WEDNESDAY 22 JAN 2025
A busy day began with a particularly brutal physical therapy session. My therapist has only two more visits before Medicare says "no more" so she's making it count, trying to teach me the core group of exercises which will complete my recovery. I can get around the house and office without a cane and made my first sojourn outside without one, walking about 100 feet to feed the foxes and get the mail out of the box.

I had a cardiologist appointment and got a glowing report; I don't have to return for six months. My blood pressure is normal now and stays that way. No dizzy spells. I know how to detect their onset (no one knows the cause) and stop moving and sit down before they hit.

Steve Petrick worked on Module K Update. Simone posted the retreat forms for F&E. Albert said Paramount wanted the first 12 scripts by next week. He had six of them done but Jean was still proofreading the first one. I heard for the first time that Carrie Underwood's "tagline" for her first major acting role has a hard-bitten cop who has had three partners killed in the line of duty will be "Give me five minutes in the box with him and I will make him sing!"

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, January 24, 2025 - 09:35 pm: Edit

THURSDAY 23 JAN 2025
An interesting day. I picked up Steve Petrick and we went to lunch. Then he worked on Module K while I worked on art for the ISC book.

Albert finished the 12th script for THE CRIME GAME but Jean was proofreading the second one (the third episode counting the pilot) and noticed that Albert was slightly changing the tagline in every episode:
"I will make him sing."
"I can make her sing."
"Let me get him to sing."
Jean insisted that the tagline must be exactly identical in each case. Albert said this wasn't strictly necessary.

Mike Sparks worked on cleaning up the warehouse since we did not ship orders this week while Jean was busy with scripts.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, January 25, 2025 - 04:05 am: Edit

FRIDAY 24 JAN 2025 -- DAY 179
Steve Petrick worked on the K update.
Leanna and I ran errands.
Jean proofread scripts.
Albert outlined season two.
Mike cleaned up the warehouse.

SATURDAY 25 JAN 2025 -- DAY 180
Rested mostly. I suddenly developed a very sore muscle pain in my left side and was unable to function beyond the minimum.

SUNDAY 26 JAN 2025 — DAY 181
Rested, severe pain continued.

MONDAY 27 JAN — DAY 182
26 weeks of recovery. Not feeling well. Took Leanna to a doctor appointment. Jean made it back to work. Steve P worked on Module K.

TUESDAY 28 JAN
I was at the office an hour or so but mostly went to the dentist. My staff remarked that I did not look good.
Steve P worked on K. Jean did orders.

WEDNESDAY 29 JAN
Steve P worked on K. Jean did orders.
I had physical therapy but stopped when my blood pressure went below 80/50 and I nearly passed out. The therapist wanted to call an ambulance to put me in the hospital but instead of that I got my cardiologist on the phone, followed his instructions to change my medication, and went to bed instead of to work.

THURSDAY 30 JAN 2025
Leanna and I met Jean and Albert for lunch. Steve P stayed home, not feeling well. I took Leanna to the doctor and then home to recover from her eye treatment.

FRIDAY 31 JAN 2025
Jean did orders, Steve P stayed home. Albert ran errands. I answered some emails, checked on the counter reprint, went to run errands, then home.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, February 03, 2025 - 10:45 pm: Edit

SATURDAY 1 FEB: I rested at home and did some repairs to the Bengal Barrier TM to keep the boys from terrorizing the neighborhood dogs.

SUNDAY 2 FEB: I tried to rest but the boys quickly surpassed the Bengal Barriers so I did more work to improve them.

MONDAY 3 FEB: Jean worked on a backlog of orders. I was feeling awful and stayed home until Jean called and ordered me to come up and sign paychecks. I did that, checked email, and went home. Steve Petrick stayed in bed but said he would return Wednesday. Leanna let the boys loose in the Escape Proof Back Yard and both were over the wall and beating up local dogs in a matter of minutes. They eventually came home bragging about stealing the dog food from the neighboring German shepherd. Leanna and I had a nice chat with our neighbor Cassidy who we speak with far less often than any of us would prefer. She had never understood that I broke my hip in July and thought we were upset about something and not taking our evening walks for the last six months. I felt better in the evening and did the dishes, trash, and cleaned up the cat food mess, putting the leftovers they won't eat in a container for the wild foxes to enjoy tomorrow.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, February 06, 2025 - 10:20 am: Edit

TUESDAY 4 FEB
I took Leanna to town and went to the office for a while. Energy remained low. Jean and Mike were doing orders.
Steve P was called in for Army Reserve duty for two weeks. Back in 1983 he was a member of an Army survival exercise in Greenland. Today he is the only member of that team still alive. He is briefing the 82nd Airborne Division on parachuting onto an ice sheet, when you can not see a horizon as the ice and sky are the same color.

