In general insurance is only worth it when it covers events that are very unlikely and which, if they happened, they would pretty much ruin your life or the life of someone you care about. For example, life insurance if you have dependents, fire protection insurance, disability insurance. Those all protect you against things that are unlikely to happen but if they happen and you don’t have insurance, someone’s life gets ruined.

Insurance does not make sense for things that are cheap, or events that are likely. You shouldn’t insure a television (aka buy an extended warranty). Balance protection insurance most likely lies under this category.

To understand why I say this, let’s review how the insurance company makes money. Imagine a world where every house costs $100K and the chance of a house fire is 0.1%. Thus, the “expected cost” is $100K x 0.1% = $100. That’s not very much. The problem is the risk. If your house does burn, you lose your life’s savings. So the insurance company comes along and offers to insure your house if you pay them $120. The company does this for 1,000 houses. One of those houses does burn, so the insurance company received $120,000 and paid out $100,000 for the one house that did burn. The other $20,000 is profit.

The point of the example is that the insurance company will always charge you more than the “expected cost” of the event. You are guaranteed to lose money “in average”. In this sense, you are always “over-paying”. For events that are unlikely and would significantly hurt your life, this extra cost is worth it. For things that either happen very often or are low cost, insurance isn’t worth it.

Let me give you an example of the latter: Suppose that you know with 100% certainty that you are going to lose $100. This is a high-probability event. Would you pay $120 to be insured against the certain loss of $100? Of course not.

Were do you draw the line?

Well, that’s a personal choice. It depends on how risky something is for you and your tolerance for risk. But the basic principle is intact. Decide how you want to define “unlikely” and “significant cost” and make sure you only pay insurance for things that are unlikely and would incur a significant cost.

You may want to check this link for more statistical information:

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/blog/credit_balance_insurance.html

The salesperson had failed to mention that the price on the front page was not the final one and that there were a great many extras not included in that figure.

The more I checked, the unhappier they became. I provided them with a long list of items classified as extras to be paid on closing in addition to the purchase price:

* The unit’s proportionate share of the cost of installation of gas, hydro, sewers and water service and meters, to an unlimited amount.

* Any new taxes imposed on the unit by any level of government after the agreement was signed (think HST) – also an unlimited amount.

* The Tarion warranty enrolment fee of $502.

* An unlimited levy against the unit for parks or other municipal charges.

* Provincial sales tax on the appliances included with the unit.

* An extra $300 for the paperwork to hold the purchasers’ deposits in trust.

* $150 to discharge the builder’s construction financing and give clear title after closing.

* The builder’s $52.50 transaction levy payable to the Law Society.

* $150 to subsidize the builder’s legal fees.

* Interest on the balance of the purchase price from the day of final closing to the next banking day.

* The amount of any increase in municipal, education or transit development charges imposed between Oct. 10, 2008 and closing.

* An unlimited contribution to the builder’s proportionate share of all costs associated with a development agreement entered into with the city.

The total cost of these extras could easily exceed $10,000 to $20,000. And since they are classified as extras or “adjustments,” they are typically not eligible for mortgage financing. Not one of them was mentioned in the sales office.

To make the purchasers’ cash flow even worse on closing, the offer requires that the purchasers prepay to the builder estimated property taxes for the year of closing and the year after – another $4,000 or $5,000 for taxes that won’t even be assessed for at least a year.

Going to my lawyer to check the agreement I am told this is common practice and that no builders will want to amend any of this.

I have no problem at all with builders charging whatever they want for houses or condominium units, and for imposing any extra charges they see fit.

I have a serious problem with the total lack of disclosure of the charges in the sales office – a typical failure in many builder sales offices.

The better builders are open and transparent when it comes to disclosing extra charges in the sales offices. They are a credit to the profession and help support a positive public image for the home-building industry.

The rest of them are the ones who may force the government to step in and require full written disclosure of the total purchase price and all extras in a builder offer.

1. In Outlook, Select View>Folder list
2. Right-click on “Outlook Today” and select “New Folder”.
3. Call the folder whatever you chose to name it or Spam for lack of imagination. When prompted add an Outlook shortcut to the shortcut list. The shortcut will be placed on “My Shortcuts” but can be moved to the other Shortcut lists as necessary.
4. Right click the “Spam” folder, select “Properties”.
5. Select the “Home Page” tab in the Properties window.
6. In the address window type the following URL and select the checkbox labeled “Show home page by default for this folder”:
7. http://login.postini.com
8. Click “Apply” and “OK”.
9. Click on the Spam folder, login to your Message Center and if desired, select “Remember my Address and Password”
10. Close Outlook

The next time Outlook is opened and the Spam folder is selected, the Message Center should appear within Outlook.

