Message 670

Yesterday I read some more of The Economist, and in the evening I went to San Mateo for our usual Sunday family dinner. Julian and Beech returned from their ski trip in time for Julian to grill the steak. Before and during dinner I watched the Sharks beat Colorado 5-3. Beech would relay the score to me at the table during the third period. In the evening I watched Sharp's Challenge on Masterpiece Theater.

Message 669

Yesterday afternoon I took Annie to Nealon Park to eat lunch and play for a few hours. Beech and Julian were up skiing for the weekend. In the evening I went to the couples club dinner group. There were only eight of us there, which is fewer than usual, but the food was very good, and everyone enjoyed the cherry pie and ice cream that I took. I was home before 10 PM so I read The Economist for a while, but I was tired, so I went to bed at midnight.

Message 668

I just got back from meeting Helen and Jim at Starbucks. Last night after the Friday PBS programs I watched Disk 1 of My So-Called Life, with the first three episodes of the series. It was the first role for Claire Danes when she was 13 years old and played a 15-year old high school girl. It is full of teenage angst, but is well done. So far I give it 3.8 stars. I may upgrade the rating after I watch the other four disks.

Message 667

Yesterday I discovered that my new TV was defective, so I had to take it back and exchange it for a new one. I took Beech with me for the exchange after his Kung Fu class. After we got the new TV, we went back to the pizza place so he could play his game and eat pizza. He won a new stuffed rabbit to give to Annie.

Last night I watched the Sharks shut out Dallas 3-0. It is nice to have the Sharks back playing like they should. Joshua had something else on his schedule, so he did not watch the game with me. The picture on my new TV looks great. After the game I checked to see how it works with my DVD player, but I am not getting a good picture. I am concerned that the TV only works with a Blue-ray player, but more likely I do not have the cables plugged in to the right places. I will work more on it today.

Message 666

I just got back from having breakfast at Heidi's Pies. I had a cleaning crew in yesterday at noon, and when I got back from having lunch at El Cerrito my living room TV would not work. At first I thought the cleaning crew had messed with it, but after a lot of fiddling I realized that it had gone bad the same way my computer monitor went bad a few months ago. In other, the LCD display would work fine for about a second and then it would turn itself off. After leaving Heidi's Pies, I took my TV to the recycling center and went to Best Buy to get a new one. I had intended to buy a CRT-TV, but I discovered they are not made anymore. I decided up having to buy a 26-inch LCD-TV because that was the biggest that would fit into my cabinet. I bought the 4-year service plan this time too, although the old TV lasted for six years before it quit.

Last night I drove Larry and Judi to SFO where they are going for a week-long vacation in New York where they are meeting Larry's sister. It was raining hard on my way to the airport, but the sun is shining now.

Message 665

Yesterday I picked Beech up at his school at noon and took him to McDonalds for lunch and then home to do two pages of homework followed by video games until Vanessa and Annie came home. In the late afternoon Joshua brought in fish and chips and watched the Sharks game with me. They finally broke their losing streak by beating Minnesota 4-1. After the game I finished reading The Economist and the new issue of Science.

Message 664

Henry brought his daughter Anique over yesterday afternoon for help with her calculus homework. I was pretty rusty, so I did not manage to help her very much, but she is a bright girl, so I think she may have benefitted a little bit. In the evening Joshua was supposed to come over to watch 24 with me, but he called and said he was too late to make it in time, so I watched it by myself. I also read some more of The Economist.