I started running again yesterday, and I ran again today prior to walking Daisy the attack Schnorkie. It was an interesting run today as I used my Heart Monitor watch, which I have owned for over 5 years, and this time, I used it correctly. Kathy, (who has done extensive running training) pointed out that I was always training in the wrong heart rate range.

I had been so used to going full out for Wing Chun training, and also when I ran, that my heart rate was always in the “Anaerobic” or “Redline” numbers according to the watch, not the cardio zone (130-149 BPM). So, when I went out today I took special pains to keep my heart rate in the cardio zone. The thing that was hardest was going so slowly. I am so used to pushing so much harder than I did today, in fact, it felt like I was slacking off keeping my heart rate in the cardio range. The pace just feels far to easy. The watch kept beeping to tell me to slow down, and I forced myself to listen to it. It only warned me twice that I was going too slowly. Once while starting off, and once while finishing.

With my new Sansa MP3 player I have been able to start this program and listen to TTC courses, in this case “Books That Have Made History, Books That can Change Your Life.” by Rufus J. Fears. It is pretty good, and it is nice and relaxing to listen to as I start running again as I could not possibly listen to music, as that would certainly make me run too fast. Of course, that is why I always had difficulty with long distance running is that I tried to sprint the full length, instead of pacing myself. That will be something I will just have to learn.

Still, this combined with some kayaking should get me ready for the May MOMAR.

My Visa Credit Card just got charged over $1500 for a computer purchase in Ontario. Now, I don’t live in Ontario, and I don’t purchase computer parts from Ontario. I do occasionally purchase parts from Vancouver, but that is because it is fairly near to me.

Thus, I am a victim of credit card fraud today, and I get to join the masses. I suspect that this will be quickly resolved, but I suspect that the vendor will be left footing the bill…

Unless the perpetrator was stupid enough to do this in an online transaction - then they will have the address of this individual. And in that case, I hope they prosecute the Credit Card Fraud.

I must say it was shocking to suddenly see over $1500 on my Visa out of nowhere, and as someone who keeps good tabs on his credit card and finances, it certainly made me leap out of my chair.

All this after BC Hydro has just refunded me my original deposit on my power bill from when I bought my house - that is a good sign as it means my credit rating will be going up again - but this incident better not damage my credit rating or I will be very angry. As I mentioned before, I check my credit rating once per year, but not more often than that. After this, I may just check it again in a few months to make certain there are no errors on my report, because I will not stand for a false charge on my Visa card, or a false mark on my credit report.

I bought the Sandisk Sansa e140 yesterday, and I like it. I read a number of reviews on the Sansa before considering it for purchase, and most of theme were fairly positive. I chose the Sandisk Sansa e140 over an ipod because for the price, $119.99 Canadian at Costco, it compares favorably in price to an ipod shuffle, but has nearly the features of an ipod nano.

Now, if you compare the Sandisk Sansa to an ipod nano, it won’t fare so well, even if it has an FM tuner, and you can add more flash ram to bring it up to 3 GB, but as I mentioned, in the price range, it kicks the shuffle all over the place. You would be crazy to get a shuffle instead of the Sansa, a 512 MB shuffle is $99, has no screen, no tuner, no upgrades… you get the idea.

The version I had came with version 1.0.003 A, but I found a few quirks, and quickly updated it to version 1.0.010 A with the firmware update from the sandisk website, and the quirks went away.

I quite like the in-ear headphones, as you can lie down and not have to remove them from your ears. The user replaceable AAA battery is a huge bonus over the ipods, and you can get close to 17 hours of playback with an alkaline battery if you don’t use the backlight too much.

It also supports Audible Audio Books, which is great, because that is the primary reason I use an MP3 player. There are a few points of “polish” that this player lacks over the ipods, and it does not possess the “status symbol” image that the ipods do, but I really don’t care, I want it to work, and work it does.

If you don’t care about image, and you just need something inexpensive that works as an MP3 player, I recommend the Sandisk Sansa e140.

