Monday 12/1/14
Worked on diary after breakfast. Found old Year-In-Pictures files from 2003 thru 2007. I used several different software tools. Will have to manually recreate the diary from this material. Then I can build further entries based on picture metadata and calendars.
Also set up Projects. Fire Connections, Ugly Buildings, Forensics movie 2003.
Lunch with David Drake, Lauren Schaeffer, & Karen at Relish across from train station. Lauren was much more relaxed though notice communicative than usual.
Went up to Seth’s office to test CMH app. Still very buggy. Troy Web is not doings good job. Can’t reply to messages multiple attachments get lost.
Came me back home by 4:15. Richard Goldberg and Nancy Seymour had arrived. They had come from Baltimore after Thanksgiving in Philadelphia. Had drinks. Went to dinner at Wasabi.
Richard has finally retired from teaching. He is 69.
Tuesday 12/2/14
Too long breakfast with Richard and Nancy, Oatmeal with raisins. They s
till talk about technology with a mixture of the dismissive and disbelief. Don’t seem to absorb much of any of it.
Talked with Alan Coon about UTM web development work. David has been talking with him, even arranging meeting times. Alan now understands what a pain in the ass he is. This further reinforces my distance of UTM, lack of ownership over anything is pretty much complete.
Worked more on converting YIP entries to this diary.
Walked up to Parlor for coffee. 
Spent time adding to list of things that need to go to Australia.
Lots of construction:
UTM Tuesday meetings.
Badly focused meeting with Angie Keefer, a new David recruit. Not at all clear what she will contribute. So much of our time with her was taken rehashing he mess with Troy Web that she could barely get a word in. I am more disconnected from any ownership over anything to go with UTM than ever.
Spent rest of the day working on diary. 2003 YIP for the most part.
Wednesday 12/3/14
Karen left for Boston with the Photoboooks for the Griffin. She will return Thursday morning. Soup Group meeting tonight.
More testing of CMH app. Still very buggy. Also attended via TELECON UAlbany student’s weekly work session. Over an hour. Pretty uninspired today. Jan held down the fort.
Worked more in YIP03 in diary.
Went to library for brief status meeting with Emily Chameides.
Began watching Swedish series Girl with Dragon Tattoo.
Thursday 12/4/14
Late breakfast. Got to work around 9. Sorted out orders for DOE. Boxed them up. Paid Button & Drake @ 50%. Karen came back from Boston. Told me that the rate is 60%. Now I have redo them. I have no memory of the discussion that led to this rate.
Had discussion with K. about how distressed I am by the UTM situation.
Watched more of the Girl Dragon Tattoo series while I worked. Procrastination is a huge problem.
Talked with Matt Almeida.
Went to BeLo3rd social at Vico. Talked with Dan a Region about photographing at Armory.
Karen waving BeLo3rd Eggnog Challenge ballots at the Vico social.
Friday 12/5/15
Breakfast at Bob’s. Errands. Distribute BeLo3rd Eggnog Challenge cards. Finished Girl with Dragon Tattoo.
Construction at the Armory continues despite wintry weather.
Inspired by an old photo of a can of Brindleys, a pipe tobacco that I smoked for decades before it went out of production in the early 2000s. I found and ordered a “match” for the tobacco. It showed up today in the mail.
Dressed up front of house with wreath and a few lights. Just in time for Winter Walk tomorrow evening.
Fewer and fewer lights each year.
Finished watching the Swedish Wallander TV series, season three. Last few episodes reveal Wallander’s diagnosis of Alzheimers. Last one ends with his resignation and a few post script scenes with his daughter and granddaughter, the fog becoming more dense.
Saturday 12/6/14
Winter Walk – BeLo3rd Eggnog Challenge
Breakfast at Bob’s.
Rained all day. More heavily later.
Only had four people come into the gallery during the first half hour of Winter Walk. we had chocolate mousse like eggnog from Vico.
Traffic picked up, but we ended the evenng with some of the eggnog still left. First time we have not run out well before the end of the event. Many old friends and many new people came into the gallery.
Sunday 12/7/14
Prepositioned books.
More prep for trip. Boxed up Photobooks so that Pauline will not have to do everything from scratch at the end of the show. Dave Drake will haul them over the UPS.
Spent a lot of time exercising the UTM hospital app. Still lots of bugs but considerably better. UAlbany students getting involved.
Finally put hook on bathroom door upstairs. Want our guests, infrequent as they may be, to be secure on the throne.
More work at HAL
Monday 12/8/14
13 degrees when I woke up. Felt chilly all night long, but not enough to prompt me to get another blanket. More testing of UTM hospital app.
Talked with Verizon about extremely sluggish internet speeds. Looks like the problems may be in the house. some device sucking up bandwidth. We know have three laptops, one miniMac, one iMac, two iPhones, one iPad, two TV streaming devices (Apple TV and Roku) and a thermostat connected to the network and demanding access to the Internet. That’s ten devices.
Had lunch with David Drake at his house. Sherry Jo Williams and Pauline Delcarmo attended. Took Dave up to Albany Airport for his flight to Baltimore. He will pick up our car which we will leave there on Wednesday when we fly out for Australia.
Stopped at Target in search of footy PJs for Jesse and Anna. Nothing in their size. But did buy a new suitcase and backpack for Karen.
Packed up all my clothing into one carry on size bag.
Cook went on strike. Pizza and salad from eatery up Warren.
Tuesday 12/9/14
Got up and checked internet speed. Meets usual 6 MB/s download and other rates. Turned on Karen’s computer and saw immediate degradation. DropBox is working away. Turned her iMac on and off. Internet speed went up and down in synchrony. But, after turning on my laptop and noting similar reaction it became obvious that the underlying problem is too many devices sucking on our garden hose connection to the Internet. More to tell about this in the future
Wet day coming….. UTM meeting changed to telecon due to icy roads.
Wednesday 12/10/14 – Depart for Australia
See trip story.
