Today is one of the most important holidays to me. It isn't the actual establishment of my country, it is the day we declared our INTENT to become one (and why). The difference matters. Upon the actual signing of The Declaration Of Independence (from Britain), it was an utterly uncertain thing. A bunch of unhappy British colonists complaining that they were represented in British Government and deciding that they were willing to fight about it.
And quite frankly, a bunch of rich colonists who were landowners and merchants who owed a lot of money to British banks and the Government and could conveniently be free of them if they got separated.
My first college textbook was 'The Economic Causes Of The Revolution' and while 'Government And Politic Science' was my major, history was my love.
But when push came to shove, it wasn't just the rich (indebted) landowners who fought. The colonists were of British descent (mostly) and shared a common past and social structure. A lot of poor colonists had little to gain except freedom from taxes they had no say about.
A lot of fighting went on, the British found less support over here than they expected, The French Navy turned up at a good point, and Britain discovered that fighting a war across an ocean using sailing ships didn't work very well.
Example: One British General asked for 950 horses. Half died on the way and most of the survivors were too ill to be useful.
Example: The British Generals decided that fighting the colonists in New England and the Mid Atlantic States wasn't working, so they went to the Southern colonies where people were "more British". Seldom was a worse decision ever made. The Southern colonists didn't fight stand-up battles like the British army was used to. They attacked in swamps, in woods, anyplace where there couldn't be a decisive battle.
Eventually, Britain decided it had more important places to fight about. And they were right, because the former colonists had few places to trade with but Britain and France and France wasn't the major trading power.
So why do I honor this day above almost all others?
Because of what we said in our Declaration Of Independence.
"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with
another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate
and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God
entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that
they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That
whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is
the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their
safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments
long established should not be changed for light and transient causes;
and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more
disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new
guards for their future security.
Etc...
We have not met those goals completely; it is possible we never will. There will always be challenges. But they ARE goals we keep closer to our hearts than some realize.
In spite of occasional presidential flaws like Donald Trump (there have been some real fails in the past too), the majority of US citizenry holds to those goals. We will weather this current error and recover from it.
But for today, I mostly want to honor the start of the US, with some background...
And, as is my habit on this day, I will read the entire Declaration out loud on the deck (quietly)...
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Chili
I make some of the world's worst chili. Too bland, too hot, too many beans, not enough beans, too much or too little tomatoes. But I got it right tonight!
A true chili affectianado woudn't like it. I'm a New England boy and "hot spicy" is not part of growing up there. My favorite fast food chili comes from Wendy's, LOL
But this one was perfect for me. I think it was the leftover brown sugar carrots that I added. Go ahead and laugh. I had some scalp sweat...
A true chili affectianado woudn't like it. I'm a New England boy and "hot spicy" is not part of growing up there. My favorite fast food chili comes from Wendy's, LOL
But this one was perfect for me. I think it was the leftover brown sugar carrots that I added. Go ahead and laugh. I had some scalp sweat...
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Computer Security Surprise
I downloaded a new version of a Software Security I like. and the first thing that came up was "Privacy". It sat there for an hour reading "52kb, 62 Kb, etc" and I thought OMG this could take weeks. So I called the tech desk. Got right through to them BTW.
It took the person a couple minutes to understand that I was seeing that as a search of my entire hard drive and wondering why it was so slow. She finally caught on and explained that it was a real-time processing rate, not a whole hard drive search.
And it took me whole minutes to get OFF the phone while she tried to explain how that worked. The INSTANT she said it was a processing rate not a search, I understood exactly what it was doing. But she wouldn't let me go, LOL!
Now I just have to go through the rest of the security program, which DOES search the hard drive as i expected (and doesn't show a progress bar - which would be nice). Apparently, you are supposed to just turn it on every so often and GO TO BED. I'm not good at not watching security programs as they operate. The good part is that the program doesn't care if you stay on the computer while it goes along it's merry business. But that it exactly what I want to watch it do.
It took the person a couple minutes to understand that I was seeing that as a search of my entire hard drive and wondering why it was so slow. She finally caught on and explained that it was a real-time processing rate, not a whole hard drive search.
And it took me whole minutes to get OFF the phone while she tried to explain how that worked. The INSTANT she said it was a processing rate not a search, I understood exactly what it was doing. But she wouldn't let me go, LOL!
Now I just have to go through the rest of the security program, which DOES search the hard drive as i expected (and doesn't show a progress bar - which would be nice). Apparently, you are supposed to just turn it on every so often and GO TO BED. I'm not good at not watching security programs as they operate. The good part is that the program doesn't care if you stay on the computer while it goes along it's merry business. But that it exactly what I want to watch it do.
Speaking Of Sports
When I was new to my first real office, the boss loved having a slow-pitch softball team in the Agency League. I had been on one before (a temp in a Navy Office) and was good enough at it, so I joined. The Navy guys were pretty fierce about it, so I understood playing hard.
And I was good enough at slow pitch that I could pretty much hit the ball wherever I wanted. Mostly way over the right fielder. Which was a serious turn-around from Little League hardball where I seldom even swung at a ball at 12. I had changed a bit...
We had a good team. Lots of young guys and a few women willing to play.
I'm writing this because we played a team with a blind pitcher. The catcher would keep up a steady stream of talk to let him know where to toss the ball. And another player stood next to him in front after the pitch so he wouldn't get hit.
My immediate supervisor (call him "Bill") was a pretty athletic type. Bill hit a line drive that caught the blind pitcher right between the eyes. No one could have reacted fast enough to prevent that. The pitcher was completely cold-cocked.
The blind pitcher got back in a couple innings, the teams kept playing. Bill kept playing. I understand that. The pitcher refused to limit himself, the players did the same.
But I went home...
And I was good enough at slow pitch that I could pretty much hit the ball wherever I wanted. Mostly way over the right fielder. Which was a serious turn-around from Little League hardball where I seldom even swung at a ball at 12. I had changed a bit...
We had a good team. Lots of young guys and a few women willing to play.
I'm writing this because we played a team with a blind pitcher. The catcher would keep up a steady stream of talk to let him know where to toss the ball. And another player stood next to him in front after the pitch so he wouldn't get hit.
My immediate supervisor (call him "Bill") was a pretty athletic type. Bill hit a line drive that caught the blind pitcher right between the eyes. No one could have reacted fast enough to prevent that. The pitcher was completely cold-cocked.
The blind pitcher got back in a couple innings, the teams kept playing. Bill kept playing. I understand that. The pitcher refused to limit himself, the players did the same.
But I went home...
Friday, June 28, 2019
Sports
I'm not a general sports fan. On major events like the US Football Superbowl and Baseball World Series, I sometimes watch the last half hour out of curiousity.
But apparently, I'm a "Homie". I watch the Washington National baseball team games and am glad when they win. I watch my University of Maryland women's basketball team games (but not men's because that is just a crude elbow-flying cage fight). And the US women's soccer team...
So, I've been enjoying watching the Washington Nationals baseball team crawl up from a bad start to .500 today. They had a tough start with several starting players injured. But now that they are returning, the team has been doing much better and may even be in contender status by the end of the season.
Why this matters to me is a mystery. I actually don't care a whit about my State University (a paper degree on a wall proving that I wasn't TOO stupid to get one), and professional teams trade players like brokers trade stocks.
I suppose that part of it is that they are winning. But part of it is that they play a game in a way I understand. Not that the women players are soft (any of them could beat the crap out of me at almost anything), but they play in a way I "get". More skill than elbows...
And the Washington Nationals baseball organization seems to value skill more than power. I admire that.
So for whatever it is worth, here it was... Just some thoughts.
But apparently, I'm a "Homie". I watch the Washington National baseball team games and am glad when they win. I watch my University of Maryland women's basketball team games (but not men's because that is just a crude elbow-flying cage fight). And the US women's soccer team...
So, I've been enjoying watching the Washington Nationals baseball team crawl up from a bad start to .500 today. They had a tough start with several starting players injured. But now that they are returning, the team has been doing much better and may even be in contender status by the end of the season.
Why this matters to me is a mystery. I actually don't care a whit about my State University (a paper degree on a wall proving that I wasn't TOO stupid to get one), and professional teams trade players like brokers trade stocks.
I suppose that part of it is that they are winning. But part of it is that they play a game in a way I understand. Not that the women players are soft (any of them could beat the crap out of me at almost anything), but they play in a way I "get". More skill than elbows...
And the Washington Nationals baseball organization seems to value skill more than power. I admire that.
So for whatever it is worth, here it was... Just some thoughts.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
A Gripe
I finally got my riding lawn mower back yesterday. The first thing I did was mow the front lawn of course. It seems to be working. I brought it the the local mower repair shop because it was suddenly hesitating and then stalling.
I told them I suspected a fuel line blockage because (bizzarely) I found bits of a leaf in the gas tank last year. And though I got most of it out with an aquarium net I bent into a shape to fit in, the engine was sure acting like there was something in the fuel line. I can do some basic stuff, but I don't mess with fuel... Plus, it needed a tune-up, a blade-sharpening, and oil and filter change.
When I got home that day I looked at the repair ticket and all it mentioned was "Service 1 - hesitates and stalls but will start again after about 15 minutes". So I called them. I was told "Service 1 is the basic tune-up and oil and filter change. The rest was the additional problem".
OK... "Service 1" WOULD be the basic tune-up stuff and blade-sharpening. So I waited for an estimate. after a week, they called and said the hesitation and stalling was due to a failure of both ignition coils (2 cylinders, 2 coils, 2 spark plugs). Don't worry, I had to look that up. Its what sends an electrical charge to the spark plugs. They gave me a price and I accepted it.
I wondered though why both would fail at the same time, but I thought back to when I was so broke I had to struggle to repair my old car and there was a single ignition coil that controlled all 8 cylinders.
Funny short story: I had a friend who worked at a car dealership. One day, he opened my car hood and showed me all the parts (most of which he said were to reduce the performance of the engine for emission control reasons). But one part he showed me was the ignition coil. It couldn't be sealed tight for heat reasons. But if you ever drove through a puddle and the car stalled, it was because the ignition coil got shorted by the spray.
So I understood about the ignition coils on the mower.
So they went about replacing those 2 parts (apparently they are separate on a mower. Falling asleep yet?
Well, they called Thursday and said they were going to have to clean the carburator and fuel line (another $25). Yeah, yeah, just do it...
So I picked it up Friday. The experience was not good. First, they had to jump start it. When I asked about that, they said I needed a new battery. Well, I had to do that too, but I thought a tune-up would solve that.
So I asked the mechanic "This is a repair shop, right"? He agreed. "Shouldn't that have been something to be fixed"? He said it wasn't on the repair ticket. OK, he is just the mechanic and he does what the repair ticket says to do. But they sell batteries! Why wouldn't they have offerred to replace it? Fine, I can buy a new battery anywhere.
But the engine gave a whiff of smoke and I asked about that too. He checked the oil level and said it was a bit high and should probably be changed. You want a definition of a lawn mower mechanaic? He wiped the oil dipstick clean ON HIS PANTS, LOL!
And that's when the horrible truth hit me. There had been no oil and filter change! I went back to the front desk and asked about that. The guy there said it wasn't on the repair ticket. So I asked about the tune up. Ditto!
I told him I had specifically asked for that AND called the next day asking about it. AND was assured that "Service 1" included that. He said no, the "service" numbers are just a list of problems the customer mentions. He said the woman I talked to just writes up repair tickets and wasn't there at the time to ask. But they would be happy to do the tune up and oil change. For more money. And they were backed up for a month.
I took my mower home and I will never ever bring anything to them again.
I can change the oil and filter. And the tune up probably wasn't necessary. I had removed the spark plugs and cleaned and gapped them last month.
But Jeez, what a bunch of idiots!
If I was younger, I would set up a competing business on the side. No customers should be treated like I was. The mechanics seem OK; it's a management problem.
I told them I suspected a fuel line blockage because (bizzarely) I found bits of a leaf in the gas tank last year. And though I got most of it out with an aquarium net I bent into a shape to fit in, the engine was sure acting like there was something in the fuel line. I can do some basic stuff, but I don't mess with fuel... Plus, it needed a tune-up, a blade-sharpening, and oil and filter change.
When I got home that day I looked at the repair ticket and all it mentioned was "Service 1 - hesitates and stalls but will start again after about 15 minutes". So I called them. I was told "Service 1 is the basic tune-up and oil and filter change. The rest was the additional problem".
OK... "Service 1" WOULD be the basic tune-up stuff and blade-sharpening. So I waited for an estimate. after a week, they called and said the hesitation and stalling was due to a failure of both ignition coils (2 cylinders, 2 coils, 2 spark plugs). Don't worry, I had to look that up. Its what sends an electrical charge to the spark plugs. They gave me a price and I accepted it.
I wondered though why both would fail at the same time, but I thought back to when I was so broke I had to struggle to repair my old car and there was a single ignition coil that controlled all 8 cylinders.
Funny short story: I had a friend who worked at a car dealership. One day, he opened my car hood and showed me all the parts (most of which he said were to reduce the performance of the engine for emission control reasons). But one part he showed me was the ignition coil. It couldn't be sealed tight for heat reasons. But if you ever drove through a puddle and the car stalled, it was because the ignition coil got shorted by the spray.
So I understood about the ignition coils on the mower.
So they went about replacing those 2 parts (apparently they are separate on a mower. Falling asleep yet?
Well, they called Thursday and said they were going to have to clean the carburator and fuel line (another $25). Yeah, yeah, just do it...
So I picked it up Friday. The experience was not good. First, they had to jump start it. When I asked about that, they said I needed a new battery. Well, I had to do that too, but I thought a tune-up would solve that.
So I asked the mechanic "This is a repair shop, right"? He agreed. "Shouldn't that have been something to be fixed"? He said it wasn't on the repair ticket. OK, he is just the mechanic and he does what the repair ticket says to do. But they sell batteries! Why wouldn't they have offerred to replace it? Fine, I can buy a new battery anywhere.
But the engine gave a whiff of smoke and I asked about that too. He checked the oil level and said it was a bit high and should probably be changed. You want a definition of a lawn mower mechanaic? He wiped the oil dipstick clean ON HIS PANTS, LOL!
And that's when the horrible truth hit me. There had been no oil and filter change! I went back to the front desk and asked about that. The guy there said it wasn't on the repair ticket. So I asked about the tune up. Ditto!
I told him I had specifically asked for that AND called the next day asking about it. AND was assured that "Service 1" included that. He said no, the "service" numbers are just a list of problems the customer mentions. He said the woman I talked to just writes up repair tickets and wasn't there at the time to ask. But they would be happy to do the tune up and oil change. For more money. And they were backed up for a month.
I took my mower home and I will never ever bring anything to them again.
I can change the oil and filter. And the tune up probably wasn't necessary. I had removed the spark plugs and cleaned and gapped them last month.
But Jeez, what a bunch of idiots!
If I was younger, I would set up a competing business on the side. No customers should be treated like I was. The mechanics seem OK; it's a management problem.
Friday, June 21, 2019
A Thought
I watched the last half of the movie 'Arrival'. I didn't understand it all, but grasped that it involved alien linguistics and apparently things worked out in the end.
But what stayed in mind afterwards was that the heroine finally came up with "zero sum game" when her daughter was seeking a "sciencey" phrase for "not lose-lose". And I got to thinking about that. I often do that when watching TV and completely lose the next 15 minutes deep in thought. Which is a good reason to watch DVDs because you can just rewind them. And see how old I am? You don't rewind a DVD, LOL! But I digress...
So I was thinking about "zero sum game". Too many politicians think of life as zero sum; "if you win, I lose". And that actually annoyed me. In the movie, there were alien ships in many nations and all nations were trying to solve the language problem on their own for individual advantage. One minor character dared suggest that everyone share what they knew and was ridiculed.
