It Really Didn't Add Much to the Experience

The local weather has reached its optimal state in the Lower Mainland of BC.  I got the little window fan out of the closet although it was a step that wasn't really necessary.  I think it is around 25C degrees at the moment. 

We did regular grocery shopping quite early today.  I plugged in the car for a half hour while inside.  I might have to top it up to 100% this week if we go ahead with plans for my birthday-week road trip to the Canadian Rockies.  

On the way back, I also stopped at a car wash in Coquitlam.  I seldom wash Kimchi, our EV.  I try to think of the dirt coating as protection from scratches.  However, if we do take off, I want to see just how many new bugs I can collect.  It must be with a fresh slate, so to speak.  The basic wash was around $9 w/tax.  The colourful light show was definitely worth that price alone, not!

Another Update for my KONA EV

A recent email indicated the availability of an update for my car's navigation system. On the Internet, as with most places in life, it's easier to complain than acknowledge improvement.

During my spring update procedure, I ran into all manner of problems. I complained a lot in my blog post of May 29th. Therefore, I should take the time to admit that Hyundai has made a vast improvement to the download process. 

   

Today, I was able to get the entire download at an average speed of 5 Mbps from their servers. That still meant it was much closer to an hour then their app's rather optimistic guesses. 

The Navigation Updater now allows downloading to a location other than the SD card.   I had set the computer's hard disk as default.  When I started the app today, it displayed the SD card, so I thought it'd cache to the drive first, and copy to the card upon completion. Instead, it wrote directly to the SD card. I worried about whether there would be room, but I guess it either initially reformatted the card, or found enough space. 

Anyway, the second part of the process, in the car, was still slow even though not as long as the last time. There were probably fewer updates today. Still having to spend 15 minutes sitting inside with the ignition on, seemed tedious. It's a shame BlueLink is too feeble to update directly over the air in a seamless process.

A Nano is a No-no!

Day 35 - Traffic is pretty awful in Colombo. Nowadays, it takes forever to go anywhere. The streets are full of all sorts of vehicles going every which way without looking, much less signaling.

Jay's younger sister wanted to see an ear and throat specialist at a private hospital. She's had the feeling that there's constantly something in her throat, which is irksome, obviously.

Rather than his sisters taking a 3-wheel, we decided to order a small, Flexi-sized vehicle via the PickMe app and go along for the ride. Usually, this selection gets us one of the small Suzuki vehicles. Today we ordered at the Nawaloka Hospital in Columbo 2 to return to the Nugegoda house. This older Tata Nano showed up.



I remember reading about them a decade ago when the Indian Tata conglomerate started producing them. The original models were designed to sell for around US $2000. I think with the poor performance of the Indian rupee, the cost is still about the same.

The inside was large enough for the four of us; although, the three in the back must not have had a lot of wiggle room. I took the suicide seat which was scarier than ever when I noticed the thickness of the passenger side door was about 3 cm. I'm pretty sure the car didn't have any airbags. Most concerning was the fact we got the polite driver from hell to get us home. I wrote this, we must have made it!

Crossovers Have Taken Over!

First, I checked to ensure the shared article wasn't a repost from April Fools Day. The title read, Ford will stop selling most of its cars in North America. In the 2020's the mighty Mustang will remain and another yet unreleased model. This decision to axe the old, tired configuration does make a lot of sense. The typical sedan does seem a little out of date.

I was thinking back to the days when I was learning to drive. At one point, I remember pointing the enormous hood of a Ford Galaxie 500 down the highway. I don't think our family owned it for a long time. It might have been a surplus government vehicle my dad bought at auction. I have no personal photos of the white behemoth. I remember liking the taillights which looked something like this image I found on the Internet.


The sedan design never made for a very practical vehicle. That said, I'd again love to test drive something with eight feet of metal sticking out in front of me. Driving such a vehicle involved a lot of calculated aiming.

Why the Hell Not?

