Yesterday in the Greater Toronto Area, we broke a new temperature high, reaching a scorching 37+ºC.
This morning we woke up to a smoky sky, with barely any sunlight touching the ground. Truly creating an apocalyptic atmosphere. Apparently, the smoke is from Northern Ontario, where it is haunted by many forest fires.
I took my camera and snapped this gloomy photo from our backyard.
In recent years, I find myself closely following geopolitical topics, such as global conflicts, trade disputes and wars, and international trade. I want to explore not just the what and how, but also the why certain things happen and the parties’ motivation behind their actions.
The journey of trying to understand the above helps to frame my own mind so that I can properly make my own judgements on how effective a government is in managing its resources and assets, to either positively or negatively impact the lives of its constituents, the quality of life of an average citizen.
I have discovered certain YouTube channels that in my view continue to educate me on these matters. On this post, I like to share two YouTube videos that I find very educational.
The first one describes the underlying financial mechanism that allows global trade of goods can be settled and respective currencies can be transferred and the excess stored.
The second one is a discussion with Louis-Vincent Gave (CEO, Gavekal). They explore today’s conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and how it impacts oil prices, and the secondary and tertiary impacts to global economy. LVG has been a favourite of mind. He runs a consulting and investment company head quartered in Hong Kong and has a very informative view on the financial activities inside China and its neighbours.
If you share similar interests, enjoy the above videos.
In a previous post, one of our two SolarEdge inverters encountered an error and one quick fix is to reset the inverters. This year we had a similar issue.
Three days ago, our solar system encountered a grid voltage issue. Our XWPro inverter was in AC PassThru mode causing the SolarEdge inverters to detect the same grid issue. Our solar system is AC coupled. With XWPro handling grid-tied net metering, and battery charging and discharging, and SolarEdge for solar energy generation.
This grid event cause both SolarEdge inverters to go into a “Grid Profile Limit” mode where its AC output was limited to around 100W. When I reset both inverters through the main breaker panel, one recovered while the other continue with the limited output behaviour. To fix the second one, I had to perform a hard reset on the inverter. Below are the steps needed.
First I had to switch off the inverter at position A, and then turn off the DC disconnect at position B. I then had to switch off the breaker on the main panel.
The important part is to wait 5 to 10 minutes to wait for the inverter to discharge for the full reset to happen.
Once the time has passed, perform the action in reverse. Turn back on the breaker, the DC disconnect (B), and then finally turn back on the inverter (A).
Luckily after this hard reset procedure, the second SolarEdge inverter has been fully restored with normal operation.
Today we had fun at our first shooting range in Canada. A friend of ours was kind enough to arrange a group outing at Target Sports Canada. They offered an unlicensed shooting experience of groups between 2 to 5 people.
The whole experience was about 2 hours. The registration was very simple. After about 30 minutes of orientation, we got prepped with glasses and ear protection and went into the shooting range.
The range was safe and organized. We ended up shooting a rifle, a shotgun, a 9mm hand gun and a 45 Colt 1911. I cannot recall the other models. We had about 10 rounds each, and it was fun to experience the different model of the guns.
I found the hand guns to be most enjoyable. The shotgun’s kickback was something to experience. Overall I think the entire group had loads of fun including my wife who tagged along for the trip.
Here is a short video of our experience:
We loved our trip to China in the past two years that we decided to do another trip this year. Since we now live in the age of hypermedia, here is a post with more video and less words. Enjoy.
