October 2026
Summary: Copper with Patrick, Paul M, Tommy, and Mark H; Castro Street Fair; lunch with Scot B at Tanglad; Sunday Gumbo Social with a small group; Timmy D's Last Day Celebration at La Med; Drinks with Dan and Jie at 440; Trivia at Copper with with Tommy H, Mark H, David M, Paul M; House of Prime Rib with Sam and Patrick; Syndicate Lunch at Hot Johnnie's; Dia de los Muertos at 15th Avenue House; Halloween at Castro Night Market.
Dates on this page
Thu Oct 1, 2026
Breakfast: plain yogurt with blueberries, side of red grapes, hot water. Neti pot. Walked and rode Muni to a health appointment. Walked to lunch at Bunn Mi: saigon noodles with lemongrass beef, hot vietnamese coffee. Delicious! Afterwards I browsed at Fabrix and Kamei. Bought nothing. Walked and rode Muni home. Foot care. Ran a vinegar cleaning cycle for the washer. Updated my medic alert cheat sheet. Foot care. Troubleshot a problem on Patrick's laptop with our backup solution. Today Patrick stored the guest comforter inside the sleeper sofa because it was taking too much space in our closet. Reviewed and reworked energy consumption spreadsheet data for our unit and our HOA. Dinner at home with Patrick: miso butter ramen, which was too rich for me and I ate only a little bit of it. Patrick made a chocolate molten lava mug cake. We watched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e3 on Paramount+ then a bit of YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. I watched more YouTube then finished watching Bird Box: Barcelona on Netflix. Patrick wasn't interested in watching the rest of it. I found it suspenseful and quite disturbing but not my usual fare. Recharge Medical work: hours and Google profile updates.
Fri Oct 2, 2026
Breakfast: challah French toast with mixed-berries sauce and whipped cottage cheese, hot water. Nespresso for Patrick. Afterwards I washed the laundry room rug in the washer and washed the exteriors of the three windows facing the patio first with Silver Cymbal's window washing solution then with Invisible Glass Glass Stripper. Used the Zoom Broom for the first time. It works as advertised and is likely suitable for our needs. Neti pot. Spent part of today continuing work started recently on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. The original paper version was typed on a typewriter and looks like it had been faxed or photocopied at least several times. Because of this it's not only difficult to find answers to questions about the agreement but also unpleasant, and tasks that are unpleasant are less likely to be done and more likely to be done inaccurately. I had scanned it, then ChatGPT had given me a Microsoft Word version, but it needed a lot of manual fixes because the quality of the letters was originally so poor. It's painstaking work because it needs to accurately match the old version since it could potentially be part of a legal matter. Lunch: half pita with sliced avocado and sliced tomato with lemon beet hummus, water. Later, a snack: tortilla chips with sliced avocado (to use the remainder of the avocado). In the evening Patrick and I walked to dinner. Not certain of our destination, we wandered and ended up at Zona Rosa where we shared chips and mild green salsa and one chicken burrito and one pineapple Jarritos: about $23. Then we walked in the Castro until meeting Paul M, Tommy, and Mark H at Copper for drinks and snacks (tater tots and fries). We chatted for several hours. Afterwards Tommy and Mark departed for home. Paul, Patrick, and I walked to Blush! where we encountered Dan P and Jimmy and said hello briefly. Patrick walked home. Paul and I stayed for one more round. Afterwards we walked to Market and Castro and said goodbye. Paul went home to have ramen for dinner. I walked home and went to bed soon afterwards.
Sat Oct 3, 2026
Restored to service the laundry room rug which we machine-washed yesterday and had dried overnight on a drying rack. Breakfast: plain yogurt with blueberries and Patrick's homemade granola, side of red grapes, hot water. Neti pot. Archived documents. Lunch: half pita with Fra' Mani ham, sliced butter lettuce, sliced tomato; tortilla chips; cold water. Continued work on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. In the midafternoon I walked in the Castro a bit then joined Dan at 440 for drinks. We chatted for a few hours, and while we did a number of people walking past stopped to chat: Marvin, Paul M, Todd Y (with friend Dennis), David M. Dinner at home with Patrick: Lao Ban Taiwanese popcorn chicken with soy garlic sauce over steamed rice, water. Afterwards we watched YouTube then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e4 on Paramount+. Patrick went to bed. I remained awake a few hours before going to bed.
Sun Oct 4, 2026
Breakfast: leftover challah French toast with mixed-berries sauce and whipped cottage cheese, hot water. Neti pot. Lunch: croissant sandwich with Fra' Mani ham, cheddar, butter leaf lettuce, and dijon mustard; water. In the afternoon we walked to Castro Street Fair. We encountered Martin and Gray and chatted a while. Later we stopped at Blush! and saw Andy M walk past, so I messaged him, and he stopped in to chat. Jose C also joined us, and we all chatted a while. Jose and Andy left for JP's house party. Patrick and I walked to dinner at Detour: we shared a cheeseburger with tater tots. Patrick had a cocktail. I had a lemonade. $42.94 after tax and before tip. Walked home. We watched YouTube then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e5 on Paramount+. Patrick went to bed. Google Meet chat with Dex and Lani. Late snack: one chocolate navel orange—tastes like an orange, very difficult to peel. Sumo oranges have spoiled me, I guess. I joined a few hours later.
Mon Oct 5, 2026
Breakfast at home with Patrick: one scrambled egg with guacamole on thickly sliced brioche for Patrick, two-scrambled-egg breakfast burrito with guacamole, mixed mexican cheeses, rice, and salsa for me. Water to drink. Updates and backups for devices and websites. All day: continued work on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. Spot-cleaned the south bedroom carpet with Resolve. Did some deep-cleaning of the south bedroom windows. Late lunch: chicken fingers and fries from frozen, carrot sticks, ranch, ketchup, cold water. More deep-cleaning of the south bedroom windows. Cleaned the bathroom, cut my hair, showered, cleaned the bathroom. Dinner at home with Patrick: green lentils and rice, water. We watched YouTube, including SNL s52:e2. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. Late snack: Terra sweet potato chips with sea salt, water. To bed.
Tue Oct 6, 2026
Breakfast: I prepared for myself a dish that my mom used to prepare for me when I was a child. She would take a tortilla and fry it in a pan both sides with butter, add green onions, then fold it in half. She called it a Chinese pancake, but I realized later that this was a simulation of a Chinese pancake. Water to drink. Over the past few days I have been spending part of my mornings reading ballot propositions for the forthcoming election. Recharge Medical work: email campaign report. Lunch: leftover green lentils, hot water. Chatted with Phil about PDF workflows. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Memphis Minnie's via DoorDash: we shared: bbq chicken salad and one two-way combo (slow-smoked texas beef brisket, memphis sweet smoked pork, potlikker greens, Minnie's mac'n cheese, corn bread). White wine and water to drink. Afterwards we watched YouTube then Ted Lasso s4:e10 (season finale) on Apple TV then YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. I went to bed a few hours after Patrick.
Wed Oct 7, 2026
Breakfast: leftover bbq chicken salad, hot water. Cleaned in the kitchen and processed dirty dishes. Plant care. Cleaned the dishwasher filter and spray arms. Vacuumed sawdust that had fallen out of a knot in the board in the media cabinet behind the left door. We have no idea what happened. Reviewed tax filings. Met our backflow prevention tester—it passed. Patched with wood putty holes in window frames after equipment had been removed. All day: continued work on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. Installed the last kitchen undercabinet light fixture. I had been waiting on this last one because I had a plan to use a strip of LED lights along the kitchen's north wall, but after further thought and discussion with Patrick, I decided to abandon that part of the plan. We need more light on the north wall because the downlight above is in the wrong place. When one stands at the counter and leans forward to work, the downlight creates a shadow onto the countertop. Instead we'll try to see if a professional electrician can move the downlight to a better position. I installed the undercabinet light fixture without help from Patrick. It was hard to get the knockout out because the stepped drill bit got off center, so I used a small regular drill bit to drill small holes around the edge of the knockout, and with much effort I eventually removed it. The fixture isn't as flush to the back wall as I'd like, but hopefully no one notices. Cleaned the work area. Showered. Errands with Patrick: Cliff's Variety. Dinner at Pasta Panino with Patrick: san pell for Patrick, arnold palmer for me. We shared a caprese panino and spaghetti aglio e olio add shrimp. About $53 after tax and before tip. Errand with Patrick: Full Proof for alcohol and where instead of Brad we encountered and met Jerry who let us taste several mezcals. We bought a variety of alcohols. Walked home. We watched YouTube then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e6 on Paramount+ then Big Mouth s3:e6 on Netflix. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. Deep-cleaned my iPad Air and iPhone 16 Pro and their cases. Repaired a Brother TC tape cartridge that wasn't working properly. Upon printing, the tape would emerge correctly except without the adhesive backing. I carefully removed the cartridge lid with a razor blade cutting tool, then used tweezers to pull the adhesive tape further out and adhere it to the printed label. Labeled plugs for the Sodastream, the Nespresso machine, two mica shade lamps, the power cord for the TV, an ethernet cable to the TV, a panel heater, the blender, the immersion blender, the hand mixer, the rice cooker, the toaster oven. Late snack: leftover spaghetti aglio e olio add shrimp, water. To bed late.
Thu Oct 8, 2026
Breakfast: plain yogurt with blueberries and Patrick's homemade granola; one of Patrick's pumpkin muffin, previously frozen, reheated; hot water. Continued reading voting materials. All day: continued work on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. Continued cleaning window frames and tracks in the south bedroom. Lunch with Scot B at Tanglad: Scot had noodles and soda, I had five-spice chicken bahn mi and coconut water (can). ZoomBroomed the front of the home and most of the exterior stairwell. Sanded wood putty patches from yesterday then cleaned in the affected areas. New front door bottom inserts were installed two months ago, but our lower front door bottom insert has been troublesome ever since it was installed because it's too tall, causing parts of the rubber insert to tear and twist and causing the insert to attempt to escape from its channel. I removed it, used a razor blade cutter then medical scissors to trim some of the fins where it seemed to be having trouble, and reinserted it. Later, dinner at home with Patrick: pork sausage ragu with rigatoni, hot water. Afterwards we watched Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e7 on Paramount+ then Big Mouth s3:e7 on Netflix then GUO4 on Kanopy. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Late snack: Nongshim shrimp crackers, water.
Fri Oct 9, 2026
Plant care. Breakfast at home with Patrick: breakfast croissant sandwich with scrambled egg, swiss cheese, and bacon; hot water. Removed with Goof Off and paper towels the remains of labels from a small bottle of Monin syrup so we can reuse the bottle. Washed the exteriors of the dining room windows and the three southfacing windows with Silver Cymbal's window washing solution and the product on Amazon called LAANPOLE 26FT High Reach Duster Cleaning Kit with Extension Pole, High Ceiling Fan Cleaner Duster Tool for Fan Blades, Window Washing Kit with Microfiber Feather Duster & Window Squeegee. Lunch: leftover pork sausage ragu with rigatoni, water. Continued exterior window cleaning in the exterior stairwell. All exterior window cleaning is complete. Snack: one celery stalk with peanut butter. Nap. Cleaned the half bath sink. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover BBQ meats and black bean tostada with salsa, sour cream, shredded lettuce, and cherry tomatoes; cold cucumber-yogurt soup; cold water. Afterwards we reviewed tax filings then prepared greeting cards and small gifts to send in the mail with Unsinkable chocolate liqueur on ice with butter microwave popcorn. Patrick went to bed while I continued printing photos on our inkjet printer. Printing photos to our Epson XP-7100 was a nightmare. I encountered black ink streaks and poor quality printing in some areas. I troubleshot for several hours, including installing Epson's drivers. Then the driver failed to let me select cassette 1 so I tried to work around that problem by using the rear feed slot. Then the printer refused to identify the photo paper loaded in the rear feed slot. Somehow I got it to work as I had wanted, but I don't know how exactly. Four sheets of photo paper were wasted in the process, and it would have been faster to walk to the nearby Walgreen's to have photos printed. Cleaned the north bathroom toilet and sink. Reconfigured the shade of our West Elm Caldas floor lamp so that the seam is not visible from anywhere in the living room.