WEDNESDAY 5 FEB
Family lunch and the office for the afternoon.
Jean was doing orders.
Steve P was at Fort Liberty (Bragg). He is scheduled to make a jump tomorrow or Friday. He was being issued ECWS clothing for Arctic conditions.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, February 07, 2025 - 11:11 pm: Edit

THURSDAY 6 FEB
I spent most of the day at a doctor appointment. It was my primary doctor, who ran a massive panel of blood tests to find out why I have been so sluggish lately.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick did his first parachute jump in 38 years, landing near Stone Mountain, Georgia.

FRIDAY 7 FEB
I took the day off for errands and rest.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick won his Ranger Scroll by hiking 43 miles in eleven hours, through the Appalachian mountains to reach the helicopter sent to find him.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, February 08, 2025 - 10:56 pm: Edit

SATURDAY 8 FEB 2025
Leanna and I began OPERATION NO QUARTERS which is a plan to pick up and declutter our house. Today, in Phase 1, we completed cleaning out a closet which will will use to store things we rarely use or may never use but cannot throw out. Two big bags of donation stuff went to the trunk of the car. Tomorrow we will clean up the master bedroom in Phase 2. I plan to take vacation days next week in order to get the entire house cleaned up. It hasn't had any serious maintenance or de-cluttering since I broke my hip in July.
Albert is sick and being tended to by Jean.
Steve Petrick briefed Pete Hegseth on military operations on the Greenland ice sheet. I cannot imagine why.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, February 09, 2025 - 10:59 pm: Edit

SUNDAY 9 FEB 2025
Leanna and I moved to phase 2 of OPERATION NO QUARTERS which saw us clean up and de-clutter the bedroom itself. Tomorrow we move on to the game room, which is full of junk no one has looked at for a year.
Steve Petrick was on a plane to Iceland.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, February 10, 2025 - 09:55 pm: Edit

MONDAY 10 FEB 2025
We entered phase 3 of OPERATION NO QUARTERS by cleaning out the game room. This will allow us to move the prescriptions from the dining room table to the game table, keep them locked away from the Bengals, and free up the dining room table for the first time in two years.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 - 10:44 pm: Edit

TUESDAY 11 FEB 2025
Leanna and I completed Phase 4 of OPERATION NO QUARTERS, cleaning the clutter out of the dining room. We discovered that it is called "the dining room" because under the clutter was a dining table.
Steve Petrick met with members of the Danish Communist Party to discuss overthrowing the Danish government.
Jean did orders. Mike shipped them.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 - 10:06 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 12 FEB 2025
Phase 5 of OPERATION NO QUARTERS complete, the den has been de-cluttered. Turns out, we own a sofa. Who knew?
Due to icy roads, Jean stayed home and proofread the Orion MSSB with an icy stare.
Steve Petrick went to Ukraine to deliver a personal message from President Trump to President Zelensky.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, February 13, 2025 - 06:30 pm: Edit

THURSDAY 13 FEB 2025
Leanna and I met Jean and Albert for lunch. Then we all went to the office for a staff meeting to discuss the future of the company and the need for a strategic plan.
Leanna and I tried to resume OPERATION NO QUARTERS but we were both exhausted and decided to take off today and tomorrow and finish up this weekend.
Steve Petrick met President Putin in Moscow.

FRIDAY 14 FEB 2025
Leanna and I took a personal day.
Jean and Mike got orders out.
Steve Petrick met with the president of Turkey.

SATURDAY 15 FEB 2025
Leanna went to a meeting. I started on the kitchen.
Day off for the office crew.
Steve Petrick met with Xi Jing Peng, president of China.

