With things like downloads, faster can also mean less data required, if it eliminates restarts. The longer a download takes, the more likely an interruption will happen, and data will need to be re-sent.

True.

It's annoying when that happens, too.

So true! In fact that very thing happened downloading one of two TS2021 steam locos I purchased from Caledonia Works. With my old service, each loco was a long DL. One was something over the 3/4th point when either the site or something between it and me froze for about 30sec, braking download. With my new service that DL would take no more than a few seconds. Such happens are now less likely to happened, and when they do are a major setback.

Car project:
Brake pad change
Front wheel alignment
New discs in linkage

Status: Done


Backup computer project:
More RAM
Status: Done

New graphics card
Status: Unable to comply

Updating savegames, Advanced Systemcare and Firefox
Status: Pending

They couldn't find you a graphics card?

It's impossible to install one as the casing is simply too small; no space available.

Oof. Yeah that's a damper. I'm guessing it either uses proprietary hardware or on-board graphics.

Yeap. On the plusside, the games work fine anyway and will work even better now with more RAM. The diagnostics before rated game graphics to 3.6 or so and now it reads 5.9 I think. So it is indeed improved with regards to load time etc.

Excellent.

Project: 2020 flu shot
Status: DONE
Drove to Walmart this morning for it. I normally get mine at the clinic my Primary Care Physician works at. Can't this early due to his retiring and having not yet seen the fellow who will be my new Primary Care Physician.

Project: Vote!
Status: DONE
Drove to one of the County's early voting locations after leaving Walmart. Long line, which thankfully moved quickly due to there being lots of voting machines. (No paper option, alas.) I brought along a cheat-sheet to better remember how I planned to vote on our ballot's four initiatives. Only, once inside the voting booth I discovered that I'd left the cheat-sheet in the car, grabbing Walmart Flu Shot papers instead. No biggie, I recalled my choices without issue. The one downer is that no one was stationed outside to inform social distancing, which everyone ignored. Well, I didn't ignore it in that I kept good distance from the fellow in front of me. Alas, the person behind me was way too close. At least all wore masks.

Project: Groceries
Status: DONE
Drove back to Walmart immediately after voting. Nothing more to report.

Project: Upload finished (?) modded Elder Scrolls Daggerfall episode to YouTube
Status: LOL
I did so a few minutes ago. With my old DSL-based internet service it would have taken hours, despite being a super short episode, clocking in a 4m35s. Tonight it took less than a minute. Bloody 'ell!!! It's not scheduled for publication until 0415 tomorrow morning. I'll provide links in the appropriate thread(s) at that time. Wish I'd processed it at 1440p rather than 1080p, as the video is not as sharp as it could be. With my now superfast upload speed I can easily re-render it and upload again before retiring for the day. For now I've decided to leave well enough alone.

Project: Prepare Oct 2020 state/county/local taxes due on internet purchases, the post payment.
Status: Done
Did so this morning. Should have done so Oct 31. Internet was down then. Couldn't download appropriate form. Oct was a tricky month. Lots of online purchases. Some at 8.5% tax (state/county/local). Others at 2% (county/local only, state being paid at time of purchase).

Project: Balance Oct 2020 bank statement
Status: Done
Did so yesterday. Very tricky. Made two ledger entry errors, lucky noticed/corrected as I read through the statement. Left four or so purchased off the ledger, corrected of course. Initial balance attempt was $10 off. Took longer to track and correct the mistake than it should have.

Project: Box two non-functional PC monitors
Status: Done
Did so day before yesterday. One monitor has sat on my kitchen table around five years. The other at maybe two years tops. Boxes were in the attic. Took a good bit of time and effort due to decrepity. No idea what I'm going to do with them. At least they're off the table (and on the living room floor). Also put the box for my 'new' PC monitor in the attic.

Project: Edged one side of sidewalk
Status: Done
Did so first full day of internet outage. Was difficult as I had only a shovel to edges with. Luckily the ground was soft due to rain the day before. That was the easy part. Shoveling loose dirt/weeds into a wheelbarrow was almost more than I could handle. One shovel-full had me panting. Had to take lengthy breaks between shoveling. What would have taken me maybe 15-20 minutes a few years ago took around 1h45m, including carting wheelbarrow to low spots and depositing dirt/weeds there. No ill effects other than the panting, thank goodness.

Writing Project to be Named Later-

Book 1- final draft completed and in the hands of beta readers.