Sat Oct 10, 2026
Breakfast: blueberries with Patrick's homemade granola and milk, hot water. Dusted exterior doors. Vacuumed the upper level, the stairs, and the lower level hardwood floors. ZoomBroomed for the first time on the balcony. It does well at pushing the small debris which is the majority of our cleaning needs. It does not do well at removing cobwebs even on its high setting; a traditional broom is still needed for those. Lunch: I prepared for myself macaroni elbows with leftover ragu. I also threw in tiny portions of Memphis Minnie's leftovers: potlikker greensa and Minnie's mac'n cheese. Cold water to drink. This afternoon Patrick prepared gumbo, and I helped mostly with dishwashing. Later: midafternoon snack: celery sticks and peanut butter. Emptied the paper shredder. Dinner at home with Patrick: I prepared dumplings and buns from frozen, soy-ginger dipping sauce, hot water. Patrick processed dirty dishes and cleaned. We watched YouTube then movie trailers on Apple TV then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e8 on Paramount+ with Tip Top margaritas on ice. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and started the dishwasher.
Sun Oct 11, 2026
Breakfast: medium cheddar and leftover scrambled egg sandwich on challah, hot water. Reassembled the kitchen undercabinet light fixture in preparation for donation or disposal. Wiped the balcony railing with dish soap solution. ZoomBroomed in front of the home and on the patio. Emptied the handheld vacuum dustbin. Patrick and I prepared for a small Sunday Gumbo gathering at home. Today's guest list: Monty H and David G, Jeff C and Cris F, Mark H and Tommy H, Paul M, and David M. The menu: Central Grocery olive salad with potato chips; chicken and andouille gumbo yaya with white rice; French bread; Southern Candymakers divinity, turtles, and pralines; iced cold brew Cafe du Monde coffee and chicory with milk and brown sugar syrup; assorted sparkling waters, wines, and beers. Tommy wore his Beignets All Day t-shirt. Everyone brought wine. We ate and talked about gumbo, okra, Southern Candymakers, the process of making gumbo (particularly the attention required for the roux), fleet week, AI, whether people can see into our living room much, which rooms of the home we like or spend time in the most, desk setups, trivia night at Hi Tops and Copper, Audrey Hepburn's last film, Disneyland and New Orleans Square, Brennan's and the beignet shop in Anaheim Downtown Disney, home improvement, SnapPower MotionLight, sleeping well, Myers-Briggs, Puerto Vallarta, timeshares and condos, Hurricane Simon, the energy situation with Ukraine and Russia, and more. We had a great time. Cleaned, rested. Dinner at home with Patrick: red wine, leftover gumbo yaya with French bread. We watched YouTube. Patrick went to bed. Later I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. Late snack: medium cheddar on english muffin, peach Waterloo.
Mon Oct 12, 2026
Breakfast: I prepared for myself a breakfast burrito with one egg, black beans, salsa, rice, medium cheddar, sour cream. Hot water to drink. The power went out at around 11:40 a.m. but power was still available in business areas nearby so we left to run errands and lunch. PO Plus for some shipping boxes. Iggy's Burgers: Patrick and I each had an Iggy's Burger. We shared an order of onion rings, and we shared a chocolate shake. The meal was tasty and we encountered no issues. Afterwards we shopped at Rolo then R by Rolo. The power in our home returned just before 2 p.m. Walked home. Prepared two small packages for mailing. Reviewed tax filings. Dinner at home with Patrick: TJ's frozen detroit-style pizza to which Patrick added minced rosemary. Water to drink. Patrick also had a glass of red wine. We watched part of Lorne on Netflix. Patrick snacked on chips and chocolate while we watched. Patrick went to bed. I remained awake a few hours longer then went to bed.
Tue Oct 13, 2026
Breakfast: leftover gumbo and rice, leftover cold brew Cafe du Monde coffee and chicory with milk and brown sugar syrup (no ice), water. Errands and shopping with Patrick. We stopped at the post office to drop off clothing returns and to mail two gift packages. We split up. Patrick visited his mom then the library while I walked to R by Rolo to have them remove a security tag from an item I purchased that they forgot to remove. Then I walked and rode Muni to Discount Builders Supply for another water hammer arrestor. The previous one we installed is working as expected, but we didn't realize until later that it affected the hot line as well as the cold line. Then I walked and rode Muni to Apple Store Union Square to purchase a compact USB-C Magic Keyboard and USB-C Magic Trackpad, both in white. Walked and rode Muni to Church Street Station where I met Patrick for a late lunch at Zona Rosa. Patrick had a burrito. I was not very hungry after my largeish breakfast, so I had one carnitas taco. Pineapple agua fresca each. Afterwards we went to the library so I could borrow a DVD, then we walked home. I folded laundry that Patrick had washed earlier then did some reorganizing of my half of the mule chest storing clothes. In the process I noticed that one drawer had a weak seam, so I repaired it with wood glue. Later I began setting up the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad. Dinner at home with Patrick: leftover gumbo and rice, hot water. Patrick also had a glass of red wine. We watched YouTube then Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e9 on Paramount+. Patrick went to bed. I continued watching YouTube. I'm so disappointed with Apple's announcements today about HomeView, HomePod mini 2, and Apple TV 4K. Now that the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad are in place, I moved my MacBook Pro so that its home is now our media cabinet under the television. It took a fair amount of work to rearrange cables inside so that everything fit tidily. I connected the MBP to the television with an HDMI cable. I powered it using the adapter and cable that came with the MBP. Now my laptop is completely hidden, and I can use the keyboard to wake it. It's there when I need it, and not when I don't. When I'm not using the keyboard and trackpad, they will sit on the lower shelf of the coffee table. Late snack: leftover TJ's frozen detroit-style pizza.
