The Washington Nationals have been having a fabulous year so far. They had a winning percentage of over .700 going into a road trip against 3 of the best teams in both leagues. They went 5 and 1 against the 1st 2 teams. So they went to play the Chicago Cubs. Apparently, that was the first time to teams both playing over .700 had met in decades (50 years, 80 years, something like that).
The Nationals lost all 4 games. Hard-fought games are nice, but splitting them would have been nicer. Sometimes, a team plays well and just loses. The Nationals hit slashing line drives - directly to fielders. They hit long right to the outfield walls - just within jumping reach of the outfielders. When they hit to the corners of the outfield where no one could catch them, they were a foot foul.
The Cubs were so afraid of Bryce Harper, they walked him 6 times in one game. It would have been 7 ( a record), but one pitch hit him on the foot. He got on base 7 of 7 times in one gamne and not a single one counts as an official "at-bat"! He was walked 18 times in a 4 game series. The Nationals lead several of the games, but lost in the last inning of each. Hey, that's what WE normally do to other teams.
Those Cubs are GOOD! I won't deny that at ALL! But that's a harsh way to lose a series. Can you imagine having a 19-12 record and being in 2ND PLACE? This is going to be one HELL of an exciting season if things keep up like this!
Better news. One of our pitchers, Max Scherzer, struck out 20 Detroit Tigers tonight, tying the record...
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Monday, May 9, 2016
Statuses
Well, the good news is that my Heat Pump is scheduled to be fixed tomorrow morning. The repair company called me this morning. They got their supplier to provide the part for free, they are doing the labor for free, I will pay for the replacement coolant ($200).
I accepted. They could have given me a bunch of technical runaround "proving" none of it was their fault, but they didn't. And I get the 1st appointment of the day, so I won't have to sit around waiting in a 4-hour window.
It will be good to having the heat pump working properly again (possibly for the 1st time ever). My electric company sends me monthly reports showing that my Winter electrical usage is 3x the average of my neighbors (Summer is close). And I have been extraordinarily fortunate that the outside temperature has been unusually moderate (highs of 70 and lows of 55 for almost 2 weeks while the system was completely off). I'm a real warm-bodied person and don't sleep well above 70.
I'm patiently waiting for the bathtub tile replacement. The entire tile surround and backerboard will be replaced, as well as the faucet and temperature valve, the showerhead, soap dish, towelrack, and the tub itself. I guess for a cheaply built "starter house", 30 years was long enough before some repairs were needed.
I was encouraged when the remodeler said not to use the tub before the replacement work (2 weeks hence) so that they could better tell if any moisture on the studs behind the walls was just dampness from the leaks or actual damaged.
I know that its routine for bathroom remodelers to go for increases to the work required claiming unseen stud damage or mold. That the remodeler seems to be trying to make sure any such signs of moisture are real is probably why they have an "A" rating on Angie's List.
The aggravation is that they say the work will take 10 days. I have a showerstall in a half bath to use, but I don't like it much. And I'm not thrilled about having to be available for workers here 4 or 5 days (it takes 10 days, but they won't be here every day - some things need time to "set"). But after a year of increasingly worsening tiles problems it will be worth it.
My knee (twisted on April 5th) is still not normal again, but I can walk straight-forward almost as usual. I still feel it on stairs and getting into bed. I've missed the whole Spring on yardwork, though and the weeds are taking over. I'll be busy when I can dig again!
I accepted. They could have given me a bunch of technical runaround "proving" none of it was their fault, but they didn't. And I get the 1st appointment of the day, so I won't have to sit around waiting in a 4-hour window.
It will be good to having the heat pump working properly again (possibly for the 1st time ever). My electric company sends me monthly reports showing that my Winter electrical usage is 3x the average of my neighbors (Summer is close). And I have been extraordinarily fortunate that the outside temperature has been unusually moderate (highs of 70 and lows of 55 for almost 2 weeks while the system was completely off). I'm a real warm-bodied person and don't sleep well above 70.
I'm patiently waiting for the bathtub tile replacement. The entire tile surround and backerboard will be replaced, as well as the faucet and temperature valve, the showerhead, soap dish, towelrack, and the tub itself. I guess for a cheaply built "starter house", 30 years was long enough before some repairs were needed.
I was encouraged when the remodeler said not to use the tub before the replacement work (2 weeks hence) so that they could better tell if any moisture on the studs behind the walls was just dampness from the leaks or actual damaged.
I know that its routine for bathroom remodelers to go for increases to the work required claiming unseen stud damage or mold. That the remodeler seems to be trying to make sure any such signs of moisture are real is probably why they have an "A" rating on Angie's List.
The aggravation is that they say the work will take 10 days. I have a showerstall in a half bath to use, but I don't like it much. And I'm not thrilled about having to be available for workers here 4 or 5 days (it takes 10 days, but they won't be here every day - some things need time to "set"). But after a year of increasingly worsening tiles problems it will be worth it.
My knee (twisted on April 5th) is still not normal again, but I can walk straight-forward almost as usual. I still feel it on stairs and getting into bed. I've missed the whole Spring on yardwork, though and the weeds are taking over. I'll be busy when I can dig again!
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Other Complaints
Sort of continued from yesterday...
Aside from the heat pump problems, I've had damaged/loose tiles around the bathtub for almost a year. At first, I couldn't get any highly-rated company on Angie's List to come out. The job was too small. Then it gradually got too big. Them I couldn't get a bathroom remodeler to come out because the job was too small.
I have a plastic trash bag duct-taped over the loose tiles. Well, it FINALLY got big enough of a problem for one remodeler to come look Wed. Quite frankly, I hadn't looked under the plastic covering lately, and it was worse than I thought.
I expected bad news and I got it! Now let me mention that this "starter house" (where I have lived for 30 years) was not the best-built of houses. The builder took shortcuts all over the place. Apparently, one of those shortcuts was around the bathtub. The seal around the tub faucet was leaky, the tile was poorly applied, the grout cracked, and the wall behind the tiles was truly waterproof.
The remodeler popped one seemingly sound tile right off and pushed an awl right through the wall behind it. Everything seem rotted... So he came by yesterday with a basic proposal, subject to change after they remove the tiles and see behind the wall.
They propose to remove all the tiles, replace the backer board wall, repair some damaged drywall, replace the tub faucet and showerhead (upper tile loosening suggests it is leaking inside the wall), and re-tile higher than it currently is (which is below the showerhead). And replace the bathtub itself.
I asked about why to replace the bathtub, and he said that, at 30 years old my cheap one won't last much longer and it would require pulling off the new tiles and some drywall to replace it then at twice the price.
I did some internet research and I know the routine for bathroom remodelers. They get the initial job, then find all sorts of further problems (replace studs, scrape and spray mold, replace the floor, discover insect damage, etc). I'm resigned to that. There are some repairs you just HAVE to have done even when you know you are being taken advantage of.
At least I have some advantages myself. I know wood, so they won't be able to lie about the condition of the studs. I know the floor is solid; I can see it from the basement and there is no waterstain. But also, I chose this company because their Angie's List rating is A+ for price and quality of work. So they not only have a good rating, they care about their rating. And if *I'm* not happy, they won't be happy!
At $5700 for the contracted work, they BETTER make me happy. But it will be 3 weeks before they get to me on their schedule. And they estimate 10 days of work (not every day, some parts have to sit a couple days to set).
And then there is my right knee. It has been a month since I first twisted it. At first, it was pinful just getting it and out of bed. And getting up and down stairs was an adventure in caution. At least now I can walk almost normally. Stairs are still annoying, but not actually painful. Putting on my right sock and shoe are still awkward (but just an "err" and not a "GRRRR". But it all means that I have not been able to do any gardening work in this extended mild temperature we have had all April and early May. It will heal...
But then there is the weather. After 3 weeks of drought late March and early April, we have had 10 days of daily off-and-on drizzle. 5" of drizzle and not any heavy rain but 1 hour. So, good knee or bad, I wasn't going to get to do much work in the flower or vegetable gardens. The vegetable garden is newly redone, so it doesn't need much work and the early crops were in and the warm weather crops will wait.
But the flowerbeds are all gone to heck. Weed grasses and regular weeds are nearly taking over. This was going to be a Spring of renovation. Too many of my perennial flowers have slowly died back (perennials don't live forever) and I was planning to dig up everything worth saving and rototill large areas to start over with some perennials that DO seem to live forever and add lots of annuals this year while I decide what to do in the future.
I went big into perennials 15 years ago, but they are disappointing. Most only flower a week or two. Some flower longer, but are shorter-lived (3-5 years). Some are very special in their short blooms (oriental lilies, tulips, daffodils, etc), and some have great foliage (Hostas, Brunella). But I like the ones that flower all season or at least all Fall (Coneflowers, Goldenrod, Astilbe, Clatis, Asters).
I'm going back to annuals ( Zinnias, Salvia, Marigolds, Coleus, Impatiens). More work each Spring to plant under lights inside and transplant, but I have time for that. And growing seeds from scratch gives my better varieties than the local Walmart sells.
But if my knee doesn't heal soon, I won't be able to get down and scrape the weeds off the soil (and dig out the deep-rooted ones) and plant all those seedlings.
Mom used to tell me that "getting old isn't for sissies". I understood that theoretically a decade ago; now I know personally. I'll turn 66 in 2 weeks. LOL!
I've stayed young long. You know how, in high school, there were those who matured fast? Well, they aged fast too. I always took some comfort in that. Well, age is starting to catch up with me... Small matters to be sure. But I bet I need a knee transplant in 10 years. My knees have always been a bit loose.
Most people fidget in some way. They doodle, they hum, they tap their fingers. I shake my ankles. Sound weird? Put your right ankle up on your left knee. Now shake your ankle up and down constantly. That's what I do at the computer. I'll bet I loosened that knee badly over the decades...
"tempis fugit, momento mori".
Aside from the heat pump problems, I've had damaged/loose tiles around the bathtub for almost a year. At first, I couldn't get any highly-rated company on Angie's List to come out. The job was too small. Then it gradually got too big. Them I couldn't get a bathroom remodeler to come out because the job was too small.
I have a plastic trash bag duct-taped over the loose tiles. Well, it FINALLY got big enough of a problem for one remodeler to come look Wed. Quite frankly, I hadn't looked under the plastic covering lately, and it was worse than I thought.
I expected bad news and I got it! Now let me mention that this "starter house" (where I have lived for 30 years) was not the best-built of houses. The builder took shortcuts all over the place. Apparently, one of those shortcuts was around the bathtub. The seal around the tub faucet was leaky, the tile was poorly applied, the grout cracked, and the wall behind the tiles was truly waterproof.
The remodeler popped one seemingly sound tile right off and pushed an awl right through the wall behind it. Everything seem rotted... So he came by yesterday with a basic proposal, subject to change after they remove the tiles and see behind the wall.
They propose to remove all the tiles, replace the backer board wall, repair some damaged drywall, replace the tub faucet and showerhead (upper tile loosening suggests it is leaking inside the wall), and re-tile higher than it currently is (which is below the showerhead). And replace the bathtub itself.
I asked about why to replace the bathtub, and he said that, at 30 years old my cheap one won't last much longer and it would require pulling off the new tiles and some drywall to replace it then at twice the price.
I did some internet research and I know the routine for bathroom remodelers. They get the initial job, then find all sorts of further problems (replace studs, scrape and spray mold, replace the floor, discover insect damage, etc). I'm resigned to that. There are some repairs you just HAVE to have done even when you know you are being taken advantage of.
At least I have some advantages myself. I know wood, so they won't be able to lie about the condition of the studs. I know the floor is solid; I can see it from the basement and there is no waterstain. But also, I chose this company because their Angie's List rating is A+ for price and quality of work. So they not only have a good rating, they care about their rating. And if *I'm* not happy, they won't be happy!
At $5700 for the contracted work, they BETTER make me happy. But it will be 3 weeks before they get to me on their schedule. And they estimate 10 days of work (not every day, some parts have to sit a couple days to set).
And then there is my right knee. It has been a month since I first twisted it. At first, it was pinful just getting it and out of bed. And getting up and down stairs was an adventure in caution. At least now I can walk almost normally. Stairs are still annoying, but not actually painful. Putting on my right sock and shoe are still awkward (but just an "err" and not a "GRRRR". But it all means that I have not been able to do any gardening work in this extended mild temperature we have had all April and early May. It will heal...
But then there is the weather. After 3 weeks of drought late March and early April, we have had 10 days of daily off-and-on drizzle. 5" of drizzle and not any heavy rain but 1 hour. So, good knee or bad, I wasn't going to get to do much work in the flower or vegetable gardens. The vegetable garden is newly redone, so it doesn't need much work and the early crops were in and the warm weather crops will wait.
But the flowerbeds are all gone to heck. Weed grasses and regular weeds are nearly taking over. This was going to be a Spring of renovation. Too many of my perennial flowers have slowly died back (perennials don't live forever) and I was planning to dig up everything worth saving and rototill large areas to start over with some perennials that DO seem to live forever and add lots of annuals this year while I decide what to do in the future.
I went big into perennials 15 years ago, but they are disappointing. Most only flower a week or two. Some flower longer, but are shorter-lived (3-5 years). Some are very special in their short blooms (oriental lilies, tulips, daffodils, etc), and some have great foliage (Hostas, Brunella). But I like the ones that flower all season or at least all Fall (Coneflowers, Goldenrod, Astilbe, Clatis, Asters).
I'm going back to annuals ( Zinnias, Salvia, Marigolds, Coleus, Impatiens). More work each Spring to plant under lights inside and transplant, but I have time for that. And growing seeds from scratch gives my better varieties than the local Walmart sells.
But if my knee doesn't heal soon, I won't be able to get down and scrape the weeds off the soil (and dig out the deep-rooted ones) and plant all those seedlings.
Mom used to tell me that "getting old isn't for sissies". I understood that theoretically a decade ago; now I know personally. I'll turn 66 in 2 weeks. LOL!
I've stayed young long. You know how, in high school, there were those who matured fast? Well, they aged fast too. I always took some comfort in that. Well, age is starting to catch up with me... Small matters to be sure. But I bet I need a knee transplant in 10 years. My knees have always been a bit loose.
Most people fidget in some way. They doodle, they hum, they tap their fingers. I shake my ankles. Sound weird? Put your right ankle up on your left knee. Now shake your ankle up and down constantly. That's what I do at the computer. I'll bet I loosened that knee badly over the decades...
"tempis fugit, momento mori".
Friday, May 6, 2016
Heat Pump Problems
I don't like to be complaining often, and I recognize that my worst complaints are minor compared to many other people's. But they are what *I* am suffering, if you understand what I mean. Sort of the "I was sad I had no shoes, til I met a man who had no feet". Well, I still have no shoes, so I'm not happy.
My heat pump is non-functional. Brief history is that the heating function barely worked in early Feb and I had to pay $120 for a diagnostic visit, then $745 for a replacement of the outdoors unit "thermal exchange valve" and a coolant recharge. It worked, but not like it used to. And there was often a weird high-pressure whistling sound both inside and outside after that.
Then when the weather warmed into the low 80s in mid-April, I turned on the cooling function. It struggled. How could it struggle when it's only 80 outside? So I had to pay $120 for another diagnostic visit. Naturally, it was only 65 outside that day and the system worked perfectly...
Monday the system simply stopped completely. No heating, no cooling, not even the fan operated. Even the thermostat display was dark. I checked the main circuit breaker panel, the inside unit ciruit breaker, the outside circuit breaker, nothing.
Wed, another repairman came out. THIS guy knew what he was doing! First, he ACTUALLY listened to my description of the recent history of diagnoses and repair, and he listened to my observations of noises and heating/cooling failures.
The 1st thing he did was get into the inside unit where there was yer ANOTHER circuit breaker, and replaced it. It promptly blew out when he turned the system back on. So he shut everything off again and checked the coolant because "that high pressure whistle you described is bad news". Sure enough, he found the coolant recharge done in Feb was 4x too high. There was some by-passing valve that protects against that but it meant the system wasn't doing much. He said the previous week's diagnostician didn't measure for long enough to discover that. And terms like "those clowns" were used...
He suspects the INTERNAL "thermal exchange valve" was damaged by the coolant overpressure and said he needed to speak to the repairs manager because they had screwed up my system and owed me some free work (that he couldn't authorize on his own). The nice news was that he said I had observed the problems accurately, had been right that the noise was due to high pressure, and that if the previous guys had paid attention to what I was telling them, they might have fixed the problem right to begin with!
And, in fact, I had described the pattern of cooling failure to the last week's diagnostician in detail. Not 10 minutes later he told me that I should observe the pattern of failure. Exactly what I had just previously done. I think that, like doctors, repairmen shut off their hearing when clients speak. Seriously, how often have you explained symptoms in detail to a doctor only to have him/her ask you about symptoms you just mentioned? Often, right?
I spoke to the repairs manage this afternoon. My system is a year out of warranty, but he has gotten authorization to replace the inside thermal exchange valve at no charge and the labor charge will be at 50%. Plus any other problems found during full repair will be cost-adjusted.
I mentioned that seemed generally fair, since it was likely the Feb over pressuring caused some of the problems, but I didn't push it further. I'm not a skilled negotiator (I'm always afraid people will just say "NO" and THEN get mad and unhelpful).
They expect the part to arrive Monday and will be out to replace it ASAP. I've been very fortunate that the temperatures have been very stable between highs of 65 and lows of 50. I can deal with that. I'm a very warm-bodied person, I have a heated waterbed, and I'm a lot more comfortable at 65 than 75. And the house stays warmer than the outside. All that electronic stuff that stays permanently 1/2 on creates heat, as does the refrigerator, water heater, cooking, etc. And the house got a detailed attic-to-basement spray insulation and blown-in insulation job 18 months ago.
When it is 50 outside, the house stays at 65. But that also means that when the outside temperature is 80, the inside will reach 90 even with windows open and I can't sleep in THAT! And it will get into the 80s Tuesday! So the repair will be a close call...
It could be much worse. Heat pumps usually die on the coldest or hottest days. My previous 2 heat pumps died in mid August and the in-house temperature reached 100!
I have more complaints, but this post is long enough (and my appreciation to all who have read to this point)! So the rest tomorrow...
My heat pump is non-functional. Brief history is that the heating function barely worked in early Feb and I had to pay $120 for a diagnostic visit, then $745 for a replacement of the outdoors unit "thermal exchange valve" and a coolant recharge. It worked, but not like it used to. And there was often a weird high-pressure whistling sound both inside and outside after that.
Then when the weather warmed into the low 80s in mid-April, I turned on the cooling function. It struggled. How could it struggle when it's only 80 outside? So I had to pay $120 for another diagnostic visit. Naturally, it was only 65 outside that day and the system worked perfectly...
Monday the system simply stopped completely. No heating, no cooling, not even the fan operated. Even the thermostat display was dark. I checked the main circuit breaker panel, the inside unit ciruit breaker, the outside circuit breaker, nothing.
Wed, another repairman came out. THIS guy knew what he was doing! First, he ACTUALLY listened to my description of the recent history of diagnoses and repair, and he listened to my observations of noises and heating/cooling failures.
The 1st thing he did was get into the inside unit where there was yer ANOTHER circuit breaker, and replaced it. It promptly blew out when he turned the system back on. So he shut everything off again and checked the coolant because "that high pressure whistle you described is bad news". Sure enough, he found the coolant recharge done in Feb was 4x too high. There was some by-passing valve that protects against that but it meant the system wasn't doing much. He said the previous week's diagnostician didn't measure for long enough to discover that. And terms like "those clowns" were used...
He suspects the INTERNAL "thermal exchange valve" was damaged by the coolant overpressure and said he needed to speak to the repairs manager because they had screwed up my system and owed me some free work (that he couldn't authorize on his own). The nice news was that he said I had observed the problems accurately, had been right that the noise was due to high pressure, and that if the previous guys had paid attention to what I was telling them, they might have fixed the problem right to begin with!
And, in fact, I had described the pattern of cooling failure to the last week's diagnostician in detail. Not 10 minutes later he told me that I should observe the pattern of failure. Exactly what I had just previously done. I think that, like doctors, repairmen shut off their hearing when clients speak. Seriously, how often have you explained symptoms in detail to a doctor only to have him/her ask you about symptoms you just mentioned? Often, right?
I spoke to the repairs manage this afternoon. My system is a year out of warranty, but he has gotten authorization to replace the inside thermal exchange valve at no charge and the labor charge will be at 50%. Plus any other problems found during full repair will be cost-adjusted.
I mentioned that seemed generally fair, since it was likely the Feb over pressuring caused some of the problems, but I didn't push it further. I'm not a skilled negotiator (I'm always afraid people will just say "NO" and THEN get mad and unhelpful).
They expect the part to arrive Monday and will be out to replace it ASAP. I've been very fortunate that the temperatures have been very stable between highs of 65 and lows of 50. I can deal with that. I'm a very warm-bodied person, I have a heated waterbed, and I'm a lot more comfortable at 65 than 75. And the house stays warmer than the outside. All that electronic stuff that stays permanently 1/2 on creates heat, as does the refrigerator, water heater, cooking, etc. And the house got a detailed attic-to-basement spray insulation and blown-in insulation job 18 months ago.
When it is 50 outside, the house stays at 65. But that also means that when the outside temperature is 80, the inside will reach 90 even with windows open and I can't sleep in THAT! And it will get into the 80s Tuesday! So the repair will be a close call...
It could be much worse. Heat pumps usually die on the coldest or hottest days. My previous 2 heat pumps died in mid August and the in-house temperature reached 100!
I have more complaints, but this post is long enough (and my appreciation to all who have read to this point)! So the rest tomorrow...
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
US Presidential Campaign
Well, with the Indiana Primary results in, it looks like it will be Donald Trump as the Republican nominee and Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee. And I don't see anyone mounting a credible 3rd party campaign.
That's too bad. I respect Clinton; breadth of experience, thoughtfulness, and a progressive approach suit me. I would have been OK with Sanders; I like him personally, I completely agree that money has too much influence in politics and sometimes some radical approaches are needed, but I just don't see him as "Manager of The Executive Branch". Hey, maybe he would have been a genious at it, but we will never know.
But Donald Trump deeply worries me. I don't mean for this to be a screed, but the man has more holes in his psyche than swiss cheese. He lies outrageously, he unashamedly repeats proven falsehoods, he makes promises that he could never keep, he detests almost everyone, he wants to start fights with both opposing and friendly nations, and he seems to have little concept of how government works (3 equal branches of government, constitutional restrictions, law in general, etc). He approves of torture as "effective", he wants MORE nations to have nuclear weapons, and he would expect the military to follow "illegal" orders.
Trump would make an excellent dictator in a small nation. He has openly admired Vladamir Putin and Benito Mussolini. Oddly, in a very dysfunctional small nation, he might even do some good. I don't think he is "evil", he's just sort of nuts. He wouldn't be vicious like many dictators and would probably forcibly implement some economic improvements. But that won't work in any developed democracy.
If Trump were elected, the Congress and Supreme Court would probably just block him out of governance for his single term, but even then he could probably cause enough confusion and chaos to damage the economy, destroy our international influence, and divide the nation domestically for a decade. Whatever he could effect, he would make worse.
This is not to say that Clinton would be the best President we have ever had. She would work unbelievably hard, bring in a lot of international good will, appoint qualified but not historic Supreme Court Justices, and improve many continuing domestic problems. But she isn't going to excite and stimulate the nation, and she isn't going to solve The Big Problems (but she sure won't make any of them worse).
This Presidential campaign will be best for political commentators and comedians. I saw one statement that the Republicans had 3 major candidates; the grandson of an immigrant (Trump), the son of immigrants (Rubio), and an actual immigrant (Cruz) all competing to claim to hate immigrants the most! Ah, c'mon, ya GOTTA laugh about THAT!
Another good one was that Sanders had a good motto ("Feel The Bern") but Clinton's was not as good ("Trudge Uphill").
I vote for Clinton without any hesitation. Experienced/hard-working/good intentions beat a lying/bullying/megalomaniac nutso EVERY time.
But this election may be the best argument against the 2 term limitation. I would gladly take a 3rd Obama term. Heck, I'd take a 3rd Bill Clinton term. But maybe that is just fear of uncertainty. I'll bet Hillary Clinton is going to be a good President (and I can hope, better).
The most hopeful possibility is that a Clinton victory over Trump is so overwhelming that the Democrats regain control over the Congress. I think that would be good for the nation in general terms. But also, that divided government is not working these days (with the "just say no to anything" Republicans) and at least it might be good to get SOMETHING done.
I know that a lot of you out there are Republicans. I used to be one too. I don't mean anything negative to Republicans in general. We need 2 functioning parties, competition of ideas is good, and the times in our history when one party has controlled government for too long have not been good.
This election suggests a blowout. I've experienced 2 of those. The Goldwater landslide defeat in 1964 and the McGovern landslide defeat in 1972. In fact my (50 page OMG it killed me writing it) senior political science paper compared the 2 campaigns. From opposite sides of the political spectrum, the nomination campaigns were surprisingly similar...
So, prediction: Clinton will get more Electoral College votes than Obama did, the Republican Party will finally (after 36 years) move toward the center, and the Democrats will stay where they are...
That's too bad. I respect Clinton; breadth of experience, thoughtfulness, and a progressive approach suit me. I would have been OK with Sanders; I like him personally, I completely agree that money has too much influence in politics and sometimes some radical approaches are needed, but I just don't see him as "Manager of The Executive Branch". Hey, maybe he would have been a genious at it, but we will never know.
But Donald Trump deeply worries me. I don't mean for this to be a screed, but the man has more holes in his psyche than swiss cheese. He lies outrageously, he unashamedly repeats proven falsehoods, he makes promises that he could never keep, he detests almost everyone, he wants to start fights with both opposing and friendly nations, and he seems to have little concept of how government works (3 equal branches of government, constitutional restrictions, law in general, etc). He approves of torture as "effective", he wants MORE nations to have nuclear weapons, and he would expect the military to follow "illegal" orders.
Trump would make an excellent dictator in a small nation. He has openly admired Vladamir Putin and Benito Mussolini. Oddly, in a very dysfunctional small nation, he might even do some good. I don't think he is "evil", he's just sort of nuts. He wouldn't be vicious like many dictators and would probably forcibly implement some economic improvements. But that won't work in any developed democracy.
If Trump were elected, the Congress and Supreme Court would probably just block him out of governance for his single term, but even then he could probably cause enough confusion and chaos to damage the economy, destroy our international influence, and divide the nation domestically for a decade. Whatever he could effect, he would make worse.
This is not to say that Clinton would be the best President we have ever had. She would work unbelievably hard, bring in a lot of international good will, appoint qualified but not historic Supreme Court Justices, and improve many continuing domestic problems. But she isn't going to excite and stimulate the nation, and she isn't going to solve The Big Problems (but she sure won't make any of them worse).
This Presidential campaign will be best for political commentators and comedians. I saw one statement that the Republicans had 3 major candidates; the grandson of an immigrant (Trump), the son of immigrants (Rubio), and an actual immigrant (Cruz) all competing to claim to hate immigrants the most! Ah, c'mon, ya GOTTA laugh about THAT!
Another good one was that Sanders had a good motto ("Feel The Bern") but Clinton's was not as good ("Trudge Uphill").
I vote for Clinton without any hesitation. Experienced/hard-working/good intentions beat a lying/bullying/megalomaniac nutso EVERY time.
But this election may be the best argument against the 2 term limitation. I would gladly take a 3rd Obama term. Heck, I'd take a 3rd Bill Clinton term. But maybe that is just fear of uncertainty. I'll bet Hillary Clinton is going to be a good President (and I can hope, better).
The most hopeful possibility is that a Clinton victory over Trump is so overwhelming that the Democrats regain control over the Congress. I think that would be good for the nation in general terms. But also, that divided government is not working these days (with the "just say no to anything" Republicans) and at least it might be good to get SOMETHING done.
I know that a lot of you out there are Republicans. I used to be one too. I don't mean anything negative to Republicans in general. We need 2 functioning parties, competition of ideas is good, and the times in our history when one party has controlled government for too long have not been good.
This election suggests a blowout. I've experienced 2 of those. The Goldwater landslide defeat in 1964 and the McGovern landslide defeat in 1972. In fact my (50 page OMG it killed me writing it) senior political science paper compared the 2 campaigns. From opposite sides of the political spectrum, the nomination campaigns were surprisingly similar...
So, prediction: Clinton will get more Electoral College votes than Obama did, the Republican Party will finally (after 36 years) move toward the center, and the Democrats will stay where they are...
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Bathtub Tile Repair
I mentioned recently that my bathroom tub tiles were loose and needed repair. And since I am a reasonably talented D-I-Yr, I was asked why I couldn't do it myself.
Well, I've never done any tile work, and this sure isn't the place to start...
Here is the humiliating proof...
I am quite sure that the tile backing is utterly rotted. It may need studs replaced. And I know for sure I don't want to mess with grout...
This is one thing I don't feel remotely competent to fix.
Well, I've never done any tile work, and this sure isn't the place to start...
Here is the humiliating proof...
This is one thing I don't feel remotely competent to fix.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Successes and Failures, Part 2
Today some failures WITH Successes...
When I moved here 30 years ago, there were some things lacking. One of which were towel racks and toilet paper holders in the bathrooms. So I bought some decent wood ones and installed them myself. Some have come loose over the years. I put up with a lot of minor stuff that is not perfect (there are only so many hours in a day for maintenance) but the main bathroom TP holder finally got so loose it demanded attention.
Image my shock when I discovered that (30 years ago) I had simply put screws into drywall! OK, I know I wasn't "Harry Homemaker" back then. Dad was a very talented D-I-Yer, but never involved us boys in his projects (well, quite frankly, he couldn't teach worth a damn and had no patience for helpers who didn't already know what to do). But I didn't remember I was THAT stupid to try to hold things to drywall with regular wood screws! The wonder is that they held for so long.
So I put in drywall anchors (ribbed plastic cones you pound into a hole and then the screw expands them tightly). To be extra good about it, I squeezed some glue into the holes first. The new attachments should outlast me.
The next complete failure is going to take a professional to fix. There is a reason professionals hate amateurs. Amateurs do really stupid things that "make sense at the time". Well, I had some loose bathtub tiles. And I had this can of spray insulation that hardened to "waterproof". Seemed like a good thing to use.
The stuff does penetrate deeply while liquid. What I didn't realize was that the spray foam expands before hardening. Yeah, I blew out a dozen tiles all around the faucet. In fact, no tile repairman will touch the job. And the bathroom restoration people consider it too small a job. I'm between a rock and a hard place...
I might actually have to damage the tile wall worse to get anyone to fix it. I've done some really stupid things before (raise your hands if you haven't), but that qualifies as one of the dumbest! * Right now, I have a plastic trash bag taped over the loosened tiles so that shower water doesn't get into the walls.
-----------------
* The really dumbest was when I had a car towed to a dealership when I was 21 and being broke, I decided to walk home. I didn't realize I lived 10 miles away. And then I had to walk BACK to the dealership 2 days later to be shown an engine crankcase full of tar. "Oh, you need to add oil". Gee thanks Dad for not teaching me that stuff. ("Do you know how to fix this? [to me at 15]. "Then don't bother me")...
The engine was completely destroyed. I spent a year struggling with buses before I could buy a crappy used car.
When I moved here 30 years ago, there were some things lacking. One of which were towel racks and toilet paper holders in the bathrooms. So I bought some decent wood ones and installed them myself. Some have come loose over the years. I put up with a lot of minor stuff that is not perfect (there are only so many hours in a day for maintenance) but the main bathroom TP holder finally got so loose it demanded attention.
Image my shock when I discovered that (30 years ago) I had simply put screws into drywall! OK, I know I wasn't "Harry Homemaker" back then. Dad was a very talented D-I-Yer, but never involved us boys in his projects (well, quite frankly, he couldn't teach worth a damn and had no patience for helpers who didn't already know what to do). But I didn't remember I was THAT stupid to try to hold things to drywall with regular wood screws! The wonder is that they held for so long.
So I put in drywall anchors (ribbed plastic cones you pound into a hole and then the screw expands them tightly). To be extra good about it, I squeezed some glue into the holes first. The new attachments should outlast me.
