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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 December 2011 03:43 pm |
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Sassykat wrote:
Did you buy a microwave yet?
Oh never mind, you already answered that. Somehow my brain just must of not been working right. I'm starting to get those senior moments I guess. Yesterday after my son was finished cleaning the living room (which is his chore this week), I told him to wrap up the cord and put the microwave away. I meant to say "put the vacuum away." Sheesh I'm getting bad.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 9 December 2011 05:43 pm |
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Oh but I didn't answer that, unless I'm having one of those moments also. All that's wrong with my microwave is the button that opens the door doesn't work when it's cold. You have to punch the button so far back in, it won't pop back out. Then it pops out after the microwave gets hot. Sounds like built up grease back in there. I wouldn't be surprised. I'm going to "stick" with it for now. Maybe it will get better by magic.
The most irritating senior moment I have lately is when I go to another room to get something and when I get there, I can't remember what I went for. Have to go back to where I was before and then it usually it comes back to me.
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 December 2011 09:08 pm |
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I thought maybe you were saying you got the cheapest one at Wal-Mart. Our last microwave's button to open the door was messing up too and this time I almost just decided to buy one with the handle to prevent a problem with that. I really like our new microwave. It works much better than the old one. It defrosts ground meat perfectly, not like the old one where it would either still be frozen or the edges would end up getting cooked. It might be the sensor they advertise that it has. I don't really know, I just know this one works so much better.
If your microwave problem is just a matter of the button getting stuck, maybe you chould try "spraying" some of that Goo Gone product into the cracks and heat it with a blow dryer or something. I have been using the Goo Gone to clean the grease that accumulates on the oven hood and the cupboard doors. It seems to work better than anything else I've tried. My goal for 2012 is to be a better housekeeper.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 9 December 2011 09:50 pm |
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| Oh, sorry, I meant to say that the one I've already got was the cheapest one they had at Walmart.
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 10 December 2011 04:03 pm |
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Nancy, you said it perfectly, please don't apologize, it's my brain that is malfuctioning.
I often walk into a room, and forget why I went in there. I'll also get a mental list of what I want to do and then forget it. That's why I have so many little notebooks around so I can write everything down.
Thank you for your encouragement in my diary. It is helping me to not just give up. It is easier to focus on one small goal at a time. Like you said, slow progress is a good way to go. (Or something of that nature...LOL. I wish I had a great memory.)
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 15 December 2011 04:53 am |
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If you really want to keep your calories down for a day, put a big pot of dried pinto beans on the stove with lots of water, some bacon bits and a chopped onion and cook until the beans make a gravy. Snack on these all day and guaranteed you won't want anything else to eat. Two cups of dry beans are supposedly only 720 calories (although I have doubts about this) and it makes a huge pot cooked. More than you can eat in one day.
This is what I did yesterday.
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 15 December 2011 02:03 pm |
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Really? Did it work? Did your weight go down the next day (or maybe not because of the weight of the fiber) or do you figure your calories were significantly lower than maintenance?
I do think beans are an excellent weight loss tool. They are healthy and very satiating. Yeah I should try that!  Thanks Nancy!
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 16 December 2011 01:58 pm |
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Sassy, the "you" in my post wasn't necessarily referring to you, just a general statement about beans. The downside of all those beans is that you feel stuffed all day, and you may actually gain pounds the next day. I think it has to do with the fiber and the salt. But if you're patient the lower calories will pay off in the long run.
Now I didn't do so well that day because I ate too many other things before I cooked those beans. So much so that any snacking at all put me over the limit caloriewise. But I intend to cook some up today or tomorrow and try it again without eating so much other stuff.
I was reading Nir's description of interval training on another thread, and this sort of describes my activity when I'm out at my mother's place. There are so many things that should be done out there and I try to get them done in just 2 days a week. For short periods it is very intense, like tossing bales of hay around, or trimming goats hooves. But I do it for sometimes hours on end. Maybe that's why I can eat more calories than a lot of people my height. Thank goodness for those goats.
Problem is on the other 5 days I might do nothing. I've stopped the walking since the exercise challenge stopped. I can tell a difference already. Not good. Once you get out of the habit every day it is easy to quit altogether. And I think I need to drop my calories down by a couple hundred due to not walking.
Right now I'm patching holes and cracks in one room of the house in preparation for painting. Yesterday I repaired an electric wall heater in my bathroom that hasn't worked since about 1986. It has been just a decorative wall medallion. All it needed was a new fuse, which cost $1.79 at Radio Shack. It purrs like a kitten.
The internet is really great for learning how to do things and fix things. I think companies that manufacture things in recent times would rather you not repair them, but instead buy new ones, so they seem to keep repair tips a secret or make products so they can't be repaired. I let things go in this house when I was working because there wasn't enough time to fix them or arrange repairs. So now I'm trying to catch up. But it's fun. I enjoy stuff like that.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 22 December 2011 06:24 pm |
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One of our goats, Pickles, died this morning. She was 7.5 years old. According to my mom, she ate a couple of graham crackers, went into the corner of the barn and laid down, screamed about 5 times and just stopped breathing. Took her to the vet school for an autopsy.