Book 2- Draft has reached 70k words, with the rest of the material in the planning stage.

Books 3-? - Planning in progress, including some extremely long-range ideas. A few notes saved in the "For future reference" file.

Whoop!!! That is excellent, treydog!!

Project: Create DFU video
Status: Phase one completed
Phase one is, of course, to capture useable raw footage. I did so this evening right after supper. It'll be a dungeon crawl this time. Circa 33min long!!!! Never before could I create a video of such length. I'd need to break it into two or three parts, depending on render quality. I might go all-out and render it at 1440p. That render-resolution is not nearly as important for DFU as it is with Transport Fever, but does improve the image a tad. No idea how long it's gonna take to produce. Coming up with nearly 35min of text narrative isn't gonna be easy.

Project: Create DFU video
Status: Oops!
I totally forgot about this. Doubt I'll revive the project anytime soon.


Project: Shred decades worth of employment pay statements
Status: Beginning
Statements from military retirement 1992 until full retirement several years ago. A mountain of statements. Can't just throw them in the trash. Gonna be a long time at it. Not looking forward to it. But I need space in my filing cabinets.

Project: Use CPAP
Status: rough going

Received my unit this Monday. I opted for a Minimal Contact Full Face Mask, allowing me to wear glasses, so I can read until falling asleep, as is my practice. The downside, I am discovering, is that it can be tricky to achieve and maintain a proper seal. Doable, but it can take a good bit of fiddling. Hopefully I'll get better at it with practice.

My first two nights on CPAP were hell. After some time on the machine I began to get soreness in my left 'gimpy' lung, along with mild stomach queasiness. Fell asleep that way. Woke like that next morning, my entire body on fire. Felt crappy until a bit after breakfast, when symptoms lessened until only very light chest soreness and queasiness remained. One worry, heart readings were significantly higher than my norm, though still 'safe'. By bedtime, I felt well enough to again use CPAP. Same thing occurred, chest soreness and queasiness. This time I shut down the unit after 20min use and removed my mask, hoping doing so would see symptoms gone next morning.

Nope. If anything, I felt even worse than the day before. Body on fire. Felt feverish, but was not. Muddleheaded. Chest ache, Headache. Coughing fits that differed from my norm. High (for me) blood pressure. Ate only half my normally yummy breakfast because what little taste it had was obnoxious. Had no appetite at lunch so skipped it. As with the day before, most symptoms being lessening not long after breakfast. They were gone mid-afternoon.

As you might notice, a number of these symptoms match those of C19. I got to worrying about this, so had myself tested at my clinic's Urgent Care Unit to be on the safe side. Negative.

Called the CPAP agency and explained my dilemma, throwing in that I felt the machine was pumping out more air than I could handle, making breathing a struggle. She remotely changed my settings from 5-20 to 5-10. (Both she and the Urgent Care doctor say CPAP doesn't cause my symptoms.)

Last night, with new settings, I experienced no chest discomfort or queasiness (beyond a small amount retained from earlier). Breathing felt natural. What's more, I had very few incidents of the mask losing seal. I even woke feeling more refreshed than normal! I'm back to my normal groggy self now. Still, not bad for my first successful CPAP night.

I'll say this. The mask is more comfortable than expected. Nor does its tube cause problems when I switch sides to relieve hip pain. My one issue now is that my mouth dries out during the night. I hoped the built-in humidifier would alleviate that, but no.

I'll know more on the 14th, my first visit with my new Primary Care Provider. (Urgent Care coded that visit with added tests for my symptoms.)

Can you use lip moisturiser or something? That might help.

Lip moisturizer? Hmmm.... it's an idea I suppose. Mine being a full mask with built-in humidifier, I shouldn't have dry mouth issues. Not when lying on my side. On my back, yes. I wonder if the humidifier setting needs to be raised? I'll check with the lady who remotely monitors my progress. Likely not tomorrow, but day after.

Speaking of things medical. Saw my heart doc Tuesday. He stressed to me in no uncertain terms how out of control the pandemic is, and that I must do all I can to protect myself. I already knew that, but appreciate him reinforcing it. He also says that healthcare workers and old-folk like me will be the first to get the vaccine. I knew that too, but it's good to hear a professional say it.

Yeah I'm not sure but it might be worth a shot. Dry lips are no fun.

Awesome!







Be careful!!!

