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.

 

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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.

 

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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).

 

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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).

 

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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?"

 

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took a while to fall asleep, got up at 11:30 to pee, got up again at 3:45 to pee, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 4:45 and read until 5:15, back to bed and woke up at 6:30. After breakfast I cancelled chess for today and returned to bed finally waking/getting up at 9am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,741 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 2 minutes for a sleep score of 75. (My sleep score was only 63 when I got up for breakfast.)

I think a light rain continued throughout the night.

I won a game vs Mr-Santos increasing my rating to 1539.

During breakfast Teresa and I made plans to meet for lunch in Santafe mall at 12:30.

I left the apt at 10:30 and took a Didi to Santafe mall. I reprinted one of the pages of my Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request then went down to Valentina’s where I had a latte and went over some chess notes. I completed another set of 12 chess puzzles, getting 2 of them wrong. I planed a 15+10 game on Chess.com and lost to a player rated 100 points lower than myself.

I met Teresa in Crepes & Waffles at 12:30 and we had a nice lunch for 102,550 pesos ($33) but at one point Teresa ordered a Schweppes soda and when I opened it, it exploded all over me and the table.

I blundered late in a game against chesswiz98, lowering my rating to 1530.

We went down to Valentina’s and Teresa called her mother to join us. When she arrived, they went off and bought her a new pair of fancy shoes. They shared a slice of cheesecake with coffees and I just had another glass of water.

We left at 5pm and returned to Envigado by taxi.

I watched another episode of Falling Skies (only 1 episode remaining) then the first 4 innings of the Cubs vs White Sox game before starting my pre-sleep reading.

I finished James Patterson’s Alex Cross’s Trial on my Kindle.

 

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FUNNY

 

Monday, August 17, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 1:15, finally waking/getting up at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 2,144 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 58 minutes for a sleep score of 82.

Today is another holiday here – Assumption of Mary.

I had a nap after breakfast but Fitbit said I only slept for 16 minutes.

I left the apt at 9am and found Smartfit busy but it thinned out a few minutes later for the 9:15 Pilates class. I completed my workout, adding 5# to the Triceps Press, Seated Row, Abdominal Crunch, Lat Pulldown, Chest Press, and Back Extension machines. I completed 10 minutes on the treadmill with minor discomfort in my right knee with a final heartrate of 123bpm.

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

We had rain about 1:15 but it soon developed into just a few drops. I left the apt at 2:30 and had a latte in Gardenia. I completed another 10 chess puzzles getting 2 of them wrong. I played a 15+10 game on Chess.com, and my opponent finally resigned on the 61^st move. I left at 5pm and returned to the apt.

Teresa wanted to pick up her mother and take her to Mayorca mall to buy shoes as a birthday gift (she turned 89 last weekend) but then the rain started.

Annie James video:

I watched another episode of Falling Skies then started my pre-sleep routine.

It was still drizzling when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, took a while to fall asleep but slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,027 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 8 minutes for a sleep score of 79.

Teresa didn’t sleep well last night so she had a nap after breakfast. I joined her and my Fitbit says I slept for 49 minutes. Because it’s now too late to go to El Retiro, we’ll switch to plan B – lunch in Poblado followed by coffee at Valentina’s in Santafe mall.

Annie James is 11^th months old today.

I updated my Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request now I just need to reprint page 4. Instead of sending it from here for 1000s of pesos I’m going to wait until I’m in Chicago.

I watched another episode of Falling Skies.

We left the apt at 1:30 and took a Didi to Rocoto in Provenza for 17.700 pesos.

Teresa had her usual salmon and I the Chaufa Pollo (chicken & rice) and we shared a bottle of water for 172,411 pesos ($55).

We took a Didi to Santafe mall for 10,600 pesos and took a table in the back of Valentina’s. I had my usual hot latte and Teresa had a cold coffee and we shared a slice of cheesecake. I completed another page of puzzles, getting 5 wrong. I played another 15+10 game on Chess.com and my opponent resigned on the 19^th move.

I took this photo of the atrium:

We left at 5pm but stopped in the new Decathlon store in the basement near the taxi stand where Teresa found a thick yoga mat because one of her classes is on cement. It cost 150,000 pesos ($48) and we returned to the apt by taxi for 15,000 pesos.

60 Minutes didn’t interest me tonight so I watched another episode of Falling Skies before starting my pre-sleep routine.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY