Underdog Knight - Chinese Movie with English Subtitles

Underdog Knight is a Chinese martial arts movie about a young naval officer who suffers a mental injury and is discharged from the navy... only to become a vigilante protector of the common people, fighting "evildoers", thieves and the mafia.

I also find it interesting because the villains in the story are after a famous historical spear made from meteorite.

I give it four stars out of five. You can watch it on YouTube for free, with English subtitles.

Camo Dress Jackets - Huh???

I saw the jacket below on Friday at the Hudson's Bay Company store near the Eaton's Centre.

It is evidently a stylishly made jacket, but using a camouflage print. Bizarre and definitely made for the hipsters out there.

Hipsters that want to look tough, but still dress stylishly...

I think it looks lame. Anyone who buys a jacket like this needs to have their head examined.

I suppose it would be okay if your name was Don Cherry, but if it is not then you have no business dressing like that.

If you are into hunting, you are in the military (or former military), or you are some kind of protesting hippie / anarchist, then you could wear camouflage like that - possibly even the jacket below if you want the more posh look while you are out hunting deer, moose, elk, etc.

But if you are not knee deep in snow covered bushes, not carrying a loaded weapon, not carrying deer hunting tags - well then stop wearing camouflage. Then you are not fooling anyone. You just look lame.

2C 55W Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Honestly.

They're garbage.

The 2C 55 watt fluorescent light bulbs only last about 5 to 10 months before burning out - although the
packaging claims they will work for 4 years.

They are also overpriced. $16 for a 55 watt lightbulb. You can buy a better quality lightbulb for $1 from the Dollar Store.

Conclusions? Complete rip off. They sell lamps that only use these lightbulbs and then charge an arm and a leg for the replacements light bulbs.

It is basically the same marketing ploy as the cheap computer printers and then super expensive ink cartridges. Complete rip offs.

Mark's Work Warehouse doesn't honour its sales

I just bought an outdoor work vest which was SUPPOSED TO BE ON SALE but instead was not.

The sale was "save up to 50% off all men's regularly priced outerware."

An outdoor work vest is obviously outerware. It is basically a sleeveless jacket.

And judging by the price it was definitely "regularly priced". No discounts whatsoever.

So why was it not on sale? Because it is a vest? Because Mark's Work Warehouse doesn't consider an outdoor vest to be outerware?

Rubbish!

They just don't want to honour the wording of their sale.

So now they get this negative review and I will be back on Sunday to return it / demand a refund. Or maybe they will be tempted and shamed into giving me the sale price.

Subscribe to find out what happens next!

UPDATE - Yesterday I argued politely with the staff (I have been through this before and know you never get anywhere with staff if you are rude to them), they admitted the wording could have been better, but they still refused to honour the wording of the sale. Returned the item for a full refund. Staff was very rude and snarky about it even though I explained the problem in a calm and evenly toned voice (although I might have sounded a bit condescending, like I was talking to a little kid who can't do basic math). Not much Christmas cheer there either.

If any Mark's executives read this, it was the Mark's Work Warehouse located at the Eaton's Centre.

So word to the wise, if you want a place to honour their sales, don't shop at Mark's Work Warehouse.

For future reference here is Mark's Customer Service info if you have a complaint about their service / lack of honour.

customer.service@marks.egain.net

Mark's Work Wearhouse Customer Service
Po Box 2000
Welland, Ontario
L3B 5S3

Phone		1-800-663-6275
Fax		1-800-452-0770

Glass and Aluminum Vs Plastic SmartPhones

Have you ever seen a broken iPhone or BlackBerry smartphone? Usually it will be the glass front that is broken.

They're so breakable they can fall from a mere 2 feet and shatter easily.

And then it costs you between $60 to $120 to replace the front glass piece - a piece of glass that costs the manufacturer less than $1 to make, but they make huge profits off of selling new glass pieces to people with broken iPhones and BlackBerries.

In contrast plastic smartphones like Samsung and similar companies don't break as easily. They're more durable and don't shatter like glass does.

Plastic does scratch more easily than glass, but it doesn't shatter and break.

And it is the same deal with aluminum cases for iPhones and BlackBerries. They get dented more easily and once broken are useless. In contrast the high grade plastic used in many smartphones is more durable because it absorbs shocks more easily.

Speaking for myself I have had 5 different cellphones in the last 11 years. All of them were made of plastic, and while they did get scratches I never broke a single one of my cellphones. Never had to replace any parts. I never had any complaints about their build quality.

My first cellphone back in 2003 was a LG. It was used, but I got it in South Korea which is a country obsessed with cellphones and new tech devices. If a new device comes on to the market it is often available in South Korea any where from 6 months to a year before it is available in North America.

