Tue Jan 1 = A little before midnight I checked the forecast for my area and noticed that they are expecting below-freezing temperature for over four hours. So I went out and covered my Natal Plums with my Goodwill flannel sheets. This is the third night with freeze warnings. It appears that my unprotected plants may have experienced a few frozen leaves as a result of not being covered the last two nights.
- About two weeks ago I suspended use of my CPAP machine because the nose pillows irritate my left nostral. I do OK if I sleep with my head to one side, however I do not have the benefit of humidified air. Tonight I tried using the CPAP three hours. No irritation.
Wed Jan 2 = I finished organizing and recording my new Cruise Routine, got it transcribed, then researched and ordered an IMAXPLUS Christmas Laser Projector. Hopefully it will decorate my house next Christmas... after a couple years of not putting up my traditional string of blue Christmas lights.
- Comedy tonight was at
The Woodshed; in Tempe, after a quick legs workout at a nearby LA Fitness.
- On the way home I saw my first real Waymo Self-driving car on the road... in Tempe. It pulled up beside me at a traffic light. A safety driver was behind the wheel, but not touching any controls.
When the light changed the car took off immediately with no pause for driver reaction time. It had privacy windows so I could not see if there were passengers inside.
Thu Jan 3 = I had a consultation with my gastroentologist today leading up to what will probably be my last colonoscopy. Fun, Fun!
- The third remote I ordered for my Ambient Weather WS-21 Wireless 8-Channel Thermometer arrived today. Hopefully the acutl weather station will arrive tomorrow.
- This evening was a another of the advanced comedy classes that I am taking
Fri Jan 4 = My Ambient Weather WS-21 Wireless 8-Channel Thermometer with Two Remote Sensors arrived today. The only features I wanted that are missing are an atomic clock, automatically resetting high and low, time/date stamps and one-inch characters that I can read from accross the room without my glasses. Also the display is darker than my old Radio Shack one.
Sat Jan 5 = About 20 years ago I engineered a high-tech pasive weather station for my back yard which theoretically measured the temperature very accurately. It was a passive system that shielded the sensor from all radiant heat and circulated the ambient air using a black four-foot convective flue. I would always take the system down during my trips. About seven years ago I never got it put back up when I returned, because it needed a little maintenance. Today I reconfigured it to use my new thermometers (see above).
Sun Jan 6 = I called
Rose Anne
My X wife who lives in Payson by a lake
to wish her a happy early birthday. We caught up with her, her family, my cruise and some comedy.
Mon Jan 7 = Today I figured out how to get quality recordings from the line-out on my Samson Expedition XP106w PA system, using my Zoom and Sony ICD-UX560 recorders. An extra patch cord and a 12db attenuator did the trick.
- This evening included a fun time doing comedy in Tempe at Devil's Advocate. I was about 36 on the list, and went up at 12:24am. Knowing that I would be up late, I sneaked out to my van during the first part of the show and slept for an hour... embarrassing if anyone found out, but a good decision.
Tue Jan 8 = Today my IMAXPLUS Christmas LASER projector arrived. Next Christmas it will decorate my house with a changing pattern of thousands of slowly moving red and green dots. It should take about five minutes for me to stick it out front and plug it in. Much better than getting out ladders, timers etc. to string up traditional lights.
- Comedy this evening was an open mic the Grand Avenue Pizza. They appreciated my revised Maui Routine.
Wed Jan 9 = Today I requested my records from MIB (Medical Information Bureau). This database is shared by suppliers of any type of health, disability or life insurance, including a term life insurance.
Thu Jan 10 = Tonight's comedy was at one of my favorite venues,
The Tempe Improvin Tempe. The crowd was awesome. Thomas Eppalito got lots of laughs with his Manly set. Reece Muniz absolutely killed it. With my Maui routine, I got a lot of laughs, but only about two were class A laughs. A young guy I met at the gym a few days ago, Kalvin Arailias, manned my audience cameras for me. Didn't get a good video.
made out, because they got all the profit from the three T-shirts I sold, a donation and $20 for my videoing one of the other comedians.
Fri Jan 11 = I paid off all my credit cards, which I do every month.
