Day 2286

 I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep.  I dozed for a while and then played games until a little after 8.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I surfed.  I was doing a little more looking at bodies for the TRX4.  I finally found one that both Ellen and I liked.

We left for the hobby store a little after 10.  I drove the truck because it had been a long time since it was out.  When we got to the hobby store it was shopping time.  I got the body, some battery connectors, and scissors for cutting out the body.  Ellen got paint and some airbrush parts.  The whole thing came to $175.

After that we headed back down south.  We stopped at Central Market for bread and bananas.  Then we went to the mailbox and the pet store.  We bought $150 worth of cat food.  I wanted a hamburger, so we went to the place in Sunset Valley.  We stopped at Lowe's on the way to get some steel wool.  The final stop was Walgreen's to get Ellen's drugs.

When we got home Ellen went out to the garage to paint (it was mid 60's).  I stayed inside to cut out the new body.  I watched a couple of videos first.  I ended up using only one of the two types of scissors because the video's showed how to use an exacto knife to do most of the work.

Eventually Ellen came back.  By then I was watching videos on how to attach the body to a TRX4.  She fixed BLT's for dinner.  After dinner she watched painting videos and I watched more body videos.  Basically both of us spent all the time between getting home and bedtime was devoted to the new TRX4 body.

Day 2285

 I woke up before 8 and played games until about 8:30.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  It was sunny, but cold outside.  I decided to surf until it warmed up.  Ellen went to an instructor's class at Hog Heaven.

I spent much of the morning looking for another body for the TRX-4.  There were few candidates that were wide enough, had a wide wheelbase, and were in stock.  I made a list to show Ellen when she got back.

I was tired of sandwiches, so I had a frozen cajun thing for lunch.  When I took out the garbage there was a USPS package at the gate.  Amazon says it won't be delivered for 3 more days.  Oh well.  The package had wheels for the Jeep.  That allowed me to mount the tires I had and put them on the Jeep.  It looks nice.  By then it was warm enough to work in the garage, so I took the monster truck out there.

I used the Dremel to remove some material from each of the four holes that the steering links go through.  I also cut the ears off the ESC mount so that it would fit with the new servos in place.  It made quite a mess, so I cleaned everything up afterwards.  I also widened the hole for the hood latch in the Jeep.

After I was done in the garage I decided to measure the wheelbase on the TRX-4.  To my surprise it was the short wheelbase value.  I spent some time on the internet confirming that it had the short wheelbase parts.  Finally, I looked up the kit on the Traxxas website.  Sure enough, it has the short wheelbase.  I've been looking for long wheelbase bodies because that's what the internet said the kit had many months ago.  I never questioned it.  Oh well, back to looking for short wheelbase bodies.

I spent some more time looking for short wheelbase bodies that were in stock.  There weren't many more available.  I boils down to another body like the one I have, or an old 80's style GMC pickup.  I'm conflicted.  I'll probably buy something tomorrow.

Dinner was leftover pizza.  After dinner I looked at videos for extended axles and larger shocks for the Jeep.  They would help offset the larger tires I installed on the Jeep.  I won't buy anything until I've installed the new electronics and modified the rear body mount to give more clearance.

I'm seeing pretty well, but the new black, whizzing, floaters have me ducking every once in a while.

Day 2284

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for quite a while.  It's another cold day, but a little warmer - all the way to 37.  When the games were done I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing I got out the stuff to work on the Ryft.

The work started out well.  I selected a smaller pinion and got it installed.  It meshes very well.  Then I began to install the servo.  That didn't go well.  The kit's servo savor wouldn't go on either the high power servo I purchased or the stock one.  I tried pressing it on with a C clamp.  All I accomplished was killing $40 worth of servos.  I put the stuff away and hit Amazon.

I ordered another servo.  I also found a kit from Axial that contained the servo parts.  It has additional parts that should make it fit the new servo.  I sure hope so.  I was really disappointed that I couldn't ake more progress on the Ryft.

After ordering the stuff i took out the garbage and brought in a couple of packages.  Then I had a sandwich for a really late lunch.  After that I started watching documentary videos on Youtube.  I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening doing that.

A note on my eye.  I can no longer see the bubble.  It "disappeared" during the day.  I bet it's like the left eye, just "below" (actually above) my field of vision now.  I definitely have a new crop of floaters though.  I hope they die down.

Day 2283

 I woke up at 7 even though I didn't get to bed until after midnight.  It was a perfect opportunity to play games, sine the temperature was 28.  Finally I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I got out the stuff necessary to install the steering stuff in the monster truck.  It went in fairly easily.  The biggest problems was the tight spaces for some of the screws.  I couldn't finish it though because I need to use the Dremel to open up some of the body so that the links fit.  I'll do that when it gets warmer.

