October 2018 – Page 2

21 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: It’s only a little past midnight and I am up. I’ve tried going back to sleep several times to no avail. One thing I have to figure out is where to distribute the power from the two solar panels. The number one power item is the 12V@10W refrigerator water line warming wire, that absolutely cannot freeze. (But its only needed when the temperature is well below freezing.) Next on the list is the four 12V 1W ceiling LED lights in critical areas of the house that have no windows. (Both bathrooms, kitchen, pantry, master bedroom closet.) Next item on the list is the 12/24V USB charging station in the den. (Almost all our devices phone, tablet, fans, radio, flashlights charge USB). When I first constructed this low voltage system I had separate power sources for 12V and 24V. Eventually I bought a 24V to 12V converter so that the charging (And Battery banks) are all 24V (Solar controller is 24V). Church setup / teardown was difficult, the sound room was in complete disarray from the walls being painted. Two members of the crew were not there when we started this morning. Had a sandwich and then took a two hour nap before getting up and researching Sound Pressure Levels. I think our services are roughly 95dB, but I’ve cut the amplifiers off and just the house singing is 93dB on my cell phone. (Which prompted me to get a real SPL meter.) I do have a 30Yr professional bass player on the stage, he’d know right away if the SPL was too high.

Tomorrow:
Injuries: Right shoulder sill bothering me, occasionally my elbow and wrist.
Purchases: Bought some AAA batteries for mom’s lanterns and remote controls.
Travel: Citra Florida.
Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Noteworthy: Accomplishments:

From the book “Triggers” by Marshall Goldsmith
Did I DMBT set clear goals for the day? No
Did I DMBT make progress to those goals? No
Did I DMBT make my wife feel loved? Yes
Did I DMBT help my wife today? Yes
Did I DMBT fix something today? Yes
Did I DMBT improve something today? Yes
Did I DMBT be happy? Yes
Did I DMBT be fully engaged? Yes
*Did My Best To

20 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Had a hard time getting to sleep before midnight. Woke up from a nightmare where pink insulation was replicating and filling the entire warehouse I was in. (Never had that dream before.) All four of my 5AH EGO batteries are roughly the same capacity using the EGO inverter run time. I will continue to rotate thru all four of them to wear them evenly. It appears that the EGO 2AH battery can fail prematurely in the lawn mower because of the currents drawn. (I got the 5AH battery for that reason, it’s a 2P14S battery and should be able to support 40 amps.) The 3P14S battery is 7.5AH and but is a monster to carry around. The only EGO product that I am looking to purchase is a leaf blower, but I don’t have leaves. Let my refrigerator run off of the two 100W solar panels on the roof again today. The refrigerator UPS batteries ended up at 26.3V yesterday afternoon which is short of a full charge. (But it was cloudy some of the day.) They were 27.3V by 6 in the morning from the UPS charging current. I have a Securify Peanut plug that turns off the UPS power at 8 in the morning forcing the UPS to go on battery until 2 in the afternoon every day. Woke up at 830 and had a delicious cup of coffee. I’ve ordered two more APC 1300VA UPS units from EBAY for less than $50.00 each, I hope they overpack them. The last one I got was severely damaged by the post office carriers. Those two will end up at my Aunt’s house running her network. I’ll extend their run time with 2 banks of 18AH batteries if I can which will give it about 2 hours run time. (Her power fails pretty often.) Called in sick for my grandson’s party, I really don’t know what I have or if it is contagious.

Accomplishments: I am transitioning from reactive to Proactive because the burden of my mother seems to be settling down some now that my Aunt lost her job.
Tomorrow: Church at 08:00
Purchases: Bought two more UPS units for Ricky’s farm. (I don’t have batteries for them yet.) Also bought a boost charge controller.

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Ricky: Nancy: Kathy:

19 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Still feel strangely run down and my right side has numerous points that hurt when pressure is applied on the skin. My Lymph nodes on my neck are ok, but it sure feels like the ones on my arm are not happy with something… Auntie successfully changed mom’s address so she can get the new Social Security card. Also my Aunt was successful in purchasing a new mattress for mom’s mechanical bed. Mom managed to get a copy of her new Medicare Number yesterday, not sure how she did that. We had dinner at the crossing in Norcross, I couldn’t finish a Cobb salad for some reason. I started my “Z” pack antibiotic and my cough syrup for what could be a infection. My feet started tingling after having a couple of mini snicker bars late last night. My shoulder didn’t stop hurting until early morning.

Tomorrow: Landon’s birthday party.

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Ricky: Nancy: Kathy:

18 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Slept most of the day today, I was a walking zombie. Used the EGO inverter to test all four of my EGO 5AH batteries, they all ran about 3.5 hours supporting a 60W load.

