Daylight Saving Time

 I have battery-powered clocks all around the house.  No matter how carefully I set them, none ever quite agreed. Maddening.  And the change from Standard to Daylight Saving time was maddening. 

So I bought some clocks with radio signals built in.  They were cheap, so I wasn't expecting much.  But they worked great!  Every one automatically changed.  

Seriously, even the send hands all match up!  A true joy.

A link if you are interested...  I don't get anything from it.

Still had to do the wristwatch, car, oven, microwave, and fancy old one, but half is better than all...  ;)

Spring Flowers

The blooming season has started!  

 

A Good Day

I am very pleased with myself today.  Last week, an entire plant stand light fixture failed.  Naturally, just as I was starting to plant seeds...

I traded out a working fluorescent tube light in that for one in a working fixture.  It lit, so it wasn't the tube lights.  So I tried plugging the fixture into a completely different outlet.  No luck there either.  Which meant the fixture itself had failed.  

So I removed it.  That wasn't easy.  It was bolted onto a higher plant shelf.  I don't build things with easy maintenance in mind.  I assume things last forever, LOL!  But I did get it removed and on my workbench. The 2 possibilities were a loose wire or the failure of the fluorescent ballast.  

I'm not an electrician.  I've nearly electrocuted myself at least twice.  Once, it wasn't my fault (there were actually 2 (seriously non-code) separate circuits in one rental home electrical outlet).  The other was, but I was lucky enough to be sitting on a wood ladder.  I understand basic electricity, but practicality trips me up.  

I have a good sense of dangerous stuff.  I have very careful with power tools and knives, etc.  But electricity is invisible.  I wired my entire basement panel walls once (passed inspection) but it still scares me.

So I had the fixture sitting on my workbench (light tubes removed).  And I couldn't figure out how to even open it!  No obvious screws to remove to get at the insides.   I bent the fixture around some to see what was holding it together and finally decided two weird looking clips were the point were it moved least.  Well, the choice was to replace the fixture or fix it and I WAS curious. 

I grabbed the weird clips with vice-grips and pulled!  It was a heart-shaped plug.  I took the one at the other end out too.  After THAT, I took ever single screw out of the fixture and the insides were free.  Hurray, but what next?

I couldn't find a loose wire.  Of COURSE NOT, that would have been too easy.  I don't get easy problems.  So it had to be a failure of the ballast.  I know nothing about ballasts expect that they are essential.  So I researched the internet for a replacement hoping they were cheap.  

Mine was...

So, where to get one?  Checked several DIY stores and didn't find it.  But checked DIY sites again about "similar".  Found one than specififically asked if my ballast could be replaced by others.  Yes, and one was available at my local DIY store.  Drove there immediately and bought it.

I read the instructions.  They were laughable imprecise "match the wires according the the ballast diagram".  DUH!  My concern was that there were 2 blue wires, 2 red wires, 2 yow wires, a black and a white.  Replacing the ballast meant splicing the same-color wires, but WHICH blue wires, etc?

Well, I could only try it and see if it worked.  And that I didn't electrocute myself in the test.  Well, I am obviously still alive...

After cutting some wires shorter, stripping the insulation off, and capping same-color wires together (worrying that I had attached old blue 1 to new blue 2 (etc), I re-assembled the fixture.  The considered how to test it on the workbench.  I didn't want to have fluorescent tubes explode or risk near-electrocution #3...

Well, I have a shop light above the workbench.  And in a case of creative madness, I wired it with a light switch before the electric outlet.  So I turned off the "light switch" and plugged the fixture into the outlet.    That might be confusing or weird, but it meant the fixture had no electricity until I flipped the "light switch".  

Standing with a door in the way, I flipped the "light switch" ON using a piece of plastic pipe.  The fixture didn't light up.  Damn!  But there is a chain-pull on the fixture, so maybe it was in the 'off position.  I turned everything off and unplugged the fixture and pulled the chain.  Then set everything up again.

It LIT!!!

Fitting the fixture back onto the plant rack was annoying, but that was just about getting bolts into holes and nuts tightened.

But I fixed the fixture.  No knowledge, some persistence, and a bit of caution...  LOL!

I spent the rest of yesterday planting seeds and placing them under the newly-lit fixture.  😄

Dr Suess Day (A Bit Weird)

 I always enjoyed Thing One and Thing Two.

