WSF Journal

–Went to the Folsom farmers market for a melon.

–Biked to UPS to pick up the Case Razor knife. Centered, not tight, very pretty after a bunch of polishing.

–Made a Boboli pizza for dinner, with Honey-Baked Ham and tomato. That ham doesn’t really work on pizza. Not sure what it does work on.

–Went to UPS to pick up Lil Roo Roo spinner. Stopped at Bel Air for corn.

–Barbecued turkey burgers, corn, plum tomatoes; had with Grace’s potato salad. Tasty!

–Finally got cameras sorted out. SL2-S Reporter in business now…….for a while anyway.

–Got bagels, banana bread, bagel dogs at New York Bagels. Picked up Brother drum assembly at UPS. Installed it and printing is perfect.

–Learned at UPS that they starting to implement overage fees. I’m fuzzy on details, but opted for middle tier. Payment won’t be required until renewal in February 2027, but I don’t know when they start applying charges. I’ll be dropping them at renewal; may go to the Olsen store, may just get packages at home. Is it greed? Yes, as all of these tiers and charges are 100% optional for individual UPS franchisees.

–Played with Leicas a bit, updating firmware. May go back to SL2-S, black or Reporter.

–Went to see Dr. Nandyal in Roseville. Nothingburger.

–Had lunch at Jersey Mike’s in Folsom. Good as usual.

–Went to see Dr. Montemayor in Folsom. She put in a referral to Dermatology; they will call me. She filled out the DMV placard form. She was a little reluctant, but I swayed her with my sob stories.

–Rode 8+ miles on the ARP. Drank lots of water. Seemed less tired at the end than yesterday. Blood pressure was better, but still had a little dizziness when standing on occasion. More water!

–Went to UPS to pick up Indy Thicc Wee Yeti. It’s far too wee. Stopped at Bel Air milk, cream, dessert, dinner pizza.

–Took a shower and shave.

–Took the InnerLight for a 6-mile ride. Tiring, but the new cranks were okay once I got the seat up high enough. Unfortunately, started feeling pretty dizzy when standing. Blood pressure was quite low at 92/63 or so. Will tell the docs and see what they say.

–Went to the Folsom farmers market for a melon and some tomatoes.

–Helped Kenny check a light bulb on his back patio. None of the three bulbs we tried would light up, so it appeaars to be a deeper problem.

–Went to the new restaurant Bocce in East Sacramento to pick up the Devin Thomas knife from the restaurant owner, Joe Pruner. Knife was better in some ways than anticipated, worse in others, with a “cut” (don’t know how else to describe it) that didn’t come out after some work with Scotchbrite belts, and may be there for good. Also, previous sharpening (by a blacksmith I’m told) was fairly crude, left a lot of scratches near the edge, and was of uneven width on one side. I tried to correct it–not too hard–but it’s still there. Could be the sharpening, could be the blade geometry; I’ve had at least one Devin knife with a bad grind. I may send it off to a sharpening/refinishing pro, if I can find one.

–Spent a little time trying to get the screech out of the front brake on the bike; failed. There’s really nothing more I can do. Will see if it rides out, maybe look into new disc rotors.

–Picked up another Toujours Moi compact at UPS. Nice looking, still plenty of creme perfume left, smelling exactly like the first two I bought.

–Went to Bel Air for dessert.

–Watered plants and added water to fountain–wherein a rufous towhee took a bath!

–Took Grace to Smart & Final and KP Market. Then to UPS for (a) M3 spinner (very nice) and vintage Rotobow spinner. Rotobow was cosmetically challenged, so when polish didn’t work I hit it with a fine 3M sponge. It’s pretty now, and a very compelling fidget.

–Picked up the InnerLight at Mike’s bikes. A short spin around the block left me unsatisfied: front brake makes scratching noises, rear brake shows a fair amount of pressure expansion (hard squeeze gets lever close to handlebar), and stopping power is weak. Really hoping I can sand discs and pads, adjust bite point, break them in, etc. to make them better than what they replaced.

–Missed out on a password drop at Indy Thicc while futzing around trying to log into Shop–unnecessarily. Then noticed a FCFS for a zirmascus bit driver from Griffin Fidgets. Though I was only the 5th or so responder, I was the first to comment “In,” so I got it.

–Bought a Devin Thomas gyuto at Kitchen knife Forums in need of refurbishment (and thus somewhat cheap). After I paid and told the guy my address, he said that he’s only 13 miles away and is just opening a new restaurant called Bocce on Folsom. So I’ll go there tomorrow and pick up the knife.

–Quiet day. Went to Jasper’s Giant Burgers for a couple of blue cheese burgers to have for Grace’s birthday while watching a pre-season 49ers game.

–InnerLight was supposed to be ready with new brakes at Bob’s Bikes today. It isn’t.

–My number came up at Wolfman razors, so I ordered about the most expensive razor he makes: high-polish titanium.

–Picked up a couple more spin sticks at UPS.

–Dr. Swensson canceled out of my upcoming appointment (out of office, they said) and instead I will see Gertrudes Montemayor, MD. Starting to wonder about Swensson: apart from canceling two appointments, she referred me to cardiologist Deepa Nandyal in Roseville. Dr. Nandyal, I now find, has terrible reviews from when she was at Kaiser: 2.3 out of 5 stars. I must admit she seemed like a cipher to me until I had symptoms, whence she got me a visit with Dr. Aryana tootsweet. What a mess.

–Took Grace shopping at Bel Air.

–Stopped at UPS to pick up a boatload of stuff, including liver of sulfur. Finally got it all entered into my spreadsheet.

–Vicolo pizza for dinner.

–Spent a lot of time looking atcoastal real estate. Figured a way to maybe buy something for a million: $400k down from my cash stash, $4k/month mortgage payments from my IRA. This would be the same draw-down as I’m doing now ($50k/year), and so should not have disastrous tax consequences. And there’s no 10% early withdrawal penalty since I’m over 59-1/2. PROBLEM IS: leaving a house empty 90% of the time invites crime, whereas HOA dues on a safe condo are $1–$1.5k a month. And of course the million dollar floor is mostly fixer-uppers, a mile from the beach, Seascape, etc. CRAP!!

