Connecting my satellite radio to my car that doesn't have an aux port

I have been working on an interesting challenge with my new car. It doesn't have an auxiliary (aux) port.

I have owned a SiriusXM satellite radio since my past car didn't have the app built in to the system. It requires an aux port to get the music going.

On Saturday, I managed to get it to work. My car has two USB ports. The one at the front makes Android Auto work. The other one is in the storage compartment next to me.

I managed to get an adapter that has one port for USB C charging and an aux port. This setup only works if I use the USB port on the dashboard and not the adapter.

Instead, I got a transmitter where you insert the audio plug into the aux port of my radio. It then becomes a Bluetooth device. I connect my car to it and I can play music. It works nicely.

The problem is that if I want to use Android Auto, I can't stream from my satellite radio. Android Auto does have the SiriusXM app, but I don't want to stream music as I drive.

So, the key is to use my GPS on my phone and connect my satellite radio as a bluetooth device from my car's console to play music. It's a nice workaround. It's simply a bummer that I can't have my GPS map displayed on my console and listen to music on my satellite radio simultaneously.

It's a minor inconvenience. I'm simply glad that I got my old satellite radio to work.

Cell phone didn't charge overnight

I plugged in my phone last night to charge. For some reason, I had 33% battery power this morning.

I don't know whether the USB cable is acting up or if my phone had overheated while I was asleep. Weird.

Luckily, I didn't have to go anywhere today, so it continued to charge at home. I typically don't go out on Sundays, so it all worked out nicely.

Give me Liberty!

It has finally arrived! My Womanizer Liberty is here!

It took a week longer to arrive. A COVID-19 outbreak happened at a Canada Post sorting facility, so extra precautions were taken.

The lilac looks prettier when I took it out of the packaging. I had to charge it. The instructions that came with the Liberty aren't complete, but how to pleasure yourself got to the point!

I'll let you know how happy I am soon!

Depleted battery on my Fitbit Alta leads to a new Versa Lite

I have had my Fitbit Alta for nearly three years. While in the Twin Cities, it died on me. It had a full charge the night before.

I worked with support. Sure enough, after a full charge, without any notifications or fancy, draining functionality, the battery depletes roughly 1.75 days later. It's supposed to last at least four days on a full charge.

Unfortunately, my Alta is no longer covered by the limited warranty. However, I do get a discount on my next device. It's a nice way to keep me as a customer.

I will get the Versa Lite and see how it goes. I get 40% off its regular price. Not too shabby!

Strong relationship with fond memories

Spending a  week with my guy has made us closer. We learned a lot about and from each other.

As an example, take driving in Dallas.

"There are u-turn lanes in this city," he said to me in the car, as he demonstrated.
"That's handy. It's less intimidating than doing it at a major intersection," I remarked.

On my last day in the city, my guy asked that I take some money out of his wallet to pay me for the dinner bill that I had taken care of the night before.

"It's weird to go into your wallet and take out money," I said, taking his wallet and giving it to him.
"It's okay. There's nothing in it," he said.
"That's true. We work for the same company, after all," I said.

Finally, we talked about our electric toothbrushes.

"We have the same electric toothbrush. I used my charger to charge yours today," I said.
"Thanks, sweetie," he said.
"No problem," I replied.
"What does it mean when the light turns red?" he asked me.
"It's means that you are brushing your teeth or gums too hard. You need to back off on the pressure," I replied.
"I see. That makes sense," he acknowledged.

Although our week together has come and gone, we have fond memories and a stronger relationship because of it.

Bounced car insurance payment and a $50 bill in the parking lot

Life works in mysterious ways.

My chequing account was short $6. My car insurance payment was supposed to automatically come out of that account. However, since there were insufficient funds, I ended up getting slapped with a $40 charge. It hurts, but I'm okay about it.

After a long day at work on Thursday, I walked out of the office and to my car. I was on hold with my car insurance company. Someone had called me, likely to follow up on my payment.

I was looking down at my phone, to make sure that the call was still ongoing. In the underground parking lot, I saw a $50 bill on the ground. I picked it up.

It's funny how things unfold in my life.

Electric and sporty cars

On Tuesday, I had to take an early morning teleconference, so I worked from home for most of the morning. I then left to pick up my guy at work for lunch.

I got there and waited. I didn't see my guy at all. I decided to text him when he was running twenty minutes late. He apologized and said that he would be downstairs soon.

While I was waiting in the parking lot, I noticed that there was a nervous guy in a Hyundai Ioniq car. He kept looking at the two cars that were parked in the charging spots. He took a look at the meters, took photos, texted on his phone, and more. 

He then moved his car in front of both cars. He went inside the office and came back out. He then moved his car.

I then saw my former boss with a colleague get into his Volvo electric car and pull out. I thought that perhaps the nervous guy was running out of juice and needed to charge his car. Nope, he pulled into the upstairs parking lot. Huh?

