What did you do today? 2016 version

[MBAustin]

After breakfast, put the fixins for a sausage, bean, and kale stew in the crockpot. Waited for garage door repairman to come back to finish the job he started Saturday (long story). Didn't get to leave for downtown to drop some donations off at one of the non-profits I help with until 10:30. Which meant that by the time I got back to Target it was 12:30 and everyone for miles around apparently decided to do their Christmas shopping on their lunch hour today. Went on to Costco which was comparatively sane. Grabbed a quick lunch and had a phone call for another nonprofit gig and then headed over to our church for our new crosswalk ministry - we're right across the street from an elementary school and allow parents to park in our lot to drop off/pick up kids, so on Wednesdays we now have treats for the kids on the way back to the parking lot. Took our little dog and he was quite a hit with the kids (and a few parents). Catching up here and then will head out for prayer group and choir rehearsal. Guess I'll try Target tomorrow or Friday morning just after rush hour.

 

[CardsFan]

Brau, I had that same issue with my previous phone - but Apple didn't agree it was a defect. Good for you that you got them to fix it.

My daughter gave me a bottle of "Goose Island Bourbon County Stout" the other day, and we (DW, brother, his DW, me) drank it on Sunday. It is apparently a very limited edition.

I happened to be in a bar that promoted this on the day after Thanksgiving, on tap. Had an 8oz glass and thought it was really good (and REALLY heavy). I would love to get a few bottles, but have not found anywhere that carries it.

 

[Taxman59]

2016 in review

Today in the shower, I started to say to myself that this has been a terrible year.
It started with me recovering from carpel tunnel release surgery on both hands, followed by a fight with the insurance company and ending up paying an extra $3500 in costs. Memorial Weekend, DW slipped on a step at our cabin and broke her ankle which left her incapacitated for the bulk of the summer. DW was admitted into the hospital to get her depression meds adjusted just before Labor Day. My knees were acting up and a visit to the Orthopedic doc has me scheduled for total knee replacement next Friday. Just before Thanksgiving, DS#3 called to say he was heading to the hospital because his knee cap dislocated (2nd time on that knee). He is dropping our of school until next fall (and hopefully getting a medical drop for this fall's classes). He has surgery next Tuesday. Our dog had her 16th birthday on Halloween and yesterday we had to put her down.

Then I thought about the year a second time. I am retired and no longer have to put up with the $h1t at the office . DW and I had a great trip through Texas (I want to go back and see more of it in a few years). While taking care of DW this summer, we grew closer than ever. We celebrated our 30th anniversary with our best friends. We spent some real quality time with our pup (16 years old, and she still was out pup!) as her days approached the end. DS#3 and I can spend the next 13 weeks in PT together .

Every year has its ups and downs, and we can choose to focus on the downs and be depressed or we can look for the good and focus on that and enjoy every day.

That is how I ended this morning's shower, focusing on the good in my life. Today is a great day.

 

[MRG]

Yesterday my McAfee subscription expired. I had been provided a copy from ATT for a few years and after changing ISPs it was gone. Could not get it to download and had to call for help. Plan was download yesterday and install today, yeah the installation was a disaster too.

Finally I googled "mcaffee support" and called the number. Yeah, little loud in the call center but ok. Finally the guy asked to start remote support, OK. He eventually brings up a netstat screen and starts with your network has a Trojan and it's kicking out lots of low level IP errors! WTF? Do you know what is wrong with your network? No, hey let's look at the netstat screen again, it looked normal to me! He pointed to the foreign address field and explains I'm being hacked! WTF, BUDDY those are right. Then he started on sockets in a time wait state! Hey buddy that's normal, what are you one of the folks who call to get access to a system? He promptly hangs up!

Disconnected the machine, reboot and go to McAfee's support page, different phone number. They have several disclaimers they read to you as part of the support sessions. During the chat I confirmed that number is not a McAfee number. Machine is back, full scan running.

 

[pb4uski]

There have been a number of discussions here in the past about the cheapo TurboTax sites, although I couldn't find one with a quick search. The consensus is that buying the cheap versions from a company that has to change domain names every year is risky, inasmuch as you never know what they've done with the software, creating risks like identity theft.

Having said that, I used a cheapo version a few years ago, and never had a problem afaik. Just thought you might like to know.

I also bought a cheapo version last year... not intentionally though I was not particularly comfortable when I purchased it and should have known better... same as you no problem afaik but not something that I plan to repeat.

Office Depot currently had Turbo Tax Deluxe on sale for $50.

 

[pb4uski]

Richard4444, you might consider getting one of those cans of compressed air with a narrow nozzle. They are used in electronics repair for things like blowing the dust out of keyboards and stuff.