SUNDAY 16 FEB 2025
I rested, so did everyone else. Steve Petrick met with the Emperor of Japan about the South China Sea situation.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 01:13 pm: Edit

MONDAY 17 FEB 2025
Despite feeling poorly I dragged into the office, answered email, and checked the proofs for the counters.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick flew to Hawaii.

TUESDAY 18 FEB 2025
Due to the icy conditions, Jean and I decided to call a weather day and work from home.
Steve Petrick met with members of the Hawaiian independence movement (something about reducing the number of blue state electoral votes in 2028).

WEDNESDAY 19 FEB 2025
The ice continued and after calling Jean I decided to stay home and work on finishing OPERATION NO QUARTERS.
Jean proofread the Orion book.
Steve Petrick flew to Peru to consult with various political groups about statehood.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, February 22, 2025 - 09:41 pm: Edit

THURSDAY 2O FEBRUARY 2025
Family lunch, then a few minutes at the office for a celebration.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Steve Petrick flew to Cuba for secret talks with the government about possible statehood.

FRIDAY 21 FEB 2025
Leanna and I spent the day running a complicated set of errands, made more complicated by a computer problem at our doctor's office and a screw up by a pharmacy.
Mike and Jean did orders.
Steve Petrick flew to a secret location in Texas for talks with the Texas Independence Movement.

SATURDAY 22 FEB 2025
Everyone took the day off to rest. Steve Petrick arrived back in Amarillo to find an envelope on his pillow requiring him to attend a secret debriefing on Monday and Tuesday.

SUNDAY 23 FEB 2025
Everyone took the day off to rest. Steve Petrick received his cleaned uniforms from the quartermaster laundry. I received my 18th community contributor award from STEAM, this one for Timberborne.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - 12:13 am: Edit

MONDAY 24 FEB 2025
I made it to the office, had an interesting chat with Paramount, had an interesting inquiry about doing a new line of products, chaired a staff meeting.
Jean worked on orders. Albert worked on files. Mike was out, sick. Petrick had minor surgery to remove 40 year old shrapnel.

TUESDAY 25 FEB 2025
I was exhausted and stayed home.
Jean and Al did orders.
Petrick had his debriefing and went to sleep.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, February 27, 2025 - 08:37 pm: Edit

WEDNESDAY 26 FEB 2025
Family dinner with myself, Leanna, Jean, Albert, Petrick, and my niece Angela. Good time. This was the first time in eight months I walked into a restaurant without a cane or any other help. I had a staggering limp but I made it.
Jean did orders.
Steve P worked on the Module K update.
I had a conversation with Paramount about their new catalog project, scheduled a meeting with the cataloger, had a conversation with a company that wants to do new joint venture products, sent a note to the F&E staff about a file they wanted me to do, and had a meeting with Executive VP Albert about running the company.

THURSDAY 27 FEB 2025
Leanna and I ran a whole bunch of errands to get ready for an event tomorrow that will take her and me all day to finish.
Jean did orders.
Steve P worked on the Module K update.
I remember crying on the day that we had to start feeding my childhood dog the special dogfood for old dogs. Today I had to give up arguing and get a handicapped parking permit because I'm an old man and will never again do what I did almost every day for 70 years.

FRIDAY 28 FEB 2025
Jean and Mike did orders.
Petrick worked on the Module K update.
I took Leanna to dental surgery and took her home and put her bed, then went back to the office where I checked the countersheet proofs and talked to the other company that wants to do joint venture products and suggested they consider also another line of products I always wanted to see happen but failed to get anyone else to do.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, March 10, 2025 - 05:25 pm: Edit

MARCH 1-10 2025
I have been unable to get to the BBS from home for unknown reasons. Since I do my updates from there, I haven't been able to do updates.
I don't have specific memories of the last week. I know I did some work on CL55 and the Orion book and the ISC art and talked with the Paramount catalogue people and with the lastest joint venture partner. I know Jean has done a lot of orders and Mike has shipped them and Albert has done a lot of admin stuff I used to get stuck with.
Steve P has been meeting around the clock with a group of veterans experienced in tank and anti-tank warfare over ways to "win" the war in Ukraine. His national security duties kept him away from the ADB offices.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 - 10:41 pm: Edit

TUESDAY MARCH 11
I made it to the office, answered emails, talked with the potential new joint venture partner, and had a progress meeting with Executive VP Albert Beddow.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Trump asked Petrick and his study group if there was a way to quickly win the Ukraine War, and Petrick said "I can't see one."
The guys on the BBS fixed my BBS home access problem.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 12
Jean and Mike did orders.
I went to three doctor appointments
Steve P met with Secty Hegseth and Albert Beddow for an exhaustive game of pickleball.