Clearly this bit of news that Dick Cheney accidentally shooting Harry Whittington in the face with buckshot is going to make some interesting waves. Of course, many people will wax about the possible motives that Cheney had, or pass off jokes etc. about the shooting. As much as I have a personal distaste for Cheney, I strongly doubt that this was with any intent, and that it was just an accident. Fortunately, as Vice President, Cheney is always followed by a medical team and secret service personell.

Harry Whittington had broken skin on his face, but no damage to his eyes, from the buckshot. This is just the sort of thing that can happen while hunting, and in this case it seems that Whittington did not announce his approach towards Cheney, and as he was walking towards him, flushed some birds, and Cheney fired.

Still, watch the haters of the current administration spin this one out of control.

The currentl political game of cat and mouse that Iran is playing at looks strange to a Western observer. It would seem that they are almost inviting attacks by the United States to curb their current nuclear program. And it is quite possible that this is exactly what they are doing.

What could they hope to gain by this? What could they gain by inviting attack on their country?

Iraq.

Iraq is mostly S’hia, and so is Iran. Iraq was dominated by the minority Baathist party while Saddam Hussein was installed into power by the United States. However, the majority rule is S’hia, and that is now the dominant power after the elections. Iran would of course, love to be able to take over Iraq, and many of the S’hia in Iraq would probably welcome this. (The small Wahhabi sects (of which Osama is a member), the Kurds and the Sunnis would not welcome this.)

The thing is, the US Military is overstreched, and Iran knows this. Iran also knows that it cannot win a direct confrontation, as US Air Power would quickly give the advantage. However, Iran would win a guerilla war in the Middle East. Iran knows this because the US is already losing the guerilla war in Iraq. Also, Iran has far more armaments than the Iraqi fighters have, and if an influx of those arms were brought into Iraq, things would get very bad, very fast for US forces. Just imagine the problems a large amount of shoulder fired Anti Aircraft missiles would cause. Just a small number now are taking out craft in Iraq. That is discounting the medium range ballistic missiles that Iran likely has. Dropping something similar to a Scud on the green zone would not bode well for US forces. All the bases in Iraq that are currently being converted into full time bases would be in range of these missiles, and as we now know from the aftermath of the Gulf War, the patriot system does not work particularly well for missile defense.

Add to this that Britan does not want Iran attacked, and many European partners feel in a similar manner. This causes a massive political problem for the United States. The current administration cannot allow Iran to develop Nuclear weapons, because if they do, then they become more like North Korea - untouchable. Not to mention a threat to Israel, a staunch US ally.

Thus the choices are this: Airstrikes on Iran in an attempt to disrupt their Nuclear program (which may, or may not be effective at this point), and a growing resistance in Iraq aided and abeted by Iran.

Or, diplomatic solutions in an attempt to prevent Iran from developing Nuclear weapons. Thing is, Iran wants them because as soon as they posess them, they now have a shield against US power. Diplomacy might fail in this regard.

So, it would seem that Iran is courting attack, because they know that in the long run, they can win, and perhaps end up owning a chunk of Iraq in the process. For Iran this dangerous political game is win-win. For the US, the current situation is lose-lose.

This is why you will see this issue continue to escalate, even if it is not yet dominating the press.

The controversy over the Mohammed Cartoons and the associated fall out is not really related to the cartoons themselves. Many other outlets such as South Park have lampooned Mohammed in a similar manner, but there was no controversy. In the case of the recent Denmark Mohammed Cartoons, much of the controversy was manufactured.

The truth of the matter is that many Muslims are very angry with what is currently occuring in the Middle East. You cannot really blame them for this, and if you don’t have a grounding in modern politics and Middle Eastern history, the odds are that you will miss it. However, these cartoons gave certain radical Muslims the opportunity to create a crisis over these cartoons. But the Mohammed Cartoons are not the issue here. The response is really just a symptom to the anger simmering under the surface.

The truth is that most Muslims (whom are actually very peaceful people, despite the popular opinion in North America) despise the way they are being treated within the Middle East, and world wide. They see the US war on Afganistan and Iraq (and probably soon to be Iran) as a war on Islam. You may or may not see it this way, but that does not matter, it is how they see it in this instance that counts. Many Americans see it as a “war on terror”, Muslims see it as a “war on Islam”.

