biggish data

Fun fact about your Canadian credit and moving here

QUOTE (Emancipation @ Aug 7 2008, 08:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I hear you.. been there felt that.. there are so many levels where this moving to the US has bugged me, and this is one HUGE one that my hubby has heard rant after rant about

I think what frustrates me the most is I know how things work in Canada, and at times like this -it points out ever too clearly that we're in a new country and we have to learn many of the "for granted" rules all over again. I love that they don't think Canada's "foreign" credit rating is reliable..

That's what I find funny.. Canada appears to be more "international" to the US than the US is to Canada.. I think (may be wrong cause i've never immigrated to canada) that CDN's seem more open to US business, banking etc. than the US is to Canada's. HELLOOOOOO global economy train.. all on board !!! (Uncle Sammy that includes you)

Just so you know, it's the same deal if immigrating to Canada. I'm the USC and instead of her coming here, I'm going there. It's much quicker and easier to immigrate to Canada than it is to the U.S. (case in point: it only took three months, from start-to-finish, to complete the entire visa process and I'm moving up there a week from today), so we chose that route. We'll probably be coming back to the U.S. at a later date, but we wanted to be together as soon as possible, so this worked.

As for credit cards... I've spoken with various banks and CC lenders and it's all the same story, unfortunately. My credit rating (which is fantastic in the U.S.) counts for absolutely nothing in Canada. I'm not happy at all about this and I'm planning on keeping my American credit cards, in addition to whatever Canadian credit cards I may pick up along the way.

It's odd that Canada and the U.S. have such a lack of communication. The credit bureaus used are the same, so theoretically, the U.S. should be able to pull up a Canadian's credit report and vice-versa. I believe it all comes down to laziness. The banks don't feel like doing the "extra work" involved, so they make everyone start from scratch.

I'm printing out my U.S. credit report and showing it to the Canadian banks when I get there, this way they'll have virtually no excuse -- they don't have to do any work. The information will be right in front of them.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-07 14:21:00

Hah! US medical coverage at its best!

QUOTE (aravis227 @ Aug 19 2008, 09:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (DeadPoolX @ Aug 19 2008, 08:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That sounds closer to Canadian medical coverage than American. I've never had to see a "family doctor" in order to get to a specialist or wait long periods of time for any checkup or procedure. If I want to see a specialist, I could do so the next day without hesitation and surgery could be performed in a couple of days if necessary.

Contrast that with my wife (the Canadian in the relationship), who has had difficultly finding physicians accepting new patients, has to see a general practitioner before being referred to a specialist (if she is at all) and then wait obscene amounts of time before anything gets done. Yeah, that sounds just wonderful to me.

I have to agree...I've been through many different insurance companies and HMOs in the US. Every doctor I've been involved with could get you in same day for a sick/emergency appointment, next day at the latest (usually only if you called in the afternoon...as long as you called in the morning you could get in same day). Specialists take a little bit longer, but in my experience they will usually make exceptions for emergencies. I'm sure this is somewhat related to location in the US and location in Canada...I don't think you can make a true generalization about ALL Canadian healthcare or ALL US healthcare.

Excellent point!

There's never one single catch-all situation for everyone. Depending on a number of circumstances, I'm sure either American or Canadian healthcare would seem more beneficial.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-19 10:40:00

Hah! US medical coverage at its best!

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-19 09:59:00

There's a Maple Leaf on my Stars-and-Stripes!

QUOTE (~Laura and Nick~ @ Aug 21 2008, 08:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is sad cause I thought it was MUCH harder than this!!

Congratulations DeadPool, that's awesome.

I didn't think that Nick would be able to work right away after getting here.............what if we have made a huge mistake.....

Laura, I think the main reason that immigrating to Canada is less complicated and time intensive than immigrating to the U.S. is mostly due to a smaller overall population and a general lack of illegal aliens. As I've stated in previous posts, Canada's total population is somewhere around 33 million (the state of California has more people) while the United States holds over 300 million. In addition, we have a widespread illegal alien issue, which massively complicates immigration matters.

As far as I can see, Canada actually wants higher immigration (at least the legal variety, anyway), whereas the U.S., with its current population totals and the non-stop deluge of illegals, has little-to-no desire to encourage any sort of immigration policy. All of this, I believe, accounts for the majority of problems people have when attempting to legally immigrate to the United States.

As a side-note, this sort of thinking might partly explain why Canada (and other countries with smaller populations and a low birthrate) have generous maternity leave options. The governments in these countries are seeking to encourage new births, as opposed to the U.S. which figures there are already far too many people living in the country. If anything, the U.S. would actually look for an incentive to decrease the birthrate.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-22 10:02:00

There's a Maple Leaf on my Stars-and-Stripes!

QUOTE (cattattude @ Aug 21 2008, 05:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds like it might be a little late, but - WELCOME TO CANADA - BIENVENUE A CANADA!

Thanks!

QUOTE (rae_and_scott @ Aug 21 2008, 05:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Congrats DeadPoolX!

I'm planning on doing this in about a year. I'm curious, did you use roadtocanada.com or anything else? Where did you get most of your info?

It's good to hear it went smoothly and quickly for you.

No, we didn't use www.roadtocanada.com or any website like VJ, actually. We just read the CIC website carefully, filled out the necessary paperwork thoroughly and made sure to get all the medical/security checks done ahead of time. We also supplied a lot of evidence in the form of pictures, phone records, etc. I think what may have really helped our case is that neither of us have any dependents.

QUOTE (Reba @ Aug 21 2008, 05:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow, the immigration lady sounds just like a lovey welcome to the country eh? sheesh!

Is it a requirement of the job to be a beeyotch?

Welcome to Canada! Just think, in 3 months time you can have "free" healthcare too

Well, I won't turn it down, that's for sure. I'll probably need some private health insurance, however. I require prescription medication and from what I've heard, provincial healthcare won't usually cover that. Fortunately, I've brought with me an ample supply and it seems Canadian doctors can -- and usually do -- approve prescriptions written by American physicians. So all I need to do is have it transferred and looked over here.

