Office 365: A Warning

I recently went through this month long saga of switching our office email system from Bell Microsoft Hosted Exchange to Office 365 Exchange Online. This was because Bell was shutting down their system and pushing everyone to Microsoft which you could conveniently buy through them.  I couldn't handle that thought so we went to Microsoft directly.  This is a warning.

Switching the DNS settings turned out to be relatively easy despite it being the part I was most worried about. Since we use GoDaddy we could use a special app that does the switch for you. There was a bit of a hiccup when it seemed it wasn't switching but it soon became clear that it takes several hours for the change to fully come into effect.

That resolved I started to install Office 365 and the latest version of Outlook on the office computers. I took the exported pst file (all 5.5 GB of it) and imported it into the new Outlook. Then I waited for it to upload and sync to Office Online.

I may have been a bit naive about this working but I figured if it worked on Bell's old system then surely it would work on the new and improved and much touted Office 365. After all they are giving me 50GB of space and Bell was only offering 5GB.

Needless to say I realized very quickly that not everything was syncing and even more worrying emails were not going out and being received consistently. Fairly quickly I switched everyone to use outlook online which seemed to be sending and receiving just fine.

NOTE: The only account that seemed to have issue was the account that is shared among everyone in the office and where all the email gets stored while projects are ongoing. The individual accounts (with less data) were working fine.

So I called up Microsoft and was helped by a some nice people, notably Shane who elevated me to Margo. They ran me through several tests and we had a lot of back and forth trying different things over the course of a month.

Finally in one of my Google searches of frustration I came upon this site. Even though I had asked Microsoft about limits such as this being a problem they had dodged my questions. Now I sent them this link and asked them again: "Is the limit on number of folders really 900?" After a few days they finally confirmed that yes this could be the issue.

Now because of our filing system we had probably 10000 folders so I had some work to do. We redid our filing system and archived many older projects and brought it down to 500 folders. Now the system seems to be working and everyone is somewhat happy.

Apparently the flat, white UI of the new Outlook is annoying to some people....

AutoCAD and Network: Why so slow?

This is some of my musings on the IT systems in my office. I will you take down the rabbit hole of why our office network is slow. (Spoiler: I have no idea). These are basically notes to myself to record what I decided at a certain point in time and figure out if any improvement happened. That said, if anyone stumbles on this site and has some insights it would be greatly appreciated.

Over the years in our office we have adopted the incredibly useful AutoCAD tool called Sheet Set Manager. However as you add references to your drawings and link everything up (I've learned to do this towards the end of the project) it really slows down AutoCAD.

Over the years I've searched online for solutions to this but only recently did I stumble on this page. Yes, it turns out that Autodesk is acknowledging that it is slow and they blame it on slow network speeds.

I have followed their advice and now disabled the auto refresh (which will be annoying, no doubt) using the SSMSHEETSTATUS system variable set to '0' and I will report back with any speed increases I find.

BUT the second issue I'd love to address is our network speed. We use a standard peer to peer network with Cat5E cables. The computers are all set up for gigabit speeds but I doubt we actually get it. I am unsure as to what the bottleneck in our network actually is. I used to think that it was the hard drives with all our data (and this post seems to confirm that) but I have my doubts now.

I'd love to know of a good way to test network speeds if anyone stumbles on this site and knows an easy way to do that..... I found this software but do I trust it?

I'm also wondering if switching to a Synology drive system would speed it up.

Danny Macaskill - Industrial Revolutions

I loved the last Danny Macaskill video and this one features even more serious skills in an industrial train yard somewhere in Scotland.

Also the music is pretty good (very sad lyrics....).

My Favorite Apartment Ever!

If I could find a place like this it would be amazing.
Too bad no one in North America can grasp the concept of being small, efficient, sustainable, clean, simple, modern etc. All of those concepts are hard to find in North American residences.

One of the best parts is that there is no yard to take care of. Also, the view is amazing and the lack of an elevator makes for some seriously good exercise.

Danny MacAskill - "Way Back Home" - NEW street trials riding short film

Best travelling bike video with some awesome tricks. Danny MacAskill riding home and doing tricks throughout Scotland.

This isn't your standard bike tricks video. Think incredible views and ancient architecture.

Escher's Waterfall (In Real Life)

This is Brilliant!

20 Interesting Apartments

Here is a great list of cool/strange/wierd apartments of the world. Just as a side note can you guess which album features these neat honeycomb buildings on the cover?

