Toms Diary

Today’s Business: 2012-03-06

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE. Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

08:00 AM: I’m up.

08:15 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 634 (unchanged). Fan count: 113 (unchanged).

12:00 PM: Balanced all checking accounts within my domain and paid all pending bills.

01:00 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce Review piece.

02:00 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Soft Scrub Original Cleanser Review piece.

03:00 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Soft Scrub Anti Bacterial With Bleach Cleanser Review piece.

04:00 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Weiman Glass Cook Top Heavy Duty Cleaner & Polish Review piece.

05:00 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Zircon Stud Sensor e50 Stud Finder Review piece.

05:10 PM: Nap time. Back later.

06:10 PM: I’m awake again.

07:00 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Destiny Limits Our Success piece.

07:30 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Energizer Max Alkaline Battery Review piece.

08:00 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Duracell Coppertop Alkaline Battery Review piece.

08:45 PM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Dating The Disabled piece.

09:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

09:20 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News broadcast via the DVR.

10:00 PM: Throughout the evening, took frequent breaks and watched coverage of this super Tuesday election.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:50 PM: Watched more of the super Tuesday election returns.

11:55 PM: I’m heading to bed. Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE. Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
Wash (2) loads of pending laundry. DONE.

Log

08:00 AM: I’m up.

08:15 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 634 (unchanged). Fan count: 113 (unchanged).

09:00 AM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant Review piece.

10:00 AM: Posted the Tom’s Views –> Fixing Noisy Electric Baseboard Heaters piece.

11:00 AM: Paid all pending bills.

12:00 PM: Installed the Honeywell RTH7600D programmable thermostat on the central heating system here at my home, that I bought at Lowe’s yesterday. So far, it works great. I’ll spend some time with it this afternoon to learn how to program it and optimize it for the particular heating situation here.

03:00 PM: Familiarized myself with the new central climate control programmable thermostat mentioned above. But I’m feeling flu symptoms coming on; achy joints and spasmatic stomach pains. So I think I’ll just take it easy for the rest of the day to try and beat this thing quickly.

07:20 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News broadcast via the DVR.

08:10 PM: Watched yesterday’s episode of Dr. Phil via the DVR, called Parental Abuse.

08:55 PM: Watched today’s episode of Dr. Phil via the DVR, called Braxton Family Values.

09:50 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:10 PM: I’m heading to bed. Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE. Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

08:00 AM: I’m up.

08:15 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 632 (unchanged). Fan count: 113 (unchanged).

12:00 PM: Spent the morning processing all pending mail received over the past couple of weeks.

01:00 PM: ‎2.01 miles on the treadmill today, at 4.0 MPH, 3.5% incline (up 0.5%), 68 degrees F room temp, for 30 minutes, 370 calories burned, with heart rate peaking at 150 BPM for walk / workout 4 of 130 in 2012.

05:00 PM: Cooked a seasoned pork tenderloin all day today in the crock pot for supper. It’s delicious.

05:10 PM: Nap time. Back later.

07:00 PM: I’m awake again.

07:30 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

08:00 PM: Posted a picture of this battery-operated black light on Facebook, that sister Jojo bought me for my birthday in 2011. It’s cute and I thought others would enjoy it.

10:00 PM: Watched the Star Trek original series episodes: The Savage Curtain, The Naked Time, and Spectre of the Gun via Netflix.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:15 AM: I’m heading to bed. Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

