Home improvements

I used the new shower heads this morning and they are a huge improvement. Plenty of power, much wider spread on the main one, and both have massage and lighter settings.

The bookend speakers arrived fairly early, while I was watching the S. FL fishing stream. He had a team with him and they pulled in a big Mahi as I watched. And then I pulled the plug on the Bose soundbar, printed the RMA label and packing slip, and made it ready to ship, just need to put some tape around it.

The Edifier speakers hooked up easily, and my measurements were spot on, the speakers on on each end of the top desk platform, router then cable modem then backup drive between them and the Razer ring-lit webcam is on top of the router. Had to connect the left speaker with [provided] speaker wire, and push the on switch on the back of the right speaker, then push the power button on  the remote. I'd already connected the optical cable.

Excellent sound, good volume. There are volume, bass and treble dials on the right speaker but they are good at the default positions. I tested on some Youtube 7.1 surround audio, and got what sounded like 3.1. Good enuf.

The eBay label printing feature did not see my new direct-feed printer which is the best one for labels, but I was able to download it as a pdf and print from Acrobat. Except the other printer, the one for plain paper, was only printing ghosts. Opened it up and saw the big black ink cartridge was empty. Got another one out of the drawer (I have 2 more spares) and that let me print the packing slip. Got rid of some old cartridges for the Goodwilled Epson.

Over to the TV, started up the Olympics opening ceremony. Had to FF half an hour past the NBC talking heads crap. Japan's opening ceremony was long but moved along quickly, the theme was building an Olympics. I'm in love with the woman who played the construction supervisor. There was a lot of choreography, dozens of dancers, I lost track of how may costumes.

The parade of athletes seemed to go on forever, partly because the countries were not in Roman alphabetical order. The NBC dweebs said it was in Japanese alphabetical order but that's BS because Japanese doesn't have an alphabet. Most of the countries were in either traditional costumes, or outfits in catchy colors. Some of the flag bearers (there was almost always a man and a woman sharing the flag pole) were in full-on traditional costumes even when the rest of the contingent was only in matching modern outfits. Two of the Pacific islander male flag bearers were bare chested and oiled up. Team USA was one of the last groups and they were in shitty gear - white horizontal stripes on navy T-shirts, dark pants with a navy blue blazer. Pug ugly. The good news is they will make up for it in their much more attractive athletics togs.

There was a breathtaking drone display, more than a thousand flying above the stadium, forming a ball with geometric patterns inside, but eventually resolving into a globe of the earth.

The speeches could have been shorter, but they all pointed out that everyone comes in peace. Feelgood speeches made me feel good. There is a team made up of country-less refugees which got special notice and loud applause.

There was an arrangement of Imagine, NBC dweebs said the singers were from every continent. I recognized John Legend, and maybe Sting. I'll have to look it up.  John Legend, Keith Urban, Angélique Kidjo, Alejandro Sanz and the Suginami Junior Chorus. I was not impressed.

I was impressed by the volunteers who lined the parade path. They kept the energy up for the whole program. I also was impressed with the Ireland flag bearer who stopped and gave a low bow to the first volunteers she saw. Classy.

As I was watching, the 2 pm window for my screen door installation passed. Got a call from the installer that he was sent to N. LV and would be here after 3. He was at the gate at 3:30. It took about an hour, he had to redo the magnet a couple of times to get it to latch, and he lubed the runners and gave me the can of lube spray. It was all done a little before 6.

OTOH, total silence from Lowe's about the dishwasher. With a 45 minute on hold time I'm not calling them again.

Got a call from my Humana handler in Lubbock, TX, 6-month welfare check. She will have someone find me a podiatrist.

Went online to re-order the new insulin and it isn't covered. They want $3,700 for a 2-week supply. I need to call my endo about that.

While I was waiting for the installer to arrive my buddy from Terayon called, we chatted for 20 minutes.

Fruit bowl for lunch, muffins during the day, no dinner. The day had started with really nasty GI foo, lots of drugs and ginger ale helped.

Jade spent most of the day behind the freezer, but came out in the evening to eat and park behind the TV and meow for no apparent reason, then lie on the kitchen floor where she kept an eye on me. Spook was on my lap a little, in the bedroom she played with mirror cat and jumped on my bed.

Ordered a smaller microwave which has wi-fi and Alexa. Mostly was going for a unit which fits on the cart and opens with a handle instead of an awkward push lever. Refurb one was affordable.

Last night I tried some of the S-B 62% chocolate and it was very good. Like the best milk chocolate I've ever had. Will try the 72% after I've finished this 3 oz bar. I still prefer the 82%.

It looks like N. LV is getting some rain. It probably won't come this way.

Plans for tomorrow:
Drop off the Bose soundbar at the PO
1 pm dentist to get 2 crowns done

Like pullng teeth

Yesterday I closed up the two vents which the raccoons and stray cats had been using to go under the house and checked this morning that they were still in place. If there had still been animals under the house they would have pushed the vents off to get out. Camera showed a raccoon come by outside and check out the water bowl.  But no cats.

They want me to do some painting, but it needs a ladder, and it's also stupid to paint during monsoon season. I'll have to talk to the manager about that.

Today started with bladder issues, maybe a UTI, so to avoid embarrassment I did not go to the PO to ship the Bose soundbar on my way to the dentist - the less time away from a restroom the better.

On my way out the back door, I discovered they had installed the screen door backwards! The handle was on the side with the door knob and deadbolt - there was no way to lock the back door. And I had to reach behind the screen to turn the knob to get back inside. I locked it from the inside and took the front door.




12:30 I was in the car asking the GPS to find the dentist's office, but even though I was there a week ago it was not on any of the lists so I had to enter the address by hand.  Before I left I called the screen door company and placed a nasty voicemail on their system. Their office is closed on weekends. They have a emergency number but since I would not be home...

Got to the dentist's office 10 minutes early, they got me into the room on time. I had given them the CD from the bone scan, and when the doctor came in he wanted to talk to me about implants. Bottom line is he could see implants to replace my lower partial, maybe, but was not keen on doing the uppers. So the plan is to do the replacement crowns, then make a normal lower partial to fit them, and I'll keep using my upper. In a year or five maybe a new upper would be in order. Hopefully by then Bernie Sanders' Medicare bill will have passed, with coverage for dentures and hearing aids.

First off the tech made an impression of my lower teeth. Then the dentist did a painless job of injecting Novocaine or something like it. He went away to let that soak for 15 minutes. The tech kept me company. When I was numb the drilling started, and it went on for a long time. I did not feel a thing, but it sounded like a cat fight in my mouth. It took a lot of pushing to crack the crown and lift it out. Then we did the second one.

The tech used air to prep the teeth for another impression and a double cap. She had to grind a little bit off the cap to get it to fit, but it's pretty solidly in place, and then she used temporary glue to make it ready for prime time.

My partial mostly fits over the caps, but I don't really need it. It probably will not fit over the finished crowns.

Paid for the work done, will return next Saturday for the third crown. And then about a month to get all three permanent crowns super-glued in.

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USPS email said there was a property tax bill coming today, so I was going to stop at the mailbox on the way home, but at 3:30 the postwoman was just getting out of her truck to start stuffing our mailboxes.

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Got onto Twitch in time for the FL fisherman to sign off. His FB page showed a big mackerel they caught.

Read some news, listened to some music on YouTube, Loved the video on this one:

Watched the first Olympics dressage contestant, because she is the oldest horsewoman in the place (67 years old) and her horse was very well trained, but I also discovered how little I enjoy watching dressage, it's not nearly as exciting as barrel racing. She was given a relatively low score too. I think her horse was too big for her. But what do I know? I'll return for the jumping.

Apparently there is a wild bear loose in the softball stadium. Kind of funny because there is a bear preserve known for its waving bears on the Olympic Peninsula in WA.

Watched PTI and agreed with their dinging the Cleveland baseball team for choosing the WTF name Guardians. Apparently it was an attempt to retain the "dians" from Indians. Stupid. Mike wanted the 100-year-old name Spiders, but I can't see that as a modern baseball team name, Tony favored the Browns or the Rockers.

And then 3 episodes of Love Island in which the producers gutted the place so they could bring in 4 more men and 4 more women next episode. One of the couples voted off the island who could have won the big bucks are planning on moving in together IRL.

Breakfast and dinner was from the 20 pre-made Mom's Meals. I moved the microwave back into the kitchen since they won't be installing the dishwasher any time soon. The smaller Alexa-enabled microwave was supposed to be delivered today but now it is scheduled for tomorrow. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, small sausages and a cinnamon loaf. Small portions but tasty. Dinner was pasta in meat sauce and a large side of diced carrots. Again, small portions but delicious.

Jade has been out and about a lot this evening, very vocal, rubbing her face on everything, playing with some of the toys - she even jumped into the toys basket but did not extract anything. She made the mistake of yelling at Spook, who charged at her and gave Jade some boxing lessons, then walked away.

Jade still runs from me, but she's getting braver.

Got to the mailbox, brought back the tax bill. $158. But their web site is broken, it could not find me to let me pay. Not due till mid-August, so no rush.

Plans for tomorrow:
Watch more Olympics
Wheel the too-big microwave to the shed and install the new smaller one
Eat more Mom's Meals
PM - lots of boxes and stuff to haul out to the curb
Try to figure out why Tivo has not recorded the 13 episodes of Penn & Teller they have done this year. It shows as active on the to-do list
Enjoy the thunderstorm if it happens.