QUOTE (Moosker @ Aug 21 2008, 06:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok so it's that easy to immigrate to Canada? I may have to convince my hubby if this whole U.S. visa ordeal doesn't work out for me he can high-tail it over to Canada. 6 months is excellent time!!! Were you able to work immediately after it was approved?

It sounds easier than it really was, but when compared to the process required by the U.S., it was a breeze. Once again, this may be due to a smaller overall population and less immigration problems (i.e. fewer illegals entering the country). Whatever the case, the Canadian process is certainly quicker. Six months is a much better turn-around than what anyone might receive coming to the United States, I'm sorry to say.

I've been told that in order to legally work within Canada, I'll need my SIN, but I don't know how reliable that information is right now. Seeing as how I'm just a PR and not a citizen (and therefore may be deported), I'd rather gain my SIN first and then seek employment, just to be on the safe side.

QUOTE (Kathryn41 @ Aug 21 2008, 08:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Congratulations!

Yes, having had experience in both the US and Canada immigration processes (undergoing the US one personally and assisting others through the Canadian one when I worked for the MP) I would agree that the Canadian system is better organized and faster. They accomplish the same thing re: medical and security checks as the US does (in fact, they require you do get the security checks done first on your own and submit the results with the application) and they truly do support family re-unification. While a spouse 'sponsors' a foreign spouse, they don't have to meet a minimum income requirement as other family sponsorships do. Once you 'land' your status is permanent - no conditions attached to it and you can count any legal time spent in Canada prior to receiving PR status on a ratio of 2:1 for up to one year of the 3 year citizenship eligibility.

Because of security risks, however, Canada did away with fiance(e) visas a number of years ago so you actually have to be married before you can start the process. Six months to a year seems to be the normal processing times involved, depending on where the foreign spouse resides.

Again, congratulations. You should get your S.I.N. soon, however. It is a simple process and you don't really need to notify them when you change address as it is only used for federal benefits and you either apply for those directly or your employer provides the necessary information. If neither of those circumstances apply, then you can file to change your address. It is not nearly as widely used as the SSN is and is supposed to be only for federal benefit use. Don't forget to apply for your Provincial Health Insurance card as well - there may be a waiting period until you can apply (3 months in Ontario, don't know about elsewhere). Remember to carry your PR card with you whenever you leave Canada as you will be required to show it for re-admission.

Moosker, actually, a foreign spouse can work even before official landing once he/she gets 'approval in principal' which comes as a letter. It means that the paperwork isn't all finished but the application is approved, barring unforeseen circumstances. Once the processing is finished, the applicant has to 'officially' enter the US at the border and he becomes a permanent resident with all benefits. The PR card follows shortly. afterwards in the mail.

Those are some great points. The U.S. immigration process demands that sponsors meet certain income requirements, while the Canadian process does not. My wife and I found that odd at first (wouldn't the Canadian government want to be reassured that an immigrant wouldn't leech off government funding?), but we weren't about to complain or protest. Something else that's interesting is that even if I am outside the country, I still gain time counted towards being "inside of Canada" so long as I am with my wife. The U.S. doesn't do this and whether or not you're with your spouse when outside American borders, you're still considered "outside the United States."

By the way... Kathryn, was that last paragraph in reference to Canadian or U.S. immigration? I'm wondering because you said you have experience with both and typed "officially enter the U.S. border" which wouldn't make a whole lot of sense if moving to Canada. I'd like to know because if I can work without an SIN, that would be useful information.

QUOTE (angie007 @ Aug 21 2008, 08:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

really ?..it only took under 6 months?.well,im really not decided to move to U.S. but from what i know there's no fiance visa in Canada..we're not married yet....you think if my fiance moves here in Canada and we get married here..can he stay with me while i'm sponsoring him?..and maybe we could just extend his visa if the processing will be over 6 months?I'm waiting for my Packet 3 and I'm scared to move in the U.S..first of all,you have to pay for your medical there and houses are much expensive than here,i know it depend on the place but from where my fiance lives its nothing below 500k

Yes and no.

Like Kathryn said, there is no "fiance visa" in Canada. However, you can sponsor your spouse or partner from either outside or inside Canadian borders. Why do it outside and be apart? Because it's much, much faster. The Canadian government seems to process visas extremely slowly if they know your spouse/partner is living in the country with you, as opposed to waiting outside of it. I suppose the idea behind this is that you're already together, so you can afford to wait, whereas those who're apart need to be brought together as soon as possible.

For the record, my wife and I did our spousal visa with us separated -- she remained in Canada while I was in the United States.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-22 00:48:00

There's a Maple Leaf on my Stars-and-Stripes!

Yes folks, I've done the reverse of what most of you have already done or are in the process of doing. Instead of immigrating from Canada to the United States, I immigrated from the U.S. to Canada! Now that I've finished typing out that redundant sentence, I can continue my excessively wordy post regarding my experience.

First let me say that Canadian immigration seems much quicker and more organized than U.S. immigration, but to be fair, Canada has fewer people overall (about 33 million compared to America's 303 million or so) and probably less immigration hassles as well. Regardless, the speedy nature of this process was the core reason why I moved instead of my wife. We figure that we can always go to the U.S. at a later date, but the objective was to be together ASAP.

As scheduled, the visa process was completed in a little under six months. Naturally, I had to go through some medical examinations and criminal background checks beforehand, but all of those were finished quickly. All I had to bring with me to the airport, where I "landed" in Canada, were some documents and the visa attached to my U.S. passport.