After that I looked up the connectors I'll need for the new Jeep ESC and ordered them.  I should have done that yesterday.  Then I surfed until lunch (a sandwich).

After lunch we went to pick up some drugs and go to the grocery store.  The temperature was 37, but I think the store was colder.  When we got home I decided to look at how I might restore the suspension movement on the Jeep that was compromised when I put in the 4WS.  I devised a couple of ways of doing it.  Of course they involved new parts.  Back to the internet to search.

The Axial parts diagram for the Jeep doesn't list the part number of the part I wanted to change.  I took me hours, but I finally found it.  I ended up ordering it and will  modify it when it comes.  I could have ordered another piece that would have worked, but it was more expensive and would have required more modification.

Two packages came today.  I ordered one item yesterday afternoon.  Amazing.  Unfortunately it will be another week before the parts I need to go with these parts arrive.

I didn't get through with my shopping until late.  I should mention my eye.  The bubble is smaller again today, maybe half the size of yesterday.  Unfortunately I think I have just as many floater now as I did before, only now they are small, black, and zip around.  That's worse than the larger amorphous ones that I used to have.  My hope is that they'll get better once the bubble is gone and they settle out (if they do).

Day 2282

 It was another cold day. It didn't get above 33 all day.  That meant an 8 AM wake up followed by a long game playing session.  Eventually I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I got ouit the stuff needed to change the Jeep to 4WS.

I should mention my eye condition.  The bubble has gotten to the point where it appears as a bouncing bubble obscuring about 20% of my lower vision.  It no longer helps to wear an eye patch.  I see clearly as long as I am looking straight ahead.  Looking down is difficult.  I'm also a little disappointed.  There are still floaters, and now they are small black things that zap across my field of vision.  I'm occasionally slapping at non-existent flying bugs.

The conversion actually went pretty well.  The only rough spots were handling the incredibly small screws and not being able to see what I was doing very well.  The steering worked fine when I tested it EXCEPT the stock transmitter doesn't support 4WS.

I thought I could use the new transmitter I'd bought because it was from the same manufacturer.  But, NOOOOO.  The two sets use different protocols.  In fact, the manufacturer uses 4 different protocols, none of them compatible with each other.

This sent me on an hours long investigation and shopping job.  First I determined that I needed to buy a receiver and ESC.  Then I looked for ESC recommendations.  Finally I searched until I found a sutible pair that didn't break the bank.  I ended up spending $45.  This puts the total cost of the 4WS mod at almost $100. I'm glad I'm rich.

One thing that saved money.  The well technician called.  He said that the liquid in the pressure gauge is glycerin and should be there.  Saved paying for a service call.

I spent the afternoon and part of the evening on the receiver/ESC search.  Dinner was leftovers.  The rest of the evening was watching a couple of movies.  They weren't done until midnight.  The new TV is great.

Day 2281

 The weather really sucked today.  It was 33 when I woke up at 8.  Over the day the temperature dropped to 27.  It even rained a little bit, enough to put some ice on the car.  I ended up playing games in bed unti almost 11.  The cats weren't thrilled with the lat breakfast.

After cat stuff and breakfast I got out the jeep.  I watched a couple of videos and then started to replace the motor.  The whole thing went pretty well.  The worst part was walking out to the garage so I could trim some plastic with the Dremel.  I ended up ignoring the way it was done in the video and did it another way that was much easier.

Mealtimes were all off due to the late rising.  I had a salad mid afternoon.  Ellen fixed chili for dinner.  I used it to make a frito pie  It was good.

About 5 a package got delivered.  I put on a light sweatshirt and went after it.  Mistake.  The package was in the mailbox.  It was a very cold trip.  The package contains the stuff I need to put 4 wheel steering on the jeep.  I'll probably do that tomorrow

I spent most of the rest of the day shopping on the web.  I wanted to buy bigger tires for the jeep.  The new motor is only a little bit faster than the old.  Putting on bigger tires is the easiest way to raise the gearing.  I looked at a lot of other things, but didn't buy anything.  I've got significant amounts of work to do on the jeep, Ryft, and monster truck.

Day 2280

 I woke up at 7:30, but played games until almost 9.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was get out the stuff to work on the monster truck.  My goal was to install the motors and maybe work on the steering links.

I ran into immediate trouble.  I couldn't get the rear motor to fit in it's place.  I finally decided to take it out to the garage where the Dremel was.  Once there I really couldn't see any place with interference.  I compared the new motor to the old.  They're supposed to have the same dimensions.  They didn't the new motor was slightly bigger in diameter (no problem).  It also had a bigger mounting for the front motor shaft (big problem).  This cause the motor to interfere with the gearbox gear.

