Day 3046

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for quite a while. Then it was up for breakfast.  After breakfast was a little surfing before I started work on the MT10.

I began by installing the motor, motor fan, ESC, and receiver.  That all went pretty smoothly.  I think that I got the gear mesh pretty good.  Then I went on to install the rear lights.  I don't have the front ones from China yet.

I only had 3 red LEDs left.  Through utter stupidity I managed to blow them up.  I decided to use orange ones instead.  I had to remove the wheely bar to install them.  Luckily I tested them first.  I'd blown one up and had to wire another one.  Of course wiring them was a pain.  The last task was putting a XT60 connector on the battery.  That was a real pain in the ass.  I ruined one connector before i got it done.

It took me until 4 to get all of the soldering and wire placement done.  It looks pretty good though.

After that I switched to videos.  They were interrupted for a while by a short nap.

Ellen fixed chicken and rice again for dinner.  I'm getting a little tired of it.  After dinner it was more videos until I got sick of them and switched to a movie.  It wasn't great, but at least it was interesting enough that I didn't turn it off.

I didn't get around to programming the MT10.  I did order a battery for it and some more red LEDs.  That's stuff I order from Amazon.

Day 3045

 We woke up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Then I loaded up the truck and we went to the club.   The trip took a lot longer than usual - first because we had to stop so both of us could take a shit and second because all of the lights seemed to be against us.  Add some slow traffic and we didn't get to the club until almost 10.

The shoot was crowded, almost 140 people.  We seemed to be almost the last people to show up.  Fortunately we got a cart and they said we could shoot with just two people.  Shooting was VERY.  We were following a squad of 5 that was following a squad of 6, who were fallowing a squad of 5.  The two squads in front had really slow shooters that talked while shooting and never seemed to be prepared.  It took us 2 hours to shoot 4 stations.

Of course by then I was pissed.  That didn't help my score.  It took an hour and a half to finish the course, including time spent waiting for them to load a trap that was right by the road and should never have run empty.

We left after a subway sandwich lunch.  We stopped at the post office to pick up our driver's licenses.  We also stopped at the Beckett park to run the dog.  She had a great time.  It was also sort of a reward for being such a good dog at the shoot.  She didn't try to remove her ear muffs and was friendly with everyone.  A whole lot of people came by for petting and kisses.  An ice cream truck showed up at the park and we both bought ice cream.

When we got home I sat down for videos.  Surprise, surprise that turned into a nap.  When I woke up it was more videos.  Dinner was leftovers.

Abby was tired and subdued the whole afternoon and evening.  That gave the cats a chance to sleep on my lap.

Day 3044

 I woke up a little after 8, dosed in bed for a while and then got up.  After breakfast an a little surfing I started the first leaving Texas activity.

I got out our leaving Texas itinerary for last year and used it as a template.  We decided to go the I10 route.  We're a little concerned about the weather in Wyoming, plus I want to see the Sphere in Las Vegas.  Then I went through the NSCA shoot list to see what shoots we might go to.

We decided to start out with a shoot in Brownwood TX.  The Texas state shoot starts too early.  We'll leave on the 26th and shoot a tournament there on the 27th.  After that we'll head for Tucson.  We'll just shoot practice there.  After that is a tournament in Mesa.  From there it's Las Vegas.

After Las Vegas we'll go to St. George.  There's a fun shoot there.  I wish it was a tournament.  From there it's three long days to Richland.  After Richland we'll stop for a day in Prineville before driving to Gervais.

Before we finished the plan we went to Dripping Springs.  We had three objectives.  The first was to pick up some custom Easter cookies.  I don't know when I became comfortable spending $35 on a dozen cookies.  They look really nice though.  After that we went to a place up RR12 a little ways.  It was great.  

The final stop was the sports complex.  We took Abby to the pond.  I didn't et her swimming, but I got close.  Again she showed an amazing determination to et sticks that were in deeper water.  We finished by taking a fairly long walk around the paths so Abby could dry off.  She covered an amazing amount of ground, both in the trees and in the open "cover" areas.

When we got home we finished up the travel plan.  Ellen started making reservations and I watched videos.  Of course I fell asleep.  Apparently the baby boomers are now in full force.  Richland is full because of the music festival.  The price in Las Vegas is really high, there must be something going on.  The park in Mesa is also full.   We decided to pay the Las Vegas price and Ellen found a place 10 miles from the club in Mesa.  We're hoping for a cancellation in Richland.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was more videos.

Day 3043

 I didn't wake up until after 9.  That's because I didn't get to sleep until almost 1.  After that I got up and had breakfast.  I decided that the morning was pretty much shot, so I surfed until after 12.

One possibly bad thing happened.  I received a text the purported to be from the post office.  It said a package addressed to me was misaddressed.  It had an website to go to to enter the correct address (also username and phone number).  I was supposed to get a package at the post office today, so I actually went to the site and entered the info.  However, paranoia set in before I hit "send".  I hope that meant it didn't go.

I looked at the tracking info for the package.  It was in the post office box.  Ellen looked at the post office website.  They never send texts.  The info is enough to get into the LPL account.  I tried to figure out how to change the authentication, but I couldn't, so I emailed Grant.

At that point I had to go to Costco for the hearing test.  They were short handed and backed up.  My test started 15 minutes or so late.  Halfway through it I had to wait while the tester handled customers.  All in all it was at least an hour and a half before I got out of there.  Yes, I've got significant hearing loss.  I'm going to have my old aids reprogrammed on Tuesday.

Grant called me during the test, but of course I couldn't answer.  I called him back after the test, but got his voice mail.  I'll try again tomorrow.

