what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[MichaelB]

Well, we had tickets to see ZZ Top on Thursday, couldn't go because DW had a bad wry neck. We have lawn tickets today to see Santana, the wry neck is a bit better but DW [-]is getting a cold[/-] has a cold and it is raining.

We've had great luck over the years with outdoor shows and weather, so it's grin and bear it.

 

[HFWR]

Well, we had tickets to see ZZ Top on Thursday, couldn't go because DW had a bad wry neck. We have lawn tickets today to see Santana, the wry neck is a bit better but DW [-]is getting a cold[/-] has a cold and it is raining.

We've had great luck over the years with outdoor shows and weather, so it's grin and bear it.

Not such bad luck, IMHO, as both ZZ Top and Santana have been phoning it in for years...

 

[ERD50]

... So I ordered a USB to midi cable/converter, and I will try some of this stuff out sometime and see what kind of Linux software is out there. I'm assuming I can get rid of the midi sound modules and classic Alesis drum machine, that a computer will do all this internally now. We will see (if I stick to it).

Will keep my Yamaha 8-input mixer though.

-ERD50

I still have two midi keyboards, and two sound modules, that I'll likely keep for now. But the Sonar software has several software synths, so I use those for recording/playback. My Fast Track interface has both 9-pin DIN and usb capability, so they're not totally obsolete yet, and could still be used for "live performance", not that I have any plans to do that...

Well, it took a little experimenting but I was able to get MIDI in and out through this $8 USB adapter to my Ubuntu/Linux computer. So at least now I know the hardware works.

Simply amazing what $7 (with shipping) buys you these days. I'm pretty sure I paid $25 just for a MIDI cable back in the day! And this has a little chip to handle all the conversion and status LEDS, plus the cables.

(Now that I know it works, here's a link):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ACGMOA6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01

Next step, after I get through a big home video archiving project (maybe I'll start a thread on that later), I think I'll download the Linux 'Studio' edition, which is packaged for multimedia, and has the low-latency cores, and other stuff I'm a little afraid to mess with on my own. I'll install that on a separate partition on my old laptop, and play with it... sometime.

-ERD50

 

[rodi]

Went to the beach with the kids. Fortunately we went early since at 1pm the lifeguards announce that there was a hammerhead shark sighting and folks might want to get out of the water. 10 minutes later they close the beach for swimming. We were ready to leave anyway.

 

[Khan]

Took my three mile walk: saw a bald eagle and an osprey and some ibis.

Opened up the hive and saw the new queen seemed to be doing well.

Went to a pig roast/wake/celebration for a neighbor who died a week ago.

 

[Ronstar]

Biked, kayaked, and watched fire fighters burn down a house for practice. Now eating pizza and watching the Bears down by 14.


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[daylatedollarshort]

We went to a planetarium show, followed by drinks on the patio admiring our latest solar light additions. We've been adding solar Chinese lanterns this summer.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Went to an audio club get-together to demo some equipment, talk 'shop', listened to some great music, heard some fantastic speakers, made some new connections.


Lazy hot afternoon at home - watered the poor patio plants, did up some tasty chicken thighs w/ my special rub on the grill and a nice chilled red Zin.

 

[USA]

Spent time w/my Dad. He has hospice assistance. He's lived a wonderful life! The most positive person I've ever known. Full of gratitude for everything. It's a tough go, but I know this too will pass. So glad I RE so I can assist with his journey without the stress of w*rk. 1st R payment coming on the 1st!


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[Dash man]

Sitting with DW in her hospital room waiting for test results. She had chest pains over the weekend that turned out to not be a heart attack, so we're waiting on the stress test to see if that reveals anything. Hopefully this was just a big scare.


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[Sue J]

Spent last evening at a Cleveland Orchestra concert, I'm an usher at the venue.

The program was Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 with a violin soloist, Gil Shaham, and Mahler's Symphony No. 1. I enjoy all the concerts but my favorites are the ones with a featured soloist. He even played an encore which was a piece I did not know but thoroughly enjoyed.

Some of the orchestra concerts are more of a "pop" nature, but when it comes down to it I really appreciate the straight classical. There's just something about hearing live music that's over 100 years old, played just as it was written, by these professional musicians. It's just such a treat to see the orchestra doing what they do best.

Last weekend the music was over 200 years old. It was J.S. Bach, Haydn (with a featured celloist), J.C. Bach and Mozart. I didn't recognize any of the pieces, just took it all in and smiled.

Gives me chills!

 

[splitwdw]

Sitting with DW in her hospital room waiting for test results. She had chest pains over the weekend that turned out to not be a heart attack, so we're waiting on the stress test to see if that reveals anything. Hopefully this was just a big scare.


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Dash, hope you hear good news. Maybe it's just gerds (gastrointestinal reflux disease) My dad had it and they thought it was a heart attack but turns out was the big glass of milk and hugh piece of chocolate cake at 2 in the morning.

 

[MichaelB]

Was at DM's house yesterday, packed and took out three more boxes. Her house is decluttering - but so far it's just relocating to our house. Hopefully it will all be gone by year-end, picked up or shipped to family members. Going through more papers this afternoon I found my SSS Notice of my draft lottery number. What memories .. and what dust.