The next complete failure is going to take a professional to fix. There is a reason professionals hate amateurs. Amateurs do really stupid things that "make sense at the time". Well, I had some loose bathtub tiles. And I had this can of spray insulation that hardened to "waterproof". Seemed like a good thing to use.
The stuff does penetrate deeply while liquid. What I didn't realize was that the spray foam expands before hardening. Yeah, I blew out a dozen tiles all around the faucet. In fact, no tile repairman will touch the job. And the bathroom restoration people consider it too small a job. I'm between a rock and a hard place...
I might actually have to damage the tile wall worse to get anyone to fix it. I've done some really stupid things before (raise your hands if you haven't), but that qualifies as one of the dumbest! * Right now, I have a plastic trash bag taped over the loosened tiles so that shower water doesn't get into the walls.
-----------------
* The really dumbest was when I had a car towed to a dealership when I was 21 and being broke, I decided to walk home. I didn't realize I lived 10 miles away. And then I had to walk BACK to the dealership 2 days later to be shown an engine crankcase full of tar. "Oh, you need to add oil". Gee thanks Dad for not teaching me that stuff. ("Do you know how to fix this? [to me at 15]. "Then don't bother me")...
The engine was completely destroyed. I spent a year struggling with buses before I could buy a crappy used car.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Successes and Failures
Failures first, to get them out of the way!
My car battery gives me trouble. The dealership swears it is perfectly OK; that I just dont't drive enough these days. But I've had times in other cars (and other batteries of course) when I didn't drive much and they stayed charged. In fact, one time I was away from home for 6 weeks and when I returned, my car started right up. (I had a roommate who took care of the cat while I was gone)
So when I don't drive for 5 days and the battery is dead, I get pretty PO! I bought a "battery minder" (a super slow trickle charger that activates only when the charge drops), but hadn't hooked it up (uncertainties about safety of use in an enclosed space).
But I noticed that the battery was 4 years old AND had a bad rating from Consumer Reports. So, I decided to replace it even if the dealership wouldn't. Amazingly, the 2nd rated battery (by a squeek) was from Walmart, of all places. So I bought one. Today I set about replacing it.
Now, replacing a battery is probably one of the easiest things to do in a car. It's right THERE in easy reach. You just loosen the terminal clamps, pull them off, lift old the old battery, set in the new, and replace the terminals tightly.
I have no luck sometimes. There was a hold-down bracket I had to remove. Removing that was easy. Retreiving the hooked rod that it was attached to it and dropped down when loosened was annoying. But I got it. The other end of the hold-down bracket was just a large metal screw (meaning a screw designed go into metal rather than wood), and I carefully set it aside.
So, of course, as soon as I removed the battery hold-down bracket, my sleeve brushed the screw and it fell into the bowels of the engine compartment. 15 minutes of searching around with a magnet on a flexible metal rod found nothing. GRRR!
I went ahead and removed the terminals and pulled the old battery out. Set in the new one. That was harder than I thought. The positive and negative cable insisted on getting under the new battery because they manufacturer doesn't leave 1/4" of extra length AND they have the cables joined with user-unfriendly clamps in several places. It would have been easy if I had 3 hands...
OK, I got the battery in and the cables unencumbered. But the cables won't reach the correct + and - terminals. They are on OPPOSITE sides from the original battery!!! And yes, it is the correct battery; I double and triple checked!
Unless I cut off all the cable attachments (and there is some metal involved) I can't use the new battery. So I undid all my work and put the old battery back in. At least I can jump the old one when required (not usually needed in warm weather).
However, I DID attach the "battery minder" to the terminals before I reattached them. That thing is a little weird. There are cables that you stick out through the front grill so that you don't have to open the hood to attach it.
Here is the surprise: Before I closed the hood, having spent over an hour to no useful gain, I popped open the tops of the old battery (the one back in the car) where you can see the electrolyt level inside the battery cells. They were WAY low!
That might be the whole problem! Sure, I should have checked that first. But the dealership said the battery was fine just 2 months ago and I assumed they checked that. But I had just gone through checking my boat batteries and refilling them, and JUST thought I should look in the car battery.
I won't know for a couple days. I have the battery minder attached and will see what is says about the charge then.
Now, I had intended to write about other things also, but this has gotten long, so I think I will leave the other matters til tomorrow.
In fact, if you read THIS far, I am impressed! Thank you. I can get boring sometimes...
My car battery gives me trouble. The dealership swears it is perfectly OK; that I just dont't drive enough these days. But I've had times in other cars (and other batteries of course) when I didn't drive much and they stayed charged. In fact, one time I was away from home for 6 weeks and when I returned, my car started right up. (I had a roommate who took care of the cat while I was gone)
So when I don't drive for 5 days and the battery is dead, I get pretty PO! I bought a "battery minder" (a super slow trickle charger that activates only when the charge drops), but hadn't hooked it up (uncertainties about safety of use in an enclosed space).
But I noticed that the battery was 4 years old AND had a bad rating from Consumer Reports. So, I decided to replace it even if the dealership wouldn't. Amazingly, the 2nd rated battery (by a squeek) was from Walmart, of all places. So I bought one. Today I set about replacing it.
Now, replacing a battery is probably one of the easiest things to do in a car. It's right THERE in easy reach. You just loosen the terminal clamps, pull them off, lift old the old battery, set in the new, and replace the terminals tightly.
I have no luck sometimes. There was a hold-down bracket I had to remove. Removing that was easy. Retreiving the hooked rod that it was attached to it and dropped down when loosened was annoying. But I got it. The other end of the hold-down bracket was just a large metal screw (meaning a screw designed go into metal rather than wood), and I carefully set it aside.
So, of course, as soon as I removed the battery hold-down bracket, my sleeve brushed the screw and it fell into the bowels of the engine compartment. 15 minutes of searching around with a magnet on a flexible metal rod found nothing. GRRR!
I went ahead and removed the terminals and pulled the old battery out. Set in the new one. That was harder than I thought. The positive and negative cable insisted on getting under the new battery because they manufacturer doesn't leave 1/4" of extra length AND they have the cables joined with user-unfriendly clamps in several places. It would have been easy if I had 3 hands...
OK, I got the battery in and the cables unencumbered. But the cables won't reach the correct + and - terminals. They are on OPPOSITE sides from the original battery!!! And yes, it is the correct battery; I double and triple checked!
Unless I cut off all the cable attachments (and there is some metal involved) I can't use the new battery. So I undid all my work and put the old battery back in. At least I can jump the old one when required (not usually needed in warm weather).
However, I DID attach the "battery minder" to the terminals before I reattached them. That thing is a little weird. There are cables that you stick out through the front grill so that you don't have to open the hood to attach it.
Here is the surprise: Before I closed the hood, having spent over an hour to no useful gain, I popped open the tops of the old battery (the one back in the car) where you can see the electrolyt level inside the battery cells. They were WAY low!
That might be the whole problem! Sure, I should have checked that first. But the dealership said the battery was fine just 2 months ago and I assumed they checked that. But I had just gone through checking my boat batteries and refilling them, and JUST thought I should look in the car battery.
I won't know for a couple days. I have the battery minder attached and will see what is says about the charge then.
Now, I had intended to write about other things also, but this has gotten long, so I think I will leave the other matters til tomorrow.
In fact, if you read THIS far, I am impressed! Thank you. I can get boring sometimes...
Friday, April 22, 2016
Gardenweb
Everything I like goes away. TV shows, beverages, internet discussion forums, clothes, appliances, etc...
Today I discovered my favorite garden discussion site is essentially "gone". Oh, I never visited every month, mostly just at the start of each year to talk about "new" heirloom tomatoes I was trying, building raised beds, starting seeds under lights. I was an "irregular" (very active at times, but absent later in the year).
And it just isn't there anymore. Well, it exists in name but it was bought by some sales site called "Houzz" (a house improvement sales site). Gardenweb is there in name, as I said, but they trashed it, deleted all the archives, killed all the usernames, and simplified the format to unusability.
I had a NAME there "yardenman". I had a history. There were people I KNEW! (And argued with or agreed with). THAT part is just gone. And I feel stupid that I'm sitting here crying about it and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.
I put the site name as the post title in case it grabs someone using it in a search...
I tried to keep up with the change and re-register. Can't have a handle; gotta be a plain boring real name. Goodbye "yardenman". You could know stuff about people with handles like TomatoLover! You have to choose housing interests and give TMI. I even did that. And only then did I find that there wasn't much there. No one I recognized. No sense of community... I deleted my new account.
Doing some searches, I found the place had changed August last year. Some people had gone to another site that apparently (from comments I read) is run by a (and please forgive me here) religious fundamentalist. If he doesn't like your tone or disagrees with you, the next time you sign in you are shunted to a Disney site. Seriously, you get automatically redirected to "Disney" forever after.
I wish I had the skills (and time) to set up my own discussion site...
BTW, about the other things I miss? I might as well explain.
TV - M*A*S*H ended, Babylon 5 ended, MSNBC essentially became a "Breaking News" channel 24/7, The Discovery Channel became a weird medical stuff site, National Geographic became a fake nature reality show site, The Science Channel became a fake reality show site, The History Channel does famous people drama, etc, etc, etc... I watch baseball and a LOT of science/nature/history DVDs now.
Clothes and Kitchen - Bell-bottom pants? Forget about it. I wear a lot of camo now. Bet those disappear soon. Faded Glory shirts with ample armpits? Gone. I liked soft velcro "Shark Leash" watch straps. Had to go to eBay to get a new one. Blue Libbey glasses? Forget it. And I dropped a soapy coffee mug this week and broke it and 2 of my remaining 4 short blue Libbey glasses! My old Rival crock pot of 40 years finally died a few months ago. The new ones are junk and burn everything. Found an old one on eBay... Tried to find canned grapefruit lately? Don't bother.
Beverages - Remember Tom Collins Mix? I used to drink the stuff straight. Its gone. I used to make Singapore Slings using Pomegranate Brandy; discontinued. You've seen those no-cal water flavorers? I liked the pineapple one. Gone. Caffeine-Free Coke? Gone.
It's not like I'm looking for VHS tapes and saspirilla. I just want some things *I* like to stay available. Speaking of camo pants, they are all cargo pants these days. I have a 25" inseam. When the tailor shortens the 30" ones (shortest I can get) I have pockets around my ankles, LOL!
I'm trying to stay in good humor. But damn I miss that gardening site...
Today I discovered my favorite garden discussion site is essentially "gone". Oh, I never visited every month, mostly just at the start of each year to talk about "new" heirloom tomatoes I was trying, building raised beds, starting seeds under lights. I was an "irregular" (very active at times, but absent later in the year).
And it just isn't there anymore. Well, it exists in name but it was bought by some sales site called "Houzz" (a house improvement sales site). Gardenweb is there in name, as I said, but they trashed it, deleted all the archives, killed all the usernames, and simplified the format to unusability.
I had a NAME there "yardenman". I had a history. There were people I KNEW! (And argued with or agreed with). THAT part is just gone. And I feel stupid that I'm sitting here crying about it and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.
I put the site name as the post title in case it grabs someone using it in a search...
I tried to keep up with the change and re-register. Can't have a handle; gotta be a plain boring real name. Goodbye "yardenman". You could know stuff about people with handles like TomatoLover! You have to choose housing interests and give TMI. I even did that. And only then did I find that there wasn't much there. No one I recognized. No sense of community... I deleted my new account.
Doing some searches, I found the place had changed August last year. Some people had gone to another site that apparently (from comments I read) is run by a (and please forgive me here) religious fundamentalist. If he doesn't like your tone or disagrees with you, the next time you sign in you are shunted to a Disney site. Seriously, you get automatically redirected to "Disney" forever after.
I wish I had the skills (and time) to set up my own discussion site...
BTW, about the other things I miss? I might as well explain.
TV - M*A*S*H ended, Babylon 5 ended, MSNBC essentially became a "Breaking News" channel 24/7, The Discovery Channel became a weird medical stuff site, National Geographic became a fake nature reality show site, The Science Channel became a fake reality show site, The History Channel does famous people drama, etc, etc, etc... I watch baseball and a LOT of science/nature/history DVDs now.
Clothes and Kitchen - Bell-bottom pants? Forget about it. I wear a lot of camo now. Bet those disappear soon. Faded Glory shirts with ample armpits? Gone. I liked soft velcro "Shark Leash" watch straps. Had to go to eBay to get a new one. Blue Libbey glasses? Forget it. And I dropped a soapy coffee mug this week and broke it and 2 of my remaining 4 short blue Libbey glasses! My old Rival crock pot of 40 years finally died a few months ago. The new ones are junk and burn everything. Found an old one on eBay... Tried to find canned grapefruit lately? Don't bother.
Beverages - Remember Tom Collins Mix? I used to drink the stuff straight. Its gone. I used to make Singapore Slings using Pomegranate Brandy; discontinued. You've seen those no-cal water flavorers? I liked the pineapple one. Gone. Caffeine-Free Coke? Gone.
It's not like I'm looking for VHS tapes and saspirilla. I just want some things *I* like to stay available. Speaking of camo pants, they are all cargo pants these days. I have a 25" inseam. When the tailor shortens the 30" ones (shortest I can get) I have pockets around my ankles, LOL!
I'm trying to stay in good humor. But damn I miss that gardening site...
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Random Thoughts
My right knee is still bothering me. As always, my complete understanding that many people have worse problems temporary or permanent, but this one is mine right now and it has been 3 weeks now. It's getting better. Walking straight forward on level ground is almost back to normal. Any sideways pressure is annoying. Stairs are hardest. Hopefully, another week, and I will notice that I am NOT noticing my knee.
Or not. Stuff starts to get permanent after 65. I expect one day soon it will just be normal again. But that is apparently a weak part of me and someday it won't ever be "normal" again. In fact, I suppose that if I could channel my 30 year old self, "none" of me would seem "normal".
Speaking of which, a lawn service salesman knocked on my door and (surprisingly) after I made it clear I was a D-I-Yer and we talked about the details of lawn maintenance. He actually thought my lawn was the best in the neighborhood, and when I detailed my particular weed problems and what I was doing about them, he agreed I really didn't need his services. But he seemed to want to talk and I wasn't busy so we talked (rare for me, I usually just politely tell door-to-door salesmen to leave). He was about my age.
His son was a Top Gun pilot, he showed me a newspaper article. He guessed my age 10 years younger (which wasn't just a sales trick; it's routine - "mature slow, age slow"). But when we compared ailments (it's an age thing), he recommended I drink diluted gelatin. That seemed odd and I had to think about that for a moment.
Aha, gelatin is made from mammal sinews and tendons, and I had a "tendon" problem. He is into homeopathy (using small amounts of a substance that causes the symptoms to be treated or using small amounts of supplementals with a similar nature to the problem)! He suggested a book to read. I ignored his idea out-of-hand, but I let him go on for a few minutes. I was vaguely fascinated talking to a homeopathy adherent. I finally begged off, as my lunch was waiting on the table, but I looked up the book.
So, drinking gelatin made from tendons to strengthen tendons... Pure nonsense. Every respectable study I found in 15 minutes showed no results from it. People believe the STRANGEST things.
I used my new Fiscar "Stand Up Weeder" today.
It's really cool. You put the blades over the weed (really good for dandelions), step on the base, and when you lever the handle the blades close together and pull up 3" of roots, the plant comes up, and you slide the orange lever to open the blades and push the plant off the blades. I bet I got out 100 dandelions in 15 minutes today. Without bending over. Not an ad, when *I* recommend a product, the manufacturer doesn't even know. Think of me as a personal Consumer Reporter...
I watered the tulip/daffodil bed today. We haven't had rain in 10 days, are forecast for MAYBE 1/4" tomorrow, and then none for another week. But I mention that to mention that my sprinkler wasn't working right. It would stick in one position. So I took it apart a few days ago.
Granted, that's not like taking apart a clock or a mixer. But if you take some parts off something that isn't working right and clean and lubricate the parts and put them back together, it is amazing how often the thing starts working again.
