I got a good day in working on MARS. I built a cable for the radio and TT4 and was able to transmit out to the server in Finland on aprs.fi. Next step is to make the AVR read the temperature probes and put it in the telemetry stream. Listened to La Fille Du Regiment from the Met while doing the RF and computer work. The snow is very light and melting into the warmer afternoon.

Mailed the Microtrak back to VHS in Napa. Went from the Post Office to Home Depot for nails then to the greenhouse where I finished the new bench section. Mounted a pipe to support the flashing under the bench for the Hot Dawg in house 2 to stop hot air from coming up through the bench. ad an accident as the right angle drill hit my cheekbone as it ran away from my hands and locked up in run mode. It hurts. After lunch Libbie and I went to Walmart and bought tray tables. We also got some groceries and milk. At home I assembled the tray table holder as Libbie cleaned the front closet to make room for the tables. She took a load of stuff as well as the old bedframe to Goodwill. Dinner tonight was Curlys pulled pork barbecue, tomato base, on buns with the Broccoli we picked up in Walmart. It's nice broccoli. I worked on the TAVS ad and sent a letter to the MAAVS board to ask for entertainment sponsorship. We're supposed to have 2 to 4 inches of snow tonight. I'll believe it when I see it.

Went over to the greenhouse this morning for electrical work. Nancy and Libbie were busy on Orchids. I replaced the plugs on the shutter and the Modine. Finished it up in time for Libbie to turn the shutters and fan on for a humidity dump. I also worked on replacing a section of 6 foot wide bench but ran out of nails. Will get nails tomorrow. Dinner tonight was Briyani which was very good. This finishes the house 2 wiring. Still have a few outlets in house 1 before I get to the back houses.

Rounded up some tools and went to the greenhouse around 10 today. Libbie isn't feeling well but she's there. I replaced one more shutter plug and the plug on the house 2 overhead Modine. I still have the Fanjet plug in house 2 to replace. This one is tricky since a wall wart plugs into here for the solenoid on the cooling pads water supply. In the PM we went to Trader Joes for some essentials then Ace Hardware for a washer to cover the 3/4 inch hole so I can use a 1/2 inch romex clamp. It's terribly windy today. We returned at 5:30 to check all the plastic to make sure nothing was damaged on the cool cell coverings. I discovered I had inadvertently left the breaker off on the heaters for house 2, 3 and 4. I don't think it effected anything. Dinner was fresh pasta from TJ's with Marinara sauce. I hate winter, It's so cold out.

I went over the greenhouse and installed the guard screen on both sides of the fanjet. I used the new craftsman ratchet set to tighten the bolts. It looks pretty good. Jack came over and watched me drill the fanjet for the bolts and talked to me about the water heater. I took a look at the plumbing and decided the whole thing needs replacement. Libbie took off from PVD on time this morning but her 2:30 out of BWI didn't leave until 3:15. She said the BWI airport closed at 3 in anticipation of the storm. She was one of the last planes out of there. I met her at RDU at 4:20 instead of the 3:35 arrival time. I watched the flight online from home before deciding to head out. It was cold and rainy but she was glad to be home. We went out for dinner to La Cocina since it was Margarita night which is Mondays and Tuesdays. We had the standard Quesadilla and a Margarita.

It was a wonderful day in the neighborhood at Bluebird. Jennifer, Joy, JoAnn and Jack were all there as well as 2 violet customers who were bird people friends of Jennifer. I changed the plugs on 2 more shutters. Put switches in place of plugs but my label maker ran out of label tape. I went back later in the day and cut some wood pieces to start making the guard. I'll probably go back tomorrow and do another shutter then put the screen on. Libbie comes back tomorrow. We're supposed to get rain but further north it will be snow. Whether Libbie gets back on time tomorrow will be interesting. I spent lots of time in eMail conversations with Brenda and Kathy Lahti and also Libbie and a few others. Interesting world we live in. I ordered the connectors today so I could use the amp with the micro trak. I may order another microtrak with onboard radio and an amplifier. I deposited the rent check in the credit union today then used the money to pay the Schwab Visa bill.

Slept a little late today. Got out for the paper but Paul called around 9 wanting violets and dish gardens. I called Lib who called Jennifer. I met Jennifer at the greenhouse. She had a customer and also packed up Paul's order. The greenhouse went down to 54 last night. I inspected the heating and found that Hot Dawg2 FanJet threw the fan belt. Fixed it and also installed the correct relay in Hot Dawg2. While down there I put a switch in the shutter line replacing one plug and also eliminated the extension cord for the inflation in house 1. I also put a cover on the generator relay box. Went to Home Depot and picked up the rest of the box extenders and switch covers to do the rest of the shutters, heaters, fan jets and stuff. Went back to the greenhouse at 5 and verified that everything was working then went home and wrote a series of articles for the MAAVS Memo. Lots to do. Still need to create some ads. Today is the super bowl but I never watch that. I'm not even interested in the commercials. I'll catch them tomorrow on the morning shows.