So back to reality and "zero sum"...
We have to stop thinking that way. It's just causing too many problems. We all know some things but no one knows everything. We need to start sharing better. If Nation "A" knows more about building wind turbines and Nation "B" knows more about storing that energy, shouldn't we share? And why not tell Nation "C" about both parts so they can make life better for their own people?
I once read about 2 Chinese villages that both made hoes and were fiercely competitive. As they were about to go to war, the Emperor stepped in and demanded that one village make the blades and the other make the handles and share the profits. It a myth of course, but makes a good point. We are all one species and should help each other.
Suppose we detected actual aliens approaching Earth 5 years away. I bet we could all get along better then, huh? And if they arrived and looked like 8' squirrels with tentacles, we wouldn't think we were all that different either.
Why wait?
My paternal grandmother used to say that if a flying saucer ever landed on Earth, she would be the first person aboard. On the surface, that reflects the fact that she and Grampa had rather "hard-scrabble" lives. But I knew her better than that. She was a brave and forward-looking person who thought our human progress was too slow and needed a better challenge. A good kick in the butt...
And I agree. We have gotten too locked into to group competition. That's the "zero sum game". No one wins that way and I'm getting damn tired of it. We need to go from "zero sum" to "win-win"!
This is all because of the current political nonsense here in the US. Be on any side you like domestically or internationally, but things are just not working as they should. It isn't that one side should win and that would solve everything.
Too many people feel a need to "win" at the expense of "the others" just to get ahead. But isn't reality the idea of everyone getting ahead?
There is a reason we all don't live in caves today. We traded knowledge. One group showed another how to use animal sinews to hold hides together to make a portable shelter, and the other group gave them some seeds they saved that grew better grains. And the next group had a better flint-knapping technique.
Everyone benefitted. When did we stop?
Let's start doing that again.
And Happy Summer Solstice Day in the North and Winter in the South...
But what stayed in mind afterwards was that the heroine finally came up with "zero sum game" when her daughter was seeking a "sciencey" phrase for "not lose-lose". And I got to thinking about that. I often do that when watching TV and completely lose the next 15 minutes deep in thought. Which is a good reason to watch DVDs because you can just rewind them. And see how old I am? You don't rewind a DVD, LOL! But I digress...
So I was thinking about "zero sum game". Too many politicians think of life as zero sum; "if you win, I lose". And that actually annoyed me. In the movie, there were alien ships in many nations and all nations were trying to solve the language problem on their own for individual advantage. One minor character dared suggest that everyone share what they knew and was ridiculed.
So back to reality and "zero sum"...
We have to stop thinking that way. It's just causing too many problems. We all know some things but no one knows everything. We need to start sharing better. If Nation "A" knows more about building wind turbines and Nation "B" knows more about storing that energy, shouldn't we share? And why not tell Nation "C" about both parts so they can make life better for their own people?
I once read about 2 Chinese villages that both made hoes and were fiercely competitive. As they were about to go to war, the Emperor stepped in and demanded that one village make the blades and the other make the handles and share the profits. It a myth of course, but makes a good point. We are all one species and should help each other.
Suppose we detected actual aliens approaching Earth 5 years away. I bet we could all get along better then, huh? And if they arrived and looked like 8' squirrels with tentacles, we wouldn't think we were all that different either.
Why wait?
My paternal grandmother used to say that if a flying saucer ever landed on Earth, she would be the first person aboard. On the surface, that reflects the fact that she and Grampa had rather "hard-scrabble" lives. But I knew her better than that. She was a brave and forward-looking person who thought our human progress was too slow and needed a better challenge. A good kick in the butt...
And I agree. We have gotten too locked into to group competition. That's the "zero sum game". No one wins that way and I'm getting damn tired of it. We need to go from "zero sum" to "win-win"!
This is all because of the current political nonsense here in the US. Be on any side you like domestically or internationally, but things are just not working as they should. It isn't that one side should win and that would solve everything.
Too many people feel a need to "win" at the expense of "the others" just to get ahead. But isn't reality the idea of everyone getting ahead?
There is a reason we all don't live in caves today. We traded knowledge. One group showed another how to use animal sinews to hold hides together to make a portable shelter, and the other group gave them some seeds they saved that grew better grains. And the next group had a better flint-knapping technique.
Everyone benefitted. When did we stop?
Let's start doing that again.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
An Awkward Afternoon
OK, so it was about 5 pm last night and time to start preparing dinner. I do a lot food prep. Not like sliding a knife guided by my knuckles (as seen on TV), but I slice and dice pretty well. I'm careful with knives and tools.
I love most veggies and one of those is beets and I mean fresh beets. I bake them or m/w them, and I've always peeled them first, which works pretty well. But I decided last night to bake them first and see if the skins would just slip off afterwards.
Well they didn't. Worse, trying to peel them after baking was like trying to peel a damp sponge. The beet was hard to hold, and the peeler couldn't get a grip. In fact, as I was struggling with it, I said to myself "Self, you could hurt yourself this way". You know what's coming right?
Yeah, one last peeler-pull and it slipped. It didn't hurt in the least. In fact, while I sensed something was wrong, it wasn't until I rinsed off the beet juice that I was sure I was bleeding. My left middle fingertip was bleeding and by pressing on it I could tell I had taken a (small) piece of the nail out as well.
It is amazing how hard it can be to open one of those individual-wrapped specialty band-aids (fingertip-type in this case) when one hand is bleeding. I had the bleeding fingertip pressed against a wadded tissue, so I had to use my right hand and teeth. Fortunately, I wasn't worried about sterility, I just needed to stop the bleeding.
I finally did manage the get the fingertip bandage ready to apply, the fingertip dry of blood, and anti-biotic ointment applied to the finger, and the band-aid ON. Which was done pretty awkwardly, but it stopped bleeding.
Which was confusing because there was still blood dripping... It turned out the ring-finger was similarly-but-less injured. So I had to go through the whole process all over again.
So then I had the fun of preparing dinner (chicken, tossed salad, M/W potato, stir-fried peppers and mushrooms without getting my left hand wet or oily. Its like typing with 2 fingers on one hand...
Now all I have to do is wait to see what things look like later today. I stop bleeding fast, but I need to look at the fingernails. I've never damaged one before and I don't know what happens when you do.
Fun and Games in the kitchen, LOL!
And my semi-annual Dentist visit is later today. Sure, why not? And tomorrow I "get" to pick up my riding mower from the repair shop after 3 1/2 weeks for $350.
It could be a LOT worse. I could have pulled a fingernail partially or completely loose. The dental visit could be about a root canal. The riding mower could be essentially unrepairable and require a new one (and the new ones aren't actually as good as the old ones).
I love most veggies and one of those is beets and I mean fresh beets. I bake them or m/w them, and I've always peeled them first, which works pretty well. But I decided last night to bake them first and see if the skins would just slip off afterwards.
Well they didn't. Worse, trying to peel them after baking was like trying to peel a damp sponge. The beet was hard to hold, and the peeler couldn't get a grip. In fact, as I was struggling with it, I said to myself "Self, you could hurt yourself this way". You know what's coming right?
Yeah, one last peeler-pull and it slipped. It didn't hurt in the least. In fact, while I sensed something was wrong, it wasn't until I rinsed off the beet juice that I was sure I was bleeding. My left middle fingertip was bleeding and by pressing on it I could tell I had taken a (small) piece of the nail out as well.
It is amazing how hard it can be to open one of those individual-wrapped specialty band-aids (fingertip-type in this case) when one hand is bleeding. I had the bleeding fingertip pressed against a wadded tissue, so I had to use my right hand and teeth. Fortunately, I wasn't worried about sterility, I just needed to stop the bleeding.
I finally did manage the get the fingertip bandage ready to apply, the fingertip dry of blood, and anti-biotic ointment applied to the finger, and the band-aid ON. Which was done pretty awkwardly, but it stopped bleeding.
Which was confusing because there was still blood dripping... It turned out the ring-finger was similarly-but-less injured. So I had to go through the whole process all over again.
So then I had the fun of preparing dinner (chicken, tossed salad, M/W potato, stir-fried peppers and mushrooms without getting my left hand wet or oily. Its like typing with 2 fingers on one hand...
Now all I have to do is wait to see what things look like later today. I stop bleeding fast, but I need to look at the fingernails. I've never damaged one before and I don't know what happens when you do.
Fun and Games in the kitchen, LOL!
And my semi-annual Dentist visit is later today. Sure, why not? And tomorrow I "get" to pick up my riding mower from the repair shop after 3 1/2 weeks for $350.
It could be a LOT worse. I could have pulled a fingernail partially or completely loose. The dental visit could be about a root canal. The riding mower could be essentially unrepairable and require a new one (and the new ones aren't actually as good as the old ones).
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Baseball
All my life, I have preferred to play sports rather than watch them. I too old to play now, and when I watch sports, it is usually baseball. So I've been re-watching the Ken Burn's series about the history of baseball on DVD. I love the history of the development of the game.
The original players were all amateurs, and (being one) I enjoyed that. Later, the first professional teams arose. Those guys were rough men, miners, farmers, construction workers. As one said "I wanted to escape those damned cows".
There were only still pictures back then, but they were amazing. One showed a closeup of a guy gripping the bat. His skin was like leather and he had knuckles like walnuts! Another picture showed a player shirtless (for the point of the picture, I assume). His arms were like things. I would almost bet he could have crushed a weightlifter.
That's not my point here, just saying those guys were amazingly strong, and very determined not to go back to the mines or cows.
What struck me was that so many of them were completely illiterate and couldn't do simple math. Money paid to them was sort of a mystery that they could only understand as "spending money". If I understand it, a farmer got a loan from the bank which went directly to the seed company who delivered the seed. No bank would trust the farmer to actually manage the money even briefly. Many did and could manage money, but I'm talking about the many ones who couldn't.
So I wondered, what was it like to look at a written contract and not be able to make any sense of the symbols, depending on some manager to tell you what the terms were, and knowing you got cheated by such people all the time? What a difficult way to live...
Which brings me to the Black Sox scandal in the 1919 World Series. The Chicago White Sox were one of the best teams ever. They were all horribly underpaid (about $3-5,000 each) compared to other teams at the time getting 5-10k), they were mostly illiterate, and a Big Time gambler came after them with promises of wealth.
Long story short, some of them went for the money. The smarter of them demanded their money up front. The others trusted to the honesty on the gambler (simpler souls). The gambler (he is mentioned in 'The Great Gatsby') got away with it and got lots. The players got little. As Shoeless Joe Jackson said afterwards that they promised him $20,000 and he got $5,000. Some got less and some got nothing.
All the players involved were banned for baseball for life. Consider THAT Pete Rose...
Sad story: Jackson was reduced to working in a liquor store. One day Ty Cobb came in and recognized the player he had modeled his swing after. Cobb said "Don't you recognize me Joe"? And Jackson said "Sure I recognize you Cobb, but I didn't think you wanted to recognize me".
And then there was Babe Ruth, one of the best pitchers ever and the best hitter too. When he wasn't pitching, he playing outfield so that he could hit. The Red Sox owner was more interested in arranging Broadway plays and was not very good at it. So everytime he had a failed play, he sold one of his star players to The New York Yankees.
Eventually, he sold Babe Ruth (well technically, he sold the contract). The 1920s Yankees were build on Boston Red Sox stars.
But I mention that to say this... Some people say the home run ers started because the ball was made "livlier" which is true in the sense of the ball. But in20, Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs and that was more than any other whole TEAM but one. So it wasn't just the ball.
Another thing I like about the Ken Burn's series is that he related the past to the present. One thing about baseball is the consistency of player statistics. Not what one did today as opposed to 80 years ago, but as ythey did against each other.
And I think I will stop here...
The original players were all amateurs, and (being one) I enjoyed that. Later, the first professional teams arose. Those guys were rough men, miners, farmers, construction workers. As one said "I wanted to escape those damned cows".
There were only still pictures back then, but they were amazing. One showed a closeup of a guy gripping the bat. His skin was like leather and he had knuckles like walnuts! Another picture showed a player shirtless (for the point of the picture, I assume). His arms were like things. I would almost bet he could have crushed a weightlifter.
That's not my point here, just saying those guys were amazingly strong, and very determined not to go back to the mines or cows.
What struck me was that so many of them were completely illiterate and couldn't do simple math. Money paid to them was sort of a mystery that they could only understand as "spending money". If I understand it, a farmer got a loan from the bank which went directly to the seed company who delivered the seed. No bank would trust the farmer to actually manage the money even briefly. Many did and could manage money, but I'm talking about the many ones who couldn't.
So I wondered, what was it like to look at a written contract and not be able to make any sense of the symbols, depending on some manager to tell you what the terms were, and knowing you got cheated by such people all the time? What a difficult way to live...
Which brings me to the Black Sox scandal in the 1919 World Series. The Chicago White Sox were one of the best teams ever. They were all horribly underpaid (about $3-5,000 each) compared to other teams at the time getting 5-10k), they were mostly illiterate, and a Big Time gambler came after them with promises of wealth.
Long story short, some of them went for the money. The smarter of them demanded their money up front. The others trusted to the honesty on the gambler (simpler souls). The gambler (he is mentioned in 'The Great Gatsby') got away with it and got lots. The players got little. As Shoeless Joe Jackson said afterwards that they promised him $20,000 and he got $5,000. Some got less and some got nothing.
All the players involved were banned for baseball for life. Consider THAT Pete Rose...
Sad story: Jackson was reduced to working in a liquor store. One day Ty Cobb came in and recognized the player he had modeled his swing after. Cobb said "Don't you recognize me Joe"? And Jackson said "Sure I recognize you Cobb, but I didn't think you wanted to recognize me".
And then there was Babe Ruth, one of the best pitchers ever and the best hitter too. When he wasn't pitching, he playing outfield so that he could hit. The Red Sox owner was more interested in arranging Broadway plays and was not very good at it. So everytime he had a failed play, he sold one of his star players to The New York Yankees.
Eventually, he sold Babe Ruth (well technically, he sold the contract). The 1920s Yankees were build on Boston Red Sox stars.
But I mention that to say this... Some people say the home run ers started because the ball was made "livlier" which is true in the sense of the ball. But in20, Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs and that was more than any other whole TEAM but one. So it wasn't just the ball.
Another thing I like about the Ken Burn's series is that he related the past to the present. One thing about baseball is the consistency of player statistics. Not what one did today as opposed to 80 years ago, but as ythey did against each other.
And I think I will stop here...
Monday, June 10, 2019
An Irregular Curious Event
This blog does not get many visitors (and I sure appreciate you all). A typical post gets 0-6 comments and a dozen or so views. I don't mind that, I'm basically tossing bottles into the ocean (or, if you have ever seen the movie 'Conneger', tying messages onto tumbleweeds).
But sometimes there are suddenly 50-200 views days later. They never leave comments, so I have no idea who they are. And this never happens on the cat blog. Many years ago, the cat blog suddenly got 100s of comments on really old posts that advertised products in Chinese that (as far as I could tell with Google Translate) were only for local sale in China.
It baffled me, and I spent some days deleting as many as I could (and some were undeletable). But this is not the same thing. These visitors never leave comments (that I can detect). And when I try to search keywords and phrases in those posts, none show up as one-off oddly-popular flash-group interests.
My antivirus programs (I have 2 I run alternately) never find any problems. It is entirely weird.
Just mentioning this in case someone has any ideas about what is going on...
But sometimes there are suddenly 50-200 views days later. They never leave comments, so I have no idea who they are. And this never happens on the cat blog. Many years ago, the cat blog suddenly got 100s of comments on really old posts that advertised products in Chinese that (as far as I could tell with Google Translate) were only for local sale in China.
It baffled me, and I spent some days deleting as many as I could (and some were undeletable). But this is not the same thing. These visitors never leave comments (that I can detect). And when I try to search keywords and phrases in those posts, none show up as one-off oddly-popular flash-group interests.
