Birthdays Aren't All About the Gifts

I joined the 62-year-old club today. It is not a very special number and most definitely sounds like the age of somebody else, someone old. 

Before breakfast, a fairly large package was left at our door by Purolator. I didn't expect my Levoit LV-PUR131S Air Purifier to arrive today as it wasn't scheduled until next week.  An air purifier is simply a fan with a HEPA filter. Downtown New Westminster is a bit dusty because a close river port handles sand and an enormous pile sits across the Fraser from us.  During recent summers we have also had to contend with very smokey air from wildfires. This year there are more hot spots than ever, but, so far, the smoke seems to be pushing eastward and not affecting us. Lastly, I have been bothered this year by sinus trouble. I had a head cold that started in Mazatlan in February before we got back from winter. I thought I defeated the infection in May but it is back.  Maybe cleaner air will help. 

Today's arrival may help with these situations. However, I primarily chose this model because it works with Google Assistant. Yay, another device I can yell at! "Hey, Google: Turn the air purifier to night mode."

   

Oh, and my car was ready with a brand new 64 kWh EV battery. The 1000 lb object from Asia felt like a welcomed gift.  We picked up the car this morning.  

Other than that, Jay's been feeding me special food.  He made me terrormisu rather than cake this year and without candles, of course!

Back to Electricity Tomorrow!

I dropped 'Kimchi' off yesterday morning. Got a call that I could pick it up at 5:00 pm today. However, I'll pick it up tomorrow morning after rush hour. I have to say driving the gasoline loaner Elantra really made me wonder how I could've ever enjoyed getting around with an internal combustion engine!

 

No Wonder Gas is on Its Way Out!

We drove my beloved Kimchi to Lougheed Hyundai this morning before 9 o'clock. Our electric vehicle is getting a new EV battery due to this recall notice.  My car is first in line to receive a completely new battery at my dealership in Coquitlam.  They have at least four dozen to do, I believe.  I've heard estimates that the job will take somewhere between three hours and one week!  The length of time doesn't matter to me as long as they do it right.

In the meantime, I got this Hyundai Elantra as a loaner.  When sliding into the vehicle, I was deathly afraid my butt was going to be dragging on the tar.  I can live with that even if I have it for a whole week.  However, I did learn something when driving only five kilometers back in the uninspiring grey vehicle.  

 

OMG.  It is gasoline-powered!  

I will never willingly go back to getting around by petroleum.  The power seems so disconnected from my control.  Generally, when going around town, I am able to regenerate nearly half of the power used by selecting the amount of regen on my steering column paddles.  We live in between a lot of hills.  Car braking also puts power back into the battery.  Today's ride felt totally slothful and like a very stupid way to move around.  When coming to traffic lights, I wasted almost all of the energy of my stopping.  The car also doesn't instantaneously respond when the throttle is pressed.  There are far too many components between my foot and its wheels.  I hated the noticeable lag.  It is truly a weird and unwelcomed experience going back to an internal combustion engine.

I Like Finding Technical Solutions

I pay only a small fee for access to local television via my Internet provider. I don't pay for any extra channels but we find that we require the local feeds for BCTV and Global Vancouver. We watch TV news in the mornings and evenings. Occasional the guys at Surf TV update their app. 

This morning, I downloaded a version called 16.3 from their website. I was running an app named version 18.1 and assume they've changed their numbering conventions.  Next, I had to sideload onto my Nvidia Shield.  However, as the app isn't designed for Android TV, I have to create a menu icon so it can be easily selected from the home screen. 

It doesn't take a whole lot of time but it's inconvenient. I did this just now. 

 

When Everything Needs a Story

Even the largest of conglomerates can purchase the backstory for a product line through aquisition or agreement.  Meet Dave, a jailbird, in this article I just found when Googling.

   

Burnaby Mountain Biking and Hiking Trails

North Road Trail near the Burquitlam SkyTrain Station

We live just 13 kilometers from Simon Fraser University.  I used to call it the 'Ivory Tower' when teaching my BCIT classes.  I said this not so much for it having privileged seclusion from facts and practicalities, but more so because of its commanding view of the Lower Mainland from its perch atop Burnaby Mountain. The area is certainly becoming less isolated due to the tremendous growth and development of the surrounding communities.  

We drove up North Road today and stopped at a newly-advertised discount, liquidator chain called Big Box Outlet Store.  Today's store was in a small plaza right next to the new Burquitlam SkyTrain Station. From the looks, the building may have been an old, local Safeway as I noted the large, trademark, wooden roof-support beams. The store seems to carry a variety of interesting products and although we didn't buy anything, they will likely see a return visit from us.

More interestingly, we discovered one corner of the huge number of trails that crisscross the Burnaby Mountain urban wilderness.  We've lived here for close to a quarter of a century but had never walked any of them.  Sometimes it's pretty easy to ignore things right under one's nose.

Sigh. I Guess It's Gone.

It was a pretty good run. I had worn a tiny piece of Sri Lanka day and night since January of 2013. That was the day I got my ruby ear stud in Colombo. The island, formerly known as Ceylon, is famous for its numerous types of precious stones.

   

Today, I've given up on finding my ear stud. When watching TV yesterday evening, I reached up to my earlobe and realized it had fallen out.  Once, Jay located it in the shower area for our building's swimming pool after it'd come off.  Just in case, we ran down and checked last night too. Unfortunately, there was nothing. I am not even sure when the ruby and I may have parted ways. I wrote a note on a bulletin board downstairs but have now come to terms with the idea that I'll most likely never get it back. 

It's not the cost that makes me a little sad, it's the emotional loss of no longer being able to wear it.