I was immediately addicted to my 1st cellphones ability to send text messages. Texting quickly became one of my favourite things to do on my cellphone.

My 2nd cellphone I picked up when I returned to Canada in 2004. I opted for a LG again because I liked the one I had used in Korea.

When I returned to South Korea in Summer 2005 I took out my old LG phone from my first visit there and voila, it still worked. And I was getting free phone calls off it because somebody else was now using the same signal I was - so they were paying the phone bill and I was getting free calls. Waha! (South Korea reuses the same signal codes on cellphones. I don't know how it works precisely, I just know they reuse them.)

When I came back to Canada I started using my 2nd cellphone again. Lasted me a long time. I still have it in a box somewhere. Still works technically.

My 3rd cellphone was another LG, purchased in 2006. Came with a camera and video camera, which was a nice change. Meant I could have more fun with my phone. The display was black and white, but the photos it took were still in colour.

My 4th cellphone was a Sanyo, purchased in 2008. A change for once. Used it for 4 years and was very happy with it. Like #3 it had a camera and video camera, but more importantly it has a colour display. It had many more options too, like internet and other gadgets on there (many of which I didn't even use).

My 5th cellphone (and first SmartPhone) is my current phone, which is a Samsung Galaxy SII. Been using it since 2012 and it has no dents, no scratches, I have dropped it numerous times, and I never have any hardware or software* problems with it.

* I do sometimes have software problems with 3rd party apps that I download, in which case I just delete the offending app and then it is back to normal.

Phones 1 to 4 sometimes got scratches on them. My 5th phone is still in pristine perfect condition despite being dropped numerous times.

In contrast I have lost track the number of times I have seen people using broken screens on their iPhones or BlackBerries. Or trying to use a dented aluminum phone that can't get a proper signal any more.

Clearly, based on the evidence, plastic phones are far more durable.

And what is more in the future there are a number of companies planning to release flexible plastic phones - making them even more indestructible.

Some of the companies that are working on such flexible phones are LG and Samsung. No surprise there. They are leading the way in making phones more indestructible.

And I shake my head at any parents dumb enough to give their child or teenager a glass / aluminum phone. That thing will probably break in the first month!

I can guarantee that if someone surveyed teenagers in a highschool as to what manufacturer they got their cellphone from and whether it is broken or not, all the broken ones will have glass / aluminum cases. And the broken ones will all be iPhones (because teens don't buy BlackBerries).

Now that doesn't mean you cannot break a plastic phone. You can throw it against a wall, slam dunk it against a hard floor, run over it with your car - and absolutely, it will break. But simply dropping it during normal day to day use, no, it won't break.

You would have to be an idiot to buy a glass phone.

Plastic 1

Glass / Aluminum 0

Mouthwashes - Alcohol Vs Alcohol Free

I have posted on mouthwashes before, but this time I was trying out the alcohol free version of Crest mouthwash.

I even compared it with Scopes' cool peppermint, and I must say I prefer the alcohol free mouthwash from Crest. It was waaaaay better tasting and I could feel a definite difference in terms of how clean my mouth was afterwards. Longer laster flavour too.

Tried both of them for over a month, got way better satisfaction from Crest.

Cancelling Rogers Internet

Two days ago I cancelled my Rogers internet.

Had it for 7.75 years. Would have been 8 years in February.

Made the change because I was moving into a new apartment and frankly, Rogers wasn't giving the best quality service.

See all previous complaints about Rogers internet crashing, going down, etc.

Don't get me wrong, most of the time Rogers worked perfectly. And it was fast. I give Rogers internet 5 stars for the speed I was getting with respect to downloads and so forth.

But "most of the time" doesn't cut it when I need my internet to be working constantly for work reasons.

And then there was the customer service... which was a combination of computer system and whatever poor saps work in the customer service department. I feel sorry for them, I really do. That is a horrible job.

Big corporation customer service is often less than stellar. I give Rogers customer service 2.5 stars out of 5.

There are other factors too that I didn't like.

Hidden fees on my bills that come out later.

The email spam / snail mail they send customers.

Their insistence on trying to get everyone to sign a contract for a year or more for service.

Overall I give Rogers 3 stars out of 5. Fast, but not reliable and very annoying.

So who am I replacing Rogers with?

Bell.

Which I have tried before and it was "okay". 3.5 stars out of 5 if I recollect correctly. Marginally better than Rogers.

It does make me wish there was more internet companies wooing Canadians than just Rogers and Bell. Or rather, more internet companies with lots of speed and GOOD or decent prices.

For example TekSavvy is a newer company that sells internet connections via dialup, cable, and DSL.

