I'm Back, I Guess

But I have some unfortunate habits.  One is that when I stay up late on the computer, I drink and smoke too much and ruin my next day.  If I get up at 10am one day and then stay up til 10 am the next, sleeping even just 8 hours brings me to dinnertime and a whole day is shot.  Not to mention any normal sleeping schedule...  So the next day is pretty well shot to hell, too.

I went offline in order to focus on some house improvements, some yard work, and some outside repairs.  I did that because I was spending too many whole nights til dawn and beyond on very interesting computer sites (blogs, discussion boards, how-to sites, etc).


I was doing that more and more often the past few months and I decided to try to re-establish some normal schedule in order to get some work done.  Don't get me wrong, the online hours are important to me.  I enjoy blogging, I enjoy debating topics in discussion boards (and I'm not at crazy screaming adversarial sites - one is a gardening site and one is an atheist site where we just want freedom to discuss science and society without a lot of creationists arguing about Noah's ark and humans living with dinosaurs).  And I play a computer game where you build a space-faring society from a single settler in an unknown location.


But that was using up a lot of time.  And I have a lot of practical things to do that were getting away from me.  And I have used the time away reasonably well.  I spent a full day going around the house and listing all the things, by room, that needed attention.  I've been here 32 years; the list is long.  I did a few of the things on the list that I could do myself.  A lot of them were small things not worth listing, that I had put off.  Some were things that caught me by surprise, like the sudden regrowth of vines and underbrush that happened rather suddenly in June where I had cleared last Fall and seemed under control in May.

The County came out and cleared the storm drains that were buried under tree debris, clay, and gravel.  That was good, but they weren't willing to dredge the drainage easement above the storm drain (they had in the past).  New rules about being ultra-cautious around buried electrical and cable lines...    I will have to hire a professional excavator.  My neighbor is equally responsible for the drainage easement, but he doesn't care because his lawn is 1' higher than mine so all the flooding is on my side.  And according to the County, that is not their concern.

Well, I can afford to hire an excavator to scoop out the washed-in gravel to improve the drainage.  It would tear up the lawn some, but I know how to fix that.  I might raise my front lawn at the same time to match the neighbor's.  That's not a "competition", just making our lawns the same height.  Practically speaking, raising my lawn height effectively makes the the drainage easement deeper, which solves a problem.

One problem I have is "too much stuff".  There are things I bought and never used, things I bought that didn't do what I thought they would do, and things I bought that became useless when I changed a habit.  I am making a list of things to sell.  Two good examples are the bicycle I bought 8 years ago thinking I would ride it for getting back and forth to the car repair shop and the air compressor I bought 15 years ago that was way more powerful than a needed.

RIGHT after I bought the bicycle, the car dealership started a van service to bring customers home and back after repairs, so I don't need the bicycle to get back home and back.  And recently, I bought a small air compressor that is all I need and I can even carry it around (the old -but more powerful one) is good for someone with greater demands.

OLD...
New...

So I am going to fill the garage with stuff to sell and leave the car outside for a coupe weeks.  Good opportunity to wash the car, too...  Once every couple years whether it needs it or not, LOL! 

I'll be mentioning the outdoor and indoor projects as I get to them...  I just can't stay away much longer.  I'll find the time to describe them.  The discussion boards will have to live without my brilliance for a while.  ;)

After Some Thought...

Well, not posting in order to try to escape some bad habits has been interesting.  I would say it worked about half-well.  The successful part was finding the sites that kept me up all night for no really good reason  But, as I sit here, I have a glass of wine at and and a pack of cigs.

Apparently, I am still stuck with wine and cigs when I'm on the computer for any longer than it takes to check email.  Old habits die hard, and sometimes don't die at all.

But less is better.  There is a difference between a pack of cigs and 2 glasses of wine vs 4 packs and a bottle.  The less is because I've stopped visiting a discussion board that kept me worked up all night and a game site that has been failing for a couple years.