From The Cat In The Hat (having nothing to do)

So I thought I would search back 

To what what was once seen.

A sort of a Flashback if you know what I mean.

It's "Clobberring Time" they both said to the kids.

Shall we break all the dishes?  Or maybe the door?  

We'd love ta break "something", we could stomp on the floor!

But the Cat said "Relax Guys", this isn't a place to go 

Beating down dishes and not doors or floors.  We have to leave everything just as before.  

And the children (relieved) said just could you maybe puttin

Down crazy old depot named Vladamir Putin?

"Your right" they both said, smacking hard hands together,

"We'll turn that old nut into pieces of leather"!

And what did the Cat say to such a brave claim?

Do it all very quickly, and leave us no blame!

 

A Confession

 I love Kim Possible.  And Ron Stoppable, and yeah Shego.  And, at the end, even Drakken...

Kim and Ron were never "quite" in a dating relationship, more "friends from childhood".  And Ron was pretty inept.  Shego always acted like she considered Drakken an idiot she had to work for to be a proper villainess.  

I watched "Graduation Day" again (of many times) last night.  And things worked out...

At the end Kim and Ron were a couple t the Prom.  Everyone cheered to see them together.  It was a bit awkward to see Ron "saving the day", but it was only after years of seeing her save him, so I guess he had to have "his moment".

But what I liked the most was Shego (the general villainess of the good GO team [HeGo/TheyGo/IGo)] departed for Drakken.  Drakken was always trying and failing to be a supervillain, but always failed.  Shego stuck around seemingly bored  (and fighting Kim).

But in the last episode, Drakken actually saves the world (sort of) by flower-power (literally grew and commanded vines growing from him).

Shego always wore a neck to ankle green uniform.  She obviously loved Drakken in some odd way.

So I just noticed this time, that when Drakken was cheered by people as he was given a medal, Shego was (for the first time ever) "out of uniform".  That made me happy...

Note that her green villainess uniform has become a dress.  She loved him all along.  ;)

Sappy?  Yeah...

Screwed

This is a very expensive screw!  It cost $240 and you don't find screws that expensive every day.

Well, it wasn't made of gold.  That would have cost less.

But the dealership said might as well been.

After they replaced the tire it was embedded in...

A repair of the tire would have been "iffy".  It was close to the sidewall and plugs there can "go boom".  Better to be safe now than sorry later...

The tire guy cracked up when I told him I wanted the screw back.  But when I said I had a blog, he understood.

We traded jokes/comments while he did the work (my car was right at the service door).  I noted he used DeWalt tools (both our favorites).  He asked about my license plate and I explained it was chess move ("cavebear" was too long and "caveber" suggested I was a spelunker and "cavbear" was taken).

They got me in and out in 30 minutes.  

One problem down, a dozen more to go.

 

Things Not Going Well

Let me say first that I know my complaints are minor compared to some people's problems.    I remind myself of that frequently.   I am in generally good health (as are my cats), my car is running fine, I eat well, I have no financial problems, my siblings seem happy, the computers "function enough to use, and I'm not fussing with any neighbors.

That said, all is not perfect in paradise and problems are still problems...

I brought Lori to the vet for her spay operation.  Her blood platelet is too low to allow an operation.   The vet will test her blood again in 2 weeks to see if it was an anomaly.  If not, it could be serious.  Some causes are temporary; some are serious; and some are unfixable.  It will be a long 2 weeks of waiting.

Also 2 weeks means that Lori will go into Heat again.  I'm not looking forward to that!  Tonkinese are related to Siamese, and Siamese are SCREAMERS.

While at the vet, I noticed a screw in the tread of a tire.  So I stopped at the dealership and asked about repairing the tire.  They said it would be about 2 hours.  I go nuts sitting around, so I drove to a tire place.  They said the same.  I went back to the dealership.  I had momentarily forgotten they offer valet home and back service.  

They drove me home.  And called an hour later to say that the screw was too close to the sidewall for a simple repair.  Well, they "could" do that, but the repair would always be "iffy".  Since cars don't come with spare tires these days,  a blowout could be a real problem...  I opted for a new tire.  But they won't have it until tomorrow, so I have to go back again.  At least it will match the other tires (I only have a 1,000 miles on those.  