After that we started errands.  We put fuel in the truck and then went to post office and got the package.  It was 3:30 and traffic was getting heavy.  That's no fun in a big truck.  The next stop was Goodwill to drop of some dishes and the shop vac.  We'd purchased new ones yesterday at Costco.  After that it was a really late lunch at Waterloo.  It was the last Thursday for cheap hamburgers.  I had two margaritas.

When we were done eating we took Abby to Circle C.  There was water in the pond.  She actually jumped in before we got there.  I threw a lot of retrieves into the pond.   I actually got her to swim a couple of paddles.  When she couldn't get the stick she would run around for a while and then come back to look for it.  She never forgot and always eventually got the stick.  It was fantastic.

We went walking when she got bored with retrieving.  She did great there, too.  There were kids on many of the soccer fields.  We had no problem sharing an adjacent field with them.  All that was necessary was a whistle or calling her name.

When we were done walking we stopped at HEB and then went home.  It was almost 6when we got home.  I sat down for a video which turned into a nap.  When I woke up it was more videos, neither of us felt like dinner.

I did get an email from the Bronco guy.  He's having both windows glued in.  Apparently that's what the factory did, there are no seals.

I was disappointed.  There were no more packages from China.

Day 3042

 I woke up a little after 8 and got up for breakfast.  It was cold again this morning, so after some surfing I decided to work on the MT10.

I took out all of the electronics on the MT10 - servo, receiver, ESC, and motor.  I'll probably keep the servo, but the rest is going to the Hobby store in Salem.  Hopefully they have a kids program that they can use it in.  Then I replaced everything that I'd taken out with stuff that I'd purchased from AliExpress.  I didn't completely install everything because I wasn't sure what pinion I wanted to use.

By then it was warming up, so we went to Texan Eye.  They couldn't help my billing problem, but promised to contact the billing dept.  Apparently the phone system there has been screwed up and I'm not the only one who has had trouble.

After that we went to Costco.  One of the hearing appointments is on solar eclipse day and I wanted to reschedule.  Of course I couldn't get a new appointment until the end of April.  I'm still getting the test tomorrow, but I'll have to get the hearing aids in Oregon.  When I was changing the appointments on my phone I learned I have a appointment with Dr. Cox on eclipse day also.  I'll keep that one because it's at 9 and the eclipse isn't until noon.

We also bought water and digestive pills while we were there.  It was noon, so we ate at the Cajun place.  The last errand stop was Lowe's for some mounting tape for the MT10.

By then it was a sunny and fairly warm day.  We took Abby to Circle C for her run.  It was a more or less normal walk around the park.  She definitely has a lot of fun running full speed on the fields and searching through the woods.

When we got home Ellen went out to the garage.  I finished up on the MT10 and made some calculations on pinion size.  I need another pinion gear.  I thought I'd order the right one, but it has the wrong shaft size.  I ordered the right one from Amazon because I want it right away.

While I was doing that a thunderstorm came over it dropped .6 inches of rain.  It ended about 5.  I took out the garbage and got the mail.  There were three more AliExpress items.  One was the wheels for the new Jeep.

I decided to watch videos.  That lasted through dinner (chicken and rice again) an the first part of the evening.  By 9 I was sick or videos and got out the Jeep wheels.  I installed them on the tires.  That took about 90 minutes because it involved 24 large screws and 96 small ones.  My hands were very tired when I was finished.

Day 3041

 I woke up at 8 and played games for a while.  It was 44 degrees out, so there was no hurry to get up.  After breakfast and a little surfing I decided to start work on the new Jeep.  I thought that the cold day was a perfect time to start.

The first steps of the instructions were building the front and rear axles.  This included the diffs (locked) and the portals.  It took a little longer than it perhaps should have.  That was because I'd purchased a lot of brass parts.  The parts weren't labelled and it took me a while to figure out where they went.  Everything went together well, contrary to a video I'd seen that said the bearings wouldn't fit.  The result was too very heavy axles that work perfectly.

The next steps were building the shocks.  I hate doing that.  Besides I wanted to do the transmission.  I skipped shock and went to transmission.

The transmission  was really complicated.  It has two speeds as well as a rear wheel disable.  It also has a second output shaft.  I'm not sure what that's for.  I was on a roll and finished the whole thing.  I did skip lunch and didn't get finished until almost 4.

After coming back from archery Ellen spent most of the afternoon in the garage.  I think she was working on arrows.

With the RC stuff finished I decided to give Abby some exercise.  She'd been begging all day.  I walked up to the gate and then around the storage shed and back to the house.  Abby followed me around running, exploring, and finding sticks.  She was at least a little tired when we were done.

The mailbox was full of stuff from China when I went to it.  I got stuff for the Bronco, stuff for the new Jeep, stuff for the MT10, and a couple of details for the Defender.  I now have everything I need to modify the MT10.  So much for working on the Jeep.

When I got back from the mailbox I sorted all of the items and put them away.  Then I sat down to watch videos and fell asleep.  I woke up for dinner (chicken and rice).  Then it was videos for the rest of the night.

Day 3040

 I woke up at 9.  It felt really good to lay in bed.  I haven't been that comfortable in a long time.  After 10 minutes or so I got up for breakfast.  It was still a little cold out, so I did a little surfing.

I reviewed one of the many messages I get concerning my AliExpress orders.  That's when I discovered that I'd ordered 2 rock lights instead of 4.  I started playing around with another order.  I needed to ding $10 worth of stuff that I actually wanted so that I didn't have to pay shipping.

Ellen was in the garage painting.  When she got done it was warm enough to take the dog to Circle C. We took the path because it rained half an inch last night and the grass was wet.  We walked down to Escarpment and then took the Frisbee golf course back up.  It was a little muddy in places, but otherwise pretty dry.

We went to Walgreen's when we were finished so Ellen could get some drugs.  Then we drove up Brodie looking for a place to eat.  We stopped at Evangeline's, but all of the outside tables were taken.  We ended up at Culver's.  After that it was home.

