Done this month (20170702Su - 15Sa)
Somehow I appear to have missed posting last week. We've moved. (Looking at the notes for last Sunday, I'm guessing that the reason I missed posting was sheer exhaustion -- that was a busy day, and I'd done more lifting than is good for me.)
We moved into the new house on Wednesday. The movers, from Two Men And a Truck, were fast and efficient - we were out of the apartment in an hour and a half. Highly recommended.
My new phone, on the other hand, is not highly recommended. It's a great phone, except that because it was factory unlocked it doesn't support HD Voice and, hence, WiFi Calling. That's bad, because the cell signal here is rather spotty. It could be worse, except that I actually have a signal in the house, albeit a weak one at times.
I spent hours on chat with AT&T's tech support, and hours in their store, and a little while in the T-Mobile store, trying to get the damned thing recognized by the network. No dice. Now it won't even work as a WiFi hotspot, which sucks. I'll have to swap it again. I hate phones. I hate phone companies. H8 H8 H8. (Basingstoke.)
We are mostly moved in, except that our beds are in the second pod, which isn't arriving until next week. Oops. So we're still on the sofabed, which is in the living room because we didn't want to try to deal with moving it out of the bedroom. It's not merely heavy, it's huge, and won't fit vertically through a doorway.
The house is going to take some getting used to. The kitchen is lovely and open, but doesn't have as much storage as we expected -- in particular, there's only one rather narrow set of drawers. So that will take some refactoring.
The biggest problem, though, is the cats. Ticia is no longer being aggressive toward Cricket, but she's curious. Cricket, however, is terrified, and just hides. That's going to take some work -- it's not the usual case where one cat is being aggressive, so the usual procedures for reintroducing cats don't really apply.
Other than that, though, I like it here. There are a few other assorted inconveniences, but the place itself is lovely -- calm and quiet.
Notes & links:
0702Su * up 7:30; W=203.4; Shower : As it turns out, the local Mailboxes Etc/UPS store is not open on Sundays * read the manual for the LG phone. There are some weirdnesses; not clear whether that's just the way they're describing ordinary Android operations, or whether it's really as weird as it seems. -> one thing that's really going to make a big difference is the fact that the power switch is on the back. I'm starting to worry about that; the Samsung phones all have a front button that one can use when it's sitting on the desk. Oh, well -- I can easily get or make a stand for it. -> lack of an apps drawer -- I hadn't known what it was called -- would also have been a problem, except that the latest upgrade has brought it back as an option. @ dnschneid/crouton: Chromium OS Universal Chroot Environment How to Easily Install Ubuntu on Chromebook with Crouton Runs in a chroot, so you don't even have to reboot to use it, although switching to developer mode wipes the machine and puts up a warning every time you boot. ~ call UW advice nurse about C's infection; Shoreline Clinic is open for urgent care. -> just went without calling. Nobody in line; in fact I had to go up to the door to verify that they were open. -> turns out it's 1) a spider bite and 2) infected. * plan on hitting Northgate Mall for a charge and an AT+T visit. -> AT+T didn't have a SIM adapter. Fortunately T-Mobile did. I neglected to find out whether the LG supports WiFi calling. Going on the assumption that it does, but I want to verify. -> yes, it is claimed that it does * email Albert with meet-up details & Dinner at Azteca. : Unfortunately Wallgreen's pharmacy closes at 6 on Su, so even if we *hadn't* stopped for dinner we wouldn't have made it home from Northgate in time to pick up her prescription. Could maybe have barely made it if I'd realized before we spent quite so much time at the mall. * I should change my phone PIN or pattern to one I can reliably thumb-type with my right hand. : We're low on boxes, and out of banker's box lids. Try once again to ship old phone * stuff staged by door. Keys in left pants pocket. * down 00:30(?) Don't feel all that sleepy, but I suppose I should. 