Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, fell asleep quickly, finally waking/getting up at 6am. 😊

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,529 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 31 minutes for a sleep score of only 84. A new high! 😊 But ChatGPT then reminded me I once had a high of 86.

Pigeons came by crying for food and I fed them sesame seeds from my hand. The points of their claws are pretty sharp.

I got my usual haircut from Daniel and took a Didi to Viva Envigado.

I quickly paid for the apt (no line) and other payments at the ATM (no line). I stopped in Jagi and picked up my hat that says, ANNIE JAMES’ GRANDPA.

 I bought a pull toy for Rebel in a pet store.

By then it was 10am and H&M had just opened. I found 3 different colors of the regular fit jeans but they didn’t have my 36/32 size in black. I bought another pair of blue and a gray pair for 300,100 pesos ($98.50).

Downstairs I had a latte in Urbania for about an hour. I stopped in Exito and bought pads, milk, hamburger buns before returning to the apt by taxi.

I exchanged a few things and quickly ordered another Didi to take me to Santafe mall.

We had a nice lunch in Crepes & Waffles for 74,200 pesos ($26).

Teresa bought a birthday dress for Laura for 359,900 pesos ($118) which we plan on mailing to her from Chicago.

We went down to Valentina’s and had coffee and shared a slice of cheesecake. We left about 5pm and returned in heavy traffic to Envigado.

This is a bird nest with young birds not yet able to fly. You can see it by looking out and down from the kitchen window.

I fed the same 2 pigeons some sesame seeds & a dry cookie that Teresa crumbled up in my hand. I noticed 2 small doves nearby observing the process.

I started my pre-sleep routine at 7:30 and went to bed at 9pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

A man walks into a drug store with his 8-year-old son.  They happen to walk by the condom display, and the boy asks, "What are those, Dad?"
To which the father matter-of-factly replies, "Those are called condoms, son. Men use them to have safe sex."
"Oh I see," replied the boy pensively.  "Yes, I heard about that in health class at school."  He looks over the display and picks up a package of 3 and asks, "Why are there 3 in this package?"
The dad replies, "Those are for high school boys; one for Friday, one for Saturday and one for Sunday."
"Cool" says the boy. He notices a 6-pack and asks, "Then who are these for?"
"Those are for college men," the dad answers, TWO for Friday, TWO for Saturday and TWO for Sunday."
"WOW!" exclaimed the boy, "then who uses THESE?" he asks, picking up a 12-pack.
With a sigh and a tear in his eye, the dad replied, "Those are for married men.  One for January, one for February, one for March......."

Monday, August 24, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, was still awake at midnight so I got up and read until 1am, fell asleep, finally waking/getting up at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 8,378 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 35 minutes for a sleep score of only 60.

I had a 41-minute nap after breakfast.

I opened the sliding balcony door and soon the 2 pigeons were entering and begging for food.

I left the apt at 9am and completed my workout in Smartfit.

Here you can see the preformed curbs they put in the street; now I can see they do put rebar in the holes to connect them.

I had a latte in Los Porteños for about 45 minutes – until my table got too warm.

I stopped in Ara and bought salt and tomatoes.

I had a 16-minute nap after lunch.

We left the apt at 2:30 and took a Didi to El Tesoro mall. I found a pair of jeans for 149,900 pesos ($49). Other styles they had were either baggy or had buttons on the crotch. (Is that still what they use in the US navy?)

We had frozen yogurt with blueberries and crushed peanuts in Percimon.

We went down to the 2^nd basement level (S2) to Dollar City where we bought a box of freezer bags. (We need them to carry the bags of coffee cleanly and freshly.)

When we came out Teresa noticed we were around the corner from the entrance to Torre Medica and the second spot to catch a taxi. We soon were in one and returned to Envigado for 23,500 pesos.

I watched another episode of La Brea. I finished reading James Patterson’s I, Alex Cross on my Kindle. (My 5^th book this month.)  I decided to reread Why we Sleep to find out more about REM, Deep Sleep and Light Sleep and read the first chapter.

I went to bed at 9:30.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

Remember Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes?

 

1. Andy Rooney on answering machines.
Did you ever hear one of these corny positive messages on someone's answering machine? “Hi, it's a great day and I'm out enjoying it right now. I hope you are too. The thought for the day is: "Share the love." BEEP”
"Uh, yeah...this is the VD clinic calling....Speaking of being positive, your test results are back. Stop sharing the love."

