Note: <888> 12/31/02 Tuesday 10:35 P.M.:  We watched the DVD video disk.  We had some fruit cake and cool whip.  I chatted with a relative.  We watched some television.  I will now turn off the computer.  I will try to go to bed early.  My guest is staying down for the night.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/31/02 Tuesday 7:30 P.M.:  My guest arrived after the last message.  We went out to the Thataway restaurant at the bottom of Greenwich Avenue for dinner.  I had rib eye steak au pouvre with garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables and my guest who treated me had rack of lamb.  I had a Perrier to drink and  my guest had a glass of red wine.  We just now returned and my guest is having a cappuccino.  We will now watch the DVD video disk.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/31/02 Tuesday 5:25 P.M.:  I was up at 2 P.M..  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I went out, and I stopped by Smokes for Less in Byram, and I bought a carton of Seneca Ultra Lights 100 for $26 total.  I then sat out briefly downtown.  I drove down by the waterfront.  I then went by the Greenwich Library, and I checked out a DVD video disk.  I just now returned home.  I am suppose to have a guest arrive shortly, and we are going out for an early dinner.  We will then watch the DVD video disk.  The guest is suppose to stay down for the night, so I will not be on a late schedule.  I am due $105 in computer rebates for parts and software I bought in the next month or two.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/31/02 Tuesday 3:40 A.M.:  I finished installing the Symantec System Works 2003 and Firewall 2003 and the updates.  I sifted through my email.  I went through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/31/02 Tuesday 1:45 A.M.:  On the IBM Cyrix backup the Norton Firewall 2003 would not install probably because of low resources.  I am reinstalling the Norton Firewall 2002 on it.  I am continuing to work on the other partitions on the Dell backup.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/31/02 Tuesday 12:50 A.M.:  I have installed on the primary computer Norton Systems Works 2003 and Norton Firewall 2003 and the updates.  I have also installed them on the first C: partition on the Dell backup and the IBM backup also.  I still have to install the programs on the D: and E: partitions on the Dell backup.  I chatted with a friend.  We are going out to dinner tomorrow night early.  I had a couple of slices of pound cake with cool whip.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/30/02 Monday 10:05 P.M.:  I went out, and I mailed the two Symantec rebates at the Valley Road Post Office.  I then sat out briefly downtown.  I drove by the waterfront.  I then went to the Food Emporium and as usual at this time of year after Christmas fruit cakes are half price.  I bought a Jane Parker made in Canada four pound fruit cake in a tin for $8.49 plus a 31 ounce tub of Kraft Cool Whip lite for $2.99 for $11.48 total.  I then returned home.  I keep the Cool Whip in the freezer since the grocery store keeps it in the freezer.  I will now install the Symantec System Works 2003 and Symantec Firewall 2003 software, one I make copies of the CD disks, and I will install from the copies to preserve the original disk quality.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/30/02 Monday 8:50 P.M.:  I finished putting together the two Symantec rebates.  I had dinner three ¼ inch thick slices of cold eye round beef with horseradish and Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce along with reheated white rice and reheated steamed frozen green peas and ice tea.  I will now go out and mail the rebates.  I will install the Symantec software when I return.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/30/02 Monday 7:40 P.M.:  I was up at 2 P.M..  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I then made my 4:15 P.M. appointment.  I next drove by the waterfront.  I next went up to CompUSA in Norwalk, Connecticut, and I bought the Symantec Bundle of Norton Systems Works 2003 and Norton Personal Firewall 2003 for $69.99 plus $4.20 tax for $74.19 total.   The bundle comes with a $30 mail in upgrade rebate which I am eligible for since I have the 2002 version of the software and another $20 manufacturer’s mail in rebate, so eventually the software will cost me about $24 with tax, so I will have the latest Symantec updates for the following year including antivirus protection.  I returned back to my apartment.  I am now getting the rebates ready to mail in with accompanying documentation.  I will then install the new Symantec software.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/30/02 Monday 1:25 A.M.:  Well, I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/30/02 Monday 12:45 A.M.:  I checked downstairs in the community room, and the avocado plant seems to have migrated elsewhere on its own, but the miniature palms and other tropical plants are doing well.  It is very simple to start raising an avocado plant.  One takes the seed from inside an avocado and puts three toothpicks into it about two thirds of the way up.  Then one places it in a container of water with the top fourth out of the water and wait for it to germinate.  Someone once recommended to me to place tin or aluminum foil around the water container to keep it dark.  Once it germinates, one can transplant it to a container with soil, but more than likely one might need a room with sunlight that is a bit warmer.  The community room in my building seems to fit that criteria.  Although the apartments with electric heat are cold in this building, I believe the community room has natural gas heat, so it is a bit warmer and with all the large windows, it is a bit sunny.  I have recommended that they put the community room thermostat on a timer, so money is not wasted heating the room on cold nights when no one is using it.  I noticed someone left a Greenwich Times from Sunday on the steps outside my apartment, and the headlines are that the state of Connecticut is having financial difficulty which is different than the internet version of the Greenwich Times for today.  Since this building is state of Connecticut public housing managed by the Greenwich Housing Authority, possibly our building’s budget will be affected by the current fiscal crisis in the state of Connecticut.  Since at the moment, I do not want any more stress, I will not pinch the paper to read the story.  As one philosopher once said, “Ignorance is Bliss.”  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/30/02 Monday 12:15 A.M.: Conversely the Tribune Company http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=TRB&d=c&t=my&l=on&z=b&q=l that owns the Greenwich Times seems to be solvent, but unfortunately they do not seem to realize that avocados do not grow well in this area.  I tired raising avocados here, but the few that grew inside did well initially, and I put the last one in the community room downstairs, but I am not sure whether it is still there or not.  I had thought of trying to plant it down in Florida.  From the weather viewpoint, I am pretty sure that different groups of squirrels migrate depending on the climate they expect, and all the black squirrels that have been in this area recently came from the country north of us anticipating a colder winter.  Possibly our local grey squirrels are living further south.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/29/02 Sunday 11:00 P.M.: For Microsoft http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MSFT&d=c&t=my&l=on&z=b&q=l ,

IBM http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IBM&d=c&k=c1&t=my&a=v&p=s&l=on&z=m&q=l ,

Exxon Mobil http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=XOM&d=c&k=c1&t=my&a=v&p=s&l=on&z=m&q=l ,

Royal Dutch http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=RD&d=c&k=c1&t=my&a=v&p=s&l=on&z=m&q=l .  Thus steady growth was better than the virtual liquidation of some internet stocks.  I have a feeling that some internet stocks might be dumping their computer equipment to make a fast exit, so possibly there is potentially salvage profit from discarded computer equipment.  As a word of caution, although I am very poor living on disability income, I have few debts, and the only stock I ever owned was five shares of Polaroid when I worked for them around 1969.  Thus I personally feel a lot of the internet activity that I witnessed on the internet the last ten or more years was similar to ponsi scheme type of activity that the United States government failed to prosecute and investigate.  I have a feeling today that quite a few people would agree with me.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/29/02 Sunday 10:45 P.M.: As proof of the pudding try this link http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PCLN&d=c&t=5y&l=on&z=b&q=l .  At the moment, although I consumed my two pound fruit cake in four days, I am waiting to see if possibly the Food Emporium or some other store puts them on sale for half price if they have any left.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/29/02 Sunday 10:15 P.M.:  I had some goldfish crackers and ice tea.  I noticed in walking around when I see the Greenwich Times www.greenwichtime.com in the newspaper boxes on Greenwich Avenue, and when I read the headlines on the internet or read the printed edition in the Greenwich Library, the printed edition seems to be different from the internet edition particularly as far as headlines are concerned.  Basically with so many media companies in the area trying to promote over priced items, a vigilant reader tends to take them all with a grain of salt and uses old fashioned common sense as to what items are really worth.  With the internet, one can compare prices on various items.  Thus from what I can tell, the Greenwich Times is still part of the conspiracy to sell the Brooklyn Bridge or some other similar item.  Basically since my family has lived here close to 400 years, I use an old fashioned Scottish pragmatism.  If enough people can not afford to purchase what other people publish for profit, more than likely they will have to change their viewpoint or go out of business.  I remember the Greenwich Times touted the IPO of Priceline.com with headlines along with other stocks.  If the Greenwich Times were subject to the same regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission as brokerage firms are, they would not have been allowed to tout speculative stocks or other items.  Still, since I have read the local press for 42 years, I am somewhat amused that no one caught them up on it, so perhaps since they pursued that practice a number of times even though they present themselves as level headed journalists, perhaps they are not aware that some of their more elderly readers are more gullible and have unfortunately made faulty investments based on their reporting.  As one can tell from my internet site, the only four stocks I have recommended during my internet presence are Microsoft, IBM, Exxon, and Royal Dutch Shell petroleum, and one does not have to be a financial genius or internet guru to recognize and know the value of those stocks since they are widely held and analyzed.  Still holders of other similar stocks might have their own preferences.  Basically as far as energy stocks, the colder weather tends to drive them up.  Still, if one wants to be an Economist and understand the more refined nature of economics and finance, one would have to take a degree in that field, but that still would not guarantee one would make money in that field, because traditional finance is suppose to be heavily regulated with a prejudice to the private sector.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/29/02 Sunday 8:45 P.M.:  I was up at noon today when a friend called.   My friend arrived to visit shortly thereafter.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  We went for a ride up North Street to Banksville, New York; and then we enjoyed the scenic ride down Round Hill Road into town.  We walked lower Greenwich Avenue.  We then drove down by the waterfront.  Next we went to Stop and Shop, and my guest paid for me to buy Hell of a Good Horseradish for $2 and a head of broccoli at $1.69 a pound for $1.19 for $3.19 total.  We then returned back to my place and chatted.  We each had dinner of two ¼ inch thick slices of cold eye round with horseradish sauce and Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce steamed white rice and steamed fresh broccoli and ice tea.  We then chatted after dinner.  My guest just left.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/29/02 Sunday 12:05 A.M.:  I watched some television.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will probably go to bed right away.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/28/02 Saturday 10:40 P.M.:  I watched some television.  I had the rest of the fruit cake with the rest of the whipped cream along with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/28/02 Saturday 8:50 P.M.:  I had two anisette cookies and three Danish cookies.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/28/02 Saturday 8:35 P.M.:  I went out, and I remailed the Christmas card at the Valley Road post office.  I then went by the library, and I returned a videotape.  I next went downtown, and I drove by the waterfront.  I then walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I stopped by CVS, and I bought a CVS twelve roll thousand sheets per roll package of toilet tissue for $3.99 plus a tin of Danish cookies for $1.99 plus .24 tax for $6.22 total.  I then sat out for a while.  I next went by Exxon, and I bought $6.55 of regular unleaded gasoline at $1.759 a gallon for about 22 miles per gallon.  I then went by the Food Emporium, and I bought a Coleman eye round roast for $2.79 a pound for $8.09 plus a 6.4 ounce tube of Crest tartar protection tooth paste gel for $1.69 for $9.88 total.  I then returned home.  I put away my purchases.  I cooked the Coleman eye round roast by seasoning all sides with Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder, celery salt, ground black pepper, chicken and meat seasoning, Italian spices, oregano, basil, and then coating all sides with Texas Best Barbeque sauce.  I cooked the eye round in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.  I chatted with a relative while cooking the roast, and the relative recommended that I see the movie “Chicago”.  I had three 1/3 inch thick slices of the eye round roast with steamed white rice, the rest of the stuffing reheated, and steamed frozen Birds Eye deluxe peas and ice tea.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/28/02 Saturday 4:10 P.M.:  I finished house cleaning and watering the plants.  I listened to www.warx.com while doing the house cleaning.  I will now have a bowl of pineapple chunks with ice tea.   I will then clean up and go out for some fresh air.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/28/02 Saturday 2:05 P.M.:  I was up at noon.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I got a Christmas card to a family member returned in the mail.  I had the zip code wrong and one character in the city name.  I readdressed the card and restamped it, and I have it ready to mail.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 10:55 P.M.:  I watched some television.  I chatted with a relative.  Since, I am not doing much on the computer, I will shut it down, and I will either watch some more television, or I will go to bed.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 9:45 P.M.:  I watched television.  I sifted through my email.  I had two slices of fruit cake with whipped cream and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 8:30 P.M.:  My guest and I watched television.  I had two slices of fruit cake with whipped cream.  My guest just left.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 7:25 P.M.:  My guest and I had the same dinner that I had on Christmas Day.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 6:00 P.M.:  My guest arrived about 2:30 P.M..  We drove down by the waterfront.  We drove over to Tod’s Point, and we sat out at the southwest parking area.  We stopped by Staples, and they do not have the Oxford Clip binders.  We then went by Marx Brothers, and they did not have them.  My guest got coffee at Starbucks.  We sat out for a while.  We then went by Smokes for Less in Byram.  We just now returned.  CIO 

End of Scott's Notes week 12/27/02:

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 2:10 P.M.:  I was up at noon.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I have a guest arriving soon.  I will now send out my weekly notes.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 1:10 A.M.:  I did a little bit of regular computer work.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/27/02 Friday 12:15 A.M.:  I ran the Office updates on Microsoft FrontPage 2002.  I ran System File checker.  I sewed on the waist fastening button on a pair of my khakis.  I had some ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 10:50 P.M.:  I removed the advertising links page from my web site.  According to the stats, although I served up 87,000 links, no one ever bought anything, so I never got any commissions.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 10:00 P.M.:  I put away the laundry.  I had a couple of pieces of fruitcake with whipped cream and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 9:20 P.M.:  I chatted with a friend.  The friend is coming down to visit tomorrow afternoon at about 1:30 P.M..  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 8:40 P.M.:  I started the dry cycle on the laundry.  I put $10 on the laundry card.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 8:25 P.M.:  Try this link for New Yorkers having a good time. http://headshot.us/ CIO

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 8:15 P.M.:  I started two loads of laundry.  I put clean sheets on the bed.  I think tonight is the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf Astoria starting at 10 P.M. and going all night.  Alas, as usual I was not invited to attend the festivities.  Sorry, it is in two more nights http://societyballs.com/ .  Alas I still will not be attending.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 7:35 P.M.:  I took two Rubbermaid containers about 11 inches by 6 inches by 2.5 inches, and one side of each, I put two ¼ inch thick slices of the boneless Butterball hickory smoked turkey breast, and then I put some Franco American turkey gravy with mushrooms on the turkey, and then I put on the other side, I filled it with my special holiday stuffing, and then I put the mixture of Canadian Lakes wild rice with white rice on top of the turkey with more gravy on the rice, and after leveling both containers,  I put their lids on them, and I froze them in the freezer.  I also had the same meal for dinner reheated in the microwave oven along with ice tea.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/26/02 Thursday 6:50 P.M.:  I had some more fruit cake with whipped cream before going to bed last night.  I also cleaned the snow off the Hyundai again.  I went to bed around 1 A.M. after watching television.  I was up at 11:30 A.M..  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  The remaining ice and snow had melted off my car in the morning sun.  I went out about 2 P.M., and I stopped by the Fashion light center, but they were closed.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift Shop.  I next went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I made my 3 P.M. appointment. I then drove downtown, and I stood out for a brief spell since all the benches were covered with snow.  I then went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local paper.  I next went by the Stop and Shop, but they did not have General Electric 15 watt frosted chandelier bulbs.  I went by the Cos Cob hardware store and Porticellis Food market looking for them.  I finally bought the more expensive Value Bright Arana two packs of 2 chandelier 15 watt frosted bulbs for $3.70 a two pack plus .38 tax for $6.78 total.  They’re made in China manufactured for TruServ.  I then returned home.  I installed the new bulbs in the Williamsburg sconces above the day bed.  I then took all the throw pillows off the day bed except putting the long round bolster pillow at the head with the Mexican poncho spread out on the day bed above the silk damask spread with a blue and a white blanket and a grey and blue afghan at the foot of the bed.  It is now available for relaxing on or watching television and it is very a very comfortable day bed.  It can be unmade for a guest to sleep on.  I put all the throw pillows except two pairs in plastic bags in the false ceiling above the bedroom bed.  I put the two big blue and white bolster pillows on top of the bedroom bed pillows removing the other throw pillows for a comfortable relaxing back rest.  I put the two pairs of throw pillows on the long green sofa with the other pair of large throw pillows, so pillows are along the back side of the long green sofa.  I put a Scottish Stewart wool plaid throw on the French sitting chair at the end of the Danish bar at the apartment entrance.  This afternoon before leaving, I also took the black IBM 50^th anniversary selectric typewriter off the sideboard in the bedroom, and I put it underneath the day bed.  Thus I have my apartment a little better organized.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 10:50 P.M.:  I sifted through my email.  I went through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  I will now shut down the computer.  I will watch a bit of television before going to bed.  I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 9:15 P.M.:  I bundled up, and I went out and cleaned the snow off my car.  There is about five inches of accumulation so far, but it is drifting a bit.  They have plowed the driveway out front.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 7:55 P.M.:  I changed the colors on my homepage www.geocities.com/mikelscott/ .  There is not a lot I can do with FrontPage 2002 since I am not running my own server, but it might prove useful in the future.  I will now have a piece of Master Choice fruit cake with RediWhip cream and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 7:15 P.M.:  I watched the NBC evening news.  I will now fiddle with the computer a bit.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 6:15 P.M.:  I started cooking my Christmas dinner after the last message.  I just finished eating, and it was delicious.  To my stuffing recipe, I changed it slightly, and I added two red peppers total and a cup of pineapple chunks and three chicken bouillon cubs total to the regular recipe, and I simmered it for a half hour before adding the stuffing  www.geocities.com/mikelscott/stuff2.htm.  I had some of the stuffing with two ¼ inch thick slices of the boneless Butterball hickory smoked turkey breast that I heated in the microwave oven for two minutes with a microwave cover on.  I made up four cans of Franco American turkey gravy that I put a half box about 5 ounces of sliced mushroom in. I made up the Canadian Lakes wild rice by simmering it in water 55 minutes with a half box 5 ounce of mushrooms, and I drained it and mixed it with the China Village white rice that I make per the recipe posted earlier this week.  I had the mushroom turkey gravy on the wild white rice mixture and the turkey slices, and I also had steamed fresh asparagus and a portion of Ocean Spray cranberries and ice tea.  I have finished cleaning up.  It has snowed two to three inches outside so far.  Maybe I will have some of the Food Emporium Master Choice fruit cake with RediWhip whipped cream, when I am a bit hungry later on.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 3:25 P.M.:  Well, the rain changed to snow and sleet in the last half hour, and it is very slippery out and about an inch of slush and ice, so I will not be going out for a drive.  I will start cooking Christmas dinner about 4 P.M., and it will take about an hour to prepare.  I will check out Microsoft FrontPage 2002 while I am waiting to cook dinner.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 3:05 P.M.:  I cleaned up. I chatted with a couple of relatives. I installed Microsoft FrontPage 2002 on the primary computer.  I will now go out for a drive.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 1:20 P.M.:  I put away my Christmas gifts.  I will now clean up.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 12:20 P.M.:  I listened to Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas message http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2604079.stm .  CIO

Note: <888> 12/25/02 Wednesday 12:10 P.M.:  Merry Christmas.  We seem to have a Northeastern rain storm though out today.  I received a call from a relative when I woke up.  My indigestion is gone.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I opened up my Christmas gifts.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 11:15 P.M.:  I watched some television.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 10:05 P.M.:  I rested a bit because I had indigestion.  I took another tums along with an aspirin with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 8:05 P.M.:  I had some Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers with ice tea after dinner.  My stomach was bothering me from eating too much, so I took two Tums antacid pills.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 7:10 P.M.:  I am microwaving a Stouffer’s 20 ounce lasagna to have for dinner with ice tea. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 6:55 P.M.:  I went out after the last message, and I went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local newspaper. I then walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue, and I sat out at various places.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I then drove across the Connecticut – New York state line near my apartment, and I went to Var Max Liquor Pantry on U.S. 1 in Port Chester, New York  www.varmax.com, and I bought for $5.99 each plus .81 tax for $12.79 total two 1.5 liter bottles of Rene Juno dry white table wine “mis en bouteille pour R. Junot et Fils Negociant En Vins par Caves Des Closieres Sete, France” imported by “21” Brands, New York, New York. I do not drink liquor or wine very much anymore, but I keep it around for cooking and hospitality.  I remember in the early to mid 1970s that the same bottle of Rene Juno 1.5 liter white wine was about the same price at the liquor store on 3^rd Avenue on the east side between 51^st street and 52^nd street near the British Consulate and also near the bakery on second Avenue on the southeast corner of 49^th street where the Concorde delivered the fresh French croissants every day.  I was told that the French Consulate in Manhattan served Rene Junot at the consulate. Well, I will store it in the apartment, and I will have it available.  I just chatted with some friends, and they had a tornado in Sea Island, Georgia.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 2:35 P.M.:  I was up at 11 A.M..  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I cleaned up. When I was putting on my khakis, I pulled off the button; so I had to change to a pair of white khakis.  I will sew the button on later.  I went out, and I stopped by the Arnold Bread outlet, and I bought a 15 ounce bag of Arnold premium stuffing seasoned for $1.99.  I then went to the Stop and Shop, and I bought a 6 ounce package of Canadian Lake wild rice for $3.59, two ten ounce boxes of mushrooms for $3 both, two McIntosh apples at $1.49 a pound for $2, a Butterball boneless hickory smoked breast of white turkey meat at $3.99 a pound for $7.14, a 34 ounce bottle of Lysol Island Breeze all purpose cleaner $1.99 with dollar off coupon, four 10.5 ounce cans of Franco American turkey gravy for $3 all, a 14 ounce can of Swanson chicken broth .99, a 16 ounce can of Ocean Spray whole cranberries $1.19,  asparagus at $2.99 a pound $3, a two pound bag of onions $2, two red peppers at $2.99 a pound $3 for $29.65 total.  I will now put away my purchases, and I will go downtown for some fresh air.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 1:30 A.M.:  I finished installing Direct X 9 on all three computers.  I put away the ice tea in the refrigerator.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed shortly. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/24/02 Tuesday 12:40 A.M.:  I put Direct X 9 on the primary computer, and I am in the process of installing it on the Dell backup computer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/23/02 Monday 11:25 P.M.:  I made up a shopping list for my Christmas meal that I will fill tomorrow.  For those of you whom like stuffing, I post two versions of my stuffing recipe on the internet at www.geocities.com/mikelscott/stuffing.htm and www.geocities.com/mikelscott/stuff2.htm .  CIO

Note: <888> 12/23/02 Monday 10:55 P.M.:  I peeled and diced the pineapple with one of those serrated bread knives that seems to do the job well.  I had a bowl of pineapple chunks.  I will now throw out the pineapple stem and peels.  Traditionally when I buy a pineapple in the winter it snows, so let’s keep an eye out for the white flakey stuff.  In the old days when the Christian missionaries from Boston went to Hawaii and returned, they would display stone pineapple symbols or statuary on the gate entrances to their estates which was suppose to be a symbol of Christian hospitality. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/23/02 Monday 10:15 P.M.:  I went out, and I stopped by the Greenwich Library, and I read P.C. Magazine.  I then went downtown, and I sat out briefly. I next drove by the waterfront.  I then went to the Food Emporium, and I bought two Master Choice packages of six granola bars variety pack for $1.24 each package, two dozen large eggs for .79 a dozen, a package of Bird’s Eye deluxe broccoli florets .94 and a package of Birds Eye deluxe peas .94, a Del Monte pineapple $3.99, and a 12 ounce bottle of Master Choice Dijon mustard $1.69 for $12.02 total.  I then returned home.  I had a glass of ice tea.  I am making up a new batch of ice tea using 23 tea bags of 12 different flavors www.geocities.com/mikelscott/icetea.htm .  CIO

Note: <888> 12/23/02 Monday 7:05 P.M.:  I had the same dinner as last night.  I watched the ABC evening news.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/23/02 Monday 5:55 P.M.:  I went out after the last message.  I went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue, and I sat out at various locations.  I stopped by Grannicks Pharmacy, and I bought a three ounce container of Pearl Drops Toothpolish for $3.99 plus .24 tax for $4.23 total.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I next went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop, and I bought a wood framed piece of cloth with a picture of a Chateau I believe on the Loire for $3.  They gave me the 2003 World Wildlife Fund calendar which I now have with the Americas Victorian houses calendar for 2003.  The Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop closes at noon tomorrow.  I then stopped by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local newspaper. I just now returned home.  I put the picture of the Loire Chateau up high to the left of the bathroom door, and I put the small picture I moved of a canal in Venice above the bathroom door.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/23/02 Monday 12:25 P.M.:  I ran Norton Speed Disk on the primary computer C: drive before going to bed.  I was up at 11 A.M..  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. To make oatmeal, I put a half cup of Quaker Old Fashioned oatmeal in a microwave proof bowl with a cup of water. I put it in an 1100 watt General Electric microwave oven with a microwave cover on it, so it does not splash, and I microwave it on high for one minute and 45 seconds.  I then add two teaspoons of sugar along with three pads of margarine and a few dashes of cinnamon and splashes of milk and mix it around for an enjoyable hot cereal.  I got a Christmas note today from Vice President Richard Cheney. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/23/02 Monday 12:05 A.M.:  I watched some more television.  I had some goldfish crackers with ice tea.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed directly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/22/02 Sunday 11:15 P.M.:  I have been watching television Channel 26 the Travel Channel about volcanic activity. CIO  