Newspaper style coupon mailer.
Offer to subscribe to AT&T cell phone service. Not at this time, thanks, though the pot-sweetener of two free smartphones did tempt me just a little.
Weis food market coupon.
Misc. bank papers.
Invoice for my current medical insurance premiums. Already paid these last month.
Offer for some sort of final expenses insurance policy. No thanks.
Request from the Red Cross to donate some of my platelets. They say I have an abundant supply, based on my last blood donation. I may.
A $100 AdSense advertising credit from Google.
Misc. medical bills for Mom.
Balance transfer offer from Chase Freedom bank. No thanks.
Address change confirmation from the company that issues my pension.
Sewage bill.
Yearly mailing from Beacon Lodge camp. I’m not attending this year.
Gas bill.
Offer of a $100 loyalty credit from Verizon for any smartphone they carry. Not at this time, thanks. But perhaps later.
Coupon fro Window World. Hmmm. Wish I would have had this before my new windows were installed.
Offer from Triple A (AAA) for an auto membership. No thanks.
Annual statement of account for my savings assets.
Credit card bill from JCP for the drapes I purchased this month. Haven’t had a credit card bill in almost a decade. But I’m paying this one off in full. So it won’t be around for long.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE. Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.
Wash (3) loads of pending laundry. DONE.
Pay (4) pending bills. DONE.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.

08:45 AM: Facebooked for perhaps ten minutes. Friend count: 631 (up one). Fan count: 113 (unchanged).

08:50 AM: It’s been one year today since Mom stopped residing here. She had to go to the hospital on Super Bowl night in 2011 while arrangements were made for her to live at the nursing home where she now lives. After one full year, I’m still feeling a bit empty. I still love her house. But it’s not quite the same now that neither her nor Dad live here. Those two, along with Mom’s parents before them, really made this place come alive with all sorts of wonderful memories and comfortable feelings of warmth and safety. I still miss them all.

01:30 PM: Washed all pending laundry; most of which, again, is for Mom. I’m visiting her tomorrow and will take her these cleaned clothes then.

02:30 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

02:40 PM: Scheduled a ride to Lowe’s home improvement center for the day after tomorrow, to buy some plaster (setting type joint compound) and associated tools for repairing the cracked and separating plaster on the north wall in my workout room.

03:00 PM: Worked various tasks in the office today, including paying all pending bills and filling out my 2011 federal income tax forms.

03:50 PM: Watched today’s episode of Dr. Phil via the DVR, called The Girl in the Closet.

04:40 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

05:35 PM: Watched the 2012-01-29 episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes weekly in-depth news show via the DVR.

06:00 PM: Cooked an acorn squash for 8 minutes in the microwave oven for supper. I added some pasta sauce to it after microwaving was complete. This dish was okay. However, I didn’t like it as much as the spaghetti squash I made last week. Rather bland this one was, and it might have been a bit softer had I cooked it for a few extra minutes.

09:50 PM: Conducted a sound experiment where I put up two layers of curtains on the two living room windows in the north west corner where my TV sits, to see if two sets would reduce the road noise from outside any more than one. While there may have been a slight additional attenuation of the unwanted sounds, it was not enough to justify paying an additional $90 per window to add the second layer. So I took the second layer back down (two windows worth of curtains), and put them up on a window in my downstairs bedroom, and the last un-draped window in the living room. Now, all windows that have drapes again have only one layer of drapes.

10:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of NBC’s Nightly News broadcast via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy]. We watched tonight’s episode of Hawaii Five-0.

11:20 PM: I’m heading to bed. Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE. Cat duty involves cleaning the litter boxes, bagging the excess, feeding, and house cleaning cat dirt of all types.

Log

08:15 AM: I’m up.

08:30 AM: Facebooked for perhaps fifteen minutes. Friend count: 625 (unchanged). Fan count: 114 (unchanged).

12:30 PM: Balanced all five checking accounts under my management.

01:15 PM Vacuumed the first floor.

02:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

03:00 PM: Requested a disbursement from the WPSBC Alumni Association’s investment account. Their checking account is getting low, and we must assure that we have sufficient funds on hand for the upcoming alumni convention this summer. The amount I requested should not only stop those low-balance monthly service fees that the bank who hosts our checking account charges us, but should also provide enough liquid capital for all alumni business for 2012 and beyond.

04:15 PM: Watched today’s episode of Dr. Phil via the DVR, called Starving To Death.

