Jason's Notes About Stuff

Over the years, I've picked up a few interesting expressions from places I've lived that I've incorporated into my everyday conversation :) People are often confused, so here are the explanations. Texas / Atlanta / The South "Y'all" Usage: Abbreviation of "you all" or "you guys" or "yous guys" "How are y'all doing today?" "What about the rest of y'all?" New Zealand Pronouncing many short vowel sounds as "ee". Examples: "Builder" = "Beelder" The name "Ben" = "Been" France "Comme vous voulez" (pronounced: Come voo voo-lay) Usage: When you don't really have an opinion. Literally: "As you wish." or "However you like." "What do you want for dinner tonight? -- Comme vous voulez." "Should we invite the Jones? -- Comme vous voulez." The Caribbean ...

Looking down the peninsula from Timothy Hill upon our arrival Living on the small Caribbean island of Saint Kitts The good stuff "Buddies" One of the things I truly enjoy here is being in the water. I usually snorkel at least once a week and have taken up a bit of a hobby with underwater photography. Learning to scuba dive was amazing too! I also try to hike at least once a week. The volcano on the north side of the island hosts the famous "Crater Hike" -- a challenging yet very doable climb up to about 3,000ft. There's not a whole lot to do (besides chores) on the weekends, so we often head to the beach. Beach days are great. You can often find your own little spot, or join up with friends for a beach BBQ. What else is great about St. Kitts? It's quiet -- especially outside of tourist season. And you can hang your laundry and have it dry in a few hours. The not-so-great stuff So what about the downside to living in...

Here's a quick e-commerce lesson for you: Don't validate credit card transactions based on IP address location. I left the internet fax provider I've had since 2003 because they wouldn't let me pay them . I wasted an embarrassingly long time trying to find a cheap/free way mask my IP address. I eventually gave up trying to give them money. I Googled, read a few quick reviews, and found a new, better provider in 5 minutes . Lots of customers travel or live outside of their home country . Don't make it difficult (or impossible ) for them to pay you.

Ferrari GTO -- my 16-year old self's dream car As of this November, I've been driving for 20 years! I got my driver's license back in the good old days when there was no such thing as "graduated licensing". On my 16th birthday, I wrote a short multiple choice test to receive my learner's license, and enrolled in the Young Driver's education course -- something I would recommend for any young driver. Nearly a month later, I took the on-road driving test -- in a manual car, no less -- and was licensed to drive! By now, I've probably driven in about 10-15 different countries around the world, on the left and right side. Many, many thousands of kilometers later, driving is practically a natural instinct, and still a great way to get around. Of course, with Google's self-driving car , taking the wheel may someday become an old-fashioned novelty.

Answer: Not very big. Above is a scale map of St. Kitts beside a small area of Toronto. That's right -- driving from one side of the island to another is roughly the same distance as heading up the DVP. Mind you, it could be a bit slower with the winding roads. Or faster if you're comparing to rush hour :) And Toronto certainly doesn't look like this: Either way, it's a great little tropical paradise. Be sure to give us a shout if things get a little cold where you are and you'd like to visit! :)

"My job is not to make you happy." "I'd appreciate if you talked less with your hands. I find that very irritating." "Maybe if you talked less we'd get along better." These are some wonderful quotes from Daryl Ashby , a local Pemberton Holmes real estate representative in Victoria, BC, during our final move-out inspection. As we pleasantly greeted Daryl, he gave us with a scowl, telling us how this type of inspection  "wasn't his job."  It seems that through a scheduling mishap, they had forgotten about it until the last minute. Our moving day, already a difficult time, was made infinitely more stressful by his sour demeanor. I found his attitude and statements both astounding, and confusing. Real estate is typically a field that relies on referrals and references to survive. 8 months earlier, we had a similarly rude , aggressive experience with his real estate agent daughter Cheryl Ashby . The place was in horrid...

My fiancee Melissa and I recently moved from Victoria, BC, Canada to the island of St. Kitts and Nevis . This small island of about 30,000 people is in the Caribbean aka. the West Indies in the Lesser Antilles , and more specifically, the Leeward Islands . What's different? It's hot. Hotter than when we visited Cairns, Australia. But perhaps not quite as hot as when we lived in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand. Things move slowly. As with most hot places, people are in no hurry. Posted business hours are only a rough suggestion of when people may  be in the office. Accomplishing anything requires multiple trips. Keep left! Similar to the UK, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, they drive on the left side of the road. What's the same? The language. Sort of. The official language is English, and everyone is fluent, but most people also speak a local Kittitian dialect . Colonial origin. St. Kitts was once a split British and French colony -- the same as Canada....

