Day 2986

 I woke up at 7:30 and turned over to got to sleep for a little bit.  I woke up again after 9.  By then Ellen was up and had fed the pets.  I got up and had breakfast.

After breakfast I did  a little surfing and then decided to really get to work on the Traaxas.  I started by completely removing the rear axle.  Then I completely disassembled it.  Once that was done I replaced all of the bushings with bearings (6) and reassembled it using a brass diff cover.  The whole thing was a good warmup for working on the front axle.

I started the front axle the same way by removing it.  That was a bit more complicated than the back because I didn't want to unplug the servo which is attached to the axle.  Then I totally disassembled the front axle.  It's a lot more complex with the steering mechanism, CV joints, etc.  I replaced 10 bushings with bearings.  I also replaced 7 parts with brass ones: the servo mount, steering link, steering knuckles, caster arms, and diff cover.

There were a few sticking points.  I didn't assemble the first caster arm correctly and bent it slightly.  I had quite a bit of trouble with the servo mount, chiefly because I didn't spend enough time analyzing it before I took it apart.  Finally, putting the axle back on the frame took a long time until I realized I needed to take the upper suspension links completely off before reassembling everything.

All total it took 3 to 4 hours to do everything.  The result is a MUCH heavier vehicle.  My only regret is that all of the new brass parts are black except for the servo mount which you can barely see.  I don't want to test the vehicle though until I put the bearings in the gear box and finish the lights.

By then it was three in the afternoon.  I had a late lunch (leftovers) and did a little surfing.  Ellen left for the club.  The wire holders came so I took Abby out to the garage to finish the Traaxas lights.  I kept her in the garage with the door closed.  She got VERY bored.  I finished the lights with no problems.  The wire holders made for a really nice install.  I'm going to use them on the other vehicles.

When I was finished with the lights I went back to the house and fed the animals.  Then I surfed until dinner (more leftovers).  After dinner I switched to videos.

Abby spent most of the evening laying on my lap.  This really pissed off Cooper.  At one point he actually sat on my chest with Abby sleeping on my lap.  That lasted until Abby stirred.

Day 2985

 Ellen woke me up about 8 when she got up to let the dog out.  Then she decided to stay up and feed the animals.  I guess my days of staying in bed past about 8 are over.  I got up a little later, no games today.

After breakfast I surfed for a while and then switched to YouTube.  I looked at a couple of obstacle designs.  I also watched a tutorial on how to change the Traaxas battery to a standard connector.  Tony called to ask if I'd heard anything from Yo.  I said I'd let him know if I did.  Then I went out to the garage to put lights on the Traaxas and maybe do the battery conversion (it turned out I have to order some connectors).

Ellen brought Abby out when she left for archery.  I had to tie Abby up to the trailer to keep her out of the garage.  She was only in the garage for less than a minute before things started falling on the floor.

I put away the stuff left over from taking down the dog barrier and then started building up the light harness.  It took a long time and was a pain in the ass.  Fitting the LED's into the body wasn't fun.  It involved removing parts, modifying  them, installing the LED, and then reattaching the parts.  I stopped halfway through for lunch when Ellen came home.  I didn't want to do any more.

I texted Lee at lunch.  He replied that we could have the doggy play date after 5.  That gave me time to go out and finishing installing LED's in the Traaxas.  I didn't finish the wiring because I'm waiting on some wire holders.  I went back to the house and surfed until Lee texted.  I fed the cats before we left.  Abby was disappointed that she didn't get dinner.

Abby and Lee's dog had a great time running all over his place.  They were pretty tired when we called a stop, but I'm sure that they would have played more.

When we got home I started watching videos, which turned into a nap.  Tony woke me up with another phone call.  He was basically moaning about the problem he's got himself into.  He's hoping to get back with Yo (HAH) and worried about where he would live until the lease on the condo runs out in June.  He also has a lot of credit card debt and was just in a car accident where he's lost the other driver's information.  Every time I tried to give him advice he stated he had a better idea.  I told him it was dinner time and ended the conversation after about half an hour.

I had leftovers and went back to surfing.  That got boring and I started surfing just for something else to do.

Day 2984

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  The day was going to be taken up by waiting for the barrel, so I spent the morning making up new crawler obstacle designs.

I made a few designs myself and copied a couple from the web.  I made a materials list for Ellen to stop at Home Depot for after the club.

FedEx said that delivery would occur between 11:40 and 3:30.  I parked in the cul-de-sac about 11:20.  It was a nice sunny day, low 70's.  I spent most of the day playing computer games on the iPad.  I got some packages from Amazon a little after noon.  The FedEx guy showed up at 3:20.

Lee came buy to see me while I was waiting.  We had a good talk.  We made a play date for the dogs tomorrow afternoon.

Ellen brought Abby out to the cul-de-sac and threw the bumper for her.  Abby did great, always paying attention to Ellen even though Abby wasn't wearing the collar.

The barrel looks really good.  It cost a little less than $400 to repair.  I won't be able to shoot it until next week though.  I'm getting really weak.  The gun feels very heavy.

I put the gun away while Ellen left for the club. Then I took the garbage out with Abby, again no collar.  She paid attention to where I was going and led the way.  On the way back she went off into the woods.  When I called her back it took several calls before she figured out where I was.  When she did she came running.

Some parts for the Traaxas had come.  I spent some enjoyable time installing the brass links.  I'm waiting on tomorrow's parts before installing the bearings.  Otherwise I'll just be redoing some of the work.

After that the rest of the evening was videos.  Ellen brought me a calzone for dinner.  It's big enoough for three meals.

Day 2983

 I woke up about 8 and played games for a while.  Then I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I'd really made the decision to buy the Traaxas yesterday, so I started ordering parts for one.

I spent quite a bit of time looking for parts.  It paid off.  I found several replacements for my original choices that reduced the cost considerably.  I also added a couple of of parts that people on the web said were necessary.

I got a text from FedEx.  It said that the barrel delivery was due between 11:30 and 3:30.  I'll beat the gate waiting.  At least I won't have to wait all day.

After that Ellen and I went outside with Abby.  We played with her for a while.  She got into the pond, which was disgusting.  That's when we discovered that all of the dog shampoo had disappeared from both the house and the trailer.  We used to have several bottles.  I have no idea where it went.

By then it was time for errands.  I started a Lowe's and Michael's where I bought a couple of small items for building more 1/24 obstacles.  Abby did really well in Lowe's even though we didn't have the dog collar on her.  After that we went to lunch at Doc's Backyard.  She did great there, too.  Several times rug rats brushed by her and she didn't react at all.

From there we drove up to the hobby shop at Palmer.  It's a long drive.  I bought the Traaxas there and Ellen got some paint.  Then it was back south for the Post Office, pet store (for shampoo), and HEB.  After that it was home.

I started to watch football.  Abby spent her time running around, getting me to play fetch, and laying on my lap.  Cooper was really pissed.  Actually he was so pissed today that he didn't eat either breakfast of dinner.

Ellen fixed sausage and hashbrowns for dinner.  I watched the second football game until it was clear SF was going to win.  Then I switched to videos.  Abby used my lap as a bed.

At 8 we handed out treats.  Abby had to go to bed so Cooper could  have the lap.  I watched videos for a while and then went back to looking for Traaxas parts.

Day 2982

 We woke up at 7:30 and were out of the house by 8.  We stopped for gas at the Exxon and the headed to Hondo.

The trip down was fast.  For the most part I was driving in the high 70's or low 80's, sometimes even faster.  Traffic was light the whole way.  We stopped at the bakery in Del Rio to get breakfast again.  We got to the trainer's about 15 minutes early.

Because we were early was petted Minnie for a while and looked at the puppies that we'd seen two weeks ago.  When the trainer came out we talked a little about what we'd be doing.  I also got out the dog collar and she set it to what she wanted.  Then we got Abby.  She was REALLY glad to see us.

We started by going over heeling again.  We both took her for walks.  She's doing really well, especially when we used people and puppies for distraction.  Ellen and I need to work on a couple of things.  Then we took Abby over to the field and let her loose.

Abby didn't take off for parts unknown.  She ran around, but didn't get more than 100 yds away.  Most of the time she was a lot closer.  I took her for a walk by myself.  When I called her she came back immediately.  I let her go again and waited until she was focused on something in the tree line.  Again she came back immediately.

I got an incredible urge to shit, just like when I was at Nationals.  I started back while Ellen and the trainer stayed in the field.  I was halfway back when Abby showed up beside me. She didn't come when Ellen called.  That's the only time that she got zapped.

I didn't make it to the toilet.  I ended up filling my shorts and pants with shit.  I spent a while cleaning myself up with toilet paper, but it was a lost cause.  Luckily I was using the dog pen toilet rather than the one in the house.  I put my shit soaked pants back on and put the shorts in the trunk.

Luckily that was the end of the training.  We talked with the trainer a little more, put Abby in the car, and started home.  We didn't stop for BBQ because we had just finished the stuff we bought last time.  Anyway, I couldn't have gone inside.

The trip back was pretty fast, but not as fast as the trip down.  It was also very unpleasant.  My legs and ass were covered in shit and I stunk to high heaven.  We got hoe about 2.  I headed to the shower and Ellen cleaned the dog barf.  Abby had barfed when we were just a few minutes away from home.

After I'd cleaned up I went back outside and sprayed the driver's seat with pet cleaner.  I don't think I got it dirty, but I didn't want to take the chance.  Then I went back inside and took down the doggy gate in the kitchen.  We won't need it.  Abby is a new dog.  She really obeys us, especially NO.  She didn't run around the house at all.  Instead she went and slept in her pink bed.

Ellen took Abby out to the front yard while I was cleaning up in the garage and finishing getting the doggy gate ready to be given away.  She threw bumpers for a while and then took Abby for an off lead walk up to the gate.  Abby did great at everything.

When we got back inside Yo called.  He was frantic saying he couldn't live with Tony.  Tony was in the background yelling at the phone and Yo.  It sounded pretty bad.  I told Yo to call the social worker, or if it's really bad 911.  When I hung up Tony called and started complaining about Yo.  I didn't give him any encouragement.  He also said that he (Tony) had called 911.

I started watching videos.  Awhile later Tony called to say that Yo had been arrested and will be in jail until Monday or Tuesday.  I was floored.  Tony was obviously feeling regretful. I didn't say anything except OK.  You just can't make this shit up.

After that I texted Dan saying he wouldn't believe what happened and to call me if he was interested.  He called immediately.  We had an entertaining conversation about the events.  Then we talked about Alicia.  She hasn't gotten any more acceptances although USC has put her in the second choice class.  There's a whole lot more applications to go.  Most won't give answers until March.

After that it was videos.  Then I spent 45 minutes writing up yesterday's and today's entries.  I forgot to do one yesterday.

Day 2981

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was some surfing and more looking at things for the Jeep and FMS.

I've basically got the Jeep completely fitted out.  The only improvement part would be an adjustable servo mount for the rear steering servo.  I can only get that as a kit with another servo.  I may do that if I buy the Traaxas.  I did discover that the brushless motor/ESC combo's that I'm getting will support 3S batteries.

I went looking for 3S batteries that would fit the Jeep and FMS.  They aren't easy to find.  There are just a few that are usually used in planes and drones.  Also it's hard to find one that will fit in the FMS.  There just isn't much room to mount one. I did find several candidates though.  I won't buy one until I have the FMS modified.

CVS texted me saying that they had more drugs for me.  We stopped there and then went on to Torchy's for lunch.  After that we went to the coffee shop to get coffee and dessert.  That way Ellen was happy and I got my coffee.

When I got home the receiver for the FMS was here.  I messed around with it some and found a place on the FMS that should allow me room to use a 3S battery.  We'll see.

About that that time I got two emails from FedEx.  The barrel is in their position and on the way to Austin.  It should arrive on Monday.  Unfortunately it had to be sent to the home address.  I'll probably end up waiting at the gate for it.

The rest of the evening was videos.

It's such a relief to have the barrel on its way here.  I've spent a lot of time obsessing angrily about it.  I really work hard not to do that about things that are going badly, but it's really hard for me to do.  n fact I immediately started worrying about a delivery failure.

Day 2980

 I woke up about 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing I got out the Jeep.

I connected the phone app to the ESC and updated it's firmware.  That was a little scary because the app crashed at the end of the update.  Everything was fine though.  Then I calibrated the ESC.  It was almost in calibration to begin with.

With that done I did some fine tuning of the front steering.  The end points needed some adjustment and so did the trim.  The back steering was fine.  Finally I did some runs through the obstacle course.  The Jeep went through it with no problems at all.

Ellen has been getting things set up for meeting with Grant on his analysis software.  She has almost everything done except for one investment.  It's a big one though.  Apparently Gerry needs to turn something on.

I also left another message at Perazzi.  By then it was 1.  We went to Torchy's for lunch.  After that we went to the coffee shop for coffee and dessert.  Every time we look at the investment accounts we start feeling rich.  Ellen had a $5 cookie.

When we got back home I took the FMS cab out to the garage.  Its lights are going to need a rebuild when the new electronics come.  I completely redid the wiring harness.  I made it much shorter and replaced most of the heavy wire that made it so hard to attach the cab.  The process took at least three hours.  I was really please when it worked when I tested it.  It was after 6 when I finished.  I'll clean up tomorrow.

