updated maps to support a product that millions of people have purchased. 

I wish Microsoft made a GPS dash unit.  They do have a USB GPS device that works with a laptop and Microsoft Streets and Trips, but that is cumbersome for the dash of the truck.  What's so great about their product though that would make me want them to compete with the in-dash market?  Quarterly construction updates.  Every three months, Microsoft releases a map update through Windows Update that includes road changes and construction information and is available free of charge.

That's the way it should be.  New products can be released every couple of years with new features and better operating systems, but the content (i.e. the maps) should be updated at least every quarter so that users get the best value for their money.  No need to rip people off.  I won't be buying any Magellan GPS products again until they fix their business model.

Update:  While finalizing this post I discovered that Microsoft is indeed entering the portable navigation market by introducing a new operating system that targets GPS units.  It's called Microsoft Windows Embedded NavReady 2009.  It's currently expected for the 2008 holiday season.  More to come on that...

Ok.  About 2 weeks ago I scored an XBox 360.  It's the first video game console I have owned since Nintendo 64 and I am totally and utterly addicted to it.  A grown man addicted to video games?  It's true.  All of it.

I've been somewhat of a game fan for most of my life.  I had an Atari 2600 growing up and I vividly remember the Christmas morning where I found a Nintendo Entertainment System under the tree.  It was the action set that included Duck Hunt.  I hated duck hunt with a passion, but I loved Super Mario Bros.  Eventually I upgraded to a Super Nintendo.  That rocked my world.  My friends and I spent a lot of time in front of the SNES.  We had the Super Scope 6 - remember?  It was that giant shoulder mounted bazooka type thing. 

It was during the SNES years that I got robbed and someone stole it.  I was devastated, however the insurance replaced it with a Nintendo 64.  I was over-joyed, but found a lack of games that could hold my interest for this platform.   It sat on the shelf for a good number of years before I dusted it off for the little ones to mess around with. 

Then it happened.  A few months back I was visiting an old friend from childhood and we found ourselves playing drunken Playstation 3 at all hours of the morning.  I was renewed.  I had to get a new console.  The choice was tough, but in the end, XBox 360 prevailed and my wife so graciously acquired one for my birthday.  :)  Thanks hun.

I have been racking up incredible amounts of time on both Need for Speed: Pro Street and Grand Theft Auto 4.  Both games are very addictive!

• Windows 9x - Version 4
• Windows XP - Version 5
• Windows Vista - Version 6

While the next smash hit from M$ won't have a catchy name, simplicity will prove to have its virtues.

While the official beta version of Windows 7 isn't slated to be available until spring 2009, 32-bit and 64-bit pre-beta versions are already flooding peer-to-peer networks.  BitTorrent sites such as The Pirate Bay and MiniNova are hosting multiple downloads of the pre-beta versions.  Don't get too excited though, many of the downloads are the latest stable release given out at the Professional Developer Conference (PDC), and not the latest and greatest.

It's interesting to note that rather than being greeted by the Vista Welcome Center, users are now greeted with a Windows Live sign-in window.  It appears Microsoft is planning to increase the integration of the Live product family into the new OS.  Windows 7 will also feature support for multitouch input and a new taskbar that makes managing multiple open windows a breeze.

I think the best news about the new design is the cleanup of the annoying User Account Control feature from Vista. 

Are you sure you want to do this?  You have to be an administrator to do this.  This requires elevated permissions to do this.  Last chance to back out... 

Now users will be able to easily change how often the system warns them of changes being made to their PC.

I personally can't wait to see the product take shape as the countdown to the official release begins.

If you recall, John's Background Switcher is a utility that periodically changes your desktop wallpaper, or in my case, allows me to display different images on each display of a multi-monitor setup.  It's very simple to use and really creates great value for anyone who strays away from the default background from the operating system.

So What's new in version 3.6?  Glad you asked.  From the documentation provided with the application:

The main big new feature for 3.6 is RSS feed support. Any photo site that support RSS feeds (look out for the feed icon picture right) can now be used as a photo source for JBS. Popular sites like DeviantArt, Photobucket and Zooomr (to name a few) expose RSS feeds so there's no excuse for not using your favourite pictures on your desktop!

There are also a host of other bug fixes and some much-requested features like being able to never show a picture you don't like again, choose a picture to always use as the background in a snapshot scrapbook and shuffle photos in 'Pictures' mode so you get to see them all.