06:30 PM: Next long-running project: Phase out all cloth-insulated, two-wire fifteen-amp circuits here at my home; upgrading those still needed to three-wire twenty-amp circuits that employ state-of-the-art insulation. This house really shows its age when you see its deteriorating original cloth-covered wiring. I’m working on the first circuit now. I don’t need a new box yet, as it was last replaced in 1997 with a 200-amp service. I would however, love a 400-amp service, on MY OWN transformer !

07:30 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of The CBS Evening News.

08:00 PM: Watched tonight’s edition of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

10:00 PM: Listened to my iPod while watching tonight’s Florida Republican debate. I’ll watch this again over the weekend via the DVR; this time, without the iPod, so I can pay full attention.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

12:30 AM: I inadvertently cut out the supply line for the first circuit I’m upgrading before realizing that that wire fed the overhead lights in the kitchen as well as those on the south porch. See [Emmy]? I do indeed make mistakes. So I spent some time upstairs in the crawlspace, looking for a new place to get power for those lights. I found one. I must say that I was surprised to find that clipping the old wires inside an outlet box in the living room, deprived power to lights so far away (in the kitchen). But 65 years ago, they did not run as many circuits as they do now in houses. I believe that before our service upgrade in 1997, this place only had six or eight circuits. Now, we have roughly thirty-four.

12:55 AM: Listened to my iPod and facebooked for a couple hours, and fiddled around a bit more with the wiring upgrade project.

01:05 PM: I’m heading to bed. Good night and do stop back tomorrow for more content. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.
Wash (3) loads of pending laundry. DONE. 166 loads done in the washer now.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up. Looks like a completely sunny day outside. Temperatures right now is in the mid 40s.

08:40 AM: Facebooked for a bit. Friend count: 592 (up two). Fan count: 112 (unchanged).

09:00 AM: Balanced Mom’s checking account.

09:10 AM: Verified with Mom’s bank that they’re no longer transferring money each month from her checking to savings, and that taxes are no longer being withheld from her railroad retirement pension.

10:00 AM: Located all papers associated with the dental work (five teeth pulled) that Mom had done during August of 2010. We received a bill for this that we’ll have some difficulty paying, as Mom now only gets $45 per month in discretionary money.

10:05 AM: Scheduled a van trip to visit Mom for later this week.

11:00 AM: Called Mom’s dentists in Pittsburgh to ask about the above-mentioned bill. Their billing specialist advised me to pay $50 on the bill, and include a letter asking for a hardship waiver. She thinks we might be granted this waiver, since Mom has so little means now to pay.

11:15 AM: Scheduled an eye exam for myself. It’s been just over two years since my last one, and I do need some new glasses.

11:30 AM: Scheduled a free in-home estimate to replace the 65 year-old windows in the bedroom, and the 40 year-old windows in the kitchen. That will happen in early November.

11:45 AM Balanced my checking account.

12:30 PM: Wrote a letter to Mom’s dentists in Pittsburgh, pleading the case for the above-mentioned hardship waiver.

02:50 PM: Leaving now with brother in law Richard to pick up the new interior glass for the three windows here in my office. I’m hoping that this will sufficient cut the road noise that comes in these windows. Back later.

05:30 PM: I’m back home.

06:00 PM: I placed the new glass in the window frames where it will ultimately reside, just to see how well it attenuates the noise. There is definite improvement. This room is significantly quieter; the higher frequency noises outside are most effectively squelched. However, significant unwanted sound remains; particularly when motorcycles pass by. So I’m going to look into 1/2 inch thick glass instead of the 1/4 inch thick stuff I bought today.

07:20 PM: Mom called to chat for a minute. She’s still not feeling very well; her stomach hurts. She’s to see the doctor tomorrow about it.

08:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

08:20 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy]. Tonight we watched the all new episode of Hawaii Five-0.