Wed Oct 14, 2026
Checked on yesterday's wood glue project to repair a seam or joint in one of the mule chest drawers; it held. But in the process I discovered a large spider, which I removed to the exterior stairwell with the spider remover then I ZoomBroomed it away. ZoomBroomed the exterior stairwell and the front of the home. Back to the drawer: I also discovered a different piece of the wood that had almost completely splintered off. I again used wood glue and a paintbrush, then placed a 20-pound dumbbell on it. Patrick and I shared banana, yogurt, avocado smoothies, and I treated it as my late breakfast. Later, lunch: I prepared for myself a chicken pattie from frozen with half slice of medium cheddar and butter leaf lettuce. Side of carrot sticks with ranch. Water to drink. Shopped online for a tray to hold the compact Magic Keyboard and the Magic Trackpad in the same layout as the MacBook Pro. Plant care. Trash maintenance. Archived documents. In the afternoon Patrick and I walked to the farmer's market on Noe Street and purchased produce. Walked home. Later, Dinner at home with Patrick: black bean soup with sour cream and cilantro, water, red wine. We finished watching Lorne on Netflix. We made butter microwave popcorn and ate it while watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s4:e10 (season finale) on Paramount+. Afterwards we watched YouTube. Patrick went to bed. The wood glue repairs to the drawer are complete, so I returned the drawer to service and populated it with clothes. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Late snack: swiss on toasted english muffin, water.
Thu Oct 15, 2026
Slept in a bit. Late breakfast: breakfast sandwich with one egg, chicken sausage patty, and medium cheddar on Bernal Bakery rustic sourdough. Side of half banana. Hot water to drink. An old iPhone SE (2020) sold this morning, so I prepared it for sale and took it to the post office for mailing. Lunch: leftover TJ's frozen detroit-style pizza, hot water. Spent most of the afternoon gathering and sharing documents in preparation for a tax planning meeting with our wealth advisor. Dinner at home with Patrick: falafel, hummus, and tomato pitas. Afterwards we watched YouTube—mostly Netflix trailers. Patrick went to bed.
Fri Oct 16, 2026
Breakfast at home: Patrick prepared scrambled eggs, chicken sausage patties, hash browns with ketchup, and Bernal Bakery rustic sourdough with salted butter. Hot water to drink. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Attempted to install a water hammer arrester on the hot line in the kitchen, but I realized that the angle stop seems to have failed. I tried but could not identify how else to shut the hot water off. I left it in a stable state, and I think we'll need a plumber. Followup with the Oupes disaster and other paperwork. Cleaned the bathroom, cut my hair, showered, cleaned the bathroom. Lunch: banana-avocado smoothie. Began preparing HOA paperwork. Patrick helped. Patrick wasn't feeling well, so he remained home to rest while I walked to meet a subset of The Syndicate at Detour for drinks to celebrate Timmy D's last day of work. Timmy D, Scot, Scott, Andy, Ryan, David, John, Brian, Jose, Galen, Brendon. Afterwards most of us walked to La Mediterannee for dinner where Tom and more of Timmy's friends met us, including Josh. Throughout the evening we talked about iPhone Duo, HomeView, employee discounts, frantic online ordering of Apple products, the importance of tildes (especially with the word año) and other accent marks, typography, pets, labradors, servals, backyards, international flights, upgrading seats, Spanish, ASL, sleep, caffeine, the Richmond, cruises, travel plans, Halloween plans, and more. We ate an assortment of food and wine. Timmy gave a short speech thanking everyone for coming and expressing gratitude for being his friends. Andy somehow ended up paying for something when he shouldn't have, I think? I brought leftovers home. Walked home. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. More HOA paperwork. Realized that maybe the angle stop is covered under our home warranty.
Sat Oct 17, 2026
Slept in. Breakfast: leftovers from dinner last night, hot water. Changed the air purifier prefilter. Spot-vacuumed the upper level. Applied Minwax red mahogany stain to tiny and small scratches on our mule chest. Paid an HOA bill. Dusted the dining room chandelier. Uploaded a photo to Flickr. Troubleshot a problem with Patrick's phone charging at bedside—unable to reproduce. Cleaned Patrick's phone and case. HOA paperwork. Walked to the library to pick up a DVD. Walked to 440 to meet Dan and Jie, meeting the latter for the first time. Patrick joined us after a few minutes. We sat in their parklet and drank and chat for a few hours. This was Patrick's first time sitting and drinking in the 440 parklet. Afterwards the four of us walked to Anchor Oyster to see whether it was crowded already, and it was. Patrick and I decided to eat instead at Sausage Factory and said goodbye to Dan and Jie who wanted to dine later. Patrick and I shared a half Caesar salad and one chicken parmigiana plate with penne in marinara subbed for mashed potatoes. Water for both to drink. $49.16 after tax and $8 tip. Walked home. We watched 54 minutes of Always (1989) on SFPL DVD before Patrick was too tired to continue. Patrick went to bed. I continued working on HOA paperwork. Late small meal: leftovers from dinner last night, hot water.
Sun Oct 18, 2026
Breakfast: plain yogurt with blackberries and Patrick's homemade granola; hot water. Wiped the mule chest of any remaining stain from yesterday and also removed any dust on top. Plant care. Cleaned the handheld vacuum filter. All day: continued work on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. Lunch: leftover black bean soup, a small piece of Bernal Bakery rustic sourdough, hot water. Afternoon snack: copycat crunchy Cheetos. Later, dinner at home with Patrick: shrimp rolls and potato chips, water. Afterwards, we finished watching Always (1989) on SFPL DVD, then we watched Big Mouth s3:e8 on Netflix then YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Patrick went to bed. Google Meet chat with Dex and Lani. Late small meal: Saffron Road butter chicken frozen meal, water.
