Project: Figure out how to get a "Real ID"
Status: Nevermind

Looking over today's online Yahoo News articles early this morning, one caught my attention. It announced that we U.S. citizens (residents?) have until March 2023 to procure our "Real ID". My first thought, "What the heck is a "Real ID"." Second thought, "Why am I only now hearing of this?". Online research revealed that a "Real ID" will soon be needed for such things as entering a federal building and boarding an aircraft. I then checked with my state, again online, for what is required to get one. Here, they are part of an AR driver's license. A special "star" is printed at upper-right on the front. Lots of documents are needed. Stuff everyone ought to have on hand, some of which I suspect many people don't bother to save.

Packrat that I am, I have more than of enough on hand to meet requirements. Next step was to call our DMV and determine whether a special appointment or simply walking-in is required. It then came to me that 2023 might be the year I renew my license. If that were the case, I'd just wait and get my "Real ID" in January. I grabbed my current license to double-check. Nope, it expires in 2024. That's when I noticed the star at upper right on my license. I have a "Real ID"!

Hours later I finally recalled knowing about the "Real ID" requirement when it was first announced, and had at that time done what was necessary to obtain one. Some time later, I began recalling the process in detail, and remembered that I had helped my brother obtain his. Rather I helped him acquire a piece of two of misplaced documentation. Whether or not he actually followed through has faded from memory. I think he did, but . . .

Weren't you glad the project needed to be done was already done?

"Real ID". Sure. Hand in all your fake passports and finally get a real one! Whatever will they think of next.

Project: Stave off potential disaster
Status: Potentially solved (crosses finger)

When it rains, it pours, as they say. As if this past Saturday's deep lawn tire-rut dilemma (detailed elsewhere) wasn't enough, a new catastrophe reared its ugly head early yesterday evening. It began thus:

I seldom use Brave Browser on my Primary PC, though it is my second PC's primary browser. There are, however, certain things Brave handles better than Firefox, the printing of some emails among them. One such email arrived in my inbox yesterday. A receipt for a Train Simulator DLC purchased earlier in the day.

Having not launched Brave (on this PC) is quite a while, it had passed the two-week mark and been automatically signed out. No biggie, thought I. I sometimes have trouble signing in with Firefox (not recently, thankfully). Brave, on the other hand, signs in sans issue, barring user error.

Yesterday it didn't. I attempted to sign in as I always do. Now, with email address and password submitted, instead of opening my email client I'm greeted with a screen, stating that my account verification info needs updating. One of the two now-required fields is entry of my mobile-phone number. I neither have nor want one. Nothing I tried allowed me to bypass the mobile phone requirement.

Oddly, I could still sign in to myATT without issue on Brave. Which was of no help as there is no link to my email from there.

Lengthy web searches found others with this issue, though all discussions I unearthed were around four years old. Nothing I read provided a simple, ironclad solution. I eventually admitted defeat and called AT&T customer service. After several failed attempts to reach a live rep, I at last fooled the automated response system into transferring me.

There followed a LONG two-way discussion, the rep attempting to track down and solve the snafu. Turns out that, due to a recent policy change, the requirement to provide account verification info that isn't either an ATT email address or VoIP phone can not be bypassed.The most that could be done was for the rep to do something behind the scenes that allowed me to sign in at that particular time, but not again. Which only postpones the inevitable. No email access. Leaving me dead in the water for a good number of official interactions, such as ordering medicine via the military.

Then, when things looked to be drawing to an unsatisfactory close, the rep said to hang on. He had contacted another ATT section about my issue. A response had just been received. My account was now set so that, when the fatal verification screen appeared, I was to attempt to submit it with nothing in the mobile phone field. Several failed submissions later, lo and behold, an option appeared immediately below that accursed field. An option that allows entry of an email address. I was told to enter my AT&T email address, and warned that this was a short-term bandage only. Should I need to actually have my account verified for any reason, the AT&T address would not be accepted. At that point, my account would be locked, with nothing further they could (or would) do for me.

The solution, the rep said, was to sign up for an email account with someone else, then, at myATT, replace the AT&T address with the new, non AT&T email address. This was acceptable to me. It HAD to be acceptable. Certainly preferable to spending money on a mobile phone and plan that I'd likely not use enough to justify the expense.

My initial thought was to go with gmail. I have a Google account, after all. I believe it was required during YouTube channel creation. Now far past my normal bedtime, brain fried, enough was enough. I shut down both computers and retired to the sofa.

