Big Television!

I do miss one little aspect of Facebook. When I was a user, I created a limited group for friends who were truly interested in TV and movies. We'd post about shows or films we'd discovered and our opinions. There is just so damned much available nowadays that it's hard to keep up without the help of others. If I were still on Facebook I'd add some information about this recent viewing experience.



We just finished binging our way through three seasons of Versailles. Don't try to tell me that television is a wasteland nowadays! We were able to catch a lavish production of nearly thirty hours. Even if the series took a little liberty in historical accuracy, we were exposed to something fairly new to us. It was amazing.

Surf TV v16.1

One major advantage of signing up for Surf Internet was access to New Westminster's fiber network. Only copper snakes up to the tenth floor, but fiber now comes right into our buildings at a very, very reasonable cost.

I was getting television over IP with our former provider, so I wanted to do the same with Surf too. My old Android box had pretty good features, including optical audio out. However, part of the signup process for fiber included my purchase of a slimmed-down one for Surf TV too. The set up is a little less refined than Telus, but it gives us what we want with live TV. Most of our recreational TV viewing includes services such as Netflix; however, when we switch on the morning and evening news, we want it live!

Surf TV V16.1 is definitely usable. The PVR is obviously a work-in-progress but the on-demand programming is generally okay. Our former TV service from Telus cost over $30/month for the most basic tier. On the other hand, we paid for one full year of Surf TV at a cost of just $80 in total. I will gladly live with a bit of inconvenience for the chance of participating in the improvement of this more economical option.

Here is the first bug I'd suggest repairing in the next version of Surf TV:



A) The launcher on the provided Android box is pretty awful. I decided I'd much prefer using my own substitute. I have used Top TV Launcher 1 for a long time, so I loaded that onto the Surf TV box. My first icon now launches Surf TV.



B) However, the Surf TV APK interferes with my selection. Every time the box starts up, or whenever I exit an app, I must select which launcher I wish to use. Selecting ALWAYS has no lasting effect.



C) Even under Android's permanent settings, the selection of my choice will not remain. Something about the Surf TV APK is causing this. When attempting to delete the Surf TV launcher, the entire app disappears. Clearly, the problems shown here must have an easy fix. I'd like to see this problem disappear in v16.2.

Very Berry

It was one of the hottest days of the summer so far. It matched temperatures found in the tropics at a prefect 32°C. Of course there are people here who complain just cause they're not used to it. Jay and I have had years of experience with our time in the Middle East and Asia and we love it.

Our wet spring and sunny summer seem to be leading to a bumper crop of blackberries.



We drove across the river to the park directly across from our apartment. We knew that there'd be berries as we have picked in past years on the Surrey side.







Jay did pick and save quite a few blackberries to bring home while I ate everything I picked. There were lots and lots of berries. Many were completely ready but there were some unripened bushes so we will be able to return in a few weeks for more.

Columbia StrEAT Food Truck Fest

Yikes, there sure are a lot of people on Columbia Street right now! We just walked the length of the Food Truck Fest and it was elbow room only in many sections. This has become a big summer event in New Westminster, BC.




I was surprised by the number of millennials in attendance. Most of the crowd skewed toward that demographic. Then, I sort of recalled the situation of baby crows at this point in the summer. By now, they look like fully-grown adults, but the ones flapping their wings are the new brood. They demand and expect to be fed even though they're big enough to feed themselves.

Six Minutes

There are a few things which I could write about today. For example, this was the first smokey day in the Lower Mainland due to wildfires. I hope this situation is shortlived. Also, Translink stated playing 'public service' announcements featuring Seth Rogan. He's a local boy and I love his humourous transit messages. However, rather than just playing in the buses and SkyTrain cars, these are broadcast over the PA system in SkyTrain Stations too. Columbia Station, and therefore Translink, has constantly proven to be a horrible neighbhour because of the high noise level of non-emergency announcements. We have now seen complete decades with no improvement!

Rather than a daily, local issue though, I will post two, short YouTube tourist videos. They were produced for two very famous travel websites. I want to try to get friends interested in visiting us this winter while we're based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Which of these might be more persuasive?

What's My Gulab Jamun Limit?

