I recall saying once that I was not much of a blogger. I think what I actually meant to say was that while I may be a bit of a blogger, I was (and am) by no means a consistant blogger.
Tami and I went to see the new Tom Hanks movie the other night… Angels And Demons. Now, while a lot of people are claiming this to be a sequal to The Da Vinci Code, the book (and the timeline) actually takes place beforehand. I still haven’t quite figured out if the movie is, though. They reference a few times his (Professor Landon) past dealings with the Church… now, whether this is hinting at the events of Da Vinci, or just some random past event, I can not say. The movie as a whole though, I felt was very well done, if not somewhat rushed. Not rushed in the sense of missing out on the plotline altogether, but just… rushed. They movied quickly from one point to the next, leaving little time to actually digest what had just happened. There were a few points in the movie that actually seemed blurred… while they are dealing with one point, a second and third get thrown out there as well, almost as an afterthought. It all tied together nicely by the end of the movie though, and even left you guessing just a little as to who the “bad guy(s)” really are. You think you have it all figured out (thinking that it’s some weak plotline just to make sales), then wham, big twist at the end and you’re left thinking “Oh my gawds, how did I miss that???”. It even has you going over the movie again in your head, with the realizations that you did actually miss those little hints and clues that lead to the final outcome… as a single hint, it’s meaningless… but once you put them all together, it’s like the Fort Knox of secrets playing out.
I am curious as to how the Church is going to react to the movie. Its not like it’s Anti-Christian or Anti-Vatican… there’s even a nice little piece at the end where Landon (Hanks) realizes that things aren’t really all that bad in Vatican City. the movie definately does say a lot about the (alleged) secrets of the Vatican vaults, leaving one to wonder (yet again) just how much might really be hidden by the Church.
Anyhow, on to the personal part of my bi-annual post. You know, the part that usually signifies the fact that I’ve been working on a post for around a week, and just never actually got around to posting it (this is, of course, one of those cases). To put it simply, I feel like crap. Have for about a week now, off and on. I blame John at work. Why? He was sick, and I see him at work once in a while… therefore I have decided to make the connection between him bringing the plague to work, and myself now feeling “bleh”. My blog, my right. 
These 4:30 AM morning are starting to wear thin… I know there are some people who like the idea of starting real early, and getting off work in the early afternoon as a tradeoff… I’ve never been a morning person, so this new schedule is REALLY starting to get to me. Not to mention that I notice myself snapping at people more at work. It’s not their fault that I’m not a “people person”, so I should probably be spending more time appologizing to them for my temper… but I noticed today that by snapping once, I actually managed to get something to happen the way I had planned it, as opposed to how the salesman decided to make it at the last second. I think I just miss spending time outside, and less time locked down in a little office… even if it is one with windows.
At any rate, I have a real packed day tomorrow, so I should probably get this posted and head for a shower and bed. Hope that my 2 or 3 readers are doing well, and managing to avoid the bug going around. Take care of yourselves, and see you all again in a few months… you know, when I get around to posting again. 
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Wow, quite a few weeks of events taking place… I’m not really sure where to start.
So lets just jump right into it with the major highlights, shall we?
Last week (it was Wednesday that everything went down), everyone at my job was called into a meeting with our store manager, human resources person, and all the floor managers. Not exactly the sort of meeting I wanted to take part in, but it was something that I think most of us predicted coming along. The first thing I noticed, was that two people were not present at the meeting. The yard manager, and our store shipper/dispatcher. While the Yard Manager being missing wasn’t a massive impact, I am torn on the other. Greg (the shipper) was someone that I and Tami considered a friend. Sure, I didn’t really see him outside of work, and the only time that she really saw him was when she was dropping off invoices… but he still brightened the day a little bit. It was fun to come to work in the morning and just chat with him for the 5 or 10 minutes before starting my day, hearing about how his weekend was, or his trips into the interior, or the cabin he and Debbi planned on building for weekend getaways. Just in general, he was a nice part to my job. On Wednesday, his employment at Curtis Lumber was terminated, and he wasn’t there anymore. Instead, I was moved into his office, and essentially given his job. Not exactly the way I wanted to get a promotion…. but things have happened that I do not have the power to change, so I have to simply accept it and move forward. At least one of the perks is that I am now off work at 2:30… or supposed to be, anyway. I’m finding that its usually closer to 3:30 before I actually book off… but at least I’m showing dedication to learning the job and trying to make sure that everything is ready to go for the afternoon and following morning. But just the same… Greg, I don’t know if you will ever actually see this, but you are missed by the staff at Curtis Lumber… don’t loose touch.