They will tell us what happened if possible. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that she had an intestinal impaction or obstruction. This can cause bad bacteria to multiply which results in gas build up in her stomach (bloat). Puts too much pressure on the heart and lungs and causes almost instant death by suffocation. But we shall see. I've been fooled before.
She was the cutest goat we had, but also one of the most difficult to work with. A feisty little thing. I'll miss her anyway.
http://i709.photobucket.com/albums/ww91/pq7z4t/trees/pickles1.gif
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 22 December 2011 09:49 pm |
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| I'm sorry to hear about Pickles Nancy. She looked like a pretty goat. Hopefully the autopsy will have some answers for you.
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Hiker
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 22 December 2011 10:12 pm |
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| Nancy, so sorry to hear about Pickles you've mentioned her before and I knew she was one of your favorites. Favoriite or not it's hard to loose our animals, I know you care very much about them, even if you gripe about thier bad behavior sometimes .
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 23 December 2011 06:10 pm |
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 30 December 2011 01:26 pm |
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Got the preliminary report back from the vet school on the goat that died suddenly last week.
"We found severe hemoabdomen that resulted from a focal perforation in the uterine wall. The cause of the rupture appears to have been a weakening in the wall in one area due to proliferation of tissue throughout most of the wall. This proliferative tissue on the uterus is likely neoplasia---lymphoma is one of our top differentials because the tissue was fatty, smooth and soft. About 2-3 liters of blood was in the abdomen."
Translation. She had a large tumor on the uterus which eventually caused the wall to rupture, releasing a large amount of blood into the abdominal cavity very quickly. The vet said she would have gone into shock and died from rapid and massive blood loss. They suspect the tumor was cancerous, but won't know until final lab work which was delayed because of the holidays.
Not a whole lot we could have done, except maybe put her down earlier if we had known about the tumor. She never acted any different from the other goats and never stopped eating.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 31 December 2011 08:23 pm |
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I already mentioned that I'd like some flexibility in this maintenance routine---some days with freedom to go over my calorie limit if I really want to. Then try to make up for it on other days. But I don't want to set the days, just whenever the occasion arises. This is a new way I've been tracking calories that seems to be working so far.
Assume maintenance calorie level is 2000/day. At the end of the day, how much ever I go over 2000, I just carry the surplus over to the next day. If I come up short, I just start a new day over (no negative is allowed to be carried over).
This has two advantages: 1) if it's one of those days I want to go over, it's not the end of the world because I don't have that 2000 limit nagging at me, and 2) carrying any surplus over to the next day does not allow me to just forget it. No wiping the slate clean and starting over allowed. So instead it starts nagging at me first thing I get up the next morning. This is good. At the end of the day I notice I tend to forget there was a carry over. This kinda forces me to cut back some the next day.
I know it's just a mind game trick. Maybe my mind will get wise to the trick eventually. Now if that surplus keeps growing and growing then I got to stop and get serious. So far it hasn't. We'll see....
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Hiker
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 January 2012 11:39 pm |
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| Nancy, interesting. Are you saying if you have 2300 calories today then tomorrow you are - 300 so you really can only have 1700? and if you actually have 2200 on that second day the 3rd day you start at -500? Just trying to follow what your plan is and I will be curious to see how it works for you. I am a long way from maintence but I know it is so hard, any tricks I hear about I like to consider.
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 January 2012 11:51 pm |
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i'm so sorry about pickles, nancy. i always get so very sad when i hear about animals dying, even if i didn't personally know the animal. she was a very cute goat and i love the name. i know it sucks to lose a pet. :(
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Nancy_in_GA
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| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 3 January 2012 12:44 pm |
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Hiker, yes that's correct. Now before I started this new trick I was up about 4 lbs. So in addition to maintaining I'd like to bring it back down a few pounds. I think it would work if you're trying to lose too. I should set my goat for 1800 for a while I haven't been walking since the exercise challenge ended. Got to change that. It is 20 degrees here this morning. Not going to happen today that's for sure.
Thanks everyone for the kind words about the Pickles. I was feeling sad because she must have been in some pain and I didn't realize it. Sometimes bad things happen. When you have 9 other goats it's a little easier.
Zen, welcome back. We missed you.
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Nancy_in_GA
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| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 9 January 2012 07:39 pm |
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It is 3 years yesterday that I joined this site. Boy does time fly.
So far I like this new way of recording calories (carrying over surplus to next day). I ate a whole lot on new years eve, around 3000. It took until Sunday (1/7) to get the carry over back to zero. And sure enough, weight was the same yesterday morning as the day before new years eve. If I had just wiped out NYE calories and started over I know I wouldn't have logged in enough deficit to break even by now.
After getting insulation blown into my house walls, there are 8 rooms in the house that need to be fixed and painted. Since the last painting in my house was done in 1986, it's long overdue anyway. I'm going to do one room at a time. Am just now only finishing up room 1, the guest bedroom. There were a lot of cracks in the old plaster that needed repair first. With the money saved by doing this myself, I've decided to buy new light fixtures and window treatments for most rooms. (Why are nice light fixtures and window treatments so expensive, anyway?)