Just after I finished the test Perazzi called.  The guy claimed that he had the barrel in hand and would ship it out tomorrow.  I may have misunderstood him last week when he said "the barrel was finished".  The gunsmith may not share the same facility as the office.  Oh well.  I've been obsessing over this for the last few days.  I'm a lot calmer now, but I'll worry until I have the barrel in my hands.

Ellen fixed chicken and rice for dinner.  After dinner it was videos.

Day 2979

 I woke up a little after8 and played games for a while.  It was raining again.  Actually it rained all day, a total of 1.2 inches.  I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was take out the garbage in the rain.  At least it wasn't raining very hard at that point.

After breakfast I didn't have anything to do, so I surfed for quite a while.  Somehow that turned into looking a RC cars again.  I tried to reduce the cost of the FMS car buy building it out of spare parts.  After a lot of surfing I determined that that wasn't going to work.

That's when I realized that there was no point in my buying another FMS car.  The car I was looking at was essentially the same as the one I have except it has a new body and a few improved parts.  My plan had been to buy the car and replace those parts with new ones.  Why not just continue to upgrade my current one?  That way ifI did buy a new car it would be the Traaxas, which is a new type for me.

I started pricing out parts for the further upgrading of my FMS.  I need motor, ESC, and receiver.  I also need rear portal weights.  Adding those will make the current FMS equal to the one I was planning on buying and building.  Unfortunately one of the parts I need is on back order and another comes from China.  It will be a while before I can work on an upgrade.

Tomorrow I'll program the ESC in the Jeep and give it some more runs through the obstacle course.  I might even order the Traaxas car.

I'd gotten a text from CVS saying that my drugs were available.  We went to get them. I'd planned to go to lunch, but Ellen didn't like my suggestion and wouldn't come up with one of her own.  We went home instead and I had a frozen thing.

Yo texted me.  Tony missed his doctor's appointment (surprise, surprise).  Yo is taking him to the doctor and Social Security tomorrow.

I didn't get a call from Perazzi.

The rest of the day was divided between surfing and videos.  Ellen fixed a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for dinner.

Day 2978

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was fairly warm today, low 60's, that's good.  It was also raining, that's bad.

I spent a little time this morning looking into whether or not Tony could get money from the government.  He didn't work long enough to get Social Security.  He can't get SSI because of his income., and he can't get food stamps because his income is just barely over the cutoff.  Oh well.  He may however qualify for disability.

I called Perazzi and left a message.  Of course the guy didn't call back.

Ellen brought back mail from Medicaid.  It was a notice that they had cancelled the rehab and would cancel the application if he didn't "appeal" by 2/11.

Yo called to bitch to me about Tony.  I tried to comfort him a little, but the root cause is Tony is crazy and that isn't going to change.  I told him about the cancellation and texted him the cancellation letter.  I told him to give it to Tony so that Tony could take it to his doctor's appointment tomorrow.  The doctor may be able to help get him reinstated.  I also set up a time Thursday where we might be able to get Tony on Medicare.

Later on I called Tony and brought him up to speed.  He was halfway sane after I let him rant about how great his self rehab was going.  I told him about the cancellation and the Medicare attempt on Thursday.

By then it was late in the afternoon.  I'd been filling in the down time today working out the last details of costs for the Traxxas, FMS, and Axial RC cars.  The Traxxas and FMS cars are 1/18.  They both have plusses and minuses.  It's hard to make a choice.  The FMS is a few dollars more expensive.  The Axial is a 1/10 car and is the most expensive by a noticeable margin.  I'm putting it on the back burner. 

The case for the new dog collar came this afternoon.  I spent some time constructing the foam inserts.  Everything fits, but just barely.  I think that it's going to work great.

Ellen fixed tacos for dinner.  After dinner I switched to videos for the rest of the evening.  While I was watching the trainer texted.  We'll do the next Abby session on Saturday.

Day 2977

 I woke up at 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It rained 2.5 inches over night.  After some surfing I went outside to turn off the heaters in the trailer and well house.  It's supposed to stay above freezing for the next week.

When I turned off the heat in the well house I decided to investigate the dirty water in the water condition salt.  I ended up using a bucket to bail it all out.  The salt at the bottom was a solid mass.  I had to use an iron bar to break it into small chunks and then the BBQ spatula to break it down to kernels.  That took quite a while.

Then I put in a bucket of clean water into the container to rinse the salt.  I bailed it out and then refilled the container with another bucket of water.  Finally I put two bags of salt in the container and took the bags to the garbage.  The whole process was tiring and time consuming.

When I got back to the house we left for errands.  We stopped at Waterloo for lunch and HEB for groceries.  The final stop was Tomlinson's for cat food.

When we got back I got out the new dog collar and went through all of its functions.  It's a pretty capable unit.  I set it up the way I think the trainer will want, but we'll see.  I won't get the case for it until tomorrow.

Yo called.  He was upset because Tony is making his life hell.  I calmed him down and advised him on how to maybe get Tony to sign up for Social Security and Medicare.  I also gave him the bad news about the Medicaid.

The online security firm sent me an email saying that my email had been compromised.  I ended up on the phone with them because my password with them wasn't being recognized.  Eventually I got new passwords for them and email.

After that it was video time.  I had a short nap and had to re-watch one.

Dinner was leftovers followed by more videos.  I tried to watch several movies, but none of them kept my attention for more than a few minutes.

Day 2976

 I woke up at 8 and stayed in bed until just after 10.  It was another cold day and I could surf in bed as well as I could in the kitchen.  Of course eventually it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I looked for a case for the new dog collar.  I didn't have anything else to do so I made it a drawn out process.  Eventually I settled on one.  Then I switched to surfing until football at 2:30.

The first game involved the Lions so I had a mild interest due to Ellen's sister.  They won, barely.  SF is going to kill them next week.  I kind of wanted KC to win the second game, but they just aren't good enough.

Of course I surfed through both football games.

I also ran a test run of the Jeep through the obstacle course.  It's the first one since I completed the mods.  It cruised through everything including doing a couple of corrections that it couldn't do before.  I declare it complete.  Now I have to decide if I want to build a 1/24 or a 1/10 vehicle next.  They will both cost the same amount.

That was the the sum total of a not very eventful or productive day.

Day 2975

 I woke up at 8 turned over and went back to sleep until 9:15.  Then I played games for a while before getting up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I wasn't in a hurry to get up because I didn't have anything scheduled and it was too cold to go anywhere.

I did a little surfing and then noticed that the front driveshaft on the Jeep was disconnected.  I must have done it when I installed the flex links and not noticed it.  Out came the tools for a comparatively easy fix.

I was tired of surfing so I got out the Baby Yoda puzzle that's been sitting on the kitchen table for weeks.  Ellen got interested and we both worked on it for a while.  First we sorted all of the pieces into sorting bins that we purchased years ago and never used.  Then we built the puzzle on a roll up map that we'd bought at the same time.  It's a difficult puzzle and we'll be working on it for a while.

I worked on the puzzle until lunch.  After lunch I surfed until the football game at 3:30.  At halftime I went out and got the dog collar and rock sliders that had been delivered.  The football game was boring, so I decided to install the sliders.

The lack of instructions made the install more difficult than it should have been.  There were a lot of ways of configuring the parts and it took quite a bit of experimentation to find the right combination.  All of the small screws and nuts didn't make it easier.  The end result looks pretty good though.

By the time I was finished it was time for dinner - leftover pizza.  After that was another football game  Packers vs SF.  Unfortunately SF won in the last 2 minutes due some atrocious play by the Packers.

After that it was a short look at the dog collar and then bed time.

Day 2974

 I didn't get much sleep last night.  I woke up at 2:30 and after a long time managed to get back to sleep until 4:30.  After that I just gave up and played games until I got up at 7:30 for pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I got out the parts I got yesterday for the Jeep.  The first thing that I did was change the position of the front upper struts.  It wasn't a big change, but it made a noticeable difference in the angle of the front steering.

Then I installed the front shock flex.  That took a while because of the lack of instructions.  There weren't many YouTube videos on the subject either.  The install itself wasn't hard.  The back was easier because I had experience.  Unfortunately it didn't eliminate the shock mounts like I thought it would.  The result looks really good.  I'll test it tomorrow.

I'd noticed last night that the rock slider on the Jeep aren't the right ones.  I double checked the order and the part description was wrong.  I took them off and put them in a plastic bag.  Ellen set up the return and I ordered the correct ones.

The last bit of work to do was install the hitch ball on the trailer hitch and glue the hitch to the Jeep.  That involved going out to the garage to drill a bigger hole in the hitch.  I took the opportunity to put some extra parts away in the parts cases.  It was really cold in the garage, so I took the hitch back to the house to do the gluing.

With the Jeep work done we left for Whole Paycheck to turn in the rock slider.  It was only noon.  You get a lot done when you get up at 7:30.  We turned it in and bought a couple of things.  Then we went to Craigo's for lunch.  They wouldn't take our coupon for lunch, so we used it to buy a pizza for dinner.  Then it was home.

Yo called to say that he was taking Tony to the doctor and that he would try to get the bank statements.  The Medicaid person called while we were at Whole Paycheck to say that they'd closed the application because Tony walked out of rehab.  She's going to keep the information though.

The doctor called with the blood work.  My cholesterol is good.  The ACL is a little elevated from last time but within limits.

I couldn't run the Jeep until I have the new rock sliders.  I have to mount the receiver to them.  I was really tired, so I sat down in the recliner to watch videos.  Of course that led to a nap.

Dinner was Craigo's pizza it was good.  After dinner was videos until I got bored with them.  Then it was surfing.

Day 2973

 I woke up at 8, played games fora while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we left for the doctor's so I could get a blood draw.

The blood draw took very little time.  When it was done I drove to Jim's for breakfast.  It's the first time that I've driven through the Y.  Traffic was surprisingly light.  There's been an amazing amount of work done and a lot of concrete has been poured.  There's a lot more to do.

After breakfast we went to Best Buy.  We bought a few trivial things - mice and thumb drives.  After that we went to Sam's Club.  We bought cereal and some rolls. I ate lunch there.  It was cheap, but not very good.  Ellen didn't eat because her asshole was giving her trouble.  After that we went home.

It's too bad that we didn't have more to do.  It was a beautiful day with a high of 80.  It's supposed to freeze on the weekend.

When we got home I spent some more time researching a second dog collar and accessories for it.  I ended up ordering a Dogtra.  That's what the trainer uses.  It also has a fairly discreet collar.  The Garmin has an 18 inch antenna on the collar.

The Jeep parts that I'd ordered hadn't come yet, so I just surfed for hours.  Eventually that turned into videos and a short nap.

Ellen fixed meatloaf for dinner.  It was really good.

The parts I ordered came, but by then it was too late for me to be interested in working on them.I watched videos instead.

Eventually the videos got boring, so I started to look for more car parts on Ebay and Etsy.  The trouble with both sights is that the shipping will kill you.

Day 2972

 I woke up a little after 8 and played games until 10.  It was 11 degrees when I woke up.  When I did it was pet stuff and breakfast.  By then it was in the low 20's.  It kept getting warmer all day, relatively speaking.  Eventually it got up to the low 40's. At bed time it was back down to 32.

When breakfast was over I started to figure out how to attach the trailer hitch to the Jeep.  In doing so I noticed that when I originally installed the back steering axle I'd cut too much off the body mount.  Fortunately I had a new mount.  Because the work involved the Dremel I took everything out to the garage to work on it.

It was probably in the 50's inside the garage.  Fortunately I had my little bench heater.  It puts out a lot of heat and gave me a warm workspace, at least for my upper body.  I installed the new body mount and then used the Dremel to remove part of it to fit the back servo.  Then I went to work on the trailer hitch.

I had to cut two groves in the hitch in order to mount it to the body mount.  I started with a hack saw, then it was the Dremel, and finished off with a small file.  The result is pretty good.  Unfortunately the ball on the hitch is too small, so I didn't attach the hitch to the Jeep.  I went back inside and ordered some balls.  When they come I'll install one and glue the hitch to the Jeep.

That was all I really accomplished today.  Yo called and said Tony is back home.  Apparently all he did was break a leg.  I thought he'd been committed.  Oh well.  I asked Yo to confirm the car status.  He did.  Then I asked him to see about getting Home Street statements.  He said he'd try.

Just before Ellen left I had a weird experience.  I'd been surfing and looked up.  When I did I was seeing double, like my eyes were out of sync.  It took a minute or two for my eyes to sync up.  After that I felt fine.  I think maybe it was because I'd been trying to read through the wrong part of my glasses.  I was fine for the rest of the day.

I quit surfing and started watching videos.  I did that for the rest of the day.  That way I didn't have to se the glasses.

Day 2971

 I woke up a bot 8:30 and played games for quite a while.  It was another of those cold days where there wasn't any point in getting up early.  Eventually it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was surfing.  I literally didn't have anything else to do.

Ellen left for archery.  Yo called a little after she left to say that Tony was in Harborview.  I told him that that was the best possible place that Tony could be.  I tried to make him feel like he'd made the right decision.

I went back to surfing and the guy from Perazzi called.  He apologized for the delay in repairing my barrel.  He said that it was done and that he would get it shipped out tomorrow.  We'll see.  I was really happy though.

Ellen brought back lunch from the Italian place.  She also brought a letter from the Medicaid people.  They basically asked for a lot of the same information that I'd already sent them.  They also wanted the December Home Street statement.  The letter said that if they didn't receive an answer by tomorrow they would cancel the application.  I emailed the stuff I'd sent before along with property tax and trust information. I also told them that with Tony in Harborview there was no way to get Home Street info.

