One summer afternoon on English Bay Beach

English Bay Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia

18" x 24" oil painting on canvas

Coyote in Mississauga

A few years ago when I was on my evening walk, I saw a Coyote running alongside the trees, 

and it disappeared into the forest

Further down the trail fifteen minutes later, it suddenly appeared

Not sure if it was a coyote or a coywolf but it was great seeing it!

Coyote in Mississauga

14"x 18" oil painting on canvas

When the EPC and Check Engine lights come on, here's how I save lots of time and money

Here's how to save hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars (depending on who's fixing your car) 

This should work with any car that has an ECU

The EPC (Electronic Power Control) light came on the other day on the Audi A3, and I'd like to find out why, without spending a lot of time & hundreds of dollars with the dealer

I have an Android mobile phone, so I got the OBD2 diagnostic scanner for Android from Amazon 

Since it was a little difficult to remove the scanner from the port underneath the dashboard, I also bought a cable from Amazon

This is where you plug in the cable

Start the car

Get the Torque Pro app from Google Play

Turn on Bluetooth on your phone

Disconnect your car audio Bluetooth profile and connect to the OBD2 Torque profile instead.

I've configured a profile for the Audi A3, and now I can see engine parameters in real-time, for example the Revs/engine rpm shown below

Scan for faults 

It's that pesky pedal position sensor performance problem again!

I just replaced these two components five months ago

spending lots of money with my previous mechanic who's busy fixing Range Rover, Porsche & Ferrari, and has no time to return my phone calls.
Could that have been a misdiagnosis?
Here are some common problems that trigger the P0221 error code

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Using the app, you can go online and get more info on the problem if you like

Select the option to clear fault codes

Turn off and start the car, and do another scan

Instead of providing large owners manuals that occupy so much space in the dashboard, 

I think car manufacturers should provide car owners with inexpensive tools such as these which can be used to perform simple on-board diagnostics, and troubleshooting. 

But they won't do that, because they won't be able to take money from you!

Would love to hear your experiences with your car, your car dealer and mechanic, especially if you own an Audi
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Cracking open Macadamia Nuts

These nuts are native to Australia.

Without this tool that thankfully came along with the nuts, it's difficult to crack the shell and remove the seed.

Besides human beings, the Hyacinth Macaw, which is a large parrot, is probably the only other creature that can crack open a Macadamia nut!

Painting Pronghorn in the Canadian Prairies

While waiting for the English Bay beach painting to dry up, my mind drifted away to the Canadian Prairies where we saw Pronghorn roaming wild and free! 

Though they look like antelope, they are more closely related to the giraffe and okapi family. 

They are the fastest land mammal in the Western hemisphere, second to the now extinct American Cheetah

Pronghorn in the Prairies

18" x 24" oil painting