 

[Dash man]

what did you do today?

Dash, hope you hear good news. Maybe it's just gerds (gastrointestinal reflux disease) My dad had it and they thought it was a heart attack but turns out was the big glass of milk and hugh piece of chocolate cake at 2 in the morning.

Thank you. It was good news and now I'm enjoying a Johnnie Walker Black to calm my nerves now that I can let go of my calming personality to keep my wife relaxed role.

By the way, I love nurses...they are the greatest! Her cardiologist was pretty great too!


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[splitwdw]

Thank you. It was good news and now I'm enjoying a Johnnie Walker Black to calm my nerves now that I can let go of my calming personality to keep my wife relaxed role.

By the way, I love nurses...they are the greatest! Her cardiologist was pretty great too!


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YAY!!!!!

 

[rodi]

Thank goodness for the good news, Dash Man.

 

[W2R]

Great news, Dash Man!

That sounds so tough to do, MichaelB. Memories, memories...


As for me...
Today I estimated the portion of my total 2015 spending that I cannot blame on the move to my dream home. YIKES! After extrapolating to the end of the year, it looks like I will have spent around $6K more than I spent last year.

Panic, panic.

Then I remembered that this year, I have SS for the full year whereas last year I only had it for 6 months, so that will cover the increase. Whew! Well, that was a nice little diversion.

 

[Moemg]

Thank you. It was good news and now I'm enjoying a Johnnie Walker Black to calm my nerves now that I can let go of my calming personality to keep my wife relaxed role.

By the way, I love nurses...they are the greatest! Her cardiologist was pretty great too!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Great news ! I am so glad it was just a scare !

 

[powerplay]

Thank you. It was good news and now I'm enjoying a Johnnie Walker Black to calm my nerves now that I can let go of my calming personality to keep my wife relaxed role.

By the way, I love nurses...they are the greatest! Her cardiologist was pretty great too!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Great to hear it's good news and you can both relax now.

 

[harley]

Not such bad luck, IMHO, as both ZZ Top and Santana have been phoning it in for years...

Name me a classic rock band (other than the Allman Bros) that haven't been. Still bad luck if you bought tickets.

Been at my Mom's for the past week, cleaning out her stuff and trying to put the house in some usable form. Way, way down in the boonies, so for the past week we've had no TV, no landline, no cell phone coverage, and very little internet. I managed to hack the neighbor's wifi password, but even then it was real intermittent. Tons of stuff (borderline hoarder), much of it covered in mouse poop. Picked up a roll of paper towels and it started buzzing in my hand. Screamed like a little girl and threw it down. A bunch of dog food came out of the end. After I manned up I grabbed it and took it outside. Released the little rodent to the wild. I suspect he beat me back into the house. We made arrangements with an auction lady to come pick up everything we aren't going to keep. She'll be ready for it in early Oct. It will be nice to clear out the house, and we're going to donate the proceeds to the local animal rescue org. Mom used to volunteer, and the people who took care of her dog for 6 months before she died are also part of it. Seems like a good use for the money.

Oh yeah, I did manage one tubing trip down the Shenandoah with my daughter out of the week. It was a lot of fun.

 

[freebird5825]

I remembered to log in

I've been doing mostly a lot of nothing besides watching baseball and doing indoor stuff., as well as harvesting my container garden. I'm still not able to tolerate outdoor temps for too long. The lawn is in need of mowing, so after the mini heat wave (high 80s with humidity) is over this week, I'll get to that.

We celebrated Mr B's birthday yesterday with a steak dinner out. I gave him his frozen cookie dough gift.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UV6WJM?redirect=true&ref%5F=cfb%5Fat%5Fprodpg&pldnSite=1
He absolutely loved it. I can make a small batch of chocolate chunk cookies in less than 20 minutes.

I'm heading up north for 3 days to enjoy the cooler temps closer to the Adirondacks. Aaaahhhhh....

 

[Walt34]

DW got a bee in her bonnet and mowed the front this morning even though it didn't need mowing, we're in the middle of a mini-drought so the grass has gone dormant. I lay down and read a book.

 

[NW-Bound]

Instead of spending the day watching the market on TV or on the Web, I went to Home Depot to get some lumber to finish the shade structure for my wife's beloved tropical tree.

As I was about to pay with my wife's HD card (I do that to get the 5% discount), the cashier asked if I wanted to get another HD card so that the purchase today would be free. Whoa! I told her that I already had a card (it was actually in my wife's name), but she said they didn't care. OK.

I recalled my BIL had said he was offered multiple cards before and got the purchase that day free. It's crazy. So, I got about $30 worth of lumber free, but my BIL got more, something like $70, I think. I don't know if it was a special promo or what, but it's nuts.

 

[Khan]

Today I am 65.
On medicare.
Got a bouquet and a card.
Went out and had prime rib and baked potato.

 

[Gumby]

Today I am 65.
On medicare.
Got a bouquet and a card.
Went out and had prime rib and baked potato.

Happy Birthday, Khan!! Wishing you many more.