I will probably be sharing a few basic tips for daily life using powershell on your computer.

Today is  a substitute to the old:

dir /s *filename*

So if you are looking for a file or directory in your file system try something simple like this:

dir -recurse -filter *filename* | sort name | ft directory, name

In fact, dir doesn’t even exist anymore, dir is an alias of get-childitem.

I am not sure I should debate about this feature as MSFT does that very well on technet.

Just to sum up it is in fact a very powerfull search tool.

Windows XP would not start as some system hive was corrupt.

Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SYSTEM or its log or alternate

CAUSE
This issue can occur if the System or Software hive for the Windows XP installation is missing or damaged.

Microsoft does describe the issue very well and it appears quite simple to fix. You want to check this KB for more info.

The fixing process is fairly easy and requires to use the recovery console to make a copy of the current corrupted system files (or not if they are totally missing) and replace them with a backup that windows does.

We are talking about files on c:\windows\system32\config to be replaced by copies.

Everything would have been easy and neat if everything was there as said. Yes, windows is to backup those up into the repair folder. But sometimes it happens.

I was interested in that SYSTEM file, but it was not there. The remaining option would have been to reinstall windows XP offer and have quick and dirty fix.

There had to be another way. Digging into my memory I though about other ways that Windows would have made another copy of those files.  Restore Point snapshot was the answer!

Actually restore point are easily accessibly to the recovery console.

Booting from the XP CD. I started Windows Setup and press R to access the recovery console.
Just using the following command, you can get into the restore point files.

cd c:\
cd  “system volume information\_resto~1″
dir

You’ll see a list of restore point folders with names such as RP1, RP2 and so on. Pick the restore point you wish to use, using the folder date stamps to guide you. Enter the commands:

cd RPx (the restore point you chose)
cd snapshot

This takes you into the folder containing the restore point snapshot files. Then I could just copy what I needed to the target.

copy _Registry_machine_system C:\Windows\System32\Config\System

Sometimes, it is not because you don’t see or if it is not where it is supposed to be that it is not there!

I have tried to compile all the criteria that you would think about and evaluate in order to assess positions.

Pay/Salary
This is obviously the most common but I really think it should not be depending on your lifestyle and age – young people indeed more incomes than older one. You will find this criterion important if you have to pay your studies, debts or even if you are trying to buy a first home.

Over Time and Workload
Knowing the salary pay tag, one will want to understand how many hours of work are included. How many hours a week will you have to work in order to earn this amount? Also you want to know when O.T. kicks in, if you are entitled to any. The point here, no one should be a work slave. You may want to think of it as some sort of salary aka earning / sanity ratio. Earning a lot of money is yet important, but your sanity is even more.

Incentives
Along with the regular salary a company will pay you, one needs to look at all the other things that the company may (or may mot) pay for you. Those includes things such as: Cellphone, car, Internet, work from home

Bonus
Most of the private companies offer some kind of bonus. You want to know how it is calculated. Goal based? Fix?

Benefits
It is hard to find out during the hiring process but it is the source of a few legitimate questions to your future employer. As an employee you should already know what is covered. Here are some points one should inquire about:

• Regular coverage, you know the regular medical expenses as an individual
• Spouse/Family coverage, will they cover your family?
• Dental, those can be expensive
• Eyes
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment, a nice to have

Holidays
Everyone needs a break. Along with regular “paid” days off, you should find out how many floaters you will get – days you can use during the year anytime. Also you need to find out the sick day policy, while you are not planning to be sick for a long time, you will want to know how they can be used.

Pension
RSSP does not suffice if you are just a middle class worker. Check out what rate is your company contributing to your retirement. It is nice to have a company who matches your contribution. Of course, you want to find out the percentage of contribution as well.

Commuting Time
Commuting takes time and can be tiring. Depending on the length and comfort of your ride, commuting can be useful and pleasant. You could spend some time reading or playing mind games. Obviously it is not a good idea if you are driving. If possible chose a job to where commuting takes less than 1 hour and more than 20-30 minutes so it provides a break from work. This criterion should be included for your sanity ratio.

Workplace
While it is hard to find out at first. You may want to have a tour of the workplace. Check for social things like: kitchen, agora and even a gym. Also be sure to find out the amount of light present in the office…winter can be hard on you sometime. It is all about working a la google or cubicle rat. Reports publicly visible should give you an idea if your company is a probable great workplace.