–Took a shower and shave. I was hoping that small scab at the bottom of my pacemaker scar would come of, but it didn’t. I don’t think it’s threatening, but it is annoying.

–Paid $1,467.39 State Farm homeowner’s policy. That’s up from $1,000 in 2023.

–Made cherry tomato compote (confit), fulfilling another rite of summer. Pretty good, though a little too many red pepper flakes.

–Went with Grace to Folsom farmers market–for the first time in a long time. Went for a melon (got a big one, but when cut it still fit easily in one container), also got tomatoes, squash, almonds, and a whole bunch of jam from a nice jam lady–who will give us a bottle of jam when we return 10 empty bottles.

–Went to UPS for (a) standoffs for spin sticks, (b) LIC Gravy buttons (astonishingly personalized packaging, as usual), (c) Altar spin stick in mokume (fine, but mokume is so highly polished on the spin piece (I added to polish to remove a blemish) that it just looks like brass. I’m going to have to learn to etch mokume.

–Stopped at Bel Air for turkey patties, corn, cookies.

–Barbecued turkey burgers, corn; ate with tomato and Claire’s potato salad, both sprinkled with finely chopped rosemary–to little effect.

–Got bagels at New York Bagels. Plus banana bread and bagel dogs.

–Went to UPS for (a) second Toujours Moi compact. Nice compact, but the creme was minimal and degraded, so didn’t smell for long; (b) second Edge Industries spin stick. It’s a little shorter/lighter than the first, but in impeccable condition.

–Brought out the Dunlap Elephant Toe again–can’t keep my hands off it. Took it to the garage; set up the knife holder on the workbench; refinished the large blade with a Fine 3M pad; then sharpened. To my astonishment, the refinish looks decent and the edge is sharp. Fifteen years ago, when I was doing this daily, I would have totally ruined it. Re-beginners luck, perhaps, though I’ve noticed similar results in the recent past.

–Took InnerLight and new brakes to Bob’s Bikes for installation. It’s too hot and I have too many mosquito bites (5-6 in the last two weeks on my lower legs) to do it myself.

–Put gas in the Honda at Fair Oaks Arco.

–Stopped at UPS for (a) Jim Dalton Elephant Toe knife. It’s big and has very nice fit, but the finish is kind of sloppy compared to–say–Gareth Bull. I’ll consign it (and a hundred others) at Arizona Custom Knives. (b) Lautie spin stick. I thought the thing on top of it would spin, but no, you buy a spinner separately. Tossed–parts aren’t interchangeable with anything. (c) A second Yoshizaki spin stick. Dark finish (like the first, not my favorite), very nice spins. (d) Vintage Corday Toujours Moi Creme compact. Intaglio glass, very cool, creme seems fully intact and still smells great after almost 100 years.

–Went to see Dignity at Aryana’s office downtown. Blood pressure was low: 92/62 orso. And I’ve been feeling especially dizzy when standing all day. In other news, Destiny said the pacemaker is doing great, everything is excellent, see you at the end of December. Good news! P.S. I said it still seems like arrhythmia is there on occasion. She looked at a massive printout (from my pacemaker monitor, I presume) and said “It’s only about 3 episodes per hour, entirely fine.”

–Stopped at UPS for (a) second Kruk/Kuip t-shirt (bought two because I feared first was coming from Sri Lanka and wouldn’t be here until Christmas); (b) Umburry spinner in aluminum (nice, but way too light to be satisfying); (c) SF Giants Hello Kitty doll (was hoping it would be a bobblehead; it isn’t).

–Stopped at Beach Hut Deli for a BLT: yum!

–Went to UPS for (a) Brother printer cartridge, (b) Griffin spin stick (short but nice), (c) a couple of needle-nose vise grips from Amazon along with slip-on jaw pads (for gripping things like spin sticks without marring), (b) button succulent to replace the one that’s been dying for the last 10 years or so. There are like two tiny leaves left on that one, but I’m not hopeful.

–Stopped at Bel Air for milk, dessert, yogurt for Grace.

–Went to UPS for (a) Yoshizaki spin stick (great spin, though brass is blackened and cannot be polished), (b) Sleep Coin for Grace, (c) vintage Sheaffer erasers–good stuff.

–Played with Leica CL Paul Smith. Problem is (for macro photos of spinners and such) that I have zero macro lenses–only point-and-shoot cameras with macro capabilities.

–Played with cameras some. Once again the Leica D-Lux 4 Safari outdid everything I put it up against. It’s a mind-boggling camera.

–Pulled out some Shigefusas to check before selling, and noticed some fairly nasty rust spots on a couple that were NOT in boxes–kitaeji yanagiba and kurouchi petty. With great trepidation I took them out to the belt grinder and–a miracle–made them both close to perfect; they’re sharp too. Whew!

–Went to UPS to pick up (a) Kruk and Kuip t-shirt for Grace, (b) LIC EDC Mega Mini Mamae in ultem, along with some timascus cross-hatch buttons. Both came in the legendary LIC boxes (buttons usually don’t), so naturally I was thrilled.

–Stopped at Grocery Outlet for pizzas and ice cream.

–Worked on plants a little.

–Pizza and Jan’s peppers for dinner.

–Went to Hooverville Orchards for jam; they’re not selling it at the moment because of some state licensing issues or something. It wasn’t clear if they ever would be selling jam again. Got a $26 apple pie.

–Stopped at UPS for Billetspin spin stick (nice, but fixed end is not removable as I had requested) and RockinB spin stick (very nice, with lots of extensions and light press fit bearing, which I swapped out for a Fushi).

–Played with plants. Hacked off many branches from the overgrown jade-like plant Kenny gave me, as it had developed a serious lean.

–Was thinking of going to Hooverville Orchards, but didn’t feel like it.

–Messaged Dr. Deepa Nandyal regarding my angiogram results. A nurse wrote back that the radiology group is running 2-3 weeks behind. They hope to get my results before I meet with Dr. Nandyal September 1.