Note: <888> 12/22/02 Sunday 9:45 P.M.:  I watched a bit of television.  Well, the Christmas Day forecast is Cloudy with a chance of snow. Brisk. Highs in the mid 30s. Chance of snow 50 percent, http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=06830 .  I suppose today was a bit warmer than normal, but we all enjoyed it.  I suppose if you look at http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayNORMS.asp?AirportCode=KHPN&SafeCityName=Greenwich&StateCode=CT&Units=none&IATA=BDR , one can study the seasonal average weather. I spent so many years walking around at night that it was actually a bit cooler for me than the people out in the warmer weather in the day time.  Still, I enjoy the weather as long as it is not too damp which affects my arthritis. Well, there is not much else to report on.  I suppose in the next day or two I will have to purchase my Christmas dinner which should be pretty much the same as my Thanksgiving dinner.  I still would rather lose a bit of weight, but a great many people that I see in my daily walks seem to be comfortably larger than my current 220 pounds.  For most of the years of my adult life I averaged 155 to 175 pounds, so recently in my more sedentary state, I seem to have put on a few pounds which is harder on the joints with my arthritis.  Well, maybe I should try walking around at night again, but when I walked at night, I would get up later in the afternoon.  When I am on a day schedule, I walk in the afternoon.  Thus from what I can tell, the extra weight does not help me feel any warmer.  I suppose some day in the future, I will lose the weight, but it will probably mean that I will have to be a bit more active.  Working on the computer for the last 12 years has lead to a more sedentary lifestyle.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/22/02 Sunday 8:15 P.M.:  I sifted through my email.  I chatted with a friend.  I had four Christmas anisette cookies that a friend gave me.  I sent out an email, and I got a Christmas message from Denmark in PowerPoint format that does not work with the Microsoft PowerPoint viewer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/22/02 Sunday 5:35 P.M.:  I went out after the last message, and I went to Smokes for Less in Byram, and I bought a carton of Seneca Ultra Lights 100s for $26 total.  I then drove downtown.  I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I stopped by the Greenwich Cigar store across from the train station, and I spent a $1 to buy a quick pick Powerball ticket.  I sat out at various locations during the walk.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I next went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local paper, and I returned and checked out a videotape.  I then went by Exxon, and I bought $5.70 of gasoline at $1.739 a gallon for about 24 miles per gallon.  I next went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought a top loin pork roast at $2.99 a pound for $4.84, fresh green beans at .79 a pound for .79, three packages of S&S margarine for $2 all for $7.63 total.  I then returned home, and I had some ice tea.  I will rub half the pork tenderloin roast in a three teaspoons of olive oil, and then season it with Old Bay seasoning, and CVS spices garlic powder, ground black pepper, celery salt, chicken and meat seasoning, Italian spices, oregano, basil on both sides and then spread some Texas Best Barbeque sauce on both sides and cook it in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.  I will have it with steamed fresh green beans and steamed white rice.  When I use the China Village rice steamer I bought for $15 at the Food Emporium, I first rinse a cup of Carolina white rice in a large bowl of running hot water, and then I strain it through a wire strainer, and I rinse it with hot water. I then put the cup of rinsed white rice in the China Village steamer with 14 ounces of water and six pads of margarine and a teaspoon of sesame oil and then I put the steam release top on and then clamp on the primary top.  In my General Electric 1100 watt microwave oven, I cooked it on high for 11 minutes, and then I let it stand sealed in the China Village steamer for five minutes, and I get about two large portions of white rice.  I generally steam my fresh vegetables in a two quart Revere pot with lid on it with a folding steamer tray inside with about ¾ inch of water covered for 15 minutes from the time I turn the heat on.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/22/02 Sunday 1:05 P.M.:  I finished house cleaning and watering the plants.  I moved the little two foot decorated artificial Christmas tree onto the glass coffee table between the two sofas.  I had two hotdogs with buns and French’s Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup with potato chips and ice tea.  I then had a Chock Full of Nuts instant coffee outside.  I will now clean up and go out for some fresh air.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/22/02 Sunday 10:15 A.M.:  I was up at 8:30 A.M., and I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I will now do my weekly house cleaning.  I will listen to www.warx.com while doing it.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/21/02 Saturday 10:15 P.M.:  After the video, my guest left.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/21/02 Saturday 6:15 P.M.:  I am cooking the same dinner as last night.  We will be having two ¼ inch thick slices of the Hormel ham each with Bornier whole grain style mustard and steamed fresh broccoli and steamed white rice and ice tea.  We will then watch a videotape.  I am giving the brass ships bell to my guest to take to a relative in the north country far away from the ocean, so they can call the lamas home for dinner.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/21/02 Saturday 4:55 P.M.:  I was able to fix the Christmas tree lights outside.  The two socket plugs up by the outdoor light have a ground fault interrupt buttons that needed to be reset for the lights to work.  They are now working fine.  I chatted with a relative.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/21/02 Saturday 3:40 P.M.:  I had a telephone call from a relative last night before going to bed.  I was up at 9 A.M. this morning.  I found a generic 17 inch computer monitor discarded in our dumpster. I connected it to the IBM backup computer, and I placed it on top of the CPU to the left of the primary Dell backup computer monitor.  I connected speakers to the CPU, thus the IBM backup computer is completely connected and ready to use, should it be needed.  I had to take down the ship’s bell off the wall behind it.  I put the ship’s bell on the coffee table on top of the bedroom desk.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. A relative called up.  My guest and I went out.  We returned a DVD video disk at the Greenwich Library, and we checked out a videotape. We then went by the Compete Kitchen, and my guest made some purchases.  Next we went by Garlick and Herbs.  Next we went by Fresh Fields.  Next we went by Hay Day, and my guest found the French 8 ounce jars of Pomiere mustard that he was looking for $9.99 a jar.  Next we went downtown, and we walked lower Greenwich Avenue.  We stopped by the new Monogram shop.  Next we drove down by the waterfront.  We then went by the Food Emporium, and I bought a bottle of Americas Choice deodorizer cleaner country scent for $1.79 plus .11 tax for $1.90.  We split a cup of hot chocolate from the coffee machine at the Food Emporium.  We then gave a neighbor a ride home.  My guest is taking a nap.  The Christmas Tree lights are not working outside. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/20/02 Friday 11:35 P.M.:  My guest and I had the same dinner as the last few nights.  We watched television.  I will now shut down the computer.  My guest is staying over for the night.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/20/02 Friday 5:30 P.M.:  My guest and I went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.   I bought for $3.50 a Chinese made Woodworker named Swiss Army style knife similar to the Swiss Army knife I bought yesterday, and I put it in my driver’s side door map holder to have available for any minor maintenance I might have to do on the car.  We then went by the consignment and antique shop behind the Greenwich Hardware store, and my guest viewed their selection of merchandise.  We next went by the Merry Go Round Mews thrift shop.  Next we drove down by the waterfront.   We then had to go back to the Mews thrift shop since I forgot my umbrella.  Next we drove down to another location on the waterfront.  We then went over to Costco in Port Chester, New York; and my guest dropped me off there while he got his oil changed at the Mobil Express lube oil change place at the Port Chester Byram bridge.   My guest showed up at Costco about a half hour later.  My guest bought me two packages of five packs of Carr’s crackers for $4.99 each five pack, a 58 ounce box of Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers for $5.99, and a large chunk of Gouda Cheese for $7.32 at $3.19 a pound for $23.29 total.  We then returned back to my apartment.  I had some ice tea.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/20/02 Friday 12:55 P.M.:  My guest arrived.  We will be going out soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/20/02 Friday 11:35 A.M.:  I sent out another Christmas card.  I guess I will now clean up.  I will listen to some http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/live_news.ram .  CIO

End of Scott's Notes week 12/20/02:

Note: <888> 12/20/02 Friday 10:30 A.M.:  I was up at 9 A.M..  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. Earlier this week, I had one of those out of town telemarketing phone calls from an individual claiming to be fund raising for a law enforcement agency.  When I explained to the individual that I could not afford to give, I was told by the individual that, “I had better watch my back.” I do not think this telemarketing group represents our local police agency, since I have spent 19 years walking on Greenwich Avenue, and it generally has not been a life threatening experience.   To be honest, I do not see most of our local policemen in uniform walking around very much, but perhaps they do so undercover. I have a guest coming down to visit at 1 P.M..  I will now send out my weekly notes.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/19/02 Thursday 10:25 P.M.:  Well, I am tired.  I will shut down the computer.  I will go to bed soon.  My Columbia 2.4 gigahertz cordless telephone was not working for a while.  It was off the cradle, so it was not fully charged, and it had a loose telephone jack connector.  It seems to be working perfectly well now.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/19/02 Thursday 10:05 P.M.:  To put it in more polite terms, the petroleum reserve is about 4 gallons a week for each citizen for forty week, should something happen to the regular supply of fuel.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/19/02 Thursday 9:25 P.M.:  I read in the Time Magazine today that had the cover of “Lord of the Rings” that the United States government has built up its petroleum reserve to 40 weeks worth at a 4 million barrels a day which works out to 44.8 billion gallons of fuel, which works out to about to about 156 gallons of oil for every citizen.  Well, my electricity bill that I received today which includes my heat was up about 40% this month, so I guess with the colder weather, we should try to think about conserving energy.  CIO   

Note: <888> 12/19/02 Thursday 8:15 P.M.:  I went out after the last message.  I went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then returned home, and I had lunch of two hotdogs with buns and Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup and potato chips and ice tea.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop, and I bought an older 12 device Swiss Army knife www.swissarmy.com for $5.  I next made my 3 P.M. appointment.  I then went downtown, and I sat out for a brief spell in the damp weather. I next went by the Antique and Consignment shop behind the Greenwich Hardware store.  They have a nice pair of malachite candle sticks there for $8,500. I once heard of a family in Wisconsin that had a whole staircase made of malachite, and I believe Queen Elizabeth II has a large urn made of malachite, and I think they have a whole palace made of Malachite in Russia.  Malachite I believe is a substance that is green and blackish since it has copper in it. I next went by the Greenwich Hardware store, and they do not have the automobile scratch remover that one sees advertised on television.  They do have tinted Turtle Wax.  I next went by the Greenwich Library.  Next I went by the Food Emporium, and I bought a jar of Bornier Dijon style mustard for $2.89 and a 2 pound deluxe Master Choice fruit cake for $8.99 for $11.88 total.  I then returned home.  I chatted with a friend.  I will now have the same dinner as last night.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/19/02 Thursday 11:25 A.M.:  Well, I relaxed a bit.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will clean up and go out shortly.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/19/02 Thursday 10:00 A.M.:  On an interesting Dutch note, I noticed on the television program about the Lusitania last night that there was a member of the Vanderbilt family on board, and I believe much was the same situation with the Titanic. Thus twice great ships have sunk carrying members of the Vanderbilt family to and from Europe.  Thus although the Vanderbilts are supposedly related to Duke of Marlboro’s family, it might be safer to stay on this side of the pond.  I hear tell that down in hillbilly heaven in Ashville, North Carolina that they put out quite a Christmas spread at Biltmore House and Gardens http://biltmore.com/   Of course since it is now open to the general public one might have to pay money for any hospitality, when in the old days when it was private, people were considered guests.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/19/02 Thursday 9:25 A.M.:  Well I was up at 8 A.M., and I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I was just thinking that in the mid 1970s when we had the oil embargo in North America, a local pilot told me that he flew around a director of Texas Gulf industries, and he still has the director’s hard hat.  The pilot also told me that there was actually no oil shortage, but all the oil was sitting in tankers off New York harbor.  It just goes to show how far the oil tycoons will go to make people feel uncomfortable. I remember in that period,  I used a friend’s apartment at 420 East 49^th street in Manhattan near Beekman Place and the United Nations.  I explored that neighborhood thoroughly along with most of the rest of Manhattan through extensive walking.  At least the small apartment had plenty of heat from the steam generation plant just south of the United Nations which during the so called oil embargo was powered by coal brought in the underground railroad line from across the Hudson River.  I remember about the only major police presence in that neighborhood was when Yasar Arafat would come to visit the United Nations and there would be wall to wall police from the Waldorf Astoria to the United Nations along 49^th street.  Beekman place was where so called important people lived, but they were never there since they were using their residences in warmer locations.  Basically, the friend whose apartment I used spoke eight different languages, so he was able to communicate with the various people whom we came in contact with in that United Nations neighborhood.  The biggest business in that neighborhood around that area is publishing houses.  Well, basically although there is a great deal of celebrity in that neighborhood if one is sound sensitive, it is a quite noisy neighborhood with all the traffic coming and going to points further downtown and uptown.  Also with all the traffic, there is quite a bit of air pollution in that area.  Still people seem to make a living in that neighborhood off the traffic.  Basically it was my viewpoint from the people in that neighborhood on the east side that no one read the newspapers or watched television, but they did manager to eat out meals in various restaurants once or twice a day.  Thus although the United Nations and various other diplomatic missions are in that neighborhood, they are not the only presence since many other businesses seem to thrive there also.  It was my viewpoint since the proximity of the eastside Manhattan neighborhood to the borough of Queens; most of the people that one actually saw and dealt with in that neighborhood were from Queens.  Much the same could be said for the west side of Manhattan that many people were from New Jersey.  Around Penn Station many people were from Long Island, and I guess it could be said that around Grand Central Station many people were from Connecticut and Westchester County.  Thus when one is Manhattan, besides the international community, one tends to deal with other neighbors from various surrounding areas.  Since most of these people whom are in that area are trying to make a buck, I really do not have much need to deal with them since it would be too expensive for me to go into the city to see what they are trying to sell me.  Basically, although I can not afford to buy the Brooklyn Bridge, they might try to take advantage of the situation.  As John Lindsay said when I last saw him speak at Yale University in 1982, there is a distinct lack of ethics in this country and the world in general.  Basically in the intelligence business, they use to say a, “gentleman does not read another gentleman’s mail.”   Still that is still predicated on the situation that there are still gentlemen around.  I remember from my reading that when countries like England in the early 20^th century had large numbers of gentlemen in their ranks, most of them were killed on the fields of World War One.  Well, man whom does not read history is bound to repeat themselves. CIO  

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 11:30 P.M.:  I watched some television.  Normally when watching the old television or boob tube as we use to call it when we were kids, I channel surf until I see some interesting content, then I watch some more.  Recently Cablevision has changed the channels around, so one has to get use to finding one’s old favorite stations.  Well, not much happening on the old television.  I suppose the media organizations are so low on funds, they can not afford to provide quality content and more and more of the public media seems like home movies.  Well, so much for my commentary on communications.  Although, I might not have the most interesting content, at least I make an effort to communicate which is more than I can say for some of the other near sighted individuals around me trying to use this technology. Maybe they are so wired out from the coffee shop, they are spending all of their time gaming.  I hear tell that television might be a game too.  When you watch it, they monitor the usage through computers, and thus provide more of the same for hopefully increased ratings for advertising.  Thus what you see is what most of the general public wants to see.  Well, I am bit tired, so I will go to bed shortly.  I will now shut down the computer before going to bed.  “CIO” at the end of each of my notes stands for “Chief Information Officer”, not “Chief Intelligence Officer”.  Well no news is good news.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 9:00 P.M.:  I disconnected the charging transformer from the Slaymaker rechargeable lantern when I returned this afternoon.  It seems to lose its charge in about six weeks.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 8:45 P.M.:  I was mentioning to the library information staff that I noticed a not yet prominent member of the public in the Greenwich Library about 14 years ago wearing a proper brownish colored tweed jacket with a New England preppy look which we do not see much here anymore.  Moreover, although I use to wear that look, unless I lost about 50 pounds and went down below 180 or 170 pounds, I do not think that my preppy clothes would fit me too well, but the moths really have not gotten them yet. It is the nature of old guard New Englanders, they tend to smell of moth balls, but since I live in a more confined space, I do not use moth balls, although, I think I still have saved some in a cookie tin somewhere in the apartment.  Yes, I even save moth balls, along with rubber bands, ramen noodle flavor packets, wine corks, pie tins and other various assorted items that might come in useful in the future.  I remember one friend of mine’s grandmother had saved just about everything including lots of string from the old days when they use to conserve during the Great War.  Thus when I discard useful items like slightly outdated computer equipment; I generally expect them to end up back in circulation at some other locality. Basically since I arrange the items in my apartment tastefully, it is a pleasant homey feeling, but if the same items were randomly displayed in a thrift shop, I do not think they would command too much value.  Still, it is my home, and I have become use to the comfortable familiar atmosphere that they create.  I guess so many people are in a rush anymore, they do not appreciate what they have, so if they have the time, and they are not pleased with the current configuration, they could always rearrange the geometry of their local setting.   Still, I have rearranged the items in my apartment so many times; I now have a groin hernia from exerting too much effort that seems to be underappreciated.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 8:30 P.M.:  I filled out the Staples rebate information, and I mailed it downstairs in the mail room. I took out one 32 meg probably PC 100 memory chip from the Dell backup computer since there are no more spare memory slots in my three computers, and I put it in the PNY plastic holder, and I placed it in the night stand drawer next to the closet side of the bed.  Surprisingly enough the memory was made by Hyundai. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 7:55 P.M.:  I had the same dinner as last night.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 6:30 P.M.:  I went out after the last message, and one of the three Compaq servers had already disappeared.  When I returned a second one or both the Prolexas were gone, and the old Prolinea is still there.  I first went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I then drove over to Old Greenwich to the Mobil Express Lube car wash, and I had them wash my car for $5.  I had them remove the radio antenna this time to be on the safe side.  When I was drying the car with a towel and polishing it, I noticed about a four foot long curving scratch on the driver’s side rear quarter panel.  I checked with the car wash personnel, and they did not think their equipment did it. They put a piece of blue tape over it, and we ran it through the car wash a second time, and it did not appear to scratch the car this time.  Perhaps since the car was dirty, I did not notice the scratch earlier.  Maybe I can get it to disappear with some of that scratch remover I see advertised on television.  I also have a scratch on the hood and three small dings on the car. Well, it looks like someone took a key and ran it along the side of the car.  I can not figure out why, but frequently vandalism has no rationale.  I dried the car off a second time after the second car wash.  I then drove out to Tod’s Point, and I sat out at both the southwest and southeast areas.  I used the ATM machine at the Old Greenwich Putnam Trust Bank of New York.  I next went by the Old Greenwich Rummage room thrift shop, and I bought a yellow ceramic “Harry’s Bar Venezia” for .80 with tax.  I then went by Staples, and I bought a PNY PC100 128 memory chip for $26.94 plus $1.62 tax for $28.56 total.  It has a $15 mail in rebate, so it will eventually be about $14.  I then went downtown, and I sat out for a while.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I then went by the Greenwich Library.  I then returned home.  I took out the 128 PC 100 memory from the Compaq backup, and I added it to the primary computer along with the new memory for 256 megs total.  I had tried PC 100 memory in the primary computer about a year ago, and it did not work, but I guess this time I got it properly seated, and it works just fine.  I put the PC 66 128 meg memory chip and the PC 100 64 meg memory chip I took out of the primary computer, and I put them in the Dell backup with another 64 meg PC 100 memory chip, so the Dell backup also has 256 megs of memory.  Both systems are working just fine.  I put the Harry’s Bar ash try on the right side of my bedroom desk.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 10:50 A.M.:  I will now clean up, and I will go out in a little while.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/18/02 Wednesday 10:30 A.M.:  I went to bed at 11 P.M. last night.  I was up at 8:30 A.M..  I chatted with a friend.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. I threw out the three dumpster Compaq servers, and I put them to the right of our large dumpster for anyone to grab and pick up.  I took the mirror that I had on the side of one of the Compaq servers, and I put it to the left side on the wall of the bathroom entrance wall.  I put the framed George W. Bush inaugural invitation on the bedroom door entrance below the Audubon bird pictures.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 9:20 P.M.:  I sifted through my email.  I had some cookies.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will channel surf the television, and in a little while I will go to bed.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 8:40 P.M.:  Well, I finished the laundry and put it away.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 7:55 P.M.:  Well, it is 24 degrees Fahrenheit here and going down into the teens this morning. In International Falls, Minnesota it is http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=International+Falls%2C+Minnesota 32 degrees F. and in Calgary, Canada it is 36 F. degrees http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Calgary%2C+Canada  and in Moscow, Russia it is 13 degrees F. http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Moscow%2C+Russia , and in Seoul, Korea it is 34 F. http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/47110.html , so maybe some warmer weather is headed our way.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 7:15 P.M.:  I am on the dry cycle with 50 minutes to go.  I am preparing the same dinner as last night.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 6:45 P.M.:  I have to recharge the Slaymaker rechargeable million watt lantern for the next twenty hours. It should be fully charged around 3 P.M. tomorrow.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 6:40 P.M.:  I started two loads of laundry.  I put clean linen on the bed.  Although the wintry weather this early in the season is enjoyable, it also costs one money for extra heat.  I wonder what mid January to mid March will be like.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 6:10 P.M.:  I went out after the last message.  I stopped by the Vitamin Shoppe in Port Chester, New York, and I exchanged the defective bottle of 400 IU vitamins for a new bottle with out any problems.  I then checked the clearance section at Staples.  I next toured Odd Job.  I then went by the George Weston Bakeries Arnold bread store outlet in Byram, and I obtained three loaves of Freihofer’s 12 grain bread for $1.29 each less .39 senior discount for $3.48 total.  I next went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I then walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I next went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the Greenwich Times.  I just now returned home, and I am having a glass of ice tea.  I keep the bread frozen in the freezer until I need to use it.  Before I went out today, I put about one third of a bottle of CVS Professional drain cleaner in the bathroom sink drain to clean it out.  When I returned I filled the sink with hot water, and I used the toilet plunger to free up any dissolved substance in the drain.  Since I shave with shaving gel and a throw away razor, the sink drain tends to build up crud over time.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 1:30 P.M.:  I have finished configuring the IBM Cyrix backup computer.  I will now reconnect the Dell system.  Basically both backup systems are connected except I change the power cord and the monitor cord between systems, since I do not have room for a third monitor.  All the other cables for each system are full time attached except I do not have speakers connected to the IBM Cyrix onboard sound jacks.  I will then shut down the primary computer, and I will clean up and go out.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 1:20 P.M.:  I put salt and pepper corns in the salt and pepper mill on the dining room table.  I installed the Logicode X2 modem in the IBM Cyrix backup computer and configured the modem.  I installed the Juno software and dialer www.juno.com , so I can access either the two numbers in Greenwich or two in Stamford if the cable modem does not work.  I am now installing the Windows updates.  I noticed that since I added language suppose for Internet Explorer with all the different languages, German was not one of the languages added, very strange.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 11:40 A.M.:  I took the frozen steins out of the freezer and put in the cupboard to the right of the sink.  I threw out some jars from the cupboard.  I put a new fat jar in the refrigerator.  I put in new Arm and Hammer boxes of baking soda on the freezer door and the refrigerator door.  I took out the frozen wine carafe and pitcher and I put them on the leg of the round dining table by the kitchen entrance.  I emptied the ice trays, and I put the cubes in a bag in the refrigerator. I refilled the eight ice trays.  I now have a bit more room in the freezer. I put the two boxes old Arm and Hammer baking soda down the kitchen, bathroom sink, and bathtub drains to freshen them.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 11:15 A.M.:  I had two hotdogs with buns and French’s Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup and potato chips and a dill pickle slice and ice tea and a Brazilian instant coffee.  I have used up the last of the Brazilian instant coffee, but I still have lots of Food Emporium hazelnut beans and Chock Full of Nuts Instant and Folgers’s decaffeinated instant and Italian espresso beans.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 10:25 A.M.:  I got a good deal on the Microsoft FrontPage 2002 new user software. Microsoft’s web site says it has a $169 retail value http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/ .  Of course www.amazon.com is now selling it for $99.  I removed the Logicode X2 telephone modem from the Dell backup computer, and I will install it in the IBM Cyrix backup computer since it works with Windows ME. I will then install Juno, so I have emergency telephone connection on the internet should the cable modem fail. I am just about done with the second part of the three part backup of the IBM Cyrix backup.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 9:30 A.M.:  Forbes list of favorites http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/favorite.jhtml?id=8 . CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 8:45 A.M.:  I am making a C: drive to D: drive backup on the IBM Cyrix backup computer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 8:15 A.M.:  I tried switching the drives on the IBM Cyrix backup computer, but Red Hat Linux 8.0 still would not install.  I switched them back to where Windows ME is now the C: boot drive.  I will leave the D: drive as an empty formatted drive.  I will then reconnect the Dell backup computer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 7:05 A.M.:  I opened up a new bottle of Vitamin Shoppe 400 IU vitamin E, and the tablets were all stuck together and would not come unstuck.  I will have to go over to Port Chester, New York today to exchange them.  I am now going to exchange the C: and D: drives in the IBM Cyrix backup computer and see if Red Hat Linux 8.0 will install on a C: drive.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/17/02 Tuesday 6:25 A.M.:  I had a call from a relative last night.  I was up at 6 A.M..  I am going to have breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  It is 22 degrees Fahrenheit this morning.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 8:30 P.M.: I heated two ¼ inch thick slices of the Hormel ham for two minutes in the microwave oven on a microwave proof plate with a microwave lid, and I had them for dinner with Bornier Dijon mustard on them with steamed white rice and steamed fresh broccoli crowns and ice tea.  I listened to the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ram/live_news.ram for a while.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will watch a bit of television, and I will go to bed a bit there after.  It is a bit chilly out http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=06830 .  CIO

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 7:15 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 bought an unopened box of Microsoft FrontPage 2002 for $15 with the book Sams “How to use Microsoft FrontPage 2002” and a SoHo LAN card in an unopened box for $2 for $17 total.  I then went back by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I next made my 4:15 appointment.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local newspaper and the checked out a DVD video disk.  I then went by the Stop and Shop, and bought two half gallons of Tropicana pure premium orange juice with calcium for $2.79 each, a Hormel cured sliced ham at $3.49 a pound for $11.24, a Tony’s Pepperoni pizza for $2.99, a bulb of garlic at $2.49 a pound for .42, S&S hotdog buns 8 pack $1.19, broccoli crowns at .89 a pound for $1.79, a five pound bag of Pillsbury for .99 for $24.20 total.  I then returned home, and I put away my purchases.  I chatted with a friend.  I called three relatives, but they were either on the other line or not home.  I printed out another envelope for another Christmas card.  I will save the FrontPage 2002 to open for a Christmas gift.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 1:50 P.M.:  I tried install Red Hat Linux 8.0 on the IBM Cyrix backup D: drive a half dozen times, and it froze at the formatting stage each time, although Fdisk shows it correctly partitioned the non dos partitions.  I will now shut down both systems.  I will reconnect the Dell backup.  I will have to fiddle with Red Hat Linux 8.0 installation at a later date. I will then clean up and go out. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 11:55 A.M.:  Well, it is sort of a blah day outside, but I have a 4:15 P.M. appointment.  I am now going to install Red Hat Linux on the D: drive of the IBM Cyrix backup computer. It will give me something to do that does not cost money.  I will wait a while to go out.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 11:45 A.M.:  I was up at 10 A.M..  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. I called the CompUSA rebate 800 number 1-800-390-2344, and they said I would have to resubmit the rebate information on the EPO 58X CD drive that I bought for $40 July 30, 2002 and mailed in the rebate on August 1, 2002.  Since I do not have a copy of the rebate form, and I can not find a copy of the sales receipt and since I do not have a copy of the SKU number that I mailed in from the box, I can not do this.  It seems strange that the last four rebates I have mailed into CompUSA have had problems. I would imagine they have some sort of problem with their rebate operation.  I will now clean up, and I will go out.  I have a 4:15 appointment today.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 6:55 A.M.:  Basically my primary computer is a PC Chips S-571 LMR motherboard with a AMD K6II 450 MHz processor running at 366 MHz with a 128 meg 64 Mhz, 64 meg 100? Mhz memory chips with two Maxtor 20 gigabyte hard drives and SoundBlaster Live MP3 card and LAN. I use the second hard drive for backup. The Dell backup computer is a 333 Mhz Intel Pentium two processor Dell Dimension V350 with a 128 meg 100 Mhz 64 meg 100 Mhz and 32 meg 100 Mhz memory with a Maxtor 15 gigabyte drive, Maxtor 6 gigabyte drive and Maxtor 8 gigabyte drive with a Sound Blaster AWE 32 card and LAN card.  The second backup computer is a PC Chips S-571 motherboard with and IBM Cyrix 233 processor running at 188 Mhz with two 32 meg 100 Mhz memory chips and two Maxtor 8 gigabyte hard drives with LAN car and onboard sound.  I also have the Compaq Prolinea server in the window behind the two backups; I have the two Compaq Prosignia 200 and 300 that I found in the dumpster yesterday.  I also have the Acer 486 processor 4 meg memory laptop that the battery does not work on.  I had to use 64 Mhz memory in the primary computer since it would not run a 128 meg 100 mhz memory chip.  CIO   

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 6:25 A.M.:  I was able to get the IBM Cyrix 233 processor backup computer going.  I reseated the memory in it.  I noticed the IDE0 cable to the C: drive was connected backwards at the drive.  I fixed this and the system worked fine.  I have the D: drive in it which is the old C: drive from my Dell backup.  I have Windows ME on both drives.  I do not think I will put Red Hat Linux on it just yet in case I want to put in the D: drive back in the Dell.  However, the D: drive was the C: drive in the Dell, so it might not work as a D: drive which I tried already on the Dell to no avail.  I have the 5.25” floppy also installed. The IBM Cyrix 233 processor in it runs at about 188 Mhz, and it has two 32 meg memory strips for 64 megs total. It is connected to the web through a LAN card.  I still have my old Logicode modem in the Dell which only works with Windows ME or lower. I could put it in the IBM some time. The C: drive is 8 gigabyte and the D: drive is 6 gigabytes, so I could thus try to partition it with Red Hat Linux boot manger and install it on the D: drive, but for now I will just think about it.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 5:35 A.M.:  I put the ice tea away in the refrigerator.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/16/02 Monday 5:10 A.M.:  I rested from after the last message until now.  I installed the Microsoft Intellimouse driver on the Dell backup computer.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 11:55 P.M.:  On the Dell backup C: partition, I ran Norton Disk Doctor.  I am now running Norton SpeedDisk.  I am also making a batch of www.geocities.com/mikelscott/icetea.htm .  CIO

