Looking For Game Consoles To Modify/Hack

Hey all you Mass-IMO.com viewers!

I'm looking to do some game console modding articles. 

I'm looking for cheap to free older game consoles that I can use to experiment on. I'm really looking for a Playstation 2 (fat/phat) donation, but really anything old to tinker on would be helpful.

So if you have any old gaming consoles or handhelds that you're thinking of throwing out, contact me, maybe we can save them from going to the landfill.

Where Have I Been? The Aftermath

After all the excitement surrounding the proposal, and Christmas, I'm also a January baby, so I celebrated a birthday as well.

So now we're in full wedding planning swing, and I have to begin planning Birthday celebrations for Nadia.

Now many of you may be asking, what happened to all the other posts? Where are all the World is flat updates (it's not like the world went round overnight), or all the tech related posts. and I have to say that they will eventually make it out. However, I am having a serious issue working on my tech articles, because I'm unable to get parts, It seems any parts I order that crosses the Pacific Ocean, never seems to get to me. I'm also unable to source the items locally, and if I do it's at an extortionately high price. So I ask all you out there, what should I do? Is there some other option out there to get electronic parts cheap here in Vancouver?

Did I also mention we've started home renovations, which is also limiting my ability to craft technology related posts, as my garage/workshop is an utter mess.

But, stay tuned, because as I get more free time, I will continue to post.

Thanks for being patient everyone!

Where Have I Been? The Proposal

After all the hi-jinx with getting a wedding ring, then seeking Nadia's fathers blessing, I was finally back in Vancouver and can now concentrate on the actual proposal, and I actually had a plan...

Nadia's sister Daniela and her husband Ryan were coming into town for Christmas, from Victoria on December 22nd, and I knew I wanted to use them to help in the proposal. You see, regardless of what religious or statutory holiday a long weekends fall on, we being the four of us (Me, Nadia,Daniela, and Ryan), seem to have our own traditions that we do when they come into town...

1) Go for Sushi
Sushi seems to be something everyone enjoys eating. It's diverse offerings can easily accommodate the most strictest of dietary restrictions while still satisfying the palette. I'm also of the belief, from personal trial and error, that Victoria even though surrounded by water and fish, really has sub par Sushi (just saying).

2). Go for Ernest Ice Cream

Usually a summer thing, where after dinner we drive to any of the local Ernest Ice Cream locations, grab some ice cream and go for a leisurely stroll. Ernest offers a variety of unique flavours as well as a whole offering of vegan options.

3) Play Video Games

Usually after a nice evening stroll, we strap in for some intense, bragging rights inspired, video gaming. This usually consists of games on the original Xbox, or the Nintendo Wii

With the above knowledge in hand, I devised the plan that what would ultimately set the stage for the proposal. Since the weather in December was so bad, and we couldn't possibly go for a evening stroll, I took it upon myself to acquired some Ernest Ice Cream in take home pints(as shown above), with each person getting their preferred flavour.

I brought home the Ernest Ice Cream pints, and scooped out enough ice cream from Nadia's pint, so as to fit the ring inside. Originally I wanted to fit both the ring and box inside the pint's jar, but the ring box wouldn't fit. Instead I had to improvise, so I searched for a way to shelter the ring from getting all messy in ice cream while hidden in the ice cream jar. Luckily for me, it was the Christmas season and we had all our gift wrapping supplies handy, where I managed to find a balloon, just big enough to fit the ring into. I stretched the balloon over the ring, and tied it closed, then dropped it into the carved out hole in the ice cream pint, and then began to re-fill with ice cream. Ok, so here is where I ran into problems, you see when they fill pints at Ernest, they have a machine, which fills uniformly without making a mess, unlike my attempt. I got as much melted ice cream back into the container, and returned the pint to the freezer to sit adjacent the other pints. At this point the stages was set.

Fast forward to December 23rd, and we had just finished having dinner (sushi, go figure) and I suggest we have Ice Cream for dessert. At first Nadia didn't want any dessert, and luckily we all peer pressured her into having some. Then she opens her pint of ice cream and instantly notices that it doesn't look right. WTF... Why is it, in all the romantic comedies, plans go off without a hitch, yet I'm struggling to get through one simple dessert!