I see that The ELANS have yet again changed their date for the show. No shock there, as that gives them a few more weeks to try and take people for… I mean, to bring in additional funding for their show. It actually makes me sick to my stomach to think about what these two “people” are doing… in a time when there are layoffs all over the industry, and companies all over the Lower Mainland and the rest of the country are struggling just to keep their heads above the water, that these two come along and take them for more money under the cover of “buy your way into an awards show”… something that these companies shouldn’t even have to do. Their work speaks for itself, and they shouldn’t be having to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars just for a little statue. Try helping the industry, instead of leaching off it, like you did to people with Tech Investments Inc. Looking at it logically, how many real award shows change their date so often, all so close to the “actual” date, all the while claiming that it’s to help people get submissions in easier? The reality is likely closer to their funding not being available for the show due to it being spent on other things. Wonder how much that new Harley of Jack’s cost…?
We finally got most of the garage cleaned out… okay, thats exagerating a bit. We cleared a path from one end to the other. But this is a huge step towards the possibility of converting it into a soundproof games room. Either that, or we leave it as a storage garage and instead work on building a nice new sunroom off the kitchen. Either way, I predict a LOOOONG summer ahead.
Vancouver recently hosted a visit from some executives for WCG Worldwide. Why were they here? To summarize it, there are some people working real hard to bring WCG’s attention to Vancouver as a possible host city. Unfortunately, the reputation of two previously mentioned people caused some damage to the reputation for the City, and by the time that it was pointed out that those two are most definitely not associated with the city or it’s Industries (and most definitely not Tami or I or our company), the damage had already been done. We only hope that they open their eyes to what Vancouver really is, and that the actions and scams of a few do not represent the city as a whole. Vancouver is an amazing city full of some of the World’s most talented people. To have the actions of two scammers destroy what all those other people have put their lives towards working on is just… sickening. Especially when they are doing it under the guise of running an awards show claimed to showcase that very same talent.
Overall, its been a pretty interesting few weeks. I can hardly wait to see what gets thrown in my direction next. Expect many rants when such things do take place. Other than that…
Later.
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We’re off to Spark FX 09 in Vancouver. Reviews are coming, I promise. In the meantime, why don’t you read up on it at http://siggraph.ca/festivals/information.php?fest=SPKFX09TMP
This post is brought to you by your friendly local sleep-deprived webserver administrator. 
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So, how much do you know about the people you send your money to? I thought that we knew the producers of The ELANS Awards (formerly The Elan Awards) well enough to trust them to their word.
Wow, was I mistaken. From having to wait for months to get a payment, to lies about the delays, to cancelled meetings at the last minute, to actual insulting emails and threats being sent to us because we do not and have never provided the service they are suddenly demanding from us. Well, I’m sorry to the producers, but I’m not a psychiatrist, so I can’t help you with your problems, any more than I can provide free website management to you, all because you think you’re more important than the rest of the planet.
I had not heard of a boiler room until recently. It’s enlightening that my first experience with the term was when someone else in the local Industry sent me a link to The ELANS own Jack Weatherell being found guilty of operating a Boiler room by the BC Securities Commission, and charged $25,000 ($33,219 total, after including legal fees) in 2000 (links further down). Is this someone we want to be associated with? I am left wondering how much of their thousands and thousands of dollars in sponsorship money is actually being invested into the show, and how much is being skimmed off the top by the producers. It supports that theory when hearing from some of the people involved in last year’s show, who have pointed out that some are still owed money. Let’s not forget the day of the show, when we were told by the Center that we could not even enter the venue to set up for the show, because the Producers had not yet even paid for it’s usage. And, while at a recent networking event in Vancouver (one of many that we attend, as we are friends with most of the people there), we took some time to chat with a friend at another company, only to be notified by Holly later that we had no right to speak with him and that we are not to do so again. That one really bothered me… that they feel that because they pay us for webspace and bandwidth, they also have the right to dictate who we can talk to, and what we can talk about. Sorry your highness, but you do not own us, and we will associate with whomever we so choose… which is likely not going to be either of you.
I sympathize with those whose email addresses were farmed by these two, and added to a non-opt-in emailing list. I apologize especially to Andy Dunn (zman), whose name and address was farmed from linkedin, resulting in spammage from Holly and Jack, and his having to “lock down” his profile on there, potentially blocking out possible legitimate contacts (see below for the link).