I was exhausted analyzing the whole situation. I went into the office to use the women's washroom for a change of scenery.

I walked over to my car. My guy was following suit.

"I'm so sorry," he said again.
"It's okay," I replied, as we both got into my car.
"Everything went wrong with the software, so I was trying to fix it," he noted.
"It's okay. You expect imperfections when you teach a new course," I said, squeezing his hand.
"I know," he said, smiling at me.

I drove us over to our Chinese restaurant. The ice storm did quite a number on it. The restaurant was still closed. We went back to the Afghani restaurant for lunch. Once again, I got salad dressing with dairy on my salad when I said that I didn't want it. Ugh!

It was a nice lunch chatting. My guy showed me a purple sportscar that he likes.

"Hey, it's purple," I noted.
"It is. I like it," he admitted.
"I like it, too. If you get it, you'll have to let me drive it. You'd be in my good books," I teased.
"We'll see," he said.
"That's a positive sign. Normally, you give me a firm no. I didn't get that. You're making progress!" I exclaimed.
"Maybe. We'll see," he smiled.

I enjoy teasing him about having me drive his car, even though he doesn't have this purple one. He knows it, too.

Costco.ca account hacked - fraudulent order

It is another episode of having my credit card compromised. Luckily, things end well.

On Monday evening, I was exercising on my glider and checking my e-mail on my phone. I noticed an e-mail alert from my costco.ca account saying that my account changes went through. That alert was odd. I haven't logged on to this account for at least a month.

I decided to give it a try. Sure enough, I had been hacked. My mailing address had changed, as did my phone number. My date of birth was wrong, too.

I immediately changed my password. I then went back and changed my contact information.

This person decided to order a Samsung Galaxy S9+ phone in lilac purple using the credit card that I had on file. It was a transaction just over $1200 CAD. The only positive thing that I can say is that I concur with the colour choice. That's about it.

I immediately cancelled my order. For the reason for cancelling this order, I stated that my account was hacked. Customer service was closed at 9 pm. I will need to call back during business hours.

I went over to my saved credit cards and deleted the lone credit card on file. I won't be saving any credit cards on this site going forward.

After all of that, I called my credit card company to inform it of this fraudulent charge. Naturally, I won't be charged. I also let the woman know that I had cancelled this horrible order. My credit card has now been cancelled. A new card will be coming my way.

It is sad that costco.ca does not have a fraud department or some after-hours line. I had called support, but it is for their products.

It's not fun being a victim of such an act. I am simply thankful that I acted quickly to undo everything.

Fiddling with an old BlackBerry from my past

A few years ago, I had a BlackBerry Bold as my cell phone. It was my phone for three solid years.

I am not a business-savvy person. I didn't sell it. Instead, it just sat there in a desk drawer.

A few months ago, I found it. I decided to charge the phone and see what it would do. It booted up fine, still remembering that I was last signed in on October 12, 2012.

The battery doesn't hold a charge all that well. At most, it lasts a full day without doing much. In the past, I could go four days of medium usage before I truly needed to charge it. Ah, the beauty of not having a touchscreen!

Last night, I decided to unlock the phone. You can do it for free. It works fine with my new current cell phone provider, except that my e-mail can't be fetched.

I decided to get a new battery for the phone. I should get it sometime this week in the mail.

As much as I love my Google Pixel phone, part of me likes the idea of having a smaller phone with only the basics that I need. The e-mail part doesn't work right now. It doesn't bother me. I am good with the phone and text messages working. If I truly need to use e-mail, I can always use the browser to access it.

It's sort of my side project to figure out what works and what doesn't with this phone these days.

The funny thing is that I also have an iPhone 3G. We'll see what I end up doing with that phone!

Parking next to my guy's car is comforting

I miss my guy.

On Friday, I went out for lunch with my colleagues. It was at an all-you-can-eat sushi place. Both my guy and I typically avoid such restaurants, for we don't enjoy overeating and wanting to nap for the rest of the day. However, I was pretty good about not going into a sushi coma. The variety was nice.

After we had finished eating at the restaurant, I drove three of my other colleagues back to the office. I got a free spot in the parking lot, which was next to my guy's car.

Even though he has been away for a week, I feel comforted parking my car next to his. It's good.

Last week, when I drove over to the restaurant to meet my guy for dinner, I couldn't find his car. I drive a blue car, so it's easy to spot. In contrast, he drives a white car, which is pretty common.

I tried calling him, but his cell phone was dead and needed charging. He is horrible at charging it, but has always remembered my trick of putting it in airplane mode to charge it faster on the plane.

He walked over to me, as he spotted me when I first drove into the restaurant's lot. We walked over a part of the parking lot with gravel. He instinctually grabbed my hand and wanted to make sure that I was okay.

I miss his natural sweetness of just being himself.

On a good note, I have my purple woolly stuffed plush that reminds me of him. I would miss him a lot more if I didn't have purple woolly to cuddle.

One week down. Two more to go before I see him again.