2. Andy Rooney on Vegetarians.
Vegetarian - that's an old Indian word meaning "lousy hunter".

3. Andy Rooney on Prisoners.
Did you know that it costs forty thousand dollars a year to house each prisoner?  For forty thousand bucks a piece I'll take a few prisoners into my house. I live in Los Angeles. I already have bars on the windows. I don't think we should give free room and board to criminals. I think they should have to run twelve hours a day on a treadmill and generate electricity. And, if they don't want to run, they can rest in the chair that's hooked up to the generator.

4. Andy Rooney on Fabric Softeners.
My wife uses fabric softener. I never knew what that stuff was for. Then I noticed women coming up to me, sniffing, then saying under their breath, "Married!" and walking away. Fabric softeners are how our wives mark their territory. We can take off the ring but it's hard to get that April Fresh scent out of your clothes.

5. Andy Rooney on morning differences.
Men and women are different in the morning. We men wake up aroused in the morning. We can't help it. We just wake up and we want you. And the women are thinking, "How can he want me the way I look in the morning?" It's because we can't see you. We have no blood anywhere near our optic nerve.

6. Andy Rooney on Grandma.
My grandmother has a bumper sticker on her car that says, 'Sexy Senior Citizen.' You don't want to think of your grandmother that way, do you? Out entering wet shawl contests. Makes you wonder where she got that dollar she gave you for your birthday.

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took a while to fall asleep, got up once at 3am, finally waking/getting up at 6am

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,644 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 32 minutes for a sleep score of 79.

I was finishing breakfast when these 2 pigeons came sauntering into our apt

After breakfast I returned to bed and slept for 48 minutes.

I got one of the pigeons to eat sesame seeds out of my hand while he was on the balcony wall. Hopefully in the future I’ll get video of that.

We left the apt at 11am and took a Didi to Estacion Exposiciones.  At the last turn Teresa tried to give directions to our driver as I don’t think she knew where she was. Then when we exited the taxi she didn’t remember the other side was closed off by drywall so we had to walk in the street. She walked right past an El Retiro bus and talked to someone who pointed back at our bus. What’s going on with her?

We took a bus to El Retiro and arrived in record time – about an hour. We walked up to Lomo Fino arriving just before 1pm and had our choice of tables. Teresa ordered the trout that she said was delicious and I ordered my usual solomito which as usual came bloody. I sent it back and it came back well done. ☹ Still very tasty and the check came to 149,000 pesos.

After stopping at a few stores on the way for Teresa to check out we had our choice of tables in Café El Retiro. I selected 3 bags of coffee but they were beans instead of grounds so I didn’t buy them. We left at 3:30 and down the hill found a store that sold inexpensive children’s clothing. We bought 2 dresses for Annie and 2 for Joann’s (Jeannie’s best friend) daughter Lucy. Cash only, they didn’t take credit cards.

We stopped in the same store as 2 years ago and bought 3 bags of coffee that the lady ground in a few minutes while we were there.

We continued on to the bus station and soon were on a bus back to Medellin.

We easily caught a taxi back to Envigado. After a couple miles I noticed the driver forgot to reset the meter (which read 43,000 pesos). He reset it and had words with Teresa about the charge to Envigado. Neither of us liked his driving, occasionally riding the bumper of the car in front of us, and kind of slamming on the brakes at each light. I gave him 22,000 pesos which I thought was more than fair.

I watched another couple episodes of La Brea before starting my pre-sleep routine at 8:30.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

Two guys, one old, one young, are pushing their carts around Wal-Mart when they collide. The old guy says to the young guy, "Sorry about that. I'm looking for my wife, and I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

The young guy says, "That's OK, it's quite a coincidence, but I'm looking for my wife, too.... I can't find her and I'm getting a little desperate."

The old guy says, "Well, maybe I can help you find her....what does she look like?"

The young guy says, "Well, she is 27 years old, tall, blonde, blue eyes, is buxom...wearing no bra, long legs, and is wearing short shorts. What does your wife look like?”

To which the old guy replies, "Doesn't matter….Let's look for yours!”

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 11:30, finally waking/getting up at 5:30.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,170 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 57 minutes for a sleep score of 82.

I had a short nap after breakfast.

I left the apt at 9am and walked to the mall where I recycled a couple batteries and a plastic bottle. Upstairs Servibanca still wasn’t dispensing cash but I was able to withdraw 2 million pesos from a Davivienda ATM, luckily all 100s.

I had a latte in Urbania for about an hour. I completed another page of 11 puzzles, getting 3 wrong. I left at 11am and upstairs bought a little picture book for Annie James.

I walked back to the apt.

I tried taking a nap after lunch but couldn’t fall asleep.

