How I Save $$$ on my utilities

After getting married my wife and I each had a cell phone but no home phone.  It worked for the most part.  We could always get in touch with our friends & family.  Well, except when they were long distance.  We had to do the old trick of call them, hang up, and have them call you back.

Plus, my wifes cell was with Bell Mobility and the bills were ridiculous!  She had the absolutely cheapest plan we could find, made maybe 6 or 7 calls a month and about the same amount of texts and her bill vaired from $60 to upwards of $80.  We needed to get rid of it!

Here is what we did:

We cancelled her cellphone with Bell (avg $70/mth)

We switched our Lite Plus cable internet with Cogeco (approx. $30/mth) to the basic analog cable tv package.

We then signed up for the Ultimate/Ultimate Cable plan with Distributel.  We get unlimited DSL internet at about 5Mbps & a home phone with all the regular features.  For an extra $10 we added unlimited long distance for Canada/US and $2 more to get the same plan on my cell phone.  The package comes out to $75/mth ($65/mth for the 1st year).

With my cell phone @ Telus we upgraded to the iPhone 3G 8GB for $100 & a 3 year contract.  We got the basic data plan with the My 5 Favs option ($55/mth).

The way long distance on the cell works with Distributel is they have a ton of access numbers.  Your phone number is given access to the system.  You call the access number for your area.  After a quick moment you hear the dial tone.  Then you dial the number you want you call without the 1.  You will hear an automated voice say "Distributel" and then you will get connected to the call and hear the line ringing on the other end.

You will have to let your friends & family know that when they see Distributel on the ident-i-call that it's just you and not  telemarketer.  The biggest is hassle is having to remember phone numbers and dial them in manually.

My solution was the iPhone app IsaDial.  It's meant for using calling cards because they also have access numbers.  I programmed a few different access numbers as a 'profile'.  When I want to make a call I launch IsaDial instead of Contacts.  It asks me which profile I want to use.  Then it takes me to my contacts.  I choose the person and number I want to call.  The program calls the access number, waits a few moments, and then dials the number I wanted.

So for the cost of one less cell phone we now have cable tv, high speed DSL internet, a home phone with unlimited long distance in US & Canada and a cell phone with the same plan.  Sure it costed me $100 to upgrade to an iPhone.  But my monthly plan was actully $10-15 cheaper per month on the iPhone.  So the upgrade paid for itself after 10 months.

Give May a chance

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post.  And yes, I normally don't get up on my soapbox in relation to politics.  But I think this is an issue that needs some attention.  More accurately some reason.

The issue: Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, has not been invited to the televised leadership debates that will happen as a result of the upcoming election.

The media consortium (CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, Global and TVA) that host the debate based this decision on the fact that the Green party doesn't hold a single seat in the House of Commons.

However, in the 2008 election the same thing was true of the Green Party then.  When the Canadian public spoke up to say the Green Party should be included, Prime Minister Stephen Harper threatened to not attend the debate.  Eventually the media consortium, and Stephen Harper, succumed to public pressure and Elizabeth May was permitted to attend.

By the end of the debate she was the obvious winner.  She gave strong solid answers to the questions posed while poking holes in the other leaders credibility and policies.

In an effort of full disclosure I would describe myself as holding conservative right-wing ideals.  That being said, I'm often embarrassed by the actions of our Conservative Prime Minister.  He wants all the power and none of the accountability.

Personally, I think Elizabeth May should be included in the national leadership debates. She has a solid platform, answers direct questions with direct answers, and keeps the other leaders on their toes.  Put all that aside though.  This is a leadership debate for national parties.  The criteria for admittance should be that you are the leader of a national party that has at least 1 seat in the House of Commons or has enough registered candidates to form a government if elected.

That's my 2 cents (approximately 3 cents US) *steps down from soapbox*

Dare To Love

The past couple years my former church, Grace Community Church, has been organizing a couples retreat in Niagara Falls, ON.  They have extended the offer to their daughter church in Milton, Village Community Church, and us to join them!

This years theme is Dare To Love.  It's modelled after the book called The Love Dare used in the movie Fireproof and challeneges wives & husbands to love each other in real ways.  The retreat starts February 4th at 6pm and finishes on Saturday February 5th at 4pm.

Packages
Each package includes access to the 2 main seminars & 2 optional breakout sessions (@ Fallsview), deluxe buffett breakfast for two, parking (@ Courtyard), and shuttle service between the two hotels, and a room at the Courtyard Marriott

• $135 per couple - Basic Package - Room with 2 Queen sized beds
• $155 per couple - King Package - Room with 1 King sized bed and a jacuzzi whirlpool tub
• $175 per couple - Jr. Presidential Package - Room with 1 King sized bed, jacuzzi whirlpool tub, fireplace, and larger more luxurious room

Registration
The deadline is January 30th.  Please register ASAP so the hotel can prepare for numbers.  A $50 desposit will reserve a spot for you.  Please make cheques payable to Grace Community Church.  Babies are welcome in the sessions as long as they do not create a distraction.