First thing this morning, I resumed my investigation. In the end, gmail required changes I did not wish to enact. I instead settled on the free version of ProtonMail. Sign up was easy. There, thankfully, we are given a choice between mobile phone and email verification from the get go. Since I already have AT&T email, that's what I chose. Once my new account had been verified, I returned to myATT and edited my profile to include the new ProtonMail address. AT&T sent verification email with code, Once submitted and approved, I was in theory good to go, with no fear of being unable to sign in or having my account locked. Indeed, I signed in on Brave not long afterward. Is this the end of it? Time will tell. I hope so, but am not holding my breath.

Oh modern times with all the high tech requirements...

This story reminds me of something that happened to me back around year 2000. I had to make an account with an American organisation - a scientific body, and the account was needed to register for a conference. No, they couldn't do it on-line, I had to call them. Fine. Calling from Europe. First we had the usual issues with our postal codes not adhering to the US standard. But the operator did some magic and my "all wrong" postal code was accepted. Then my phone number appeared to be a digit short... Err... and it didn't start with 1. Oh. Ah. Not in USA, eh? Ok, the operator managed to solve that dilemma too. Finally there was just one last check - my credit card number. I did not have a credit card (still don't) and our debit cards were not accepted (although cash machines in the US happily provided me with cash).

"I need your credit card number," says the operator.

"I don't have a credit card," says I.

"I need the number."

"Ain't got it."

"You must have a credit card!"

"Nope."

"It can't be."

"It is."

After some ten minutes going in circles, she still could not accept that a person might be able to survive without an internationally-accepted credit card. I was not able to register and had to miss the conference.

Project: Prepare of Monday morning Dental Exam/Cleaning

Status: Ya can't win

I'm an early-morning person. I like to accomplish all "must do" activities as early in the day as is possible. Medical appoints are scheduled for as close to 0800 as I can get them. This changes a bit during winter, scheduling appointments several hours later to allow the temperature to warm a bit.

My previous winter Dental Exam/Cleaning was scheduled for 0800 on 30 December 2021. As luck would have it, that proved to be one of our coldest days of the year. I spent a good 25min scraping car windows/windshields prior to departure, in sub-freezing weather. That afternoon, I took sick with a particularly unpleasant illness that plagued me off-and-on for months. (That first day, every symptom I had matched those on the CDC Covid checklist, but a C19 test gave negative results.)

Tomorrow's Exam/Cleaning is scheduled for 1000. I would have been better off keeping it at 0800. Not only is it not cold, but we are in the midst of a freak Winter heat wave, with temps in the 60s! A strong storm-front, with potentially heavy rain and tornadoes, is associated with the wave. As luck would have it, those storms pass through my area tomorrow. At the moment, the nasty stuff doesn't reach here until late morning. Being as I get groceries and need to make a pharmacy stop following my Exam/Cleaning, I'll not be able to avoid whatever nature has in store for us. Had my appointment been at 0800, there's a good chance that I might have had no more to deal with than a steady, light rain.

Edit: link doesn't work.

Hope you can get those lights working/adjusted how you want. They look pretty good!

Thanks!

Project: restore power to two kitchen wall receptacles
Status: done

My micro didn't turn on while attempting to heat oatmeal for today's breakfast. I reckoned it couldn't be the micro itself, as it's a fairly recent purchase. Sure enough, the can opener, plugged into the same receptacle, didn't work either. Nor did my toaster, on a different receptacle on the same wall. No fuse had been tripped. I offed-and-oned several fuses labeled "kitchen", which made no difference. I recalled that one kitchen receptacle has two buttons, one labeled RESET. Found it. It's next to the still-working refrigerator with nothing plugged in to it. Resetting it made no difference.

As a temporary workaround, I connected a long heavy-duty extension cord from a kitchen receptacle on another wall to the micro. Soon as my oatmeal was ready the extension was removed. My thought was to visit Home Depot soon as it was warm enough to do so and buy a few replacement fuses, assuming that one of mine had bit the dust. I've not needed to replace a fuse in ever so long. It seems logical that I'm due for one to give up the ghost.

I then noticed something I'd totally forgotten about. I've a second kitchen receptacle that features a RESET button; the one my toaster is plugged in to. Pressed it. Voila, the micro's clock display lit up! All's well, at least for the short term. Hopefully for the long term. Should it begin to need resetting frequently, I know how to replace those on my own. (I replaced the one in the bathroom some years ago.)

