Orlando, FL

It was pouring down rain when we went outside for our morning walk. When we stepped outside the final door, I opened up my umbrella, but Buddy would not come off of the porch!

We went back inside and we walked up to the fourth level of the parking garage. Buddy lifted his leg occasionally on the concrete columns in the garage.

It rained all morning and started to let up around noon. This was a good soaking rain and we really needed it.

My afternoon was kinda hectic and stressful - MS Outlook on my computer decided that it wasn't going to send messages with attachments! This made things difficult all afternoon.

Craig was in a bad mood today. His car was shit on by birds and they even shit on his shirt! He had to go home and change his shirt!

We ended the week up with $209k. Hollywood brought in $130k. Not a great week, but not as bad as it could have been.

It is supposed to get cold tonight! But I am supposed to get paid tonight and we can go grocery shopping tomorrow!

Simple Electric Motor

Orlando, FL

We are not really having a lucrative week at FER-Orlando. I think we are up to $85k, and we might pass $100k this week. Still, Fay and I are both busy quoting and while the phones have quieted down, they have not stopped ringing!

Craig had to go to Philadelphia today to measure concrete slabs and curbs at a new construction Capital Grille in Cherry Hill, NJ. We followed the progress of his flight on Flightstats.com and we got a phone call from him within minutes of the plane touching down!

The weather today was sunny and warm until around lunchtime and then clouds began to roll in. By the end of lunch it was sprinkling, and later it rained. It is supposed to rain off and on all night. That's good - we need some rain.

After work we took Buddy down to the park to get his walk. It took him forever to "hurry up and get busy". He was a wet dog when he finished! We came back to the building, went up to the second floor to get out mail, and then rode up to 6, and walked down the hall to our house. I let Bob in, and he went to get a towel for Buddy. We dried him off really good before we took him inside.

This evening I watched a video on WonderHowTo.com on tying a Windsor knot in a necktie. Then I broke out the BASIC Stamp and inserted the piezoelectric speaker and wrote some programs for it using the FREQOUT command.

Tomorrow is Friday! Yay! I get paid tomorrow night! YAAAY!!

Orlando, FL

I really wanted to keep sleeping this morning! I think it was 5:20 when I finally got up.

When we got down to the street it "smelled" like rain. I noticed that everything was kinda wet, like it had sprinkled during the night.

Work today was very busy. Lots of phone calls. The day started with me by myself in the office - Craig was calling on dealers, who knows what Debbie was doing, and Fay was at Fairway with Matthew Tang. I processed the orders and was in the File Room making copies when the phone rang. I picked up the extension in the File Room, and found that someone (Fay) took the cord off of it to use on her phone!

Without thinking I put the phone back down - and hung up on the caller. He immediately called back, and I ran to my desk. Here I fumbled and dropped the handset - again hanging up on the caller. Finally, on the third call I got it right!

Orders are a little slow coming in this week. Right now we have $57k.

Bob's new Dell keyboard and mouse were delivered today. Also, our super-wamma-dyne new folding handcart arrived today too! Now we will have a good tool for carrying bottled water, cases of soda, and other heavy things to the house from the garage! Plus, it folds up really flat - we are keeping it next to the dryer in the Laundry.

I was late getting out of the office because Craig was full of questions. I had to get the street address for the Capital Grille (new construction) in Cherry Hill, NJ; then I had to get the Delfield custom stainless drawings out of the file for him; after that he arranged a flight for me from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale on 24 Feb to attend a meeting with Delfield in our Hollywood office about working with chain accounts.

I got home around 6:20 PM. The first thing we did was take Buddy down to the street for his walk. When we got back we fed him, and then I had a turkey breast and cheese sandwich. Bobby had tuna fish.

In the office I drilled holes throught our new, dry-erase, magnetic, corkboard and weekly planner, and mounted it to the wall with dry wall anchors. It looks good (picture to follow). Next I nailed picture frame hangers onto the back of the Ikea Vilshult picture that Bob bought for the master bath. We hung this big poster in the bathroom.

Now I am getting my blog caught up and would like to play with my BASIC Stamp and read before I have to sleep.

Weekend

On Saturday we finished attaching accessories to our big computer desk. We cleared the table off and turned it upside down. Then we installed the cable corrals, the keyboard drawers, and the cpu holders.

Next we got Bob's computer out of the box and started to put it together. We found that Dell forgot to pack his keyboard and mouse in with the system. We called India and spoke to "Carlos" there who promised us we would have the keyboard and mouse by Wednesday.

In the afternoon we went to Petco to get a big bag of Science Diet for Buddy - he was down to one scoop left! Then we went to Ikea to shop for an office storage cabinet. We came armed with a tape measure and a drawing of the space we wanted to put this in. We are going to build a tall cabinet out of the Effektiv line, but because the total comes to over $800, we have also decided to buy it and built it in stages - from the floor up!

We want to build the storage cabinet with a birch veneer to match the Lack tables that we will be using on the bottom of our Moddi Murphybed that we are going to build this spring.

We left Ikea with over $100 in stuff. We found the big yellow taxicabs in Times Square picture that Bob wanted and we got it. We also got another round Klingsbo table to use as a side table in the bedroom.

We installed the 1TB hard disk on Bob's computer and we got them to see each other over the network. So far so good!

We ate dinner at Metro Pizza and Espresso. Bob had an eggplant parmesan and I had a chicken salad.

After dinner we continued to work on the computers, transferring files, and other things. I think we got to bed around midnight.

This morning we tried to sleep in, but Buddy began crying shortly after 7:00 AM. I decided to get up and get him outside. When I came back in I started a breakfast of hashbrown potatoes and yogurt for us. Bob made a pot of coffee.

We continued to work with the computers until around noon, then we went out. We took Bob's old computer and monitor to my storage unit in Metrowest, then we drove to Office Max to use the $10 off coupon/cards we had, but we really didn't find much there that we wanted. Next we went to Ace Hardware to get picture hangers for the big poster. We also browsed the paints in there and got color chips. We are thinking about painting the living room and the bedroom.

This evening I fried hamburger with onions, mixed in a can of tomato paste, and then made a pan of macaroni and cheese. Then I mixed both of those together and it made a good dinner!

I had to run the vacuum cleaner and dust the glass tables while Bob ran the Swiffer Wet Jet in the kitchen.

Now it is time to start another work week. I am glad we get paid at the end of this week!

Orlando, FL

Temps were very low yesterday morning and I wore my raincoat along with a sweatshirt and flannel pants when I took Buddy down to the street in the morning.

I wore a flannel shirt to work too. Fay commented on it as soon as she walked in. I don't see why it should be a surprise - it was chilly after all!

During lunch I went to Wal*Mart and I bought new work slacks - one pair of black and one pair of light khaki. I also picked up a pair of walking shorts that were on sale for $7. I got a new dress belt too. Spent $55.00 total -- it does not take long!

When I got home we walked Buddy and then I just had a pbj sandwich. Bob wanted to cook and we mixed up a quiche and let it bake for an hour, but by the time it was done it was too late to eat it. We let it cool and decided to eat it for breakfast.

I went to the office and got the BASIC Stamp kit that I got for Christmas 2008 out of the box and hooked it up to the computer. Using the anti-static mat that we brought back from Daytona I carefully assembled the circuits in the What's A Microcontroller manual and entered the programs in the programming editor at my computer.

Each project easily worked and I was very encouraged!

Today was a little warmer than yesterday, but I still dressed warm.

Nass Parts & Service brought the new super-secret Red Lobster steamer to our test kitchen and installed it. This steamer has been under developement since last April and it is supposed to save energy and water. Well, I think it needs more tweaking. The normal steamer dumps 2 quarts per minute per steaming compartment into the drain (two compartments steaming = 4 quarts per minute into the drain). This steamer was dumping 6 quarts per minute down the drain -- not really a savings!

FER-Orlando processed $225k in orders this week. I do not know how Hollywood did because their report did not arrive before the end of the workday, but Craig said that they barely made $70k.

We had zuchinni meatloaf and parmesan polenta for dinner this evening. After that I "played" with the BASIC Stamp for an hour or so.

Tomorrow we are going to clear everything off of the computer table, turn it upside down, install the keyboard drawers, cpu holders, and cable corrals. Then we will put both of our computers back onto it. Slowly but surely we are eliminating boxes and extra "stuff" from the office!

Orlando, FL

I got up off of the bed one minute before the alarm sounded. I went to the bathroom and peed, and as I was stepping back to the bed I set my foot on Buddy's bed - it felt wet!

Of course the dog was nowhere in sight - I found him laying on the floor in the office.

What I suspect happened was the lamb meal roll I fed him last night was salty - we heard him lapping up a lot of water. It did not occur to me to take him outside before we went to bed. I guess he peed the bed in his sleep.

The bedding went into the washer and I got the carpet shampooer out and cleaned the floor very well around his bed.

After Bob left I got my shower and I shaved my face. Then I pulled on a t-shirt, briefs, socks, white FER button-down, slacks with braces, and my jacket. I looked very good!

Fay was surpised to see me dressed. "Well, you're dressed up! Are you going somewhere today?" I said, "You know damned well I'm going to Darden today with Craig." She retorted, "No, no I didn't get that memo." As if she'd been watching Office Space.

Because I was under the impression that we were going over to Darden a little after noon, I held off on getting lunch. Finally Craig returned to the office and I asked him, "When are we going to meet with Chuhak and Sovel?" He said the meeting was at 3:00 PM. I said, "Good, then I have time to go get lunch!" Fay was happy to hear this too - she'd put off her lunch as well!

I went to Subway and got a sandwich. When I returned Craig said, "We're leaving in 10 minutes!" I replied, "Fine!" I went to the Test Kitchen and hurriedly ate my lunch.

We drove over to the Marriott by the airport to pick up Dianna Nielsen and meet with Kevin McCormick of Delfield. We quickly discussed the issues the Capital Grille restaurant new construction is facing and possible ways to get around the obstacles. Then we left for the meeting.

I rode over with Kevin and Dianna rode in Craig's car. We made small talk about electronics and the Tom Tom navigation system in his car as we drove. Kevin handles Delfield installations for chain accounts and his work has taken him all over the world.

Our meeting was in Building 5990 - Darden Developement. We met with Bob Chuhak and Mike Zupo. This meeting lasted a little over an hour and I think it was very productive! As we left they were arranging to meet for dinner and Craig said I was welcome to come if I wanted. We left Kevin and Dianna with Bob and Craig brought me back to the office.

I spent the last 30 minutes busily catching my email up and returning phone calls. I am sure tomorrow will be another busy day for us!

This evening I took Buddy for his walk -- it's already getting very cold outside! Then we came home, checked the mail, I undressed and put my suit away, and made a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and leftover pork chops.

After this I want to read more of my What's A Microcontroller text book and get some sleep. If yo click the link, you will see a free version of the book in an Acrobat .pdf file.

Inauguration Day

This morning started out kind of cool and I wore a sweatshirt and flannel pants down to the street with Buddy.

We had cold cereal and yogurt for breakfast.

After Bob left I started work on replacing the light switches in the hallway (these are 3-way switches) with new designer rocker-type switches and one of them has a dimmer on it. I did something wrong and when I finished the light did not work! I left it as it was to be fixed when I came home in the evening.

As a last resort, I pulled the instruction sheet out of the trash and read it. It said that one of the wires was special and was marked as "common" or was fixed to a colored screw. It cautioned you to mark this wire so that you would know how to hook it to the new switch. Well, you could barely see the word "common" in teeny tiny letters on the back of the old switches.

In the shower I used the clippers to trim my hair down real short. I will shave tomorrow and put on a shirt and tie so that I am presentable for our meeting at Darden.

Before I left I took pork chops out of the freezer and put them into the kitchen sink to thaw out.

The weather was sunny and bright, but temperatures dropped during the day. It is supposed to fall to 31°F tonight. Bob already has the heat turned on!