I left the apt at 2:30 and had a latte in Otra Parte. Around 4pm it got busy and there was a short line so I paid and returned to the apt.

I watched another episode of La Brea on Netflix.

At 6pm I put on the Bears game on Fox 32 but got so much buffering I switched to DAZN. They had a little technical difficulty early on but it soon got better.

Mr_Blamo (Michael) challenged me to a game on Chess.com. He’s back in Prague but will be returning to Chicago this Wednesday. I invited him to join us on Saturday for pizza and the Bears last preseason game at the Countryside Saloon in Des Plaines.

I was on the recliner when this pigeon came into our apt

I watched the Bears lose to the Cincinnati Bengals 27-9. I did get my microwave popcorn and a Coke.

At 9:15 I started my pre-sleep routine, going to bed at my usual 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

An older gentleman was on the operating table awaiting surgery and he insisted that his son, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation.   As he was about to get the anesthesia, he asked to speak to his son.
"Yes, Dad, what is it?"
"Don't be nervous, son; do your best, and just remember, if it doesn't go well, if something happens to me, your mother is going to come and live with you and your wife....

Friday, August 21, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, not sure I slept much before I got up for a trip to the bathroom at midnight, fell asleep quickly, got up again at 5am, finally gave up getting back to sleep and got up at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,978 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 5 hours and 34 minutes for a sleep score of 64.

I had a 49-minute nap after breakfast. When I got up Teresa told me a pigeon walked all the way in to the dining room but walked back out when she came out of the kitchen. They are getting too bold!

I left the apt at 9am and completed my Smartfit workout including 10 minutes on the treadmill with a final heartrate of 118bpm.

In La Buena Mesa I had a latte in Los Porteños for a little over an hour. Six adults were clustered around 2 small tables outside. At one point one of the men slid his chair back and fell off the stoop. It was about a foot drop but he said he didn’t hit his head so I guess he was okay.

I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

Another day with a high temperature around 85/86 degrees. With the exception of those few rainy days it appears we are in a summer period.

I started watching a new series La Brea (5.8) on Netflix.

We left the apt at 3:30 and took a Didi to Cedimed on Calle 7. Teresa went in to get a facial procedure (or maybe just a quote) and I went next door to the Boulevard Café where I had a Coke with a glass of ice. I completed another set of chess puzzles getting 5 wrong. I played another 15+10 game on Chess.com winning in 25 moves. The café closed at 6pm so I made a trip to their restroom

I think I posted this once before but can you see the design fail?

Then moved next door to Il Cappucino.

I received this message from Alcala, our realtor, they will be increasing our rent to 3,153,000 pesos starting this October.

If my math skills haven’t completely deteriorated, that’s an increase of slightly more than 5% so that’s not too bad. Especially since our Socal Security Cost of Living Increase is supposed to be about 3.6%.

I received this reminder of Chris’s invitation for his birthday party

but I declined. Not only are bars not my thing but it’s the same time as the Bears game.

Teresa came out at 6:30 and we took a Didi in heavy traffic to Chiclayo in La Buena Mesa. We both had Chaufa Pollo (chicken with rice) and shared a bottle of water for 102,400 pesos ($33.50).

As we entered our porteria Julio handed me the two boxes of Zopiclona that Alejandro had dropped off. That should be enough for the remainder of the year giving me time to see a doctor and get a real prescription.

At 8:45 the battery on my Kindle died and I had to turn on my computer to recharge it. I did a little work on my computer before going to bed at my usual 10pm. We’ll see how this change affects my ability to sleep well tonight.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

A man feared his wife wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid.
Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem.
The doctor told him there is a simple test the husband could perform to give them a better idea about her hearing loss.
“Here's what you do," said the doctor, "stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you.
If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response."
That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens."
Then in a normal voice he asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?"
No response.
So the husband moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, "Honey, what's for dinner?"  Still no response.
Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, "Honey, what's for dinner?"  Again he gets no response.
So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. "Honey, what's for dinner?" Again there is no response.
So he walks right up behind her. "Honey, what's for dinner?"

She turns around and says, "Ralph, for the FIFTH time, its CHICKEN!"

 

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up at 1:30am to pee, again at 5:20, finally waking/getting up at 6:45.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,913 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 47 minutes for a sleep score of 78.

I left the apt at 9am and walked to the mall. Outside I ran into the gringo I’ve seen every few months but I don’t remember his name. ☹ He was waiting for his wife then they were going to go up to Ely’s for breakfast.

