Couldn't get the Bonnard Atmega to work. Changed the chip and still no love. Discovered that the ISP interface for an AT128 is different from other AVR's. Changed the wires and burned the JTAG enable fuse then I was able to debug normally. Did not need to change the chip. Dinner was Curry simmer sauce chicken after which we watched American Idol.

I made the traditional 8x10 picture for our anniversary. Libbie and I went to La Cocina for dinner and Margaritas. We were serenaded by a Mariachi band which was nice. Who would have thought??

My disk drive arrived today from New Egg while we were out. Went to Seagrove, NC to do a precon. Had lunch t the Westmore Family dinner where I had a barbecue sandwich and we split some seasoned fries. Dinner this evening was pasta.

Went over to the greenhouse to tighten the fan belts. This didn't work so well - both belts on houses 3 and 4 have no more adjustment left. I found a fan belt in the garage that's 55 inches. I looked up what we've been using and it's anywhere from 53 inches to 55 inches. Took 2 barrels of dirt home from the greenhouse then worked some in the backyard. Put three wheelbarrows of clay at the base of the oak tree filling in stump holes. Walked to the top of the hill to check on the bird house - a pair of bluebirds are building a nest up there. The septic pumped this morning - there was another puddle at the base where the pipe was drilled. Dinner was chicken and broccoli with curry simmer sauce. After dinner we read our books and listened to WCPE playing the Chicago Symphony performance of Holst's Planets. This morning the Bonnard card arrived - everything fits mechanically!!!! Put the card together but did not power anything up yet. I ordered the missing voltage regulator resistor along with other parts from Digikey. In the meantime i will jump out the regulator and run the thing directly at 3.3 volts.

Had to go to Krogers this morning to pick up milk with the newspaper. We were out of milk for cereal. Raked more leaves from next to the shed. Went over to the greenhouse for 2 garbage cans full of dirt. Libbie asked if I wanted to stay and do the shadecloth. We put one cloth up but the other needed mending because the seams had torn in many spots. Came back after lunch with the chain saw and the empty garbage cans. Filled up the cans, trimmed some of the shrubbery when Libbie was done with the mending. Put the repaired shade on house 1 which was very vey hard because I was so tired. Came home, took a shower and sat on the backporch and started reading a book Libbie gave me to read. It's a library book by a local author she liked. Dinner was Libbie's traditional pizza with some fresh tomato slices thrown in.

Went over to the greenhouse to get potting soil in my grow box and also filled up the tank for the opera today. Left for Sonnambula at 11:30. The theater was sold out again. I really enjoyed the performance. Natalie made the whole show. Wow, what an opera. Stopped at a very crowded Trader Joes for ribs and wine for dinner. Dinner was very nice but the ribs were St Louis, not our normal TJ's ribs. These had a fake hickory smoke flavor. It's spring - enjoyed the flowering trees on the way back from the opera. Distributed the MAAVS Memo this evening. It looks like we have a new hotel for the MAAVS convention. I finished the Richochet book tonight. This was a thriller that I enjoyed very much.

Ordered another terabyte drive from Newegg. I also reworked the Burbank control card and sent it off to AP Circuits. Dinner was stuffed salmon and Sweet potato. I spray painted the septic pipe crossing the creek black today. It looks much better since the black conceals it. The temp got up to 68 today - horray!!! Planted the tomato and marigold seeds in the cell packs Libbie brought for me. Spent the evening reading Richochet some more. This is becoming a page turner.

Sent Bonnard off to AP circuits. UI'm going to run the whole thing at 3.3 volts which should simplify life. Bonnard has an Atmega128 with a Wiznet web server and a Zigbee. Went outside and worked on the Dogwood. The old stump had rotted and left a big hole under the dogwood. It took 2 wheel barrows of dirt then I covered all with leaves. Talked with Town of Apex today about my power bill which they didn't deduct from my bank like they were supposed to. Libbie brought dirt home for me to plant my seeds into. Then we went to the top of the hill and extended the length of the birdhouse pole. while we worked on this there was a Bluebird overhead singing. I think we'll get a bird in this box. Dinner was Trader Joe's pasta. We had a nice evening listeneing to Luisa Miller on the radio and reading our books.