Fay watched the presidential inauguration as a live feed at her computer and she turned Craig's television to the news coverage. I could barely see it, but I could hear all of it. I guess I should be glad I only had to hear it, because I understand Miss Ree picked out a very daring piece of headwear for the event!

Anyway, I am glad that this transition has been made. America needs some change - alot of it! It is going to take awhile to pull the country back out of the ditch while the Republican criminals had 8 years to run it down.

For lunch I went to Ruby Tuesday and had salad bar and white bean chili.

I stayed continuously busy all afternoon. By the end of the day I had processed over $136k in new orders. Looks like another good week.

When I got home this evening the first thing I did was pull out the tools, open the Bath 2 breaker, and go back to work on fixing the hallway switches. I would switch wires, close the breaker, test, and repeat. It took 5 different sessions until I finally got it working properly!

After taking Buddy for his evening walk we stopped on the second floor to get out mail - I had a Navy Federal statement, a Bank Of America bill, and a USAA bill. Then we went upstairs and I made fried pork chops and spring peas for dinner.

I pressed my white FER button-down shirt for tomorrow and now I am getting my blog caught up. I will probably work on my Moddi Murphybed model in SketchUp and read some before sleeping.

Orlando, FL

This morning Bob found an email on his Blackberry informing him that he had to take today off. He stayed home today.

Work was quiet today. Lots of people took the day off and the phones were quiet. Craig said that we are going to close next year on MLK Day.

Fay told Craig that she wanted to watch the Inauguration Of President Barack Obama tomorrow on his office TV.

Because it was quiet I was able to get alot of stuff done and the day breezed right by.

During lunch I went to Chik-Fil-A to get a sandwich and then I went to my storage facility to put the contact cement and forstner bits back inside.

The afternoon remained quiet, but it started to get cooler outside and more clouds began to show up.

My drive home was easy and fast due to the light traffic.

Bob said that the electricity was out for about three hours this afternoon! He was just getting up from a nap when I got home. I took Buddy down to the street for his walk while Bob made pasta alfredo with mushrooms for our dinner.

Now we have our laundry (load of towels) folded up, and we are both working at our computers.

I need to buzz my hair short and get a shave because we are still scheduled to meet with Bob Chuhak and others at Darden on Wednesday with Dianna Nielsen of Delfield.

We started our weekend by going out to breakfast at The Breakfast Club downtown. I had French toast and home fries. It was a very chilly morning and we decided to drive the three blocks to the restaurant.


When we returned we got busy with some of the projects that have we have on our list. We re-installed the track from the dining room in the ceiling of our office/spare bedroom and then I took the light fixtures outside on the balcony and I spray painted the shades a bright yellow to go with our bright yellow computer table. We left those outside on newspaper to dry for a few hours while we went to Daytona Beach.

We took Buddy with us and drove to Tom and Louise's house because the termite control company was going to meet us at 1:00 PM to treat the foundation and two walls that were showing termite infestation. While we were there we picked up an anti-static mat for me to use when working with my BASIC Stamp and we removed the canned goods from the cabinets to take home with us.

Buddy had a very big and wet movement on Tom and Louise's front lawn! He was fed Pepto-Bismol tablets when he got back to Orlando!

Back home we heated up some leftover chili. I took Buddy out for a (thankfully short) walk in the chilly evening, and I stopped at Publix to get some corn muffins to go with our dinner too. We spent the evening in the computer room working at our computers. The house was getting very chilly as temperatures dropped into the 30's!


During the evening, as I was browsing the Ikea Hacker blog, I came across the Moddi MurphyBed idea and instantly liked it! I showed it to Bob and liked it too. We were prepared to spend over $1200 for an assemble-it-yourself kit, but this project can be completed for less than $400!


When we went to bed we put the heat pump into heat mode and set it for 75°F.


This morning I got up early, around 3 or 4 AM to get a drink of water and turn the temperature down - I actually got too warm! We actually got up around 8:00 AM and took Buddy down to the street for his walk. It was very cool out.



I made French toast for breakfast since we have plenty of heavy cream, eggs, a new loaf of bread, and spices. I used Bob's countertop microwave to slowly, gently heat up the maple syrup. This was the last heating task for it -- we took it down this morning to put it into storage because the project that we resolved to finish today was installing Bob's over-the-range microwave oven.

This oven has been sitting in the office/spare bedroom since November when we bought it. I started to try getting an electric receptacle box installed in the cabinet above last week, but was slowed down when I found a grid of metal studs and braces inside the wall!



We covered the range up with an old fitted sheet to catch all of the dust that we were making. With a little more drilling and creative use of the jigsaw, we got an opening in the wall to receive the box. Then we curled the armored cable up and fed it into the bottom of this box. I securely screwed the strain-relief device into the box and then screwed the box down to the wall.



Now we went out to take things to my storage unit, and stop at the hardware store to get an electric receptacle and cover plate, some black caulking (if we could find it) for Bob's kitchen countertops and backsplash, caulk removal tool to strip out the old caulking from the bathtub, and a 29" x 16" white plastic faced board to cover up my mistakes in the back of the cabinet.



We stopped at Baja Burrito Kitchen for a tasty lunch and then came home to complete this project.



I had to cut the board to fit into the back of the cabinet, spotface holes for the cabinet mounting screw heads that stick up, and cut out the rectangular opening for the electric box. Then I rolled contact cement (elephant snot) over the back of the board and the back of the cabinet, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then installed it. I'd never installed an electric box before and with the surprise discovery of steel inside the wall, made too many exploratory drill holes in the back of the cabinet! After this I screwed the coverplate on the electric receptacle and it looked very nice!



We drilled holes in the bottom of the cabinet for the microwave supports and a big hole for the power cord and plug to pass through.



Next we had to drill holes in the rear wall for the mounting bracket. We drilled four 5/8" holes for toggle bolts, and we drilled a 3/16" hole near the centerline and right into one of the steel wall studs for added support.



Now we were ready for the moment of truth.

We carried the oven in from the office and carefully set it up on the support tabs in the mounting bracket. Bob pushed the power plug and cord through the hole in the bottom of the cabinet for that purpose, and I threaded the front support bolts down into the top of the oven. As I screwed these bolts down, they pulled the oven up until the gap between the oven and cabinet closed up!



It looks nice. It looks like it belongs in this kitchen and like it was always there.



We had made a huge mess and we had a lot of cleaning up to do after this project!

Installing this microwave up over the range like this frees up a lot of counterspace. Bob is happy about the extra work space.



We took Buddy for a walk around the lake. Temperatures were in the 60's and there was a breeze. After this walk I made a dinner of "beanie weanies" - pork and beans with franks and onions.



With dinner out of the way I got the vacuum cleaner out and began cleaning the carpets while Bob started to clean the kitchen and bath floors with the Swiffer Wetjet. We also had laundry to finish, fold, iron, and put away.



These weekends go so fast!

Orlando, FL

The alarm was very loud when it went off at 5:00 AM. We continued to lay in bed until around 5:30, then I got up, pulled flannel pants, sweatshirt, and knit cap on, harnessed Buddy up, dumped a cup of food into his bowl, leashed him, and went downstairs for a walk.

It was very chilly. I think it was 48°F and there was a chilly breeze! Still, nothing as bad as they are seeing in North Dakota! Hell, Florida is probably like a sauna compared to North Dakota!

Bob was in no particular hurry this morning because he didn't need to be at work until 8:00 AM and he only had to go in for a meeting and then he had the rest of the day off!

I showered around 7:00 AM and was out the door around 7:22.

For some reason, Fay was particularly bothersome today. She was trying to worry me about stupid shit in the new AQ.Net that she was perfectly capable of editing herself. I don't understand why she has to try to make a big deal out of small things.

During the morning Bob's new computer was delivered by FedEx. Shortly after that the cable corral was delivered by UPS. I decided to take these things back home during lunch. I phoned on my way there. Bob was picking up items at Publix when I called. I stopped on Lake Street next to the Publix and honked to get Bob's attention on the sidewalk and we drove upstairs. Bob was making chili for dinner.

After putting the boxes into the office, I found a leftover piece of pizza from last night and ate that for lunch with a bottle of water. Then I had to return to the office.

We have everything we need now to finish setting up our new (and excellent) computer table!

In the afternoon I had to make a trip to the warehouse with some unneeded office supplies, some small fry pans, a 34-inch wide range high shelf. Fay's husband was in the test kitchen installing a new faucet on the sink.

Craig was back in the office today and I overheard him talking with Greg Olsen about the rumors that another rep group would be getting all of our lines. Craig feels that the rep in question has entered desperation mode and that is why he's starting the rumors.

We saw Debbie for a little while today too. She's definitely had some work done. She admitted that she saw a plastic surgeon during her vacation. I was joking about it after she left, "Craig, did you get a good look at Debbie? That woman has seen more knives than a chef at Benihana's! She's got her skin pulled so tight she can't smell without passing gas!"

FER-Orlando finished the week with $323,712 in orders. Hollywood got something like $172,000, so overall, we came close to a half million dollars this week!

We have to go to Daytona Beach tomorrow to let the pest control people into Tom and Louise's house to treat for termites. We are going to focus on getting the over-the-range microwave installed in the kitchen this weekend.

Orlando, FL

It was a cool day today. I pulled on a sweatshirt and flannel housepants to walk Buddy this morning. Fortunately he "got busy" quickly and we were back inside after 20 minutes.

We continued to work with the new AutoQuotes today. Fay now feels confident that we will be able to continue using this program because we have gotten the end product quotes to look just like our old quotes. Geez... we've only been using the program a few hours!

Nancy and Nick Baranet showed up today unexpectedly. They were in the office for about 30 minutes. Nick wanted to gossip about Debbie and I had to tell him about Debbie's swollen lips. Then Fay mentioned that Debbie fell in the Publix parking lot yesterday, and the fact that she came in with big sunglasses on Tuesday. Everyone now thinks that Debbie had cosmetic surgery done while on vacation.

Fay said that since we were doing so well with AutoQuotes that she was going to cancel our time with Debbie on Friday, but I told her, "No! Don't you do that! We need to get a good look at her!"

The FedEx man brought the PC cpu holders from Buy.com today. They came in a huge box. When I opened the box I found a lot of packing material and two, much smaller, boxes down in the bottom. Bob's new Dell computer is supposed to be delivered tomorrow.

Once the cable corrals come we are going to clear the table off, turn it over, and install the keyboard drawers, cpu holders, and cable corrals on the bottom of it. Then we will turn it back over and set our computers up in it/on it.

It is getting very cool outside - it's supposed to fall into the 30's tonight.

Orlando, FL

This morning the alarm went off at 5:00 AM, but it was very loud. Bob jumped straight up off of the bed when it sounded!!

I put a sweatshirt on because it was cooler outside, and took Buddy for his morning walk. Bob dressed for work while we were out.

When I returned I got a quick breakfast of yogurt and bagel with cream cheese to Bob and then he was out the door - he had to pick up bagels and coffee and juice for a morning staff meeting at the hospital.

With Bob out the door I pulled the tool box to the kitchen, quickly took the exhaust hood down, emptied the cabinet above the range, measured out a rectangle to hold the electric receptacle box and started to drill 1/2-inch diameter holes in the corners.

This is where I ran into something unexpected...

The first two holes would only go in half an inch or so and then they hit something bouncy, but impenetrable with the wood spade bit. I changed the bit to a smaller bit and drilled a series of exploratory holes down until I came to the bottom of it -- steel studs and braces inside the wall!

A steel cross brace runs about 3-1/2 inches above the bottom of the cabinet. I will not be able to install the box oriented up-and-down as planned, but we might be able to put it in side-to-side. We will fill the holes I drilled with wood plugs, plane them flat, paint them, and nobody will know about my mistake.

Work today was a little hectic and aggravating. Lots of little issues that seemed to get on my nerves.

