Picking Up Speed

This week we got our high speed internet upgraded.  For many years we have had the high speed basic at 1.5Mb/sec, and we got it upgraded to 10Mb/sec.  The speed test showed we have 10.3 Mb/sec download and 850 kb/sec upload (advertised as 800 kb/sec.)     These data rate units are kilobits per second and megabits per second.  A byte is 8 bits, but to get the effective download speed for a given file size it is easier to estimate by dividing by ten.   For example on the upgraded internet a 60 MB file downloads in about a minute.    

One of the noticeable differences has been with my iPad.  I have National Geographic and Popular Science subscriptions which are huge downloads.  June issue of NG was 259 MB and PS was 517 MB.  With our basic internet the National Geographic download would come to a standstill and timeout on an error.  After the upgrade it down loaded in about 6 minutes.    

We are also looking forward to trying out the faster internet with Skype.  We were getting a faster internet service and better connection on Skype on my iPad using Elaine's iPhone as a hotspot on 3G at Waskesiu, than on our basic internet at home.  

We have come a long way since our first dial up modem at 300 baud (comparable to bits per second.)   It took  about 5 minutes to fill one screen of text.  We then moved up to 2400 bits/sec and then to 56k bits/sec before finally going to the basic high speed.  We must have had more patience in those days. 

High Tech Breathing

I have been using a respiratory ventilator at night for over 5 years since I was in hospital in 2007.   I had respiratory failure from high CO2 buildup in my blood.  I have had several blog posts about this, and have been using the same model of ventilator at home each night since I was in the hospital.  

For the last 5 years I have used a Phillips Respironics PLV-100  ventilator set for respiratory volume assist/control.   This ventilator model is out of date and no longer supported by the manufacturer.  It is a simple and reliable machine, sometimes with a few clunks, honks and rattles, but it just keeps puffing along.   The family says I sound like a steam engine.  It is a pretty rugged machine and I told the respiratory therapist it looks like it was designed to mount in the back of an army truck.

Then earlier this year we got the news that the provincial health department  had approved the purchase of new ventilators.  Mine came yesterday and the respiratory therapist was here to get me going using it.

 The new machine is a Covidien Puritan Bennett 560  ventilator which is the latest technology.   I used it for the first time last night.  I woke up after sleeping one hour and then had some trouble getting used to the new machine before sleeping and waking several more times.  After being used to the feel and sound of the old machine it takes some getting used to sleeping with the new one. 

The old ventilator we called a "steam engine" with the sound of a large piston  cycling back and forth with each breath.  The new machine has  a variable speed micro turbine that has a varying higher pitched whirring  sound with each breath.  The feel of the breathing cycle is different as well.  Hopefully tonight will be better as I get used to it.

One big advantage of the new ventilator  is that it is much lighter to take with us when we travel.  It just has a zippered soft  case with a shoulder strap for carrying.  The old one had a large heavy steel framed shipping case.  Not having to take the old heavy ventilator in and out when we travel will make Elaine very happy.  We will get to try out the new ventilator when we go away for the upcoming long weekend.
 

  

Anniversary Travelling

Elaine and I are away on a holiday for a few days at Waskesiu  for our anniversary.  We arrived last evening and today is our 35th anniversary.  It was raining when we arrived on Sunday evening and still light rain this morning, but this afternoon the sun came out through the clouds and we had a wonderful time touring around in the area.

One of the most beautiful places we were at this afternoon was the Waskesiu River where it comes out of Waskesiu Lake.  Here we are on the bridge on the walking trail.  Elaine went around the nature trail while I stayed and enjoyed the scenery and watched the waterfowl in this area.

This picture is looking up the Waskesiu River from the walking bridge.  The still water nearer the bridge was reflecting the trees and sky, with the rapids farther up river roaring in the distance.

 
After we got back from an afternoon of touring around we had dinner at a nice restaurant for our anniversary.   After dinner the sun was setting over the lake.  This picture is the view from the front of our suite. 

Beautiful Day in the Park

We had a beautiful sunny day today with a temperature high of 20C.   This is the nicest day we have had yet this spring.  This afternoon we went up to the start of the bike path in the northwest of the city and Elaine had her first bike ride of the season. I drove down to meet her at some places along the path.  Then she loaded the bike in the van and we drove to Wascana Park and went to Pine Island. 

There were a lot of people out in the park enjoying the nice day.   The picture is from the upper level on Pine Island.  The place I usually take pictures across the lake is from the walkway below.   

Elaine was happy to be out at the park on such a nice day. 

"This is the face I made when my picture was taken."  Actually I think I was just saying something when the picture was taken.   Aside from my expression I was also very much enjoying being out in the park.

Victoria Trip

We are home after our trip to Victoria last week.  This week we are slowly resting up and recuperating from colds we had while there.  We didn't do as much touring around  and picture taking as other trips there in 2006 and 2010, partly due to our colds and also because the weather was quite cool and rainy.   We took Elaine's parents, who had never been on the island before, and had rented a van that Chris drove to take them with us on some sight seeing around the area.   The main pleasure of the trip was seeing how much they enjoyed it.  They never would have ventured on a trip like this on their own at their age.

  Viewing the sights from Mount Tolmie

"The Twins"  - 3 generation picture at Chris and Maryanne's apartment

On Friday we went for lunch at the Oak Bay Marina.  This combined picture shows us at the table with the view from the window on the right. 

Touring at Fisherman's Wharf.  Friday was the nicest day for touring with some blue sky showing through. 

We had good flights home on Saturday and arrive safely but quite tired from our colds.    Elaine's parents left from here yesterday to go back to the farm by bus.   We enjoyed the trip but it was still good to get home again.

 

Basement Flooring

We had our basement flooring installed today over 2 weeks ahead of the original schedule they gave us.   So we are quite excited to have it done before we go away on our trip (March 10-17.)   The 3 installers arrived  about 8 AM this morning and were all done by about 3 PM.   We ordered Tarkett Fiberfloor in a Cherry Spice wood grain pattern.  It is similar to a thicker vinyl flooring but instead of a felt backing it has an inner layer of fiberglass and a water proof and mould resistant foam backing.   After final measurements 2 installers went back to the shop to cut the flooring pieces while one installer was finishing up filling cracks and small holes in the concrete floor.  We had investigated laminate flooring originally but it would have need much more extensive leveling of the concrete floor. And our stairs would have been a major problem to put laminate on the way they were built.

We got the same flooring all the way from the bedroom at one end through the family room and the hall and closet and storage room to the bathroom at the other end.  We had chosen the paint colours to coordinate with the flooring colour.  We are very happy about how it turned out.

The same flooring was installed on the stairs along with nickel-plated metal nosings.  The picture shows the before and after for the stairs.   How well it would go on our type of stairs that were in rough shape was one of the reasons we chose this flooring. 

Now that the flooring is in we can get the toilet and vanity/sink installed in the bathroom.  The plumber said he can come next week.   And the electrician will be back maybe tomorrow to install more light fixtures.   The work is now into the home stretch ....

Basement Renovations in Full Colour

The painting is now completed for our basement renovations.  The painting was done by the same person who did the drywall finishing.

The bedroom is "Winter's Eve" blue.  The closet is white, as are all the ceilings, and we will have white baseboards and trim.   

The family room colour is called "Kangaroo."  The door to the right is the bedroom and to the left is a storage room.  

 The bathroom is "Caliente" red which contrasts with the white bath fixtures.  There is also a white alcove that the vanity and sink will be built into, as well as white baseboards and trim.      

Painting the stairwell was the biggest job.   This picture is looking up toward the ceiling at the top.  It is about 10 feet up from the top of the stairs or about 18 feet up from the bottom of the stairs.  The painter used two ladders with planks between them to paint up there. And he did it again today for a second coat.   It is amazing to have that done!

We are very excited to have the painting completed and very pleased how good a job the painter did.  It makes the completion of our renovation project seem so much closer.  The flooring is on order and scheduled for installation after mid-March.   The electrician is scheduled to come tomorrow to replace our breaker panel with a new larger one for the extra circuits that were added.   And the work continues .....

One Month To Go

We have one month to go until we travel to Victoria to visit Maryanne and Chris.  We will be there for a week March 10th to 17th and this time we are taking Elaine's parents with us.  Elaine has wanted to take her parents to Victoria for a while and when she mentioned it to them they just kept saying "Well we'll be thinking about it."  Then a few weeks ago we just bought the tickets and told them the arrangements are all made.  They will take the bus here and then fly together with us.  We are pretty excited about our upcoming trip.

This picture is of Elaine and I at Willows Beach on our last trip to Victoria in March 2010.