tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75711693542333842832024-03-05T21:12:45.394-04:00The Marlon ExperienceSee things my way.Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-44948624456921489222020-03-08T12:22:00.002-04:002021-03-05T21:49:35.258-04:00My approach to personal budgeting<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Keeping in line with the last post, I wanted to talk about my personal experience with budgeting.</span><br />
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Disclaimers :-), I'm not a fiduciary or a personal finance expert, there are a myriad of people online giving really good financial advice like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DaveRamseyShow" target="_blank">Dave Ramsey</a>. If you want specific customized advice I <b>strongly recommend</b> getting a financial adviser, in Canada there are <a href="https://www.moneysense.ca/magazine-archive/a-perfect-fit/" target="_blank">certified portfolio managers</a>, to review your position and help you plan for your goals.</span><br />
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Over the years I've kept myself sane with a few processes and a specific tool called <a href="https://www.buxfer.com/acceptInvite?e=133d0026104be515a10e448713022fa9" target="_blank">Buxfer</a>*. When I went looking for software a few years ago I was still living in Barbados and since local banks don't connect to the information sharing services that North American banks do, it was difficult to synchronize my information. Buxfer has always had a robust import function and for a relatively small fee did <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042215/whats-difference-between-budgeting-and-financial-forecasting.asp" target="_blank">forecasting</a> so it suited my needs. The time saved was enough for me to shift from updating a spreadsheet on a monthly basis and eventually I wrote a <a href="https://mw.bbwalcotts.com/2017/02/ive-been-scotia-bank-barbados-customer.html" target="_blank">macro</a> to help automate the process.</span><br />
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">From a process perspective I keep a few budget buckets:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Transportation</span></li>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Food</span></li>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Groceries</span></li>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Entertainment</span></li>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Misc</span></li>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Joint (<a href="https://mw.bbwalcotts.com/2020/03/marriage-tax.html" target="_blank">the marriage tax</a>)</span></li>
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Those combined with pre-planned expenses (Recurring monthly/annual bills) create my expected spend per month and with the forecast tool I can then estimate if my spending is over/under my income during that period. The budget tool also helps, and I imagine this is standard in budgeting software, by giving an 'expected' vertical line that gives a rough idea if spending is on track.</span><br />
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">I also forecast out on individual accounts to have an idea of how much, for example, my credit card balance will potentially be on a specific day. This lets pick a saving target for a month up front based on money I'm most likely going to spend instead of spending and then saving the remainder. It's not as good as the 'pay yourself first' model but that automatically happens for retirements savings. This approach allows me to save a target amount plus extra so if unexpected expenses pop up the following month, or two months later, there is buffer. I've found personally simply paying myself first is too rigid beyond retirement saving and then spending the 'extra' money I could have saved is more tempting.</span><br />
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">The budget 'buckets' are the ways I account for spending money in a somewhat predictable manner but again not too rigidly. So my budget for food is say $100, I may spend more than that and it's OK if overall my spend is low but if I go over my total budget then chances are I won't meet my minimum saving goal for a month. </span><br />
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">So my overall approach allows me to figure out if a purchase beyond my usual spending will put me in a difficult situation and when I can make it, if it all. It helps me save when I can and helps me understand how I'm spending my money to determine if I need to make changes. </span><br />
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Getting this to make sense will take a few swings so I'll leave this here for now and for the next parts I'll probably:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Setting up pre-planned expenses and expense categorization (budget buckets)</span></li>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Creating goals/plans and updating my budget</span></li>
<li><span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">Forecasting and decision making</span></li>
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<span face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif">* Full disclosure if you click the link and do sign up I get a whopping $1 of upgrade credit.</span></div>
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Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-28513703933681773342020-03-01T00:48:00.001-04:002020-03-01T00:48:32.909-04:00Marriage TaxI've been married since August 4th, 2012. I am very opinionated and can be very strong/wrong headed about my spending and my wife is also very opinionated. One thing we've been reasonably able to avoid arguing about over the last 7+ years is money.<br />
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We discuss it often and as in any household it can be the source of concern and anxiety but those feelings are derived from our collective positions. In terms of me spending money on computer parts or her on skin care products, those are private to the individual and the approach we've used for this is what we call a 'marriage tax'.<br />
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It's been in place from day 1 of our marriage and it became more formal in May 2013 when we started sending 'joint emails'. A monthly email from one spouse to the other logging any transactions that were spent from joint so we could refer back to them later if there was any confusion.<br />
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The systems works like this:<br />
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<ul>
<li>We agreed a percentage that would be transferred from our salaries once a month to our joint bank account. A marriage tax</li>
<li>The percentage is based on net salaries after pre-tax deductions.</li>
<li>The percentage can be moved up or down on mutual agreement.</li>
<li>Purchases over a certain dollar figure, it used to be $50 BBD but largely anything expected to come out of the joint account is mentioned now.</li>
<li>Salary bonuses are not subject to the tax. </li>
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It's fairly simple, the other factor is what can be purchased with joint, these are all pretty obvious:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Rent</li>
<li>Groceries (with a few exceptions)</li>
<li>Childcare </li>
<li>Family outings</li>
<li>etc.</li>
</ul>