THURSDAY MARCH 13
I worked at the office most of the day.
Patrick went to the gun range with VP Vance and Al Beddow.
Jean and Mike did orders.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, March 15, 2025 - 12:54 am: Edit

FRIDAY 14 MARCH THE MAELSTROM
I woke up at 0530, fed the bengals, fed the birds. Cooked breakfast, took meds, went back to sleep.
0900 I woke up, noticed the howling winds and that electricity was out. No phone, internet, computer, or tv.
At 1000 Leanna got up and we decided to wait it out. We could not see 100 feet in any direction due to blowing dirt.
At 1100 I checked with Jean, who said power was out in half of Amarillo, all of Canyon, most of the county. The wind was clocked at 83mph and the highways were closed by dirt storms blocking visibility.
At 1300 I ate a cold hotdog and a piece of bread.
At 1600 we talked with our niece Angela who said she had no power and was going to a relative’s house. She said it had been announced that power where we were would be out for 48 hours.
Leanna and I packed up, left food and a warm place for the cats and headed for a hotel. We found that every hotel in Amarillo was sold out but for one dumpy one that only had rooms because their phones were out and they could not take credit cards. Fortunately I had the money I was going to spend on ammunition the day before but got to the beer & ammo store too late to spend, so we got their last room, at least until the drug dealers across the hall saw my M9 and thought we were from ICE and checked out while we went to Waffle House.
Trying now to get some sleep. Other refugees from our neighborhood shot up the stereo system down the hall so it’s at least quiet.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, March 15, 2025 - 12:30 pm: Edit

SATURDAY 15 MARCH 2025
At least the night started quiet. The heater didn't work and the room dropped to 60F then 55F as the outside was 35F. Then the smoke alert bleeped constantly all night from low battery. The desk clerk would only say "I'll leave a note for maintenance to do something tomorrow or the next day." She did warn me that she would have me arrested if I took the dead battery out of the smoke detector. I asked for extra blankets and she said "huh? we don't do that." There were no other rooms available to move us to. We checked out the next morning and will try to find a better hotel today.
We drove home to make sure the boys were okay; they were. We went to the meeting of Leanna's ladies' club. While there I kept phoning the house and suddenly the answering machine worked, which meant that power was back on. Exhausted from the sleepless night, we skipped the bingo game which we always love, went home, and took a nap. All is well.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 11:44 am: Edit

SUNDAY 16 MARCH 2025
At the hotel on Friday night, I felt great pain in my back as I tried to maneuver my recovering broken hip onto the extremely low toilet seat. At the ladies’s club meeting Saturday I began to have serious pain and by Sunday I was all but crippled by it. We finally made it to town to get dinner and do the week’s grocery shopping but by the time I got home I was in agony.

MONDAY 17 MARCH 2025
In severe pain I used opioid painkillers the doctor had given me for my hip and he told me to keep what was left for emergencies. I used one and the reduced pain was still bad. I got to work, did various things that could not wait, and had a conversation with the potential new joint venture partner about that line of products. Jean and Mike were busy doing things but I was in too much pain to notice what. Petrick was in Canada to meet with the Canadian general staff about forces integration. The Canadian Army wants to keep Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry but that violates US law against titles of nobility.