As a side note they had Tony still owning the car he had in college along with a Mustang that I barely remembering him having.  I told them that to my knowledge he didn't own them anymore.  We'll see what happens.

It took quite a while to construct the email.  When it was done I started watching videos.  That took up the rest of the evening.

Day 2970

 I woke up at 8:30 and played games for at least 2 hours.  It was 17 outside and a little cold in the house.  Eventually I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast was done I felt like I had to do something.

I decided to clean up all of the paper on the kitchen table.  There were a lot of notes concerning Tony and other things I'd been working on.  I entered a few things on my Tony list in the computer, collected all the notes, and threw them away.  This is the third day without communication from Seattle.  I'm hoping my involvement is over.

I tied up a couple of other loose ends.  I called Perazzi and told them that I want my barrel back.  The secretary said she'd leave a message.  Then I emailed Baker City to see how the Bronco is coming.

Of course I had to mess with the Jeep a little.  I was going to buy a carbon fiber frame for it.  I read the reviews on it.  They said the front shock mounting positions are wonky.  I looked carefully and the were.  I found an alternative to the shock mounts that will solve the interference problem for $3 less.  I ordered it.  While doing that I noticed the the drive line interfered with one of the suspension links.  Out came the tools.  I added a spacer to the link mount and that fixed the problem.  It's great to have lots of spare parts.

That was pretty much the end of doing things today.  I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and watching videos.  It wasn't a lot of time.  The day is pretty short when you don't begin it until about 11.

I watched a football game in the evening.  The iPAD almost made it interesting.

Day 2969

 I woke up about 8:30.  It was cold out, about 20.  Both Ellen and I stayed in bed for quite a while.  Finally it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.

There was no point in going outside.  The temperature didn't get above the low 20's all day.  At bed time it was 17.  I'm worried about the apartment pipes, but there's nothing that I can do about them.

I spent a large part of the morning researching the costs of doing a FCX or a TRX-4M build.  The FCX clearly comes up on top.  The cost of using a brushless motor is the same for both.  

While doing that I found a carbon fiber frame for the Jeep.  It costs $19 and might give me better performance of the suspension.  It would also take a lot of effort to change the frames, and effort is what I'm really looking for.  We'll see.

When the research was done I got out all of the obstacles I'd made and set them up in the living room.  Both the Jeep and the Power Wagon ran the course.  I had to add some weights to the front of the Jeep to get it to climb the stump obstacle.  The Power Wagon actually did better than the Jeep.  I think it's because its tires are better.

I quit when it was time for a late lunch and football.  The first game was Green Bay vs the Cowboys.  Green Bay killed them.  Yeah.  The second game was LA against Detroit.  Detroit won by a point for the first time since 1992.  Yeah again.

During the games I surfed on the iPAD.   During half time I watched videos.

Just like yesterday no word from Yo or Tony.  Perhaps my ignoring them is making a point.

Day 2968

 I woke up about 6 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  I played games for a LONG time instead.  Eventually I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.

It was relatively warm today with the high a little above 60.  It's supposed to get down to 28 tonight though.  I went to the apartment and opened the cabinet doors.  Then I went to the trailer and turned on the fireplace.

After some surfing I started to work on the Jeep.  I replaced the front shock springs with lighter ones.  That lowered the front end so that the body is now almost level.  While I was doing that I noticed that three of the tires weren't completely captured by the bead locks.  I took them off and fixed them.  Fixing them was a real pain in the ass and took at least 45 minutes.

Ellen fixed breakfast for lunch - ham and scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast.  After that I watched videos until the football game.  At halftime the drive line for the Jeep arrived, so I installed it.  I did a short test and everything looks good.

I continued with football until the games got to be a laugh-er.  Then I switched to videos until the next game.  That game wasn't all that competitive either.  I spent most of it surfing on the iPAD.  I really like its "pen".  The game lasted until bedtime.

No contact with Yo or Tony.  It feels so good.

Day 2967

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was surprisingly warm, about 60.  It got progressively colder though and was 31 when we went to bed.

I had a doctor's appointment at 11:30.  Between finishing breakfast and leaving for the appointment I worked on the Jeep.  I thought all that I needed to do was cut a little bit of the interior to fit the motor.  Not so.

When I got through cutting the interior I discovered that I couldn't fit the electronics under the front hood.  I had to remove them from the vehicle and start over.  I also had to replace some socket headed screws with flat headed ones in order to mount the receiver in a new place.  By then it was time to go to the doctor. 

The doctor froze a bunch of stuff on my head and face.  He also told me I should take a weight loss drug.  I might do it if he can get the prescription approved.  My BP was high, too.  That's probably because I missed taking the drugs two of the last three days.

After the doctor we went to the post office.  Neither of us wanted to go home, so we went to lunch at the fish place by Alamo Drafthouse.  It was expensive, $18 for a bowl of clam chowder.  At least it was good though.  After that we went to the coffee shop nearby, again because we didn't want to go home.

We went home when the coffee was consumed.  I went back to working on the Jeep.  I had to take it back out to the garage to drill new holes for the flat headed screws.  Then I remounted the electronics.  The result really looks good.  I'll have to wait for the new axle before I can test it.

I put away the tools and then did some surfing until dinner.  Ellen fixed stir fry.  After dinner I did a lot of searching for RC stuff on Amazon.  I really didn't need to, it was just a break from watching videos.  I have decided on building another FCX vehicle next though.  I should be able to keep it under $300 while still having it be an interesting build.

Yo called me.  He complained about Tony being a pain in the ass.  He wanted me to call the hospital to figure out how to get Tony the drugs he was taking at the hospital.  It's very dangerous to quit them cold turkey.  There are 5 hospital campuses and I don't know which one he was at.  I tried earlier to find out and got no where.  I told him to figure it out.  Later he texted me to say that he would try tomorrow.

I don't really care any more.  I've come to the realization that Tony can't be helped.  He will thwart everything done for him.

I watched a few more videos and went outside to turn on the heat n the well house and put the light in the well enclosure.  Then it was bed time.  It's 30 degrees.  It supposed to be 60 tomorrow followed by three days where it doesn't get above 33 degrees.  I'm worried about the pipes again.

Day 2966

 I woke up after 7,turned over and went back to sleep until 8:30.  Then it was games before getting up for pet stuff and breakfast.

I did a little surfing and then decided to install the new motor and ESC in the Jeep.  I removed the old motor, receiver, and ESC.  After a little messing around I discovered that the motor mount was going to have to be rotated 180 degrees to fit the new motor.  That met that the rock guards had to be removed and the suspension links disconnected from the mount.  That's lots of screws.

