Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 9:45 P.M.:  I went through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  I installed this fix for XP http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/02/28/09winman_1.html .  I ran Norton Clean Sweep, and I removed all my System Restore backups except the most recent.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed directly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 8:05 P.M.:  I had two hotdogs with buns and Heinz ketchup and French’s Dijon mustard and potato chips and a dill pickle slice and ice tea.   

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 7:40 P.M.:  I chatted with a relative.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 7:20 P.M.:  I used OEM logo to enter my information and the computer information in the OEM logo programs which displays in “My Computer, properties” display.  I used for the picture the Holland America picture.  I put $5 on my laundry card.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 6:50 P.M.:  I went out, and I stopped by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I next went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I sat out at various locations.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I next went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local newspaper, and I checked out a DVD video disk.  I then drove over to Port Chester, New York; and I went to Costco.  One can not get a day pass for shopping anymore just for browsing.  I browsed the computer department.  I then went over to the Port Chester shopping center, and I toured Staples.  I then went to the Vitamin Shoppe, and I bought Multivitamins Mega-Vites 75 for $12.57 100 tablets, E-400 100 tablets $9.57, Niacimide 500 mg. 100 tablets $4.77, C-500 Complex 100 tablets $4.77, B-12 500 mcg. 100 tablets $4.77, Garlic 500 100 tablets $5.36 for $41.79 less $10 from my Vitamin Shoppe points discount card for $31.79 total.  I then went to Odd Job, and I bought four packages of four 40 watt Polaroid light bulbs for .99 each package, 2 packages of four Polaroid AA batteries for $2.98 both packages, and two six ounce cans of Consul crab meat from Thailand for $1.50 each can plus .47 tax for $10.41 total.  I then returned home.  I had a glass of ice tea.  I will put away my purchases.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 1:50 P.M.:  I listened to http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/live_news.ram while having my meal.  Instead of a cappuccino, I had 50% Folgers’ instant coffee and 50% Folgers’ decaffeinated instant coffee.  I will now clean up and go out for some daytime activity.  I will shut down the computer, while I am out.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 12:50 P.M.:  I am cooking the same meal as yesterday, except I am cooking the half pound of boneless center cut of pork for 30 minutes instead of 35 minutes in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  I am also having steamed frozen peas with the fresh asparagus.  I also charged up the Slaymaker million watt rechargeable lantern over night.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 11:30 A.M.:  I copied My Documents to a CD.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 11:00 A.M.:  I sifted through my email.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 10:15 A.M.:  I printed out three sets of forms and envelopes for mailing in my Net2Phone payments.  I refilled the black ink cartridge for the Epson Stylus Color 880 printer with my black ink cartridge refill kit.  For the color cartridge, I order on from http://www.3dayinkjet.com/ .  Since I do not use much color, I only replace the color cartridge about once a year.  CIO 

End of Scott's Notes week 02/28/03:

Note: <888> 02/28/03 Friday 9:10 A.M.:  I had a call from a relative at 9 P.M. last night.  I had a call from a friend at 7:30 A.M. this morning.  I was up at 8 A.M..  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I will now send out my weekly notes.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 8:05 P.M.:  I did some regular computer work.  I chatted with a friend.  Everyone I chat with says the Andrea Electronics microphone sounds much better than the YAP headset.  I will now shut down the computer.  Starbuck’s web site www.starbucks.com  says that the Riverside Shopping Center has wireless internet.  I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 7:05 P.M.:  I chatted with a relative.  I had a snack of three pretzel rods, a honey bell orange, and a 1.5” X 1.5” X 1” chunk of Vermont extra sharp cheddar cheese along with a glass of ice tea.  I have been doing some regular computer work.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 5:35 P.M.:  I printed out two copies of my primary Northgate computer backup procedure.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 5:20 P.M.:  I just finished the backup of the C: drive to the D: drive in seven different parts.  Backups on the new Northgate system are a lot faster.  I also updated the systems on the Dell backup computer.  When I do backups of my Windows XP Professional System on the Northgate computer, I backup to the first backup file all the files except C:\000000009, C:\Documents and Settings, C:\System Volume Information, C:\Crexp, C:\XP, C:\XPProg, C:\Winxp, C:\upload, System State, C:\Program Files, C:\Windows.  For the second backup, I backup C:\Crexp, C:\System Volume Information, C:\XP, C:\WinXP, C:\XPProg, C:\upload, System State.  For the third backup, I backup C:\000000009.  For the fourth backup, I backup C:\Documents and Settings.  For the fifth backup, I backup all C:\Program Files except the Microsoft ones.  For the sixth backup, I backup all the Microsoft Files in C:\Program Files.  For the seventh and final backup, I backup C:\Windows.  Since Windows XP Professional has a backup program, I can do this.  Although, my D: drive for the backups is several years old.  I have only used it for backups about once a month, so it should be in good shape.  I would restore the system, if I had to by installing Windows XP Professional on a formatted C: drive, and then to the restore from the backups on the D: drive.  I will now run System Restore and do a backup of the system.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 3:45 P.M.:  I went out, and I went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift Shop.  I bought an Abercrombie and Fitch orange, white, and blue flannel plaid shirt extra large size for $3.  I then went by my 3 P.M. appointment, but it was not scheduled this week.  I next sat out downtown briefly.  I did not go for a walk, since I did not have my cap or sneakers on.  I next drove by the waterfront.  I just now returned home.  Norton Speed Disk has finished running on the C: drive.  I will now run Norton Disk Doctor, Norton Win Doctor, and then I will do a C: drive to D: drive backup.  As far as I can tell, I have the new computer all configured the way I want it.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 1:20 P.M.:  I will clean up and go out shortly.  I have a 3 P.M. appointment.  I will run Norton SpeedDisk while I am out.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 12:40 P.M.:  On the SoundBlaster Live MP3+ card, I do not use the digital out plug, however I had to unplug the input plug which comes from the stereo amplifier, since the Andrea Electronics microphone plug on the next microphone plug and the Y splitter 3 plug adaptor on the first audio out plug are large diameter plugs, so the input plug has no room.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 12:20 P.M.:  I checked the mail.  I took the Pyrex pie dish, and I put in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and I cut off about one fourth or about a half pound of the center cut boneless pork roast, and I rubbed the piece in the olive oil.  I then seasoned it on top and the sides with Old Bay Seasoning, ground black pepper, garlic powder, celery salt, chicken and meat seasoning, Italian spices, oregano, basil, and Texas Best Mesquite barbeque sauce.  I am cooking it in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.  I will have it with reheated white rice and steamed fresh asparagus and ice tea and a cappuccino.  I am listening to http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/live_news.ram .  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 11:50 A.M.:  I have Microsoft Word 2002 Speech Recognition working and configured.  It runs just fine.  I printed out a list of the dictation and voice commands.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/27/03 Thursday 10:40 A.M.:  I was up at 6:30 A.M..  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, and supplements.  I then started working on the Microsoft Word 2002 Speech Recognition program.  I uninstalled it, and I reinstalled it with all the updates.  I finally found the fix at the Microsoft Knowledgebase.  It said having “Text Bridge Install” in my startups would cause the problem.  I ran “MSCONFIG”, and I unchecked “Text Bridge Install”, and now the Microsoft Word 2002 Speech Recognition program is working just fine.  I am now going threw the process of training the program with all the different training files.  I also turned off the box window fan temporarily to reduce background noise.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 10:40 P.M.:  I tried deleting the Microsoft Dictation settings in the registry and then repairing the Microsoft Word 2002 installation.  However, Microsoft Dictation still does not work.  I am a bit tired.  I will have a yogurt, and I will go to bed shortly.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 9:05 P.M.:  I forgot to mention the sound quality is much better with the Andrea electronic microphone ear piece.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 8:45 P.M.:  I chatted with two relatives, and I also chatted with a friend.  I checked with Staples and CompUSA about the Plantronics www.plantronics.com DSP500 headset that on the internet one can buy for about $77 from Staples or Amazon.  I then got thinking that my old Andrea Electronics headset that I bought for $50 four years ago is probably a better headset than my YAP headset that I bought for $10 that is on the primary computer.  I took off the Andrea Electronics headset from the Dell backup computer, and I installed it on the primary new  Northgate computer.  I can also use it with the Panasonic headphones for extra audio.  The sound quality is much better since it has noise cancellation.  Thus I do not really need another headset.  I put the YAP headset on the Dell backup computer.  I will now put the ice tea in the refrigerator.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 6:10 P.M.:  I went out, and I stopped by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift Shop.  They are still 50% off.  I bought three Oxford shirts for $13 total.  They’re all 16.5” neck by 34” sleeve.  One is a Stafford blue and white pin stripe for $5.  They other two are Abercrombie and Fitch solid blue and blue and white pin stripe for $4 each.  I next went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I sat out at various locations.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I next went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the Greenwich Times.  I then went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought a center cut boneless pork roast regularly $4.99 a pound for $1.99 a pound for $5.53 total.  I then returned home.  I had a glass of ice tea.  I am making up a batch of www.geocities.com/mikelscott/icetea.htm .  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 2:20 P.M.:  During lunch and coffee and for a while afterwards, I listened to the MP3 file on my computer of the “The Greatest Hits of the War Years” from Telehouse Marketing that I encoded some time ago.  I have cleaned up, so I will now go out directly.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 12:50 P.M.:  I am cooling six Master Choice fish filets with 15 onion rings in the convection oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes a side.  I will have them with a third of a cup of Heinz ketchup mixed with three tablespoons of Gold’s horseradish along with ice tea and a cappuccino.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 12:40 P.M.:  I turned on the amplifier with the 15 speakers connected to it with the input line from the computer connected over the orange mirror to the right of the computer leading into the amplifier, so I am now listening to www.warx.com with 25 speakers going at a moderate low level sound.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 12:25 P.M.:  Both of the output jacks work on the Creative Labs Live MP3+ card.  I put the Cambridge Sound System with one of the other pairs of speakers on the primary output along with the headphones and microphone headset and output wire, and on the second output jack I have the Monsoon speaker system with the other pair of speakers.  The over all sound quality with the Creative Mixer set to four speakers and the XP Sounds and Audio Devices set to four speakers is much better.  I adjusted all eight speakers and two woofers sound level, so it is a much better sounding system.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 11:45 A.M.:  I installed the Syntax Ultra DMA drivers.  Now my new Maxtor 20 gigabyte C: drive is running at Ultra DMA 6, my older Maxtor 20 gigabyte D: drive is running at Ultra DMA 4, my CD player 58 X is running at Ultra DMA 4, and my CD/RW 24X is running at Ultra DMA 2.  Both hard drives benchmark at the same speed at about a 35% faster with the Ultra DMA IDE drivers.  Also the Y 3 splitter plugged into the back of my primary audio output of my SoundBlaster Live MP3+ sound card was not plugged in all the way, so with it plugged in all the way sound should be better.  I did not try the second audio out jack which before did not work.  Maybe I will try it.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 11:05 A.M.:  I setup Microsoft Word 2002 Dictation, but when the language bar comes up it does not work.  I tried fixing it, but I can not get it to work.  I also noticed when I press TAB at boot up to see the postings, I had an error message that IDE0 did not have an IDE80 cable.  I had not installed the original IDE80 cable that came on IDE0, since I use one that was slightly larger.  I fixed this by installing the IDE80 cable that barely stretches between both hard drives.  When I was installing my system, I noticed that when one released the cage release lever, the floppy drive would not slide out.  I removed a screw on the open side, but it still would not come out with the cables removed.  It is not a problem, unless I have to replace the new floppy drive in the future.  There might be a bolt on the underside.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/26/03 Wednesday 8:30 A.M.:  I was up at 7 A.M., and I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplement, and coffee.  I got out my Syntax motherboard manual, and I checked a couple of CMOS settings.  Enabling “boot antivirus protection” keeps my system from booting.  However, on “Init AGP”, I changed the setting from PCI to AGP to reflect my onboard AGP.  Basically, I left the other default settings.  Judging from the information on the Syntax motherboard site at AccessMicro, all six USB ports on the system are USB 2.0.  It is 14 degrees Fahrenheit right now, so I am staying inside.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 8:25 P.M.:  I had six pretzel rods and ice tea.  I will have a homemade yogurt shortly.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed shortly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 7:45 P.M.:  I relaxed a bit.  I chatted with a relative.  It is a bit nippy out at 22 degrees Fahrenheit.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 6:10 P.M.:  I went back out after the last message.  I went by the Greenwich Library, and I returned a book with a 50 cent fine owed on it and also a DVD video disk.  I read the Greenwich Times, PC Maximum, PC World, and National Geographic.  National Geographic has an article about an area in Idaho north of Jackson Hole where Paul Allen has a home.  I use to have a neighbor in my building who once was an Idaho sheriff, and he moved out of Idaho because he had to many run ins with cougars.  I next sat out briefly downtown.  I then went by the waterfront.  I then went by Exxon next to the library, and I bought $5.50 of regular unleaded gasoline at $1.899 a gallon for about 22 miles per gallon.  I also found and item there which I have been looking there which a generic wooden handle snow brush with scraper on the other end which is now made in China for $2.50.  I put it on the driver’s side back seat floor with my other snow brushes.  I have always like that style of snowbrush since it has good leverage for scraping ice and go action for brushing off snow.  I then returned home.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 2:10 P.M.:  I listened to the http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/live_news.ram .  I guess I will go out shortly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 12:55 A.M.:  For my primary meal of the day,  I had a broiled shell steak with Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce, steamed white rice, steamed fresh asparagus, and ice tea.  I will now have a cappuccino.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 11:55 A.M.:  I tweaked the guest logon settings for Windows XP Professional.  I went out, and I stopped by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  Their parking lot was filled up, so something must be up today, since not many people were on the ground floor.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  All of their shop merchandise continues to be 50% off.  I bought three extra large size shirts, a Ralph Lauren 100% cotton medium dark green small pattern plaid flannel shirt for $2.50, a Savile Row 60% cotton and 40% polyester purplish and blue and green summer weight long sleeve plaid shirt $4, and a Savile Row same type summer weight plaid shirt in a red and blue and yellow plaid for $4 for $10.50 total.  I then went downtown, and I sat out a bit.  I walked lower Greenwich Avenue.  I then went by the Merry Go Round Mews thrift shop.  All of their clothes are 75% off.  I bought a burgundy extra large turtle neck for $1.25.  I then walked upper Greenwich Avenue.  At the top of Greenwich Avenue in front of Pickwick plaza, they had lots of heavy equipment moving the snow away from the area.  I then walked back down the Avenue.  I drove by the waterfront.  I then returned home, and I had some ice tea and a pretzel rod.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 8:15 A.M.:  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go out shortly for some daytime activity.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 8:00 A.M.:  I downloaded and installed http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2086-10185630.html?tag=list , and the Benchmark on my AMD Athlon 2000 XP + processor is 4 times faster  on “MWIPS” than an Intel Pentium IV 1.6 Ghz, but on speed it is about 7% faster. CIO   