Mon Oct 19, 2026
Breakfast: I prepared for myself two eggs scrambled with fresh dill, sourdough toast with salted butter, hot water. Trash management. Swept leaves in front of the home and in the lower entryway in the stairwell. Cleaned south bathroom washlet filter. Prepared a return of Oupes products. Today I updated my review to say, "I purchased a bundle of an Exodus 350 and a 100W solar panel. After receiving both items I discovered that I could not connect them because the cable included with the solar panel did not fit the port on the Exodus 350. It took a long time for us to determine what had gone wrong: Oupes accidentally sent me an older model of solar panel that did not have a compatible cable to fit the port on a newer design of the Exodus 350. I had expected to be sent products that would work together out of the box, and this seemed a complete failure to me. Once we realized this, they agreed to send me a cable that would resolve my problem. I agreed. 12 days later I check the tracking info which says, 'We'll add a delivery date as soon as we get your package.' I contact support again. They let me know that the cable they had planned to send me was unfortunately no longer in stock. I could purchase a cable separately and be reimbursed or replace the solar panel. I wanted to love this company and its products, but by now it had been over 3 weeks, and this was too much burden for me to bear. I felt as though I were being asked to do their customer support, quality control, and purchasing. I decided to return both products because the confidence I lost in the company to simply and effectively deliver two products that work together led me to lose confidence in the company as a whole—even if the products might be great. While email support was not flawless or very timely, they were polite and sincerely wanted to help me once each of the many problems were discovered. The lessons for Oupes to improve upon my experience should be obvious from the above: track your inventory better, send only bundles that work, enable your staff to know when inventory is low, and require them to follow up with customer-reported problems until they are resolved. Oupes has a long way to go to earning me as a customer again, but I have hope for them, and I look forward to seeing them improve. I hope the story of my experience shared widely in the company can inspire them to do so." Errands with Patrick: dropped off Oupes packages at a delivery drop point. He left to visit his mom and Kerry. I returned the Always DVD at the library then walked home. Lunch: shrimp roll, side of blueberries with plain yogurt, water. I contacted the repair shop that for $27 I shipped my defective Husqvarna battery or charger to a month ago. They said they filed a warranty claim and Husqvarna sent us a new battery. I need to pay $20 return shipping or pick it up. I chose to have it shipped. Walked and rode Muni to a medical provider and back to get my covid vaccine. The only trouble I had was that the signage in the hallway wasn't clear enough, and I ended up waiting in the wrong room for about 20 minutes. Continued work on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. Dinner at home with Patrick: pumpkin bisque with warm bread, hot water. Afterwards we watched YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. Late snack: blackberries.
Tue Oct 20, 2026
Breakfast: one egg on toasted english muffin with cheddar and fresh dill and diced chives, hot water. Plant care. Dusted in the south bedroom. Cleaned north bathroom washlet filter. Lunch: shrimp roll, potato chips, hot water. All day: continued work on the project to convert our CC&Rs to a more pleasantly readable form. Patrick and I met with our wealth advisor for a tax planning meeting. Updated the medical alert cheat sheets I carry. Later, dinner at home with Patrick: jazzed-up pepperoni pizza, water. We watched YouTube, including all of SNL's The Californians. Patrick went to bed. I joined a few hours later.
Wed Oct 21, 2026
Breakfast: I prepared for myself a two-egg breakfast burrito with spinach, mixed grated cheeses, salsa, and sour cream; hot water. Archived documents. Shopped for Halloween costumes but bought nothing. I can't recall what I ate for lunch. Voting preparation. For dinner we walked to Starbelly. It's Restaurant Week—one week during which restaurants run specials, often prix fixe meals, to encourage dining out. When we were seated at table 63 we were given menus but not the Restaurant Week menu. The room we're in is almost completely empty. Several minutes go by and no server has greeted us. We ask a passing server who our server is. She says it's Luis and that she can return soon to take our order. Luis arrives moments later. We request and obtain Restaurant Week menus. $45 prix fixe dinners. After having had time to decide, we again wait many more minutes for Luis to return. We are ready to order drinks and our meal. He takes the order. It's a little slow for cocktails arrive, but there appears to be only one bartender and many seated tables. Patrick had a wild violet, I had a big peach in the beach. A reasonable time later the first course arrives. Patrick had roasted butternut squash soup with pepitas, creme fraiche, and crostini. I had the house salad with endives, shaved granny smith apples, walnut, gorgonzola, and tangy vinaigrette. Both were delicious. The soup was probably too rich for me to have eaten a whole bowl. A bit of a wait for the second course. Patrick had braised beef short ribs with lacinato kale, polenta, and gremolata. I had lasagna rotolo with bolognese, bechamel, mozzarella, tomato sauce, crescenza. Again a bit longer of a wait than we expect until dessert. Patrick had buttermilk panna cotta with apricot preserve and cookie crumble. I had lemon sorbet with mint. Again Luis seemed to have disappeared, and we waited a long time for him to return. All the food and drink were delicious, but the long delays and inattentiveness from server Luis encourage us not to return for a while. I don't believe I had ever had lasagne rotolo before—fun! Instead of flat squares or rectangles, it's rolled, sliced, and presented on its side. My sorbet was noticeably thick, resembling the density of gelato. Fine food, disappointing service. $140 before a 9% tip. Walked home. Patrick and I watched YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I joined many hours later.
Thu Oct 22, 2026
Breakfast: Patrick's homemade granola with sliced banana and whole milk, hot water. Plant care. Recharge Medical web work: checked on Google Search Console—all is well. Foot care. Applied a tiny piece of adhesive cork pad to the south bedroom doorway strike plate to resolve the door having too much wiggle room when closed. Lunch at home: leftovers from last night, hot water. Showered. Cleaned the kitchen faucet aerator. Cleaned the soles of my heated slippers with Dawn PowerWash. Trash management. Removed bird poop from the balcony railing. Later, dinner at home with Patrick: healthy beans, warmed pita, hot water, red wine. Afterwards we watched Night of the Comet (1984) on SFPL DVD with butter microwave popcorn then YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. I troubleshot metadata problems with our Plex music library, installing MusicBrainz Picard to resolve some of them and using the editing tools available in Plex for some others. Late snack: medium cheddar on sourdough toast, water. The replacement Husqvarna battery arrived either today or yesterday; I can't recall now.