Those Ground Fault Interrupt (GFI) receptacles are more common in bathrooms than kitchens, but belong anywhere there’s water near the outlets. Sometimes there are strange runs of wiring to put more receptacles on the same circuit, so they all get protected by the one expensive device. In my house a receptacle in the garage (into which the door was plugged) was linked with the upstairs bathrooms. So a faulty hairdryer could trip out the garage door. I had another installed for the garage alone.

Project: 2023 Car Tags
Status: Nothing's ever as simply as it ought to be

For the past some years, I've renewed my auto registration and acquired new tags online. In my state it's an easy process, and incurs no additional processing fees. Knowing I need to call in this year's property assessment beforehand, I did so early Tuesday morning, 3 Jan 2023, Monday the 2nd having been an observed holiday. In my experience, it normally takes, at most, one business-day for our local assessor's office to transfer data to State DMV. I therefore attempted to renew early Wednesday afternoon. Inserting my renewal PIN number and pressing ENTER, I was greeted to a screen telling me I had not been assessed. Same thing Thursday and Friday. Same thing late morning Monday, upon return from errands.

I called the County Assessor office and asked if I'd somehow slipped through the cracks and not had my info transferred. I was then told that the DMV online system is down, and to call them for further information, assuming I didn't want to use another means of renewal. DMV, however, told me that it is the County Assessor Office that is malfunctioning. There is nothing DMV can do about it. I called the Assessor and had my assessment receipt faxed to our local DMV office. I was then theoretically good to go for renewing in person.

My original thought was to wait and renew next Monday, as part of that week's errand run. But the more and pondered it, the more I felt I needed to get it done and over with ASAP. I dressed and drove to DMV that afternoon. It is good that I did. Posted on the DMV entrance door is a message announcing that DMV will be closed Monday the 16th. Thankfully, there wasn't much of a line waiting to renew, and folk were being processed speedily. Once my turn came, all went well. I remembered, from ye olden days, to carry my checkbook. I could have paid via debit-card, but would have to fork up an additional processing fee.

In any case, it's over and done with for another year.

Addendum: While at the DMV, I asked if my "real ID", which is on my driver license, will require any additional paperwork when I get a new one next year. According to them, once it's on a license it automatically transfers to the next license, no additional paperwork needed. I'm not sure I need a "real ID", but ya never know in this ever screwier world of ours.

Project: place gas-bill payment in the mail
Statis: Whew!

I forgot to do so two days in a row. Thankfully, I remembered today, Saturday, a good thing since this coming Monday is an observed holiday. That this payment seems absurdly high is another matter altogether.

I likewise didn't get my city utilities' payment to City Hall as soon as intended. There, the culprit was me forgetting that Monday, January 2, was another observed holiday. No biggie. We've until mid-month before late-fees kick in. (I walked mine to City Hall later that same week.)

Project: Dispose of 3.5" floppy disks
Status: I put a decent dent in phase-1

I've got loads of 'em on hand. They need to go to open up storage space for important conventional personal records, which have grown too numerous to fit in my two two-drawer filing cabinets.

Many floppies can't, or at least shouldn't, be thrown in the trash as-in, containing official install files for ancient versions of once-expensive software, no longer needed personal files, and so on. The rest were unceremoniously tossed in the trash as soon as proved harmless.

For "dangerous" disks, my first thought was to use an el-cheapo UBS external floppy drive, bought a few years ago, to format each disk, rendering it "safe". It's finicky, doesn't work on my primary PC, and is slow as molasses, but gets the job done. Except for too many disks Windows says can't be formatted, and others that don't have adjustable protection tabs. For those, I began removing the metal part at the housing's insertion-end, then used a knife to cut multiple slashes into the resultant exposed "film". This proved super quick and easy. Far quicker than formatting. With that realization, I put away my USB floppy drive and used the procedure on all remaining disks, which was most of them. I've still a decent amount of floppies to examine via USB floppy drive, to determine if they need transferring to a more modern storage format.


Project: Correct what seems an unaccounted-for drastic reduction of my Military Retiree FITW
Status: SNAFU

This took me completely by surprise one Saturday earlier this month. A DFAS email informed me of a new Pay Statement ready to view online. I did so. Said reduction was noticed. No explanation was given. My first thought was to simply use the site's user-adjustable Additional-FITW feature to make up the difference. But I wanted to do a bit of investigating first.

