UPS, Tivo upgrade, fan FAIL

Spook joined me on the bed for a while last night. Earlier Heidi was in the corner of the bathroom again, I escorted her back to her room.

After breakfast I grabbed the thermostat and dropped it off at UPS. I was the only one in the store besides the clerk. So it wasn't so bad that I had to log into Amazon on the new phone to get the RMA code.

Albertson's for staples. Bananas, limes, milk, whipped cream, marinated artichoke hearts, saltines, pistachio almond ice cream, OJ, Fake and real Kool Aid flavoring. They were out of Klondike bars.

Home, put stuff away. USPS email said there were two letters from the park management.

One of those letters was a rent increase, about 5%, which is obscene considering how we haven't been allowed to use most of the amenities since March.

Set up one of the "almost silent" fans and it is a total FAIL. 45 db, the same as the fans I was replacing, and it won't connect to Alexa or Google. It's supposed to but neither one says they support that brand.

The one still in the box is going back to Amazon. The other will probably find its way to the curb next weekend. And I'll write a review, of course.

Opened the Tivo and installed a 3TB drive to replace the 500GB one which ad been in there since 2014. It was a bit of a hassle because the first step was to remove a tiny torx screw and I had to rummage through drawers in the guest room closet to find something. My bits set only went down to T15, and I needed a T9. So I started with a jeweler's screwdriver, but it was tough going, the screw was in there tight, and it really needed more surface area. Another rummaging and I found a set with the right size, but when I started using it, the screw flew out and I lost it. It's either on the rug or in the sofa. Not a problem because it doesn't hold anything in place, it's just there to keep people like me from popping the lid.

The brackets were also held in by torx screws, but a size or two larger. I had one of those, put it into the electric screwdriver and got the drive out easily. Carefully took the brackets off the old one, put them on the new one, and screwed it into place. There was also the power/data connector to transfer.  

Too soon to tell if it will solve the corruption problem. But it was a royal PIA because it needed:
- Run the entire new unit routine
- Call the cable company to re-validate the cable card
- Scroll through hundreds of channels in the channel list and remove the 300 or so I didn't want 
- Find the shows I wanted to record and set those up. This was made harder because
- Pair the remote so the voice command worked (this took about an hour and several tricks from the support page)

The good news is the drive works.

Streamed for an hour but nobody chatted. There were lurkers.

While I was playing with the remote, Spook jumped onto the arm of the recliner and then my lap and was happy to be brushed and petted.

Plans for tomorrow:
Quality time with Heidi
Moth traps are due to arrive. Need them in the bathroom and the office. And probably the bedroom closet.
Thermostat is also due. Call to schedule installation when it gets here.
More Tivo setup - remove channels I don't subscribe to

Not so busy day plus Chinese food

Got out of bed at about 11, but was up for pit stops at 6:30 and 7:30. Heidi was shower cat when I was brushing my teeth, and was grooming herself in there when I slid the doors halfway to turn on the shower. When I do that with Spook in there she bolts. Heidi stayed. When the water hit her she was out like a shot.

A couple of times when I checked on her she was on the cat tree, and Spook was in the room relaxing on the fleece blanket by the door. As long as Spook stays at a distance, Heidi allows it, no rude noises. If Spook approaches, hissing and growling ensues. But Spook has to get very close for that to happen now.

The Tivo is working well, I've got all of the unwanted channels off the list, and need to check some of the SD channels for old TV shows. I think I have all the shows scheduled to record that I want. Had to use the voice feature to find some of them. Torture tested by channel surfing and pausing live TV. No  issues there.

Watched the Raiders lose. Caught the end of the Bills' win. Had Green Bay vs Nola in the background, Brees lost. Seahawks was not broadcast here but highlights showed they won.

Delivered was the replacement thermostat. I tried to call the installers but no answer.

Also delivered were a set of 3 moth traps which I set up and hung in the bathroom and front room.

Lunch was a croissant with the last of the Murray's cheese. I shouldn't have left it in the fridge so long.

My beard is getting long. So is the hair on my neck. Woke up soaked - just my head.

Ordered a lot of Chinese food for 6 pm delivery. He was early, and the gate did not open for him so he phoned me, I had to have him hang up so he could try again. When he arrived he blew it two ways - he came from the wrong direction so he did not read my instructions and got lost. He also kept ringing the bell, instead of leaving the stuff on the porch (contactless delivery). And he ran away as soon as he handed me the food, probably because he knew he had spilled the iced tea. It was dripping through the bag it was in.




But most of it made it and it was better than the Thai place's tea. China A Go Go has a lot of Thai food on the menu. But except for the tea I ordered all Chinese. Egg rolls were appetizers, Honey walnut prawns for dinner and maybe a snack tomorrow. Beef chow fun - two meals' worth. Wor won ton soup. Shrimp in lobster sauce looked more like soup. Rice and chow mien. All together about a week's worth of meals.

Ran the dishwasher - this time I remembered to load the mandolin.

I'm not sure if there is anything new on Tivo tonight. 90 Day was supposed to take a break until October.

I ordered 4 types of undies. Amazon search was whacked, it was not finding me the same brand I was typing in. Finally managed to find three of the same brand and style in different colors, allegedly in my size. Took half an hour and a lot of searching.

Streamed for the usual suspects.

Took out the garbage bins.

Plans for tomorrow:
RMA the unopened fan. Look for a replacement. Does Dyson have voice control?
Call to schedule thermostat install #2
MNF
BASFA Zoom?