Thus, the Mohammed Cartoon was just a catalyst. The anger has been simmering under the surface for some time. There have been other outbreaks, such as the riots in France, which had many other causes as well. The sad fact is that most Muslims are very unhappy right now, and they have every right to be, whether you agree with them or not.

What are they really looking for? Respect, and the occupiers to leave the Middle East. Now, we all know that that won’t happen, and in the case of Israel, the situation becomes particularly complex. Still, no one seems to be offering them the respect that they want, even if many of the other political issues cannot be solved. The fact is that this catalyst of the Mohammed Cartoon, and the resulting riots, means that things are getting worse. Much worse.

Sadly, if the radicals can become insensed over a cartoon in Denmark, odds are, that the extreme radicals are planning something much worse than riots. And that is not good for anyone involved.

Serenity created a good cap for the TV show, so much so, that even if you have not seen the series, you will probably enjoy the movie. I won’t talk about spoilers here, even though the movie has been around for a bit, and the TV series Firefly even more because there is a chance, like me, you got into this series far too late.

Too late to save it perhaps.

I really want this series to do the same as Star Trek and make a comback. It deserves a comback. The reason I stopped watching TV in the first place was that all the shows were boring and repetitive.

Not Firefly.

Firefly was unique. Funny, Gritty, Passionate, Intelligent… All the things that so many shows today lack. If they bring back the series, (I doubt they will, but one can hope) I would expect them to treat it the same was as Ghost in the Shell.

In Ghost in the Shell the Movie, a main character is forever changed, in the TV series Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, they just ignore this aspect of the movie and continue on. So, you know the characters, and you know the context.

For Firefly, I think that the presence of Serenity the Movie would have to be ignored (again, no major spoilers). About the only thing that would not really fit by ignoring the movie is that the mystery of the Reavers, and River’s secret would be far less mysterious. As for other things… Well, if you have seen the movie, you know what parts really need to be ignored.

It is sad to see stuff like this vanish, before it was even given a chance. Firefly was too good for TV. So, it became a movie, Serenity. Now, it will probably never continue. That sucks.

I posted previously about Credit Reports, and I thought I should follow up on Free Credit Reports and what they mean to you.

As I mentioned previously, you can get your credit report for free by sending a snail mail letter to the company concerned, either Equifax, Trans Union, or Experian (if you live in the U.S.) However, what most people don’t realize is that many of the free credit reports you can subscribe to begin to cost money after a month. That is what you might have expected, not everything is for free. Many services exist that charge you a small fee every month to check your credit report, and give you your FICO score (a measure of your rating). However, what they don’t tell you is that every time you check your credit report your overall score goes down. Thats right - checking your credit rating drops your score!

However, not all is lost. You see, your credit rating is a number, but it is not a number right at this moment as you read this. I can tell you are confused. Your credit report only generates a number when it is checked, not before. So, your credit rating as tracked by the credit reporting agencies is just a bunch of statistical data at this moment, and WHEN it is checked, at that moment, a number is generated. This also explains why different credit reporting agencies can give slightly different numbers.

There is another factor here too. You see, when you check your credit report, your overall score drops by a little, but not nearly as much as when another organization, such as a bank or a lending institution of another kind checks it. This is factored in on purpose. So, when you check your credit rating yourself (or some service does it for you) it has far less of an impact on your score than somebody else checking it.

Now, here is the problem, you want your credit report to have a high score, and by checking the score it goes down. What can you do to make it go up? Well, it is best first off to check your credit report only once per year, you should not need a credit report monthly unless you have been the victim of, or are concerned about identity theft. Next, (and this is the big one) Pay your bills on time. A full 35% of your credit report is related to how you pay your bills on time. Get behind on this, and that is an instant loss of points. It will take a full 7 years to recover from this as well. So be aware, a black mark in this respect will stay with you for some time.