- Before going to bed I started the Garmin update of my Garmin maps, which takes about an hour. It probably won't make much difference because their maps are not very accurate.
Sat Jan 12 = Moon Juiced all my Natal Plums. They need a boost after being cut back so severely and the freezes.
- I thoroughly tested my three old wireless weather/temperature systems from Oregon Scientific and Radio Shack. It involved new batteries in everything, resetting the base stations, all of the remote sensors and setting the base stations to search for the remotes. Bottom line: One base station did not work and two of them did. Four of the seven remotes worked. I could have saved a little money if I had done this instead of ordering the new Ambient Weather system (see Jan 4).
- USPS delivered my two pair of new swim briefs: blue and black - medium. Smalls were not available
- This evening when I started getting drowsy I decided it would be a good time to resolve my checking account. For some inexplicable reason I dot it done... without getting drowsy.
Sun Jan 13 = I cleaned the toilets with new cleaner since I ran out of the old stuff, which didn't seem to take care of the hard-water ring. The new cleaner is Lime-away. We'll see how it does.
- I made some arrangements for this week, including shopping
under the auspices of
my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
to settle
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. As a result we'll receive almost nothing :(
Mon Jan 14 = This afternoon I processed last night's 14-minute video: from eight files of 11,200mb down to one video file of 575mb, or 5%. The processing took me just under a half hour, not including uploading the files from my cameras and audio recorders.
- So far the best combination of audio recording is wearing a body microphone which picks both my voice and the audience laughs. It is not quite as good as combining the PA output (for my voice) with separate audience microphones (for the laughs), but it is A LOT EASIER, so I am more likely to keep up with my video processing. Next month I may try another combination.
- I had about a 1:30 hour phone conversation with Kalvin Arailias, exploring what video and PR services he can offer me. I don't think we're a good fit, but wish him the best of luck with his new business.
Tue Jan 15 = This evening I met
George & Cindy
my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
to make what we hope is the final settlement between us two survivors of
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 5:30 comedy class with Tony Vicich tonight, followed by the Hashtag Open Mic at Grand Avenue Pizza. The open mic is on the patio. There was rain most of the day, so we all huddled under a coverd area and did our comedy without a PA system.
Wed Jan 16 = Busy, busy day! This morning Steve from Phil's Home Maintenance came to give me an estimate on some house maintenance. I have done very little since the house was built 25 years ago. We covered:
No need to calk or repaint until cracks become 1/4", when moisture can get into the stucco
Painting the stained area at the bottom of the west wall won't work due to sun fading
Stem wall needs to be repaired prn & repainted
One fallen roof tile needs to be reattached
Broken roof tiles need to be caulked
Uninsulated master bedroom arch can not be insulated, post construction. Thanks, D R Horton :(
- This afternoon I saw a hematologist/oncologist, trying to figure out why I am slightly anemic. They took 30 vials of blood for various tests and 35 x-rays for a skeletal survey.
This afternoon I took Willie shopping under the auspices of
.
Also I finished off the container of Garden Fresh Super Juice with organic fruits & vegetables with vitamins and minerals she gave me 15 days ago.
Thu Jan 17 = Many times in the winter I sun with a new pair of swim trunks. That way, by summer, I will develop a new tan line that matches them. Today I got two newly arrived pairs modified to fit better... a little more in the back and a little less in the front. They weigh in at .8oz (22g) less than half of last year's Speedos... and a lot cheaper.
Fri Jan 18 = Today's big project was to research and book flights to my appearance at the
Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. I think I got a pretty good deal with American Airlines for a $292 non-stop round trip into JFK. Before I pulled the trigger I also researched getting from JFK to the comedy club. It looks like it will be public transportation.
- I have been looking forward to tonight's comedy show at the
Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, for over six weeks. I think I did the right amount of preparation. I followed the strict stand-up formula for my Dominican Republic/Hand routine but didn't get the audience response that I had hoped for. The video is still good enough and may replace the 2015 Loony Bin version on the video section of my Press Kit. Here's the lineup and the comedians. In the front is Michael Longfellow, the headliner, and Tony.