And the sprinkler worked just fine. Yeah, I could have just bought a new sprinkler, but I really like this one. It's called a "rain-dancer". The spray not only moves back and forth, but it hesitates and reverses briefly, but ALSO fluctuates the force of the spray as it goes. And even having taken it apart and put it back together, I have NO idea how it does it. But it is working again and that is what really matters.
Not to say that everything went well. There is a dial that aligns the spray to go full back and forth, only left, only right, and only 30 degrees in the center. So... I was a bit careless when I turned it on and got a facefull of spray! LOL! I wiped off my face OK, but it took a while to get the water out of my ears...
The tulip/daffodil bed got a good hour of watering while I went around using the Fiscar thing to pull up dandelions.
Speaking of the flower bed, I planted 100 hyacinths in cages and not a single one as so much as broken the surface. Either hyacinths are way fussier about when they are planted than tulips, or something was seriously wrong with the bulbs. I'll bet that it was MY fault planting them late and that they needed more cold-time. The bulbs seemed healthy and firm when planted. Maybe their underground shoots are thicker than the 1/2" wire cages and they were choked. I'm going to ask the bulb providers. Or maybe they will just show up next week. Or next year.
The garden is started outdoors. Last week, I planted 4 broccoli seedlings, 2 purple cauliflower seedlings, and 2 dwarf cabbage seedlings. And I planted seeds of radish, shallot, scallions, carrots, beets, kohlrabi, and spinach. The snow peas are starting to reach the trellis and they will take off when they grab that. The planted seeds are just starting to emerge. I water those gently with a mister at first. Some of those seeds are planted very shallowly (small seed - shallow planting). When they have some roots developed, I can use the shower setting (which is about like a gentle rain) and that is a LOT faster watering!
It's good to see something planted and growing.
The flats of flowers are outdoors half a day now (to get them used to sunlight after the gentler artificial lights indoors). Day temperatures are getting above 70F and the nighttime temperatures are at or above 50F, so they are getting used to changes in temperatures. A week of careful introduction to outdoor reality can really make a difference!
Or not. Stuff starts to get permanent after 65. I expect one day soon it will just be normal again. But that is apparently a weak part of me and someday it won't ever be "normal" again. In fact, I suppose that if I could channel my 30 year old self, "none" of me would seem "normal".
Speaking of which, a lawn service salesman knocked on my door and (surprisingly) after I made it clear I was a D-I-Yer and we talked about the details of lawn maintenance. He actually thought my lawn was the best in the neighborhood, and when I detailed my particular weed problems and what I was doing about them, he agreed I really didn't need his services. But he seemed to want to talk and I wasn't busy so we talked (rare for me, I usually just politely tell door-to-door salesmen to leave). He was about my age.
His son was a Top Gun pilot, he showed me a newspaper article. He guessed my age 10 years younger (which wasn't just a sales trick; it's routine - "mature slow, age slow"). But when we compared ailments (it's an age thing), he recommended I drink diluted gelatin. That seemed odd and I had to think about that for a moment.
Aha, gelatin is made from mammal sinews and tendons, and I had a "tendon" problem. He is into homeopathy (using small amounts of a substance that causes the symptoms to be treated or using small amounts of supplementals with a similar nature to the problem)! He suggested a book to read. I ignored his idea out-of-hand, but I let him go on for a few minutes. I was vaguely fascinated talking to a homeopathy adherent. I finally begged off, as my lunch was waiting on the table, but I looked up the book.
So, drinking gelatin made from tendons to strengthen tendons... Pure nonsense. Every respectable study I found in 15 minutes showed no results from it. People believe the STRANGEST things.
I used my new Fiscar "Stand Up Weeder" today.
It's really cool. You put the blades over the weed (really good for dandelions), step on the base, and when you lever the handle the blades close together and pull up 3" of roots, the plant comes up, and you slide the orange lever to open the blades and push the plant off the blades. I bet I got out 100 dandelions in 15 minutes today. Without bending over. Not an ad, when *I* recommend a product, the manufacturer doesn't even know. Think of me as a personal Consumer Reporter...
I watered the tulip/daffodil bed today. We haven't had rain in 10 days, are forecast for MAYBE 1/4" tomorrow, and then none for another week. But I mention that to mention that my sprinkler wasn't working right. It would stick in one position. So I took it apart a few days ago.
Granted, that's not like taking apart a clock or a mixer. But if you take some parts off something that isn't working right and clean and lubricate the parts and put them back together, it is amazing how often the thing starts working again.
And the sprinkler worked just fine. Yeah, I could have just bought a new sprinkler, but I really like this one. It's called a "rain-dancer". The spray not only moves back and forth, but it hesitates and reverses briefly, but ALSO fluctuates the force of the spray as it goes. And even having taken it apart and put it back together, I have NO idea how it does it. But it is working again and that is what really matters.
Not to say that everything went well. There is a dial that aligns the spray to go full back and forth, only left, only right, and only 30 degrees in the center. So... I was a bit careless when I turned it on and got a facefull of spray! LOL! I wiped off my face OK, but it took a while to get the water out of my ears...
The tulip/daffodil bed got a good hour of watering while I went around using the Fiscar thing to pull up dandelions.
Speaking of the flower bed, I planted 100 hyacinths in cages and not a single one as so much as broken the surface. Either hyacinths are way fussier about when they are planted than tulips, or something was seriously wrong with the bulbs. I'll bet that it was MY fault planting them late and that they needed more cold-time. The bulbs seemed healthy and firm when planted. Maybe their underground shoots are thicker than the 1/2" wire cages and they were choked. I'm going to ask the bulb providers. Or maybe they will just show up next week. Or next year.
The garden is started outdoors. Last week, I planted 4 broccoli seedlings, 2 purple cauliflower seedlings, and 2 dwarf cabbage seedlings. And I planted seeds of radish, shallot, scallions, carrots, beets, kohlrabi, and spinach. The snow peas are starting to reach the trellis and they will take off when they grab that. The planted seeds are just starting to emerge. I water those gently with a mister at first. Some of those seeds are planted very shallowly (small seed - shallow planting). When they have some roots developed, I can use the shower setting (which is about like a gentle rain) and that is a LOT faster watering!
It's good to see something planted and growing.
The flats of flowers are outdoors half a day now (to get them used to sunlight after the gentler artificial lights indoors). Day temperatures are getting above 70F and the nighttime temperatures are at or above 50F, so they are getting used to changes in temperatures. A week of careful introduction to outdoor reality can really make a difference!
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Started Planting Veggies
HURRAY! Got some plants in the ground in the garden, and some seeds too. The transplants were broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage. The direct seeds were radishes, spinach, carrots, parsnips, scallions, kohlrabi, and
Finally. It seems that 1st planting day will never come. Since this year is the first for the new raised bed garden in full planting (I was late starting last year because the enclosure wasn't complete), I wasn't sure where to plant stuff. So last week was planning.
Nothing fancy, but I tend to generally use "square foot gardening". I don't do it precisely, and I have to say that 4' wide beds are a bit awkward to reach into, but I do it as a general rule. Not being sure how much space I had, I scribbled on paper for a while.
Largest stuff first. The 22" diameter tomato cages take 4 sq ft and I love heirloom tomatoes above all other garden crops. I set space for 6 cages (I have a place for 6 other cages outside the enclosure). And no, 12 tomato plants are not too many for me. Heirlooms produce fewer fruits (but are worth it).
Then comes the trellises of cucumbers and flat Italian beans, that took 11 sq feet at the ends of the beds. And a few sq ft each for 2 bush squashes (one green, one yellow).
Then I want space for melons. I love honeydew and cantaloupe melons, and I have some dwarf watermelons started. But the space they take is not for them alone. They like to grow on the ground, so there is some space for upright plants that will die before the melons grow fully. That means broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower can be inter-planted in 2 beds where the honeydew and cantaloupe melons will grow later.
And then there is the bi-color corn. I love that stuff (sweet AND "corny"). I'm taking a chance on growing small watermelons and corn in the same bed. The idea is that the corn will grow high and the watermelons will grow low (and the watermelon won't try to climb the corn stalks).
The American Indians (especially the Iriquois) used to grow The Three Sisters. Squash on the ground to shade out the weeds, corn to grow high, and pole beans to climb the cornstalks. I've tried that a couple times and it didn't work. The bi-color corn I grow has smaller stalks and the beans overwhelm them. So the beans are separate this year. The melons want to spread out over my raised beds, but I am going to keeps the vines corralled in the raised bed with tent pegs. I hope that works.
But what about all the small crops? Well, after all the space for the stuff above was accounted for , I had about 40 sq ft left. 3 are going to radishes, 3 to carrots, 3 to parsnips, 3 to shallots, 3 to scallions, 8 to spinach, 2 to Chinese cabbage, 2 to leeks, 1 to basil, 2 to kohlrabi, 2 to beets, 5 to bell peppers, and a few flowers to attract pollinators.
And there are some places around the yard where I can plant some herbs. And some of the crops are "succession" crops, meaning I can reuse the spaces as the season goes on. Radishes can be harvested and replanted several times a year, for example, and the broccoli/cauliflower/cabbages are harvested in June and a new crop planted in July for Fall harvest.
Hoping for the best!
Finally. It seems that 1st planting day will never come. Since this year is the first for the new raised bed garden in full planting (I was late starting last year because the enclosure wasn't complete), I wasn't sure where to plant stuff. So last week was planning.
Nothing fancy, but I tend to generally use "square foot gardening". I don't do it precisely, and I have to say that 4' wide beds are a bit awkward to reach into, but I do it as a general rule. Not being sure how much space I had, I scribbled on paper for a while.
Largest stuff first. The 22" diameter tomato cages take 4 sq ft and I love heirloom tomatoes above all other garden crops. I set space for 6 cages (I have a place for 6 other cages outside the enclosure). And no, 12 tomato plants are not too many for me. Heirlooms produce fewer fruits (but are worth it).
Then comes the trellises of cucumbers and flat Italian beans, that took 11 sq feet at the ends of the beds. And a few sq ft each for 2 bush squashes (one green, one yellow).
Then I want space for melons. I love honeydew and cantaloupe melons, and I have some dwarf watermelons started. But the space they take is not for them alone. They like to grow on the ground, so there is some space for upright plants that will die before the melons grow fully. That means broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower can be inter-planted in 2 beds where the honeydew and cantaloupe melons will grow later.
And then there is the bi-color corn. I love that stuff (sweet AND "corny"). I'm taking a chance on growing small watermelons and corn in the same bed. The idea is that the corn will grow high and the watermelons will grow low (and the watermelon won't try to climb the corn stalks).
The American Indians (especially the Iriquois) used to grow The Three Sisters. Squash on the ground to shade out the weeds, corn to grow high, and pole beans to climb the cornstalks. I've tried that a couple times and it didn't work. The bi-color corn I grow has smaller stalks and the beans overwhelm them. So the beans are separate this year. The melons want to spread out over my raised beds, but I am going to keeps the vines corralled in the raised bed with tent pegs. I hope that works.
But what about all the small crops? Well, after all the space for the stuff above was accounted for , I had about 40 sq ft left. 3 are going to radishes, 3 to carrots, 3 to parsnips, 3 to shallots, 3 to scallions, 8 to spinach, 2 to Chinese cabbage, 2 to leeks, 1 to basil, 2 to kohlrabi, 2 to beets, 5 to bell peppers, and a few flowers to attract pollinators.
And there are some places around the yard where I can plant some herbs. And some of the crops are "succession" crops, meaning I can reuse the spaces as the season goes on. Radishes can be harvested and replanted several times a year, for example, and the broccoli/cauliflower/cabbages are harvested in June and a new crop planted in July for Fall harvest.
Hoping for the best!
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Ah, Tax Day
I don't mind Tax Day too much. There's no avoiding it, my taxes have gotten more complicated over the years, and I procrastinate more, but tax software is SO much better than figuring out everything myself.
It used to be that it was so simple:
A. How much did you earn last year.
B. How much do you have left.
C. Send B.
Ok, old joke, but it used to seem like that.
NOW, I get to fuss with deductions, donations, inheritances, death benefits, explanatory statements, foreign taxes, health benefit forms, energy-efficiency credits, etc. Only God and H&R Block know what else. There was probably a trans-fat tax in there somewhere.
Seriously, I just buy the software, answer all the questions, stare at the forms that print out, and hope for the best. I hope I never get audited. I try to be scrupulously honest, but sometimes I haven't the slightest idea what the forms are asking for! The worst is looking at a document sent by some company saying "copy sent to the IRS" and trying to figure out where to enter it in the software. For example, it took me 15 minutes to figure out that my share of Dad's Civil Service "Death Benefit" was considered "income". That is a sad of a way to get "income"!
But it beats the non-software way. This year it only took 4 hours. Mostly because I had so much leftover Dad stuff to donate, which lead me to donate a lot of MY unneeded stuff, both of which included new and used items. The IRS does NOT like mixed categories of donations!
But, for better or worse, its done and the forms mailed... Next year will be a lot easier; no leftover Dad stuff, no unused "my" stuff, no inherited stuff to declare.
One really cool thing I discovered is that Maryland excludes $29,000 of income when you turn 65! THAT saved more than a few dollars in taxes...
And then there was the filing options. I could pay the extra I owed to the Feds by credit card if I filed electronically, but there was an unspecified "convenience fee" to H&R Block for that. Which apparently I couldn't learn until I went through giving them a lot of information first. And I had a refund coming from MD, which I could get in a week electronically, but my bank has this weird thing where what is normally the routing number on your check ISN'T and I was worried about getting it wrong.
So there I was putting everything in envelopes the old-fashioned way and wondering if I put enough stamps on the envelopes for the 6 pages of paper in them. And I LAUGHED out loud (at myself)! I was paying X $1000 in taxes in worried about an extra 42 cent stamp.
So I slapped on 2 extra stamps on each envelope and put them in the mailbox...
DONE!
It used to be that it was so simple:
A. How much did you earn last year.
B. How much do you have left.
C. Send B.
Ok, old joke, but it used to seem like that.
NOW, I get to fuss with deductions, donations, inheritances, death benefits, explanatory statements, foreign taxes, health benefit forms, energy-efficiency credits, etc. Only God and H&R Block know what else. There was probably a trans-fat tax in there somewhere.
Seriously, I just buy the software, answer all the questions, stare at the forms that print out, and hope for the best. I hope I never get audited. I try to be scrupulously honest, but sometimes I haven't the slightest idea what the forms are asking for! The worst is looking at a document sent by some company saying "copy sent to the IRS" and trying to figure out where to enter it in the software. For example, it took me 15 minutes to figure out that my share of Dad's Civil Service "Death Benefit" was considered "income". That is a sad of a way to get "income"!
But it beats the non-software way. This year it only took 4 hours. Mostly because I had so much leftover Dad stuff to donate, which lead me to donate a lot of MY unneeded stuff, both of which included new and used items. The IRS does NOT like mixed categories of donations!
But, for better or worse, its done and the forms mailed... Next year will be a lot easier; no leftover Dad stuff, no unused "my" stuff, no inherited stuff to declare.
One really cool thing I discovered is that Maryland excludes $29,000 of income when you turn 65! THAT saved more than a few dollars in taxes...
And then there was the filing options. I could pay the extra I owed to the Feds by credit card if I filed electronically, but there was an unspecified "convenience fee" to H&R Block for that. Which apparently I couldn't learn until I went through giving them a lot of information first. And I had a refund coming from MD, which I could get in a week electronically, but my bank has this weird thing where what is normally the routing number on your check ISN'T and I was worried about getting it wrong.
So there I was putting everything in envelopes the old-fashioned way and wondering if I put enough stamps on the envelopes for the 6 pages of paper in them. And I LAUGHED out loud (at myself)! I was paying X $1000 in taxes in worried about an extra 42 cent stamp.
So I slapped on 2 extra stamps on each envelope and put them in the mailbox...
DONE!
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Minor Miseries
I've been feeling rotten the past 10 days for various unrelated reasons. Now please do understand I'm not comparing that to any serious problems. No broken bone, no serious illness, no diagnosis of lifelong condition. Just several surprises.
I've been fortunate to be generally healthy all my life (and I turn 66 next month). So it is more a matter of what I am unused to.