Coworkers
Well you know what you lose but never what you will gain. This is the very same with your coworkers. It is hard to know with whom you will be stuck with. From the interview, maybe trying to talk to current employees, you will want to subtly find you about the ambiance and probably about your future boss!

Reasons for this job
Not the reason for you doing this job but the reason of existence of this very position. Is this a new position? Taking over someone else? you may want to find why the previous person left or why a new position is created.

Company’s Health
This is the hardest thing to evaluate, unless you are a senior psychic analyst. It could be based on how the company’s stock is doing. But yet in economicaly difficult period it is hard to understand. However the help of search engine and other social networking (facebook, linked…) you should find some articles and feedback about the company.

La fourmi travaille dur tout l’été dans la canicule; elle construit sa maison et prépare ses provisions pour l’hiver.

La cigale pense que la fourmi est stupide; elle rit, danse et joue tout l’été.

Une fois l’hiver arrivé, la fourmi est au chaud et bien nourrie.

La cigale grelottantede froid n’a ni nourriture ni abri et meurt de froid.

FIN

VERSION FRANCAISE:

La fourmi travaille dur tout l’été dans la canicule; elle construit sa maison et prépare ses provisions pour l’hiver.

La cigale pense que la fourmi est stupide; elle rit, danse et joue tout l’été.

Une fois l’hiver arrivé, la fourmi est au chaud et bien nourrie.

La cigale grelottante de froid organise une conférence de presse et demande pourquoi la fourmi a le droit d’être au chaud et bien nourrie tandis que les autres moins chanceux comme elle ont froid et faim.

La télévision organise des émissions en direct qui montrent la cigale grelottante de froid et qui passent des extraits-vidéo de la fourmi bien au chaud dans sa maison confortable avec une table pleine de provisions.

Les Français sont frappés que, dans un pays si riche, on laisse souffrir cette pauvre cigale tandis que d’autres vivent dans l’abondance.

Les associations contre la pauvreté manifestent devant la maison de la fourmi.

Les journalistes organisent des interviews demandant pourquoi la fourmi est devenue riche sur le dos de la cigale et interpellent le gouvernement pour augmenter les impôts de la fourmi afin qu’elle paie “sa juste part”.

En réponse aux sondages, le gouvernement rédige une loi sur l’égalité économique et une loi (rétroactive à l’été) d’anti-discrimination.
Les impôts de la fourmi sont augmentés et la fourmi reçoit aussi une amende pour ne pas avoir embauché la cigale comme aide.
La maison de la fourmi est préemptée par les autorités car la fourmi n’a pas assez d’argent pour payer son amende et ses impôts.

La fourmi quitte la France pour s’installer avec succès en Suisse. La télévision fait un reportage sur la cigale maintenant engraissée : Elle est en train de finir les dernières provisions de la fourmi bien que le printemps soit encore loin.

L’ancienne maison de la fourmi devenue logement social pour la cigale se détériore car cette dernière n’a rien fait pour l’entretenir.
Des reproches sont faits au gouvernement pour le manque de moyens. Une commission d’enquête est mise en place, qui coûtera 10 Millions d’euros. La cigale meurt d’une overdose; Libération et l’Humanité commentent l’échec du gouvernement à redresser sérieusement le problème des inégalités sociales.

La maison est squattée par un gang d’araignées immigrées tandis que le gouvernement se félicite de la diversité multiculturelle de la France.
Les araignées organisent un trafic de marijuana et terrorisent la communauté.

F I N

1. My computer’s BIOS supports autostartup, so I have it set to come on at 7:20AM every day (I arrive at the office at 8AM).

2. I use TweakUI to autologin to the computer, use kb315231 otherwise. This gets it starting and lets all the startup programs take however long they need to get going.

3. REMAIN COMPLIANT. I have a shortcut in my startup menu with a target of: %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation, which locks the workstation. This way, if anyone tries to power up my computer when I’m not there, they can’t do anything, remember you are an admin.

4. I have a batch program in my startup menu with this command shutdown -s -t 7200 -c “If I’m not here, this computer will shut itself down.” -f, which will shut the PC down in 2 hours. That way, if I’m out sick, the PC isn’t on all day. Of course, if I’m late, I have ’till 9:20 or so to make it to my desk and abort the destruct sequence with #5…

5. I have a subfolder of Startup called Abort Shutdown, with a batch file in it with the command shutdown -a, which will (duh) abort the shutdown when I click it. The folder is open when I arrive, and the batch file is sitting there, waiting to be clicked on.