Schedule
Friday, February 4th
  2:00 PM - Early check-in at Courtyard for those attending 3:00 seminar (no shuttle service)
  3:00 PM - Electives at the Fallsview
  6:00 PM - Shuttle between Courtyard & Fallsview begin
  7:00 PM - First General session at Fallsview

Saturday, February 5th
  10:00 AM - Shuttles between Courtyard & Fallsview begin
  11:00 AM - Ellectives at the Fallsview
  NOON - Lunch break (many local restaurants to choose from)
  2:00 PM - Final general session at Fallsview
  3:45 pm - Shuttles between Fallsview and Courtyard begin

About Grace
Grace Community Church is an evangelical church.  It was planted in 1998 by Grace Brethren Canada, a church planting organization created by the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.  They planted the Village Community Church in Milton in 2006, Community of Hope in Surrey, BC in 2007, and soon Grasslands Church in Medicine Hat, AB in the fall of 2011.

Words Are Cheap

So I've been toying with this idea for a piece for a while.  The idea is that we are all hypocrites.  Our word is worthless and actions speak louder than words.  You can even see it in expressions like "a picture is worth a thousand words".  Instead of celebrating the creativity of language shown by poets, authors, teachers, storytellers and comedians we treat actors, directors, and sports stars as the celebrities.  The whole thing is a mirage, all image with no substance.

So here is a couple lines I threw down when the idea first came to mind:

Words Are Cheap:

Word is bond or so we say. Until circumstances get in the way.
They say one picture is worth a thousand words. And we watch TV shows
and movies with thousands of thousands of frames in high definition
widescreen.
So it's no wonder that words are cheap.
Movies are staffed, under production, and being marketed without a script.

I know it's still in the early stages.  I thought maybe I would share how I go through the process of writing.

Truth

No... this isn't another post in my fabled "I Believe" series.  I say fabled because they must seem like a fable or myth since I've only written 2 so far.  But this is just a poem I wrote in response to a piece I read by a person who thought the truth had to be black & white and they didn't understand how that can work in a world greys.

Deception is in perception,
Because it's all how you see it.

To see truth we must REMOVE the filters
And change our focus to reveal it.

The lie is that we live in a digital world
The truth is we are an analog of possibilities

It isn't right to use black & white
To determine wrong & right.

The truth remains true to itself
Rich, vibrant, & bright.

So be careful.

In this technicolor world don't be
Blinded by the light.

I Believe... in Truth

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I understand that some people find Jesus/Christianity to be exclusive by claiming to be the only way to heaven. But each religion believes that it is right and by default makes nonbelievers wrong.  For this reason, I think that saying 'all paths lead to God' is being intellectually dishonest/ignorant.  That being said, at the opposite end of the spectrum we have people going around saying "Believe or die", which is just plain wrong.

The argument most people make is that it's a matter of perspective.  That heaven/salvation/paradise is at the top of a hill and each religion is approaching the hill from a different angle.  But when you compare the primary tenants of most religions you will see that we are really talking about different hills.

The problem is that truth has been hijacked.  It's been hijacked by this concept of ME.  It's definition has been twisted and perverted so that one can make ANYTHING true.  The idea is that what I believe about God is true and what a Muslim believes about God is true and what a Jew believes about God is true... and so on and so on for all religions.  But how can they all be true if they don't agree?

The answer is that we make truth relative.  If truth is simply based upon your own perspective then we can all be right!  We can all be true.  But that's a LIE!  Sure, truth looks different based upon your persepctive.  But that doesn't mean truth IS different depending on your perspective.  It means your perspective makes truth APPEAR to be different.

Have you ever gone back to a house or school from your childhood?  Everything seems so much smaller than you remember it.  The house or school didn't shrink from old age.  You grew so your perspective changed.

Truth is true absolutely.  We try to define and mould it with our own biased persepctives.  If we want to try to have a clearer view of what is true then we need to do a couple things.  The first thing we need to do is recognize our biases and let go of them.  Like getting a new pair of glasses, we need to change the way we see the world as a whole.

Next we need to compare.  We each have two eyes.  Our brain takes the image from both eyes and blends them together to get a more focused view.  When evaluating the truth we need to get as many different points of view about a single issue and compare them for similarities.  That's why in court we take into account the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses before accepting something as fact.

So truth is real and can be known, but it may not always be discernable.  Because if God created all things (including time), then God exists outside of time.  So how could my limited human brain living a linear life possibly fathom some of the truths known by God, who isn't limited by time or mind?

Finally...

I got a new monitor (& keyboard) for our NEW (refurbished) HP Tower.  It's been out of commission for a while.  And it always seemed like more important / expensive things came first.

You know, things like weddings, wedding presents, car repairs, buying a new car, and a summer vacation.  Since I had some free time after work today I grabbed a monitor (& keyboard) hooked it up and booted up the HP.

It's working GREAT!  Much faster than this piece of junk IBM ThinkPad I'm typing on right now.  The ONLY reason I'm still using it as I type is because of the oodles & oodles of updates the HP is currently enduring.

OH!  Looks like a few just finished up.  Time to reboot and then update the iPods.  w00t w00t