Blog Archive 2018 Sep
Sat Sep 1 = This afternoon I took Willie shopping at Winco under the auspices of
- Duet
- The organization I support and through which I take non-driving seniors shopping and to their doctors' appointments
.
On the way to her house I got my tire pressures and tread wear checked at my nearby Discount Tire.
I emailed a cruise line about doing stand up comedy for them. I doubt that anything will come of that.
Sun Sep 2 = This evening I hosted one of the best
Insane Off Main Open Mic shows yet at
Comedy off Main St;
in Mesa. There were 16 enthusiastic audience members, and I tried to apply some of the things I learned from a chapter I had just finished about hosting comedy shows in
Mastering Stand-Up: The Complete Guide to Becoming a Successful Comedian by Stephen Rosenfield.
Mon Sep 3 = Around noon I lay in the sun for 10 minutes on a side for a total of 20 minutes.
- On my way to do comedy in South Phoenix, I stopped by Home Depot to get a key made for
- Stan
- Stanley, my older brother who was a retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS until he succumbed to a three-week bout with Myasthenia gravis in March, 2018
's
house and then to the post office to mail keys to the property owner to be so they can let an insurance inspector in if necessary.
This evening I did comedy at Tukees and Devil's Advocate; my first time there in a year.
Tue Sep 4 = I took my van to C & R Tire for a check up and oil change. Due to my travels, my last time there was in June. Kile, a new guy there, was very helpful.
- This evening's comedy was at Dos Gringos and Grand Avenue Pizza.
Wed Sep 5 = OptumCare has a cool community center 6 miles from home for the 55+ crowd. They offer many programs for socialization and being active... free of charge. Their small fitness center's pneumatic machines have yellow buttons on the handles to instantly change the
weight
which registers on digital displays. Today was my orientation. Very interesting.
- Tonight's comedy was at Toso's Bar & Restaurant, followed by The Woodshed in Tempe.
Thu Sep 6 = I met Stan Kowalski at the Moon Valley LA Fitness who could not say enough good things about Dr. Perkins in Sun City where he got his cataract surgery.
- On my way to do comedy I stopped by The Tempe Improv for a supply of New Faces ticket blanks for my appearance on the 27th because I had run out. Thanks, Chad!
- Comedy tonight was at Improv Mania in Chandler and Spinelli's Pizeria in Tempe. My previous appearance at the latter was back in March before leaving on my trip.
- As of this evening, it may be the first time that I have made nine comedy appearances in a single week; more precicely, in five days.
Fri Sept 7 = My full day started by taking taking my van to the best car wash in the area:
Motor City Auto Wash. It is touchless, has an undercarriage rinse and air-dry blowers... all for $6 on a credit card. I happened to catch a guy there who may be the owner. He gave me a free upgraded wash when I told him that my last time there, the undercariage rinse did not work.
- Next stop was to take Shirley to her doctor's appointment under the auspices of
- Duet
- The organization I support and through which I take non-driving seniors shopping and to their doctors' appointments
.
During her appointment I did some of my Slow, Heavy Arms Workout at the Deer Valley OptumCare Community Center, my latest new gym.
- I got home in time to sun at "noon," for 10 minutes on a side for a total of 20 minutes, legs facing south.
- My pack of four Gosund Mini Smart Sockets arrived today and I got them working, via the SmartLife on my phone. With them I can now control my post fans and white noise machine by voice commands with my Echo Dot, along with the Belcin Wemo units I already have.
- I got my Solla 60 w LED flood lights installed as indirect lights this evening. It was kind of a job, figuring out where to place the old, malfunctioning ones and the three new ones they sent me. With the three old ones, only 25 to 50% of the LEDs are working. The new ones are not daylight, my preference, but probably warm white instead. Of course nothing is perfect. The glass of one of the new ones was shattered due to a combination of poor packing and UPS carelessness, so I removed the broken parts and put it on top of my office torch lamp. It is no longer waterproof, but who cares since I am using it inside.
Sat Sep 8 = According to tracking, my Amazon package with a 4-pack of Gosund Mini Smart Sockets is lost on the receiving dock at the Phoenix Post Office. Today I tweaked the Smart Home Smart Plugs that I already have, to be a little bit more functional when controlling them through my Amazon Echo Dot.
Sun Sep 9 = I have considered repainting my van's bumpers, as they are faded and pretty blotchy. Or maybe getting someone to do it for me.
- Tonight I appeared at Infuse Open Mic at The Phoenix Center for the Arts.
Mon Sep 10 = I made the September 2018 issue of
Senior Life with
Kiteboarding comedian keeps everyone laughing. Check out the cover and page 13. Thanks for the neat article, Muffy Berlyn!
- This morning I adjusted my computer's mouse pointer to the largest and black. Hopefully it will increase my effeciency.
Tue Sep 11 = I got up to pee at 7am so phoned Brake Masters and arranged to take my van for a checkup at 3pm today.
- Around noon I lay in the sun for 10 minutes on a side, for a total of 20 minutes.
- At 3pm I took my van to Brake Masters. The major thing that Dave found there was the transmission needing service. He said they would not touch it due to its fickel factor and recommended I take it to a good transmission shop... so I drove over to Ken's Transmission. My transmission was overdue its 30k-mile service anyway. Phil, there, said to bring it in tomorrow first thing in the morning.
- At LA Fitness I gave by beard its weekly 1/8" trim, a day early, and did a light torso workout because I will not have a vehicle tomorrow.
Wed Sepp 12 - Early this morning I took my van into Ken's Transmission for service. I had Phil drop me off at Fitness 1, where I did a slow, heavy legs workout and then caught the city bus home. My first ride on a Valley Metro bus. The driver was a nice guy and very helpful to a newbie.
- Back at home without my van, I phoned Ryan Johnson, Improv Mania's week-end show producer and host for their Thursday night open mics. He gave me some good things to think about for my comedy.
- This evening, I made six batches of my famous Protein Frosties and paid my bills.
- For about six months, I have been getting along with only one remote control for my Channel Master DVR with no idea where I had lost the second remote. Today I found the lost one... on top of my stereo amplifier... in plane sight all the time. Boy, do I have tunnel vision!
Thu Sep 13 - This morning I suffered from an acute case of analysis paralysis, considering a snake bite and bug bite stuff. The field was clouded by delivery or costs, how many to a pack, length of delivery time or store pick up. The whole thing was absurd and did not amount to a hill of beans, or rather, a few dollars.
- I picked up my van from Ken's Transmission with a freshly serviced transmission and a new upper tranny colling hose that doesn't leak. Phil there said the tranny was in good condition.
- I love to be first...
I was THE FIRST and, so far, the only member to fob in or to enter the new Anytime Fitness a half mile east of my house. The people there were great:
- Tony, one of the owners who let me in
- Rob, the other owner, who manages the place
- a young Black man who is the head trainer
- Frank, an even younger trainer/intern and their tech guy
Everything is brand new and the place is great with all their TIs (Tenant Improvements). I told them that, when I get too old to drive, they'll still see me as I toddle there from my house.
Fri Sep 14 = Did I foul up my sleep last night! I got up to pee at 4am and decided, due to the time zone difference, it was a good time to call KWCH TV 12 in Wichita Kansas about appearing there to plug my comedy. Two hours later I was back in bed after streaming some of their TV. I also called Eaton Fidelity about a Securian insurance policy to make sure it is the benefit that they already paid.
- This afternoon I went to the little Optum Care gym where I did the first part of my heavy torso workout and got a machine fob. That little device helps you keep track of your settings, weights and reps for each piece of their high-tech equipment. Since I vary my workouts, it may not be too useful, but at least I will try... and it is good for my techie brain.
Sat Sep 15 = I phoned the Shillelagh Vapor Shop in Hutchinson, KS to discuss the final details for my headlining there at The Dirty Leprechaun Lounge next month.
- Back here in Phoenix, I found that someone might be interested in buying one or two empty lots I own out near Wittmann on 151 St, so I started the process of locating a realtor to work with me in that area. I found several who are familiar with the area and live out there.
Sun Sep 16 = Today I figured the final word on the horrible foam soap issue. Foam soap yields 3% of that of liquid soap by volume and approximately 30% per
squirt from a dispenser.
Mon Sep 17 = I spent quite a bit of time today organizing and contacting Wichita, KS TV stations by phone and email for possible personal interest appearances for my comedy performances in the area.
