Tuesday, September 19, 1995 - Curaco

What a disappointment! I was so proud, because I had finally figured out how to get weirdo characters like c sedilla (‡) and n tilde (¤) accepted by the word processor AND how to get the printer to print them correctly. For the latter, I had to send an escape sequence to the printer. I stupidly assumed that changed the printer permanently to Character Set 2. The initial printing of the log, for proofreading purposes, came out perfectly. Then I turned the printer off to insert a new ribbon. It never once crossed my mind that I would have to send the escape sequence again after turning the printer back on. This morning, when I looked at the beautifully printed log, I saw that all the c sedillas were missing. The printer had automati- cally returned to Character Set 1. Cura‡ao came out "Curaao". I had to go through with a pen and insert the c sedillas. But the n tildes came out okay. To increase my sorrow, when I reread the printer manual, I saw that I could have permanently changed the character set by flipping a switch on the bottom of the printer. I'll do that next time I have the printer out. Otherwise, this was my lucky day. Got my mail from Kathy and also got a letter from Marilyn. Turned in a change-of-address card. Took the log to a copy center and had nine copies run off, double-sided. Stuck them in envelopes and mailed them. Now all my business is finished, so we can leave for Bonaire as soon as Roy's business is finished. Roy wasn't quite so lucky. He went to Wellman to try to get a pulley for the alternator. They had one that may or may not work. Roy's going to have to take off part of the alternator and take it down there to see if the pulley will fit. He'll do that tomorrow morning. Rode the bus over the high bridge again. Took a good look at Schottegat and realized I was totally out of my tree last month when I said the harbor here was as big as San Francisco Bay. The whole island is only 38 miles long, so you couldn't possibly fit San Francisco Bay on it. In fact, if you dropped Schottegat into San Francisco Bay, it would scarcely make a ripple. I've been away too long; I've forgotten what places look like.