Nothing found on any DFAS site hinted at any sort of tax-liability reduction, nor mentioned a retiree FITW drop. General web searches yielded nothing. First thing Monday, I phoned DFAS and laid out my situation and concern. The rep I spoke with was friendly and very helpful, even conferencing with other sections when he had no answer. We spent over an hour talking, yet came to no conclusion. The best he could come up with is that other people have been complaining of "oddness" when making adjustments via DFAS MyPay.

I mulled this over a few days, then called DFAS again, this time speaking directly with MyPay rather than the pay and benefits section. This rep was about as clueless as they come. (I might have guessed so when she didn't identify herself at the beginning.) After "assuring" me there is nothing amiss with MyPay, I asked again about using Addition-FITW to bring Total-FITW where it was pre-reduction. She stated that, no, I shouldn't do so, because it causes DFAS to automatically recompute/adjust FITW. This is of course total bovine-manure. Additional-FITW is exactly what it says it is. DFAS formulates FITW based on Total Taxable Income. Additional-FITW lets us deduct yet more from our monthly pay. Total Taxable Income is unaltered. (I've adjusted Addtional-FITW many times these past three decades, without issue.)

Where it stands now: I still have no explanation for the FITW reduction. If I use Additonal-FITW, will it trigger more "odd" behavior? Will I spend the entire year adjusting Additional-FITW due to a constantly-changing FITW? Will one Additional-FITW adjustment do the trick without issue?

As of now, I'm thinking to try Additional-FITW again next month and hope for the best. There seems to be no other alternative other than leaving things as-is and paying in big-time on next year's tax-return.

Gaaaaaaah!!!!! I have been finding agencies that demand I do business via a computer (just assuming everyone in the world has one and/or knows how to use one) = now demanding we have a cell phone too? (I actually have a cell phone and have for years, but don't like connecting it to the internet sites because then they gear advertising to sites I visit and attach that history to my phone number). And sites like Facebook are always trying to finagle you into giving them your phone number; (Google just spies on your keystrokes and usurps the info it gleans from spying) = But to actually have it required or else is like a step too far; what criteria do they have on their privacy issues and what they do with that info?

I know this had to be frustrating for you; but reading it had me laughing = just the way you said it was funny, lol.

By the way; since there is no actual topic to this thread and this was a project of yours anyway = just wanted to say how much I love your mods! Wow, they are great!!!







Gaaaaah, now how are you going to get to work in that car through all that deep snow?

Do you have a local IRS office you can ask? We have one that is more helpful than one would think the IRS would be, lol.

It was funny, really. But yeah, also frustrating.


Thanks! Are you actually playing them?

The thing is, I made them for myself. Nexus only provides me with free cloud storage, backups, a versioning system and free beta testers.

Inns Sleep Two and Edible Slaughterfish for Oblivion; and I loved them both!

The Inn mod was fantastic, and a very needed addition to the game!

The Edible Slaughterfish = that one was actually a part of my roleplay in the game! For a long time I had been making fishing poles and buckets and sticking them around any houses I modded for myself that were around water. Then I found a fishing mod that added fishing; and immediately installed it so I could fish off the banks and docks all over the game. That mod added a variety of fish you could fish for; (but not eat, unfortunately). It also added fishing poles (that you had to equip as weapons and then hope you didn't have to fight anything while fishing, lol).

Well, that mod added to the roleplay of going out fishing; but your mod made the other mod so much better because when you fished along the Rumare you could also grab a few slaughterfish and actually bring home something to eat from it.

I actually downloaded another mod because of your Edible Slaughterfish mod = (Meos Static Dishes) = plates of food for my game (where the food looked more edible than the vanilla food you ate in Oblivion) = downloaded it because it had a Slaughterfish selection in it. I had already been using RileyMarks's Static Dishes; but Meos took it a step further by making a few actual recipes with the vanilla plates.

I would put the static dishes in my game as containers, and put respawning food in them that you could take out and eat. So her slaughterfish plate and your Edible Slaughterfish got used A LOT in my game.


https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1...-1302791082.jpg


Mods like yours and Meos's just added so much to the realism of the game and really enhanced the roleplay! I loved them!

*

Well, since we are on the projects page; I have been wanting to share this:

Early in December (or possibly late in November) my hubby asked me to build him a workbench for his Christmas present to him. So = yeah. I dug through the internet to plan out the best ideas other people had into one bench. (like a Miter saw that flipped under so you could use the full table top for a feed table for the Table saw; etc).