When we got home I finished an order for AliExpress.  It's basically the last I can do.  The stuff won't be in until the 10th.  After that it was some more surfing.  Ellen left for the club.  At 4:30 I went to get the mail.  I thought there might be some stuff from China.  There wasn't, but there was a package for Ellen.

Dinner was a frozen thing followed by more videos.

When Ellen got home she signed us up for Nationals.  Almost all of the slots are already taken.  I hatebaby boomers.  Next year we'll sign up a lot earlier.

Day 3039

 I woke up at 7 and couldn't get back to sleep.  I played games for a long time instead.  Eventually I got up for breakfast.  It was relatively cold, 60, and very windy.  It was like that the whole day.

After some surfing I sat down in the recliner and watched videos.  I ended up watching videos for the rest of the day.  That's right sports fans.  I didn't do anything except veg out in front of the TV all day.  I think that that's what's meant by getting old.

Day 3038

 I woke up at 8 and went back to sleep until 9.  Then it was up for breakfast.  After that I surfed waiting for it to warm up.

Tomlinson's was having dog event today at the one on Lamar.  We went over to it.  Abby got some free dog treats and we got free donuts.  Then we walked over to Harbor Freight.  I bought some glue and a pump to remove old as from the mower and Ranger tanks.  Then it was Whole Paycheck for some bread.

I stopped at three gas stations on the way home.  All of them were so busy that I couldn't get any.  We also stopped at Becker park and through a lot of trails.  Abby had a great time exploring all the woods.  She's getting pretty good at moving through the undergrowth.

There was a package from Amazon when we got home.  It had a bunch of little things including some hardware for RC.  The hardware came in a box with a broken latch.  I spent a lot of time sorting it all out and putting it in my existing collection.

When that was done I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching videos.  Ellen fixed sausage and hash browns for dinner.  Abby spent the whole evening sleeping.  She was a tired dog.

Day 3037

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for quite a while.  Eventually I got up.  Ellen had already done the pet stuff.  I fixed myself breakfast and then started surfing.

After a little surfing I went out to the garage and got the Gorilla Tape.  I took it back to the house and used it to line the inside of the MT10 body.  I'm not sure if it will be as good as drywall tape and ShooGoo, but it's a lot easier to apply.

The Bronco guy called.   They discovered a bad water leak in one of the side windows.  He's looking for a replacement window seal.  I asked him to look into side steps for it also.

It was a nice sunny day today.  I went out and put the gas can in the Audi and moved the sprayer and mower batteries into the garage.  I put one of them on the charger.  Then we took Abby to Circle C.

To our surprise there was a lot of water in the western pond.  Abby had a great time retrieving a stick I threw into it.  The water was just deep enough that she didn't have to worry about having to swim.  Eventually she got bored, so we started walking.

We walked all the way around the soccer fields as well as a little down the main path.  At one point we met a large brow dog.  They played for a while, but Abby couldn't get it to play chase.  We went to Waterloo when we were done.  It wasn't Thursday, but I was tired of hamburgers anyway.

I went into HEB for a short time to get orange juice, ass wipe, and bananas.  Then it was home.

When we got home I sat down in the recliner and immediately went to sleep.  I was really tired.  I woke up just in time to feed the pets.  Abby was pretty tired.  She slept on my lap for a while and then switched to the couch.

Ellen fixed frozen pizza for dinner.  After dinner was videos.

Day 3036

 I woke up a little after 8, got up to do the pet stuff, and then went back to bed to play games.  It was raining, so no need to get up in a timely manner.

Eventually I got up for breakfast.  After that I spent a lot of time on AliExpress.  It's probably the last order that I'll make until we're in Oregon.  For the most part I ordered a few RC items.  I took advantage of both the "holiday discount" and a $4 off coupon.  Then it was surfing for the rest of the morning.  Abby really wanted to go somewhere, but the rain meant that wasn't going to happen.

Ellen left for archery about 3.  She had a  class followed by some sort of competition/party.  She wasn't home until about 8.  A little after she got home a thunderstorm hit- lots of thunder and rain.  It was over in about an hour though.

I spent the evening watching videos.

Day 3035

 I woke up at 8, played games for a long time, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was surfing until it warmed up enough to take the dog to Circle C.  While I was surfing I continued to copy the books we'd bought yesterday from CD to mp3 files.

Because she hadn't had any run yesterday Abby started out running long and hard again.  There was no reason to go to the creek, it's dry.  Instead we did a longer walk around all of the soccer fields.  We took the back path so Abby cold run through the woods.  She did.

When we were done we went to the Italian place for lunch.  Of course there was a stop at Tomlinson's first.  After that I stopped for coffee, 62 degrees justified it.  Then it was home.

I surfed for a while.  While I was surfing I continued to copy the books.  Eventually I copied 24 discs.  When the copying was done I switched to videos.  The MT10 came a little after 6.  I unboxed it and sent a picture of it to Hooch.  I'm not sure if I will run it or wait until the new parts are in.

Ellen fixed a great dinner - steak, baked potatoes, and garlic bread (from the Italian place).  It was really good.

After dinner it was videos and a little shopping on AliExpress.

I'm 71 today.  I'm feeling old.  I ache a lot and tire easily.  That's probably because I'm so fat.  The more worrisome thing is that I'm getting forgetful.  I have to write down lists.  Sometimes I forget words and can't recall them for hours.  I can't do simple arithmetic in my head any more.  I think the worst thing is that I'm feeling my mortality.  I'm not afraid of death, there's no point in that.  I am afraid of getting too old to take care of myself and Ellen.  I'm really afraid of out living Ellen.

Birthdays are supposed to be a time of celebration.  I'm afraid I'm too old to celebrate them any more.

