A busy and interesting week……………………………………………………

As always, first the chronology:

5/12/24 – Sunday – Up at the usual time.  Gave Kathy her obligatory Mother’s Day card.  Cleaned up and out to church with her.  Home and changed clothes (Not really sure why we didn’t just wear the same ones).  Then up to Mike and Julie’s for lunch.  Mike did steak on the grill.  Very good lunch.  Helped clean up then home.  Kathy went for a nap.  I did the blog.  Then up for a snack for dinner.  Usual evening routine.

5/13/24 – Monday – Up at the usual time and made net this morning.  Down to the shack and worked some POTA stations on CW.  Then started configuring Winlink.  Kathy went grocery shopping and wasn’t back at noon so I got cleaned up.  She came home, we put her things away and had lunch.  Then out to Country Mart for some items I needed.  Home and finished getting Winlink to work.  Ordered a new refurbished computer.  Took a nap then up for dinner.  Otherwise, usual evening routine.

5/14/24 – Tuesday – Up at the usual time and made the net.  Cleaned up and waited for my UHC annual wellness home visit to get my $50 gift card.  Otherwise, didn’t do much all day.  A dreary ugly day.  Talked to some folks on the phone.  Took a nap.  Then a HAM club meeting this evening.

5/15/24 – Wednesday – Up at the usual time and made the net.  Kathy was up and out for a doctor’s appointment.  I got cleaned up and did some things around the house while I waited for the HVAC guy to come do the spring maintenance on the system.  Had lunch, HVAC came and went.  I took a ride into J-town to shop for a laptop.  Got one at my friend’s place (WTR Computers).  Home and started to load Linux Mint beside the existing installation of Windows 10.  Spent most of the rest of the day on that.  Kathy went straight from her doctor’s appointment (which was in downtown Louisville) up to Mike and Julie’s as she had to pick the girls up from school.  Since she was very busy all day, when she got home I took her out for Mexican food so she didn’t have to cook.  Home and usual evening routine.

5/16/24 – Thursday – Up a little late this morning.  Got cleaned up and out for a hair cut.  Home and changed shirt and got dressed to ride.  Out on the motorcycle.  Headed over 44 for my ride through the hills but got to Shepardsville and it started clouding up.  So, I headed up 65 to the Gene Snyder to come home.  Half way up 65 it cleared up and got nice again.  So, I went up Preston highway to Hooter’s for an early lunch.  Came out to find my rear tire flat.  Pulled the bike over to a deserted area and found the culprit.  A piece of debris (looked like glass) about an inch long and 3/8 inches wide stuck in the tire.  I pried it out and used my plugger kit to seal the hole and re-inflate the tire.  Made it home and parked the bike in the shop.  Probably have to put a new rear tire on it.  Worked on upgrading the computer till Kathy came home from the VA.  We took a nap then up for dinner.  Usual evening routine.

5/17/24 – Friday – Up at the usual time and made the net.  Did some chores around the house than cleaned up.  Kathy and I went to vote then for lunch at the Lighthouse Diner.  Home and worked on the new computer the rest of the afternoon.  A light snack for dinner and usual evening routine.

5/18/24 – Saturday – Up at the usual time.  Cleaned up and out with Kathy for work detail at church.  Finished up a little after noon.  Home and had lunch.  Continued work on the new laptop this afternoon.  Dinner and usual evening routine.

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Now the specifics:

Sunday was Mother’s day and we usual all go out somewhere but things were really booked up. I’m guessing because the PGA was coming to town and a lot of people were already here setting up. So, MIke offered to do steaks on the grill. Julie made some dishes and everything was fantastic. I don’t think we could have gotten as good a meal if we had gone out. Great day.

So here’s the story of the new computer. As everyone is or should be aware by now, I hate Microsoft products. I only have Windows on one machine, my laptop that stays on my desk. It had Windows on it when I bought it but things at Microsoft started going down hill fast. So, it’s dual partitioned which means I can run Linux Mint most of the time but when I have some legacy stuff to do I can boot it up in Windows. But I run Linux Mint on all my other computers. Now comes field day. There is a system called Winlink that enables you to send emails to anyone anywhere over HF radio. During field day next month you get extra points for sending formal radiograms over HF radio. So, my thought was to get a new machine with Windows already installed and then put Linux beside it so I can use it for the usual stuff at field day and can also boot up in Windows and send some radiograms over Winlink. So I ordered a used machine with Windows 10 from PC Liquidators on Monday. In the mean time I loaded all the software on my desk machine just to make sure I understood everything and to get it working. I did that with little problem. Then late Tuesday I get an email from them saying the computer I wanted didn’t pass their tests and they suggested another one. However, it was what they called a class ‘C’ machine which meant it could have a lot of scratches, etc. So, I canceled that order and decided to go see my buddy Bill. He runs WTR computers and only handles used and refurbished computers. Needless to say I found a newer model with a lot more disk space, it was an I5 instead of an I7 but that’s no big deal and it was cheap. So, I bought that and got Winlink working on Windows but still having some issues with getting things to work on Linux. That’s the scoop on that.

Tuesday I had my annual visit from the United Health Care Home visit person. This time it was a guy who had been around and wasn’t hard to deal with. I’m not sure I’m getting a $50 gift card or getting credit of some kind. I need to look into that. Perhaps a phone call is needed.

Wednesday the HVAC guy came from the company I have a maintenance contract with. He went all over the AC unit and says all is good to keep the house cool this summer.

Tuesday evening was the HAM club meeting in Shelbyville. Mostly talked about what we have to do for field day. Got to see some folks I haven’t seen since last month or maybe longer so that was all good.

Thursday was an adventure. You can read the details in the chronology. It’s the first time I’ve had to use my “Stop & Go” tire repair kit. Needless to say, it bailed me out and the tire is holding pressure. I’m going to pump it up to the correct inflation tomorrow. Then see how much air it loses over a couple days if any. Then I’ll decide if I’m going to ride it into the repair shop or put it on the trailer. Either way, the tire will get replaced. I’m not comfortable riding out on the interstate on a tire with a plug in it. I’ll call Tuesday and set that up along with the annual maintenance. When they get the tire I’ll get the bike into them.

Haven’t been doing a lot with CW lately. I really need to get back to that. Perhaps next week.

OK, that’s all the excitement for this week. As always, hope this finds everyone safe and healthy. Stay that way and I’ll blog at you again next week.