I think that probably would be at least as effective for your specific case. Everyone should have one in their home for quick fixes to simple problems like this.

Or I vacuum the air vents on my laptop occasionally to get the cooties out.

 

[W2R]

I got a new heater installed in September when my whole AC system was replaced, but due to reasonably warm weather in New Orleans this fall I hadn't used the heater yet. This week seemed like a good time to turn on the heater for the first time this winter. But when I turned it on, it did not warm up the house at all.

It is still on warrantee and I was not inclined to fiddle with it, so I called the HVAC company last night. They came by this morning and said that the installers had neglected to light the heater last September. So, they lit it and my house is getting warmer at last. They didn't charge me anything so it all worked out nicely.

 

[REWahoo]

They came by this morning and said that the installers had neglected to light the heater last September. So, they lit it and my house is getting warmer at last. They didn't charge me anything so it all worked out nicely.

Nicely done. I can't remember ever getting lit without it costing me severely the next morning.

 

[W2R]

Nicely done. I can't remember ever getting lit without it costing me severely the next morning.

Well, I did have to set my alarm for 7 AM instead of the usual 9 AM, since I didn't know exactly when they would be calling and/or coming by. So I do feel pretty groggy, and in that sense perhaps there is some similarity...

An afternoon nap should take care of that.

 

[HillCountry]

Today I got up earlier than week days to send kids to swimming meet.

Now I am:
Watching kids swimming
Reading/posting here
Reading college confidential

 

[aja8888]

DD's gas dryer started squealing last week so I went to her house and took it apart and found the drum "slider" strips and plastic holder were finished. Ordered the new parts on appliancepartspros.com and got them last night. 30 minutes this morning installing (including travel) got her back in business. Total parts and shipping (2 day) was under $40.

 

[Hermit]

Well, I did have to set my alarm for 7 AM instead of the usual 9 AM, ...

BTW, what IS that "alarm" thing? It sounds scary!

 

[Walt34]

BTW, what IS that "alarm" thing? It sounds scary!

It is the one remaining nightmare from w*rking days. I had to set mine to 4:45 AM yesterday for a medical test that started at 7:00 AM at a hospital 30 minutes away. This brought on flashbacks, driving down the road before dawn.

 

[Hermit]

It is the one remaining nightmare from w*rking days. I had to set mine to 4:45 AM yesterday for a medical test that started at 7:00 AM at a hospital 30 minutes away. This brought on flashbacks, driving down the road before dawn.

My condolences.

 

[W2R]

BTW, what IS that "alarm" thing? It sounds scary!

I know, it sounds awful, doesn't it!

When I first retired, I went for about a year without an alarm (for the first time since pre-school age). No spouse, no pets to awaken me so I was strictly depending on my biological clock. I discovered something rather "alarming" about myself. For me, what happens is that I start staying up an hour later each night than the previous night, and then sleeping an hour later in the morning, making for a 25 hour day. I end up sleeping when the rest of the world is awake, and when I am awake everyone I know is asleep, all businesses are closed, and there is nothing on TV. This is no fun. While being awake in the middle of the night is bad enough, what's worse is that the time span when one is awake keeps changing when living 25 hour days.

After trying to correct that for a year, I finally decided that by gosh, I had had enough. I don't use my "BLATT!!!!!" (going to work) alarm clock, but instead I have set up an alarm system that plays soft, soothing bird chirping sounds. Being a light sleeper, that awakens me gently within 5-10 minutes. It's not ideal, but so far that's the best solution that I have found.

 

[NW-Bound]

... the installers had neglected to light the heater last September...

I am surprised that home heaters still use a pilot light. In my motorhome, the water heater, the furnace, and the refrigerator that run off propane all have electronic ignition.

 

[W2R]

I am surprised that home heaters still use a pilot light. In my motorhome, the water heater, the furnace, and the refrigerator that run off propane all have electronic ignition.

Who said anything about pilot lights? Not me, not the HVAC guy. Just you.

This is powered by natural gas, which heats the vast majority of homes around here. He did not explain the details to me, and I did not go up into the attic to watch. Therefore I have quoted to you the actual word for word explanation from the HVAC provider (NOT providing you with an explanation directly from me). He never mentioned the words "pilot light" but simply said that the installers had neglected to light the heater.

One rational interpretation of his explanation might be that it simply was not set up correctly (in such a way so that the electronic ignition could light the heater). Perhaps not connected to the gas line. Feel free to formulate your own interpretation of his explanation as you wish.

 

[aja8888]

I am surprised that home heaters still use a pilot light. In my motorhome, the water heater, the furnace, and the refrigerator that run off propane all have electronic ignition.

I was kind of surprised at that also as I thought newer home natural gas fired furnaces were electronic ignition these days.

