Customer Service Complaint

To:  Online Nanoleaf Shop, Canada 

Just a quick note reminding you and your company that because of Amazon Canada Prime, society has gotten a little spoiled by quick deliveries.  I was forced to order directly through your site because my product was not available on Amazon Canada.  I understood that nothing was going to happen with my order over the weekend.  Okay. I also realize that it is only Tuesday now!  However, I just want to state that waiting for an order is not the norm nowadays.  Having to wait, for even a few days without immediate gratification, makes any multiday delivery now feel like an eternity.  I read the guidelines for both your days until shipping, and the possible time while in delivery. They simply seem too long for 2026.  

I would have been willing to pay an extra 15% to have the Amazon guy do the job.  I would already be in possession of my product rather than checking multiple times to verify it still hasn't been shipped yet.

Just saying.  

BTW / I'm 66 years old and remember the days when a product used to take as long as mine is going to take.  It just seems like everybody else has moved ahead.  Please forward this message to all responsible company decision-makers.

Dennis Sylvester Hurd

---

Within an hour of sending that online form and publishing here I received a very well presented document. I replied immediately with this: 

I do have to commend you on your very quick response.  Just moments ago, I received a notification about my order's pending arrival though Canada Post, perhaps even tomorrow!   

Thanks for ensuring and confirming that this has happened.  I shall not worry about creating additional orders directly on your website in the future.  Your products have always been or particular interest and I'm pleased to know you work hard to ensure they get to their customers promptly. 

Dennis S. Hurd

Oh, Ooma!

I like their cheap service in order to keep a semblance of a landline. VOIP when we're home plus the app when away keeps us covered with a BC phone number/voice mail. 

The plastic used on the original Telo was of pretty poor quality. Although the unit still worked, after five years, we needed to replace it as the degrading plastic just got too ugly to clean. I got the TeloAir2 via Amazon a few weeks ago. 

Ooma must make specific instructions for those updating their devices. I kept putting off the procedure of the switchover because it sounded too damned difficult, especially with useless customer support people. They know a lot less about the devices than I do. Hey, the Ooma Installation app sucks too. In fact, it could not be used with my existing account. It did not accept my new device.

   

There would have been no trouble switching over if the procedure were clearly outlined ANYWHERE. 

1) Call customer support in the evening in order to add the new device to an existing account. 

2) Wait until morning to ensure your old device is no longer working. 

3) Check under the account online dashboard, under SERVICES / SYSTEM INFORMATION that the new device's MAC address matches the new unit. 

4) Plug into the router and visit http://172.27.35.1 in a web browser to set up the wifi and other parameters. 

5) Wait for updates until the light turns blue.

6) Continue using the new device to make and receive phone calls. 

Getting my new Ooma Telo running wasted a whole lot of my life this morning.

I Hate Yellowish August Days

When one started a sentence with, "It used to be," I thought I'd have to listen to an old curmudgeon. Perhaps that's still true; I don't know.



If this is the new normal here in British Columbia mark me down as being displeased. Today was a warm August day but I never had the chance to clearly see the sun. I'm sure our $1 solar balcony light will not stay alight for long this evening. The terrible forest wildfires are making these days awful. The air quality is horrendous.

Folks from this area put up with dreary dark winters and now only half of the summer season is clear with a blue sky. August days have now returned to smoke and darkness. Four or five years ago this was practically unheard of. Now for the second season in a row, the smoke and fires are negatively affecting the resident's lives. There's not a drop of rain in the foreseeable forecast.

It used to be ...

It Lasted a Whole Week and a Half!

It has seemed difficult lately making sure I get an entry posted here. Perhaps that's an alright thing.

Pretty soon, I'll be bragging about completing fifteen years of daily blog entries. My written content varies a lot. For example, I may write to remember the details of our travels or make comments about items I've bought. Sometimes, life is not stressful and there's not as much to share at all. That's definitely not a bad situation!

Today, I guess I could comment on something I bought, considering I have an interesting photo to go along with it. The device shown here is the wifi interface to the LED strip I recently installed on our balcony. Last night, when I asked Google Home to turn on the LED Strip, he insisted the lights were offline. I went outside to check and found the controller had melted although it had worked fine for a week and a half.

I'm sort of glad it wasn't installed in a flammable, inside location! Its short circuit could be a one-off for the cheap, Chinese component. However, it gives one hesitation about a similar replacement, doesn't it?