I had to fabricate a spacer out of a washer.  That took a lot of grinding.  Fortunately that fixed the problem.  I went on and spent more time fabricating a second spacer for the other motor.  That time was wasted.  The other motor is a different manufacturer and didn't need a spacer.

By the time that was all done it was time to go to lunch.  It was a nice day - 85.  I wanted to go to an outdoor place in Dripping Springs, but it's not open on Tuesday.  We ended up at Doc's instead.  I had really good fish and chips.  Then we went home so Ellen could go teach kids.

I decided to sit out on the deck and play games.  I did that until it got too cool.  Then I went inside for dinner (leftovers) and surfing.  I ended up watching a whole bunch of youtube videos on the TV.

I wish I could quit berating myself for losing the bracelet.  I miss it several times every day.

Day 2279

 I woke up at 7:30.  A weird thing happened last night. I had a nightmare that I even remembered.  Someone was chasing me and then attacking me.  I wok up punching Ellen.  She was not amused.  After getting up I did the pet stuff did some surfing.  I was too wire from the dream to eat.

Eventually I did have breakfast.  Then I got out the monster truck.  I've got the hardware I need now, so I replaced the 6 shocks that I couldn't do before.  Then I removed the motors.  Their rotation directions were mismarked.  I got a power supply from the garage to determine which way they really rotated.  Then I used it to determine the way the new motors rotated.  That will allow me to put the motors in the right place.  After that I was decided I'd had enough for today and put everything away.

Ellen was doing some more test painting while I was working on the monster truck.  It was a warm day, 85, so it was nice for her in the garage.  She's narrowing down the finalists.  I surfed for a while and then had lunch. 

When Ellen was finished we went to HEB.  We needed bread, bananas, milk  - the usual stuff.  Some of the shelves are completely empty and most are sparsely stocked.  Prices are up a whole lot.  FUCK BIDEN.

When we got back I got bored with surfing and got out the front light I want to use on the Ryft.  I took it all apart and I think I can shorten it.  I found an alternative on Amazon in case I can't.

Two packages came - the larger motor for the Jeep and the hex screwdrivers I need to install it.  I also searched for, and found, a case to put the screwdrivers in.

The eye doctor's office called.  They are delaying my appointment for 6 days.  I'm not a happy camper because it's for the first followup after the surgery.  The bubble is getting smaller, but it's doing it slowly.

I had a long email conversation with Gerry about the paper we signed and sent him last week.  USPS said it was delivered 5 days ago.  He said he didn't get it.  Eventually he found it in his office.

Ellen fixed a ready made meal from HEB for dinner.  It was pretty good.  After dinner she watched chick flicks and I watched videos.

Day 2278

 I woke up at 7:30, turned over and went back to sleep.  I woke up again at 9.  I got up, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Then I did some surfing.  Eventually that got old, so I got ouit thde monster truck to work on it.

My intention was to replace the shocks and maybe the motors.  That didn't work out well.  The original shocks were held on with these ball screws which couldn't be used with the new shocks.  I lack much spare hardware so I could only do one of the four pair.  I did them and put everything else away.

While I was doing that Ellen was working on painting.  She was in and out of the garage painting samples.  She hasn't hit on one we both like yet.  I also got the SEI info copied and put in an envelop for Grant.

I decided to get out the Jeep and chase the cats around.  The thing is fun.  It's also pretty capable for it's size.  I want to use it to practice driving.  The velcro body attachment aggravated me, so I changed it for the clip attachment.  That got me out to the garage to drill a hole in the body.  I also had to make a clip out of a paper clip.  The body clips I had were too thick to fit through the mounting hole.

About five I checked and found that the hardware I'd been waiting for was "delivered" at 1.  It wasn't there.  I guess it was probably stolen.  That makes three things that have been stolen, two packages of the Delrin and the hardware.  I just reordered the hardware, it should be here in two days.  While I was shopping I ordered some small hex drivers.  I'll need them for modifying the Jeep.

The rest of the evening was spent surfing while Ellen watched chick flicks.  Dinner was leftovers.

Just before I went to bed at 11 I went out to check to see if the package had shown up.  The right gatepost (a railroad tie) is high.  I have to stretch to reach its top.  The delivery guy had put it on top of the post.  I hadn't noticed it when I went out to look at five.  Now we have to retract a bad review and cancel the replacement order I made.

Day 2277

 I got up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  It was cold outside, so I just stayed inside and surfed for some time.  I decided I'd go to hobby shops and found three.  One was up by where Fry's once one, another was 15 miles farther north, and the last was a mile west of 1826 on 290.  We left to go see them about 11.