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 11:05 P.M.:  I have the Dell backup computer C: drive up and running fine again.  All three drives are still bootable.  I ran the updates on it.  I am doing some routine work.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 10:25 P.M.:  I am done installing the operating system on the C: drive on the Dell backup.  I backed it up with “system restore”. I am now running the updates.  I had dinner of a Stouffers hearty pot roast dinner with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 9:45 P.M.:  Networking would not work on the C: partition on the Dell backup, and I tried to fix it by reinstalling it.  It would work on the first boot, but not on the second boot and following boots.  I am now reinstalling the operating system on the C: partition on the Dell backup.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 7:10 P.M.:  I rested after the last message.  I installed the updates on the backup computer.  I had to reinstall the networking.  The Dell backup computer is working fine.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 12:30 P.M.:  I put the original D: drive back in the Dell backup computer, and I am running the updates on the C: drive.  I put the WinME drive in the IBM Cyrix 233 Mhz PCChips S-571 motherboard backup as the D: drive, but the IBM Cyrix processor computer still does not work. Possibly I do not have the memory seated in it properly.  It worked when I last used it.  I will not work on it today.  I put it underneath the sideboard in the bedroom with the keyboard and mouse.  I thus have the desk area to the left of my Dell backup cleared.  I will now have two hotdogs with buns and Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup and potato chips and a dill pickle slice and ice tea.  I then will have a Brazilian instant coffee outside.  I next will clean up and go downtown for some fresh air which should be in a little over an hour.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 11:15 A.M.:  The Compaq Prosignia 200 gives an imminent SCSI controller error, but it does boot the C: drive.  The Compaq Prosignia 300 is a 90 Mhz processor with 64 megs of memory and a 1 gigabyte SCSI drive and tape drive.  It has a SCSI CDplayer that I probably could put in the big Compaq Prolinea server.  I formatted the drive on it.  I put both in the bedroom underneath the side board.  All three Compaqs probably should be junked, but I hate throwing out good equipment.  Still I read there is a place in Chicago, Illinois that scraps five million computers a year. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 9:45 A.M.:  I am doing a little bit of computer work this morning.  I took out the D: drive from the Dell backup computer, and I installed the Windows ME D: drive from the IBM backup computer which before was in the Dell computer as the C: drive.  I could not get it to boot from boot manager.  It says it needed the c:\windows\system32\hall.dll file.  I tried to boot the IBM backup to get this file, but its video does not work for some reason.  I had installed the D: drive from the Dell in it as a D: drive. Also earlier I had installed the 5.25 inch floppy I had in it.  Well, I will have to check it out.  I went outside to have a smoke, and while I was emptying the ashtray in the dumpster, I noticed that one of my neighbors that works in the hospital thrift shop had dumped out a Compaq Prosignia 200 server and a Compaq Prosignia 300.  I boot the Prosignia 200 and ran Fdisk and it recognized and created a 2.5 gigabyte C: drive, and it is a 133 Mhz processor with 133 megs of memory.  I am running a surface scan on it now with scandisk.  It has a SCSI controller error when booting.  I created a CMOS boot disk for it.  I will have to do the same for Prosignia 300 also once I boot it and check it out.  Thus I am working on configuring four computers this morning along with running the primary computer.  I guess one could say this is a continuation of dumpster therapy.  Well, it is a nice day, I should clean up and go out and do this on a rainy day.  I will have to wait and see.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/15/02 Sunday 5:35 A.M.:  I was up at 4 A.M..  There was a program on television about crime in Bermuda.  Apparently Bermuda has the highest number of churches per capita in the world.  I accidentally knocked a Bermuda onion on the floor in the Stop and Shop yesterday and that made me think about Bermuda.  Apparently Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise when she was married to the Royal Governor of Canada use to winter in Bermuda.  I was last in Bermuda in the spring of 1968 when I stayed at the Glendon Guest house with three Taft school friends and four students from Middlesex boys’ school in Concord, Massachusetts for spring break.  We spent about two weeks there renting mopeds and touring the island and going to the Elbow Beach resort beach.  We had high tea every day.  We use to go to the soccer matches and drink Heineken beer on the side lines. I recall buying four wool sweaters from Triminghams for $20 apiece.  I might still have them.  There were lots of students there.   A friend of my mother’s sister use to be the United States conciliate to Bermuda.  Still, I had a very good time.  Relatives of mine have returned frequently.  I received email yesterday that Maxtor has approved my $40 rebate on the hard drive, and they will be mailing it to me in 30 days.  I think CompUSA still owes me a $20 rebate on the 58X CDplayer that I bought for $40 during the first week of August 2002. Possibly the company the rebate is coming from is having financial problems like Que, so maybe I should call CompUSA on their 800 rebate number and find out.  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/14/02 Saturday 8:25 P.M.:  My guest just left after the DVD video.  I chatted briefly with a friend.  I confirmed that when we were in Greece in the spring of 1972, we had small pox shots. Also, I believe I had one when I was seven.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/14/02 Saturday 5:40 P.M.:  For dinner, I sautéed the four boneless center cut pork chops for three minutes a side over medium heat turning regularly in olive oil, margarine, two chopped gloves of garlic, seasoned on both sides with Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder, celery salt, ground black pepper, chicken and meat seasoning, oregano, basil, and Italian spices and a eighth of a cup of La Choy low sodium soy sauce.  We had them with steamed white rice and steamed fresh broccoli crowns, and ice tea. We will now watch a DVD video disk. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/14/02 Saturday 4:40 P.M.:  My guest and I went out.  We drove by Smokes for Less again.   Next we drove downtown and by the waterfront.  Then we went by the ELDC thrift shop in Cos Cob.  Next we went by the Stop and Shop, and my guest is treating us for our dinner. He bought four boneless center cut pork chops at $2.79 a pound and several bunches of broccoli crowns.  We then returned to my apartment.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/14/02 Saturday 2:10 P.M.:  I rested from after the last message until 6 A.M..  I did my house cleaning and watering the plants.  I had a meal of two hotdogs with buns and Dijon mustard and ketchup and potato chips and a dill pickle slice and ice tea and a Brazilian instant coffee outside.  I then cleaned up, and I went out.  I went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I drove down by the waterfront.  There was a computer person signing copies of his book at Richard’s until noon today. I then went to the Greenwich Library, and I checked out a DVD video disk, and I read the local paper.  I then went to Exxon, and I bought $6 of regular unleaded gasoline at $1.679 a gallon for about 25 miles per gallon.  I then went to Smokes for Less, and I bought a carton of Seneca Ultra Lights 100s for $26.  I then returned home, and my guest had arrived.  I had a frosted A&W root beer in a frosted mug.  I chatted with my guest.  My guest is now taking a nap.  CIO  

End of Scott's Notes week 12/14/02:

Note: <888> 12/14/02 Saturday 1:45 A.M.:  I enabled power management in both the primary and the primary backup computer cmoses. I also enabled Advanced Power Management in the software.   On the Dell backup, I ran  Win Doctor on the D: and E: drives.  I also ran some updates.  I just had a Stouffer’s 20 ounce lasagna with ice tea.  I will not being doing house cleaning at the moment.  I might rest after I send out my weekly notes. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/14/02 Saturday 12:35 A.M.:  I did not put the WinME drive back in the Dell backup computer.  I will leave it as the D: drive unchanged in the IBM backup. It will not be bootable in that device. Since I do not want to change it, I will not install Linux on the IBM backup.  I am amused by the configuration on the Dell backup computer.  I have the C: drive full version, D: drive small version, and E: drive medium version.  However, I did not delete any backup files yet to free up space, which I might do eventually.  I think I might have the previous C: drive as the E: drive and the current D: drive might have been the E: drive, so maybe some of the program drive letters are mixed up. I have not tested it for that. However, for the moment it seems to be a usable backup system.  I will take a look at it some more when I have time.  I put the Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console on the primary computer. I did some tweaking on the C: drive on the Dell backup computer.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/13/02 Friday 10:05 P.M.:  Basically what I am doing is using my old backup computer to practice on Windows XP installations without messing up my primary computer.  The reason I could not get Windows ME to boot was I removed the wrong hard drive when I changed hard drives, and I took out the Windows ME hard drive and put it in the IBM backup computer as the D: drive.  It is still intact, and I could try to put it back in the Dell backup system.  I now have three various copies of the primary operating system on the backup Dell system. I installed the Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console on the backup computer, and I was able to use the “bootcfg” command http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;291980 to get the Dell backup system to recognize all three hard drives.  I then edited out the faulty information in the “boot.ini” file, so it looks proper when booting.  Now I am just tweaking the backup Dell system.  However, since I never use the backup system, it will just sit there until, I decide to do something else on it or need it for use as a backup should the primary computer fail.  Basically since my primary purpose on the computer is systems work after reading news, I have to practice when I have the time to learn how to use the system should I ever need to do any more advanced or challenging work with it. Unfortunately for me nothing much ever goes wrong with Windows XP, so I just leave it running normally on my primary computer most of the time.  Still this is how one learns.  Basically since it is cold and rainy and damp outside which is not comfortable for my arthritis, I am violating a cardinal rule of computers “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and I am just tinkering with the old Dell backup computer, since I have nothing else do to at the moment.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/13/02 Friday 7:40 P.M.:  I fell asleep about 11 A.M.. I had a call from a friend around 4 P.M..  I got up, and I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I am now trying to get the Windows ME partition to work on the Dell backup computer. I have a guest showing up tomorrow afternoon, so I might do house cleaning tonight.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/13/02 Friday 8:35 A.M.:  Well for those of you with tristodectophobia, today is Friday the 13^th. After considerable effort, I got the old 15 gigabyte C: drive in the Dell backup computer and working properly. I had a bit of problem with the boot manager with the three partitions.  I have two partitions booting, but the Windows ME partition still does not boot properly.  The C: drive is pretty much a duplicate of the primary computer C: drive.  I never use the Dell computer, but when one uses old computer equipment, it is good to build redundancy into the backup machines in case anything ever happens to my primary well used and well maintained computer. I put the old 6 gigabyte E: drive from the Dell backup in the IBM backup, but I have not formatted it yet in case some untold eventuality should happen.  I have not yet had a chance to check out the Dell system closely either. I am a bit tired.   I will have some Land o Lakes Monterey jack cheese with Carr’s crackers and ice tea.  I will then go to bed directly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/12/02 Thursday 11:00 P.M.:  I am now going to put the old 15 gigabyte C: drive in my Dell backup computer.  I will take the 8 gigabyte C: drive out of the Dell, and put it in my IBM Cyrix 233 MHz backup computer and use it as D: drive. I will then install Red Hat Linux 8.0 on the IBM backup on the D: drive with its boot manager.  I have to save the “boot.ini” file from the Dell C: drive on the D: or E: drive, so I have it available to boot multiple partitions on the Dell backup computer.  This will have take a bit of time and probably get me back on a later schedule.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/12/02 Thursday 9:55 P.M.:  I cleared out the excess food in my kitchen cabinets, and I put it in bags down by the food collection box for the needy in the front entrance downstairs.  There are about eight bags of various food items, I do not need.  I am now going to have two clementines and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/12/02 Thursday 6:50 P.M.:  I went out after the last message.  I went down by the waterfront.  I next went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I then had my teeth cleaned.  I made my 3 P.M. appointment.  I next went downtown, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I stopped by CVS, and I bought two CVS 9 volt alkaline batteries for $4.99 both less a $1.25 bonus bucks coupon plus .22 tax for $3.96 total.  After my walk, I went by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local paper.  I then returned home.  I had the same dinner reheated as last night without the coffee.  I installed the two new 9 volt batteries in the smoke detector in the living room and the one in the hallway.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/12/02 Thursday 10:05 A.M.:  I had a call from a friend last evening.  I was up at 2 A.M., and I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I fell back to sleep until 8:30 A.M..  I just had lunch of two hotdogs with buns with Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup and potato chips and a dill pickle slice and ice tea and coffee.  I have a 2 P.M. and a 3 P.M. appointment today at the same location.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 5:55 P.M.:  I watched some more television.  I will now shut down the computer.  I will go to bed soon.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 4:15 P.M.:  I watched a bit of television.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 1:35 P.M.:  On Internet Explorer, I changed the text size from medium to larger.  I noticed in P.C. magazine this week, John Dvorak’s article www.pcmag.com that he said www.mozilla.com web browser has interesting features including enhanced printing and much larger uniform fonts on web pages.  Still, I prefer to have Internet Explorer on my system since it works well with Windows XP, and not to many years ago, other web browsers would change key system files.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 1:30 P.M.: I had supper of two hotdogs with buns and Dijon mustard and Heinz ketchup and potato chips and a dill pickle slice and ice tea.  I was told by a relative that if one has an electronic watch, and one is not using it for extended periods of time, one can pull out the time set stem, and it quits working, so one can save the battery life on the watch.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 12:25 P.M.:  I went out after the last message.  I went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift Shop.  I next went by the waterfront.  Next I went to the Greenwich Library, and I read the local newspaper and Time magazine.  I next went by the Merry Go Round Mews thrift shop on Arch Street, and I bought for $3 a framed print of Commodore Perry’s flagship of the Gulf Fleet the “U.S. Frigate Cumberland”.  I then returned home.  I hung the ship print with my other two ship prints in the bathroom above the wall mirror opposite the bath tub.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 7:45 A.M.: I broke my Braun cappuccino espresso machine carafe a week ago, but I had a spare one with my Krups backup cappuccino espresso machine which I keep in the bedroom closet plus I have one with my regular Krups.  I watched some morning news.  Well, I guess I will clean up shortly, and I will go out for some day time activity. CIO

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 6:05 A.M.:  I did a little bit of regular computer work.   I am making up the same dinner as the last couple of nights.  I will finish it off with a cappuccino.  I noticed on television they are selling cheap property in north Florida better known as the scrub pine lands.  I guess all of the state must have been like that at one time, so the last cheap place for property on the Atlantic coast is now in north Florida.  Still there is a lot of cheap land north of there until you get into the New York City suburbs.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/11/02 Wednesday 4:45 A.M.:  Meanwhile back in Ice Station Zebra, it is beginning to warm up a bit.  It is now 31 degrees Fahrenheit.  I watched some television.  I had ten pretzel rods.  I slept a bit.  I watched some television.  I had a bowl of goldfish crackers.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 11:50 P.M.:  I installed the Win95 updates on the Compaq server.  I put the two cards one a port card and the other some sort of old networking card in the right top desk drawer in the bedroom.  I ran scandisk and disk defragmenter.  I then shut down the system, and I disconnected it.  I reconnected my primary Dell backup computer. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 10:50 P.M.:  I was up at 8 P.M..  I watched Jimmy Carter’s speech on Cspan for the acceptance of the Nobel Peace Price in Oslo, Norway http://www.nobel.se/peace/ .  I believe I was at the Peace Hall for a concert in Oslo, Norway in February 1983 when I went to a concert there.  I fiddled with the Compaq Proliant 1500 server adjusting some CMOS configuration and SCSI CMOS settings, but it still would not boot the Red Hat 8.0 installation disk.  I finally discovered that this particular model is not on the Red Hat Hardware compatibility list.  More than likely the two SCSI controllers for the two SCSI drives are causing the problem. Thus the computer will not run it. It is still a most excellent Win95 machine with 6 gigabytes of hard disk space, 114 Megs of memory, and a Pentium 133 processor along with the 3COM LAN card that hooks it up to my cable modem. Thus I will leave it in place for now running as it is.  I will install the Win95 updates shortly.  I will also delete the Red Hat Linux 8.0 downloads from the drives.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 12:50 P.M.:  I tried removing a couple of unneeded cards from the Compaq server, but I still have the same problem.  I will leave the cards out, since they are not necessary for Win95.  From what I can tell from searching web sites there is no mention of the problem, but possibly trial and error with some of Linux boot options might solve the problem.  I will now have the cheese and crackers.  I will also shut down the computer.  I am tired, and I will go to bed soon.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 11:15 A.M.:  The error messages I am getting are:

EXT2-fs: unable to read superblock

cramfs: wrong magic

FAT: unable to read boot sector

isofs_read_super: bread failed, dev=09:02, iso_blknum=16, block=32

Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount roots fs on 9:02

Then the system stops.  I found this link for linux boot options http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/install-guide/ch-bootopts.html none of which have helped yet.  I also tried removing the 3Com LAN card and booting, and that did not make a difference.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 10:05 A.M.:  I transferred the *.iso files from the E: drive to the D: drive. I extracted the first *.iso file back to the E: drive with a free utility.  I tried running “autoboot.bat” from the extracted file, but I was prompted I did not have enough memory.  The system has 114 megs of memory which should be enough.  I tried booting the system with the boot disk, and it still prompted I did not have enough memory. I tried a number of linux boot parameters including setting the memory to 110 megs, but even when the system started to boot further it would crash as what looked might a driver crash for the SCSI hard drives.  I downloaded a Linux driver from Compaq, but I can not install it, since one has to be in a root directory for Linux.  Well, I am tired, so I will shut down the computer, and I will probably go to bed soon. I will have some Carr’s crackers with Monterey Jack cheese and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 5:35 A.M.:  I am done with the Red Hat Linux 8.0 download.  I downloaded it fast from the University of Indiana.  Also Georgia Tech was equally fast.  The links to these download sites are at http://www.redhat.com/download/mirror.html .  Of course it depends on where one is in the world and the time of day.  I had three Clementines and six Danish cookies. I will now install Red Hat Linux 8.0 on the Compaq server on the D: drive.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 4:40 A.M.:  I sent out an email to a friend.  I am on the third and final *.iso download with 40 minutes to go.  I guess I will go ahead and start the installation of Red Hat Linux 8.0 on the Compaq server, once it is all downloaded.  I sifted through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm and I also went through my email.  I had three pretzel rods with ice tea. CIO  

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 2:40 A.M.:  I had to restart the download of each *.iso file separately since, my C: hard drive got filled up with large temporary files.  I am now doing one *.iso file at a time which takes about 45 minutes to an hour for each *.iso file.  I can install from the *.iso files, so I am placing them in the 2 gigabyte E: drive.  I have a boot disk made up to start the installation once I have the three *.iso files downloaded.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 1:55 A.M.:  I started downloading the other two *.iso files from two other faster sites, so hopefully all three *.iso files should be downloaded in about an hour.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 1:35 A.M.:  After dinner, I took a piece of extension cord, and I tied it around the Compaq server to hold the mirror against the open side tightly.   The first *.iso file is about 75% downloaded.  I should look for a faster sight, but previously I have not found one.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/10/02 Tuesday 12:20 A.M.:  To keep the open side of the Compaq server from being exposed towards the windows curtains,  I took out the large “cougar prevention” mirror from in front of the Plexiglas to the left of the air conditioner, and I put it along the back open side of the Compaq server.  The “cougar prevention” mirrored worked on the premise that it a wild cat jumped up on the rain roof outside my window, it would see its image and be frightened away.  Thus the backside of the Compaq server is not exposed to the curtains.  While I had the Plexiglas area to the left of the air conditioner exposed, I put more duct tape along the edges sealing out any drafts. I then put the two one inch thick sheets of Styrofoam back over the Plexiglas area and pulled the curtains back over that.  Thus it should be a little less drafty in the apartment.  The first *.iso download is about a third done.  I will now have the same dinner as last night reheating the cooked chicken and rice and having it with steamed fresh broccoli along with ice tea and instant coffee mixture.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 11:35 P.M.:  I figured out a way to install the Compaq Prolinea 1500 server around the desktop area. I moved the left window lamp and plants further to the right.  I then put the Compaq server on the far right window ledge behind the backup computer monitor behind the desk.  I put it with the back of the server facing the into the room adjacent to the Dell backup computer, so it is easy to transfer the cables when switching between CPUs.  I put the white and blue piece of coral on top of the Compaq server with the round Swedish ball of glass.  I moved the scent light into the bedroom window.  I downloaded WinZip onto it for extracting the Red Hat *.iso files.  I am now downloading the Red Hat 8.0 *.iso files to the D: drive on the Compaq server which will take a bit of time. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 10:55 P.M.:  Last Saturday when I got my Connecticut license plate sticker for the registration for the next two years, I put it on the rear plate of the Hyundai that evening.  I was just looking at the www.redhat.com site, and I could download each of three *.iso files to the D: drive on the Compaq server an extract them to the E: drive.  I then could probably install the bootmanager for Win95 on the C: drive, and install RedHat Linux to the empty D: drive, and once installed have room for programs on the E: drive.  However, I do not really have room to put the Compaq server around my three other desktop computers in my work area.  I just chatted with a relative.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 10:30 P.M.:  I was up at 6 P.M..  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. I cleaned up, and I went out.  I stopped by the Greenwich Library.  I returned a DVD video disk.  I read the Greenwich Times, and I read P.C. Magazine. I then drove down by the waterfront. I next walked lower Greenwich Avenue. It is a brisk 18 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now.  I then went by the Food Emporium, and I bought two dozen large eggs at .79 a dozen, a 38 ounce box of Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers for $5.79, a quart of AC lemon juice $2.19, a 25 tea bag box of five types of Twining tea for $2.49, a quart of Heinz ketchup for $2.99 for $15.84 total.  I then returned home.  I chatted briefly with a relative, and I call a friend whom was not in.  Well, meanwhile here on the cold front, let’s hope this cold spell does not continue through out the winter. However, I noticed that Time Magazine this week has a front page story on arthritis, and it is my viewpoint when it is very cold, it is also drier, so it is easier on the old arthritis.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 8:30 A.M.:  I had 12 Carr’s crackers with slices of Land O Lakes Monterey Jack cheese along with ice tea.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed shortly.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 8:05 A.M.:  After I installed Win95 on the Compaq server, it still would not boot up.  I figured out the 3Com LAN card was causing the problem, so I removed it and it booted properly.  I then deleted it in the hardware devices and rebooted.  I then shut down and reinstalled it, and followed the prompts for reinstalling it from disk.  When I finally rebooted the system, it worked fine. I just now installed Internet Explorer 5.5.  I thus have the system back to where I started last evening.  Well, I will disconnect the Compaq Prolinea 1500 server and store it underneath the sideboard in the bedroom.  I will reconnect the Dell backup computer.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 6:20 A.M.:  Win95 did not boot on the Compaq server.  I did figure out the problem.  When I started today, I enabled the SCSI bios in the SCSI cmos which has caused all the problems.  I disabled this feature, and the hard drives switched around again where the 1 gigabyte removable drive is now the C: drive.  I had to run Fdisk again and reformat the C: drive.  I started installing Win95 again, and it is installing without any problems.  Since the C: drive is the 1 gigabytes, I probably will not have room to install Red Hat Linux 8.0 on the smaller drive.  I tried booting the computer with the removable drives not install, but the SCSI system did not recognize the 4 gigabyte drive.  Well, it is a lot of work for a minor error to end up back where I started.  I guess once I have the system and Internet Explorer installed again, I will disconnect it, and put it underneath the sideboard in the bedroom.   I probably could do a minimal install of Red Hat Linux 8.0, but it is not that important to me.  Thus I will have a spare big clunky computer.  I put the small dark oak table on the left side of the desk. I will now put the HP LaserJet IIP printer back on it.  I sifted through my email.  Well this is like what it use to be in the old days before more advanced systems that work well with Windows XP.  Well at least my primary computer, backup computer and second backup computer are working just fine beside the Compaq server.   It is 17 degrees Fahrenheit right now.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 4:50 A.M.:  On the Compaq server, I had to reinstall Win95 again.  This time I chose not to install the SCSI controller when it searched for hardware devices, and the program is installing normally.  Well, I will have to wait to see if the system boots properly.  I am watching a bit of morning news.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 3:25 A.M.:  I tried installing an IDE controller in the Compaq server, but the IDE controller was defective, so I can not use a CD player.  I moved the Compaq server away from the left side of the desk, and I have it sitting on the Delonghi oil filled radiator to the right of the desk. No I do not have the radiator turned on. I tried reinstalling Win95 again, and when it failed, I turned off the computer and restarted Win95 setup, and I selected safe restore installation.  When prompted for what devices to search for, I deselected a number of devices that are not on the computer, and the system is now in the process of copying the files to the hard drive.  Thus I might have a bootable system soon.  I guess technically I could download each of the three approximate 650 meg. files for RedHat Linux, and uncompress them to the 2 gigabyte partition on the E: drive on the first hard drive.  I then could try to install it over the C: drive with out changing the partitioning and using the existing FAT partitions and use part of the one gigabyte D: drive for the swapper.  However, I read that for some reasoning Red Hat Linux 8.0 does not have disk partitioning. Still it would not be able to print probably if successful on the install, so maybe I will leave it as an existing Win95 install with Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1.  However, I really do not have the room for the large Compaq server, since it is about 30 inches by 10 inches by 24 inches weighing about 60 pounds.  I guess we can call this “Dumpster Computer Therapy”.  It keeps one in practice on system configuration when one has nothing to do. CIO  

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 1:25 A.M.:  On the Compaq server what probably changed my SCSI drives configuration is that I ran the SCSI select utility that comes up at boot up. I changed its settings for all the selections to default.  Anyway during dinner, I ran Scandisk on the C: drive and it is all right.  I just ran the Compaq configuration utility again, and it ran successfully.  I am formatting the C: drive.  I will then try to install Win95 again.  CIO

 