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.

Damn!

It'd been sitting by the gas fireplace for twenty years. Before that, the 2.5' vase spent two years in our rental apartment on Agnes Street. Prior to being in Canada, it had survived along with most of our possessions on a sea voyage in a container from Dubai. We bought the Iranian piece of pottery from Sharjah in the UAE in the mid-90's. Ceramic items used to arrive by dhow from Iran.

It now sits downstairs in a dumpster in five pieces.


Today, I was moving furniture so I could plug the Google Home Mini into a different location in the living room. I heard the familar object tip over and smash behind me.

Damn.

Guess, I'll Wait for the Japanese or Koreans ...

I saw my Telsa today. Well, I saw what would probably be as close to my Tesla as I'll actually get.



I felt a little freaky taking a photo with a lady in the driver's seat. I suppose one might be used to a little attention when driving a new car such as this.

I put $1000 Canadian down as a deposit to get on the reservation list for a Model 3 last fall. I knew it'd take 'em a year before they could produce one for me. Not having 1K in my bank means I had to forgo $20 of interest at today's sorry rates. That was okay.

Seeing one today prompted me to log on to the Tesla website. I'd not visited for a while and they will let me order mine now! However, delivery will still be six to nine months off because I want the cheaper 2-wheel drive option.



Wait. If I add the self-driving package, the total comes to over $76,000 w/o tax and they'd like a non-refundable $3,200 of it today! This was supposed to be the Tesla model for the masses but I think, perhaps, I'm not one of them.

Secrets are for Kids on a Playground

I need a new phone. I've been waiting for what seems like months to get the specs and pricing on a OnePlus 6. It will not be officially released until tomorrow, so other than hype, I've nothing to analyze. No, I don't want to fly to London in order to see the introduction of a new phone, no matter how wonderful it might be.

Perhaps it's me, but the marketing games that seem the norm nowadays are as annoying as hell. Is this how one must successfully launch a new product for millennials? I guess I'm too 'old school' but I still believe that a good product at a great price will always sell. It should not take silly special-events and long queues to release a new product. I find this modern game of withholding information for a big show both irksome and demeaning to the brand doing so.

Mastodon is Free and Open Source

My Facebook account data is scheduled to disappear today. I am too afraid to try to login though. During a two week grace period before deletion if one enters the site, the request is abandoned. I don't want to risk it yet. I will give it a few more days to ensure my information, stretching back twelve years, is really, really gone.

#DeleteFacebook
Letting go of the pervasive social network has been a satisfying and humbling experience. I never followed FB fake news, but honestly I feel much better having gotten rid of FB fake friends. I mean, humans were not wired to maintain close, day-in-and-day-out contact with more than a couple of dozen people. Being bombarded with a manipulated 'news feed' from hundreds of people and millions of companies is simply not normal. Moreover, I can pin most of the blame on my friends for participating in stupid online quizzes and reposting non-stop links to prove their political views. That is what killed Facebook for me.

I've become a bit more of an advocate for free and open Internet, not for corporate data ownership and manipulation. I realize my tastes are far too nerdy for an average Joe. However, Mastodon is my new infatuation. It harkens back to Internet roots and even manages to hint at the pre-Internet days of computer BBSing.



If you are truly interested in learning more, drop me an email. My new encrypted address is located on my blog's contacts page. Perhaps I can help you get set up in the 'Fediverse'.

Facebook Account Deletion

I have decided to give up my Facebook account.

I never thought of the social-media site as for anything other than sharing personal news and a way to catch up with acquaintances.  I was active from 2006.  Unfortunately, it seemed as if participating was becoming more and more difficult and ultimately the site had become much less personally satisfying.  

I will continue to post a daily blog entry here as I've been doing since 2003.  However, it is now clearly time for me to move on.

We Interrupt This Blog for a Commercial Announcement

Day 77 - I hadn't thought about visiting 'KIA Malaysia' to learn about the Niro PHEV here. For all I know, they might be more forthcoming than 'KIA Canada' has been.

I've been trying for a few weeks to get some info from the headquarters in the Great White North. My local BC dealership hasn't been able to provide me with any information yet. The car, in question, has been selling in the US from the beginning 2018, but it has nary a mention on www.kia.ca. No teasers. Nothing. It's as if it doesn't exist.