TUESDAY 18 MARCH 2025
Reasoning that the dangerous opioids were not doing much for the pain, I took Tylenol and went to work. Big mistake. Turns out the opioids were killing a lot of the pain and the Tylenol did nothing, leaving me nearly crippled. Despite that I had the staff meeting, worked on a fiction story, and eventually went home. Jean and Al and Mike did something but I couldn’t tell what. The wind howled at 50mph plus all day. Petrick held meetings in Quebec and passed on Trump’s orders that since English was the official language of the US, when Quebec became one of the ten new states it would be banned from schools teaching French, and all government and private business would have to be done in The King’s English. Petrick said this did not go well and he was threatened with a cheese knife.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, March 20, 2025 - 01:06 am: Edit

WEDNESDAY 19 MARCH 2025
If Tuesday Weld married the son of John March Jr she would be Tuesday March the third.
I took opiods and went to work, spending time on the new joint venture deal negotiations. Petrick got home from his latest travels with a case of maple syrup.
I went to church without a cane for the first time since July.
Jean and Mike did orders.
Albert picked up Petrick at the airport and took him out for pancakes.

THURSDAY 20 MARCH 2025
Petrick and I went to the office and worked on updating Module K.
Jean proofread the Orion book.
Mike cleaned up the office.

FRIDAY 21 MARCH 2025
I took the day to be with Leanna who wasn't feeling well.
Petrick worked on K. Mike cleaned up the office. Jean proofread Orions.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, March 24, 2025 - 10:29 pm: Edit

SATURDAY 22 MARCH 2025
Day of rest for everyone

SUNDAY 23 MARCH 2025
Day of rest for everyone.

MONDAY 24 MARCH 2025
Feeling better, I picked up SPP and took him to lunch, then went to the office. He worked on K. I worked on business things and went to a doctor appointment. That doctor is a coin collector and I showed him my latest find, a 2100-year-old Hasmodean prutah from Jerusalem. Jean proofread Orions. Albert ran all of SPP's errands. Mike cleaned up the warehouse and office.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, March 28, 2025 - 10:49 pm: Edit

TUESDAY 25 MARCH 2025
Feeling awful, I didn't make it to town until 2pm. Steve Petrick worked on Module K. Jean and Mike did orders.

WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2025
I picked up Steve P and we went to lunch, then the office. Jean and Mike did orders. After work, I went to the church dinner and for the first time since my accident I did the busboy job, walking 1.5 miles without a cane over a two hour period. I barely made it to the car.

THURSDAY 27 MARCH 2025
I woke up barely able to move, let alone walk. I staggered to family dinner. After that, Albert and I reviewed the status of all projects. I left at 4 to go pick up Leanna at her eye doctor appointment (she could not drive after diallation) and went home.

FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2025
I had to take a day off due to exhaustion from Church busboy duties. Jean and Mike did orders. Steve P worked on Module K.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, April 02, 2025 - 04:14 pm: Edit

SATURDAY 29 MARCH, SUNDAY 30 MARCH
Time off to rest and do things around the house. My recovery continues slowly as I learn to do things while not using a cane or wheelchair. Walking inside is not so bad, outside is a little risky.

MONDAY 31 MARCH
Took Steve Petrick to lunch and the office. He worked on K, I worked on the new joint venture contract. Jean, Mike, and Albert did orders. I went home a little early to meet the roofing company doing the estimate to remain the wind and hail damage to my roof.

TUESDAY 1 APRIL
I couldn't think of any fun things to do. I picked up BBQ and Steve Petrick. We went to the office and ate. He worked on K and I worked on the joint venture contract. Jean took time to proofread Orions. Mike cleaned up the warehouse before the anticipated annual fire marshal inspection. I met the new owners of the bar next door and they invited me to review and approve their remodeling plans, since some parts of the plan impact my property and they wanted to be good neighbors. All going well there.

WEDNESDAY 2 APRIL
Lunch with Jean, Al, Steve Petrick. Then to the office. I reviewed the roofing bid, called the insurance company, and then ordered a replacement hearing aid for the one the cats stole. I worked on fiction and the database. Steve worked on K. Mike and Jean did orders. Albert inspected hundreds of rejected countersheets which used to be something I had to do, but Albert is taking over more and more of my responsibilities as I focus on getting the company ready for the future. I went to church ready to do the busboy thing (2 miles of walking in 2 hours carrying dirty dishes since no southern lady carries dirty dishes and no southern gentleman leaves the table if a southern lady is speaking).