Interestingly enough, the CBSA officer who dealt with me first seemed quite confused by my visa. He left his booth to confer with some buddies and then returned, only to leave again and talk it over some more. Finally, he waived me through and I was sent to "immigration." The woman there was in an absolutely awful mood (she actually yelled at me and told me, "you will do what I say, when I say it"). In a very uncharacteristic move, I didn't talk back and just did as instructed. If this hadn't been such an important situation, I doubt I would've put up with the abuse, but I was only thinking about immigrating properly and seeing my wife; besides, an airport is the last place anyone wants to start trouble nowadays. Finally, I was sent somewhere to deal with whatever packages I would have sent up after me.

After all of that, I was finally done. At least for the time being. I still need to get my Social Insurance Number (which confuses me a little bit, since it apparently isn't assigned at birth like Social Security Numbers are in the U.S.) and eventually receive my PR Card. I've been holding off on both since my wife and I moving to another province, so we want the mailing address to be accurate, plus whatever the immigration officer adhered to my passport acts as some sort of "temporary PR Card" so I'm good to go right now. I know I can also drive for a while on my Texas driver's license too.

That's about it, so far. There haven't been too many surprises. I've been here enough times on trips to see my wife that most of the "shock value" has disappeared by now.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-21 17:59:00

What About DUIs?

QUOTE (NYGirl @ Aug 25 2008, 10:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can someone please tell me what does DUI or DWI have anything to do with entering a different country? Is it just to Canada or to all international countries they'll be denied to? Can't put my mind together as to why one thing has to do with another.

Well, it can depend on the country, since in Canada's case, a DUI is a serious offense (a felony, I believe) and the U.S. and Canada share information at the border. The idea is to prevent criminals and terrorists from entering the country. How serious a DUI or a DWI is (or even what they're classified as) in the U.S. can be a little "sticky" since every state views this unequally, with some states regarding them as the same and others differently.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 11:21:00

Searching for a US Bank

The common ways I've heard of to transfer money to and from the U.S. and Canada are...

Customhouse
PayPal

Other than that, I have no clue.

Edited by DeadPoolX, 25 August 2008 - 05:34 PM.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 17:33:00

QUOTE (trailmix @ Aug 26 2008, 06:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's the no sleep!

I don't get the $1 charge while the actual charge is pending - however it does take a day for any charges to appear - which I think is incredibly weird. Like everyone else has mentioned, i'm used to having up to the minute transactions online.

I get the debit/cheque card thing - but actually i'm not comfortable with it. I use my card online and i'm not happy that someone could potentially have access to my 'real' bank account, but i'm not crazy about someone having my credit card account number either

I haven't seen the "one dollar charge" place holder, but perhaps that's just there to make sure your card is legit. I'm sure lots of people use fake or stolen cards all the time. As for the charges appearing later, how fast do you need them to appear? Maybe I'm just used to credit cards, where having up-to-the-minute transactions isn't necessary; maybe it's more useful with debit, I don't know. I don't like paying for things with debit, since among other issues, it's not very secure at all.

One thing that Bank of America is doing now that I really like is offering card holders the option of using a "virtual card number" for online purchases. In other words, you use their system to create a card number, enter the dollar amount it's good for and then use the card number online. It can be setup for single or revolving purchases. The virtual number is actually tied to your real credit card, but the neat thing is if this virtual number got stolen online somehow, the worst that would happen is the thief could only use whatever dollar amount you allowed for the virtual number. If you created a virtual credit card number with a limit of $100, for instance, and it got stolen, the maximum a thief could steal is $100 and everything else on your card would be safe.

The one drawback to that is you need to be a BoA customer. You don't have to have an account with them, just a credit card. But this works with any website you purchase stuff from, so it doesn't need to be set up specifically for it, like PayPal.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-26 09:58:00

QUOTE (Texanadian @ Aug 26 2008, 12:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My wife went to pay online but their website was down. So she had to pay over the phone. Boom. Phone charge.

Even paying the minimum or more, their interest rates can mean your balance goes up. To mail a check from Texas to Washington takes at least a week. Even when you do pay them, they can wait up to 5 days to credit your account.

WAMU has more branches in Texas than I can count. I don't see why you couldn't bring your check or some sort of payment to them. WAMU would still receive their money and I can't imagine it'd take any longer than writing a check for your closest branch to communicate with Washington State.

Interestingly enough, while I have both a WAMU checking and savings account (plus a debit card with them), I've never bothered to get a WAMU credit card. I didn't see the rewards potential as being good enough. Other card companies offered more, such as Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, and American Express. You don't need to get credit cards from the same bank you have your savings/checking accounts with, either.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-26 01:40:00

QUOTE (Texanadian @ Aug 25 2008, 08:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Washington Mutual? No way. They're charging 31.75% credit card interest on my wife's card. Late payments, over the limit fees are $39 each (which of course you then pay interest on next month). Paying your card over the phone costs about $10....I'm not the only one that's noticed this. People at the myfico.com message boards have said that even paying in full every month that their APR's have been climbing up into the high 20's.

I think you may have missed the entire point. You're supposed to pay your entire balance in full every statement, so you don't get hit with interest payments. If you can't be bothered to pay more than the bare minimum or can't afford more than that (i.e. you've spent more than you can pay back), then you deserve to pay the interest rates. Late payments and "over the limit fees" are just that -- you've paid later than when you're supposed to (you're given plenty of time in which to do so) and if you spend over the credit limit allowed on your card, you're hit with a fee. As for paying over the phone, why bother? You could always mail your check in or just pay online.

I really fail to see what the issue is here.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-26 01:01:00

I think the major difference (that I've found, anyway) is that far more people in the U.S. tend to prefer credit cards over debit cards. This isn't just to earn credit card companies money, either. In the U.S., you can use a debit card without entering a PIN number, just like a credit card, only it immediately withdraws from your checking (or in some cases, savings) account. I won't specify how to do this on a public board, but the point is that this "feature" makes debit cards far less secure.