0703Mo * up 6:40; W=201.8; ~! Go out early and buy x black+whites and * Colleen's prescription. % badly overloaded a couple of times in the morning, and a couple of times later on as well. Seems like one thing that does it is someone trying to make me prioritize something while I'm very busy doing something else. Another is * take folding chairs, blue walker, car charger to Freeland. * Meet with electrician. It'll be $500; very straightforward, and the main panel is right there on the post - it's a piece of telephone pole, not a 2x4 like I remembered : Biggish stack of mail saved for us. They had also found my folding cane. * Brunch at Charmer's Bistro in Freeland * Whidbey Telecom: go to Freeland office, with closing docs as proof of residency -> not clear we have a phone jack. -> They have to bond several pairs. They install a modem; we supply the router. Easy. * meet Gina in the coffeehouse -> hired x Celebrate America at Freeland Park in Freeland, WA 07-03-2017 * Up to Coupville to meet some former coworkers in Christopher's Bistro. Good conversation. I hadn't noticed that they were an item, but they appear to be. @ ysabetwordsmith | Dealing with Grief * Down 00:20 0704Tu * up 7:30; W=202.6; @ ysabetwordsmith | Dealing with Grief Eponis | Sinope (Everything Is Awful and I’m Not Okay: questions to...) @ Eponis | Sinope (Self Care Help) @ Monad (functional programming) - Wikipedia : Text from G'; g' sick, as usual. & apparently changing SIMs made Google think I had changed my phone number. It turned off sync. IDIOTS. Figured this out because my phone wasn't syncing. * Merge contacts on Google. This does not appear to be affecting the corresponding list on my phone, because the SIM and device lists aren't affected. Annoying. Fortunately I have a new SIM and am putting it on a new phone. @ Software: annoying speech or crappy product? : I just noticed that bike routes on Google Maps include an elevation map. * 3:20 Walk - University to 45th 40min; TJ's on the way back but that was walking too. Blood sugar crash starting shortly before I got to TJ's. * 8ish setting up LG G5 phone. Not all that fond of the UI. We'll see whether we can get WiFi Calling and the app tray set up after the OS upgrade. -> app drawer was there waiting to be downloaded as an app. I love Linux and WMs. -> the back power switch is going to take a lot of getting used to. -> Even with the app drawer, I can't seem to make new home screen panels. We'll see if the OS upgrade helps. If not, it turns out that there are many third-party "launcher"s Nova Launcher Prime is a possibility -> pinch the screen diagonally and you can change the home panel or add panels. GOOD -> NICE! Double-tap the screen and it turns on. Perfect for desktop use. * down 00:45 0705We * up 6:30; W=203.8; & AT&T tech support IMEI 358466070967816 ICCID 89014103270145168043 account details supposed to have propagated by around 2pm : Phone screen is 5x5 icons rather than 4x4, plus the 5 icons in the bottom row. * set up fingerprint and pin on phone. Smart lock: on-body, trusted locations (apartment and house) & Seattle City Light sent me a bill for the old house! -> deleted from online profile * Spent an hour or so updating mailing addresses. * cat box and litter genie * Off to mall to see whether they can fix the problem, and to get a charge. (charger was occupied, so used it on the other end of the visit.) : 3ish Taking the phone in to the store was a dead end. They said it was an issue with unlocked phones, which was dead wrong. Pointed me at LG, who told me that it had to do with features put on the phone by the carrier. Now back on chat. Ricardo. Now 4:30. Tried to buy a charging cable and they wanted $25 for it. They're $8 at Amazon. -> Ricardo: Your ticket number is: 000000233214026 callback 3 hours 16:54 The backend team has to do something. Weird. Provisioning problem, probably having to do with the convoluted history of the account. I note that it didn't work with the Samsung, either. -> Ricardo: The Callback is been arranged for you and the callback id is 1246627427. -> 20:25 called back -> needs to be done in the billing department. Will call back tomorrow around 1pm. Yeah, sounds like it's provisioning. :P * set up "keypass" on the car app. Not entirely clear why one wants to do this; must research. Stephen Savitzky:6:45:40 PM " I just enabled something called "KeyPass" in the myChevrolet app on my phone. I just searched for documentation on this website, and didn't find it. What is it, and why should I keep it enabled? Antonio:6:45:52 PM I can definitely point you to the right direction. To better assist with your concern, I will have to refer you to our Connection Center Team (CCT). Unfortunately, they do not have a webchat team. You will have to contact them by phone at 877-558-8352. " -> they're clueless, too. p. 44 owner's manual. ->It seems as though all it does is let the app