This so far has been a fun project for the winter, because I'm taking my time to do each room---no rush to finish. I'm sure it will carry over long into summer, maybe longer. While I was working, this house was just a place to sleep in and do work that I carried home with me. Maybe now it can be a real house, if I ever get finished. Sorry for neglecting you for so many years, House.
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Hiker
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 9 January 2012 10:07 pm |
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Happy Anniversary Nancy!
Sounds like your carry over plan is really working for you. If I ever get back to maintenance maybe I'll give it a try. Gotta be better than what I have done in the past.
Don't forget to take before pictures....it's great when the room is done just to see how different it really is.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 10 January 2012 01:00 pm |
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Thank you Hiker. Yes it seems like if I carry over the surplus to the next day it doesn't allow me to forget so easily that I need to run a deficit to make it up. By afternoon I forget that a whole lot of those calories were from yesterday.
I'd like to take pictures but it's hard to get a good shot of anything in a 12x12 room. The room looks good with no furniture in it. When that comes back in it won't look so good, and I'm NOT getting new furniture. I need to get rid of some I have.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 10 January 2012 10:27 pm |
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All about Ben:
Update on the guitar. Between spackling, sanding and coats of paint drying, I'm still practicing. A coat of paint on the fingertips helps, but not good for the strings. The guy at the music store said it takes about a year to learn to play decently. Doubtful about that. I'm sure he was talking about teenagers.
It helps me to pick out a particular song and stick with it. I'm going to publicly (so I can't back out easily) challenge myself to learn to play one song, Ben, (Michael Jackson vocal, http://www.youtube.com/v/2ObiBIF6fHo&autoplay=1&fs=1&autoplay=1 ). I know it's about a rat, but I try to ignore that. Jackson was 12 years old here I think. It makes me sad to see him then, compared to later years. Not much change emotionally I think. But I digress... Hope this challenge goes better Hiker's challenge to do a single push up by last February. Here are two arrangements I like:
(1) http://www.youtube.com/v/6elh77DGvcA&autoplay=1&fs=1&autoplay=1
Some things I don't like about this one are just due to his style and can be easily changed. The chord at 0:21 almost makes me cry.
(2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa9fem24l94
This is a good arrangement too, and looks easier, but he leaves out the minor key section and uses a capo (?). I think a pencil and a rubber band works too.
So it boils down to which un-melody or background sounds are the best [for that I'm leaning toward (2)]. These arrangements are made up by the artists and are not published or for sale. So first I have to get one down on paper by ear. That is so difficult. If I could learn to play either of these, I would feel like I had died and gone to heaven and would probably retire from guitar playing. According to the guy at the store I should learn it by this coming November. Ha!
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Hiker
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 10 January 2012 10:27 pm |
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| I agree, you most likely do not want new furniture....most of us are trying to pare down, but...new pillows and covers can do wonders. I know I am a trouble maker.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 17 January 2012 02:27 pm |
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Well I've added a new twist to the calorie counting. As well as carrying over the surplus calories to the next day, I only weigh myself on mornings after I get any surpluses back down to zero. I guess that's cheating, because it would obviously come after a day of undereating, or at least breaking even, so the results are usually not bad. Anyway it's less frustrating that way. Not so much fluctuation in the numbers.
Installed a new ceiling light fixture yesterday and started trying to put cove molding stops around my replacement window in that bedroom. Now I understand why people fuss so much about cutting crown molding. This molding is much simpler and yet I've still messed up several pieces. So last night I made 4 pattern pieces to go by. Will eventually do the whole house. But looks like I might never get out of this bedroom. Got to pick up the pace.
Next project is to take down the old closet door that has been pulled out of square, square it back up and rehang it. I'm estimating this door is about 90 years old. It is unusually tall and solid wood, so a replacement would be a special order and very expensive, and I'd have to hire someone to install it, plus a new one probably wouldn't match the other doors in the room.
I've been reading about the history of glue. It is most likely glued with hide (like from horses) glue. Very interesting. Other types of glue weren't common until the '40's. This will be a challenge. I've accepted the possibility that I can't do this, but it will be fun to try.  And I've got nothing to lose. It's looks awful the way it is now. Looks like someone tried to swing on it in the past.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 21 January 2012 05:25 pm |
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Still like this new plan so far. It's the first strategy I feel like I could possibly live with forever. Jotting down calories is no trouble. I can do that forever, or at least until I get too old to add numbers together. Today is the first day I've dropped below 122 since Nov 10th, except for one day in December.
The calories have been zig-zagging like crazy on a daily basis (highs near 3000, lows around 1100). But weight on days when I hit a carry over of zero are very consistent so far. An added twist: if I buy a package of food which I know I'll finish within a couple of days, I just count the whole package on the day I first open it. Then it is a "free" snack the next day.