A little catch up this morning on my blog and life bits. Paid some bills for Helen and analyzed how I can pay Visa. I'm about $500 short but AVSA owes me lots of money. Am going to hook up the APRS in the car to see if I can reach aprs.fi. The car provides a good ground plane I hope.
Not true about the ground plane. Drove the rig to the greenhouse with the antenna on the roof. Could not see my packets on aprs.fi.
The greenhouse was doing great. Hot Dawg 2 was off, the load was being handled by Hot Dawg 1. It was 37 outside which was pretty cold. Left at 11:15 for the opera. Stopped by Northern Tool and got a wheel for my chair. It was the last one left. The opera was fantastic, Simon Boccanagra. Placido and James Morris were very good, the Verdi music carried the opera as usual. It was long, 4 hours worth. Stopped by a very crowded Trader Joe's on the way home to pick up something for dinner. For dinner I microwaved a Trader Joes Canneloni.

This morning I worked on the APRS transmitter. Although it's transmitting, I don't see the packets showing up on aprs.fi. I think the antenna leaves much to be desired. Need to try it in the car with a ground plane. I also have an amp for it but do not have a cable to connect the amp to the radio. I also discovered that Mars hangs up after a while.
Went to the greenhouse and played out in the driving rain, enlarging the ditch at the end of the pipe. The pipe seems to be filled with sludge. We need to do something different. Hooked up LOGE and all seems to be working. Dinner was chicken curry that Libbie left in the fridge this week. It was great.

Went to the greenhouse while Jennifer was there today. Put the hangers on the under the bench tube. Did not have a box extender for the shutter plug which I wanted to deal with today. Came back later in the afternoon and installed a shield on the fanbelt of Fanjet 2 and also a cover on the generator relay box but it's a little bit short. Need to cut an extender. The controller went out via priority mail to Maine this morning. Jennifer packaged it up for me. It cost 7.50 to send it priority. It should get to Maine Saturday or Monday but there's a major snowstorm expected to hit the MidAtlantic this weekend. DC is expected to get 20 to 30 inches of snow. Dinner was fried chicken from Krogers.

A beautiful day. I worked on cutting holes in the controller case them mounted everything inside. It works and looks great. Went to the greenhouse and measured for a shield on the fan belt since the belt is getting worn by the heat blowing on it like it was in house 1. I prepared the letter for an advertising plea for the affiliates. Dinner was fried chicken which I got in Krogers. Not bad taste but not good for you.
I watched the movie precious this afternoon. what an emotional trip!!!1 This was the best movie I have ever seen.

Because the roads may be icy we left at 5:40 for Libbie's 7:30 flight. The temps were above freezing so we did OK on our trip. It started raining later in the morning. Libbie's plane was on time all the way though she didn't call me to tell me this. Went to the greenhouse and met the UPS truck who had the convection tube. Installed the tube and punched the holes. It works much better with the larger tube - I seem to have more airflow. Now I need to rewire the thermostats to get back to the original configuration. Picked up my groceries today.

I was disappointed with my retirement payment. It was short $82 for the increase in healthcare premiums. This is bad news. I worked on the controller some more and got the keyboard working. Apparently I reassigned the keypad I/O. After rewriting the software and getting this working I found a short in the temperature line. Fixed this and it all works. Libbie packed for her trip tomorrow. We made another trip to the greenhouse today. While Libbie was out the Post Office truck came with the AVSA pins. I thought it was Libbie returning but I ended up missing the truck. Ran after it and caught up in the back of Buckingham. Got the pins!!!!

This morning around noon I went with Libbie to the greenhouse. The roads weren't too bad if you o slow. Everything looked great. The place was warm and toasty. I stopped on the way back at the BP and bought a Sunday paper. After reading the paper I tried working on the new controller PCB. The good news is the LCD works but not the keyboard or temperature. I worked on the LCD pins cleaning up an old LCD and removing the wires and solder then fastening it to the PCB with solid pins. Dinner was Libbie's fantastic pizza one again. I really enjoyed the Grammy's tonight.

We got a good coating of snow but the driveway only seems to have 1 to 2 inches even though the airport is reporting 5 inches. Five inches is wishful thinking by somebody. I hooked up the laptop to the TV this morning because they pre-empted GMA in order to show morons reporting on snow. We watched the streaming feed from Sarasota which was surprisingly good. I worked all day today assembling the two PCB's that came in while I was gone. I'm out of CPU's so I salvaged one from an old controller. I'm getting close to firing p one of the cards. Dinner as well as lunch was Libbie's home made chili.

