Tom's Diary

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.

Log

10:00 AM: I’m up. Fully sunny and warm so far.

10:15 AM: Sister Jojo called, offering to take [Emmy] and I to the park.  However, since I’ve just gotten up, and [Emmy] is still sleeping, I had to decline, as we could not be ready by the time she wanted to depart.  Oh well.  Perhaps we’ll go tomorrow with one of the lions, when he drives there to work Bingo. 

11:00 AM: Posted the    Dear Susan Jacks   piece to the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog.

02:00 PM: Heading to DelGrosso park to spend the afternoon sitting in the lounge chairs at the water park.  We’ll also stroll over to the main concourse and ride the merry-go-round perhaps.

02:10 PM: We’re at the park and just paid $25.90 for admission for the two of us.  Not bad for a whole day’s worth of fun. 

03:00 PM: I took a little note pad and jotted some notes while people-watching.  Well, to perfectly honest, I was girl-watching.    I’ll write about the experience at some point, should inspiration to do so encourage me. 

04:30 PM: Okay, we’ve spent two hours at the water park, enjoying our iPods and the music through the park PA systems.  Now we’re headed across East Pleasant Valley Boulevard to where the rides are. 

05:45 PM: Let’s see, we did indeed ride the merry-go-round, the Crazy Mouse, and the little train.  Now, we’re grabbing a little supper at the outdoor restaurant close to game land. 

065:00 PM: We enjoyed a couple of steak sandwiches at Murf’s Kitchen.  Unfortunately however, I couldn’t get their free outdoor WiFi to work with my iPod Touch.  I was able to connect to it, but could not access any of my favorite Internet radio stations.  Something must be wrong with their Internet connection.

06:20 PM: We then met sister Jojo near the park’s main office for our ride home.  She had come to pick up her daughter, who had come to the park with a friend for the day, and her younger son, who was working as a life guard at the park. 

06:30 PM: We’re home again.

06:45 PM: After enjoying some cream cheese jello, we’re taking a nap.  Being out in that bright sun this afternoon has really played me out. 

08:45 PM: While dozing, we listened to  the 2010-05-27 episode of   KDKA’s local news at 5:00 PM   on the DVR.

09:50 PM: Watched last night’s and tonight’s episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   on the DVR.

12:35 AM: Watched the 2010-05-28 episode of   Dr. Phil,  and the 2010-05-23 episode of   NBC’s Nightly News; both from the DVR.

12:40 AM: Going to bed now.  Good night, take care, and see you tomorrow. 

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

• The 2010-05 issue of  Consumer Reports   magazine.
• Notice that plastic and paper recycling is coming to our area.
• TigerDirect catalog.
• Invitation to nephew Trey’s graduation party.  We’re going.
• Balance transfer offer from Capital One bank.  No thanks.

Related Posts

• Diary Revisions: 2010-05-29
• Quest Revisions: 2010-05-29
• Site Stats: 2010-05-29
• Today’s Diet: 2010-05-29
• Tom’s Love Quest –> Dear Susan Jacks
• Weekly Backups: 2010-05-29
• Weight Loss: 2010

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.   DONE.

Log

07:30 AM: I’m up. 

07:05 AM: Read more of the   Happiness Now   book overnight. 

02:30 PM: All my sisters and some of their children just arrived for a Mother’s Day lunch.  Mom’s making sandwiches, salad, and pork in the oven I believe. I showed my State College brother-in-law the iPod Touch.  He was impressed with all the apps you can get for it and of all the diverse things these programs make it do.

03:15 PM: Sister Christine and I played around on Facebook; she wanted to figure out how to UN hide friends.  We found one way; kludgy perhaps.  But it works.  I’ll seek a more elligant solution this week. 

03:55 PM: [Emmy] surprised Mom by calling to wish her a happy Mother’s Day.  We wish [Emmy] could have joined us today.  But she’ll be visiting us a week from today for a couple weeks.  I always like when she comes to visit, as she breaks up the monotony that I sometimes find myself in when I’ve written too many words in too short a time; I do need a break, as it’s been ten weeks since my last one.  It’ll be good seeing [Emmy] again. 

04:00 PM: Sister Mary Ann got what appears to be a 5th generation iPod Nano gift for Mothers Day from her daughters, and I’ve been contracted to populate it for her.  She gave me a $25 gift card to buy music with, and she’ll let me know during the upcoming week which songs she wants to buy. She also supplied a couple CDs to rip onto it from Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts.  She’ll pick it up on Friday.

06:00 PM: After the meal, the adults hung out in the living room, savoring our full bellies, and listening to the kids talking about school plays and proms, upcoming summer activities, and each other. 

06:45 PM: The last of the family just left.  Now, I’m taking a nap. 

07:20 PM: Facebooked throughout the day.  Some of what I wrote there,   here.

09:15 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of   CBS’s 60 Minutes   news show on the DVR.  They covered the heightening concern over home-grown terrorists and how foreign terrorist groups may now be targeting American citizens to kill Americans.  They also showcased Hilary Clinton and her tireless efforts to negotiate with and assist the Pakistani government to capture Al Qaeda operatives hiding there. Then, for their last story, they covered people who, though they can afford to make their monthly mortgage payments, have nonetheless decided to walk away from their debt, and let their homes default back to the banks.  Informative show. 

09:45 PM: [Emmy] seemed a trifle depressed tonight.  So we talked way shorter on the phone than is typical for us.  But with the next Penguins game tomorrow night, we’ll make up for it then. 

11:00 PM: Watched CNN news.  The big story: Obama pics nominee for Supreme Court justice. 