Apparently in my haste to put the melting ice cream back into its container, I didn't recreate the "famous" dollop peak found in Ernest Ice Cream pints. Thankfully, Daniela convinced Nadia to scoop some out and see if the texture is the same, if not we would return it.

So some ice cream gets scooped out of the pint and into a bowl, exposing the balloon covered ring and the excitement ensues.

She said yes, for those still wondering

Where Have I Been? Being Anti-Feminist

Following up from my last post, you would think I'd be moving right into the proposal, but you see life has it's own plans, as I'll explain.

The original proposal plan was to visit Nadia's parents in Osoyoos. While there I would find some reason to go out for dinner, I would ask her father for his permission to marry his daughter (against my better judgment, I'm with all you feminists on this one) then with ring in hand I would make a grand proposal at some time during dinner.

Normally I would like to be a bit better prepared, but as Nadia and I were planning to visit her parents, I was secretly planning the proposal behind her back. Unfortunately completion of the ring had been delayed, and there was just no way of having the ring for our trip to Osoyoos.

Despite a ruined proposal, our trip to Osoyoos wasn't a complete failure. We managed to start a tradition by bring up some Panetone, how many remember last years prank? We took in a rather lack luster Osoyoos Christmas Parade, who's grande attraction was the towns addition of 3 new fire trucks (for those counting that brought the total of parade vehicles up to 7). Sorry Osoyoos, but a 7 vehicle procession just didn't strike me as parade worthy, I still love your town, just not your parades (just saying). I also managed to sum up the courage to ask Nadia's father Joe, for his blessing in marrying his daughter. Now before I get flamed for my anti-feminist views, in my defense I was merely looking to follow in a slightly more traditional/conventional approach so as to not insult Joe. Joe's response would inevitably give the feminist movement the slam dunk they so rightfully deserved, as he told me something along the lines of "you're gonna have to convince her yourself, but if she's ok with it, then I'm ok with it." Not exactly the heartwarming, welcome to the family, response I was expecting, but then again served me right.

So what about the proposal? Stay tuned...

Where Have I Been? Well.. The Ring

Since my last post, life, the coaster we know with its undulating highs and lows has had my head spinning. It all started during a dinner conversation back in mid 2017. Nadia, my girlfriend, and I had met up for dinner with some of Nadia's friend. The conversation quickly turned to the future and questions about when, if ever, would we get married. Our current relationship status has been "happily living in sin" for the past 3 years, so I found myself shying away from the whole formal wedding discussion. You can imaging my surprise when Nadia responded to the dinner table something along the lines that she, at this point would be satisfied with a ring and a trip to city hall. Thinking back, this may have very well been a Machiavellian honey vs vinegar scenario, which I may have completely fallen for.

Soon after our dinner party I began the process of sourcing an engagement ring, which proved slightly more difficult than expected. While I knew exactly what Nadia wanted in an engagement ring (we've been together for almost a decade now), I also wanted it to reflect my personality as well. While I found many styles online, that appealed to me, I wasn't comfortable with the whole online engagement ring purchase scenario. Many jewelry retailers were limited to showcasing their in house designs, and few if any could accommodate a custom made design.

I enlisted the aid of Daniela, Nadia's sister, who, as luck would have it, had recently made a connection to a jewelry broker, that specialized in custom design pieces. This jewelry broker was a "by appointment and by referral only" type establishment, which made setting up an appointment difficult, as Daniela lives on Vancouver Island.

Eventually, an appointment was established, and the brokers in house artist was able to extract the engagement/wedding ring/band idea, that had been floating around in my head. From the artists rendering, a intricate wax casting was created. A mold was made from the wax casting and finally, after a few months, the ring(s) were ready!

Now came preparations for the proposal...

Christmas 2017: Feeding The Homeless

The Servants Of Hope Society will be holding their annual "Feeding The Homeless At Christmas" event Monday December 18, 2017. This is an event that I've attended a number of times over the past few years, and each and every time I'm truly amazed. 