When I got the mount re-positioned I discovered that some more of the battery tray needed to be removed.  It was out to the garage and the Dremel.  Then I mounted the motor.  When I was done with that it was time to go to lunch.

The temperature was 73 degrees. It's probably the last warm day for a while.  We decided to go the restaurant at the end of 150 that we hadn't been able to get into in the weekend.  It wasn't crowded.  I had a great club sandwich and Ellen had a vegetarian enchilada.  Both were big enough to take home half.  I also had a very good mojito.

When we got home I continued work on the Jeep.  I put the rear links back on, no problem.  I noticed that the front ones had been installed wrong.  That got me stuck in a long effort getting them right.  It didn't help that the front drive shaft didn't seem to fit any more.  I finally figured out the way the links should fit.  After that the drive shaft was still too short.  I ordered another one.

I finished up by mounting the electronics and finishing up the wiring.  The last thing was to cut a piece of sprue from a model kit and glue it as a barrier between the battery and the motor.  The install actually looks better than the one I had before.  Everything runs, but I can't test it until the drive shaft comes.

It was almost time to feed the cats when I finished.  I surfed for a little while and then fed them.  After that it was videos until dinner time (leftover club sandwich).  After dinner was more videos and an episode of Reacher.  It's as good as the first season.

It was really nice to to receive any phone calls from either Yo or Tony.  I'm mildly curious about what's going on, but not anywhere curious enough to call one of them.

Just before going to bed I discovered that the Jeep body won't fit on the Jeep anymore because the new motor is too tall.  I'll have to cut away part of the interior.  Goody goody, more work for the Dremel.

Day 2965

 I woke up at 8:30, played games for a short while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I did some surfing.

It wasn't all that long until I got a text from Yo.  Tony came to his place about 8 last night.  I was really confused.  I called the rehab place.  They said that Tony had called a cab and left last night.

I called Tony.  He was in a really manic state, talking fast and not letting me respond.  Overall there were 4 phone calls in quick succession as I would hang up to get him to listen a little.  The gist was he didn't like the place and wants to rehabilitate himself "at home".

Yo called a little later very upset.  Apparently Tony ragged on him all night.  About two in the morning Tony woke up and stared wandering around the house making incoherent sounds.  I told him that I couldn't give him advice on what to do and that he should call the social worker.  Then Ellen and went out for cat treats, lunch, and groceries.

While we were at lunch Yo called back.  The worker said that if Tony got bad Yo should call 911 and have him taken away.  I told Yo that he should follow that advice (apparently the worker had consulted with the doctors before calling back).

We went back home.  I did some surfing until Ellen went to the club.  Then I changed to videos for a lot of the evening.

Dinner was a frozen thing followed by a little more videos before returning to surfing.

I didn't hear anything more from either Yo or Tony for the rest of the day.  Yeah.

Day 2964

 I woke up a little before 8.  Soon after I woke up Tony called.  He was ranting about demanding to be discharged.  I stated a couple of reasons why that wasn't a good idea and told him to call Social Security.  He hung up.  I felt guilty and called him back a few minutes later.  He ranted some more.  I hung up.

I played games for a while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It took a little while, but I finally came to the realization that there was nothing I could do to save him from himself.  I let it all go and started surfing.

I took Ellen to archery and then did errands.  I went to the post office and filled up the car.  Then I went to the pet store and bought a whole lot of cat food.  I made a short trip to Costco to get batteries and dishwasher soap.  The final stop was Goodwill to leave off the clothes that Ellen and I threw away when we reorganized our closets.  I made it back to archery with 15 minutes to spare.

Ellen was late getting out of class, so we didn't have time to go somewhere to eat.  Instead we went home a waited a few minutes for Grant to call.  We had a great  meeting.  It started off with a long dog discussion.  His dog is turning out to be a great hunting dog.  We told him about Abby's progress.  Then he showed us a cool online tool for getting a handle on all of our investments.  It may also help us handle RMD's and the associated taxes.  We have to do some data entry for the investments that Gerry handles.  Then we'll meet again in a couple of weeks.

The Medicaid person had called while we were driving to archery.  I got her email address.  She wanted the documents on Tony's finances in pdf form.  Ellen converted them and I sent them off after Grant's call.  A little later the hospital finance person called to say that they were moving Tony to a rehab place.  I guess Tony did get out today.  Yo called and I told him where Tony was.

I did a little more surfing and eventually switched to videos. Ellen fixed fried ham again for dinner.  I really like fried ham.

After dinner Yo called again asking for advice on what he should do about Tony.  Apparently Tony is really unhappy with the place he's in.  Yo wanted to know if he should call him back.  I likened Tony to a cat that's been moved somewhere new and is in a snit.  Yo understood.  I told Yo to turn off his phone, have a good dinner, and relax.  He thanked me and said he would do that.

A little later Tony called.  I didn't answer.  He called again about 10 minutes later and I turned off my phone.  The rest of the evening was videos.

I'm really happy.  I got Tony out of the hospital and into a place that the government will pay for.  The hospital financial person is really eager to have me sign up to have Tony's financial powers of attorney.  I'm not sure I want it.  Also the next step for Tony will be either home to Yo, a residence facility, or the nut house.  I don't have to part of any of that.

Day 2963

 I woke up after 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I started to work on Tony stuff.  

I painfully constructed n email listing everything I'd discovered about his finances.  That was quit an effort including transferring the documents from my text and store them in the computer.  I couldn't send it anywhere because I didn't have the financial person's email address.  She'd given me a generic phone number.  I left a message there, but I doubt that it will result in anything.

I called Perazzi and got no response, not event an answering machine.  Ellen found out that they'd been on vacation sine 12/23.  I bet that they won't be answering their phone for a week.

I did some research on Starlink poles and wrote up an email for the trainer.  Ellen sent it.

I put oil in the shocks for the FCX.  While I was doing that a person from the hospital financial staff called.  Apparently she was the one that was handling Tony's case.  She's been out since Christmas and her cover person was the one who called.  She gave me a lot of good information.  Tony isn't getting out of the hospital until he's on welfare.  She gave me telephone numbers to signup for Social Security, Medicare, and Disability.  The kicker is Tony has to make the calls. Apparently she instructed him on all of this before Christmas and he didn't make the calls.

By the end of her call I was happy for the info and pissed at Tony.  I tried to call a number to get the email address, but only got voicemail.  Then I went back to FCX shocks.  I also answered a couple of ranting phone calls from Yo.  OK, I know Tony is a pain in the ass and makes you mad, but you don't seem to listen to me on how to deal with him.  You are causing yourself.

The FCX shock install did not go well.  I kept messing up the assembly.  My ability to manipulate small parts is really deteriorating.  When I was all done the back shock need heavier springs, but I don't have any.  Oh well, I think that I'm done messing with it.

After I put everything away I took refuge in videos.  Ellen fixed fried ham for dinner.  She knows I like it.