My antivirus programs (I have 2 I run alternately) never find any problems. It is entirely weird.
Just mentioning this in case someone has any ideas about what is going on...
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Random Thoughts
If the weather forecast says a 75% chance of rain, it won't. But if it says 25% and you decide to cook something on the grill or decide to plant flowers, it will.
You can look at your riding mower tires every week and they seem inflated, the day you don't, they aren't.
Any typo you make is assured to be a real word that is embarrassing in context. And I don't use autospell.
Lawn grass grows faster when the mower is at the shop for repairs.
If there is a spot of plants who die at the least time of inattention, they are ones you wanted to save. If you didn't like them, they are impossible to kill.
Speaking of which, why is it that the slightest bump to a sapling you are trying to grow kills it, but chopping down a "junk one" only makes it regrow faster?
I am convinced the mailman sits at the top of the hill just waiting for me to go out and check the mailbox. Because 10 minutes later, he always arrives. I need to check the mailbox for a "secret sensor".
Poison ivy always knows where you don't think it is...
Dry holly leaves are pricklier than you expect.
Never build one fence gate larger than the other. The larger one will pull the posts over and make the gates hard to open. On the other hand, the way to solve that is with a chainsaw or Saws-All run between them.
RoundUp kills wild blackberries. And they curl down from the top. It's a pleasure to see the next day when you don't want them.
Iza won't poop in a litter box unless I am watching but always pees in them. I think she knows pee spreads. Ayla will come in from outside to use the litterbox and then want to go outside again. Marley prefers going outside.
Marley hates walking on dry leaves.
In math, constants aren't, variables won't.
I can't tell which way to tighten things when they are upside down.
If I watch my hometown sports teams on TV, they usually lose. Well, they usually lose anyway, but if they are winning, my watching them is the kiss of death. I stopped watching the Washington Nationals baseball team a couple weeks ago and they have won something like 10 of 13 since. Is this a marketable skill?
I like a dish brush that holds liquid soap. The bottom half came loose. I bought a new bottom half. It was the top that was bad.
If I mailed myself a letter, it woudn't arrive.
I could put my car in an empty parking lot and there would be a new dent when I returned.
I have no luck at cards or dice. I lose a 50-50% chance 75% of the time. If all I needed to win a game of Yahtzee, and needed only 7 pips, I would get four 1s and a 2. If I wanted four 1s and a 2, I would get all 6s.
Ayla is terrible at Backgammon; she only wins 1 of 5 games.
The car dealership sent me an ad saying I was due or my 100,000 maintenance. The car has only 28,000 miles. And its 13 years old.
Hope you enjoyed...
You can look at your riding mower tires every week and they seem inflated, the day you don't, they aren't.
Any typo you make is assured to be a real word that is embarrassing in context. And I don't use autospell.
Lawn grass grows faster when the mower is at the shop for repairs.
If there is a spot of plants who die at the least time of inattention, they are ones you wanted to save. If you didn't like them, they are impossible to kill.
Speaking of which, why is it that the slightest bump to a sapling you are trying to grow kills it, but chopping down a "junk one" only makes it regrow faster?
I am convinced the mailman sits at the top of the hill just waiting for me to go out and check the mailbox. Because 10 minutes later, he always arrives. I need to check the mailbox for a "secret sensor".
Poison ivy always knows where you don't think it is...
Dry holly leaves are pricklier than you expect.
Never build one fence gate larger than the other. The larger one will pull the posts over and make the gates hard to open. On the other hand, the way to solve that is with a chainsaw or Saws-All run between them.
RoundUp kills wild blackberries. And they curl down from the top. It's a pleasure to see the next day when you don't want them.
Iza won't poop in a litter box unless I am watching but always pees in them. I think she knows pee spreads. Ayla will come in from outside to use the litterbox and then want to go outside again. Marley prefers going outside.
Marley hates walking on dry leaves.
In math, constants aren't, variables won't.
I can't tell which way to tighten things when they are upside down.
If I watch my hometown sports teams on TV, they usually lose. Well, they usually lose anyway, but if they are winning, my watching them is the kiss of death. I stopped watching the Washington Nationals baseball team a couple weeks ago and they have won something like 10 of 13 since. Is this a marketable skill?
I like a dish brush that holds liquid soap. The bottom half came loose. I bought a new bottom half. It was the top that was bad.
If I mailed myself a letter, it woudn't arrive.
I could put my car in an empty parking lot and there would be a new dent when I returned.
I have no luck at cards or dice. I lose a 50-50% chance 75% of the time. If all I needed to win a game of Yahtzee, and needed only 7 pips, I would get four 1s and a 2. If I wanted four 1s and a 2, I would get all 6s.
Ayla is terrible at Backgammon; she only wins 1 of 5 games.
The car dealership sent me an ad saying I was due or my 100,000 maintenance. The car has only 28,000 miles. And its 13 years old.
Hope you enjoyed...
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Frozen Indecisively
Have you ever hit a decision where you kept changing your mind? I had that problem the past week and that sort of thing really gets me locked-up internally and I can't really get anythng else done until I resolve the issue.
It doesn't have to be a really serious problem like a decision about medical treatment or a big financial decision. Just something where you can't make up your mind. Military training teaches you (I have read) to deal with a 50-50 decision by just choosing one. But my profession was an an analyst and the thought there is that nothing is "50-50". That there has to be some additional information that will make it at least 51-49...
My issue this past 2 weeks was my riding lawn mower. A little background... I mowed the family lawn starting at age 12 (and hated it). I got several summer jobs at 15-16 (and hated it). My first serious Summer job was mowing lawns at an army base during Summer Vacation (and I hated it). And I still had to mow the family lawn (1/2 acre) until I left for college.
Not-very-fun story: The month I left for college, Dad bought a riding lawn mower because my brother (who was only 2 years younger) simply refused to mow the lawn, and Dad sure didn't want to use the push mower).
At my first 2 rental houses (with other people), part of my contribution to the general maintenance was (naturally) mowing the lawn. When I bought my house, I had to mow the lawn. When I bought the house, I was broke and owed my parents money for the down-payment. When I paid that off in a year, I had to replace the old car.
So, don't be surprised that my first voluntary purchase was a Riding Lawn Mower! I was thrilled. It was a rather cheap model but I kept it going for 11 years. By that time, I could buy a GOOD One. It is 18 years old and needs serious maintenance. I can do the basics, but this time it is suddenly hesitating, then stalling. If I let it sit for about 15 minutes, it starts right up again and runs well for another 10 minutes, then hesitates and stalls again.
I decided it was time for a new riding mower, and equipment always gets better, right? I am a True Believer in Consumer Reports magazine ratings. They never steer me wrong. So when I looked and saw that Jogn Deere riding mowers were the top 4 rated ones, I felt certain that I should choose one of them. I found 2 that seems to suit me.
But, as I've mentioned, I'm an analyst, and I read the negative reviews of those mowers on other sites. I was shocked by what I read. Apparently "new" is not always better.
The first thing I learned was that virtually all riding mowers made in the US are made by a single company with minor differences (according to brand names) about the engine and deck construction. Like major brands and store brands of canned beans etc all mostly coming from the same producer.
The complaints I saw involved 3 problems. Most new riding mowers use "hydrostatic transmissions". I won't pretend to understand the details, but it seems that they are cheaper to build. The cons are that they lack durability and require frequent maintenance. and are not good under load (hauling a trailer or mowing up even mild slopes.
The 2nd problem was that most of the newer engines are damaged by ethanol gasoline (the routine gas at gas stations). You can by premixed gas at auto shops or a stabilizer yo add yourself. Either way, it doubles the cost of fuel. That adds up.
The 3rd problem is they are more expensive to maintain and repair.
I didn't just look at one site about this. I searched several. They all said about the same thing. And some were so technically detailed about the problems (many by repair-persons), that I had to accept their negative opinions about the newer riding mowers.
So my option was to have the current one repaired again, hoping that in a few years, the current problems would be solved. Basically, up to $400 for the current one this year vs $2,000 for a new one that would be more expensive to run and maintain and could well be expected to last only 5-6 years.
So tht has been keeping me uncertain in the day and worrying at night. I had "bad lawn mower dreams" 2 nights.
To make it worse, "Angies List", a site that collects user ratings of business and denies business postings gave the only local repair shop I have used for lawn mower repair a C rating. But I looked at that closely. On the lawn mower repair only, they got seventeen 5 ratings, seven 4 ratings, one 2 rating, and one 1 rating. And the bad ratings were for "promptness". And they got a good rating for price.
So I delivered the riding mower to them Tuesday. Sure enough, they said it would be a week before they got it up on their bench to provide a detailed estimate and a week after that before the work was completed if I accepted their quote.
The good parts were that the desk clerk you writes the repair ticket seems to know exactly what I was describing about the hesitations and stalls. And the guy "around the back" where I actually turned over the mower asked a few good question and wrote down my answers.
So... I bet it will take 3 weeks and the mower will be working great for a few more years.
Meanwhile, I'll have to use the battery-powered push mower a couple of times. A battery lasts 20 minutes on that (but there are 2 of them). So I'll have to mow the lawn in pieces.
But at least I finally made a decision about whether to replace the current mower. I slept well that night and got busy outside the next day. Nothing like having a weight off your shoulders...
I'm going to send Consumer Reports a letter asking about their ratings. But I suspect they will say they rate existing products and are not really in the business of comparing then to older ones. Seems fair.
It doesn't have to be a really serious problem like a decision about medical treatment or a big financial decision. Just something where you can't make up your mind. Military training teaches you (I have read) to deal with a 50-50 decision by just choosing one. But my profession was an an analyst and the thought there is that nothing is "50-50". That there has to be some additional information that will make it at least 51-49...
My issue this past 2 weeks was my riding lawn mower. A little background... I mowed the family lawn starting at age 12 (and hated it). I got several summer jobs at 15-16 (and hated it). My first serious Summer job was mowing lawns at an army base during Summer Vacation (and I hated it). And I still had to mow the family lawn (1/2 acre) until I left for college.
Not-very-fun story: The month I left for college, Dad bought a riding lawn mower because my brother (who was only 2 years younger) simply refused to mow the lawn, and Dad sure didn't want to use the push mower).
At my first 2 rental houses (with other people), part of my contribution to the general maintenance was (naturally) mowing the lawn. When I bought my house, I had to mow the lawn. When I bought the house, I was broke and owed my parents money for the down-payment. When I paid that off in a year, I had to replace the old car.
So, don't be surprised that my first voluntary purchase was a Riding Lawn Mower! I was thrilled. It was a rather cheap model but I kept it going for 11 years. By that time, I could buy a GOOD One. It is 18 years old and needs serious maintenance. I can do the basics, but this time it is suddenly hesitating, then stalling. If I let it sit for about 15 minutes, it starts right up again and runs well for another 10 minutes, then hesitates and stalls again.
I decided it was time for a new riding mower, and equipment always gets better, right? I am a True Believer in Consumer Reports magazine ratings. They never steer me wrong. So when I looked and saw that Jogn Deere riding mowers were the top 4 rated ones, I felt certain that I should choose one of them. I found 2 that seems to suit me.
But, as I've mentioned, I'm an analyst, and I read the negative reviews of those mowers on other sites. I was shocked by what I read. Apparently "new" is not always better.
The first thing I learned was that virtually all riding mowers made in the US are made by a single company with minor differences (according to brand names) about the engine and deck construction. Like major brands and store brands of canned beans etc all mostly coming from the same producer.
The complaints I saw involved 3 problems. Most new riding mowers use "hydrostatic transmissions". I won't pretend to understand the details, but it seems that they are cheaper to build. The cons are that they lack durability and require frequent maintenance. and are not good under load (hauling a trailer or mowing up even mild slopes.
The 2nd problem was that most of the newer engines are damaged by ethanol gasoline (the routine gas at gas stations). You can by premixed gas at auto shops or a stabilizer yo add yourself. Either way, it doubles the cost of fuel. That adds up.
The 3rd problem is they are more expensive to maintain and repair.
I didn't just look at one site about this. I searched several. They all said about the same thing. And some were so technically detailed about the problems (many by repair-persons), that I had to accept their negative opinions about the newer riding mowers.
So my option was to have the current one repaired again, hoping that in a few years, the current problems would be solved. Basically, up to $400 for the current one this year vs $2,000 for a new one that would be more expensive to run and maintain and could well be expected to last only 5-6 years.
So tht has been keeping me uncertain in the day and worrying at night. I had "bad lawn mower dreams" 2 nights.
To make it worse, "Angies List", a site that collects user ratings of business and denies business postings gave the only local repair shop I have used for lawn mower repair a C rating. But I looked at that closely. On the lawn mower repair only, they got seventeen 5 ratings, seven 4 ratings, one 2 rating, and one 1 rating. And the bad ratings were for "promptness". And they got a good rating for price.
So I delivered the riding mower to them Tuesday. Sure enough, they said it would be a week before they got it up on their bench to provide a detailed estimate and a week after that before the work was completed if I accepted their quote.
The good parts were that the desk clerk you writes the repair ticket seems to know exactly what I was describing about the hesitations and stalls. And the guy "around the back" where I actually turned over the mower asked a few good question and wrote down my answers.
So... I bet it will take 3 weeks and the mower will be working great for a few more years.
Meanwhile, I'll have to use the battery-powered push mower a couple of times. A battery lasts 20 minutes on that (but there are 2 of them). So I'll have to mow the lawn in pieces.
But at least I finally made a decision about whether to replace the current mower. I slept well that night and got busy outside the next day. Nothing like having a weight off your shoulders...
I'm going to send Consumer Reports a letter asking about their ratings. But I suspect they will say they rate existing products and are not really in the business of comparing then to older ones. Seems fair.
Monday, May 27, 2019
Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day (observed) in the US. I honor this day.
Memorial Day was first widely observed in the US in May 1868. The celebration commemorated the sacrifices of the Civil War and the proclamation was made by General John A Logan. Following the proclamation, participants decorated graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers.
President Ronald Reagan said in 1986, "Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die for us again. It's a day of thanks for the valor of others, a day to remember the splendor of America and those of her children who rest in this cemetery and others. It's a day to be with the family and remember."
President Barack Obama said in 2015 that "On Memorial Day, the United States pauses to honor the fallen heroes who died in service to our Nation. With heavy hearts and a sense of profound gratitude, we mourn these women and men—parents, children, loved ones, comrades-in-arms, friends, and all those known and unknown—who believed so deeply in what our country could be they were willing to give their lives to protect its promise.”
I usually post a small graphic to recognize the day. I am of an age who had uncles who fought on the battlefields and aunts who spent time giving and collecting blood, working in the factories, and keeping the home fires lit...
But I think we sometimes forget why they did that beyond the usual "defense of country", and I was reminded of that yesterday watching a history DVD.
The Statue Of Liberty (full name "Liberty Enlightening The World") was a gift from France. It took a couple decades for the US to settle on a site for it and to construct a pedestal and to assemble the parts. But I only mention that because of the poem. Because the part of the poem by Emma Lazarus we know best is:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
That's why my uncles, aunts, and forefathers fought. And that is why I honor this day. And not that my past generations succeeded in all, but they tried. Sometimes honor is doing your best, knowing you are imperfect...
...................
BTW, do you know what is inscribed on the tablet?
"JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776)
And the full sonnet written by Emma Lazarus is:
"The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!".
Memorial Day was first widely observed in the US in May 1868. The celebration commemorated the sacrifices of the Civil War and the proclamation was made by General John A Logan. Following the proclamation, participants decorated graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers.
President Ronald Reagan said in 1986, "Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die for us again. It's a day of thanks for the valor of others, a day to remember the splendor of America and those of her children who rest in this cemetery and others. It's a day to be with the family and remember."
