In the coming weeks, I plan to update my blog with more technical posts. I’ve been busy over the past year, and have hacked a couple of devices, while improving and upgrading various PC’s.

More updates to come.

We had no recollection of asking for a “rotating top banner with hyperlink” to our web site. The exact description on the invoice was: “Bi-annual online investor communications sponsorship”, followed by the hyperlink (spelled as hperlink) text above and then “International Stock Quotes”. The invoiced amount was $449 plus GST, amounting to $471.45.

Their web site is pathetic: www.stockquotespro.com. Who in the right mind would even want to post a banner there. It looks like a quick, five-minute web site. Take a look and see for yourself.

We called their toll-free number, 1-877-859-0117, to ask for clarification and were transferred to voice mail on two separate occasions. Further, I looked up the GST number in the CRA registry. I wasn’t shocked to see: “Not registered on the transaction date entered”.

Bottom-line: If you receive an invoice from Stock Quotes Professional Inc (Calgary, AB), do NOT pay it! As we have done, report them to the Better Business Bureau and the Canada Revenue Agency. A business is not allowed to charge GST unless it has been registered to collect GST.

Update (9/4/2008):

Another company, Walstreet International, Inc. (Toronto, Ontario), has followed suit. They are charging $399 bi-annually for the same service — a rotated corporate logo on their web site. There’s also a $19.95 charge for GST, but there’s no GST number (another red flag) on the invoice. The web site looks more reputable, but it’s a scam: www.walstreetintl.net. The small print on this one: “All subscriptions begin upon payment and automatically renewed bi-annually for 3 years.” The emphasis is mine. In other words, another scam to make a quick buck from unknowing accounts payable departments at publicly traded companies. Luckily it ended up in my hands — another scam to report. We called their toll-free number only to be forwarded to voicemail: 1.800.581.1559. Look at the culprit behind the domain: http://whois.domaintools.com/walstreetintl.net (scroll down to the whois record).

The concept is interesting, to say the least. Strong wind gusts will rotate the skyscraper’s floors for an ever-changing design. Owners of apartments will likely awaken to a new view each morning.

Coming from a technical background, I can only wonder if the parts required between the floors are durable for long-term use. Oh wait, they have plenty of oil to use between floors!

Given that the architectural landscape of Dubai is similar to that of the Las Vegas Strip, once the investors have gained a sizeable return on investment, I’m sure they will tear it down and start anew.

I bet we’ve all seen spam e-mails promising $4K to $10K per month (or $200 to $300 per day) in residual income for processing sales orders. Most individuals safely ignore these e-mails, but some seek further details.. and eventually get caught up as a helpless victim (or jump ship early).

There’s plenty of legitimate opportunities for residual income processing sales orders. However, there’s also ones that are clearly illegal. Let’s start with an example. Joe has a factory in Europe that makes shoes. Joe does $100K a month in sales and needs individuals to capture some of the American and Canadian market on his behalf. In doing so, Joe will pay you 10% of the sales volume that YOU process on his behalf. Joe expects you to wire 90% of the proceeds from YOUR sales to either your bank account or a bank account or his choice. Sound familiar?

Let’s break this example down a little. Joe wants you to set up shop on his behalf, in your own country. With the sales volumes Joe’s doing, he could easily set up shop in your country using various methods. Next, Joe wants to use your bank account to collect the funds. Never give out your banking information. On top of this, Joe wants you to set up a merchant account with an online order processor. Then, Joe promises you he’ll send you a couple hundred orders per month for you to process. Well, guess what? Those orders aren’t really “orders”. They are false orders created using STOLEN credit card numbers and customer data. Now, I hope you can put two and two together and see where I’m going with this (money laundering). In the end, you make nothing and actually lose money spent on credit card processing fees and chargebacks from unknowing “customers”.

In the end, you will be held accountable for YOUR actions, not Joe in Europe. If you have landed yourself in hot water by falling victim to such a “job offer”, I have information that can help you out.

Disclaimer: I discovered the information above a couple of years ago, being inquisitive and pressuring details out of a individual posing as a marketing manager for an online company. Sometimes, you just have to play dumb, but yet not fall victim.

Inside the envelope, there was a travel voucher worth $1300. I was promised 4 days & 3 nights at a Ramada Plaza Resort in Florida, another 3 days & 2 nights at another Ramada Plaza Resort in Florida, a 2 night Caribbean Cruise and 7 days transportation by Alamo Rent-A-Car with unlimited mileage.

Too good to be true? Well, you know how the saying goes.

