Week of 20260621 - Ike and Winston; Prediction Engine; New Doctor; Gearshift Broken; Automatic Excel Charts; Surgery Scheduled; HP Will Fix Laptop; Tabernacle Choir Watch Party; Missionary Dinner
= Sunday, we made it to church during the opening hymn. Snippets: Revelation is available to all. If you’re going through tough times, fight through it. We are loved, not because of what we’ve done, but because of who we are: God’s children. Lead by example.
= Home, Steph provided gifts, including books, cards, and candy for Fathers Day; I devoured "Ike and Winston".
= Monday, I finished the visit activity prediction engine for now, including the edge cases. HP blocked its chat interface, refusing now to acknowledge my laptop serial number; so, I dealt with someone on the phone until it was almost time for Zumba; then the call helpfully dropped.
= Zumba, with weights, was a real workout for us. Afterward, Steph stayed up to fill in her medical history for tomorrow's appointment.
= Tuesday, we visited with Steph's new general doctor: very thorough with good staff; I'll change doctors. Trying to leave the parking lot, the gearshift quit working, leaving the minivan in neutral! The cable had broken; the tow driver moved a lever under the hood, and we drove to Tire City; he put it in park when we arrived.
= HP gave me an email to send them photos of errors. My task at home was to keep the laptop busy so I would have errors to document before tomorrow's conversation. It had three errors by midnight.
= Wednesday, I did something useful with AtenaOne and with Google AI's help, I created Excel charts whose source is driven by a pulldown and that adjust their X axes automatically to include all the data provided.
= Thursday as I added Sunday’s talks to the journal, it occurred to me to share them with the family I saw with missionaries last week. I printed them with a photo of Steph and me at the top.
= We saw the surgeon; the lipoma isn't the cause of Steph's nerve damage! He'll operate next month on the outside of Steph's elbow and will alleviate a tendency to carpel tunnel at the same time.
= HP finally (after a month) agreed to accept my laptop for warranty service.
= Friday after work, we learned that our younger son, Quinton, needs to stay with us for a couple of months. I moved my computing stuff out of the library to make room for him.
= By 6, we had picked up camp chairs from storage and were in place at the Tabernacle Choir Watch Party in the pavilion and field behind the Wetumpka chapel. We worked to provide maps and other items to arrivals. When it got dark, the inflatable screen was bright, the sound was excellent, and we heard songs of hope from the Hollywood Bowl.
= The special performers did a good job. The orchestra and choir did a good job. But Donny Osmond brought down the house several times: singing an original song at the piano; singing solo with the orchestra "Close Every Door to Me"; singing with a large group of children "I Am a Child of God" and "Any Dream Will Do".
= Saturday, I ran errands; Steph slept. Home in the afternoon, I napped; Steph worked on a meal for missionaries. It went well. Steph moved to the studio afterward. After I cleaned up the kitchen, I watched Facebook until past 11 [ouch!]. I moved to the journal until 0030.
9385 Park Crossing, Montgomery AL
Unusual home architecture
We don't know how this will help in the event of a crash.
Steph used to go to card-making classes here, and they still hold craft fairs.
Be kind - remember Who forgives you! Ephesians 4:32
Steph used AI to provide a visual description of me!
Husbands, can you relate to this?
Steph had so much to write to me that she put it in a separate email!
I devoured this, finishing it the next day.
The Federalist Papers: the argument for the Constitution
Bread gifts donated by church members for Fathers Day
The package that floated by the front door last week.
It's a good thing the items inside the bags were impervious to water.
They were rubber mats to go under the old dishwasher rack that I use as a dish drainer. (We have a dishwasher, but it drains through a garbage disposal that leaks, and you shouldn't wash pots and pans in the dishwasher anyway.
Despite my best efforts and baking pans placed under it, water still accumulates on the counter. That's what I hope the mats will prevent.
In the craft room, working on the planner.
Tilapia, being seasoned before frying
"Alien" vehicles are among us.
(We've seen several in the greater Montgomery area.)
With party lights and air conditioning.
Zumba toning includes weights.
Honoring the Jeep. It's been upgraded somewhat..
A quarter of the vehicles produced by the United States during WWII looked like this.
Peterson Automotive Museum - https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=9718571304886441
For the man whose bonsai died..
A paper pop-up houseplant
Steph's flowers from a similar source
My view of Steph from my table in the library
I had not configured the closure properly, and we had high wind.
Alternative transportation by the City
Waiting for the doctor; notice the futuristic exam chair.
We were stranded in the doctor's parking lot when the gearshift cable broke. Steph is seldom idle.
That doesn't work for us, but it was in the window of the person who drove us home.
Thoroughly seasoned hot dogs
The HP technician wanted to see a memory test of my laptop. The problem is *intermittent*; so of course it passed again.
HP finally let me send images each time it failed..
At one error per line, I have a list that runs more than a page of such things.
HP agreed to let me send them the laptop for warranty replacement of the memory stick.
This sits behind the air conditioner's outside fan.
Its cover was on the ground nearby after a windstorm. I don't think the wind bent the cover. I'm guessing that someone wrenched it off and then only partially replaced it.
It contained a longer and wider litter box.
Neighbors apparently lost a canopy frame due to wind.
Sharing the last two slices of pizza
The laptop is crawling to the finish line.
I removed unneeded receipts.
Ramen with barely cooked egg
Tomato plant and pepper plant from Costco
Making more "Mel's mix" [Google it] from equal volumes of vermiculite, peat moss, and manure
The mix is in the planter. Now to transplant.