Next, make certain you have some measure of a credit history. Having no history at all is a problem, and everyone who starts out has this problem. A great way to overcome this is to get yourself a credit card - and be responsible with it. Don’t rack up massive debts, and then have trouble making the payments. Just hold a credit card for a number of years, and never be late on the payments. The same goes for car loans and the like. The more history you have, the better your credit report looks. Also, don’t get too many credit cards either. Having more than 3 is probably a bad idea. How much money you have available on your credit cards (the total amount you could possibly borrow at one time) is another factor in your credit report.

Free Credit Report or Pay for Credit Report?

As I mentioned before, I pay for my credit report once per year online. I print out the result, and store it in a file. Whether you go for the free option or the pay option does not really matter much - it is just a matter of choice. However, there is one trick you can use when pursuing a loan, and you are shopping around that can help you get the loan and keep your credit report all nice and shiny.

The technique is this. Check your credit report yourself first, and print it out. Take this printout with you when you go to a lender, and let them know that you already know what your credit rating is, in fact, show them the paperwork. I found that when I did this, and I told people that I was shopping around, they did not check my credit report on their computers! This means, that there were fewer checks on my credit report by outside agencies, and that my credit report remained high! However, once you choose a lender via this process they will actually check your report as they must do so to give you the loan.

This technique can keep your credit report in order, and it also looks very impressive to the lender that you know what your rating is. That is why I always check my report every November.

I hope you do too.

I just finished watching the entire Firefly series. It has been my only time to myself for this last week - which has been very busy for me, but very good nonetheless. I now understand all the fuss from fans about Firefly, and I am very annoyed that the series was cancelled, and here I am writing about it long afterwards. I have not yet seen Serenity, but I will soon. I just want to see a second series of this show, and a third and a fourth.

I did not think that a “download only” season of Firefly would “fly” as it were. But now I do. I can honestly say that if Firefly season two comes out online as a download only, I will buy each and every episode of the series. Providing that, of course, that Firefly Season Two ever gets off the ground. I hope that the way that Star Trek was initally reinstated by fan mail happens to Joss Whedons magnificent series.

Firefly, for those of you who don’t know, is a story about people, not aliens. It does not have all the strange technology and “ethics” that tie down Star Trek so much. It is real, it is viceral, is sexy, emotional, sad and powerful all at the same time.

It probably did not make it far on television because it requires an audience with an active brain. That is sad, because Firefly has so much to offer that we will probably never see.

Guess I will have to console myself with Serenity.

Fox, if your representatives are listening, you axed a good show. One of the very best shows actually.

A number of my Co-workers are in financial straights. They have bad credit ratings, and don’t even know what is on their credit reports. This just blows my mind. However, a few years ago, I did not know what my credit rating was either, and I had no idea what a credit report even was. I have managed to recover from a fairly bad FICO Score (The FICO Score is a measure of your credit health, a number from about 350 to 850).

I was absolutely terrified to check my credit. I admit it. My finances were in bad shape at the time. Therefore, checking my credit score was one of the most frightening things I had ever done. I wrote a mail to Equifax Canada (They are required by law to mail you your credit report for free if you write them, there is a similar Law in the United States.)

When my report arrived it was not as bad as I had expected, but it was not great either. Each year thereafter I started filling out the online credit reports that cost about $25.00 a pop - but only doing it once a year. I file these away for my records, and I have been watching my credit rating go up over time. I could still use the snail mail method as opposed to the online method, however, the online instant reports give you much more detail, and given that I get them once a year, and they set me back $25.00 and I save more than that with my mortgage and various loans, the extra detail is worth it to me.

It is also worth your time to check what the other credit bureaus have on your file. They are similar, but not all the same. In Canada and the United States there are Equifax and Trans Union. The United States also has a third credit Bureau: Experian.

Just pick one, and check it every year, then check the other credit bureaus every 3 to 5 years. Make certain there are no errors on your report.

This sounds complicated, and sounds like a good deal of work, but I spend a grand total of 30 min a year, and about $25.00 to check mine, and I save much more money and time in return.

I will probably post more about this as many of my friends are unfamiliar with the process.