| Day | Description | Link |
| Day 1: October 18 Toronto to Guangzhou | We left Toronto on October 17th (early 18th 01:30) and arrive in Guangzhou at 05:00 on the 18th. We spent the day getting to know our flat at Foshan, Shunde, and explore the neighbourhood. | Click to Play |
| Day 2: October 19 Guangzhou | Met with Carol’s cousins and relatives along with our Canadian neighbours who also happened to be in China. We spent the entire day exploring restuarants in Guangzhou. It was good to catch up. | Click to Play |
| Day 3: October 20 Shunde 广东佛山顺德 | This was a relaxing day, and we spent it to eat at local restaurants and explore the near by shopping mall. | Click to Play |
| Day 4: October 21 Guangzhou 广州 to Chongqing 重庆 | We explore dim sum in the morning at a local restaurant and then packed and prepared for our flight to Chongqing. | Click to Play |
| Day 5: October 22 Chongqing 重庆 | Move from our airport hotel to a hotel that is located in the centre of Chongqing. We then met up with a good friend who is also visiting from Canada but he is a Chongqing native. We spent the day exploring Chongqing city. Highlights of the day was: * Jiefangbei 解放碑中央商务区 * Shancheng Lane, Chongqing 山城巷 重庆 * Chongqing Hot Pot 重庆火锅 * Huangge Ancient Road 南山 黄葛古道 * Beautiful Chongqing Night Scape | Click to Play |
| Day 6: October 23 Chongqing 重庆 | Exploring the Chongqing SPA!; Visit the other side of the river; Walk the Beicang 北倉; “Shibati” (Eighteen Ladders) 十八梯; Pose in front of Hongyadong 洪崖洞; | Click to Play |
| Day 7: October 24 Chongqing 重庆 | A road trip to Diaoyucheng Fortress 钓鱼城 This is the last Song Dynasty held-out during when the Mongols invaded China and created the Yuan Dynasty. During the battle, the Mongol heir prince was killed with a rock bombardment denfence. This event was a pivotal moment that determined Europe’s future. Because of the heir’s death, the remaining princes fighting in Eastern Europe decided to turn back to fight for the crown. | Click to Play |
| Day 8: October 25 Departing Chongqing 重庆 on the Yangtze River Cruise 长江游轮 | We had our last breakfast in Chongqing and explored unique architecure of Chongqing’s mountainous neighbourhood. Went back to the SPA until we were picked up to board our river cruise. | Click to Play |
| Day 9: October 26 Departing Chongqing 重庆 on the Yangtze River Cruise 长江游轮 | Visited the retired nuclear refinement site of Project 816. | Click to Play |
| Day 10: October 27 Wushan – The Lesser Three Gorges – Badong | This was a long day which included a bus ride to the top of the gorges, a relaxing river ride along the gorges, and finally a cave tour. | Click to Play |
| Day 11: October 28 End of the Yangtze River Cruise and Arrived at Yichang 湖北 宜昌 | The cruise ended for us at Yichang where the Three Gorges Dam is at. After a tour of the dam and its museum we rested at our hotel and organized a private tour on the near by gorges and enjoy the sunset. We also had an excellent Hubei 湖北 dinner. | Click to Play |
| Day 12: October 29 Taking the High Speed Rail from Yichang to Changsha 湖南 长沙 | This was a relaxing transit day with the evening exploring the night eatery on the local streets. | Click to Play |
| Day 13: October 30 Changsha 湖南 长沙 | Explored the Hunan Museum 湖南博物院. Unfortunately I wrecked my glasses just as we were entering the museum so I did not end up seeing much. We went to a local mall to have my glasses replaced with my latest prescription at half the Canadian price! | Click to Play |
| Day 14: October 31 Taking the High Speed Rail from Changsha to Zhangjiajie 湖南 张家界 | It was late afternoon when we arrived, so we at a nice dinner and went to visit 72 Odd Towers 72奇楼. | Click to Play |
| Day 15: November 1 Exploring the wonders of Zhangjiajie 湖南 张家界 | We hired a local private tour and explore scenary that inspired the Avatar planet in the movie. Also got a local hair cut and ate a local authentic meal. | Click to Play |
| Day 16: November 2 Door Way to Heaven of Zhangjiajie 湖南 张家界 | Climbed 999 steps to the door way to heaven at Tianmen Mountain 天门山. Treated the wonderful tour guide to a local, delicious lunch and get ready to board the high speed rail back to Guangzhou. | Click to Play |
| Day 17 & 18: November 3 & 4 Recovering in Shunde | Got ourselves registered at the Police Station (no footage), and then it is all about sampling Shunde cuisine. | Click to Play |
| Day 19 to 22: November 5 to 8 Boluo 博罗, Fenggang 凤岗, Dongguan 东莞, Shunde 顺德 | Took an intercity train from Shunde to Dongguan and met up with Carol’s cousin for some country scenery and food. Spend a couple of days in Dongguan reacquainting with Dongguan food scene, and the head back to Shunde. | Click to Play |
| Day 23 to 24: November 9 to 10 Shunde 顺德, Foshan 佛山 | Had a crab dinner, enjoy the tea house, and did lots of walking and eating in Shunde. | Click to Play |
| Day 25: November 11 Shunde 顺德, Foshan 佛山 | Walked to a another dim sum restaurant, Li Yuan Restaurant 荔园酒家; Took a DiDi to Shiwan Ceramic Street 石湾公仔街; Had the best claypot rice this trip; | Click to Play |
| Day 26 to 27: November 12 to 13 Shunde 顺德, Foshan 佛山 | The most impressive furniture mall I have ever been to, Louvre Furnishings 罗浮宫家居. We had a below average taste but above average dim sum at Zhuroupo Private Home Cuisine 猪肉婆私房菜. Visited our local park by the river, and then took our flight back to Canada in the evening. | Click to Play |
When you are visiting China, and you are not living in a hotel, such as:
You are required to register your place of residence at a police station. We were staying in Foshan city in Shunde area (borough) at 喜悦来国际酒店公寓. We rented a small place with an online platform. We needed to register with the police station within 24 hours of our arrival.