–Biked to UPS to pick up (a) chicken game t-shirt; (b) Umburry spin stick: it’s small but okay. I did manage to replace the bearing (a light press fit) with one of my (c) Fushi bearings, silent as ever; (d) Sheaffer erasers–the wrong type. Don’t know why I picked C, when a 20-second search of purchases on eBay revealed the last (proper) ones were A; (e) Nautilus spinner. It’s brass, heavy, cool and came with many dings and digs. A few minutes on the bench grinder cleared most of them up.

–Weather is cool enough that we can open patio doors after dinner.

–Biked to UPS to pick up ALUMAfx spinner. Very cool piece in the way it comes apart.

–Played with cameras a bit, trying to talk myself into the new M with electronic viewfinder. Turns out it’s pretty much an M11 with the viewfinder (same sensor) or a Q3 that allows lens changes. Not worth $7k–$8k.

–Italpizza for dinner, with added pepperoni (that didn’t add much).

–Season 4 of Reacher finally came out; I downloaded the first three episodes.

–Took Grace shopping at Bel Air.

–Stopped at UPS for (a) LIC Roo Roo (nice, with box), (b) Loctite 222, (c) Billetspin spin stick (I marred it trying to disassemble; ordered a nicer one from them), and (d) Ziii Studio mokume buttons, which are so highly polished that they look like plain brass, with no pattern discernible.

–Kenny called this afternoon wanting help with a fingertip blood oxygen reader. He felt bad enough to visit his doctor today, and the doc was worried about his COPD. Prescribed Prednisone, Azithromycin and the meter. I set up the meter for him and got readings of 98-100 for me, low 70s for him. I had him breathe deeply several times and his readings climbed to the 80s, where his doctor wanted them. I have a terrible fear that this could be the end game for him. Speaking of which, my pulse today (shown on the oxygen meter) was always 90+; I firmly believe that AFib recurred shortly after I left the office when they zapped it with burst pacing. So: more ablation? Paddles? Crap.

–Vicolo pizza for dinner.

–Went to New York Bagels for bagels, Winding Way Arco for gas, UPS for (a) Ziii Studio fidget bearing tool (pretty nice), (b) Indy Thicc Chelsea in SS (also nice), and (c) my second One Drop Trillium, which spins surprisingly well given titanium weights.

–Used the Folex Carpet Spot Remover on the fancy bag that came with the Leica D-Lux 4. It worked a treat. The chemicals in it are unpronounceable, but they work like crazy.

–Got the drill press out and tried to improve the finish on the Edge spinner. Made it a little better.

–Got the Leica D-Lux 4 working well.

–Dinner from Jack’s Urban Eats. Decent, not great.

–Tried to polish up the Edge Industries spin stick. Nearly destroyed it, sort of salvaged it. For no obvious reason, it spins like crazy now.

–Puttered around with plants. Noted that the succulent in the white plastic pot was not happy. Tried to prune it a bit, then decided to take the pot bottom off. It was completely full of water. I guess the fit was so close it essentially didn’t evaporate. Hoping the plant will get better now that it isn’t waterlogged.

–Played around with my Sheaffer pencil collection. Re-cleaned them, “rolled” the tubes holding the erasers so they fit tighter, double-checked that the leads were secure (one wasn’t). Did my best to put them together so there were no gaps, and came pretty close. I should start a business…

–Went to UCD Radiology downtown for my angiogram. Was hoping they would find a little blockage in the LAD artery and stent it, and I’d be free for a while. No. “Stents are in the hospital,” said the guy prepping me when I asked. Worse: they wanted 60-65 BPM for the procedure, and I was at 80. When I looked at the monitor, then checked my pulse, it really seemed to be in AFib. I’m guessing it will continue to be until Aryana does some more ablation. This mega-sucks.

–Went with Grace to the UCD Health building where I’ll be getting an angiogram tomorrow, to check out the route.

–Stopped at Black Sails Coffee nearby; looks like he has his own shop now, with a huge roaster. He also had Sir Kraken II, my favorite coffee, which disappeared from his mail order site. He said Kraken Whiskey sent him a cease and desist order on the name, so he doesn’t advertise it now. Asshole lawyers. Anyway, bought 3 pounds. Grace noticed that it had a roast date of 7/3. Bummer if true.

–Stopped at UPS to pick up the Edge Industries spin stick. Nice fidget, but kind of dinged up. Bearings are also kind of noisy. One bearing just dropped out, but the other has resisted all kinds of hammering. It’s soaking in acetone now; don’t know if I can revive it or not. Sad, as these are apparently a tough get.

–Red Baron for dinner.

–Took a shower and shave.

–Hung the recent Mexican ceramic sun in back. Looks great.

–Went to UPS for Spyderco Volpe (disappointing) and yet another Sheaffer pencil. Got the pencil cheap so I could take the gold ring from it and add it to a pencil with a gap. Turns out the ring is more like a collar, and won’t remotely fit on any different Sheaffer model. Bizarrely, I spent a LONG time trying to get leads into this and another Sheaffer. It’s really maddening, as the tiny “grabber” collar withdraws as the lead-pushing piston retracts. I only succeeded with the collared pencil. I’m super curious how people re-leaded these pencils back when they were common. It sure eludes me.

–Installed Grace’s alternate hose station in back.

–Cleaned up tools and plant stuff in garage and bedroom; moved the table back to the bedroom.

–104+ today; plants are wilting in the heat.

–Went to Home Depot for hose, Perlite, dishwasher cleaner. Got clothes washer cleaner. Went up and down the potting soil aisle at least 8 times yesterday and today; didn’t see Perlite. Asked for help. Jackie came out and pointed to 6-7 bags with Perlite written on them in big white letters, at close to eye level. She gave me an extra one free for my trouble. Really starting to wonder about my faculties now.

–Stopped at UPS for the Case Hawkbill. Very tight, pretty cool. Glad I got stainless: it’s super hard to open with just the nail nick; you have to grab the blade.

–Stopped at Bel Air for oatmeal cookies, cream cereal, yogurt, pizza.