From the spring, we followed the news of its opening in Surrey/Delta, BC. The Tandoori Flame already had several restaurants in Ontario. Yet, the one in British Columbia boasted it'd be 'The Largest Indian Buffet and Restaurant in North America'.

We just hadn't gotten around to visiting yet. Then, because we'd signed up for their email announcements, I got a free buffet coupon for my recent birthday. I printed out the offer.

Today seemed as good a day as any to drive around eight kilometers up Scott Road and take a look and, of course, sample the food.




I am happy to say that had some of the best chicken biryani I've eaten in months! The interior was nicely decorated and the amount and variety of food were quite remarkable. The staff were working hard and were very polite. I was surprised it was so busy for a Thursday lunch! Overall, I will give a thumbs-up. We probably won't go really often, but it is a place we will definitely visit in the future.

Heat Warning?

Environment Canada has announced an active weather alert for New Westminster, BC and surrounding areas. Earlier in the afternoon, it managed to reach 32°C here.



To us, this is an optimum daytime temperature. In fact, now that we're retired, we try our damnedest to spend winters in this range too. Today's heat would surely be a normal temperature where Jay grew up. Strangely, he and a pretty sizeable chunk of the global population live where it's often 32°C but have never been under a 'heat warning'.

Less Balcony Time

We got back from the winter in April. From then until now, we've not had usual access to our balcony. As the two towers of my condo association are being painted, we had to clear everything from our balcony. Our chairs are being stored. Our side of the complex is the very last corner to be done.

Painters are only working during the day, of course. They're not always at our level, on the 10th floor of 17, so it's not as if we can't open the sliding glass doors to venture outside. We have one large plant pot with meter-high lemongrass that spends nights outside and comes in during working hours. It just seems unusual that we've not had regular use of the space for over three months.

We face south which is great as far as exposure to sun. Yet, when wicked Pacific winter winds blow up the Fraser River, we get the brunt of the storms. Our side needed repainting the most. I'm glad we have great maintenance at Carnarvon Place.

Days Do Add Up, Don't They?

I've seen 59 years worth of days from today. Several online, web-calculators pegged me as being on number 21,550.


Jay presented me with a mango-yoghurt cheesecake w/o candles.
Being off Facebook means I have had fewer meaningless wishes than previous years, but that is entirely okay with me. I bought myself two pairs of shorts because they were on sale for $10 each. Having been retired already for three full previous summers, I am making use of the very best gift in the world, free time!

Yup, It's Summer!

It was hot today; well, it was hot for BC today.

It was also the weekend of the Surrey Fusion Festival in Holland Park. It's hard to believe, but this is the 11th time the event has occurred. We have pretty much been to all of them. Jay even popped in for a visit yesterday! It's a quick ride on the SkyTrain from our building to either of the last to stations on the Expo Line.

We went late in order to see a Sri Lankan band called The Islanders. There were playing on one of the smaller stages which as nicely located near a stand of trees. That offered some shade for the dance floor.

Removing Dust from Behind a TV

It seems I have to buy new crap in order to clean behind the TV.

I had the opportunity to remove a few old devices, put in all the new hardware from the week, simplify some wiring, and suck up a few dust balls with the vacuum cleaner.

Old Things Removed

Telus ADSL Internet service: 25 Mbps Download / 5 Mbps Upload

Optik TV Essentials

Equipment: Telus modem, router, tuner PVR w/ harddisc

Monthly Bill: $125.93 (US $95.71) with taxes included

An Original Chromecast

New Things Added

Surf Internet Fiber (copper to 10th floor): 75 Mbps Download / 75 Mbps Upload

Basic TV Package

Equipment: Surf Internet modem, router, Tiny Android TV Box with cloud PVR

Monthly Bill: $41.06 (US $31.21) with taxes included

A Chromecast Ultra

I Won a Trifecta!

Last week, I purchased my third Google Home Mini. I needed to get an orange (coral) one before the sale ended in Canada. All the local stores had only the black (charcoal) and white (chalk) models. I had to order through 'The Source' and receive it by post.

Now tiny speakers sit on the refrigerator, bedside table, and in the living room. I think I'm all done for a while. They successfully jumped the switchover of broadband services from Telus to Surf Internet.

