Dave’s Blog

I’ve had a complete nightmare getting my aviation medical, but finally it is complete.

So I looked on the Transport Canada site and searched for AME (Aviation Medical Examiners) in my area. I found Dr. William Marcoux, based out of the Courtice Health Clinic. I thought it was awesome that I had one so close! Called up (took 2 days, every time I called I got a voicemail machine telling me not to leave a message. Whats the point?). Third day I finally got in. 2 weeks waiting list. Fair enough. Wait my 2 weeks, do my examine. Polite guy, didn’t take long. Anyways, he referred me for an audio-gram and ECG (which I did immediately, there was a 1 week wait for the audio-gram). Brought my paperwork back after my audiogram to find out they are on holidays. Go figure.

When they got back from vacation, it was sent Canada post, snail mail. Takes usually 3-5 days, fair enough. I call TC, they issued me a file number, and I thought I could expect it in the mail any day now. 2 weeks passes, I call TC. They say ‘Your doctor didn’t fill it in properly, we had to send it back’. So at this point, i’m pretty pissed off, because its going to be atleast another 2 weeks before I have it in hand, so I can fly on my own again. I try calling them back, and they are taking 2 weeks vacation. What kind of operation is being run here..?

If you are a pilot and need a aviation medical, or renewal, steer clear of this guy. Unless of course you get it filed 3 months prior.

Good riddance

So, i’ve returned from Cuba! Weather wasn’t quite as good as I had expected (3 days of sun, 4 days of cloud). Very different experience though. Seems like an entirely different world.

The culture and history behind that country is quite remarkable. If you ever get the chance to visit Cuba, make sure you go to Havana (the capital city). I’ve got some pictures on Facebook, but i’m just too lazy to post them here.

We were welcomed by snow in Toronto which made the drive home from Pearson a hell of a time. Took like 3 hours to get home!

Anyways time to study for a test!

So I spent about 5 hours trying to find out why my WLM 2009 kept freezing. Hopefully this page gets indexed by Google, and people can make the quick fix.

If your MSN is freezing when you type a message, or when you open a window (such as the emoticon window) here is what you need to do:
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Tools -> Internet Options
3. Connections Tab –> LAN Settings
4. Uncheck ‘automatically detect settings’
5. Close IE, voila.

Also, this also speeds up your Google Chrome & Firefox (or so i’ve been told).

Oh – and don’t forget to treat yourself to the A-Patch MSN mod. It takes care of all the garbage MS puts in Messenger (ads etc.) You’ll thank me later.

So its been a long time since i’ve blogged. The biggest thing going on right now is that i’m going to Cuba in a couple weeks.  Booked the trip a week ago. $720 +200 taxes for a week in beautiful Varadero, Cuba. I’ll be sure to write when I get back.

This semester at UOIT isn’t very exciting: Digital Systems, Operating Systems Security, Operating Systems Management, Advanced Networking, and Cryptography. I’ll live I guess..

Also.. My business, Dave’s Network, has been growing quite rapidly. It has allowed me to network with many individuals (which is awesome ) to get my name out there.

Last but not least, Aneta and I celebrated 3 years of dating in January. Good times

That’s all for now.

I was approached by a friend of mine John at Campus Extravaganza to join the UOIT rowing team. I didn’t actually think I’d end up being on this team, but it’s looking like I am sticking with it.

Most of it was will power – and the fact that a lot of the people I normally spend time with are now gone away for school and are really busy!

How in the hell I convinced myself to wake up at 4:30AM to go to 5:30 Rowing practice is beyond me.. but i’ve been doing it. Tired, but still going! 2 KM run in the morning, followed by rowing exercises. I’ve also been going to the gym after rowing to practice some more! Feel a lot more energized, eating a lot more food, and getting used to watching it go from pitch dark to bright and sunny.

It should be fun – I’ve not even met half of the team yet! I’m looking forward to going to other schools and just generally having a good time. Hopefully we can win something, but I wont be mad if we don’t.. It was my first time rowing yesterday!

Anyways.. that’s all for now. Cheerio!

Posting to give out some more information on the T500.

Since Friday I have..

Reformatted, Installed Windows 7 version 7600 (RTM) ultimate. I also noticed, and didn’t even think about, that we actually have 4GB of ram. You can’t see the 4th because 32bit Windows cant support 4GB.

It was very difficult getting it this far. The display drivers was the largest issue.

After the 7 format, Windows automatically picked up all the updates I needed (LAN, Wireless, Video). Was working fine, till I realized it was using the ONBOARD video. ATI Catalyst Drivers did not want to cooperate with 7 so I tried using a Custom Firmware (ATI Modifier). That worked, somewhat. Till I rebooted.

Did some reading and found that it is a BIOS issue (go figure).

Connecting to Wireless wasn’t difficult, you need right click on CAMPUS-AIR and go to properties, go to Security, click the PEAP settings button. Uncheck Validate Server Certificate, and Uncheck “Do not prompt user to authorize new…”

That’s all for now. Will keep in touch.

Edit: It’s apparently not an HDMI port, its a DISPLAY PORT. Some sort of Open Source HDMI. meh.

Edit: Please do not format your DC-UOIT issued laptop without making a backup. It is against DC-UOIT AUP to run any OS other than what is provided on the school image. I’ve done so for experimental issues only.

Haven’t had much to blog about recently. Finally something somewhat interesting to write about!

Well, this post will be good and bad. Good for UOIT students knowing they are getting a powerful machine, and those of you in Networking/Security will NOT NEED A REFORMAT THIS YEAR! The image is very clean. The onlything I wondered about is why they gave us the XNA game development studio, used by the Game Development students. For the most of you, you probably will clean the image off. I haven’t connected to LAN desk so not much stuff has been pushed on here yet. I probably will reimage as well.

