Blog Archive 2011 Sep
Thu 9/1 - I started trying to get through to the national Clark Howard Show (that means about an hour of dialing each day) and decided to go for the Samsung Galaxy S II cell phone after getting my kitchen remodel completed (I have a new sink/disposal/faucet ready to install) and getting my drip system working, which hopefully a new controller will take care of.
Fri 9/2 - Brandon Barnes from C&J Services installed my new kitchen sink/disposal/faucet; got Google calendar to sync with my
- phone
- HTC Touch Diamond smart phone
,
which means when I schedule something online it automatically shows up on my phone and vice versa. The scheduling capabilities of Google calendar are SO powerful. Awesome!
Sat 9/3 - This morning I reworked some of the new kitchen installation:
- rerouted the pull-down hose so it worked properly and was no longer tangled in the hot water supply line
- suspended the pull-down hose weight with twine so it would not catch on the cold water shut-off valve
- took a kink out of the cold water supply line
- touched up holes in the caulk on each side at the rear of the sink
- I installed a new Dig drip controller on top of the manual valve. The old controller clicked and programed correctly but still there was no water to the plants. I was worried that a new controller would not solve the problem. Problem solved!
Sun 9/4 - Started gathering contact and other information about the local TV stations; did a light full-body workout at the
- PVCC
- Paradise Valley Community College Fitness Center
gym; bought an unlocked, generic, US Galaxy S II smart phone from Fry's electronics; took care of all the paperwork from my kitchen installation before opening the box; Started using the new phone without my AT&T SIM card with Wi-Fi for web access etc.
Mon 9/5 - Purged and eliminated duplicate entries from the 600 or so contacts I synchronized with Gmail on Friday; did a bunch of tests and printed six new bumper stickers: "Drive like me for 28% better mileage"; unwound the lines from my old Cabrinha Contra kite bar as the fist step in converting the bar to a simulator to use with kiteboard lessons
Tue 9/6 - Got all my contacts and my calendar to synchronize over the Internet with my
- new phone
- generic, unlocked US Galaxy S II smart phone
;
washed my van; applied a new bumper sticker (old one had faded to light blue on my kiteboarding trip); moved my AT&T SIM card from my
- old phone
- HTC Touch Diamond smart phone
to my
- new phone
- generic unlocked US Galaxy S II smart phone
;
started calling the local Phoenix TV stations about possible interest in a 70-year-old kiteboarder.
Wed 9/7 - Got on the national Clark Howard Show this morning and learned that
- ETFs
- exchange traded funds
are OK for dollar cost averaging investments. This evening, improved my website's home page at Gangplank
Thu 9/8 - Two things connected with kiteboarding today: This morning I laid out, measured, inflated, remeasured, deflated and repacked all four of my traction kites to know how much space they take, in case I am invited to a local TV station to do a segment on kiteboarding.
- Finished, including a zipper sheath pouch, the simulator kite bar I have been working for about a week. I designed the bar with bungees and a pulley so it behaves as if it is flying a kite. The bar will be used with kite lessons.
Fri 9/9 - Tore out my old, dead myoporum until my trash container was full; set out $170 worth of donations in my garage and printed out the list for a tax deduction using my little OLD Zeos pocket computer; prepared two lunches and two breakfasts for the weekend
- FIRC
- Flight Instructor Refresher Course conducted by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
.
Sat 9/10 - The
- FIRC
- Flight Instructor Refresher Course conducted by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
weekend started at the Phoenix Airport Sheraton Hotel at 7:30 this morning and went until 5:10 this afternoon. After the FIRC I met the Saturday night ham radio group for supper in Chandler. Since the supper was 37 miles from home, and in the same direction as the FIRC, I spent the night in my van. Actually had a good night's sleep and avoided driving over 60 miles home and back. Fortunately I just happened to have prepared meals on hand in my little
refrigerator,
powered by my high tech
-
LiFeMnPO
- Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen
battery, which kept the meals cold in the van, which got pretty hot during the day.
Sun 9/11 - The
- FIRC
- Flight Instructor Refresher Course conducted by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
started this morning at 7 and ended at 3:30 this afternoon, Cathrine Fish and Pat Shaub did a good job of keeping us awake and educating us. It is amazing how electronics and GPS are filtering down to General Aviation.
Mon 9/12 - The last several days I had to jump start my van about seven times, and then it was iffy. The battery checked out OK. Since the problem is most pronounced when the van is cold in the mornings, I parked it outside Auto Tune last night. With $250 and a new starter, the van now starts fine.
Tue 9/13 - Today was sort of a financial day. I researched the differences between Vanguard Total World Stock Index mutual funds and their
- ETF
- Exchange Traded Funds
s.
Also I found out from Fidelity National Title, that the reason the accounting is confusing me for the 255 Ave 5A I sold is that the buyers are paying 8 - 12 days late, but still within the grace period.
Wed 9/14 - I cut up about 120 business cards with my super heavy-duty paper cutter. It slices through about 250 sheets of paper in one whack.
Thu 9/15 - I was not sure when the driver got out of the
City of Phoenix pickup in front of my house and approached me after putting on the high-visibility vest. I did not know for sure until I introduced myself, as the driver was built like a man (no visible winnebagoes), had short, black hair, but had an unusually high-pitched voice for a man. Male or female?
- You see I had just finished stuffing a huge amount of my dead dwarf myoporum into my trash container (actually onto the top of it, because it was too bulky to fit well into the container and the dead sticks did not compress well) for pickup by the trash truck with the big hydraulic arm.
- The driver informed me that my trash container was overfilled, that I was technically supposed to bag the stuff (yeah, right!) and in its current state could spill out onto the street when the truck dumped it. I saw the point, as my project looked a little like an ice cream cone with a big blob of ice cream on the top and dripping down the sides. As the driver looked askance at my activity, I attempted to tuck the "drips" in and push the whole mess further down into the trash container, explaining that if any spilled during the dump that I would clean up the mess. Little did the driver know how determined I was to get rid of the deceased sticks then and there.
- The trash truck came, dumped my light-weight load and went on its way. No spillage! I thanked the driver for coming by and said, "My name is Louis." She said, "My name is Christi." Now I knew for sure.
- did a double workout (light torso and heavy legs) at LA fitness, Moon Valley.
Fri 9/16 Got the myoporum remanents trashed and raked the gravel in the front yard, getting ready for Sunday's guests. Rechargedmy Kindle, as it had been indicating "Low Battery" for about three days.
Sat 9/17 - Bought an HL-9 Ibico roller-type heat laminator for $5 from Goodwill, then went to Staples to test it with their laminating film and then to Office Max where I got 12 sheets of laminating film (free) from their copy center. I guess I had the right balance between keeping my sense of humor and letting the manager know I was put out that I had driven to the store to buy the laminating sheets (not the pouch type) that he had told me, on the phone, were in stock in aisle four. Give some points to Office Max!
-
- George and Cindy
- younger brother who lives in Mesa and his wife
are coming over for lunch tomorrow so I cleaned my LGB tracks and lubricated the power pickup glides on my green LGB locomotive, which tends to stall. The most improvement for smooth running was from lubricating the glides with silicone/Teflon and less improvement from vacuuming the tracks multiple times after running the trains to get rid of additional dust that might be deposited on the tracks from the train's wheels. I saw only slight improvement from additionally cleaning the tracks with alcohol and then with WD-40. Evidently, my alcohol/WD-40 trick a year ago lasted.
Sun 9/18 - This morning I got my house all straightened, cleaned and vacuumed for
- George and Cindy
- younger brother who lives in Mesa and his wife
who drove over from Mesa for lunch. We enjoyed a visit and watched an episode of Red Dwarf. George used the hall bathroom and left the water on and the sink drain closed. No one was aware that the sink was running over until water was about an inch deep on the floor. The water soaked carpeting in the hallway, the office under the credenza where I had some papers on the floor and in the hall linen closet (the water had seeped through the walls). It was a real mess. The good news is that it was fresh water. We sucked up over ten gallons of water with my wet/dry shop vac.
Mon 9/19 - This afternoon I roasted my nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds and walnuts) on cookie sheets. It is a lot of work, but surely makes the nuts tasty, and with no oil. Before that and after the gym I slept for almost two hours. Boy, was I tired! I hope I'm not coming down with something.
Tue 9/20 to Fri 9/30 - Busy! So what else is new? Neither had time nor inclination to update this blog, although I tweaked parts of my website almost every day. That helps
my Google Rank. Here are some of my major projects during the last part of September.
- I researched Vanguard
- ETF
- Exchange Traded Funds
,
opened a brokerage account and moved my Total World Stock investment mutual fund into the same fund as an ETF. Although it is a little more trouble, the ETF has fewer fees and about half the annual expenses as the mutual fund version.
- Still in the financial department, I changed my Wells Fargo checking account and jumped through lots of hoops to get free checking as I was promised when I opened the account 40 years ago. One of those hoops was to establish direct deposit, which I set up with Fidelity National Title for the purchasers of my #4 raw desert land property. Wells Fargo told me I would be able to transfer money online from their account to my
- DSFCU
- Desert Schools Federal Credit Union
,
account. Either due to their ignorance or their duplicity they neglected to mention a fee for doing so.
- Still in the financial department, I changed my checking account and jumped through lots of hoops to get free checking. I was promised lifetime free checking I opened the account 40 years ago. One of those hoops was to establish direct deposit, which I set up with Fidelity National Title for payments on raw desert land I had sold. Wells Fargo told me I would be able to transfer money online from their account to my
- DSFCU
- Desert Schools Federal Credit Union
,
account. Either due to their ignorance or their duplicity they neglected to mention a fee for doing so.
- I roasted my nuts (get your mind out of the gutter, now). That is almonds, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds and walnuts. Roasting a three-month supply is a lot of work and takes about a half day but it enhances their flavor, and when you do it yourself on a cookie sheet in your oven, it is cheap and adds no grease or oil. Want details? Here is the
nuts file from my Smart Stuff web page.
- One morning's project was to plant all six new myoporums, which I hope will thrive.
- Local TV stations: I researched, made lots of phone calls, exchanged emails prepared presentations and visited each station with my kite equipment in an attempt to get on the five local Phoenxi TV stations, talking about kiteboarding (what else) and turning 70. It eventually worked for Channels 3 and 10. Go to my
Home page for proof.
- Researched (as always), did some testing and started ordering LCD panel meters and parts for my van. Eventually I hopefully will be able to read current, voltages and temperatures, mostly related to my van's
- LiFeMnPO
house
battery. - Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen
,
which is on my
Technology
page.