3rd Annual Enjoyment Awards

It is the new year and although it started more than a month ago I figure that I should continue my annual tradition which was started in 2007 and miraculously also happened for 2008. So this is my most enjoyed random stuff of 2009.
Once again, I am not confining my list to music and it is not necessarily only from this year. My list is all about the stuff I got the most enjoyment out of in 2009.
Anyways, here it is:

My most enjoyed artist of 2009 was:
I gotta say Bon Iver. His album came highly recommended to me and I definitely did not regret spending the money on that one.

Some runners up were Sufjan Stevens (of course - after seeing him live), Joel Plaskett and Andrew Bird.

My most enjoyed album of 2009 was:
It is a 3-way tie between 'Noble Beast' by Andrew Bird, 'For Emma, Forever Ago' by Bon Iver and Joel Plaskett's album 'Three'.

Some runners up:
Jenn Grant - 'Echoes'
Great Lake Swimmers - 'Lost Channels'
M. Ward - 'Transistor Radio' and 'Post-War'
The Welcome Wagon - 'Welcome to the Welcome Wagon'

My most enjoyed compilation album of 2009 was:
'Dark Was the Night' which features Sufjan, Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, My Brightest Diamond and Canadians Feist, Arcade Fire and Buck 65 (among many others). It was put together mostly by the guys from The National as an AIDS benefit album. If there is one indie album you should buy this year it is this one because it gives you a great slice of the sounds and bands who are really doing cool stuff right now.

My most enjoyed song of 2009 was:
I always find this one so tough because it bounces around so much. I have to make a list:
'In the Blue Moonlight' - Joel Plaskett
'Tough City' - Oh Susanna!
'You'll Go Far' - Jenn Grant
'White Winter Hymnal' - Fleet Foxes
'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' - Vampire Weekend
and so many more.....

My most enjoyed live performance of 2009 was:
Sooooooo many to choose from! Joel Plaskett, Jenn Grant, Sufjan Stevens. Nope I can't really choose between those three.
The spring was a good time for concerts in Ottawa.

My most enjoyed Local Band (Greater Ottawa Area) of 2009 was:
I guess I haven't got into to many local bands this year but as far as Canadian Indie acts go I'd have to pick Octoberman and Dan Mangan - and both have strong ties to the west coast.

My most enjoyed music venue of 2009 was:
It's a tough choice between the First Baptist Church downtown and the Black Sheep Inn out in Wakefield. I'm going to the Church again in a few weeks to see Basia Bulat so maybe that will make up my mind.

My most enjoyed quote of 2009 was:
"I've downloaded hundreds of records....why would I care someone downloads ours? That is such a petty thing to care about. I mean, how much money does one person need?"- Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes when asked when asked whether he minded if people 'stole' his albums.

My most enjoyed beer of 2009 was:
Well I have enjoyed Beau's Lug Tread several times this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is a picture of me enjoying said beer!

My most enjoyed TV show of 2009 was:
Firefly. I know it was made several years ago but I didn't get to watch it until this year. I absolutely love it. Don't think you have to be a sci-fi nerd to watch it either.

Also, I can't remember if I watched Battlstar Galactica this year or last year. It should be a close tie.

My most enjoyed movie of 2009 was:
Maybe the Where the Wild Things Are adaptation. It was pretty cool.

Maybe Serenity, because the finale to that Firefly series sure is better after you watch the series.

My most enjoyed proud uncle moment was:

When my neice, Elyssa, got over her fear of the Vespa (if even for an afternoon) at the Nepean Sailing Club!

My most enjoyed technology of 2009 was:
The continuing world domination by Google which just so happens to be extremely convenient for me since I use almost all their products.

Or maybe the news that foreign owned cellphone companies are coming to Canada. Hopefully I can get the Google Nexus One!!!!

My most enjoyed purchase of 2009:
The new kitchen even though it isn't done yet.

My most enjoyed city of 2009 was:
Kingston, ON Canada - Lots of history, tons of awesome restaurants, small enough to walk around, big enough to spend money on the downtown. Yes I was impressed. Don't judge it by the view you get from the 401.

I have to say that Memphis could have won this. Maybe if I spent more time there and got a better feel for the city.
The other close second had to be Boston. That is definitely a city I could live in (if I could afford it) if not drive in. The roads are insane - almost as bad (read: awesome) as an old European city - but there is lots of beautiful coastal spots and some fantastic architecture. Kingston just won because I really felt like I understood the city after staying there. Boston would take a little longer - must go back!