The hobby shop near Fry's was one I been in before.  I bought a 1/24 truck as a project to modify - add 4WS and a bigger motor.  I also bought a reversing motor for the monster truck.  Ellen bought some painting supplies including some plastic to test on.

We drove over to the second place.  It was an expensive trip, almost all on tool roads.  When we got there we found that the address had been replaced by a trucking firm.  Fuck Yelp.  We drove back south on toll roads again.  We stopped at the post office and then headed to the third shop.  It's location has been bulldozed by the new road construction.  Fuck Yelp again.

After that we just went home.  I ordered the stuff I'll need to modify the 1/24 Jeep that I bought and put the battery on the charger.  Then I surfed until the battery was full.  I set up the Jeep and had a lot of fun chasing the cats around.  It's small and slow.  That's good, because I suck at driving.  I'm going to use it to practice driving.  It's actually kind of fun.

Dinner was leftovers  After dinner I decided to watch TV.  It's the first time I've watched DirecTV in many days.  Surfing and watching programs from the internet have superseded it.

A note:  My right eye is improving.  It's about half full of liquid now.  That means that I can see fairly clearly in the top half of it's vision.  The bottom half is obscured by the bubble.  At this rat it will probably be another week before I can see again.  That will be good, I don't drive well with one eye covered by a patch.

Day 2276

 I woke up at 8, got up and did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  It was cold today, so I stayed inside and surfed for a couple of hours.  Ellen and I spent some time researching who we were going to vote for.

By 11 it had warmed up some.  Ellen went for a lesson.  I went to the garage and got the monster truck and the servo stuff.  I took it to the house and actually got something accomplished.  I got the servo mounts installed and mocked up the steering linkage.  I can't complete it because I need 4 small diameter screws which I don't have.  At least I got something done.

When Ellen got home we left to vote.  The polling place was halfway between us and Dripping Springs on 290.  There was a Dominos next door, so we got sandwiches there.  They were really good.  I stopped at ACE on the way home, but they didn't have the screws I needed.

When we got home I ordered the screws from Amazon.  Then I went back to watching videos.  Lunch was so late that we ddin't have dinner.  

Eventually I realized that I could watch videos on the TV better than on the computer, so I switched.  That took up the rest of the evening.

A note: I really miss the bracelet.  I'm always noticing it's not there.  I'm really trying not to beat myself up about it, but it's really hard not to.

Day 2275

 I woke up about 8, got up and did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  There won't be any morning games for awhile because I have to lay on my left side.

I did a little surfing and then I took the monster truck out to the garage.  My intention was to install the steering servos.  That didn't go well.  It seemed that everything I tried to do didn't work out.  It didn't help that I only had one eye, and it was blurry.   It took about three hours to install one servo mount and half of the work for another.  To top it off, installing the servos looks like it will be just a big a battle.

I went inside for lunch, a sandwich.  Then we left to do a few errands.  We both got drugs - Ellen's at Walgreens and mine at CVS.  Then we stopped at Costco so Ellen could get her sunglasses.  Then it was home for a little surfing.

I went with Ellen to the club.  We went half an hour early and I took a rake.  We spent half an hour looking all around for the bracelet.  No luck.  It's truly gone.  I miss it's weight and all the little mannerisms I had playing with it.  I won't get another.

We stopped at HEB on the way home and bought salmon for dinner.  Ellen cooked it when we got home.  It was really good.  After dinner we both listened to comedy videos.  That cheered me up a little.

Day 2274

I woke up a little before 8, the gravel guy called.  I got up, got dressed, took out the garbage, and opened the gate.  He got there about 15 minutes later.  Then I went back to the house and had breakfast.

I surfed until about 11 and then we went to Hog Heaven to help load targets at a tournament.  The weather was OK and we spent several hours there.  We got in the car and left.  As we were leaving I noticed I didn't have my bracelet on.  I ddin't know if I'd put it on this morning - I was in a hurry, so we continued home.

When I got home the bracelet wasn't there.  We went back to the club and searched for it for quite a while.  No luck.  We came back home and I searched everywhere I'd been outside in the morning.  I even  took everything out of the garbage can.  No luck.  I consider it gone.

To top things off the doctor called with my blood work.  My cholesterol is fine, but I'm only 1 point off being diabetic.  My PSA is 13.  I also have a high white cell couont,, so they are putting me on antibiotics.  All in all this has been a shitty day.

Between this and my fucked up eye I'm feeling REALLY depressed.  I haven't felt this bad in years.

Day 2273

 I woke up at 8:30 and did the pet stuff.  I didn't feel like breakfast.  Then we went to Dr. Cox.  He went over my blood work and said I was doing well.  That felt good.