Day 3034

 We woke up today, fed the animals, and then checked the traffic.  Some idiot had piled it up on loop 1 at 290.  We decided to leave a little earlier than planned.  

I took 45 to Slaughter and then got off to go over to Beckett.  You could see the backup from the exit.  I took Beckett to William Cannon and then turned up the frontage road.  I got on loop 1 at the entrance by Best Buy.  Traffic was slow, but moving.  It thinned out a little by 360 and was almost up to speed by the time we crossed the river.

We got to DMV15 or 20 minutes before Ellen could check in at 10:20.  She checked in 30 minutes before hand.  I checked in 20 minutes later.  Then we sat.  I actually didn't keep track of how long we sat.  It was at least an hour.  I finally got finished about noon.

We decided to drive back home on Lamar.  The first stop was a used book store that we used to go to.  We bought some books on CD for our trips.  The second stop was Rudy's for lunch.  The third stop was the Greek place for baklava.  The last stop was the post office. 

When we got home I was tired.  After a little surfing I sat down in the recliner.  Videos turned into a nap.  When I woke up it was more videos.  Ellen fixed baked potatoes with brisket for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.

Abby was really friendly all afternoon.  I think that she thinks that we locked her in the bin because we were mad at her.

Day 3033

 I woke up at 7:45 and got up to do the pet stuff.  I skipped breakfast so that I could order the stuff from AliExpress.  I discovered that in addition to the $60 or so in "holiday savings" I was able to use $20 and $10 coupons.  Overall I saved over $100.  Now it's at least a 10 day wait until something shows up.

When I was finished with the ordering I had breakfast.  Then I did a little surfing.  It had started out in the 50's, but it had warmed up to the mid 60's.  We put the dog in the car and went to Circle C.

Abby started out running fast and far.  She obviously needed exercise after 2 "off" days.  We went over to the West pond.  The stream was slow, but there was a fair amount of water in it.  I found a stick and Abby did a lot of water retrieves.  She almost swam at one point.

Abby got bored retrieving, so then we walked all over the park.  Abby continued to run fast and far.  It wasn't up to 70 and I wanted to make sure that she got fairly dry.  We still had to towel her off when we got back to the car.

We had lunch at Fireman's.  Abby got a cookie from the pet store.  Then we went home.  I started surfing and Ellen got ready to go to the club.  After she left I got a call from Yo.  I didn't answer and he didn't leave a message.  I might leave him a message tomorrow.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was videos.

Tomorrow we have to go to North Austin to the DMV to get our driver's licenses renewed.  The appointment is at 10:20.  That means we'll have to leave about 9 so I can fight the traffic up there.  Oh joy.

Day 3032

There was a very loud thunderstorm during the night - thunder that shook the house.  There was only .7 inch of rain though.  It woke me up, but it didn't last very long and I just went back to sleep.  I got up at about 8:15 and did the pet stuff.  Then I went back to bed and played games for a while.  Eventually it was up for breakfast.

After breakfast I went back to AliExpress.  I was trying to locate a few more things for the Bronco.  The setup of the website made it almost impossible.  Each store has it's own website with multiple pages of items.  If you click on an item and then hit the back key it takes you back to the first page of the list.  Sometimes you have to reload the whole page.  I literally spent hours looking for three items.

About noon we went to Central Market to order a cake.  It was still raining,but we took the dog.  We bought some groceries and a cake.  Ellen saw one she liked more than ordering one.  We stopped at the drive in Arby's for lunch.  When I opened my sandwich the bun was saturated in sauce.  There was no way to eat it in the car.  I wasn't happy.

The rain had stopped, so we took Abby to Circle C.  We parked out front and walked the path because the grass was soaked.  It started to sprinkle, but as former Oregonians it wasn't enough to deter us.  Abby had a great time running.  She'd been two days without exercise.  Our timing was pretty good.  We got back to the car just as a heavy rain squall came through.

When we got home I went to the garage to looked for the RC car programmer.  I found it.  That made me really happy.  Then I went back to AliExpress.  Eventually I found and ordered what I wanted.  Tomorrow I'll order all of the stuff that I'd marked for their holiday discount.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was videos.

Day 3031

 I woke up about 6, got up to pee, and then went back to sleep.  I woke up again about 7:30 and got up for the pet stuff.  Then it was back to bed for games.  Eventually I got up for breakfast.

After a little surfing I started today's little project.  I went out to the garage and retrieved the 1/24 car stands.  I took them to the spare bedroom and put the three cars on them.  It makes things a lot neater.  Then I continued the big project - looking for stuff on AliExpress.

It takes quite a while to find the best deal on an AliExpress item.  Their website is a little clumsy and so are the individual websites.  It can take a long time to find the minimum price on something as the prices typically vary significantly.  I filled up a whole sheet of paper with notes on prices to help me find the minimum.  Most of the time was spent looking for RC stuff  It was stuff for the Bronco yesterday.

At lunch time I turned on videos.  I was sick of AliExpress.  While surfing through things I discovered that the RC basher that I wanted to buy came in two flavors - brushed and brushless.  Then brushed version cost $75 less than the brushless.  The only difference besides the drive train was that the brushed one didn't have lights.  That's not a problem.  I can add the lights and I'm panning on replacing the drivetrain anyway.

I was happy to find that Amain had the brushed version.  It was out of stock elsewhere.  In addition the $25 monthly coupon worked on the brushed version, but not on the brushless.  That meant that in total the brushed version cost $100 less than the brushless.  That means that if I buy the electronics during the AliExpress sale I'll end up saving about $15 over the cost of the brushless version.  I'll have better motor and ESC as well as a receiver that matches my transmitters.  I ordered the basher today.  Hopefully I'll be able to get all of the AliExpress stuff in a couple of days.