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 7:35 A.M.:  I did a little bit of computer work.  I chatted with a friend.  Net2Phone is working even better on my computer.  It is a cool 25 degrees Fahrenheit this morning.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 6:30 A.M.:  Well, I made a mistake in thinking the Net2Phone 10.1 SpeedDialer software was the download.  It is on my YAP CD.  I thus have both versions setup on my computer for Net2Phone use.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 6:05 A.M.:  I put away my laundry.  I checked out Net2Phone, and I can redownload and install their communications center software from www.net2phone.com .  However, it does not have the Speed Dial capability that Net2Phone 10.2 or 10.4 http://web.net2phone.com/products/commcenter/reseller.asp has.  I will now install the Net2Phone Communications Center, and then I will reinstall Net2Phone 10.2.  I might have to reinstall my Speed dial numbers.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 5:00 A.M.:  I finished showering and cleaning up.  With the surgical tapes off my hernia incision, I am now able to see the heeled incision where the surgeon operated.  It still has scabs on it, but it seems to have heeled very well.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/25/03 Tuesday 4:25 A.M.:  I was up at 3 A.M..  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I am doing two loads of laundry, and I about ready to start the dry cycle.  I put clean sheets on the bed.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 8:15 P.M.:  I relaxed listening to internet music.  I chatted with a relative.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 6:45 P.M.:  I chatted briefly with one of our local asphalt joggers today.  I mentioned that in the good old days in Nantucket in the 1970s and early 1980s when I was a slim 135 to 145 pounds, I use to jof from the center of Nantucket out to the airport beach via the pine woods where Camp Richard was, and then west on the beach down to the Mount Vernon Farm, and back on the asphalt road past the Maria Mitchell observatory and back through town out to the Jetties beach.  It was usually on hot summer days, and since I walk so much it was not too difficult in my Adidas Country sneakers.  However, I frequently did it after working the 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. lunch shift, and I would have to be back at the restaurant for another 12 hours on my feet from 4 P.M. to 4 A.M. doing pot scrubbing and dishwashing and general kitchen cleanup.  Still it was very good exercise, and I had to work my way up to that distance.  I also frequently walked it.  I generally over the summer would walk most of the island; however I never walked the circumference.  I was told by a visitor from Massachusetts who visits one of my neighbors that the old Languedoc restaurant is still out in Nantucket.  After the various kitchens I worked in including the large ship like Gordon Folder and Vielle Mason kitchens, I enjoyed the small close quarters of the Languedoc kitchen, so one did not have to walk so much.  Still, it was a lot of hard work helping serve up to 250 meals a night.  Of course at that point, I already had traveled a bit and had my formal education, and I had lived in several large cities along with adjacent suburbs, so I was basically getting away from it all on working vacations.  I guess I would enjoy working on a cruise ship for a working vacation, but after all my years around the ocean, I am basically afraid of the ocean.  Thus besides being the Pan Am VIP apartment in Greenwich, I could also be the state side Queen Elizabeth II or Queen Mary II suite for visitors on cruise ships.  I have been informed the new Queen Mary II is due to make its maiden voyage in March 2003, and it is suppose to be the world’s largest cruise ship.  Of course so was the Titanic.  I like treating Nantucket, Manhattan, and Key West like one large cruise ship that was less susceptible to sinking, but they were like floating ships surround by water.  Since I read quite a few sea novels from the Decatur, Alabama Carnegie library, I was a bit acquainted with the sea by the time I was living full time around the ocean.  I have been advised to try to eat more fresh fish, but since the price of fresh fish is so expensive in this area, I can not always afford it.  CIO    