I'm so dense. Just learned Stevie Wonder's song "Isn't She Lovely" was written about his newborn daughter, by Googling the lyrics. The song is only 35 years old. Always liked that song even though I could hardly understand a word he was singing, because I wasn't listening for words like Aisha and Londi.
Took down the door, took off the door knob, and a penny dated 1919 fell out. That's just about when I figured this house was built. Although the penny could have been put in there as late as 1982, I prefer to think the builder slipped it in there as a time/date stamp. More romantic that way.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 17 March 2012 09:44 pm |
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Haven't posted in a long time. Computer problems, inability to connect to internet for several days, seems to have broken my routine of posting enough so that it's hard to get back in the swing of things. I want to document a few things here and will update what else has been going on in a later post.
With considerable misgivings, and after weeks of nagging, finally allowed five Win 7 and one Java update to download, which caused problems with a graphics driver, so I restored back to a previous date, hoping to cancel out the updates. However all but these last 6 restore dates were wiped out. I tried the first one anyway. After that I could not connect to the internet, period. Couldn't even restart in safemode. Got a phone call the next day from a software company offering to fix my pc. Coincidence? I'm on the Do Not Call list. Hmmm...
After much effort gave up and took pc to an expert, who said the pc had some viruses and spyware and raked me over the coals for doing a restore. Said it was the worst feature Microsoft ever added to Windows. However I have corrected stealth changes made to the registry that way in the past. He applied some supposedly heavy duty commercial virus removal software, but still couldn't connect to internet, so he reloaded Windows and installed the $36/yr McAfee. I coulda reloaded Windows myself (I think). Was trying to avoid that.
The first morning after bringing the pc home (after an automatic restart from another Windows update the night before) the "System Check" virus appeared. It tells you all your files and hard drive sectors are damaged, the drive is running a temp of 83oC and will be damaged irreparably. Turns out it just hides all your files and makes them read-only. A nuisance but not fatal. The object is to get you to purchase bogus software. This virus was doing it's thing, popping up numerous warning windows, even while McAfee was running a scan. So I downloaded Windows Defender and the virus at least quit actively working after running that. Could be a coincidence. On the McAfee website their first troubleshooting solution is usually to buy a $90 upgrade. I'm not impressed. Not sure if the virus is gone or just in remission.
It took a long time to put everything back in order after reloading Windows. Since then I found out that the Catalyst Control Center program from one of those first Win updates is apparently what originally caused the problems with the graphics driver. Whatever it's supposed to do, it says there is an error and doesn't do it, so I just uninstalled it, as apparently many have done.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 18 March 2012 01:28 am |
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Weight is holding around 122. That is a good weight for me I think. But I've got to work on building back muscle lost due to winter laziness. Still cumulating calories instead of starting over every day. Currently running a surplus of 1100, but it's been at that level for a couple of weeks. I'll get it whittled down to zero eventually.
Signed up for one of those Life Line Screening things just out of curiosity. (I'll do anything, even pay money, to avoid going to a doctor). They do ultrasound tests on carotid artery, aneurism, etc. I've never ever had any of those done and I was curious. The results came back that everything was OK. The fasting blood test showed cholesterol at 176 (LDL 79, HDL 75, triclyc 105, glucose 81, all within normal range). Total cholesterol was higher than it was with the home test (~150), but I was walking 30 min a day at that time. Got to get back into walking soon. BP that day was 99/50! I don't think I will ever have BP tested again. I like those numbers. And I can have more salt. 
Meanwhile I finished the bedroom and the dining room and am working on the living room now. I've finally learned how to apply joint compound to walls. Only 6 more rooms to go. Three of those rooms will be very simple and 3 will take weeks each.
One of our goats has a suspicious lump that suddenly appeared under his ear. It's round and about the size of a quarter. Could be nothing but very likely a common but terrible bacteria infection, Caseous Lymphadenitis, which is uncurable and highly contagious, even to humans. It is a textbook case just by looking at it. He was probably a carrier all along, but it just surfaced now at 8 years old. Always something... It seems I'm spending too much time putting out fires lately.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 30 March 2012 09:17 pm |
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Started on room number four today---the upstairs bedroom. It has an old coal fireplace not used in at least 40 years. Mantel long ago removed with a dresser placed in front of it.
Fireplace is stuffed with old newspapers. I pull them out and out falls a brick followed by a cloud of black soot. I vacuum up all that comes out, but it looks as if it is packed solid with soot above. I'm afraid to dig any deeper. It may end up like one of those old Laurel and Hardy movies where clouds of soot fill the room and I end up with a black face.
So one step forward and two steps back. Not much progress so far today. The brick worries me more than the soot. Is the chimney about to cave in? Ahh... the mysteries of old houses.
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 31 March 2012 12:54 am |
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Sorry to hear about your computer problems and your goats lump.
I've been recently reading about an herb called Pau d' Arco. Some people claim it fights cancer and gets rid of tumors on animals and humans.
Fixing up an old house sounds like fun to me. Lots of work, yes, but a good feeling of accomplishment when you make a part of it look nicer. I would come and help you Nancy, but I'm starting a new job. He heh.