Except for the time around lunch I spent most of the day on AliExpress.  

Ellen fixed steak and rice for dinner.  I ate and went back to AliExpress.

Day 3030

 I woke up at 6:30 the first time, but managed to sleep on and off until 8.  Then it was up for pet stuff and back to bed to play games.  Eventually I got up for breakfast.

After some surfing I went out to the garage and finished painting the 1/24 car racks.  Then I got Ellen and we decided on a color for the 1/10 Jeep (henceforth called JLU).  She started painting her car body while I prepped the JLU body and interior.  I washed them and then scuffed then with steel wool.

After that I didn't have much to do, so I went inside to surf and wait for Ellen.  It took her quite a while, but about 1 we put the dog in the car and went to a restaurant in Dripping Springs that I'd read about.  The temperature dropped from 75 to 68 while we drove there.  Fortunately we took sweatshirts and it warmed up a little later.  It was expensive, but the place had really good brisket.  Yo called me while we were eating, I didn't answer.

When we were done we drove to the expo place to run the dog.  We started off going the way we'd gone before.  On the way back we saw a map that showed a pond near RR12.  We walked over to it.  It's great, just the thing to get Abby to swim.  I found a stick and managed to get her 1 step away from swimming.  I'll go back there with her again and see if I can get her swimming.

On the way home we stopped at the Dripping Springs cake place.  Unfortunately they are too booked to make us a birthday cake.  We ordered Easter cookies instead.  We stopped at HEB for gas and Sonic for drinks on the way home.

I fed the animals when we got home.  I listened to Yo's message.  He wanted Medicare signup info, so I texted him the phone numbers that I'd sent him before.  I'm glad I didn't have to talk to him.

I had leftover pizza for dinner.  After that it was videos for a while.  Then I started shopping on AliExpress.  They are having a big 2 day sale in a couple of days.  I'll be doing more tomorrow.

Day 3029

 I woke up a little after 8.  I didn't feel all that good because I hadn't slept very well.  For some reason I felt overheated all night and woke up several times.  After some gaming I got up and fed the animals.  Then it was breakfast.

The plumber was supposed to show up sometime in the morning.  He did.  I had him replace both the outside faucets on the house.  He put on nice new ones with back flow preventers.  He also explained to me why the master bathroom toilet has iron stains and the other doesn't.  Apparently the idiots that plumbed the house used iron pipe somewhere in that connection.

It was noon by the time the plumber was done.  We put Abby in the car and took her to Circle C.  It was a cloudy day with a breeze - very comfortable.  We did our usual circuit around the fields.  She was tired by the time we were finished.  After that we went to Waterloo to get the discount hamburgers.

I was really tired/sleepy when we got home.  I surfed for a while and then went out to the garage and painted the 1/24 car stands.  Fortunately that didn't take long.  I started to plan out another obstacle, but I almost fell asleep.  I went back inside, turned on some videos and did take a nap.

Ellen fixed chicken for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.  I hope  feel better tomorrow.

Day 3028

 We woke up at 6:30, got up, and loaded Devon into the car.  Abby and Cooper stayed home without breakfast.  Traffic wasn't bad at all and we arrived at the vet just on time at 7:10.

We stopped at HEB after the vet.  We bought quite a bit of stuff.  It was nice because there weren't many people that early.  However, the shelves were a little bare because they hadn't restocked them yet.  The pets were happy when we got home and fed them.  Cooper was concerned though because Devon was missing.

I had breakfast and did a little surfing.  The plumber guy called to say that he had Covid and wouldn't be able to work on the faucet.  I called another recommended place and they will be here tomorrow morning.

Then I went out to the garage to work on the 1/24 stands.  I sanded bevels on the top of all of the posts.  It makes them a little more user friendly and I think they look better, too.  They were wobbly though, so I had to glue the short pegs as well as using screws.  That meant painting is postponed again.

I went inside and got out the FCX24.  I needed to fit the body to the chassis.  After looking at it for a little while I realized that the main problem was that I'd routed all of the wiring incorrectly.  I cut off the cable ties and started all over again.  I had to remove a servo wire connector, feed the wires through the frame, and then put the connector back on.  After using cable ties to hold everything down the cab fit easily and securely.

The last step was to put stronger springs on the front shocks.  They were drooping badly when I attached the cab.  At of now the work on all three 1/24 cars is DONE.

Lunch was leftover pizza.  Then I surfed until 4:30 when it was time to take Abby to the vet and pick up Devon.  Devon was quiet, but seemed to come through the teeth cleaning OK.  Abby got a whole bunch of shots.  She didn't seem to notice.

The vet said that Abby has probably had her first heat by now.  It likely happened while she was at training.  We decided to wait until we're in Oregon to have it done.  We're only going to be here for 4 or 5 more weeks.

We took Abby ad Devon home and fed everybody.  Then I sat down in the recliner for videos and a little nap.

Ellen fixed pork chops for dinner.  After dinner was more videos until it was time for bed.

I've been looking for a small basher to buy.  Nobody seems to have what I want.

Day 3027

 I got up about 8"30 and had breakfast.  After that was a rather long surfing session.  There was a lot of stuff going on in Ukraine right now.  About 10 I went out to work on the car stands.

I glued the remaining parts together.  I'd planned on painting the stands, but I needed to weight down the stands until the glue dried.  I went back to the house and resumed surfing.

Ellen went to archery.  I decided to clean out part of my closet.  I ended up with two bags of old pants that I didn't want.  There's still a lot of stuff on the closet shelf.

When Ellen went back we went to Dripping Springs.  The plan was to go to a new pizza place that Ellen had read about.  Unfortunately she'd neglected to read that it was take out only.  We ended up at the place by HEB instead.

