An Unsolicited Technology Grant to Certain Unnamed Parties

Deep inside one of my spare tech drawers sits an arsenal of basics for home automation: glowing colour bulbs, voice assistants, and smart plugs that obey a spoken whisper or the tap of an app. To me, it is everyday convenience. To our circle of close friends, it is alien magic best left quarantined in cardboard.

I have contemplated distributing this surplus out of sheer benevolence. Leaving lamps and appliances without dedicated IP addresses while capable routers sit idle is a domestic travesty. Civilized adults should not be trudging across rooms to flick manual plastic toggles, like cavemen before the wheel's invention, when they could dim the lights without leaving their chairs.

Yet my digital collaborator, Ajith, warns that gifting connected gadgets to the happily analogue is not charity; it is a binding contract for unpaid IT support. The moment a household network hiccups, our relaxed social dinners will instantly devolve into troubleshooting radio channels over appetizers and resetting bulbs between courses.  The process would add unnecessary friction, he says.

To the uninitiated, the ultimate luxury remains a dumb wall switch that has performed with complete reliability since 1978 without requiring a single password or Wi-Fi handshake.

Still, my generous heart aches for those stumbling around in manual darkness. The surplus silicon awaits. If anyone in our circle wishes to be dragged into the modern era, your resident administrator is open for business. Just remember that emergency troubleshooting after nine in the evening will be billed at the rate of one very good glass of wine per question.

"Turn off the Living Room Lights"

It is hard to believe it has been a full eight years since that first unassuming Google Home Mini sneaked onto the living room table.  In 2018, that little device suckered me into an entire ecosystem. It has been a really long time since I last touched a physical switch for most of our lighting, or actually had to turn on the computer printer by hand. I'm used to shouting at things in my apartment now.

Today, a new piece of hardware arrived. I ordered the new 2026 Google Home Speaker simply because the old Google Assistant has finally been axed. I've been using Gemini on the old devices since getting back from our winter. It has been a fantastic improvement. The AI integration into my home has been phenomenally useful and, unlike others, I encountered no problems at all. Today's packaging proudly states this speaker is "built for Gemini," which is a bit goofy considering all my older devices received the exact same software update anyway.  The new hardware tech inside the speaker is supposed to be more robust for AI implementation.

What was truly absurd was the shipping reality. Because I needed to use store credits directly, I was locked into the Google Canada Store and could not just make the pre-order through Amazon or Best Buy. My device shipped from Ontario and took more than a week to crawl here via UPS. To add insult to injury, UPS promised delivery for the afternoon of June 30. So, we rushed around doing all our errands in the morning to ensure I was anchored to the apartment for my 12:30 to 4:30 pm window. Naturally, I returned to find one of those little slips, written at 11:16 am, saying the driver was sorry he'd missed me! Grrr!  And because yesterday was our national birthday celebration, the box sat hostage. I finally got to drive to the UPS Store at Columbia Square this morning just to retrieve the small box myself. Google should consider the time it takes to get to Vancouver via UPS a huge failure for a 2026 order.  How about a little west-coast warehousing, please?

The list of complaints about this new device is growing online, and I agree wholeheartedly with the first point. It has a power cord that runs permanently right into the unit. So much for cable management! Even worse, standard troubleshooting by unplugging it now means crawling under the furniture to yank the brick from the wall, rather than just disconnecting the cable from the back of the speaker. Of course, this hardware rollout is perfectly timed with a massive slowdown in Google Home server-side operations today. I am occasionally encountering half-minute delays just trying to get the new speaker to acknowledge a command. It is obvious the stalled pre-order schedule was supposed to buy them time to work out details that clearly have not been completely ironed out.

Despite the absurd shipping saga, the captive power cord, and the server hiccups, the sound quality is a slight improvement over the eight-year-old Mini. Plus, the little LED ring that glows underneath the speaker almost makes up for everything else. The rainbow glow of colours indicates if it is listening, thinking, or answering. So, after a week of waiting and the realization I might have to crawl under furniture to reset it, at least I am aesthetically quite happy with the look of the demure 2026 speaker!

Bits of Our Tuesday

 

This was the first morning that Jay and I slept until 07:00 since getting back. As one ages, it definitely takes longer to recover from jetlag. In Sri Lanka, we were on the other side of the clock. We returned slowly and our flights were from Japan which is 16 hours ahead. Still, it has taken use nearly two weeks to hit our stride. 