After dinner it was more videos until 9.  Then I called Tony and told him to call Social Security and get signed up immediately.  He said that he'd do it tomorrow morning.  We'll see.

Day 2962

 I woke up about 8, played games for a while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then I got out the iPAD and started to set it up.

The setup wasn't hard, but it was time consuming.  I did have some problem at first discovering the Apple way of doing things.  It's not hard, just different.  The process itself involved setting up an account and password.  After that there was a lot of application installing, mainly Firefox, games, and the media apps like prime and netflix. Finally I rearranged all of the icons to make the layout fit me.  There's about 10 on a back page that I will probably never use.

Yo texted me copies of Tony's lease and condo expenses.  I'll see if I can get them to the Medicaid person tomorrow.  I also had a 20 minute call with him where he bitched about Tony.  He also said that Tony had refused to be placed in rehab.  That's depressing because apparently Tony is getting a littlel better.  That means he could get a lot better in rehab.

When the iPAD was finished I went to work on the new Jeep ESC.  I'd had a couple of plans, but ended up replacing the ESC battery connector with one that is compatible with the current battery.  That way I don't have to worry about any other connector changes.

Amazingly the FCX shocks showed up while I was working on the ESCin the garage.  I was kind of burnt out on that, so I started watching football instead.  At halftime I went to work on the shocks.  I put all of the balls in the shock ends.  I didn't fill them with oil though.  Maybe tomorrow.

Eventually football got boring and I switched to videos.  I found some really interesting historical and "weird facts" videos.  I watched them until dinner and then afterwards (Ellen fixed pork chops and hashbrowns).

My interest in videos ran out about 9 and I spent the rest of the evening surfing.

Day 2961

 The alarm went off at 7:30 and we got up to do pet stuff and leave for Hondo.  It was cold and I had to scrape ice off the windshield before we could leave.

The trip itself was uneventful.  There was little traffic that early on a Saturday and we made really good time.  Once I got to I35 my speed usually varied from 75 to 80.  By the time we got to Castro we were an hour ahead of schedule.  We stopped at a bakery there for breakfast.  We had ham and cheese croissants and donuts.

When we got to Hondo we went by the BBQ place.  It wasn't open yet.  We went back to the HEB (and its bathrooms) and spent over half an hour sitting in the parking lot.  Then we went to the trainer.  We arrived exactly at 11.

The lady was training another dog, so we watched.  Ellen talked to her while I talked to her husband.  Eventually she got out Abby.  Abby looks really good.  I'm not sure if she got bigger or not.

We began a combination demonstration/train the humans session.  Abby now heels really well for both of us.  The trainer taught us the cues needed - step forward with the left foot to start and say whoa and stop on the right foot.  Abby is also good at stay (look directly at her, show your palm, and say stay).  Finally she is good at coming as long as she is on the rope (crouch down a little, slap your thigh, and say stay).  This is an incredible amount of progress.

We put Abby away before she got tired/bored.  Then we went into the house to look at the 4 week old cocker spaniel puppies.  Of course they were cute.  We finished up discussing the next steps.  The trainer said that they would work on come from longer distances.  All the training will be done with a collar.  We'll come back in 2 weeks for another demonstration/train the humans session.  That will be followed by another week of training and then a last demonstration/train the humans session.

 

Day 2960

 I didn't wake up until after 8.  I played games for a while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I surfed until 11 when the Medicaid person called.

The person was actually a lot better than my impression from yesterday.  She explained everything well.  We talked for an hour and 15 minutes.  She asked me about Tony's finances - income cars, investments, real estate, basically how much was he worth.  I answered what I could and told her I'd get the rest of the information.

One big part of the conversation was my limits doing to being in Texas and dealing long distance with a bipolar person.  Apparently she'd talked to him earlier.  She said that explained a lot.  I looks right now like Tony will qualify.  Timing is a little vague, but almost sure by the end of the month.  The only thing that I'm a little concerned about is whether or not they will want to take the condo. We'll see.

After the call ended I called Yo and asked him to look for the lease and any bank paperwork.  Then I called Tony and filled him in.  He seemed fairly happy, but then turned the conversation to bitching.  I kind of turn him off, so I can't even remember what he was bitching about.

After that I did a tiny amount of work on the FCX.  I moved a couple of screws which improves the steering a little.  Then I looked up some more parts.  I'm trying to decide if I will get a TRX-4M or a FCX18 for a next build.  I'm leaning towards the FCX18.  It will be cheaper, but the TRX-4M provides a lot more modification work for an extra $60.

I did a little more surfing and fielded a couple of calls from Tony.  He said he's getting the condo information I needed.  He also has some other ideas on getting the lease info.  I cheered him on.

I had frozen pizza for dinner.  Ellen was busy with her closet upgrade which came today.  I got the tools for helping with the 1/32 builds.  I'll have to try them out.

The rest of the evening was videos.  I got sick of them early and went back to surfing.

Day 2959

 I woke up at 6 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  I think my subconscious was excited about getting the iPAD.  I struggled for about half an hour trying to get back to sleep.  I finally gave up and started playing games.  I got up at 8 to do pet stuff and have breakfast.

Th mall didn't open until 10, so I spent about an hour surfing.  We left for the mall at 9:30 and got to the Apple store just as they were opening their doors.  There were 8 or so fan boys waiting to get in.

We picked up the iPAD in a very short time.  I don't think that we were in the mall for more than 20 minutes.  Then we drove to Verizon and had the iPAD connected to 5G.  .last stops were the post office and HEB

One thing about everything that we did today.  I felt like we were in one of those movies where everyone else had disappeared.  There was very little traffic and few people at any of the places that we went.  As a bonus just about every light we came to was green.  It was great.

We got home about 10 minutes before Grant called.  It was a short call.  He wanted to reschedule for next week.  I said fine.

When we got home my new t-shirt holder was waiting.  I spent an hour or so putting it together, chiefly because I kept doing things wrong.  When I put it in the closet it was 1/2 inch too tall.  I took for of the shelf risers to the garage and cut an inch off them.  Problem solved.

Removing the old holder required removing all of the clothes from the closet.  I decided to eat lunch first.  Then I removed the old holder and put in the new one.  Then I went through all of my clothes discarding all the ones I would never wear again.  Everything else went back into the closet.  The closet is a lot neater and a little less crowded now.

The Jeep bumper got delivered, so I started to figure out how I was going to mount the trailer hitch on it.  Of course I'll need to use the Dremel.  While I was doing that someone from the Washington State welfare finance department called to set up an appointment for tomorrow.  Apparently they have questions about Tony's financials.

Yo called about 5 asking me to call Tony to calm him down.  When I called Tony was ranting about the shower facilities.  He wanted me to call a lawyer to start a lawsuit.  I said NO and he hung up.  He called back calmer and I told him about the welfare call and how that indicated progress.  He continued ranting about getting out.  I tried giving him advice.  He would agree and 3 minutes later say he would act differently.  After another hang up or two  I told him I wasn't going to talk to him any more today.