Went outside because it was a glorious day. Took my wheel barrow and moved several loads of logs onto the log pile in an attempt to clean up the woods. I even walked to the top of the hill and picked up some sticks while looking over the birdhouse. Went to Walmart to get socks. Price was much better than target and they were the Tall socks. Deposited the rent check in the Credit Union next door and met Libbie in the wild bird store where she was buying worms.
We went to the Farmers market looking for shrubs and was disappointed - not a single nursery vendor. Picked up an ugly sweet potato called Bathus Potato. Google says it's an old timey yam. It was white inside and very sweet. The guy showed up today around noon for the sofa for his daughter. He had a pickup with cap so it went inside pretty easily. Dinner was bean burgers with Farmers Market tomatoes and the Bathus yams.

Went for groceries but did not do much outside. Worked on the code for the Bonnard web server. Using a Wiz module I think I can create a web server as well as the Zigbee. Went with Libbie and picked up our couch at a warehouse in RTP. It looks great. Listed our old one on Craigslst and had 9 responses. We had dinner at La Cocina and a MArgarita. The Margaritas went up to 1.99 instead of .99 on Monday and Tuesdays.

Finished the Burbank grow box monitro PCB. Have not finished the code. started the complementary product which is Bonnard, after the artist who features ladies dressing after their baths. Bonnard will be a zigbee to ethernet bridge with an onboard web server. I will re-use some of the Wiznet code I ported to the AVR and GCC. Even though I finished Burbank, I did not send it in. I want to wait and see if I need to add anything else to the project. Dinner was chicken over noodles with simmer sauce. We enjoyed ancing with the Stars this evening before going up to read my Sandra brown book. During the day I broke down the boxes in the garage for recycle tomorrow. We had the grill parts boxes and the septic pump box. Also finished up the septic job by putting the outlet cover over the wires and generally cleaning up the yard. This job is complete.

Did the newspaper thing and mostly stayed indoors today because it was a cold rainy day outside. We cleaned the backporch with the vacuum and Libbie washed the tiles with her sponge mop. I continued to work on Burbank. Libbie made her excellent pizza again today.

Worked a lot of today on the Burbank PCB. I had to create a few new footprints for the zigbee and some of the surface mount parts. Did all of that OK. Vicki called because she couldn't find Aunt Helen. The lady had checked herself out of Overlook and got herself back to WR. Communicated with Lynn some of today about our raffles - she wants to give away tickets to the raffles in the goody bags. Dinner was ribs with baked potato, Merlot and Cranberry Ricotta cake. Very good. It's cold and rainy outside but Libbie and I both seem to be back.

I finished the trailer program this morning. Another one down!!!! It's a rainy day - raining pretty hard. The grill parts arrived from Amazon via UPS. Replaced the flavorizer bars and the cook grill. The grill was filled with a deep layer of rust. I used a trowel to shovel the rust into a plastic garbage bag. Even though it was raining, I used the vacuum outdoors and vacuumed the grill out then put all the new parts in. This time I bought stainless steel flavorizer bars but a porcelain coated steel cooking grill. Hopefully the flavor bars will last longer. Libbie cooked grilled chicken on the rebuilt grill which we had with yams and Shiraz. I really didn't want the wine but drank it anyway. I did some reading of the new book from Sandra Brown this evening, Richochet.
Earlier in the day Libbie and I went to the library, Home Depot for tape and a septic tank outlet cover, Office Max for a box of printer paper so it was a full day. We heard that Joe was laid off this week. This is too bad. The economy is in bad shape, jobs are tough to find.