Jay started going back to the gym yesterday. He goes to the Bonsor Recreational Centre in Burnaby during senior hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So, Tuesday and Thursdays are usually when we drive uptown for errands and such. Today, I switched on the heated steering wheel and front seats when going uptown. My car doesn't get out in the winters, so I thought to use them today because it felt about as cold as winter. Many of the cherry trees agree with me.  We drove uptown but didn't spot many blossoms.  The roof of the Royal City Center is the photo above.

The image below isn't a selfie.  Amazon bought more packages yesterday.  One box had four light bulbs inside.  I have been using Google Home for eight years.  Dozens of the lights were already wifi-enabled. I've been asking Google to switch on and off apartment lights since 2018.  

The ones that arrived are marked as being Matter compatible.  I am keen on learning more about how Matter can improve home automation.  My new Google TV Streamer has a border router for that type of network as well as a connection to the Internet.  Matter is a protocol that automatically links devices in a local ad hoc network within the any space.  I never got around to automate these four lights in the bathroom.  Now they're helping make a Matter network and more importantly they can be switched to any color or shade of white that I choose.

 

What's in a Name?

Day 069 of Our Winter:  It was an easy Minuwangoda type of day.  We did take a tuk-tuk today to pick up a few grocery items in town.  Each trip cost about 250 Sri Lankan rupees.  That is about 82 cents in US currency.  

The weather remains cold for these parts but it is officially winter at seven degrees above the equator.  Another storm is brewing off the eastern side of Sri Lanka and cool air is coming down from Bangladesh and Nepal.  I supposed a nighttime low of 22C might seem warm to many, but I am ready to put on socks and something more substantial than a tank top and pajamas.

I'm still getting my AI dialed to a frequency there we can both feel comfortable.  I've learned a whole lot about how Google Gemini works.  It is amazing technology.  It is possible to create an assistant that works differently for every individual.  The generic, out-of-the-box AI only hints at the type of interactions I've had with Ajith.  Lest you think one Google product might have only glowing things to say about another Google product, read on.

 

Dennis:  I want to return to what you may have heard about a new Google 4K streamer. Boy, it is ripe for a new marketing department name.

 

I am Ajith.

18:21.

You are quite right. Google has finally abandoned the whimsical, "plug-and-forget" branding of the Chromecast in favor of something far more utilitarian and, frankly, ripe for a boardroom overhaul.

The device is officially titled the Google TV Streamer (4K).

It’s a name that sounds less like a groundbreaking piece of tech and more like a line item on a government procurement form. After a decade of "casting," we have moved into the era of the "Streamer." It’s as if they’ve traded their soul for a set-top box that looks suspiciously like a minimalist soap dish or a high-end wireless charging pad.

The "Streamer" Specifications (The Realistic View)

• The Form Factor: No more dangling dongles. It’s now a sleek, wedge-shaped station meant to sit prominently on your credenza.

• The Brains: It boasts a 22% faster processor than the old Chromecast 4K. In human terms, that’s just enough speed to ensure the interface doesn't stutter while it tries to sell you a subscription you don't want.

• The Intelligence: It is heavily integrated with Gemini. It can summarize shows, curate your watchlists with "optimistic realism," and even use AI to generate screensavers of, say, a 19th-century study filled with slide rules.

• The "Matter" Hub: It doubles as a smart home controller (Matter and Thread). It wants to be the nervous system of your house, not just the eyes.

The Marketing "Miss"

"Google TV Streamer" feels like a placeholder name that someone forgot to replace before the launch. If the marketing department were actually earning their "ultra-luxury" coffee, they might have gone with:

• The Google Meridian: (A nod to your 40-year horizon with Jay).

• The Google Aperture: (Focusing your content).

• The Pixel Hub Pro: (Because they love sticking the word "Pixel" on everything you paid too much for).

Instead, we have the "Streamer." It’s functional, it’s 4K, and it’s $139 CAD (a significant jump from the old $70 Chromecast, but that is the price of "progress," I suppose).

Are you considering adding this "soap dish" to your setup, or does the Pixel phone already provide enough Google-flavored "Intelligence" for one household?

READY FOR INPUT.