So when I started violent sneezing fits 10 days ago, I was surprised and concerned. And I mean SUDDEN and VIOLENT! I went through an entire box of Kleenex in one day. I literally could not be out of reach of tissues. I barely slept for 2 nights.
Now, I do recall having to take Coricidin-D for allergies to our family cat as a teenager. And a couple of times, I had a brief sneezing fit when I had a teen job mowing lawns. But all that went away. The most I had since teenage years was a couple of sudden sneezes when I first walked into bright sunlight for the day once or twice a year.
So this sudden constant unending sneezing and nose-blowing really baffled me. And it was actually debilitating. And exhausting. You know how, when you blow your nose, you tighten up your abdominal muscles? Well, I did that so many times it HURT. Can you sprain your diaphram?
It lasted 3 full days and then stopped like flipping a light switch. The only thing I can think is that (which climate change) some new weed as moved into my area. I saw one unfamiliar plant I think is a wild mustard, but it is still blooming and the sneezing has stopped.
One odd thing is that I had walked outside through the tall lawn grass just before it started and the cats were all upset by the smells on the cuffs of my pants. They gave the "flehmen" response where a smell suggests an enemy. I wonder is some unusual animal came through the yard and maybe peed on the grass I walked through; some thing I reacted to...
Then, as soon as that was over, I twisted my right knee. I've been limping for a week! At first, I thought it was an attack of gout (I have had a couple incidences of that in the past 20 years, but the knee wasn't sensitive and swollen like gout. I must had just strained it too much doing yardwork. That has happened before. I push myself too hard sometimes.
But that usually only lasts a day or two, and this is the 7th day. It is nearly gone away, so it isn't serious, but it sure made getting around and doing house and yard chores hard! And there was NO comfortable position in which to sleep.
And now I'm getting muscle cramps on the sides of my chest. No, don't worry, not heart attacks. I get them from twisting around too much while working. That's been a problem for many years. I try to be careful, but sometimes the most innocent movements will cause it. Happens on both sides, but never both at the same time. Sometimes just cleaning the litter boxes will start it.
I had a roommate once who got pnuemonia and coughed so hard he actually broke a rib, causing similar problems. I have a slightly constant cough from smoking (don't bother telling me how stupid that is, I KNOW). But I wonder if I have done the same damage to some ribs.
I hope this series of problems is only temporary. Otherwise, the rest of my life if going to be rather uncomfortable...
My apologies to people with REAL problems. But what you aren't used to is difficult to GET used to and I sure hope I don't HAVE to get used to these sorts of things. My dad never had any physical problems in his life until his last year. If things don't get worse and I live to his age (92), I will be very grateful... And I suppose I would be grateful at 80 if it doesn't get worse.
I've been fortunate to be generally healthy all my life (and I turn 66 next month). So it is more a matter of what I am unused to.
So when I started violent sneezing fits 10 days ago, I was surprised and concerned. And I mean SUDDEN and VIOLENT! I went through an entire box of Kleenex in one day. I literally could not be out of reach of tissues. I barely slept for 2 nights.
Now, I do recall having to take Coricidin-D for allergies to our family cat as a teenager. And a couple of times, I had a brief sneezing fit when I had a teen job mowing lawns. But all that went away. The most I had since teenage years was a couple of sudden sneezes when I first walked into bright sunlight for the day once or twice a year.
So this sudden constant unending sneezing and nose-blowing really baffled me. And it was actually debilitating. And exhausting. You know how, when you blow your nose, you tighten up your abdominal muscles? Well, I did that so many times it HURT. Can you sprain your diaphram?
It lasted 3 full days and then stopped like flipping a light switch. The only thing I can think is that (which climate change) some new weed as moved into my area. I saw one unfamiliar plant I think is a wild mustard, but it is still blooming and the sneezing has stopped.
One odd thing is that I had walked outside through the tall lawn grass just before it started and the cats were all upset by the smells on the cuffs of my pants. They gave the "flehmen" response where a smell suggests an enemy. I wonder is some unusual animal came through the yard and maybe peed on the grass I walked through; some thing I reacted to...
Then, as soon as that was over, I twisted my right knee. I've been limping for a week! At first, I thought it was an attack of gout (I have had a couple incidences of that in the past 20 years, but the knee wasn't sensitive and swollen like gout. I must had just strained it too much doing yardwork. That has happened before. I push myself too hard sometimes.
But that usually only lasts a day or two, and this is the 7th day. It is nearly gone away, so it isn't serious, but it sure made getting around and doing house and yard chores hard! And there was NO comfortable position in which to sleep.
And now I'm getting muscle cramps on the sides of my chest. No, don't worry, not heart attacks. I get them from twisting around too much while working. That's been a problem for many years. I try to be careful, but sometimes the most innocent movements will cause it. Happens on both sides, but never both at the same time. Sometimes just cleaning the litter boxes will start it.
I had a roommate once who got pnuemonia and coughed so hard he actually broke a rib, causing similar problems. I have a slightly constant cough from smoking (don't bother telling me how stupid that is, I KNOW). But I wonder if I have done the same damage to some ribs.
I hope this series of problems is only temporary. Otherwise, the rest of my life if going to be rather uncomfortable...
My apologies to people with REAL problems. But what you aren't used to is difficult to GET used to and I sure hope I don't HAVE to get used to these sorts of things. My dad never had any physical problems in his life until his last year. If things don't get worse and I live to his age (92), I will be very grateful... And I suppose I would be grateful at 80 if it doesn't get worse.
Friday, April 1, 2016
BANG!
I woke up startled this morning. There was a lot bang and I could tell something hit the house. It was too sudden for a branch hitting the roof and the cats were completely poofed! I thought maybe someown had shot at the house.
So I got up and looked around (not turning on lights or walking near the windows). I finally realized there was dust floating in the living room, then that there was a hole in the ceiling, and finally a dent in the floor!
And there, near the bookcase, was a rock the size of a golf ball, and it was WARM...
My house got hit by a little meteorite!!!
I bet that isn't covered by my insurance policy, but I've read they are valuable. I'll probably just keep it though and pay for the roof and ceiling repair myself. Seriously, how many people have a meteorite to show off?
So I got up and looked around (not turning on lights or walking near the windows). I finally realized there was dust floating in the living room, then that there was a hole in the ceiling, and finally a dent in the floor!
And there, near the bookcase, was a rock the size of a golf ball, and it was WARM...
My house got hit by a little meteorite!!!
I bet that isn't covered by my insurance policy, but I've read they are valuable. I'll probably just keep it though and pay for the roof and ceiling repair myself. Seriously, how many people have a meteorite to show off?
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Great Shopping Day
I had a long list of stuff to buy at the local DIY store. And found most.
The mailbox door broke after 30 years. Tsk, tsk! Only 30 years. But it is in good shape, so repairable. It needed a 3/16ths bolt through the 7" wide front. Was that easy to find? NO! I finally found a 12" metal rod with threads. Have to cut it down to size though. The good news is that I also found "stop nuts". Those have nylon on the inside so you don't need nuts and washers.
I got tired on wooden sawhorses that kept getting loose around the brackets. Found some adjustable metal ones with places to attach temporary boards to protect against cutting the sawhorses.
Helped 3 other customers there looking for other stuff I knew where they were. If I wanted a retirement job, I know where to go, LOL.
Found some super-magnets. (rare-earth materials) Wasn't looking for them, but I can sure use them. Those feeble refrigerator magnets aren't worth having.
Got 150 new plastic 6" plant labels. My old ones were written over too many times and exposure to U/V rays makes them brittle after a few years anyway. So, new start.
Green garden twine, stretch tape, and a small seed-sower (little clicks send one small seed at a time down a narrowing slot). Beats using a tweezer or planting several at a spot! Or straining my eyes even with reading glasses...
I keep using plastic ties
and I seem to use them a lot. Buying them a dozen at a time was driving me crazy. So, at the very bottom shelf, I found bags of 1,000. GASP! And they were the same price as 4 packs of 25! I bought a bag each of 8" and 4". Talk about volume discounts... Lifetime supply, I hope.
The funniest part was the scissors. I wasn't looking for one, but they were in front of me, so I tossed one into my cart. The basement scissors had just rubber handles and they finally broke. So the cashier picks them up and says "what are these". OK, that really threw me. Everyone knows what scissors are, right? I couldn't figure out the question.
But she meant there was no tag on them, so she couldn't ring them up. I always seem to find the item with no pricing label! I just told her to set them aside. I didn't even know where to go look for another with a label...
I can get scissors anywhere. But all in all, it was a great day shopping...
The mailbox door broke after 30 years. Tsk, tsk! Only 30 years. But it is in good shape, so repairable. It needed a 3/16ths bolt through the 7" wide front. Was that easy to find? NO! I finally found a 12" metal rod with threads. Have to cut it down to size though. The good news is that I also found "stop nuts". Those have nylon on the inside so you don't need nuts and washers.
I got tired on wooden sawhorses that kept getting loose around the brackets. Found some adjustable metal ones with places to attach temporary boards to protect against cutting the sawhorses.
Helped 3 other customers there looking for other stuff I knew where they were. If I wanted a retirement job, I know where to go, LOL.
Found some super-magnets. (rare-earth materials) Wasn't looking for them, but I can sure use them. Those feeble refrigerator magnets aren't worth having.
Got 150 new plastic 6" plant labels. My old ones were written over too many times and exposure to U/V rays makes them brittle after a few years anyway. So, new start.
Green garden twine, stretch tape, and a small seed-sower (little clicks send one small seed at a time down a narrowing slot). Beats using a tweezer or planting several at a spot! Or straining my eyes even with reading glasses...
I keep using plastic ties
and I seem to use them a lot. Buying them a dozen at a time was driving me crazy. So, at the very bottom shelf, I found bags of 1,000. GASP! And they were the same price as 4 packs of 25! I bought a bag each of 8" and 4". Talk about volume discounts... Lifetime supply, I hope.
The funniest part was the scissors. I wasn't looking for one, but they were in front of me, so I tossed one into my cart. The basement scissors had just rubber handles and they finally broke. So the cashier picks them up and says "what are these". OK, that really threw me. Everyone knows what scissors are, right? I couldn't figure out the question.
But she meant there was no tag on them, so she couldn't ring them up. I always seem to find the item with no pricing label! I just told her to set them aside. I didn't even know where to go look for another with a label...
I can get scissors anywhere. But all in all, it was a great day shopping...
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Waiting For...
Baseball season to start on April 1st...
The last-Fall-planted tulips to bloom... The buds are up on short stems, but that's good enough for the 1st year. The wire cages they are planted in should give them protection from voles and squirrels for many many years to come.
The last-Fall-planted daffodils to send up blooms. Just small leafs so far. And being toxic to nibbling varmints, they don't need cages...
The last-Fall-planted hyacinths to show up at all. Not a leaf in sight yet...
Next week's seed-planting inside. This time of year, there are always something to plant each week inside or out.
The wind to die down tomorrow. I need to spray liquid corn gluten before the lawn soil warms up more. The corn gluten stops seeds from sprouting. The past 2 days were so windy, I couldn't spray it without the spray drifting to the vegetable garden and I have lots of seeds to plant there before the inhibitory effect ends in 6 weeks.
The NCAA basketball tournament to end. It's painful. The U of Maryland Men's and Women's teams had such high promise this year, but things didn't go their way. They sure gave us exciting seasons though...
Cleaning the riding mower. I figured out a way to elevate the riding mower to clean the underside of grass clippings and get at the blades to sharpen them. You can't exactly tip a riding mower on its side to do that. But I have ramps that will let me get at the underside. I always did, I just didn't realize it.
Pruning low-hanging tree branches. I finally got the chain saw blade on again and adjusted. I have a LOT of branches to remove.
Seeing the first dandelion flowers. I bought a COOL TOOL that lets you step on weeds, pry them up, and just flip them away. I tried it out on some other weeds and it works GREAT! Not an ad, just an appreciation for a good tool.
BTW, you can't just pull up dandelion plants and leave them to die. The stems have enough food to ripen the seeds. So you have to bag them...
Time to shift from long-sleeve flannel shirts to short-sleeved cotton. It's "iffy" this time of year, but short-sleeve season is coming and I love the free-arm feeling.
Open doors! The cats will love it and so will I. It doesn't last long though. Around here it goes from 50 to 80 in a month. I can kill the occasional wandering wasp...
A warm day to wash the car outside. It needs it. At 11 years old and only 24K miles, I want to keep it looking decent. A new one would have too much computer nonsense in it.
I'm sure there is other stuff, but memory fails after 5 am...
The last-Fall-planted tulips to bloom... The buds are up on short stems, but that's good enough for the 1st year. The wire cages they are planted in should give them protection from voles and squirrels for many many years to come.
The last-Fall-planted daffodils to send up blooms. Just small leafs so far. And being toxic to nibbling varmints, they don't need cages...
The last-Fall-planted hyacinths to show up at all. Not a leaf in sight yet...
Next week's seed-planting inside. This time of year, there are always something to plant each week inside or out.
The wind to die down tomorrow. I need to spray liquid corn gluten before the lawn soil warms up more. The corn gluten stops seeds from sprouting. The past 2 days were so windy, I couldn't spray it without the spray drifting to the vegetable garden and I have lots of seeds to plant there before the inhibitory effect ends in 6 weeks.
The NCAA basketball tournament to end. It's painful. The U of Maryland Men's and Women's teams had such high promise this year, but things didn't go their way. They sure gave us exciting seasons though...
Cleaning the riding mower. I figured out a way to elevate the riding mower to clean the underside of grass clippings and get at the blades to sharpen them. You can't exactly tip a riding mower on its side to do that. But I have ramps that will let me get at the underside. I always did, I just didn't realize it.
Pruning low-hanging tree branches. I finally got the chain saw blade on again and adjusted. I have a LOT of branches to remove.
Seeing the first dandelion flowers. I bought a COOL TOOL that lets you step on weeds, pry them up, and just flip them away. I tried it out on some other weeds and it works GREAT! Not an ad, just an appreciation for a good tool.
Fiskars Deluxe Stand-up Weeder (4-claw)
BTW, you can't just pull up dandelion plants and leave them to die. The stems have enough food to ripen the seeds. So you have to bag them...
Time to shift from long-sleeve flannel shirts to short-sleeved cotton. It's "iffy" this time of year, but short-sleeve season is coming and I love the free-arm feeling.
Open doors! The cats will love it and so will I. It doesn't last long though. Around here it goes from 50 to 80 in a month. I can kill the occasional wandering wasp...
A warm day to wash the car outside. It needs it. At 11 years old and only 24K miles, I want to keep it looking decent. A new one would have too much computer nonsense in it.
I'm sure there is other stuff, but memory fails after 5 am...
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Plant Growth And New Seeds
1. I am so relieved that the new late-planted spring bulbs are coming up. Counted 110 tulips today, about 100 early daffodils, and the first few late daffodils. No hyacinths yet. Because the top of the soil was so hard, I watered the area to soften it. The Winter rains and melting snow have the ground well-moisted deep, but the surface was very dry and hard.
2. While trying to water the new spring bulbs with a sprinkler, I discovered it stuck in one position. Something else to take apart and repair.
3. And I say "something else to repair" because I had to take apart my submersible pond pump a few days ago to find why it wasn't working. Good ones cost a few $100. Turns out there is a simple rod that broke. The material is uncertain; it's a bit rough to be plastic, a bit smooth to be ceramic; maybe its resin. Anyway, it's what turns a "impeller" (think "propeller"). I gather that the difference is that the first pushes and the second pulls.
And thereby hangs a tale. The pump stopped working and I don't know anything about pond pumps. The pump didn't even have a brand name on it. But I looked at the specification plate, and saw a UL (Underwriters Laboratory) number. So, thinking the UL number might provide some information, I searched it.
WOW! The UL number actually did lead me to the pump! Not the actual manufacturer like I hoped, but to the generic model. It turns out that many companies sell the same items under their own name. But all the parts are the same!!!
And there in one listing was a replacement impeller that looked identical. Not just the broken rod (which would have been easily and more cheaply replacable) but at least the unit is WAY cheaper than a new pump. It should arrive in a couple days.