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Ricky: Nancy: Kathy:Tomorrow:

17 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Woke up around 3 am and my skin was tingling all over. I couldn’t sleep so I am updating my blog until it settles down some. The floor at my Aunts house is installed and it looks very nice. Mom needs a new mattress and a chair before she’ll move. Spent a good while organizing the paperwork for my mother’s care. Sheesh, it’s a lot of stuff. We’re subdividing mom’s paperwork into a file folder. It looks like “Florida Blue” part F is what mom wants. A part D from the same company is about 44 bucks more a month. Dental is almost $400 which is beyond her budget. Speaking of Dental my 12 month waiting period should have expired and I need to get two teeth pulled.

Tomorrow:
Injuries: My shoulder is still bothering most of the day and now my elbow is preventing me from sleeping. I have been taking the muscle relaxer.

Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Ricky: Nancy: Kathy:

From the book “Triggers” by Marshall Goldsmith
Did I DMBT set clear goals for the day? Well, sort of.
Did I DMBT make progress to those goals? Yes
Did I DMBT make my wife feel loved? Yes
Did I DMBT help my wife today? Yes
Did I DMBT fix something today? Yes
Did I DMBT improve something today? Yes
Did I DMBT be happy? Yes
Did I DMBT be fully engaged? Yes
*Did My Best To

16 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Spent almost all day working with my sister building a budget for my mother and her sister. We did pick up my new glasses, I got the same frame for three years running. My EGO chainsaw is back with the three batteries. I can now test the batteries with the EGO inverter and a IP camera. (Measure how long the battery can support a 60W load.)

Tomorrow: Ricky’s floor should be finished and we can start moving Nancy.

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Ricky: Nancy: Kathy:

15 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Woke up at 0100 and having a hard time getting back to sleep. Making a pot of coffee to relax a little. Coffee was pretty good and I was able to sleep until 06:30. I didn’t do anything on my To Do list today. I did manage to mow a little of the yard along the driveway and trim the bushes. I did some research on the power capacity of a CR2032 lithium battery that’s used to power these flickering candles from Dollar Tree. I also did some research into the flickering LED used in those candles, quite fascinating actually.

Tomorrow: Ricky get’s the PVC flooring installed.

Injuries: Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Ricky: Nancy: Kathy:

14 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Still in pain, but I slept most of the night. Wife made coffee so I am taking a minute to update this blog and sipping my Santo Domingo coffee. Church services went good, in fact everybody loved the service that I talked to today. Came home and uploaded the services to the church website then I went to bed. After my nap it was beautiful outside and the lawn was beckoning me to mow it. Most of the lawn (Real Grass) doesn’t need mowing, but the weeds are pretty high. Thinking I’ll mulch it. I was wondering if I should start adding pictures which would make it too close to what Facebook platform does effectively ruining any need for this blog. (I could make all my posts to FB instead.) I did check the logs of my website, I couldn’t find anyone reading it but me. I mowed the front lawn today, I only have one EGO battery here.

Tomorrow: A day of rest and cleanup from our trips.

Injuries: My Shoulders and elbows are hurting and I don’t know why.

Mom: Neighbor news cannot give us the entire amount as one lump sum. She has a hurt Knee and a swollen ankle, but did do chores on her own tonight.
Aunt: Flooring install is scheduled for Tuesday 16 Oct, she has a couple pieces of large furniture that needs to be moved and one room’s baseboards to remove.
Sis: Talked for a time about Nancy, busy as usual.
Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: Kathy: Tasks:

13 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Help with Women’s day… Got up at 07:00 and I was not rested. Arrived at the play on time. Setup and the play went awesome. Went home around 6PM and I’m exhausted!

Tomorrow: Church setup at 08:00 and service at 10:00.

Injuries: My shoulder still bothers me quite a bit. I did take a muscle relaxer without complications today.

Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases:

12 October 2018, A day from Mark’s past

Today’s Notes
General: Slept in a little later than I wanted to but Housekeeping knocked on our door until she came in on us because we didn’t answer. Sheesh, they should keep track of those who check out versus going down the hallway and knocking on EVERYONE’s door multiple times! We packed up and left for home but forgot a notepad with all my wife’s notes for school. We’ll call tomorrow and hopefully regain control of it. Trip home was normal for a Friday, lots of traffic… Arrived about 6PM, which is not bad. The house didn’t seem to have any repercussions from the hurricane that passed 100 miles to our south. The car is unpacked and the living room floor shows it.

Tomorrow: Help Prepare for the Women’s day play starting at 08:00.

Injuries: Both my shoulders are hurting to the point of not using them anymore than I have to.

Arguments: Exercise: Feelings: Travel: Noteworthy: Accomplishments: Purchases: