There’s’ no particular news this week.

We got a surprise check for $37. Actually Danita got it, for some kind of class action suit. We have no idea what this is about. So we stopped at he ATM and put the money in our checking account.

The Maryland comptroller sent me an email telling me the double withdrawal is being fixed, I should see it corrected within 3 weeks. Then they called and said the double withdrawal will be fixed within 3 weeks. Then they sent a letter letting me know …. I’m thinking this was not their finest hour.

Speaking of phone calls, ours are out of control. Somebody got hold of Danita’s phone number. We get several calls a day. One day we got three calls within an hour. Now we don’t answer her phone unless we recognize the number. If you call us and we don’t answer, please call back immediately, or leave a voice mail, or call me.

I hope this finds all are well.

​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.

I installed Google Nest smoke detectors a little more than 10 years ago. They all started their end of life shutdown. The old detectors were great, but Google doesn’t make smoke detectors anymore. They suggested I use First Alert models. Unfortunately, over the past few months, several of them have issued false alarms.

The most recent false alarm happened while we were asleep on or last day of the cruise. The alarm went off at 10 PM ship time, which is 4 PM here in Columbia. We found out about it at 7 AM ship time, which was 1 AM here in Columbia. Communication with our neighbors was sketchy. Thanks to our wall insulation, our immediate neighbors didn’t hear a thing, but a neighbor from across the street heard the alarm through the windows. Fortunately, our neighbors came over, confirmed there was no fire, and canceled the alarm.

The situation repeated itself the night we returned. Just as we were falling asleep, the same detector issued another false alarm. This time the “alarm cancel” button failed to cancel the alarm. Out of frustration and exhaustion, I removed it from the ceiling and permanently disabled it in the garage, with some help from my 5-pound sledge hammer.

I have since replaced that unit with a Kidde detector. If it runs for a month without any false alarms, I plan to replace all the remaining First Alert detectors with Kidde models.

Other than that, things are back to normal here. I hope this finds everybody doing well.

Our cruise is rapidly coming to an end. We visited Bari, Italy Wednesday and Kotor, Montenegro Thursday. Both are walled cities with their defensive walls intact. Both were interesting. Bari has the Stromboli volcano, which spits small amounts of lava several times a day. Two nearby villages simply ignore it. Here’s a pic.

A very good walking tour gave me more information about Montenegro. After Tito died, Yugoslavia broke up into six nations. Montenegro gained their independence in 2006, making it the newest and one of the smallest countries in Europe. A severe earthquake in 1979 is the did significant damage to the old town. The exteriors of the buildings have been repaired, but for many buildings, only the ground floor is useable. The don’t have the money to restore all of the old town.

Today is a sea day. Tomorrow we disembark and head for the airport in Athens. We are warned to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before flight. It seems that faulty automation has created long lines. Wish us luck!

I hope this finds everybody doing well.

We stopped at Corsica yesterday. Napolean was born on this island. Danita and I took the tourist train ride across the island. We had an earlier encounter with the Bonapartes. Napolean’s cousin moved to the US in the 18^th century. He built his estate house off of Harford Rd, just a little south than our house in Kingsville. We were looking for a place to build our house. Bonaparte’s original house was still there, but and been abandoned long ago. One of the lots had a junky house trailer.  The land was in a depression. It looked to me like an occasional flood might be an issue. Altogether, it was a lousy piece of property. We did well to hold out for something better.

Today we are in Civitavecchia, Italy. If you want visit Rome while on a crise, Civitavecchia is the jumping off port. It is neither easy or cheap. The transport to Rome is over an hour. Tour prices are through the roof. There are about 6 cruise ships all providing tourists to crowd around the famous roman sites. A huge portion of the passengers on our ship we to Rome. Just loading the buses took over an hour. Fortunately, Danita and I had a wonderful trip not long ago that included several days in Rome with Rick and Suzy. We had plenty of opportunity to study everything offered on the lunch buffet. The ship leaves port at 4:30, so everybody should be back for dinner.

Tomorrow is another sea day. I hope all are doing well.

We had two days in Barcelona. We dedicated Thursday to Gaudi and Friday to the old town.

Our first stop was Gaudi’s basilica, “Sagrada Familia” or “Holy Family”. Construction started in the 19^th century.  Now almost all of the construction is finished. We saw the church under construction when we were in Barcelona years ago. The difference is astonishing. It is billed as the tallest church in the world. That doesn’t do justice. Imagine standing on the floor, looking up, and seeing the ceiling more than 500 feet above. I have never experienced a church this large and open. On a sunny day, huge expanses of stained-glass windows bathe the interior with colored light. Here’s a picture you might not see on the web.

Our other stop Thursday was Guell Park. Gaudi intended this to be an exclusive community for the rich English. It included every comfort for the 18^th century gentleman. Unfortunately, it was at the top of a hill that was too steep for horse buggies. It struggled to attract buyers and was finally killed off by WW I. Today it is a famous and well-loved park.

Friday we went to the original core of the city. We visited the cathedral, which is undergoing some critically important repairs. Here’s a pic from the roof of a mischievous monkey threatening to spit on Danita .

Then we visited the archeology museum to see ruins of the original city, with walls dating back to 500 BC. Here’s Danita discovering the 2500 year-old, church-owned, winery

We wanted to visit La Rambla, but our energy had been entirely drained by two days of walking in 90 degree heat. That’s too bad, because La Rambla is still an amazing place to visit.

Today we are enjoying a relaxing sea day. I hope this finds everybody doing well.