Anyway; I ended up deciding to make one work bench that split into two separate tables for if you wanted to use them apart and use them separately; or push them together when you needed one bit table surface; etc. (so of course both sides had to be on big casters so you could wheel them around at will or lock them in place when needed).

I had no idea how to plan something like that; so ended up finally just starting with no real plan = just an idea in my head. I guesstimated about how much lumber I would need (then had to go back for more, of course). Anyway; it actually isn't completed yet; but here it is (including a list of what isn't done on it yet) = my very first workbench:


https://imgur.com/a/rtrkoJB


What lacks being done on the workbench: I will still be installing a big wood vise at one end or side of each half table/bench; am halfway through building an extended 8' fence for the Table saw; and still plan to put a track/stop and built in measuring tape on the Miter saw side.

Also; I did add electric outlets to both sides; but haven't mounted them yet.

*

Have already started my next project: started demoing the kitchen; and going to attempt to make (by hand) cabinets for the kitchen, lol. Urgh.


** Update on the kitchen demo:

This house has the tiniest kitchen I have ever seen! It only had a sink cabinet and four wall cabinets total = NO storage at all for the kitchen (or anywhere else in the house, for that matter). There was 12" of counter space on either side of the sink; but that was the limit of the countertop space. It just wasn't functional at all; and it was really dark in there and closed off from the rest of the house by a big wall with a tiny doorway.

I have been wanting to do something about that kitchen since I moved in here over a year ago = well, I finally did start on it due to a door I wanted going on sale for a price I couldn't pass up; and then just recently Lowes had a sale on cabinet grade plywood (not to mention a construction site giving away a trailerload of lumber).

So within a week I was pitched headlong into remodeling this kitchen. The kitchen door was changed out a couple weeks ago from a solid wood one to a (single) French door with blinds built in = This is the same door style; we just don't have the second half:


https://americanthermalwindow.com/wp-conten...Blinds-Door.jpg


The wall removal between the kitchen and dining room = shockingly revealed an original wood "Ponderosa Pine" wall behind the drywall! Who would cover that up? It is in pristine shape; too!

That wall I had originally planned to be taken completely down; but with a find like that = couldn't do it. We decided to just take half the wall down to let the light come through (as planned) but keep the beauty of that Ponderosa Pine showing on the dining room side. The wall halving was a fantastic decision; letting all that natural light from the glass door and kitchen window out into the rest of the house now; and that wood wall looks wonderful!

Then when we pulled up the old (tattered) linoleum and plywood from the floor; we discovered oak hardwood flooring underneath!!! Who hides hardwood floors with linoleum and plywood? Gaaaaah!

The hardwood floors are not in pristine shape like the pine wall was; but after several days of sanding on it we haven't found a bad board in it yet!

This is like finding gold hidden on the property, lol. That floor is going to need A LOT more sanding; but we hope to start building cabinets next week. It will be both of our first time attempting to make a cabinet, so ... yeah.

I will post pics when everything is done unless the cabinets are embarrassing, lol.

Wow, mALX. You've been a busy squirrel. Nice wood work. I bet mirocu will want to hire you now.

Nice workbench, mALX! Now I only need that 9mm pic you promised

Project: Prepare Fed & State Tax Returns
Status: False Alarm

Today's snail-mail included an envelope of the right shape and size from Fidelity Investments. That being the only thing I'm waiting for before tackling this season's returns, I retrieved the folder containing everything else needed from my filing cabinet. Opening the Fidelity envelope, I was greeted with a report on one of my two rinky-dink funds. (Both stank during 2022.) I then visited Fidelity online for a tax statement. I'm to check back on the ninth, one of my funds not being finalized yet. If memory serves, it was close to March before both funds were finalized (for tax purposes) last year.


Project: Balance Jan 2023 bank-account ledger.
Status: Done, but oh the humanity!

Did so a few days ago. I've not been reporting these, since for some months balancing has been super quick and easy. Not so this month. I forgot to enter a number of transitions. A couple had incorrect amounts. At least one was entered under the wrong date. And so on. When all was said and done, it took 50 minutes to sort out my checking account. Savings took a minute or so, but that's practically impossible to get wrong. If for some reason I did goof up, it can be spotted and corrected in seconds.