11:15 PM: Fog is descending on me.  Yep.  Time for bed, it is.  So good night.  It’s back to business as usual tomorrow. 

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

No mail on Sundays. 

Related Posts

• Book: Happiness Now
• Facebook Tid Bits: 2010-05-09
• Today’s Diet: 2010-05-09
• Weight Loss: 2010

08:00 PM: [Emmy]‘s  4th generation iPod Nana does not sync.  When she plugs it into her computer, iTunes gives a message: “Waiting for iPod.” Then, it does no more.  This message remained on the screen for several hours when [Emmy] first encountered the problem.  To localize the problem, I did the following:

1. Tried syncing her iPod to the iTunes library on my computer using her data cable.  This worked fine and did not hang. 
2. Verified that this problem still happens on her computer.
3. Tried moving the iPod’s data cable around to the various USB ports on [Emmy]‘s computer. The same behavior was noted on at least three of the five ports; I tried both ports on the front and one of the ports on the back. 
4. Then, I tried rebooting the iPod by holding down the touch ring at the 12:00 position along with the center button.  After the iPod came back up, it seemed to sync properly.  No more “Waiting for iPod” messages.
5. Re synced the iPod again, this time on the front panel USB ports where this all began, to verify that it will sync on these ports as well, at full speed.

This problem is solved.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 2010-02-22

Today’s Activities

• Cat duty.  DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds. DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Go shopping.  DONE.

Log

08:00 AM: I’m up. My weight is the same as yesterday; 174.0 Lbs.

08:30 AM: Finished tailoring the new WordPress 2.9.2 installations.  For details, click   here.

08:40 AM: Posted the   Disabling Post Revisions: 2010-02-17   piece.

08:45 AM: Posted the   WordPress 2.9.2 Upgrade   piece.

11:30 AM: iPodded for a while, using my 4th generation Nano, and it sounds every bit as good as the iPod with Video, and the iPod Touch.  Fortunately, nowadays, great audio fidelity is not so much determined by the price you pay for the device.  To my ears, even the cheapest iPod Shuffles sound just as good as the most expensive iPod Touches.  Nope, these days, you pay for feature / function; not fidelity. 

01:30 PM: Categorized 277 more posts on the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog throughout this morning.  Now, only 500 posts remain uncategorized. 

05:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

06:15 PM: Going out   shopping   this evening with Debbie and Mom.

08:40 PM: We’re home again from our   shopping trip. 

10:30 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].  I picked up four boxes of Kashi Go-Lean Crunch for her; she can’t find the large boxes at the store where she shopps in Pittsburgh.  So I’ll take these to her. 

11:35 PM: Categorized 234 more posts on the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog.  Now, there are just 266 posts left to process.

11:37 PM: Okay, my right wrist is sore from all the mouse moving and clicking today, and I’m quite tired.  So I’m off to bed.  Take care, and I’ll be back out here bright and early to start a new day, fresh.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

• Catalog from Interpower corporation.
• Coupon mailer.
• Auto insurance offer, from Mom’s bank.  No thanks.
• Sewage bill.
• Jury duty summons for someone that no longer lives here.
• Offer for a ChaseFreedom card.  No thanks.
• Annual statement from my savings and investments firm.

Related Posts

• Disabling Post Revisions: 2010-02017
• Mom’s Status: 2010-02-17
• Shopping Trip: 2010-02-17
• Today’s Diet: 2010-02-17
• WordPress 2.9.2 Upgrade

Mom drove me to Altoona to get the train to Philadelphia.  It left on time, at 9:49 AM, and arrived at 30th street station in Philly at 2:50 PM.  I just love fivehour train rides.  The used to bore me.  But now, with the iPod, Victor Reader Stream, my cell phone, and naps to keep me occupied, the ride has become quite pleasant.  I reached [Jack's] place just off of City Avenue at around 4:15 PM. 

We talked about the foot party coming up tomorrow, went to Allegro’s for supper, and then hung out on My Telespace throughout the evening while drinking pop. 

Unlike my last two visits here in May and June, we had no rain during the day, although there were a few isolated thunderstorms overnight.

Tom Hesley

Today we watched the movie:   The Death of the Incredible Hulk.  It surprised me that   [Mentat]   enjoyed it as much as he did, because he used to rib me for being such a big hulk fan back in 1979, when we lived together at McKee Place.  But he said it was a great movie although he didn’t think his girlfriend would like it, since it has a sadder-than-expected ending. 

Then, I showed him the 4th generation iPod Nano and he liked the speech.  He picked up how to use the thing quickly and within less than ten minutes, he knew enough to use it on his own.  The built-in speech helped a great deal there. 

I also showed him my Victor Reader Stream, and he liked that device so much that he’s talking about buying one himself so he can download NLS digital talking books.

Then, in the evening, we watched President Obama’s press conference, and I was glad to see that   [Mentat]   is not today the staunch republican that he was in the 80s.  Yep.  He’s finally coming around. 

03:00 PM: I had my last visit with the “love doctor” therapist.

10:00 PM: Worked   Mentat’s Corrupt Mail File   problem. 

Related Posts

• Mentat’s Corrupt Mail File
• Today’s Business: 2010-02-07

I bought  [Emmy]  an iPod 4th generation Nano for Christmas. She was tickled. She likes its ability to announce the songs and items on the menus. It’s the most accessible iPod to date. However, she has lots of questions about how to use it in conjunction with iTunes. So, I think I’ll go and buy one for myself, for learning purposes only you understand.

Tom Hesley