With help from me, Fay was able to get her quotes in AQ Net to look almost exactly like her old quotes. We are going to work in the new AutoQuotes for a week or so to get some experience using it.

Today was sunny, but much cooler. Temps are supposed to drop into the 30's tonight. Frymaster reported that Shreveport, LA was in the 20's today, and Delfield reported that Mt Pleasant, MI was -10 F today! I guess it can always be worse!

This evening we took Buddy for his walk, ate leftover chicken for dinner, opened up the box containing the microwave oven we are going to install. We got the installation directions out and Bob got his wall stud finder and we marked where the studs begin and end on the wall. I guess we can try to drill into them and run metal lag bolts into them to hold the oven up.

Now I am getting my blog caught up. After this I am going to lay down in bed and read. I am tired.

HOA Meeting

It was cloudy all day. Temperatures dropped during the day and it rained a couple of times.

During lunch I went to Chik-Fil-A to use one of the free sandwich coupons Craig left in my chair. After that I drove up and down L B McLeod to find the lighting store that carries Tiella lighting products (installed in the dining room), but I could not find it - did it go out-of-business?

In the afternoon Fay and I started working with the New AutoQuotes. I began by trying to reproduce an old quote. I really amazed myself with the speed that I was able to find all of the features and get a quote that closely resembled one of my old ones. Fay started working in AQ Net around 2 PM and she was still bumbling around at the end of the day, but I had something almost useful in less than half the time!

It was raining when I left and I had to hurry right home because we had to attend the 2008 Waverly Home Owners' Association Meeting. I was about to turn from John Young Parkway onto the I-4 on ramp, but I looked up and saw traffic backed up on the interstate and started looking for another way.

I made a U-turn at the light and went north on JYP to L B McLeod, made a right on McLeod and went east to Rio Grande. Here I made a left turn and went north two blocks, and then right on to Michigan Avenue. I followed Michigan east, under I-4, and then left onto Division Drive. I drove north on Division Drive to Anderson Street and made a right. I drove up and across a bridge that goes over I-4 and east in downtown to Rosselyn Street. Made a left turn onto Rosselyn and went north three traffic lights to Pine Street. Using surface streets I was able to get home in about 15 minutes!

Me and walked Buddy around the lake and stopped at Publix to get a chicken before checking the mail and going back home. Bob and I had a quick dinner of steamer cauliflower, stuffed grape leaves, and chicken. Then it was time to go downstairs.

The meeting was held in the cardio room of the gym. There were chairs for about 20 people, but 88 home owners showed up! This was an interesting meeting. All different kinds of people and it seemed that each one had their own agenda! Most of the owners were suspicious of the board of directors and everyone was upset that HOA dues continue to go up (9% per year for each of the past two years!).

Evidently one of the causes of increasing fees has been the large number of owners delinquent in fees. Right now there are 66 homes behind in their fees, 20 homes are in foreclosure, and 2 of them are being foreclosed by Waverly HOA.

Another cause of rising fees is that when this building converted to a condo from an apartment, the developer, Zom, was carrying much of the maintenance costs, and now the HOA is having to shoulder more of the actual costs of running and maintaining the building.

One elderly man was outraged that the board rents handicapped spaces to the handicapped. He said that he felt it was unfair to take advantage of the HC and make them pay $100 per month for 12 months, a year in advance. Well, we found out that some people were using a HC parking space, parking two cars in it, and renting their regular parking space out! -- Florida Statutes do not require condominiums to provide HC parking spaces at all.

Dissatisfaction with the property manager and management company was expressed by some of the owners. The board of directors could not tell us how the management company is evaluated and why they were given a 3% increase this year.

We were given information on how to log in and use the "Textcierge" service that flashes resident messages to the board members and property manager.

Two ladies also shared their scary security-related stories with us -- one old gal was "chased" down Central Blvd and "chased" across the lobby to the front desk! And when she got there "security" would not call the police! Well, we don't have "security" at The Waverly - that uniformed man is a "front desk attendant", and we are not quite sure what their duties are now.

Another lady told us about her recent "home invasion"! A man was trying to get into the front door using an abandoned-in-place keypad. When the "front desk attendant" saw him doing this, he buzzed the door and waved him inside saying, "You know that old thing does not work!" The man then went upstairs, somehow got into this womans home (she must have known him) took her purse, roller bag, jewelry, and car keys. Then he went to the garage and stole her car too!

Really, a lot of controversy. At 9:00 PM they closed the meeting and the people with most of the bitches and complaints scurried away like roaches. Bob and me hung around for awhile because we still had questions that needed to be answered.

Before we got away I was invited to attend committee meetings -- you have to be an owner to serve on the board, but any resident can serve on committees. They have a hard time getting resident/owner participation.

We rode the elevator back up one floor (you can't walk up the stairs - all of the doors to the floors are locked except the ground floor as an added security feature), and ironed a shirt for Bob while he showered. We got into bed shortly after 10:00 PM.

Orlando, FL

This morning we got up at 5:00 AM when the alarm went off. Bob had to get a shower and I had to take Buddy for his walk.

When I returned I got Bob's lunch ready for him and then we went down to the garage to transfer the fake floral baskets purchased at Flea World to my truck so that I could take them in to the FER Test Kitchen.

The weatherman was predicting cooler temps and a chance of rain tonight as a cold front comes through. I am sure Buddy will be happy about the cooler temperatures!

At 7:00 AM I got my shower and then dressed for work. Buddy was laying on his bed in the dining room quietly when I came out. I guess he understands the routine.

I moved the plastic plants from the cab of my truck to the bed and chose a surface street route to work so that the plants would not blow away. I was hoping to get in early so that I could place the arrangements before Fay arrived, but as I rounded the corner of the building I discovered that she came in early too!

The arrangements look great up on top of the wall-mounted cabinets. Fay asked me how much I spent and I told her not to worry for now because I know that our petty cash is exhausted. She told me to keep the receipt and she will pay me when we get another check from Hollywood.

The day seemed to go by very quickly. I had plenty of activities to keep me very busy. Filing. Service calls. Folding shop drawings. Filing shop drawings. Logging serial numbers. Logging purchase orders. Making copies.