Traditionally at this time of year I would be encouraging our readers to contact Sean to volunteer some time. However, this years it would appear that all volunteer positions have already been filled. That's quite impressive, and I'm very happy to hear this great news.

If you still want to help, I'm sure the Servants Of Hope are still accepting donations, but you might want to contact them to make sure.

As it reads above you can contact Sean by email at sean@servantsofhope.ca or keep in touch with them via their Facebook page.

Tis The Season

I'd like to send out a special thank-you to everyone that's makes it a routine to check out the Mass-IMO site every so often. It's been about a year now since having to delete the old Mass-IMO site and re-start this new one. Just so people know, prior to being plagued with issues the old site was getting well over 5,000 visitors a month, which had taken me approximately 5 years to do. I'm not sure if that is a good number or not, but it is what it is. With the site undergoing a complete re-make, those numbers dropped to almost nothing. Within a few months of the new launch, Mass-IMO was seeing an average of 100 of so visitors a month. No that we're nearing the 1 year mark, I'm happy to say we're seeing the number of visitors eclipse the 1,000 visitor mark. 

I'm beginning to enjoy blogging once again, and I'm hoping what I do, is bringing some happiness to all of you.

Knowing how hectic the Christmas Season gets, We here at Mass-IMO would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season.

Trakt.Tv

One of the first things people realize when "cutting the cord", or more accurately the moving away from conventional sources of TV or Movie viewing, is the lack of commercials. Yes, one of the many benefits of cord cutting is no longer having you're TV show or Movie interrupted by commercials. Initially people rejoice at the thought of how much time is saved by not having to watch commercials. However this bliss of being able to truly binge watch TV or Movie's soon brings with it other problems. Hold on a second Mass, what kind of problems can we possibly encounter by not watching commercials? Well, for starters, without commercials you don't really know what new Movies are coming out, you don't know when your favorite TV show is playing next or when it starts up again. Heck you don't even know what new TV shows are coming out. 

Wouldn't it be cool if there was a service that could integrate with the streaming programs and add-ons you use, and notify you when your favorite TV show was starting up again, or tell you new episodes are available. How about if it could also keep track of all the Movies you've watched, and let your Facebook friends know. Well not only does Trakt.TV offer a free service to accomplish the above mentioned issues, but it allows for that information to be shared between all the devices associated to that account. No longer, will you be in bed, having re-watched the first ten minutes of a TV show episode only to realize you already watched it in the living room. As if that wasn't enough, Trakt.TV will analyse your TV and Movie viewing habits and make recommendations as to future shows or Movies that others with similar tastes have recommended.

How much does all this cost? Well you can get all the features I've mentioned above with a free account, however that's just the tip of the iceberg. Check out Trakt.TV's website here for a full list of features available and costs associated with being a VIP member.

So to everyone I say, stop wasting your time and head on over to Trakt.TV to sign up for a free account. Then when you're done, creep some co-workers so as to keep the water cooler talk fresh and flowing.

The World Is Flat: Krasnoyarsk, Russia

For those of you who can't quite understand the fascination of BMX Flatland, then maybe my russian comrade Aleksandr Dmitriev, might be able to explain it. He may be only 15 years old, but he sure seems to have a great grasp of the zen-like feeling, that only BMX Flatland can bring, and his riding shows it.

If you liked our showcase of the Sportex Skatepark in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, then you might want to check out what other great parts of the world we've highlighted. You can find our "The World Is Flat" map at the bottom of our the Mass-IMO site with all the interesting area's around the world that follow the BMX Flatland sport.

Have a location or rider you think needs some love and recognition? Then send an email to mass@mass-imo.com and maybe it'll be featured in an upcoming segment.

Terrarium TV

When I first tried Terrarium TV, over a year ago, I had absolutely no success in getting it to work. The interface was slow, and unresponsive, and I just couldn't be bothered fiddling with this new program when I was already quite satisfied with KODI. I've been a devoted KODI user since, well, before it was even called KODI. My history with cord cutting goes back to the days of XBMC (X-Box Media Centre), which is what KODI was formerly known as, way back in 2002. 