Tue Sep 18 =
GOLD! This afternoon Jim Grawe (GRAY WAY) of KPTS (PBS) TV scheduled me for a
taping
of
One on One with Victor Hogstrom while I'm in Kansas next month. My half hour interview will air in the spring. I'll keep you posted.
- This evening I ran across a
One on One interview with Jill Docking, former Kansas Second Lady, wife of Tom Docking the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1983-87. TOM WAS MY STUDENT in fifth grade at Pershing Elementary School in Arkansas City (that's pronounced, "Are KANSAS" cuz it's in Kansas) in 1965. Unfortunately he died at 63 from cancer about a year ago.
- I joined
Doctor on Demand on my
- XPS
- Dell XPS-13 computer with 13.3" touch screen, 60WHr Integrated Battery, Windows 10, Intel 7th Generation Core i7 CPU, 16gb memory and 1TB SSD
and installed their app on my on my smart phone. I will be traveling a little more relaxed on my cross-country road trips, knowing that if I have a medical concern I won't have to go through the horrors of an emergency room. Also, there is no co-pay with my insurance.
- My order of 50 new T-Shirts
arrived today from
Design A Shirt, so this evening I processed it... took about a little over two hours to get them all checked in, folded and in their respective storage bags.
Wed Sep 19 = Among other things, I got out my fancy new Singer Featherweight C240 Sewing Machine, did some tests and then modified one of my special Duet T-Shirts as a disgusting body building one. I used a combination of overcast stitches #s 7 & 8, depending on the amount of stretch I wanted around the neck and arms.
Thu Sep 20 = Google has implemented
mobile first for my website which means that I may see more traffic in my logs from Googlebot Smartphone searches.
- Today, I believe, I contacted some Wichita TV stations and the Back Alley Draft House in Albuquerque.
- At 4:00 this afternoon I went over to
- Dahlia
- my Phoenix rental house located on Dahlia Drive
for a little sprinkler system maintenance. I think John, my new tenant, is going to be a good one. He likes working in the yard and seems to understand the sprinkler system pretty well. That's more than I can say for
Manning Sprinkler who charged me about twice their estimate and still didn't get the system working properly.
- Back to Comedy from my break, tonight I did my new JW routine at
Improv Mania in
Chandler
where it went over pretty well, and at
Spinelli's Pizzeria in Tempe
near ASU.
Fri Sep 21 = I completed the modification of my workout comedy T-Shirt by using a wide zigzag (stitch #3) around the bottom about a half inch below the logo and then cutting off the extra material. Now the shirt is short enough to see my gym shorts. Without the shorts visible, one could think that all I had on was the shirt. I tried the side cutter but it seemed to pucker a little with the knit T-shirt material.
Sat Sep 22 = I stopped by there gyms today on the way to and from
- George & Cindy
- my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
's:
The new nearby Anytime Fitness to speak with the guys about parallel bars for doing unassisted dips and my inverted shrugs. The second was on the way to an Arizona Federal Credit Union branch to reimburse myself for some expenses handling
- Stan
- Stanley, my older brother who was a retired as a machinist for Eaton Corporation in Hutchinson, KS until he succumbed to a three-week bout with Myasthenia gravis in March, 2018
's
estate. Then on to the Colonnade LA fitness for a workout which never got started because Cindy phoned that it was time for me to head for their house.
- We had a good visit, went through a bunch of old pictures dating back to the 1800'ds. Stacy, Dave and 3-year old Rocco were there also. After the pictures, on the spur of the moment, Stacy, Rocco and I went to the famous Organ Stop Pizza for salad. Charlie Balogh (BAY loff) was the featured organist on their Wurlitzer: the largest in the world, and also the largest Theater Pipe Organ of any type to ever be assembled! I had to pinch myself to be sure life was really this good. When/if I have time, I've got some pictures to add.
- On the way back home, I stopped by the High Street Anytime Fitness to do my real heavy, slow torso workout.
Sun Sep 23 = I dug down to find the leak responsible for the 20' drip geyser in my front side yard and got the leak fixed. In the process another leak was created about eight inches down the brittle supply line, so I shut off the system.