After lunch Evelyn came to help us with the computers. She was 30 minutes late. She installed the latest version of AutoQuotes on both of our computers, she made a MS Word facsimile of our printed letterhead as a Word template, and she helped Fay get her MS Excel Quote Log cleaned up. Evelyn was in the office for about an hour.

Craig is in Phoenix, AZ all this week working on continuing education credits for his CPMR accreditation. He is sending plenty of directions to us by email and telephone anyway.

Debbie returned to work today, but we did not see her all day. She phoned and spoke to Fay and she sent several email messages.

It was cool all day and mostly overcast. We had to turn the AC off because it got so chilly.

We left the office around 5:30 PM. Because the traffic was moving along smoothly, I was home in about 15 minutes.

After a 30 minute walk with Bob and Buddy, we came back to the building, came in through the front door, went up to the second floor to check the mail - nothing for me, and then we rode the elevator car up to 6.

I fried pork chops for dinner and we had a side of sweet peas. I put the extra pork chops into a plastic box for Bob's lunch tomorrow. Then we went to the office to search the background of the Waverly On Lake Eola condominium board of directors president - he knocked on our door during dinner to personally invite us to the HOA meeting tomorrow evening.

We wouldn't miss that HOA meeting! There are probably going to be some fireworks!

Weekend

I kept telling Craig that we would make $1 Million in sales this week. FER-Orlando processed (from 12-29-8 to 1-9-09) $650k in new orders this week.

As I was getting into my truck, Fay came to the door and told me that with Hollywood's orders we made $907k in new orders! What a great start to the new year!

When I walked in I caught Bob busily mixing batter in the kitchen. "What are you making?" He sheepishly replied, "I'm making a side dish." He made a corn bread.

As soon as I could change into shorts and t-shirt we took Buddy downstairs and walked him. When we came home we sat down and ate the beef stew that had been cooking all night and we had corn bread with it!

Saturday morning I walked Buddy and stopped at Publix to get a raspberry Danish and Simply Potatoes. We had some coffee, with our potatoes and Danish.

I decided that we were going to install the new track light system I bought Bob for Christmas. The first thing we needed to do was open the circuit breaker for the dining room and take down the old track light system.

We are going to re-use the old track lighting in the new office.

The main problem we had was that the tap drill for the fasteners that hold the mounting posts to the ceiling was 3/32", but the smallest concrete/masonry drill was 1/8". We decided to use the 5/32" carbide bits that we drilled the bedroom ceiling with for the Tapcon screws. After doing this, the holes were too big, but we got some epoxy and we coated the screws with this and pushed them into the holes. We held these in place with tape for an hour.

While the epoxy cured we sat down and ate leftover stew.

At the end of one hour I climbed up the ladder and pulled the tape off of the screw heads. They were holding. So we screwed the support posts onto these caps and then lifted the rail up and attached it to the posts. The last, and easiest thing to do was install the little light fixtures.

We put one of the three old track fixtures in the kitchen. This really brightens the kitchen up! We are going to put the 48-inch track and two lamps in the office. I am going to spray paint the shades on these bright yellow - to match the big computer table.

This morning I got up and installed a dimmer and designer rocker switch with designer cover plate in the living room and I put this combination in the office too. With a left over plate and one of the rocker switches from the box of ten that we bought, I installed a single switch in the hallway too.

Right after I finished this we got Buddy ready to go and we set out to drive to Daytona Beach. We stopped at Flea World and I found some nice (fake) greenery to put on top of the cabinets in the FER Test Kitchen.

We drove down the street and had lunch at Arby's and then we went across the street where I returned spray paint and primer to Lowe's. Then we got onto I-4 and continued to Daytona.

At Tom and Louise's house we replaced the flush lever on one of the toilets and we got a jigsaw from the garage. We are going to need the jigsaw to cut a square hole in the back of the cabinet and through the drywall to install an electric receptacle for the over-the-range microwave to plug into.

After this we drove to Best Buy where Bob returned the SATA hard disk controller card. Then we drove to the nursing home to visit Tom and Louise.

When we got home we carried all of our loot up to the house and then walked Buddy around the lake while the last of the stew heated up. When we returned we ate the last of the cornbread and stew.

After dinner I started the dish washer and ran the vacuum cleaner. Bob ran the Swiffer in the kitchen while I dusted all of the glass tables. Next we folded our clothes and then I used the Dow Tub and Tile Cleaner to scrub the shower and tub.

Now we are ready for another week.

Incredibly we are already about halfway through this month!

Drive To Work

Route To Work

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Orlando, FL

A cold front came through Central Florida today bringing drizzling rains and cooler temperatures. I think the low tonight will be 47F.

We are making great progress raising funds for the 15th Annual Paws In The Park charity event for the Central Florida SPCA. Buddy has gathered $145 in donations so far!

If you would like to help us, you can make an online contribution by clicking here.

I told Craig that we would make $1 Million this week in sales. Today we passed $520k. We might do it!

My security deposit refund from Summit Apartments came in the mail today. I will mail it to NFCU with a deposit slip tomorrow. I was surprised to see it so soon!

We had a strange dinner of egg salad sandwiches and stuffed Greek grape leaves. We did not know what to expect of the canned grape leaves, but trust me on this - they taste much better than they look!

Orlando, FL

The alarm woke us up at 5:00 AM and I got up to take Buddy down to the street. We walked around the perimeter of Lake Eola Park and returned to The Waverly via the front door and lobby.

When we got back into the house Bob was already in the shower getting ready for work.

We had buttered pecan ice cream, maple-walnut coffee cake, and yogurt for breakfast this morning - yum!

After Bob left for work I had a little time to surf the Internet before I had to get ready for work myself. Sitting at our new computer table, facing out of the east-northeast-facing windows, I watched the sky slowly lighten up.

Today was a very hectic day at work. There were more orders, there were tons of questions in the email, there were many phone calls, there were quote requests, but I think that it will become easier in the next couple of days as we catch back up.