–Had pizza for dinner with the remains of the wilted basil plant. Pretty good.

–Played a little with the Leica TL2, having seen a super nice one in silver on eBay. Menus are opaque, no viewfinder for focusing, and a photo came out pretty grainy for 24 megapixels. Bullet dodged.

–Took Grace to Home Depot for various stuff. She’s been in a really grouchy mood for the last several days; I don’t know the cause.

–Watered plants.

–Took a shower and shave.

–Went to the Sunrise farmers market for tomatoes, peaches, squash.

–New neighbors moved in across from us: Olivia and Stephanie (?), 30ish girls.

–Went to UPS for a Sheaffer pencil (can’t make it take in lead), Campagnolo pedal wrenches (nice) and LIC EDC SS Edamame (plain, but nice).

–Italpizza Cheesy pizza for dinner (my favorite of that brand), with added tomato and basil. Ate at 5 to accompany the time-shifted Svengoolie. Good stuff.

–Worked more on the InnerLight. The cranks were different distances from the frame, so I loosened the bottom bracket and moved it a bit until they were equidistant. At the same time I put the 15-tooth cog on and adjusted the chain accordingly. I also got the chainline absolutely perfect (it was quite far off). I’m not happy about the BB sticking out a bit, but some searching suggests it’s fairly common for cranks to be asymmetrical. Not for me though.

–Took Grace shopping at Smart & Final.

–Had a decent breakfast at Holiday Inn, then drove back. No gas fillup needed. A surprisingly easy drive.

–Went to UPS to pick up bike parts, ferric chloride, and a Modusworks spinner. Stopped at Bel Air for milk and a pizza.

–Took the Beemer to the coast, via 17. Stopped at La Selva Beach. They were out of egg salad, so I bought a pre-made egg salad sandwich. It was good. Another glorious day at the bluff, sunny, upper 60’s.

–Tried to check in at the Holiday Inn, but the room (last one on top floor) wasn’t ready. Went to Pot Stop, after repeating the Keystone Kops comedy from a year ago where it looked like Siri was leading me to a dead end. Did I learn anything? Hard to say these days. Got a fabulous sun/art piece there, plus a few big shallow pots.

–Back to Holiday Inn, after picking up a $12.50 Rio Grande Club at Eric’s DeliCafe. I was totally, utterly wiped out–in spite of the egg salad sandwich/can of Coke at LSB. Took a little nap. Woke up and ate the Club, then felt much better. Had a couple cups of Costa “bean to cup” coffee from downstairs, as they no longer have Keurigs in the room. Not bad.

–Went to UPS to pick up lemon drops, Eliquis and 15-tooth rear cog.

–Stopped at Bel Air to deposit State Farm dividend checks.

–Went to the dentist. Two crowns, one cavity. They were going to make the crowns in-house, but the machine failed (as I believe it has every time in the past), so I have temps and will return for permanent.

–Made reservations for Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Watsonville. Will visit Pot Stop and possibly Carmel Cutlery.

–Went to Bel Air for pork chops and corn. Barbecued them with rosemary potatoes. Darn good, though the pork were thin and (thus) dry.

–Took a 7.5-mile ride around the ‘hood. As usual, felt decent going out, less decent coming back. Hve been feeling a little woozy all day.

–Difficulty in going up slight grades prompted me to pull the trigger on another set of Origin8 cranks–75mm, compared to the current 55mm. The coming 15-tooth rear cog will help (though only slightly, according to a spreadsheet I set up); I’m really curious to see what 10mm more leverage will do.

–I noticed (yesterday) a suture peeking out from the pacemaker scar. Today I pulled it out a bit (it was a loop), cut it, then pulled out the two strands. They were maybe 4-5mm in length, and took some effort to pull out. I don’t know why they didn’t dissolve like (apparently) the rest. Hoping this thing heals totally and cleanly now.

–Took a shower and shave.

–Went for a 10.8 mile ride west on the ARP. Not bad going out, but the temperature climbed to 90 on the way back, and it was tiring.

–Italpizza for dinner.

–Rode the InnerLight 10.2 miles today. Short distance + cool weather = no problems. Some fairly mild uphills were a little harder than I thought they should be, so I ordered a 13-tooth rear sprocket from Modern Bike. I was riding 15 teeth from Indian Wells, 14 from Tunnel Hill/Discovery Village. It would be nice if I could build back up to 14 before too long; we’ll see.

–Went to Bel Air for milk, cream, cookies, yogurt.

–Roasted coffee. 8 ounces –> 6.4 ounces. Looks good.

–Finally finished reconciling all fidgets. Gotta sell some now.

–Took a 10-mile ride on the electric bike. Drank tons of water. It was so hot, and/or I’m so out of shape, that I seriously wondered if I could make it back by pedaling, or would to walk or something. I have a LONG way to go.

–Kuko slider finally came in. It’s supposed to have incredible action, but I’m not wowed.

–Quiet day. Spent a lot of time reading up on hearing aids. New ones may help some, but I don’t think they will astound.

–Had a latte for the first time in a while.

–Put some salami/blue cheese appetizers together and took them (with Kenny) to Sherry’s annual BBQ at the clubhouse. Grace refused to go.

–DirecTV and AT&T internet seem to be working perfectly.

–Biked to UPS to pick up Clean EDC Slim Pillar spinner  and “Golf and Beer, That’s Why I’m Here” t-shirt for Tom Elken.

–Made an Italpizza pizza with added tomato and sausage for dinner. Not my best work.

–Took a shower and shave; felt good.

–Went to Aryana’s office at 3941 J. Wound dressing came off for good. A guy with a Medtronics terminal verified that the pacemaker is working fine. Then Destiny came in to supervise an attempt to get rid of the atrial flutter. Three possibilities: burst pacing–increasing beat rate to kill it; medication; the dreaded paddles. It took a little doing, but they got it with the burst pacing. Yay!

–Went to UPS to pick up a Metro slider and the Aerospace 309 spray. I have no idea where that spray was sitting, since it was said to have been delivered on 7/11. Tried the Mr. Clean magic sponge + the 309 on BMW door panel scuffs. It helped, but didn’t entirely eliminate them.