So, in the 40 minutes before I arrive, everything gets rolling. While 40 minutes might seem excessive, they are other things you may want to have your computer do while waiting for you such as backup or other sync.

This also works well in the middle of the day when a restart is required. I can fire and forget — go get a double-double or something, and I don’t have to come back just to log in and wait some more. By the time I’m back, it’s ready to rock and roll.

There’s a lot of awesome stuff here, with multimedia streaming support, Microsoft Office document editing and HTML e-mail support at the fore. I am still waiting for RIM to tune up its Web browser, though—it’s falling behind the options available on Windows Mobile, Symbian, and the iPhone.

Some of the new features are handheld-only; some require server upgrades. If you’re on BlackBerry Enterprise Server, your IT department will need to upgrade; if you’re on BlackBerry Internet Service, you’ll need to wait a few months for your carrier to upgrade.

bberry-upgrades

I have read a lot of posts and things about how to upgrade its BlackBerry and it sounded somehow dangerous and scary as some users reported some bricking… In fact, it is very very easy. I got tired reading all the bad stories and warnings on forums and decided to get the information from the source. The download section of the blackberry.com site had a comprehensive listing of the good stuff.

My upgrade followed these steps:

• Download and install the latest BlackBerry Desktop Manager. This was the first time for to use it and I found it pretty neat, never had the need for it as a BES user.
• Reboot
• Download the OS update from the very same site. It even checks your PIN so you download the right one.
• Install the OS update. Once done connect you BBerry and follow the update instructions.

I ran into a few issues while upgrading but nothing was relate to the upgrade itself. I got scared when it fails during ROM upgrade. In fact, my usb drivers for my devices were not installed properly and it would not connect to the device as the device “was not working properly” as per windows. this said, the install retry went well as I installed those drivers once and for all – it probably asked me 3 times for the very same drivers.

The only bad things about this upgrade it that it is very slow, if not very very  slow. While the ROM upgrade itself is fast (10min), the first boot up after upgrade is painfully slow and it took my Blackberry about 35 minutes to come back from the upgrading dead.

So what’s new in this new OS revision?

If you have a BlackBerry Pearl 8100 or BlackBerry 8800, you’ll get:

• Spell check
• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest
• Improved media player with play list support and automatic playlist generation
• Voice note recording
• Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player
• Bluetooth stereo music
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

If you have a BlackBerry Pearl 8130, you’ll get:

• Automatic play list generation in the media player
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

If you have any BlackBerry Curve or the BlackBerry 8820 or 8830, you’ll get:

• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest
• Improved media player with play list support and automatic playlist generation
• Voice note recording
• Video recording on Curve models
• Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

If you have a BlackBerry 8700 or 8703e, you’ll get:

• Spell check
• BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest
• New pictures and ringtones applications
• Voice note recording
• Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

Also there are a bunch of BES advantage that I was not able to test as I don’t have full BES authority at work but they list as below:

• Native format attachment downloading
• HTML e-mails
• Over-the-air device upgrades
• Free/busy calendar lookup
• Searching the server for old e-mail messages

Here is what you want to do to get MOSS to be multilingual.

First, you want to check that you meet the prerequisite: Additional Language File Support.

1. On your front-end Web server, click Start, point to Settings and then Control Panel, and then click Regional and Language Options.
2. In the Regional and Language Options dialog box, on the Languages tab, in the Supplemental Language Support section, select one or both of the following check boxes:
   Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages
   Install files for East Asian languages
3. Click OK in the dialog box that alerts you that additional disk space is required for the files.
4. Click OK to install the additional language files.
5. When prompted, insert your Windows Server 2003 product disc or provide the location of your Windows Server 2003 installation files.
6. When prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.

Then you want to install the following components in the following order for each language:

(Use the change language drop down to choose different language’s language pack download)

1. WSS Language pack (SharePointLanguagePack.exe)
2. WSS Language pack SP1 (SharePoint.exe)
3. MOSS Language pack ( extract *.IMG file)
4. MOSS Language pack SP1 (officelp2007sp1-kb936982-fullfile-it-it.exe)

Warning and remarks! The only bad thing about all this is that you need to know all this before you start creating Site Collections because you can install new site in languages you later installed. I have learned that!

Also you may need to update WSS to SP1 prior going to step 2 as described in kb945967. Find it here.

The other bad thing about SharePoint is that you have to do the install on each “role” server of the farm. I wish there will be some central update managemet for SharePoint sometime soon!