I created he 16x20 for our sign and sent it off to whcc.com for delivery to Brenda. Went outside and added the additional plank to the septic cover. This is looking pretty good. Took down a gum tree adjacent to the tank. Heard from Runnels about Aunt Helen. She did not have a urinary infection. Fixed the clock on the oven. It seemed to be covered in sawdust inside. I used the shop vac to clean it out then gave the wheels a twirl. All seemed to be well. We ran a cleaning cycle this evening. Dinner was TJ's frozen lasagna and chocolate frozen yogurt. Interestingly, this monring I had incredible oain across my chest and radiating down my shoulders. I wonder what this is? It seened to be triggered by brushing my teeth. Bending over the sink? Probing sensitive gum tissue?

I'm pretty groggy today. Went with Libbie to Logans at noon to look at landscaping bushes. Still looking for pyracantha which do not seem to be a spring item. This is our last 80 degree day for a while. Mailed the postcards to Reno via parcel post. The package costed $12 to send. In the PM I wasn't feeling hungry when Libbie suggested chicken and yam for dinner but later in the PM my appetite seemed to retun. We had her yummy barbecue chicken with yams. After dinner we watched American Idol. Got a phone call at 9 from Runnels that they were shipping Aunt Helen to Overlook because she was running a fever and had low blood pressure. She seems to be bouncing in and out of hospitals and rehab in these past few months. Libbie said we may be going to a funeral soon.

Took another Drixoral to stop my running nose. Went to the Credit Union to deposit the convention postcard reimbursement then went to Krogers for minimal groceries. Didn't feel like doing much running around so just did the one grocery store. In the backyard I lowered the septic pipe below the tank surface, dug the muck out around the tank, partially buried the pipe where it ran above ground and dressed the wires going to the outlet. I put the home made cover onto the tank but it needs to be bigger. In addition, the top of the tank is uneven leaving a good seal hard to achieve. I may look into some garage door rubber seal or equivalent for the tank.

Not such a great day either. I'm walking round like a zombie today. Went in the backyard for a little bit and notched the spetic tank for the pipe to pas through. I used the ball peen hammer and hacked away at it. Interestingly there was a metal mesh reinforcing wire that I broke through with the ball peen. The rest of the day was pretty much a washed up affair. My nose started running during the premiere of Dancing with the Stars. None of the celebs impressed me very much. Dinner was bean burgers with tomato on a bun.

I pretty much lost all of today. I was sick and slept all day. I Laid down on the couch at 9 AM when Libbie left and woke at noon when she came back. This pretty much shot the whole day. For dinner I had a bowl of Oatmeal and went to bed at 8 PM.

I put a new pole onto the birdhouse from up by our mailbox and moved it back by the edge of the field. Let's see if this works out. I plugged the pump in to see if it would pump our sewage from overnight but there wasn't enough liquid to trip the float switch. We got cleaned up and left for the 1PM performance of Butterfly at 11:30. There was a glitch at the beginning - the projector quit. They saved the opera and showed it on a 10 minute tape delay. It was a vocally stunning Butterfly. The same person, Patricia Racette, sang this last year for San Francisco. I felt a tickle in my throat during the performance - I'm getting Libbie's cold. What a bummer. Dinner tonight was stuffed salmon with Beauregard Sweet Potato and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Looked at the pump this morning. It's still jammed but the Drano dissolved some of the sludge. The pump was filled with sand and gravel. I managed to shake it out and work it out with a screwdriver. Plugged it in and it turned OK after spitting out some gravel particles. I hooked up the pump to the Home Depot flower pot (irrigation control box). Got the rig all hooked up with power and plumbing then lowered the contraption into the tank. It went down inside fairly well then hooked up a short pipe aimed at the creek and turned it on. The pump worked well. Hooked everything up but had to make another Home Depot trip to get another coupling. Ran the pump and went up the hill to watch. The sewage was bubbling up from the distribution box at the top of the hill. This is good. May have to dump root killer into the distribution box to fix the leach field. I also need to find a backflow prevention valve. I have a small problem because both places where I drilled inspection holes in the pipe are shooting sewage up in the air. I covered them both up which may not have been a good idea since the lower one is oozing out of the ground. Dinner tonight was crab cakes. We skipped First Friday because I was tired and we're going out tomorrow to Met HD Butterfly and also went out last night to the Comedy Club.