Credit cards are constantly checked over by the credit card lender for any usual activity, placing a stop on your card if it seems like it's been used (or is being used) illegally. In addition, the card holder is only liable for a small monetary amount (sometimes nothing at all) if the card is stolen. There are no protections at all for a stolen debit card, except the PIN number and if that isn't required... well, what's the point, right?

By the way... whenever I make a purchase, it shows up immediately (or shortly thereafter) on my credit statement online. I wouldn't know how it works on my debit card, since I rarely use it for actual purchases. That's just for pulling cash out of the ATM.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 19:46:00

PC Financial, huh? I'll definitely look into that.

As for U.S. banks, one of the largest and most common -- as I'm sure you all know already -- is Bank of America. Naturally, they can be a bit of a pain sometimes. The best bank, in my opinion, is Washington Mutual. They seem the friendliest overall and have the best options when it comes to checking and savings accounts. I also like their debit cards, since as far as I know, WAMU charges absolutely no fee to use their debit card at any ATM, whether or not it's theirs. If the ATM charges a fee, well... that's something else entirely. I've found that WAMU doesn't even charge a fee for me using my debit card in an ATM in Canada, which is pretty cool.

One thing some of the Canadians here might want to know about American credit/debit cards and the banks that lend them out, however. You absolutely must inform your card provider if you are going out of country beforehand. I don't know if this is a requirement in Canada or not (my wife said she never had to), but if you don't do it with the cards in the U.S., they'll probably put a "hold" on them, thinking they're stolen. It's a relatively easy (but annoying) thing to do, since you need to call them up and tell them.

Bank idea: The First Canalien Bank

Edited by DeadPoolX, 25 August 2008 - 05:55 PM.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 17:53:00

I've looked over the "big five" banks in Canada and there seems to be a very disturbing trend with all of them: They all charge fees for their checking accounts and impose limitations on how often debit cards may be used!

That's insane! I've never seen anything like that in my life.

The U.S. banks I've used in the past are Washington Mutual and Bank of America and neither of them charge any fee whatsoever for checking accounts or limit you on how you use your debit card; in fact, as far as I know, WAMU actually rewards you for using it! Are there any banks in Canada that offer unlimited transactions (debit, account, etc) and no fee, like in the United States?

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 11:16:00

Migrating to a Mac?

QUOTE (jedinite @ Aug 25 2008, 02:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (DeadPoolX @ Aug 25 2008, 12:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

First of all, no one who knows anything about computers would purchase a PC from Dell, Gateway or any other "stock" vendor. They'd build the machine themselves or at the very least, purchase their PC from a vendor such as Alienware, VoodooPC, Falcon-Northwest, etc. Anyone who expects to get a magnificent machine at a rock-bottom price is only fooling themselves, although when building one from the ground up, sometimes deals can be made. That requires skill, however.

I know some people enjoy Macs and that's fine. They're free to choose whatever they like. I prefer my freedom of choice over simplicity. Apple gives too few choices for me. The PC, while far more complicated and sometimes frustrating, can offer an ever-widening degree of flexibility and choice for computer users. Of course, some people like everything spelled out for them ahead of time, too.

As for GIMP being able to do everything Photoshop and Illustrator can do, don't make me laugh. I'm a professional graphic designer with over eight years of experience under my belt. GIMP is a fun little tool, but it's not even as useful as Paint Shop Pro (which I found fairly pathetic as well). Ask anyone within the graphics industry and you'll find the same answer (once they've finished laughing or perhaps asking "what's GIMP?") and that's Photoshop is the standard in graphic design that has all others beat. GIMP be good for someone looking to replace Microsoft Paint and hoping to just "mess around a bit," but could never afford a professional raster or vector art image editor.

Well, I hope you weren't personally offended by my quoting your response DeadPoolX. You and I seem both like the technical ones of the bunch. I would agree with you that anyone that needs a professional graphics suite should go with Adobe Creative Suite, but the majority of the home PC owners out there don't really fit into he professional category, and therefore are probably well off with GIMP anyways. If not they may turn to a product like Aperture or Adobe Elements. At least GIMP is free to try or use. Adobe Creative Suite runs in $400 to $1600 range depending on the features you want.

And since we've established that the user is a non-technical person, it's better for him to get a Mac because the ease of use and service. DeadPoolX, you and I are of a different user set, that would be more than comfortable either forking out a ton of cash for a Voodoo or Alienware machine or building it on our own. I used to always build my PC or buy from Voodoo as I am a personal friend of the founder and CTO of Voodoo PC. But ever since Macs supported Intel I will generally recommend Apple computers to anyone that needs a hassle-free user experience. Most people asking which next computer they should go for are typically not hardcore gamers or technical folks.

Like I said I am a systems consultant for Microsoft products, I know them like the back of my hand and I use them everyday, but when I get home I don't want to "work" on my computer, I just want my computer to work. Hence, with an MacBook Pro, I can do what I need to and at the same time my computer is more than powerful and flexible enough to run Windows or Linux VM sessions, run XCode and Unix Terminal for programming or just surf, play some games and plug into my TV and watch my shows via FrontRow.

Macs aren't for everyone, but for those who aren't comfortable figuring computers out for themselves, do us technical people a favor and get an Apple, you're going to like it better and you're going call us techies not because you need help with your computer but because you want to go hang out and grab a drink.

Well that's really comparing Apples to Apples. I don't hate on PCs I just find them to be more difficult to manage than Macs, esp. for non-technical people.

I came back on to apologize for my harsh tone earlier. Since it seems just about anyone with access to an digital image editing program thinks they're a graphic designer, I tend to have that reaction. I realize I shouldn't let it get to me, since design is more than knowing what buttons to push in any computer program, but I suppose it still does sometimes.

You're right about GIMP and it being an excellent program for amateurs. Even Paint Shop Pro (which I remember JASC used to sell for around $100, but I think that program has changed price ever since Corel bought it) required some monetary investment. At least with GIMP, if someone doesn't like it or lacks the time to do whatever they thought they could, there's no money lost. For anyone going from GIMP to Photoshop, there's actually a modified version of GIMP called GIMPshop, which is still GIMP, but the GUI has been reconfigured to resemble Photoshop. That would make moving to Photoshop a much easier process, rather than having to learn a whole new setup.