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 6:05 P.M.:  I am listening to www.warx.com to see what is happening in the Washington D.C. area.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 5:55 P.M.:  I went out, and I drove by the waterfront.  If one is careful, one can work their way over the snow pile and around the dumpster to get out on the pier.  I then made my 4:15 P.M. appointment.  I next went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local newspaper.  I then returned home.  I am cooking a box of 6 Master Choice fish filets and 15 frozen onion rings at 425 degrees Fahrenheit in the convection oven for 12 minutes a side.  I will have them with a 1/3 of a cup Heinz ketchup and three tablespoon of horseradish mixed together along with ice tea.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 3:00 P.M.:  Interesting article on Rolls Royce http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2003/02/21/emfrolls22.xml .  I will now shut down the computer and get ready to go out for my 4:15 P.M. appointment.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 2:25 P.M.:  I chatted with a couple of friends.  There is a story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2793253.stm that the Dutch Food giant Ahold has its stock down 65% because of accounting irregularities in its United States subsidiaries which include the Stop and Shop chain of food stores.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 1:35 P.M.:  I received email that the $25 check I sent to Net2Phone 24 days ago has been credited to my account, so I have $34 on the account to use at 2 cents a minute.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 1:05 P.M.:  I have finished configuring the AMD backup.  It basically consists of a AMD KII 450 MHz processor running at 366 MHz, along with two 128 meg PC100 memory chips for 256 megs total, an OPTI generic sound card, the Logicode modem, Macronics LAN 10/100 card, a 24X CD player, 4 USB ports, an 8 gigabyte and 6 gigabyte hard drive, a 3.5” and 5.25” floppy drive, the Diamond Stealth Multimedia 32 meg. video card along with generic mouse, generic pair of speakers, generic keyboard, with 17 inch monitor, all running with Windows ME.  It is an equally fast as the Dell backup computer.  So I basically have to equally powerful backup computers.  I also put the 6 gigabyte hard drive in the old IBM Cyrix, it has on board sound, but no CD player for software installation, no modem or LAN card.  The book stacking procedure for moving the backup computer 17 inch monitor worked just fine, where I did not have to lift the monitor.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 10:55 A.M.:  After the last message, I cleaned up, and I went over to the Greenwich Hospital outpatient clinic for my follow appointment with the surgeon who did my hernia operation.  The doctor thought it was heeling properly.  The doctor removed the surgical tapes that held the incision together.  I was advised that some time in the future, I need to have the smaller hernia on the left side taken care.  I asked if it would be all right to wait until after summer, and the doctor said it would be.  I was advised not to lift any items that strain my abdomen muscles, and if I have to lift, I should lift with my legs.  I thanked the doctor for the most excellent treatment.  I next went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop, and all merchandise if 50% off.  I then went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  There is no ice to speak of, and a few slippery spots have been sanded.  At the top of Greenwich Avenue at the sidewalk intersection with Pickwick Plaza and East Putnam Avenue, there is a slippery spot where the ice has formed at the curb where one crosses the street to the west side of Greenwich Avenue.  I then drove down by the waterfront, and the pier is still blocked by some snow.  I then returned home.  For lunch I had two hotdogs with buns and French’s Dijon mustard with Heinz ketchup and potato chips and a dill pickle slice and ice tea.  I figured out how to move the 17 inch monitor on top of the IBM Cyrix backup computer. I will first change the video setting on the IBM Cyrix to VGA, and then I disconnect the cables to it and the monitor.  I then put a board from the bedroom window on top of the HP LaserJet IIP printer to the left of the IBM backup Cyrix computer.  I then will pile about 15 inches of Encyclopedia Britannica two books at a time until, they are level with the base of the monitor.  I will then slide the monitor on top of the books, and I will remove the computer that was underneath it.  I will then install the hard drives and 24 CD player and Logicode modem and LAN card and sound card and 5.25 inch floppy drive from the IBM Cyrix into my AMD KII 366 MHz computer with 256 Megabytes of memory.  I will then put the AMD computer back where the IBM Cyrix was and put the monitor back on top of it.  I will then connect it all and boot and configure the AMD computer.  I have an extra 6 gigabyte hard drive to put in the IBM Cyrix computer, but I will not bother configuring it at the moment since it is fourth computer running at 233 MHz.  However, I might do that in the future.  I do have a LAN card for it, and it has onboard sound and video. Maybe after I configure it, I will put it up for grabs at a thrift shop.  However, I am not sure they will want it.  I have seen them toss out better computers.  Well, I will get busy now.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 6:45 A.M.:  A Friend called up, and we chatted.  The friend lives about 25 miles northeast of me, and he warned me with the colder weather after all the moisture, we have lots of ice on the roads in the area.  Thus when I go out this morning,  I will stay on the primary roads.  I will check the conditions after my morning appointment to see whether I will take an exercise walk downtown, since the sidewalks could be slippery.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will start cleaning up and getting ready to go out for my 8 A.M. appointment.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 6:25 A.M.:  I installed the Microsoft Internet Pro Keyboard software.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 6:10 A.M.:  I did some research on www.accessmicro.com and www.northgate.com .  I also reinstalled and reactivated World Book 1999, however it will not go online, so I can not get the updates.  I also have Encarta 2002 from the Microsoft Works Suite 2002.  I went through my menu items and checked them out.  I did the Direct X 9 tests, and the sound and video are working just fine.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/24/03 Monday 4:10 A.M.:  I went to bed about 5:45 P.M. last night.  I had two calls about 9 P.M. from a friend and a relative.  I did not chat much since I was sleepy.  I was up at 3 A.M. this morning.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I will now do some regular computer work.  I have an 8 A.M. medical appointment this morning for follow up on the hernia surgery.  I also have a 4:15 P.M. appointment this afternoon.  On my Windows XP Professional installation, the Microsoft Internet Keyboard special buttons work without installing the special drivers for it.  After the installation besides configuring the software, I also had to remember to install the Direct X 9 drivers.  It is 23 degrees Fahrenheit right now, so I guess winter is still with us.  The Old Farmers Almanac for 2003 also said that March would be colder than normal in this area.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 3:10 P.M.:  I will now shut down the computer.  I will probably watch television and relax until about 6 P.M., when I will go to bed.  I have an 8 A.M. medical appointment tomorrow morning to follow up on my hernia surgery.  I also have a 4:15 P.M. appointment tomorrow afternoon.  With the cool damp weather, it is a bit hard on the arthritis.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 3:00 P.M.:  I have been listening to http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/live_news.ram .  I had two hotdogs with buns and French’s Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup and potato chips and a dill pickle and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 12:50 P.M.:  Following is a list and costs of my present primary computer CPU setup.

Northgate Barebones Computer System with Syntax SV266M motherboard, AMD Athlon 2000+ processor, Kingston ValueRam 512 MB, PC 266, Alps 3.5 “ floppy drive, ThermalTake A1492 CPU Heatsink and Fan, APEX/Foxconn TM-124 case, generic case cooling fan, UPS ground shipping and burn in $297.05;

CD/RW 24 X $50,

58X CD $22,

Linksys 10/100 LAN card $10

Maxtor 20 gigabyte hard drive $24

Maxtor 20 gigabyte hard drive  $105

Creative PCI Sound Blaster Live MP3+ audio card $84

Windows XP Professional Edition Upgrade $160

Symantec Norton Systemworks 2003 and Norton Firewall 2003 $35

Microsoft Works Suite 2002 $55

Microsoft FrontPage 2002 $15

Microsoft Home Publishing 2000 $5

Microsoft Internet Keyboard $20

Logitech cordless mouse $25

Visioneer 4400 scanner USB $25

Cambridge Lab Speaker System $43

Monsoon Speaker System $50

2 pairs generic speakers $30

Various other software ?

Siemens router $40

Motorola Cable Modem with LAN cable $50

Printer Port Box $10

HP LaserJet IID printer $40

HP LaserJet IIP printer free

Epson Stylus Color 880 printer $70

3 printer cables $30

Net2Phone Microphone Headset $10

Panasonic headset $15

2 mouse pads $5

2 Belkin Power Control Centers $44

19 inch CompUSA Monitor $420

Ezonics USB computer camera $22

Computer Keyboard Drawer $22

One gold stereo Y 3 splitter $7

Two gold stereo Y 2 splitters $10

Andrea Electronics Microphone Ear Piece $50

Total Costs Michael Scott’s Primary Computer Setup:

$1910.05 plus many hours of computer toil

Of course, a great many of the items were sale items or had rebates, and it took a lot of time to search out the best values not to mention travel and gasoline.  Items like the monitor and one of the hard drives, I have had for several years.  I also have the backup systems.

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 12:15 P.M.:  I just finished vacuuming the apartment.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 11:45 A.M.:  I watched a bit of television.  I had two pretzel rods with an orange and some ice tea.  In retrospect, the only draw back in the assembly of the Apex/Foxconn TM124 case that came with the barebones system is that the case is really designed for snap in installment of the hard drive, cd players, and floppy drive.  The floppy drive snaps in with the sliding plastic lever on the inside of the case.  However, since the case only opens on one side, I was able to slide the CD players in on the sliding rails, and screw them in with two screws on the open case side.  However beneath the floppy drive where the C: drive is, there is only room for attaching one screw bolt to the hard drive, since the sliding plastic lever blocks the other bolt. Still the devices are sitting on rails, so they are securely positioned.  The lower D: drive fit into the removable cage which I was able to use 4 screws on.  I guess the case is really made for factory snap in hard drives.  Still the system components are securely enough installed.  I suppose the nut and bolt guys in Asia assembling these CPUs are being replaced by the snap in component assemblers.  However, I am using standard replacement hard drives.  I technically could try to reach into the inch space on the far inside of the case and hand screw in another bolt, but if tightened it would be hard to remove in the future.  Still the overall upgrade barebones system was an excellent value.  One could order the Snytax motherboard with 5 PCI slots with the same AMD Anthalon XP 2000 processor with 512 megabytes of memory in a slightly different case with more openings for $300 http://www.accessmicro.com/bto/index.phtml?kitid=KTAXPDDR#product or about $35 more than the barebones configuration that I ordered.  However the Apex/Foxconn TU124 case has the same side panel arrangement with snap in slider release and lock mechanism.  Anyway my new system is fine for me; I consider it excellent value in its present configuration.   