After lunch we took Abby to the soccer fields.  We walked all of the way around them.  She was pretty tired by the time we were done.  I guess two consecutive days of running is enough to calm her down.

When we go home I sat down for videos.  That turned into a nap.  When I woke up I resumed the videos.

There was no dinner, just some chips and salsa.

The dog was very subdued the whole evening.

Day 3026

 I woke up about 8:30 and got up for breakfast.  After that was a little surfing.  I also called a plumbing place.  They said that they could come out in a day or two to fix the water faucet.

After that I went out to the garage to build stands for the 1/24 cars.  The only ones that I could findl online were way too expensive.  I worked out the design in my head, but the first step was to measure the cars to determine the dimensions.  Each stand consisted of 8 pieces cut from 3 different types of wood - square  stock, small rod, and larger rod.

There was a lot of measuring, cutting and hole drilling.  I used the chop saw for the cutting and the drill press for the holes.  I used screws for part of the connections and glue for others.  By the time I had all of the cutting and hole drilling done it was noon and time to take Abby to Circle C.

Apparently the rain a few days ago had caused the pond at the west end of the creek to fill enough fo Abby to have some fun.  She ran around for quite a while chasing sticks I threw  Twice she got water oer her back, but she didn't swim.  I need another dog to show her how.

After that was a long walk around the park while Abby dried off.  We met a poodle that ran with her for a while.  She was almost dry when we got back to the car.

We went to Torchy's for lunch.  Of course we stopped at Tomlinson's first to get a doggy treat.  After that it was home.

I went out to the garage and assembled most of the stands.  I have to wait for some glue to dry before I can complete and paint them.  I came back to the house just before Ellen left for the club.

I did some surfing, had leftovers for dinner, and then watched videos for the rest of the evening.

Day 3025

 I woke up a little after 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I sent an email to the Bronco guy agreeing that it was time for Dan to pick it up.  Then I did a little surfing.

After that I started sorting out and putting away all of the extraneous hardware and pieces that I'd collected while working on the three 1/24 vehicles.  It too quite a while to put the contents of a lot of small bags into the right places in my hardware containers.

While I was doing that Ellen said that she was going to put gas in the car and get cat food.  I said fine.  I finished up the sorting and did some surfing while I waited for her to come home.  I was planning on taking Abby with her when she went to archery.  That way Abby could run around a new soccer field.

Eventually I realized that she wasn't coming back.  She decided to go directly to archery.  I was pissed.  Since I couldn't exercise Abby, I decided to put the new servo in the Defender.  Unfortunately the new servo wouldn't fit in the brass servo holder.  I took them both out to the garage.  It took me about an hour with the Dremel and a file to make the servo fit.

When I tried to put everything back together I discovered that there was no way to use the brass servo holder.  The larger servo didn't leave enough room to attach the holder to the axle.  The servo wouldn't even work with the stock servo holder.  I was not happy.  Now I have an additional micro servo that I don't need.

I put everything back together as it was except I used a metal servo horn that I'd bought.  I took the opportunity to set up the servo and horn to make adjusting it as easy as possible.  However, when I finished the assembly I didn't adjust the servo.  I was too disgusted and mad at both Ellen and the jumbo size "micro servo".

Ellen showed up a little later.  We both had a very late lunch.  Then we took Abby outside to give her a little exercise.  I threw the bumper until she got bored.  Then we took the rubber donut water toy to the pool and played with Abby there.  She had a great time doing both.  Then we took the donut back to the backyard and threw it for Abby there.  It makes a great fetch toy because it bounces all around.

I noticed that the water leak is getting worse.  I'm going to call a plumber tomorrow.

There was no dinner, just a snack.  I spent the evening watching videos and doing a little surfing.

Day 3024

 I woke up a little after 8 and got up to feed the pets.  After that we left to pick up the car.  It was in the 40's and windy.

We stopped at the donut place on Slaughter for breakfast first.  Their bacon and egg croissant is really good.  Unfortunately there was a bunch of construction on Slaughter by the freeway and the frontage road.  We were stuck there for a while.

We picked up the car and drove back to Circle C to run the dog.  I made the mistake of taking Stassney.  It took me a long time to get back.  The dog had a great time at the park though.  It was good weather for her - 60 degrees with some wind.  After the park we went home.  It wasn't noon yet.  You can get a lot done when you get up and going early.

For some reason I was tired and didn't feel like doing anything for the rest of the day.  I watched videos, surfed a little, and had a nap.  Lunch was a sandwich.  I didn't have a dinner.

Day 3023

 I woke up after 8 and played games for a long time.  It was almost 10 by the time I was out of bed and eating breakfast.  After breakfast was a short surfing session before I dedicated myself to finishing BBX.

I got off to a slow start because the battery needed to be charged.  While that was being done I did prep work - getting out instructions, tools, and parts as well as figuring out what I was going to have to do.  I also took apart part of the back of the BBX so I could access the ESC.

The BBX needed to be completely programmed.  It took a while for me to learn that the throttle settings have to be done with the power button on the ESC, not the remote one.  Once that was done I plugged in the blutooth module and turned on the app.  Then I spent a lot of time fighting with the phone trying to update the app.  Firefox refused to run the update.  After a lot of frustration I tried the play store.  That worked perfectly.

I used the app to set 18 different ESC parameters.  Many of them had several values to choose from.  It took a lot of manual reading to get it all the way I think I want it.  When I was done I removed the blutooth module and put the BBX back together.

I put it on the floor and set the steering trim.  Then I set the steering limits.  That was the last of the setup.  I'd chosen a "slow" motor in order to qualify for a specific race class.  When I held the car and hit the throttle it still ballooned the tires.

I started sorting out all of the extra hardware and parts that I'd collected doing the BBX and the 1/24 car works.  I got about halfway through before it was 4:30 and time to get the mail.  You don't get a lot done when you don't get going until after 10.  There was another AliExpress item.  That leaves two or three to go.