I understand where you're coming from now. I'm used to associating with those who're more technically inclined or hardcore gamers, most of whom probably desire the ability to self-modify their PC and would find a Mac limiting. The average end-user, who cares little about squeezing out an extra two frames-per-second in Battlefield 2 or wouldn't know (or care about) the difference between PCI, AGP or PCI-E, would probably just want something that is far less hands-on. In that case, I agree with you that a Mac would be the best solution.

The funny thing about Windows is that it really tries to be more user-friendly, but when it does that, it just gets annoying. Maybe this is because I know what I'm doing and still refer to "folders" as "directories" from my MS-DOS days as well. Oh well. At least Windows is still nicer looking than DOS Shell. The only palatable color was "olive green."

A small side-note: Back in "ye olden days of MS-DOS gaming," I used to play tons of flight simulators. Everything from Red Baron to Falcon 3.0 to even Wing Commander and TIE Fighter. The point of this is that in all of these, the information display in front of the pilot was called the "heads-up display" or "HUD." More often than not, I refer to a program's GUI (graphical user interface) as a HUD, which used to really confuse my wife.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 17:31:00

Migrating to a Mac?

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 13:55:00

Migrating to a Mac?

There are both good and bad points to the PC and Mac platforms. Neither one is truly "better" than the other, despite what die-hard users might say. I've used both extensively and most of all, it'd really depend on you far more than the machine. By that I mean... What do you wish to do with it?

A PC, by its very nature, is far more flexible than a Mac. It has more hardware and software available, but if you're not interested in playing games or perhaps modifying -- or building -- your computer, then a Mac might be for you instead. The user can do less with the Mac (by this I mean, they can't build one from scratch or swap all sorts of parts as is possible in a PC), but most productivity software, ranging from Photoshop to even Microsoft Word is available on the Mac.

These Apple-imposed limitations, however, make the Mac a much simpler machine to operate. Although I hate to compare any computer to a game console, Apple has essentially done that with their machines. While there are several different versions of each Mac type, the varieties won't differ so dramatically as to cause compatibility issues, as is sometimes the case on the PC. That's one of the drawbacks to having literally thousands of hardware vendors producing parts -- the operating system needs to recognize and handle it all.

The myth that "Macs never crash" is just that. I have seen far too many of them crash in my lifetime. Macs can also get viruses (just like Linux too), but the main difference here is that there are far fewer viruses written for MacOS (or Linux). That's the real problem and not Windows itself. Since just about everyone uses Microsoft's OS today, anyone who wishes to write a virus, trojan, worm or any other piece of malware, aims their work at Windows since most people use it. They figure that if they want to attack others, they should hit the most commonly used OS to hurt the most people. If MacOS were used as much as Windows, I'm sure we'd see the same thing with it, but it's not, so we don't.

One thing you might want to remember that is that PC software won't work on a Mac and vice-versa. So if you have a lot of software for a PC, it will be rendered inoperable, unless you get the newer Macs that can boot both MacOS and Windows. If you do that, however, I'd recommend getting a copy of WinXP over Vista. At the moment, Vista is a memory hog and lacks sufficient driver support.

Edited by DeadPoolX, 25 August 2008 - 10:55 AM.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-08-25 10:53:00

HE HAWWWW--I'm Rich!!!

QUOTE (flames9 @ Oct 18 2007, 10:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (~Laura and Nick~ @ Oct 18 2007, 11:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (flames9 @ Oct 18 2007, 10:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

####### off, the $$$$ is mine!! lol

Ohhhh no! I want in on this money action!!!!

Just send me ur bank acct #, and pin,secret passwords, and I will give you some $$$. trust me!!

Hey! Don't these people work for eBay too?

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-18 10:07:00

HE HAWWWW--I'm Rich!!!

I got that too. I sent it to Captain Ewok.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-18 09:55:00

Because everyone in Canada lives in an igloo...

I think Canadians should "play up" the stereotypes when someone asks a stupid question. For instance, say an individual asks, "How do you deal with all of the polar bears wandering the streets at night?" You could respond, "That's easy. In Canada, there's a position within each provincial government that deals specifically with polar bears and trains them. We generally use them to pull our sleighs during the 360 days of snow too."

Then just watch to see if that person buys it. If they do, break it to them that they've just been had. I know this might immediately seem insulting towards you and your home, but I've done this with Texas (my home) when people have asked moronic things about my state. It's really quite amusing to see how much others will believe...

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-20 17:15:00

Because everyone in Canada lives in an igloo...

QUOTE (thetreble @ Aug 30 2007, 11:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with you totally about cities and places. It really means nothing in terms of ... intelligence.

But do you get people asking if you live in a perpetual state of snow and darkness? I mean something like that may not be relevant to your life but I would hope that in the course of your life you would gain the knowledge to know that the country that is right above you actually has a summer, and looks pretty similar to the country you live in.

While I've never had people ask me if I live in a "perpetual state of snow and darkness" (I do live in Texas, after all), I have had plenty of people -- many from within my own country -- say and ask extremely stupid things regarding my city and state.

I live in Houston, which is the fourth largest city in the United States. Yet... I've known people from other states (usually the northeast) to ask questions such as "do you ride a horse to work?" or "what's it like living with all of that desert and cacti?" and even "how many shootouts have you seen?"

As you can probably tell, a lot of people have absolutely no clue whatsoever what Texas is really like and merely draw on whatever information they may have gleamed from Hollywood. For instance, Texas has numerous types of geographical landmasses (yes, we do have desert, but that's out in west Texas; I live in east Texas, where it's humid and full of forests), in addition to varied weather patterns, plants and animals.