Note – these predictions are based off the next model in the ThinkPad line.. it could be a different model.

Here is what you need to know:

1. There is no finger scanner.
2. There is no web camera.
3. The old T60′s had USB ports on the right side. The T500s have USB’s on the left (3), ethernet beside it, and a HDMI port (wooo!). Audio out and Mic input ports in the front, along with a card reader and FIREWIRE connection (there you go audio/video geeks!).
4. It looks the exact same as our last laptop, except the screen has a nicer finish. Exact same layout of keyboard, touchpad, and trackball.

Specifications

Video - ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650, Max Resolution 1680 x  1050
RAM – 3GB DDR3
Processor – Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 @ 2.40GHZ (2 CPUs)
Sound - Conexant HD output
Network - Intel 82567 LF Gigabit network and Intel WiFi Lin 5100AGN for wireless
Storage – 150GB HDD partitioned twice (C and D). We could have done a lot better here..
If anyone wants pictures I can take some, but I think everything that needs to be said has been said.

In conclusion – meh. I think we could have gotten a better deal, considering the T61ps came with the finger reader. I will say it is a powerful machine, and that it will suffice just nicely for modern applications.

The Federal & Provincial government have decided to invest One-Hundred million at UOIT & Durham College (70 mil, 30mil) which will bring more jobs to the area and continue to bring innovation to the institutions.  I was surprised to find that they are planning on starting this new building for the Nuclear Engineers in July of this year.

The news release can be found here - it is a bit lengthy, however.

Summary -

• Durham Colleges’ Whitby campus is getting a major renovation, a 2nd floor, and more technology / tools to learn with.
• UOIT is getting funds for a new building (the Nuclear Engineering building) which starts development in July.
• UOIT is also going to be able to spend more money on the Automotive building which is currently being built.

My only question is.. when will we get an IT building?!

So today is my 20th birthday. I’ve realized that I am getting pretty old, and really had some time to think about things.

The first thing I did was think was that I’m doing pretty well. I’ve got a great girlfriend, I’m half way through my degree, plans to be an Airline Pilot (what an awesome career that’d be), have had many good jobs (and still do).

One really struck me on the nose was something that I consider important to be missing. I’ve had a lot of great friends in my lifetime, many of them I have grown distant from due to moving (several times..) and never caught back up with them. Friends I grew up with were probably the best friends I had, could trust, count on, and rely on. The ‘friends’ I have now, I can’t say the same about now.

I’m really starting to figure out which of my friends I should really continue to deal with.. some of the garbage i’ve put up with is ridiculous. Friends you can trust (tell them something and not hear it back two weeks later from someone else), rely on (bend backwards to give  you a hand), count on, and just be there like a normal friend would. The worst thing about this, is I can fit the number of people I consider worthwhile and good friends on my left hand.

I spoke to my mom about this – asking her about her friends, where they met, and how they’ve managed to stay good friends. Seems like most of them were from highschool, and I can say only two of my friends from high school are actually good friends. The rest from high school seem to be arrogant, and look out for number one (it’s too bad, a lot of people are like this..).

Shit happens – the most important part is to not forget about the shit you put up with, and extra effort you put into your friendships to make them better. A lot of the time I feel like I’m being used – but convince myself otherwise. Unfortunately, I think I should probably stick to my gut instinct.

I don’t forget things – and the next time there is something needed from me, they can find a new friend to abuse and use – cause I’m fed up with it.

/rant end.

I’ve decided to write an article about students finding jobs this summer. If you are reading this thinking its way too early to be thinking about Summer work, you should be a bit concerned!

It is important to know what caused this economic situation in order to predict which sectors will retain their numbers and possibly expand. There is lot’s to do when looking for summer work. Do not be discouraged if you don’t hear back from an employer – it is probably because they are recieving a high volume of applications.

Finding Postings

You are best to look in your local news paper (usually clasifieds or municipalities have large ad’s), the internet or in person (most jobs are never posted!)

Internet -> Students should check out the FSWEP. It is a federal government program designed for college and university students to find work (a lot of the jobs they have are science based.) Students should also check out the federal job  banks, and provincial job banks. A simple google search will get you what you need. Even some classified websites such as Kijiji or Craigslist may have postings – but  be careful with those two.

Sometimes the best jobs aren’t posted! See below for WHERE to apply.

Where to Apply

The Canadian government subsidizes student wages big time, so anything affiliated with the government is your best bet. Local municipalities (Durham Region, Clarington), Local School Boards(Google), Hospitals, Clinics, Library’s, Universities, Colleges… see where I am going with this? Most government run institutions have student internship or student jobs.

Your educational institution (if you are enrolled) will probably have a job bank as well. Many student’s overlook this, or don’t even check it. Very helpful!

Seasonal businesses – What does hotter weather bring? Lots of outdoor work out there! It may be tough, and hot, but its a job. There is no shame planting trees or flowers regardless of who its for, its a job and they are hard to come by.

If you aren’t having any luck with the above try these:

Banks or Financial Institutions (that way if you get hired, you have option to work part time after Summer)
Any Restaurant (Waitress for the ladies, Cooks for the boys)
Any Large Department store (they always need people, but don’t expect full-time or having weekends off)

Applying

Make sure your resume and cover letter are tailored to what they are asking for. Take the time to customize your CV to fit each job. It will increase your chances.

A good week or two after you’ve applied call them up, or go in person to ensure your application got in. Ask for a supervisor! Grunts can’t help you here, and even if they say they will, they probably wont.

The rest..
IS UP TO YOU! Sell yourself, do whatever it takes to get the job.