Tom's Diary

Today’s Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds.  DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Wash and dry all pending (Mom’s) laundry (two loads).  DONE.
• Fill out and Return all requested forms to the financial planner.

08:15 AM: I’m up.  My weight fell a half-pound this morning to 178.0 pounds; down from 178.5 pounds yesterday.  Nice!  However, I only have 15 days left to lose five more pounds.  So I should get down to 177.0 in the next day or two.  Therefore, it’s going to be another 800 calorie day today. 

08:30 AM: Looks like a gray and dreary day is on tap for us.  It’s been raining a while now; everything is pretty soaked.  So, no more Christmas light removal today.  The   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project will have to wait for a more pleasant time.     I like to make sure that the lights are bone-dry before putting them into storage. 

09:30 AM: Put a 2-pound pork roast with potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions in the crock pot.  It will be ready at around 5:00 PM. Already, I can’t wait ’til it’s ready. 

12:25 PM: Dusted around the office and attempted to better organize my teas, Mom’s meds, and old hard drives.   Nice though, that I can talk to [Emmy] while working.  We did that, and I could hear her SleepMates in the background.  Their sound soothes and creates an air of safety for some reason.  Maybe they sound like home, or something.  I don’t know.

03:15 PM: The roast smells REALLY good, and as I’ve not yet eaten today, I’m having lots of trouble keeping away from the crock pot ’til it’s done.  It should cook for two hours more, as it yet appears a little pink.  I just added the accompanying seasoning packet, which makes it a bit salty, though the spices indeed spice up the aroma.  Plus, they make the meat worth dying for.  Well, not really, but you know what I mean. 

05:30 PM: The pork roast was delicious!     I have about half of it left for supper tomorrow.  Now, it’s nap time.

06:30 PM: I’m back up again.  Ran two loads of laundry through the wash for Mom.  Yep.  She makes a lot of laundry. 

07:10 PM: Posted the   Today’s Diet: 2010-01-17   piece.

09:45 PM: Watched the 2009-11-01, 2009-11-15, 2009-11-29, 2009-12-06, and 2009-12-13 episodes of CBS’s   60 Minutes   news magazine show from the DVR.

11:30 PM: Talked with  [Emmy].  Her neighbors were a bit noisy today, but she thinks that the SleepMates helped keep her calmer when reacting to the noise.

11:50 PM: Posted the list of added / revised documents    here,    for this, the  Tom’s Diary   blog.

11:55 PM: Okay, it’s time for bed.  So take it easy, take it hard, or take it any way you can get it.  But whatever you do, have fun, ’cause I’m heading for dreamland for the next eight or so hours, and even if I have no dreams, I’ll still have lots of fun, just sleeping.  Good night. 

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Diary Revisions: 2010-01-17
• Mom’s Status: 2010-01-17
• Today’s Diet: 2010-01-17

This morning, I ordered the following from Solutions Radio RV:

• IRIS WebRadio (WiFi Version)

Total cost: $358.95

Hopefully, this radio is accessible enough for   [Emmy].  If not, we’ll return it.

Then, I ordered the following items from Amazon:

• Marpac SleepMate 980A Electro-Mechanical Sound Conditioner (3)

 Total cost:  $149.85

Grand Total: $508.80

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 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

Ordered the following items from Amazon:

• Marpac SleepMate 980A Electro-Mechanical Sound Conditioner (2)

Total cost:  $107.19

These will be shipped directly to   [Emmy].  Hopefully, they’ll help her better cope with the noise from the tenants above.

[Emmy],  keep an eye out for this shipment.   You should have it in a week or so.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Emmy’s Noisy Neighbors

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[Emmy] seemed a bit out of sorts tonight due to the near-constant squeaking, banging, and thumping she hears from the neighbors above.  I tried consoling her.  But as I’ve found, there’s not a whole lot she can do about it. except for what I’ve described in my   Tom’s Views –> Coping With Noisy Neighbors: Apartment Living   piece.

So I very much feel for [Emmy]. Sadly though, it’s harder for her to move (if moving was ever   easy), than it was for me. 

So I offered to bring her here to stay with me if she finally decides that she really can no longer bear the noise, until we devise some quieter housing for her.  In the meantime, she’ll practice with the earplugs I gave her, and try the Sleep Mates.  Plus, she’ll mention the problem to her therapist this week and get his input.  He may know of coping mechanisms that I do not. 

Hopefully, she, unlike me, will find a way to live comfortably where she is, with the noise intact.  But if not, we’ll figure something out before summer arrives.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Noisy Neighbors Again
• Noisy Neighbors Problem 
• SleepMates Purchased: 2010-01-11
• To Lynn on Noisy Neighbors
• Today’s Business: 2010-01-10
• Tom’s Views –> Coping With Noisy Neighbors: Apartment Living

I dropped another 0.5 pounds from yesterday, so that my weight today is 181.0 pounds.  This is 4 pounds less than last week on this same day. 

In fact, I suspected that I lost upon waking this morning, because I slept very well last night.  When I sleep without pause, and feel intensely refreshed in the morning, as I do today, it’s probable that I’ve either lost weight, or at least not gained any.  Why?  Because my history shows that I sleep much better while restricting my calorie intake to between 800 and 1500 per day, and at these levels, I never gain, though I often lose. 

In fact, I awoke not once last night.  Nor, did I dream.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love dreaming.  But when the dreams are strange or scary, and when they make me stir, that typically means that I’ve either eaten too close to bedtime, or eaten too much overall throughout the previous day. 

Psychologists say that depression can cause broken sleep.  But as I’ve found, excessive food consumption can trigger it as well.  So, if you’re having trouble staying asleep at night, I’d suggest that you first examine your diet, before paying a therapist to examine your head.  

Tom Hesley 

Related Posts

• Weight Loss Project: 2010

Today’s Chores

• Cat duty
• Gather up and take out the garbage (for pickup tomorrow)
• Showering
• Dispensing Mom’s meds
• Checking with our primary pharmacy about Mom’s Humulin insulin prescription to make sure they received the order for it.  They have not as of yesterday.  DONE.  They have it on file for when we need it, later this month.
• Activate my new bank card and update accounts with vendors that have my old card on file. 

Log

05:00 AM: Woke up prematurely this morning; no doubt due to too much pizza last night.  I got a lead ball in my stomach today.    Anyway, I may stay up here a bit and blog.  But perhaps not, as I’m still quite tired and could sleep another four hours easily.  *Yawn*  We’ll see.

05:55 AM: Created a  Deferred Projects   sub-heading in the sidebar for this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog, and moved some projects under that, which I’ll not be able to work until sometime in the new year.

06:00 AM: Headed back to bed for the few more hours that I missed in the first round of sleep.

10:15 AM Okay, I’m up for the day now. 

11:20 AM: Just talked with our primary pharmacy.  They’ve received Mom’s prespription for the long-acting insulin.  The lady gave me the prescription number so that we can use their automated phone system to order it as needed.

11:45 AM: Updated the address the phone company has on file for Mom, per the emergency-911 project, to our new one.

11:50 AM: I had done the same a month or so ago with my telephone.  However they keep sending my bills to the wrong zip code.  So, while I’m on the phone with this fellow, I’ll see if I can’t get him to fix the zip code on my own phone account,  as well as Mom’s.

11:55 AM: Just talked with Rich at our phone company.  He’s made the address changes to both Mom’s and my accounts.  We’ll have to see, in January, if they got the correct zip code.  I guess as long as we’re receiving the bills, the zip code doesn’t matter, really. 

01:30 PM: [Jack] called an hour or so ago, and we just got off the phone a few minutes ago.  We typically have at least one of these “marathon” talks a year, and one almost always happened during the Christmas holiday season, as this one did today.  He filled me in on the good time he had at the foot party last weekend, passed along regards from friends we both share from when I lived in Philadelphia, and he caught me up on the goings-on in his neck of the woods. 

03:25 PM: I’ve spent the past couple hours filing papers, receipts, bills, letters, and junk mail (filed to the trash can), here in the office.  Now I hadn’t planned on doing this today.  But I couldn’t find my new bank card, which I had planned on activating this afternoon.  So I had to plow through the “muck” to see if I could find it.  So while I was doing all that, it seemed like a small additional task to just file everything where it should be filed.  However, I’ve stil not located the card.  So I’ll give the search for it a few more minutes.  Then, I’ll have to call the bank for a replacement.  Indeed, I learned long ago not to look for lost items for too long; causes highly elevated stress levels.  If it’s easier to just replace them, I opt to do that where practical these days.

03:40 PM: The bank is sending me a new card.  I’m glad the agent was particularly understanding and polite, because he waived the normal $7.50 charge for a lost card.  I was lucky, indeed.  Yep, I really have to improve the filing system for cards and papers around here.  Perhaps this will inspire me to step up work on the   Household Organization, 2009    project.  In fact, I think I’ll finish filing all the rest of the loose papers here this afternoon.

04:45 PM: Debbie just arrived for her weekly visit, a day early.  She says that the weather’s supposed to get bad tonight and into tomorrow.  So she wanted to get our   shopping   out of the way before the snow arrives.

05:00 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  See today’s comments   there   for more details.

07:55 PM: Back from   tonight’s shopping trip.  It’s snowing pretty hard at the moment such that the drive down I-99 had low visibility.  Got a few Christmas gifts and groceries, which I’ll summarize later.

09:06 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

09:15 PM: Mom just got home from her Tuesday night trivia outing.  A couple inches of snow had accumulated on the ramp.  It’s really coming down.  So I shoveled and salted the ramp.  We can’t afford to have the walkway become slick, what with all our helpers coming in and out each day. 

10:40 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:25 PM: Posted the list of posts that I either added or revised today, here. 

12:50 AM: Posted the   Roof Heaters On: 2009-12-08   piece to this, the    Tom’s Diary   blog. 

12:55 AM: I’m now running low on steam.  So I’m off to bed, although I think I’ll look out my bedroom window at the falling snow for a bit before retiring.  Hmmmm.  I wish we had some floodlights on the north side of the house where my windows are, that would light up the snow flakes.  Might this possibly be another project for next summer?    See you tomorrow.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Christmas Lighting, 2009
• Diary Revisions: 2009-12-08
• Household Organization, 2009
• Mom’s Status: 2009-12-08
• Roof Heaters On: 2009-12-08
• Shopping Trip: 2009-12-08

Today’s Chores

• Cat duty
• Processing all pending and complete laundry loads
• Showering
• Dispensing Mom’s meds

Log 

09:20 AM: I’m up. Mostly sunny so far.  The temperature reached down to 26 degrees this morning; the coldest morning so far this season I think.  It’s nice and warm in here though; 66 degrees.

10:20 AM: Posted the   Message Notification Feature   piece to this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog. 

11:15 AM: Working the    Household Organization, 2009   project today.  See today’s comments,   there,   for more details. 

02:30 PM: Categorized a few more posts.  But I’m running low on steam.  Time for a Sunday afternoon nap, to rest up for the second half of the day.

04:50 PM: I’m up once again.  Mom’s making sauerkraut with pork for supper. 

06:45 PM: Posted the   Card Box of Memories   piece to this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog. 

07:00 PM: Worked the   ICANN Record Updating: 2009-12-06   project.

07:10 PM: Moved the   Ongoing Power Outages   project to completed status, as we’ve had no power outages since they made the changes the engineer discussed with me, at the substation up the road.  Hopefully, I’ll not have to reopen this.

09:05 PM: Skimmed through the early November episodes of Dr. Phil on the DVR, but did not watch many of them as they pertained to parenting and families; a topic that is currently outside my relationship focus.  But I did watch the 2009-12-02 episode in its entirety, because it focused on a subjec for which I hold great interest.  This episode dealt with the ethical, and social pros and cons of using growth hormone to make a child grow taller, or manipulating the genetics in any way to shape the child into more of the perceived societal ideals.  Good show.   But I don’t think I’d opt for genetic or chemical manipulation to make a child “better,” because I agreed with the people there who felt that “building” this “better” baby promotes and sustains societal prejudices surrounding short people or those with other genetically removable “problems.”  Like them, I feel that we should fix errant perceptions and beliefs to accommodate the differences rather than alter the child with drugs and genetic manipulation, so as to make them fit the society’s expectations.  It’s that society needs to be more accepting, and not that different people should be more conforming.

09:10 PM: Calling [Emmy].

11:40 PM: Categorized 30 more posts in this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog;  670 more to go.

11:50 PM: Just posted the list of added and / or revised    Toms Diary   blog posts for today,   here.

01:10 AM: Spent the past hour-plus iPodding.  Didn’t listen to any songs repeatedly.  So there are no repeater songs to report today.  However, a few songs that got me to linger at their slot in the playlist for their entire duration were:

• Dream On   by   Aerosmith
• House of the Rising Sun   by   The Animals
• I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight   by   The Atlanta Rhythm Section
• Java   by   Al Hirt

These are all great   repeater song    candidates.  But I was sort of tired tonight, and so didn’t wish to stay focused on any one song for very long.  But perhaps some other day, one or more of these will actually make the repeater song list.

01:50 AM: Just posted the list of added and / or revised   Tom’s Love Quest   blog posts for November, 2009     here. 

02:00 AM: Headed for bed now.  Later.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Card Box of Memories
• Household Organization, 2009
• ICANN Updating: 2009-12-06
• Love Quest Revisions: 2009-11
• Message Notification Feature
• Mom’s Status: 2009-12-06
• Ongoing Power Outages
• Post Revisions: 2009-12-06

09:50 AM: [Jack] left me voice mail through the “back door”, saying what a great time he had at the foot party last night, which woke me up an hour earlier than I’d planned to get up today.  Darn, I need to turn off the message notification feature in Verizon’s voice mail system when I’m at home; especially at night. 

For those wondering what this   Message Notification Feature   is: It’s a function offered in Verizon’s voice mail system that can call a cell phone, pager, or other telephone number, when a new voice mail message arrives.  I’ve configured my voice mail account  to call my cell phone when I receive a new message. 

This is handy while traveling or otherwise away from the  landline phone, because I learn right away that a message has just come into in my voice mail box, and so I need not call the system periodically to check for new messages manually.  But when I’m here, having the cellphone ring defeats the purpose of people leaving messages through the “back door”.  Back Door Messaging   allows a caller to leave someone a message in their voice mail box without ringing their telephone directly.  [Jack] and [Emmy] often leave me these back door messages when they have something they want to communicate, but wish not to disturb me.  But with  message notification   turned on, the system does the disturbing for them.    So, I think I’ll disable this feature until the next time I’m traveling or working away from the home phone, out in the yard or elsewhere.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 2009-12-06

09:25 AM: I woke up to a gray and snowy day, and we actually have some accumulation out there; probably about an inch so far.  I’ll have to get dressed and sweep off Mom’s wheelchair ramp. 

10:00 AM: Wrote in my new   Sleep Diary,   here in the   Tom’s Diary   blog.

11:25 AM: Listened to  Today’s Repeater Song   a bunch more times.  I love it! 

12:15 PM: Swept and shoveled the ramp and sidewalk.  Looks like we got a couple inches of snow out there at the moment.

01:50 PM: Posted the   Bag Tie Invasion   piece in this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog.

02:30 PM: As reward to myself for completing the   Bag Tie Invasion   post, I listened to   Today’s Repeater Song   again, around ten times.     Seriously.

02:55 PM: Shoveled and salted the ramp and sidewalks again, as around a half-inch of new snow accumulated since I last cleared the walkways, at around noon. 

03:55 PM: Posted the   Damp Attic: 2009-12-05   piece.  So to reward myself for this achievement, I think I’ll take a nap.    See you in a bit.

04:55 PM: I’m back up, out of bed, although I didn’t sleep at all, really; just rested my eyes. 

07:00 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  Fixed two more dim strings of lights. 

07:05 PM: Worked the   Christmas Lighting, 2009   project.  See today’s comments   there   for more details.  I repaired two nother dim LED strings outside.

08:00 PM: Just finished categorizing 50 more posts in this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog.  Starting the weekly system backups now.

09:10 PM: Completed the weekly site backups.  Details   here. 

10:10 PM: Just posted the list of added and / or revised posts for today,   here. 

10:40 PM: Talked with [Emmy].

11:50 PM: Watched yesterday’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

02:45 AM: Just finished categorizing 50 more posts in this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog.  Only 700 more to go.

02:50 AM: Well, it’s been a very full day and I’m dragging, big time right now.  So I’m headed for the hay.  Take care, folks, and I’ll see you back here in a while.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Bag Tie Invasion
• Christmas Lighting, 2009
• Damp Attic: 2009-12-05
• Mom’s Status: 2009-12-05
• Post Revisions: 2009-12-05
• Repeater Song: 2009-12-05
• Sleep Diary: 2009-12-05
• Weekly Backups: 2009-12-05