|
Bookshelf:Recently Read & Reviewed: Currently Reading:
|
Better, Worse or The SameWorse: My garage door. Debbi and I got back from errands on Saturday afternoon and my garage door was only lifting up a foot or two before stopping. I went in and poked around at it for a while and yes indeed, the motor was only moving for a little while and then cutting out. Very mysterious. Time for a new garage door opener? Better: Well, actually, no. Debbi deserves most of the credit for this one. The garage door has a pair of big, metal springs, one on either side of it, which are tensed when the door is down, and contract when the door is up. Debbi noticed that the spring on one side had snapped in two, and we conjectured that this had something to do with it. (I later conjectured that the springs provide some of the force to lift the door, that the opener's motor can't do it all by itself.) Turns out a replacement spring only cost 9 bucks, and although it was a little tricky getting the door propped open and then pulling the new spring onto the anchors which hold it, we got it done without too much fuss and the door works fine now!
 The Same: Me. Well, my body, anyway. Wednesday I went in for my first physical exam in about seven years, going to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (at the recommendation of both my friend Syd and a reader). My doctor seems very nice; friendly and talkative (but not too talkative, if you understand me). Easy to talk to. He addressed all of my concerns easily: My turned ankle, which has been sore in a low-level way from time to time, has been treated properly and just needs time to fully heal. My groin pain (after an, um, exam) was probably a pulled quadricep or groin muscle rather than something nasty. And I figured out what I should do about vaccinations, since I haven't gotten anything but a flu shot in over ten years. Pretty straightforward. I'm also getting some blood tests done, and, unsurprisingly, he'd like me to lose a bunch of weight. Probably 30 pounds or more. So I'm cutting down on my eating, which hopefully will not involve a whole lot more than cutting out the cookies and pastries I sometimes have at work, and other snackitudes. Pretty easy, all-in-all. Oh, and it turns out that PAMF uses software from my old company, Spic Systems, which was certainly fun to see. There's probably a little bit of my code in the app my doctor was using in the exam room, which is also cool to think about.
Worse: My bicycle. I biked to work this morning and when I arrived (following my shower at the fitness center) I noticed that my rear wheel was periodically scraping against its brake. Playing with it a bit, I could see the wheel moving side-to-side, slightly. So either it's gotten out of alignment, or the wheel has become warped. Hopefully it's the former, as with the latter I may need a new wheel. Sigh. I'll see if I can take it in tomorrow, as I'm hoping to bike in at least twice this week.
Better: This weekend's meals. Especially Saturday. Debbi bought a slow-cooker recently, and made chicken cacciatore that day. It was really good. The chicken was amazingly tender. Though we agreed it probably would be even better if she'd sliced up the chicken before cooking it, rather than throwing in whole breasts (well, half-breasts, actually). I made baked cinnamon-sugar apples from Cook's Illustrated which were extremely yummy as well. Sunday we'd planned to grill pork chops and I was going to try the CI potatoes gratin, but our day was too full and we didn't get to it, Instead I had Chinese food at Su Hong after the book discussion group, which was a reasonable substitute. And, today John gave me some leftover corned beef and cabbage he made this weekend, and boy was that ever good when I had it for dinner. Mmm-mm. I do love corned beef. I need to make it myself before too long.
Better: My reading lately. I've read a couple of Margery Allingham Campion novels recently, which have been okay (and short), as well as re-reading The Anubis Gates, which is one of my favorite books, and has made me decide that I want to put the Tim Powers I haven't read on my to-read stack very soon (and buy Anubis in hardcover, for that matter). I do feel very happy when I'm making lots of progress reading.
Worse: My finances. Not that I didn't know it was coming, but I have a lot of money going out the door over the next month. My income taxes are going to be painful, and my property taxes are also due soon. Not to mention my car insurance. I really should shop around for another company, since I suspect AAA doesn't exactly have the best rates around (though the real trick is to find a place with good rates but which also provides good service in case of an accident). I also want to buy a new computer (the high-end one of these [which, for people reading this years after I've written it, is a 1.42 GHz dual-processor G4]), since my current machine (you know, the one I'm writing this on) is 5 years old and can't effectively run Mac OS X. That will be more money going out the door. And I really want a new couch, since my futon just doesn't cut it anymore. It's not like I haven't planned (at least somewhat) for all this, but it's still going to hurt, and mostly I'm not going to get a lot back for all this outlay. Sigh. I know, cry me a river. On the plus side, my monthly expenses do seem to be dwindling, as I'm finally getting them under control in the wake of a year of setting up my house and also after the holiday season. It would be good if I can start putting a little more money in my account each month on a consistent basis.
Worse: My enthusiasm for The Exploratorium. Not that it's really the Exploratorium's fault, though. Longtime readers may remember that three years ago I went to the place with Trish, and came away feeling physically ill (though I also took some photos, which you can see through the link). And I mean really, really awful. Enough that Trish had to drive back part of the way and help me inside to collapse into bed. (Thanks again, Trish! I still appreciate it!) I figured it was either dehydration or some bug catching up with me. Well, yesterday Debbi and I went and I came away again with a splitting headache, and mild nausea and sweating. Not as bad as the first time, but not good. I fell asleep for half an hour before heading off to my book discussion.) Debbi's theory is that all of the optical tricks in the place puts a strain on my eyes, or brain, or something, and gives me these headaches. Which seems plausible to me. Although I asked the other eight or so people at the book discussion group if they'd ever had the same experience, and none of them had. So maybe it's just me. It does suck, though, because I think it's a fun museum (if "museum" is the right word). We had a good time playing with stuff. I think Deb considers the kid-oriented exhibits and the kids getting in the way to be kind of annoying, which I can understand. When my Dad comes to visit again, perhaps we'll go on a weekday. I enjoy the optical exhibits perhaps the best (alas!), though the various mechanical and electrical exhibits are also fun. I do still recommend it to anyone who likes museums where you get to play with things and learn things. I just wish I knew why it lays me out when I visit it. Gah.
The Same: Bicycling is marching right along, and that's a good thing. I'm still enjoying biking to work, and the warmer-than-usual winter (or so it feels like) has helped keep me motivated to head out in the morning. Plus, Debbi and I have been going for weekend rides up the peninsula. Last weekend we biked almost up to the Dumbarton Bridge, and this weekend we biked up the baylands and then crossed over into Palo Alto, where we biked along some of their "bike boulevards", which are not truly boulevards but are very bike-friendly residential streets. We went almost all the way to downtown Palo Alto, and then turned around and headed home. The souther peninsula can be a very scenic and laid-black place to go for a ride. You'll even see some red-winged blackbirds and groundhogs. Fun!
|
||
