27 Jul 10 “Landed” (got my permanent residence) in Canada

So today we got our passports back from Seattle. Picked ‘em um at the Letterlock in Abbotsford and drove straight to the border (Sumas crossing) to leave and re-enter Canada.

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03 Jul 10 My new (old) car!

Bought 2003 Toyota Corolla LE (107000 km) at AutoLiquidation.ca. Got it for $6435 minus the $500 I got for my old 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier. So I paid $5935. It has been fixed for $8000 after an accident. Let’s see how far this one takes me!

From My Toyota Corolla

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19 Jun 10 The one-week-fix of the BP mess

Okay it’s getting annoying now so for the first time I thought about a solution myself. Since there’s no textbook solution, it seems that you need some fantasy to fix this mess FAST!

So what I don’t know is: What does it look like down there? Is it a pipe sticking out of the ground? How much of it sticks out?
What seemed most reasonable to me was heavy equipment down there. So I imagined dropping a tank (heavy, solid and reliable) first. No, not just dropping it hoping it would land on the leaking pipe, of course! You can just place it somewhere close to the site. Then I thought maybe an excavator would be better since it’s also heavy and already has hydraulic pumps and stuff on board to power attachments needed at the site. And finally I came up with this idea: A one week plan to design and build a whole new machine specifically for this job! Not doable? I would say that although it seems hard it is possible with the right people involved. The design doesn’t have to be pretty or sophisticated. Weight doesn’t matter nor its looks. So designing would only take one day. Yes, including blueprints ready to be sent out to the shops. The parts have to be done in 5 days and the assembly in the final day. Tough job but as I said, with the right people you can do this! I’m a machinist and I see funny things sometimes. So the design has to be done by people who also know how to machine parts. Reasonable tolerances and machinable design. It can save DAYS not just a few hours in machining time if the design is right.
Keep it as simple as possible. All you need is a big frame with 4 wheels on it. Maybe an independent suspension or maybe no wheels at all are necessary. I don’t know what it looks like down there. Perhaps you can just place that frame next to the leaking pipe. A battery powered electric motor powering the hydraulic system for basically every function of the vehicle.
Don’t you think that with a massive machinery at the site down there it would be easy to work on this pipe? You’ll have a steady piece of equipment to cut the pipe and mount whatever you want to stop the oil flow!

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05 May 10 How to program Telus (Cisco AT6400) remote

It says it all in the booklet but I couldn’t find it and was totally screwed when the remote suddenly stopped working with the TV.
I have an Insignia HDTV and although there’s a code for it (1437) in the User Guide, it didn’t work! I then found the auto-search feature and it worked!
This search code works for the TV and the DVD mode.
So for the TV you first turn on the TV, then press and hold the TV mode key. While holding the TV mode key also press and hold the OK key. Release both keys and all the mode keys blink twice. Enter 922 by pressing the numeric keys on the remote. The TV mode key blinks twice to indicate a successful entry. Point the remote toward the TV and press play. I had to hold it to make it work. Once the TV turns off press Enter (at the bottom right). So this worked for me. Now I wanted to control the Power button for both the set-top-box (receiver/PVR) and the TV at once. To do this you have to press the STB mode key on the remote. Without releasing the STB mode key, press and hold the OK key. Release both keys and all mode keys blink twice. Enter the programming code 977. The STB mode key blinks twice. For the deconf device, press the applicable mode key (TV, DVD or AUX). The selected mode key blinks twice. You can select all three (TV, DVD or AUX) devices. Press Enter top complete the power switch control programming. The last selected mode key blinks three timesto indicate a successfull entry.