I withdrew 2,000,000 pesos from a Davivienda ATM (first I tried the Servibanca for all 100s but it hasn’t worked in weeks) and got a mix of bills. Back downstairs I printed a couple pages of our Airbnb information then paid the epm bill of 422mil. I cut through the parking garage and up to Urbania where I had a latte and completed another page of 12 chess puzzles, getting 4 of them wrong. I played a 15+10 game against a player with an 80-point higher rating but lost in 42 moves.

I left at 11am and walked through the new Nomada section until I found the little Ely’s restaurant. I stopped in the store that makes hats and ordered one with ANNIE JAMES’ GRANDPA embroidered on it for 89,900 pesos. It supposed to be ready by Sunday but I’ll probably pick it up on Tuesday when I make the payments for September. Nearby I found a bookstore (with books in Spanish of course) for early readers. I think I’ll probably pick up a few for Annie’s birthday.

I walked to Eduardo Madrid where I found a sleeve of 6 sesame seed bagels which should last me until our trip.

I had a nap after lunch where I slept for 34 minutes per Fitbit.

I left at 2:30 for Gardenia where I completed another page of chess puzzles missing 3. I played another 15+10 game against a player rated 50 points higher and won in 22 moves.

I left at 5pm and returned to the apt.

Teresa was supposed to get a 6pm massage from Kelly but she said she called at 5pm and Teresa didn’t answer so she cancelled.

I finished watching The Last House (5.5) on Netflix and then watched Extinction (5.8).

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

Eating Out

When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

 

Money

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item she doesn't need but it's on sale.

 

Bathrooms

A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.

The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. And a man wouldn’t be able to identify more than 20 of them.

 

Arguments

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that - is the beginning of a new argument.

 

Future

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

 

Success

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

 

Marriage

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

A man marries a woman expecting she won't change, but she does.

 

Dressing Up

A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

 

Natural

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

 

 

Children

A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

 

Thought for the Day

A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no reason for two people to have to remember the same thing!

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up at 1:40am to pee, finally waking/getting up at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 2,719 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 1 minute for a sleep score of 84.

At breakfast Teresa informed me she’ll be having lunch with Rosemary so I’ll be on my own for lunch today. I saw an ad yesterday for a new rib place in Poblado so maybe I’ll give that a try.

Teresa called Rosemary and found she’ll be going to a class in Santafe mall so they won’t be meeting and we’re back on our usual Wednesday schedule.

I left the apt at 9am and found Smartfit very busy. I had to change the order of my routine but managed to accomplish everything including 10 minutes on the treadmill. Today I had a sharp stab of pain in my right knee on the Seated Leg Curl machine even at the lower weight of 57#. (I was doing 80# consistently back in March. ☹)

I noticed this work going on inside the old Ganso y Castor

I again questioned ChatGPT and this time it found a clue: “Ganso y Castor referring to a new location/concept in Envigado, including a post saying a creperie was coming to Envigado.” A year or so ago Ganso & Castor had a station set up outside their side door to make crepes on the weekend. I have no idea how popular that was but Crepes & Waffles does a tremendous business here in Medellin.

Teresa called and told me there is no class in Mayorca today so we’ll be having lunch at home.

I had a latte in Los Porteños for about an hour before returning to the apt.

I had a nap after lunch that Fitbit says was 28 minutes long.

I asked Teresa to call Dr. Castano’s office so I can get my Zopiclona prescription but instead she called Esmeralda and Alejandro will bring me 4 boxes on Friday. Since I only use half that should last me for 8 months in which time I should have seen another doctor who can give me a prescription.

I left the apt at 2:30 and walked to Gardenia where I had my usual latte. I completed 12 more chess puzzles and was pretty confident I did well but still got 7 wrong. ☹ But at least I won a game against a player 100 points lower. 😊

I left at 5:15 and returned to the apt.

I finished watching the series Falling Skies (7.1) on Netflix and started the movie The Last House (5.5).

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

JOKE OF THE DAY

(sorry, but these will be repeats)

A young boy had just gotten his driver's permit and inquired of his father if they could discuss his use of the car.  His father said he'd make a deal with his son.
"You bring your grades up from a C average to a B average, study your Bible a little, get your hair cut and we'll talk about the car."
The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer and they agreed on it.
After about six weeks his father said, "Son, I'm real proud. You brought your grades up and I've observed you have been studying your Bible, but I'm real disappointed you haven't gotten your hair cut."
The young man paused a moment then said, "You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I noticed in my Bible studies that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair and there's even a strong argument that Jesus had long hair."
And his father replied, "Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?"