Even though there may be some horse ranches outside the cities for tourists, riding a horse within city limits is (as far as I know) illegal, which is a good thing too, since I bet someone would attempt to either hit the horse with their truck or shoot it. Regardless, there are no saloons or "old west shootouts" and people don't walk around in cowboy gear.

Houston, being the huge city it is, is a concrete jungle and has all of the same problems the other "Alpha Cities" (the nickname given to the four largest cities in the U.S., which are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston) have, including smog, traffic congestion, crime, prostitution, etc. It's really quite amusing to watch the expression on a visitor's face when they get here and see how surprised (and sometimes disppointed) they are in that it looks like a "normal city" instead of something out of the 1800s.

So to answer your question... no, I've never had to deal with the whole "snow and darkness" thing, but I have head to handle other situations.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-08-30 11:55:00

Because everyone in Canada lives in an igloo...

Okay, maybe I have a firmer grasp of U.S. geography and culture (which makes sense, since I am an American), but I knew more -- even before I got involved with my Canadian fiancee -- than the people in these stories! I can't imagine anyone with half a brain in the United States really believes that Canadians live in igloos. We may sometimes crack jokes about such things, but then again, we make jokes about other states within our own country too.

I would wager that most Americans know of the major cities in Canada. Now they may not know exactly WHERE they are, but I'm sure most Americans have at least heard of them.

To be honest, knowing exactly where a city is located isn't very useful unless that information is necessary to your life. If you're traveling there (for whatever reason) or if you have relatives there, then you're probably going to want to know where that city is situated. Otherwise, it really doesn't hold much meaning for you. After all, I doubt most Canadians can accurately locate (or even know of) the cities within the United States beyond the major ones.

And you know what? That's okay. Not knowing where every city or state/province is doesn't make you "stupid." I wouldn't even go so far as to say it makes you "ignorant." More often than not, people don't know these things because it's not relevant to their life and their mind is working on other, more important issues. If they need to know where a certain city or state/province is, they can look it up on a map or using the Internet. That's one of the reasons such devices exist -- so people don't have to memorize every little bit of geographical data.

Would it be nice if everyone knew everything about everyone else's country? Sure. Is it realistic? Of course not. To be blunt, I have better things to do with my time than figure out exactly where different cities are located within a foreign country, UNLESS doing so holds some sort of relevance for me.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-08-30 11:23:00

What the ??????????????

Well... I suppose they thought that since some of Canada does speak French (and it's one of the two official languages), it should be listed as a "translation." The English part of Canada wouldn't be necessary, since most of the United States speaks English (there may be differences between America and Canadian English, but it's still basically the same) and the most common second language is Spanish, so a translation of French might be warranted.

You also have to take into account Quebec's close general location to New York. I bet a lot of Quebecois visit New York, so that might have something to do with it as well.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-20 19:01:00

Wheres all the privileges to be canadian

QUOTE (liz_legend @ Oct 20 2007, 06:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Rob & Jin @ Oct 20 2007, 07:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So suck it up and join the club. Plus its damn cheap to visit Canada during the wait, try saving the money to fly to china on a regular basis, then post again.

Now there really isn't any need for that kind of attitude..

No, there isn't; however, I can understand the frustration presented in it. The OP gave the impression that "since Canadians are such-and-such way, they shouldn't have to jump through the same hoops as everyone else." That's bound to rub some people the wrong way. After all, Canada is a foreign country (as many Canadians are so fond of reminding Americans), so it only makes sense that Canadians are subject to the same processes that every other foreign national is as well.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-20 18:49:00

I'm getting a visitor this week!!

QUOTE (cartoboy123 @ Oct 23 2007, 07:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!! My son (21 years old) and his girlfriend (whom I've never met!) are coming to visit on Thursday for a week! I've not seen my son since my wedding on April 7th. Can't wait to hug him!

Carla

This is perfect! Scare the girlfriend!

(No, don't make her go screaming from the house, but it's always fun to mess with someone's mind a little...)

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-23 08:56:00

So Canadians - tell us about yourselves

I just realized I posted before, but it was in response to someone else's post. I never made my "show and tell" post.

Okay, well... here it is: My fiancee and I first met, sometime around 2000, on the official company message boards created for adventure games by Sierra On-Line. If you did a whole lot of gaming back in the 1980s and 1990s that wasn't on a console (i.e. a "console" means anything from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Xbox 360), then you probably played at least one adventure game and the company that made the most of these was Sierra On-Line.

My fiancee started off in the Quest For Glory forum and although she stayed there, she also migrated to the Gabriel Knight forum as well. I originated from the Starsiege forum. Starsiege was not an adventure game. It was an online mech-simulator/action game. Why I decided one day to hop on into the Gabriel Knight forum is beyond me. I had played just about every single Sierra On-Line adventure game (including adventure titles created by other companies, like LucasArts and Access Software) and while the Gabriel Knight and Quest For Glory series was among them, I had never felt the "urge" to venture into a place to "talk about adventure games." Specifically because the adventure game forums had much stricter rules than the Starsiege forum (where we basically did whatever we wanted, since our Moderators didn't care so long as we didn't do anything that grossly violated TOS).

But I did go in and I stayed. Which was a good thing, because that is where I met my fiancee. At first, we didn't really like each other. Let me rephrase that -- at first she didn't really like me; I didn't particularly care one way or the other. I think part of the problem was that she detests confrontation, going so far as to actively avoid it whenever possible. Me, on the other hand, I love confrontation and any chance to assert myself. So... as you can probably imagine, this didn't leave her with a sparkling impression of me. Not that she "hated" me or anything, but I just wasn't one of her "favorite" people.

Flash forward to about 2005. We're both in a chat room designed for people from the adventure-themed forums, and I start sending her private messages. Truth be told, I was attracted to her. I had never seen her picture before, but I thought she was humorous, witty, intelligent and seemed like a good person. As it turned out, she had become interested in me over time as well (apparently, I had "changed" over the years; into what, I'm not sure, but if it works, I'm not questioning it!), so we began talking a lot online. Eventually, we started revealing more and more information about each other, and spending more time together online (and less with the chat room), switching to Instant Messengers and then calling each other on the phone as well.