Audi sent an email at 5 saying the car was done.  The bill is just under $2,000.  $600 of that is tires and a lot of the rest is the 65K service.  Fixing the mouse problem wasn't that much.

I sat down for videos and fell asleep.  Ellen fixed sausage and hash browns for dinner.  She waited until I woke up to tell me.

After dinner was videos.

Day 3022

 I woke up at 7:15, got up to feed the animals and then left to get Ellen to the doctor.

Traffic was heavy, but for some reason we were just lucky.  We didn't wait at all at 1826 and we drove right through the light at 45.  We did have to wait at the light at Slaughter, but only had short or no waits on the Escarpment lights.  We did have to wait an extra cycle at the William Cannon/290 light.  That meant that we got to the doctor almost half an hour early.

I sat in the truck with Abby While Ellen saw the doctor.  I did take Abby on a walk around the building, but on a leash.  The doctor said that Ellen has bone spurs and arthritis.  Essentially take two aspirin and call me never.

We stopped at the Donut and Taco Palace for breakfast and then picked up the mail.  We also stopped at the pet store and Lowe's.  I wanted to get some stuff for the next obstacle build.  The next stop was Circle C to run Abby.  We walked all around the fields and she covered an amazing amount of ground.  She was also super obedient.

After that we went to Waterloo for their 1977 menu prices.  It was a great hamburger for $1.79.  I picked up some stuff at HEB and then we started home.

We were going to stop at CVS, but the truck went into regen just as we got there.  It took 1 1/2 loops on 45 up to Slaughter for the regen to be done.  That was only 16 miles and the soot dropped to 9%.  I've wondered if more normal driving than haling the trailer produces speedier and more efficient regens.  This is some evidence like that.

When we got home I looked at a text Audi sent us.  Mice had eaten a bunch of wires in the car.  They fixed that.  Later they called and said two tires should be replaced.  I said sure (the tires will cost about $100 more than a tire shop, but I'm rich).

Lee called to say that he'd taken a shot at a big coyote by our fence.  Unfortunately he didn't kill it.  He's going to try to call it this weekend.

I didn't feel like working on the BBX, so I surfed.  I took Abby out to the mailbox.  There was a package with 4 of the things that I'd ordered in it.

When I got back it was videos.  Dinner was a frozen pizza.  After dinner was videos which turned into a nap.  I went to bed early.

Day 3021

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff, breakfast, and some surfing.  Eventually I decided to finish applying the deals to the BBX.

I cut out a few more decals and then dumped all of them into water.  After that it was back to surfing for a couple of hours.  Just before lunch I removed the paper backing of the decals and put them back to soak.  A half hour later I could get the final backing off and apply the decals.  The final result doesn't look too bad, but the paint job still sucks.

I decided not to finish work on the BBX because I wouldn't enjoy it.  Instead I started to look at improvements for the erevo.  It's a 1/16 scale basher.  I'll probably buy one when we're in Oregon.  Unfortunately it's not a kit.  I'll need to buy some hop up parts to make it enjoyable.  Finding the right ones can be a lot of fun, too.

I took out the garbage/recycle and went to the mailbox.  There weren't any new packages.  They have all cleared customs, so I guess the post office is taking its sweet time delivering them.

Ellen made a doctor's appointment for 8:30 tomorrow.  That means that we have to get up early and fight traffic.  Oh joy.

Dinner was leftovers.  Afterwards was videos.

Day 3020

 I woke up at 7:30 and went back to sleep until 8.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was a just a little time before we left for Audi.

We got to Audi a little early and had to wait.  Eventually we got a service guy.  He went out and looked at the car.  He said it would probably need a couple of sensors.  We'll see.

On the way back we stopped at the donut shop on Slaughter for breakfast.  Then we stopped at Circle C to run the dog.  Unfortunately the creek has dried up.  She had a lot of fun running around the fields.  She covered a lot of ground.

When we got home I called the AC guy Lee recommended and left him a message.  I also left Mitchell a message.  Then I started work on the decals.  I put three in water.  While they were soaking I cut out all of the rest of the decals that I plan on using.  Then it was surfing and reading for the next two hours while the decals soaked.

I put the decals on when the time was up.  Then I put a second set in the water.  After that it was more surfing.  I didn't let the new decals soak for as long.  I've learned that once the paper it thoroughly soaked it can be stripped off if yo work at it enough.  That saves time.  I'll leave the last decals for tomorrow. 

Lee's guy called back.  I explained what I needed and he said he'd find a time when his partner could come look at it with him.  Dan called and we had a great long conversation with him.  Apparently Richland is in danger of drying up.

About four it took Abby to the mailbox.  Apparently something had killed and half eaten a snake just off the driveway.  It was a fresh kill.  Of course Abby found it.  I picked it up and put it in the garbage.  Abby went back to the kill sight and sniffed around.  She  wouldn't come when I called.  I had to drag her.

There wasn't anything in the mailbox.  Sigh.  When we got back Abby went back to the kill sight.  Again she wouldn't come when I called.  I wish that I had the zapper on her.  When we got back to the house I looked up the tracking info for the Chinese stuff.  It's all left US customs, but I'm not sure where it all is after that.  I've got plenty to do no though.  With the decals attached it's time to finish the BBX.

The rest of the day was videos.  There might have been a short nap also.  Ellen fixed fried ham and leftover french fries for dinner.  I liked it.

Day 3019

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games for a while before getting up for breakfast.  Then I did a lot of surfing.  I also called Audi.  We have a service appointment at 9:30 tomorrow.  I also got a call from Lee.  He gave me a name of a HVAC guy.  The guy may also be able to fix the backyard faucet.  Eventually I decided to try to start putting decals on the BBX.

