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Blog Archive 2011 Nov

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Tue 11/1 to Sun 11/13 - My new C-Crane Witness MP3 player arrived to replace the one that I lost or was possibly stolen: expensive but perfect for listening to talk shows. Also the 100A/100mv shunt I had ordered arrived; this for measuring the charge current for my van's
LiFeMnPO
Lithium/Iron/Manganese/Phosphate/Oxygen
 battery. Now to get all the pieces understood and put together. After about a year of being "lost" I found my Power Information Notebook... on a shelf in my library. This book contains currents, charge rates, voltages, battery endurances and a whole lot more information from many of the various devices that I have tested.
- I spent half a day testing Any Video Converter conversion schemes and settled on an mp4 output for my Canon Camera's MOV files. The mp4 files occupy 1/6 the disk space, are very good quality and. work in my
new phone
Samsung Galaxy S II
. Also, I have been purging and going through all the videos that my friend Christian took of Stephen and me kiteboarding in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico.
- Our neighborhood Wi-Fi has been down for several weeks, so I have been going out into the community to find hot spots so I can use a minimum amount of data with my phone as a Wi-Fi hot spot. I've hung out at libraries, various McDonald's and at the Rainbow Cactus Saloon. Karen, the saloon owner, invited me to use their Wi-Fi when we met at a McDonald's on Sunday Nov 6th. I am not the Saloon type, but found it to be smoke free, and the group there to be friendly and fun. For entertainment, people dressed up in costumes, danced etc. while they lip-synced to popular music - all as a part of fund raising for a various causes. I even told my elephant story as part of the entertainment. I showed Karen Channel 3's tease of my kiteboarding in San Carlos. At her request, the next week, Nov 13th, I delivered a 11x14 photo of one of my San Carlos jumps. She asked me to sign it, which I did. Now, in a saloon on North Cave Creek Road is my first fan-club photo!
- I caught a sore throat, I think from my first visit to the bar, so after my second visit I preemptively gargled with salt water. I saw my dentist (the 9th) for a tooth cleaning, and it appears that it is time for my baby tooth to go, as it is deteriorating and may be contributing to some gum infection.
- At Gangplank Wed the 9th I took Jeff, his first time there, on a tour of the place. He helped me put a drop-down menu on my TRIPS web page so the table of contents does not dominate the whole top part of the page.
- I made it onto the national Clark Howard Show, picking Clark's brain for saving money flying to the Philippines.

Mon 11/14 - Philippines, here I come! I got up at 4:00 this morning booked a flight on Hawaiian Airlines from Phoenix (PHX) to Manila (MNL). There will be a stop in Honolulu (HNL) both directions. Starting the last part of January, I hope to spend a month on Boracay Island kiting my heart out in blissful winds. When it's not windy I'll have a chance to visit my niece who is in the Philippines serving in the Peace Corps.
- In the afternoon I had a consultation with an oral surgeon, Brian Schneider about taking out my baby tooth and an out-of-place "I" tooth and, eventually, installing implants. I hate to admit it (not really), but I showed the good doctor a kiteboarding video. He got on my website and now appears to be excited about kiteboarding with his brothers. My tooth extractions are scheduled for Monday (a week from today)

Tue 11/15 - Mildred and I want shopping this morning. This afternoon I saw Dr Marvin Goldstein, oral surgeon for a second opinion regarding my teeth. (I ALWAYS get second opinions after voice surgery drastically changed my life). It was very educational and it was interesting to see models of the actual implant hardware. On the way home, I dropped my van off at Ken's Transmission. It appears the toque converter has problems and will have to be replaced. Thank goodness Ken's warranties their work.

Wed 11/16 - As a housewarming gift,
Rose Anne
my "X"
gave me an inspirational "Effort..." windsurfer poster when I moved in about 15 years ago. Today I finally got a kiteboarder poster and frame to replace it which now hangs above my bed.
- I figured the best way to humidify my house is with an old Presto pressure cooker on my electric stove with a muffin fan blowing the vapor into the great room.
- Resolved my checking account
- Got my main two credit cards set up for the Philippine trip in January. No Gangplank tonight because my van is in the shop.

