I spent quite a bit of time on Mom’s computer this week. Her new ISP, Atlantic Broadband, installed her new router and TV box. They connected her computer and printer to the new WiFi. But they didn’t install the printer on the computer. I wasn’t surprised they didn’t install the printer. I ran the HP driver/software package. It found and “installed” the printer, but Mom couldn’t print anything from her computer. The document would just spool out to the bit bucket. I tried a couple of different things, but no dice. Geek Squad will be at her house Thursday. They might install the printer through a USB connection. Whatever Geek Squad decides to do, I decided I should remove all traces of my work, Removing the printer and software is easy. Removing all printer drivers is more difficult. Mom’s computer doesn’t have the printer management console (maybe because it’s Windows home edition). Windows 10 has changed a lot, so things posted on the Internet don’t always work. I’m confident I backed everything out, but it took a few hours.

The back porch needs to be painted this year. Before it is painted, it needs to be cleaned. It’s especially dirty because the plumber did the pre-installation work for the hot water heater on the back porch. (The temperature was very nice, but there was a light rain. The plumber really appreciated being able to work outside where there is plenty of room with a roof over his head.) Plus some bird had decided it would be really cool to practice low altitude bombing on the center of the porch. Before the porch is cleaned, the deck above it should be cleaned. There are some areas of the deck I haven’t been cleaning, and I noticed they are kind of gross. So it’s become quite a project. So far, everything is clean down to the porch floor. The porch floor has been pre-cleaned, but needs a good brushing down. I have the better part of a gallon of paint from 4 years ago. I went to Sherwin Williams to get a gallon of that paint, only to find they don’t carry that product any more. I had to buy 2 gallons of their new, improved product. Plus they don’t accept old paint so I have to figure out when the dump will be open for unneeded paint. I’ve put in two hard days of work so far (hard for me, anyway). I figure I have two more days to go.

While I was cleaning the porch, a borer bee came by looking for a nifty place to build a nest. It was lousy timing for the bee. I was holding a pressure washer nozzle. But I figure they’ll be back. Borer bee chemicals available over the counter aren’t all that effective. It costs a small fortune to have a pro come out. Plus one visit is never enough. What a pain.

My counting team was scheduled to count the collection at Church this week. We got extra help, but it still took longer than usual to finish counting. Danita left to pick up Bud. I’m home alone for the moment. When Danita shows up, we’ll go up to Ed’s for Easter dinner.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We’ve had great weather, with mild temperatures and occasional rain. Spring certainly is an enjoyable season.

We had a lot happen this week. We started last Sunday with a comedian/illusionist with  wine and desert. The entertainment was delightful. Some comedians have a sense of humor based on an edge of meanness. This person was not like that at all. Everybody who came had a great time.

Thursday our hot water heater failed. I was shaving and realized I needed more cold water than normal. I measured our hot water temperature. Instead of 120, it was 155. I used the web and the serial number to determine the water heater was 15 years old — it’s time for a new one. By the time I called the plumber, it was 4:45. They had a new one installed within 24 hours, which I thought was pretty amazing. We had to step down in capacity from 80  to 55 gallons. 80 gallon conventional electric water heaters are illegal in the US because they use too much energy. Plus, so much insulation is added that a new 55 gallon heater is just about the same size as an old 80 gallon heater. Did you notice a weird placement of the word “conventional” above? It turns out one can still by an 80 gallon hybrid heater. This has a heat pump to help heat the water. It uses much less energy, but the added cost and complexity only begin to describe the disadvantage of a hybrid unit. Plumbers fix water heaters, but they don’t know much about heat pumps. As a result, repairs are often trial-and-error affairs. The plumber told me he once had to make 4 visits before a hybrid unit was fixed.

I had the plumber add a “tank extender valve”. Plumbers are not permitted to set the water temperature above 120. The temperature setting is behind tamper-evident doors these days. A tank extender mixes cold water with the hot. The tank temperature can be set to 140, with the valve reducing the temperature to 120, with the net result of getting an extra 10 gallons in virtual capacity. After the plumber left, I turned the valve to increase the temperature as high as I could. I wanted 140, but ended up with only 135. I keep on thinking of the days of yore, when we were told that using a dishwasher meant the hot water should be 140 for health reasons. It’s easy enough to mix cold with the hot at the faucet.

Danita and I had scheduled a lecture at UMBC Thursday. I had to wait for the plumber, so Danita attended for both of us. According to the lecturer, the Chesapeake bay water level will raise 3 1/2 feet by 2080. It will be impossible to protect the popular islands (Smith’s, St. Michael’s ,etc.) Huge swaths of Dorchester County will be under water. It was a sobering talk.

Thursday evening, another resident and I gave a cybersecurity presentation. We had good attendance. Many people told me we did a good job. A few people told me they adopted one or more of the security measures we recommended.

We had an enjoyable neighborhood party Friday. We closed the week out by serving at a parish lasagna dinner yesterday evening.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We had quite a week. Tuesday I saw my dermatologist. Wednesday Danita took Bud to see the cardiologist. Thursday Danita planned to eat breakfast with Margo, one of the women she worked with at UMBC. Those plans got changed when Bud called at 4:20 AM, confused and disoriented. Danita spent the morning with Bud, taking him to the Urgent Care. After a morning of tests, they decided there was nothing wrong. Meanwhile, I was calling Margo to cancel the breakfast.

Our street had a brunch at Bob Evans yesterday. I was talking with our neighbor. Carmel was going to go, her husband Jeff was staying home. I twice offered to give Carmel a ride. She twice said she would drive herself. Imagine my surprise when I was standing inside Bob Evans and received a call from Carmel asking where I was! Obviously her recollection of our conversation was different than mine. I was quite embarrassed. But it was all OK. Everybody had a great time at the brunch.

Danita found a new bakery/deli in our area. Of course we had to try it out. We went there for Sunday breakfast this morning. Their food is very good, with generous size servings. We were commenting on how unusual it is to see chocolate covered baklava. The owner overheard us and brought us two, gratis. It was as unusual as it sounds. But the chocolate croissant, elephant ear, and quiche was all quite good. They have very good looking cakes. Many of the cakes come in a standard size or an “individual” size. The individual size looks big enough to satisfy us both. I’m thinking we might find an excuse to pick up a desert before long.

We’re having a neighborhood party this evening. We’re going to see a magician/comedian. I think it sounds like a natural combination of talents. We don’t know how good this guy is going to be, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy the wine and deserts.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We had quite a nice week. The weather was great, with sunny skies temperatures warming to near 70 near the end of the week. Our dinner out was Gyro sandwiches at Tino’s. This Italian restaurant has Greek Gyros that are as good as any I have ever had. We went to Stations at St. Louis Friday and enjoyed their most excellent grilled cheese sandwiches. (Simple minds are easily entertained!) We went to a Sunday afternoon musical at Spotlighter’s Theater downtown. We used to go to Spotlighter’s frequently when we were young. We haven’t been for many years. I forgot how intimate the theater is. It’s a theater in the round. They have a small stage with two rows of seats on all 4 sides. One corner has room for a 5 piece band, if they are very friendly. There is no way to go to this theater and not be involved in the play.