Monday 10/20/2025
At 7:30 I went to the auditorium and set up the system to demonstrate the two problems we had with the sound board. A little after 8am Robert from ICS (the contractor for our av systems) came as scheduled and fixed our probs. Robert is a friendly guy and a good teacher, I learned a bunch.
Our first problem was that sometime a week or so ago, all our microphones seemed to get extra sensitive and loud and prone to feedback. This turned out to be due to our having accidentally pressed one button the sound board. Unclick that button, the problem went away and the mics were back to normal. Operator error due to inadequate documentation.
The other problem the so-called choir mics being too sensitive and going instantly into feedback, required him to make some adjustments in the rack of electronics back stage, but he also schooled me and Paul the IT guy on how the choir mics should be used and not used. Excellent session.
Then to the Event Coordinators meeting, which I’ve been able to skip for a while owing to John taking over the AV scheduling. But this time I needed to present the band I have booked for November, and ask for the $300 to pay them.
Out of there, I got the car from the garage and brought it up and picked up Joanne out front and off we went to Sequoia Hospital. I’d asked her along because, well for company of course, but also because although this was a quick and simple procedure, there was always the tiny chance that something could go wrong and I’d have to stay longer, in which case Fred would be stuck in the Sequoia parking garage. So she was a backup driver who could take the car home in the very unlikely event I had to stay.
So this was to drain my renal cyst, finally. There was a tiny bit of pain, the usual “little pinch” warning when shooting in some lidocaine as a local. Then some poking and pressing as Dr. Tamrazi inserted a needle that I never saw, but I’m guessing of at least a few inches length, and started aspirating. For this I am lying on my stomach, with my chin on my crossed arms, on the sled of the CT scanner. It took about 10 minutes all told, to draw out 1.2 litres (2, 600ml bags) of piss. In and out of the scanner ring for another image. “Did the balloon collapse?” I asked. “Yes, the balloon is collapsed” the doctor said, “See you again in a year or so, my friend.”
Joanne had brought a sandwich and a bottle of tea so we had a snack on the hospital patio and drove home. I was pondering how to work in FOPAL, which I couldn’t go to today, and my laundry, which should be done tomorrow, and finally figured out that I could do the laundry today and FOPAL tomorrow. So I ran my laundry in and around attending Rhonda’s open meeting, more facts and figures about the new satellite. The building has multiple apartments, but one of them is a “penthouse”, the third floor, which has 4BR and 5 baths, and a view. All us ordinary old folks are wondering what somebody would do with 4BR/5bath, oh right built in wine cooler etc. In retirement, mind you. And the rules do NOT allow live-in care-takers. If you need constant care-taking, you need to be in our Assisted Living section. However, unlike the present building, the Forest Ave building will allow pets. So I guess you could keep your 17 cats in one of the bedrooms… Not that there are a lot of cat ladies who can afford a $6.9M buy-in, which is what the penthouse will cost.
Codgerville 