Got any questions? Or commands?


Speaking of colours, I passed by these on my walk uptown this morning.

Pick a Network, Any Network!

What's smaller than a breadbox, black, and brings the world into our living room?

I've outgrown most riddles, but today has included the type of work I love. I really could have been less of an 'English instructor in technical environments' and more of something in the technology space. However, liking something doesn't mean it would've made a good career for me. Teaching had its many joys!

Last evening, a technician from Surf Internet dropped off a router. We will finally be ditching DSL now that fibre runs into our condo buildings. The Internet will come up to the 10th floor on old copper cable but it traveled over our city's fiber project to get to us. Thankfully, this means a private company was granted use of the infrastructure to give New Westminster residents cheap access. I'm getting three times the bandwidth for about one-third of the price we'd been paying Telus for Internet and IPTV. Furthermore, these rates are guaranteed to remain fixed for a period of five years! Wahoo!

I had a lot of things to change today. I decided to keep my wifi called WINDTALKER. Now, I have that name in 2.4 and 5 GHz versions. All the Google Home light bulbs, outlets, and things such as my Ooma VoIP still stay on the slower network. I had to find the admin router screens for old and new. I hesitated unplugging Telus until I'm sure things are all set up on Surf Internet. So presently I have WINDTALKEROLD, WINDTALKER, and WINDTALKER-5G networks available in our 715 sq ft space!

Getting an EV Charge on the Street

Sometimes one doesn't notice something right under one's own nose. (Or at least down at the street.)



There's free electric-vehicle charging on one corner of Sixth and Carnarvon. This project is a collaboration between BCIT and the city of New Westminster. It encourages electric vehicle ownership and uses in areas where condos have not yet provided changing facilities. It has helped make me less hesitant about deciding my future move to an EV.

It'll Fit Like a Glove

Last week, I noticed on the Hyundai Canada website that they'd started taking pre-order deposits for their upcoming all-electric Kona. I emailed to set up an appointment to test drive one with an internal-combustion engine. I was curious just how compact the vehicle really is.

In the showroom, the Kona looked is a little dwarfed by the Santa Fes and Tuscons. However, I knew I am in the market for a new, little cross-over. One can look at pictures and read the stats, but seeing, whether a vehicle is appropriate, requires a physical encounter. We got our chance to open the doors and try climbing in and out. It does sit higher than most of the sedans stilling around. The rear is a bit tight on the knees, but we seldom have back-seat passengers. So far, so good.



My appointment was at 10:30, but Jay and I were a bit early. The electric drivetrain models don't ship until towards the end of the year. Yet, we wanted to get out on the road to see about the car's visibility and general feeling. The salesman provided this one for us.




I felt right at home driving the Kona. We didn't go far. I drove places where I could see what it was like backing up and turning at dead-end streets. We were probably back on the lot in 20 minutes.

I was pretty happy with the results. I can picture myself in one. Admittedly, I am as excited about getting a completely electric vehicle as much as any other aspect. I cannot imagine there will be a surplus of these, so I did put my $1000 returned from Tesla, and gave it to Lougheed Hyundai today.

By the third week in April 2019, they should have one waiting for us. The logistics of getting rid of the old Ranger and having this ready for pick up is tricky. We will need the vehicle after getting back from winter in SE Asia. I'm sure it'll all work out fine.

Doing Errands in July Weather

I parked on the roof of the building on Sixth Street. This morning, I had to go to the doctor's office to renew a prescription.



It took longer than I expected, not only because he was running late, but also due to how long he chatted with me.



Next, I dropped off my prescription at the uptown Walmart. I always drive up to the roof parking there as I like the top of the Royal City Mall. It is like one huge secret. Whereas the main parking floors are always packed, I am often nearly alone up there. I guess I'd lived in New Westminster for close to ten yeas before I knew it existed.

Summer Sunday Morning

Yup. If anyone complains about the heat I just cover my ears and say, "Na.na..na..na.nah." (Then, I slap 'em.) I want to keep the high-pressure weather system directly overhead for the rest of the summer!