Project: Add "sure" deposits and debit to my computerized bank account ledger to the end of 2023
Status: Done, at the moment

I've been doing this early in the year each year for decades. Stuff like my Social Security and Military Retiree payments, a $5 monthly debit to Patreon for the four independent news outlets that most appeal to me, and my monthly home/car insurance. SS and MRT will change in Dec, but those are simple edits. Insurance will change at least once. Still, these being automatic payments and deposits, I tend to forgot to add them to my ledger if I wait until the proper month. Which is part of the reason it took so long to balance my Jan ledger this year.

Why did I wait so long to do this? Between my long bout of constipation (which hit late 2022 and lingered into Jan 2023) and the mysterious illness that has plagued me off and on since mid/late Jan, I simply forgot about it. The hassle of balancing Jan's ledger reminded me. Then, early this morning, I received an email from DFAS saying that my recent FITW change has been processed. DFAS website allowed me to print out a new pay statement containing the change. With that in hand, it was time to act.

Project: Prepare and Submit 2022 Fed & State Tax Returns
Status: Done

My mutual funds' tax statement at last available for DL, I devoted pretty much the whole of yesterday afternoon to the task, stopping not far short of suppertime. As has been the case for decades, I relied on TurboTax Deluxe. I like its handholding and "safety" features. If not for my two mutual funds, suspect I could prepare the "paperwork" faster the old-fashioned way. Then again, TurboTax is far better at math than me. Heck, my front doorknob is better at math than me. In any case, those MTs automatically bar me from unassisted preparation.

Things weren't made easier by my never getting around to tracking down the exact source of my primary PC's issue. (I've narrowed it down somewhat, but...) Staring at a shimmering (if that's the correct term) monitor for hours on end did my eyes little good. By the end, I had developed a mild-medium migraine that took a while to vanish, even after taking what is normally sure-fire attack-ending medication. My eyes remained sore even longer.

As was the case last year, I'm getting little back from the Feds. (Prior to last year, I had been getting a generous Fed refund for quite some years.) This somewhat surprised me, since my mutual funds earned appreciably less DIV and INT during 2022 than 2021. And, for the second year in a row, I was taxed on 85% of my Social Security benefit, the highest allowed percentage. I suspect this is the primary cause of my small Fed refund.

On the other hand, like last year, I'm getting back decently more from the State. Not enough more to compensate for my Fed refund, but it helps.

As with every year since I began e-filing returns, I'll be paranoid over having possibly entered incorrect bank routing/account info up until my refunds are deposited. If they are.

Project: Car Repair
Status: In the shop

I visited our local auto repair/parts shop after putting away groceries yesterday morning. Why? Its "Service Engine Soon" light came on again. It's a periodic problem. I take it to the shop, they attach it to an Auto Code Machine. Nothing amiss is found that might trigger the Service Engine Soon light. The light is then reset to off. A week or two or three or four later it pops on again. I take it to the shop. Bla bla bla. The good news is that I'm never charged for these repeat visits. The bad news is, of course, that whatever triggers the light remains undiagnosed.

Yesterday I expected more of the same. This visit, the shop manager had more free time than usual to devote to me. Due to how I said the car has been running lately, he asked if I'd had the Motor Mounts checked/replaced. I had no idea. Turns out, they obviously haven't been. The motor is decidedly loose, enough so to rotate forward and down with any decent amount of acceleration, sometimes dramatically so. I witnessed this myself, standing outside the car, staring into the moto compartment, as the manager revved the engine.

I've no idea if replacing those mounts will solve my warning-light issue, but they need replacing regardless.

Project: Car Repair
Status: Hopeful

My car, in the shop for new motor mounts, should have been ready last Wed or Thur. It wasn't, the parts didn't arrive on time. I let it be known that, as I had a medical (Nephrology) appointment early Monday afternoon, I needed it back by the close of business Saturday. They promised it would be, either fixed or returned so I could drive it as-is. Come early Sat afternoon, I hadn't heard from them. Repeated calls up until around 1800 were not answered. (I found out later that they close at noon Saturdays.)

I must admit that I was rather worried. The clinic is not open on weekends. I could not contact them to move my appointment until mid-Monday morning. There are potential negative consequences for those who fail to cancel/move appointments with less than 48-hours notice. What saved me was remembering that my brother sometimes works only a few hours Mondays, sometimes not at all. He was willing to carry me to and from my appointment. (As it turns out, he might have been called in to work due to another member of his department being given the day off. Thankfully, that didn't happen.)