The requirements are laid out by the police station in the PDF document below:
We needed the following pieces of documentation:
Not all police station will perform the registration service, so you will have to ask around. For this trip in 2025, we had to register at:
The process will take approximately an hour to register assuming there is not a huge line up.
From September 29th, 2025 to October 10th, 2025 (inclusive), we went on a
Mediterranean Cruise on Celebrity Ascent.
Below is a table of our itinerary and a link to our home video that covers that day.
| Day | Description | Video |
|---|---|---|
| MON 29 SEP | ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY | Click to play |
| TUE 30 SEP | AT SEA | Click to play |
| WED 01 OCT | CHANIA (SOUDA),CRETE, GREECE | Click to play |
| THU 02 OCT | EPHESUS (KUSADASI), TURKEY | Click to play |
| FRI 03 OCT | ISTANBUL, TURKEY | Click to play |
| SAT 04 OCT | ISTANBUL, TURKEY | Same as above |
| SUN 05 OCT | AT SEA | Click to play |
| MON 06 OCT | MYKONOS, GREECE | Click to play |
| TUE 07 OCT | SANTORINI, GREECE | Click to play |
| WED 08 OCT | AT SEA | Click to play |
| THU 09 OCT | NAPLES, ITALY | Click to play |
| FRI 10 OCT | ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY | Click to play |
We arrived in Rome on a red-eye flight from Toronto with Air Canada. Aside from the usual chaotic boarding process at Pearson, the flight was quite good. I personally found the 9-hour flight literally flew by.
We met our airport transfer to the Eurostars Roma Aeterna Hotel. He was a nice gentleman (WeChat: 张巍.罗马) from Tianjin and had been living in Rome for more than a decade. We were lucky and were able to check into our hotel room early.
We then proceeded to our prearranged Vatican City tour. The tour was rescheduled at the last minute due to a change in the Vatican schedule. Not being able to cancel, we decided to do the 3 p.m. tour; otherwise, we would be forced to forfeit our tickets. You can imagine that we were really tired.
The tour was excellent. Our guide, Peter, aptly named while visiting St. Peter’s Cathedral, was super knowledgeable. I enjoyed the tour even in my zombie state.
After the two-hour tour, we wanted to take a taxi or Uber back. This was a total fail. The average wait time quickly turned from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. We decided to walk the 6km instead.
We made it on time for dinner back at the hotel’s restaurant and called it an early night.
The next day, we caught up on our sleep and headed out late afternoon towards the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. I have never seen so many tourists in my life packed into such close quarters. Honestly, I cannot appreciate the sites, and this visit has confirmed my firm belief that the best way to experience Rome is with the 4K HDR OLED TV in the comfort of one’s home. By the way, touching a piece of natural marble in Rome is no different than anywhere else on the planet. They are all millions of years old.
The day after, we did the Colosseum tour. This was also a bit underwhelming for me. Again, I got more out of a documentary than being physically there. I am sure it is just me.
Overall, I felt Rome to be a good place to visit if you are a history buff or a devout Catholic. For me, we checked our box, but I can do without the graffiti, the trash, and the constant fear of being pickpocketed. Also, the best way to get around Rome is on foot, so if you have problems walking, then it may be a challenge getting around.
Below are the videos that we collected over the three days.
For those who want a visual chart to see where our tax brackets lie, I took the time to have ChatGPT AI generate a python program that created the following chart:
This has been quite helpful in our tax planning. I hope you will find some utility with this.
