Tom's Diary

Today’s Planned Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds.  DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Do all pending laundry (two loads of dark for Mom).  DONE.
• Balance all checking accounts.
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

Log

09:15 AM: I’m up. 

11: 20 AM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-23-10-49   on the Victor Reader Stream, which is a continuation of last night’s discussion of the rational sides of fear.  I can’t wait to start writing about this more in the blogs.

02:00 PM: Received mail:

• Yellowbook telephone directory (1)
• The 2010-02 edition of Promo Only’s  Urban Radio series.
• Mom’s 2009 W2 for her pension.
• The 2010-01 & 2010-02 edition of Analog Science Fiction magazine.

03:00 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  All remaining outdoor Christmas lights have been taken down now.  The strings from the west fence need repair yet.  But I’ll work that, piecemeal, throughout the year. 

03:55 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-23-15-32   on the Victor Reader Stream, where I speculated on how I might have acquired this fear of reaching out to beautiful women.  One time, as a ten-year-old boy, a female babysitter admonished me for singing that chick-a-boom song (by Daddy Dewdrop) to her.  She didn’t take this very well and in retrospect, I’d say that she reacted to my musical overture way more negatively than the situation called for.  Nonetheless I was hurt, and suspect this to be one of many unpleasant lessons through the 1970s, where I learned not to be so forthcoming to women about my interest in them; in fact, to actually fear it. 

04:00 PM: Now, it’s nap time.

06:55 PM: I’m back up again. 

09:00 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  Replaced lots of bubs on the strings I removed from the west fence.

09:20 PM: Took the   weekly system backups.

12:00 AM: Talked with   [Emmy].

01:15 AM: Browsed on eBay, looking at spare WiFi routers and access points.

01:35 AM: Heading for bed now.  So enjoy your night and I’ll catch you later on, right back here.  Take care.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Christmas Lighting, 2009
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-23
• Weekly System Backups: 2010-01-23

Today’s Planned Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds. DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Shopping trip   today. DONE.
• Balance all checking accounts.
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

Log

07:30 AM: I’m up.  My weight did not drop from yesterday.  It’s still 175.5 pounds.

11:00 AM: Played more with the IRIS WebRadio.  I called the manufacturer of the WebRadio: Solutions Radio.  We talked for roughly ten minutes, and we verified that the radio they sent me is indeed the WiFi version.  They also supplied more critical details for configuring the WebRadio to access a WiFi network.  I’ll include what they said, and what I subsequently verified, in the   IRIS WebRadio WiFi Setup   post.

11:10 AM: Going out on today’s   shopping trip.  I’ll return later.

03:30 PM: We’re home, and we’ve put the groceries away.  Nap time.

05:45 PM: Spent some time extensively revising the   IRIS WebRadio WiFi Setup   post I wrote yesterday.  New information from Solutions Radio today made yesterday’s post inaccurate and obsolete. 

10:15 PM: Talked with   [Emmy]  for nearly four hours this evening. 

10:45 PM: Then, I played with the IRIS WebRadio a little more and revised the posts I’d written about it yesterday.

11:45 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-22-23-07   on the Victor Reader Stream, where I discussed how the rational side of the fear of rejection makes finding peace with having that fear much easier.  I’ll write about that more in the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog once my thoughts on the topic coalesce into some concrete ideas.

12:30 AM: Watched the 2010-01-22 episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR. 

12:45 AM: Bed time.  See you later on.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Diary Revisions: 2010-01-22
• IRIS WebRadio WiFi Setup
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-22
• Shopping Trip: 2010-01-22
• Today’s Diet: 2010-01-22

Today’s Planned Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds. DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Do all pending laundry (1 load of whites).  DONE.
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

Log

09:30 AM: I’m up.  My weight did not drop from yesterday.  It’s still 175.5 pounds.

10:30 AM: Browsed the Windows 7 and Windows Vista mail lists.

10:50 AM: Signed up for an online account with Mom’s diabetic testing supplies provider, and then ordered another batch of test strips.

11:30 AM: Received mail and shipments:

• IRIS Internet WebRadio, per the   Internet Shopping: 2010-01-16   order.
• Clothing from QVC for Mom.

04:00 Played with this IRIS Internet WebRadio a bit.  For details, click  here.

05:00 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  Took down some more lights.