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We chose to use a percentage because if one of our salaries went up or down the contribution to joint would change accordingly. The spirit of it being if one person does better the household does better so we both benefit but whoever got the increase still benefits the most because their disposable income in real dollars has increased.<br />
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What it means in practicality is that a portion of money goes to an account and it pays for expenses that arise from living in a shared space. This means the remaining money can be spent effectively however that person wants to. As a result we budget as a couple and then as individuals. I have an entertainment bucket in my budget app for things I'll purchase like tickets to a TFC games and when I do so it's, at least financially, up to me. </div>
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Given 'Joint' isn't a person and isn't eligible for things like a credit score etc. We spend money on behalf of joint, and somewhat like business expenses they are claimed out of the joint fund. This system is not perfect and joint has had both surpluses and short falls. Ultimately the greatest benefit is simplicity of budgeting for a family while respecting the individuality of both spouses and when salaries increase or decrease, the amount going into joint does and lifestyles adjust accordingly.</div>
Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-60620771345424620762019-07-08T08:37:00.000-04:002019-07-09T10:37:59.803-04:00Planning for the Move to Canada, my perspectiveChanging country of residence is a big decision and for moving to Canada there are so many things that need to happen as part of the application, invitation to apply and confirmation of permanent residence processes. This is all an objective process but there are subjective elements, for example the question of whether you should even move in the first place. My last post was objective, factual and process based. This will be more subjective and coloured by my own personal experience.<br />
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There was one question, personally, that drove my decision: Will moving improve the quality of life for my family?<br />
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Thinking about it to answer that question I had to consider three broad areas:<br />
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<li>Transportation</li>
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<li>How long will be the commute to work?</li>
<li>How long will be the commute to family/friends?</li>
</ul>
<li>Housing</li>
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<li>Rent or buy?</li>
<li>School district?</li>
</ul>
<li>Career opportunities</li>
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<li>Will I have more opportunities to grow in my career path?</li>
<li>Will I have opportunities to discover a potential new path?</li>
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I personally suggest deciding which of those three is the most important and plan the others around it. I assume the following exists somewhere on the internet, I tried to find it so I could attribute credit but didn't, so I created the simple illustration below. Where you live, how much you earn and how much those impact your commute to/from work and to/from personal and family activities, to me, strongly determines quality of life. </div>
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What I'm trying to illustrate here is that improving your commute can come at the cost being able to afford a home with a back yard or going for a great paying job while living in a very affordable neighborhood can make for a very long commute. There are definitely more elements that drive one's quality of life but I think these are huge and things you can plan for.</div>
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<b>Career/Salary</b><br />
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I suggest looking at <a href="https://www.glassdoor.ca/index.htm">Glassdoor</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/">Linkedin</a>, <a href="http://canada.ca/">Canada.ca</a> or maybe your own company if they have a footprint in Canada to understand what salary range you can expect. In my mind you should have a clear idea of the jobs you can potentially obtain and how much they can pay both in the short and long term. Feeling fulfilled at work is important however that's hard to plan for and earning power is going to be a big factor; if you need to take an entry level position to move you may not be able to maintain your quality of life. A number of things can cause you to take a step back career wise, such as your certifications or work experience not being valid where you are planning to go. It's also a good idea to talk to recruiters to get some ideas around this topic.</div>
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A good resource is Express Entry <a href="https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob">Job Match</a>, it's a way to let companies search for you after you've setup your Express Entry profile, you need the language test (but not an ECA) to create a profile and you can read more about the specific policies on the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry.html">IRCC</a> web page.<br />
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On the topic of salary, factor in income tax, <a href="https://www.thomsonreuters.ca/en/dtprofessionalsuite/support/taxratecalculator.html">here</a> is a good calculator (in my opinion) but feel free to search and find others. Knowing your potential net salary is important if you're going to make a serious estimate of what you can afford month to month.<br />
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<b>Housing</b><br />
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Finding a place to live in Canada can be a trying process for many. Research is also your friend here, look at <a href="https://www.kijiji.ca/b-for-rent/gta-greater-toronto-area/c30349001l1700272" target="_blank">Kijiji</a>, <a href="http://condos.ca/" target="_blank">Condos.ca</a> and <a href="https://www.realtor.ca/map#ZoomLevel=4&LatitudeMax=72.8699788&LongitudeMax=-8.6123960&LatitudeMin=35.3947187&LongitudeMin=155.9188540&CurrentPage=1&Sort=1-A&PropertyTypeGroupID=1&PropertySearchTypeId=1&TransactionTypeId=3&RentMin=0&RentMax=0&BedRange=0-0&BathRange=0-0&Center=58.84008830012264%2C-106.34677099999999" target="_blank">Realtor</a> and do some web searches to get an idea of what rent will be like in the area you want to live in. The Kijiji link will route to Toronto but Canada is a big place and I'd suggest looking at the various provinces because the weather, taxes, real estate market etc. all are hugely different.<br />
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If you're looking to purchase a home when you migrate, overall the housing market in many parts of Canada is very expensive, especially <a href="https://business.financialpost.com/real-estate/vancouver-housing-may-be-down-but-not-out-vancity-ceo-says" target="_blank">Vancouver</a> and <a href="https://business.financialpost.com/real-estate/toronto-housing-market-begins-busy-spring-season-with-a-bounce" target="_blank">Toronto</a>; Canada also currently has stringent rules on qualifying for a Mortgage. To summarize you should <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/mortgages/down-payment.html" target="_blank">typically need</a> 5-10% as a deposit but 20% is best. Also you need to qualify for 2% higher than the Mortgage rate you're applying for because of the <a href="https://loanscanada.ca/mortgage/the-canadian-mortgage-stress-test-in-2019/" target="_blank">Mortgage Stress Test</a>. I'm not qualified to go much deeper on this, do the research and understand if buying or renting makes sense for your financial situation.<br />