4. So why did I want the pump working? To spray liquid corn gluten all around the yard. Corn gluten stops weed seeds (and any other seeds) from germinating. Some weeds germinate in Spring, others in Fall. I try to do it in both Spring and Fall, and I have to admit that I have a LOT fewer weeds in the lawn than my neighbors who use more serious chemicals.
And a benefit is that corn gluten is 9-0-0 fertilizer. All nitrogen, which is just what your lawn needs. But back to why I wanted the pump working...
The liquid corn gluten comes in containers you just hook up to a hose and spray around the yard. Only they don't work. THEY JUST DON'T WORK. I'm not surprised. The supplier is selling the liquid corn gluten and saying it is easy to apply. They don't want to spent money on disposable applicators! So, of course, they don't work.
The product reviews are constant in the complaints about the sprayer function. So, I thought, why do it THEIR way? I poured a bottle of the stuff through a fine mesh sieve (many users complained about corn grit blocker the sprayers) into a barrel filled with water.
So (brilliant me), I would just use the submersible pond pump to spray a diluted mix all over the yard using a fan nozzle (so that I would see if the output holes where getting clogged). And then the pump didn't work!
Here's hoping the replacement impeller solves that problem. The corn gluten really DOES inhibit initial seed roots, but you only have a couple of weeks to apply it (when the forsythia are starting to bloom - the same time the weed seeds germinate).
5. Planted 6 more flats of seeds today. A flat equals 35 cells (cell = 1.5" square x 2" deep) for me - I leave one cut out for watering. This weekend was bell peppers, zinnias, and marigolds. I've given up on most perennial flowers. They don't bloom for long, most die after a few years, and I have time to grow and plant annuals. THEY bloom all season, and I love seeing all the flowers all season.
6. Cuttings of the 3' Knockout Rose and the 3' dwarf butterfly bush aren't sending out new shoots after 3 weeks in pots, but they aren't dying either, so that is encouraging. The original plants are sending out new branches, so that it good. At least if the cuttings don't root, the original plants are still doing well. Planted outside in early May, they should branch out more and I will have another chance to get cuttings to root.
Gardening/rooted shoots is fascinating. And "something for nothing" is always good. The azalea cuttings from last Fall are all doing well and are doubled in height and branches from last month.
2. While trying to water the new spring bulbs with a sprinkler, I discovered it stuck in one position. Something else to take apart and repair.
3. And I say "something else to repair" because I had to take apart my submersible pond pump a few days ago to find why it wasn't working. Good ones cost a few $100. Turns out there is a simple rod that broke. The material is uncertain; it's a bit rough to be plastic, a bit smooth to be ceramic; maybe its resin. Anyway, it's what turns a "impeller" (think "propeller"). I gather that the difference is that the first pushes and the second pulls.
And thereby hangs a tale. The pump stopped working and I don't know anything about pond pumps. The pump didn't even have a brand name on it. But I looked at the specification plate, and saw a UL (Underwriters Laboratory) number. So, thinking the UL number might provide some information, I searched it.
WOW! The UL number actually did lead me to the pump! Not the actual manufacturer like I hoped, but to the generic model. It turns out that many companies sell the same items under their own name. But all the parts are the same!!!
And there in one listing was a replacement impeller that looked identical. Not just the broken rod (which would have been easily and more cheaply replacable) but at least the unit is WAY cheaper than a new pump. It should arrive in a couple days.
4. So why did I want the pump working? To spray liquid corn gluten all around the yard. Corn gluten stops weed seeds (and any other seeds) from germinating. Some weeds germinate in Spring, others in Fall. I try to do it in both Spring and Fall, and I have to admit that I have a LOT fewer weeds in the lawn than my neighbors who use more serious chemicals.
And a benefit is that corn gluten is 9-0-0 fertilizer. All nitrogen, which is just what your lawn needs. But back to why I wanted the pump working...
The liquid corn gluten comes in containers you just hook up to a hose and spray around the yard. Only they don't work. THEY JUST DON'T WORK. I'm not surprised. The supplier is selling the liquid corn gluten and saying it is easy to apply. They don't want to spent money on disposable applicators! So, of course, they don't work.
The product reviews are constant in the complaints about the sprayer function. So, I thought, why do it THEIR way? I poured a bottle of the stuff through a fine mesh sieve (many users complained about corn grit blocker the sprayers) into a barrel filled with water.
So (brilliant me), I would just use the submersible pond pump to spray a diluted mix all over the yard using a fan nozzle (so that I would see if the output holes where getting clogged). And then the pump didn't work!
Here's hoping the replacement impeller solves that problem. The corn gluten really DOES inhibit initial seed roots, but you only have a couple of weeks to apply it (when the forsythia are starting to bloom - the same time the weed seeds germinate).
5. Planted 6 more flats of seeds today. A flat equals 35 cells (cell = 1.5" square x 2" deep) for me - I leave one cut out for watering. This weekend was bell peppers, zinnias, and marigolds. I've given up on most perennial flowers. They don't bloom for long, most die after a few years, and I have time to grow and plant annuals. THEY bloom all season, and I love seeing all the flowers all season.
6. Cuttings of the 3' Knockout Rose and the 3' dwarf butterfly bush aren't sending out new shoots after 3 weeks in pots, but they aren't dying either, so that is encouraging. The original plants are sending out new branches, so that it good. At least if the cuttings don't root, the original plants are still doing well. Planted outside in early May, they should branch out more and I will have another chance to get cuttings to root.
Gardening/rooted shoots is fascinating. And "something for nothing" is always good. The azalea cuttings from last Fall are all doing well and are doubled in height and branches from last month.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Garden Enclosure
Well, with the decent weather, I am turning my attention to finishing the Garden Enclosure. And I have to thank Marley for kick-starting me into that. I had noticed some scratching around going on inside the enclosure, and finally noticed Marley INSIDE the enclosure.
Well, I knew I hadn't finished connecting all the strips of screening everywhere, but I thought it was pretty much complete. So I went out last week and used a few nylon tie strips to finish it.
Usually for bundling wires, they are good for pulling chicken wire tightly together too. I will be using 100s of yards of thin wire like thread to REALLY attach all the chicken wire strips, but I thought it was all pretty good already.
Til Marley appeared inside. So I called him to see where he came back out. And tightened THAT spot. And he got in again, so I tightened THAT spot! After several days of that, I went out to get the job done right.
I was SHOCKED at how many openings I found Marley could get through. I understand why he was attracted to it. 6 large boxes of deep soft soil... He must have thought he had found his Forever litter box!
Well, I'm glad he found the opening before I planted the seeds and the squirrels found the openings! They would have nibbled off my seedlings as if there was no enclosure of all.
So I decided I better get the enclosure sealed against even the squirrels. First, since there were vines around the edges of the enclosure, I sharpened my sickle of the grinding wheel. Nothing fancy, just a shot around the curve. But it cut a piece of paper in half cleanly.
So I used it to slice through the vines at the bottom edges of the enclosure, then got to work with the 8" nylon ties. They are being used to hold the chicken wire tight around the top and bottom PVC pipes, around the upright PVC pipes, and to hold the 4' chicken wire strips together tightly.
And I spent time cutting the ground level excess chicken wire to extend 2' out from the bottom so that groundhogs can't go up to the enclosure and dig under it. They are not clever enough to back up 2' and dig from there. I hope! If they are, there are other things I can to to stop them.
But the nylon ties are temporary. They will deteriorate in sunlight after a few years and start popping loose. Which is why my next step is to start threading long lengths of galvanized wire through the seams of the chicken wire like stitching a hem.
The nylon ties are 2' apart. The wire will thread through every couple of inches. If I can get the wire through all the seams (hoping I don't miss some), no varmint is going to eat my seedlings again!!!
If I seem obsessive about this, it is due to sad experience. Varmints in suburban areas are generally desperate for food. In their natural environs like open fields or oak-filled forests, they have plenty of food. In my yard, the only good food they can see is MY GARDEN! The ones in my yard are the losers who have been driven out of their natural habitat by other varmints.
I really do feel vaguely sorry for them, but not sorry enough to let them eat all my veggies...
So back to Marley. When he can't get back into the enclosure, I know I will have stopped the groundhogs and hopefully the squirrels.
Marley got extra treats tonight for his efforts to get inside the garden enclosure... LOL!
Well, I knew I hadn't finished connecting all the strips of screening everywhere, but I thought it was pretty much complete. So I went out last week and used a few nylon tie strips to finish it.
Usually for bundling wires, they are good for pulling chicken wire tightly together too. I will be using 100s of yards of thin wire like thread to REALLY attach all the chicken wire strips, but I thought it was all pretty good already.
Til Marley appeared inside. So I called him to see where he came back out. And tightened THAT spot. And he got in again, so I tightened THAT spot! After several days of that, I went out to get the job done right.
I was SHOCKED at how many openings I found Marley could get through. I understand why he was attracted to it. 6 large boxes of deep soft soil... He must have thought he had found his Forever litter box!
Well, I'm glad he found the opening before I planted the seeds and the squirrels found the openings! They would have nibbled off my seedlings as if there was no enclosure of all.
So I decided I better get the enclosure sealed against even the squirrels. First, since there were vines around the edges of the enclosure, I sharpened my sickle of the grinding wheel. Nothing fancy, just a shot around the curve. But it cut a piece of paper in half cleanly.
So I used it to slice through the vines at the bottom edges of the enclosure, then got to work with the 8" nylon ties. They are being used to hold the chicken wire tight around the top and bottom PVC pipes, around the upright PVC pipes, and to hold the 4' chicken wire strips together tightly.
And I spent time cutting the ground level excess chicken wire to extend 2' out from the bottom so that groundhogs can't go up to the enclosure and dig under it. They are not clever enough to back up 2' and dig from there. I hope! If they are, there are other things I can to to stop them.
But the nylon ties are temporary. They will deteriorate in sunlight after a few years and start popping loose. Which is why my next step is to start threading long lengths of galvanized wire through the seams of the chicken wire like stitching a hem.
The nylon ties are 2' apart. The wire will thread through every couple of inches. If I can get the wire through all the seams (hoping I don't miss some), no varmint is going to eat my seedlings again!!!
If I seem obsessive about this, it is due to sad experience. Varmints in suburban areas are generally desperate for food. In their natural environs like open fields or oak-filled forests, they have plenty of food. In my yard, the only good food they can see is MY GARDEN! The ones in my yard are the losers who have been driven out of their natural habitat by other varmints.
I really do feel vaguely sorry for them, but not sorry enough to let them eat all my veggies...
So back to Marley. When he can't get back into the enclosure, I know I will have stopped the groundhogs and hopefully the squirrels.
Marley got extra treats tonight for his efforts to get inside the garden enclosure... LOL!
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
I'm Thrilled!
Yes, really. When I was late planting tulips and hyacinths in wire cages I made from 1/2" wire and buried 10" deep in 2' square holes a but late (Dec-Jan), I didn't know what to expect. Same for 200 daffodils that don't need cages, so I just used a small auger to make 10" holes. I'm not a bulb expert. I know they need chilling temperatures, but I wasn't sure if that was for the bulbs to just grow or for flowers to develop.
Well, now I know part of the answer. There are tulips and daffodils emerging from the ground all over. I saw the first tulips a week ago, then there were 15, then 26, then 46, and today I counted 51 tulips. And I suddenly realized today that one type of the 2 daffodil varieties are poking up all over too. I assume the other daffodils and the hyacinths are later-emerging and will appear in a couple weeks. If some are growing, the others probably will too.
Not anything to take a picture of yet. An inch tall tulip leaf is rather insignificant, after all. But I get to watch more appear every day, so when they get large enough in one group, I'll post pics.
I planted the tulips 8 or 9 to a cage; the hyacinths 7 or 8 (they didn't divide up among the number of cages perfectly).
But even if they don't bloom this year (but have vigorous plants), it will be a success. Because they WILL bloom next year if not this one. I was mostly afraid they would just rot, being too warm this first shortened growth season.
In a few weeks, I will be transplanting purple coneflowers and daylilies there too, between the cages of spring bulbs. Maybe add some Mums for Fall color
That was in just one of the 3 new planting areas I worked on last Fall after I had that annoying english ivy, poison ivy, and wild grape covered ridge removed in September.
The larger of the 3 got spread with some "meadow-flower" mix back in November. It certainly is covered with "green", but I have no idea if anything good is growing there. It could be all weeds (and I can tell that some are), but there may be some nice self-seeding annuals and some flowering perennials there. I am encouraged because it is much greener than the last circle where I planted nothing yet.
So the difference between those 2 patches SHOULD be the meadow seeds I scatterred. I probably won't be able to tell much about that until mid summer. And if it turns out to be nothing but weeds, I will cover it in black plastic to smother the weeds and try again next Fall. And in fact, I may just grow 100s of individual plants and do the planting more deliberately. But I'll hope for success this year. A 20"x15' patch of natural meadow would be very nice.
And not just nice to look at. The beneficial insects, bees, and butterflies would love it. So would the cats! Not just because they would have tall plants to sneak around in, the think undisturbed growth would attract all the voles in the yard for them to hunt.
Speaking of bees, I saw my first honeybees of the year moving among to blooming hyacinths near the house. My yard is mostly organic (I sometimes have to get lethal with the poison ivy that invades from my neighbors' yards). But that's not where the bees and butterflies are attracted.
The 3rd circle is for the lysimachia firecracker. I love the purple foliage and yellow starry flowers, but it is too spreading for my main flowerbed. So I'm moving them to an edged circle I can mow around easily to contain them. They are related to Loosestrife, but not quite as invasive (being a domesticated hybrid, I assume). But kept to themselves, they are lovely all season long, grow thickly enough to shade out all weeds, and look impressive in masses. They don't seem to have any serious pests or diseases either.
So with the 3 patches, I will have a naturalistic meadow, a patch of 2' tall purple plants, and a patch with spring bulbs and summer/fall plants. It might be a thing of wonderful constant changes though the seasons or a visually-discordant disaster!
You will all find out about as fast as I do. The good thing is that plants can be moved or replaced or expanded.
Well, now I know part of the answer. There are tulips and daffodils emerging from the ground all over. I saw the first tulips a week ago, then there were 15, then 26, then 46, and today I counted 51 tulips. And I suddenly realized today that one type of the 2 daffodil varieties are poking up all over too. I assume the other daffodils and the hyacinths are later-emerging and will appear in a couple weeks. If some are growing, the others probably will too.
Not anything to take a picture of yet. An inch tall tulip leaf is rather insignificant, after all. But I get to watch more appear every day, so when they get large enough in one group, I'll post pics.
I planted the tulips 8 or 9 to a cage; the hyacinths 7 or 8 (they didn't divide up among the number of cages perfectly).
But even if they don't bloom this year (but have vigorous plants), it will be a success. Because they WILL bloom next year if not this one. I was mostly afraid they would just rot, being too warm this first shortened growth season.
In a few weeks, I will be transplanting purple coneflowers and daylilies there too, between the cages of spring bulbs. Maybe add some Mums for Fall color
That was in just one of the 3 new planting areas I worked on last Fall after I had that annoying english ivy, poison ivy, and wild grape covered ridge removed in September.
The larger of the 3 got spread with some "meadow-flower" mix back in November. It certainly is covered with "green", but I have no idea if anything good is growing there. It could be all weeds (and I can tell that some are), but there may be some nice self-seeding annuals and some flowering perennials there. I am encouraged because it is much greener than the last circle where I planted nothing yet.
So the difference between those 2 patches SHOULD be the meadow seeds I scatterred. I probably won't be able to tell much about that until mid summer. And if it turns out to be nothing but weeds, I will cover it in black plastic to smother the weeds and try again next Fall. And in fact, I may just grow 100s of individual plants and do the planting more deliberately. But I'll hope for success this year. A 20"x15' patch of natural meadow would be very nice.
And not just nice to look at. The beneficial insects, bees, and butterflies would love it. So would the cats! Not just because they would have tall plants to sneak around in, the think undisturbed growth would attract all the voles in the yard for them to hunt.
Speaking of bees, I saw my first honeybees of the year moving among to blooming hyacinths near the house. My yard is mostly organic (I sometimes have to get lethal with the poison ivy that invades from my neighbors' yards). But that's not where the bees and butterflies are attracted.