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 10:05 A.M.:  I chatted with a relative.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 9:55 A.M.:  I went out after the last message.  I went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I sat out at various locations in the dampish weather.  There was a slight mist and drizzle.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  Most of the huge pile of snow down by the pier is gone.  I then went by the ATM machine at Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I next went to the Food Emporium, and I bought a boneless shell steak at $4.99 a pound for $3.44, two half gallons of Florida Natural orange juice with calcium for $2 each, and a bunch of fresh asparagus at $2.49 a pound for $1.68 for $9.12 total.  I then went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought a bag of Bachman pretzel rods for $1.50, a Stouffer’s home-style Salisbury steak and meatloaf dinner for $2.50 each, a jar of B&G kosher dill pickles for $1.99 for $8.49 total.  I then drove over to Smokes for Less in Byram, and I bought a carton of Seneca Ultra Lights 100s for $26.  I just now returned home, and I put away my purchases.  I had a glass of ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 7:05 A.M.:  I will now shut down the computer.  I think I will go out and do some errands.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 6:40 A.M.:  I installed JAVA for my system http://java.sun.com/getjava/index.html  , and now the http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/sotu2003-ipix.html Panoramic pictures from www.whitehouse.gov works.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 6:05 A.M.:  On a rainy day, one can always read part of an Ebook http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/ebooklist.html .  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 5:55 A.M.:  At the www.circuitcity.com broadband test site, I am getting 3 to 3.2 megabytes a second speed on my system with Optimum Online www.optonline.net .  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 5:45 A.M.:  I downloaded from Microsoft “BootVis” for Windows XP.  I ran the program to increase boot speed.  From CMOS password to Login screen is 30 seconds and after five seconds logging in, I get the Windows Desktop in about 50 seconds total.  However, since I load Symantec Firewall 2003 and Norton Antivirus 2003, it takes about another 30 seconds for those, and with completion of loading Weather bug which takes time, the total boot time for my system is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 5:10 A.M.:  When one has the rainy day blues, a little bit of vintage Elvis always cheers up the old timers.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 5:00 A.M.:  It is raining heavily out, so I will be staying inside.  I really liked the Boston Market Swedish meatballs.  I just noticed that the similar memory as my Kingston ValueRam 512 megabytes chip that came from www.accessmicro.com with my barebones system cost $69, but I noticed CompUSA charges $200 for the same memory.  I guess AccessMicro is excellent value on the internet, if one is inclined to do it themselves.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 4:20 A.M.:  I am just about ready to have a Boston Market dinner of Swedish meatballs with creamy noodles and ice tea.  I am listening to some Elvis tunes, I have on the computer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 3:55 A.M.:  I went through my email.  I went through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  I cleaned up and organized the items in my Menu Start Menu.  I have been listening to http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/live_news.ram  .  Well, I am very please with the overall performance on my new computer system.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 2:45 A.M.:  One nice new feature about the added system resources on my new computer is that I can do my regular computer work while listening to audio at the same time.  At the moment, I am using the headphones, so as not to disturb my neighbors.  And of course I can do a lot of multitasking.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 2:35 A.M.:  I reset up the email program, and it is now working just fine.  I sent out two emails.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 2:10 A.M.:  The Optimum Online mail server is not working in my email.  It has worked since I reinstalled the system, so maybe the Optimum mail server is down.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/23/03 Sunday 1:35 A.M.:  I finished house cleaning except for vacuuming.  I threw out the Peterson grove orange box, and I have the last six honey bell oranges in the refrigerator.  I also just finished cleaning up.  I can not set up the old AMD KII 366 Mhz computer because; I need the hard drives and other parts from the IBM Cyrix backup computer.  However, I have about a 40 t0 50 pound 17 inch monitor sitting on the IBM Cyrix CPU case, which at the moment I do not think I should lift.  I will wait until a friend is down to visit to help me lift it.  I will now do some regular computer work now.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/22/03 Saturday 11:55 P.M.:  I finished a six part backup from the C: drive to the D: drive.  On the faster new computer system, backups are a lot faster.  I deleted the Red Hat *.iso files from the D: drive.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I will now do my house cleaning.  I already have watered the plants.  I will vacuum later in the day, when I will not disturb my neighbors.  On the new computer system, it will not turn on from the control panel, one has to press the on and off button on the computer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/22/03 Saturday 10:00 P.M.:  I ran Norton Speed Disk on the C: drive.  I woke up at 9 P.M. when the NOAA weather radio went off.  I chatted with a relative.  I finished updating the new computer system.  As far as configuring it, I think I have it all done.  I guess I will start a C: drive to D: drive backup.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/22/03 Saturday 2:15 P.M.:  I rested for about an hour after the last message.  I chatted with a relative.  I was able to restore “My Documents” files in their desktop folder.  I was also able to import the old email.  I installed the rest of the programs and other updates.  I did some system configurations.  I basically as far as I can tell have the system restored back to the way it was before.  It is all running just fine.  I ran Norton Disk Doctor and Norton Win Doctor.  I will now run Norton Speed Disk.  I am not sure whether I want to do a backup yet or wait a day or two.  I had the last piece of Pepperidge Farm layer cake with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/22/03 Saturday 9:15 A.M.:  I setup my email.  I finished installing Microsoft Works Suite 2002.  I tried restoring “My Documents” from the backup, but the system properties will now allow it.  I will have to tinker with it later.  I had a Boston Market roast pork and garlic mashed potatoes dinner with ice tea.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will head off to bed.    

Note: <888> 02/22/03 Saturday 7:10 A.M.:  I have been busy.  The Barebones Computer System made by Northgate from www.accessmicro.com came with the cabling all connected.  I checked the manual and the cables to make sure they were installed properly.  I then install the 58X CD player and the CD/R player, and the Creative Soundblaster Live MP3+ card with the connections to the CD players and also the LAN card.   I have one free PCI slot.   The system came with two IDE cables.  However, the two 20 gigabyte hard drives do not fit in parallel to each other, but perpendicular.  This gave me barely enough room to connect the cable since it was a further distance.  I solved the problem by putting the C: drive in upside down.  In the CMOS I accepted the defaults, but I disabled the onboard sound, LAN, and modem.  The system comes with four USB2 ports on the back and two in front.  Anyway about 5:30 P.M., I got the system all put together and connected.  I tried installing a Windows XP restore, but it would not work, so eventually I had to do a new install of Windows XP Professional losing my program settings from the old computer.  It was a straight forward installation without any problems.  I installed the onboard AGP driver and the camera driver.  Anyway the system is working just fine.  I had problems with the Norton System Works 2003 and Norton Firewall 2003 which after a long time, I fixed with registry tweaking that I found at the Symantec tech support site.  Thus they are working fine.  I installed the printers and Siemens printer drivers along with Weatherbug.  I just install Microsoft Word 2002 and the updates.  I also installed the Windows updates.  I had two yogurts and ice tea and ten Carr’s crackers with slices of Vermont extra sharp cheddar cheese.  I did sleep from midnight to 3 A.M..  I am bit tired, but I will work at reconfiguring the computer for a bit more time.  Anyway the overall system is running just fine without any problems.  It is substantially must faster.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 1:10 P.M.:  I watched television.  I had a yogurt.  The Barebones Computer system just arrived from UPS.  I will now assemble the system.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 12:35 P.M.:  I watched some television.  I sat outside and enjoyed the warmer weather for a while.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 10:50 A.M.:  I rested a bit.  I watched some television.  I am still waiting for UPS.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 8:20 A.M.:  I rested a bit.  UPS tracking reports as of 7:49 A.M., my barebones computer system is “Out for Delivery”, so hopefully it will arrive soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 6:25 A.M.:  I just finished my meal.  I will now rest a bit.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 5:35 A.M.:  I am doing a little bit of regular computer work.  I am defrosting one of the two Christmas dinners I saved and froze at Christmas.  It consists of boneless breast of turkey breast with gravy, Scott’s stuffing, and Canadian wild rice.  It is on the defrost cycle in the microwave.  I assume after defrosting it, I have to reheat it.  I will have it with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 4:45 A.M.:  UPS tracking shows that the Barebones computer system arrived at Norwalk, Connecticut at 9 P.M. last night.  Thus since our UPS trucks locally come from Norwalk, it should arrive today.  I will have to wait here all day for it to arrive, until it arrives.  I saw a UPS truck on Steamboat Road at 8 A.M. yesterday morning, so they do start delivering early.  CIO 

End of Scott's Notes week 02/21/03:

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 2:45 A.M.:  I went through my email.  I did some other regular computer work.  I probably will not be going out for a walk at first light this morning since there tends to be black ice out during the colder night hours until it melts.  I should receive my barebones computer system today, so I will stay home and wait for it to arrive hopefully this afternoon.  I will now send out my weekly notes.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/21/03 Friday 1:30 A.M.:  I chatted with a friend.  I went back to bed until midnight.  I had breakfast of an orange, three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I will now do some regular computer work.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 9:40 P.M.:  I rested some more.  I chatted with a relative.  UPS tracking shows the barebones computer system left Shrewsbury, Massachusetts at 6:53 P.M., so maybe it will arrive here tomorrow.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 6:10 P.M.:  I just woke up from my nap.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 12:50 P.M.:  I watched some television.  I picked up my mail.  I had a meal of two hotdogs with buns and French’s Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup and potato chips and ice tea.  I will now take a nap.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 11:05 A.M.:  UPS tracking shows that my new barebones system arrived at Shrewsbury, Massachusetts at 4:50 A.M..  That is near Worcester, Massachusetts.  Let’s hope it arrives on time tomorrow.  Of course tomorrow is suppose to be a nice day. I am not sure I want to wait inside all day for it.  Well, I went out at 6:30 A.M., and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  It was an enjoyable walk, but in the cooler morning temperatures, there were still slippery icy spots, so one had to be careful.  I drove down by the waterfront, and the pier on Steamboat Road is plowed in, so one can not walk out there.  I drove over to Grass Island, and they are not dumping the snow there this year.  I wonder where they are dumping it.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift Shop.  I next went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the Forbes article about Microsoft’s activities in China.  I also read the Greenwich Times.  I checked out a DVD video disk.  I then went by the Arnold Bread store outlet, and I bought two loaves of Arnold 12 grain bread for $1.78 both.  I just now returned home.  It is a nice and warm 42 degrees Fahrenheit out, and the snow is melting fairly fast.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 5:50 A.M.:  I will now clean up.  I will shut down the computer.  I will go out for some daytime activity.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 5:10 A.M.:  I went through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  I had the same dinner as last night, but instead of fried onions on the burgers, I had horseradish instead.  I will now have a 50% Folgers’ instant coffee with 50% Folgers’ decaffeinated instant coffee.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 4:20 A.M.:  I went through my email.  I rested a bit and watched some television.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 2:50 A.M.:  The Greenwich Times www.greenwichtime.com says that we had 20 inches of snow.  The Homeland Security Department posted this new web site www.ready.gov with hints to prepare in an emergency.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/20/03 Thursday 2:25 A.M.:  I had a dozen Carr’s crackers with slices of Vermont extra sharp cheddar cheese and ice tea.  I watched television and rested until 8 A.M..  I went to bed.  I woke up around 1:30 P.M. when I heard people shoveling off the roof outside my windows.  I rested until 7:30 P.M. when I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I went back to sleep when a friend called about 9 P.M..  I had a called from a relative about 10:15 P.M..  I tried resting and watching a bit of television until 2 A.M. when I got up.  I took the two port  regular USB card from the Dell backup, and I have it in reserve to put in the new barebones system in the third PCI slot.  I can use regular USB ports for the keyboard double USB ports, camera, and scanner.  I will save the barebones USB 2.0 ports for faster devices in the future.  The Dell backup has two other onboard USB ports.  There is no update at UPS tracking.  I had an orange and ice tea.  I am trying to get on a day schedule, since there is not too much to do at night.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/19/03 Wednesday 5:30 A.M.:  I watched some television.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/19/03 Wednesday 3:40 A.M.:  I went through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/19/03 Wednesday 3:15 A.M.:  British Royal Marines run out of toilet paper in Kuwait http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-583093,00.html .  With the name Scott lots of people over the years think I am in the toilet paper business and use to call me “tish” as in “tissue”.  However, I think that is a different branch of the family.  However,  I once was told that the Saudis do not use toilet paper because of a lack of water in the middle east.  I think they use oiled rags.  Also in Saudi Arabia they wipe with one particular hand and eat with the other, so one has to be careful what hand one shakes hands with.  Maybe this same situation would be relevant to Kuwait.  Obviously to use toilet paper one generally needs lots of water for sewage treatment unless one is using chemical toilets or an out house.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/19/03 Wednesday 2:45 A.M.:  I sifted through my email.  Microsoft stock split 2 for 1 yesterday.  I took the 1.5 pound package of Coleman 75% lean ground round, and I split it into four parts and shaped them into burgers.  I covered two and refrigerated them for use later.  I took my 12 inch Griswold frying pan, and I put in a few tablespoons of olive oil and four pads of margarine, and I heated it for five minutes over medium high on the large burner. I put in the two burgers along with a half of sliced onion, and I cooked them four minutes a side turning them every two minutes over medium to medium high heat, and I seasoned both sides with Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder, ground black pepper, celery salt, poultry and meat seasoning, Italian spices, oregano, and basil.  When they were done I had Hellmann’s mayonnaise on the bottom side of the buns then the burgers, and French’s Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup with the fried onions on top then the top bun.  I had the two burgers with steam fresh broccoli crowns with grated parmesan cheese and ice tea.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/19/03 Wednesday 12:55 A.M.:  I had goldfish crackers and ice tea, and I watched television until about 8 A.M. this morning.  I was awaken about 1:30 P.M. by a knock on my door, but no one was there.  I later figured they were probably moving cars for plowing, but my car was already in a plowed place.  I put in four new AA batteries in my door chime apparatus in the bedroom that plays “Blue Bells of Scotland”, so I can hear when someone is at the door.  I then slept until 6 P.M., and I had orange juice and vitamins and supplements.  I slept more until 8:30 P.M..  I had breakfast of a Florida orange, three medium boiled eggs, toast, the rest of the glass of orange juice, and coffee.  I cleaned up.  I checked the parking lot outside, and it was all plowed, and there were plenty of spaces.  I chatted with a relative.  I went out, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  One has to be careful, because there are lots of spots with slippery black ice.  They are suppose to start removing the snow from the top half of Greenwich Avenue at midnight.  Still if one is careful, the Avenue is passable for walking.  I wore my Alpine boots with vibram soles.  I did fine one place to sit out without snow, and it was one of the benches at the post office with a newspaper on it that said “Movers and Shakers”.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I then went by the ATM machine at Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I next went to the Food Emporium, and I bought a 38 ounce box of Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers for $5.79, a five pound bag of America’s Choice sugar for $2.49, ground beef at $2.49 a pound for $4.06, a box of Ronzoni spinach fettuccini for $1.85, a bulb of garlic at $2.99 a pound for .36, an eight pack of Freihoffer’s hamburger rolls for $1.99 for $16.54 total.  The gave me a new Food Emporium application to fill out for a new card.  I returned home, and I put away my purchases, and I am having a glass of ice tea.  I checked UPS tracking, and there is no update since last Saturday, when it was last tracked, so I guess the barebones computer system is on a truck coming across country.  It is suppose to be here on Friday.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/18/03 Tuesday 4:20 A.M.:  I did some more computer work.  I watched some television.  I had a piece of Pepperidge Farm layer cake with ice tea.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will try to go to bed directly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/18/03 Tuesday 12:45 A.M.:  I sifted through my email.  I did some regular computer work.  I watched some television news.  I had the same dinner as last night finishing off the cold eye round beef.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/17/03 Monday 9:50 P.M.:  I chatted with a relative.  I cleaned up.  I threw out the garbage in the garbage chute.  I watered my three plants by carrying water to them instead of lifting the plants.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/17/03 Monday 8:55 P.M.:  I had a dozen Carr’s crackers with slices of Vermont extra sharp cheddar cheese before going to bed about 7 A.M. this morning.  I watched a bit of television before going to bed.  I had a call from a friend about 10 A.M..  I was up at 6 P.M..  I had breakfast of a Florida honey bell orange, three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I went out and I checked the snow accumulation.  It looks like we got about 18 inches of snow.  I was able to open my Hyundai driver’s side door, and I pulled the Hyundai out of the drift into the cleared driveway.  I cleared the snow off the car, and I then backed it into a cleared parking place.  Thus the Hyundai is free and clear of snow.  I chatted with a relative.  I chatted with a friend.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/17/03 Monday 3:55 A.M.:  I did some computer work.  I watched some television.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will try to go to bed.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/17/03 Monday 1:50 A.M.:  No word from UPS tracking since my barebones computer shipment left Vernon, California on Saturday February 15, 2003 at 7:31 A.M..  Maybe it is winding it way along the highways in the Rockies or the Great Plains.  I watched some television.  I had some goldfish crackers and a piece of Pepperidge Farm layer cake along with ice tea.  There has been about three inches of snow, and at the moment the rate of downfall is slow.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 11:40 P.M.:  I will now do some regular computer work.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 11:10 P.M.:  Any intrepid four wheel drivers here in town could check out the Glory Days diner on east Putnam Avenue to see if there are any stranded travelers having a meal.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 11:05 P.M.:  For dinner, I am having three ¼ inch thick to 1/3 inch thick slices of cold eye round with horseradish sauce and Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce with steamed white rice and steamed fresh broccoli crowns with grated parmesan cheese and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 10:40 P.M.:  We have an inch of powdery snow already, and it is coming down at a moderate rate.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 10:25 P.M.:  NOAA weather radio just went off with a “Blizzard Warning” until midnight Monday night with a foot to a foot and half of snow with winds over 35 miles per hours with white outs.  They advise against people trying to travel.  I believe the Howard Johnson’s in Cos Cob is one of the most reasonably priced hotels in the area.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 10:15 P.M.:  The red light is on my NOAA weather warning radio with “Blizzard Warning” on the LCD indicator.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 10:05 P.M.: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=District+of+Columbia is suppose to have 16 to 24 inches of snow and the same for Baltimore, Maryland http://www.wunderground.com/US/MD/Baltimore.html . Friday and Saturday are suppose to have highs 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so hopefully the snow will melt fast.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 9:45 P.M.:  I was up at 6 P.M..  I had calls from  a relative and a friend.  I had breakfast of a honey bell Florida orange, three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I cleaned up, and I went out.  I went by the Greenwich Library, and I returned a DVD video disk at the video drop.  I stopped by CVS, and I bought Edge sensitive skin shaving gel for $1.49 and a package of 10 large eye Singer sewing needles for $1.25 plus .16 tax for $2.90 total.  I then went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue for the first time since my surgery, and I sat out at various locations.  It is 15 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now.  I drove down by the waterfront.  I then went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought three packages of S&S premium margarine for $2 all, a jar of Hell of a Good Horseradish $2.19, two S&S Vermont extra sharp Vermont cheese $1.99 each, Twinings five blends of tea package $2.49, and a loaf of Arnold Branola 12 grain bread $2.89 for $13.55 total.  I returned home, and I put away my purchases.  I chatted with a relative.  I will put the Singers needles with my other sewing items in the top mahogany bureau drawer in the bedroom.  The internet weather alert says we are suppose to get 10 to 15 inches of snow, but the NOAA weather warning radio warned of up to 24 inches of snow. http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=06830 say 8 to 12 inches of snow.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/16/03 Sunday 12:45 A.M.:  I watched a bit of television.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will try to go to bed sooner.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 10:50 P.M.:  I chatted with a friend.  I listened to President Bush’s weekly radio address at www.whitehouse.gov .  I just put the ice tea in the refrigerator.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 10:15 P.M.:  I chatted with a relative.  It has been 15 days since I sent in $25 to Net2Phone for my Net2Phone telephone account.  It should be updated with the existing account on Monday.  I sifted through my email.  It is 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now.  Weatherbug just issued a snow alert for Sunday night and into Monday with accumulations of six inches expected.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 9:35 P.M.:  My guest just left.  We watched some television after dinner.  I am making up a batch of www.geocities.com/mikelscott/icetea.htm .  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 8:10 P.M.:  UPS tracking shows my barebones computer system departed Vernon, California this morning.  I had a couple of calls this afternoon that a friend would be coming down at 5:30 P.M..  I was up at 3:30 P.M..  I had breakfast of a honey bell orange, oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I cleaned up.  I chatted with a relative.  My guest arrived about 6 P.M..  I went out, and I went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought broccoli crowns at $1.49 a pound for $2.89 and a eye round roast at $3.59 a pound for $6.49 for $9.38 total.  I sat in my car downtown briefly.  I drove down by the waterfront.  I went by Exxon, and I bought $3 of regular unleaded at $1.899 a gallon for about 21 miles per gallon.  I returned home.  I seasoned the eye round on both sides with Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder, ground black pepper, celery salt, chicken and meat seasoning, Italian spices, basil, oregano, and Texas Best Mesquite barbeque sauce.  I am cooking it in the convection at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.  It will be ready in about ten minutes.  We will have several 1/3 to ½ thick slices of it with steamed fresh broccoli crowns and steamed white rice and ice tea.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 4:05 A.M.:  P.C. Magazine has an interview with Bill Gates http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,889423,00.asp .  Brian Livingston posted this new web site on Windows http://www.briansbuzz.com/ .  I guess I will now shut down the computer, and I will try to go to bed now to be up a little earlier.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 3:25 A.M.:  I just looked at UPS tracking and the barebones system is scheduled for delivery Friday February 21, 2003.  It weighs 26.5 pounds, so I think I should be able to lift it by then.  I noticed that I could have order a slightly better case and a Syntax motherboard with 5 PCI slots instead of 3 for about $20 more, but I probably will only be using two PCI slots for the SoundBlaster PCI live card and the LAN card.  Thus it should be a most useable system for my immediate needs.   I had a slice of Pepperidge Farm layer cake with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 2:20 A.M.:  I did a little bit of regular computer work at www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  I watched a bit of television.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/15/03 Saturday 12:40 A.M.:  UPS tracking is working on the barebones computer system from AccessMicro.  At the moment the package is in Baldwin Park, California.  Since it is going by ground, let’s hope it does not run into any blizzards.  I sifted through my email.  CIO 

End of Scott's Notes week 02/14/03:

Note: <888> 02/14/03 Friday 11:55 P.M.:  After dinner, I had a Florida honey bell orange.  I will now send out my weekly notes.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/14/03 Friday 11:35 P.M.:  I chatted with two relatives.  I put away the laundry.  I have the new sweat pants I have been wearing cleaned.  I am cooking a Boston Market oven glazed white chicken meat boneless breast with mashed potatoes and gravy meal which I will have with iced tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/14/03 Friday 10:05 P.M.:  I started the dry cycle on the laundry.  I put a new dishwashing wand cover on the dishwashing wand.  I checked AccessMicro, and my barebones computer system shipped today.  However, the UPS tracking number does not work yet.  UPS ground is suppose to take three to five days.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/14/03 Friday 9:35 P.M.:  I put together two loads of laundry.  I carefully rolled it out in the Rubbermaid laundry bin with wheels with the laundry basket on top of it.  I lifted each load carefully down the six flights of stairs at the landing just down the hallway.   I started the two loads of laundry.  I put clean sheets on the bed.  I have to make sure I do not do any heavy lifting.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/14/03 Friday 9:05 P.M.:  Happy Valentine’s Day.  I was up at 6 P.M. this evening.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, a honey bell orange, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I chatted with a relative.  I went out, and I drove by the ATM machine at Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then sat in my car downtown for a brief spell.  I then drove by the waterfront.   I next went to the Food Emporium, and I bought four half gallons of Florida Natural orange juice with calcium for $2 each, four Boston Market dinners, Roasted Pork, Oven Glazed White Chicken Meat, Home Style Chicken with Noodles, and Swedish Meatballs for $2.29 each, two dozen large eggs for .79 each, and two packages of Master Choice frozen green peas for .37 each for $23.48 total.  I then returned home.  I used the cart in the community room to carry my purchases from the car to my apartment.  CIO   

Note: <888> 02/13/03 Thursday 10:35 P.M.:  I watched some television.  I chatted with a relative.  I did some regular computer work.  I had two scoops of Godiva Belgium chocolate ice cream.  I will now shut down the computer.   I will watch some more television, and I will go to bed sooner or later.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/13/03 Thursday 8:05 P.M.:  The good news is that on my smaller diet since I had surgery I have lost eight pounds, and I have gone from 222 pounds to 214 pounds.  However, I would imagine there are easier ways to lose weight besides hernia surgery.  Since with all the able bodied so called strong people in Greenwich, I do not know any other them, everything in my apartment I have had to move in myself and move around over the years.  This is more than likely what caused me to develop the groin hernia from a regular hernia which I originally got around 1980 when I lifted a trunk full of books weighing about 200 pounds when the ice storm in New Canaan that year caused a pipe in the basement of the townhouse to break and stark leaking water.  Thus I have done more than my share of heavy lifting, and I use to even frame houses in back country Greenwich when I was a teenager.  Thus to paraphrase the motto over Rockefeller Center “Knowledge is Power”, I prefer to say “Knowledge is Power, Until One Gets a Hernia Lifting the Books.”  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/13/03 Thursday 7:30 P.M.:  I rested a bit.  I had a call from a relative.  I had a telemarketing call, and I told them to take my name off the list.  I am now cooking a Stouffer’s homestyle pot roast dinner which I will have with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/13/03 Thursday 6:05P.M.:  I had some goldfish crackers and ice tea.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/13/03 Thursday 5:35 P.M.:  I had a homemade vanilla yogurt.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/13/03 Thursday 5:10 P.M.:  I went out, and I went by Smokes for Less in Byram, and I bought a carton of Senaca Ultra Lights 100s for $26 total.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I next drove downtown, and I sat out briefly.  I then went by the waterfront.  I then went by the Greenwich Library.  I read the local paper, and I checked out a DVD video disk.  I then returned home.  I have an appointment Monday February 24, 2003 for the outpatient clinic to follow up on my surgery.  They told me the succors are strips that will come off with showering.  I have read articles about stocking up on plastic sheeting and duct tape.  I have a lot of plastic sheeting that I bought, when I thought about covering my apartment windows to keep the apartment warmer. I also have a roll of duct tape in the apartment sweater closet and another one in the Hyundai hatchback area.  In an emergency, I could conceivably cover up the bathroom fan, and put the plastic and duct tape over the bathroom door interior.  I have orange juice jugs for ice tea for water.  I guess I should save the granola bars.  However, I am not sure I would want to sit in the bathroom for several days, and since I smoke I would probably run out of oxygen sooner or later.  Anyway, we will have to wait and see what happens.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/13/03 Thursday 1:45 P.M.:  I was awake on and off watching television until 6 A.M. this morning.  I had some goldfish crackers.  I had a call from a relative about 9 A.M..  I was up when I received a shipment of a quarter bushel of honey bell oranges from the Peterson Groves in Vero Beach, Florida.  I had one for breakfast with oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, and supplements.  I turned the refrigerator cooler from zero to two setting.  It is 21 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now.  I do not have my weekly Thursday appointment until the first week of March.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 11:30 P.M.:  I ran Symantec updates.  I spent a lot of the evening reading news.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed directly.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 10:45 P.M.:  I straightened up the slip cover on the couch.  I opened up a 10 pound bag of Carolina rice, and I put about 60% of it in the rice container holder.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 10:20 P.M.:  I chatted with a friend.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 9:05 P.M.:  I went through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  I repositioned my car in the parking lot.  I finished off the Starbuck Java toffee ice cream along with a scoop and a half of Godiva Belgium chocolate ice cream.  I rechecked with AccessMicro earlier today, and they reconfirmed that my barebones computer order was being processed.  Thus it should take 10 to 13 days from today to arrive.  AccessMicro www.accessmicro.com is in city of Industry, California near Las Angeles.  I am not sure whether the computer is coming from AccessMicro or Northgate computers www.northgate.com that is building it, but they are both in the same location.  I suppose it will be a sunny day when it arrives.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 8:15 P.M.:  I had a granola bar.   I installed some Windows updates.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 7:05 P.M.:  I did some regular computer work.  I had dinner of a Stouffer homestyle turkey dinner with ice tea.  I chatted with a relative.  Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 4:15 P.M.:  I had a granola bar and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 3:45 P.M.:  I signed my lease for the next year.  I then went out for the first time in a week, and I stopped by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I obtained a bank money order at a cost of $5 for $297.05 to mail to a relative to repay the credit card payment for the barebones computer system, I ordered from AccessMicro.  I also cashed my $15 PNY memory rebate.  I then drove downtown, and I drove by the waterfront, and I enjoyed the rather frigid view of Long Island Sound.  I then drove over to the Valley Road Post Office, and I mailed the money order.  I just now returned home, and I had a glass of ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 12:45 P.M.:  I was up at 11 A.M..  I called the Hospital outpatient clinic, and they will call be back about scheduling the appointment for the surgical staples removal next week.  I called AccessMicro, and they said there was a problem with the credit card information.  I called the relative whom had the credit card, and they called AccessMicro with the right credit card information, and the barebones computer system order has now gone through.  It will be 10 to 13 days from today when it arrives here.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I just finished cleaning up.  I have to sign my lease in about 50 minutes.  I will then go downtown to Putnam Trust Bank of New York and obtain a money order to reimburse my relative for the barebones computer order.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/12/03 Wednesday 1:10 A.M.:  I sifted through my email and did some regular computer work.  I had some potato chips and ice tea.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed.  CIO   

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 11:35 P.M.:  I chatted with a relative.  I finished watching the dog show.  I had a granola bar.  I will now do some regular computer work.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 9:00 P.M.:  I had a granola bar.  I chatted with a friend.  I am watching the Westminster dog show on television.  I am cooking a Stouffer’s HomeStyle meatloaf dinner which I will have with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 6:50 P.M.:  I was just reviewing my patient information slip, and I have to call to make an appointment for Wednesday February 19, 2003 to have my surgical staples removed I guess.  It also orders “No Heavy Lifting”.  I printed out an envelope to send a relative a money order to reimburse them for the barebones computer order.  CIO   

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 6:25 P.M.:  I was up at 3 P.M. today when I had a telephone call from a friend.  I also talked to another friend at noon today.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I have my lease information ready to sign here tomorrow afternoon.  I chatted with a relative.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 7:40 A.M.:  I added up the prices separately at www.accessmicro.com for the barebones system that I ordered, and they were $20 more separately.  Of course AccessMicro is a low price OEM wholesaler with the lowest prices already.  Thus I should have a very good computer system that will be more than usable for the next two to three years.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed.  The barebones system parts have a two year warranty.  I believe organizations like NASA, Lawrence Livermore Labs, and Scandia labs frequently use AccessMicro.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 6:35 A.M.:  Instead of goldfish crackers, I had a yogurt and ice tea.  I tried to sleep, but I was not tired.  I just had a Stouffer’s www.stouffers.com  HomeStyle slow roasted