You have to take intro consideration, that, when Terrarium TV came on the  scene, KODI 16.1 was the must have application for the cord cutting community. However as KODI moved past Jarvis (16.1) to Krypton (17.0) some machines were now being rendered useless, as the new KODI now required Android 5+ as a minimum requirement. This seemed to maybe indicate the beginning of the end for KODI, not only was it losing touch with its target base of users (by requiring new Android TV Boxes), their developers were scrambling, forced to keep up with these changes. Many of these KODI add-on developers were also beginning to feel the pressure, as the outside world focused all its eyes on KODI and the question of it's legality. It would seem this one-two punch may have been enough to bring the mighty KODI giant to it's knees, and as a result, many developers (wanting out of the public spotlight) branched out and away from KODI. The giant that had ruled the cord cutting realm for the past 15 years had been toppled. In its wake, the cord cutting community eagerly awaits as a plethora of new streaming applications have begun flooding the scene.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I first went back to try experimenting with Terrarium TV, and boy was I astonished. The Terrarium TV I had now started using was a completely different reincarnation than the original. It was completely redesigned, looked impressive, was very responsive and most importantly it worked very, very well. What was most shocking was the ease and simplicity of Terrarium TV when comparing it to how complicated it had been to set up KODI. Yes, folks, it would seem we have a valid up and coming contender for the championship title of best cord cutting application. Only the future will tell for certain, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

If you're interested in trying out Terrarium TV, then you should be able to download it through Aptoide TV, or Google Play Store. You can also download it directly from this link.

** Now while I've praised the new Terrarium TV application, it isn't without its shortfalls, and the most notable in my eyes is the omission  of TRAKT watch-lists (For those unfamiliar with TRAKT, I will have an upcoming article on it). While Terrarium TV does integrate with TRAKT, it only sync's  some information like Watched TV, Watched Movies and Favorites. According the Reddit forums, work is being done by Terrarium TV developers to implement more TRAKT information, with Watch-lists hopefully coming soon, and maybe even a calendar (fingers crossed).

Aptoide TV

While there is nothing wrong with using the Google Play Store, if you're looking for a slightly easier to use alternative, then may I suggest Aptoide TV.

So what makes Aptoide TV so good that I list it first? Well for starters, you don't need to have an account to begin downloading applications onto your Android TV Box. For most of us, we are all to familiar with the GMail login process that follows us around from device to device. The Android TV Box is usually used as a shared family device, do you really want everyone having access to your Google account? What if you don't have a GMail login account (I'm specifically referring to the IPhone users), do you really want to create one just for you Android TV Box? 

If the above mentioned reason wasn't enough motivation to get you to switch, then maybe this will. Unlike the Google Play Store which was designed to be used with a touch screen interface, Aptoide TV can be completely controlled by the Android TV Box remote. That's right, no more need to hook up a mouse and keyboard, or spring for a fancy air mouse. Aptoide TV was specifically designed with Android TV Box remote users in mind, which means Smart TV owners also get some love now.

Installation is pretty straight forward, just click this link and follow the instructions. 

KODI, WTF?

A little while back I informed everyone that I would be starting a KODI section, with updates on builds,add-ons and such. Well since those days it seems every time I got around to writing up a segment on what is the best KODI build to use, or what was the must have add-on, no sooner then did pen touch paper (figuratively) that the build or add-on would die. This little charade went on for a few weeks, and I've finally come to the point of realization that KODI, the all around, most useful tool to traverses and navigate the cord cutting realm, is simply too broken and volatile to use. Sure I still use KODI, but it's become much too difficult to maintain for the casual enthusiast. Stay tuned as I bring you some alternatives

Pumpkin Carving Templates

For the regular followers of Mass-IMO, you can still find all kinds of pumpkin stencils over at this link.

Please consider clicking the sponsor below.

The World Is Flat: Damietta, Egypt

I'm not exactly sure if this is Damietta, Egypt. I did a google translate and that's sort of what it threw back at me. Maybe someone can clarify this?
Ahmed sure has his scuffing down to an art form. Well done, keep up the good work

Dead R-Box Pro?