–All hell broke loose. After I complained to the UCD Health advice nurse yesterday about my ankle, she set me up an appointment with Dr. Bernadette Kelly today. A nurse did an EKG prior to Dr. Kelly coming in, and it showed several anomalies. Dr. Kelly went crazy notifying Dr. Nandyal. She also ordered a raft of blood tests, mostly to rule out diabetes. When I got home there was a message from Dr. Nandyal’s office. I tried to return the call but just got a UCD nurse. I read her the findings from the EKG (I had taken a photo of it at Dr. Kelly’s suggestion), and she said they’d look into it and that I should call Dr. Aryana. I called and described the findings to someone at Dr. Aryana’s office as well. Everybody will be in touch.

–How is it possible for Aryana to do procedures that complex without the slightest hint of a follow-up? I could be dead for all he seemed to care; just make sure the dressing stays dry………

–Ankle felt a little better today, especially when I ignored it. [edit] All better at 10 PM. Unfortunately, I got a response to my message to Dr. Swensson, saying I should call an advice nurse. I did, and she ran me through a bunch of questions, and pointed out that my glucose–which was 1 point away from pre-diabetic in January–was 80 in the recent CBC, 29 points from abnormal. Slightly different test, but it seems diabetes is not an issue for me. Nonetheless, she set up an urgent appointment for me tomorrow at Folsom, with a Dr. Kelly, mostly for the ankle. Per usual, the ankle has been perfect for some hours now. My new suspicion is a bug bite.

–Played with knives a bit.

–Took the Xfinity box to Xfinity (Olsen Drive) to cancel and downgrade data speed. Their best offer on data was $95/month. I had to bring the box home–they wouldn’t let me cancel just TV while I looked for a data provider. Later I signed up for AT&T AIR data (cell tower) for $40/month for a year. Will cancel Xfinity after that’s in place. Scumbags.

–Went to Heritage to look into debit card. Surprisingly, they knew EVERYTHING about the card. Turns out I had gotten a call where I disputed a $49.95 charge, thinking it was from the time I was almost hacked at Fred Miranda. Turns out it was the Dish Network installation fee–so they put a hold on my card. Note: Dish Network didn’t call itself Dish Network, or I would have accepted the charge. Note 2: When did the $49.95 charge go through? After I gave them Ally info? Anyway, the card works now.

–Still having issues with Amazon drugs and UCD Health. Gettin’ tired of this.

–Ankle still painful. Not much going on.

–Lost a lot of sleep to a weird pain on the outside of my left ankle bone. It would flare up every 1-2 minutes, and I couldn’t relieve it. I later tried rubbing with a rough sponge, in case it was a cactus spine or such. No luck. I hope this goes away before too long.

–Went to Smart & Final for banana muffins, raisin bran and Marie. Then to Grocery Outlet for Italpizzas ($4 each).

–Italpizza for dinner, with Jan’s peppers on top. Good stuff.

–Went to Bel Air to check out Heritage debit card. It worked fine in the ATM. Probably still won’t work at the checkout stand.

–Got Grace to waterproof me, then took a shower.

–All plants seem in good shape.

–Went to UPS for another Homedics toothbrush. So far, so good with the charger. Then to Bel Air for milk and cream.

–Waited all day for the DirecTV installer. He came around 4 PM. Hardware setup was quick and easy (there are several cable outlets in the house; he used one near the swinging kitchen door that was likely the previous DirecTV hookup). Software setup was considerably slower, but all is good now and we’re watching the Giants.

–One of the basil plants was seriously wilting (despite tons of water). As I moved them to the three-tier plant stand so they’d get almost no sun, I dropped one and shattered the pot. I re-potted it, but I fear these guys may be goners. I MAY buy one of those gorgeous Bel Air basil plants, divide it into a bunch of pots and leave them in shade all day. I don’t know.

–Went to 3941 J for a wound dressing replacement. Looks really good, she said.

–Still feeling crappy, much improved by a big meal. Looked up diabetes symptoms, and except for fatigue/dizziness, it didn’t really seem to click. One hopes.

–Went to CVS Zinfandel for waterproof bandages/tape that I hope will let me take a shower or two.

–Accidentally won two SUS from Clean EDC; canceled one. While dicking around, I was a minute late for an LIC EDC SUS. What a mindless moron.

–Still dizzy when standing up.

–Went to Bel Air for corn and tomatoes.

–Barbecued Polska Kielbasa, corn, sliced potatoes with Barbecue rosemary. Not my favorite rosemary, and maybe what started me out on this Round 2 quest for the great flavor I remember.

–Signed up for DirecTV; will be installed Friday. Hope it works, and gets the Giants.

–Still feeling woozy when standing; 3 PM naps are becoming a habit.

–Went to UPS to mail Grace’s gift to Juli.

–Moved the wooden table from front patio to rear. Put rosemary and basil plants on it (after splitting basil into two pots).

–Once again, it looks like a big dinner cures all ills.

–Got strawberries at S*T Strawberries.

–Got a “Barbecue” variety rosemary plant at Smart & Final. One of these plants will work, I swear.

–After struggling with XnView to bulk resize photos, I learned (Google AI) that Preview will do it. Will it ever! One more reason to love a Mac.

–Feeling quite woozy most of the day today. As usual, food (i.e., dinner) is the only thing that seems to help.

–Took Grace shopping at Smart & Final. Bought yet another basil plant. No, I’ll never learn.

–Another slow day, still dizzy on occasion, nap from 1 to 3.

–Tasty Italpizza Cheesy pizza with added tomato and pepperoni for dinner.

–Pretty much decided to switch to Dish Network. Even with NBC Bay Area Sports it’s vastly cheaper than Xfinity.

–Still feeling in and out most of the day; better after eating a lot.

–Barbecued turkey burgers and corn.

–Turns out my Ally debit card WAS compromised during that (admittedly very clever) Fred Miranda fiasco. They’re going to send me a new one. I did manage to move all recurring payments to Ally checking or PayPal. I hope.

