Thursday 19 September 2024

🪀 on the 19 the of September

 🪀 in the ' boro
we have dark still. coffee on the window sill and typing on the Chromebook 311 by Acer.
I have been saddened by the change that is coming to my nostalgic favourite Chromebook.
The Dell 5190 was the first Chromebook in the house. Well travelled in the States and the UK. The Dell was not fancy but was reliable and easy to use.
The downside has happened b/c I must choose :

a) use the Dell w/out updates [ security etc ] 
b) accept the extended updates but w / most apps forbidden

The truth is that this Acer is as good or better than the Dell - nostalgia aside. 
The machine is more powerful and the keyboard is comfortable.

AND we are discussing a $ 300 investment back in 2019 that has lasted til now


Wednesday 18 September 2024

⛽ SE 18 from the ....

  ⛽...' boro 
our ' hot streak ' goes on. There is a drop in temperature on the horizon


Tuesday 17 September 2024

🛻 SE 17 in the ' boro

 🛻 the ' boro is above average by 5 degrees. Sunny and slightly humid

M  .. has got my cold and is having a much harder time than I did. BUT she can be a real trooper.

Still I feel bad for passing it along


Monday 16 September 2024

🛥 boating news

 🛥 SE 16, Monday

this weekend, E .. volunteered to help [ once again ] make the E Tec - GO !

Success.
I took the wrong tool box from the workroom. E .. and I were making sure that we connected the starter the right way.
While I was gone to get the tools, I figured out the setup. By the time, that I made it back down to the boat. E .. had also figured it out and just needed to snug up the bolts. Whew !

E .. asked if we should leave the cowling off so that we could see the moving parts.
I said ' if it doesn't work looking is useless.

First crank, E Tec purred to life. We went fishing

the ' boro. Warm and sunny. hardly a breeze

M  . got my cold. I'm still coughing a bit



Saturday 14 September 2024

📤 XIV of Sep

 📤 from the  ' boro
  very inviting day. sun and breeze and it s a Saturday
my day s far. At the Tiger for ginger ale for M .... I have given her my cold [ bad me ].
As you can guess, I bought more than ginger ale. There was one piece nightgown [ in flannel ] which was cute. Then a box of chocolate assorteds [ amends for the cold thing ]. I found salad and coleslaw on sale. Two bags of kettle chips [ essential ]. And a bag of peanuts.

I cleaned a burner cover. The food splatters etc and sometimes, the blackish marks are hard to remove. I started w/ soapy water [ hardly any difference ]. Next was baking soda [ sometimes a winner, not today ]. I tried a wooden scraper for force [ no ].
Then my idea was ' nev'r dull ' polish. A solvent based cotton batten thingy. and success. I suppose that the seat of the stain is greasy residue, so, the solvent lifts the black. I used a broken chopstick as a scraper.
Then I hand washed my hat. Yes, the washing machine might do but the spinning sometimes deforms the hat. Really, the function of washing is to dilute the sweat and minor stains.
While ' to and fro ing ' downstairs.
I realized that the furnace filter was overdue for a switching out.
And the flurry of activity culminated in exercise.

Lunch of coleslaw and rice w/ chicken and gravy. Watch some telly and a nap.
And here we are


Friday 13 September 2024

🐺 SE 13 of 30

 🐺 yesterday was areal trial of whether I had recovered from the ' cold '. Whatever I had needs re - classification. I've read the stuff about hoe to categorize your illness.
I have hybrid illness. I get it all

Yesterday. Overall, I did fine. To hospital and moving through the halls. I dropped M .. at the front doors and went to the parkade.
Oops! My 5 day pass card was invalid. I took a paper tix for pay as you go. Next was the respirologist s office for the X Ray requisition form.
I met M ... at the main registry [ no record of X Ray appt was showing ]. The assistant typed in the X Ray # and got a hit. All was ready.
M .. and I travel to the Imaging Dept. I leave and head back to the lobby and the tix machine.

The office is actually in the parkade. There a nice reception person validated the pass  and then, takes my paper tix and gives me a second paper tix to cancel the first in the machine.

M .. was all ready when I returned. Next was the respirologist office and the actual appointment. Short wait and the appointment was an all clear.

To celebrate, we visited a pub and had a pleasant lunch. Shopping at Walmart turned out to be fairly problem free.

I was sweating after getting  home as it was a warmish day. I figured that the sweat was a reaction to the exertion and temperature.

Slept a bit and got up and did a subdued exercise routine.


Wednesday 11 September 2024

⛴ whoa.missed a day

 ⛴ the story

When I get overtired [ fail to rest when I should ] which happened last week, say, SE 2 - 5, I get sick as in mega cold etc

thus Saturday working on the outboard [ a coolish day w/ wind ] THAT did me in.
vicious cold began on Sunday

Monday. I needed to rest [ no ! ]. the night was tossing and turning and waiting for judgement day

Tues. a disaster. heavy lungs and cotton batten head 

back to Monday.
feeling lousy but I was up and busy. I was trying to find a new starter for the outboard.
A .. was helpful and we tried several places [ phone and on line ].
A .. had mentioned a site called ' Total Parts '. While he was running over to Central Marine, he said give Total a try.
" do you want a call back instead of waiting on hold. " Yes. I was patient but after 1/2 h I called back. In the process of dialing, the message window said ' call waiting, Total '
Of course, ' duh ' how do you switch to the call waiting.
Again. Call back. This time I got a fellow ' Sorry. part not in stock '. Here is the Amazon reference.
No joy there.

 A .. and I decide to contact Central Marine and just order the part / bite the bullet etc.