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Lastly the cost everything from Gas to Groceries will be different moving to new country and varies by city as well. I created a pretty big spreadsheet with my expenses in Barbados and compared them to potential expenses in Canada to get an idea of what I could spend on housing. The goal was to understand where I could live to at least maintain my then (perceived) quality of life with the least commute given that I already knew what I would be making. I used <a href="https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/calculator.jsp" target="_blank">Numbeo</a> to help gather those figures to make the comparison.<br />
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If you are a parent then you'll need to factor in child care, compared to Barbados child care in Toronto (for example) is very expensive. This is more an issue for children under four years old however where you live also determines your school district which in turn determines the quality of education your child(ren) could potentially receive; <a href="http://compareschoolrankings.org/" target="_blank">here</a> is a site that provides rankings of schools across Canada. It's also worth researching and considering if things like French immersion are important to you and if they are offered by schools in the area you want to live in.<br />
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<b>Transportation/Commute</b><br />
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I'll talk about the Greater Toronto Area because that is where I live, the basic ideas around being 'downtown' should apply to most major cities. If Ontario is your preferred destination I recommend learning the difference between <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Downtown+Toronto,+Toronto,+ON/@43.6547567,-79.3966769,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89d4cb34d27310bd:0xba15d20622070393!8m2!3d43.654262!4d-79.385975" target="_blank">Downtown Toronto</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Toronto,+ON/@43.7181557,-79.5181399,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89d4cb90d7c63ba5:0x323555502ab4c477!8m2!3d43.653226!4d-79.3831843" target="_blank">Toronto</a> and the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Greater+Toronto+Area,+ON/@43.8999746,-79.8026202,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x882b2a1d7471156d:0x4ecad8e272e4c2a2!8m2!3d44.0383744!4d-79.1999949" target="_blank">Greater Toronto Area</a>.<br />
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Toronto has it's own transportation organization called the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and one trade off that you can make is living downtown with it's high rent cost but low transit time and cost. If you're going to be downtown every weekend and don't have kids then living Downtown has serious merit. Conversely if that isn't your lifestyle then living outside of Toronto but in the Greater Toronto Area has strong merit.<br />
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If, for example, you're living far from a bus or train line you can spend less on rent however that savings could be offset by needing to purchase a car. Cars are cheaper in Canada than in the Caribbean, especially Barbados with the crazy high import duty. Insurance however is not and I strongly suggest talking to someone you know in Canada or looking at <a href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Canada+Car+Insurance+Quote" target="_blank">some insurance quotes</a>. <a href="https://www.kijiji.ca/cars" target="_blank">Kijiji </a>and <a href="https://wwwb.autotrader.ca/" target="_blank">Autotrader </a>are good places to look for cars (new and used) to get an idea of how owning a car could impact your finances.<br />
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To wrap up, it's hard to summarize everything I've covered but essentially if you plan to work in specific region then it's a good idea to plan around transportation to and from where you can afford to live based on the salary you think you'll be making (keeping in mind your social life). Overall it's a good idea to have a high degree of confidence whether the jobs you can obtain will allow you the salary and commute to maintain or improve your quality of life. Some people have 1.5 to 2 hour commutes each way and they are fine with it. I personally am coming around to the idea of a longer commute but if thirty minutes of traffic makes your skin itch then this is something you need to plan for when moving to a new country.<br />
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With the exception of a fete after a few drinks I am a very risk averse person so I, perhaps, over think things. Still, I think to some degree this is the sort of thinking people do when they have a big decision to make and I hope was helpful.<br />
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Here are a few other things that came to mind but I couldn't really fit them in:<br />
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Tax planning, do it. Seriously, call a specialist or spend some time on a website like Turbo tax to understand the things you can claim on so you can don't get caught flat footed maximizing your tax return. Moving is expensive and leaving money on the table is not a good idea for most of us.<br />
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Car rental and micro rental services like <a href="https://avis.ca/" target="_blank">Avis</a>, <a href="https://www.enterprise.ca/en/home.html" target="_blank">Enterprise</a> and <a href="https://www.zipcar.com/en-ca" target="_blank">Zipcar</a> along with ride sharing apps are great ways to get around if you're not going to buy a car immediately. Getting your drivers license in Canada is probably better saved for a follow up but suffice to say, plan to get an license in the province you choose.<br />
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Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-56309829798437292582019-06-09T22:00:00.000-04:002019-07-08T11:04:04.638-04:00Moving to Canada from Barbados <div dir="ltr">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I moved from Barbados to Canada on a work permit early in 2018 and subsequently became a permanent resident this year. I've had the conversation a few times with friends about the process, specifically with respect to coming from Barbados, and I wanted to share what I knew more definitively.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />The primary way to immigrate for many professionals is through Express Entry. This is a program that seeks to bring productive members of society into Canada and works on a points system, there are a few different express entry classes but 'Federal Skilled Worker' is the route for most people. For Canadian Experience class you need to have worked in Canada and for Skilled Trades it would be jobs like butchers, farmers etc. <br /><br />This <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/works.html">page</a> walked through the basic steps of Express Entry and <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/federal-skilled-workers.html">here</a> is the Federal Skilled Workers Requirements page.<br /><br />There are a few requirements:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age - Being mid 20s is the prime time, you lose points from around 29 and by 40 you get 0. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Education - You have to validate this if your highest degree is not from the US/Canada. If your Bachelors was in Barbados and Masters in Canada then you're golden. If, however, it is the other way around then you need to validate the Masters. That's done through an <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=681&top=29">ECA</a>, it costs around $400BBD and takes 3-4 months start to finish. My wife and I used <a href="https://www.bcit.ca/ices/eca/">BCIT</a>.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">[Update: 25-Jun-2019] Several people have had a faster turn around using some of the other services. They are listed <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=681&top=29" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Work experience - This offsets the age points 'loss' somewhat, but you have to get a fairly detailed job letter. 'Relieving Certificates' are also needed if you've held multiple jobs, these are confirmation of previous employment letters that confirm details such as job title, start/end date and your responsibilities.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Whether you have a valid job offer in Canada.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">English and/or French language skills - You can do <a href="https://ieltscanadatest.com/landing-pages/mississauga/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwocPnBRDFARIsAJJcf94RFWJkgMi1iuLfDJJR4DgpNDL8y7nzkf40S1WfK0mkLXdXMIkSNqkaAqPXEALw_wcB">IELTS</a> in Trinidad or the US (I did mine in Miami), or <a href="https://www.celpip.ca/">CELPIP</a> in Canada. No prep is really necessary but doing a sample listening test would be good and if you don't write with a pen frequently practicing would help if you're doing IELTS as that has a written component (my hand got very tired during the exam).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Adaptability - If you don't have a job offer (and sometimes even then) you have to produce a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/proof-funds.html">proof of funds</a> (For a family of 2, it's $15,772 CAD in a bank account for 3 months or longer, essentially you need to be able to show the money is really yours.)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Overall I'd say the process is:</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Go through the requirements and use <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/crs-tool.asp">this</a> tool to calculate, a score of 440+ is probably good enough by 450/460 is safer (they basically take the first 'insert a number here' most qualified people per draw so the cut off varies)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you're good on points then Apply for the ECA (if needed) and book a language test. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once you've received both those back you can apply for express entry and with a good score you'll get an Invitation to Apply (ITA) </span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The ITA process is much more complicated.<a href="https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/step-by-step-post-ita-process.495270/">This</a> site does a good summary but overall:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Need a Police Certificate of Character for anywhere you've lived 6 months+ cumulatively.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A medical test (only one doctor does it in Barbados and it's $1,000 BBD/person), it can be done in other countries but that would need to be researched on a case by case basis. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A complete travel history going back at least ten years.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The actual Permanent Residence application costs about $1,040 CAD for one Adult, $2,080 CAD for one adult and their spouse and $2,230 CAD for a couple and a child.</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It breaks down to $1,040 per adult and $150 per child. Details on Permanent Residence Fees (and more) are listed <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/fees/fees.asp#economic">here</a>.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are a few online forms to fill out on the IRCC site as well.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A job offer is very helpful and once you have an ITA you're eligible to apply for jobs in Canada from a pool that will take foreign applicants.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Probably a few things I missed but I think that mostly covers it and I'll update this post as needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-30056627369773945692017-02-05T12:51:00.000-04:002017-02-05T12:54:14.280-04:00Scotia and SpreadsheetsI've been a Scotia Bank Barbados customer for a while and I like their AA rewards card. They are by no means perfect and my biggest gripe is the lack of a function that allows an easy export to Excel.<br />
<br />
Getting my transactions in a spreadsheet format saves me a lot of time, I use an app/web service to budget and manually entering transactions is a pain. I could complain, and to some people I would, but I figured why not try to come up with a resolution.<br />
<br />
So <a href="https://goo.gl/6bdnHp"><b>HERE</b></a> is a spreadsheet that should allow you to just copy the online version of the statement and it will output a clean new sheet with the transactions.<br />
<br />
The steps go something like this:<br />
1. Go to the month view (not the 10 day view) in Account Activity of Scotia's Online banking.<br />
2. Select the relevant text and copy. Should look like the image below, don't select titles of the columns just the rows.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4Qhzyqk97QC8m4gU2vglcZ0VKaHW-BIo3-Lc1PBoTQsAcQmDDq2tHIdg8O7rFnCPu2CmeCkmwh2ABKNV0uzcAJ6YiMFJEQAzZKzBRTqQ3dYxctritck0JmWE1lfRFN26uKWkxPcalT0/s1600/Select+Text.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4Qhzyqk97QC8m4gU2vglcZ0VKaHW-BIo3-Lc1PBoTQsAcQmDDq2tHIdg8O7rFnCPu2CmeCkmwh2ABKNV0uzcAJ6YiMFJEQAzZKzBRTqQ3dYxctritck0JmWE1lfRFN26uKWkxPcalT0/s400/Select+Text.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
3. Open the spreadsheet and go through the notifications.</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the below click Enable Editing.</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffDtNL3_UCO9WkyvZtpux4txh3uUxxnHJ8srqiP3QezCVYgWWg-O7shtwodcxNMi-pIlErFdHwMMRZ-6inLxx0A66y9H42Mr_AZD7qVrdIo36VghSwFrNwstQz2nf8WCi6mlrmoZdJfc/s1600/Protected+view.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="36" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffDtNL3_UCO9WkyvZtpux4txh3uUxxnHJ8srqiP3QezCVYgWWg-O7shtwodcxNMi-pIlErFdHwMMRZ-6inLxx0A66y9H42Mr_AZD7qVrdIo36VghSwFrNwstQz2nf8WCi6mlrmoZdJfc/s640/Protected+view.PNG" width="640" /></a></blockquote>
<span id="goog_1172401389"></span><span id="goog_1172401390"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You can view the certificate if you're so inclined to verify it was created by by bbwalcotts email and click Edit Anyway and then Click Enable Content.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwYQn1nPhoDw1AdPcL_RU9Nfsz8UCmC1XHYqxaP-K_t0jOyXPgLwz8C4qI6SA4Of0gni_Sx3ZD4_hBpx6klr7msTZPHGqrTG_zeMmqjjtoSu0Qgu1EFpTqaSTArdK0jldp-vLFei5JF4/s1600/Three+warnings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwYQn1nPhoDw1AdPcL_RU9Nfsz8UCmC1XHYqxaP-K_t0jOyXPgLwz8C4qI6SA4Of0gni_Sx3ZD4_hBpx6klr7msTZPHGqrTG_zeMmqjjtoSu0Qgu1EFpTqaSTArdK0jldp-vLFei5JF4/s640/Three+warnings.PNG" width="640" /></a></blockquote>
<br />
4. Hit "Paste Values from Website". A new spreadsheet should appear with the tidied up values.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