06:00 PM: Disabled the automatic saving of post revisions on all my blogs.  Installing new versions of WordPress always re activates this feature, which I wish not to use at this time.  So, each time I upgrade WordPress, I must run through the blogs, turning it off again.  I wish WordPress would provide an option for toggling this on and off in the admin pages.

07:30 PM: Played with this IRIS Internet WebRadio some more and posted more information about it on this blog.

08:15 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   from the DVR.

10:00 PM: Hung out with   [Emmy]   on the phone, listening to the Penguins game; they lost to the Washington Capitals. 

11:20 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-21-23-14   on the Victor Reader Stream; the topic of this episode is [Linda] and how she no longer does foot sessions at the parties.  Hmmm.  I wonder if I had something to do with that? 

11:30 PM: Pulled out my newest laptop and installed Winamp 5.572 on it.  It’s indexing my music library now, on one of the new hard drives.

12:00 AM: The indexing finished just now.  So I can use Winamp’s media library to search my collection.  It sure is fast on that laptop. 

12:50 AM: Well, I’m finished with another day.  Man, the days go by fast these days.  Anyway, good night all.  See you here again later.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Christmas Lighting, 2009
• Disabling Post Revisions, WordPress 2.9.1
• Internet Shopping: 2010-01-16
• IRIS Internet WebRadio Received
• IRIS WebRadio Web Sites
• IRIS WebRadio WiFi Setup
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-21
• Today’s Diet: 2010-01-21
• Wrong IRIS WebRadio?

Today’s Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds.  IN PROGRESS.
• Shower. DONE.
• Check grocery and meds inventory and make list of needed items for the upcoming shopping trips this week.
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

08:15 AM: I’m up.

09:30 AM: My weight remains unchanged from yesterday. It’s still 178.0 pounds.  Yep.  It’s going to be another 800 calorie target day

10:30 AM: Created the 2010-01-18-09-58 episode in my audio journal on the Victor Reader Stream, which I’ll transcribe to the blog here sometime in the future, though not immediately.  I like to let these entries “cool off” a little, before posting them. This gives me time to mull over them and improve how I say what I said in them, and to find and eliminate any errors.  In this episode I further discuss reducing my anxiety of approaching women I deem beautiful.

12:35 PM: Posted the    Going With The Flow At Work   piece.

12:50 PM: Posted the   No More Great Raises   piece.

01:10 PM: Added the   Today’s Business: 2002-01-03   piece.

03:00 PM: Talked with   [Emmy].

04:15 PM: Signed up to transfer our land line phone services from Verizon over to our cable provider.  This should save us between $50 and $60 per month.  I’m a little worried that the quality of the new lines won’t be as high as I’ve been used to with Verizon.  But I attempted to negotiate a lower rate with Verizon, for both Mom’s and my phone lines.  They refused.  So I decided to give our cable provider a try.  If the new lines have substandard sound, I’ll switch back.

05:30 PM: Watched the following episodes of CBS’s   60 Minutes    from the DVR:

• 2009-12-20.
• 2009-12-27 (partial, because the show was delayed by CBS football coverage — what a pain!).
• 2010-01-03 (partial, again due to football coverage; the DVR’s schedule is usually not updated to reflect late-running football games).
• 2010-01-17.

06:15 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   from the DVR.

06:30 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  Put away some of the indoor decorations today.

06:55 PM: Skipped today’s episode of   Dr. Phil,   which focused on the Dr. Phil family; not interested in that thread.

07:05 PM: Applied all pending plugin version upgrades to all three of my blogs:

• Tom’s Diary
• Tom’s Love Quest
• Tom’s Views

09:00 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-18-20-53   on the Victor Reader Stream. Here I discuss initiating the second contact in my  finding-love-in-my-past   campaign.

10:20 PM: Talked with [Emmy] for the last hour plus.

11:00 PM: Browsed around a little on facebook. Interesting.  I see why so many people like it.  But I’ll post more about it once I get some real experience.

11:10 PM: Posted the daily list of added / revised documents in this blog,   here.

11:15 PM: I’m going to bed now.  Take care, and will catch you right back here tomorrow morning.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Christmas Lighting, 2009
• Diary Revisions: 2010-01-18
• Going With The Flow At Work
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-18
• No More Great Raises
• Today’s Business: 2002-01-03

Today’s Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds.  DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

08:30 AM: I’m up.  My weight remains unchanged from yesterday; it’s still 178.5 pounds. Looks like I’ll have to nudge it along today in order to stay on schedule, by declaring this an 800-calorie day; that is, a day where I eat no more than 800 calories.  To keep from feeling overly hungry, I’ve got my green tea here.  That will get me to around 5:00 PM.  After that, the hunger typically becomes unbearable; the room starts spinning and I begin feeling nauseous and lose my ability to concentrate.  When that occurs, I’ll have a big glass of fat-free milk, which usually provides enough calories and nutrition to quell that ”hunger sickness”.  Then a little later, I might have a bowl of soup or something light, at around 7:00 PM.    This last meal I try and time so that it’s late enough to suppress my appetite until well past bedtime, but not so late that it interferes with my sleep patterns.  Wish me luck today. 

10:55 AM: Did a little   Internet shopping   this morning.  Bought the accessible Internet radio we’ve been curious about.

01:15 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  Taking down still more lights today. 

02:00 PM: Mail received today:

• Offer from a credit card company to sign up for their rewards program.  No thanks.

02:30 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-16-14-16   on the Victor Reader Stream.  Here, I discussed the successful kickoff of the pursuit of love from my past.  More on that later, when I actually get around to transcribing this episode onto my blogs. 

05:30 PM: Watched the following television shows from the DVR:

• The 2010-01-06 and 2010-01-07 episodes of   Dr. Phil.

07:25 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project some more. 

09:25 PM: Took the   weekly system backups. 

10:00 PM: Talked with  [Emmy].  We did our usual playing around on the phone.  Nothing very serious or deep.  Just light, happy fun. 

11:40 PM: Posted the list of added and / or revised posts for this blog,   here.

11:45 PM: Categorized some more posts for this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog.  Now, there are just 60 left to do.

12:00 AM: Good night, once again.  See you in less than ten hours.  Take care.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Caffeine Headaches
• Christmas Lighting, 2009
• Diary Revisions: 2010-01-16
• Internet Shopping: 2010-01-16
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-16
• Weekly Backups: 2010-01-16

Today’s Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds.  DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

 Log

08:00 AM: I’m up.  My weight is unchanged from yesterday; it’s still 178.5 pounds.

12:00 PM: Just got back from   shopping and lunch    with Mom and sister Jojo.

01:00 PM: Heading for Mom’s PCP appointment.  Be back in a couple hours.

03:40 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  Put away more lights today. 

04:00 PM: Received mail today follows:

• Checking account bank statements (2).
• Mom’s monthly medical insurance premiums bill.
• An offer from our telephone service provider for DSL high-speed Internet service.  No thanks.
• Sewage bill (monthly).
• Balance transfer offer (1).  No thanks.

04:20 PM: Read through the details that   [Mentat]   provided at Christmas time, about the IRIS Internet radio.  Looks like quite the handy device and appears to be fully accessible.

05:10 PM: More lights removal, per the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  

07:55 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-15-19-35   on the Victor Reader Stream.  Here, I discussed how the fear of approaching women can actually make good sense to have, and to nurture.  More on that later.

08:00 PM: Watched the following television from the DVR throughout today:

• Today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless.
• Today’s episode of   Dr. Phil.

09:00 PM: Had a very nice conversation with [JR] tonight.  More on that at some point later.  Eventually, I’ll post details of the talk on the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog; but not yet.  The issue is still “too hot” to post about just now. 

10:30 PM: Talked with [Emmy], who reports that she likes her new SleepMates, though it will take her a little time to get used to the white noise they generate.

11:30 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-15-23-17   on the Victor Reader Stream, where I discussed talking with [JR] earlier.

11:50 PM: Upgraded my Victor Reader Stream to version 3.0.3 of the onboard firmware.  No problems encountered.

11:59 PM: Posted the list of revised and / or added posts    here   for the   Tom’s Diary   blog. 

12:03 AM: Okay, I’m going to fall where I sit if I don’t get over to my bedroom and go to sleep.  So I’m going there right now.  Take care, and look for more content in ten hours or less.  Good night.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Diary Revisions: 2010-01-15
• Christmas Lighting, 2009
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-15

Today’s Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispensing Mom’s meds.   DONE.
• Shower.  DONE.
• Send out five pending memorial checks for the   WPSBC Alumni Association.  DONE.
• Pay all pending bills.  DONE,
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

09:25 AM: I’m up.  Today I weigh 181.5 pounds, which is unchanged from yesterday.  I must see a drop tomorrow, as this is the third day I’ve seen this number and it’s starting to bore me. 