And they say it will be a quick replacement, since I have an appointment.  Not worth being driven home and back to the dealership.  Which is good.  Because it took them 2 1/2 hours to pick my up to retrieve the car today.  They explained that they only have 1 of 3 shuttle drivers available lately.  I understand that, but it didn't make me happy.

The computer is beyond my ability to fix.  I have officially entered the "I can't figure it out anymore" age now.   I might have a technician visit to fix everything, but I'm not even sure what to have him/her do.  The email is AFU, it restarts randomly, my files seem randomly on the HD and iCloud, and Google seems to have taken over.

The laptop works again.  It was non-functional for months.  Dead battery and 2 loose keys (Z and H).  But I tried it again the other day and it worked as long as plugged in directly bypassing the battery.  It wouldn't before...  2014 apps, but I can visit blogs via Feedly.  I don't dare upgrade it.  I think I'll bring it to "IFixitIt" who does (probably unauthorized) hardware repair.  

Decent weather, so I uncovered the 30x30' daffodil bed.  I covered it with black plastic last November to try to smother the grassy weeds.  That seems to have worked well, but I discovered the plastic warms the soil SO much (I should have known about that) that the daffodils emerged early.  Pale green 4" shoots all bent over!  I hope they recover.  

I have an enclosed garden (protection from squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, etc).  The enclose is electrical conduit pipe inside PVC pipe for support of chicken wire covering it all below ground.  A sticky-snowstorm collected on the chicken wire and bent part of the structure years ago, so I made removable supports the next Spring.

In early January, we were forecast to get 1" of snow.  I wasn't worried about that.  After dark, it became 3".  Not a good time to go out setting up the support pipes, but still not much to worry about.  We got 8" of sticky heavy snow.  The entire structure was about 3/4 collapsed and most pipes bent!

I have to take it mostly apart to pull the conduit out and straighten it.  And them re-cement the PVC covers.  I can't do that until the weather is above 50F.  And also, until I feel up to the effort of working outside again.  It will takes several days of work at best.

And speaking of gardening, I am woefully unprepared this year.  I mix my own seedling soil.  4 parts compost, 2 parts peat moss, 1 part each vermiculite and perlite.  Well, it is cheaper than the potting soil bags and I enjoy the process.  I save it in a big trash barrel.  But I am behind already...  

My seed list (Excel file that identifies seeds by numbered specimen vials saved in the basement fridge in a tray) is 2018.  The newer 2020 one seems lost.  Have to redo it from scratch.  And that means guessing at some seeds...

Need to redo my Excel password list too.  I set it up offline for security, but it vanished too.  I have an old version on a thumb drive.  But so many scribbled changes to the printout, I am nearley starting from scratch there too.  I have a password app, but it is annoying hard to use.  I mean, the password to the password app has to be horribly long and weird, so how does that help?  I'm going back to offline Excel printout.  No one can hack a printout created on an offline computer!  But that does mean nearkly a day's worth of typing on the offline...

Cable TV sucks!  And I have the top tier.  I got it because of History, Science, Nat Geo, and Discovery channels and old but free movies originally.  Those have become mostly paranormal, alien, conspiracy junk these days.  And I found an old  movie I wanted to watch and they STILL wanted to charge $4 for it.  I'm going to HAVE to explore streaming TV and pay for that.

I'm not awake enough hours in the day to solve all this stuff!

Good Things

Well, I was sitting at the computer and thinking about good things.

Like Motorcycle Man had disappeared for several months like an itch you only realized was gone well after the fact.  And who should appear as I was typing this?  Yeah, Motorcycle Man is back...

The computer stopped randomly restarting and I thought I had fixed something.  Guess what happened after I typed about Motorcycle Man?  

Well, at least I got Lori a spay appointment with the regular Vet.  Let's hope THAT works...

And, not to be indelicate (You get older and stop worrying about mentioning "problems", LOL), but I suddenly realized the 2 lumps on my head (impacted sebaceous glands) were gone!  Maybe not wearing a baseball hat all the time made a difference.  Whatever, I sure don't miss them.

You know how you see a flaotrer in an eye sometimes.  I had a bad one for a couple months.  It vanished last week.  Took days before I realized it was gone.