5. Close the conversion spreadsheet without saving it so it can be reused.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-2509218169641592242017-02-05T12:03:00.001-04:002020-06-09T17:32:15.696-04:00Free Certificate StoreFirst post in a while, hope to be a bit more regular with stuff I find useful or interesting. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So a quick one then. As you can see above I've moved over to a domain I was using for email for a while. So the blogs is not mjwalcott.blogspot.com but mw.bbwalcotts.com, which I think is a bit simpler and more personal.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Onto the purpose of creating the post! I finally tried to attach a Digital ID onto the email associated with bbwalcotts and with a little struggle you can sign Outlook emails and Excel documents with a few relatively steps (there are over 15 steps embeded in the two below).</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li> Go <a href="https://www.comodo.com/home/email-security/free-email-certificate.php">here </a>to get a free Comodo certificate but use Internet Explorer. Not Edge, not Chrome etc. IE11 (I'm on Windows 10 so I used Edge at first.). I found this tip <a href="https://forums.comodo.com/email-certificate/unable-to-register-email-cert-on-outlook-2016-t114606.0.html">here</a>. Follow the instructions and the install should be fine.</li>
<li> Then you can install the certificate as shown <a href="https://kb.wisc.edu/office365/page.php?id=52004">here</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
Whole thing should take 10 minutes with any luck and knowing that IE11 is the key to properly installing that certificate.</div>
Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-65149726051949335162016-04-29T18:17:00.001-04:002016-04-29T18:17:52.896-04:00Logitech Media Keys for Google Play MusicShort post,<br />
<br />
I have the Logitech K360 Keyboard and running setpoint so I can keep flip my function keys in addition to mapping the buttons on my M560 mouse. Looked into controlling the Google Play Music web app, long story short I used:<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/streamkeys/ekpipjofdicppbepocohdlgenahaneen?hl=en">StreamKeys</a><br />
and the following <a href="https://steinerd.com/developments/hacks/media-keys/">Setpoint Hack</a> to enable control through the keyboard media keys while using Setpoint.Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-40095942174528098242014-09-13T10:40:00.003-04:002014-09-13T16:34:16.290-04:00Roaming is a Nightmare<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going to Europe for the first time and I have mixed feelings on roaming while I'm there.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From one perspective it would be nice to still be in touch with friends and family while on the trip; and also be able to communicate with family and my wife in Europe. It would also be great because I'm a fairly 'connected' person; </span><br>
<br>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My fitbit won't sync while I'm away from a data source.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I use Evernote for doodling, making lists and generally organizing my life.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I teach and I've moved all my materials into the cloud to simplify access from my various devices and the locations I find myself accessing them from.</span></li>
</ul>
<br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So being able to retain some access to my normal life seems like a good idea.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The challenge is three-pronged; mobile data service is sometimes questionable at best and I've never been to Europe before; I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting myself into; finally a trip across multiple countries (and including a cruise) is a lot to take into consideration.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me do this backwards.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trip involves three separate land masses, six countries and a cruise. Now I didn't even know you get cell service on cruises but there is <a href="http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=45">cell service at sea</a> now. So that essentially counts as another country in terms of roaming and one where the deals are even more convoluted. So for example T-Mobile offers a <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/9/4821692/t-mobile-announces-unlimited-global-data-roaming-at-no-extra-charge">global roaming plan</a>, which is excellent and solves the majority of the headaches. The shortfall is they don't cover the cruise ships, bummer.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now all this leads to the part where I have mixed <b>feelings</b> vs a smattering of thoughts. I'm going on a European vacation for the first time and for the first time I'm travelling with a <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-g5">decent camera</a>. It's only a few weeks I'll be gone and there will be wifi at some ports, this is the perfect chance for me to read, see the sights, capture beautiful images and relax.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yes. Roaming is a nightmare but it presents one of those rare opportunities to disconnect for a good reason. It would be too expensive and difficult and for all of that, the real reason for the trip could lose some of it's value. It's a nightmare I won't be having.</span>Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-73931743757692796042011-03-26T18:41:00.000-04:002011-03-26T18:41:29.266-04:00A letter to firefoxDear Firefox,<br />
<br />
<br />
The last six years have been great, do you remember that time you took 25% of the Global web browser market share for the first time? or when you first made tabbed browsing all the rage? If not for you, IE6 may have set the standard for the next generation of browsers and HTML5 would be a pipe dream. ActiveX might still seem like a reasonable technology!<br />
<br />
You've been so good to me too, the mixture of flexibility, raw performance and consistency across windows and linux were refreshing and while I must admit to you now I've tried everything from Midori to IE9 behind your back, normally, I've always come back to you. How could I get away from your plug-ins? I loved how well ad-block worked and how I could redirect my downloads. It all was so unique and wrapped in a customizable UI.<br />
<br />
Around the 3rd time you'd changed things up I noticed you'd put on some weight and much hadn't really improved about you, but you were still awesome compared to everything else I'd tried...then...then I tried Chrome. It grew on me and when I discovered its syncing abilities...I started to pack my things.<br />
<br />
I lingered at the door in hopes that Firefox 4, the new you based on a new version of Gecko, would win me back but your sync falls short. Your ability to move around tabs just isn't slick enough and its really just the old you with things Chrome was giving me months before.<br />
<br />
I'm sorry to say it but Firefox, its over between us and I hope we can still be friends. I've heard that you are looking at a more aggressive release schedule for your updates and if you do become all that you can be, then maybe we can try this again.<br />
<br />
<br />