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Nancy_in_GA
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| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 31 March 2012 01:11 am |
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Well believe it or not, the lump under that goat's ear is slowly shrinking. Absolutely not what should happen if it's something bad. It should keep getting bigger and break open with cottage cheese like stuff oozing out (sorry). The vet photographs matched his exactly. I've never seen any kind of lump that was a perfect round ball like that before. If he has that awful stuff, he will get another lump eventually. Got my fingers crossed.
Yes I really enjoy fixing up the plaster in this house. It has all kinds of cracks and patches and paint drips, nail holes, painted over scotch tape, etc, where people have tinkered around over the years. The bedroom I just finished turned out really good.
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 31 March 2012 02:44 pm |
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Maybe it's not a tumor then. Maybe it's just a area that is filled with pus - white blood cells from a cut or something. Hopefully he or she will be ok.
I have done some crude patching with the joint compound stuff. I always have a hard time getting it to look totally even with the existing wall.
I bet the bedroom you did does look nice. What color is it painted?
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Nancy_in_GA
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| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 15 April 2012 03:01 am |
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Sorry for not answering sooner, Sassy. The bedroom is a very light gray---cloud gray it's called. Funny thing about gray is it seems to take on hues of whatever surrounds it. Sometimes it looks blue.
Haven't been on in a while again. Did a challenge with JamesH for one week to drop 3500 calories. Gained that pound back and 2 more. Funny thing, the weight popped up 3 lbs almost overnight and I assumed some of it would go away, but it didn't. Going to start cutting down and join the next weight loss challenge if I can't drop those 3 lbs by the end of April. Got to nip this in the bud.
We are having a long beautiful spring here. Very unusual. Hope the drought doesn't come back this summer. We are only allowed to water outdoors one day a week, anticipating another dry summer.
Finding it difficult to patch cracks in the ceiling in this second bedroom. They stippled the ceiling and I can't seem to match their pattern. Maybe I should just re-stipple the entire ceiling. Sanded off my first attempt. Everything is covered in dust now.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 22 April 2012 10:29 pm |
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I'm going to try to start writing here every day for a while again. Eating is not good. Maybe that will help me get back on track. For some reason I just want sweet and salty, over and over. Quit counting calories. Big mistake. Gained 4 pounds over the last month or so. Going to join the next challenge and try to get it back off. I should start today, but somehow the fact that I've decided to join, makes me feel like I deserve to be able to pig out until then. Geesh! 
Just about finished with this second bedroom. Chose to paint it a very light lilac, the lightest shade they had a sample for. Turned out to be too intense for my liking. It's amazing how different the colors always look from those little sample cards, once you get them on the wall. For the second coat I got the guy at Lowes to cut the color additives by 1/2. Hope it doesn't need 2 more coats now.
This room had a huge number of cracks in the plaster and decades worth of crummy looking old repair jobs. Repairing a 110o outside corner turned out to be a challenge and a big delay. I tried to just mold it with plaster, but it turned out awful, so I broke down and bought one of those 90o corner bead things and made it work. Takes 3 days for everything to dry. It sure doesn't look like a professional did it, but better than all the other plaster in the room. Ha!
The last thing I got to do is figure out a way to stop the hardwood floor from squeeking---right in front of the bed and right in front of the closet. Drives me nuts. Even if I have to drive screws straight down from the top into the floor, I'm going to do it.
After this I'm going to start on the porch. Won't be able to work after dark, so maybe I'll get back to my evening walks.
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Hiker
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 23 April 2012 12:07 am |
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Hey Nancy, sorry to hear you're struggling a bit but I know you will get right back into it, you are really good at that.
Next time you paint, think about getting a sample can, I know Home Depot has them, so I am sure Lowe's does too. Basically they mix a small can of what ever color and the cost under $5.00. We buy them for my nephews projects, they love that they can pick any color from the samples. Then you can put it on a good chunk of the wall before you totally commit.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 24 April 2012 03:51 am |
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Hiker, I guess I'm just too cheap to spend $5 on a sample. I would probably go through several samples, too. This lighter lilac looks good so far---based on a foot square patch on the wall.
Had a reasonable eating day. Lately if I come in at 2000 I consider that reasonable. Have a head of lettuce in the refrigerator turning pink. Don't want it. But the thought of wasting food will make me eat it. So I should just buy stuff like that all the time. Keep the fridge packed. I'll stay busy trying not to waste food.
In sanding the woodwork in this bedroom I discovered that some previous owner painted all the woodwork in the room green. I'm talking real green, like the green crayon in the Crayola 8 pack. This included doors! The woodwork in the downstairs bedroom was painted fuschia. I know the house was rented to college students for a few years in the past. Or maybe the lady that owned it was color blind and got a bargain on paint. Found a 1942 penny under the baseboard molding. I think it's worth about $0.40.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 28 April 2012 10:11 pm |
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Time to rant. Another pet peeve. Tricky home insurance bills.
