​It’s been a standard week here, with the only real excitement coming from login security overhauls by the US Treasury, the IRS, and the State of Maryland.

Mom has US I-bonds that we need to access to cover her expenses at Charlestown. The Treasury Department updated their security to require ID.me, so about a week ago we decided to get it set up. It was quite a process—entering data, taking photos of ID cards, scanning Mom’s face with my phone, and finishing with a video call with a verification specialist. It wore both of us out.

After finishing with Mom’s account, I used a cool, rainy afternoon to set up my IRS quarterly payments, which also require ID.me. The process wasn’t any easier the second time. After two hours of clicking links and submitting copies of my passport and driver’s license, ID.me grudgingly gave their imprimatur. However, once I logged into the IRS site using the new ID.me wallet, I was prompted to go through the verification steps again. After re-sending photos of my passport, Social Security card, and driver’s license, I had to join another video call so the agent could look at my face while I held up each ID in turn.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller of Maryland also updated their security system, though with a few glitches. The day the new system went live, it processed my quarterly payment twice. It’s kind a a backwards BOGO (OGOB???) They say they will have it all figured out in three weeks. In the mean time, I gave them a raft of data in the hopes that I will be able to see the correction when it is made and make future payments.

It’s all so easy … just click the link and tap the button.

I hope all are doing well.

Our neighborhood uses volunteers to get things done. Things like the swimming pool. It is regulated by Howard County. When a life guard is present, residents can gather up their kids and grandkids and play in the water. Life guards are expensive. We use trained CPO (Certified Pool Operators) to have extended hours for residents. Danita volunteered to be a CPO ten years ago. Then she volunteered to be the Pool Chair five years ago. When volunteers decide they want to retire from volunteering, they often hang around until another person offers to take over. It’s not like that for the pool. Every 5 years, CPOs must re-take the training which includes a book, a test, and a 1-day class. Danita decided she has done enough. She finished her last CPO day. The pool will close for the season in a little over a week. All that remains for Danita is to tidy things up at the end of the season. Another resident has already volunteered to be the Pool Chair.

We had a neighborhood grill last weekend. The board provides chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs. Residents bring a side dish or desert. After dinner, we often have a trivia game. It’s a lot of fun, even though our team usually place near the bottom of the pack. This time was different. This time we won! Playing trivia is fun. Playing trivia and winning is even more fun. Here’s a pic of our team.

That’s it for us. I hope all are well.

There isn’t much news to write about. I got a pic of the girls from last Tuesday.

I’m on a team at our church to count the collection every 4th week. Unfortunately, we were unable to access the safe. We have a new pastor. He does not have the combination yet. A service tech is scheduled to change the safe combination and provide it to the pastor on Tuesday. Although two parishioners know the current combination, no one asked them to open the safe today. After a 10-minute wait in the vestibule, our team decided to go home. Maybe we’ll count next week.

The only other news is that our doctor is retiring. When we moved to Columbia, we both chose Dr. Gibbons. He’s a great doc, but his last day is December 31. I went for an unscheduled doctor visit and saw Dr. Dua. I was favorably impressed. I already have my first follow-up with him in March. Danita hasn’t selected her next doctor yet.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

On Saturday, Ryn came down, we went up, and we all joined at Mark’s place for a little family time. Here’s Ryn showing off her new (to her) Honda Fit, complete with a skull for decoration.

That afternoon, Bucknell had an open house for those whishing to learn more about guarden. The gardener experts were surprised and delighted to share their “tech tips” with somebody who knows as much as they do. That’s Ryn!

This morning, we went out for a nice brunch. We stopped at a park on the way home for a nature hike. Unfortunately, I never got both girls in the same spot at the same time.

Ryn returned home to her home and her dog. Danita and I will stay overnight and take the girls on an adventure tomorrow. I might send another post if I get some good snapshots.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We returned from our three-week cruise to find ten different issues requiring repair or administrative attention. Managing these issues required a steady stream of phone calls, emails, and website visits.

Typically, the insurance company sends this to the MVA automatically, but this time initial submission was rejected. I called the insurance company, they re-sent the information, then we had to wait 72 hours. Rinse and repeat. There was no explanation, only warnings of a registration suspension and a $550 fine. Even worse, the MVA would send me to the team that extracts money from deadbeats. Letting myself get declared a deadbeat is definitely not a good idea. Deadbeats always have a story. It would be very difficult to convince the deadbeat squad that this wasn’t my fault. Fortunately, the fourth submission was successfully accepted, which is a major relief. The final acceptance notice was surprisingly casual and even concluded with, “Have a nice day.” It looks like this. It looks like this:

The most interesting issue was the new security cameras. We use these when we travel so we can keep an eye on the house and be assured all is OK. Our old cameras required internet access to do anything useful. The manufacturer changed the terms and conditions and the price. I found that Reolink makes cameras that will record video on a memory card. I purchased 3 cameras. I like them a lot. The best feature is an Ethernet port. We get good video without all the hassles of WiFi. After we set up three cameras, Danita and I decided we want a 4th. The camera was dead on arrival. I went to the manufacturer’s web page and experienced terrible support. The only thing it does is point you to a document that might resolve your issue, and it uses AI slop to do even that. I was pretty disgusted. Then I noticed there is a support link on the Amazon order screen. That link let me get on the phone with a person in just a few minutes. It was a world of difference. It turns out the manufacturer was burned trying to support old used cameras sold on eBay. They give good support, but only if you purchased through an approved retailer. I can’t fault them for that.

All our issues are closed or will be in the next few days. I was surprised to feel relief when we finally got all our issues resolved.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.