Thursday

More weather here. Rain for now, but maybe snow later on this evening. It is January.

I'm not saying that there was a little "bad-shrimp" effects going on yesterday, but I had no trouble going to sleep last night. 2 agreed with me that that last glass of wine on Tuesday night was a little unnecessary. But it was really a fun little party. Thanks, Roy.

2's CD gift of "An Introduction to Italian" was well-conceived. Now I'll just have to make sure that I put it to use in the next 18 months. 1 and 3 went together on a subscription to the Sunday NYT, which was another thoughtful gift. (I actually received my first copy a week ago and thought that it had been delivered by mistake. It didn't come this past Sunday, so we have some investigation to do.) I'm wearing today the spiffy, fitted dress shirt that came from 4.

The boys left for the Arizona golf trip this morning. My schedule had tentatively included a conference which would have kept me off the golf course for two days, so my spot was otherwise filled, and I then elected to attend the conference at an alternative date in February. My pal Bill is out of the office through Monday, so staying in town is not a bad thing, business-wise.

My satellite conversion happened, but the ultimate cost was more than I was initially quoted (surprise!), and the young-ish installer, while gentlemanly enough, left old hardware and boxes at every turn. An unexpected result was that the new system requires not one, but rather, two dishes to pull in all of the channels, and the two face in different directions. (The local stations for the broadcast network channels must utilize a different satellite.) And the channel numbers for this system are entirely different from the old set-up, so I have to re-learn the stations. (The bad point there is that the print on the line-up card is so small that I need a magnifying glass. It's heck getting old.)

They also sold me on a DVR system for my house. I have no clue what a DVR is or what it does. How's that for educated purchasing?

My business friend who had the motorcycle accident before Thanksgiving stopped in a SB's this AM. He's mobile and back at work. But the long term function of his ankle is an open question. His surgery was so much more dramatic than mine on my thumb, and I don't expect my thumb to be fully healed (or healed as far as it will heal) for another six months. I doubt if a Turkey Trot will ever be in his future. The motorcycle is for sale.

One of my personal credit cards came with a $39 late fee and a finance charge in today's mail. I wondered if that would happen as I made an electronic payment on the statement due date, but it took two business days to hit Chase's books. I normally input those monthly bills for payment will they are received, but that one sat under some papers on my desk. Anyway, the thing that hacked me off is that not only do they clip you for the usurious late fee, but they then calculate a finance charge, not on the prior statement balance due, but on the daily average outstanding balance as of this statement. That's the equivalent of paying interest on current purchases. No wonder people get caught behind and can't get out.

In my case today, I called, got a sympathetic agent, and he wiped both the late fee and the finance charge off the statement. It was/is the Christmas season. But I will be making a change in my payment procedures to avoid any recurrence of the problem. A word of advice: none of my readers are so wealthy that they can afford to pay late fees or interest on credit card debt. Pay bill in full. In plenty of time before the due date.

My handyman came by sometime today and installed a new garbage disposal unit. 20 years ago, I would have tried to do it myself. Likely, with mixed results and skinned knuckles. At this point in my life, I have recognized my limitations. Now, I can actually use my sink.

I see where John Kerry has endorsed Obama. Given Kerry's spotty resume, was Barak unable to avoid the meeting?

Hope all is well Have a great evening.

BCOT