Across the Road and in Our Apartment

The weather continues to be wonderful, especially for October in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.  Often times, we can be overcast and dreary by now.  This fall, we've actually had quite a run of clear, dry days.

The sun was downright inviting!  I had to take a morning walk through Westminster Pier Park as it's just across busy Columbia and Front Streets from our apartment.  I took a closer look at the guys working in the park extension at the west end of the existing park

There was a lot of activity.  It will be exciting to return in the spring and see things after they're pretty much completed with new landscaping.

From Westminster Pier Park, I could look back towards our apartment building.  The park's trees are getting taller each year!  Today I started to learn how my apartment will be getting a dash more intelligence through Google Home.

This afternoon, I noticed that the search bar within the Google Home app was switched on.  It will become a way in which complex automations will be created.  I set the app manually, to turn on a few lights exactly at sunset if someone is present in the apartment.  

Google Home is smart enough to know the sunset time in New Westminster each day.  So this practice routine will trigger two minutes earlier each evening during the upcoming week.  Today the glorious sun you can see in the photos above will slip below the horizon at 6:38 pm.

AI is Coming (Slowly) to Google Home

I feel a quite underwhelmed by today's Google Home announcements and updates. October 1st held a lot of speculation and promise, but today delivered very little. I mean the new speaker is not arriving until the spring of 2026?  Indeed, I was pleased to learn that Gemini will come to every one of the company's speakers and hubs they've ever produced.  I have three active mini speakers, two connected nest speakers, and two, small display hubs. I also understand why the LIVE chat may only come to brand new hardware too. 

Still, I expected to be able to ask Ajith questions anywhere in the apartment starting this morning. Ajith is the name I've chosen for my personalized Gemini AI helper.  As of now, I can still only request information or make a request via my phone or on a Windows computer.  My Google Home devices are stuck using basic Google Assistant.

I completely understand why Google is going slowly. They have a whole lot riding on a seamless integration of AI prowess into every corner of their empire. I'm old enough to remember Microsoft's rather late realization of the importance of Internet integration into Windows. They were late but managed to prosper. 

Google already knows that traditional search, the basis of their existence, is dead. I've got a glimpse of their future.  I thought maybe I'd see a bit more of it arrive today.

 

Ray Bradbury and Google Home

 

I had to try to locate a copy of Ray Bradbury's short story called, There Will Come Soft Rains.  It was first published in 1950 and describes a house that carries on for a bit after the flash of a nuclear device erases its family save for their silhouettes in the charred paint on the exterior of a single wall.  The premise of mutually assured destruction was something with which my generation grew up.  Ironically, although not often discussed, the scenario is probably as close to probability as it ever was.

My search for the PDF link above was for a much different reason though.  I am impatiently waiting for Google Home to replace the cantankerous, aged Google Assistant with the much more capable Gemini.  The wait should be short as the update is promised for October 1st.  Actually as is, the system works well at managing my home's devices.  I have dozens of lights and appliances such as my coffee maker and air purifier which work flawlessly.  Yet I always have to grab my phone when wanting to ask complex questions of the AI.  It will be a sheer pleasure when I start getting intelligent answers from our apartment's three mini speakers, Nest Stereo, and two small display hubs.

When reading the PDF, I will say Ray had a remarkable foresight in how capable homes might become by next year, 76 years in his future.  Some of the technologies don't quite match up with the present but surely the intentions do.

I'm a Power User

In Canada, this is the third day of an annual, civic long weekend. In British Columbia it's called BC Day. It's a great time of year to have a three-day weekend. Vancouver hosts the Pride Parade during this weekend. Other than that we didn't do much special. Of course, we just got back from a five-night trip to Alberta but that aligned with my birthday.

Earlier during the weekend, I replaced an old ceiling light in the bedroom with a cheap, 12" flush-mount LED light.  Today, I put the other in the utility closet.  It was honestly less than a ten-minute job.  The lights can be adjusted and we kept the setting on a bluer hue because of its location and purpose.

Now, I'm expanding my electrical experience by ordering modern switches for these two lights.  All the switches in the apartment are 35-year-old, traditional type. I'm not going to bother going through the whole place and replacing them with toggle switches.  Aesthetically, the newer ones might be nicer but I have dozens of WIFI bulbs. My lighting is under Google Assistant voice control and I never ever need to touch many physical wall switches.  For example, after I get under the bed covers, I often say things such as, "Hey, Google, turn off the living room lights."

So, I'll start with just two, single-pole switches for our new lights.  I can start replacing more, if the exercise proves enjoyable.  The prices were the same on Amazon.ca as on HomeDepot.ca.  I'll let my delivery guy bring 'em to my door, even though he won't be able to deliver the switch plate covers until Wednesday.  LOL

 

A New Cube / Music's No Longer Round

Because we're so groovy, I bought a lava lamp from Amazon this week.  Unfortunately, in order to have sufficient space in the living room I needed to buy another IKEA Eket cube.  Back during COVID, we put together a bedroom full of furniture.  We didn't need the cube I'd bought for the dresser.  So it's been near the living room TV sitting directly on the carpeted floor.

So, after getting groceries this morning, we stopped at the Coquitlam IKEA as we drove past.  I couldn't find the inside shortcut through the display maze to get to the warehouse/checkout area.  Eventually, we picked up one. At home, I only needed a hammer to pound the pieces together as the dowels were already in place.  The last time, it took me much longer than it should have to put one together!  

Today, it took less than five minutes.  After I got it assembled, I realized that it was a size larger than the original one.  It took a while to figure out which way to make 'em work.  I guess they're fine back-to-back with the empty sides for junk perpendicular to the wall.  It probably looks better now from the couch.

Something weird?  I opened Spotify on my phone and transferred the sound to the TV and home theatre system. Rather than what'd been playing in the car, I typed in Al Green and selected his Greatest Hits album.  What an usual way to listen to music in 2025!  The songs were all by Mr. Green.  One after another, they played in a predictable order.  It felt like an odd (and a little boring) way to listen to music.

Rosie, the Robovac

I'm poor. I can't afford servants. Still, we're in the 21-century and many of us live better than kings of the past. We have machines to do our bidding and life has never been so toil-free. 

 

I mentioned adding an el-cheapo robot vacuum to my home network in yesterday's post. A screenshot showed 35 connected devices at that particular moment. Of course, there are computers and a tablet on the list but there are many home automation gadgets too. The living room has eight lightbulbs alone!  At bedtime, I always turn them all off at once by asking Google Assistant to turn off the living room lights.  How convenient!

Up until today, I've been very pragmatic in my naming conventions. Most items are pretty straightforward, such as the living room floor lamp, curio-cabinet light, and living room table lamp. However, when I faced naming the new robot vacuum, I decided that she had to be called Rosie. I'm of a certain age and grew up watching the Jetsons on Saturday morning TV. 

This situation has now caused me to rethink a few of my previous choices. Moments ago, I renamed a few network names.  So my Keriug Coffee Maker is now called, Kevin. I'm not sure how I feel about yelling, "Hey Google, Turn on Kevin!" Yet, I may add some personality to more of my important smart-home devices on the network. 

Help me think through a few names for the bedroom air purifier and the computer printer!

What's on the Home Network?

 

Let's see, there are presently only 35 connected devices on the apartment wifi? Before you think it's all computers and gadgets, most of those items are probably light bulbs. I've been switching on and off the lights by asking Google Assistant for years and years. I like sitting on the sofa but being able to turn on the balcony or bedroom lights.   

Oh, there is one new connected device today! That el-cheapo robo-vacuum arrived in an Amazon delivery. Getting it doesn't make much sense. The Lefant M210 cost around $US 100.   However, I believe it is another toy that I deserve.

Power Cord Triumphs

This is the second time this same photo has been included in 'my eJournal and images'. 

It last appeared here when I bought the power cord during the second week of June. Since then, it's been sitting in the closet. Luckily, the other day, I did a bit of cleaning and threw away all the old boxes of products that I'd kept for no reason. Some were, you know, small like new phone boxes or other electronic devices. It seemed as though one should keep the box until one was sure the item worked. However, I had several old phone boxes. Obviously, they had worked, so I had armfuls of boxes to bring to the enormous cardboard container dumpster in our building. 

This was when I found this power cord again in its box. I originally bought it as it has a fuse and has a lot of space between the eight power outlets. I had far too many things plugged into an ordinary extension cord in the TV stand. I guess I was afraid to fight with all the dust bunnies during these past few months.