It's not as if this is a Purchase Agreement; it's only a receipt for a Reservation. And, it'll take more than a year before they can even offer to make one for me. I can change my mind anytime.

I'm Fine Surrounded by Dumbness

After brewing my coffee this morning, I noticed an unusual light on the coffee maker. At least it seemed unusual as I'd never seen it lit before. The cheeky thing was trying to indicate that I should clean it.

Rather than searching through the owners' manuals, I searched Google to see what had to be done. The Oster site said that I only needed to run three cups of vinegar through the machine using its cleaning cycle. That sounded easy enough except we had only a gallon of apple cider vinegar in the house. Being pretty sure that plain old white vinegar was necessary, we had to go out to buy some. Halfway through the process, it started to ring with a noise more pronounced than our smoke detector. I found out this meant it needed more vinegar. After 40 minutes, it clicked off and was ready for a rinse or two. The light had gone out.

This situation was a little frightening though and perhaps why I'm afraid to buy a new vehicle. I have a fear of owning devices which think they're smarter than I am. My pickup truck is so old that an owner definitely had the upper hand in the smarts department. I know newer vehicles have come to assume their owners are idiots. I'm not sure I could live as the dumber one in a relationship. Jay, however, says I already am.

Getting Used to Autonomy

Google's 'Stories to Read' cards can be annoying. You know, I mean the Android screen one get's when swiping right from the main one. I love the weather updates and automatic flight scheduling info when travelling. When I worked, I used the commuting time info which appeared like magic just before driving times. However, I cannot figure out where it pulls in data for its 'Stories to Read' cards.

They seem to showcase a variety of websites which I'd never, ever consider visiting. Being able to turn off trash sites is helpful but, honestly, Google knows enough about me to make better attempts at what I might want to read. Then, there are times when the suggestions go absolutely bonkers with totally unwanted choices!

Because of the rather random sense of priorities, I've been reading a lot about autonomous cars, lately. It seems we are in for a shift much sooner than most folks think. I'm all for a new reality as it eliminates the most dangerous part of driving -- the other drivers.

The novelty will wear off quickly for society. For example, I never stop to consider our SkyTrain system for the Metro-Vancouver area is driverless. Okay, there's a central control room somewhere, but no drivers in the front of each train. Perhaps that seemed unusual to me when we first got here 20 years ago. By that time the system had already been running since Expo 86 with no responsible human aboard each individual train. What a great cost savings and safety feature! At least, trains don't show up for work drunk or angry after a fight with the misses (or mister).


Some early car designs photographed in 2011

No Car Needed Here - Day 78

I'm in Luxor, but I thought about my truck parked for the winter on P6 in our apartment building back in New Westminster. My Ford Ranger has been dependable transportation and the only vehicle I've owned in Canada.

Last fall, I bought a new set of tires for the truck which I originally purchased new in 1996. That means, of course, I'll keep it on the road this summer. We plan on continuing to winter abroad; thusly, I will only need a vehicle in Canada for just seven months a year. I put on annual mileage which could be counted in the thousands on a single hand.

Yet, I vowed a decade ago that my next vehicle would be electric. Really, the progress on that front has been painfully slow. Just as the technology is finally becoming more mainstream, the price of of oil is sitting at below $30 a barrel. I hope this fact doesn't undermine recent battery development. Burning dead dinosaurs to move around is so 20th century!


Still, I may as well actively consider something new in 2017. The Chevy Bolt, all electric, goes on sale at the end of this year. A range of 100 miles makes all existing, non-Telsa vehicles only suitable as commuter cars. At 200 miles on a single charge, the Bolt will be a whole new ballgame.

I have spent part of the day researching this topic. Just learning about the power and plug-in standards requires a lot of reading and study. I have, however, determined that the infrastructure is ready now with DC fast-charging options in our province. Of course, the whole west coast has many charging options right down the I-5 corridor. It is surely something which is fun to consider. I wonder if there'll be any cash incentives available by the time I'm finally ready to commit.