My dad uses a CPAP machine as well. Used it for probably a decade at this point, and he has a really heavy case of sleep apnea. He does fine sleeping without the machine if he sits upright, but obviously it is best with the machine in his bed.

Sounds like it is going alright now. Hope you get better.

What do you do with a non-working monitor? Is there a recycling place for them? I never knew the answer to that either; so have two sitting on an old nightstand-table in my office that sits behind the table the new monitor sits on.








Huh? What is this? GAAAAAH !!!!








Aw, you poor thing! I think the dry lips is from breathing through your mouth. They have some kind of strap that you can wear to keep your jaw in place so your mouth stays shut while you sleep and you breath through your nose like you should be doing. You might ask the doctor about that.

If you still need lip protection; you may want to break open a Vitamin E capsule and rub a bit of that on your lips. It is obnoxiously tenacious about staying on your skin; and is kind of wind proof (and water proof too). Don't use the whole capsule in one dosage though; just a light film over your lips should do the trick = keep the opened Vitamin E capsule in a little shot glass or something (easy to reach the pill when you need it next; and keeps that sticky stuff from getting all over everything = which it will do; so do the applying of it right at your bathroom sink mirror and then wash your hands right away). It doesn't need refrigeration or anything.

updates & responses

I'm at a loss about what to do with those monitors myself. Worse come to worst I can leave 'em curbside during this coming year's annual spring trash removal day, when the city collects / disposes of items not otherwise qualified for pickup. I've gotten rid of other electronics that way over the years, including a few obsolete PCs and CRT monitors/TVs. Sort of hate to do that with one of the two monitors, as its sole problem is odd blue 'highlights' that I can't remove fiddling with its adjustments. A shame. When working properly it has a better image than its replacement.

Yes, I'll get some sort of lip moisturizer for use during CPAP. Vitamin E seems a plausible option. Whether I go that route or not remains to be seen. I've been thinking on a chinstrap too, though I hope it doesn't come to that.

I often wonder if I too might do better sleeping in a somewhat upright position. A comfy lunge chair maybe, reclined so I don't capsize during the night? Beds can be bought to provide something akin to a reclined sitting position for the upper body. Those are far beyond my budget. I suspect decent quality lunge chairs are too. My dad slept in his lunge chair the last year or two of his life. It never dawned on me to ask why he did so. I simply assumed it had to do with payback for his six decades as an unrepentant chain-smoker. When it caught up with him his deterioration was pitiful to watch.

With the CPAP machine adjusted to 5-10, I had two very good days in a row, Thursday & Friday. I woke feeling more refreshed/alert than I've been in years. No chest soreness. Thursday, mild-moderate grogginess returned mid-morning. Friday it never returned! I still woke too often during the nights preceding them, no change from the norm. Not yet. And still dry-mouth/lips issues. (Oddly or not, my nose isn't bothered.)

I've not fared as well today. Woke refreshed, but not as much so as Friday & Saturday. Grogginess returned mid-morning, as did left-side chest/lung soreness. The night went well enough, except I ran out of humidifier water sometime during sleep. Which means I likely can't ask that CPAP humidifier intensity be increased, assuming it'll burns through water even faster. To the plus, I ran CPAP over seven hours! That's a record so far, and appreciably longer than I normally lie abed (acouch?). Of course not all that time was spent sleeping. I read awhile before dropping off (but less than usual), and woke a number of times, to use the bathroom and on occasion to guzzle a full grass of water (and gargle) before returning to the sofa. Still, I might have got six hours sleep! That's unheard of for me. Even those nights I use sleeping pills - I didn't last night - six hours sleep is a rarity.

This is all really good news on your getting better sleep and feeling better in the day time! I am so glad this looks like it might be a good solution for you!

I didn't say it above; but the pressure should never have been put at 20 initially on that CPAP = they usually start people off with lower pressure and build it up in increments as the wearer becomes adjusted to it. Fifteen is actually a lot of pressure to start off with; so to set it at 20 was really A LOT. Really glad they lowered that for you.

On your bed; there are two things you can try out to see if they help your lungs while you sleep:

1. You can raise the head of your bed by putting two similar sized books (or something similar) under the feet of the head of the bed. That will keep you laying flat; (so easier to stay comfortable sleeping) but the elevation helps your lungs stay clearer in the night.