It's also worthwhile to note that JBS integrates with Facebook to pull down the latest and greatest photos of your friends, family, and you.  There is also a support forum, in case you run into any challenges that can't be readily solved.

Head on over to John's Adventures and read more about this great utility - or better yet, download your own copy.

I've been a fan of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) for some time now.  In fact, since the beginning.  My friends and I would pool our money and order the pay-per-view event and watch the greats, like Royce Gracie, dominate the tournament.  Back then it was tough.  There were no weight classes, no holds barred.  Just plain skill, endurance, and stamina.  You had to fight four times in one night, just to win the $50,000 prize pot.  Nowadays fighters earn six figure contracts just to fight four times a year.  There is no more tournament.  The UFC is trying to turn itself into the WWE now.  It's all about the drama.  The fighters have to invest in long term strategies if they want a shot at the champion belt for their weight class. 

It kinda disgusts me.  Dana White, while boasting true entrepreneurial genius, is an idiot.  He's taking the best part about the UFC and trading it in for a mainstream market.  Twice a year the Ultimate Fighter airs on Spike TV and lets would-be fighters compete for a contract in the UFC.  More often than not the group is a pride of drunken trailer trash and anger management issues.  These guys aren't athletes, they're jackasses. 

Last night I watched UFC 90, just to see Patrick Cote compete against Anderson SIlva.  Silva is widely regarded as the greatest mixed martial arts athlete in the world.  For two, five minute rounds he displayed none of that.  He danced around the octagon, waved his hands around like an angry swarm of bees and did little to injure his opponent.  Cote fought hard, as was expected, but his efforts did little to take out the Spider.  Then it happened.  Cote dropped to his needs as the world watch his knee pop out.  Silva had nothing to do with it.  It was a disappointment to say the least.  The handed Silva a TKO (technical knock out), and that was that.  The problem is that, technically, he knocked out no one. 

It saddens me that this is the state of the UFC today and if the drama gets any worse, I'll have to find a new underground fighting championship to peak my interests.

One can only assume that this is a very easy exploit, considering the move by Microsoft to release outside of their standard monthly cycle.  The patch is being pushed down via Microsoft Update.

The Executive Summary from the bulletin outlines:

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Server service. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an affected system received a specially crafted RPC request. On Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 systems, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability without authentication to run arbitrary code. It is possible that this vulnerability could be used in the crafting of a wormable exploit. Firewall best practices and standard default firewall configurations can help protect network resources from attacks that originate outside the enterprise perimeter.

This security update is rated Critical for all supported editions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and rated Important for all supported editions of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way that the Server service handles RPC requests. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately.

Promise me that if you care about the security of your systems, you'll patch this right away! 

CNET offers some additional defensive computing advice to Windows users in their article Time to patch Windows again, ASAP.  They suggest disabling services that you don't need to lower the attach surface area of your system, in addition to properly configuring your firewalls.

My original goal for setting up the network was to play with setting up the Xbox as a media extender, and in doing so I discovered that my Xbox needed some upgrades.  Most of the content that I view with my media centre PC is DIVX/XVID encoded videos and that doesn't play very nicely with the Xbox.  There is hope though.  After doing some research, I discovered that the latest updates for the Xbox contain DIVX/XVID codecs.  Sweet.

Maybe not.  I must have spent an hour in the console interface trying to figure out how to download updates.  After some Googling, I finally figured out that you need to connect to Xbox Live to make this happen.  No problem.  Xbox Live Silver is free of charge. 

Here in lies the rub.  While trying to configure my Xbox Live setup, the console informed me that there was a problem with the MTU setting of my router/modem.  Say what?  More specifically it was unable to get the MTU setting to validate it.  Since I use SmoothWall as a firewall/router, and the Xbox 360 is on the green network, I made the assumption that my smoothie was the problem.  The answer is actually quite simple and you can read all about it at the SmoothWall Community Forums.

To sum it up:

1. Set a static IP for your Xbox. In my case it's 192.168.1.13 and it's on my green network, and I set the IP on the Xbox itself.
2. In your Smoothie, under Networking click on the Incoming tab.
3. Forward ports TCP/UDP 88 and TCP/UDP 3074 to the Static IP set for you Xbox.
4. Under the Outgoing tab, allow ports 88 and 3074. (When you allow ports on the Outgoing tab, it automatically allows both UDP and TCP ports)

Note - If you specified a DNS server when setting your Xbox IP settings manually other than your Smoothwall, and you have a half-open network, you'll need to allow port 53 (DNS) as an outbound port as well.

That's