Soul-Searching

Grocery shopping is a Saturday event at present. I was contemplating how we can schedule life differently when we have no time clocks to punch. It will be fun to watch new routines evolve in November.


We have a knife in the bed of the truck. It is used to check the cassava before driving home. It is one item of produce which cannot be verified without seeing the inside. The Superstore is great at rebating or replacing bad quality ones but it's convenient to do so before driving home. Today, we had one that wasn't up to snuff. While Jay went back in for another I sat on the tailgate of the old Ranger. Then, across from me in the parking lot, I noticed the car in the photo below.

The truck has been dependable transportation since 1996. During the intervening years, even with long trips, the odometer has only gone 94,500 miles. I hope to be able to get to the one hundred thousand by the summer of 2016. That would be an auspicious year to get another vehicle. I have only bought two new vehicles in my life. Maybe my next one will the made in Korea. I really like the 2014 KIA Soul. I've been interested with them since they were first produced. I suppose I could go test drive one even though I don't have short-term purchasing plans. I'd like to see what the electric version is like to drive.

ICBC: Guess They're Still Ahead

I have been buying auto insurance for about 38 years and had never made a claim. Well, I cannot remember exactly how insurance used to work in Saudi Arabia. My second-hand junker there must've been covered, even though back when I lived in Taif, obtaining this type of insurance was difficult as it was considered a form of usury.

For the last 16 years I have been paying the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia as they're the only game in town (read: the province). With trepidation I had to consult the call-in claim centre today.

Sigh. Last week, after waxing my old truck, I was so pleased with the results that I wanted to find a nice location to take a photo of my handiwork. I remember taking a photo of it once under a cherry tree by New Westminster City Hall. The cherry blossoms are long gone but there is more vegetation up near Tipperary Park. I decided to park near the upper edge of the city hall lot. I jumped out of the vehicle without securing the hand brake. I didn't correctly align the wheels which can be important because this city is on a giant hill.

I walked about 3 meters away and turned to take the picture. Yikes, the truck was slowly rolling towards a parked car. Damn! I ran, opened the door, and tried to jump in to hit the brakes. I was too late.


At less than walking speed, my bumper hit the rear, passenger-side quarter panel. It's a little scary to realize how little it takes to destroy the skin of the metal containers we move about inside of. I ran inside the city offices to see if I could locate the owner. A very nice young girl owned it. We exchanged insurance and license information. Neither of us knew much about the procedures involved. She checked to see how much it would cost to fix both through independent repair and got an unofficial estimate through an ICBC garage. Those were $500 and $1400 respectively.

As I'd been a safe driver so long, I figured I'd like to go through official channels. I pay one and half times as much as the cheap quote for my annual liability insurance to my company. She called in first and confirmed that I had to as well. The procedure, as I didn't even have a scratch on my truck, involved calling the phone claim centre to acknowledge the incident. I did that today even though it is BC Day. I had to wait about a half hour for a representative. The actual call only lasted about five minutes. The woman who took the claim couldn't have been more friendly and polite.

I now know the system is pretty clever. Being a public insurer, ICBC starts with a base rate that doesn't really penalize young or inexperienced drivers. If a driver continues claim-free, he/she works towards future reductions. An early accident could easily push an auto owner into higher than base rates though. As I have been claim free for such a long time, I will not see any increase in rates, although I will move down the scale three steps. Now, I have just 13 claim-free years.

Is a KIA E-Soul Ready for a Test Drive?

By happenstance, I noticed the link to this video today. I've never been a big fan of Smart cars. I have for a decade, however, felt as though the replacement vehicle for my 1996 Ford Ranger would be an all-electric. Fifteen years ago I figured that at this point we'd have reached a tipping point in technology and acceptance. I guess I'm still waiting although things such as the West Coast Electric Highway Project means I could successfully get to to Los Angeles without using a drop of petroleum.