Fri Oct 23, 2026
Spot-vacuumed the upper level. Breakfast at home with Patrick: Patrick prepared breakfast bagel sandwiches with cream cheese, fresh dill, scrambled eggs, sliced swiss, and bacon; Nespresso; hot water. Spent essentially the whole day preparing an email to building neighbors to see if they want to go in together on building repairs and improvements (wall and metalwork repair and paint). Late lunch: tostadas with refried beans, mixed grated cheeses, and diced heirloom tomato; water. Pre-dinner drink: Tip Top cocktails. Dinner at home with Patrick: fusilli with autumn tomato sauce, water. Patrick also had a glass of red wine. Afterwards we watched half of Ari Shaffer: Jew on Netflix then a bit of YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I continued watching YouTube a while then I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Troubleshot Handoff failing to work. Turning it off then on on both devices made it work. Late snack: half banana, water. Recently Patrick ended his membership at The Academy. We just didn't go often enough and a lot (all?) of their events are now also open to the public, so it no longer made a lot of sense to keep.
Sat Oct 24, 2026
Slept in a bit. Late brunch: Patrick's homemade granola with whole milk. Hot water to drink. Today Patrick baked King Arthur Baking's harvest pumpkin scones. Early afternoon snack: TJ's cuban chicken bowl from frozen. Patrick and I walked to dinner at Parasol. Along the way we encountered Dan and Jie on the sidewalk and chatted a while. At Parasol, we ordered from the Restaurant Week menu: $45 prix fixe dinners. Patrick had burrata with delicata squash, zatar, sweet paprika; braised short rib with garlic mashed potatoes, pearl red onion, carrots, spinach; chocolate mousse with whipped cream and cinnamon. I had caesar salad with little gem, white anchovy, fried capers, garlic croutons; also the short rib; pumpkin crumble with caramel, vanilla, powdered sugar. Service was very good—a welcome contrast to the service we received from Luis at Starbelly only a few days ago. Being able to see an anchovy in a caesar salad has become a rare treat. We both thought the burrata was of excellent quality with good flavor and smooth texture. We both thought the short rib dish was too salty particularly in the meat and spinach, almost on the verge of needing a mention or return but not quite. The short rib and its sauce was intensely rich (but this is not an error per se). I slightly preferred Starbelly's version which was more tender and fell apart easily whereas Patrick preferred Parasol's which is presented as a single chunk and not as tender or fall-apart. Both desserts were excellent. All food and drink were presented quite elegantly. We each had one cocktail, the Parasol margarita with lime and pineapple, which was delicious. Around $140 after tax and tip. Walked home. We finished watching Ari Shaffer: Jew on Netflix then a bit of YouTube.
Sun Oct 25, 2026
Slept in. Dusted and vacuumed in the north bedroom aka the office. Skipped breakfast. Lunch: one very small pumpkin scone, whole milk. Vacuumed in the south bedroom. Carpet cleaning in the south bedroom and in the hallway of the north bedroom. I decided to stop using the Bissell Little Green which I have used perhaps 4 or 5 times now. Instead today I sprayed carpet stain remover Resolve then worked it in with the long pole attachment and the floor attachment of our Miele Capri S2121. Just those two pieces and not the whole vacuum. Waited at least five minutes then used a damp rag to pick up the cleaner, rinse and repeat. The Little Green works, but it seems best for upholstery or only small areas of carpet, and we don't need it for upholstery since we have only one chair it could be used with. You can get it to work on carpet for a whole room, but you will be on your hands and knees a lot, it requires constant and firm pressure to create a sufficient seal for sucking, and it is exhausting. After getting used to what was required I realized I was delaying the work simply because it was so unpleasant. I will try to sell it on Nextdoor. Touch-up painted a 3-millimeter chip on the garage door. Reviewed the contents of some USB drives I hadn't used in years and processed them either by refreshing intended backups or by erasing them while also formatting as APFS. Did a lot of research for emergency planning purchases. Midafternoon snack: english muffin mini pizzas: tomato sauce, oregano, onion powder, mixed grated cheeses, sliced mushroom; hot water. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. Pre-dinner cocktails and snack: aviations and blister peanuts. Dinner at home with Patrick: delivery from Thai House Express via DoorDash: sleepy prawns, crispy chicken, shrimp pad thai, two thai iced teas. $79.50 before discounts and Dasher tip. Afterwards we watched Big Mouth s3:e9 on Netflix and YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Made a few changes to TV and Apple TV settings.
Mon Oct 26, 2026
Breakfast: Patrick's harvest pumpkin scone, chai latte. HOA paperwork. Lunch: Patrick prepared for us quesadillas with mixed grated cheeses, previously prepared bacon, and leftover fried chicken from last night. Water to drink. Cleaned the garage door with a bucket of water and a brush. While doing so I noticed a small gap in between two boards that need filling and painting. ZoomBroomed the exterior stairway and the front of the home. Plant care. Prepared items for sale. Midafternoon beverage: Patrick prepared for us iced lychee green tea. We shopped online for an entryway shoe cabinet but didn't find anything we loved that was perfect. Dinner at home with Patrick: steamed jasmine rice with leftover crispy chicken, leftover sleepy prawns, and leftover shrimp pad thai. Water and red wine to drink. Afterwards we began watching The Naked Gun (1988) on Amazon Prime Video. Patrick went to bed. I joined not long after.
Tue Oct 27, 2026
Patched with wood filler the small gap found yesterday on the garage door and did some additional cleaning of the garage door with dish soap solution. Breakfast: one TJ's uncured ham and swiss cheese pocket, hot water. Recharge Medical work: new photo for Phil: website update, partner website update, new badge. Updates for the website. After listing a few items for sale on Nextdoor then exchanging a few messages with interested buyers I realized that they have a serious problem with scammers and a serious problem with their backend messaging system. The first two messages I received were people who didn't live in the state I live. The third message I received said a friend wanted the item I was selling and could I please call her? (This is a ploy to get my phone number which is not needed if you are a legitimate buyer and the messaging system inside Nextdoor works.) Messages I would delete on the website would fail to show as deleted on the iPhone app. Conversations I would see on one we missing pieces on the other. Or I would briefly see a reply in a preview but then when I opened the message that full reply did not appear. I decided I could no longer trust Nextdoor to reliably show me messages on either platform or trust that potential buyers were legitimate. I deleted my listings and the Nextdoor app from my phone, changed my notification preferences in the website, and plan to use it again only if needed (though I can't imagine why). Spent 30 minutes on the phone with an agency trying to get an address updated because their website doesn't enable me to do so and because months ago I sent in a paper form requesting the address change and never heard back. Filed a claim under home warranty for a failed angle stop. Touch-up painted the wood filler patch from this morning. Nap. Patrick and I walked to Copper for trivia night food and drinks with Tommy H, Mark H, David M, Paul M. Our team name was Copper? I hardly knew 'er! We chose American Military History as our joker/bonus round for earning double points. We got off to a slow start because I didn't know when round 1 had started. We were answering #5 of 10 questions when we had a 2-minute warning. The picture round was currency symbols. We did really well in American Military History. Ultimately we came in third at 37 points. Above us were The Devil and the Details at 39 points ($45 gift certificate) and Dolly Delivers with 38 points ($30 gift certificate). The winner for both 2nd-to-last place and best name was Edgar Allan's Hoes. We had fun despite not winning any prizes. We arrived at 6:30 p.m. to secure seats, the game began at 7:00 p.m., and we were done by 8:11 p.m. Everyone loved that it was significantly faster and easier than trivia at other nearby bars. Patrick went to bed. I did some contractor review and minor web work for Recharge Medical and for Corinna before going to bed.
Wed Oct 28, 2026
Breakfast: leftover fusilli with autumn tomato sauce, hot water. Nap. Late lunch: tried cooking a chinese bun from frozen in the microwave according to the directions but it unexpectedly burned, spewing smoke when I removed it from the oven. Instead I ate a slice of sourdough toast with a slice of swiss cheese. Water to drink. Reviewed measure descriptions and arguments for the forthcoming election. In the early evening Sam came over to open birthday presents before we drove to House of Prime Rib. Neither he nor Patrick had been before. I had gone once before on January 8, 2008. We used the very convenient valet parking ($19) and took photos outside. One of the valet attendants helped us take photos—so nice. Set menu: you order your cut of prime rib and it automatically comes with several accompanimants: salad, choice of vegetable, choice of baked potato or mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, your choice of three spice-levels of horseradish. Every item is a huge portion for one person. Our party of 3 was seated at table 225 in the lit fireplace room directly adjacent to, and with an excellent view of, one of the stainless steel carving cart-dirigibles. While we were being seated, the hostess leaned across the table to place the menu on a plate and it awkwardly fell onto the floor as I was about to sit in that spot. She apologized immediately, and I told her not to worry about it and picked up the menu—not a big deal. The table had a tablecloth which I think was colored light brown—hard to tell in low light. White cloth napkins. Huge stainless steel steak knives. A candle which consisted of a holder made I think of stone and an electric tealight. In the past the carts were wheeled throughout the dining room, but now it seems they have more of them and keep them stationary in different parts of the dining rooms, and wait staff picked up plates and walked them to their destination tables. The entire restaurant was filled and very boisterous and loud when we arrived for our 5:30 p.m. reservation. Our receipt said our server's name was Orlando. Water is initially poured by staff, and our table received two bottles of water to pour refills at our leisure. Later we ordered drinks: sparkling wine for Sam ($17), Manhattan for Patrick ($16.50), apple martini for me ($16.50). Complimentary bread (a warm sourdough round) and butter (cold and not easily spreadable) arrived promptly on a wooden paddle-shaped board. All other food and drink arrived in a manner I would call leisurely. If you're here, you're probably celebrating something, and you're also probably not in a hurry. Drinks arrived. Patrick's cocktail and my cocktail were poured at the table from glass shakers with stainless steel shaker lids. We were warned to hold the lid while pouring I guess because sometimes they accidentally come loose. The shaker contains more of your cocktail that you can use to refill your glass at your leisure. I think I refilled my glass twice, so it was like purchasing three cocktails at once (but yes there is a lot of ice and it is waterier the longer you wait). All drinks were delicious and Orlando came by at some point to confirm that was so. Later Orlando took our food order. Sam ordered the English Cut ($68.85) well done, and Patrick and I each ordered the City Cut ($64.85) medium for Patrick, medium rare for me. Each of us ordered creamed spinach with the baked potato fully loaded. Later you know the salad course will soon arrive when you are presented with a plate of chilled forks. Don't take the plate; just each person take one fork. (I don't know anywhere else in San Francisco you get chilled forks for salad.) Next the salad is assembled theatrically tableside in a stainless steel bowl set in ice inside another larger bowl (probably clear glass). The inner bowl is rapidly spun while dressing, spice blend, and pepper are poured or dropped from high above. The mixture is then energetically tossed by hand and served. Throughout the meal I watched the chef work the cart-dirigible. The cart is heated with perhaps 10 cans of Sterno. The work area is lit with a short fluorescent bar light (perhaps 8 inches long) that I think had changing color temperatures—cool or warm. Almost everything the chef needs for plating the main course is in the cart. As the chef plates, wait staff take the finished plate and immediately walk it to a table. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do, and it performs like a machine that is a pleasure to watch. Our main course plates arrived. All the food is notably hot. Shortly afterward the baked potatoes arrived (I think from the kitchen in the back), then a bit later the Yorkshire pudding (also from the kitchen in the back), which was laid atop your prime rib. Everything is delicious and meat temperatures were as ordered. We ate and ate for a while. At one point a man in a suit stopped by our table to ask if everything was okay, and we said it was, but I also let him know that there was a screw dangerously sticking at least one inch out of the wall adjacent to our table and that he should know so no one gets injured from it in the future. He saw the screw and thanked me sincerely. Later, the dessert menu had 14 choices. We shared the English trifle with raspberries, blueberries, Grand Marnier, pound cake, and creme anglaise. Our dessert had a single candle since we were celebrating Sam's birthday, and Orlando joined us in singing happy birthday to him. Overall, Orlando and the team supporting him did a great job. Our bill was $296.61 after tax and before tip. Upon departure there was a reasonable wait as the valet team retrieved the car. It's a good idea to bring sufficient cash for a tip for the valet. I am guessing it was about 2.5 hours start to finish. In all, a delightful experience that is great to do at least once. Sam drove us home, and Patrick and I went to bed shortly afterwards.
