Today 2March2023: Thursday

It is Thursday the pre-Friday as we no longer head to the office on Friday. I ended my attendance early at the office as I thought a package was coming–nope. Customer Service at SparkFun said it could be another week. So I did the last two Zoom meetings from my office in the house. I rested for a bit and woke (I could not believe I fell utterly asleep) a few minutes late, but they were not looking for me–no harm.

I checked the Slack Channels and email, nothing I needed to cover. I went into the kitchen, ate a Hersey Bar with Almonds to stop the sleep from returning, and warmed up my spicy Goan Pork Vindaloo. I make it with potatoes and carrots (instead of eating it with rice). I rewatched the first episode of the third season of The Mandalorian; I still loved it.

With the snowstorm dumping seven inches on us last week, recycling and trash were not picked-up. Today I added the current trash to last week and collected all the recycling. This includes the old boxes for Vindication; I was sad to say goodbye to one of my first Kickstarter original boxes and trays. Everything is now in a vast box and new updated trays.

The ants had found the trash, puke! I put the tr sh container on the deck (the ants can be cold). I will need o do some cleaning and set some traps. I emptied all the trash and recycling, and it now waits on the street for Friday’s pickup.

I was thinking of staying home tonight, but my back hurts, and I feel out of sorts from working every weekend for three (and now four) weekends. Thus, I am in Wildwood Taphouse writing with a dark beer, an 8-ounce pour of a dark beer.

Returning to the late morning, my meetings were completed, Zoom, and I went out to see Susie after 10:30. I reached the hummingbird house without issue. However, Susie was in pain and unhappy. Her right ankle has a skin issue (not broken open), and it hurts (5 on ten point scale). Jennifer has Susie in soft wrapping foot items and on a pillow, but Suse keeps yelping. She can’t help moving, and that aggravates the affected area.

Susie can be found in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and they chatted for a while, and Susie seemed to forget the pain for a bit. But she jumped from the pain a few times after the call. Susie’s mother was happy to see Susie and was concerned that Susie was uncomfortable. I was soon headed out as Jennifer agreed to let Susie rest in bed with a pillow and protectors for her right foot.

I called later, and Susie was resting and comfortable in her bed.

I had lunch at Red Robin, my usual spicy split chicken breasts and salad with a Diet Coke. I was back in the office before 12:30, and my boss was surprised. I did not have Physical Therapy today, so I was back early.

Moving to the start of the day, 6AM came unbidden by me, and it could have stayed away a bit longer. Instead, I was up and did a truncated set of exercises as I did not feel quite right. I did make liberal coffee and had a single cup (forgetting my thermal mug when I headed out), along with a banana and regular-priced yogurt (having enjoyed 1/2-priced expired yogurt for the start of the week). I read everything I could, work, news, and Slack channel updates, to prepare for my day. There were no emergencies.

My travel was easy, and I was at the office early and started my hours of Zoom meetings. However, more issues arose, and the items that had been pressing continued to pressure. The morning blew by without me noticing.

On the money front, Ford (I have stock) paid over $250 for 335 shares. While I am still on an unrealized loss (Ford blowing its quality promises and delivering the worst-made US cars again), they still are making money and paying a 4.8% dividend. While far behind Tesla on EVs, they are more successful than expected. There are thoughts of splitting the company (which would be great for a stockholder like me–I could sell the old tech company stock after the split and buy even more EVs), but I suspect the dividends would end with the split. I like free money. I might buy more F!

I could not help myself and ordered all the components to create a Tesla coil from one of my electronic magazines. I’m not sure I want the coil, but I want to try out the circuit to load it with a million volts. I ordered 4x of the components, which are all good items in my garage. I have the equivalent of a Radio Shack in my garage. Every cap, resister, regulator, and so on is in folders and cases. Ready for my mad scientist moments. I am waiting for some new microcontrollers too.

It is Bingo night and raffle night. I do not have a ticket or a card. I am just writing.

Thanks for reading.