They advertise their prices as being competitive. And it sounds good on paper, but the prices in the commercials and advertising is for their BASIC rate.

Meaning if you want more speed, more bandwidth, etc... well then you need to pay extra. They also charge you extra for the cable activation fee if you don't purchase a modem from them. (And if you don't like their service, they don't take back the modem and refund the difference.)

Cost of the modem? Between $99 and $120, depending on the type you purchase. If you don't buy the modem then they rent it to you. So you end up paying for it either way.

If you go over on bandwidth they charge 50 cents for every GB over.

So TekSavvy is just as much a money grubber as Rogers and Bell.

One of these days a new company is going to come along, offer internet service for a fair price - set a really high limit on the bandwidth, and have 100% uptime. At which point nobody will complain about the customer service because they won't need any customer service. It will just WORK the way it is meant to.

And then maybe Rogers and Bell will start taking the quality of their service seriously.

UPDATE!

Rogers is overcharging me on my final bill. No surprise there. Booooo Rogers! Boo!

Apple Vs Windows - The Screen of Death Statistics

If you Google various combinations of "screen of death" you get some interesting results as to which products people complain about the most when it comes to their computers / devices failing to work / load properly.

102 million for iphone blue screen of death

70.2 million for android black screen of death

58.9 million for apple white screen of death

54.7 million for windows blue screen of death

34.3 million for windows 7 blue screen of death

26 million for windows 8 blue screen of death

16.4 million for android black screen of death

6.76 million for windows me blue screen of death

5.48 million for linux screen of death

3.13 million for mac white screen of death

1.56 million for windows xp blue screen of death

546,000 for windows 3.11 blue screen of death

276,000 for windows 3.1 blue screen of death

Feel free to do your own research into this topic. Draw your own conclusions as to which operating systems are the most reliable / best for your computer / phone needs.

Please note that some products have larger market shares, and yet have less complaints about them.

Wireless USB Adapters

I just spent the last half hour browsing wireless USB adapters.

I am heading to Best Buy soon to pick one up.

I have decided I want to get one that is dual-band (for added speed), has an actual antenna (for better range), and a five star review.

Which means I will be spending $50 - $70. But it will be worth it to get the added speed.

It was this or running an ethernet cable all the way from the living room to the office. And buying a rug to hide the cable on the floor.

Some of the reviews I have been reading say they get a strong connection from 3 floors down. I am curious just how far away I can get such a strong connection... Maybe the laundry room in the basement? Lets find out!

New Steel Toed Boots

By Charles Moffat.

Every couple of years I buy a new pair of steel boots. This is a bit of a tradition I have been doing for 16 years now, ever since I worked in a welding shop when I was 18 years old. I got addicted to wearing the boots and with time I just didn't notice the weight any more.

In the photos further below you see my old Dakota steel toe boots that I got in December 2011. They lasted almost 2 years before the heels / ankle bits started to fall apart and needed to be replaced.

So I got a new pair of Dakota steel toe boots, similar model. Price? At Mark's Work Warehouse they were $119.99 + $15.60 HST. Total 135.60. (Thanks to the elimination of the penny in Canada we now round up regularly.)

Design wise they are basically the same pair of boots. With minor differences. The blue around the ankles, different holes for the boot strings, the sides of the ankles are higher on the new boots. But whatever, essentially the same.

I think I have an even older pair of Dakota boots somewhere in the closet. I should throw them out. Never going to wear them again I am guessing.

The old pair above saw me through two winters and literally hundreds of trips to the archery range, hiking trips, trekking across muddy fields and more. They have seen wear and tear and look like they went through a battlefield.

The only reason why I even chose to replace them was because the ankles / heels were falling apart. Cleaned up (the mud makes them really bad) they look almost brand new except for the rips in the blue ankle bits.

Judging by the hard life that my boots live, the fact the lasted almost two years was pretty amazing.

And the wear on the ankles is my fault. I don't untie my boots regularly, I just tie the laces semi-tight and then yank them on my feet, which damages the ankle of the boot over time. So they're not meant to be yanked on like that so they're bound to take damage.

Price wise these aren't even that expensive by steel toed boots standards. They pass all safety requirements for steel toe boots, but they're relatively inexpensive compared to the $200 to $400 steel toed boots you can buy.

The trick is however is that I KNOW my boots will be treated harshly. I don't see the point in shelling out an extra $100 to $300 on boots that I am just going to wreck anyway.

I gave my old boots to the cashier at Mark's Work Warehouse and told her to toss them in the trash. Although I did briefly make a joke that the company might be curious in analyzing the boots for defects, but honestly they were NOT defective. They simply lived a hard life.

But they stood up to the test which is why I got a new pair from the same company. Huzzah!