I decided I would leave whenever I woke in the morning to pee. I woke up at 2 AM after about 4 hours of sleep. I laid in bed a while then finally stirred about 2:30 and got in high gear. I made coffee and filled the thermos, threw the leftover food into the car and hit the road at 3:24. It was 57 degrees out. The drive up I-4 was beautiful. Only me and the big beautiful full moon. I sipped coffee, set the cruise and listened to a mix of Dvorak, Wagner, Gershwin and other choices on the SD card in the radio. Jacksonville was no problem. I got there around 7:15. Traffic was getting heavier but still moving at 70 or so. There was a little bit of rain on the North side of the city. Once North of Jacksonville there was no traffic to speak of which was quite surprising. I stopped in Kingsland, GA Exit for gas and a McDonalds Bacon egg and cheese biscuit. Stopped again in Florence for gas and also a McChicken sandwich from the dollar menu. It was like a fish filet on a bun. It was beautiful in Florence - sunny, blue skies and 52 degrees. Hard to believe it's supposed to snow. Got home at 2:15 and went with Libbie immediately to see why the Hot Dawg was not coming on which is what she told me. Looked at the Hot Dawg and it was OK. Looked in the thermostat control box over the doorway and it had a broken wire on the Hot Dawg 2. Fixed the wire and all was well. Next I removed the Loge controller and took it home. The orange wire seems to be broken. Will look at it when home. Did the bills and mail. Looked at the new PC boards and also the relays that came from Hosfelt. Libbie is making Chili for dinner. We're ready for the big snow. All greenhouse heaters are in good condition as well as their respective controllers.
The snow started around 7 PM. Around 8 the greenhouse was only at 54 so Libbie and I drove out there in the snow. The louvers on the new hot dawg were not fully open. I opened the louvers, did some temperature measurements with the IR probe. Not much heat coming out of the ducts. The burners are on full. It's only 29 outside. Libbie adjusted the second thermostat to come on at 62. It seems to be cycling between 54 and 60 as reported by the telephone.

Libbie called this morning to report that Bertha was not coming on even though the relay is indicating this heater is being selected. I was in the middle of putting the new solenoid and door connector in the refrigerator and had water all over the floor and was not a happy camper. I talked to her later with a solution that took the card out of the picture and allowed the new thermostat to control the Hot Dawg in house 1 as well as the overhead heater in house 2. I looked at the weather picture and made a decision to speed up the repairs and head home. The bad news is that it is almost 80 here. I painted the hallway which really came out nice. The new paint matches perfectly. I got the refrigerator water supply working without leaks. I had to run out to Walmart late at night for a roll of teflon tape to stop the leaks in the threads of the shower nozzle. This fixed the dripping around the nozzle threads. I got everything packed up then took a walk around Stoneybrook and through one of the single family home streets. The alligators are all out in this weather. I finished the laundry and had Spicy Caribbean chicken for dinner. The Scooba wouldn't work when I pressed the power button which is a bummer. I washed the floor with the mop and then took the mop onto the back porch and washed the table. All this work was expedited because I want to drive home tomorrow and help Libbie. Not sure why the Loge controller is not functioning. The snow and ice worries me.

The carpet guy came at 9:30 this morning. He was supposed to be here at 9:00 but was late. The shampoo looks great. I had the bedroom and the living room done for $70. Left the doors open and the fans running while I went down to Venice. Got gas for 2.73 at the Mobil just before McDonalds. Picked up lunch at 2:00 in McDonalds. Cheeseburgers were the special at .69 as told to me by an old guy standing in line. He also pointed out the senior coffee which was .69 or something like that. For dinner I had a delicious Spicy Caribbean Chicken dinner which I picked up in Walmart. This was a treat. Earlier today I took a walk to the prudential office to sign a lease then walked all the way around Stoneybrook. It was a pleasant stroll. I'll do it again tomorrow. Libbie took a greenhouse trip this evening after dark because she didn't think Bertha would come on. I thought all was well with the Hot Dawg. She had doubts. The Bertha crossover temp was lowered which was why she didn't see it come on. It was too warm.

It was a little chillier today than I expected. I ended up not doing much today. Did a lot of online reading and also read yesterdays Herald Tribune which I picked up at Publix last night. I went out and bought paint at Home Depot in the afternoon then stopped in an oil change place on Clark for a "16.99" oil change which ended up costing 29.99 with shop fees and oil disposal fees and also to get Castrol instead of generic oil. I did this because the change oil light (Maint light) came on on my trip Monday and it was going to be cold at home. Dinner was a frozen non meat ribs from Morningstar. This was a buy one get one free at Publix Monday night.