Here's my set:
Sat Jan 19 = Today it took me 1:20 to process the above video. 75% of the time was spent uploading the files from my seven audio and video recorders, because there were some other show files I had to take care of. As of now, For the sound track, in the future, I will plan on using only my body microphone, as I did for the above video. My voice is clear, so I need to refrain from talking to beople immediately before and after I go on, and laughing at my own jokes... distracting. Audience laughs are recorded well and it is not worth a lot of extra work and time for possible slightly improved sound. This will reduce my processing time by another 50%, so I will be more likely to keep up with my videos. Also I am reducing the number of shows I video.
- This evening I located 19 comedy clubs in NYC and their distance from
Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. Tomorrow I will look at some of their websites to see about appearing the day before and the day after my Gotham performance.
- This evening I went to see Wanda Sykes at Stand Up Live in downtown Phoenix. She was good for 1:40, but I didn't go for the first part, with all of her liberal political negativism.
Sun Jan 20 = I started doing two things, or rather, NOT doing two things that make me a LITTLE more efficient and feel a LOT better. I quit recapping the gallon jug of distilled water from which I daily refill the humidifier of my CPAP machine. Also I quit closing the twist-caps on the Lime-Away containers I use weekly on my toilets.
- This afternoon I spent some time looking at comedian, Sebastain Maniscalo, who was recently on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Apparently Sebastain does not go to normal comedy clubs, but BIG venues like Madison Square Garden in NYC ($87 - $668 ticket prices) and The Celebrity Theater here in Phoenix ($150 - $354 ticket prices). The lowest prices I found for him were $30 in Detroit, MI.
- When I was in Hutchinson, from
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, I got a cute little old 32-bit Acer Aspire with very little memory (1gb RAM) and a small hard drive (136gb) running an old operating system (Windows 7 Starter). Today I download and set up Core FTP which I can use to maintain my website if something happens to 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
.
- I wrapped up this evening with a trip to the gym, uploading this blog through today and revising and printing out 48 of my show slips on blue paper.
- Oh yes, at the gym I dropped my fancy new Master Speed Dial padlock. It hit the tile floor hard, I locked my locker with it, it would not open, so had to have it cut off with polt cutters :(
Mon Jan 21 = It was sunny this morning and I looked foreward to laying in the sun for a while with my newly modified swim trunks. After several tries I gave up. Clouds were moving in with frustrating cycles of clouds and sun.
- ate some breakfast about 1am. Keep reading and you'll find out why.
Tue Jan 22 = 7:30 Up for the rest of my breakfast before 8am, after which I can eat no food six hours before my abdominal ultrasound at 2pm. Then back to bed for the rest of my night.
Productive day:
suned with my newly modified swim trunks
took a bath
got an abdominal ultrasound
got gas
light arms & torso work out at LA Fitness under Silver Sneakers
bought a new Master Speed Dial padlock at Home Depot
washed my van
Fixed supper
ate some of it
took broccoli to eat on my drive to:
Comedy Schools class where Tony privately evaluated our routines from Friday
went to Hashtag Comedy Corner at Grand Avenue Pizza
tried out the new Microphone clip with my wireless mic (good fit)
developed the artwork for USB cards by copying images from my Letterhead into Open Office Paint and added some text.
Wed Jan 23 = Gary from Term Tech came and did some drilling outside at the corner of my master bedroom because there was a termite trail inside. He said you'd have to let the termites go 50 years or so before having structural damage.
- Good news:
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
didn't make enough mony last year to need taxes to be filed. Just ignore the bond interest letter we received, according to
George & Cindy
my younger brother and his wife who live in Mesa, Arizona
's
tax lady.
Thu Jan 24 = This evening I did a very quick heavy legs workout, comedy at The Woodshed and Quail Loung. Quail was a good, responsive audience of 14. I did my famous old man routine, which I had not done there before.
Fri Jan 25 = Today was a booking day, making phone calls and sending emails for my trips to New York City and Fargo, ND. Also I finished my USB Card research and decided to go with customUSB.com for my first order.
- I researched the valley's VFW and American Legion posts in preparation for my Fargo, ND trip.