The first time I sold everything I owned was 2009, when I moved to south Texas for four months as an experiment to see if I could run my consulting business remotely. The second time, Melissa and I knew that we were only staying in Toronto for a year, so we bought things cheap and knew we'd be unloading them soon. This time was a bit different. We had planned to stay in Victoria many years, so we were buying the "good stuff" -- things we planned to keep and enjoy for a long time. That made selling everything a bit more difficult for us. Not to mention, It's always a big inconvenience, of course :) I'm working from a coffee shop today because I sold my work desk and chair yesterday. That said, we've been given an absolutely amazing opportunity that we'd be crazy to turn down, so onward and upwards we go :) Nearly everything has been sold now, and we're counting down the days until our week-long stopover in Kitchener to visit friends and ...

Before moving somewhere, I always do a lot of research into the geography, climate, politics, etc. Today I found an interesting fact -- according to the CIA world factbook , Saint Kitts and Nevis has one of the highest public debt to GDP ratios in the world. It's right up there with Greece, Zimbabwe, and... Japan? It's also interesting to note that the top 25 on this list include usual suspects like Iceland, Portugal, and Belize, but also some more surprising entries like Singapore, the UK, and Canada.

I like seeing people's reactions when I tell them we are going to live in the South of France . People get the impression that we're super-rich . I've got news for you. We aren't. Not in the slightest. So how are we doing it? Well, for one, we've done something this year that few Canadians or Americans do anymore -- we've put money into a savings account. That's right -- we resisted the incredible consumer spending urge and actually put away a few bucks for a rainy day. And how'd we manage that? The biggest savings, by far, came from neither of us owning a car for 14 months.  This Globe & Mail article pegs the annual cost of car ownership between $8,500-$14,000 . Even subtracting TTC passes, tokens, car rentals and ZipCar, we each saved approximately a crapload of money by not driving. This had its drawbacks and inconveniences, of course. But in hindsight, it's a tradeoff I would make again. Meanwhile, our flights to Pari...

As some of you may already know, Melissa and I were recently accepted for a one-year working holiday to France! We had our interview (which we conducted mostly in French) on November 18th, and received our visa in the mail the following week. I've been taking French classes at Alliance Francaise 3 days a week, and Mel has been practicing her French writing her resume and calling up places in France. I will continue to grow my startup, PMRobot , as well as managing consulting projects for Syllogistic Software , working remotely and following 4HWW principles. We're leaving Toronto for Paris on January 8th. After a few days in Paris, we're kicking off the trip with a cross-country of Italy, flying south to Naples on the 13th, then slowing heading north via Rome, Tuscany, Vienna, and Milan. From there we'll go west to Nice, where we'll be planting roots for a whole 3 months. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to live in the south of France, so here co...

With all of the travelling we've done recently, we have the planning down to a science. Step 1: TripAdvisor First we hit up TripAdvisor and check out their "Things to Do" section. Step 2: Google Maps Then we map out everything we want to see and do on a shared Google Map, so we can start grouping things that are close together. Step 3: Google Docs Next, we create a shared Google Doc, start listing the attractions, and figuring out which day to do what. Once we start booking flights, trains, hostels, etc., all the times and confirmations numbers go here. Step 4:  Mobile phone/apps For this trip, I've used the Labs feature in Android Google Maps to download all of London for offline use, in case I don't have a mobile signal. I've also installed two different apps that give live train and tube schedules. Step 5: Paper As great as technology is, it's not quite perfect. Laptops and phones can break or run out of battery power. Before we lea...

Last January, I bought a Panasonic Lumix camera when living in New Zealand. I was wary of buying something expensive overseas, but was assured that it came with a 1-year "worldwide" warranty . When the camera went dead in Thailand, I phoned the Panasonic support numbers in New Zealand and Canada (which of course both routed to India). They asked where I lived, and told me I should deliver it to a Panasonic authorized repair center in Canada . Very inconvenient , but I that's what I did once I returned. However, after I sent it to the repair center, Panasonic decided they wouldn't pay for anything unless I could send them a copy of the warranty card that came in the box. So now I have to pay for the repair estimate (they determined it was unrepairable) and shipping both ways. I have the original receipt , the manual, and all accessories. The warranty is still valid through next month. Why should a photocopied piece of paper make any difference? Oh right...