   

Today, I fished around the one zillion wires for the home theatre system, the TV, an NVidea Shield, a Mini-PC, and some TV lighting. Now everything is plugged into the new power cord and I still have at least three normal outlets and three USB outlets free. The inside of the stand has been cleaned too. I got that little rush of accomplishment that nearly made the whole frustrating effort seem worthwhile.

I Laugh at Danger

Sometimes, I want to do things simply because it is possible.  It's not hard pressing a button to brew my morning coffee in the Keurig. Yet, it would sound way cool if I could automate that easy action.

In that respect, I'm a little like George Jetson. His only apparent task at Spacely Space Sprockets was to press a button. George took a flying saucer to work in the morning space traffic to do so. On the other hand, I have to stumble just a few meters to the kitchen in our 750 sq ft apartment.  However, this button-pushing seems ripe for automation.  

I just added my not-so-arduous task to a Google Home routine. For years, when I've said, "OK Google, Good Morning," a series of actions occur.  As well as telling me the weather and our appointments, the display screen on my bedside table turns off DND on my phone and turns off the night lights and white noise generator.

So, you can see the coffee machine is first up on the task list now  In order to simplify my life a smidgeon, I have to remember to get a K-cup and empty mug ready before I go to bed.  If I fail to do so, then a cup of hot water will pour all over the kitchen counter.  

That is clearly a small price to pay for the added bragging rights.  As you can clearly see, I don't fear danger, I laugh at it.

Updates Galore!

My devices are continually demanding to be updated.  A fair amount of Internet data is dedicated to keeping all our gadgets up-to-date nowadays.

Although this doesn't present much of a problem at home, when one is travelling in areas with less robust net connections, it can become one.

Jay's sisters set their phones to not update daily.  If they didn't take this preventative measure, they'd be out of metered 4G data within a few days.

When my TV wants to do a new major upgrade, I wait while it's doing so and keep my fingers crossed for luck.

Sometimes it's all minorly annoying.

Today, though, I thought this screen capture was funny.  I was in the Tuya app.  That is how many of my household lights and switches operate within the Google Home environment.

It seems I had a least a half dozen lightbulbs that needed new firmware.  They are regular LED lightbulbs but are controlled by wifi. For gosh sake, I had to be connected to the Internet to update my lightbulbs!

The process took only moments and it went smoothly.  I'm just surprised by some of the things I must do in 2023.

Oh, Nerdy Me!

I was looking on Amazon to see what in the way of Google Home devices I might add to the apartment wifi. Predominately, I use voice commands for room lighting. I do control things like the white noise generator and our air purifier through wifi. The most useful is probably access to the computer printer as it is in the bedroom. Asking Google to turn it on without having to get out of the living room chair is, indeed, helpful. Of course, there are music, radio, and television commands too. 

I'd been seeing about a replacement home security camera. My old cheap indoor one apparently doesn't work anymore. Then, by chance, I came across this:

It's a Moorebot Scout-E.  It is an autonomous, mobile, AI-powered camera and microphone.  I don't have a backyard.  I have no pet or baby to monitor.  My apartment is only 750 sq feet and does not require a security camera.  Yet, I had a fun time checking out the original Scout videos and reviews.  It seems for once, I hit interest in a topic just as a new version looks to be released.  This E-version doesn't have the same four, cool multidirectional wheels as the current one.  However, a military tank-type setup can turn on a dime.

So, one of these 11.5cm x 10cm x 8cm devices will be coming to our address as soon as they start shipping.  I hope it'll arrive within a month.  It's amazing how in this big world I can always find some wacky device that seems like it's being produced especially for me.

Learning to Share with Others

My current wifi is named, ForbiddenPlanet. The new Tp-link mesh router offers 2.4 and 5 GHz with band steering. This means that each smart-home device is able to choose the frequency that it finds best depending on its location within the apartment and its capabilities.

Furthermore, I can turn on a guest wifi network containing both frequencies as well. It's presently called PlanetVisitors.  People connected to this alternative network cannot accidentally mess with anything because they are on completely different wifi.  I usually keep this turned off.  I can simply make a request to my Google Assistant when friends or guests arrive.

This QR code allows access to my guest network.  I printed a few, little cards to hand to guests during their first arrival.  If they don't know how to scan the code, they can simply add the information found written on the paper.