Sat Jan 26 = It was a major Chinese puzle when I moved my high tech Cosori cup heater to the wing of my office desk in the middle of the night (8am this morning).
The puzzle was to get discrete power to the Cosori (left) from the cramped power cover (right).
- I lay in the sun around noon and followed up with the usual short, fast, exercycle ride.
- Doing more research for Fargo, this evening I went to VFW Post 9400 in Sunny Slope. Dead: only one car in the parking lot; that was the bartender's and she would not let me inside without a card - said the commander would be there shortly. I waited in my van for about 20 minutes. No commander or anyone else came, so I went on to:
- The Pat Tillman American Legion post on North 32nd St. What a hopping place. The parking lot was very full and the place was crowded. They had live music. I met Soso Rodriguez, the Second Vice Comamnder. It turns out that Soso is in charge of events. We worked out some possible dates for me to do a benefit comedy show for the post... if they like what they see on my website.
Sun Jan 27 = Today I started my taxes with Tax Act. I HAVE to get everything done early with my comedy schedule and trips.
- I just got booked for the March 13th New Faces at Stand Up Live in downtown Phoenix :) Tonight it took me 28 (pretty good for me) minutes to process my last video from there. I got to bed early because I have to get up early (9am) for a
medical transport.
- Google sent me this cool map of all the places I visited in 2018:
Mon Jan 28 = Today I am 77 years old and two months (who cares?). I got up to pee three times last night - not too good. Yesterday I had my even-day meals, last of 80 oz water by about 1:30pm, an early supper and vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries at bedtime. I think the latter might be the culprit. Last week I started keeping track stuff and trying figure out how to get better sleep... even with an irregular sleep schedule due to my comedy.
- I took Ruth to her doctor's appointment under the auspsis of
this morning. What a delightful person: 95 and still with a sense of humor! While she was there, I did light, fast legs and arms workouts at the nearby Optum Community Center.
- Fedex left a package on my FRONT porch instead of at my BACK door because they didn't read the address label, they're lazy or they don't care. It was an awesome sample pack of USB fobs from flashbay.com. Their prices are fairly good, but they have a $25 shipping charge for the 50 Wafers that I intend to order, so I'll go with customusb.com.
- Two comedy appearances tonight... Jeremy Ditto's
Tempe Tavern and Dustin Rounds'
Devil's Advocate, both in Tempe. Neither audience laughed at parts of my new Cruise routine.
Tue Jan 29 = Today I booked my first Allegient Air flight: from Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport to Fargo, ND - non-stop.
- I cut my hairs. It was fast because I had roofer, Handy, from Top Notch Roofing, coming to look at my roof.
- Tonight's comedey was my new Cruise routine at
Dos Gringos in Tempe and
Grand Avenue Pizza in Phoenix .
Wed Jan 30 = I took my van in to C&R Tire for an oil change, 200 miles early because it was needing a quart of oil. They rushed me in and out so I could get to my determologist for my semi-annual skin check with Dr Travis Lamb.
- Tonight I met Bryan Ricci before my appearance at Laughter at the
The Lounge in Phoenix. He finally made good on on part of a promise to help me with my comedy... after three years of making excuses. No, he did not pay me any of the money he owes me. I have been more than patient with him. Changing my Cruise routine just before the show was not the best idea.
- On, then, to appear at the
Quail Lounge, south on 7th Ave... my 790th appearance!
Thu Jan 31 = Today I saw Dr. Khattab, my hematologist who is also an oncologist. I am glad I did not let his staff follow their standard procedure and draw my blood before I saw the doctor, because the draw turned out to not be necessary. The upshot is that I may have a bone marrow or kidney problem that is causing my anemia. However, if it is the bone marrow, they would likely not do anything about it anyway since my anemia is mild. Thus, doing a bone marrow biopsy is not indicated. He wants to see me back in six months.
- This evening I found a new place for comedy, thanks to my comedian friend, Noah Flores.
El Charro Hipster in Phoenix has been open only about three months. It is a mom and pop place, owned by Francisco and his wife and operated by them and their daughter. Durell, producer and host, gave us 10 minutes. Cool. My Old Man routine was well received. I sold three T-Shirts.