After that I called Hooch to make sure I knew how the condo had been handled.  I misremembered it, so I'm glad I called.  Hooch was amused by Tony's latest antics.

After that I had a frozen thing for dinner.  After that it was videos.  Tony had me really pissed.  I'll be very happy when he is in rehab.  At that point I'm going to tell him to quit calling me more than once every two weeks.

Day 2958

 I woke up a little after 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold out and I didn't feel like doing much.

I had some parts to install on the Jeep, but I didn't feel very ambitious.  I surfed the entire morning away.  I did have two Toby calls.  One was from Yo telling me that he was meeting with some financial guys at the hospital at 1:30.  The second was from a hospital financial person.  It was very quick.  She wanted confirmation of Tony''s income.

I did search out and order some tweezers and forceps from Amazon.  Hopefully they will allow me to work on the 1/32 cars.  I also added new racks for our closets to hold t-shirts.  The old cloth ones are worn out and don't hold the shirts well.

Lunch was frozen pizza.  It was followed by more surfing.  The package that I was waiting for arrived mid afternoon.  It contained lots of parts.  I put the servo horns it contained on the Jeep.  Because they were bigger than the old ones I had to go to the garage for mods.  I had to cut back one of the front bumper mounts.  Then I had to grind away some more material from the rear mount.  How to make a short job long.  The result works and looks great.

One of the things that came was a trailer for the Jeep.  Unfortunately the hitch won't fit because I've got 4 wheel steering.  Installing the hitch will require extensive mods to the bumper and body mount.  I decided to buy another set to modify.  That way if I screw it up I won't kill the Jeep.

About 5:30 Yo and Tony called.  Tony actually sounded sane.  The person that they talked to was from the Washington State medical welfare department.  She said Tony should qualify.  It was a short call, I was having dinner.  About 6 Yo called back to say that they are discharging Tony tomorrow.  He had no more information.

About 7 Eric called.  We talked for a while, gave him a credit card number, and he ordered the iPAD.  It will be at Barton Creek tomorrow.  Timing will be a little tight.  They open at 10.  I need to get the iPAD, take it to Verizon, get it hooked up, and get home for the call to Grant at noon.

I'd been watching videos when Eric called.  When we finished talking with him I spent about an hour on Amazon choosing and ordering an iPAD case.  Then it was back to videos for the rest of the night.

Day 2957

 I woke up a little before 9.  I had a very late night.  After some games I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold outside, lower 40's.  I just surfed because I didn't have anything else to do.

Ellen left for archery and I started to work on the 1/32 RC car.  I didn't get far.  The parts are just too hard for me to manipulate with 1.5 hands.  In over an hour of hard work I managed to assemble two parts and lose another (later I found it).  I put the kit away feeling very discouraged and depressed.  It's the first time in my life that I've ran into something that I wanted to do, but the hand has prevented it.

Just before lunch I took the garbage out.  I had to do at least one useful thing today.  I also looked on Amazon for tools that might let me put the kit together.  I might order a couple of things.

I was eating a frozen dinner for lunch when Ellen got home.  After that it started raining.  It rained from then until at least 9:30.  Sometimes it rained pretty hard.  The total was .85 inch.  We even had a couple of momentary power outages.

A social worker from the hospital called mid-afternoon.  She asked about the financial information.  I told her that I'd emailed it yesterday.  She hung up to look for it.  A little later she called back to ask that I email it to her.  Obviously what I thought would happen did.  Whatever is emailed to the address I was given is ignored.

I also had a short conversation with Yo.  I told him about the financial stuff.  Apparently he's having problems with convincing Tony to stay in the hospital.  The only place that will take him is in Tacoma.

Ellen fixed chicken and noodles for dinner.  I got a notification that there was a package in the mailbox.  I took the car p because it was in the 40's and raining.  It was a new ESC and motor for the Jeep.  I just can't keep from modifying it.

Later on I had a conversation with Tony.  It was on Yo's phone.  Apparently Tony had forgot to pay his phone bill, so T-Mobile had turned it off.  Somehow he'd gotten the bill paid.  He wasn't coherent enough to say how.  He was all agitated because he couldn't get his phone to work and he couldn't get the ATT phone Yo had purchased for him to work either.  T-Mobile had told him to cycle power on his phone to reactivate it, but he couldn't figure out how to do that.

Tony was really manic, refusing to shut up and listen.  Ellen managed to look on the web and find oout how to cycle power.  I tried to tell Tony, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise.  He told me to "shut up", so I hug up on him.  Apparently he figured it out, because he called me back on his phone.

I told him about the progress on the financial front.  He turned the conversation into a really paranoid rant about how "they" have hacked his phone, credit cards, and bank account.  I told him that "they couldn't hack the credit cards (they're frozen) and the bank account shows no issues.  I said it was highly unlikely that the phone was hacked since he wasn't on the internet.  He said "they" were tricky and could do it anyway.

The whole thing was a really paranoid.  I told him to stop because I wasn't going to listen to it anymore.  He didn't, so I just put the phone on the table until he hung up.  Later he called back to sort of make amends.  I let him and we ended amicably.

By the it was 9 and I was very tired.  I vegged out in front of TV for a while and then went to bed.

Day 2956

 I woke up a little after 8 and played games for about an hour.  Then I got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was out to the garage to et the stuff to pack away the Christmas decorations.

Ellen took the decorations off the tree while I packed away the ornaments in their boxes. Then I took the garbage out and took down the lights on the gate.  By the time I got back Ellen had everything removed from the tree.

Putting the tree away was not easy.  It is big and very heavy.  It barely fit in the large Christmas tree sack that we'd bought for it. Once it was in I had to get the hand truck from the storage building to move it to the apartment.  Then I had to remove it from the hand truck to wrestle it through the small bedroom door.

After that it was lunch time.  I'd been thinking about what I wanted to write for a cover letter for Tony's bank statement all day.  I wrote up what I wanted to say, but I wanted to think about it some more.

We needed to get some groceries and a plastic box for the Christmas lights, so we went to Wally World.  We got what we needed and came right back home.

When we got home I refined my cover letter a little.  The statement was a pdf.  We needed to remove the account number from it.  It must have taken well over an hour to find a free utility that would allow text editing of a pdf.  Ellen ended up saving it as a image, editing the image, and then reconverting it to a pdf.  It was a relief to hit "send" on the message.

After that it was videos until dinner time.  There was a little nap in there, too.

Ellen fixed lobster bisque (from Whole Paycheck) and Caesar salad for dinner.

The rest of the evening was videos and surfing.  I'm spending time planning out building a TRX-4M with a lot of mods.