2. You can bend your mattress up at the head of your bed and stuff a quilt under there; then lay the mattress back down over the quilt. That will raise up the "head, shoulders, and upper chest" portion of your bed similar to the way a hospital bed would rise up there. That makes sleep less easy to be comfortable; but works well to keep your lungs clear in the night.

NEITHER of those will help your Sleep Apnea though; so you will still need your CPAP when sleeping.

Project: 'Clean' CPAP equipment
Status: <sigh>
Barring rare conflicts, Tuesday morning, beginning just after breakfast and tooth-brushing, is now devoted to CPAP cleaning. For now, that consists of first placing cleanable equipment in a kitchen sink filled with luke-hot water, Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (CPAP equipment center recommendation) and a little Vinegar (online recommendation). I swoosh CPAP items around a bit, let 'em soak awhile, then lightly scrub those items that aren't harmed by it. They are then transferred to lukewarm water for another soak, toweling off, and placing on another towel until thoroughly dry. Except hoses. One of those dries draped across my shower-curtain rod. The other, smaller, hose is draped across a towel-covered bedpost. Needless to say, I despise CPAP cleaning, as I do any and all cleaning. Only, I can't risk upper respiratory infection, which I am subject to at the best of times, from unclean CPAP gear. So clean it I will.

Yes, there are fancy, expensive CPAP cleaning devices that supposedly do a better job of sterilizing equipment with less hassle than does handwashing. I've researched them. None are quite as amazing as advertised. Still, I might invest in one at some point.

Project: Balance Dec 2020 Checking/Savings Account ledgers
Status: Done
A painful experience. Tons of small nickle-and-dime TS2021 transactions (thanks to generous Dec sales), many with overseas companies. Took way longer than usual. First time I attempted to balance checking, I was off by circa $8US. I eventually found two tiny transaction equalling that amount that hadn't been entered into the ledger. With those in place, checking balanced to the penny, as it does every month. Savings is never an issue I never add funds to it. I used to, but stopped when interest-earned dropped so low there's no longer any valid reason to transfer funds from checking to savings.

Project: Replace CPAP facemask (minus head-straps) and machine filter
Status: Planned for Wednesday
While touching bases yesterday with the lady who monitors my CPAP progress, she mentioned that I'm due replacements for the above items. (Medicare covers it. I pain nothing.) I originally thought to grab 'em during next Monday's grocery/errand run. But during supper I realized I forgot to get tomatoes during this week's run. Too, my current CPAP mask recently became somewhat more 'temperamental' about attaining and maintaining a solid seal. Ergo, I'll do it tomorrow. I'd get it over with today except that my CPAP mask straps (which I keep and reuse, for now) will take most of the day to air-dry.

Project: Develop consistent CPAP usage daily routine
Status: Ongoing
As of now, the routine, subject to honing, consists of:

--Fill/top-off CPAP machine humidifier with Distilled Water. (circa 1930)
--Take sleeping pill, if desired. (circa 30min to 1hr before retiring to the sofa (where I sleep)--
--Retire to Sofa, phase 1: Gargle with Equate Dry Mouth formula Mouthwash.
--Retire to Sofa, phase 2: Stick in upper partial and/or lower TMJ-syndrome device.
--Retire to Sofa, phase 3: Use a Saline Solution nasal-spray to help prevent nostril dryness.
--Retire to Sofa, phase 4: Coat lips with Aquaphor Lip Repair to help prevent overnight lip dryness.
--Retire to Sofa, phase 5: Fit CPAP facemask and attach to CPAP machine hose.
--Retire to Sofa, Phase 6: Don toboggan, reading cap and glasses.
--Retire to Sofa, Phase 7: Turn on CPAP machine
--Retire to Sofa, Phase 8: Lie on sofa
--Retire to Sofa, Phase 9: Read until falling asleep or becoming groggy enough to risk turning off reading-light.

Upon waking for the day next morning:

--Turn off CPAP machine.
--Remove CPAP mask short-hose from CPAP machine main heated hose.
--Remove CPAP mask from head.
--Wipe down mask with special CPAP mask wipes.
--Place Mask in storage bag.
--Begin 'normal' daily events.

Note that I rotate between three different-formula sleeping pills to lessen risk of adverse reactions/dependency. I also do without some nights. I hope to do without more often once my 'trial period' ends. (I must use CPAP a certain minimum number of hours within a certain period. If a fail at this, the equipment is taken from me. I'm left to continue CPAP at my own expense, should I choose to do so. Needless to say, I hope to avoid this. To my understanding, once initial usage requirements are met, I wouldn't have to worry about spending extra hours abed (asofa?) unless I so choose.)