I always pay annually. But they insist on sending me a quarterly bill. There is a $2/quarter extra fee if you pay quarterly. If you can only afford to pay monthly you get socked with a $5/month extra charge. The less money you have the more you get screwed. I may join the Occupy Movement.
If not for a little chart hidden on the back page, explaining these fees, and how you can save money by paying annually, consumers would never know they were paying extra. I bet that little chart is a federal requirement. Govermit regulations! Humph! I bet it's those Democrats' fault always wanting to interfere with free market practices.
Anyway the total annual premium is nowhere to be found on the bill. NOWHERE! So I better call the agent to be safe, else they'll slap on a fee for underpayment. I wonder if they teach this stuff in business school classes?
I must be getting really old. Was thinking about the kid at the baseball game who cried because he didn't get the foul ball that was tossed in the stands last week. My parents would have told me to stop crying or I'd get a spanking. Ha! And more proof....
Got a new mattress delivered yesterday. It was the hardest one Sealy makes. I love it. Reminds me of the mother in Barefoot in the Park who had to carry a sheet of plywood around to sleep on. Maybe I need to meet a Charles Boyer type character. Heck that is even an ancient movie.
So I am sounding like a grumpy old person tonight.
Finished the bedroom. Mowed half the back lawn. If it doesn't rain, I'm going to walk tonight.
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Hiker
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 29 April 2012 12:28 am |
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| Nancy, I don't know if you sound crabby but I am 100% on board with you about that kid. I am sorry but I have waited 60 years to catch a ball at a Red Sox game and if one came in my reach and by some miracle I caught it....no way I would give it up to some 3 year old because he cried. What's even worse....at the end of the game one of the players gave the kid a ball...nice lesson...cry and get what ever you want. If that were my child I would have told him to stop behaving badly, we can't always get what we want and we should learn to celebrate someone elses success. He was only 3 and I understand why he was upset but and this is the point, it was a great teaching moment only I am sorry to say I think the wrong lesson was taught. OK my rant is over too. Last edited on 29 April 2012 10:22 am by Hiker
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 29 April 2012 12:10 pm |
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Hiker wrote: What's even worse....at the end of the game one of the players gave the kid a ball...nice lesson...cry and get what ever you want. ...
Well that's probably a good compromise outcome. By that time, the child probably forgot what he was even crying about, and it made the folks who felt sorry for him happy so they will calm down, and hopefully forget about it too.
I would give you a RedSox baseball if I caught one, Hiker.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 30 April 2012 08:39 pm |
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Just had a frustration/exaspiration triggered grilled cheese. Writing this just to kill time while waiting for a phone call.
Trying to set up satellite TV for my mom. Introductory offer of $39.99 for 2 years, normally $68.99/mo---a difference of $696 over 2 years. Need a credit card and a credit check. She has never had a credit card in her life, neither did my father. My credit check was fine, but if they use my name and credit check, they say it would be considered an auxiliary account to my already existing satellite service, so it wouldn't get the introductory rate.
They went off to check HER credit rating. I'm sure she doesn't even have one. Been waiting for a call back for 2 hours. That's always a bad sign. Wonder if I offered to pay 2 years worth of monthly bills up front would they go for it? Naw, that would make too much sense. Computer would get all messed up. Geesh!
Guess I got to get her a card and make her charge something on it. This has been a problem several times in the past. I bet she couldn't even get one. Everyone seems geared to credit.
Back to the grilled cheese. Frustration and waiting are definitely triggers for eating.
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zenobia
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 30 April 2012 09:56 pm |
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Nancy_in_GA wrote: Time to rant. Another pet peeve. Tricky home insurance bills.
I always pay annually. But they insist on sending me a quarterly bill. There is a $2/quarter extra fee if you pay quarterly. If you can only afford to pay monthly you get socked with a $5/month extra charge. The less money you have the more you get screwed. I may join the Occupy Movement.
If not for a little chart hidden on the back page, explaining these fees, and how you can save money by paying annually, consumers would never know they were paying extra. I bet that little chart is a federal requirement. Govermit regulations! Humph! I bet it's those Democrats' fault always wanting to interfere with free market practices.
Anyway the total annual premium is nowhere to be found on the bill. NOWHERE! So I better call the agent to be safe, else they'll slap on a fee for underpayment. I wonder if they teach this stuff in business school classes?
So I am sounding like a grumpy old person tonight. *nods understandingly* and without getting too political, all i gotta say is "word."
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 30 April 2012 10:20 pm |
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zenobia wrote: *nods understandingly* and without getting too political, all i gotta say is "word."
Zen, I'm really dense (and old), can you give me a hint on "word."
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 1 May 2012 02:59 am |
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This is getting better and better.
Skip this if you don't want to be bored out of your wits. Somehow documenting it makes me feel calmer about the situation, and keeps me from being paranoid.