My most enjoyed architecture of 2009:

It has got to be MIT in Cambridge by Canadian Frank Gehry.

My most enjoyed book of 2009:

It was probably 'Brave New World' by Auldous Huxley which we read for our book club. I have read it before but getting to discuss it was just fantastic.

Other than that I'd have to say 'Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss which is a remarkably well written fantasy story that I picked up on a whim on my way home from Memphis. I say remarkable because usually fantasy books are not all that well written.

Either way this year promises to be great for reading thanks to the Jubilee Book Club I joined.

My most enjoyed Jubilee Church event of 2009:

Probably the Soup'n'Socks initiative that we have going on right now. We run around downtown handing out free soup and socks to anyone who needs it (especially homeless people).

My most enjoyed news item of 2009:

Climategate.

My most enjoyed sport of 2009:
Definitely snowboarding, I don’t have any other regular sports.

Most enjoyed website of 2009:
Definitely xkcd but Neatorama is pretty close. Yup, I'm a geek.

And last but not least my most enjoyed person of 2009 was:
Irene - she wins it again!?! incredible!!!! I'm sensing a trend, is this rigged you think?

Kitchen: Phase 1 is Complete

So we will finally be back in our kitchen just as soon as I can wrangle up some muscle to help me move the appliances back into place.
Here are some pics of the renovation over the past several weeks.

The orginal floor. This turned out to be a rather hard job to remove.

The original Dinette area. Very useless space - too small for any real use.

The new pantry/desk unit. Still a couple cabinets left to install here.

New ceiling. Yes it is curved.

Original pantry.

Original cabinets.
New Cabinets and larger openings in the wall.

New cabinets, window, tap, flooring and ceiling.

Our Kitchen Renovation

For the past week our kitchen has been under construction.

If you want the play by play commentary (with pictures!) you can go to Irene's blog:

The beginning.

The destruction continues.

And finally construction begins.

On Saturday my Dad and I continued the construction of the openings and running ductwork and electrical wiring.

This week the plumbing and electrical has to be done along with the final floor prep.

The Front Yard: Why?

So I just came in from cutting the lawn. I got eaten alive by mosquitos and nearly ran over the cord 3 times.
I still don't understand how I got myself into this predicament of owning a front yard. Is there any other situation where so much work and effort goes into maintaining a space that is so unused and pointless?
The whole concept of front yard seems so narcissistic to me. Are we just doing it to impress other people with front yards?
There must be a few people out there that actually enjoy their front yard. But the majority of people on our street evidently don't seem to care. Maybe all the people who like front yards should get together and live on the same street.
Our front yard is clearly one of the best on the street (thanks to my father-in-law who devotes a lot of time to it) but I can't help asking myself 'why?'. What is the point?

Huge Bat on the Loose in my Office

I totally missed this because I choose to work during the day but my co-worker Chris was working at his computer with headphones on. He apparently noticed some "wind" every once in a while but he finally took the headphones off when he heard a crash in the automatic blinds on the skylights!
He finally noticed and ran up to the loft and took this video.

Eventually he caught it with his shirt and took it outside.
Here are some pics of this huge bat! Does anybody know what kind it is? I have never seen such a huge bat in the wild.




Chris, you are insanely brave. I would have been afraid of getting rabies.

Kitchen Faucets: Decision Time

So if you read Irene's blog you probably know that we are redoing our kitchen.

The latest decision we have to make is on the kitchen faucet and it has come down to these two choices.

The American Standard Arch:

It's cheaper and has a nice detail on the arch. Irene prefers this one (for those reasons). The side sprayer is made of plastic but it is a fairly decent fixture.

I prefer the Grohe Eurostyle:

I really like the minimalist style and the amazing engineering. There is no plastic on the outside of this fixture. It is a little more expensive though and that is the only thing holding me back.

What do you think?

Free Aerial Photography

A couple months ago Microsoft launched another attempt to take back from Google. Personally it is too little too late. At this point it is obvious that Google will be the most cutting edge company on the internet for the forseeable future.

However, one of their attempts is pretty cool. Bing tries to provide all the same services that Google provides but under Microsoft control. So of course they had to copy Google Maps but they did one better and added aerial photography to the mix. Yes, Google has Streetview which is cooler but it's only certain cities and not in Canada yet.