It was strange that I discovered this video this afternoon, as when I was leaving the BCIT parking lot #7, I stopped to snap a photo of free charging station of the EV project with its huge solar cell array. Also, for a long time, there have been several quick-charge plug-ins near the NE 1 Building where I teach. As well, today I noticed several EV charging signs along the street right out front of my building. We've had free charging stations on the downtown parkade and up at city hall for quite some time.

So perhaps in two years when my truck and I get ready to part ways, an electric vehicle might be a possibility. Did I read in 2017 that Tesla will have its reasonably-priced Model 3 in production?

Street Closed for Cars!

There was definitely a lot of shine in today's Show & Shine. It was probably the warmest day I can recall for the annual car show on Columbia Street. Yay.

Can we please keep Columbia Street closed permanently?

It'd Fit Like a Glove!

Earlier in the week, I mentioned that I was beginning to learn about various crossover vehicles. Do you know how, when one first becomes interested in a new thing, it suddenly seems everywhere? I might now swear that one quarter of all vehicles on the road belong in the category. Until this week I had never noticed seeing a Honda CR-V or a Hyundai Tucson. It's actually amazing how the specs from such diverse manufacturers match up so precisely. I mean each company is making nearly identical vehicles within millimeters in size and capacity.

Anyway, this means I've been a lot more aware when driving around. I was leaving the parking lot at BCIT on Wednesday, when I spotted a Nissan Juke. That is something which I'd never really noticed, at least not enough to notice the name-tag. I have never paid much attention to Nissan vehicles at all. I harbour no poor opinions; I simply have few at all. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember Mrs. Rude drove a green Datsun back in the 1970's when I was in school.



I pulled over in the parking lot to get a better look at the Juke. I actually parked in the middle of the path and opened the door to look more closely. I think the design is totally amazing! When a young kid, I seriously thought we'd all have flying cars by 2013. This design comes as close to that as possible. I definitely feel I'd be happy inside one of these. Perhaps, I have to find out where the closest Nissan dealer is. (Just so I'll be ready come 2016, the earliest date at which I have vowed to get a new vehicle.)

Do You See a CUV?

Damn my practicality! I'm too cautious when throwing around money. It's not that I couldn't afford a new vehicle; it's more that my present rig still has quite a few miles remaining. I cannot get rid of my Ford Ranger with only 91,000 miles on the odometer! I have ultimate faith in my present beast despite its age. I'd not, for example, hesitate to start off on a cross-country trip with nothing more than an oil change. (Actually, we did that in it once at the beginning of the previous decade.) The old truck doesn't get a lot of mileage as I don't work a lot and we tend to take a lot of local transit. I cannot justify updating just yet.




Nowadays there are surely exciting choices. The term 'crossover' wasn't in the lexicon when I last bought a vehicle.

I had to get out on such a nice day today. There are two dealerships within a short walk of the apartment. So, I walked in the sun by Key West Ford and Westminster Toyota. Both the Escape and RAV4 look like awesome rides. I have started paying attention to the crossovers from other manufacturers. It seems like nearly every company makes a similar rig. Although not really in that designated class, I'm quirky enough to even picture myself driving a KIA Soul.

It's a little sad though that I won't feel comfortable in making new vehicle purchase until about 2016!

Click, Save, and Organize

The creativity is in the categorization. I should make my students start a Pinterest account to foster organizational skills.

English for Business and Technology

This is an enormous solar array which will contain fast-charging stations at the Burnaby Campus of the British Columbia Institute of Technology. I stopped to snap this picture as I was leaving Lot #7 this afternoon.

I am very happy to teach where I do. I teach basic English skills, and unfortunately that means, in years past, I've needed to work with colleagues requiring help when screwing in a light bulb. That's not a slight against their teaching abilities, but simply the sad realization that very few have been technically competent or curious. It take all kinds, honestly. Again though, I am thankful for being able to teach technical English rather than poetry!