Project: Renew Car Tags
Status: Done!
Did so this morning. Online! As prerequisite, I called in my 2021 Personal Property assessment to the County Assessors Office either Monday or Tuesday. (I already met all other renewal requirements.)

Project: Pick up Medicare-covered CPAP mask 'cup' and unit filter
Status: Done!
Did so yesterday morning. Nothing to it, though I ended up gabbing with the lady who remotely monitors my CPAP progress far longer than is good for a non-social person like me. (But recall that I am not anti-social.) Swung by Walmart on the way home for tomatoes forgotten during this Monday's grocery run.

This ends all official 'tasks' planned for the week. I hope to figure out how to use Steam Sounds Supreme's 'shopping cart' for multi-item transactions, to take advantage of a limited time 'the-more-items-you-buy-the-larger-the-discount' sale. (I want several coach/carriage packs and a two-locomotive twin-pack.) Alas, after selecting items individually via 'add to cart', clicking the cart icon informs me that there are no items in it. Poor pitiful Decrepit. So understood.

Project: Clean CPAP gear
Status: Drying now

I've prolly discussed this procedure before, so won't go into it here. The large CPAP hose-innards likely won't be dry enough to use until bedtime. The rest are sitting on a towel atop my long-unused bed, air-drying.

Project: Create TS2021 steam-train practice-session video
Status: Up in the air

On a whim, last night I captured a practice session along Lenton-on-Sea Steam Workshop route. The train was pulled by a GNR N2 (in LNER apple green livery). Nothing fancy. No drive-by views. Just cab-views, and a few close outside views with the train stopped at stations. To the plus, I didn't embarrass myself too much during the drive. Can't say that about many of my driving attempts. The drive lasts 1hr 23min! Can't remove bits from it without ruining the nature of the drive. I can, of course, break it into multiple episodes. On the other hand, my 'new' internet connection lets me upload super large video files in the brink of an eye. At any rate, it's all speculative for the moment. Very speculative.

Project: C19 vaccination
Status: promising?????

The State updated its C19 vaccination plan. It indicates that phase 1B officially begins today. So far as I know, I might qualify for 1B, and will definitely qualify for 1C when I turn 70 on the 28th. However, no one at my clinic has contacted me about this.

I gave them a call after shelving groceries today. They took my name. I'm supposed to be contacted within the next few days and added to their 'waiting list'. There's every chance I'll be far down the list. But I'll (hopefully) at least have a battle plan.

Even after being vaccinated, whenever that occurs, I do not intend to slacken safeguards in any appreciable way, if at all. Not any time soon, for sure!

Project: Create & Publish TS2021 video
Status: Close but no cigar

I worked my buns off yesterday to complete video narrative text, compose a YouTube description and tags. Several hours after supper, all was in-the-can ready to go. My new internet service uploaded the 40min 1440p file in no time at all. It was available in SD (360p) almost immediately. However, HD processing hadn't finished by my bedtime. I switched the video from Published to Scheduled, selecting 4am today as its new Publish date, giving HD processing ample time to complete. So I thought. It's now circa 0430. It's still processing! I've rescheduled publication for midnight. My hope is that HD will be processed before then, in which case I'll immediately publish. Should that not be the case... Well, we'll see. [ADDENDUM: now 0641 1030, it's still HD processing.]

Project: Attend 0900 Neurology medical appointment
Status: All systems go

A needless appointment, imo. This has been a once-a-year touch-bases visit for some time. For whatever reason this one as a six-months follow-up visit. I've nothing new to report, as absolutely nothing has changed. The US medical profession being what it is, I figure this extra visit is simply a means to milk Medicare for more money. Since I'm not paying out-of-pocket, I'll play along. Be that as it may, I'll shave/shower and dress right after breakfast, then head out circa 0800. (The car was gassed Monday alleviating that necessity.)

Project: Clean CPAP gear
Status: Done

Did so immediately after breakfast yesterday. A pain in the rump, but it's gotta get done.


ADDENDUM: The TS2021 video is now available for view at 1080p (but not yet 1440p). A link is found in the appropriate thread.

