All posts by Paul Cipywnyk

Business, Technology

Slow-Charging Samsung? Swap Cables

My Samsung S3 has been charging extremely slowly for awhile now. I can leave it plugged in overnight, and it will show only a 40-45% charge in the morning.

And I replaced the battery recently.

Searching online shows that many folks have resolved this by using a different USB cable — apparently the phone can sense if there’s any problem with a cable and will draw less if it thinks a cable is damaged.

If that doesn’t solve the problem, others say to try a new charger. I’ve got lots of USB chargers and cables around, so will try the different cable solution first, and if that doesn’t do anything, try a different charger.

UPDATE: An hour after I began writing this post, and, er, obviously before I posted it — my phone is apparently fully charged. The different cable, on first blush, appears to have solved the issue.

Business, Photography, Society, Streamkeeping

Burnaby Unveils Refurbished Citizens’ Plaza

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I attended the “Official Dedication and Unveiling of the New Commemorative Paving Stones at Citizen’s Plaza” at Burnaby City Hall today.

It was a lovely, sunny, autumn day, with a congenial crowd of local volunteers, City staff, and politicians. In addition to the unveiling of redone commemorative paving stones (they’d faded over the years), the event was also an opportunity to recognize several Burnaby Citizen of the Year Kushiro Cup award recipients, inductees to the Burnaby Business Hall of Fame, and the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame. These awards had been presented at previous events, but it was nice for recipients to get another round of public appreciation.

The event was combined with an Open House at City Hall, and many City departments had displays.

Burnaby Citizens' Plaza
People checking out commemorative paving stones

Burnaby Aft Gallery display
Burnaby Art Gallery booth

Sheep eco-sculpture
Burnaby has an ongoing eco-sculpture program. There were several sheep on display in readiness to be planted for the upcoming Year of the Ram (Sheep)

Burnaby Fire Department
Burnaby Fire Department presence

Burnaby RCMP booth
Burnaby RCMP booth

Burnaby volunteer monument
Monument in City Hall garden commemorating volunteers

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers founders paving stones
Paving stones commemorating the four founding members of the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers

Society, Streamkeeping, Sustainability

Speaking On Burnaby’s Watersheds in Local History Series

Burnaby History lecture seriesI’ll be speaking about streamkeeping, and how these volunteers help to protect and restore Burnaby’s waterways. I’ll be supplementing a presentation by Elmer Rudolph, a long-time volunteer who has amazing knowledge of the history of the decline, and restoration, of the Brunette River. This is part of the Burnaby Neighbourhood History series sponsored by the Burnaby Village Museum and Burnaby Public Libraries, and I encourage you to register for this, and other sessions, here.

Camping, Hiking, Nature, Photography, Travel

Whidbey Island Camping

Whidbey Island in Washington State has become one of our favorite camping destinations. There are several state parks on the island, which, depending on time at the border, takes about two-and-half to three hours to reach from our home in Burnaby, BC.

Deception Pass State Park west beach
Yumi scanning the ocean at Deception Pass State Park west beach

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Seal pup on rocky outcropping near the west beach at Deception Pass State Park

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Sunset at Deception Pass State Park west beach

deception_pass_lock_20140914 Interesting patterns on parks pass lockbox

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Love the grainy detail on the handle on a beach BBQ box

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The wharf at Coupeville, a funky town mid-island

Deception Pass campground
Our campsite at Deception Pass State Park.

We’ve grown to love Whidbey Island ever since we “discovered it” several years ago. Lots of nature, wonderful state parks, lovely beaches, a variety of wildlife, yet all accompanied by easy access to groceries, shopping, etc.

And the state parks are quiet. We marvel at how even on busy weekends campers are near totally silent by 9:30 and definitely by the 10:00 pm quiet time.

Photography, Society, Streamkeeping

Alta Vista Community Picnic in South Burnaby Great Fun

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The Alta Vista Park Community Picnic in South Burnaby is always a great event. It’s truly a community gathering, and the organizers are excellent.

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers have participated for many years, and it’s one of our favourite events.

Some photos from yesterday:

Alta Vista Park Picnic - Streamkeeepers
Byrne Creek Streamkeepers booth

Alta Vista Park Picnic - Pols and Orgnaizers
Organizers with local politicians

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Arts and crafts

Alta Vista Park Picnic - Fire TruckBurnaby Fire Department

Alta Vista Park Picnic - Mini GolfMini golf

Alta Vista Park Picnic - Air Guitar ContestAir guitar contest led by the popular band Rainshadow

Food, Nature, Sustainability

Mason Bee Condo Destroyed in Burnaby Park

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Someone destroyed a mason bee condo that my wife and I volunteer to take care of in Ron McLean Park in SE Burnaby, BC.

Mason bees are beneficial pollinators and are no threat to anyone.

This is so sad. I cannot comprehend such wanton destruction. There was even a sign that explained the program, and that mason bees are no threat to anyone.

I am including the “food” category in this blog, because without pollinators like mason bees, we would have little or no fruit and many vegetables.

Mason Bee condo destroyed in Burnaby

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Nature, Photography, Travel

Lovely Day on Duffy Lake Road Loop in BC

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Gorgeous day today on the Duffy Lake Road loop. Burnaby > Whistler > Pemberton > Lillooet > Lytton > Hope > Burnaby.

I try to do this loop at least once every couple of years. You can do it fairly comfortably in a day, with several stops here and there along the way.

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Duffy Lake
Duffy Lake

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Seton Lake

cayoosh_creek_bugs_2_20140912 Cool beetle near Cayoosh Creek

Spruce Sawyer, I’m told. That looks right.

cayoosh_creek_bugs_20140912Lots of big aquatic bugs in Cayoosh Creek

Google Map of Duffy Lake road loop

Google Maps has the trip at 580km and about 8 driving hours

Technology

Celebrating Completion of Trials on New Computer

Well, I’ve been chipping away for over a week on getting my latest tower computer up and running. It’s a Windows 8.1 box, which has taken some getting used to.

But all my programs and apps are on it. My documents, my music, my photos, and my videos are on it. It’s driving the dual 24- and 20-inch monitor setup properly now, as one extended desktop.

So it’s become my main squeeze, next to the wife : -).

The old, getting progressively more flaky, Windows 7 box is still running just in case I’ve forgotten something, but it’ll soon be gone.

So I’m celebrating the transition with a second glass of wine, and Buddy Guy cranked on the speakers — within neighbour tolerance, of course. . .

Technology

Slowing Down New Mouse

I got a new Microsoft Wireless Mobile 4000 mouse today. It was on sale at NCIX for $19.99, down from $34.99. I had an old USB mouse plugged into my Windows 8.1 box, but the cable was short in relation to the somewhat awkward placement of the tower.

The new wireless mouse alleviates that problem — I can put it anywhere on my computer desk, or side desks. And despite the “mobile” moniker, it’s about halfway in size between a typical desktop mouse and a portable laptop mouse.

I like the size, because with my moderately large hands, I can cup the mouse so that my wrist, thumb and two smallest fingers actually rest on the desk. Feels nice and solid, and hopefully proactive against potential carpal issues.

The only problem that I had was that the mouse pointer was zipping around like a squirrel on speed hiding nuts when there was hint of frost in the air. So I delved into the Control Panel, and sure enough there was a mouse pointer speed adjustment. I cranked it down several notches, and now I feel like I’m back in control.

UPDATE later today: I’ve also discovered that this mouse is sensitive to the mousepad, which in my case is one that has a bunch of little photos printed onto it. If I move the mouse to a solid-colored surface, it’s much less jumpy.