-A long time firefox userMajatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-1299621597611606242010-06-06T13:33:00.002-04:002010-06-06T13:39:11.373-04:00Joomla/Eclipse Development setupSo, what I thought would be a simple case of setting up a sftp mount through the gui for Eclipse to have access to a remote file system turned out to be not so simple. To get eclipse access to the webserver's directories I had to :<br /><br /><ol><li>Install sshfs (through the software center for Ubuntu)</li><li>Add myself to the fuse group (though I believe this was useless in the end)</li><li>Create a dir to mount the sshfs</li><li>Backup /etc/fuse.conf (I used bk_fuse.conf)</li><li>Remove the # from allow_other_user in fuse.conf<br /></li><li>Run: sshfs <span style="font-style: italic;">user</span>@<span style="font-style: italic;">hostname</span>:<span style="font-style: italic;">remote_dir</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">local_dir</span> -o allow_other<br />e.g. <span style="font-family: courier new;"># sshfs root@192.168.1.100:/ /media/rm_mount_point -o allow_other</span><br /></li><li>Profit<br /></li></ol>Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-263634621187763052010-05-23T19:22:00.002-04:002010-05-23T19:34:16.646-04:00A bit more freedomChanged my Keyboard back to my Logitech cordless internet pro and put the v470 Bluetooth mouse on the desktop.<br />The keyboard worked flawlessly, the mouse not so much. The mouse was randomly laggy and at times unresponsive; tried some 3rd party apps but no good, in the end the solution was the drop the nice values on all bluetooth processes to -10.<br />The v470 as a scroll wheel that can rock left or right to give an additional 2 buttons, never tried before but getting them to work was fairly easy. Installed btnx and the btnx gui and followed the guide for setting up the extra buttons :-).Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-5725955002526965352010-05-05T00:38:00.002-04:002010-05-05T00:43:32.694-04:00Ubuntu 9.10 -> Ubuntu 10.04Upgraded to 10.04 yesterday, had a little time to mess around today, I like it so far and even moving the windows controls doesn't seem bad. Just the issue of it being on the left in Ubuntu and on the right with Windows. I'm sure it will be annoying soon but I'll still try.<div><br /></div><div>Only problem so far was skype not working, just needed to reinstall:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif, tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(76, 75, 76); line-height: 19px; "><pre style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: dashed; border-right-style: dashed; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-left-style: dashed; border-top-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-right-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-bottom-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-left-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); color: black; line-height: 1.1em; padding-top: 1em; padding-right: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 1em; "><pre style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: dashed; border-right-style: dashed; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-left-style: dashed; border-top-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-right-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-bottom-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-left-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); color: black; line-height: 1.1em; padding-top: 1em; padding-right: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 1em; "><p><span style="font-weight: bold; ">For 32-bit</span><br />$ <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">wget http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-beta-ubuntu-32</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; ">For 64-bit</span><br />$ <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; ">wget http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-beta-ubuntu-64</span></p></pre>You will need to install the following libraries.<br /><pre style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: dashed; border-right-style: dashed; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-left-style: dashed; border-top-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-right-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-bottom-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-left-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); color: black; line-height: 1.1em; padding-top: 1em; padding-right: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 1em; ">$ <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">sudo apt-get install libqt4-dbus libqt4-network libqt4-xml</span></pre>Now install skype(the file u just downloaded, may be named intrepid-ibex)<br /><pre style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: dashed; border-right-style: dashed; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-left-style: dashed; border-top-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-right-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-bottom-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); border-left-color: rgb(47, 111, 171); color: black; line-height: 1.1em; padding-top: 1em; padding-right: 1em; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 1em; ">$ <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); ">sudo dpkg -i skype-XXXXXXXXXXXX.deb</span></pre></pre></span></div><div>Taken from <a href="http://linux.dipin.info/2010/01/how-to-install-skype-on-ubuntu-1004.html">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div>Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-14813187258226477722010-02-23T11:30:00.003-04:002010-02-23T11:32:37.408-04:00Active Directory Group PoilcyThe world of windows administration is an expansive one and weekly I come across pet peeves, my newest? GPO exceptions! or the lack there of.<br /><br />To disable the screen saver for one user I had to either create a loopback GPO or manually edit the registry settings on the PC. Clearly there was only one real option:<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.pctools.com/guides/help/registry-settings.php#user_key" onclick="popuphelp('registry-settings','user_key'); return false;">User Key:</a></b> [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\<br />Desktop]<br /><b><a href="http://www.pctools.com/guides/help/registry-settings.php#value_name" onclick="popuphelp('registry-settings','value_name'); return false;">Value Name:</a></b> ScreenSaveActive, SCRNSAVE.EXE<br /><b><a href="http://www.pctools.com/guides/help/registry-settings.php#data_type" onclick="popuphelp('registry-settings','data_type'); return false;">Data Type:</a></b> REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)<br /><b><a href="http://www.pctools.com/guides/help/registry-settings.php#value_data" onclick="popuphelp('registry-settings','value_data'); return false;">Value Data:</a></b> (0 = disable screen savers, 1 = default)Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-10442373213440188652009-12-06T10:42:00.003-04:002009-12-06T10:43:56.483-04:00Kernel Updates...Break functionality. This really needs to stop I hate having to re-install things after a Kernel update, its ridiculous. Granted the only things that typically break are things that aren't supported but its annoying. Then one has to hold back because 1 update usually leads to 3 *sigh*.Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-472717430726924512009-11-12T00:20:00.002-04:002009-11-12T00:33:40.100-04:00Skype VideoIt lives!! Had video in cheese and not skype but now both!<br /><br />Using this <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1306368&page=2">thread</a> I found that I simply had to remove the .deb install and use a medibuntu version of skype. Of course you have to have the medibuntu repository.