12:00 PM: Watched the Star Trek episode The Ultimate Computer, from the original series via Netflix. They offer digitally remastered versions of all the episodes in this series, and some of the new effects are stunning. I’m amazed that the pictures look as clear and noise-free as they do.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count rose this time, and currently stands at 1013; up from 1011 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

12:40 PM: Headed for bed. More tomorrow. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

Misc. bank papers.
Hospital bill co-payment bill for Mom.
Registration sticker for Mom’s car.
Personal savings account offer from American Express. No thanks.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.
Wash (4) loads of pending laundry. DONE. 154 loads done in the washer now.
Pay (3) pending bills. DONE.

Log

07:50 AM: I’m up. It’s, dreary again outside this morning.

07:55 AM: But in spite of the drizzle, the hauler guy returned just now to clear the rest of the junk out of the junk pile, remove that pile of shingles I accrued when I replaced the yellow shed roof in 2009, and to salvage some wood laying around here.

08:15 AM: Facebooked a bit. Friend count: 582 (up one). Fan count: 111.

09:55 AM: The hauler guy has finished loading up his truck and is leaving. He says that he’ll call me with the total cost later today.

11:20 AM: Worked on the bills and started the laundry.

11:30 AM: I thought I was going to Lowe’s today to shop around for storm windows. However for some reason, my ride had no record of a scheduled pick-up for me today. Hmmmm. I thought I scheduled that a few days ago. Oh well, I guess I’ll not be “window shopping” today, as they refuse to schedule same-day pickups.

03:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR, for the first time in high definition. Yep, the upgraded TV was indeed worth the price.

05:00 PM: Heard from the hauler guy. Today’s hauling bill is $90. Sending that to him in tomorrow’s mail.

05:05 PM: Nap time. Back later.

06:20 PM: I’m awake again.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:45 PM: Played with some of the apps on the new TV, and watched a bit more of the modern-day version of Alice in Wonderland that I grew too tired to finish last night.

12:00 PM: Bed time. More tomorrow. Good night.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count rose this time, and currently stands at 1043; up from 1035 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

Garbage pickup bill for the fourth quarter of 2011.
One of Mom’s retirement pension pay-stubs.
Periodic newspaper style coupon mailer.
Mom’s monthly prescription drug summary from her medical insurance provider.
Senior Scope newsletter.
1 credit card offer from my personal checking account bank. No thanks.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE. Sister Jojo is performing this task for me while I’m vacationing in Pittsburgh.

Log

09:30 AM: I’m up.

10:15 AM: Facebooked a bit. Friend count: 583 (up two). Fan count: 111 (unchanged).

11:00 AM: Spackled a small hole on the door wall in [Emmy's] bathroom. I made this hole a year or two ago, when I put up a hand towel hanger ring for her. We discovered that we could not use this hole, as the electrical box on the other side of this wall prevented sufficient penetration for a strong mount.

11:50 AM: Heading out to lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant. Back later.

01:15 PM: Walked [Emmy] back to her apartment. Now, heading to WPSBC to meet [Tad]. We have some banking business to take care of today for the WPSBC Alumni Association.

01:45 PM: [Tad] and I are leaving the school for the bank. We’re walking.

02:00 PM: The meeting with the banker begins…

03:15 PM: As [Tad] is the current president of the WPSBC Alumni Association, he must be authorized to sign checks and conduct any other necessary business with the alumni association’s checking account. However, due to missing information and inconsistent data that the bank had on file pertaining to our current checking account, the banker suggested that we start up a new business checking account. We initiated that process today, and [Tad] has been fully authorized as a signer on the new account.

04:00 PM: [Tad] and I then walked to Dunkin’ Donuts for some coffee, to sort of, unwind and get out of business banking mode. Then, with the rain beginning to fall, his wife came along in her car and graciously offered me a ride back to [Emmy's]. I indeed took her up on it. I bade [Tad] and his wife [Morra] farewell. I’ll see them tomorrow at the alumni fun day.

04:10 PM: Arrived at [Emmy's].