Today, I may have figured out why. It seems the 'Canadian International Auto Show' in Toronto is coming up. This Friday, it opens and the new PHEV version of the Niro will be announced there. This must be why they have been so tight-lipped.

In today's world of the Internet, such promotional stunts seem increasingly counterproductive. I've been scouring the Internet for the last two months and watching first-hand accounts by a particular Danish owner since last year! It's not easy listening to the guy, but I'm a real trooper. He has many more 'views' than the KIA corporation does on this vehicle. A company should make learning about its products as easy as possible.

An auto show is hardly a necessary premier event in today's global car market, even less so in a country with a geography such as Canada's. It is plain silly to withhold information from potential customers who are unable to make it to an event in Ontario. Dumb, eh?

Shopping Should Be Easy

I find myself shopping for sandals, again. That really doesn't make me very happy as I bought a pair less than a year ago uptown. I really hadn't heard of the Khombu brand but they looked fine and the price was right. As it turns out, they are crap. I've resorted to a whole stick of glue and the glue-gun to keep them together temporarily. They probably represent the worst experience with footwear I've ever had. However, sandals are important to me for we often spend a lot of a typical year in places suitable for their use. I will soon need a good pair while traversing Greek islands.

I know exactly what I want. Let me buy a pair of Keen Men's Orroyo II, size 8, in black olive and Bombay brown, please.



Shopping should be easier here. My only option is to cough up list price on the Keen Canada site. I simply cannot find a cheaper option on this side of the border. The local SportsChek doesn't seem to carry my desired model of Keens. Mountain Equipment Coop doesn't carry the colours I want. The Canadian version of Amazon doesn't have any bargains at all and, unfortunately, there are few other viable, online shoe-store options here.

I've never had to spend the equivalent of over $US 100 for a pair of sandals before. Yet, it looks as though I am probably going to have to.

Our Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card

Some places on the Net today were all agog about Amazon's primeday. You'd think it was, well, Christmas or something.

I carry an Amazon Canada Rewards Visa card primarily because it does not impose any foreign transaction fees on foreign purchases. Having one is very handy for us. For example, I recently added the Amazon card to our Holland America shipboard accounts as they're are always kept in US dollars. I won't get dinged an extra 2.5% as with most every other Canadian credit card.


But I can think of one place where the technically savvy behemoth could concentrate. Well, I guess, in actuality, it is Chase Canada which much move into the modern era. Although I love the card there is no way to turn off paper billing! This is no longer 1987, guys. Get your act together.

Changes - Day 119

A little by accident, I looked up our returning flights on the Emirates website. Something didn't match up with my Google calendar.

We are planning to leave Luxor next month on the 14th. We're going to fly from Luxor to Cairo to connect with a flight to Tunis. We purchased these tickets as a one-way flight from here. You see, we'd already booked our return to Vancouver from Tunisia. Having to backtrack to Dubai to catch the direct flight to Seattle seems a bit out of the way, but hey, we have the time!

I noticed that Emirates has done away with the Wednesday departures from Tunis. This was the selected day of our flight. So, they had warnings of an itinerary change on our booking and had rebooked for the next day, well most of the flights. They'd not made the change to our flight back to Vancouver from Seattle.

Rather than extending the stay in Tunis, we decided to depart a day earlier. Getting the change required calling an office and speaking to agents. I could get no help online. I am not sure how to dial Cairo from here which is our the local office. I used Skype. We are all set up now for an arrival back home on April 20th.

Still Without Passenger Side Low Beam

I'm not a Walmart hater. I think having a store in the Queensborough part of my town is great. The benefits of having it in town far outweigh the negative social consequences. In fact, I am a bit disappointed in the seeming lack of progress in opening the uptown express outlet.

That said, I must admit to having walked away disappointed more times than I can shake a stick at. As is often the case, today, the one item I went expressly for was out of stock.


I did return home with the tiny, Swiss Army Knife I'd been looking for. I also left the store today with a package of six, new Fruit of the Looms, so I guess I ended up as a happy camper.

I Hate This Tiny Keyboard!

Ugh! I'm typing this on my little Acer and maintain they had no right selling this under-powered netbook with Windows 8. I literally have to plan minutes ahead before opening a program. I have time for an entire Japanese tea ceremony before I can get work done here, even in Chrome.


