Welcome to My World

You can find me using my PSN name Xane-P0-

Fall is my favourite time of year. Crisp air, great energy and beautiful scenes.

You can be active outside without sweating and then go inside for a warm beverage.

It’s just great!

Last night I had the first dream I remember in a long time.

I have been fairly sick for the past two days and bits of dizziness have come and gone. This may have contributed to my mind’s imagination as I slept.

I started out in a town of houses which my mother owned. They were all falling down and horribly dilapidated.

I wondered how she could have let these beautiful homes with intricately hand-carved mouldings and fixtures fall into disrepair. Upon approaching her she seemed somewhat distant, unable to give me a clear answer.

Fast-forward a bit and I somehow end up underground in a tunnel under the buildings. The tunnel has many branches going to different parts of the town. The I-beams holding up the cement work were old and brown and the tunnel seemed dingy.

Eventually I came to a part where there was an opening just barely big enough to get into. It was covered over by a row of books.

I pulled the books out of the way, all bound in leather in different colours and I came across a man who was telling me to get ready. Apparently I had been mistaken for someone else.

What I found underground was astounding. It was a whole workshop of evildoing. There were men in rooms sleeping and rooms with devices for tearing down the walls of the town above. I was told to get ready as they were preparing for a final assault. Apparently whoever ran this show wanted the town to disappear tonight!

Well I found my way to the room where this “leader” was. It was a giant ant rolling around two large ant-heads on the ground of a huge white room.

… and then I woke up.

>_>

I was so happy. I came home with a TV that was worth $800 at the time for $400. What a deal!

Well my jubilation was to be short lived. I purchased this set on the 24th of July, 2008. Well it’s already dead and it’s almost two months old.

“What happened,” you might ask. Well it simply stopped turning on. The DVD unit still let me open and close the tray and the DVD itself would spin so I assume that part works. The rest of the TV is completely unresponsive, even though the standby light is on.

“Bring it back to the store”, you say. Well I tried calling them and apparently Staples Business Depot’s return policy only covers the first 30 days, and then I have to deal with the manufacturer.

“That doesn’t sound so bad”, you say. Well Staples Business Depot was even kind enough to search out the manufacturer’s phone number because http://www.v7-world.com/ has no mention of this device on their site. Nor do they offer any telephone technical support.

Indeed when I called the number I was provided, I was provided with yet another forwarding number. This number brought me to an actual company. Now, one would think I would be greeted with a professional tone and helpful staff. V7 has neither of these things. I was told twice that I had called the wrong number because V7 does not make an LCD/DVD combo unit. These people were flat-out lying as I pressed them for an answer as to whether they were from the same company that made it. One man answered what I think is the truth. He told me that they are the same company, but the company I had called isn’t the part that makes the unit I had bought. Both phone calls I was hung up on by a rather rude woman (the second call I was transferred to her). She simply hung up on me mid-sentence while insisting that I had called the wrong company and she could not tell me the right number to call.

After emailing the technical support email account on http://www.v7-world.com/ I was directed to yet another company!

This company is http://www.1800customerservice.com/. I filled out their request form and they have not contacted me since.

So let me summarise here. I’ve been lied to and the company which manufactured my TV denies its existence, I’ve talked to 3 companies in the process of trying to get a satisfactory answer as to what is going to be done about my brand new paperweight and I’ve wasted my own time which is worth more than just money (but it’s worth enough money too).

I’m a very frustrated Staples Business Depot customer at this point but I was happy to speak to their representative the second time. After offering me the phone number and hearing how V7 treated me, he told me that Staples would likely be able to do something for me such as a refund.

Usually I’m lucky with purchases such as this one but this time I seem to have hit the bottom of the barrell. V7 is the worst company I know of for technical support.

I just hope this all gets resolved in such a way as I get a new TV. I don’t even want a refund at this point. I just want a working display for my room so I can get back to the ten thousand other things pestering me at the moment that are more important.

Ugh… >_>

EDIT: I was called by Staples again and the representative gave me a number that did, in fact, provide technical support for the V7 in the US and Canada. I was told I would have to somehow get my set to Markham and I was given an RMA number. Now I just have to figure out how to get a big TV to Markham with no car.

EDIT: It’s fixed! I have just received my set back from Venturer Electronics in Markham. Once I spoke to them they were quite kind to me and returned it fully functional on Oct. 20th. I’m just glad I have this over with and don’t have to think of it anymore.

EDIT (Oct 23rd): Okay so I hadn’t tried hooking up my PS3 until last night. It doesn’t work using HDMI anymore. The issue seems to be with the PS3 or with the HDCP support for my TV. My laptop outputs HDMI just fine to it using the same cable. I can’t get my PS3 to do anything other than display a black screen at all.

I’ve tried resetting the config on the PS3 by holding the power button and waiting for the second beep several times. I’ve tried manually configuring it for HDMI. I’ve tried leaving both the TV and the PS3 disconnected from power for a long time and then plugging them back in. After this I tried everything several times again. Still no luck, only a black screen displaying HDMI1 480P in the dialog box at the top right.

GRR!

All this and Trent University is useless again. Their bookstore hours are wrong on the website so I missed my first opportunity to get my books. By the time I went to get them, they were out of the book for the one course where I was told specifically that I need to keep up with the readings. I had one due for tonight and it’s still not available.

T_T

So Google Chrome has been finally released and I have to say it’s the most responsive, quick to download and easy to install browser I’ve used to date.

I’ve hit only one minor snag which is Java support. The official release of Java isn’t working with Google Chrome yet on day 1 of its release, but you can download the beta version of Java 6 to get Java support in Google Chrome.

All in all I have to say I like this new browser. Many people feel fearful as if Google is working toward a monopoly we only just escaped with Microsoft.

I find the major difference is that Google doesn’t muscle out their competition, rather they work with them to ensure great compatibility and a better customer experience overall.

If Google were to become a benhevolent monopoly, I think that might not be so bad as long as they keep encouraging alternatives.

Only time will tell how things will truly pan out.

It seems to fail Acid3 although I heard the webkit engine rendered it at some point. I’m not sure if this is true or not.

This is a new trend in consumer electronics I’d like to see come to fruition. Oddly enough I had just been thinking I’d like to have a cheapy projector to use for quick setups when bringing my PS3 over to a friend’s place.

While you’re not going to get huge pictures out of a handheld device - from what I see it’s more than acceptable.

DO WANT

See the Popular Mechanics article for details.

Anime North 2008 Cosplay Photo Gallery

So it finally arrived. I could not be having a better day.

I’ve just finished a promising project mock up at work which the client is already excited about, and so are we. After talking with a very helpful fellow at Canada Post in town and running all over town I was able to pick up my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV for the PS3. Perhaps I’ll have something to say about that later, the best is yet to come.

I ran all over town to get my new video game but my baby, my pride and joy is an album called Ghosts I-IV. I was not even expecting that package to arrive for a few weeks considering NIN.com et al are doing this sans record label as far as I know.

Why did I pay $5 extra to get a copy of NIN Ghosts I-IV? Simply put, I love it. I’ve been in love since the moment NIN.com offered up Ghosts I for free and I downloaded it. I needed to own it. I needed my own physical copy.

Do I want the pretty pictures included? Yes, yes I do. Do I want a shiny new CD? No, not really. It doesn’t mean much to me what condition the disc is in as long as it plays. I simply wanted to own a copy which I could thrash the living hell out of. Its open now.

The first track reminds me of “A warm place” from the downward spiral. From that moment on it becomes progressively harsher with different moods for each piece - all set to scenery included with the disc. It really is an interesting project and I highly recommend you check it out.