After no return call from the local guy, tried calling the main DirecTV number and this rep, L, contradicted the person on the previous call saying I could do this and still get the new customer discount if it was considered a gift. Then she tried setting it up and it flagged my account again, sent me to call that 800 number again with another reference code. They said there was nothing wrong but that that rep was not allowed to set it up, so they transferred me to the movers department. Movers department said this is only for if you're moving ( ), they transferred me to an unknown number which disconnected after 5 minutes. L called back a few minutes ago and found out they were correct, she wasn't allowed to set it up. That means the local guy can't either. That's why he never called back. So I'm back to main office to try to get connected again to that mysterious number that I was disconnected from earlier. Probably will have to go through the Movers department first, though.
After a vodka and diet coke things are looking better. The urgency is that the one and only thing my mother enjoys on TV is Atlanta Braves baseball. She watches every game. She is 90. She deserves to get what she likes. Her current satellite provider (Dish) is in a spat with Ted Turner's network (Peachtree TV) and blacked out his local channel---looks like for the whole summer, and for good. There are 35 more Braves games left this summer on Peachtree TV, next one on Friday. I guess I'm ready to throw in the towel and throw away $700. My mom will kill me if she finds out. Maybe Dish TV is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
In the grand scheme of things this is very trivial I guess, but boy has it sent me into a tizzy.
Surprisingly eating was not too bad in spite. Even with the vodka, calories are at 1710 for the day.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 1 May 2012 03:07 am |
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Just came up with another idea. Maybe I could get my mom set up as an authorized user of my credit card, that might work. Hmmm... Wonder how hard that is to do.
ETA: Not hard to do at all as it turns out, I can do it in one click online, but I don't think it would help. They recently changed the rules so that an authorized user cannot establish a credit score just by being an authorized user. Turns out people were selling their credit card user authorization to strangers for big bucks just to improve the stranger's credit scores. What will people think of next!?Last edited on 1 May 2012 04:14 am by Nancy_in_GA
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JamesH
New Member
| Joined: | 27 November 2011 |
| Location: | Alabama USA |
| Posts: | 193 |
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Posted: 1 May 2012 12:07 pm |
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Nancy, may I offer some advise for dealing with DTV.
First, stop calling DTV directly. They live off the produce they sell, not their customer service. If they had to depend on their customer service they would go bankrupt in a day. Instead, look up a local independent DTV dealer, the yellow pages and classifieds are usually littered with their adds. They will get the job done for you much quicker than the "in house installers"
Secondly, with your specific situation, there is a better yet somewhat underhanded solution. First, you will need to find someone who is capable of installing a DTV system, either a DTV or Dish installer or even a cable installer. Really, anyone with basic electrical or mechanical skills should be able to do this for you. Just ask around, likely someone you know will know someone who does this. Second, you will need to acquire a dish, the installer you find can probably get one for you. Once you have this in place, call DTV and request an additional receiver for your house. Once it is installed at your house, you can have your new "installer friend" move it to your mothers house. Will probably have to pay for the dish and the installation, but will be much cheaper in the long run as you will only be billed for the extra receiver each month on your bill. I used to do this myself while working as an installer as a side job working for a friend of mine. Would charge between $100 to $200 depending on the person and situation. If you lived in NE Alabama in stead of NE Georgia I would offer to do this for you myself.
Good luck, hope your mother does not have to miss out on too many Braves games.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 1 May 2012 01:04 pm |
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James, I did start with a local dealer. He got flagged and blocked from setting it up, just like the rep did from the main office. I already have an additional receiver in my house. But I don't know anyone who would install a dish under the table. Isn't that illegal? Things like that scare me. I'm a wimp.
There must be 30 ads in the phone book for Dish, but the only one for Directv is the main office.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 1 May 2012 01:51 pm |
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Almost got it today. They claim now they can set it up if she is an authorized user on my card, although she may have to pay an up front equipment charge, and the introductory rate will only last one year instead of 2.
Anyway we got up to the final details and the rep said, "I need to hear your mother say "yes" to give the final approval." OK, so I don't have 3 way calling, the rep claims she doesn't have 3-way calling. For some reason they will not call her (Why?). I have trained her to say "NO" to anyone who calls her anyway. I never think fast enough on the phone. I could have just used a different voice, carried on a fake conversation, "Hey mom, come to the phone," and then say "Yes." I'm just not devious enough. Ha!
I just read where Dish and Directv have been trying to merge for years. If that approval ever happens, lord, help us.
And yes the local guy was willing to set it up yesterday before he got flagged. The main office says maybe by Friday.
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JamesH
New Member
| Joined: | 27 November 2011 |
| Location: | Alabama USA |
| Posts: | 193 |
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Posted: 1 May 2012 03:47 pm |
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Technically I guess that would be illegal, but is no different than someone who has an RV or a vacation home that they take a receiver to, and definitely no worse than using a fake physical address to be able to get local channels (yes, there are still areas where local channels are not available on DTV and Dish, and this is done a lot). However, I would not try to push anyone into something they are not comfortable with. DTV never ceases to amaze me with their lack of respect for the customer. I just hate it that anyone has to go through this kind of trouble for something as simple as television programming. And this is coming from someone who remembers not only having to get up and walk across the room to change the channels, but also having to go outside and turn the antennae to get a better signal.