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;"># sudo aptitude remove skype</span><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;"># sudo apt-get install skype-common</span><br /><br />I tried install skype but no juice, worked all the same though.<br /><br />P.S. adding medibuntu repository from <a href="http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Karmic">here</a>.<br /><pre></pre><blockquote><pre>deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ karmic free non-free<br /></pre> <dl><dd><ul><li>Download the repository key to a folder. </li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd><ul><li><i>Example:</i> The Medibuntu key can be downloaded from </li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd><dl><dd>http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg </dd></dl> </dd></dl> </dd></dl> </dd></dl> <ul><li> Then add the key from: </li></ul> </dd></dl> </dd></dl> <dl><dd><dl><dd>System -> Administration -> Synaptic Manager -> Settings -> Repositories -> Authentication -> Import Key File... </dd></dl> </dd></dl> <dl><dd><ul><li>(Alternatively, you can manually add the key from the command line Terminal. See <a href="http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Karmic#Add_Repository_keys" title="">Add Repository keys</a>.) </li></ul> </dd></dl> <ul><li>Refresh the package list from the new repository: </li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd> Synaptic -> Reload </dd></dl></dd></dl></blockquote><dl><dd><dl><dd></dd></dl> </dd></dl>Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-76106699653121370862009-11-11T01:10:00.004-04:002010-02-18T23:00:50.831-04:00VX-1000 Web CamGot my camera working in cheese by following the instruction in this <a href="http://swiss.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=8238570">post</a>.<br /><br /># wget <a href="http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb/archive/tip.tar.bz2" target="_blank">http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb/archive/tip.tar.bz2</a><br /># bunzip2 tip.tar.bz2<br /># tar xf tip.tar<br /># cd v4l-dvb-19c0469c02c3<br /><br /># make<br /><br /># vi v4l/.config<br />Change CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV=m to CONFIG_DVB_FIREDTV=n.<br /><br /># sudo make install<br /><br />Then reboot.<br /><br />This got it working in Cheese but I still haven't been able to get it working in skype, got my google wave invite tnite :-) and the test in Project Implementation went well so today was a good day.Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-91694839312241301632009-11-09T00:40:00.005-04:002009-11-09T01:04:57.893-04:00VirtualBox Seamless Mode<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHk9Mg2Vp2EJNJD3FERNmPIdBfYMzo2z6LgXSIiXBRlDpj90ewZlwEjuGma8Jop1sAEDF2NKz8bbhJ6e0q1pRZP2WdgwDBS-zImeBwovdnnQLCdtm2dnNxIWWsIdKNWRe6CWG979HOw3g/s1600-h/Screenshot.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHk9Mg2Vp2EJNJD3FERNmPIdBfYMzo2z6LgXSIiXBRlDpj90ewZlwEjuGma8Jop1sAEDF2NKz8bbhJ6e0q1pRZP2WdgwDBS-zImeBwovdnnQLCdtm2dnNxIWWsIdKNWRe6CWG979HOw3g/s320/Screenshot.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401965137714827026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Seamless mode on Virtualbox, brilliant.Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-49062225561122440882009-11-08T16:35:00.003-04:002009-11-08T16:42:40.249-04:00.3gp Video playing in Ubuntu 9.1 (Karmic Koala)So the issue really is that the medibuntu repository no longer carries the mplayer capable of handling 3gp using AMR (from <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=762399&page=2">here</a>). The guy who pointed it out then posted a wonderful but long guide <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1305181">here</a>. This is conforting as I'd hate to have to boot to windows just to check the files recorded on my G1.<br /><br />Following that I got a "Gnome Mplayer" which handles .3gp quite nicely. I'll have to see if I broke anything along the way!Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-34750961488620816982009-11-08T14:48:00.003-04:002009-11-08T14:53:15.120-04:00The battle to get 3gp workingSome things are easy and some things are hard.<br /><br />Adding my wireless printer was an absolute breeze on Ubuntu 9.10 but playing 3gp video? Total nightmare! Took some videos recorded on the G1 and haven't gotten the audio on them no matter what I have tried.<br /><br />I've installed Realplayer 11, Mplayer, w32codecs, ubuntu-restricted-extras etc. and VLC player and none work and at first I couldn't even get mplayer to show video on ANY video I tried to play. Finally got video working on mplayer by<br /><ul><li>opening mplayer </li><li>right clicking the video screen</li><li>going into preferences</li><li>video and using xv as opposed to the default xmga</li></ul><br />Still no audio on the 3gp though.Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-70588261944273056822009-11-05T09:46:00.004-04:002009-11-05T10:03:34.555-04:00ubuntu-restricted-extrasI ran:<br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">:~: sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras</span><br /><br />"ubuntu-restricted-extras not found"<br /><br />eh? what do you mean not found? This is how I was greeted when I tried to install the restricted packages onto Ubuntu 9.10 on a laptop.<br /><br />*sigh* to fix?<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">:~$ marlon@hyperion:~$ sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.bk.list</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">:~$ sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list</span><br /><br />I uncommented the canonical entries and got the following<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">:~$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list</span><br /><blockquote style="font-family: courier new;">#deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 9.10 _Karmic Koala_ - Release i386 (20091028.5)]/ karmic main restricted<br /># See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to<br /># newer versions of the distribution.<br /><br />deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic main restricted<br />deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic main restricted<br /><br />## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the<br />## distribution.<br />deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-updates main restricted<br />deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-updates main restricted<br /><br />## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu<br />## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any<br />## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.<br />deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic universe<br />deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic universe<br />deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-updates universe<br />deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-updates universe<br /><br />## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu<br />## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to<br />## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in<br />## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu<br />## security team.<br />deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic multiverse<br />deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic multiverse<br />deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-updates multiverse<br />deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-updates multiverse<br /><br />## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports'<br />## repository.