Making an opening for my hand to lift out the ball of tangled roots
The little black tube has an indicator that shows the water level and is the route to putting water under the false bottom that has holes for plants to get the water they need without the rest of the dirt being water-logged.
I drilled two holes to let water out when heavy rain drenches the dirt above the false bottom.
Preparing to slide the aluminum tube "trellis" onto rebar to keep it from falling over
The fence had been built with nails instead of screws. I used screws to secured boards that had been shoved out of place by expanding dirt.
With a Vise Grip, I straightened the door for the power box for the air conditioner.
At Southern Orthopedic Surgeons, iHeart Radio sponsored Back to the 90s images.
This is actually too modern; the original bag phones were much larger and were usually hard-wired to a vehicle's power supply. (Steph's mother had one.)
I have one of these recorders; I saw it today looking for something else.
Reading charts on the cupboards on the opposite wall at the surgeon's office
If you assume the kids jumping form an "R", then this sounds like "rescue me".
A cushy gaming chair, but too low, not practical for the podcast
On the sliver of paint that separates the right-turn lane from the straight lane coming out of Walmart, sat a man, his bicycle with trailer, and his dog. He was picking up his things when I saw him from across the street.
His dog rides on the trailer.
Don't Miss This (scripture discussion)
Two businesses sharing a truck.
When I was looking for something on my phone and Kathy asked whether I was taking a photo, I said that if I wanted to take a photo, I'd use my camera and did so. [grin] From left: Brooke, Vicki, Kathy, and Steph. We were ready for the weekly AI meeting to start, asking us what we had used AI for this week.
Wetumpka had sporting events on the evening of the Tabernacle Choir Watch Party.
The Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and special guests performed at the Hollywood bowl. Then the performance was made available to 700 "watch parties" across the U.S. We hosted one of those parties.
All good; the most thrilling to us was Donny Osmond, joined by a very large group of children.
Concert Details: https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2026/06/25/tabernacle-choir-orchestra-hollywood-bowl-songs-of-hope-benefit-concert-100-years/#:~:text=Latter%2Dday%20Saint%20stakes%20outside%20of,for%20attendees%20to%20make%20reservations.
The watch party for this area was held in Wetumpka. We manned the welcome table, or more accurately, Steph manned the welcome table and I motioned people to it.
Things to do, especially until it was dark enough to begin projecting the event on a 30-foot screen.
The watch party was held in the pavilion and on the lawn behind the Wetumpka chapel.
The truck to receive food donations
Starlink - Satellite Internet
(brought by the Millingtons)
The screen and lectern will be here.
Lemonade; Face Painting; Black History Museum
Melissa Welch, friend and prize-winning cook
...those who want to serve but haven't found opportunities, go to justserve.org
Elmore County Family Resource Center
At the entrance, Chandra Mackey and her husband made sure that everyone, even staff, had virtual free tickets from tcwatch.org. Steph worked at the "star" (welcome) table to the left of the entrance.
Because the table wasn't aligned with the entrance, I worked to divert the flow to the our table and from there around the pavilion to the truck where visitors could drop off food they were donating.
The screen at a distance, a senior missionary in the foreground
Someone had strung lights overhead. George Abbott and I rubbed many of these planks with used motor oil during construction to discourage insects. Judge John Enslen used a portable sawmill on his pickup truck to cut them first.
Standing at attention for the posting of the colors
Scouts in attendance, listening to a local songwriter recite his poem of military sacrifice. I think the man in the white shirt behind him sang the National Anthem. The man in the blue shirt is Fred Thaden, first counselor in the Stake Presidency.
Gary Backus posing with Maria Lawniczak: Stake Communication Director - the lady who pulled this whole event together.
I think Gary Backus said the Elder on the left served in submarines in the military.
This chaplain delivered the invocation.
My footprints show where I served, in front of the entrance, directing traffic.
The parking lot was full; drivers were directed onto the grass.
Mary Slater, getting a photo of the Mackeys
"I love the United States of America because...."
The Hollywood Bowl is an open-air amphitheater. I have been there several times.
Conductors - Ryan Murphy
Guest Artists - Donny Osmond
Guest Artists - David Foster and Katharine McPhee
Guest Artists - The Bonner Family
Guest Artists - Daniel Emmet
Standing for the Hallelujah Chorus
We watched from the pavilion, on the opposite side of the field from the screen.
Cindy ["get along home..."]
Those in the Hollywood Bowl could see the action we see - zoomed in on large screens.
The family's founders - the parents :)
..
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
His own collaboration: Start Again
Choir members shone their phone lights.
Audience members in the Hollywood Bowl responded.
"...a flash of light, my golden coat was out of sight..."
..
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
The local sporting events had ended by the time the watch party was over.
I probably left a length of rebar in the grass. It became a yoke after mowing.
For metal scavengers, I set it by the curb, along with the chain that had been attached to the fence, probably by renters.
Where Wares Ferry ends at Atlanta Highway, some Montgomery residents may remember a large consignment store in a place that's now labeled "Hometime Solutions".
They may also remember a shark's head on the building now used by Chico's Auto Pros [body shop].
I saw a young couple setting this up as if they planned to sit in it it. The canopy is a nice idea.
Nice-looking house for rent on Oak Forest Drive
Anticipating missionaries
Patriotic socks
Our guests. (Two others didn't get the word in time.)
The remains of two pans of lasagna
There was salad left over; the green beans were tough.
..
Imitating instrument
No comments:
Post a Comment