To be warned in advance to not work with these two people is one thing, but we made a choice not to listen to those warnings, and now we are stuck with the headache of having these leeches attached to our company. I can only feel relief that all they screwed us out of was $150 contract payment, and our time maintaining a site that they either could not figure out for themselves, or could not be bothered to take the time and learn (yes, we offered on several occasions to show them how to manage their site, only to have them cancel at the last minute every time, yet constantly send us “updates” that they demanded be posted right away… something they could have done for themselves, but decided that it should be a service we provide to them, even though it was never a part of the agreement).
The truth of the matter, plain and simple… these two are scam artists to the core, sucking whatever they can from those who mistakenly get close enough, then throwing them to the side once they are done with them. Jack’s history with the Securities Commission is warning light number one to avoid them… if he was so quick to take thousands and thousands of dollars from innocent people then, how is what he is doing now any different? Simple answer, it’s not. It’s truly a reality check when people you thought that you could trust turn out to be nothing more than manipulative liars. I don’t want anyone else to find out about Jack and Holly the same way we have. Take this advice, do your research, and draw your own conclusions. But let me tell you, it doesn’t take $250 to send a game to 5 people… especially when you have to supply them with a copy of the game in advance. Where is all of this money going, if not to actually pay the people they owe it to for their show? Once you factor in that they also are charging an additional $250 just for a ticket to the show… well, the math doesn’t add up (what one person would go through 350 dollars in seafood and champagne, just to find out if they won a $100 pewter trophy?). Lets not even begin to mention (okay, let’s) the fact that in order to submit your game for “nomination” (seems more like having to buy your way into the awards), you MUST send the producers 7 copies of the game for each category you buy into, so that they can be sent to the 5 judges. Wait a minute, there’s that math again. Where do the other 2 copies go? And do the nominators get their games back when it’s all done? So, lets work some numbers. $250 to enter, plus lets say $45 per game (oh, how I wish new games only cost $45) times the 7 copies you must provide. So right now, we’re at 565 just to enter into a category. Want to watch your game win? That’ll cost you an additional $350… that’s right people, the right to attend the show you just sent your 7 games to in hopes of winning a pewter statue is going to cost you another $350. So, we’re now up to $915 just to win an award. They call this an appreciation towards the gaming industry. To me, it looks more like a financial raping. I haven’t even bothered to factor in the hundreds or thousands of dollars that would have to be spent on airfare/travel fees and hotel rooms, for those who don’t have the convenience of living in the host city of Vancouver.
I wish I could tell the World what these two people have to say about those who do NOT “donate” thousands of dollars to buy a sponsorship package… if only there was a way to do so without revealing sources.
But do your own investigating.
How they build their “Opt-In” list (by the way, Opt-In lists are supposed to be built based on people requesting to be placed on it, and not by farming addresses from webpages… Jack and Holly are building their list using the same tactics that are used to send 90% of the spam you receive in your email accounts):
And here’s some great reading on Jack’s history with stealing money from people (Anyone who talks with Jack Weatherell, ask him to explain Tech Investments Inc, and who Ross Kain and Rodney Degroot are):
The above links simply show that Jack Weatherell doesn’t care about the people he works with… he only cares about the money they have, and what he has to do in order to get to it from them, even if that risks leaving them with nothing. A true user and manipulator.
So what do I want? I’ve certainly given up on the money they agreed to pay, especially after sending us an NSF cheque, then telling us that we should be happy to have even gotten that (provided a picture for your viewing pleasure, just to show that they were happy enough with the product to send a cheque, but for some reason the thousands that they are bringing in for submissions and sponsorships just doesn’t seem to stay in their account long enough to cover the expenses they are ringing up). Do I want them off our servers? Yes, but they made the choice to pay for the full year (albeit at a VERY discounted rate, and 4 months late), so I will continue to give them the service that they pay for. What I really want, is for the rest of the World to know just who Jack Weatherell and Holly Carinci really are. I hope that soon, they all do… before it ends up costing them thousands of dollars, lost to 2 people well on their way to becoming among Vancouver’s worst scam-artists. In the unstable economy of today, people’s money should go towards legitimate purposes, and not have to be invested in buying your own award when you fully deserve to be given one (its called an award for a reason, after all).
I wonder how much the SpikeTV Video Game Awards cost to enter…? Or The Grammys. Or The Junos. Or The Oscars. The list goes on, but I imagine the result is the same… no matter what you invest into entering, you at least come out with something much better than these two are providing.