The discussion board is an atheist site.  I'm an atheist, for anyone who didn't know.  I spent a lot of time there over the past 2 years.  I enjoyed the discussions and arguments, and there sharp people there on both sides.  But I realized that I wasn't changing anyone's opinion.  The other atheists just agreed with me, and the theists (ranging from creationists to philosophical believers) were as unlikely to be convinced to change their views as I was.  So there doesn't seem to be much point in debating there.

The game site was a wonderful discovery some years ago.  I joined because there were free classical games (Risk, Hearts, Backgammon, Scrabble, etc) and I enjoyed that.  Then I discovered that, by joining the site for a modest fee, I could play more dedicated gamers and earn a rating.  That interested me. 

But the site is losing paying members (who normally feel a duty to complete a game) and the free players just leave the instant they aren't winning.  I just received an email notice that my annual membership is up for renewal.  I think I'll give it one more year, but I suspect that will be the last.  Which is a shame, because I really worked for all those rating points.  Still, nothing lasts forever.

I've been busy while I was away.  Not staying up all night meant I slept better and was more active in the daytime.  I'll post about that soon, by project. 

I've decided I enjoy posting about things I actually do myself that mean something around the house and yard than arguing with intractable people about topics that will never be resolved or playing games that don't mean much.

A Week In The Life.

Some of you know that I don't live a regulary-scheduled life, LOL!

So here is the past Tuesday through Saturday:

1.  Stayed up all night Tuesday 8pm - Thursday 8 am visiting cat blogs, processing camera pictures, and shifting between a gardening forum and an atheist forum.  Yeah, that 36 hours.  Went through a 1.5 l bottle of wine and 4 packs of cigs (hey, it WAS 36 hours). 

2.  Visiting my cat-friends takes about 2 hours, and then I get email notifications to new posts and I comment.  I always comment.

3.  I love reading posts at the gardening site and spent a total of a few hours there.  Sometimes there are questions I know something about and I answer.  I've been veggie and flower gardening for a few decades, so I have some experience.  I I have a good library to consult when I'm not sure.  I consulted my Peterson Guide of Eastern Trees when somewhere was trying to identify the specific one in her back yard.  It was one I have never seen, but the leaf shape was unique, so I mentioned it.

Sometimes there is new information I value.  Sometimes I ask questions.  I am new to growing Venus Fly Traps (for example) , so I'm the one asking questions there. 

4.  The atheist forum takes a lot of time.  There are atheists, agnostics, and theists there, and many of the posts are long and factual.  It takes some time to reply to those well.  I probably spend a lot of time there.  I joined this forum October last year and have over 4500 posts there now. 

Mostly, I discuss everyday events with other atheists.  Yes, atheists discuss almost everything from politics to cooking, to movies.  But it does mean we don't have a religious view on them.  Atheists may have a more reality-based approach to life, but we also love sci-fi and can do the "willing suspension of disbelief" as well as anyone if not better.

5.  I tend to switch back between the gardening and atheist forums.  I use up all the threads in one and go back to the other.  I don't mean that I post fast.  I give a lot of thought to each.  My interest is to answer posts carefully, well, and in detail without be overly long.

You can always tell tell the theists' posts by length.  They go on forever before they start quoting religious texts to get to their point.    I treat them kindly, with facts.  They can decide whether to change their minds if they want. 

6.  After a long time on the computer, I usually feed the cats (yes I fed them regularly before) but always make sure to feed them a good meal before I go to bed.  Because staying up that long means I'll sleep 12 hours after.

7.  When I got up Friday, I started on making a hinged top for the new compost bin.  Sometimes you build things by measurement.  But having the compost bin built, I simply put boards on the top and marked the edges for cutting.  Friday, I cut a lot of boards to size.  I glued and clamped some but even with mosquito repellent all over me, they were fierce around my eyes and fingers.  I worked fast and ran.

8.  Saturday afternoon (after another 12 hours in bed- I did have to catch up)  I went out to complete the top.  Fortunately, it was windy and the mosquitoes have trouble with winds over 10 mph.  I got the entire top structure completed.  OK, not the screening, the wood structure.  The hinging was perfect.  The 2 bins now have tops that lift up smoothly.  All I have to do now is attach 1/2 wire mesh to the top and add a few spacer boards under it.  That will leave no space for even a mouse to get inside.

9.  Added a lot more garden stuff into the old toolshed with the new shelves.  Every day, I will clear more basement space.  Weeded the Fall garden a bit.  Not many weeds left.  A year of weeding as removed most and I suspect there aren't many viable weed seeds left there.  Which means I can FINALLY tackle the part of the backyard overgrown with wild blackberries soon.

There is always SOMETHING that needed attention "last year", and I am always behind on some part of the yard.  On the other hand, suppose I caught up with everything?  What would I do?  OK, fix up the house better...

I'll do that when Winter arrives...

Gardenweb

Everything I like goes away.  TV shows, beverages, internet discussion forums, clothes, appliances, etc...

Today I discovered my favorite garden discussion site is essentially "gone".  Oh, I never visited every month, mostly just at the start of each year to talk about "new" heirloom tomatoes I was trying, building raised beds, starting seeds under lights.  I was an "irregular" (very active at times, but absent later in the year).

And it just isn't there anymore.  Well, it exists in name but it was bought by some sales site called "Houzz" (a house improvement sales site).  Gardenweb is there in name, as I said, but they trashed it, deleted all the archives, killed all the usernames, and simplified the format to unusability. 

I had a NAME there "yardenman".  I had a history.  There were people I KNEW!  (And argued with or agreed with).  THAT part is just gone.  And I feel stupid that I'm sitting here crying about it and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.

I put the site name as the post title in case it grabs someone using it in a search...

I tried to keep up with the change and re-register.  Can't have a handle; gotta be a plain boring real name.  Goodbye "yardenman".  You could know stuff about people with handles like TomatoLover! You have to choose housing interests and give TMI.  I even did that.  And only then did I find that there wasn't much there.  No one I recognized.  No sense of community...  I deleted my new account.

Doing some searches, I found the place had changed August last year.  Some people had gone to another site that apparently (from comments I read) is run by a (and please forgive me here) religious fundamentalist.  If he doesn't like your tone or disagrees with you, the next time you sign in you are shunted to a Disney site.  Seriously, you get automatically redirected to "Disney" forever after.

I wish I had the skills (and time) to set up my own discussion site...

BTW, about the other things I miss?  I might as well explain. 

TV - M*A*S*H ended, Babylon 5 ended, MSNBC essentially became a "Breaking News" channel 24/7, The Discovery Channel became a weird medical stuff site, National Geographic became a fake nature reality show site, The Science Channel became a fake reality show site, The History Channel does famous people drama, etc, etc, etc...  I watch baseball and a LOT of science/nature/history DVDs now.

Clothes and Kitchen - Bell-bottom pants?  Forget about it.  I wear a lot of camo now.  Bet those disappear soon.  Faded Glory shirts with ample armpits?  Gone.  I liked soft velcro "Shark Leash" watch straps.  Had to go to eBay to get a new one.  Blue Libbey glasses?  Forget it.  And I dropped a soapy coffee mug this week and broke it and 2 of my remaining 4 short blue Libbey glasses!  My old Rival crock pot of 40 years finally died a few months ago.  The new ones are junk and burn everything.  Found an old one on eBay...  Tried to find canned grapefruit lately?  Don't bother.

Beverages - Remember Tom Collins Mix?  I used to drink the stuff straight.  Its gone.  I used to make Singapore Slings using Pomegranate Brandy; discontinued.  You've seen those no-cal water flavorers?  I liked the pineapple one.  Gone.  Caffeine-Free Coke?  Gone.

It's not like I'm looking for VHS tapes and saspirilla.  I just want some things *I* like to stay available.  Speaking of camo pants, they are all cargo pants these days.  I have a 25" inseam.  When the tailor shortens the 30" ones (shortest I can get) I have pockets around my ankles,  LOL! 

I'm trying to stay in good humor.  But damn I miss that gardening site...