The great blue skies continued today. We made a goal of heading out to Coquitlam on the SkyTrain. I make it sound as though we undertook a great effort, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Evergreen extension to 'LaFarge / Douglas' was inaugurated a year and a half ago. We seldom go to Central Coquitlam and had never been on the newest 11-kilometer line. We waited for a train heading to the 'Production Way–University Station' and changed trains at 'Lougheed'. When headed on the new line, the train travelled through the 2-kilometer tunnel down a steep elevation.




It only took a half hour to arrive at the end of the line. So, a person could live out there and still be downtown in a bit over an hour by SkyTrain. That must be why real estate appears to be booming in the area.

We walked the circumference of LaFarge Lake because it was such a lovely, sunny day. Getting back to our station was less than an hour and a half in total. So, we also drove up to Queen's Park to check out the kiddies enjoying the waterpark and petting zoo.

Four Letter Korean Words: Niro and Kona.

I'm late today. I was enjoying the sun too much, perhaps. I'm adding this YouTube video without even watching through the entire thing. (Has my blog become just a place for bookmarks? Oh, how the mighty have fallen!)

Next week, I have arranged to visit a Hyundai dealership very close to where we do our weekly grocery shopping. I'm going to take a currently available internal-combustion-engine one out for a test drive. I want to see the form-factor in person. Today, I when we were heading to our Coquitlam Superstore, I drove past the place to ensure I could find the location on Tuesday.


Perhaps it is a blessing that KIA couldn't manage to have a Niro PHEV ready for me in April. From Malaysia, I had contacted a local dealership. Actually, the plug-in hybrid models are STILL not offered in Canada yet.

However, their sister company from South Korea is already taking deposits for delivery of an all-electric Kona. Is it time to request my $1000 Canuk bucks back from Tesla so I can put it down on one of these guys? Coming back from SE Asia after the winter to one might be perfect! It might be a perfect match for what should be in my downstairs parking stall next summer.

Music by the River

Ho-hum, another sunny day. One is a precious thing here in British Columbia; I should be more attentive and appreciative.

Yet after several days of sunshine, we've now got to start worrying about forest fires. It seems as if some parts of this province don't get constant rain, they burn! We don't often see much of that down here next to Vancouver, but during some summers we can be bothered by smoke. Let's not even consider that scenario yet!



Has another week sped by so quickly? I truly, truly appreciate the copious amount of free time I have. I was thinking of that when I found myself walking back from the other end of downtown.

I returned by the river and through Pier Park wearing my large Sony earphones. I was trying to locate exact requests to the Google Assistant which would play relaxing nature sounds. I figured if I could get the Google Home Mini on my bedtable to cooperate, it would come in handy at the start of my daily naptime. The Google assistant replied:

"Since I couldn't find the album Mozart's Music for the Night with Sounds of the River in your music libary, here's a similar mix on Google Play Music."

The playlist of classical music was a nice diversion. I sat on a park chaise lounge. I listened for the longest while while watching the Fraser River rush towards the Pacific Ocean.

New Paint Outside / Future Fiber Inside

Finally, the painters have gotten to this side of our building! We have had a pretty bare balcony since we got back from the winter. The painting of both towers is taking some time, but when they finish our corner, they're done! It sure takes a lot of work to complete two highrises.



One of our tasks today was to do some banking. A number of account updates come due for renewal in July. We have successfully changed everything to come due during our summers in British Columbia. For example, I recently changed our condo insurance to a different company but the starting and renewal dates will always be on August 1. It feels good to jet away in November and know there's nothing to which we'll need to attend until the spring.

Something else big happened this evening. We have known for a while that Surf Media Inc was coming to the lobby of our building. A few years back our little municipality installed fiber throughout much of the city. Businesses now resell Internet and data to residents over it. We arranged to do so. We gave up our Telus landline in 2017 when opting to use Ooma for a VoIP residence phone. Once, we had satellite TV but have used Telus for TV for at least a half-dozen years. Our ADSL Internet through them is years and years older than that! Pretty soon it'll all be history. We signed up for just 75 Mbps service today, but it is theoretically three times faster than what I'm using to post this.

Daily Mix 1

When this time of year finally hits British Columbia, our weather sets up for a few weeks of beautiful blue skies. It may be obvious here because the cloudless sky is quite stunning, especially for those so used to dark, grey clouds.