Then in 2006, I decided I would visit her. She was extremely excited. That first visit was a "test" of sorts for the both of us, to see how we would be around each other in person. After all, being a couple online and through the phone is very different than being one together in real life. Fortunately, we "passed" with flying colors. This doesn't mean we don't have our disagreements from time to time; every couple does and it'd be unrealistic to think we wouldn't. But overall, we get along exceptionally well.

In closing... I'd just like to leave with this one thought/question: My fiancee and I end up arguing far more often when we're apart (such as when we're using Instant Messengers or talking on the phone) versus when we're together in person. When we're physically together, we rarely disagree or have any serious issues. I was just wondering if things work out this way for anyone else here and if anyone has any idea why it might be this way?

Edited by DeadPoolX, 05 October 2007 - 06:12 PM.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-05 18:08:00

So Canadians - tell us about yourselves

Hmmm... good post. I agree with most of it. Except for the part where you say that Canadians identify themselves more than Americans by where they are from first. I've often found that to be the case here in the U.S. far more than other countries. Ask the average American where they're from, they won't say "the United States" or "America." At least not if when they're within the country. Most of the time they'll answer by saying what state (or even sometimes what city) they're from and I'm guilty of doing this too.

If someone asks me "where are you from," I'll automatically answer back "Texas." I even do this when I'm visiting Canada, but that's mostly because I tend to enjoy the wild responses I get from Canadians, most of whom seem to think Texas is all "Cowboys and Indians." It's really quite humorous to see how disappointed they get when I tell them that the cities in Texas are very similar to cities anywhere else. Urban sprawls like Houston or Dallas (and even to a lesser extent, San Antonio or Austin) have much more in common with major cities like Toronto and Vancouver than places such as the "O.K. Corral."

Anyway... yeah, I've heard that there's a lot of anti-Americanism in the world. I suppose that's what we get for being the lone Superpower, with the capability to level the entire planet several times over. I suppose that would make some people dislike us (or at the very least, become wary of our intentions).

Then, of course, there's the problem that the U.S. tends to get involved in a lot of international operations, many of which upset other nations. I don't believe this is really our fault though. We don't go in with the intention to "piss everyone off." In fact, we feel that we're helping others. Usually, the plan we have is a good idea -- in theory, anyway. However, like most ideas that are "good in theory," when it's put into practice, it doesn't work so well. So it's really a case of "good intentions and poor execution."

Unfortunately, as we all know, good intentions will only get you so far. You have to be able to carry through with your plans or they don't mean a whole lot. To be fair, the U.S. is in a strange predicament. If we assist other countries, we get yelled and screamed at; if we don't assist other countries, we get yelled and screamed at too. So what do we do? Either way, some group hates us. It's a "damned if you do, damned if don't" situation.

Honestly, I think the U.S. should just pack it all in and close up shop when it comes to aiding other nations. Why bother? We get cursed at (sometimes shot at too) for our efforts and since people are going to hate us no matter what we do, why should we waste our time, manpower, and money on it when we could spend all of that energy at home?

Oh well. No one will listen to me. My fiancee has told me so. She said this, not to be mean, but because I "actually make sense" and therefore, I couldn't be a politician and so the public wouldn't listen to me. That's okay with me. I wouldn't want to be a politician. There's no privacy. Who really wants the media reporting on what your morning bowel movement was like?

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-05 05:13:00

U Haul

QUOTE (Ron/Sharon @ Oct 15 2007, 12:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

U-Hauls in the States are better maintained according to W5, the ones in Canada for the most part are junk.

Any idea why that'd be? For the most, I've noticed that things are usually pretty well kept in Canada. It depends on the person or business, of course, but in general, it seems that way.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2007-10-15 12:16:00

U-haul, do i have to?

Hmm...there seems to be a some mentions of "mechanical issues" and the U-Haul trucks being "less-than-clean." Is this the norm? I'll be hauling some stuff up to Canada (not for a long time yet though), and when I do, I might need to use a company like this, since I don't have a truck and there's no way my car could fit everything I need into it.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2006-11-14 09:55:00

So I'm leaving for Canada in less the 48 hours

QUOTE (MarilynP @ Feb 6 2008, 06:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

answer their questions truthfully but you don't need to go into detail...

Exactly. Only answer as much as absolutely required of you and never elaborate beyond what's asked. They don't want to hear your life story and what's worse, if you start running at the mouth, you could say something that might actually interest them and make your job (getting into the country) much more difficult.

And for the Canadians attempting to visit the U.S., it probably wouldn't be a good idea to wear THIS SHIRT when going through customs.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-06 08:01:00

Health Insurance

While I don't have anything specific to say about health insurance (each one is different), here's a few pointers on plans themselves...

First thing is treat speaking to health insurance providers the same way you would as customs -- in other words, never volunteer information. They will be writing down everything you say and they lack a sense of humor, so don't waste time with a joke or two. While you don't need to outright lie, you don't need to tell the absolute truth either. The reason for this is that some ailments will prohibit you from being covered.

You'll need to "spin" the truth a little sometimes. Again, you may not want to lie, but perhaps make the situation sound better than it is or leave out a few key points. The less the provider knows about you (and your health) the better.

Another thing to consider is if you're already taking any medications. Some providers won't cover prescriptions that you're already on before coming into their plan. So you have the choice of telling them about your medication and paying for those drugs out-of-pocket or "omitting" the information and later getting the prescription filled as if it were brand new. In the latter case, the provider won't know the difference, but your conscience will, so it's entirely up to you.