06:00 PM: [Emmy] and I walked to CVS Pharmacy to pick up some WD-40 spray lubricant. She’s got a kitchen faucet that squeaks obtrusively when actuated, and I hope that spraying the WD-40 underneath its coverings and into the inner mechanism will quiet it.

07:00 PM: We also stopped in at SuperCuts, where I purchased my monthly haircut for $10.

07:30 PM: We’re back at [Emmy's] apartment, preparing for [Mentat's] arrival in a couple hours.

09:00 PM: We made up [Mentat's] bed as we waited for him.

08:50 PM: [Mentat] arrived as [Emmy] watched a new prime time show on CBS: A Gifted Man.

11:00 PM: We spent the rest of the evening catching up and syncing hard disk drives. But we’re all tired though excited about the social at the school tomorrow. So we’re heading to bed. Good night.

12:05 AM: The daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count fell this time, and currently stands at 1070; down from 1081 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

None today.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.
Wash (3) loads of pending laundry. DONE. 147 loads done in the washer now.
Balance the WPSBC Alumni Association’s checking account, in preps for the fun day social coming up later this week. DONE.

Log

09:00 AM: I’m up.

09:15 AM: Facebooked a bit. Friend count: 579 (unchanged). Fan count: 111 (unchanged).

12:00 PM: Posted the WPSBC Alumni Association –> Robert Longmore Passed Away piece.

12:10 PM: Posted the WPSBC Alumni Association –> Helen Callahan Passed Away piece.

03:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of The Young and the Restless via the DVR.

04:00 PM: Browsed around on the web for information about obtaining and installing new storm windows (we have none except for the windows in Mom’s bedroom currently). This would not only lower our utility bills but also cut down on the traffic noise which, as of late, has become quite the irritant. Looks like Lowe’s and Home Depot sell them. I also watched a few videos on installing them. Doesn’t seem too complicated.

05:45 PM: Leaving now for walk 79 of 100 for 2011, again, to the south cemetery. Back in an hour.

06:45 PM: I’m back. The temperature was 73 degrees, mostly cloudy, little wind, and mostly dry with a bit of spritzing here and there.

10:00 PM: [Emmy] and I listened to the first pre season Penguins hockey game of the 2011-2012 season. The Pens beat Detroit, 3 to 2.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:30 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count rose this time, and currently stands at 1091; up from 1080 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

12:10 AM: Bed time. More tomorrow. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

Newspaper style coupon mailer.

Today’s Activities

Shower. DONE.
Cat duty. DONE.
Wash (1) load of pending laundry. DONE. 144 loads done in the washer now.

Log

08:15 AM: I’m up.

08:45 AM: Facebooked a bit. Friend count: 578 (down one). Fan count: 111 (unchanged).

09:30 AM: Moved my working set of clothes from my upstairs bedroom to the one downstairs. I’m getting ready for winter, and to save energy, I hope to vacate the upstairs so as to avoid the extra costs of heating those rooms.

10:45 AM: Balanced all checking accounts.

11:00 AM: Sister Mary Ann arrived to continue the process of organizing and cleaning out Mom’s possessions. We’ll likely be busy with this for most of today.

12:00 PM: Sisters Christine and Jojo came as well, to help with the effort.

05:00 PM: Well, the red jelly cabinet (that was in the first floor office) has been claimed by Mary Ann, and sister Jojo took the buffet cabinet in the kitchen. We went through the remaining small items on the first floor, organized the kitchen, found places for all my kitchen appliances, and wiped down all the first floor windows.

05:30 Nap time. Back later.

06:45 PM: I’m awake again. No walk today, as I slept too long. I’ll get it in tomorrow.

09:30 PM: Watched all pending episodes of NBC’s Nightly News via the DVR.

11:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

12:05 AM: Reviewed the daily traffic stats from yesterday for my blogs. The monthly keyword hit count fell this time, and currently stands at 1074; down from 1087 at last check. The record high for this dimension remains at 1788. The next goal: 2000.

12:10 AM: Bed time. More tomorrow. Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

No mail on Sunday.

May 2012
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