ADDENDUM_2: Now 21 Jan 2021, the uploaded video's 1440p component finally finished processing sometime overnight. Better late than never? Glad I didn't delete and start afresh, as I was sorely tempted to do. I must say that online video quality is surprisingly good at 1080p. Yeah, it's not as sharp as my local copy, but it's close enough to not complain about. About the only time it showed significant degradation was while traveling through one of the route's several tunnels.

Project: Covid Vaccine
Status: Holding Pattern

After being told a week ago today that someone would contact me 'within the next day or two' about when I will be vaccinated, no one did. I called again just a few minutes ago. Yes, I am on the 'list'. I was not called because they are low on vaccine and supposedly not scheduling further shots for the time being. That lady I spoke with affirmed that due to age I should be high in the pecking order. We shall see.

I ordered yarn for another blanket project.

This will be fun.

You better post pics; I wanna see some colors!

I picked four colors, white and purple, pink, blue.

Turned out to be mine, husband, and his sister's favorite colors. Which is kind of amusing considering everything going on now.

Sobering, too. Will be a good project.

Project: Weekly CPAP gear cleaning
Status: Working on it

Should have done this yesterday. Was delayed due to T-storms Monday, which decided me to postpone this week's grocery run until yesterday morning. Cleaning CPAP gear yesterday afternoon wouldn't give hoses enough time to air-dry before use. Ergo, I began the cleaning process just after today's breakfast / inhaler treatment / brushing-gargling. I'll likely be able to reassemble and put away my face-mask early afternoon. The Humidifier will take longer. The long hose-with-heating-coils won't be dry until bedtime.

Project: Create publishable TS2021 episode
Status: Just begun, with complications

This will be part two of the Steam Locomotive Driving Practice Session posted last week. To the plus, I didn't need to film any additional footage. To the minus, I 'updated' Filmora this morning. Its text-editing window doesn't act as before. It no long line-wraps at window's end. I can't see what I type beyond that point. Yeah, I can see it in the main video composition/editing window. Figuring out fond-size and permanent line-wrapping length there is awkward. (It is super simple in the 'old' text window, which did auto line-wrapping.)

Besides this, I'm having trouble psyching myself up for forty-five minutes worth of text narrative.

Project: Create & Upload new TpF Scenic Excursions episode
Status: That was fast!

I surprised myself in cranking this one out in the blink of an eye. It helps that I've grown rusty at producing TpF videos, so had less demanding self-imposed expectations to fulfill. It's enduring YouTube HD processing as I type. I set it to Publish tomorrow morning at 0500, which hopefully gives it plenty of time to finalize. I'll post a link in the appropriate thread after breakfast.

It dawns on me that I have raw footage for three further YouTube episodes 'in-the-can'. One each TpF1, Train Simulator, and modded Daggerfall Unity. How in the world did that happen? (The Train Simulator episode, at 40-plus minutes, will be a bear to text-narrate.)

First 4 balls of yarn are gone. Got 7 more of each color. Will put up a pic shortly.

https://imgur.com/a/gV97UOT

Always fascinates me how people can turn balls of yarn into that

It will be bigger soon. I just hope it's wide enough.

What a pretty pattern you've got going on there, Saki!

Thanks Acadian!

There's going to be tassels going up the sides too.

Project: Create modded DFU YouTube episode
Status: Ongoing

Raw footage has been in-the-can since mid-Nov 2020. All needed materials were loaded into my Video Editor soon afterward, then saved. I then let the project lie dormant. Until yesterday evening. It is now resumed. All basic footage editing is finished, including splicing out all but of its very many dungeon map referrals and all save sequences. Some basic text is in place. If I stick with it, I hope to have a presentable unload render be day's end. I'll then devote time tomorrow for YouTube Description, Tags, Thumbnail and so on. It'll be a relatively long crawl, despite being a smallish dungeon. I hope to have it posted by the weekend.

(I checked my YouTube Studio videos roster the other day. My two modded DFU vids got quite respectable viewership, compared to the rest of my offerings, some of which haven't hit 20. I'm looking at YOU, TpF1.)


Project: Clean CPAP gear
Status: Ongoing

I now do so Wednesdays rather than Tuesdays. The various parts are air-drying as I type. Most should be ready for use by early afternoon. The big heater-hose likely won't be dry until near bedtime.


Project: Create modded TpF1 Scenic Excursions episode
Status: Ongoing - early stage

Not much to report here. Captured raw footage for what will be episode 44's main train ride, a passenger run between Sittingbourne and South Cave, the latter to city not yet seen.