On Thursday, Mel and I took our first ZipCar for a spin. For those of you who don't know, ZipCar is a company that rents cars by the hour or day, all inclusive of insurance and fuel. The Good - Cheap! Our 1.5hr trip to Ikea in a new Honda Civic cost a grand total of $18.23, including gas, insurance and all taxes. - Easy! Reserve online, walk to the car, swipe your card, drive away. The Not-So-Good - The previous renter had left the has tank only 1/8th full -- contrary to ZipCar's policy of leaving it at least 1/4 full. - The rear seat wasn't super-clean, and there was junk in the glove box. Summary Overall, it was a good experience and we'd certainly use ZipCar again for any short trip around town requiring a vehicle.

Click above for more pictures We've arrived on the small, tropical island of Koh Phangan, Thailand. After a few days, my initial impression is very positive. The Thai people are very polite and clean. Shoes need to be taken off before entering any building. Prices are cheap, but not massively cheap. Our small furnished house, with air conditioning in the bedroom, a living room, a kitchen with gas range, and hot water shower, cost 15,000 baht (about $500) for a month, plus about another 3,000 baht ($100) for water, electricity, and ADSL internet that is probably better than an average Bell connection. A load of laundry can be sent for washing, drying, and folding for 120 baht ($4). That's cheaper than when we did it ourselves at the hostel in Australia. Western (imported) products cost nearly as much as back home. Food-wise, you can get cheaper stuff when it only has Thai writing -- if you can figure out what it is. A 1.5L bottle of drinking water costs 15 baht (...

On Monday, July 26th there was a terrible tragedy. Two small planes collided with each other in mid-air. One of the planes landed safely, but the other crashed, killing two people. This accident is very near and dear to me, as it happened at the flight school I've been training at the past 8 months. In fact, Mel and I flew in  TOD -- the plane that crashed -- just one day earlier. It's difficult to fathom how this accident happened. It was a clear, mostly sunny day with not much wind. Excellent flying conditions. The planes were all very well maintained, and the school has a superb safety culture. Students are well-trained. The official accident investigation is underway, and will probably take 6-8 months to complete. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the families involved, and all of the staff and students at the school. Related Articles: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/flight-school-closes-collision-probed-3675483 http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu...

First flight: November 5, 2009 Obtained PPL: July 10, 2010 Total Duration: 8 months Flying hours: 70.7 total Learning to fly. What an amazing adventure. I have to admit, I originally thought it would just be a fun little hobby, but rest assured, it takes a good bit of time, money, and determination. My initial estimate was to complete my training in 5 months, finishing in March. This was extended due to two major holidays and a nasty flu bug near the end. A very important consideration in flying is the concept of "currency" or "recency". In fact, for your flying license to be valid, you must have flown a certain number of hours within a certain amount of time. This varies from country to country. It's amazing how quickly you can forget things. Even taking a week off from flying can set you back a lesson or two. If you want to learn to fly in the least amount of time possible, it's important that you don't have large breaks between y...

I just started my private pilot's licence (PPL) training here in New Zealand. Flying a plane is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but never seemed to manage to have both the necessary time and money simultaneously. So besides the obvious fun factor, why would anyone want to get a PPL? Well, just like a driver's license gives you the basic freedom to rent or own a car and drive it on public roads, a pilot's license gives you the freedom to rent or own a plane, and fly it in controlled airspace. Instead of driving to a vacation destination, you can head to an airport or flight club, and rent a plane for the weekend.  In addition to being faster, it can also be a more scenic, and possibly even less stressful mode of transportation. As a bonus, my New Zealand PPL will be easily transferable to a Canadian license when I return.

What did we do before the Internet? For all the spam, scams, and general junk out there, it still amazes me what you can do via the net. Moving half-way around the world is all of the sudden less daunting when you browse for house rentals as if you were there. Google Maps Street View (not yet available in Canada) also lets you zoom in and basically take a walk around the neighborhood to see what it's like. You have to admit -- the Internet is pretty cool sometimes.

It's official! All of the paperwork for a one-year working holiday trip to New Zealand is now complete. Melissa and I will be leaving September 1st, and returning August 2010. I'll be continuing to operate my web development company -- Syllogistic Software Inc. -- while I'm there. We have invested a huge amount of time and effort into "virtualizing" the company. With clients in Toronto, London (Ontario), Vancouver, and Waterloo, plus employees in Kitchener, Montreal, and elsewhere, communication is paramount . Our infrastructure spans the Internet, including a full virtual PBX phone system with multiple extensions and IVR via Trixbox . All company email, shared calendars, and documents are hosted on Google Apps . Source code is managed by Subversion . The heart and soul of the operation is handled by an internal application we wrote, called simply the "Project Management System" ( Update 2011-07-13: This is now called PMRobot ). This allow...