Thu 11/17 - This morning I got my van back from Ken's Transmission with a new torque converter; no charge because it was under warranty.
- Took Mildred Bally Fitness for her Silver Sneakers fitness class while I pumped iron.
- I noticed a little black wire between the cushions of my couch. The wire lead to the old C Crane Witness MP3 player which I thought I had lost or was stolen. Having bought a new one, I now have a spare.

Fri 11/18 - Had an enjoyable phone call with
Bernadette
Rose Anne's sister-in-law
and got caught up on a lot of family stuff
- My supper was a McDonald's chicken Caesar salad at Seventh Avenue and Union Hills. Since the neighborhood Wi-Fi is still not working, I spent about 1.5 hours there on theirs.

Sat 11/19 - Today I used my old soldering gun to melt keyboard bumps on some more of my computer keys to augment my touch typing and reduce cheating and looking: [F11], [Ctrl][Volume down] and [Ctrl][Brightness down].
-
Harold
Rose Anne's older brother
and Bernadette cruised over here in Harold's side-car Harley to see my new
kitchen remodel
fancy sink, faucet and garbage disposal
. We also did a little switching with my LGB train, cut a stack of business cards with my super paper cutter and watched the first episode of Red Dwarf. If you haven't seen any of the show, I recommend it. I have the full 80-show series on DVD.
- At Trader Joe's I bought a three-month supply of nuts for about $75. It might be lazy, stupid or smart, but I got all the ones I could unsalted as usual, but this time, also roasted. I figure the slight increase in fat is worth saving a day roasting them all in my oven here at home.
- I was sort of embarrassed doing it, but not embarrassed enough to not do it. This evening's hamfeast was at Five Guys Burger & Fries. I had phoned ahead and found that they had nothing healthful on their menu, so fixed, took and ate my own meal, with the blessing of Jake, the good-natured manager.

Sun 11/20 - I met Dave of Holtzman Home Improvement at my Dahlia rental house to work out some details for their bid on enclosing the double carport into a garage and roasted the walnuts I bought yesterday. Sure makes them tasty!

Mon 11/21 - Experienced my first tooth extraction today and under a local anaesthetic. Actually, two of 'em: A somewhat unsightly eyetooth on the left and my baby tooth on the right, which was not hanging on very well. Better to have it out now rather than have it fall out and need attention while I'm in the tropics kiteboarding. I couldn't believe it when Dr. Schneider phoned me in the evening from his cell phone to see how I was doing. What a guy! I survived with neither pain medication nor antibiotic. Of course, I did not attend the
ARA
Arizona Repeater Association of ham radio operators
meeting
subject: portable antennas
tonight.

Tue 11/22 - Cheek Totem: I am slowly getting back into a bad habit of chewing the inside of my cheek, which causes me to distort my face as I check out which areas are a little rough and need to be smoothed out. Of course what I do makes things worse, not better. Maybe this habit is a little like others who have a habit of smoking or eating. Any way, I noticed it a little bit on my Channel 12 TV appearance. Disgusting! So here's the plan: On my kitchen island I have a stack of quarters beside a little Totem Pole shot glass that a friend from OBX gave me. Each time I twist up I drop a quarter in my Cheek Totem. I haven't yet decided what to do with the money. It embarrasses me to tell you about it, but if I do, I am more likely to succeed in quitting.
- Smoothies are now the order for eight meals after the oral surgery. They're kinda tasty. All it takes is the normal ingredients for a meal, a good blender and some crushed ice from my refrigerator. I had smoothies for:

Wed 11/23 - I should have suspected that Gangplank would close early the night before Thanksgiving. I drove all the 40 miles down, got there early and, shortly thereafter, they closed up. A little compensation was getting some goodies (pumpkin-pecan pie, pumpkin-chocolate-chip cookies and fruit containers) left over from the Thanksgiving they had earlier.
- Other than Gangplank I am laying low, nursing a mild fever as a result of a mild cold and the tooth extractions.