This morning I hooked the come along up over the septic and pulled the new pump out of the tank. It was an easy job pulling it up. The pump is definitely jammed. I went to Home Depot and bought Drano to try clearing the pump but it seems to run through. Left it all alone for the day. I got cleaned up in the afternoon and we left at 6 PM for Goodnights comedy club in Raleigh. We stopped into Irregardless and talked to the manager about a group dinner next year. We then went into Goodnights and had dinner at the bar. I ordered a Tostada salad with sirloin and chili beans ver te top. Beforehand they served is an appetizer of chips and Queso (cheese). I had a Yuengling with dinner. Afterwards we went upstairs to the comedy club. The first 3 comedians were mildly funny but the headliner was very very good. He had a good knack for story telling to draw you into the story.

From Charley Goodnights web site:

Stewart Huff is an established comic known for his clever material. His high-energy storytelling style is winning over audiences in clubs all over the country. Stewart is on the cutting edge of comedy's move toward thoughtful and well crafted comedy... Huff’s unique choice of material is what sets him apart.

He covers topics ranging from The Wright Brothers to the greatest job he ever had: The Dairy Queen. If that's not enough, Stewart has a bit about penguins that will change your life. Stewart’s unique, clean material, energetic delivery and comfortable stage presence make for a night of non-stop laughter.

Went right to working on the DVD's. Burned a few bad copies trying to get the menu working correctly. Finally finished it all by around 1 PM and put it in the mail. Had lunch with Libbie on the back porch then tackled the septic pump. The step I tried to rig on the bottom of the pump failed. As soon as I put it in the septic tank, air in the step caused it to slip sideways away from the pump. I had to pull everything up and cut the round step loose from the wires that attached it to the pump. Lowered the pump without it, hooked everything up, plugged it in and the pump ran, shuttered and then stalled. What a disappointment. There apparently is a lot of sludge on the bottom of the tank. Not sure if I can ever get the pump to work on the bottom of the tank. This is a major setback. Received the cassette tape and went to work on digitizing it. There is a lot of tape hiss. Tried Audacity to clean up the noise but Anne said it sounded like a Science Fiction movie. Dinner was chicken jambalaya. Watched American Idol where they picked the wild card candidates for a sing off tomorrow night. Afterward I went back to working on the tape.

Did the grocery store thing. Lean Cuisinne was on sale for a very nice price. Normally 3.19, but 1.99 but if you buy 10 you get an additional $5 off. I had a 2.50 coupon for 13 or more and it was 5% off for senior day so I estimated I paid !.20 each. Libbie came home wiped out with her cold. So far I haven't had any symptoms. Town of Apex called admitting that I was double billed for water. They are crediting my bill. While Libbie slept after lunch I pulled up the septic pump and tried running it but it would only hum. Brought it back to Graingers and tried the new one in the 220VAC outlet out back and it runs fine. Now I need to put the plumbing back together. Dinner was Trader Joe's pasta. After dinner I watched American Idol then went upstairs and worked on the species program until midnight. Finished the corrections on all 4 programs. Now I need to modify the menu's for the credits and burn the DVD's.

We woke to a dusting of snow. The road and driveway were clear but there was snow on the grass and bushes. Libbie was in bad shape today so I took her to the illness clinic that Cary Medical runs every day from 1 to 3. They prescribed antibiotics which we picked up in Krogers on the way back. While she waited to be seen I drove over to the greenhouse and clipped a few loose clips on the interior house 3 to 4 divider. I also took a look at the inflation and the hot dawg fanjet fanbelt. All was well. Picked up Libbie and stopped at Krogers - the antibiotic was $18 which was the insurance rate. Talked to Anne today about the species and trailers program.