President Barack Obama said in 2015 that "On Memorial Day, the United States pauses to honor the fallen heroes who died in service to our Nation. With heavy hearts and a sense of profound gratitude, we mourn these women and men—parents, children, loved ones, comrades-in-arms, friends, and all those known and unknown—who believed so deeply in what our country could be they were willing to give their lives to protect its promise.”
I usually post a small graphic to recognize the day. I am of an age who had uncles who fought on the battlefields and aunts who spent time giving and collecting blood, working in the factories, and keeping the home fires lit...
But I think we sometimes forget why they did that beyond the usual "defense of country", and I was reminded of that yesterday watching a history DVD.
The Statue Of Liberty (full name "Liberty Enlightening The World") was a gift from France. It took a couple decades for the US to settle on a site for it and to construct a pedestal and to assemble the parts. But I only mention that because of the poem. Because the part of the poem by Emma Lazarus we know best is:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
That's why my uncles, aunts, and forefathers fought. And that is why I honor this day. And not that my past generations succeeded in all, but they tried. Sometimes honor is doing your best, knowing you are imperfect...
...................
BTW, do you know what is inscribed on the tablet?
"JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776)
And the full sonnet written by Emma Lazarus is:
"The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!".
France gave the U.S. the Statue of Liberty in 1886; Americans gave Paris a smaller version of the same statue in 1889. The two face each other across the Atlantic...
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Stuff
Today is my 69th Birthday. Whoppee... NEXT YEAR I will feel officially old. I got a nice card from my Sister. They are usually humorous, and I love those. This one was kind of serious about appreciating a Big Brother. That was nice too. My Sister and I have always been close.
But I mostly enjoyed the day planting some flowers. Not the mass yearly annual plantings of zinnias and salvia and marigolds (those are the rest of the week as I had to soak the soil today so I can pull weeds out tomorrow). These were specialty flowers for the hummingbird/butterfly/bee bed.
Last year, I bought seeds of less-common flowers that were self-seeding for a cottage garden bed. But I didn't plant them and the places they were to go were too over-run with weeds (and poison ivy and invasive vines). So I planted lots of them this year, intending to clear those areas. I didn't.
But I had tilled up the hummers/butterflies/bees (HBB) bed (it grew few flowers last year). So I looked up the flowers and found that most of them were very attractive to the HBB bed. So I spent the day repurposing the seedlings planting those.
It made sense. The commercial HBB seed packets haven't worked 2 years in a row; time to try something different. But I HAD spread a commercial mix around the bed and there were plants coming up.
So I had to stand in the beds VERY carefully to plant the seedlings and bend around so as to not move my seedling-stomping feet. I planted 4 Cleomes, 4 Cosmos, 9 Maltese Cross, 5 Butterfly Weed (Asclepus or something like that), and 4 of one that I forget. And, of course, I have hopes for the seedlings that are emerging from the HBB packet. I know some are weeds and I tried to pick them out while planting the good flowers. I gave them a good watering.
My back is KILLING me. That used to happen a few times a year before but it is becoming a daily annoyance. Aspercreme helps a lot. The heated waterbed helps at night, too. The more common problem is hand-clenches. If I grip things too long too hard (like mower steering wheel or loppers or pruner handles) I pay for it 2 hours later. My fingers clench up just when I'm preparing dinner and (aside for being painful) it is really awkward. I do a lot of fresh food prep, so when I can't hold a knife firmly, I have to be REAL careful.
While I was planting the seedlings, I was watering the weeded parts of the older garden. I have a sprayer mounted on a tripod I built years ago and that is really good for watering a defined area for 15-20 minutes to really soak the soil down to root level.
But there is good news. I harvested snow peas. I love those in stir fries and I get to pick them when they are fresh and tender.
Planted 15 sunflower seedlings too. I placed 5 each around three 2' high cages for support while they adjust to sunlight and the real world. Helps them in windy conditions too. Support 2' high is better than none.
There is also good news in the backyard where the brambles used to grow rampantly. The brush mower really killed most of them last Fall. Individual wild blackberries succumb to a small controlled shot of RoundUp. I don't like that kind of stuff, but things got out of hand and I've been very specific about what I sprayed. It is nice to see a 1' high blackberry shoot falling over. I've targeted wild grape vines and poison ivy too.
The wild english ivy is harder to kill and takes a couple shots. I finally identified the invasive vine from a neighbor's yard as Vinca Major. It is hard to kill, too. Mowing it and then spraying the new growth seems to work well. But it will be several attacks before it is dead in the open areas.
The hard part is that the Vinca and poison ivy have slowly infiltrated my old fence flowerbed. I can't spray there as there are still good perennial plants. THAT is either going to be slow careful "dig out one weed at a time" or try to dig out the plants I want to save, move them temporarily, and kill the whole area for the year. RoundUp degrades in 3 months, so I could re-establish the plants I save (and there aren't all that many left) in late Fall.
There are shrubs along the fence and I can't move THOSE, but I was planning to cut them down anyway as they are really too large. So my plan for those is to take new-growth stem-cuttings, dip them in a rooting hormone, and set them in 4" pots to regrow. I have some ideas of where I can plant some along the fence in the far backyard where they are welcome to grow large, some along the drainage easement (fake creek), and some polite ones (nandina) along the edge of the front yard to make a border.
And I had a nice discovery! In the backyard, there was a bramble plant that that I thought was wild blackberrybut it had a slightky different flower and a nice scent. I did some research and discovered it was an old wild rose I think is called 'Hawthorne Rose'. It was a casualty of the "clearing of the wild brambles".
But last week, I noticed what appeared to be wild blackberry flowers growing up through a Burning Bush and went to get the loppers to cut it out of the shrub. But then I was thrilled to smell the scent! It was a volunteer of the Hawthorne Rose I had lost... I will take a few dozen cuttings of it hoping some will grow. Meanwhile, the Rose and the Burning Bush will live intertwined for a year. I don't want to risk losing it again.
Back to the wild blackberries... Looking over the fence in all directions, it seems that my yard is the only one with wild blackberries in it. I recall that there was a single patch in a corner of the front yard when I moved here. It must have spread from there. I love rasperries. I mention that because wild blackberries carry a virus that doesn't harm them much but it is death to rasperries with a about 200'. So If I can kill off the wild blackberries, I can grow raspberries again. I'd like that!
That's enough for today. I'm going to feed the cats, clean the litter boxes for the night, and haul my weary back into bed...
But I mostly enjoyed the day planting some flowers. Not the mass yearly annual plantings of zinnias and salvia and marigolds (those are the rest of the week as I had to soak the soil today so I can pull weeds out tomorrow). These were specialty flowers for the hummingbird/butterfly/bee bed.
Last year, I bought seeds of less-common flowers that were self-seeding for a cottage garden bed. But I didn't plant them and the places they were to go were too over-run with weeds (and poison ivy and invasive vines). So I planted lots of them this year, intending to clear those areas. I didn't.
But I had tilled up the hummers/butterflies/bees (HBB) bed (it grew few flowers last year). So I looked up the flowers and found that most of them were very attractive to the HBB bed. So I spent the day repurposing the seedlings planting those.
It made sense. The commercial HBB seed packets haven't worked 2 years in a row; time to try something different. But I HAD spread a commercial mix around the bed and there were plants coming up.
So I had to stand in the beds VERY carefully to plant the seedlings and bend around so as to not move my seedling-stomping feet. I planted 4 Cleomes, 4 Cosmos, 9 Maltese Cross, 5 Butterfly Weed (Asclepus or something like that), and 4 of one that I forget. And, of course, I have hopes for the seedlings that are emerging from the HBB packet. I know some are weeds and I tried to pick them out while planting the good flowers. I gave them a good watering.
My back is KILLING me. That used to happen a few times a year before but it is becoming a daily annoyance. Aspercreme helps a lot. The heated waterbed helps at night, too. The more common problem is hand-clenches. If I grip things too long too hard (like mower steering wheel or loppers or pruner handles) I pay for it 2 hours later. My fingers clench up just when I'm preparing dinner and (aside for being painful) it is really awkward. I do a lot of fresh food prep, so when I can't hold a knife firmly, I have to be REAL careful.
While I was planting the seedlings, I was watering the weeded parts of the older garden. I have a sprayer mounted on a tripod I built years ago and that is really good for watering a defined area for 15-20 minutes to really soak the soil down to root level.
But there is good news. I harvested snow peas. I love those in stir fries and I get to pick them when they are fresh and tender.
Planted 15 sunflower seedlings too. I placed 5 each around three 2' high cages for support while they adjust to sunlight and the real world. Helps them in windy conditions too. Support 2' high is better than none.
There is also good news in the backyard where the brambles used to grow rampantly. The brush mower really killed most of them last Fall. Individual wild blackberries succumb to a small controlled shot of RoundUp. I don't like that kind of stuff, but things got out of hand and I've been very specific about what I sprayed. It is nice to see a 1' high blackberry shoot falling over. I've targeted wild grape vines and poison ivy too.
The wild english ivy is harder to kill and takes a couple shots. I finally identified the invasive vine from a neighbor's yard as Vinca Major. It is hard to kill, too. Mowing it and then spraying the new growth seems to work well. But it will be several attacks before it is dead in the open areas.
The hard part is that the Vinca and poison ivy have slowly infiltrated my old fence flowerbed. I can't spray there as there are still good perennial plants. THAT is either going to be slow careful "dig out one weed at a time" or try to dig out the plants I want to save, move them temporarily, and kill the whole area for the year. RoundUp degrades in 3 months, so I could re-establish the plants I save (and there aren't all that many left) in late Fall.
There are shrubs along the fence and I can't move THOSE, but I was planning to cut them down anyway as they are really too large. So my plan for those is to take new-growth stem-cuttings, dip them in a rooting hormone, and set them in 4" pots to regrow. I have some ideas of where I can plant some along the fence in the far backyard where they are welcome to grow large, some along the drainage easement (fake creek), and some polite ones (nandina) along the edge of the front yard to make a border.
And I had a nice discovery! In the backyard, there was a bramble plant that that I thought was wild blackberrybut it had a slightky different flower and a nice scent. I did some research and discovered it was an old wild rose I think is called 'Hawthorne Rose'. It was a casualty of the "clearing of the wild brambles".
But last week, I noticed what appeared to be wild blackberry flowers growing up through a Burning Bush and went to get the loppers to cut it out of the shrub. But then I was thrilled to smell the scent! It was a volunteer of the Hawthorne Rose I had lost... I will take a few dozen cuttings of it hoping some will grow. Meanwhile, the Rose and the Burning Bush will live intertwined for a year. I don't want to risk losing it again.
Back to the wild blackberries... Looking over the fence in all directions, it seems that my yard is the only one with wild blackberries in it. I recall that there was a single patch in a corner of the front yard when I moved here. It must have spread from there. I love rasperries. I mention that because wild blackberries carry a virus that doesn't harm them much but it is death to rasperries with a about 200'. So If I can kill off the wild blackberries, I can grow raspberries again. I'd like that!
That's enough for today. I'm going to feed the cats, clean the litter boxes for the night, and haul my weary back into bed...
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Been Busy
I haven't posted here in a while. Not that I didn't have things to mention, just didn't do it. I've been busy...
On the outside (and some of this may not be new but I'm too lazy to check, so forgive me):
1. Transplanted 4 specimen saplings (2 dogwoods and 2 sourwood) in the cleared area where the wild blackberries, virginia creeper vines and wild grape vines used to rule. The saplings will stay about 20' tall and NOT shade the garden like the trees I removed did).
2. Straightened and re-attached bent PVC tubes (with metal pipe inside) on the garden enclosure (I built it to keep squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, and weird birds out. Pollinating insects get through the chicken wire just fine.
3. Been carefully spraying individual wild blackberries and vines to kill them. New stuff is growing now that the blackberries aren't shading them, but a string trimmer cuts them down well. When the sapling start to grow they will cast enough shade below them to prevent new growth.
4. I used to have a compost bin next to the older shed. I removed it a few years ago and built another one that is better. But there was a foot of rich soil left over on the old site. I moved most of it to the new garden beds.
5. Years ago, I ordered a dozen seedlings of a nice perennial flower with purple leaves. They sent me the wrong plant. But as it also had purple leaves I didn't realize the error. The wrong plant is VERY INVASIVE. (lychimastria 'Firecracker' I think). I spent 2 days pulling up all that I could. I'll have to do that several times, but progress is progress. And there are some volunteers a 100 yard away.
6. I have 2 toolsheds. One I built when I moved here 32 years ago and one I had a contractor build (larger, with a cement floor, and a garage door). I reorganized everything in both. Now the equipment I seldom use is packed tightly in the old one and the stuff I use often is in the new one. And I added shelves to the old one for odd stuff that was clutterring up the basement.
7. I spread seeds for the meadow garden bed. Some were saved seeds from last years plants and some were new from a packet. Supposedly, they are are surface-germinators (well, like a natural meadow WOULD be). I will be interested in seeing if the bed flowers better this year.
8. The hummer/butterfly/bee bed was a failure last year. So I tilled the whole area and spread a new batch of hummer/butterfly/bee seeds. I also have a few dozen seedlings of the same sort to plant in there. The seedlings will give the bed a head-start.
9. I planted 15 annual sunflower seedlings in the meadow bed today. They were weak last year when I did the same, so this year I planted them around a cylinder of mesh wire (anchored to a stake) and clipped them all the the cylinder. That gives them 2' of support. Strained my back doing all that bending-over... I had 1 left over, so I planted it right behind the mailbox. Maybe my mailperson will enjoy seeing it.
10. I've been interested in grafted heirloom tomatoes for several years. My efforts have always failed. So this year, I bought 3 grafted tomatoes. With shipping and taxes, $12 each. OUCH. But I really need to know if the effort is worth it. I planted 2 today. I have 6 graft attempts I did myself, but I won't know if they worked for a week. At least THIS time, they are still alive after a week. And I have 6 more home-grown ungrafted heirloom seedlings as back-up...
11. I'm fighting some invasive plants. I get poison ivy coming in from 3 neighbors. They don't care about it because they don't go into the corners of their yards. And there has been a vine from deliberate plantings of a 4th yard (2 residents ago). I finally figured out it is Vinca Major. It is almost impossible to kill. My veggie garden is organic. But I'll use napalm on the Vinca and poison ivy if I have to. By "napalm" I mean Roundup. I hate the herbicide, but the vines have taken over half my fence flowerbed. I'm desperate.
12. The daffodil/tulip/hyacinth bed is fading, so I gave them a good dose of organic fertilizer suited for bulbs. That should help them improve for next year. When the leaves turn brown I will cover the whole bed with landscape fabric to smother the weeds. Next February, I will remove it. I tried using regular black plastic last year but all it did was collect rainwater in low spots and Asian Tiger Mosquitos developed there. So I was constantly going around and poking holes in the plastic to drain rainfall. The landscape fabric is permeable, so it won't hold puddles.
13. I planted corn in a bed under the roof edge. It doesn't get much natural rain, so I'll have to water it regularly all Summer. But it is rich soil and safe from wind, so the bi-color corn will like it. I plant a block of 9 corns (3x3, fewer gets poor kernal development) and the bed is 4 blocks long, so I'll plant a new block every 2 weeks for continued harvest.
14. I pruned my front yard saucer magnolia tree. For some reason, the backyard one grows just fine with minimal pruning in Winter, but the front yard one grows oddly with lots of suckers and internal shoots. By the time I was done, half the tree was gone, but it looked a lot better. With careful future pruning, it should get more balanced.
15. When I originally cleared the backyard back in the 90s, I discovered that I had a wild rose growing there. It has small white flowers and a nice scent, and I think it is a 'Hawthorn Rose'. Unfortunately, it looks just like a wild blackberry, and was overgrown with them among its canes. I was sad to mow it down with the new DR Brushcutter I bought last year. But I HAD to get rid of the wild blackberries.