beef and gravy meal with ice tea.  Instead of walking outside daily to dump garbage items, I am using the garbage chute next to my apartment.  It is 17 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now.  Instead of going outside for a smoke, I am occasionally sneaking a cigarette by the kitchen stove with the fan on.  I also closed the bathroom door, so any residual smoke would not go through the adjacent bathroom fan to the apartment next door.  Earlier I sifted through my email.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 4:25 A.M.:  When I get the new CPU,  I will not be trying to lift any heavy components like the old Dell backup or the 17 inch monitors that sits on the IBM Cyrix backup.  I think I have learned my lesson.  I will try to get a friend to help me.  I also will not be trying to carry up heavy loads of groceries or double loads of laundry.  I should start considering using the cart available downstairs or buying one myself.  I have lifted so many heavy items over the years that now after having the hiatal groin hernia fixed on my right side, I do not want to damage the repair.  I still have the hernia on my left side which is not as noticeable.  I am not sure if I want to go through the same procedure in the near future.  Lifting items like my General Electric Profile air conditioner and other items like moving furniture around my apartment over the years have not helped matters.  The HP LaserJet IID printer was also very heavy.  Still, I have a comfortable apartment with very serviceable computer equipment.  I sifted through my email.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will have some goldfish crackers and ice tea, and I will go to bed shortly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 3:25 A.M.:  Since my primary computer system is nearly three years old, I just ordered over the internet from www.accessmicro.com this barebones computer system with 512 megs of PC266 memory and an AMD XP Athalon 2000 processor with a Syntax motherboard for $297.05 with ground shipping to arrive in 10 to 13 days http://www.accessmicro.com/bto/index.phtml?kitid=KTAATHIINWIN#product .  It will be built by http://www.northgate.com/ .  I will transfer my two 20 gigabyte hard drives and 58XCD drive and my 24 CD/RW drive to it along with my LAN card or the onboard LAN card, SoundBlaster PCI Live card, along with all the other accessories I have connected.  It has AGP 32 megs of shared onboard video or I could use my old S3 Savage PCI 32 meg video card.  I will put my two 128 meg PC100 Sdram memory chips in the Dell backup computer.  I guess I will be able to use other memory from the Dell to keep the old AMD 366 K6II and other hard drives from the IBM Cyrix backup configured.  What remains of the IBM Cyrix, I could probably configure and donate away.  Well, it will keep me busy in a week and a half.  With Windows XP Professional when transferring a system like this, one has to boot the XP disk, and select to restore the operating system, which I have done before.  Still it saves all the settings and installed programs.  It is fairly routine.  Windows XP professional will run quite a bit better on the new system and overall system performance should be greatly enhanced.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/11/03 Tuesday 1:25 A.M.:  I watched some television.  I have to resign my lease on Wednesday February 12, 2003 in the afternoon.  Maybe after I do that I might try to go out.  I got my PNY memory $15 rebate today.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/10/03 Monday 11:30 P.M.:  I watched the dog show for a while.  I chatted with a friend.  I had some goldfish crackers, and I finished off the Dutch Gouda cheese, and I had two scoops of Starbuck’s java toffee ice cream along with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/10/03 Monday 9:05 P.M.:  I chatted with a friend.  I am watching on http://www.usanetwork.com/USA.blue.html the http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/ .  I guess the earlier part of the night will go to the Dogs.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/10/03 Monday 8:20 P.M.:  Well, the snow seems to have quit.  It looks like we had about three inches of snow.  I cleaned off the snow of the Hyundai.  I also cleaned the snow off the benches in front of the building.  Although I was not able to do the house cleaning this past weekend, I did water the plants, by pouring water into them instead of lifting them.  Some energetic volunteer downtown should take a snow brush or broom and clean the snow off the benches at the Greenwich Post office plaza, in front of the senior center, and the veteran’s monument.  Maybe the Greenwich Parks department should assume the responsibility of cleaning the snow off the benches in the downtown area, since a great many elderly people living in the downtown area like sitting on those benches, and if they are covered with snow or ice, they are not very usable.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/10/03 Monday 7:30 P.M.:  I was awake until about 6:30 A.M. this morning.  I had some potato chips and ice tea.  I chatted with someone at 10:30 A.M., and I cancelled my 4:15 P.M. appointment today.  I rested until about 4 P.M. today.  I started up the Hyundai, and I ran it for a while.  I am recharging the Slaymaker million watt rechargeable flashlight light since about 6 P.M., so it should be fully charged about 8 A.M. tomorrow.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I cleaned up.  I chatted with a friend.  I guess I will do a bit of regular computer work all night.  I have to check with the Greenwich Hospital whether my stitches are the ones that dissolve, or if they have to be removed some time soon.  I am feeling fine with minor surgical discomfort pain that I stop with CVS generic extra strength Tylenol taking one about every four hours.  Still, I really can not do too much walking at this point, and in this weather I am most comfortable at home.  I am not suppose to do any heavy lifting, so I can not be hoisting computer CPUs and monitors.  I guess the light weight computer items are easier to deal with.  Still, I have a lot of very heavy items in my apartment most of which I installed myself over the years, so as I get older, I will have to rely on stronger individuals to move or remove them when out of date and when I do not need them.  Maybe they should invent robots that move heavy items for people who can not move them; of course everything is maintained and pretty much up to snuff now.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/10/03 Monday 2:00 A.M.:  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed directly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/10/03 Monday 1:30 A.M.:  I did some regular computer work.  I had the rest about four old fashioned Dutch pretzels and I also had about six one inch by 1.5 inch by 3/16 inch slices of Dutch gouda cheese.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/09/03 Sunday 10:05 P.M.:  After dinner, my guest and I watched some television.  My guest just left.  I just finished chatting with a relative.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/09/03 Sunday 7:25 P.M.:  I rested, relaxed and watched television until 8:30 A.M. this morning.  I chatted with a relative.  I had a piece of Pepperidge Farm layer cake.  I rested until 3:30 P.M..  A friend arrived to visit and keep an eye on me.  I had a piece of Pepperidge Farm layer cake.  I removed the surgical Band-Aid covering my succors.  I took a shower and cleaned up.  My friend and I went for a drive around the waterfront.  We drove over to Portocellis at the Cos Cob shopping center, and my friend got fresh Atlantic salmon filet at $5.99 a pound plus fresh broccoli.  We then sat out in his car downtown briefly.  We next returned to my apartment.  My friend cooked the dinner of baked filet of salmon cooking it for 25 minutes in the convection oven since it was thicker about a half pound filet apiece in a Pyrex baking dish with about a half cup of lemon juice seasoned with Italian spices, basil, and oregano at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in the convection oven, with steamed white rice, and steamed fresh broccoli with grated parmesan cheese and ice tea.  We have a Winter Storm advisory for snow on Monday afternoon and evening with accumulations up to six inches according to the weather alert from www.weatherbug.com .  We will now watch some television.  I am taking CVS generic Tylenol for my surgical pain now.  I am doing all right, and I seem to be getting around a lot better.  I am still not using the back steps but just the elevator to the second floor plus the six steps I have to my landing.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/09/03 Sunday 2:35 A.M.:  I sifted through my email.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/09/03 Sunday 1:45 A.M.:  The web sight for the United States Department of Homeland Security is www.dhs.gov . CIO 

Note: <888> 02/09/03 Sunday 1:15 A.M.:  My apartment has been cool since the day before I had my surgery since I turned off the box window fan that blows around the heat coming up the wall, so my guest would not get a chill on the day bed from the draft from the fan.  I just noticed that the thermometer was 65 degrees Fahrenheit in the living room.  I turned on the box fan, and I increased the thermostat from 74 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit.  I also turned the bedroom thermostat from off to 66 degrees Fahrenheit.  Maybe I will feel a little bit better with it warmer in the apartment.  I am updating the root directory on the backup Dell computer of Red Hat Linux 8.0 with the most recent updates.  It is 19 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now.  I had ten Carr’s crackers with slices of Dutch gouda cheese and ice tea.  My guest use to live in upstate Vermont, so he probably did not notice the chill.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/08/03 Saturday 11:05 P.M.:  I sent out my weekly notes.  I chatted with a relative.  I put the ice tea away in the refrigerator.  I will now shut down the computer.  I guess I should rest some more.  CIO

End of Scott's Notes week 02/08/03:

Note: <888> 02/08/03 Saturday 9:45 P.M.:  I was up at 7 A.M. this past Wednesday morning.  I did not have breakfast.  I made it to Greenwich Hospital Helmsley pavilion for the surgery by 8:30 A.M.  My friend dropped me off there, and he was suppose to pick me up at 2 P.M..  They began prepping me for surgery with a surgical gown, intravenous drip, and shaving me in the hiatal groin hernia area on the right side.  However, they soon discovered that surgery was not scheduled until 1:30 P.M..  I relaxed the morning lying in the presurgery room.  The Helmsley Pavilion of the Greenwich Hospital is very clean and state of the art.  At 1:30 P.M., they moved my bed into preop, and they briefed me on the procedure.  Since I take other medications, they decided to do a general anesthetic.  I was wheeled into the operating room, and the anesthesiologist started injecting some of my anesthesia into the intravenous drain.  I was out until point at 1:45 P.M. until about 5:30 P.M. when I came to in the recovery room.  I remember seeing a NEC computer monitor, so I started talking incoherently about computers.  After an hour in the recovery room, I was moved into the preop room for an hour where I got dressed, and before leaving I had to urinate which I was successful at.  My friend arrived from my place about 7 P.M., and I was wheel down to his car in a wheel chair.  We then stopped by CVS pharmacy on Greenwich Avenue, and I got my prescription filled for Oxycodone w/apap5/325 tab mck.  Also I got a general stool softener called Colace 100 mg 10ct for $5.99.  My Greenwich Hospital wrist band number is G00023974447  Scott, Michael MR #MO149861.  I then returned back to my apartment, and I had a bowel movement as I recall.  I was still drowsy from the anesthetic, so I rested in bed.  My friend gave me a Stouffer’s Home-Style turkey dinner along with ice tea.  They next three days I continued resting.  I would take one of the pain pills every four to six hours as needed.  I chatted with a number of friends and family relatives.  My friend stayed down and helped me getting out of bed to the bathroom and with meal.  We had breakfast of oatmeal with orange juice and vitamins.  Thursday night I had a Stouffer’s home-style meat loaf dinner.  On Friday night, my friend made beef stroganoff which was very good.  He did not try to go to work on Friday in the snow.  He told me cleared off my car.  Tonight a friend familiar with medicine encouraged me to be more active.  I am just finishing making up a batch of ice tea www.geocities.com/mikelscott/icetea.htm .  For dinner I had the rest of the beef stroganoff and ice tea.  I need to clean up when I feel more stable, and I can get in the shower.  Supposedly after the second day, I can take the tape off my succors and clean up.  From what I can tell there was very little bruising around the surgery sight.  I am not suppose to do any heavy lifting for a week or two.  Since I got home until this evening, it has been painful getting in and out of bed, so mostly I just rested in bed.  Another relative encouraged me to be more active today.  We supposedly have a National Security Red alert for this area, so I will try to catch up a bit on the news.  I had another bowel movement this evening.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/04/03 Tuesday 9:15 P.M.:  I chatted with two different relatives.  I finished the laundry.  We had dinner of a Stouffer’s family-style pot roast dinner and my guest had a Stouffer’s family-style turkey dinner along with ice tea for both.  I went out, and I sat downtown briefly.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I then went to Exxon, and I bought $4.75 of regular unleaded at $1.799  a gallon for about 23 miles per gallon.  I then went to the Food Emporium, and I bought two Stouffer’s family-style turkey dinners, one pot roast, and one meat loaf for $2.15 each for $8.60 total.  I returned home.  We are now watching television.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will not be updating “Scott’s Notes” until I am significantly recovered from my hernia surgery.  I guess I will be recovering at home for a number of days.  Well, I will back online soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/04/03 Tuesday 6:20 P.M.:  I have a half hour on the second drier.  I chatted with my guest.  I paid for my guest to buy me at  Modell’s in the Port Chester, New York shopping center a pair of Russell sweat pants double XX large http://www.modells.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=1124591&cp=702126.702129 which he got for me for $15.99 plus .44 tax for $16.43 total.  They fit comfortably, and I will wear them over to the Greenwich Hospital tomorrow, and they should be loose enough not to aggravate my stitches.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/04/03 Tuesday 5:00 P.M.:  I rested most of the day.  I had two calls from the hospital about my surgery tomorrow.  I chatted with a friend whom is staying down here tonight and taking me to and from the hospital tomorrow.  I have to be at the Greenwich Hospital at 9 A.M., and hernia surgery will start about 11 A.M., and I should be ready to return home about 2 P.M..  I need to get a pair of large sweat pants to wear, so I will not hurt my stitches.  I will do that when my friend arrives later this evening.  I can not eat or drink after midnight.  I had breakfast at 1:30 P.M. of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, and supplements.  I rested until about 3:30 P.M..  I made another telephone call.  I am in the process of doing two loads of laundry.  I will have to wait a little extra time for one of the dryers.  I put clean sheets on the bed.  I thus will not have to lift any laundry loads for a while.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/03/03 Monday 11:15 P.M.:  I will now shut down the computer.  I will watch some television.  I will then go to bed.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/03/03 Monday 10:50 P.M.:  I went out after the last message.  I walked lower Greenwich Avenue.  I saw someone with a royal blue turban, so I guess people from India are here besides the usual folks at Zyn stationary.  The Scott family besides their presence in America also served on the last viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten’s staff, so someone in the family has a familiarity with India.  Besides when I use to live in Florida, it was a bit like India.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  There is a new restaurant open at the new Delamar Hotel called “L’Escale”, which seems to be very popular, but it is probably pricey.  I next stopped by the Stop and Shop, and I bought a 10 pack of S&S dried milk for $6.09 total.  I then went by the Food Emporium, and I bought two Stouffer’s home-style pot roast dinners, one turkey, and one meat loaf for $2.15 each, Gold’s hot horseradish for $1.50, Master Choice Dijon mustard $1.69, two boxes of America’s Choice fish filets $2.19 each, AC 14 ounce frozen onion rings $1.79, and two pints buy one get one free of Godiva Belgium chocolate ice cream for $3.49 both for $21.45 total.  I then returned home, and I put away my purchases.  I will now have a slice of Pepperidge Farm layer cake with ice tea.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/03/03 Monday 8:55 P.M.:  I rested until 7 P.M., when I had a telephone call from a relative.  I then chatted with a friend.  I had the same dinner as last night, but I also had a mixture of steamed cauliflower with steamed frozen green peas with grated parmesan cheese.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/03/03 Monday 4:20 P.M.:  I was up at 6 A.M. today when a friend called.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I then cleaned up, and I made my 8 A.M. appointment at the surgical outpatient clinic.  The doctor said that I should have surgery on my groin hernia.  I then went back home, and I prepared some bills to pay.  I then went to Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I next went to the central Greenwich Post Office, and I obtained money orders to pay my Northeast Utilities bill and my Verizon telephone bill.  I then went to First Union National Bank on Havemeyer Place, and I paid my rent.  I noticed they were off loading from a truck into the parking lot across the street from the police station a couple of Aston Martins that were special editions.  They were not there later, so maybe they took them to the Aston Martin dealership or someone is showing them elsewhere or a local connoisseur bought them.  I then walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I sat out at various locations.  I bought a raspberry Danish for $1.25 at St. Moritz bakery, and I ate it at the Greenwich Common.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I next went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I next went to the Greenwich Library, and I returned a DVD video disk, and I read the Greenwich Times.  I then returned home.  I had a message from the doctor’s secretary to call if hernia surgery on this Wednesday would be fine.  I called and left a message that it would.  I took about an hour nap, and the doctor’s secretary called, and told me I would have to have some laboratory work done.  I went to the Cohen building across from the Greenwich hospital, and I got the laboratory slip from Greenwich surgical associates and then I went down to the Benhem cancer center laboratory in the same building, and I had the blood drawn.  I was told they would call me tomorrow to tell me what time on Wednesday, I would have the hernia surgery.  I was told it would be a one day procedure, and I would not be staying in the hospital over night.  I might be able to have a friend come down and drive me back from the hospital and stay with me Wednesday night.  I was told I would be in pain for a week, but they would give me pain killers.  My groin hernia is about the size of a grapefruit, and I have had it in this condition for about a year now, so I guess I should have it operated on.  I next went to Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then drove downtown, and I went to the central Greenwich Post Office, and I obtained and mailed money orders to pay my Optimum online cable modem service, and my cablevision service.  I then sat out downtown for a while.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I then returned home.  It was a very nice warm day today.  It is about 48 degrees Fahrenheit.  CIO  

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 11:25 P.M.:  I have to be up at 6 A.M. tomorrow since I have an 8 A.M. appointment.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 11:10 P.M.:  Earlier I sifted through my internet email.  I played five hands of solitaire, and I lost all five hands.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 10:45 P.M.:  If you are bored with the internet, one can go back to the way it was with Windows 3.0 about ten years ago, when one spent a lot of time playing solitaire http://games.yahoo.com/games/downloads/ks.html .  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 10:40 P.M.:  I was just outside for a cigarette, and I spied a large red fox darting by on the hill across from the parking lot.  It is 36 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now, so it has warmed up a bit, but it is still a bit windy.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 10:15 P.M.:  Well I found this interesting site that gives information on Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington secret location as if we could not find it ourselves http://poweredby.10best.com/Guides/location.process/ID_eb600cc2d361/ .  It says they have a large Buddhist temple.  Well, I learned going to Lake Forest College www.lfc.edu in Lake Forest, Illinois from 1968 to 1972 which is 20 miles north of Chicago, Illinois and has a similar cold climate of ten months of winter and two months of summer that there is a BHai Temple in Wilmette, Illinois that sort of looks like the Taj Mahal overlooking Lake Michigan, but it does not have as much real estate, but it is surrounded by upper income suburban real estate.  Still, one does not expect to find it there.  Also if one is further interested in India, one could try http://www.tribuneindia.com/ where I believe a large number of people speak English.  I have heard mysteries of a secret Maharaja there called “Raj Mikan”, but since India is a very old subcontinent their population tends to be superstitious of the northern hordes.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 9:40 P.M.:  I had a piece of Pepperidge Farm layer cake with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 9:15 P.M.:  My guest arrived after the last message.  We drove down by the waterfront.  We then went over to Tod’s Point and we sat out at the southeast parking area.  We then drove around Tod’s Point.  We next drove over to Grass Island and viewed the harbor.  We then went by another waterfront location.  We then went by the Stop and Shop, and my guest bought a package of six center cut pork chops at $2.79 a pound for about $4.50.  We then returned back to my apartment.  We chatted for a while.  I sautéed four or two apiece of the center cut pork chops for three minutes a side over medium heat in olive oil, margarine, four cloves of chopped garlic, seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder, celery salt, ground black pepper, Italian spices, oregano, and basil.  We also had steamed cauliflower with grated parmesan cheese and steamed white rice with ice tea.  Afterwards we watched television news coverage.  My guest left about 9 P.M., and I just finished chatting with a relative.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 2:50 P.M.:  Happy Ground Hog’s Day.  I was up at 1 P.M..  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I have cleaned up.  I have a guest coming down to visit shortly.  The Cmos time is now working fine on the primary computer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 3:10 A.M.:  I did a little bit of regular computer work.  I will now shut down.  I will have about five old fashioned Dutch pretzels and a glass of ice tea before going to bed.   CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 2:05 A.M.:  I installed the new CMOS battery in the primary computer, and I reset the CMOS properties.  I tested the system when I reconnected the wires after putting the case cover back on.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/02/03 Sunday 12:50 A.M.:  I installed the Real Player 8.0 for Linux on the Dell backup Red Hat Linux 8.0 partition.  I had dinner of a six America’s Choice fish filets and 15 onion rings that I cooked in the convection oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes a side with a condiment of one third of a cup of Heinz ketchup and two tablespoons of horseradish and ice tea.  I started on the primary computer a C: drive to D: drive backup.  I cleaned up, and I went out.  I went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought two 5.5 ounce bags of Lay’s potato chips for .99 each and two bags of 8 S&S hotdog buns for $1.19 each for $4.36 total.  I then drove over to CVS in Old Greenwich, and I bought an Energizer 2032 cmos battery for $3.99 plus .24 tax for $4.23 total.  I then stopped by Exxon next to the library, and I bought $4.50 of regular unleaded at $1.799 a gallon for about 21 miles per gallon.  I then returned home, and I put away my groceries, and I started another section of the backup.  I then went out, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue, and I sat out at various locations.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I returned home.  I just finished the primary computer backup from the C: drive to the D: drive.  I switched the speakers around between the Dell and the IBM Cyrix backup computers.  I am listening to a rebroadcast of the NASA press conference on the backup Dell computer at http://www.broadcast.com/learning_and_education/science/space/nasa/nasa_television/  .  I will now install the new Energizer Cmos 2032 battery in the primary computer.  CIO

Note: <888> 02/01/03 Saturday 6:05 P.M.:  I chatted with a relative.  I will now clean up and go out for a while.  CIO 

Note: <888> 02/01/03 Saturday 5:50 P.M.:  I was awaken by a call about 8:30 A.M. this morning.  I went back to sleep until 2 P.M..  I received a telephone call from a friend informing of the NASA space shuttle disaster http://www.geocities.com/mikelscott/nasa.htm and http://www.geocities.com/mikelscott/nasa-107.htm and http://www.nasa.gov/ .  I wish to express my deep condolences to the families of the astronauts and NASA.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I listened to the CNN broadcast of the NASA press conference.  I finished my house cleaning and watering the plants.  CNN just said there is a huge debris field still in orbit from the shuttle disaster which might effect commercial aviation.  CIO