Note: <888> 12/09/02 Monday 12:20 A.M.:  Red Hat Linux 8.0 will not fit on the Compaq server.  Also when I reconfigured the CMOS, although it boots from the first drive which was the second drive, the system crashes when trying to install Win95. I will put it out by the dumpster after dinner.  I took two halves of boneless chicken breasts, and I washed and dried them.  I put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a Pyrex pie dish, and I rubbed the two chicken breasts in them on both sides. I then put on them about an eighth of a cup of La Choy low sodium soy sauce, and then seasoned the tops with garlic powder, ground black pepper, celery salt, chicken and meat seasoning, Old Bay Seasoning, Italian spices, basil, and oregano.  I then spread on the top sides Texas Best barbeque sauce.  I am cooking them in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.  I will have one of the chicken breasts with steamed white rice and steamed broccoli and ice tea.  I will then have a 50% Brazilian instant and 50% Folgers’s decaffeinated instant coffee.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/08/02 Sunday 11:30 P.M.:  On rebooting the Compaq server with Win95, it did not boot properly, and apparently the disk partitioning had changed.  I ran Fdisk from a Win95 boot disk again, and this time the first drive is the 4 gigabyte drive with 2 gigabytes as the C: drive and 2 gigabytes as the E: drive, and the removable 2^nd hard drive is the D: drive with 1 gigabyte.  I guess this will work when reinstalling Windows 95.  I think the problem was caused by running the CMOS configuration utility.  Still, I think I have it setup now, so the installation should be straight forward.  However, on installing Red Hat 8.0, I can download each of the three *.iso files to the D: drive, and extract them to the E: drive, however to try install them to the C: drive which is the same drive as the E: drive, I might run into disk partitioning problems and lose my extracted download before installing. Possibly the three extracted *.iso files might fit on the D: drive the second drive.  Still, I am not sure whether it is worth all the bother. Moreover, I do not need a fourth computer for backup running Windows 95, if I can not get Linux on it.  Thus I might eventually chuck it.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/08/02 Sunday 10:50 P.M.:  I had a call from a former neighbor who needed a ride to check out his boat at 11:30 A.M. this morning.  I explained I was on a night schedule, and he said he would get someone else to drive him.  I was up at 4:30 P.M..  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. I had to throw out my old Palm Beach, Florida straw hat since it ripped in several places while on the brass hat rack in the apartment.  I used to keep it in the back window of the Volvo, so I guess over the years it dried out. I moved the Compaq server from the bedroom to the left side floor of the living room desk, and I hooked it up to the backup computer monitor, mouse, keyboard, power cord, and LAN cable.  I chatted with a relative.  I reran the Compaq CMOS utility on the Compaq server, but when I booted Windows 95, it would not boot.  I tried safe boot and deleting devices, but it still would not boot. I guess the CMOS reconfiguration effected the Windows 95 configuration.   I chatted with a friend.  I am now reinstalling Windows 95 on the Compaq server.  If all goes well once Windows 95 runs again.  I will download Red Hat Linux 8.0 from Sweden, and I will install it on the Compaq server.  This will keep me busy this evening.  I guess a 2 gigabyte C: drive will be enough for Red Hat Linux 8.0.  Thus I will have a backup computer with Linux too.  I have the HP LaserJet IIP on top of the Compaq server.   I put the small dark oak table that was where the Compaq server is in the bedroom windows to have out of the way for now.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/08/02 Sunday 7:20 A.M.:  I installed Windows 95 on the Compaq server with networking.  It recognized the network card.  I installed Internet Explorer 5.0 SP1, and the system works fine online with the cable modem, but it does not have a sound card or telephone modem.  The C: drive is the 1 gigabyte drive and with Win95 partitioning, it has a 2 gigabyte D: and E: drive partitions for the second hard drive.  Well, I decided not to toss it out just yet.  I put it underneath the sideboard in the bedroom. Technically, I could try to install Red Hat Linux 8.0 on it from download, but with a 1 gigabyte C: drive, I do not think it would be worth it.  Well, I will shut down shortly.  I will have some Starbucks Java Toffee ice cream with ice tea before going to bed in a little while.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/08/02 Sunday 4:20 A.M.:  I can not install a CD player in the Compaq server since it has no IDE connectors. It is all SCSI.  It has two removable and one fixed SCSI drives.  The fixed is 4 gigabyte and the removable are 1 gigabytes.  One of the removable does not work.  I booted my Windows ME emergency disk on it, and I ran Fdisk and I deleted the Linux partitions, and I installed DOS FAT32 partitions, and I formatted both of the working drives.  I guess I will now install Windows 95 from floppy on it.  I have a feeling, I am going to toss it out once I get it running, since it takes too much room.  Perhaps somebody else will want to tinker with it.  I had a bowl of pretzels and ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/08/02 Sunday 2:55 A.M.:  On the Compaq Proliant 1500, I over rode the case switch, so the server turns on with the regular switch with the front case top removed. I downloaded and ran the Compaq setup utilities which are on four disks.  The server boots into Caldera Linux 2.4, but it end at logon and password. I am now restarting it to see if it will accept “root”.  I think there is a CD player cable and room to install one, but first I would have to take the CD out of my other backup.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/08/02 Sunday 12:50 A.M.:  I finished the C: drive to D: drive backup.  I did it in 5 parts, since the Windows XP Professional backup program limits backup file size to 4 gigabytes.  For the first backup,  I backed up the C: directory without the Documents, Favorites, Program Files, Windows, Upload, System State, 000000009, xpprog.  In the fifth backup, I included the Documents, Favorites, System State, Upload, xpprog, 000000009. On the second backup I backed up the C:\Windows directory. On the third backup, I backed up the C:\Program Files without the Microsoft programs.  On the fourth backup, I backed up the C:\Program Files with the Microsoft programs. I went out while doing the backup, and I stopped by the Food Emporium, and I bought two 20 ounce Stouffer’s lasagna for $2.75 each, two Stouffer’s Home-style pot roast dinners for $2.15 each, boneless breast of chicken at $1.99 a pound for $3.50, a box of clementines for $3.99, and Texas Best mesquite barbeque sauce for $2.89 for $20.18 total.  I then walked lower Greenwich Avenue.  I kept the heat off in my car, so it would not defrost the groceries.  I then went by the lower level train station parking garage dumpster.  I found an old server that I brought home.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I next returned home.  I brought up my groceries, and I started the third section of the backup.  I went out with a grocery shopping cart, and I moved the old Compaq 3124 server into the apartment.  It must weight about 60 pounds.  I did not get the side panel and front panel for the Compaq server, so I have to use a screw driver to override the removed panel shut off switch. However, it does boot and it has six memory strips with about 100 megs of memory, and it is a socket 5 Intel Pentium probably 133 mhz.  I went back out while doing the last backup, and I checked the dumpster area for the missing panel parts, but they were not available.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I just now returned home.  I will override the power shutoff, and I will see if the Compaq server boots properly. Besides a hard drive, it looks like it has a couple of RAID or SCSI drives.  If bootable I might be able to install temporarily a CD drive and install Windows ME which would probably be a more advanced system that might recognize the other accessories.  Well, it basically is a piece of junk.  It is just something to do, since I have a bit of idle time on my hands.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/07/02 Saturday 7:50 P.M.:  I finished the house cleaning and watering the plants.  I will now start a C: drive to D: drive backup.  I will also have a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream and ice tea.  I will clean up and go out while the backup runs.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/07/02 Saturday 5:50 P.M.:  I fell back asleep after the last message.  I slept all day until 4:30 P.M. when a relative called.  I just had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I received my new automobile registration for the next two years.  I will put the sticker on the rear license plate of the Hyundai when it is a bit warmer. CIO

Note: <888> 12/07/02 Saturday 1:40 A.M.:  I had eight pretzel rods and eight Danish cookies after dinner.  I just now finished resting.  I just had a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream and ice tea. CIO 

Note: <888> 12/06/02 Friday 9:00 P.M.:  I was up at 4:30 P.M. today.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.   I went out, and I stopped by the Greenwich Library,  and I read the Greenwich Times and P.C. World magazine.  I then drove down by the waterfront.  I next walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue. I sat out at various locations.  I then went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought a 48 ounce container of Quaker old fashioned oatmeal for $3.99, a 10 ounce bottle of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce for $2.29, a ten pack of S&S dried milk $5.49, a five pound bag of S&S sugar $2.39, a 12.5 ounce bag of Wise potato chips $1.99 for $16.15 total.  I just now returned home.  I will now season a double thick center cut pork chop on both sides by rubbing it in olive oil and seasoning it with Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder, celery salt, ground black pepper, Italian spices, oregano, and basil, and Texas Best Barbeque sauce, and I will cook it in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.  I will have it with steamed white rice with mushroom gravy and steamed fresh broccoli florets and ice tea and a cappuccino.  CIO

End of Scott's Notes week 12/06/02:

Note: <888> 12/06/02 Friday 5:45 A.M.:  I will now send out Scott’s weekly notes.  I will then shut down the computer.  I will relax a bit and then head off to bed.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/06/02 Friday 5:25 A.M.:  After my meal, I put together one more Christmas card that I will mail later on today. I will now have a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream and some more ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/06/02 Friday 5:05 A.M.:  I went out, and I mailed the Christmas cards at the Valley Road post office.  I then drove downtown.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  The downtown area is pretty well cleared, and the plowmen are still working at it.  I just now returned home.  I am just about ready to have a can of Progresso New England clam chowder with ice tea.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/06/02 Friday 3:45 A.M.:  I wrote a Christmas Letter, and it is posted at www.geocities.com/mikelscott/xmas2002.htm .  I also put together the letter in 21 Christmas cards that I will send out to family and friends.  I will go out shortly to mail the cards at the Valley Road post office.  Then I will go for a short drive.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/06/02 Friday 12:40 A.M.:  Dinner was delicious.  I tweaked my notes page, so I only have this month’s notes on it.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 10:45 P.M.:  We had five to seven inches of snow.  I was up at 4 P.M., and I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements and coffee.  I went back to sleep until 7:30 P.M. when the snow quit.  A friend called, and we chatted.  I cleaned off my car, and I went out without cleaning up. They Hyundai with the Michelin all season radial tires runs quite well in the snow.  I drove mostly in second and third gear at slower speeds.  I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue wearing my Italian Alpine snow boots and long rainforest down coat, Polar Bear hat with scarf and gloves and long underwear bottoms besides my casual clothes.  I used my snow brush to clean off the snow off the benches in the center of town in case any one wants to sit comfortably and view the winter wonderland.  There were quite a few plows and snow shovelers out. Starbucks was closed.  It looks like the Food Emporium might be open. The board of education parking lot is plowed, but I would say there is still quite a bit of snow on the roads despite the downtown area being relatively cleared.   I drove down by the waterfront.  I just now returned home.  I tried calling two people.  I will now season a double thick center cut pork chop on both sides by rubbing it in olive oil and seasoning it with Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder, celery salt, ground black pepper, Italian spices, oregano, and basil, and Texas Best Barbeque sauce, and I will cook it in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.  I will have it with steamed white rice with mushroom gravy and steamed fresh broccoli florets and ice tea and a cappuccino.  I guess it is up all night with Michael.  My 3 P.M. appointment was cancelled today.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 4:00 A.M.:  I put away the ice tea in the refrigerator.  I had eight pretzel rods and four Danish cookies and ice tea.  I will now shut down the computer, and I will go to bed.  Well keep a close eye on the snow developing.  CIO 

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 2:25 A.M.:  I installed updates on the primary computer.  I am in the process of updating the backup computer.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 1:35 A.M.: On a more local homey note, I was just outside and that mother of all skunks about the size of a raccoon and mostly white was lingering behind my Hyundai.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 1:35 A.M.: Howard Johnson’s in Riverside, Connecticut part of Greenwich, Connecticut has a free 800 reservations number 1-800-446-4656, and they told me earlier this month, they keep a number of rooms available for the $69 plus tax discount rate which regularly would be $89 plus tax about $102.  I am making up a batch of www.geocities.com/mikelscott/icetea.htm .  CIO

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 12:55 A.M.: As far as I can tell, the forecast is for it to start snowing all day today Thursday and for us here in Greenwich to have six to seven inches of snow, so I hope you all are prepared.  I feel sorry for any stranded travelers whom might come off the Interstate 95 and try to seek refuge at the Delamar five star hotel on Steamboat Road only to find out it is $335 to $1,500 a night.  Who knows maybe I could make a little extra Christmas money trying to provide shelter to snow bound visitors, but I generally enjoy my privacy, and I do not think the local Housing Authority would allow me to take in paying guests at my apartment, but I am allowed to have visitors for three to four days.  My apartment is sort of like one of those suites at the Ritz Carlton in Manhattan that people maintain for personal pied de terres while in the city.  For the frugal traveler if one books Howard Johnson through www.expedia.com on the internet one can occasionally get $69 a night rooms plus tax.  I suppose the Greenwich American Red Cross will have to make some sort of provision for stranded travelers should the storm turn out to be worse than expected. Perhaps they could set up a Red Cross relief station in the warm Greenwich train station with plenty of inside parking nearby and proximity to I-95.  Let’s hope it does not come to that, but the Greenwich Hospital and the Greenwich Library and Greenwich Capital, Pickwick Plaza, and St. Mary’s also have sheltered parking.  I guess today might end up being a snow day for schools and the business community. More than likely my 3 P.M. appointment will be cancelled.  While downtown this evening, I found a smaller blue knit cap that just barely fits on my head, but I will keep it handy for anyone with a smaller head. CIO  