communicate via bluetooth when you happen to be within range of the car and BT is enabled. There is, however, a wide range of conflicting speculation on the owners' fora. @ stardreamer | Yet another article about decluttering. % 11pm - sleepy % 11:15 - discovered that I'd fallen asleep * down 23:15 0706Th Kat's birthday * Up 7:30; W=203.8; : Call from AT&T -- had trouble hearing the rep, but apparently the SIM wasn't properly activated. Or something. * Walgreens with prescriptions to refill, and C's insurance info. * take Motorola phone to UPS for return. * mail propane rental form * go to AT&T store. Get new(2) sim and have them activate it in the store. Have a supervisor call 1-800-331-0500 reference ticket # 000000233214026 Make sure WiFi calling works, and that it also works on the Samsung. Make sure that it _will_ work on Colleen's line, if possible. -> stupidly forgot my computer. -> The latest claim from AT&T is that the feature I want -- WiFi calling -- is simply not supported on unlocked phones. Unfortunately, smashing it with a sledgehammer and setting it on fire would make it difficult to return the phone to Amazon. -> and it won't work on either Colleen's phone, or my old one. -> and they changed the IMEI number. -> the thing they have to provision is VoLTE @ Can't use AT&T's Wi-Fi calling with your iPhone? This could be why - The Verge Some people say calling 1-800-331-0500 will open a ticket to enable VoLTE. * Nearest AT&T store (as opposed to authorized retailer) to Whidbey is Everett Mall. 0707Fr * up 6am; W=202.8; % right QL acting up * Go up to Whidbey early. Try to leave by 7:30 Take Clea and her food bin. Also bring the spare router (Rainbow's End) * Ramp being finished. Most of the stuff out of the pod. The only heavy things that James didn't get out were the banquet table, the tablesaw, and the power chair. The latter we just drove off the edge (with nobody sitting in it). Easy. After some looking found the extension cord I'd brought up on Monday -- I'd put it in the garage, which of course made sense at the time. Plugged in the chair. * order Humira -> for 0712We. We'll be coming and going, but there will be someone here, at least. : The ferry is down a boat, so they're running only every hour. Over a two hour wait; hopefully we'll get on the 6:10. Which is actually *arriving* just now at that time & set up Android Auto while in the ferry line; not sure I want to keep it. It blocks the phone's touch screen completely, so it becomes difficult or impossible to control * Got j to his Plant for the Planet meeting at 7:25 -- an hour later than ideal, but ok x stop off at TJ's and get tortillas for fajitas -> use bake-at-home bread from freezer * down 9:30ish. Very sleepy and in a lot of back pain (5-6?) 0709Sa * Up 6:15; p=5.5? ; shower : G' packed the bathroom scale :P ~ get up to Whidbey early again - flooring -> N will handle it @ High capacity microSD cards and Android - Gary explains | AndroidAuthority Officially, you need exFAT for SD cards > 32G (SDXC). exFAT isn't supported on Linux In practice, FAT32 works for any size card or flash drive up to at least 128GB. It would probably work all the way up to 2TB, which is the absolute limit for FAT32 ! thrilled - I just got fan mail for the software I use to typeset our songbooks! And the guy found it via Toolmakers, which is equally cool. : vehicle status email from onstar. Wrong VIN, and the "view online" link doesn't work (blank page). The "contact us via email" page has a web form, and no email address. The web form doesn't work, either (greys out and spins forever). Got OnStar CS on chat; they fixed the VIN (which I had already fixed in at least four places), and referred me to a phone number for the "chevy connection center" for the email and web issues. The guy on the other end seemed sympathetic and said that a) they'd get back to me in 3-4 business days, and b) OnStar is "moving to another website" whatever that means. ! not impressed. @ Log Cabin Home Floor Plans Kiawah (hexagonal) floor plan - take ~6" off the sides to get it under 1000 ft^2 * make sure BECU car loan is accessible from my online account * A little packing. Two large (UHaul calls them "medium" -- 3ft^3 boxes) * pack up the blue quilt % 10pm sleepy. * down ~10:30 0709Su * up 6:30; ; : Colleen got up a few minutes after me. * Bananna bread French toast * At Northgate for a charge. Phone connects via both WiFi hotspot and USB tethering, but does not route. Same for WiFi hotspot. I'm pretty sure both were working earlier. * To Whidbey, with Colleen. ~ go up to Whidbey to finish unpacking pod -> second pod not coming for more than a week, so no need to hurry unpacking. * Colleen's scooter has problems in the gravel; we're going to have to harden it somehow. Probably with quick-setting concrete. * Set up the spare router on the shelf in the laundry room. Gets good coverage, so that's where we'll have them put it. * Stopped at The Goose on the way home. Reputed to be the best grocery store on the island, and I can believe it. Only place I've found outside of Whole Paycheck that carries the Kettle unsalted chips. Grabbed two bags, and ate one on the way home. * paid rent. Don't remember getting a reminder, and it's a little late, but done now. * packing. * send Mom the new house address * Down 11:15 0710Mo * Up 6am; ; @ Drug Safety and Availability > FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA advises restricting fluoroquinolone antibiotic use for certain uncomplicated infections; warns about disabling side effects that can occur together Problem. Colleen gets Cipro fairly often. (thnidu | Cipro, Levaquin, Avalox, all fluoroquinolones VERY DANGEROUS) * Call Whidbey Telecom and tell them they need to install a jack too. x Give Whidbey Telecom N's number to call when they arrive. x dwarves coming, so there will (hopefully) be some help packing -> cancelled, as usual * garbage! Island Disposal, Coupfille 360-321-1331 -> Wed. 32ga 2/week Billed bimonthly; we will get first bill in September. @ 5 Internet Providers in Freeland, WA 98249 - In My Area Freeland, WA » Cable TV Service: 5 Providers - In My Area * charge car & check at T-Mobile to see whether they can enable WiFi calling on my phone. They can't Not even with a T-Mobile SIM card. So it's just flat impossible. * buy cat litter, litter box, quick-setting concrete * 7:00pm Mizu Japanese Steakhouse, 339 Strander Blvd, Tukwila, WA 98188; Kat's birthday * down a little after midnight : Electrician ghosted. Left voice mail. Texted ~8:30 saying he'd call in the morning. 0711Tu * up 7ish; ; : Nothing from electrician. Sent follow-up text saying if he can't do it today or tomorrow we'd find someone else. * am Whidbey Telecom at house to install internet. -> also phone jack, since we don't have one in the house. We'll see whether this is even possible. -> it is. -> phone jacks in master bedroom, music room, and laundry room. The modem and (my) router are in the laundry room. Good signal everywhere. * Set up the Whidbey Telecom online account * 11:15am Colleen UNW. G' running late. (arrived at 10:44) * Made chicken tikka masala * heard from Walgreen's - the panties I ordered apparently arrived months ago. * bring Ticia up to the house; put her in j's room. meowed pretty much all the way up to Mukilteo; settled down as soon as we got into the ferry line. Probably mostly due to how long it took for the calming treat to take effect. * Left Molly at home to charge, using the portable charger and the outlet just inside the garage door. * Made chicken piccata with the one remaining package of frozen chicken. Put the tikka in the freezer to take up with us. * last-minute packing, mostly the kitchen. 0712We * up 6:05; ; @ Everything you need to know about Wi-Fi calling - CNET WiFi & Wi-Fi Phones, Smartphones and Mobile Devices from AT&T * 11am movers arrive -> good, competent. : ended up on the same ferry as the movers. & left a door open on the ferry. banged up the door on the opposite side cutting a corner; now it won't stay closed. % I am an idiot. Or at any rate a lousy driver. -> looked it up. Apparently they get out of adjustment easily. One can, however, disable the motors and close the doors by hand. Which feels a lot more natural to me anyway. * Colleen: humira -- it's being delivered to the house. % WE ARE HOME. : Rick and Tess came over to vist. @ (6) Nora Rivkis's answer to Can a man be important for you or in your life without him being a romantic partner? - Quora & maybe enough excitement for one day? -> the car door -> Cricket disappeared. Couldn't find her anywhere in the house. Finally, after a massive search inside and out, I thought to ask whether N had looked under the covers on g's bed. She had, but apparently cats can make themselves very inconspicuous. -> Gas flare lit right in front of my face. Apparently it's not hard to push the knobs while reaching for something in the microwave. Doesn't explain why it looked like more than one of the burners were turned to the 1 o'clock position. : so, why does the charge rate on the Bolt default to 8 amps rather than 12? * humira. * unpacking (ongoing) % back hurts; tired; ... but I'm home, all of us are here - 5 humans, 2 cats, piggie. It _feels_ like