January 20, 2009
The day is finally here! Inauguration day. The hype for this one is threw the roof! Every major television program across North America and the world are focused on today’s events. Now you may not have hopped on a bus and headed to D.C. but like most of the world, all eyes will be glued to their TVs, Computer Screens, and Phones. Gizmodo has a great guide on how to follow the inauguration online. Its history in the making people, how could you not watch!
January 5, 2009
As you may have noticed, i haven’t been near a computer for the past little while. Now that 2009 is upon us, i want to wish all the Noronhaville readers a Prosperous and healthy 2009!
December 19, 2008
Looks like someone forgot the snow tires.
Yes its snowing in Toronto. Every time it snows here, the whole city FREAKS out! Today we are expecting anywhere from 10 to 20 cm’s. Photo shot outside my office window. (looking north on Yonge St., just north of St. Clair Ave)
December 12, 2008
The name Spencer Elden may not mean “jack” to you but a picture taken of him when he was 4 months old may be somewhere in your house. Spencer, now 17, is the baby in Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover.
Looks like "Big Brother" does want me to post the Nevermind album cover.
For a flat fee of $200, photographer Kirk Weddle, asked friends Renata and Rick Elden if their son Spencer could be photographed underwater. They agreed and the rest is history. The hook line and dollar bill were photoshoped in later.
Rumor has it that After seeing the photo, Kurt Cobain (Nirvana’s lead singer) and his wife Courtney Love agreed that they would take Spencer out to dinner when he got older. However, this never happened due to Cobain’s death in 1994.
In 2008, 17 years after the album was released, Spencer took another dip in the pool and recreated his iconic pose. I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a few more pool shot of him in the future.
(Reference: wiki)
November 27, 2008
After reading this article, i really wish i could bitch slap the asshole neighbour! Karma’s a bitch! Lets hope they get pony shit for Christmas.
November 20, 2008
Yes it snowed last night in Toronto. Here is a view out my office window looking north on Yonge Street. (Just above St. Clair Ave)
November 17, 2008
I love using ebay. Finding that one thing that you cant find anywhere else and sometimes for a whole lot cheaper then you would find in stores. Now, i think I’m pretty good at knowing a scam from a legit auction. I usually do my research on the seller before i bid on anything. Now i have to throw that “I know what im doing” attitude right out the window.
Last Sunday morning i bid on 2 auctions for soccer (futbol) jerseys. I took a look at the sellers feedback, 100% and everyone had really nice things to say about the seller… “this seller has the best merchandise at a great price” or “Nice shirt, nice printing, nice price.” and “High quality and very good communication.Great Seller.A++++”. There even appeared to be a dispute that the seller corrected and buyer left positive feedback. So with all this, and the price being perfect!! I didn’t hesitate to bid. Now the crap begins!
On the particular auction, the seller stated that shipment of the jerseys will be delivered 3 days after payment was received. I had paid promptly and expected to receive a tracking number in my in-box 4-5 days later. Nothing! So i sent him an email asking if the items where shipped and if so, can he forward me a tracking number. Nothing! I immediately checked back on ebay and that’s when i saw what damage had be done by this guy. As of Nov. 17th 2008, Ebay seller special_cup AKA Anan Sumkan has ripped off 52 people and gotten negative feedback. There is even a rumor that he has fled his native Thailand and moving to Mexico?!?!? Thailand? But wait, his auction said he was shipping from San Jose California. Missed that one! So this seller who had a perfect 100% feedback rating 2 weeks ago, now has a rating of 66% and hopefully will be kicked out of ebay.
Arrested for selling screen legend Anthony Quinn's undershirt
So what now? Well i have opened a dispute through paypal. Hopefully everyone that was scammed by this thief will do the same and we all will get things resolved quickly and hassle free. So in future, what can you do to prevent this from happening to you?
1. Always check the users feedback. It can be found on the right side of the screen. This tells you how many items the user has sold, and what percentage of users were pleased with their service. It is recommended that you only buy from users with a percentage of 95 or greater.
2. Check what methods of payment that the user accepts. If the user only accepts cash or money orders, then you should be slightly suspicious. The safest method is PayPal. It draws money from your bank account and puts it into the seller’s. If you are scammed, you will be refunded (partially) by PayPal. The best part, is that the seller gets none of your personal information.
3. If the user has negative feedback, click “Read Feedback Comments” to see what the issue was. Normally the problem is something along the lines of “Arrived Late” or if there is a serious problem, you can read the seller’s explanation of the issue.
4. Check how many items the user has sold, if the user had just created an account, sold one item, and has 100% feedback, it isn’t saying much.
5. Always check where the items are coming from. Some of the knock off capitals of the world (China, Thailand) are notorious for scammers. Also insure that the Item location and the sellers location are the same, other wise a proceed with caution.
There is no fool proof way to shop safely online. I cant guarantee that following these steps will prevent it from happening to you, but at least you will be prepared and have a certain degree of comfort in knowing that you did all you could do to prevent it.
Hopefully paypal comes though for me and anyone else that was robbed by this low life. I will keep you all posted on what happens with the case. I wonder if Harvey Birdman would take the case?
Update: (Nov. 27th 2008) A Paypal claim was made against the seller and thankfully all money was returned to me. Here’s a lesson to you low life’s who think its right to steal other peoples hard earned money, you cant get away with it forever! No soup for you… NEXT!
November 12, 2008
I really cant wait for this movie. Having re-read the book when i heard the movie was really coming out, i had my doubts that it could work on the big screen but, the trailer completely changed my mind. So here are the new promo posters for the Watchmen movie, which opens March 6, 2009.
November 5, 2008
Well its official! Barack Obama has been elected the 44th president of the United States of America. He also stands alone in history as the first African-American elected into office. A milestone that could help the United States bury its long and often brutal history of racism.
This really isn’t a huge surprise to me. With the little amount of time I’ve spent following the race, I’ve still seen just how right he was for the job. That being said, i still think that he has a huge mountain to climb before things are back to normal in the US. The mess left behind by Bush, could take years to fix.
President-elect Obama even suggested that change will not come over night. “The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.” he said in Chicago.
November 4, 2008
To be honest, me being Canadian, this election really shouldn’t affect me at all. I’m not governed by US laws and I cant vote and I’m not paid in US dollars. (at the moment, that would be nice!) That being said, this election seems to have a lot more at stake then previous ones.
"But i was going to go to Toshie Station to pick up some power converters."
Firstly, could see the very first black president elected into office. Which is a HUGE step forward in the right direction for the US. McCain could become the oldest president elected to a first term. Palin could become the first woman elected vice president. We could see the first Democrat in office since Bill Clinton. (please keep the cigar jokes to yourself.) Finally, the end of George W. Bush. The laughing stock of the western world. Is there any way the newly elected president can fix the mess this guy left behind? Only time will tell.
The Evil Empire
So, unless there are plans to build a Space Station that can destroy a planet, I’ll just wait to see what happens. Hopefully the American people can choose the right person for the job! 
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