Alas, the hard disk in the wide-screen Toshiba died today. I have had a near uncountable number of hard disks dating back to 1986 and I don't think I ever had one go bad on me. I probably should have known that there was a problem due to the extremely slow boots of late. Hindsight is 20/20.

I really thought that I had hit a run of good luck when I remembered a mobile drive from an old laptop in my cupboard. When I tossed an old Acer with a bad screen, I took out the hard drive before recycling. I was thinking in terms of data privacy more than spare parts. I thought I'd saved myself $60 when I found it. There was an extra adapter on it so I thought the connectors were different but the guy in a new computer repair place on 6th, showed me that I could just pull it off with a little force.

I came back all happy, but after plugging in the old drive, which should contain Windows 7, the laptop says "No Bootable Media". Darn. Windows 10 would be headed to both inoperative drives in just a few more weeks -- for free. Now, I have to go through a lot of rigmarole getting an operating system on a new drive. I think I have some Windows 7 CDROMs but they most probably were all upgrade disks requiring a working OS on the computer.

Sigh.

Another Sign of the Times

I was up at the library when I spotted a section with maps. I noticed a 'BC Road Map & Parks Guide' among the local ones. I like opening up a paper map to get a general, gestalt view. Maps on a screen just don't seem to allow that sort of three foot overview which I sometimes miss.

We might take a trip this month. There are a number of maps in the truck but I'm not sure whether I have this particular one anymore. I spread it open on the coffee table when home and it was exactly what I wanted.


For Free Distribution Only --- Once Upon a Time
I wondered if I could order one from BC tourism and found on their website that these road maps are available only at BC Visitors Centers. So, I called up the closest one, which is now in the Anvil Centre, our downtown Civic Centre in New Westminster. The girl acknowleged that she, indeed, had some and that they were now only $5. "Five dollars? They used to be free," I complained. She said, "Well $5.35 actually, with taxes."

Why do I get the feeling the whole world is now set up to nickel and dime me to death?

New Skytrain Shouting an Annoyance

Living in a building which is attached to the Vancouver Skytrain system has many advantages. I love being able to jump in a train and get to downtown Vancouver in a half hour. This means my truck often stays parked in my stall.


The Skytrain system has grown since we bought the apartment. We were here before the Millennium Line was built. This means that roughly twice as many trains pass through everyday. The biggest concern is noise. Once trains were slowed down in the approaching tunnel to mitigate noise for our building. That trouble been compounded over the summer as now non-essential announcements are being added to the mix. Reminders such as warnings to leave the doors clear are very audible even when my windows are shut tightly.

I am not sure what prompted the addition of these "friendly messages" this year but I fail to see that they are going to enhance rider safety. They didn't seem to be necessary for the last 16 years! For a few recent months this shrill advice occurred about once an hour. Today, I heard that they've increased by several fold. It is impossible to get any meaningful action through Translink Customer Service. The problem always is trying to pin down someone within the organization that can actually help.

This is a fix that is going to require a little more force. I think I will have to get my apartment building and the City of New Westminster involved.

Oh, Bell.ca! This Ain't 1990.

We have never been hooked on reality TV. Well, there is a notable exception. We've watched every season of The Amazing Race. I'm only going to make an entry about this today because I'm a bit peeved.

We didn't set the timer on the Bell ExpressVu PVR in time and subsequently missed the first episode. No problem, we thought. We'll just use the media server PC and watch directly from CTV (the Canadian Television Network) as they are the show's distributors here. We fired up the browser and when we tried to watch we were asked which service provider we used. It couldn't be skipped. Therefore, I had to go to the PC and figure out my Bell.ca logon. Even after entering and being 'accepted', we were given a warning that we'd not set up something or other for authorized viewing. Networks really don't get it, do they?

I promptly logged into a VPN. Now my IP appears to be somewhere in California. I am watching via the United States CBS website.


Oh media conglomerates, you are dinosaurs and I cannot wait until you are dead!

When What Freezes Over?

I knew shipping over the holidays might take a while. UPS even had a holiday on the first of the year. Yet, I didn't quite think it'd take THIS long to get my phone. I ordered an Nexus 5 phone directly from Google Play's Canadian website on Boxing Day.



It'll have been 13 days tomorrow, if it gets here by then! I sort of understand how buying online can suck a little, now. This experience has certainly not been for those without patience!