The 3rd circle is for the lysimachia firecracker. I love the purple foliage and yellow starry flowers, but it is too spreading for my main flowerbed. So I'm moving them to an edged circle I can mow around easily to contain them. They are related to Loosestrife, but not quite as invasive (being a domesticated hybrid, I assume). But kept to themselves, they are lovely all season long, grow thickly enough to shade out all weeds, and look impressive in masses. They don't seem to have any serious pests or diseases either.
So with the 3 patches, I will have a naturalistic meadow, a patch of 2' tall purple plants, and a patch with spring bulbs and summer/fall plants. It might be a thing of wonderful constant changes though the seasons or a visually-discordant disaster!
You will all find out about as fast as I do. The good thing is that plants can be moved or replaced or expanded.
Monday, March 21, 2016
A Thought For Spring
I like getting all over the top with humor, but that's not all there is. Serious thoughts do happen here. And I was feeling bad cuz I got all snarky in an email (apologies were offerred and accepted), but I still felt a bit stupid. And I realized I had one of those "earworms" going around in my head (you know what those are, right?). So this tune was in my brain and wouldn't let go. Then I finally caught what the song was and it was SO appropriate.
We've all felt stupid, sad, regretful. We've lost a parent, spouse, animal companion. We feel guilty when we aren't. Or are.
So I thought it would be a good idea to share. This is a song of acknowledging errors and forgiving oneself; of forgiving others, and remembering, of being reminded we are all just people doing the best we can with the strengths and flaws we have. We all do the best we can...
It's the "all right" song from the Traveling Wilbury's
(I left out the chorus)
Well it's all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it's all right, if you live the life you please
Well it's all right, doing the best you can
Well it's all right, as long as you lend a hand
Well it's all right, even if they say you're wrong
Well it's all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it's all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it's all right, everyday is Judgment Day
Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it's all right, if you got someone to love
Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine
Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line
Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray
Well it's all right, you still got something to say
Well it's all right, remember to live and let live
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive...
So when you said something stupid, or when someone has said something stupid to you; when you have hurt someone, or someone has hurt you; when you've lost someone or somebeing or somecritter, and can't say "I'm sorry" anymore; when you think you must be the dumbest jackass on the planet...
...Let this earworm into your brain.
We've all felt stupid, sad, regretful. We've lost a parent, spouse, animal companion. We feel guilty when we aren't. Or are.
So I thought it would be a good idea to share. This is a song of acknowledging errors and forgiving oneself; of forgiving others, and remembering, of being reminded we are all just people doing the best we can with the strengths and flaws we have. We all do the best we can...
It's the "all right" song from the Traveling Wilbury's
(I left out the chorus)
Well it's all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it's all right, if you live the life you please
Well it's all right, doing the best you can
Well it's all right, as long as you lend a hand
Well it's all right, even if they say you're wrong
Well it's all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it's all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it's all right, everyday is Judgment Day
Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it's all right, if you got someone to love
Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine
Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line
Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray
Well it's all right, you still got something to say
Well it's all right, remember to live and let live
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive...
So when you said something stupid, or when someone has said something stupid to you; when you have hurt someone, or someone has hurt you; when you've lost someone or somebeing or somecritter, and can't say "I'm sorry" anymore; when you think you must be the dumbest jackass on the planet...
...Let this earworm into your brain.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Fake "Hints From Heloise"
Have you ever read the real ones in the newspaper? Some of them are SO silly. This is recent real one: "Remove individual [computer] keys to clean and wipe the underside with
a microfiber cloth. Some keys have springs and it might be tough
to get them back in place."
Is she SERIOUS? Even Martha Stewart wouldn't do that!
So I decided to make some fake ones to send...
1. When I print out my local baseball team's annual schedule, I snip the printout into weeks and stack them on the refrigerator with rare earth magnets. Just remove one each week! Saves LOTS of refrigerator door space.
2. Storing socks in the dresser drawer uses up a lot of space. So I clamp mine between 2 cookie sheets.
3. The easiest way to clean teflon pans is to spray them with oven cleaner. However, you can only do that once.
4. You want to clean your microwave fast? Just put a bottle of window cleaner in there and set it on high for 10 minutes. The replacement M/W oven will be clean as new!
5. Birdseed is expensive. Just visit a woodworking shop to get shavings for free, The birds will get used to it.
6. If you swallow a moth, just swallow a few mothballs afterwards and your discomfort will go away forever.
7. You can make a perfectly good Halloween pumpkin from a soccer ball! Just put it in a carved pumpkin first.
8. You can improve your school report cards with Photoshop! Mom and Dad will be SO proud.
9. Buy a 3-D printer and put a $20 bill in the input slot. Free money!
10. Garden slugs are almost pure protein. Think of them as "hamburger helper".
11. Air Force pilots earn big money. So get one of those computer games and "earn your way to the top".
12. Garden trowels can be hammered into very workable spatulas!
13. Online purchases come packed in long strips of brown paper. Enough glue and you have unique wallpaper!
14. Wall art is sold by the pound at charity centers. Load up, it might be valuable someday.
15. Use losing lottery tickets as coasters in parties. Claim they are winning tickets too low in value to bother with. Your friends will be very impressed.
16. Save leftover paint and mix it all together. Why pay for designer colors when you can make them yourself?
17. Kitty litter works when dry. So dump the used stuff in your dryer and its good for another round.
18. Secret hint. Newspapers pay for crossword puzzles. So save old ones and submit them to another newspaper in a few years.
19. Calendars repeat after 28 years. Save them for future use!
I think I'll stop there... No, I haven't actually sent those, but I MIGHT. LOL!
Is she SERIOUS? Even Martha Stewart wouldn't do that!
So I decided to make some fake ones to send...
1. When I print out my local baseball team's annual schedule, I snip the printout into weeks and stack them on the refrigerator with rare earth magnets. Just remove one each week! Saves LOTS of refrigerator door space.
2. Storing socks in the dresser drawer uses up a lot of space. So I clamp mine between 2 cookie sheets.
3. The easiest way to clean teflon pans is to spray them with oven cleaner. However, you can only do that once.
4. You want to clean your microwave fast? Just put a bottle of window cleaner in there and set it on high for 10 minutes. The replacement M/W oven will be clean as new!
5. Birdseed is expensive. Just visit a woodworking shop to get shavings for free, The birds will get used to it.
6. If you swallow a moth, just swallow a few mothballs afterwards and your discomfort will go away forever.
7. You can make a perfectly good Halloween pumpkin from a soccer ball! Just put it in a carved pumpkin first.
8. You can improve your school report cards with Photoshop! Mom and Dad will be SO proud.
9. Buy a 3-D printer and put a $20 bill in the input slot. Free money!
10. Garden slugs are almost pure protein. Think of them as "hamburger helper".
11. Air Force pilots earn big money. So get one of those computer games and "earn your way to the top".
12. Garden trowels can be hammered into very workable spatulas!
13. Online purchases come packed in long strips of brown paper. Enough glue and you have unique wallpaper!
14. Wall art is sold by the pound at charity centers. Load up, it might be valuable someday.
15. Use losing lottery tickets as coasters in parties. Claim they are winning tickets too low in value to bother with. Your friends will be very impressed.
16. Save leftover paint and mix it all together. Why pay for designer colors when you can make them yourself?
17. Kitty litter works when dry. So dump the used stuff in your dryer and its good for another round.
18. Secret hint. Newspapers pay for crossword puzzles. So save old ones and submit them to another newspaper in a few years.
19. Calendars repeat after 28 years. Save them for future use!
I think I'll stop there... No, I haven't actually sent those, but I MIGHT. LOL!
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Busy, Busy
It's THAT time of year again. The best time. Planting seeds...
But that wasn't all today. It was one of THOSE days. Odd jobs... Things that should have been done before. I ahd all the cat-cards from Christmas stacked up and Iza trashed the pile. So I stacked them (and lost some of the addressed envelopes with the cards) and got them up out of her reach.
But she is a real paper-chewer, so I had a pile of wasted printed paper I use for temporary notes and she chewed up those. I better get her some jerky to chew up.
I tossed her mousies until she tired and wandered off into the bedroom to nap.
Saw Marley and Ayla snuggled up like spoons there. Naturally, my camera was in another room. As soon as I left to get it, Marley followed me out. No picture of THAT! I keep the camera in my pocket a LOT, but not that time.
Finished enclosing the garden. I thought I had before, but I saw Marley in it earlier today. He found a loose seam and was in enjoying the loose soil as a litterbox. Quite frankly, I don't want my carrots fertilized by cat-poop, but I will sifting it soon for planting.
Getting near time to mow the lawn, so I'll drive the riding mower up on boards to clean the old grass clippings from under the deck, sharpen the blade, and then take out the spark plugs and such to pretend I know what I'm doing while I clean and gap them. They are always just fine, but I have to look. You do what you know to do and hope for the best.
I suppose the mower would work better if it was worked over by pros. And I know some good ones. Every few years I go in for an "annual" tune-up. Maybe next year; the mower still works.
I think I need to pull out the chipper/shredder and see if I can start it. Been 5 years since I used it and I have a lot of brambles to get rid of. I could haul them to the recycling center in exchange for shredded mulch, but handling brambles is not fun. Easier to shred then here.
Sanding plaster patches on the walls. 2 year old electrical work patches and I've ignored them too long. You can ignore things a long time when you live alone. But I will have family visitors some month soon and can't let those patches be unsanded, primed, and painted.
The front door and garage door need to be painted. I've dithered about the color. The new house siding is medium green and the shutters dark green. The doors are white. Should I paint the doors to match the shutters or leave them white?
I've had a fantasy about painting that garage door a really weird color/pattern. Like a 60's Warhol.
Kind of daring for me, and my "cat" would probably look more like a rat. I can't sketch worth a tinker's dam! Should I dare try?
If my front door wasn't surrounded by brick, I would love to have a round hobbit door installed... But maybe I can make it look like wood. Fantasies that will never happen...
The older shed needs a new roof. I recall shoving 4x8 sheets of 1/2" plywood up there when I was 35. I can't lift the stuff now. But cut in half, I could manage that. And conveniently, I half 1/2 sheets stored in the basement from what used to be the attic flooring (which I can't use for storage now because there is 18" of blown insulation everywhere up there) and THAT would be manageable for the shed roof.
My azalea cuttings from last Fall before the soil ridge was removed are all doing fine. Amazingly, 34 of the 36 cuttings (12 white, 12 purple, and 10 red) have taken root. I'm not sure where I will put them all, but I sure have plenty to use.
Backyard covered with wild blackberries and english ivy and poison ivy. I hate to use herbicides, but if ever there was a good reason, this is it...
That's enough for now.
But that wasn't all today. It was one of THOSE days. Odd jobs... Things that should have been done before. I ahd all the cat-cards from Christmas stacked up and Iza trashed the pile. So I stacked them (and lost some of the addressed envelopes with the cards) and got them up out of her reach.
But she is a real paper-chewer, so I had a pile of wasted printed paper I use for temporary notes and she chewed up those. I better get her some jerky to chew up.
I tossed her mousies until she tired and wandered off into the bedroom to nap.
Saw Marley and Ayla snuggled up like spoons there. Naturally, my camera was in another room. As soon as I left to get it, Marley followed me out. No picture of THAT! I keep the camera in my pocket a LOT, but not that time.
Finished enclosing the garden. I thought I had before, but I saw Marley in it earlier today. He found a loose seam and was in enjoying the loose soil as a litterbox. Quite frankly, I don't want my carrots fertilized by cat-poop, but I will sifting it soon for planting.
Getting near time to mow the lawn, so I'll drive the riding mower up on boards to clean the old grass clippings from under the deck, sharpen the blade, and then take out the spark plugs and such to pretend I know what I'm doing while I clean and gap them. They are always just fine, but I have to look. You do what you know to do and hope for the best.
I suppose the mower would work better if it was worked over by pros. And I know some good ones. Every few years I go in for an "annual" tune-up. Maybe next year; the mower still works.
I think I need to pull out the chipper/shredder and see if I can start it. Been 5 years since I used it and I have a lot of brambles to get rid of. I could haul them to the recycling center in exchange for shredded mulch, but handling brambles is not fun. Easier to shred then here.
Sanding plaster patches on the walls. 2 year old electrical work patches and I've ignored them too long. You can ignore things a long time when you live alone. But I will have family visitors some month soon and can't let those patches be unsanded, primed, and painted.
The front door and garage door need to be painted. I've dithered about the color. The new house siding is medium green and the shutters dark green. The doors are white. Should I paint the doors to match the shutters or leave them white?
I've had a fantasy about painting that garage door a really weird color/pattern. Like a 60's Warhol.
Kind of daring for me, and my "cat" would probably look more like a rat. I can't sketch worth a tinker's dam! Should I dare try?
If my front door wasn't surrounded by brick, I would love to have a round hobbit door installed... But maybe I can make it look like wood. Fantasies that will never happen...
The older shed needs a new roof. I recall shoving 4x8 sheets of 1/2" plywood up there when I was 35. I can't lift the stuff now. But cut in half, I could manage that. And conveniently, I half 1/2 sheets stored in the basement from what used to be the attic flooring (which I can't use for storage now because there is 18" of blown insulation everywhere up there) and THAT would be manageable for the shed roof.
My azalea cuttings from last Fall before the soil ridge was removed are all doing fine. Amazingly, 34 of the 36 cuttings (12 white, 12 purple, and 10 red) have taken root. I'm not sure where I will put them all, but I sure have plenty to use.
Backyard covered with wild blackberries and english ivy and poison ivy. I hate to use herbicides, but if ever there was a good reason, this is it...
That's enough for now.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Happy Pi Day
To infinity and beyond -
3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307
8164062862089986280348253421170679821480865132823066470938446095505
8223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196
4428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348
6104543266482133936072602491412737245870066063155881748815209209628
2925409171536436789259036001133053054882046652138414695194151160943
3057270365759591953092186117381932611793105118548074462379962749567
3518857527248912279381830119491298336733624406566430860213949463952
2473719070217986094370277053921717629317675238467481846766940513200
0568127145263560827785771342757789609173637178721468440901224953430
1465495853710507922796892589235420199561121290219608640344181598136
2977477130996051870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859502
4459455346908302642522308253344685035261931188171010003137838752886
5875332083814206171776691473035982534904287554687311595628638823537
8759375195778185778053217122680661300192787661119590921642019893809
5257201065485863278865936153381827968230301952035301852968995773622
5994138912497217752834791315155748572424541506959508295331168617278
5588907509838175463746493931925506040092770167113900984882401285836
1603563707660104710181942955596198946767837449448255379774726847104
0475346462080466842590694912933136770289891521047521620569660240580
3815019351125338243003558764024749647326391419927260426992279678235
4781636009341721641219924586315030286182974555706749838505494588586
9269956909272107975093029553211653449872027559602364806654991198...
3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307
8164062862089986280348253421170679821480865132823066470938446095505
8223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196
4428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348
6104543266482133936072602491412737245870066063155881748815209209628
2925409171536436789259036001133053054882046652138414695194151160943
3057270365759591953092186117381932611793105118548074462379962749567
3518857527248912279381830119491298336733624406566430860213949463952
2473719070217986094370277053921717629317675238467481846766940513200
0568127145263560827785771342757789609173637178721468440901224953430
1465495853710507922796892589235420199561121290219608640344181598136
2977477130996051870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859502
4459455346908302642522308253344685035261931188171010003137838752886
5875332083814206171776691473035982534904287554687311595628638823537
8759375195778185778053217122680661300192787661119590921642019893809
5257201065485863278865936153381827968230301952035301852968995773622
5994138912497217752834791315155748572424541506959508295331168617278
5588907509838175463746493931925506040092770167113900984882401285836
1603563707660104710181942955596198946767837449448255379774726847104
0475346462080466842590694912933136770289891521047521620569660240580
3815019351125338243003558764024749647326391419927260426992279678235
4781636009341721641219924586315030286182974555706749838505494588586
9269956909272107975093029553211653449872027559602364806654991198...
Friday, March 11, 2016
10th Anniversary Of Retirement
Yeah, 10 years now... I retired 10 years ago last week. It doesn't feel like 10 years. The first couple years were noticable. The next few were less so. These days, I have to think about my career life.