This Ramada Plaza Resort scam is fairly well-known. In fact, back in 2005, I filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and also the Florida Attorney General upon receiving this scam. They acknowledged the complaint as I received a formal response from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

This “deluxe” vacation package consists of two sub-standard hotels and a very old, poorly kept ship. This “deluxe” vacation package also violates the following sections of the Sellers of Travel Act: 559.932 (Vacation certificate disclosure), 559.933 (Vacation certificate cancellation and refund provisions) and 559.9335 (Violations).

If you have been scammed by Ramada Plaza Resort, contact me using the comments section of this blog entry. I have enough legal documentation to get you a full refund.

It did nothing for me. I didn’t expect it to. It’s the only way I can enjoy the taste of coffee without inducing a headache.

So, I did a quick Google search to determine the caffeine content in a ‘decaf’ coffee. No, it’s not 0 mg. US FDA standards state that 97% of the caffeine in a coffee bean must be removed to be denoted as ‘decaf’. That amounts to 15 mg or more in some Starbucks drinks. That’s far from being caffeine-free.

Shortly thereafter, it occurred to me that I should check to see how safe the decaffeination method used by major coffee vendors is. I asked myself, “Is decaffeinated coffee safe to consume?” I set out to find the answer by doing a couple of quick Google searches.

I discovered the following:

Starbucks uses two methods of decaffeination: the direct contact method and the Swiss water process. With direct contact, a solvent (methylene chloride) is introduced to the green coffee beans as they soak. The solvent bonds with the caffeine in the beans and removes it. The solvent is then taken away from the beans and the coffee is roasted at over 400*F. Since the solvent has a much lower boiling point (114*F) the coffee bean that come from this process produce a cup of coffee that has no detectable trace of methylene chloride.

The Swiss water process involves using hot water and steam to remove caffeine from the coffee. Then the solution is run through charcoal filters (similar to a giant water filter) to remove the caffeine. Currently our retail stores offer one coffee that is processed using the Swiss water method. It is called the Decaffeinated Komodo Dragon Blend.

The thought of using chemicals to remove caffeine from coffee beans disgusts me. You’d think a premium coffee vendor would use the safer ‘Swiss Water’ method for all of their blends. I mean, we already pay a premium relative to other brands, don’t we?

Let’s look at Tim Hortons:

Swiss Water?* Decaffeinated Coffee … . This patented Swiss Water method of 100% chemical-free coffee decaffeination provides a natural way to deliver that same great Tim Hortons quality without the caffeine.

A cup of decaf coffee from Tim Hortons uses the chemical-free, Swiss Water method to extract caffeine from coffee beans.

That says a lot. At a fraction of the cost of Starbucks, Tim Hortons decaf coffee is safer to consume. Starbucks, are you listening?

Sources: http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/01/29/starbucks-response-to-decaf-question/ (a little difficult to find otherwise) and http://www.timhortons.com/en/menu/coffe-beverages.html

Update (11/19/2008):

I discovered that Tim Horton’s decaffeinated coffees contain SOME caffeine. Check out this hyperlink. A small decaf coffee contains about 5 mg of caffeine and an extra large coffee contains about 12 mg of caffeine.

The funny thing is, I went to ebay.ca today to check some hardware prices and the number one search term was… Canada! That says something, and it’s good.

Consumers have taken advantage of the strong Canadian dollar to purchase goods from the US without much of a premium (well, maybe a little bit). As I work near US customs, I can attest that there has been a surge of Canadian traffic to the US over the past two-and-a-half months. My co-workers and I have put up with long border lineups, nearly two kilometers long, on a daily basis for the aforementioned time period. On the contrary, there’s no longer an incentive for Canadians to sell goods in US dollars, especially with the Canadian dollar likely exceeding the US dollar in the near future.

This is second letter I’ve received… spooky!

I received the first letter over a year ago. Both letters contain promotional literature. The first one promoted a public speaking product and this one is promoting martial arts or so. They are all personalized with the text, “Avinesh, Check this out! -J”, written in blue ink and block letters. My address is written neatly on the front of each envelope in the same manner. The first promotional piece was taken from a computer magazine and the second piece was from a newspaper advertisement.

The originating postal code on the envelope appears to be: M4L 3T0. The ’0′ almost looks like a ‘D’ on the envelope, but using a ‘D’ for the last character doesn’t follow Canadian postal code standards. A quick Google search shows that ‘M4L’ is Toronto, Ontario. It was mailed out at 8:11 AM on August 21. I never realized letters from Ontario get to BC so quickly — regular mail, no less.

Further research indicates that I’m not the only one that’s received an anonymous letter from the same postal code. I don’t think I know anyone in Ontario with a name starting with ‘J’.

Well, on to other things. I’ll update this post if I discover anything else.

Update (09/02/2007):

It appears several individuals received similarly addressed letters in the mail. Please read the comments to this blog post for details. Someone sure has lots of free time (and money) on their hands.

I attempted to use Canada Post’s Post Office Locator to determine the address of the post office, to no avail: “Postal code M4L3T0 was not found.” Very strange, considering the envelope was postmarked from that postal code.

This almost leads me to wonder if this is an inside job, by a disgruntled Canada Post worker. Perhaps, we can collectively contact Canada Post to help identify the culprit.

Update (09/04/2007):

I contacted Canada Post directly regarding the matter. I am awaiting a response.

Update (09/07/2007):

Canada Post indicated that as long as there’s a stamp on it, they will process it like any other piece of mail. They haven’t contacted me for more information.

Update (10/01/2009):

This Google query should answer most of your questions about this mysterious “J”:

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=Hand+Addressed+Direct+Mail

As you can see, there are marketing companies that deliver hand-addressed envelopes with notes. Their reason for doing so? It increases the likelihood of someone opening a piece of mail. So, there you have it — an answer to this mystery.

I looked all around. No emergency vehicles in sight.

I checked my rearview mirror a moment later and suddenly noticed a black, Nissan Altima with flashing headlights. The driver appeared to be a casually dressed, undercover police officer. I was puzzled and confused, as were plenty of other drivers around me. The car should have been equipped with brighter emergency lights. I didn’t notice the ghost car until it was literally right behind me. Anyways, as per normal procedure for an incoming or passing emergency vehicle, I swerved off the road so that the police officer could pass. A little further ahead I heard screeching tires from (probably) another startled driver.

Since when do they use imports for ghost cars in BC? I’ve seen a few domestic ghost cars over the years, but never an import. A quick Google search turned up the answer to my question. Apparently, what I thought to be an anomaly appears to be common, at least in BC.

I’m going to dedicate this post to saving money in Vegas, getting around and other tips.

Water. Bottled water is a rare commodity in the desert, more so than gasoline, which retails for $3 USD a gallon. How about $3.50 USD for a half-liter of bottled water? That wasn’t a typo. So, where to go? There’s a Walgreens conveniently located on the Strip, albeit closer to the southern end near the MGM Grand. Walgreens sells bottled water for about $1.50 USD a liter, plus plenty of other merchandise (including food) at a discounted price. Hey, it’s even open 24 hours.

Food. If you love food, there’s plenty of buffets to choose from at nearly every hotel. Expect to pay upwards of $18 USD per person. That said, you get nearly unlimited portions. Have some pasta, a salad, chow mein, some more pasta and follow-up with some dessert. We found that Treasure Island and the Monte Carlo had fairly decent buffets for the prices we paid. We weren’t impressed with the buffet at the MGM Grand, which was lacking in variety and was overpriced (nearly $32 USD per person) as well. There are plenty of fast food restaurants on the Strip as well, including McDonald’s and Subway. Our favorite restaurant for dinner was Tamba (Indian food).

Commuting. As indicated in my previous post, expect to do a lot of walking. A Vegas block is not the same as a typical city block. One way to save time and commute to other hotels quickly is to use the Las Vegas Monorail. We paid $8 USD for a day pass. It’s one of the best alternatives to a taxi — no extra surcharges and no traffic congestion. Hey, there’s no gratuity fee/tip either! Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Shows. All of the Cirque Du Soleil shows are really good. Definitely check them out. We saw Mystere and O. I love how they entertain the audience before the show starts. Remember to wear a cap if you’re bald! Otherwise, someone might decide to come up and wax your bald spot. Watch out for flying popcorn, too. The Variety show at the V Theatre in the Miracle Mile Shops (Planet Hollywood) was entertaining as well. It’s got a bit of everything — comedy, talented performers and more. The theatre itself is a bit small compared to the other venues. If you purchase the Expedia Entertainment pack ($30) with your trip, there’s a buy-one-get-one-free coupon that will pay for one V ticket ($75).

Shopping. There are plenty of places to shop in Vegas: the Forum Shops in Caesar’s Palace, the Miracle Mile Shops (Planet Hollywood), the Fashion Show Mall, exclusive shops inside various hotels and a couple of Premium Outlets. The Forum Shops in Caesar’s Palace and the Las Vegas Premium Outlets were our favorite shopping experiences. At the Premium Outlets, designer fashions (eg. Armani Exchange, Banana Republic, etc) can be had for nearly 50% of their retail prices.