However, A .. kept saying ' Total Parts on line says ' 5 in stock '. So, on my phone, I hit the order button. Name and address / credit card AND the system says ' in process '

Call A .. and say don't go to Central. Well, figuring there was a system flaw - we waited for cancellation

NO. emails arrived 'here is your invoice ' , ' shipping label created ' etc

The starter came Tues at 11 AM




Monday 9 September 2024

🗼 9 0f 9

 🗼the struggle as I use the Duet as a tablet

thus, I've got a cold. Slightly lethargic and chest is heavy

' boro is dampish looking today. plus cool

I will stay home and cmmiserate w/ myself



Sunday 8 September 2024

🏨 the eighth of the 9 th

🏨  the ' boro reports
weather a fine autumnal day. me, I've got a cold
crap
follow up. Friends

A .. gave up a Saturday and we tried to install the newly repaired starter. We got spinning but no engagement to turn the flywheel assembly.
We brought the offending starter back home. And then bingo bango. E ,, calls and we arrange that he should pick up the starters [old broken and new broken, as it were ]
Our overall thinking is - buy a new starter. These mechanisms are not renowned for longevity and break on whim it seems.

Thus, we begin anew w/ trying to repair the Etec

First, great guys around me.  And I acknowledge their help

the daga continues

Friday 6 September 2024

🌆 its Sep 6

 🌆 in the ' boro [ BTW, just switched from Duet keyboard to the peripheral one

thus this morning, the Duet has functioned w/ headphones, TV and keyboard plugged in via a dongle [ multi port hub ]

cost. I've mentioned the Chromebook roster of laptops and Duet. Well. all, 3 Dell 5190, Duet and Acer CB 311 equal the cost of my first Dell laptop [ PC ]

downside. yes. I've discovered that still Garmin for example uses the Microsoft interface [ Windows ] that is a pain

now. I could add Windows as an extension. 

weather. the ' boro is damp and still darkish to dim


Thursday 5 September 2024

🎰five days in to the Ninth

  🎰 and the ' boro is sunny but fall is on the horizon. night temperatures are much lower, now.

a quietish day here. no appointments [ these rule our lives ]

decidedly, typing on the ' Duet ' which is the combo " laptop and tablet " is troublesome
This typing is on the straightforward Acer CB 311 laptop. Nothing fancy. Reliable and easy to use.

Thus, I have made provisions to use an external keyboard when using the Duet. The advantage to Chromebooks is how easily they accept peripherals e.g. keyboard. As well, at the computer station [ yes, it is a real computer corner table ] there is also a 19 inch TV connected to the Duet.
Admittedly, this arrangement can be involved but if I'm sitting for a time or typing a piece         e.g.' blog entry ', certainly worth the effort

AND I adopted the system, quite a while ago. Unfortunately, I was in the habit of using the Duet propped up in the spare bed downstairs  ....
NOT good for my back, for sure
Lately, then, I've concentrated on using the computer station in the ' den ' or computer room in our way of speaking

When I purchased the Duet, I was joining the tablet age. The YouTube channel that I often watch is ' Chrome Unboxed '. Two years ago or so, the channel lauded the breakthrough that was the Duet.
Up to that time, tablets failed or were less than robust at handling android apps. In essence, the Duet was equipped w/ a ' ARM ' processor. The processor could easily handle Android apps and allowed multiple peripheral connections.

As well, I was anticipating the End of Updates for the Dell 5190 [ then, my go to laptop ]
It turned out that Chrome OS extended the end of use by at least three years.
Wow ! quite the bonus
Except ..... many apps were not suitable for the ' added ' updates to Chrome OS.
In the end, the Duet became essential.




Wednesday 4 September 2024

Septembrus quaternis

Post # 4211

 Okay I'm going to try dictating  this blog entry . Spoken into the phone and translated.

 So in the ' boro we have Sunny. Seemed cool this morning and I think the day is going to top out somewhere on 75 F which is actually pretty good.

 We've got nothing much on tap,

 Margaret's got Falls Prevention clinic.

 Other than that pretty quiet I would think. Well, sort of quiet. 

I'm off to exercise right now

blood pumping and lungs lunging

plus 💦 sweat

Notice: yes dictated and translated 

BUT there was judicious editing

Falls Prevention went well

We are at a pub ' the Working Dog '

A treat on the way home


Tuesday 3 September 2024

🚁 ever been in ....

🚁 a heliocopter or helicopter

M .. s sister and daughter did the Las Vegas ride to the Grand Canyon

in the ' boro. sunny, starting cool and headed for seasonal at 70 - 74 F

M .. is getting an endoscopy to verify that her ulcer is healing

 


Monday 2 September 2024

⛽ Hiawatha makes you smile

 the gas was 15 cent cheaper than the city

today was recovery day, from the Q ' and Saturday / Sunday
I was sore and tried to figure why ?
huh, you're old

everything hurts 

scary part, I took it easy [ real easy ! ]


Sunday 1 September 2024

🚣 then comes

 🚣 Septembrus primus

Thus, the Etec had a fit and stopped .  for about ten days, the engine was balking on the start. 

The guys helped ( they did it all ) we visited the neighbour  [ boat rep and lots of contacts ]
we received some trouble shooting advice from a mechanic by phone

Found the problem  on inspection, I noticed a ring piece hanging on [ very suspicious ? ]

we re - connected w/ the mechanic and discovered that we had half a ring and likely a part of the starter assembly

Sure enough, after some disassembly, the starter had jammed against the flywheel [ b/ c the ring had broken ]

And we'll attempt to expedite the work.  Which entails repairing the starter. E .. had called his uncle and uncle said ' bring me the two starters ' [ faulty starter form last year and this one just taken out ] 
Uncle will try and cobble a whole starter out of the two