12:30 PM: Paid the following bills:

• Gas: $100
• Wheelchair rental (Mom): $11.67
• Cable TV & Internet: $137.92
• Garbage pickup: $66 (for three months of service)
• Misc. bill #1: $50.00
• Misc. bill #2: $300.00
• Telephone (Mom’s home): $66.19
• Telephone (My home): $55.28
• Cell phone: $170.43

01:30 PM: Sent out memorial checks on behalf of the   WPSBC Alumni Association   to the beneficiaries, requested by  the families of the following recently-deceased graduates:

• Etta Lockhart, class of 1951.
• Richard Meckler, class of 1975.
• Robert Bennett, class of 1959.
• Jeanne Kaufman, class of 1970.

02:55 PM: Journaled for an hour, creating audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-09-14-11   on the Victor Reader Stream.  I’m looking for certainty in the decision to forgo attending camp this year.  Nothing definite yet; there’s still more things to consider.  So stay tuned. 

04:35 PM: Categorized more posts this afternoon; now, just 150 left to do in this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog.  Nap time! 

05:30 pm:  I’m up once again.  Journaling now.

06:30 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-09-18-24   on the Victor Reader Stream.  This time, I journaled about quitting the Lions Club this July; another change I’ve been contemplating making in 2010. 

08:00 PM: Created audio journal episode:  AJE-2010-01-09-19-32   on the Victor Reader Stream.  This time, I journaled about wanting to fall in love in 2010, and to that end, I want to   find love in my past.  More on that later. 

09:00 PM: Talked with [Ron] for the better part of an hour, about camp, our friends, and such.  He’s doing well, and enjoying his new drums.

09:30 PM: Completed the   weekly system backups.

12:00 AM: Posted the   ‘Unauthorized Charger’ Message   piece.

12:15 AM: Posted the list of added and / or revised documents today on this, the   Tom’s Diary   Blog,   here. 

12:30 AM: Categorized more posts this afternoon; now, just 80 left to do in this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog. 

12:35 AM: Going to bed now, so we’ll catch you later on.  I’ll be writing here again very soon. But in the meantime, good night!

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Diary Revisions: 2010-01-09
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-09
• ‘Unauthorized Charger’ Message
• Weekly Backups: 2010-01-09

10:00 AM: I’m up.  No weight gain or loss today.  I’m holding steady at 183 pounds. 

11:15 AM: Cooked breakfast for [Emmy] and myself, that consisted of wheat blend pancakes with SpringTree pure maple syrup, peach yogurt, and apple cider.  I burned a couple cakes though; it’s hard to precisely regulate this stove Mom has.  I’d much rather use a griddle, where you can precisely set the temperature.  If I made pancakes more often, I’d be tempted to locate the pieces of that Presto griddle I bought 18 years ago while living at Betsy Ross Circle.  They’re somewhere in teh basement.  But, since pancakes come packed with refined carbs, I’ll not be eating many of them in this new year. So, I’l leave the griddle where it’s at, disassembled and all.   

02:15 PM: Watched the 2009-12-08 episode of Dr. Phil on the DVR.

03:15 PM: Listened to   today’s repeater song   several times. 

03:50 PM: Shoveled the ramp.  Couldn’t stay out there too long with just my jeans and a sweatshirt.  At just 20 degrees outside with little sunshine, this weather demands a thick and warm winter coat (at least), for sure. 

04:00 PM: Received mail:

• School tax bills for both Mom and me.
• Garbage collection bill.
• New Years sale flyer from a local furniture store.

04:10 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting: 2009   project.  I wrapped up and tied, then stowed six strings of the blue LED lamps. 

05:30 PM: Supper tonight consisted of sauerkraut, pork, mashed potatoes, baked beans, rye bread, and pop, coffee, and water.

06:30 PM: Nap time.

09:00 PM: Categorized more posts in this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog.  There are now just 260 of them left to process.

10:00 PM: Created audio journal episode:   AJE-2010-01-02-21-23   on the Victor Reader Stream.

10:25 PM: Completed   this week’s system backups. 