Im back everyone. 

This update I'm going to talk about my most recent experience with the R-Box Pro android set top box. In the past I've discussed some of the shortfalls with the RBP's initial firmware, and how updating to newer firmware solved a great deal of problems. While the update was a vast improvement over the originally shipped firmware, the RBP still wasn't without it's issues. 

The most notable problem was inconsistent internet speeds when hardwired to my gigabit home network. What I noticed as strange with the RBP is that it would seem to drop internet signal once the cache was full, so when watching TV shows or Movies once the cache portion was played it would start to buffer and seem to no longer buffer to cache. With a machine that had 3GB of ram, you would assume buffering would never happen but it actually buffered more than my 1GB OUYA. Playing around with advanced settings helped a bit at times, but this was always an ongoing problem.

Crashing, the RBP was always crashing out of Kodi. It wouldn't take much to crash, simply moving through the menu was enough for it to crash. 

Overheating, or at least running hot, was possibly the root of the above mentioned issues. My RBP was always showing an operating temperature of somewhere in the 170+ degrees Celsius. No matter how cool the ambient temperature was the RBP always ran hot. (I even installed a 120mm usb fan underneath to reduce temperatures).

So those were the issues plaguing my RBP, and then one day while surfing youtube videos, the machine just froze. I unplugged the unit, waited a few seconds and powered it back up. Once back into youtube, the RBP then froze up again, this time rebooting itself in the process. On the third boot up the main menu appeared and then RBP turned itself off. This would be the last time the RBP was functional. Repeated rebooting never managed to get past the initial boot logo (not even the sound played). 

In an attempt to fix this situation, I began to re-flash the firmware, but unlike my previous experience with firmware flashing, this time the flashing stopped after a few seconds and did not continue.

I'm sure my device was bricked!

I contacted Geekbuying, as I had purchased the unit from them, and inquired about some sort of resolution to my problem. I explained how unsatisfied I had been with the units I had purchased, and their response was that I should have returned them right away, and that since the units were 10 months old and under their warranty, all they could do is have them repaired. Geekbuying was willing to repair my RBP, however I needed to send the unit back to them with a tracking number. Well the cost of sending the packaged RBP back to Geekbuying is $9 Canadian, but with tracking that same package then becomes $50 Canadian. 

WTF!!!!

I could buy a cheaper more reliable replacement unit directly from Amazon, for less money then sending my unit back for repairs.

Geekbuying refused to offer me any more assistance on this issue, so they are now officially on my shit list of companies for whom I refuse to do business with. As far as I'm concerned Geekbuying,  can continue to pedal their crappy wares, I wont be supporting them, nor will I be referring customers to them.

So I'm stuck with a piece of shit RBP paperweight. 

But hold on, I'm not going to give up that easily. I've read enough forum posts to know that there were some people out there who have claimed a godlike ability to revived bricked devices. This process consisted of manually erasing the ram chips (which involves shorting out some pins while the machine was on). So I'm going to research this a bit and possibly have a follow up post.

If anyone wants to donate a new android set top box for me to use, I would greatly appreciate it.

No, I'm Not Dead

Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since I posted anything. I've been taking advantage of the great summer weather to tackle a bunch of renovation type outdoor projects. Don't worry I'll soon be back to updating this blog.
Also there are some new changes in the works which I hope I can announce soon.
Until then, enjoy the rest of summer and we'll be back soon.

The World Is Flat: Leicester, United Kingdom

In all honesty, I really don't know where this video is filmed. What I do know is (1) it's a super slick routine (2) the riders name is Keelan Phillips (3) the video comes to us from Leicester, United Kingdom.

I'm a little embarrassed to say this but I can't even name the trick he does that I like so much. Maybe if I describe it someone will make comments below to enlighten me, or maybe send me an email. The trick Keelan does is a simple front wheel hop, while doing a front wheel manual (or is it a G-Turn hop?). I guess it's meant to be a connector trick when stringing his multiple tricks together, which  doesn't look hard but probably is. Anyways I just love the way it flows which might be why the video is called FLOW? Two thumbs up from me as it looks super cool.