So firstly I had to check out what my house looks like. Hmmmm that's an old picture from before we did the patio and the garden and the cedar hedge. Yup, this is pretty much right after we bought the place.
How about my office. Hey I'm not at work yet. Looks like Simon and Brian are there though.
And Parliament Hill.
How about the ROM addition in Toronto.
And I really wanted to see how it works with a tall building so why not check out the CN Tower.
That was interestingly hard to find because of the size and when you rotate it is totally not in view anymore. Cool stuff.

Start exploring for yourself here.

Good Times on the Construction Site

These pictures (along with about 100 other ones) have been forwarded to me several times now and so I thought I would put my favourites on this blog so nobody has to look at that email anymore. I am not sure why people think I need to see these pictures but it could be something to do with the architecture connection.........

Rule #1: Check the Site Plan

Rule #2: Wear a hard hat (or at least a soft hat)

Rule #3: Don't Use Revision Clouds (apparently)

Rule #4: Privacy is Over-Rated

We have to back to Spain

Apparently we have to go back to Spain and do the Southern part because I really want to check out this little town called Setenil de las Bodegas.

Much of this town was built into the cliffs and the effect is incredible.

This is the kind of habitat that I would build in my sandbox or carve out of snow drifts as a kid. It reminds me of those mud homes built buy certain Indians in desert areas. I probably was heavily influenced by National Geographic.

The thing I love about this is that they are really using the landscape and incorporating it into the architecture. If this was suburban North America they would have leveled the place with dynamite and built McMansions on it.

Best.Pool.Ever

I am typically not a big fan of pools in Canada. They take insane amounts of energy and chemicals to run properly and then you empty all that water at the end of 5 months of maintenance. The rest of the year your yard is full of a big cesspool of rotting leaves and mosquito larvae. Good Times.

But if you live in a place where you can have a pool open the whole year round it makes more sense. Either way, this pool at the Joule hotel in Dallas, Texas pretty much sets the standard for cool pools. It projects over the main street and allows for a great view of downtown. I can only imagine the structural requirements for something like that.....

Pretty Awesome.

Poster Project

Similar to the Pop_Down Project, this so called 'Poster Project' also gets people to think about their surroundings. I wonder how many people look at this every day.

Pop Down Project

The pop down project is an initiative that just tries to showcase the amount of 'space pollution' we have to endure. In their words "On the Internet, getting rid of unsollicited pop-ups is pretty easy. In real life, things are a tad more complicated.
The Pop_Down Project aims at symbolically restoring everyone's right to non-exposure: Just stick a "Close window" button on any public space pollution."
Back in Hamilton I had a few friends who would go around ripping down illegal advertising. You know the stuff on telephone poles and on the sides of highways on trees. They had some hilarious stories about getting caught. I thought it was brilliant.
The Pop Down Project aims a little higher and is attacking legal advertising but at the same time they aren't ripping anything down. It just makes people think (if they even notice it).

Here are a few examples:

I really like this one because it reminds me of the Paris Metro which is where this initiative started I believe.

This one is great because it really is one of those horribly ugly ads.

It even works on junk.

Pop_Down!

This is just hilarious....

Get your own stickers Here.

Thousands of Naked People

If there is a title that will get people's attention and mega hits on my blog, this is it. Well isn't that the point of modern art? To get people's attention? Sadly, I think the answer to that question is yes.

Over the past few years I have randomly seen articles about some photographer organizing and taking pictures of mass amounts of naked people in public places.
The latest one I saw was of 18000 people in a square in Mexico City. It is neat because of the way it looks like the people are flowing towards the central spire.
The photographer is Spencer Tunick and I don't know where he finds this many people willing to pose naked all at once but the effect is quite interesting, for lack of a better word. It is very 'post modern' anyway. I am not sure how much I like it but since it isn't blatent pornography like a lot of other modern art I find myself strangely attracted to it. He doesn't seem to be using an individual naked body and people's usual attraction to it. But on the other hand he is just using the naked aspect to grab peoples attention. I mean he could have put everybody is the same clothes and had a similar effect. Either way I think it is a very different and hard to produce piece of art.

Here are a few of my favourites:
This is a parking garage in the Netherlands I believe. I just think it is neat because of the architecture.This one is weird and interesting because the people look like sheep. 'The masses are following like sheep' or some statement like that.
This one is neat because of the way everybody is staring out to sea. It is like something out of a book. I just can't believe these are real pictures. Are they cylons? The last one I like because it evokes some apocalyptic sci-fi plot in which everybody on earth dies. I really love books and movies like that for some reason.I really just can't believe that these are real pictures.