12:00 AM: [Emmy] and I began preparing a new playlist for our iPods.  We started by looking at the songs played during the   DJ Gig: 2009-12-31   party.  Then, we reviewed all the songs in my library from 2009.  Will post the new playlist once we scan my entire library looking for songs we currently like.  So far, we have chosen 108 songs for the new list.

12:05 AM: Posted the list of today’s additions and revisions to this blog,   here. 

01:10 AM: It’s 15 degrees outside at present; perhaps the coldest it’s been so far this season.  But between the furnace, the gas heaters in the basement as well as the electric heaters up here on the second floor, we’ve got enough heat to keep this place toasty even when the temperature falls to -15 degrees F.  Plus, with the gas heaters, we still have heat, should the power fail.  So, I’ll rest a little easier tonight, knowing that.    Speaking of rest, we’re off to do around eight hours of that now.  Take care, and do keep warm.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Christmas Lighting: 2009
• Diary Revisions: 2010-01-02
• DJ Gig: 2009-12-31
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-02
• Repeater Song: 2010-01-02
• Weekly Backups: 2010-01-02

10:00 AM: I’m up.  It’s a gray and rainy outside currently, with temperatures hovering at around 31 degrees.

11:00 AM: We’re listening to the   Dusty Rhodes Christmas Day Special   on station   KBGO-FM 95.7 Waco, TX, once again, on the   Internet radio. 

02:00 PM: Salted the ramp and sidewalks.  The temperature has risen to 34 degrees, but the sleet still falls. 

02:05 PM: Another Dusty Rhodes Christmas show just started on KBGO-FM 95.7 Waco, TX.  In this six-hour yearly classic, Rhodes plays the most popular Christmas songs, in chronological order, starting at year 1934, all the way up to the present day; the show is a countdown, or more precisely, a count-up, by year, rather than by song popularity.  Plus, along with the hits themselves, he sets them into their original  contexts by telling some big news stories of the time when each song was popular; quite entertaining and historically, very informative.  I’ve caught this in past years and nowadays to me, Christmas just wouldn’t be complete without hearing at least a couple hours of the show.  Unfortunately, we’ll miss the last couple hours of it this evening, when we visit sister Christine once more for dessert.  Hmmmmm.  Anyone know of a   good   Internet radio recording program? 

03:00 PM: I gave [Emmy] a new bookshelf RCA stereo for Christmas, and presented it to her this afternoon.  It has a dock for an iPod, which works very well, as we found out.  I was relieved to find that the iPod could actually charge in this stereo; some of the initial units with iPod docs would not charge the newer, 4th generation iPods; but not so here.  It charged fine.  Played some music on it for Mom, who loved the sound.

04:30 PM: I’m succumbing to carb-induced drowsiness, and taking a nap for a bit.

05:40 PM: I’m back up, and Dusty Rhodes is playing the mid-sixties Christmas songs at present.  We’re getting ready to go to sister Christine’s for the evening, and we’re taking our streams and iPods with us.

07:55 PM: Worked the   WiFi Access Denied: 2009-12-25   issue at sister Christine’s place.

09:45 PM: We’re back home from Christine’s.  We went the long way (through Tyrone, instead of driving over Skalp mountain), to avoid the ice and bad weather on the mountain top.  So, the additional fifteen minutes of travel time, we spent enjoying some of the Christmas lights throughout Tyrone.  Lots of reindeer, spiral trees, and vivid LEDs caught my eye, and I was grateful for this cruise because I haven’t been out to see the Christmas lights yet this year. I love doing it but don’t do it nearly enough each holiday season.

11:10 PM: We started off watching   The Young and the Restlesss   on the DVR.  But both [Emmy] and myself fell asleep early on into the episode.  So we’ll try and view it again tomorrow. 

11:20 PM: Posted the list of today’s added or changed documents for this, the    Tom’s Diary   blog,   here.

12:30 AM: Journaled for an hour or so.

01:40 AM: Worked the    DJ Gig: 2009-12-31   project. 

01:45 AM: Bed time.  Hope everyone had a terrific Christmas day.  Merry Christmas one last time for 2009, and tomorrow, I’ll kick into high gear to get ready for the grand finale of this holiday season; that is, New Years eve.  Sweet dreams, and catch you later.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Diary Revisions: 2009-12-25
• DJ Gig: 2009-12-31
• Mom’s Status: 2009-12-25
• WiFi Access Denied: 2009-12-25

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 five-hour train rides.  They 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 in my middle age.  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 at his place, social networking 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