After that we went to HEB to by a couple of things.  We ended up spending $80.  There were absolutely no cough drops.  None.  All the shelves were empty.  Add that to the guy who took my blood saying they couldn't get the supplies they needed.  Fuck Biden.

We went home, had lunch, and surfed.  My eye doctor appointment was late, so I took the truck so Ellen could go to the club.  It was fun horsing that thing around with one eye.  

I got to the doctor about half an hour early and sat playing games.  When they called me in they took my patch off.  I was expecting to see like my left eye.  No.  I couldn't see a fucking thing.  The tech held up two fingers 4 feet in front of me and I couldn't see them.  It's like looking through a dirty aquarium someone's shaking to see what's on the other side.  The tech sad "everything looks great".

After some drops I saw the substitute doctor for about five minutes.  Again, "everything's great".  Bull shit.  I can't see.  The image from my right eye interferes with that of my left so much that I can't see at all.  I had to have them put the patch back on so I could drive home.  The bubble they put in my eye obscures about 20% of my eye's field of vision.  I have an appointment in a week to "see the progress".  On top of it all, I MUST sleep on my left side, not the chair.  FUCK.

I stopped at the post office on the way home.  It had the pinion gears I ordered for the Ryft.  When I got home they didn't work.  I ordered more.  Even with the patch the fight eye's image fucks with that of my left eye.  I try to keep the right one closed.  I don't know if I should be pissed, or just disappointed.  I'm both.  In a week I'll ask the doctor how long this is going to last.

I spent the evening listening to videos.  I picked narrative ones where I could mainly listen to them rather than look at them.  The crosstalk from the right eye makes that hard to do.  At times I can barely see out of the left eye because of the crosstalk.  At all times it keeps me from seeing clearly out of the left eye.

Day 2272

 I got up about 8, played games, and then did the pet stuff.  There was no breakfast today because of the surgery.  The surgery center called and wanted me an hour early.  So we hurried up and left.

There was an accident on loop 1, so we had to go into town on Lamar.  Amazingly it was moving pretty well.  We turned back to loop 1 on Barton Creek.  Barton Creek was almost empty.  We got back on loop 1 and managed to get to the surgery center about 5 minutes early.

Surgery went just like the first one.  I got in bed, they put in eye drops, hooked me up to monitors and put me to sleep.I woke up feeling groggy and with a patch on my right eye.  Ellen had a doctor's appointment, but was still able to get back to the center just about the time I was ready to leave.

We stopped at the smoothy place on the way home.  It was OK, but nothing special.  When we got home I did a little surfing and then watched TV.  I ate a really late dinner even though I wasn't really hungry.

About 10 I started seeing flashing lights in my right eye.  I called the emergency line.  They called back and fucking Verizon sent the call to voicemail.  I called again and this time Verizon rang the phone.  They listened to the symptoms and said not to worry.

I was supposed to sleep on my left side.  I tried, but I kept starting to vomit in my sleep.  I finally got up and slept in the recliner.  The anesthesia always gives me heartburn and vomiting in my throat.

I'm really looking forward to seeing clearly in both eyes tomorrow.

Day 2271

 I got up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast it was a little surfing.

I didn't surf long before I got out a motor and speed controller for the monster truck.  My intention was to install the motors and shocks as well as making sure they connected to the ESC.  That's when I discovered that I needed a true reversing motor.  I had intended to just reverse the leads on one motor, but the ESC doesn't support that.  I spent time looking for a reversing motor, but they cost more.  So I decided to return one of the motors I bought and must use the motor that's on the truck now.

I printed out the Amazon code and we went to Whole Paycheck to turn it in.  Ellen got some supplies to make peach cobbler also.  Then we came home.

I was so disgusted that I didn't try to do anymore work on the monster truck.  Instead I watched SpaceX videos.  They have done some incredible things and are planning to do even more.  Their biggest problem right now seems to be the government.  Isn't it everyone's biggest problem?

I decided to watch the Super Bowl.  The Rams won.  I really didn't care who won.  I ate a dinner of leftovers during the game.  After the game I watched rock bouncer videos on the TV.

Tomorrow I get my second eye done.  For some reason I'm a little apprehensive.  I don't know why.

Day 2270

 I woke up at 8:30 and played games for about an hour.  Then it was up for cat food and breakfast.  After that we left run around. 

The first stop was the donut place on Slaughter.  It's the first time we've been there in many months.  Unfortunately they were pretty much sold out.  We got a couple of good ones though.  Ten we went to the range.  I thought they were having a party.  I'd misread their ad.  The party is 3/12, not 2/12.  Oh well.  It was fun looking around any way.