Try to get all of your information ready before contacting and applying the health insurance company. They will call you at some point for an interview (sometimes more than one) and often times they'll make mistakes, so you'll need to correct them. They will not, obviously, call anywhere in Canada for this information. In fact, you'd be lucky if they'd call anywhere outside the current state you're living in, to be honest. If there is incorrect information on your record, it could affect your application and/or plan's rates. So you'll need to have that taken care of, should there be a problem.

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting, but I have no clue what it is at the moment.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-12 10:55:00

After reading this..

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't understand why she was granted this visa after being originally denied. Where's the benefit? What does the U.S. government get out of it?

It's not like she'd be staying and potentially adding to the U.S. economy and they didn't decide to keep her out, so they can't stand on the grounds of "preventing unwanted elements from entering the United States" so I must ask again: where's the benefit? It seems like she was granted a temporary visa for the pure sake of attaining one, with no payoff in at all. That makes no sense whatsoever -- especially in light of her obvious (and self-admitted) drug use.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-11 08:11:00

I HIT THE MOTHERLOAD!!!!

QUOTE (Emancipation @ Feb 13 2008, 07:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ahhhh had a GREAT experience the other day at our local Stop & Shop.. was walking down the "Import" Aisle and I was checking out the Mars bars, the Aero Bars and the Kit Kats... Then I noticed to the right a familiar Orange Wrapped Chocolate bar... No it couldn't be.. I said.. the odds are stacked up against me, and LO AND BEHOLD it was!! A GLORIOUS whole box of Toffee Crisps for $1.25 EACH!!!! I almost peed my pants I was so excited, and I danced up and down the aisle literally singing "Toffee Crisp, Toffee Crisp"... then I found my hubby and put a whole heap of those little yummy chocolate bars in our cart.

After we paid for them, I got one out in the car and asked my hubby (the USC) if he was ready to taste "real chocolate"... He was rolling his eyes at me as I complain all the time about US chocolate.. but as soon as he took one bite.. he rolled his eyes for a completely different reason.. He thinks those bars are the greatest chocolate bar ever created..

MMMMMMMMMMMM I loves me Toffee Crisps....

I don't mean to start a fight (as I'm sure your intention wasn't to insult U.S. chocolate) but not all chocolate made in the United States "sucks" or is under the umbrella of Hershey's either. If you only shop for chocolate at low-end retailers, then yes... you'll find the ####### chocolate, but what do you expect? They're not going to sell the finer quality stuff at WalMart, Target, Walgreen's, and so on. You'll need to try the specialty chocolate shops themselves or the higher-end grocery stores, like Whole Foods or Central Market (although I believe the latter is only in Texas).

The point I'm trying to make is that U.S. chocolate doesn't "suck." Some of it does, of course; then again, some of it doesn't. It depends where you shop and what you buy. That's pretty much universal.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-13 08:55:00

CDN passport + AP doc

I don't think it would be a problem, provided you had a copy of your marriage certificate as well. Without that, they'd see a "different person," so the certificate would be handy proof of who you are. That's my advice anyway.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-12 21:10:00

A funny thing happened down at the DMV today...

QUOTE (Sprailenes @ Feb 14 2008, 07:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Crikey! @ Feb 14 2008, 07:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No offense, but that's kinda scary. Congrats on the licenses. I think.

Stay off the roads in jersey!

Oh I answered yes to being an organ donor too, which was funny because I never even really thought about it and the guy asked me and I was like: "Sure why not!"

Now that I think about it, I don't want them to take my eyes!!

Ever see John Carpenter's Body Bags? If you do, watch the part with Mark Hamill in it. You'll know what I'm getting at.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-14 12:06:00

Tri-Citizenship

If I were to gain Canadian citizenship (and I might just do that, if for no other reason that it'd make crossing the border much simpler), then I'd have the option of using three passports. I already have my U.S. Passport, and I'd be able to use a Canadian Passport then; and as a Jew, I'd be eligible for an Israeli Passport if I visited Israel.

I don't know if I'd ever do that latter, though. Israel isn't exactly the safest place to visit right now and having an Israeli Passport probably wouldn't do me a whole lot of good, with the exception of gaining entry into Israel easily. On either an American or a Canadian Passport, I could visit just about anywhere in the world, so there wouldn't really be a need for a third passport anyway.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-15 18:15:00

QUOTE (Len_and_Bren @ Feb 8 2008, 01:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Darn.... we don't do any of the human-made holidays -- -i.e. no Christmas, no Valentine's Day, no Compadre Day, nada

so I can't report on this one

Though who knows, maybe I will cook something up

, preferably involving handcuffs and chicken outfits....

You should dress up as a one-eyed giant Smurf leper go-go dancer with Tourette's Syndrome and attempt to cover him in horseradish and apple sauce.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-08 17:07:00

QUOTE (MarilynP @ Feb 8 2008, 08:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the first Valentines after we met online, hubby (well, he wasn't my hubby at the time

) sent me a cute Ecard that had kittens on it...... when we first met I thought he was annoying etc... but i started to like him after he sent me that card

.... all the card said was" I know you like cats" .. I was touched that he had remembered something I had told him...

the next Valentine's day, I think he sent me flowers but I can't remember now...

the next one we spent together, he came up to Canada so we could get our marriage license and for Valentine's I made him a nice dinner, which he ate and then he fell asleep right afterwards

the following Valentines, he sent me a dozen red long stem roses...

I can't remember if we have done anything for Valentines since i have moved here

You could just tell him that your heart belongs to him.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-08 11:12:00

QUOTE (Delicia @ Feb 8 2008, 08:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The following Saturday night, me and my husband (assuming CBP lets him in) are going to dinner at Ruth's Chris. If you've never been, you should try it sometime.

Very nice restaurant. My wife took me there for my birthday when she was here in Texas. If you're going on a Saturday night, it'll definitely be dressier than a weekday (and far busier too). I hope you don't get a new waiter or waitress. I have a knack for getting them.

DeadPoolX

Male

Canada

2008-02-08 09:07:00