Thu Oct 29, 2026
Slept in a bit. Breakfast: plain yogurt with Patrick's homemade granola, hot water. Caught up on journaling. Uploaded last night's photos to Flickr. Syndicate Lunch at Hot Johnnie's with Scot B, Scott T, Andy M, Dan P, Galen B, Emery M. There was confusion over the ordering process. Previously one ordered either with a human at the register or from one of the ordering touchscreens. Five arrived before I did and placed an order. While walking over, I tried to put an order in with Andy over Slack, but the menu on the website did not match the menu in person. I arrived and asked if they still had the item I wanted on the menu on the website: a romaine salad. They did not have it anymore. I took a few minutes to look the menu over again. When I was ready the person who helped me earlier was working in the back, so I asked if I could place my order on the screen instead and he said yes. I began to place my order but realized there was no way to order drinks. Once I pointed this out, he took a photo of the screen then said he would take my order at the register. I placed my order and paid. All of this took about 15 minutes. I walked to the back. As I sat, everyone told me that it's now table service and that they had ordered but not yet paid. People drank wine from ribbed coupe glasses. We talked about iPhone Duo, new MacBook Pros totaling $5000 or more, House of Prime Rib, Cardi B, health issues, the myth that spiders enter your mouth while you sleep, medical tape, forthcoming trips, losing Apple TV remotes, measures in the forthcoming election, ballot dropbox locations, and more. While we ate, owner Johnnie stopped at our table to provide service and chat a while and return more than once with complimentary beverages—so nice. At one point he zapped a few flies with an electric bug zapper in the shape of a tennis racquet. Afterwards I walked home and began a project to paint the patio door primarily because the bottom edge of the window in the door was weathered similar to the bottom edges of the window panes in our living room sliding glass doors. I sanded then cleaned the bottom edge then masked it with painter's tape (green Frogtape). Then I touch-up-painted the whole door and then painted the bottom edge where it met the window pane with several layers. Afterwards I struggled getting the paint lid on the can and ended up damaging the lid which was rusty in spots and hammering caused part of the lid to come apart. Fortunately I had new empty cans in the garage. I filled the new can but when I tried to attach the lid it wouldn't fit no matter what I tried. After about an hour I gave up and poured the paint into a spare jar that we had from Bi-Rite soup. I also repaired damage to the exterior of the center window frame in the south bedroom. The frame had been damaged by something, leaving a big dent and a hole. I only noticed this recently while cleaning the window exteriors. I made the repair with epoxy putty. Later, dinner at home with Patrick: deli chinese food and chinese food from frozen, hot water. Cleaned the half bath sink and toilet. Afterwards we watched Apple Music Hall: Troye Sivan (London) on Apple TV+ then the remainder of The Naked Gun (1988) on Amazon Prime Video. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher. Archived documents. Shopped online for shoe cabinets that aren't crap that fit our needs and space. We have been searching for weeks now. I'm not sure they exist. To bed late.
Fri Oct 30, 2026
Breakfast at home with Patrick: Patrick prepared warm banana bread with a pear and nut yogurt parfait, hot water. Spent the morning sanding yesterday's epoxy repair with a rotary tool. The repair was mostly good but the sanding did leave a tiny hole, so I patched it again, waited 40 minutes, and sanded again. This repair now seems complete. I also tried to resolve the problem of the shutter door sagging within its frame, causing it to rub at the bottom onto the windowsill and leaving an arced mark. The hinges and its screws were not loose at all. The shutter door and the frame are both square. I shimmed the middle and bottom hinge leaves on the shutter side, each with two toothpicks. This helped resolve the problem a bit but not completely. I might just have to sand it. Lunch: a Vietnamese-branded wonton noodle soup from frozen—it's decent. Water to drink. Followup with the address update from 3 days ago. Turns out they resolved the problem but did not call to let me know. Later, dinner at home with Patrick: autumn orzo salad with warm bread, hot water. I cleaned the kitchen. Afterwards we watched Big Mouth s3:e10 on Netflix then YouTube. Patrick went to bed. I processed dirty dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and started the dishwasher.
Sat Oct 31, 2026
Nap. Dia de los Muertos at 15th Avenue House with Tai, Drew, Phil, Cricket, Sean, Meng, Wayne, Shawn, Quan, Nate, Peter, Paul, Scot B, Jesse, Quyen, Dave, Andrew, Sebastian, Jonathan, Richard, Michael, Fei, Sarah, Boris. I wore all black with Patrick's dia de muertos tie using a trinity knot. Marigold tunnel in the entryway. Ofrenda on the entire dining table. Chicken nuggets, yuca fries, beef empanadas, various drinks, various sweets. Tequila tasting. Fire torches on the path in the back yard. The three fire pits in the back yard were little-used because of the cold weather. People gathered indoors and in the solarium. Afterwards Paul and I shared an Uber to each of our homes, him getting dropped off first. Afterwards I dropped off belongings at home and walked in the Castro enjoying seeing the many costumes. I got a slice of combo pizza at Oz Pizza. When did a single slice become just under $10?