We drove from there to the post office.  After that we stopped at an estate sale and HEB.  The final stop was Belterra to turn in the extra RC controller from Amazon.  We were going to stop at the small shops on Nutty Brown Road.  It was cold, 40, and hailing/sleeting/raining.  We decided not to.  Judging from the parking lot so did everyone else.

When we got home I did a little surfing, followed by reading a magazine and a little nap.  Ellen watched a chick flick.  I fixed coconut shrimp for dinner.  Then we watched TV together for the rest of the evening.

Day 2269

 I woke up at 8 and played games for about half an hour.  Then it was get up, feed the cats, and have breakfast.  After that I called the rock place and rescheduled the delivery until Wednesday.  It was easy.  Ellen's going to go to her doctor's appointment while I'm in surgery, so Monday should work out OK.  Worse case is I'll have to wait for her to get back.

I decided to work on the Ryft in the morning.  I got everything out.  That's when I discovered that the gear from Axial wasn't going to work.  I worked on it for hours, but there's just no way to get a gear that small in diameter to mesh.  I ended up looking on the web for some 14 tooth gears that are bigger.  There's no specs on anything,, but I did find a couple that looked like they'd work.  I ordered them.  We'll see.

I had brisket for lunch.  It was a nice warm day, 75, so I decided to work on the monster truck in the garage.  I modified the pieces for the steering link attachment and installed them.  Then I worked out how to install the servos.  That involved cutting part of the servo mounts off.  I also had to add standoffs under them.  I had old stuff from my 1980's RC box that did the trick.  Finally, I replaced the bushings in the hubs with bearings.

The next steps will probably be installing the shocks, motors, and mocking up the electronics.  I still need to attach the servo mounts.  I can't do that until I have the links.  I went back to the house and spent some time on Amazon finding the right length ones.  I ordered them along with the second servo.  I haven't added it up, but I bet I'm spending as much on this as I would have on another modern kit.  It's fun though.

Ellen went to get her hair cut while I was working.  Her hair really looks nice.  When she got home she fixed sausage and hash browns for dinner.  Afterwards she watched chick flick while I surfed.  When the flisk is over we watched a Gold Rush.  We have three more episodes to watch.

Day 2268

 I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was surf until time to go to the doctor.  My appointment was at 9:45.  I was there almost until noon.  It turns out that they were still working through the backlog from the 2 day cold weather shutdown last week.

The doctor gave me a clean bill of health and said I could have the other eye done.

We stopped at Central Market for a couple of things.  Then we went across the street for Thai food.  It was great.  We'll be back.  After that we went home.

I couldn't work on anything because my eyes were still dilated.  I surfed for a while.  Ellen left to teach the kids.  I took a walk outside around the property.  It was 76 degrees and sunny.  Dinner was leftover Thai food.

After dinner I got watching videos.  It was fun.

Day 2267

 I woke up about 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we had to deal with the Amazon problem - how to resolve requesting (and getting) a refund for a package the eventually showed up.  We had to call Amazon.  The person I talked to took a while, but said it was resolved, just return the merchandise.

We went to Belterra to do the return.  While we were there Ellen got an email saying the refund had been cancelled.  So we left without doing the return.  We drove to the post office and mailed the financial form that he emailed yesterday to Gerry.  It was too early to go to Ellen's eye appointment, so we decided to go to Trader Joe's.

We ended up at a Randall's down the road from Trader Joe's instead.  It had empty shelves just like HEB.  The prices were WAY higher.  Fuck Biden.  We bought a couple of things, but not much.  Then we went to Texan Eye and I waited outside while Ellen got her cataract lens cleaned.

We stopped at Costco on the way home, just because.  I got water and pistachios.  We had Costco dogs for lunch.  They aren't nearly as good as the old Polish dogs.

When we got home I removed the shocks from the TRX4.  They all needed fixing.  I filled them with oil and let them sit for three hours.  I played games and watched music videos while I was waiting.  When I put them back together, three worked fine.  The fourth wouldn't - just like the Ryft.  I have no clue why.  I put them back on the TRX4 and had a late dinner (sloppy Joes).

After dinner it was TV and surfing.

Day 2266

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Since there was no gravel I decided to work on RC today.

I started by putting oil in the monster truck shocks.  I watched a video first.  I'd just gotten started on it when it was time to go to the lawyer about the will.

We were a little late, but he didn't seem to mind.  We talked about the will for a little while, and shooting for a lot more.  We spent about 2 hours there.  If I'm lucky they'll ask me to work the field there.  It was after noon when were were done, and 65 degrees.  So we went to Doc's back yard.  When we were finished with lunch we went home.