Now, I want some good luck on the computer.  Usually, half my comments to cat-blogs don't go through.  Lately, more do.  I want all, but I'll take what I can get.  To those of you I know (and who comment if I don't know you well), I keep trying...  At least I can read the blogs and enjoy the posts all the time.

Lori went out of heat Thursday and the initial call to the Vet said it would be Mid-March before they could do it.  I called again yesterday and got a Feb 21st appointment!

I'll take that vs Motorcycle Man anytime...  I'm on a roll!

Speaking of "on a roll", here are some snow pictures to use up...

The temp reached 64F today, LOL!

 

Wordle And Other Games

Damn, tried Wordle tonight.  It's addictive.  Some players have said it is like "Jotto".  I never played that.  But I started beating Woordle after the 3rd game and went about 15 for 20 afterwards.  I always find a way to figure out how to play games well.

I understand it as an older game called 'Mastermind'.  That wasn't a word game, but it worked the same in general.  It had 4 colors of pegs.  One player set the 4 pegs in secret, colors arranged and duplicated as desired; the other player had to end up with the same colors in order to win.  

The set-up player had to set pegs on the side after each try according to "right color right spot" or "right color, wrong spot".  No pegs meant "no color in any spot".  Took about 12-20 turns to win or lose (I forget).

I played it with several intelligent people as the set up person.  None ever got the pegs right by turn so it was always a bit maddening.  I would show they erred, in like, "turn 7".  As set-up player myself, I always got it right.  It's just logic.  

It was one of those games people didn't want to play after a few times.  They couldn't do either side right.

Naturally, *I* loved it.  When the set-up player got pegs right, I solved it.  When I was the "set up" player, it was 50-50.

I'm like that about weird complicated board games.  I "get" all the rules immediately.  Just a talent (or maybe a mental rule-weirdness ability).  I've never met anyone like me in that regard.  I'm just a person with a particular ability to understand game rules really quickly and understand how to use them...  

There was a game club when I first moved here.  When I discovered them, they had just disbanded.  I tried to start a new one, but got no takers.  I have a bedroom closet shelf filled to the top with games I will never play again due to lack of opponents...  It seems so sad.  I would sure love to play some of those games.

On the other hand, it has been many years since I tried.  Maybe I should join a local social media page and try again.  I can't be the ONLY person around here that likes board games!

A Little Of This, A Little of That

I didn't realize I hadn't posted for so long.  I've been on the computer about "enough" stuff that I kind of forgot about my own ME blog.

Computer problems continue to drive me crazy.  I can't seem to solve them.  I'll try to stay brief, to spare you...

The computer restarts randomly because of (from the error message) incompatible software or hardware.  Wow, that pretty much covers all possibilities.  I've unplugged all non-essential hardware.  I've looked at all the software, trying to figure out exactly what is incompatible.  Maybe turning off nearly all software and bringing them back one at a time will help.

I've scanned the HD for problems.  2/3 is available, so nothing there to fix.  I've used Kaspersky and Bitdefender to search for malware.  Nothing seems wrong.  I increased my RAM from 8GB to 16 GB; didn't help.

Macs can stay in sleep mode without problems, but I restarted it several times and even shut it down a few.  That didn't solve anything.  I even shut down the router overnight and restated it.  No help there.  The problem pre-dates my current O/S (and nothing mentions frequent restarts as a bug in any recent O/S).  The 2018 Mac isn't old enough to be a problem.

ARGGGG!

I can't get the newer printer to print.  It there in the printer list, just "idle and paused?  I've tried it cabled and wireless, and followed the manual instructions in "baby steps".  I've even gone a a Mac Help Forum.  No  luck.

On other stuff...

I ordered a clear acrylic dining tabletop cover in November for "3 week delivery".  And since I was doing that, I ordered covers for my 2 computer tables for easier cleaning.  The computable table covers arrived in perfect condition.  The dining table one had a big chip on one edge.  When I sent the sender pictures, they promised to ship a replacement in 5 business days.  That was January 17.  Time to bother them again.

They don't want the damaged one back, so I am using it in the meantime.  I haven't even peeled off the protective masking.  It does work functionally, but a bright blue tabletop is a bit funny-looking.  When the new one arrives, I'll use that.  Interestingly, I do make things from plastic sometimes.  When I'm positive they can't demand the damaged one back, I'll use it for a few projects.