- A pure luxury splurge, my Cosri glass-top digital thermostatic coffee warmer arrived today. It looks cool with its digital display and maintains an exact temperature. Also arriving was a dual cell phone camera bracket. After lots of experimenting with the bracket I determined that it is not going to do what I want, as it holds the phones too close together to work in the landscape mode, which I need for videoing my comedy appearances.
Mon Sep 24 = Today I had my landscaper, Pedro, come over and replace the old drip supply tubing in my front side yard that has become brittle and leak prone. He came earlier than I expected so I had to make a special trip to Home Depot for more tubing. No problem because I got the drip project done early.
- This afternoon I went to
Healthy Minds, a monthly series, free to the public, at OptumCare. Today's presentation was very interesting: about our personalities. Before leaving OptumCare, I signed up for next month.
- Tonight's comedy appearances were at Tukee's in Ahwatukee and at the Time Out Lounge. My first time at Time Out since before Christmas.
Tue Sep 25 = This morning I added 12 oz of Freon to my van's AC. The system output is still mostly hot (up to 95° F) with times of cold (45° F).
- I did my Jehovah's Witness routine at both Dos Gringos and the Grand Ave Pizza tonight.
- The Grand Avenue show was sort of a tribute to one of our local comedians, Arthur Gustafson. He had been missing for about 1.5 months. His body was found out in the desert last week. Evidently he took his own live. Sad. Everyone has emotional ups and downs. We just have to realize that the downs will pass... and keep on keeping on.
Wed Sep 26 = This afternoon I took my van to C&R Tire to check cooling system and look at drip on the passenger side of the engine. I also had them recharge AC. It was 1.5 lb low after I had added the 12oz of Freon yesterday. As I left their shop, my brakes started hissing down by the brake pedal, indicating a ruptured diaphragm on the booster. After a couple of miles, there was no boost at all. I spent the rest of my day driving, allowing additional stopping distance and using both feet on the brake pedal.
- During the day I cleaned the nose pillows for my CPAP machine. My ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water, a couple drops of detergent and six minutes did the trick.
Thu Sep 27 = Long day. I took my van to C&R Tire first thing. Then at home, without transportation, among other things, did my monthly laundry and organized my sewing machine and supplies to take on the trip.
- My van was supposed to be ready in a couple hours, but was not until about 5pm. When I picked it up brakes were not fixed... the booster was not boosting. After I tried it out the key was stuck in the ignition switch with it turned on. The key wouldn't budge. Rick said the van was unsafe and got me a rental (2019 Dodge Caravan) at a nearby Enterprise, so that's what I drove to the Tempe Improv for my appearance at their New Faces.
- Before I left the used LG G3 LS990 32gb cell I had ordered from eBay arrived in my mailbox. I used it as camera #5 with the built-in camera software.
Fri Sep 28 = My van was in the shop most of the day, but the brakes are finally working properly... and I had Carlos from Rigo's Locksmith install a new ignition cylinder. That means a separate ignition key now, but it works beautifully. The old one no longer went to the accessory position and worked only one side up (double teeth) and was sometimes pretty hard to turn on. Why? because I had settled for less than good. Home Depot had made keys for me that
sort of
worked. The bad keys wore the ignition cylinder out prematurely... if you count 370,000 miles as premature.
Sat Sep 29 = Today was mostly packing for leaving tomorrow, with a few other things thrown in.
- I went to Home Depot and Jim used their fancy NEW key machine to make five perfect ignition keys, so I am armed now with a lot of spares, keeping one of the two originals safe in a drawer at home and using the other original on a daily basis.
Sun Sep 30 = I took time this morning to try and get my
new
Cell LG G3 LS990 32gb to go online so I could download the camcorder software that I use. It would mostly not get online. I went to the nearby Wireless Toyz and the tech said it could be a bad antenna or its connection and that Sean, the owner would have to open it up to find out.
- I got my van loaded up, with no room for my PA system or the sewing machine since I will be taking two kites. Why? It is forecast to be windy in Kansas on Tuesday and maybe Wednesday. Cheney Reservoir is calling.
- I finally got off, stopping by
- George & Cindy
- my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
's
to pick up a picture of me when I was one to use in my
One on One appearance on the PBS TV station in Wichita. I drove to Chambers, AZ where I spent the night between the freeway and the railroad. Not a real good night's sleep. The bed was fine, but not the noises. Guess it was not too bad, considering it was my first night out.