I continued work on the monster shocks (8) and the Ryft shocks (4).  I hadn't done a good job on the Ryft shocks and will probably have to redo the TRX4 shocks.  Once they were filled they have to sit for hours for the air to bubble up.  While I was doing that Ellen continued to paint the TRX4 body.  It's not a super job, but it looks OK.

While waiting for the shocks I did a little work on the monster truck.  I ran into a lot of problems,, so I quit because it wasn't fun any more.  I got 6 packages of parts today, including two radios.  I already asked for a refund on one, so we'll have to call Amazon tomorrow to sort everything out.

Ellen went to teach the kids.  I finished all but one of the shocks.  It's a problem child, so I'm waiting until tomorrow.  I changed to surfing.

Dinner was leftovers, as usual.  After dinner I just surfed.  I was tired of doing anything else.  I was also listening to a Pirate movie, but I got bored with it.  Ellen changed to a chick flick.

Day 2265

 I got up at 8:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 41, but I went outside to move gravel anyway.

It only took one load of gravel to warm me up.  Eventually I even took off my sweatshirt.  I moved all of the remaining gravel.  I used some of it to repair an area that the deer had torn up.  I suspect that the old buck needed to teach the young buck who was boss.  They've both been in the yard a lot.

I used most of the rest to fill in a strip of the driveway.  It didn't go very far.  I used some to cover some places where weeds had grown last summer also.  All in all I moved 11 or 12 loads.  I was proud of myself.  I was also very tired and sore when I was finished.

I went inside and looked in the files for the gravel place.  I ordered 7 more yards of gravel.  3 years ago that cost $400.  Now it costs $600.  Fuck Biden.  It won't come until Monday.  I ran across a file with old purchase papers from our first house.  Ellen and I went through them, shredded some, and threw away the rest.  Ellen also found the wills.  We called a lawyer and made an appointment to revise them.

After that we went to lunch, hamburgers.  We stopped by the post office and then HEB.  When we got home I surfed until dinner.  Ellen went to the garage and did some painting on the truck body.  She screwed up the paint sequence, so I don't know how it will come out.

Dinner was leftovers.  I continued surfing.  About 7 some more packages arrived - in the mailbox.  It was a cold walk.  The good news is that I now have enough parts to work on both the Ryft and the monster truck.  Yeah.

I ran across a series of music videos and spent a lot of the evening listening to them.

Day 2264

 I got up a little lat, played some games, and then did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  After that I went outside.  It was cold, about 50.

I got out the implements of destruction and started moving gravel.  At least it wasn't a frozen rock liike it was yesterday.  I did 8 loads.  I finished putting rock around the front yard and patched a few bare spots in various places.  I was hot and tired by the time I was finished.

I went back inside and surfed for a while until I recovered.  Then I got out the frame for the Ryft and the roof rack that'd I bought to make a roof cover for it.  I took the roof rack to the garage and cut it apart.  The piece I wanted fit perfectly on the Ryft.

I spent some time getting the parts I needed to connect the roof to the frame.  It was a little frustrating because I didn't have exactly what I needed.  I manged to fabricate what I needed with more trips to the garage.  Eventually I got it done.  It looks great.

It was 3 by the time I was done.  I ate a very late lunch (sandwich).  Then I surfed until dinner.  Surprisingly I got a package, parts for the monster truck.  I can't install them until I get the oil for them.

Ellen fixed a chicken thing for dinner.  After dinner we spent the whole evening watching Reacher.  We finished the series.  Apparently that's the end of it.

Day 2263

 I woke up at 8:30 and played games.  It was another cold morning.  There was still a lot of ice on the ground and the car was covered with frost.  After pet stuff and breakfast I surfed until it geot a little warmer.

It didn't warm up until about noon, so it was a long surfing session.  It was one of those where I ended up watching a bunch of different videos on a bunch of subjects.  I hadn't done that in a while.

About lunch time (leftovers) some packages showed up.  I have enough to do a little work on the monster truck.  I'll probably do that tomorrow.  They all got mailed except one.  The post office now gives delivery notices to Amazon.  Amazing.  Another amazing thing was the size of the receiver I ordered.  It's about a cubic inch in volume.

After some game playing it was dinner time (lasagna) I decided to watch Reacher on Amazon.  He's a real Jack Reacher, all 6'5" of him.  It's a cool show.  We ended up watching 4 episodes, which took theh whole evening.

Day 2262

 I woke up at 8:30 and stayed in bed to play games.  It was colder this morning than it was yesterday.  Eventually it was get up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was still below freezing, so everything was iced up.

I surfed for a while, but then I decided to get something done.  I started work on the lights for the monster truck (headlights and light bar).  I had to go to the garage for the drill, some LEDs, and some resistors.