I started out doing some experiments with decals that I wasn't going to use.  I learned that even after 2+ hours in whether the decals wouldn't slide off the paper like they should.  The only way to get the decals off is to soak them for about 2 hours, scrape some of the paper off, soak them for another 20-30 minutes, and then peel the rest of the paper off.  You also have to cut them out exactly, they are all on one continuous sheet.

The only good news is that the decals are very strong.  It is easy to place and adjust them.  I did a couple and verified that this is the way it needs to be done.

We decided to get the dog a swimming pool at HEB (we took the truck).  Then we went to Hopdoddy's for lunch.  They were much better than the first time we went, but they are very expensive.  The next stop was the pet store for cat food and a dog treat.  We'd planned on taking the dog to Circle C, but it was 85 degrees, humid, and neither of use wanted to.

When we got home I went back to work on decals.  I did 4 more, two at a time.  It takes about 3 hours to do a set, so that took the rest of the day.  To fill in a little I put together the front bumper for the 1/10 jeep.   The new grill for the Defender came and I also put it on.  I was hoping more parts would come.

The rest of the day was videos and surfing.  Ellen fixed steak and potatoes for dinner.  Also, Abby loves her pool and the new toy we bought for her to play in it with.

Day 3018

 I woke up a little after 8 and got up for breakfast.  It was 65 degrees out.  I surfed for a while and then went out to the garage to finish the obstacle I'd been working on.

I finished up the obstacle, but it took a little time.  The Chinesium eye hooks that I was using kept braking when I screwed them in even though I'd drilled pilot holes.  The end result looks good though.  I have to wait until the glue dries before I can use it.

By the time I was finished it was noon and time to take the dog to the park.  When I started the car I said that the TPMS didn't work and the parking sensors didn't either.  The check engine light was also on. I checked the tires and they were OK.  I decided to use the car anyway.

Ellen can't walk well, so I brought along one of the big balls.  We went to Beckett park.  I threw a few bumper retrieves, but again Abby got bored fairly quickly.  Then I got out the ball.  She had a great time chasing it around until it broke.

After that we did a little walking around.  Abby did a great job of ignoring other dogs when we walked by them.  She's also decided that it's OK to drink out of the doggy drinking fountain.  It's even better when she can paw in the water.

We drove over to get the mail.  Then we drove over to Waterloo to have lunch.  We got there just in time to have their breakfast.  I had a mango margarita also.  There were a lot of dogs outside and Abby didn't behave well.  She also bothered the serving people and even tried to table surf.  Her restaurant manners need work.  Afterwards Ellen got a smoothie and I got yogurt.  Then it was back home.

I checked the backyard water faucet.  It's definitely leaking in the wall.  I asked Ellen to get a plumber recommendation from the neighborhood.  I was really tired, so I sat in the recliner and surfed on the tablet.  That turned into a nap until it was time to feed the animals.

There was no dinner.  I just had a couple of snacks.  I really wasn't very hungry.

The evening was all videos.

Day 3017

 I woke up at 7:30 and got up for breakfast.  Then I loaded everything into the truck and we went to Marble Falls.  The weather was perfect, low to mid 70's.

The trip up was OK.  Unfortunately they have now turned most of 290 over to 281 into a two lane road.  That's bullshit.  At least it was early in the morning so we didn't meet any slow assholes.  We got to the club about 10.

We lucked out and got a cart.  We really needed one because the sporting course was at the far end of the club.  It would have been a real pain in the ass to walk there, walk the course, and then walk back.  I don't think Ellen's knee would have made it.  We also lucked out meeting a single shooter at station one to join.  He was a kid that shoots on a team that competes with Ellen's team.

Abby seemed to be pretty comfortable with her ear muffs.  She tried to get them off a couple of times, but for the most part she just sat in the cart and watched.  I think the muffs are a winner.

Ellen shot poorly for a lot of the course.  I shot OK except for two stations.  Those stations managed to reduce my score to so-so.  We finished about 1, which was good because it was getting hot.  We ate lunch and then left.

We drove down 71 on the way home.  It's shorter and I figured that if we went back on 290 we'd meet assholes that we couldn't pass.  All the stop lights on 71 probably make it a wash though.

We got home about three.  There were two more packages from China.  I have several more to go.  More will probably show up on Monday.   I had time to work in the garage, but I sat down to watch videos instead.  That lead to a nap.

There wasn't really dinner.  I ate a couple of snacks.  My gut was bothering me the whole day.  After dinner was more videos and a little surfing.

Day 3016

 I woke up about 8, got up to feed the animals,and went back to bed to play games.  Eventually I got up for breakfast followed by surfing.

It was warm today, eventually getting into the low 70's.  I continued surfing and messing around until about 11.  Then it was time to start a doggy day.  Abby hasn't had much exercise the last two days.

We went to Circle C and took Abby to the water.  She met a couple of dos there.  One was a puppy that liked water ad playing chase as much as Abby does.  They played for quite a while.  When the other people left so did we.  We continued with our usual walk around the soccer fields with Abby covering a lot of ground.

We met another dog along the way that wanted to play chase.  We talked with the owner while that was happening.  Unfortunately Ellen wasn't watching closely enough and got knocked down.  The dogs hit her bad knee.  I ended up walking back to the car to pick her up.

From there we went to Torchy's for lunch.  After that I picked up a coupe of things at HEB.  Then we went home.  I surfed for quite a while and then went to the garage to work on an obstacle.  I didn't get much done though.  It turns out what I was planning on doing wasn't practical.  I figured out a new approach, but it was too late to work on it.

We got two packages.  One was doggy ear protection for Abby.  The other was the first of the stuff I ordered from AliExpress.  There should be more coming tomorrow.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was videos.