If you click on the image below, you will open another browser window. It is a landing page for a research initiative taking shape at BCIT.

Free Juice

I was checking to see whether I could rent an electric vehicle for a few days. I'd be fun to at least drive a hybrid if not a real battery-powered car. I couldn't quickly locate a normal car-rental company that had either a Toyota Prius or a Nissan Leaf though.

A few weeks ago, I did a great deal of Internet research on the topic. Unfortunately, as I live in a condo tower, my ability to charge up from my parking stall is limited. It is interesting to consider there are a few absolutely-free locations near my house where I could charge up. The New Westminster parkade as well as the New West City Hall have charging stations. Each of these places is about a 10-minute walk from my living room sofa.

It's a shame the e-vehicles themselves cost significantly more than gas models. Given how little I drive, gas will have to cost $20 / gallon before it'd make economic sense.

We've Burnt Dead Dinosaurs for 100 Years

I had too much coffee in the morning, so on yesterday's trip to Bellingham, I was ready to use the very first Washington State DOT Rest Stop on I-5 South. I had seen these two devices during the last trip as well. Yesterday, I snapped a picture of the two, electric charging stations. Of course, I needed to find out more about them.

Electric vehicles have long been an interest. In fact when I bought my present ride, oh so many years ago, I sort of thought that my next purchase just might plug in. Little did I know how slowly the technology would develop. I still think this has a lot to do with the premium which must be paid to enter the club. It must make economic sense as much as an emotional one for a society to make such a major transition.


Click this static image to visit the plugshare.com site.

Of course, things are a-changing, and eventually, I hope, a-charging! I had to look up to see about level 3 quick charges. At 20-30 minutes for a charge, people may be willing to modify their travel behaviours. If I could charge up while having lunch for example, I might be able to live with an all electric vehicle. Of course the infrastructure must be robust.

Out here on the upper part of the left coast, pursuing these options make sense. The weather is relatively mild and a vast amount of hydro-electricity is produced. Cars on a "smart grid" actually add to the potential energy of the region. If my car knew that I did not require a full charge until my morning commute, it'd be able to share its store of juice while my neighbour was cooking dinner. Welcome to the inevitable future.

Find out more by visiting www.westcoastgreenhighway.com.

Half Empty or Half Full?

It's easy to notice when things don't work out right. For example, it's always obvious when lining up at the grocery store, and the other queues move faster than the one I chose. On the other hand, when things go swimmingly, I don't make a big point of remembering that.

Here in BC, I always register my truck for an entire twelve months. Back when I brought the now-aging Ford Ranger into Canada, I had to register and insure it on November 18th. So, every year it comes due on this date as well. This time I will not need to re-insure it. I can just let it lapse until we return in March of 2013. I only lose about two weeks of paid coverage. In this case, things appear to have worked out well.

I did need to go and have the truck's emissions tested for the next registration though. I did that today. It is valid for two years on my vehicle, so I'll just present the paper when I return from Asia. I think the entire AirCare program, which has been running in this part of British Columbia for about 20 years, will close down at the end of 2014. It remains to be seen if I'll need to pay another $45 for this service again. If it turns out I need to renew in October 2014, then I'll miss the window by two and a half months. If that happens, then things won't have worked out as well.

Win some, lose some!

Lots in the Lots

For a majority of Canada of school age, this was the beginning of the new year. Yet, as my class doesn't run on Tuesdays or Thursdays, I didn't teach. I did drive into the Burnaby campus primarily to photocopy a few documents. As well I needed to leave a binder of teaching materials for a colleague.

I completed a summer course a few weeks ago and there were nearly no cars parked in the lots. I cannot help but compare the emptiness with this shot taken today!



I do have to add that the weather is fantastic today. In fact, it looks like the rest of the week is going to be clear and warm.