I removed the old light bar, which had fake lights.  I replaced them with lights I had left over from the Ryft's "roof".  I had to drill holes in the body to run the wires.  Then I wired up two LEDs with resistors for the headlights.  I just glued them in place.  That's all I can do until the parts arrive.

Speaking of parts.  I had a whole bunch of parts that were supposed to come yesterday and today.  Now a few of them are supposed to be here the day after tomorrow, and others don't have a delivery date.  Crap.

It warmed up in mid-afternoon, all the way to 40.  The roads were clear, so we went to HEB and the post office.  HEB was predictably low on inventory.  I suspect it will be late next week before they are back in full swing.

When we got home it was more surfing.  I switched to the TV just because.  Dinner was a pizza.  It's what I wanted.

Day 2261

 I woke up at 8, but there was mo point in getting out of bed.  It was 29 degrees and there was freezing ice covering everything.  I played games for a while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast -Malt-o-Meal.

After that I turned on the TV and listened to the local news.  It was amusing watching them get so excited about some freezing rain.  It got colder all day, down to 21 at bedtime.  It's supposed to just get above freezing tomorrow.

I did a little reading about the Double Dare.  Other than that all I did was surf random places.  All in all it was a very unproductive day.

I watched a couple of movies on the TV.  I fell asleep somewhere in the middle.  When I woke up I went back to surfing because I was bored with the movie.

Ellen fixed pork chops for dinner.  They were really good.  After dinner was some TV and some surfing.

Day 2260

 I woke up a little after 8 and played games for a while.  I got up, fed the cats, and then had breakfast.  After that I went out to continue my new exercise program.

I moved another 8 loads of gravel.  That allowed me to finish covering the weeds by the front yard rocks.  I also used two of the loads to cover a bunch of really thin spots in the parking area and the lower driveway.  There's less than 8 loads of gravel left.  When it's gone I'll order another 7 yards.

It's supposed to hard freeze tonight with freezing rain.  It rained off and on today and the temperature was dropping all day.  I turned on the heater in the well house.

I took the frame for the monster truck back with me when I got back to the house.  Then I took a shower.  When I got out Ellen had gone to the garage to paint.  I guess she's feeling better.

I really wanted to look at the monster truck.  I forced myself to do the second diff on the TRX4 instead.  It wasn't quite as much work as the first because I knew what needed to be done.  It was still a pain in the ass.  I worked on it through lunch.

When the TRX4 was done I started looking at the monster truck.  I measured the shocks and the tires.  I also took out a motor and measured the shaft.  I also think I have a plan for mounting the steering servos.  Now it's time to order parts.

I spent quite a while looking for parts.  I also took out all of the old electronics in the monster truck as well as some parts I know I won't be needing.  That allowed me to be sure of what I was ordering.  I still have some parts to order, but I won't until I've fitted the parts I ordered today.

The rest of the evening was surfing.  Dinner was leftovers.  I'm really enjoying reworking the monster truck.  It won't cost any more than another kit.  Of course it won't ever be as functional as the new vehicles, but it will be cool.

Day 2259

 I woke up a little after 8 and played games for a while.  I got up, fed the cats, and then had breakfast.  After that I went out to start my new exercise program - moving gravel.

The first thing I had to do was pump up the cart tires.  They were all flat.  It surprised me, they take 30 psi.  Then I drug everything over to the gravel and started hauling.  My goal was to do at least 5 loads.  I ended up doing 8.  That allowed me to put more gravel all over the area by the car trailer that had gotten so overgrown last summer.  I also put a couple of loads along the rocks in the front yard where there was a of of weeds growing.  

8 loads wiped me out.  I used to do much more.  I was soaked in sweat even though it was a cool day.  I went inside and surfed for a while to recover.  Eventually it was lunch time, a sandwich.

After lunch I left for errands.  I had to turn in an Amazon return at Whole Paycheck.  Then I went to Costco to get water and probiotics.  The last stop was HEB.  I'd hoped they'd have the stuff they didn't have yesterday.  Fat chance.  FUCK BIDEN.

When I got home I went to Amazon and started making a list of the things I need to get to rebuild the monster truck.  I didn't buy anything because I wanted to double check that I was ordering the correct things.  That took me all the way to dinner and beyond.

Ellen fixed jambayla for dinner.  It was very good, but also very spicy.  That was fine.  When dinner was over I went back to surfing for the rest of the evening.

Ellen was pretty sick with a cold yesterday.  I bought her a COVID test today, she was negative.  She took some patent medicine last night which helped her a lot.  She's still feeling down today though.  She spent most of the day and evening watching chick flicks.