–Took Grace in the Beemer to REI Folsom. She got me shorts, shirt, windbreaker as late birthday presents.

–Got a call from Aryana’s office regarding the wet dressing I reported. Went in at 2 PM and they replaced the dressing. Don’t get it wet…

–Got a couple of Italpizzas for $4 each at Grocery Outlet; had one for dinner. Got some corn ar Bel Air; will barbecue tomorrow.

–Happy Birthday to me!

–Brother Tom wrote–first one in a long time.

–Took a shower and shave. Got my dressing wet–actually sort of looked like blood. We called, didn’t get a response, went to (what I thought was) a UCD care center on Data Drive. They said they’re not an urgent care center, that UCD doesn’t have urgent care centers, and that maybe we should try Cardiology in Folsom. We went to CVS, got some Neosporin and dressings, and fixed it right up. I did get a call back from Aryana’s office around 6:30, convinced them it was minor and taken care of, and said I’d see them on Monday.

–Had dinner at Zinfandel Cafe in the UPS center. I had a brie plate, then bacon/blue cheese meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Grace had a pepperoni pizza. Fabulous!

–Tooks Grace to Best Buy to look at laptop screens and trackpads. Turns out it may have been all for nothing: she somehow discovered that her “dead” trackpad just needed a software tweak. All good now. She still has no idea what photo editor to use, but that’ll be a whole ‘nother story.

–While watering plants, I noticed the Jimson Weed has pretty much died. Arghhh!!! I didn’t think I had let it go for that long. Crap!

–Still feeling dizzy/woozy when standing. Blood pressure still seems good.

–Feeling a little worse today. Dizzy almost every time I stand up, and some painful muscle hitches nowhere near where cutting happened.

–Looked into computers for Grace.

–Feeling a little better every day.

–Decided to look again at the InnerLight cog. It was really close to the frame–not sure if it got closer or I just mis-remembered. I reversed the cog on the crank, as the guy from Modern Bike had advised, and it looks much better. For some reason, the line seemed undisturbed. Probably because I didn’t measure it carefully enough. Anyway, all is smooth and quiet..

–Went for a 6-mile bike ride ont eh ARP. Bike is flawless. I felt good on the way out, more normal (tired) on the way back.

–Took the Beemer for a car wash at Palace Shine on Coloma. $35 + $5 tip. Most thorough car wash I’ve ever seen; e.g. they use compressed air hose while drying. Car looks fabulous. Maybe I won’t sell it.

–Stopped at UPS for some bike chain master links and LIC EDC Tea Time buttons.

–Stopped at Bel Air for milk.

–Had cereal for lunch, then started feeling quite woozy, so went to bed for three hours. Didn’t think I’d be able to eat dinner (the smell was off-putting), but once I started I devoured it. I think this has to do with energy expenditure (metabolic rate) before and after bradycardia surgery, but what do I know?

–Went to Dr. Aryana’s office for a one-week checkup on the pacemaker. They renewed the bandage, saying all looks good, and told me the battery should be good for another 12 years.

–Stopped at Costco because my left hearing aid failed. The woman there fiddled with it for 5-10 minutes and made it good again.  We bought some muffins, Pellegrino, Motor City pizza and ice cream bars. Had a pizza for dinner.

–Called off my dental appointment after reading about infections. That’s about it.

–Big day. Long story short(ish): I finally got to log in to the Dignity/Mercy portal after talking to their IT department, who said I hadn’t received my invite because my email address was wrong. Once there, I found the voluminous notes from Dr. Aryana on my surgery.. He did do ablation, and took the trouble to do it the hard way, by going after individual triggers rather than separating atria and ventricles completely. Even better, he tried several ways to induce arrhythmia after the ablations, and could not. We are good to go!

–I seem to have lost Grace’s disabled parking placard, which is hard to do. I applied at DMV for a replacement, and asked Dr. Swensson for one of my own.

–Got the Campagnolo pedals on the InnerLight, and they seem fine. There were some quite rough spots (I think) as I spun the pedals, so I do need to check the chainline thoroughly.

–Feeling a little better. Took two humongous dumps, which really helped. Put the Campagnolo pedals back together. Watered/fertilized plants in back.

–The search for a new car does not go well. I’m mostly looking for four doors (easy in and out), lots of torque, automatic transmission, smaller than the Beemer. One type–the hot hatchback–is expensive, sometimes comes only as manual shift, is sort of raw as opposed to polished, etc. Cars like Lexus IS are stupid expensive and not necessarily small. A quick search in Hemmings found zero cars of interest. If someone had a top-to-bottom restoration of a nice old BMW, I might even have accepted a 4-speed. Anything remotely like this was untouched, with high mileage. An old Maserati could work as well, but I saw zero in Hemmings. Very frustrating.

–Got a call from Dr. Aryana’s office wanting to schedule an ablation in September. What??? I told her that Dr. A said he was going to do an AV node ablation along with the pacemaker during his pre-op visit. She looked at the surgical notes and didn’t see ablation. She’ll contact Dr. A and try to figure it out. I’m puzzled and annoyed at (a) why he thought I needed an AV node ablation, and (b) why he then didn’t do anything.

–Xfinity has been out since early this afternoon; they say they’re going to do maintenance starting at 1 AM this morning. Gotta get away from these guys.

–Grace searched for Tom Elken (to find Sandy’s last name) and got hits from my journal. Bad news. I tried several things to hide it, but I don’t know yet if any of them worked.

–Feeling better. Took an ibuprofen this morning which really helped. Back to normal on peeing, no crapping yet. One of Kenny’s legendary farmers market melons for lunch with a banana, raisin bran for dinner. Had a few dizzy spells when standing. This might have improved after a nap, but I don’t know for sure. Learned today that Dr. Aryana completely severed the connection between atria and ventricles, as opposed to zapping a few hot spots, so I am 100% dependent on the pacemaker, forever. Hope it works.

–Kenny and Grace picked me up around Noon to go home. Side effects still present.