It rained overnight. It was still raining this morning so I decided to leave at 8:30. The roads were pretty wet up until the 70 cutoff in Garner. When I reached I-95 there were patches of blue and finally in SC the sky was all blue. Stopped in Florence for 2.47 gas and then bought 2.49 gas at exit 4 in Georgia just before the FL-GA border. Travel was congested but moving through rush hour Orlando. This time around I kept a log of times at key cities/exits so I can have a reference for future travel estimates. I went straight to Publix at 7:30 and arrived in the condo at 7:45 PM. It was an all around easy trip. Dinner tonight was the McDonalds stop I made at Exit 4 in Georgia. Didn't need anything else.

It rained overnight. It was still raining this morning so I decided to leave at 8:30. The roads were pretty wet up until the 70 cutoff in Garner. When I reached I-95 there were patches of blue and finally in SC the sky was all blue. Stopped in Florence for 2.47 gas and then bought 2.49 gas at exit 4 in Georgia just before the FL-GA border. Travel was congested but moving through rush hour Orlando. This time around I kept a log of times at key cities/exits so I can have a reference for future travel estimates. I went straight to Publix at 7:30 and arrived in the condo at 7:45 PM. It was an all around easy trip. Dinner tonight was the McDonalds stop I made at Exit 4 in Georgia. Didn't need anything else.

No greenhouse today. Worked in the morning On the tax forms and W2, W3 generation. As usual the printer was the bottleneck. I usually have a hard time getting the forms to line up correctly in the laser printer. It took several passes to get this to work correctly. Libbie made her outstanding pizza tonight using the frozen dough ball from last weekends pizza party. She thinks she ruined it with pepperoni and bacon. I liked it except for the calories. Packing for the trip was easy. I threw together a bunch of clothes in the suitcase and then started gathering tools. I was able to use my online list of things to bring to assist with packing tools and things in the egg crate.

Last night we measured the CFM and temperatures of the new heater and compared it to the old. Improvement is needed. This morning I went to the greenhouse and hung the 18 inch portion of the new Fanjet tube. I think we will replace the combined 24 and 18 inch sections. For some reason the transition is causingg an extreme drop in pressure resulting in us not being able to get the heat distributed. I drove to Northern Tool looking for an agricultural thermostat but had no luck so I bought a simple thermostat in Home Depot. Libbie and I ran the wire and put the overhead heater in House 2 on the separate thermostat. Dinner was some Tony Romas ribs with Cabernet Sauvignon and steamfresh corn. I'm feeling much better today as the remnants of my cold leave.

I had a rough sleep last night. Woke up at 1, 2, 3 and 4 before falling asleep. I took a drixoryl which helped the running nose but gave me a buzz. I couldn't lie still and felt sorry for Libbie sleeping next to me. Went over to the greenhouse and found why the new hot dawg wouldn't start. There's an on/off switch on the gas valve. now I'm disappointed by both the amount of heat coming out and the fanjet air velocity. Have ordered a smaller belt at Grainger to see if this fixes the problem.
Picked up a 3L260 fan belt at Graingers and installed it. Also put a solid panel on the cool cell side of the fanjet. The intent is to concentrate gathering of heat to send down the tube. I'm still disappointed by the airflow. I don't know why it's so low. Came home, layed down and fell asleep after taking a Sudafed. This cold is killing me. When I awoke I finished reading the Fair Maiden book by Joyce Oates. It was s traditional predictable book until the ending which was a surprise. Dinner was BLT with Avocado. Not as good as one with Tomato, my opinion. Tracking is showing Joe at the Phoenix airport tonight. He had tickets back for today and Sunday. We guessed that after a week with Mark he would be ready to go back sooner rather than later.

I'm under the weather today with a full blown cold. Lots of sniffles. I felt this coming on for several days. I'm enjoying reading my new book, Fair Maiden but so far it's predictable. A 16 year old makes acquaintance with an old guy who pays her to model for him. I think we know where this is going. At the greenhouse I hooked up the tubing on the new heater. I may have to make a better way to clamp the transition piece onto the 24 and the 18 inch tubing. For now I'm using a piece of wire but this won't be adequate. I'm really miserable with this cold. The heater wouldn't come on but I didn't pursue it since I was cold and miserable. There's a cold raining falling outside. Libbie went to do a talk at the Fuquay womans club tonight. Dinner was a bowl of soup. I ran out to Krogers for milk but I also picked up a reeses peanut butter egg. This isn't good. Took some drixoryl before bedtime.