Thu 11/24 THANKSGIVING - I spent this afternoon with
Harold, Bernadette
Rose Anne's older brother and his wife
, and their families. What good food (two turkey dinners) and good company. I had a chance to show them my TV appearances; and some of my kite equipment to the younger boys.

Fri 11/25 - Most of the day I researched the Philippines with maps, islands, airports, cities, kite shops, locations, beaches and lodging.

Sat 11/26 - I received my second letter from the IRS. The one I got yesterday is charging me penalties and interest for 2010 for not sending in enough during the year to cover my expected taxes. I figure I sent more than enough to cover my expected taxes. I do not think I should be penalized on something that I could not anticipate. My unexpected sale of 10 acres of desert land in December is what threw things off. I'll phone them Monday and see if they agree with me. Todays letter, for my 2009 amended return, which I agree with, was for interest accumulated before I filed my amended return, with which I owed more taxes.
- I cut my hairs, took my second bath since August (don't worry, I shower at the various gyms) and sunned a little.
- It is interesting how things work out sometimes - two things in particular. 1) I expect to be hiring a contractor to enclose the Dahlia double carport into a garage; 2) I got to the CONTRACTS chapter of EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. Good ideas of things for me to watch out for.

Sun 11/27 - I got up to pee at 2am and phoned
Stacie
my niece, George's youngest
in the Philippines - cell phone-to-cell phone. It was about 5 in the afternoon there. There was quite a delay and our voices were quite garbled so we could not understand each other very well, but were able to settle on some dates to see each other and to get some good information for my trip there in January.
- In my Cheek Totem after four days: $3.75, representing 15 twists or chews.

Mon 11/28 (my 70th birthday!) - Annual physical today with no significant discoveries. Dr Dwivedi said most 70-year-olds experience some pain of some sort every day and that is not a problem unless the pain is chronic in the same place or it is getting progressively worse.
- On the way home I picked up some plants at Summer Winds Nursery and, at Walmart, some Glucosamine 1500mg/Chondroitin 1200mg which the doctor recommended for minor joint pain on the back of my left hand and in my right ankle
- Measured my muscles - first time in several years. When I was younger I did it weekly, then monthly and then hardly ever.
- Late this afternoon I put annuals in my six myoporum spots as a test of the soil and also to look a little better until spring when I'll replace them with the myoporum. Both the snapdragons and the pansies should add a little frost-resistant greenery. I also installed six new Dial-a-Flow emitters so I can properly water the new plants without overwatering my existing perennials. I measured them at 8gph set three numbers above "off."

Tue 11/29 - This morning I reprogrammed my drip system to run 16 minutes every day. That should give my new plants two gallons of water and my established plants .2 gallons.
- Put out the Christmas wreath on my door and put up the Christmas lights: all blue. At least they were when they were new. After many years of use the blue lacquer coating has become spotty on most of the bulbs so I have white and blue lights on my eaves.
- I projected my budget through the end of March, 2012 to make sure I am covered in February for the hit I take with property taxes. Also I moved some money from my checking account to my emergency/van fund with Emigrant Direct.

Wed 11/30 - This morning was dedicated to my Dahlia Rental house. I met a contractor about an estimate for enclosing the carport into a garage, and then with Mark, my property manager, for the same. On the way home I drove up to Ewing Irrigation to buy MP Rotator sprinkler nozzles for the Dahlia house at $8 a pop: expensive!
- I got motivated to wash my van this evening. You might say I got tired not being able to see out the windows at low sun angles. Yup, washed the van, so did not made it to the gym. At least I could cart my fat lazy body around in style!

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