–Kenny and Grace took me to Mercy Sacramento for a pacemaker placement and cardiac ablation. Got there at Noon, went through a ton of pre-op, then procedure around 3:00. Spent the night in my own private room. Big side effects: vomiting, couldn’t pee, terrible heartburn. Procedures seem to have been successful.

–Big day. Went to see Dr. Arash Aryana, Mercy electrophysiologist. He seemed genial, talked fast, and asked me to come in tomorrow for a pacemaker and cardioversion (using paddles to shock the heart “back to a normal rhythm”). I think his urgency came from looking at long pauses between heart beats on some of the many tests I’ve undergone recently. I’m baffled at why no one else who’s seen these results (starting with Bellinger) has deemed them dangerous. Glad I had that dizzy spell I guess. Symptoms rule! I go in at Noon, procedure is at 3; not sure what I do for those hours. He said in a couple of months, after the pacemaker surgery has settled, he’ll do ablation for the AFib.

–Another pizza for dinner–and no food until dinner time tomorrow. Ouch.

–Kenny bought a new mobility scooter, for reasons beyond me. It’s absolutely identical in every respect to his old one, which is in perfect shape with new batteries. Tires are worn, but they’re solid and a lot cheaper than a new scooter.

–Looked up smaller cars after running the Beemer mirror into the side of the garage. It cleaned up nicely, but I just can’t handle it any more. The Honda CR looks nice and is definitely smaller and has an automatic transmission–and 300 HP. I looked up what Carmax would give me on the Beemer, and they asked if I wanted to update my previous estimate. Apparently a Carmax cookie survived the switch from old to new Mac. Mind-boggling. They offered me $32,000. If it’s legit (e.g., I gave them the correct list of accessories, etc.) I think I’ll do it.

–Went to New York Bagels for bagels and dessert.

–Went to UPS to pick up Nexium and Park Tool torque wrench.

–Stopped at Bel Air for milk, cream, cream cheese, Vicolo pizza, Jimmy Dean sausage.

–It appears that Dr. Nandyal came through on her promise to get me in to see Dr. Aryanna soon: they called and offered me tomorrow at 9, 11, 1 or 3. I chose 11. Finally.

–Pizza for dinner.

–Went out to brunch with Tom and Sandy Elken at Mario’s Early Toast in Folsom. Good stuff, and quiet enough after a family with loud kids left.

–Downloaded and watched a Jack Ryan movie with John Krasinsky. Pretty standard stuff, but a nice escape.

–Sherry and Ray went to the farmers market at Sloughhouse and brought us back some donut peaches and cherries. Nice neighborhood…

–Took another quick ride through the neighborhood–out Gold Country, back ARP. The bike is great, but I’m not; feeling tired and sluggish.

–Took Grace to Grocery Outlet for some stuff. Got a couple of Italpizza Holy Margherita pizzas. Sadly, Grace talked me into getting some vaguely salami-like Calabrese. Tasted mild by itself, but kind of ruined the pizza.

–Took a shave and shower. The Gillette Red Dot worked great, and the blade–which must be on its fifth shave or so–was good.

–Still hot. I’ve been feeling the TINIEST bit dizzy all day. Nothing I can put my finger on. Took a six-mile ride around the neighborhood. Bike is dead smooth and silent.

–Cleaned up tools and bike parts in the garage.

–Went to UPS to pick up (a) the Canon extension grip (nice) and (b) a second Bushnell bottom bracket.

–Spent the day in the garage putting the bike together. Very warm, very tiring. Had some issues with the chain (too long with the new front sprocket); two trips to Bob’s Bikes for another master link and a chain breaker solved them. Bike rides nice and chainline (at first glance) seems close. Will install Campagnolo pedals when special lube comes in. May install second bottom bracket, now that I have an idea of what I’m doing.

–Went to UPS to pick up the Bushnell BB and the Campagnolo pedals. BB seems fine. Took the pedals apart and noted dried grease. Cleaned in alcohol; waiting for some special grease to reassemble. Will use old pedals in the meantime. Could be running tomorrow–except it’s too hot to work long in the garage.

–Stopped at Bel Air for potato chips, cereal, milk.

–There were several emails, phone calls and texts from Dr. Nandyal’s office this morning. I talked to someone who wanted me to come in for an ECG. I balked. They insisted. I went in. ECG took four minutes. Then Dr. Nandyal came in. She (sort of) apologized for all the tests and delays, and said she would make an effort to get me to Dr. Aryanna quickly for a pacemaker. Finally. She apparently had heard of my fiasco yesterday with the Folsom PA who put me on another ZIO patch and wanted to do a brain MRI. Nandyal said I could remove the patch, as I had one not long ago. Moral: it pays to have symptoms.

–Went to see PA Katie Rose Christensen at UC Davis Health in Folsom. She asked lots of questions. She suggested the possibility of a brain MRI. I kind of balked at that. Then she suggested another two-week Zio monitor. I agreed, and they installed it there.  Katie seems to be of the opinion that my issues may be more related to low heart rate than to AFib. Too many cooks making broth here. I need to have Dr. Swenson step in and sort through all the test findings.

–Stopped at UPS to pick up a bike tool and some Trillium spinner parts, mainly the OG “cross” buttons. Nice buttons, with a clear soft rubber coating. Never seen anything like it.

–Stopped at Bel Air for stuff including dessert and another Italpizza clone, this one by Raley’s. Had it for dinner; it was pretty good.

–Feeling better today than yesterday. BP is still high, though: consistently 160+/80+. Grace forced me to call Swensson, and to my surprise (after a couple of handoffs)  they asked several questions about symptoms, then set up an urgent appointment with Swensson tomorrow.

–Watered plants, harvested some peppers.

–Feeling dizzy and woozy this morning.

–HOA dues payment finally went through via Ally.

–A disturbing number of recent orders have either (a) no tracking number or (b) tracking number but no delivery date.

–Took a shower and shave. Blood pressure was quite high after: 170/80 with four measurements. Crap.

–Messaged Dr. Nandyal about lab panel and angiogram. Got  a response from a nurse saying (a) go to any UC Davis lab for the blood draw and (b) the angiogram referral is in; wait a week or so and call this number for an appointment.