<br />## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as<br />## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes<br />## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.<br />## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review<br />## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.<br />deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-backports main restricted universe multiverse<br />deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-backports main restricted universe multiverse<br /><br />## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's<br />## 'partner' repository.<br />## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the<br />## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.<br />deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu karmic partner<br />deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu karmic partner<br /><br />deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu karmic-security main restricted<br />deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu karmic-security main restricted<br />deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu karmic-security universe<br />deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu karmic-security universe<br />deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu karmic-security multiverse<br />deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu karmic-security multiverse</blockquote><br /><br /><br />Specifically removing the comments from:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu karmic partner</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu karmic partner</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">deb http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-backports main restricted universe multiverse</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> deb-src http://bb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ karmic-backports main restricted universe multiverse<br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Followed by:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: courier new;">:~$ sudo apt-get update</span><br /><br />Then I could get my restricted extras.<br /></span></span>Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-27632445387519089572009-11-05T02:09:00.003-04:002009-11-05T02:10:34.142-04:0032bit or 64bitSure I downloaded the 32bit version of Ubuntu but doubt crept in so be sure I wanted to check, but how do you determine the longest bit length your Ubuntu 9.10 OS can handle?<br /><br /># getconf LONG_BIT<br />32Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-58701950732955259182009-11-05T00:30:00.003-04:002009-11-09T22:31:10.277-04:00Ubuntu 9.1 The first transgressionOk so using Ubuntu 9.1 and it was going pretty smoothy til I tried to auto hide one of the panels, after which the OS froze. This was pretty annoying but not as annoying as what happened next:<div>I rebooted and logged in only to get stuck at the Ubuntu splash screen! I figured that something had gone awry with the gnome settings so I searched for how to reset the Gnome settings from the command line as no GUI was available. Found the following:</div><div><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;font-family:'Courier New',Courier,Fixed,monospace;font-size:85%;" ># rm -rf .gnome .gnome2 .gconf .gconfd .metacity</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:'Courier New',Courier,Fixed,monospace;font-size:85%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://linuxfud.wordpress.com/2007/02/14/how-to-reset-ubuntugnome-settings-to-defaults-without-re-installing/">source</a></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-size:130%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-size:130%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Used the recovery kernel mode from grub to get to the console and entered the command, rebooted and voila. However that is a pretty harsh penalty for trying to auto hide one panel!</span></span></div>Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-48303619080647335822009-03-31T23:47:00.002-04:002009-04-01T11:54:46.870-04:00Shocking MusicSo I've been having an issue where my new in ear buds shock me at home but only on my laptop. It wasn't happening at work and it certainly wasn't happening when I was using my zen.So as it turned out tonight I had on my rubber slippers and it seemed ok it was a little uncomfortable but barely noticable. Then I put my foot directly onto the floor, instant shock. <div><br /></div><div>Seems current is leaking from the speaker in the earbud into you know who.Rubbish ain't it? I guess this is just another reason to upgrade to some shure earbuds.</div>Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-6948772784588377292009-02-19T02:37:00.002-04:002009-02-19T02:38:42.596-04:007-Day CruiseGot back today from a 7-Day Caribbean Cruise and that was the best vacation of my life. The food, the service, the food...lol.<br /><br />May or may not write something extended tomorrow, regardless 10pts to Carnival Victory and "Karl with a K" the Cruise Director.Majatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7571169354233384283.post-8817512599867866402009-01-30T15:32:00.004-04:002009-01-30T15:47:00.910-04:00DropBox etc.For once I find myself only somewhat excited for anther big google announcement. The 'GDrive' Project is imminent and what it is supposed to mean is data accessible from anywhere the net is available.<br /><br />Now I love the idea of Cloud Computing, that no matter where I am or what computer I'm on my bookmarks, email, photos and documents are online.<br /><br />For years the two I've most wanted have eluded me, music and files. Not that there aren't plenty of sites, like www.filefront.com, that you can upload your files too or even registering for website to access my files and perhaps stream my music from. What I wanted though was a bit more cultured, I wanted to be able to stream my music straight through the music player on my comp or phone and for files I wanted them available not just online but offline on whatever computer I use.<br /><br />So the impending GDrive annoucement should tickle my fancy but I've gotten my wish there with DropBox, which allows file syncing across multiple platforms, so when I create a document on my work laptop it is automatically uploaded to the net and when my desktop is turned on it is automatically downloaded. If I make further changes on my desktop to that file the updated file automatically goes out to the web and then automatically gets updated on my laptop.<br /><br />What is more useful is that if I am away from a designated PC I can log into the web interface and perfrom a one-time download of the file in question and then manually upload. I can even share this folder with other dropbox users. Simple, practical and brilliant. My only compliant is that it is 2GB free or 50GB for $100US a year. I could go for 10GB for 30 or 4oUS but I just don't need 50GB.<br /><br />With services like iMeem and last.fm already available and the Zune music store being an all you can download buffet for $15US a month, its not long before a GPRS/EDGE/3G & Wifi enabled phone/mp3 player gets a service where you pay $X a month can play w/e the service has available on demand completely eliminating the need for exesive storoage on the phone.<br /><br />Did I mention this thing runs on windows, linux and mac? MADNESS<br /><br />Anyway, shameless plug www.getdropbox.comMajatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210290280073205100noreply@blogger.com0