no matter how much i tighten the thumb screw, i can't secure the gopro camera to the mounting buckle. there's just too much bouncing around on a bicycle that the camera will eventually topple forward. today the mount even started spinning counter clockwise off of the clamp mount itself as i rode to belmont trying to shoot a timewarp video. it was cold and i wore long underwear, but i had on my layered jackets which only keep me warm when i start warming up from the biking, otherwise it doesn't keep me warm at all. it felt like i haven't biked for ages because i didn't have any stamina, even though i biked to and from boston just last tuesday. i think it's just been a while since i've biked in the cold weather.

i ate half a leftover egg & ham bagel sandwich when i arrived. there was some drama when my 2nd aunt called me via line. she said she realized she lost her phone after getting back from church. i think she was calling to ask about getting a new phone, but i logged into her google account and managed to track down the location of the phone. it seemed to be in lexington, then later concord. turns out she dropped it in the car of the person who gave her a ride to church. the problem was she didn't have this person's phone number (since it's only on her phone). but i had a solution to that as well: i logged into our verizon shared family plan account and pulled up her phone record. she told me what time her friend called her this morning and i was able to locate the number. since my 2nd aunt has an obihai device with a google phone number, she was able to call her friend. the friend told her she'd bring the phone over.

my mother left for a walk afterwards, heading down to the mt.auburn star market to pick up some brown sugar green mountain keurig coffee and broccoli. i watched as a bunch of birds visited the bird feeders. a rather fearless carolina wren was hopping between seed feeder, suet feeder, and the ground beneath. for such a small bird, it didn't seem bothered by the other birds around. there was also a pack of juncos and 2 song sparrows. the song sparrows were mildly aggressive, bullying the other birds away, but i tolerate them because they're native. last winter we got a bunch of white-throated sparrows, hope they show up again this season. i didn't see any of the usual birds though: no chickadees, no cardinals.

tracking my mother's location on google map, i launched the drone from the backyard hoping to spot her walking home. i was never close enough to get a good look (tried to stay above a few hundred feet, afraid i might hit trees or powerlines), but i spotted someone walking who might be my mother and followed this person with was suspiciously walking towards the house. turns out it was her, my father called so she could wave to the drone like a crazy person saying hello to the heavens.

when my mother got back she made rice noodles for a very late (3pm) lunch. two games were on television: titans vs. steelers and panthers vs. bills. i was hoping the titans and bills would lose, allowing the patriots to secure the number 2 playoff spot in the AFC. pittsburgh helped us out by defeating tennessee 19-13. buffalo easily won against 5-8 carolina, they were not going to lose at home after consecutive loses to both the patriots and tom brady. but new england still held the no.2 seed in the AFC, with buffalo just a game behind. next sunday's game between the bills and patriots will be pivotal. i think even if new england were to lose, they'd tie with buffalo, but still be on top in the conference based on their records.

the late afternoon game was between the packers and ravens. baltimore ended up going for at the end of the game to win the game instead of tie, and for the second consecutive week they lost on their gamble, final score 31-30. the 8-6 ravens are now on the bubble for the final 7th playoff spot, along with 5 other teams, including the browns and steelers.

youtube tv dropped all disney-owned channels friday night when the two parties couldn't agree to a new deal. it wasn't just the disney channel which i never watch - but also all the ESPN and FX channels, as well as the local ABC affiliate (WCVB). losing the local affiliate was the one thing that bothered me the most. yes, i can get the channel via OTA antenna, but sometimes the reception is terrible and i hop onto youtube tv. anyway, this afternoon i got another e-mail saying that both parties have reached a new agreement, and the channels were back. when i checked youtube tv they were still missing, until i went to edit my custom channel guide, and saw all the missing disney-owned channels. they were all at the bottom of the list, which was a pain reorganizing them again.

when i went down to the basement to help my mother collect clothes from the dryer, i noticed a pool of water by the washer. at first i thought it was a washing machine leak, but noticed the water from coming from the other side of the basement. when i went to go check, the water was coming from the furnace, from the ceiling-mounted expansion tank, which seemed to have sprung a leak. my father and i moved some items and places buckets to catch the water, while i mopped the floor with a mop, hand-wringing the soaked mop head. i set up a webcam pointed to the furnace so we can see if the buckets start to get full again.

later during dinner, i was casually checking the webcam, and noticed an alarming amount of drips into the bucket. i went to the basement and not only was the expansion tank leaking even more, but there was also a crack in the basement ceiling and water was leaking from there was well. my father came downstairs and we had no choice but to turn off the furnace, otherwise water would continue to leak. so until they can get a new expansion tank, there's no more heat in the house. my parents will have to rely on electric heaters for the time being. i need to call alewife first thing tomorrow morning. my father already called xiaowu - the chinese HVAC guy we know - but he didn't pick up and my father just left a message. even though he's cheap, he's a bit unreliable when it comes to keeping appointments or even returning phone calls.

i got a ride home even though i came via bicycle. my parents are making an errand run to medford-everett tomorrow, so i'm going to tag along and get a ride to belmont, where later in the evening i'll ride the bike back to cambridge. we're heading into a cold snow this week, daytime highs 30-40's, while night temperatures drop into the 20-30's. it's not brutally cold, and this is normal weather for this time of the year, but it'll suck since my parents won't have heat. returning home, i could see frozen puddles from the rain/sleet was had last night.

the final game of the night was between the saints and buccaneers. it was the strangest game, the final score was 9-0, new orleans managed to shutout tom brady. i wasn't even paying attention, just had it in the background, and the low score meant a battle of defenses, not the most exciting of games.