I processed $134k in new orders today. We are adding this week's sales to last week on the order report. We did $333k in orders last week - Hollywood only did $87k.

During lunch I went over to Circuit City to return an unneeded CAT6 cable. Although I did not have the receipt they took it back without question and applied the $31 to my VISA card.

The afternoon was continuously busy like the morning. Fay claims that she was very busy too.

I left the office at 5:55 PM, and traffic on I-4 going east was flowing very smoothly! I got back home in 15 minutes.

Buddy was already in his harness when I walked in the door and ready for his walk. As soon as I could change into shorts and a t-shirt we went down to walk. Bob held the leash, while I bent over and held the harness. We are trying to get Buddy to stop pulling and walking ahead when we walk. He is so strong! Toward the end of the walk you could see Buddy panting as he grew tired from the effort of pulling back against us. Good. He will (slowly) learn!

We ate La Choy canned chicken chow mein. This was a simple meal and it kept us from going out to eat and spending money. As we were discussing what to eat, I jokingly suggested that we could eat more buttered pecan ice cream!

This evening in the mail there was a flyer from the SPCA of Central Florida inviting Buddy to participate in the 15th Annual Paws In The Park Benefit on Feb. 14, 2009. Since this event is in the park, right across the street from our house, and the money raised is for a good cause, I am thinking about entering Buddy for this.

Weekend

We managed to sleep in until after 8:00 AM!

After Buddy's morning walk I made breakfast - Cheerios for me and oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and raisins for Bob. We also had some maple-nut coffee cake and coffee.

Once the breakfast dishes were cleared away I cut a new bunch of flowers and put them into the vase on the foyer table. Next I got the colored clothes out of the dryer and folded them up. Bob went back to the office to troubleshoot why his computer could not find the Internet while mine easily did this -- he eventually discovered that his ten-year-old desktop computer network card was not up to the task anymore. We are going to try to order a new Dell pc for him just like mine using the small business program.

I began making the custard for buttered pecan ice cream. I toasted the pecans in the oven, melted the butter in the microwave, and mixed up the sugar, cornstarch, eggs, milk, and cream. I put the cooled off buttered pecans into a plastic storage bowl and set the custard in the fridge to chill.

While Bob was working in the office I started to install new designer switches for the disposal and light in the kitchen. I got the switches out, the new cover plate, and motorized screwdriver. Next I opened the breaker for "kitchen lights".

As soon as I pulled the switch out for the disposal I got a good hard bite on my right middle finger and I guess when I pulled away I flicked the switch because the disposer started running! Well! I guess the disposal isn't on the light circuit after all!

I went back to the breaker box and found a breaker labeled "disposer" and turned from the chart on the box door to the actual breaker and opened it. I thought.

Because I was still a little gun-shy from the bite I just received, I reached for the switch with the rubber coated handles of the needlenose pliers. As soon as I pulled it out there was a small explosion!! Then all of the lights in the house went out. Turns out I opened the "spare" breaker, the disposal breaker was the one above it.

Knowing that everything in the house was certainly dead now, I went ahead and finished swapping out the switches, put the new cover plate on, and pulled socks and shoes on to go downstairs and ask the concierge to help us close the main breaker.

The concierge could not do this -- it was not his job, but he called the maintenance man to come to the building and close the breaker for us. It took him over an hour to come in. He came up and knocked on our door, and asked to see the breaker box. We had to put Buddy in the bedroom while he was here. He said our main breaker was on the seventh floor -- cable TV was in the electric room on 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20. The electrical switchgear was on 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19.

Once the power was restored we closed all of the breakers and tested the newly installed switches. Success!

Next I ran the vacuum cleaner throughout the house to get ready to shampoo the carpet. Before starting with the shampooer I stopped to make lunch for us. We had red pepper soup. Bob had a grilled ham and cheese with his soup and I had a salad.

After getting the dining room chairs and barstools into the kitchen and all of the other small things up off of the floor we filled the tank of the shampooer and I began cleaning the carpet. It took me over an hour and I cleaned the hallway and high-traffic areas three (3) times and each time more dirt came up!

B0b had to do some paperwork related to medicaid for his mother's nursing home expenses while I cleaned the floors.

The carpet dried fairly quickly and we had everything back to normal before long. Around 5 PM Buddy was letting us know that he was ready for his walk. We got him harnessed up and we took him on an extra long 2-mile walk! The weather was perfect - warm breeze, almost like a late spring afternoon!

This evening I made sausage patties with fried potatoes and onions and steamed broccoli for dinner. While the broccoli was steaming I started the ice cream maker on the countertop. I poured the custard mix into the rotating frozen bowl and let it do its magic. When the ice cream was nearly finished I took the bowl off of the motor base and stirred the pecans into it. I set the bowl in the freezer to harden.

We ate our dinner and then cleared the dishes. I cleaned the glass-topped tables and Bob cleaned the kitchen floor with the Swiffer. After this I got my shower and sat down to write this blog.

I don't exactly dread returning to work tomorrow, but I am not looking forward to it either.

Happy New Year!

We stayed up past midnight watching Kathy and Anderson on CNN. We saw the Clintons with Michael Bloomburg pushing the big button in Times Square to make the shiny ball drop. We went to bed shortly after the start of the new year.

In the morning I started the crock pot with a corned beef brisket, chopped celery, onion, potatoes, and sauerkraut. We left that to cook all day.

Almost no place was open on New Years Day, but we went out to my storage unit to get computer parts and office supplies. We stopped at Jersey Mike's for our lunch. The food was satisfactory, but I did not think it was anything out of the ordinary. Back home we continued to rearrange stuff in the spare bedroom to make room for our office. We made a lot of progress, but we had a pile of boxes that had to go back to storage!

After taking Buddy for an extra long evening walk we went home to our dinner of corned beef and sauerkraut. The beef was tough, it did not cook long enough.

On Friday, January 2, I took Buddy out in the morning for his walk. When I returned Bob was up and taking the Christmas tree down! Bob put all of the Christmas decorations into boxes and plastic tubs for storage. We marked his name on all of his boxes with a Sharpie marker because we were going to put these boxes into my storage unit.