Thanks to my brother, I was able to tell the shop to keep the car until repaired, so long as they promised it would be on my parking slab by the close of business Tuesday, me having another medical appointment (Pulmonology) Wednesday. They promised it would. Lo and behold, it was returned to me at around 1500 Tuesday afternoon!

This morning's Walmart grocery run was the "repaired" car's first testing. What I experienced was a remarkable improvement in idling, acceleration, power, and smoothness. It didn't purr. The car's too old for that. But it came close enough to purring to appease me. No more thinking the engine might conk out during every drive. The Service Engine Soon light didn't come on, a first it quite a long time. Replacing those mounts ran me $415, but at least I got observably beneficial results for my money.

Almost purring! Great news.

It continues to show its age but, considering it's a 1998 model, it's doing quite well, motor-wise. There's barely in red paint left on it, the roof's fabric lining disintegrated some years ago, and its AC no longer cools sufficiently during hotter summer days. But despite the money I shelled out on it for under-the-hood repairs these last few years, it remains a better alternative than buying another car, especially considering what even decent-quality used cars go for these days. (I suspect that almost any used car I can afford will have appreciably more miles on it than mine, which has something like 85K.)

In other news, the bank received my Fed tax return some days ago. Also, I received confirmation about my Military Retiree Additional-FITW change. I recently unearthed what I assume is the reason behind DFAS almost halving FITW. If I'm correct, I didn't need to increase Additional-FITW as much as I did. But I did need to increase it. I might or might not lower it a bit next month.

Kitchen remodel is coming along good:


https://imgur.com/fCpCUu7


Those cabinets are 100% hand made, including the doors. Will be installing a dishwasher in the empty slot in the middle; and putting drawers in the end cabinet that is still empty. I made the drawer facings; working on the drawers still. The hardwood floor took three weeks to refinish, lol.

Careful how you do that installation, or you’ll be refinishing the floor again.

Fabulous job so far, mALX!

Lol, I know, right?





Thank you!!!

Made my own countertop = very first attempt! It looks great in the pic; but actually does need another coat due to a few total inept "pilot error" fiasco issues, lol.


https://i.imgur.com/jHSryeI.jpg


(also, you may notice we added a drawer and the cabinet door pulls/handles since the last pic).

And did some unplumbing?

Yeah; the counter takes at least 72 hours before you can set anything on it; so the sink is back out, lol.

Coming along great, mALX! I love how your kitchen is going to feel so open, light and airy when you are finally all done! Wow, and that countertop is looking smooth as Dibella's bum.

Noice

Wait, now am I going to be picturing Dibella's ass while cooking in there now?

Thank you so much for your kind words, Acadian! And yes, this was a much needed transformation, that is for sure, lol.




Thank you so much, Mirocu!!! Coming from you with your awesome woodworking skills = that really feels good to hear you say!!!

Woot! Dibella's bum! Not a trace of cellulite!

A little statue of Dibella wouldn't go amiss.

Whoa... nice counter, mALX!

As for myself, the commode leaks. It seems to be coming from the base. Meaning I need a new commode floor seal, or whatever it's officially called. I've no experience installing them, but it doesn't look all that hard. (Famous last words?) Plus, the part is super cheap. My stumbling block; I don't know that I have it in me anymore to manhandle the commode's weight and bulk, as is necessary for replacement. Then again, I hate to spend a lot of money for what is theoretically an easy repair. We shall see.

In other news, I've taken advantage of our unseasonably warm weather and resumed exercise-walks a bit earlier than usual. I swear it gets harder to start back each year. This year, it's mainly noticeable in more labored breathing, which I hope to work off over time. <crosses fingers>

My brother and I tried that once. We removed the toilet only to find that the concrete floor was cracked around the seat. Unable to tighten the toilet back in place, we ended up calling a plumber. He spent an afternoon reforming the seat in the floor. Thankfully in workout in the end.

Whew! With your medical issues; it is a huge relief to have your car running well again. Then = Holy Cow! That was expensive!!! What I liked about this post is that you have a mechanic that didn't try to hoodoo you into thinking you needed a new engine = he realized it was the motor mounts and didn't try to jack up the bill over and above what it needed (an honest and trustworthy mechanic). Next; the mechanic was straight up with you on what he could or couldn't do on getting the car back to you (either working or not) and then pushed to get it to you as soon as possible to accommodate your medical appointment needs. Really good to have someone like that you can rely on. The circumstances of the late shipping were out of his control; of course. This post kind of reminded me of how auto mechanics used to be around here = really hard to find that anymore these days.