Project: Create modded TpF1 Scenic Excursions episode
Status: Ongoing - early stage

Episode 43 is slightly further along than 44, in that all needed footage is captured, and a Video Editor work file has been created. That's about the extent of it. This episode will feature a freight run between Valley Petrol and Bebington.

Today's Projects thus far:

Project: Clean CPAP equipment
Status: over and done with for another week
Began immediately after this morning's post-breakfast tooth-brush / gargle. Took a bit less than an hour, discounting reassembly which won't occur until near bedtime. (And takes next to no time.)


Project: Schedule CPAP followup appointment with Sleep Clinic.
Status: Done
It'll be the second week of March.


Project: Create TpF SRA 45 from already captured footage
Status: Done
Took a surprisingly short amount of time, other than needing to redo the upload render three times due to typos. I'll likely need at least one further typo redo, and still miss a few.


Project: Create YouTube thumbnails for TpF SRA 43-45
Status: Done
Didn't take long, other than capture a suitable image from SRA 43. I have a template for them in Inkscape (freeware). It's a simple matter of replacing one inset-image with another, typing over old text with new, exporting the result at a PGN file, then opening Paint.NET and converting the PGN to JPG.


Bonus Project: Balance Jan 2021 account ledger
Status: A bloody mess, but over and done with until March
Did so yesterday. Was made more difficult than usual due to a goodly number of nickel-and-dime debits for Train Simulator add-ons bought during various holiday sales. First balancing attempt saw me $0.45 off! Thankfully the mistake was easily spotted less than a quarter way down the bank statement. (I miswrote $.94 for $.49, or the other way around.)

Now you need a kitty to help out with your blanket project .

Project: Upload TpF SRA 43
Status: Done
Meant to do so last night, but noticed a typo in the video's very last text blurb. By the time I fixed it and rendered a new upload file, it felt it too late in the day to upload. Did so after this morning's breakfast. It's processing HD and 2K as I type this. Those likely won't be ready until tomorrow. Not that that matters, as the video is set to publish Saturday, 13 Feb.

Caught another mistake. The videos thumbnail had "new" rather than the correct "newly". An easy change. Had it corrected within minutes.

Today's Major Project...

Project: Prepare & e-file tax return
Status: Done!
While I'm a supporter of strong, progressive taxation, I simply detect the process of filing tax returns. This year is no exception. Couldn't prepare my returns any sooner than I did, as Fidelity didn't have its tax statements ready for download until yesterday evening. (That's when I received email notification of them.) I used TurboTax as usual. My situation is a bit too complex to prepare on my own, but too simple to require a professional paid tax consultant/preparer.

One thing that threw me for a loop this time round was asking if I received the two COVID stimulus checks. I did, but... I received only the first during 2020. The second arrived 5 Jan 2021. The way the question is phrased leaves including the second payment up to interpretation. In the end, considering neither stimulus payment affects taxes one way or the other, I included it.

I swear the TurboTax (online) I ordered includes both multiple Fed e-file and one state e-file free of charge. Yet in the end it requires $20 for the state e-file. In years past I always submitted my state return via snail mail. This year I bucked tradition and e-filed both Fed and State.

Almost forgot to mention that I'm getting a decent return this year. Better than expected. That's not a complaint.

It's the Kool-Aid Cat!

Project: complete and upload new TpF1 Scenic Excursions episode
Status: Done

Upload footage has been in-the-can for over a week, as had a thumbnail. This morning I typed out a description and tag, then uploaded the file and copy/pasted all needed info into the appropriate YouTube video page fields. With my new internet connection uploading completed within two minutes of my filling out all needed info. SD has been processed. It'll prolly be tomorrow before 2K finishes processing. No biggie. The video's not scheduled to go live until Saturday morning.


Project: create new TpF1 Scenic Excursions episode
Status: Phase one complete

All needed raw footage has been captured. A thumbnail is made. That's it. Next step, compile a watchable video with my Video Editor.

OH YEAH!!!

Project: Offload old raw video footage and other stuff to 5tb external drive.
Status: Just started

The drive arrived with today's mail. It plugs in and is recognized by my computer without issue. I'm now in the process of moving old raw TpF1 footage to the external, which will clear some 240gb on my internal HD. I've more raw footage to move, but this is a good start.

(Prior to this, I copied purchased TS2021 third-party locos, railcars, etc to the external as a redundant backup.)