As much as I enjoyed my career challenge (and I really did - it kept my mind busy and I saved my Federal Agency a lot more money than they paid me), it was a relief to stop.
Some people can't stop working because it defines them; they only think of themselves as what they do for a job. They have nothing to do other than their jobs. Not me. I always had a life outside my job. I knew too many people who, while pretty poor at their jobs, that was all they had. I'm glad I was not one of those.
I spent my career going full-out at it. After my first month as a temp worker, I found I had done all my work one mid day and told my boss. So I got more. And the "more" was more complicated work. I got made permanent shortly after that. And advanced...
I got moved from office to office, always some duty new to me. I loved learning new stuff. It was a challenge, and I loved challenges. From counting furniture, I went to writing telephone change orders to moving whole offices with all the furniture and equipment and ordering new carpet. From there, I supported Presidential Commissions and Committees and then Senate and House Members' office. I went on to inventory the White House assets. I even got under the President's desk in the Oval Office and Private Study for several Presidents. I saw Ford's football helmet, and I got a few of Carter's peanuts and Reagan's jelly beans. I still have a pad of White House notepaper, tucked way in my treasure chest, LOL!
But even that had advancement limitations, so I got into telecommunications management. That was amazing. It was planned to be a 17 person office. But I was the only one hired before a budget cut stopped the hiring. And for 20 years, it was just ME!
I wrote the first telecommunications manual for my Agency (General Services Administration - GSA), and received the first telephone call records. On paper (useless) at first, but then on pre-internet vendor-specific data mag-tapes (still useless).
I found a company that could read the vendor data tapes on a (then) fancy bit of hardware. It took 36 hours to process a month's calls. Then I found how to do it in 24 hours, then, 2 hours, and finally I could get it into something Microsoft Access could read. After that, I learned to get the data from Access to Excel.
I created an entire procedure across GSA for sending offices their long-distance calls. You wouldn't believe how many people call non-business numbers. Let's just say that some employees had private businesses running and some called "naughty" numbers. I put a stop to most of that!
With the call records available to office managers, I turned my attention to video-conferencing. My supervisor and I visited all our regional offices to help set up videoconferencing rooms nationwide. We not only designed state-of-the-art non-acoustical walls, we found ways to to that for ceilings and floors too!
I designed a spreadsheet that kept all video rooms schedulable across time zones. I was also dragged around by higher management to other agencies to show them how to red the contractor data in Access and Excel, and also how to use my scheduling system (it seemed simple to me but usually got an "OH!" response.
I gave the office a year's notice of my retirement. They were shocked; apparently most people just gave 2 weeks notice. But I wanted a good replacement. And to management's credit, they acted 4 months before I retired. My supervisor and I were the interview team.
From a couple of dozen resumes, we chose 5 and interviewed them with a set series of questions. One guy was so tightly wound (nuts) that I was looking around for a letter-opener to defend myself. Another had no apparent connection to the skill set described and his own. 2 others were "decent". The last one had a sense of both managing a program and relating to customers.
After she left, I said to my supervisor, "We have my replacement". I spend the last 4 months training her on the details of my system.
On my last day, my supervisor's supervisor gave me a project and I just laughed at him. I packed up my stuff and walked out the door. It was funny. We had various work schedules, and mine was the latest of the day. So I was alone in the office that last day.
I had filled my car with my potted snake plants and personal stuff at lunchtime. I spent the last few hours emailing my regional co-workers about how great it had been to work with them, and hoping they trusted my replacement to help them as I had.
And then, I walked out the office door turning out the lights as I went, locked it behind me, and drove silently off into the sunset.
I kept in touch with my replacement and a few trusted co-workers for a few months. My replacement couldn't handle the work. I guess it was the right temperment but not the ability to work "flat out crazy". I was eventually replaced with 4 full time employees. And THEY complained about the workload.
From my first year to my last day, I always outworked any 2 co-workers and at a higher accuracy. Each office I left needed at least 2 people to do my work.
To this day, I am STILL pleased about THAT! I TOLD them they needed more people to do what I did, and they didn't believe me. At first... LOL!
So Happy 10th Retirement Week To Me!
Yeah, I'm bragging... ;)
As much as I enjoyed my career challenge (and I really did - it kept my mind busy and I saved my Federal Agency a lot more money than they paid me), it was a relief to stop.
Some people can't stop working because it defines them; they only think of themselves as what they do for a job. They have nothing to do other than their jobs. Not me. I always had a life outside my job. I knew too many people who, while pretty poor at their jobs, that was all they had. I'm glad I was not one of those.
I spent my career going full-out at it. After my first month as a temp worker, I found I had done all my work one mid day and told my boss. So I got more. And the "more" was more complicated work. I got made permanent shortly after that. And advanced...
I got moved from office to office, always some duty new to me. I loved learning new stuff. It was a challenge, and I loved challenges. From counting furniture, I went to writing telephone change orders to moving whole offices with all the furniture and equipment and ordering new carpet. From there, I supported Presidential Commissions and Committees and then Senate and House Members' office. I went on to inventory the White House assets. I even got under the President's desk in the Oval Office and Private Study for several Presidents. I saw Ford's football helmet, and I got a few of Carter's peanuts and Reagan's jelly beans. I still have a pad of White House notepaper, tucked way in my treasure chest, LOL!
But even that had advancement limitations, so I got into telecommunications management. That was amazing. It was planned to be a 17 person office. But I was the only one hired before a budget cut stopped the hiring. And for 20 years, it was just ME!
I wrote the first telecommunications manual for my Agency (General Services Administration - GSA), and received the first telephone call records. On paper (useless) at first, but then on pre-internet vendor-specific data mag-tapes (still useless).
I found a company that could read the vendor data tapes on a (then) fancy bit of hardware. It took 36 hours to process a month's calls. Then I found how to do it in 24 hours, then, 2 hours, and finally I could get it into something Microsoft Access could read. After that, I learned to get the data from Access to Excel.
I created an entire procedure across GSA for sending offices their long-distance calls. You wouldn't believe how many people call non-business numbers. Let's just say that some employees had private businesses running and some called "naughty" numbers. I put a stop to most of that!
With the call records available to office managers, I turned my attention to video-conferencing. My supervisor and I visited all our regional offices to help set up videoconferencing rooms nationwide. We not only designed state-of-the-art non-acoustical walls, we found ways to to that for ceilings and floors too!
I designed a spreadsheet that kept all video rooms schedulable across time zones. I was also dragged around by higher management to other agencies to show them how to red the contractor data in Access and Excel, and also how to use my scheduling system (it seemed simple to me but usually got an "OH!" response.
I gave the office a year's notice of my retirement. They were shocked; apparently most people just gave 2 weeks notice. But I wanted a good replacement. And to management's credit, they acted 4 months before I retired. My supervisor and I were the interview team.
From a couple of dozen resumes, we chose 5 and interviewed them with a set series of questions. One guy was so tightly wound (nuts) that I was looking around for a letter-opener to defend myself. Another had no apparent connection to the skill set described and his own. 2 others were "decent". The last one had a sense of both managing a program and relating to customers.
After she left, I said to my supervisor, "We have my replacement". I spend the last 4 months training her on the details of my system.
On my last day, my supervisor's supervisor gave me a project and I just laughed at him. I packed up my stuff and walked out the door. It was funny. We had various work schedules, and mine was the latest of the day. So I was alone in the office that last day.
I had filled my car with my potted snake plants and personal stuff at lunchtime. I spent the last few hours emailing my regional co-workers about how great it had been to work with them, and hoping they trusted my replacement to help them as I had.
And then, I walked out the office door turning out the lights as I went, locked it behind me, and drove silently off into the sunset.
I kept in touch with my replacement and a few trusted co-workers for a few months. My replacement couldn't handle the work. I guess it was the right temperment but not the ability to work "flat out crazy". I was eventually replaced with 4 full time employees. And THEY complained about the workload.
From my first year to my last day, I always outworked any 2 co-workers and at a higher accuracy. Each office I left needed at least 2 people to do my work.
To this day, I am STILL pleased about THAT! I TOLD them they needed more people to do what I did, and they didn't believe me. At first... LOL!
So Happy 10th Retirement Week To Me!
Yeah, I'm bragging... ;)
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Political Stuff
I'm worried about the Republican Party. When I could first vote in 1968, I thought Richard Nixon was extreme! His "Law and Order" platform against freedom of expression was scary. This was when there actually were liberal republicans (like Senator "Mac" Mathias of Maryland and most of the New England republicans). I considered myself a Republican back then (fiscally moderate and socially progressive).
Then came Reagan (aka "Ronald Ray-Guns" to my college and young professional crowd). He was scarier! Bush The Elder followed and he wasn't too bad (except that he once stated that he didn't think atheists should be considered legitimate citizens).
Then came Bush The Younger. I didn't agree with him much, but at least he seemed sane (although a lightweight thinker, an embarassing mangler of language, and apparently controlled by that extremophile Dick Cheney. "Mission Accomplished" and "Weapons Of Mass Destruction" will follow his administration down through history. His utter inability to judge foreign leaders (“I looked [Putin] in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy" says it all.
And now there is The Donald. The scariest Republican yet... The man is deeply disturbed. A neutral psychiatrist would have a field day with him. Not that he is the only person like that, but he is a possible US President and that makes a WHOLE lot of difference. I would try to describe all the problems, but a cat-blogger I visit said it better than I could and in more detail. Read it HERE.
People think of Trump as a successful businessman. He isn't really. And I don't mean that he is a failed businessman. Its that he isn't really a "businessman". He is a marketing genius! He sells his name. He is like a Kardassian... When anyone looks inside his enterprises, all they find is his name. No substance, no product, no employment. He is like a terrible driver who leaves a long string of bad accidents behind him and escapes them all.
Demagogues like Trump come along in politics every so often. They usually fade soon enough before causing too much harm. And there ARE some signs that Trump is beginning to fade as well. He has lost a couple of State primaries he was expected to win and the next round of primaries are not suiting his style of ideology as well as the earlier ones. So he may fade like Ben Carson (another lunatic) did in the past couple months.
One can only hope...
But you know what scares me the most? His followers... I don't care too much if some individual politician has delusions of grandeur, makes bizarre unrealistic promises, is ammoral, unethical, and changes views as often as rock stars change outfits in concerts. It doesn't fool ME. But it sure fools his supporters. And there are a LOT of THEM...
It is THEIR existence that scares me, keeps me awake at night, and worries me while watching the news. No generally decent civilization ever fell overnight, but there was one day when they suddenly "weren't" anymore. The ancient Greeks were suddenly Roman subjects, the Romans were suddenly bending their knees to the Vandals, the Visigoths who created Spain were driven down by the conquering Moors, the Incas to the Spaniards, etc.
No country lasts forever, and democracies especially are fragile and need constant vigilance to survive. Demagogues are ever-present, needing only one opportunity to succeed.
Trump has to lose...
Then came Reagan (aka "Ronald Ray-Guns" to my college and young professional crowd). He was scarier! Bush The Elder followed and he wasn't too bad (except that he once stated that he didn't think atheists should be considered legitimate citizens).
Then came Bush The Younger. I didn't agree with him much, but at least he seemed sane (although a lightweight thinker, an embarassing mangler of language, and apparently controlled by that extremophile Dick Cheney. "Mission Accomplished" and "Weapons Of Mass Destruction" will follow his administration down through history. His utter inability to judge foreign leaders (“I looked [Putin] in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy" says it all.
And now there is The Donald. The scariest Republican yet... The man is deeply disturbed. A neutral psychiatrist would have a field day with him. Not that he is the only person like that, but he is a possible US President and that makes a WHOLE lot of difference. I would try to describe all the problems, but a cat-blogger I visit said it better than I could and in more detail. Read it HERE.
People think of Trump as a successful businessman. He isn't really. And I don't mean that he is a failed businessman. Its that he isn't really a "businessman". He is a marketing genius! He sells his name. He is like a Kardassian... When anyone looks inside his enterprises, all they find is his name. No substance, no product, no employment. He is like a terrible driver who leaves a long string of bad accidents behind him and escapes them all.
Demagogues like Trump come along in politics every so often. They usually fade soon enough before causing too much harm. And there ARE some signs that Trump is beginning to fade as well. He has lost a couple of State primaries he was expected to win and the next round of primaries are not suiting his style of ideology as well as the earlier ones. So he may fade like Ben Carson (another lunatic) did in the past couple months.
One can only hope...
But you know what scares me the most? His followers... I don't care too much if some individual politician has delusions of grandeur, makes bizarre unrealistic promises, is ammoral, unethical, and changes views as often as rock stars change outfits in concerts. It doesn't fool ME. But it sure fools his supporters. And there are a LOT of THEM...
It is THEIR existence that scares me, keeps me awake at night, and worries me while watching the news. No generally decent civilization ever fell overnight, but there was one day when they suddenly "weren't" anymore. The ancient Greeks were suddenly Roman subjects, the Romans were suddenly bending their knees to the Vandals, the Visigoths who created Spain were driven down by the conquering Moors, the Incas to the Spaniards, etc.
No country lasts forever, and democracies especially are fragile and need constant vigilance to survive. Demagogues are ever-present, needing only one opportunity to succeed.
Trump has to lose...
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Baseball Season Starts Soon
I love baseball. I understand it better than most other sports. And I just finished re-watching Kens Burn's 'Baseball' PBS production.
It "nicer" than most sports. Many people have decsribed it, but to MY mind, none better than George Carlin. I won't post the whole statement here, but it's HERE.
I'll paste SOME of it though:
"Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings. Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death."
"In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!"
"
Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game. Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park! Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium."
And I'll add some gleanings from the Ken Burn's production...
Baseball is the only game where the Defense has the ball.
The is no clock in baseball. The batter comes to the plate, the pitcher steps off the mound. The pitcher returns to the plate and the batter steps out to wipe his eyes or adjust his grip on the bat. The umpire sweeps the dirt off the home plate. The pitcher begins his delivery, the batter swings. Or doesn't. Theoretically, a game could last forever. And some seem to.
A batter who only hits the ball safely 1/3 of the time is a hero!
Batters "hit safely" and if they round the bags they come "home". In football (American), they battle their way into the END zone leaving fallen players scattered around on the field.
In baseball, if you hit a home run, you get to trot around the bases at a leisurely slow speed, assured that the fans and teamates know it was YOU who did that. In football, no one ever really knows who did what to cause a play to work.
And while where is some contact in baseball, it is not routine. In football, basketball, hockey, boxing, and wrestling, players are pounding each other, throwing elbows, slamming each other with equipment, etc.
Baseball players have most of their original teeth. In other sports, teeth are just temporary things.
I can't wait for baseball season to start again!
It "nicer" than most sports. Many people have decsribed it, but to MY mind, none better than George Carlin. I won't post the whole statement here, but it's HERE.
I'll paste SOME of it though:
"Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings. Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death."
"In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!"
"
Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game. Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park! Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium."
And I'll add some gleanings from the Ken Burn's production...
Baseball is the only game where the Defense has the ball.
The is no clock in baseball. The batter comes to the plate, the pitcher steps off the mound. The pitcher returns to the plate and the batter steps out to wipe his eyes or adjust his grip on the bat. The umpire sweeps the dirt off the home plate. The pitcher begins his delivery, the batter swings. Or doesn't. Theoretically, a game could last forever. And some seem to.
A batter who only hits the ball safely 1/3 of the time is a hero!
Batters "hit safely" and if they round the bags they come "home". In football (American), they battle their way into the END zone leaving fallen players scattered around on the field.
In baseball, if you hit a home run, you get to trot around the bases at a leisurely slow speed, assured that the fans and teamates know it was YOU who did that. In football, no one ever really knows who did what to cause a play to work.
And while where is some contact in baseball, it is not routine. In football, basketball, hockey, boxing, and wrestling, players are pounding each other, throwing elbows, slamming each other with equipment, etc.
Baseball players have most of their original teeth. In other sports, teeth are just temporary things.
I can't wait for baseball season to start again!
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I think I have it figured out now. I needed basic frame strength (cubes) plus top support (arches with a ridgepole) for shedding rain and s... -
I like to plant Pansies in the Fall. I replace the dead Tomatos and deck pot flowers with them most years. Best deal I found was 12-packs ...