Thursday, March 31, 2005

Man the Lifeboats

I noted in my previous entry that Parts of the basement floor get a couple of inches of water once every few years.

One of those times was what people described as the 100 year flood back in the fall of 1996, which put ten feet of water in the MBTA subway and three inches in our basement. Another time was a year or two ago.

The next time (we are told) could be Saturday night. Katherine says it's not my fault, the bike was already in the basement, but I wonder.

The basement has been further cleaned, and more wood blocks cut in honor of the possible coming event.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

The Joy of Home Ownership

I just spent two hours cleaning the basement.

This adventure had a specific purpose, which was to get the older of the two exercise bikes back in service. Parts of the basement floor get a couple of inches of water once every few years, so I had put the old bike up on some small blocks, where it was not ridable.

I moved our pseudo laundry table (and it also holds the wine cellar) off a concrete pad which is the local high ground, and moved the bike onto it. The table moved next to the dryer, which actually helps its laundry function.

I also wiped top of the laundry table. Good thing the EPA didn't see what came off that.

This was a trivial amount of work and I actually enjoyed it, but it makes me wonder how real people take care of their homes. On a regular basis, we're good for snow removal, laundry, the dishes and that's about it. (To keep the EPA from closing us down, we have a maid service in every two weeks.)

Ah well, the bike is ready for me now.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Going Down

My weight leveled for several days, and then dropped three pounds in the past two days. That's good, my weight spreadsheet was telling me I was verge of going up again.

The exercise continues, mixing in occasional walks with with the bike.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

HUP - 2 - 3 - 4

I hit the bike again today. That makes six times via a nice consistent every other day.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

AIM terms of service, Revisited

From News.com:

America Online said late Monday that it plans to revise its user agreement in response to concerns that instant messages sent through the company's service could be monitored.


The new policy for AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, will stress that the company does not eavesdrop on customer's conversations except in unusual circumstances such as a court order, an AOL spokesman said.



Monday, March 14, 2005

One from Column one ...

The results of the blood work came back in a confusing letter from my doctor. It said my thyroid replacement looked high, so prescriptions are enclosed. I've had a thyroid replacement prescription for 21 years now, but no one ever said anything about two at once.

And no mention of the blood sugar level which I had deposited myself on my doctor's doorstep in the first place for. Gee, thanks.

Actually, I called, and it turns out to average my replacement between two standard dosages I am to alternate pills every other day. Okay, I can do that. Nice of them to tell me up front.

And as for the blood sugar, yes, I am normal (that way, at least).

Friday, March 11, 2005

Big Brother is Watching You Type

AIM has changed their terms of service to say they can use your messages any way they want, and that you have no privacy.

This is a real Lawyers Gone Wild episode (you can see it from the one-sided nature of the agreement), and is going to make Microsoft's IM products look downright popular.

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Never Been to Spain

Blame my sister the Bluegrass Mama for this one as well.

States I've visited, not counting airport layovers. I do count the states I have only driven through.



create your own personalized map of the USA.

Oddly enough, a text variation on this almost went into my 10 Things list, in particular that I've been to all the states from Tennessee north and/or east.

From those nice folks at World 66

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Back On The Chain Gang

With the high blood pressure causing eye problems, it's time to get serious about losing some weight. I care about my eyes.

I had my last caffeine on Friday. I had the caffeine crash from hell Saturday. That's actually good, it means I had been cutting back before Friday to crash the following day.

I hit the exercise bike Sunday for 24 minutes. (Just to prove I could.)

I had exactly two snacks, one an apple, yesterday. Lunch itself was McDonald's, but was not a piggy lunch.

I hit the exercise bike today for 32 minutes. (A more regular timing).

I had exactly one snack this morning, and bought a banana while out at lunch for the afternoon snack. Lunch itself was turkey on wheat.

And so it begins again ...

Saturday, March 5, 2005

Doctor My Eyes

Our story thus far ...

Well, the optometrist shipped me back to the primary care physician, who on Thursday (3 March) took one look at my previous regular blood sugar tests and expressed complete disbelief I could have diabetes.

(Hey kids, there is a reason to see a doctor on regular basis -- a well kept medical history is your friend.)

She ordered up the usual fasting profile (including blood sugar) anyway, upped the blood pressure medications, and shipped me off to the ophthalmologist.

Friday, the ophthalmologist dilated my eyes (again), took a look, and said that yup, I have minor hemorrhaging. Most likely it's caused by the high blood pressure. I am to give it four weeks, and then see a retina specialist across town.

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

A Meme: Ten things


Ten things I've done that you probably have not.


  1. Been well networked, including:

    • Owned a modem in 1985,
    • Listed a host in the UUCP maps in 1989,
    • Registered a internet domain in 1990 (when there were only ~ 6500 domains total)
    • Provided dial up email services to my family in five states in 1992
    • Installed a home LAN in 1993,
    • Setup a 24x7 link to the Internet in 1995,
    • Setup a personal web site in 1996,
    • Had a cable modem in the summer 1997

    All of this only counts as one item, and now that's all out of the way.
  2. Gone boating in a DUKW on a central New York Finger Lake in November.
  3. Took 11 years to graduate the 4 year college I entered full-time out of high school.
  4. Worked for five different alumni of my college at five different companies.
  5. Been in every one of New York's 62 counties.
  6. Went directly from the first year of Army ROTC to the third year. (But never finished, due to the length of the rest of my college career.)
  7. Took the road test for my driver's license in a British sports car two years younger than I was.
  8. Ridden 1300 miles on a bicycle around town in one summer.
  9. Totaled three vehicles within ten years on interstate highways and walked away from all three crashes. (And since then had 18 years without a chargable accident, knock wood.)
  10. Met my future wife via the Internet (in particular Usenet) in 1989, before most people knew there was an Internet. (And for the record, I then courted her very much in person for six months.)


Inspired by my sister the Bluegrass Mama