Big shout out to the Keelan and the rest of his fellow riders across the pond!!

2005 Yamaha BWS: Update. Finished

Finally, my 2005 Yamaha BWS is running insured, and on the road!

I would have loved to document more of the engine overhaul, however this website wasn't co-operating during the rebuild, and I didn't document anything. 

Cosmetically you can see the difference from a stock 2005 BWS (Blue), to my mine. The rear fender has been hacked, front fender removed, wheels pasti-dipped, and all the fairings painted and polished to match original color, and the addition of front LED side markers.

Engine upgrades included a 70cc big block kit (Airsal), 17mm Arreche carburetor (upjetted), Doppler intake, Malossi reeds & cage, aftermarket air filter. Everything went together rather smoothly, with the exception of the Doppler intake which seemed to push the carburetor out of position. With the Doppler intake I could no longer use the stock air box as it would not line up properly. I had no choice but to replace the stock air box with an aftermarket air filter.

On the exhaust side the Doppler pipe I ordered, specifically for this build, didn't fit. I had to substitute a Leo Vince.

In the transmission I replaced the rollers with the Doppler ones that were packaged with the aftermarket pipe. I installed a Malossi delta clutch and Malossi torque spring.

While it's not my fastest build, it easily keeps up to city traffic, and is much smoother.

My take away from doing this build, is DO NOT BUY DOPPLER PARTS!!!!

Stick with brands like Stage6, Malossi, and Athena when possible.

Me VS Shaw Internet

For those of you who don't know, I recently moved into an older home, which wasn't equipped with wired high speed internet. As a result I embarked on the process to fully wire every room with high speed network cabling throughout. The process involved me running Cat5E cabling from a central point in the garage to 6 major rooms throughout the home. Along the way I tested each cable run, ensuring proper gigabit transmission and terminations. I set up all my gigabit networking equipment next to Shaw's internet modem, and viola, I finally had high speed internet!

A few months after this process was completed I was contacted by Shaw, offering a promotional upgrade to my existing high speed internet package. Essentially for the same price I could go from 80mbs service to 150mbs service for the next 2 years. I obviously jumped at the opportunity.

Here is where we run into problems, before switching to 150mbs service, I would test my internet speed and get speeds somewhere in the mid 90mbs. After switching to 150mbs service, my speed tests would result in internet speeds in the mid 170mbs. Now this is obviously awesome, and it was, however the problem was that these speeds only seemed to last for a week or two, then the internet speed would drop back down to 90mbs. WTF???

So begins my long process of contacting Shaw's technical support, to remedy this problem. I and Shaw's technical support team spent hours and hours trying to find a solution. I would reset the modem, and hit 175mbs service, only to have it reduced to 95mbs two days later.

We (Shaw and myself) were at odds with each other over whom was to blame over these speed fluctuations.

In an attempt to prove Shaw's technical support team wrong, I eventually start the process of changing out and testing some of my networking equipment, to see if the problem was on my end. While I hate to admit it, Shaw's technical support team was right, the problem was originating on my end.

(testing process)

While it wasn't my equipment that was faulty, some of the short Cat5e patch cables that I had bought off EBay were defective and causing faults in the service.

Just to recap the situation, all the wires I ran throughout the home were all fine (as I tested them), all my equipment was fine (as I tested it, as well) but a few of the cables I bought off EBay that interconnects my equipment with Shaw's equipment were faulty. A few $1.50 cables cost me and Shaw's technical support team weeks of anguish and hours of wasted time, I would have never thought to test pre-made Cat5E cables.

I want to officially apologize to Shaw's Internet Support Team, and thank them for their patience and perseverance. 

Hopefully we can still be friends.

The World Is Flat: Itapevi, Brazil

I don't speak Portuguese, so I have no idea what these guys are talking about, however the event looks pretty cool, and the riders are pretty sick. Well done Brazil! First South American entry to the map.

Anyone around the world have a video they want featured, send me a link!