Recently, there was a video game tournament held in Vancouver called Vanlan. The ELANS reminds me more and more of that tournament every time I think about it. Even the people that run both events are the same. Take the money and run.
I know that our other customers have not seen what Jack most recently said to us in regards to them, but just the same I apologize for his statements. If it ever comes down to it, you all will of course come first, and he can take his illegal stock selling, email spamming, and bad attitude and find another host who will provide him with the space, bandwidth, and 4000+ outgoing messages per email spam blitz and find another host to take for a ride.
And, for your viewing pleasure, I give you my $150 custom coding payment:
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I guess its that time of year again… time to reflect. What I’ve learned, what I *should* have learned, and what I thought I learned yet apparently didn’t.
Lets start with the basics, shall we? Snow sucks. It sucked when I was growing up, it still sucks now. It’s cold, it’s wet, and it fucks things up when you have to work in it. On a plus note though, it does create it’s own work, as I’d probably be bored as fuck at work if not for all the snow removal we get to go through now.
Next up, agreeing to projects without payment in advance. Yeah, I thought I had learned about that earlier in the year, when we had to wait from July 10th (when a price was agreed to) until November 7th (when we actually got paid, after months of “its on it’s way” “its in the mail” “We’ll get it to you tomorrow”) for our last payment, but stupidly I agreed to take on a smaller project from the same people (within days of our company finally being paid) at an agreed to price of $150. This was November 4th. I kept my end of the deal, and delivered to them what was requested. Did I get paid? Not yet, I haven’t. Same excuses as we got before, of course… except for an added bonus. They actually sent me a cheque just before Christmas for the full ammount. And the funny, it bounced worse than a rubber ball. That led to me getting fed the line “We’ll have it to you by Christmas, promise”. Uh huh. You may have noticed that Christmas has come and gone, and I just recently got another email saying that it’ll be in my bank account tomorrow. Funny how I get replies to my money requests ONLY when they have problems with their email. Now, I’m not going to name names here, because that would just be cruel, but I will point out that these people are supposed to be running a “Major” awards show… something that will obviously cost into the tens of thousands… yet they won’t pay their own bills for months at a time? There have been rumours that last years show hasn’t even been fully paid off yet… so I wonder where the sponsor fees are going this year? Again, not gonna name names… of course, it wouldn’t be OVERLY difficult to track down who it is, if you are so interested. To summerize… if you have no intention of actually paying someone for work when you say you are going to, don’t waste that person’s time. Especially if that person has control of a series of buttons that can do terribly nasty things to your website and email hosting. You know, just as a suggestion.
Something else I learned… well, I kind of already knew it, but it’s most definately been confirmed without any shadow of a doubt. UK Rock Bands are awesome. Those of you who have not yet checked out Mendella (who played at our annual Gaming LAN Tournament in August), WHY HAVEN’T YOU??? Tom, Jay, Toby, Sam, Lewis, Luke, Dave (Dad), and Jo (Mom) are absolutely amazing people, and it was an honour and priviledge to host their visit to BC in August… I can not wait to work with them again, or even just visit with them.They’re playing a New Years eve show in Barnstaple UK, so if you are anywhere near there, you better damn well go to the show!
And more. SIGGRAPH rocks.The Vancouver Chapter recently hosted a charity event… all proceeds went towards the food bank. The actual event featured a World Premiere screening of “The Tale Of Despereaux”, over a full week before it was actually shown in theatres. Now, how cool is that? You can read Tami’s review of it atVillage Gamer (yeah, that’s right, I’m lazy… she’s so good at writing, that I could never top it anyway). I’ve been a member of SIGGRAPH for a while, and their events always amaze me, be it the films they show, the speakers they bring in, or just the way they support the industry as a whole. The gaming and movie industry in Vancouver is huge, and SIGGRAPH is always managing to bring in the big names to dazzle us.
Whuzzis? You’re still here? Wow… you must be bored. Anyway, that’s a pretty quick summery of some of the things I learned through 2008… at least half of which I hope to carry on through 2009. I’m certain that there were many more things that I “learned”, but they were likely so common that everyone else in the World already knew it, and I was just slow to figuring it out. So, now that you’ve made it to the end of this little clip, I can feel good knowing that I actually added some content to this graveyard, and can go downstairs to get a drink.
Thanks for visiting, and come back soon.
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