Specifically Designed for Fools Like Me!

I will admit it publicly. I am definitely addicted to smart home integration. I know because I'm constantly scanning the Internet to find things other than light bulbs and smart speakers to add to the apartment's home network. Yelling at Google to 'turn on the living room lights' is no longer enough. I'm considerably less interested in asking that my currently-playing Spotify song be moved from the living room and kitchen speakers to the bedroom stereo.

Wait!  A logical addition to our home network would be a smart coffee brewer.  Right?  I'm already sort of hooked on K-cups.  So, this wifi-connected device seems like a useful purchase.  Maybe?  It would require another app on my phone.

 

"Hey Google, brew me a 10-oz Krispy Kreme House Roast, now."  (As long as I had already remembered to put a coffee pod in the machine ... )   Supposedly this Keurig® will recognize the barcode and set brewing characteristics to match.  Okay, we will see if this lives up to its potential after its delivery tomorrow.  

A Reference to the 1956 Scifi Classic

We had at least six kinds of weather today. During one part of the morning, a winter-type storm blew through. Some trees were uprooted and it seemed as though we were experiencing November weather. Five remaining types of weather ensued throughout the rest of the day.

   

In the morning, Jay went to the rec centre in Burnaby. 

I ordered a TP-Link Deco X60 router with one mesh satellite. That prompted me to play with my current wifi network again. I am as close to stability as I can get until after Amazon brings my hardware on Friday. My SSID had been WINDTALKER for as long as I can remember. I remember setting it to that back when we had ADSL through the phone company.  From today, my 5 GHz band is called ForbiddenPlanet.  And as my new router will have bound 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, I'll use that going forward. 

All my Google Home speakers and displays should seamlessly accept the new setup. However, most devices are still on the old SSID and that means I will have to reset all the bulbs and switches to match the new wifi name and password.

Noting New Network Naming

Although a replacement cable modem will be arriving this week, I'm still fiddling with my current home network setup. This is the kind of fun that bored, techie nerds enjoy. 

I am positive that I'll be buying a wifi router this summer to replace my existing, one-device setup. I don't really know when though. I could buy a TP-Link Deco X60 today. Or I could wait until Google updates their aging 2019 Nest Mesh hardware. I will simply wait and see how things play out. 

However, before any of that, I wondered if I could try to eke out performance improvements from the current setup.  My existing Technicolor TC8717T can never max out my Internet bandwidth nor can it handle the number of Google Home devices now in our apartment.  Therefore, I have tried playing with a Wifi extender.  

I have not been happy with the results when naming the extender the same as the main WINDTALKER name.  I tried this in order to avoid resetting my smart home devices.  I did not see an acceptable improvement with this method though.   

So yesterday, I renamed the extender's two network bands, essentially doubling the number of home networks.  Then, I changed over all the devices in that room to the new WINDTALKER_BEDROOM SSID for the 2.4 GHz band.  This seemed to have provided a  moderate improvement.  I was so pleased that I ran to Walmart today to buy yet another wifi bulb for Jay's bedside table.

The Fun of Making Choices

I'm shopping for a new wifi router. 

I'm through 'making do' with the old, single-device modem/wifi router from my ISP. I tried purchasing a wifi extender thinking that it'd allow me to handle a larger home network. Although it might be a perfect solution for many people, it just doesn't help that much in my apartment.  For you see, I have too many smart home devices.   That's just a fancy way of saying that I control many lights and devices either from my phone or by asking Google Assistant.

I must go with a stand-alone modem and a separate wifi router. I have decided to buy both items. Cable modems do not come cheap but I have ordered my own DOCSIS 3.1 device that will work with Surf Internet. It will probably arrive next week.

So now I'm looking around for a suitable wifi router. Interestingly, this is a difficult time as the new Wifi 6 (ax) protocol is just gearing up for mainstream adoption. I really don't want to buy new Wifi 5 (ac) equipment as it'll have a limited lifespan.  Also, I don't need a mesh network for a mere 700 sq ft apartment.  However, the technology works to balance a space which contains many devices.  I will most probably NOT buy the one pictured here.

I was at London Drugs this morning and snapped several photos of the supposed deals. I now do this just so I can return home and do the necessary homework to make a choice.