Not everything is bad.  I ordered flower seedlings.  A native-plant seller of good reputation offers various plant mixes.  One was 38 plants for $149 dollars (free shipping).  You can order 2 kinds (16 of each) or up to 6 different kinds (7-7-6-6-6-6).  Since most are perrenials or self-sowers, I went for the 6 different kinds.  I matched them by water/sunlight needs and spread them by bloom time, so it should give blooms May-Nov.  Most of those are meadow flowers with a couple of ornamental grasses.

I also ordered 3 seed mixes (each covers 500 square feet) for about $22 per bag.  One is deer-resistant (for the front yard - the deer can't get into the backyard), one is for shady areas, and one is for pollinators (some specifically for native solitary bees).  

Plus, I have saved seeds and existing transplantable meadowlike and pollinator-friendly plants.  I'll move those.  That will free up some space for "merely" ornamental flowers.

I'm sure glad I bought a snowblower 5-6 years ago.  Self-propelled, forward/reverse, and electric-starting.  It was most important with the 12" snowfall, but even with 4" it sure makes things easier!  My house faces north, so while the cross-the-street neighbors' snow melts in a day or 2, mine turns to ice if not removed quickly.  And my driveway slopes downhill to a drainage ditch.  I had to pay a guy $50 to shovel my driveway once (18") so I think the snow-blower has paid for itself now.

I'm replacing the refrigerators.  Yes, plural.  I have a really old one in the basement for bulk veggie and seed storage.  It is SO bad, I have to chip ice off the top of the refrigerator section and the freezer section won't go below 10 F (S/B 0 F).  And I bet it is costing a lot just to operate.

The current fridge isn't great at temperature uniformity, but it is sure better than the basement fridge and more energy-efficient.  I looked up newer/better ones at Consumer Reports.  There is a bottom freezer  LG model rated at the top I think I'll buy.  The temperature uniformity, reliability, and owner-satisfaction are all at the top, the price is about the same as lower-rated ones, and it has a top "energy-star" rating.

It has an external ice-maker.  I'm not sure I like that.  They tend to fail.  I make ice cubes manually just fine.  But if it works, "hurray".  Mostly though, you can't find a good refrigerator without one, LOL!

I'll have to clean the basement before I order the new refrigerator though.  It is too cluttered for movers to get around in.   No matter what I want to do, I have to do something else first!  To explain, I have say that my electric co-op will come and take away the oldest refrigerator and credit me $50.  Who doesn't want $50?

But I have to clear a space for the new fridge guys to put the older kitchen one in the regular space and the oldest one "somewhere".  That "somewhere" has stuff in the spot.  So I need to move that stuff.  I'm running out of places to put "stuff".  Which leads to REALLY cleaning the basement before I can buy a new fridge.  It's ALWAYS something...

Back to sad stuff...

Lori went into heat Wednesday night.  It's Monday night and that makes it 5 days.  She HAS to stop tomorrow, right?  Lori hasn't been as bad as Ayla was, but a sudden "calling session" in the middle of the night is hard to sleep through.  I sleep badly enough as it is.  Daytime isn't too bad and she doesn't keep it up for more than an hour.

Unlike Ayla did.  OMC!  She was a yeller.  For those of you who read this but are unfamiliar with "Alya In Heat", she had 2 botched spays by the breeder's vet, went into heat every 3 weeks for 7 days at a time, climbed me desperately with sharp claws, for maybe a year before my regular vet got her fixed.  

Ayla drove me crazy day and night, screaming.  The first circle of Hell is probably filled with Siamese cats in heat...  It was a terrible year.  I still have the calendar marked with Xs for her days in heat.  It seems mostly Xs.  She was seriously messed up.  

Lori isn't "that bad".  She has a quieter voice.  And it will certainly be her-our last experience.  I am a little annoyed at the vets though.  They said they didn't like to operate on a cat in heat so they wanted her to go through it first.  Timing the operation for "in-between", they said.  OK.  But they aren't here listening to the calls.

I am sad that Lori can't get the relief she wants so desperately.  Marley and Laz are neutered and *I* sure can't do anything about.  There should be a chill-pill...

That is sure more than enough for now...