Today, I sat for a while, much longer than planned, in Pier Park. I was connected to New West City Wifi and streaming Spotify. The warm breeze and sun on my face felt great. I hope this part of BC stays under the high-pressure system for the rest of the month. Now that would be a great birthday present!

You Light Up My Life

For much of my 58 years, a bulb was a bulb.

At first, except for fluorescent tubes, all our bulbs were incandescent. In 1996, after we came to New Westminster, we may have had one halogen desk lamp but Thomas Edison would have been quite at home with all the bulbs in our lamps. Then, during the following decade, we went completely to compact fluorescents. From the initial, twisty, bluish ones to the traditional bulb-shaped ones which were warmer. None of these lasted very long, especially in high-service locations. Finally, we've begun to move to LED bulbs over the past year or two.



My taste in light bulbs has rather quickly evolved. After yesterday's purchase, I got two more wifi-enabled, smart, coloured bulbs at Walmart. At last, after more than 150 years of technological stagnation, home lighting is improving rapidly.

My Own Little Red-Light District

Another day mentioning home automation? Clearly, people need something to keep them occupied. Fortunately, for me, for years now, that hasn't had to involve working for anybody else. So, I'm back at the task of ensuring that requests spoken to Google Home can include apartment lighting.

My four, wireless-wifi, outlet sockets will not arrive from Amazon for another day or two. I needed to try something other than commanding Netflix programs be played on the TV. Rather than bothering with Walmart Canada's rather poorly-designed website, I wanted to see what was actually on the shelves at the uptown Supercenter. I took a quick trip to the Royal City Mall. The cabinet with some of the smart home devices was locked but an associate opened it and give me to time check the boxes against what I could learn on the web. Hum, hadn't heard of Merkury Innovations, but I spied a 75-watt, coloured, LED smart-bulb.

Most any wifi-enabled device will work with my Google Minis as long as the product has an app which can be linked to Google Home. My original idea was to try to keep things simple and see if I could use the Smart Life app, as I know that will work with my future sockets. I did add the bulb and linked it. Unfortunately, that app could only turn the light on and off. I paid the extra $3 for the coloured bulb, and damn it I want to be able to add an IFTTT recipe so when I say, "Blue Moon" the living room will change accordingly and allow us to bask in that hue. Hum, what will my codewords for red, or green be?



I decided to load the suggested app for this bulb. It is called, Greeni. I can now say, "Okay Google, turn on the tall light in the living room." It will. Next, I can ask it to "change to orange and dim" and I can see it magically happen. I was going to use one of the four plugs for our living room table lamp. Yet, maybe I will save to use it elsewhere and get another one of these bulbs. I could create a group and add them. Watching TV might be relaxing if we have several dimmed, red lights on.

Barking at a lamp and seeing an immediate effect is satisfying. I like giving orders. Perhaps feeling like a tiny dictator is the reason I'm keen on all of this.

"Hey Google, Who Was Here Tonight?"

"I'm sorry I cannot help with that, yet."

Don't worry. I can remember from a few hours ago without the help of a digital assistant. Today, we had a 'duck dinner' here. We found that today was the only day our friends could all get together this month. As one of the group members has to work odd hours we called everybody over for dinner at 3:00 as we had to end the evening at 8:00.



Today we ate couscous and chicken tajine. That was a different choice than Jay had ever created before.  I picked up a few growlers at Central City Brewing early today. So, after chatting a bit, we went for a pre-dinner walk. It was my idea to head up on the Pattullo Bridge. It's not far away but very scary as the eighty-year-old structure is really narrow. The zooming traffic, none of which follows the posted speed, is inches away from the one, tiny sidewalk. Oh, and there's literally no barrier for the pedestrians. Apparently, we all made it off unharmed for walked around Pier Park after looking down on it from the ageing right-of-way.



After the meal, we used our short remaining time of the evening, sitting around talking. We talked amongst ourselves and kept shouting, "Okay, Google!" It was the first exposure to a speaker with a built-in electronic assistant for our guests. We asked questions, played songs, and watched silly YouTube videos by saying as unlikely things as, "Play cat videos on the TV."