home. * down 11pm 0713Th * up 7:18; ; * unpacking (ongoing) * 9-11 (caregiver) Gina -> mostly unpacking the kitchen now * shopping list: milk, eggs, chicken, skirt steak, white rice, (salted) butter, cottage cheese, Nature's miracle, LED bulb for floor lamp, >= 3 grab bars (each toilet, shower) spray cleaner -- 7th generation if they have it, depends, gloves -> missed the rice, cottage cheese, and grab bars. * Put C's scooter in the garage for now. $ $760 to TRB Construction for ramp % Problems with odor. I'm afraid we may have made a terrible mistake. ! deeply upset * Sirloin steak, corn, and asparagus for dinner. Whidbey Island Winery Merlot Whidbey Island Distillery blackberry liqueur for dessert. Yum! % back hurts a lot (5+) after putting dishes in dishwasher * Still looking for the songbook. It was in the apartement, and G' packed it. 0714Fr Bastille Day * up 5:20; ; * Found the LgF songbook, at the bottom of a box of C's clothes. Apparently when I felt down past the sweaters I mistook the cover of the notebook for the bottom of the box. ~ 8:30 make sure N is awake; * muscle comes at 9 -> turns out he's from San Jose, on Menker. Small world. * 9am wake Colleen @ Washington Fifth-Grade not clear one can order for just one student. -> one can, but it's $30 rather than $8 * aim to leave 10:30; expect 11 * 1pm Colleen Dentist * 3pm Colleen UNW * updated PLC Insurance; discovered that I hadn't cancelled the policy on the old house! * white rice, cottage cheese, coffee, bisquick, calamine lotion, cortisone cream, 3-way bulb for floor lamp, grab bars, 30ga garbage can, closed laundry hamper @ Galaxy Magazine : Internet Archive (Galaxy on the Internet Archive [The Mad Filkentist]) One of the greatest science fiction magazines is now available for free online ! accomplished. % tired, not hurting : Either I forgot to run the dryer, or it stopped without getting stuff dry. : There's something weird going on with the lights in the kitchen. Every once in a while they brighten, as if some of them had been turned back on. But as far as I know nobody touched a switch, and I never noticed one of them being out. As I said, weird * down 00:30ish 0731Sa * up 6ish; W=201.0; @ elf | 30 day song meme #23: A song you think everybody should listen to QV! * 15min: organizing flatware. I'm keeping out service for 8. Put up a command hook for (my car) keys so they don't take up space in my pocket when I'm not out driving. * 15min: moved laptop desk and chair to take up less space - both are alongside the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining area : back-of-the-envelope: Pods are about 8x8x16=1024ft^3. The garage is 25x25x8=2000ft^3 So we will only be using at most half the volume of the garage if we had to store everything. And of course we don't -- the pods have our beds, the other recliner, etc. A lot of books, though. * 15min: found an S-hook, so used it to shorten the chain on the hanging lamp. Tall people are now no longer in danger of bumping their heads on it. (For sufficiently short values of tall, I suppose) * 15min: moved office cart and file crate into bedroom. Set up bamboo folding shelves next to the laptop desk, which gives me a place for the coffee cup. May want to switch sides because I can't see Colleen from here. Will try both. -> ok, the reversed arrangement works pretty well. Might work even better with the server cart in the corner. : Optimum place for Nova is on the shelf in the laundry room next to gw. It means that lp will need a WiFi bridge somewhere, but that's ok. * 15min: clear off one side of master bathroom counter for N move the large plastic drawer set into the chair well; use bottom for large stuff like my drug extras. * Walk: got out a little; back and forth to the garage a couple of times. :P % Have finally tasted cinnamon rolls from the Coupville Bakery. They are indeed excellent, though still not my favorite _kind_ of baked thing. * Cricket is still freaked out about Ticia; N is probably going to trade rooms with j, which sucks in many ways. Not much different from what it will be like when N gets her ADU, though. * made dinner: chicken tenders marinated in red wine, pan-fried in butter with a little garlic and black pepper. % 8pm made bed. Not too painful. * 15min: most of the double bed currently in the MBR cleared; tomorrow N and I move it to j's room. % 9:15 dishes. back hurts * research 6th grade lesson plans and resources : We seem to be down a litter genie. Weird. May have been left in j's room @ Think Like a Cat:Reintroduction Method | Pam Johnson-Bennett
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