Anyway, good luck in your quest.
Last edited on 1 May 2012 03:48 pm by JamesH
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 1 May 2012 04:43 pm |
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I think I got it!!!!  (Fingers crossed) The local guy did finally come through, James. Don't know how he did it. I'm not asking any questions. He's sending someone to install the thing tomorrow even. I'll believe it when I see it. Yay!!
Thanks for your support. It helped a lot.
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JamesH
New Member
| Joined: | 27 November 2011 |
| Location: | Alabama USA |
| Posts: | 193 |
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Posted: 2 May 2012 03:50 am |
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Glad to hear you got this worked out Nancy.
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 2 May 2012 10:59 pm |
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Nancy_in_GA wrote: I'll believe it when I see it....
The TV guy was supposed to show up at 10am. At 10:30 he called and said the equipment arrived late but he was on his way. No one showed up. His phone was switched to voice mail. He finally called back at 3:30 and said someone was supposed to call me and tell me they couldn't set it up because it "flagged my account." I could have told him that!!! Figured he already got past that stage somehow.
I know more about this company now than its employees.
The guy said he would try something else this evening, but I figure they got it covered at the main office. The only way around is to get someone else with a credit card and good credit who doesn't already have DirecTV to set it up.
So now there would have been a $200 non refundable equipment fee and no new customer discount. That would be about $900 wasted. The regular montly fees would be about $30 more than what she's paying now.
So I guess I give up. 
Meanwhile we have another sick goat. Running a temperature of 107.6. That's the highest I've ever seen a temp for a goat. It's probably either pneumonia or listeriosis. Gave him a fever reducer and a shot of Biomycin for pneumonia in the morning, and pennicillin-G for listeriosis in the afternoon. Shots are daily for pennicillin and every other day for biomycin.
BTW, this makes about 5 strangers now who know both my credit card number and my social security number. Hope they screen their employees. I better keep close tabs on my credit card charges.
ETA: I ate 2.5 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while waiting today. Loaded with PB&J, too.
Last edited on 2 May 2012 11:20 pm by Nancy_in_GA
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Nancy_in_GA
Moderator
| Joined: | 8 January 2009 |
| Location: | NE, Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 1863 |
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Posted: 3 May 2012 04:26 am |
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Walked to my favorite little park tonight with an old calorie notebook from a previous failed attempt to lose weight in 2008. Start weight, 138, bottomed out at 135, then back to 137, then aborted after 3 weeks.
My plan was to write down some thoughts. This TV thing has got me thinking about the bigger picture. And I realize all that attention to money calculations would be completely foreign to most anyone reading. Who cares how much something costs as long as you can afford it. There evidently must be 10's of thousands of people who get TV service and don't pay, or else the TV people would not be so cautious. So they use the credit score because it is an objective criterion. And there must be folks using some nefarious methods to get service by tacking on to others' accounts. So I don't totally blame the company. I suppose it would not be cost effective to treat each case individually. But my mom is technically a new customer. It's just the unfairness of it. I can't imagine ever charging more on a credit card than I had in cash to cover for the month. But I guess I'm lucky. If it were a necessity and I didn't have the money, then there would be no other option. TV is definitely not a necessity.
I feel like I'm so different than anyone else. Always have. I don't talk the same language as anyone except my best friend here in Georgia and my best friend from public school who lives in Florida now. But before I get too depressed, I'll put down some things I'm grateful for (some of Hiker's rainbows):
1. Being able to be happy being alone with myself.
2. Being able to be pleased with something I did without having to have confirmation from someone else.
3. Being too honest.
4. Having a nagging sense of fairness
These last two have hindered my progress in "getting ahead" in life considerably, but I'm proud of them anyway.
I distinctly remember in first grade when we were told to bring crayons. My parents bought me one of these big boxes of 64 crayons. The kind that sit up proudly in tiers like stadium seats. Most everyone else had the 8 box, or used up hand-me-downs from brothers and sisters. I was so embarrased I tried to hide them. What causes this in a 5 year old? It must be true that you learn a lot more when you are very young than people used to think. It can't be genetic.
And I think about what must have made people happy over the centuries. What makes people happy today? I'm curious. Some people seem to prefer things, others prefer experiences. I prefer things to experiences. I'd rather have an X than go on a cruise, but I don't want many things. I can't even think of something to fill in for the X right now (except DirecTV at reasonable rates).
Anyway, I wrote down a much longer post than even this one, then tossed it. It was just more jibberish about credit cards, but it helped a lot just to write it down.
There is a tiny little bit of gin left, and an old bottle of scotch which I detest, but have kept for sentimental reasons because it was the first bottle of booze I ever bought. Bad first choice. Wonder how it would go with diet coke? 
I just need a good night's sleep and get back to saving a goat's life. He is my mom's favorite goat.
The Braves won tonight 15-13! Must have been an exciting game. Hope my mom didn't fall asleep before the end.
Calories today must have been near 3000. I didn't measure the peanut butter. Waiting all day for someone to show up is a definite trigger.
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