Now, the main area in the backyard is cleared of wild blackberries, but there are some that spread to odd spots and I have to dig them out.
So when I saw white flowers suddenly blooming among a Burning Bush I love, I was depressed at the effort it would take to remove it. But when I approached, there was The Scent! The Hawthorn Rose had established itself 150' away from the original plant!
I have to remove it from the Burning Bush shrub, but I'm going to take 36 cuttings (a flat of 6-cels) and try to grow some first. The rose never spread much from its original spot, so I'm not worried about it taking over like the blackberries did. I can think of several spots where it would be happy (and I with it).
I think that is more than enough for today. I still have the inside projects to discuss...
On the outside (and some of this may not be new but I'm too lazy to check, so forgive me):
1. Transplanted 4 specimen saplings (2 dogwoods and 2 sourwood) in the cleared area where the wild blackberries, virginia creeper vines and wild grape vines used to rule. The saplings will stay about 20' tall and NOT shade the garden like the trees I removed did).
2. Straightened and re-attached bent PVC tubes (with metal pipe inside) on the garden enclosure (I built it to keep squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, and weird birds out. Pollinating insects get through the chicken wire just fine.
3. Been carefully spraying individual wild blackberries and vines to kill them. New stuff is growing now that the blackberries aren't shading them, but a string trimmer cuts them down well. When the sapling start to grow they will cast enough shade below them to prevent new growth.
4. I used to have a compost bin next to the older shed. I removed it a few years ago and built another one that is better. But there was a foot of rich soil left over on the old site. I moved most of it to the new garden beds.
5. Years ago, I ordered a dozen seedlings of a nice perennial flower with purple leaves. They sent me the wrong plant. But as it also had purple leaves I didn't realize the error. The wrong plant is VERY INVASIVE. (lychimastria 'Firecracker' I think). I spent 2 days pulling up all that I could. I'll have to do that several times, but progress is progress. And there are some volunteers a 100 yard away.
6. I have 2 toolsheds. One I built when I moved here 32 years ago and one I had a contractor build (larger, with a cement floor, and a garage door). I reorganized everything in both. Now the equipment I seldom use is packed tightly in the old one and the stuff I use often is in the new one. And I added shelves to the old one for odd stuff that was clutterring up the basement.
7. I spread seeds for the meadow garden bed. Some were saved seeds from last years plants and some were new from a packet. Supposedly, they are are surface-germinators (well, like a natural meadow WOULD be). I will be interested in seeing if the bed flowers better this year.
8. The hummer/butterfly/bee bed was a failure last year. So I tilled the whole area and spread a new batch of hummer/butterfly/bee seeds. I also have a few dozen seedlings of the same sort to plant in there. The seedlings will give the bed a head-start.
9. I planted 15 annual sunflower seedlings in the meadow bed today. They were weak last year when I did the same, so this year I planted them around a cylinder of mesh wire (anchored to a stake) and clipped them all the the cylinder. That gives them 2' of support. Strained my back doing all that bending-over... I had 1 left over, so I planted it right behind the mailbox. Maybe my mailperson will enjoy seeing it.
10. I've been interested in grafted heirloom tomatoes for several years. My efforts have always failed. So this year, I bought 3 grafted tomatoes. With shipping and taxes, $12 each. OUCH. But I really need to know if the effort is worth it. I planted 2 today. I have 6 graft attempts I did myself, but I won't know if they worked for a week. At least THIS time, they are still alive after a week. And I have 6 more home-grown ungrafted heirloom seedlings as back-up...
11. I'm fighting some invasive plants. I get poison ivy coming in from 3 neighbors. They don't care about it because they don't go into the corners of their yards. And there has been a vine from deliberate plantings of a 4th yard (2 residents ago). I finally figured out it is Vinca Major. It is almost impossible to kill. My veggie garden is organic. But I'll use napalm on the Vinca and poison ivy if I have to. By "napalm" I mean Roundup. I hate the herbicide, but the vines have taken over half my fence flowerbed. I'm desperate.
12. The daffodil/tulip/hyacinth bed is fading, so I gave them a good dose of organic fertilizer suited for bulbs. That should help them improve for next year. When the leaves turn brown I will cover the whole bed with landscape fabric to smother the weeds. Next February, I will remove it. I tried using regular black plastic last year but all it did was collect rainwater in low spots and Asian Tiger Mosquitos developed there. So I was constantly going around and poking holes in the plastic to drain rainfall. The landscape fabric is permeable, so it won't hold puddles.
13. I planted corn in a bed under the roof edge. It doesn't get much natural rain, so I'll have to water it regularly all Summer. But it is rich soil and safe from wind, so the bi-color corn will like it. I plant a block of 9 corns (3x3, fewer gets poor kernal development) and the bed is 4 blocks long, so I'll plant a new block every 2 weeks for continued harvest.
14. I pruned my front yard saucer magnolia tree. For some reason, the backyard one grows just fine with minimal pruning in Winter, but the front yard one grows oddly with lots of suckers and internal shoots. By the time I was done, half the tree was gone, but it looked a lot better. With careful future pruning, it should get more balanced.
15. When I originally cleared the backyard back in the 90s, I discovered that I had a wild rose growing there. It has small white flowers and a nice scent, and I think it is a 'Hawthorn Rose'. Unfortunately, it looks just like a wild blackberry, and was overgrown with them among its canes. I was sad to mow it down with the new DR Brushcutter I bought last year. But I HAD to get rid of the wild blackberries.
Now, the main area in the backyard is cleared of wild blackberries, but there are some that spread to odd spots and I have to dig them out.
So when I saw white flowers suddenly blooming among a Burning Bush I love, I was depressed at the effort it would take to remove it. But when I approached, there was The Scent! The Hawthorn Rose had established itself 150' away from the original plant!
I have to remove it from the Burning Bush shrub, but I'm going to take 36 cuttings (a flat of 6-cels) and try to grow some first. The rose never spread much from its original spot, so I'm not worried about it taking over like the blackberries did. I can think of several spots where it would be happy (and I with it).
I think that is more than enough for today. I still have the inside projects to discuss...
Thursday, April 18, 2019
I Did It!
I finally made a good egg roll! Laugh if you want, but I mastered the 7 parts...
1. I cooked the contents to "just crisp".
2. I put down a pak choy leaf where the contents would go.
3. I wetted all the edges so that when I
4. Tightly rolled it up and folded the sides and
5. The egg roll wrapper sealed with water from a bowl!
----------
6. Then after they sat sealed for several minutes
7. I dropped them into my Frybaby (375F) until they were golden.
---------------
No oil inside, and the wrappers were "just right" crunchy.
And only took an hour., Best I've ever had! I'm gonna make them tomorrow night and until I'm tired of them ...
2 were shrimp and 2 were minced pork.
I wonder what a pepperoni pizza egg roll will taste like?
1. I cooked the contents to "just crisp".
2. I put down a pak choy leaf where the contents would go.
3. I wetted all the edges so that when I
4. Tightly rolled it up and folded the sides and
5. The egg roll wrapper sealed with water from a bowl!
----------
6. Then after they sat sealed for several minutes
7. I dropped them into my Frybaby (375F) until they were golden.
---------------
No oil inside, and the wrappers were "just right" crunchy.
And only took an hour., Best I've ever had! I'm gonna make them tomorrow night and until I'm tired of them ...
2 were shrimp and 2 were minced pork.
I wonder what a pepperoni pizza egg roll will taste like?
A Stroke Of Good Luck
My camera sticks the lens out when I turn it on. I suppose all digital ones do. But 2 weeks ago, just as it was shutting off and the lens going back flush, I stood up an leaned on it. Bizarre accident. Since then, it goes halfway in and stutters and clicks, so I have to manually push it closed.
Today, it suddenly went back to normal! Sometimes random events work in my favor...
Today, it suddenly went back to normal! Sometimes random events work in my favor...
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Special Chicken
I forgot to mention the "Special Chicken" in Canada. As we were driving toward Algonquin Provincial Park, we stopped to buy a chicken to cook over a campfire the 1st night we were spending there at the regular family tent area. The small store didn't have much, but then we didn't need much either. The owner asked us where we came from and were going and then said he kept frozen chicken just for travellers like us.
We had a cooler full of ice, so there was no chance of the chicken spoiling. When we got to the campsite and opened the package and started to thaw it, it was so rotten that we gagged at the smell.
That guy KNEW we weren't coming back his way (we had said so), so he sold a frozen rotten chicken to us "Yankees". Fortunately, the tiny campground store was still open and they had some canned beef stew which heated up fine by the campfire.
I hasten to say that everyone ELSE in Canada were unfailingly kind and helpful...
But to this day, if any store-owner mentions "special", I twitch, LOL!
We had a cooler full of ice, so there was no chance of the chicken spoiling. When we got to the campsite and opened the package and started to thaw it, it was so rotten that we gagged at the smell.
That guy KNEW we weren't coming back his way (we had said so), so he sold a frozen rotten chicken to us "Yankees". Fortunately, the tiny campground store was still open and they had some canned beef stew which heated up fine by the campfire.
I hasten to say that everyone ELSE in Canada were unfailingly kind and helpful...
But to this day, if any store-owner mentions "special", I twitch, LOL!
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada
So there we were canoeing 12 miles uplake to the primitive camping area. I was in the back to provide the power. My friend and he was supposed to steer and I discovered he didn't know how to do that. In other words, I paddled and he made me work harder.
It took all day. I was disappointed that my friend had exaggerated his canoeing skills, but maybe he underestmated mine and thought we were more even than we were. And when you are about to spend a week camping and hiking in wilderness, you don't won't to start an argument, you know?
So we found a designated campsite that looked good. Seemed like a good spot to fish, the wind drifted in from the lake, and there was a flat open spot for heating our dried food.
We put on some mosquito repellent, made a quick dinner of rather boring freeze-dried spaghetti and went to bed. It was a good thing my tent had a full front mesh cover. Because we both woke up to see it completely covered with mosquitos trying to get at us! Seriously, it was COMPLETELY covered. That is a very scary thing to see.
But they were definitely night-oriented mosquitoes. Or they gave up getting at us. The next morning, I said well let's get out on a hike. He said, why don't we try to catch some fish for dinner first. Well, OK. So we went out in the canoe. And caught nothing. I had even caught a few crickets and a few worms.
Then my friend took a nap. And I realized that if I wanted to hike around, I was going to do it alone. Which is not safe... So I didn't.
By the 3rd day, we were out in the canoe again trying to catch some fish. I don't like fish, but the freeze dried food was pretty awful, so I could have eaten one. That's when my friend (who was not skilled in a canoe) tipped us over.
I saw it coming. He leaned too far over. I yelled at him and tried to balance by leaning to the opposite side, but he outweighed me by 80 pounds. Over we went! Fishing rods, tackle, anchor, ropes, all overboard.
Thankfully it was only 8' deep. But guess who can't swim or dive? My friend. And of course he wouldn't know how to get in a canoe without tipping it. I tossed over the other anchor (attached to the canoe) to keep us at the spot and spent an hour retrieving our stuff while my friend put the stuff I handed to him into the canoe.
That night I said we were leaving in the morning. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was fine there, but he was completely inept.
We left in the morning. 12 miles can be a fairly long trip, especially when you are basically doing all the paddling. As we got to the widest part of the lake, a squall blew over. Suddenly the waves were 2' high.
My friend panicked and started paddling every whichway and I told him that if he did that we were going to die. I told him to lay down in the bottom of the canoe and I would paddle quarterwise of the waves to the lee shore.
We got there, waited out the squall, and arrived in the main camp after dark (thanks to lights).
I asked the camp manager for a regular tent spot (which he gladly gave after hearing my sad story) and set up the tent. My friend just fell asleep on the ground in it. I went fishing...
Sometimes, you are just to worked up to sleep. So I dropped a 16" bass I caught right at the dock on him, the only fish caught on the trip, LOL!
When I learn that I do something poorly, I try to improve at it. And quite frankly, I usually achieve "competncy". And if it is something I just can't get good at, I admit it (like playing any musical instrument or learning a foreign language). "Jack of all trades, master at none" is my life...
My friend never wanted to learn anything he didn't already know. He refused my attempts to give advice on boats and canoes. In fact, he seemed not to have a simple understanding of basic physical reality.
Years later, when I had a Jon Boat (basically a rowboat with a sloped front), he stepped off the pier onto the boat. With one foot on each. Have you ever seen what happens when you stand one foot on a pier and another on a boat that moves? Yes, he actually had his feet spread apart as the boat moved away until he fell into the water!
I always thought that was a joke like slipping on a banana peel. But it was real... I watched him fall into the water. It was only 4' deep there and the pier was only 2' above the water. But he couldn't even get himself up onto the pier with my help (and he was 6'4") and had to wade to shore. I'm amazed he didn't drown on the way.
It took all day. I was disappointed that my friend had exaggerated his canoeing skills, but maybe he underestmated mine and thought we were more even than we were. And when you are about to spend a week camping and hiking in wilderness, you don't won't to start an argument, you know?
So we found a designated campsite that looked good. Seemed like a good spot to fish, the wind drifted in from the lake, and there was a flat open spot for heating our dried food.
We put on some mosquito repellent, made a quick dinner of rather boring freeze-dried spaghetti and went to bed. It was a good thing my tent had a full front mesh cover. Because we both woke up to see it completely covered with mosquitos trying to get at us! Seriously, it was COMPLETELY covered. That is a very scary thing to see.
But they were definitely night-oriented mosquitoes. Or they gave up getting at us. The next morning, I said well let's get out on a hike. He said, why don't we try to catch some fish for dinner first. Well, OK. So we went out in the canoe. And caught nothing. I had even caught a few crickets and a few worms.
Then my friend took a nap. And I realized that if I wanted to hike around, I was going to do it alone. Which is not safe... So I didn't.
By the 3rd day, we were out in the canoe again trying to catch some fish. I don't like fish, but the freeze dried food was pretty awful, so I could have eaten one. That's when my friend (who was not skilled in a canoe) tipped us over.
I saw it coming. He leaned too far over. I yelled at him and tried to balance by leaning to the opposite side, but he outweighed me by 80 pounds. Over we went! Fishing rods, tackle, anchor, ropes, all overboard.
Thankfully it was only 8' deep. But guess who can't swim or dive? My friend. And of course he wouldn't know how to get in a canoe without tipping it. I tossed over the other anchor (attached to the canoe) to keep us at the spot and spent an hour retrieving our stuff while my friend put the stuff I handed to him into the canoe.
That night I said we were leaving in the morning. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was fine there, but he was completely inept.
We left in the morning. 12 miles can be a fairly long trip, especially when you are basically doing all the paddling. As we got to the widest part of the lake, a squall blew over. Suddenly the waves were 2' high.
My friend panicked and started paddling every whichway and I told him that if he did that we were going to die. I told him to lay down in the bottom of the canoe and I would paddle quarterwise of the waves to the lee shore.
We got there, waited out the squall, and arrived in the main camp after dark (thanks to lights).
I asked the camp manager for a regular tent spot (which he gladly gave after hearing my sad story) and set up the tent. My friend just fell asleep on the ground in it. I went fishing...
Sometimes, you are just to worked up to sleep. So I dropped a 16" bass I caught right at the dock on him, the only fish caught on the trip, LOL!
When I learn that I do something poorly, I try to improve at it. And quite frankly, I usually achieve "competncy". And if it is something I just can't get good at, I admit it (like playing any musical instrument or learning a foreign language). "Jack of all trades, master at none" is my life...
My friend never wanted to learn anything he didn't already know. He refused my attempts to give advice on boats and canoes. In fact, he seemed not to have a simple understanding of basic physical reality.
Years later, when I had a Jon Boat (basically a rowboat with a sloped front), he stepped off the pier onto the boat. With one foot on each. Have you ever seen what happens when you stand one foot on a pier and another on a boat that moves? Yes, he actually had his feet spread apart as the boat moved away until he fell into the water!
I always thought that was a joke like slipping on a banana peel. But it was real... I watched him fall into the water. It was only 4' deep there and the pier was only 2' above the water. But he couldn't even get himself up onto the pier with my help (and he was 6'4") and had to wade to shore. I'm amazed he didn't drown on the way.
Monday, April 15, 2019
Tax Day
Today is Tax Day in the US. Many people are shocked that they aren't receiving a big refund. Well, the Trump tax law changes gave people slightly more money in their weekly paychecks withholding less. So they get a smaller refund or owe more today.
Most of the tax law changes benefited the wealthiest among us. By peculiar circumstances I actually owed slightly less. But mostly, for the first time, my Federal and State taxes refund/owed came out close to nothing. A few hundred to the State, a few hundred refund Federal. I'm pleased with that. It means I don't have to adjust my withholding.
But a whole lot of people are screaming mad about it because they depend on the Big Refund Check. And I get it. A lot of people who have trouble saving money use the Tax Refund as a sort of forced saving account. I feel for them.
Trump and the Republicans thought that people would notice the increased paycheck net. They were SO WRONG! They don't understand that people who live paycheck to paycheck don't notice a $30 increase much because they spend it as fast as they earn it. And mostly on legitimate things like food, shelter, credit card debt, and medicine.
I agree completely that the way to savings is to pay of existing credit card debt. But when paying an extra $30 per month on a $20,000 credit card debt doesn't make much of a dent in the total bill, it is hard to see how a weekly increase helps. I am personally fortunate to be debt-free; others aren't.
What most debt-ridden people WANT is a manageable (if forever) debt and a tax refund to splurge with. That's not the way to managing debt, but it IS what most people do...
There HAS to be a better system for those folks...
Most of the tax law changes benefited the wealthiest among us. By peculiar circumstances I actually owed slightly less. But mostly, for the first time, my Federal and State taxes refund/owed came out close to nothing. A few hundred to the State, a few hundred refund Federal. I'm pleased with that. It means I don't have to adjust my withholding.
But a whole lot of people are screaming mad about it because they depend on the Big Refund Check. And I get it. A lot of people who have trouble saving money use the Tax Refund as a sort of forced saving account. I feel for them.
Trump and the Republicans thought that people would notice the increased paycheck net. They were SO WRONG! They don't understand that people who live paycheck to paycheck don't notice a $30 increase much because they spend it as fast as they earn it. And mostly on legitimate things like food, shelter, credit card debt, and medicine.
I agree completely that the way to savings is to pay of existing credit card debt. But when paying an extra $30 per month on a $20,000 credit card debt doesn't make much of a dent in the total bill, it is hard to see how a weekly increase helps. I am personally fortunate to be debt-free; others aren't.
What most debt-ridden people WANT is a manageable (if forever) debt and a tax refund to splurge with. That's not the way to managing debt, but it IS what most people do...
There HAS to be a better system for those folks...
Sunday, April 14, 2019
A Really Good Day
I had a REALLY GOOD Saturday!
Some days are just SO successful that it makes the days when nothing seems to go right worth it. I started by cleaning/reorganizing the old toolshed.
First, the sawhorses that I built last year were wobbly. But investigating, I realized that the wood I used had dried and shrunk a bit and there were wing nuts under the attachments so I was able to twist them tighter and the sawhorses were firm again. Big deal, right? But it got the day started well and THAT matters.
Second, I moved some stuff around in there and actually gained some space. Well, I gained the space because I took a bicycle out and an old regular lawn mower out. I never used the bicycle because the tires kept going flat, so I'm selling it for 1/5 what I paid just to get rid of it. I bought it to have an easier trip home after leaving the car at the dealership for repairs. Just before THEY offerred free van rides home and back... Good idea, bad timing...
And that old gas mower is in the basement now. It won't start. I KNOW all it needs is for the carburetor to be cleaned, and I know how. But I don't really need it anymore. I bought an electric one last year (I hate noise) at that one works well enough for trim work. So I'll offer that for nearly free. Somebody can probably really need it.
I'd offer both free, but that attracts resellers and that isn't my purpose. I want them to go to someone who can just use them. In fact, free to any military person. I don't need the $20.
So I got the old toolshed organized better (similar pots together in boxes on shelves, etc, and that made the perfect space for the snowblower to be moved from the garage to the shed. It had run out of gas JUST as I finished using it the last snow in February. It is a beast to move manually, so I actually had to ADD GAS to it get it the 200' to the shed. And then I wanted to let it run dry so there was no gas left in it (good idea for all gas tools so the gas doesn't evaporate and clog the fuel line). I added just enough, because after it ran in the shed for 5 minutes, it went dry.
That left some space in the garage to bring the recycling bin in. I hate it being outside because I tend to dump stuff in it at night (and I mentioned I hate noise).
The boxes of pots I set on the old toolshed shelves meant there was slightly more room in the newer shed. Yes I have 2 sheds and they are full of yard equipment. I could probably start a business. Hey, at 68, I've accumulated a lot of stuff...
You could laugh and say "guys and their toys", but I actually use all that stuff (OK, the chipper/shredder is collecting dust, but that's because the local recycle center that opened AFTER I bought it accepts tree debris and gives back shredded mulch in return and I have a hauling trailer). I should sell it/give it away. But I have 1/8 acre of mowed brambles to dispose of, so it might be worth using one last time.
I mentioned planting 4 saplings a few posts ago. To my delight, they are leafing out nicely. But to keep them watered in their first "establishment year", I am using kitty litter buckets (really useful things for many purposes) with a tiny hole drilled in the bottom to water them gradually. The tiny hole lets the water settle in around the roots slowly drip by drip. Very efficient and quick to use. I just fill the bucket in 2 minutes from the garden hose and let gravity do the work.
BUT, the tubs are bright yellow and they look out-of-place in the yard. So I bought a $4 can of plastic spray paint (hunter green). I didn't want to spray the floor or the lawn, so I hung the 4 tubs (one at a time) from a board and sprayed them at normal height. Worked perfectly and I ran out of spray as the last side was covered. Sometimes you get lucky like that.
So, being bored with all the success, I decided to mow the yard for the first time this year. The 20 year old riding mower didn't want to start (it's the old battery) so I hooked up a charger while I went to do other stuff.
Which was reattaching the chicken wire to the garden enclosure frame... Now THAT was a job! It required being in two places at once (Firesign Theater joke: "How can you be in 2 places at once when you're not anywhere at all"). But bar clamps and bungee cords helped and I have a lot of bungee cords. I used nylon ties to hold all the wire together, but I need to go back soon and "sew" them together more permanently soon. Those nylon ties get brittle and break in sunlight after a year.
So, by then, the mower battery was charged enough (barely) to start the engine and I went to mow the lawn. It coughed and sputterred all the way and the cutting was ragged. I could run the mower up a ramp and sharpen the blades and try to tune the engine a bit. I used to work at a drive-in simple repair shop. Or I can drive it on the trailer and bring it to a small motor repair shop in town. But this is the wrong time of year for that. They are booked solid for a month! I guess I'll sharpen the blades slightly and wait a month. But at least I cut the lawn weeds down (though raggedly).
And then it started to drizzle rain. So I put everything away and went inside. The Mews were annoyed. I don't let them outside when I am using equipment. They panic at the noise but want to run TO me, which is exactly where I DON'T want them to be ( I don't want kitty-burgers). And then, because of the rain, I didn't want them OUT then either.
So we played treat-toss inside while I prepared dinner. They love that. Kibbles bounce around funny and they get "the thrill of the chase". Marley loves it, Ayla is best at it. Iza is a bit inept at it (she has other skills like lap-napping) so I pretty much have to toss hers right under her nose, LOL!
I was cooking a steak. I'm more into pork, chicken and shrimp, but it was a busy active day so I had a steak (I cut them into 3 ounce pieces). Purists will gag, but I fry them. I like to experiment with pan sauces (a splash of dry sherry, a dab on butter, a toss of cornstarch, with some herbs). BTW, don't try adding mayonaise (as I did this time). It doesn't blend well!
But it tasted good. With a large tossed salad with oil/vinegar, corn on the cob, asparagus and beets, it was a really good meal. Ayla and Iza got a small bit minced before I spiced it up (Marley doesn't like "Human food").
Then I watched a baseball game ("we" won) and they all sat around me napping, purring, getting chin scritchies. All 3 within a foot of me for a couple hours, then we all went to bed.
A day DOESN'T get much better than that...
Some days are just SO successful that it makes the days when nothing seems to go right worth it. I started by cleaning/reorganizing the old toolshed.
First, the sawhorses that I built last year were wobbly. But investigating, I realized that the wood I used had dried and shrunk a bit and there were wing nuts under the attachments so I was able to twist them tighter and the sawhorses were firm again. Big deal, right? But it got the day started well and THAT matters.
Second, I moved some stuff around in there and actually gained some space. Well, I gained the space because I took a bicycle out and an old regular lawn mower out. I never used the bicycle because the tires kept going flat, so I'm selling it for 1/5 what I paid just to get rid of it. I bought it to have an easier trip home after leaving the car at the dealership for repairs. Just before THEY offerred free van rides home and back... Good idea, bad timing...
And that old gas mower is in the basement now. It won't start. I KNOW all it needs is for the carburetor to be cleaned, and I know how. But I don't really need it anymore. I bought an electric one last year (I hate noise) at that one works well enough for trim work. So I'll offer that for nearly free. Somebody can probably really need it.
I'd offer both free, but that attracts resellers and that isn't my purpose. I want them to go to someone who can just use them. In fact, free to any military person. I don't need the $20.
So I got the old toolshed organized better (similar pots together in boxes on shelves, etc, and that made the perfect space for the snowblower to be moved from the garage to the shed. It had run out of gas JUST as I finished using it the last snow in February. It is a beast to move manually, so I actually had to ADD GAS to it get it the 200' to the shed. And then I wanted to let it run dry so there was no gas left in it (good idea for all gas tools so the gas doesn't evaporate and clog the fuel line). I added just enough, because after it ran in the shed for 5 minutes, it went dry.
That left some space in the garage to bring the recycling bin in. I hate it being outside because I tend to dump stuff in it at night (and I mentioned I hate noise).
The boxes of pots I set on the old toolshed shelves meant there was slightly more room in the newer shed. Yes I have 2 sheds and they are full of yard equipment. I could probably start a business. Hey, at 68, I've accumulated a lot of stuff...
You could laugh and say "guys and their toys", but I actually use all that stuff (OK, the chipper/shredder is collecting dust, but that's because the local recycle center that opened AFTER I bought it accepts tree debris and gives back shredded mulch in return and I have a hauling trailer). I should sell it/give it away. But I have 1/8 acre of mowed brambles to dispose of, so it might be worth using one last time.
I mentioned planting 4 saplings a few posts ago. To my delight, they are leafing out nicely. But to keep them watered in their first "establishment year", I am using kitty litter buckets (really useful things for many purposes) with a tiny hole drilled in the bottom to water them gradually. The tiny hole lets the water settle in around the roots slowly drip by drip. Very efficient and quick to use. I just fill the bucket in 2 minutes from the garden hose and let gravity do the work.
BUT, the tubs are bright yellow and they look out-of-place in the yard. So I bought a $4 can of plastic spray paint (hunter green). I didn't want to spray the floor or the lawn, so I hung the 4 tubs (one at a time) from a board and sprayed them at normal height. Worked perfectly and I ran out of spray as the last side was covered. Sometimes you get lucky like that.
So, being bored with all the success, I decided to mow the yard for the first time this year. The 20 year old riding mower didn't want to start (it's the old battery) so I hooked up a charger while I went to do other stuff.
Which was reattaching the chicken wire to the garden enclosure frame... Now THAT was a job! It required being in two places at once (Firesign Theater joke: "How can you be in 2 places at once when you're not anywhere at all"). But bar clamps and bungee cords helped and I have a lot of bungee cords. I used nylon ties to hold all the wire together, but I need to go back soon and "sew" them together more permanently soon. Those nylon ties get brittle and break in sunlight after a year.
So, by then, the mower battery was charged enough (barely) to start the engine and I went to mow the lawn. It coughed and sputterred all the way and the cutting was ragged. I could run the mower up a ramp and sharpen the blades and try to tune the engine a bit. I used to work at a drive-in simple repair shop. Or I can drive it on the trailer and bring it to a small motor repair shop in town. But this is the wrong time of year for that. They are booked solid for a month! I guess I'll sharpen the blades slightly and wait a month. But at least I cut the lawn weeds down (though raggedly).
And then it started to drizzle rain. So I put everything away and went inside. The Mews were annoyed. I don't let them outside when I am using equipment. They panic at the noise but want to run TO me, which is exactly where I DON'T want them to be ( I don't want kitty-burgers). And then, because of the rain, I didn't want them OUT then either.
So we played treat-toss inside while I prepared dinner. They love that. Kibbles bounce around funny and they get "the thrill of the chase". Marley loves it, Ayla is best at it. Iza is a bit inept at it (she has other skills like lap-napping) so I pretty much have to toss hers right under her nose, LOL!
I was cooking a steak. I'm more into pork, chicken and shrimp, but it was a busy active day so I had a steak (I cut them into 3 ounce pieces). Purists will gag, but I fry them. I like to experiment with pan sauces (a splash of dry sherry, a dab on butter, a toss of cornstarch, with some herbs). BTW, don't try adding mayonaise (as I did this time). It doesn't blend well!
But it tasted good. With a large tossed salad with oil/vinegar, corn on the cob, asparagus and beets, it was a really good meal. Ayla and Iza got a small bit minced before I spiced it up (Marley doesn't like "Human food").
Then I watched a baseball game ("we" won) and they all sat around me napping, purring, getting chin scritchies. All 3 within a foot of me for a couple hours, then we all went to bed.
A day DOESN'T get much better than that...
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Cat-Blog Comment Problems
I may have A solution for some of us who have been having problems leaving comments on blog sites!!!
As many of you who mostly visit my Mark's Mews cat blog know, I have had on-and-off problems leaving comments at blogs. It has driven me to distraction sometimes, but mostly, I worry that my blog friends will think I never visit them. It was so bad that I couldn't even get Preview of my comments to show up, never mind sent.
I kept trying. Sometimes I could comment for weeks and then suddenly I couldn't. I don't know about you, but I have Statcounter. Its a simple free program that shows you some very general data about visitors to your site. If you recognize a visitor, you can label them so you see a friend's name.
I'm not pushing it. It has some flaws. It doesn't recognize every visitor (mobile phones maybe). But it gives me a general idea of how many people visit the blog.
So, if some of my friends have that too, they see that I visit but never leave comments. When in fact, I am trying like crazy to do so, sometimes several times at a single site I visit.
I thought I fixed the problem once by switching my feedly.com reading list from Safari to Firefox, and indeed it worked for a while. But it would always stop in a few weeks.
Recently, I was looking around at some app settings after yet another frequent upgrade from Firefox, and I REALIZED SOMETHING (all caps to get your attention).
My Firefox was a Beta version. You can tell by clicking on "Firefox" in the upper left corner and then clicking "About Firefox". That tells you the version you have. A "b" means Beta.
I'm generally willing to go with a Beta version for the improvements, but I started to wonder about that. Betas are not final versions and have flaws. And also (and I think this is the most important part), other apps haven't adjusted their programming to the Beta version yet. Apparently, at some point in the past, I agreed to receive Beta versions of Firefox.
Think about that. My Firefox Beta app is ahead of the regular sites who sometimes have to make some adjustments! That takes them some time. And during that time, there may be programmibg conflicts.
And it seemed to me that the last time I updated the Firefox app was just when I stopped being able to comment on blog sites.