We went out and drove down I-4 to Kirkman Road. We ate breakfast at the Waffle House on Kirkman Road, then we went north to the Public Storage to stack his boxes inside. I added more mothballs while we were there.

After the trip to the storage unit it was time for grocery shopping. We went to BJ's Wholesale Warehouse first. Here we bought bottled water, cases of Coke Zero, four pounds of ground beef, a big package of pork chops, a six-box pack of Jiffy corn meal, a case of fruit cocktail cups, a case of mandarin oranges, a big jar of shredded parmesan cheese, and a few other things. On the way out we got some boxes and stacked all of the cold items together.

We drove across the street to Super Target to finish the groceries. I also got a Fiskars paper trimmer, and Bob got a glass butter dish. We found red sweet peppers temporarily marked down to 99 cents a pound! So I picked up four of them. For some reason Target was out of plastic bags this day and our groceries were bagged in the paper bags with handles. After spending $200 at Target we left to stop at Circuit City.

At Circuit City we bought Cat 6 cable to connect our computers to the network router directly. Bob also saw and bought a Western Digital 1TB (terrabyte) hard disk drive! After this we drove home and carried all of our loot upstairs. Just carry everything inside took three trips up and down the elevator. Fortunately, my parking space is right next to the elevators!

While I put the groceries away, Bob went downstairs to the gym to work on his "physical therapy" - I told him that he needs to be more aggressive about getting out of work on time. I told him that he needs to tell them he has "physical therapy". Don't say, "I have to go to the gym", because they will interpret that as an activity for vanity, but "physical therapy" is a valid excuse to get out of work on time.

Bob was downstairs for about an hour. In that time I got all of the groceries put away, I took the trash to the garbage chute, and I broke the big family pack of hamburger into four, one-pound packs to be frozen. I also broke up the pork chops into three packs of six chops each and froze those. When Bob returned I was chopping up red peppers and adding them to a salad to eat with dinner.

After his workout he makes a protein shake. With that out of the way we went to the office to install the new 1TB hard drive, but we ran into problems. Any hard disk drive over 123GB requires an SATA controller and Bob's computer is kinda old - all he had was an IDE controller. I suspect my computer has an SATA controller built onto the motherboard because it is new.

We looked online and found that Best Buy had these controllers for $20, so we drove to our nearby store to find this item out-of-stock. We were driving out to the Winter Garden store where the computer records showed one (1) in stock, but Bob got a real person on the phone who checked and reported that there were zero (0) in the store there.

Since we were on the 408, we changed course, headed back to JYP, went south to Americana, then east to OBT, and then south to the CompUSA store. Here we did not have any luck either - they said that this was not an item they usually stock. So, we decided to order the needed part online and wait for it to be delivered.

It took us over 40 minutes to get home because of the heavy rush hour traffic - yes, I guess many people had to work today!

I left the brisket simmering in the crock pot all day. When we got home we took Buddy for his walk and then we made dinner. The corned beef was perfect now! Plus we had a nice colorful salad and some bread to go with it.

After dinner I loaded and started the dish washer and then sorted and started laundry.

We went to bed early, I sat up and read for about an hour, but my legs were aching and throbbing. I took three Advil right before I went to bed hoping that would help my poor legs.

This morning we woke up at 5:30 to the sound of Buddy puking. We turned the light on and there was a big pile of wet vomit right next to his bed. I got papertowels and picked it up and then got the SpotBot out and cleaned it up. We got up at 6:30, got Bob's big rolling toolbox, my SpotBot vacuum, a bag of other things ready to go to Tom's house.

While Bob was showering I discovered that Buddy left us another surprise during the night -- a big wet stinky puddle/pile on the hallway carpet! I figured I must have a sick dog. I got more paper towels, picked up what I could, and cleaned the rest of it with the spotting machine.


We harnessed Buddy up and took all of the stuff to the car. Our first destination was Ponce De Leon Springs State Park where we were going to have breakfast at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grille and Griddle House. This popular restaurant has griddles built into the tables and they bring pitchers of batter to the table for all-you-can eat pancakes!

Here is a picture of Bob licking the batter off of his fingers while our first batch of pancakes and my eggs fry.

We ate pancakes until we were stuffed! After this we went to the car, got Buddy down, and walked the 1.5 mile nature trail. Outside there were many old people swimming in the 71 F waters of the spring. This spring was supposedly the "Fountain Of Youth" that Ponce De Leon sought, and Bob said the scene reminded him of that movie "Cocoon".

We saw the oldest cypress tree in Florida there in the woods along the nature trail! It is about 400 to 500 years old and miraculously escaped the lumberjacks!

We left De Leon Springs around 11 and headed for Daytona Beach. Bob had to meet the termite man at Tom's house at 1:00 PM and we brought tools and parts to finish repairing the toilets. With the toilets fixed I began cleaning the sofa and loveseat with the SpotBot. These pieces are covered in a white fabric that became very soiled. Unfortunately I was not able to get them completely clean, but I did manage to lighten the dirt alot.

Bob worked in the backyard chopping up two trees that have sprung up from stumps. He chopped off all of the branches, bundled them, tied them up, and carried them to the curb for disposal. It was after 4 PM when we left.

We stopped at the McDonald's on International Speedway Boulevard for a small dinner. We even got a Filet-O-Fish for Buddy!

Traffic on I-4 was heavy as we returned to Orlando. Buddy slept on the back seat and we listened to the Trends magazine on CD.

This evening we folded up our laundry and I went to the sundry shop downstairs to get Pepto-Bismol tablets for Buddy. We have successfully moved the cable modem and router to the office and hooked our computers up to the network, but Bob is still having trouble getting his to work properly.

Tomorrow we are supposed to shampoo the carpets here in the house. Bob has to get paperwork ready for his mother's medicaid documentation/justification. I want to make some custard so that we can make more home made buttered pecan ice cream. Then, it will be time to return to work on Monday.