 

[Jerry1]

Not exactly a fun day, but necessary to get ready for our first snow storm. Looks like we're going to get 4-8 inches. Checked the groceries and ended up needing a couple thinks. Started my snow blower and cleared my driveway of any debris. I'm good to go. Not what I want to do, but glad to have some advance warning - especially for the first one.

I also went and learned a little bit about violins. Me and a friend at work adopt a family and this year the young lady (13) wants a violin. She's in a program through school, so I wanted to get something a little better than just good enough. Met some people in a intercity program and they helped me out. I'll pick up a violin next week. Was an interesting couple of hours and I hope the young lady will be happy.

 

[W2R]

I was kind of surprised at that also as I thought newer home natural gas fired furnaces were electronic ignition these days.

I was surprised and confused that NW-Bound brought up that idea, too. Doesn't make sense to me either, but maybe that's how they do it where he lives?

Edited to add: Aha, after some browsing on the internet, I discovered that electronic igniters on natural gas heaters have an "off" position and they are apparently set in the "off" position until they are installed. So, you have to manually move that switch and turn it on as part of the installation. That makes a whole lot more sense than a pilot light (to me, anyway).

OK, back to the thread topic. Another thing I did today, was to have lunch with dear Frank. I ordered soup and just water to drink, and he ate a whole pizza and diet Coke. If I am ever reincarnated I'd like to become a person who could eat like that and stay healthy like he does.

 

[MRG]

Yesterday we walked the snow covered roads. Bit icy from frequent thawing and freezing. I was very careful till I took my eyes away for a second and boom. Oh how stupid, caught myself with my left hand and now hyper extended thumb. Its might be a pretty color in another day. Whacked my head on the ice pretty well. I have a bad c-spine and hope this doesn't trigger the same crapola that happens after a fender bender.

Today I am making legal medicinal brownies, gotta kill the pain. Made canna oil for three hours with 7 grams of trim. Then use the oil in nice dark chocolate brownies.

Last batch I used 3.5 grams of trim they were very tasty. Based on those these guys are going to be good. I'll cut the brownies in half to start. Tried one despite it being a little warm, very good.

 

[Philliefan33]

Walked for a few miles this morning, out in the cold. I feel good when I get outdoors, so even though the windchill was 15 degrees I bunched up and went. Then this afternoon I sat in front of the fire and finished writing our Christmas cards. Now there's turkey soup simmering for a light supper before we go out this evening for a community event.

 

[W2R]

Yesterday we walked the snow covered roads. Bit icy from frequent thawing and freezing. I was very careful till I took my eyes away for a second and boom. Oh how stupid, caught myself with my left hand and now hyper extended thumb. Its might be a pretty color in another day. Whacked my head on the ice pretty well. I have a bad c-spine and hope this doesn't trigger the same crapola that happens after a fender bender.

Today I am making legal medicinal brownies, gotta kill the pain. Made canna oil for three hours with 7 grams of trim. Then use the oil in nice dark chocolate brownies.

Last batch I used 3.5 grams of trim they were very tasty. Based on those these guys are going to be good. I'll cut the brownies in half to start. Tried one despite it being a little warm, very good.

That sounds like a dreadful fall! If it was me, I'd ditch the brownies and go for multiple ice packs and your favorite OTC pain killer. Plus spending a day in the recliner might not be a bad idea too, depending on how your c-spine injury reacts to that. Maybe ice down your cervical spine too. Maybe get your thumb x-rayed if you think it could be broken. Maybe get some input from somebody who knows what they are talking about (I don't but just think your fall sounds so painful).

 

[aja8888]

I was surprised and confused that NW-Bound brought up that idea, too. Doesn't make sense to me either, but maybe that's how they do it where he lives?

Edited to add: Aha, after some browsing on the internet, I discovered that electronic igniters on natural gas heaters have an "off" position and they are apparently set in the "off" position until they are installed. So, you have to manually move that switch and turn it on as part of the installation. That makes a whole lot more sense than a pilot light (to me, anyway).

OK, back to the thread topic. Another thing I did today, was to have lunch with dear Frank. I ordered soup and just water to drink, and he ate a whole pizza and diet Coke. If I am ever reincarnated I'd like to become a person who could eat like that and stay healthy like he does.

Frank did have a diet Coke though!

When I was in the Air Force as a young man, I remember eating a whole large pizza with no real effort and maintaining 150 pounds and a 30" waist. Now I just look at pizza and my belt starts to tighten.

 

[RobbieB]

Got up on the roof and blew out the gutters again. Weather man was right, said a lotta rain and voila, we have a lotta rain.

Then took my girlfriend out for sushi and saki, went to the hardware and bought some masonry chisels for my stove project.

Now I'm tired from brickin' and I'mma gonna start drinkin!