I had a hard time finding info on the Firefox Beta Program, but I eventually found a discussion of it by people like me who were trying to get off it. Firefox didn't make that easy. It seems they get a lot more information about your usage in the Beta Program than they can if you use the Regular versions. And they share it with other companies.
I finally figured out that the solution was actually simple. All you have to do is download their current regular version and move it to your apps folder. I don't know about Windows, but in Mac it asks you if you want to replace the previous version. Click YES. Your bookmarks will transfer and you will be off the Beta Program.
I did that a few hours ago and immediately tried commenting. I knew the instant I typed in a comment that it was different! My avatar showed up. Preview worked. Publish worked!
My comment went through to the site. And all I did was change from the Firefox Beta Program to the Regular Program...
I hope that works for anyone sufferring difficulties commenting...
A haiku of joy...
A problem of late
Became a problem no more.
I can comment now.
Hope this helps anyone else as it has helped me.
As many of you who mostly visit my Mark's Mews cat blog know, I have had on-and-off problems leaving comments at blogs. It has driven me to distraction sometimes, but mostly, I worry that my blog friends will think I never visit them. It was so bad that I couldn't even get Preview of my comments to show up, never mind sent.
I kept trying. Sometimes I could comment for weeks and then suddenly I couldn't. I don't know about you, but I have Statcounter. Its a simple free program that shows you some very general data about visitors to your site. If you recognize a visitor, you can label them so you see a friend's name.
I'm not pushing it. It has some flaws. It doesn't recognize every visitor (mobile phones maybe). But it gives me a general idea of how many people visit the blog.
So, if some of my friends have that too, they see that I visit but never leave comments. When in fact, I am trying like crazy to do so, sometimes several times at a single site I visit.
I thought I fixed the problem once by switching my feedly.com reading list from Safari to Firefox, and indeed it worked for a while. But it would always stop in a few weeks.
Recently, I was looking around at some app settings after yet another frequent upgrade from Firefox, and I REALIZED SOMETHING (all caps to get your attention).
My Firefox was a Beta version. You can tell by clicking on "Firefox" in the upper left corner and then clicking "About Firefox". That tells you the version you have. A "b" means Beta.
I'm generally willing to go with a Beta version for the improvements, but I started to wonder about that. Betas are not final versions and have flaws. And also (and I think this is the most important part), other apps haven't adjusted their programming to the Beta version yet. Apparently, at some point in the past, I agreed to receive Beta versions of Firefox.
Think about that. My Firefox Beta app is ahead of the regular sites who sometimes have to make some adjustments! That takes them some time. And during that time, there may be programmibg conflicts.
And it seemed to me that the last time I updated the Firefox app was just when I stopped being able to comment on blog sites.
I had a hard time finding info on the Firefox Beta Program, but I eventually found a discussion of it by people like me who were trying to get off it. Firefox didn't make that easy. It seems they get a lot more information about your usage in the Beta Program than they can if you use the Regular versions. And they share it with other companies.
I finally figured out that the solution was actually simple. All you have to do is download their current regular version and move it to your apps folder. I don't know about Windows, but in Mac it asks you if you want to replace the previous version. Click YES. Your bookmarks will transfer and you will be off the Beta Program.
I did that a few hours ago and immediately tried commenting. I knew the instant I typed in a comment that it was different! My avatar showed up. Preview worked. Publish worked!
My comment went through to the site. And all I did was change from the Firefox Beta Program to the Regular Program...
I hope that works for anyone sufferring difficulties commenting...
A haiku of joy...
A problem of late
Became a problem no more.
I can comment now.
Hope this helps anyone else as it has helped me.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Garden and Yard Plantings
I mentioned the tree saplings yesterday. But there are also veggie and flower seedlings to start inside each week (for the past month). I started the tomatoes and peppers and cole crops weeks ago in individually set-up flats of plastic cels. But 4 weeks ago, knowing I needed numerous flats at 7 and 4 weeks before last frost date, I set up 8.
That meant filling the cels with my self-mixed potting soil mix in flats set into sturdy plastic holders (those planting flats are thin and bendy), adding rainwater I saved in jugs (seed-starters can get obsessive) to soak the potting soil, and stacking them up on my basement potting bench.
Hey, when it gets to actual planting day, that can save a LOT of time. And in spite of giving individual attention to planting, assembly-line procedures make it go faster. But there is ALWAYS something that has to be done you don't expect.
The first surprise of growing plants indoors is lack of good light. Well, I set up a light rack years ago. But of course, some bulbs burn out and for some reason that escapes me, they do it over Winter when they aren't even turned on! At the end of the indoor growing season, they all worked; at the beginning of the new one, about 25% are dead. Which is why I buy tube bulbs by the case (somewhere between 5000-6500 Kelvin and 2900+ lumens. They last about 2 years (on 16 hours per day for a couple months) and gradually get weaker over time.
I'll be buying LED tubes in the future. They are 2x the cost (but coming down), last 4-5x as long, and stay at full lumens until they suddenly stop. So, anyway, I had to replace several of the old bulbs and it can get awkward. I seem to be a bit inept and changing them. I suppose I need to just use more force turning them into the connections, but I'm always afraid they will break.
So I had 3 requirements (not counting changing the tubes). First, I replanted cels where the seeds didn't germinate. If I think I need 12 marigolds and only get 8, I replant quickly. Seed companies are weird. If I order celery seeds, I get 1,000. and what do I need with 1,000 celery plants? Yet if I order zinnias for a mass planting of 60, they put 25 seeds in a package and I need to order several. LOL!
Second, I had to move flats around on the light stand AND 6-pack cels from flat to flat. Some plants grow faster than others. You want the seedlings close to the lights, so taller ones have to be together. I keep a label in every 6-pack cel for that reason. A flat of all the same plants only needs one thankfully. But mostly I have mixed seedlings in a flat so they need to be moved around.
Third, I built wooden stands of various heights the size of the flats. That allows a lot of easy height adjustment to keep the seedling near the lights. And for other adjustment, I cut a few 2"x4" boards the width of the stands so I can raise them 2" or 4" easily.
So I had a choice (this was Monday) to plant some seeds outside or plant a lot more inside. It was chilly and windy out; guess which I chose to do? Yes, inside. I'm planting a LOT of self-sowing annuals for either "just" flower or butterfly/bee/hummingbirds. I tried scattering butterfly/bee/hummingbird (BBH) flower seeds and covering them lightly per package directions 2 years and they didn't grow much. This year, I am starting a lot inside and will transplant them into the BBH bed in hopes of better growth.
I'm not depending on the transplants except for first year growth (and hopefully "self-sowing"). But I HAVE to have enough to attract them and get them used to coming here. The meadow flower bed did reasonably well the first year and "OK" the next. But I think it needs more help getting started, too. So about half the seeds I started are for there. Its not like BBH don't like meadow flowers too, just that they aren't as dedicated to producing what BBH need. Though I suspect some will be good plants for caterpillars to eat.
Still, the meadow bed is mostly for ME to enjoy looking at. And partially, the meadow bed is so that I have something to enjoy looking at while I renovate my 25 year old perennial bed along the fence. It has slowly lost ground (literally, LOL) to invading fosythia, poison ivy, some vine I don't recognize, old age. and changes in sunlight.
Parts of it are undisturbed and thriving (hurray for Stoke's Aster and Autumn Joy Sedum and some individual plants like Brunerra Jack Frost), but it mostly need to be ripped up and started over. Ans this time as a cottage garden, I think. Tall flowers (that self-sow) so thickly-growing that they shade out the weeds.
I've change my flowerbed habits several times over the years. It's always a decision with ups abd downs. Annual flowers need transplanting every year, but they bloom all year. Perennials last years (for most) and decades (for some) but flower briefly. Self-sowing annuals might be an interesting combination. The pictures I've seen of self-sowing cottage gardens suggest that they might flower like annuals bur last for years. I know that in a house I rented for 4 years. Four O' Clocks (annuals) reliably filled the space all the time I was there.
I may be an interesting growing season...
That meant filling the cels with my self-mixed potting soil mix in flats set into sturdy plastic holders (those planting flats are thin and bendy), adding rainwater I saved in jugs (seed-starters can get obsessive) to soak the potting soil, and stacking them up on my basement potting bench.
Hey, when it gets to actual planting day, that can save a LOT of time. And in spite of giving individual attention to planting, assembly-line procedures make it go faster. But there is ALWAYS something that has to be done you don't expect.
The first surprise of growing plants indoors is lack of good light. Well, I set up a light rack years ago. But of course, some bulbs burn out and for some reason that escapes me, they do it over Winter when they aren't even turned on! At the end of the indoor growing season, they all worked; at the beginning of the new one, about 25% are dead. Which is why I buy tube bulbs by the case (somewhere between 5000-6500 Kelvin and 2900+ lumens. They last about 2 years (on 16 hours per day for a couple months) and gradually get weaker over time.
I'll be buying LED tubes in the future. They are 2x the cost (but coming down), last 4-5x as long, and stay at full lumens until they suddenly stop. So, anyway, I had to replace several of the old bulbs and it can get awkward. I seem to be a bit inept and changing them. I suppose I need to just use more force turning them into the connections, but I'm always afraid they will break.
So I had 3 requirements (not counting changing the tubes). First, I replanted cels where the seeds didn't germinate. If I think I need 12 marigolds and only get 8, I replant quickly. Seed companies are weird. If I order celery seeds, I get 1,000. and what do I need with 1,000 celery plants? Yet if I order zinnias for a mass planting of 60, they put 25 seeds in a package and I need to order several. LOL!
Second, I had to move flats around on the light stand AND 6-pack cels from flat to flat. Some plants grow faster than others. You want the seedlings close to the lights, so taller ones have to be together. I keep a label in every 6-pack cel for that reason. A flat of all the same plants only needs one thankfully. But mostly I have mixed seedlings in a flat so they need to be moved around.
Third, I built wooden stands of various heights the size of the flats. That allows a lot of easy height adjustment to keep the seedling near the lights. And for other adjustment, I cut a few 2"x4" boards the width of the stands so I can raise them 2" or 4" easily.
So I had a choice (this was Monday) to plant some seeds outside or plant a lot more inside. It was chilly and windy out; guess which I chose to do? Yes, inside. I'm planting a LOT of self-sowing annuals for either "just" flower or butterfly/bee/hummingbirds. I tried scattering butterfly/bee/hummingbird (BBH) flower seeds and covering them lightly per package directions 2 years and they didn't grow much. This year, I am starting a lot inside and will transplant them into the BBH bed in hopes of better growth.
I'm not depending on the transplants except for first year growth (and hopefully "self-sowing"). But I HAVE to have enough to attract them and get them used to coming here. The meadow flower bed did reasonably well the first year and "OK" the next. But I think it needs more help getting started, too. So about half the seeds I started are for there. Its not like BBH don't like meadow flowers too, just that they aren't as dedicated to producing what BBH need. Though I suspect some will be good plants for caterpillars to eat.
Still, the meadow bed is mostly for ME to enjoy looking at. And partially, the meadow bed is so that I have something to enjoy looking at while I renovate my 25 year old perennial bed along the fence. It has slowly lost ground (literally, LOL) to invading fosythia, poison ivy, some vine I don't recognize, old age. and changes in sunlight.
Parts of it are undisturbed and thriving (hurray for Stoke's Aster and Autumn Joy Sedum and some individual plants like Brunerra Jack Frost), but it mostly need to be ripped up and started over. Ans this time as a cottage garden, I think. Tall flowers (that self-sow) so thickly-growing that they shade out the weeds.
I've change my flowerbed habits several times over the years. It's always a decision with ups abd downs. Annual flowers need transplanting every year, but they bloom all year. Perennials last years (for most) and decades (for some) but flower briefly. Self-sowing annuals might be an interesting combination. The pictures I've seen of self-sowing cottage gardens suggest that they might flower like annuals bur last for years. I know that in a house I rented for 4 years. Four O' Clocks (annuals) reliably filled the space all the time I was there.
I may be an interesting growing season...
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Tree Saplings and "Stuff"
I once read that an optimist is "someone who plants small trees when he is old". Well, yes I am and I did.
I MAY see these 4 trees grow and bloom and I MAY not. That makes little difference to me. I just like to DO THINGS that suggest the future. I sometimes think of the future without me alive in it. It takes some thought... But I can picture the yard with newly-planted saplings at least grown to blooming age.
I planted 2 Sourwoods and 2 Korean Dogwoods. The Sourwoods have a bad-sounding name, but where they grow, they are gorgeous. Burgundy leaves and bunches of gold seeds in the Fall.
The Dogwoods are great in the Spring and the Korean dogwood doesn't suffer the disease that is infecting American dogwoods. So I hope to see Spring and Fall colors. It may take some time for them to grow to full color in their seasons.
One day, this property will not be mine. I'll be gone in some way or another. But I have a vision of the yard. I should have striven for that idea years before, but you do what you can as you can and not look back TOO much.
My personal vision of the yard involves perennial flowers, some spots where there are mostly self-sowing flowers, and some places where are specific plants to help the hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees thrive. And that is aside from the thistle seed feeders for the goldfinches and the sunflower seed feeder for the cardinals and purple finches et al.
It may seem odd that I dislike Robins, but they eat my earthworms and I kind of resent that. But they need their food too, so I leave the lawn-clippings on the surface for the earthworms to eat as best they can. Nature balances when you let it. If I didn't have healthy soil, I wouldn't have earthworms, and if I did't have earthworms, the Robins wouldn't be marching across the lawn finding the least careful worms.
I do sort of wish the Robins hunted voles though... I would love the Robins better then, LOL!
The best thing is that I'm 68 and I still have PLANS! LOL... The day I don't think about "next year" is the day they haul me away. I think the best way to stay sane while aging is to imagine "next year". New flowers, new tomatoes, etc...
I MAY see these 4 trees grow and bloom and I MAY not. That makes little difference to me. I just like to DO THINGS that suggest the future. I sometimes think of the future without me alive in it. It takes some thought... But I can picture the yard with newly-planted saplings at least grown to blooming age.
I planted 2 Sourwoods and 2 Korean Dogwoods. The Sourwoods have a bad-sounding name, but where they grow, they are gorgeous. Burgundy leaves and bunches of gold seeds in the Fall.
The Dogwoods are great in the Spring and the Korean dogwood doesn't suffer the disease that is infecting American dogwoods. So I hope to see Spring and Fall colors. It may take some time for them to grow to full color in their seasons.
One day, this property will not be mine. I'll be gone in some way or another. But I have a vision of the yard. I should have striven for that idea years before, but you do what you can as you can and not look back TOO much.
My personal vision of the yard involves perennial flowers, some spots where there are mostly self-sowing flowers, and some places where are specific plants to help the hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees thrive. And that is aside from the thistle seed feeders for the goldfinches and the sunflower seed feeder for the cardinals and purple finches et al.
It may seem odd that I dislike Robins, but they eat my earthworms and I kind of resent that. But they need their food too, so I leave the lawn-clippings on the surface for the earthworms to eat as best they can. Nature balances when you let it. If I didn't have healthy soil, I wouldn't have earthworms, and if I did't have earthworms, the Robins wouldn't be marching across the lawn finding the least careful worms.
I do sort of wish the Robins hunted voles though... I would love the Robins better then, LOL!
The best thing is that I'm 68 and I still have PLANS! LOL... The day I don't think about "next year" is the day they haul me away. I think the best way to stay sane while aging is to imagine "next year". New flowers, new tomatoes, etc...
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Friday, March 29, 2019
A Better Day
So the cement held on the pvc pipe repair. And I pulled on it hard. Good. Now I just have to straighten and reinstall 2 others.
I plan to add more supports so that (hopefully) this doesn't happen again. As best I can guess, enogh leaves fell on the chicken wire covering that the large snowflakes that fell didn't fall through it and accumulated enough weight to bend even the metal pipes in the pvc pipes. I'll have to be careful about that in the future.
I built the structure with metal pipe inside pvc pipe because there were some complicated connections and metal pipes didn't offer those and pvc pipes did.
I still have some pipes to straighten. But now that I've done the worst-bent one, the rest should be a BIT easier. Not "easy" but "easier". Part of the problem with the first one was that the temperature outside was close to the minimum 45F that the cement cures at rapidly. The next couple days are supposed to reach the 70F mark (yay Spring) so I can do better with the other bent pipes.
So of course I wasn't sitting around just waiting for the temperature to rise. I had planned for the brambles in the back 1/4th of the yard to be gone in Fall 2017, but the one guy I found who said he could do that THEN ended up in the hospital from a job injury (and decided to retire). I did it myself last Fall (really brambly awkward work). But I did it.
I had to do it. I had 5 saplings to plant that I bought in Fall 2017 and had set in my garden "temporarily", LOL! I went out to dig holes for them in Winter and it was like digging a hole in ice. So I moved 4 of them Tuesday. At least I could dig the soil. I transplanted them carefully. I LOVE my solid steel spade! I sharpened the edge and it cuts through all soil and vine roots well.
Today, I took 4 kitty litter buckets (I save them) and drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of each. Why? Well, when I fill them from the hose, they drip water slowly into the soil. It soaks in rather than run off that way. And I don't have to stand around 30 minutes soaking the area. Plus, the buckets remind me where the saplings are so I won't mistake them for the junk saplings that spring up on their own.
More to do in the days to come of course, but that was a good start!
I plan to add more supports so that (hopefully) this doesn't happen again. As best I can guess, enogh leaves fell on the chicken wire covering that the large snowflakes that fell didn't fall through it and accumulated enough weight to bend even the metal pipes in the pvc pipes. I'll have to be careful about that in the future.
I built the structure with metal pipe inside pvc pipe because there were some complicated connections and metal pipes didn't offer those and pvc pipes did.
I still have some pipes to straighten. But now that I've done the worst-bent one, the rest should be a BIT easier. Not "easy" but "easier". Part of the problem with the first one was that the temperature outside was close to the minimum 45F that the cement cures at rapidly. The next couple days are supposed to reach the 70F mark (yay Spring) so I can do better with the other bent pipes.
So of course I wasn't sitting around just waiting for the temperature to rise. I had planned for the brambles in the back 1/4th of the yard to be gone in Fall 2017, but the one guy I found who said he could do that THEN ended up in the hospital from a job injury (and decided to retire). I did it myself last Fall (really brambly awkward work). But I did it.
I had to do it. I had 5 saplings to plant that I bought in Fall 2017 and had set in my garden "temporarily", LOL! I went out to dig holes for them in Winter and it was like digging a hole in ice. So I moved 4 of them Tuesday. At least I could dig the soil. I transplanted them carefully. I LOVE my solid steel spade! I sharpened the edge and it cuts through all soil and vine roots well.
Today, I took 4 kitty litter buckets (I save them) and drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of each. Why? Well, when I fill them from the hose, they drip water slowly into the soil. It soaks in rather than run off that way. And I don't have to stand around 30 minutes soaking the area. Plus, the buckets remind me where the saplings are so I won't mistake them for the junk saplings that spring up on their own.
More to do in the days to come of course, but that was a good start!
Sunday, March 24, 2019
A Hard Day
My enclosed garden structure is falling apart.
I didn't think that was possible because the PVC tubes were so closely bound by the chicken wire and nylon ties.
But 2 winters ago, enough large snowflakes fell on the top to bend the framework. It was little enough so that I could ignore it intending to push them straight (there are metal pipes inside the PVC for strength), but I never got around to it.
And a 2nd pvc pipe broke and fell this past Winter. So I went out to fix it.
It was a horrible experience! Nothing I tried, worked. You can't be on both ends of a 10' pole at once, but I built it to begin with, so I did in a way.
This is the original framework. PVC tubes with metal pipes inside for strength...
Not enough strength. I covered it all with chicken wire. And some large snow collected on it. I didn't expect THAT. It bent everything!
One pole just fell. I straightened it. And spent 3 hours trying to put it back in place... It was utterly maddening.
I THINK I have the PVC pipe with metal pipe insert cemented into place but I went nuts doing it. I finally had to cut the chicken wire loose to allow me to get at the PVC connections to push the cemented parts together. And finally used seriously-stretched bungee cords to keep the 2 ends tight together.
I'll see how well the bonding worked tomorrow. I'm wondering if I have the wrong kind of cement. I'll find out tomorrow. If the parts aren't fused, than I need a different kind that has a primer AND cement combined.
And here I thought I was going to plant spinach, carrots, and leeks today after a small repair job...
I didn't think that was possible because the PVC tubes were so closely bound by the chicken wire and nylon ties.
But 2 winters ago, enough large snowflakes fell on the top to bend the framework. It was little enough so that I could ignore it intending to push them straight (there are metal pipes inside the PVC for strength), but I never got around to it.
And a 2nd pvc pipe broke and fell this past Winter. So I went out to fix it.
It was a horrible experience! Nothing I tried, worked. You can't be on both ends of a 10' pole at once, but I built it to begin with, so I did in a way.
This is the original framework. PVC tubes with metal pipes inside for strength...
One pole just fell. I straightened it. And spent 3 hours trying to put it back in place... It was utterly maddening.
I THINK I have the PVC pipe with metal pipe insert cemented into place but I went nuts doing it. I finally had to cut the chicken wire loose to allow me to get at the PVC connections to push the cemented parts together. And finally used seriously-stretched bungee cords to keep the 2 ends tight together.
I'll see how well the bonding worked tomorrow. I'm wondering if I have the wrong kind of cement. I'll find out tomorrow. If the parts aren't fused, than I need a different kind that has a primer AND cement combined.
And here I thought I was going to plant spinach, carrots, and leeks today after a small repair job...
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Flowers! Spring!
It is finally Spring. And not just by the calendar, by flowers. I am thrilled to have some...
The first daffodils...
These all come from one bulb I planted. I remember that spot...
Crocuses growing where I didn't deliberately plant them. Squrrels or just is soin I used from elsewhere?
My favorite crocus...
This last one is a very old planting in bad soil and that was covered by overgrown brambles and vines and still survive. THIS year, they get full sunlight and attention...
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Lost Comments
My dear , readers, and commenters... I have just learned (thank you Megan) THAT friends' comments have been ignored. It wasn't deliberate, and in fact I check the moderation comment list almost daily. So something obviously went wrong.
And the graphic I use for Mark's Mews (the small wavey red of yellow title you see at my comments) is gone too. I MAY have been slightly hacked.
So I am immediately running the computer through my anti-virus and computer security software. It will take a day. It is slow but thorough.
At last resort, I have my "time machine", which is is the Mac backup system. Which of course I disconnected several months ago (for perfectly good reasons) and the forgot to reattach. Perfect timing. But at least my Mark's Mews graphic is in there.
See you all soon, I hope. Bye for now...
And the graphic I use for Mark's Mews (the small wavey red of yellow title you see at my comments) is gone too. I MAY have been slightly hacked.
So I am immediately running the computer through my anti-virus and computer security software. It will take a day. It is slow but thorough.
At last resort, I have my "time machine", which is is the Mac backup system. Which of course I disconnected several months ago (for perfectly good reasons) and the forgot to reattach. Perfect timing. But at least my Mark's Mews graphic is in there.
See you all soon, I hope. Bye for now...
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Heart Cat
There will never be another Skeeter in my life. He was the first who really was special. I won't denigrate the ones who came before, because they were good companions who I loved, but there wasn't that "special connection". They were GOOD CATS!
Skeeter was special. I had reached an age and situation where I could appreciate him more than the others, but I have come to understand that it was my fault, not theirs'. They shared my apartments or the rented house, but they never quite attached themselves to me. Skeeter was the first here in my real house who did. He slept under the covers against me. And the other cat, LC, was really sort of HIS cat. I loved and cherished them both.
But here is the difficult part. Ayla, Iza, and Marley are more closely attached to me than even Skeeter was. This is hard to explain, but for most of Skeeter's life, I was away at work. Ayla, Iza, and Marley have been with me 24/7/365. That has changed my thoughts a bit.
I think what I'm trying to say here is that there is not just one Heart Cat in life.. And not all cats will be Heart Cats. But there can be more than one...
I'm sitting here at the computer and Iza is sitting at my feet. She really can't bear to be away from me. I'm really her total focus in life; Tonkinese are amazing that way. She has to sleep next to me, she has to follow me around the house, she has to sit next to me while I eat dinner. I can't move without checking to see where she is. If I fail, I bump her with a foot. In bed, I have to be careful when I toss or turn because she is there. She is THAT close to me all the time. I cherish her affection deeply. How could she not be a Heart Cat?
Ayla isn't always around me (she avoids Iza), but she wants my attention every morning. Her territory is the bedroom. When I get up, she is there on furniture wanting my touch. Head bumps, strokes, nuzzles... She follows me every place except into the shower (there ARE limits). She needs me to hold and stroke her for assurance that she is my Small Beloved Princess and that she is as important to me as Iza is.
And after 2 failed spays and frustrating constant heats in her younger days Pulling her off me sometimes like a pile of thorny brambles), how can I not assure her that her love is not returned. I am so happy with her finally free of the "heat". I can hold her over my shoulder for a long time and she purrs so happily when I do. When I sit up in bed, ready to face the day, she comes and nestles on my lap for as long as I will allow, and when she sits on the sunny bathroom windowsill, she desires all my attention for as long as I can give it. She eats in the bedroom and guides me (as I follow her around holding the foodbowl) to the spot she desires for that meal.
Whenever I enter the bedroom, she calls to me,wanting my attention. We went through so much difficulty together before she was finally spayed successfully on the 3rd try. How could she not be a Heart Cat?
And Marley. Good old Marley. Marley does not sleep with me often. But he is always a calm presence here. He is usually on the ottoman in front of me while I watch TV, he is often on my lap. If he was the only cat, he would attached to me like Skeeter was. He is the cat who appears on my lap when I don't notice it until he is asleep there. He is welcomed by Iza and Ayla equally, and naps with both. When I am restless, he calms me. He sneaks under the blankets sometimes but never disturbs my sleep, staying near but just out of touch so that I know he is there but I can turn around and he won't mind. He is so much like Skeeter, but maybe more so. How can he not be a Heart Cat?
The truth is that each one is. I can't be so lucky to have 4 Heart Cats, so it has to be that we choose any early cat and decide on that one, and then deny the title to all that come after.
I think I will try to stop thinking in terms of Heart Cats, and allow them all to be, in their own ways. The current ones surely are deserving of that title...
Skeeter was special. I had reached an age and situation where I could appreciate him more than the others, but I have come to understand that it was my fault, not theirs'. They shared my apartments or the rented house, but they never quite attached themselves to me. Skeeter was the first here in my real house who did. He slept under the covers against me. And the other cat, LC, was really sort of HIS cat. I loved and cherished them both.
But here is the difficult part. Ayla, Iza, and Marley are more closely attached to me than even Skeeter was. This is hard to explain, but for most of Skeeter's life, I was away at work. Ayla, Iza, and Marley have been with me 24/7/365. That has changed my thoughts a bit.
I think what I'm trying to say here is that there is not just one Heart Cat in life.. And not all cats will be Heart Cats. But there can be more than one...
I'm sitting here at the computer and Iza is sitting at my feet. She really can't bear to be away from me. I'm really her total focus in life; Tonkinese are amazing that way. She has to sleep next to me, she has to follow me around the house, she has to sit next to me while I eat dinner. I can't move without checking to see where she is. If I fail, I bump her with a foot. In bed, I have to be careful when I toss or turn because she is there. She is THAT close to me all the time. I cherish her affection deeply. How could she not be a Heart Cat?
Ayla isn't always around me (she avoids Iza), but she wants my attention every morning. Her territory is the bedroom. When I get up, she is there on furniture wanting my touch. Head bumps, strokes, nuzzles... She follows me every place except into the shower (there ARE limits). She needs me to hold and stroke her for assurance that she is my Small Beloved Princess and that she is as important to me as Iza is.
And after 2 failed spays and frustrating constant heats in her younger days Pulling her off me sometimes like a pile of thorny brambles), how can I not assure her that her love is not returned. I am so happy with her finally free of the "heat". I can hold her over my shoulder for a long time and she purrs so happily when I do. When I sit up in bed, ready to face the day, she comes and nestles on my lap for as long as I will allow, and when she sits on the sunny bathroom windowsill, she desires all my attention for as long as I can give it. She eats in the bedroom and guides me (as I follow her around holding the foodbowl) to the spot she desires for that meal.
Whenever I enter the bedroom, she calls to me,wanting my attention. We went through so much difficulty together before she was finally spayed successfully on the 3rd try. How could she not be a Heart Cat?
And Marley. Good old Marley. Marley does not sleep with me often. But he is always a calm presence here. He is usually on the ottoman in front of me while I watch TV, he is often on my lap. If he was the only cat, he would attached to me like Skeeter was. He is the cat who appears on my lap when I don't notice it until he is asleep there. He is welcomed by Iza and Ayla equally, and naps with both. When I am restless, he calms me. He sneaks under the blankets sometimes but never disturbs my sleep, staying near but just out of touch so that I know he is there but I can turn around and he won't mind. He is so much like Skeeter, but maybe more so. How can he not be a Heart Cat?
The truth is that each one is. I can't be so lucky to have 4 Heart Cats, so it has to be that we choose any early cat and decide on that one, and then deny the title to all that come after.
I think I will try to stop thinking in terms of Heart Cats, and allow them all to be, in their own ways. The current ones surely are deserving of that title...
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
A Funny Story
I was reminded of this because of Daylight Saving Time. It doesn't involve that directly, but it does involve time...
I shared one apartment with 2 other guys. I was actually the person with the lease, but I was broke, so I found another broke guy to share the large bedroom with me and a guy with a good job to take the smaller single bedroom.
I'll call the guy with the good job "Jim" (well that was his name). His routine was to return from work, eat a TV Dinner, and drink Colt 45 beer until he eventually passed out in bed. Got up every morning where to all accounts he was very good at his job as the Parts Manager at a car dealership.
One Saturday afternoon, he had been drinking beer since morning (watching someone get up at 8 am and guzzling a beer is stomach-churning) and sat in a chair just waking up at twilight. So I pulled a trick on him.
Since he needed to get up around dawn, and dusk was about the same, my roomie and I pretended to be leaving for OUR jobs. And roused Jim and told him he was going to be late for work! He panicked and rushed out of the house. Give us some credit here, we made sure he was actually functional and sober, just accepting our actions based on half-light.
When he came back, realizing it was getting darker not lighter outside, and we were both sitting around watching TV instead of leaving for work ourselves, he was stunned.
We cracked up.
I shared one apartment with 2 other guys. I was actually the person with the lease, but I was broke, so I found another broke guy to share the large bedroom with me and a guy with a good job to take the smaller single bedroom.
I'll call the guy with the good job "Jim" (well that was his name). His routine was to return from work, eat a TV Dinner, and drink Colt 45 beer until he eventually passed out in bed. Got up every morning where to all accounts he was very good at his job as the Parts Manager at a car dealership.
One Saturday afternoon, he had been drinking beer since morning (watching someone get up at 8 am and guzzling a beer is stomach-churning) and sat in a chair just waking up at twilight. So I pulled a trick on him.
Since he needed to get up around dawn, and dusk was about the same, my roomie and I pretended to be leaving for OUR jobs. And roused Jim and told him he was going to be late for work! He panicked and rushed out of the house. Give us some credit here, we made sure he was actually functional and sober, just accepting our actions based on half-light.
When he came back, realizing it was getting darker not lighter outside, and we were both sitting around watching TV instead of leaving for work ourselves, he was stunned.
We cracked up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)