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 12:30 A.M.:  Yesterday while I was watching the heroic rescue of the seagull, I noticed another vigilant watcher.  There was a large grey, blue, or brown heron by the day sailing pier observing the sea gull’s dilemma.  This to me was an unusual water bird to be seen in this weather around here this time of year.  Perhaps the impending snow storm and snow storm activity down south caused it to venture into our colder waters.  Also since the new Benrus watch is water resistant to 100 feet below sea level and has a plastic band, more than likely it would be ideal to wear whenever I have the chance to pursue damper waterfront activity.  However, I have no plans to go that deep in the water anytime soon in the near future.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/05/02 Thursday 12:25 A.M.:  I had a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream and ice tea.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/04/02 Wednesday 11:55 P.M.:  I went out after my cappuccino.  I stopped by the Stop and Shop, and I bought broccoli crowns at .79 a pound for $1.45, and three packages of S&S margarine for $2 all and a famous maker Benrus florescent dial date and 100 foot water resistant with plastic band and brushed chrome face sweep hand watch regularly $150 for $19.99 plus $1.20 tax for $24.64 total.  I took out two $20 bills separately from the EDS ATM machine at the Stop and Shop which cost me $1.25 each transaction for $2.50 transaction fees.  I then walked lower Greenwich Avenue.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I just now returned home. I will adjust the time and date on the Benrus watch, and I will put it with my other purchases to be wrapped for Christmas.  I have noticed on my tours downtown for the last month that someone is leaving empty small 2 ounce bottles of Bacardi rum by the veterans bench downtown that they buy in little ten packs at some convenient liquor store like Quinns or Vals. Anyway, since the rum ration was traditional amongst British sailors in the British Navy, I do not object as long as the individual is not driving.  However, being part frugal Scotsman, I have a more frugal solution that they should save their 10 little empty bottles instead of discarding them in the Board of Education parking lot, and for about $18.75 they can buy a 1.75 liter about 50 ounces bottle of Bacardi, and then they could use a little miniature perfume funnel with the tip cut off to be wider which you can buy at some food stores of gourmet food stores, and the individual could save money by refilling the small Bacardi bottles providing they had a safe place to store it and would not drink it all if they bought it.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/04/02 Wednesday 9:20 P.M.: I was up about 3 P.M. today.  I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee. The merry elves that live in the building were busy putting up a Christmas tree display in the entry way and another in the community room.  I cleaned up, and I went out.  I drove by the waterfront.  I then walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I sat out at various locations.  I stopped by CVS, and I bought a 500 count bottle of CVS aspirin for $6.49, Gillette series shaving gel for sensitive skin for $1.99 with store coupon, and two Oral-B Advantage angle medium tooth brushes for $4.99 both plus .42 tax for $13.89 total.  I next stopped by the Greenwich Library, and I read the local paper, and I checked out a DVD video disk.  I then went by Exxon, and I bought $4.70 of regular unleaded at $1.679 a gallon for about 25 miles per gallon.  I then returned home.  I gave one of the building volunteers an extension cord to use on the community room Christmas tree.  I helped briefly arrange the community room plants that the Christmas tree displaced. I then came upstairs, and I had the rest of the Butterball honey cooked turkey breast about two ¼ inch thick slices with steamed white rice and Franco American gravy along with the rest of the stuffing and steamed fresh broccoli and ice tea.  I will now have a cappuccino.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/04/02 Wednesday 3:25 A.M.: Well, I had four pretzel rods and ice tea.  It is a bit nippy out 17 degrees Fahrenheit, and I am a bit tired, so I will shut down the old computer, and I will go to bed soon.  I did a little bit of regular computer work.  I am wearing my new long underwear bottoms all the time now, since I have extra pairs to wear when one pair gets dirty.  I do not wear them to bed, but I am now wearing them when I go outside for cigarettes at night.  Basically the “Freezing Norwegian Patrol” is sort of like the old “New Amsterdam Dutch Night Watch” since it is part of regular activity for the Nordic people during cold weather to keep a watch.  For the cold weather types whom are looking for cold weather travel destinations there are http://www.icehotel-canada.com/ and http://www.scantours.com/ice_hotel.htm .  Well, I guess the Polar Bear club members will be out exercise walking today.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/04/02 Wednesday 1:20 A.M.: I went out, and I drove down by the waterfront.  I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue.  I sat out at various locations.  I used the ATM machine at Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Greenwich Avenue.  I noticed they have a thermostat on the wall of the ATM kiosk.  However, it seems when one turns it down to 40 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit a fan comes on which might be blowing heat, but when one turns it to 80 or 90 nothing seems to happen.  Thus they might have their thermostat install upside down.  I next drove back down by the waterfront.  I then returned a DVD video disk at the Greenwich Library video drop. I next went to the Food Emporium. I bought a quart of Starbucks Java Toffee ice cream for $2.99, two half gallons of Florida Natural orange juice with calcium for $2 each, two 12 ounce packages of Frito Lay Rold Gold pretzel sticks $2.19 each, two packages of Oscar Meyer bun size beef franks $2.49 each, and a package of two double thick center cut pork chops at $1.99 a pound for $3.94 for $20.29 total.  I then returned home and put away my purchases.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 10:40 P.M.: After dinner, my guest and I watched a DVD video disk.  We had some pretzels and ice tea.  My guest just left.  I just had a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream and ice tea.  Well, it is down to 18 degrees Fahrenheit which I think is quite cool for this time of year.  I took the new gold ornament off the wreath on the front door, and I put it with the other on the small two foot tall Christmas tree.  Since it is a little bit cool out, I might go out for a short drive just to check the local terrain.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 6:40 P.M.: I was up at noon.   A friend arrived to visit at 12:30 P.M..  I had breakfast of three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  My guest and I went out.  We went by Smokes for Less.  We went to the Port Chester flea market, and my guest checked out leather gloves.   He did not get any.  Leather gloves there for men are $15 to $30.  Across from where I bought the long underwear, a fellow from India still sells the copper bracelets like I where for arthritis for $10. We then went to Odd Job, and my guest bought boxes of Christmas cards.  We next went by the Greenwich Hospital Thrift shop.  I bought a bag of four gold ornaments for $1.  My guest went across the street to the Greenwich Women’s exchange and bought a gift for a relative.  We next drove down by the waterfront to the pier on Steamboat Road.  We were observing the waterfront during the very low tide, and my guest observed a sea gull stranded in a fishing line on the second large rock out from the pier. It looked like it was pretty well stuck on the nylon fishing line.  We went to the Greenwich Police Marine dock, but no one was there.  We drove over to the Greenwich Police station, and I told the desk sergeant.  I then used the senior center bathroom which is convenient to use if one is downtown in the day time.  We next drove back down to the pier on Steamboat Road, and there were two Greenwich Police cruisers were there.  They were not sure how to deal with the situation since it would have been too cold to wade out into the water and slippery on the rocks along with the 20 degree Fahrenheit weather.  I went over to the marine dock at the Indian Harbor Yacht club and two staff were there.  They came out and checked out the situation.  One police officer and one yacht club staff went out in a small boat and came out to the rocks by the pier having to paddle in the shallower water. They snagged the line the sea gull was stuck on with an oar were eventually able to retrieve the sea gull into the boat.  They cut the line, and they put the sea gull back on the rock out cropping.  The sea gull walked over to the other side, and it hopped into the water and swam off.  Thus one of the last remaining cold weather sea gulls survived near tragedy thanks to the help of the Greenwich Police department and the Indian Harbor Yacht club staff.  We thanked the police.  Then we went to the Greenwich Library for a DVD video disk.  Next we went by the Stop and Shop, and my guest bought for dinner a pork loin roast at $2.99 a pound for $4.49.  We then returned to my place.  I gave my guest a cup of coffee.  I seasoned the pork loin roast with Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder, ground black pepper, celery salt, Italian spices, Oregano, Basil, and Texas Best Barbeque sauce.  I am cooking it in the convection oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes, and we will have it with steamed white rice and steamed fresh broccoli florets and ice tea. I will then have a cappuccino. My guest put three of the gold ornaments on the Christmas tree and one on the front door wreath.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 4:30 A.M.: Well, it seems to be 23 degrees Fahrenheit right now.  I had some pretzels and ice tea.  I guess I will shut down the computer, and I will go to bed soon.  It seems a bit nippy out.  It would be nice if I could sneak cigarettes in the building entry way anti chamber between the two sliding glass doors since it is heated.  Someone put some pink poinsettias there which might get cold whenever the doors open and close since they tend to be a tropical plant.  Of course the green house next to the United States Capitol is usually full of poinsettias which make for a tropical environment this time of year.  Until the advent of air conditioning the British classified Washington D.C. as a tropical posting, so I suppose it is much colder in jolly old England.  I noticed an obscure bit of trivia while looking at http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp today, and another site mentioned that Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. The BBC have posted this link to his interview today on the web http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/2512151.stm .  I wonder if in all my pub crawling in Manhattan in the old days around the Greta Garbo home for wayward British youth, if I ever ran into him exploring Manhattan in his youth.  Well, I suppose we have to keep a stiff upper lip, and not let any Americans know that occasionally the British come over to explore this side of the pond.  Well Odd Job had three 50 bag tins of British Royal tea for $7.99 all three for any tea drinkers during this cool weather.  Give my best to any holiday travelers and visitors whom I may miss while on a later schedule.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 2:55 A.M.: Well the light snow flurries seem to have stopped.  I use to go for drives at night even when it was cold too.  Since my Hyundai gets better gasoline mileage than the Volvo, it would not be too expensive to drive around at night.  There is a very good heater in the Hyundai too.  However, since not much of anything happens at night in the wee hours of the morning, it is just as well to save the energy, which equivalent energy would keep the apartment warmer.  I did use to shop in the early morning hours at the old Grand Union, but the new Stop and Shop closes at 11 P.M.. However, the Food Emporium is open all night on week days.  However, I am towards ending my day, so I will not be going out.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 2:35 A.M.: I browsed some web sites.  I sifted through my email.  I ran Norton WinDoctor.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 1:30 A.M.: My primary computer is running just fine.  I browsed www.accessmicro.com to see what barebone systems are going for.  Well for those of us up north fortunate enough to be around the white fluffy stuff that is just beginning to fall, all we have to worry about is slippery roads and the other drivers.  Of course further north one might worry about bears or even further north about yeti or polar bears, but the way this winter is developing so far, it seems like it might be a cooler winter, unless some orange juice salesman shows up with sunshine karma and warms us freezing snow birds up north.  Still once one gets use to winter, it really is not all that bad, since in my particular case, I tend to spend a bit more time inside.  Since I am inside more, I seem to be a bit more productive on the computer in the winter.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 12:35 A.M.: I failed to mention here and in the tropics, there are also big predator cats.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/03/02 Tuesday 12:30 A.M.: For any of Scott’s notes readers whom are contemplating tropical voyages or vacations, I was told by a fellow from Australia last summer while I was bird watching on the pier on Steamboat Road that crocodiles and alligators have the capability of leaping 20 feet high into the air.  Thus if one is pier watching or hanging on the lower railing of a boat, there is a probability that one of them big reptiles could snatch one from your perch. My most recent experience in the tropics of Florida in the 1970s and early 1980s was during the colder winter months when the gators or crocs might have been more dormant.  Still in those days when I use to cruise the shoreline of Florida in my old Subaru designed my Howard Hughes during the winter, I would occasionally have a feeling that crocs and gators were lingering around, but I guess they were not hungry when I was frequently camping out.  Maybe that is why those wise old timers whom are homeless in Florida prefer to sleep outside on a bench in public surrounded by concrete as opposed to some more secluded hideout.  Frequently along the shoreline of Florida, they would fine abandoned cars when someone would go for a night swim when it was hot, and either the crocs, gators, sharks, or tides subdued the unwary swimmer.  Thus when one goes to the tropics as a vacationer one should stay in the tourist areas or rely on an experienced guide.  I have spent so many years along the shore lines that I frequently am off my guard when I am around the waterfront enjoying the natural beauty. Still one frequently has natural instincts that when occasionally a predator is around, one might instinctively react to them and get out of harms way.  Of course in the tropics there are also various snakes and insects that can be equally dangerous.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 11:55 P.M.: I put away the laundry.  I had a piece of the Stop and Shop bakery pumpkin pie with whipped cream.  It is delicious.  I am going through www.geocities.com/mikelscott/scotwork.htm .  When I was at the Port Chester flea market, I checked out a small computer kiosk.  They sell a CPU unit for $799, and one can get their rather novel looking ATX case for about $55.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 10:30 P.M.: I started the dry cycle on the two loads of laundry.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 10:05 P.M.: I had dinner of two ¼ inch thick slices of boneless turkey breast, stuffing, steamed white rice all with mushroom gravy, steam fresh broccoli florets, cranberry gel, and ice tea.  I started the laundry.  I put clean sheets on the bed.  I put the two pairs of long underwear bottoms that are too small for me on the second to the bottom shelf in the sweater closet in the hallway. CIO  

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 8:35 P.M.: I was up at 2 P.M.. I had breakfast of oatmeal, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  I cleaned up, and I went out.  I went by Putnam Trust Bank of New York on Mason Street.  I then went by the central Greenwich post office, and they had a long line, so I went across the street to Zyn stationary, and I obtained a Western Union money order for .79 to pay my Verizon telephone bill.  I then mailed the bill and my Maxtor rebate information at the post office.  I then made my 4:15 P.M. appointment.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I then went by the Greenwich Library, and I returned two DVD video disks.  I drove over to Smokes for Less, and I bought a carton of Seneca Ultra Lights 100s for $26 total.  I next drove over to the ATM machine at Bank of New York near Home Depot in Port Chester,  New York. I then went to the Port Chester flea market at the Port Chester shopping center beneath Odd Job.  From a Russian vendor, I bought two pairs 35% polyester and 65% cotton of made in Taiwan Jet’s Idea men’s ankle length thermal drawer thermal bottom warm-n comfort long underwear extra large 42” to 44” waist for $5 each plus a three pack of Premium Great Value made in USA fully cushioned for athletic and casual wear cushion knit in heel and toe for a perfect fit 10 – 13 85% combed cotton 15% combed nylon socks for $5 for $15 total.  Then from a vendor from India, I bought a change purse made of black leather with three pockets with four key holders for $2.  From a vendor from Korea, I bought a men’s bi-fold dark brown leather wallet with lots of card space and divided bill holder brand ILI for $10. Thus I spent $27 at the Port Chester flea market.  I then went to Odd Job, and I bought two boxes of 18 Christmas tree cards for $3.99 each box plus .54 tax for $8.52 total.  I then returned home.  I put $5 on my laundry card.  I plan to do laundry this evening after dinner, but the elevator is broken, so I will have to carry the two loads up and down the stairs.  The old Maxtor 15 gigabyte C: drive with my previous computer operating system, programs, and data, I put in the Fire Sentry box by the front door to have for computer backup.  I do not need to use the drive in my other backup computers.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 11:25 A.M.: Before going to bed I ran Norton Disk Doctor and then I started Norton SpeedDisk.  I just woke up when a relative back from a trip called.  I rebooted my machine.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 4:35 A.M.: I put the Windows Media 9 player and the Real Player One 2.0 update on the computer.  I also imported the play lists for each audio program.  I am listening to a channel 21 PBS program on folk singing.  I will now shut down the computer.  I guess I will be going to bed in a little while.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 1:50 A.M.: I had some pretzels, goldfish crackers, Danish cookies and ice tea. CIO  

Note: <888> 12/02/02 Monday 12:25 A.M.: For your reading pleasure http://etext.virginia.edu/ and http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/ and http://etext.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/ .  CIO

Note: <888> 12/01/02 Sunday 11:55 P.M.: After four hours of charging, I unplugged the Slaymaker jumpstart system.  CIO

Note: <888> 12/01/02 Sunday 11:45 P.M.: I prepared my Maxtor $40 mailin rebate information to mail in.  I had to reinstall the Visioneer Paperport software.  It is 27 degrees Fahrenheit outside, so one can feel a bit of cool air inside my apartment despite the electric heat.  Since the electric heat costs money, I keep it at an affordable comfort level.  The last few nights I have heard an owl in the woods.  My guest suggested it is a great horned owl, but it makes sort of a screeching sound.  CIO  

End of Scott's Notes week 12/01/02:

Note: <888> 12/01/02 Sunday 10:35 P.M.: My guest and I chatted.  We had the same dinner as last night along with steamed fresh broccoli and ice tea.  My guest left at 8 P.M..  I went out, and I walked the entire length of Greenwich Avenue, and I sat out at various locations.  I next drove down by the waterfront.  I then went by the Stop and Shop, and I bought three half gallons of Florida Natural orange juice with calcium for $5 all, broccoli crowns at .79 a pound for $1.22, a dozen large eggs $1.69, Franco American mushroom gravy $1.09, a day old fresh bakery pumpkin pie half price for $4, buy one get one free of Progresso New England clam chowder $2.39 both for $15.39 total.  I just now returned home.  I had two messages on my answering machine, but it is too late to call back. I just had a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream.  I will now send out my weekly notes.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/01/02 Sunday 6:15 P.M.:  I was just looking at this link http://www.tourism.org.fk/ and I stumbled across this link if one wants to try to visit an area a little bit colder than this area http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/ .  Of course down in Antarctic it would be summer now for any Penguin club members.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/01/02 Sunday 6:10 P.M.: I was up at noon. I had three medium boiled eggs, toast, orange juice, vitamins, supplements, and coffee.  A friend arrived at 1:30 P.M.. I fell back to sleep until about 4 P.M.. We went for a drive down by the waterfront.  I just finished cleaning up.  I am charging up the Slaymaker Jump start system which takes about four hours.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/01/02 Sunday 5:40 A.M.: I was not able to send out my weekly email since the email server is down.  I updated Windows XP Professional with all the updates.  I basically have the system back up and running in top shape. I guess I will run the utilities in the future.  I will now shut down the computer and go to bed soon.  I had some pretzels and ice tea this morning.  I watched television while doing the installations.  CIO  

Note: <888> 12/01/02 Sunday 2:30 A.M.: I successfully installed Windows XP Professional, and it booted properly recognizing the backup programs, I had reinstalled on the C: drive.  Thus the Maxtor 20 gigabyte 7200 rpm hard drive is successfully installed and running fine.  I have been doing some minor tweaking, and I had to reinstall Norton System Works 2002. I also installed the new CPU fan. It was almost two large to fit in, but I was able to fit it in with a hair’s clearance.  The overall system is running much better since the copy I restored is a copy of the original installation.  I will now send out my weekly notes two days late.  CIO