–Walked to Bel Air for corn. Stopped by the “farmers” market. Saw some possibly interesting cinnamon rolls, but no prices on them. One or two other prices suggested they’d be very expensive.

–Vacuumed the living room.

–Made barbecued turkey burgers, corn and antipasto salad for dinner. Yum!

–Went to the recycling place on San Juan, then Raley’s for some stuff.

–Stopped at UPS for hearing aid batteries and 1930’s Henckels bread knife (pretty cool). A lot of scratches on the knife; I’m working on it.

–Grace is in a terrible mood again; not sure why.

–Went to UPS to pick up Montblanc NOS pencil parts. Stopped at Bel Air for donuts (it’s National Donut Day).

–Assembled a pencil out of the parts (and a previous pencil). The NOS barrel had a huge deep scratch in it. Lots of work on the buffer couldn’t begin to get rid of it, so (of course) I used a Bergeon wheel (which also wasn’t doing much) and wrecked it. Shame on the eBay seller calling that NOS.

–To my surprise and delight, I heard from Modern Bike on my query regarding what size bottom bracket to get. After some back and forth, we decided on 108mm, and I ordered an Origin8 Torqlite. Hope it works. FWIW, he asked about spacing between the rear dropouts, saying it should never be > 120mm or so in a single speed. I measured 137mm. Memory fails, but I’m guessing I asked Kimo Tanaka to allow for really big tires.

–Italpizza-like pizza for dinner–roasted vegetable. Pretty good.

–Went to Bel Air for ice cream, cream cheese, milk.

–Stopped at UPS for spinner buttons and Origin8 crankset.

–Turns out I can’t install the crankset at present–with my current bottom bracket, I needed a set where the axle is pinned to the crank. The current set doesn’t even have an axle. Much despair, until I found that there are BBs with a built-in square taper axle. I’m looking into one now; it might require me to measure the chainline to get the right one though.

–Went to New York Bagels for bagels. Then to KP Market for chicken for Grace. Then to S-T Strawberries for strawberries for us, Sherry and Kenny. Then UPS for (a) watch batteries for Grace’s Seiko, (b) Origin8 cog, (c) adapter for Rikenon to Sony, (d) coffee beans (same Colombian as came with the roaster, really looking forward to them). BUT Kenny dropped by as I was roasting and I burned them. Next time.

–Gave Kenny and Sherry strawberries. Sherry gave me four hard-boiled eggs in return; Kenny was appreciative but later said he wasn’t a big strawberry eater–he’ll put them in a milkshake.

–Xfinity worked on something all day, killing TV and internet. I managed to use the iPhone as a hot spot and pay for a Clean EDC Slim Pillar in Tungsten that I won in a SUS.

–Went to see Dr. Nandyal again. She referred me for an angiogram, and said I might not need stent or bypass–they might be able to fix blockage electrically. She also said (seeming to surprise herself) that I might be in line for a pacemaker. Finally.

–Got a new lock and three keys for our mailbox, after I stupidly gave my key to UPS after getting the new box.Neighbor Sherry messaged the mailman Ken and we’re good.

–Learned that I have a septal infarct. Treated with stent or bypass. Great.

–Went to U-Haul on Pyrites for propane. Old tank had “expired,” so I bought a new one for $70. Great.

–Started the process of deleting all my Adsense websites (after copying them to disk). They’re just wasting space now, and constantly bombarding me with plugin updates and such. I’ll revive them after my youtube channel is thriving…

–Went to S*T strawberries for strawberries and jam. Stopped at Bel Air for corn and potato salad. Barbecued for dinner. Beef burgers on sourdough were good, corn was great, cheesy baked potato salad was not so hot.

–Did an acuity test between Leica and Sony with the Contax 50/1.4 (at 5.6). Sony is better, but it’s not a gargantuan difference.

–Watered plants.

–Paid State Farm $688.42 for the Beemer.

–Took Grace to the Sunrise farmers market for all kinds of stuff.

–Korean BBQ pot pies for dinner.

–Tested Biotar, Prakticar and Takumar at f2.0 on Sony. Sharpness and (especially) contrast increased in alpha order. Biotar is pretty crappy. Need to test bokeh at wide open to see if Biotar is worth keeping. Just did that, and Biotar seems the winner. None was really pleasing, but Biotar had a little more contrast and saturation. Go figure.

–Went to UPS to pick up the Montblanc pencil. It’s very nice–extremely complicated (10+ pieces), but works great.

–Stopped at Bel Air for milk and cream.

–Revived the Sony AR7 IV and V, for the umpteenth time. They both blew the SL2-S (Super-Multi Coated-Takumar 50) out of the water on a test using the Tristan da Cunha card. Will test the V again when it’s dark, though I’m sure I’ve done that several times already. [edit] Arrgghhh…Leica is still king of the dark. Tested tonight at f1.4 and f2.0 on the SMC Tak. Sony is darn nice and much less noisy than the Canon, but the Leica just beats it. The clincher: reading the house number behind the speed limit sign. Clear and crisp with the Leica, presumably due to less denoising needed. So it seems to come down to when I want very crisp detail–day or night. Probably night. [edit2] On a whim, I installed DXO again and used its “Deep Prime” noise reduction to process the Sony image. It made a big difference, and could tilt things toward the Sony.

–Used the vise and roto-tool to get the “new” stainless lemon squeezer to close all the way. Nice work if I do say so.

–Didn’t do much. Waiting for Montblanc pencil to arrive (out for delivery) so I could walk to UPS. It didn’t.

–Walked to UPS to pick up crankset. The cog is okay, but the cranks are super heavy, like steel. Will look for something lighter (and in the U.S.). Stopped at Bel Air for chocolate chip cookies.

–Drove to UPS to pick up S.M.C. Takumar lens. Took a couple of abutilon pics. Absolutely fabulous. Sharp, saturated, etc. It won’t outdo the Summicron, but I’m anxious to compare it with Rikenon, Contax, etc.

–Got my after-visit summary from the stress test. Not as bad as I had feared. Looking forward to ablation.