I choose this one! But not in my kitchen; maybe on the back deck, lol.


https://i.etsystatic.com/35276639/r/il/f07b...421080_rsw4.jpg









Thank you for the kind words on my countertop work!!!

On the commode = they are VERY heavy and bulky; and it is VERY easy to slip while trying to lift it. Can you get your brother to help you with this? You need to (of course) shut off the water and flush it till it is totally empty.

Lay towels around the floor to catch any more remaining in the tank or commode. The towels will also keep you from slipping on the wet bathroom floor. (if they get too wet; through them in the bathtub and put new dry towels down).

You can put the back tank in the bathtub on a thick layer of towels; and maybe carefully lay the toilet on a thick layer of towels on the floor on its side so you can scrape the old wax ring completely off both the commode and the floor around the pipe sticking up.

When done cleaning off the old wax: lay the new wax ring down; and this is where it is crucial you have help = lower the toilet down precisely level over the pipe hole. If you tilt it or slide it around it will break the new wax ring and it will leak as bad as before you changed it.







The price of cabinet built in features was ridiculous; so we made our own rolling shelves for the cabinets:


(ignore drawer above it being wrong color; I will be putting polyurethane on that drawer later today)


https://imgur.com/55XOcci

Wow, mALX, those sliding drawers look beautifully professional.

Thank you! Greg did the hard work while I was at the Guild Meet last night, lol. I just drew up an image of what I wanted and he ran with it. I love them!

So what’s on his to-do list for the NA meeting?

I sanded all day, he is putting more drawers and shelves in while I'm at the meeting, lol.

Thanks to comments here, online research, and not being sure I am physically up to the task of replacing a commode ring (or whatever it's called), I decided to call in a plumber to perform repairs. I'm scheduled for Tuesday. They were available Monday, but I have a medical appointment then, plus my weekly grocery/errand run.

I still haven't tracked down what is causing my primary PC's monitor to be eye-fryingly jittery. My latest experiments have proven, to my surprise, that the issue isn't with the motherboard. Swapping GPUs between computers seems to confirm that it isn't that either. The CPU passes all software tests I've thrown at it with flying colors. I'm now wondering if it's the monitor itself, which I'd ruled out early on. I really need to get off my duff and spend the time and energy necessary to solve the matter once and for all. My stumbling block is that it's too easy to simply spend my time goofing around on the web via my secondary PC (which is what I'm doing now).

They really are VERY heavy and awkward to pick up; it is most def a two man job under the best situations unless you are a 23 year old body builder or something. I hope your plumber does a good job and doesn't gouge you price wise; it should be a simple job for a pro (and hopefully he will have an assistant).

On that monitor = a jittery screen like that can cause migraine headaches and even seizures; be careful on that one. Really hope you find the cause and eliminate it.

Project: Commode leak repair
Status: Done!

Turns out the leak's source was not what I thought it was. It was, instead, in the water input tubing, which was my original diagnosis. Only, I thought a leak there would have to be either where the hose attaches to the tank or where it attaches to the top of the water control valve. Instead, it was the pipe that comes out of the floor and attaches to the bottom of the water control assembly. The repairman needed to remove a bit of pipe to alleviate the damage. He also installed a new water control assembly and replaced my ancient metal water valve to-tank-bottom tubing with a flexible hose. In the end, due to modifying the floor-to-water control assembly pipe, I couldn't have done it on my own, lacking the skill for it.

One other "good" thing came out of the situation. Yesterday evening, after clearing stuff away from the commode to give the repairman adequate workspace, I noticed that much of the shower and commode were absolutely filthy, covered in orange and occasionally black mildew/mold. As I'm sure I've mentioned, though I'm a stay-at-home recluse by nature, I'm not at all domesticated. I hardly notice my house at all, other than those areas which are of value to me; basically my computer area and those parts of the kitchen at which I prepare meals. Everything else can go to the dogs without me noticing unless it misbehaves in unavoidable ways. Anyway, once I noticed the filth, I realized that seeing it might scare away the repairman. That being the case, I begrudgingly decided to remove the worst of it. A long project as it turned out, not helped by having only a small amount of cleaning solution on hand. On a positive note, with the leak fixed, I can safely ignore the bathroom again until its next catastrophe.