3955 Hair

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

I took this photo back in late May.  I don't think I posted it here yet.

Growing it out again.  It took a long time because it was so short on top, but I kept trimming the bottom and and growing the top through all those painful yuck periods, and it's finally getting there.

I hated my hair short.  I got it cut because some influential people told me I'd look better with it short.  I hate hate hated it short.  I've had longish hair all my life, and I just don't feel like me with it short.  Even bangs.  I don't like bangs on me.  When it gets long enough on the sides I'll probably usually tie it back, but at least I know it's ME!  Never short again, no matter how "mature" I get.

I think people were trying to make me look more sophisticated.  Surprise -- I make no pretension to sophistication, ever.  Get used to it. 
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3954 What it's like being married to a programmer

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Dear, could you go to the store for me?
Yeah, okay.  What do you need?
A loaf of bread.  Oh, and if they have brown eggs, get a dozen.

A half hour later, he returns with a dozen loaves of bread.
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3953 Anyone else confused?

Sunday, June 8, 2014

I'm confused.

The kid walked off the base.  Most military folks consider him a deserter.  Therefore they are furious that five prisoners were released to get him back, ESPECIALLY since so many good men were killed attempting to search for him and bring him back when he first walked away.  That's what they keep throwing out, anyway.

Now, let me get this straight:  Military folks think getting him back is NOT worth the release of five prisoners, but getting him back WAS worth the deaths of multiple fellow soldiers.

Huh?

I don't understand.

People keep describing the released prisoners as "dangerous terrorists".  Note that they have been rotting in Gitmo precisely because we don't have enough evidence against those five to go to trial and win.  In other words, because we can't prove them guilty in a trial, we declared them guilty without a trial?  Convenient.  And scary.  Imagine if your local cops and prosecutor could do that.

People are continuing the "dangerous" descriptor without ever having looked at how and why they ended up in Gitmo.  Salon.com has a story on them, "The worst Bowe Bergdahl trutherism, debunked - John McCain says released Gitmo prisoners are historically dangerous. Records tell a different story".   For the important part, scan down to point number 3.

If these guys are now "dangerous terrorists", we MADE them so!  And I wouldn't blame them a bit.

As I am writing this, one of those Sunday morning political talk shows is on TV in the background, and some pompous fathead just equated the five prisoners to five Nazi generals.

Sometimes I hate people.
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3952 Research, Relax

Saturday, June 7, 2014

I read some more stuff about optical migraines and TIAs.  Of course, I can't find the precise websites now, but here's a synopsis.

Optic migraine and classic migraine come from the same cause, which "they think" is likely constriction of blood vessels in the brain.  Up to several days before a migraine, you can get hints that it's coming, usually a feeling of tenseness, or depression, or nausea, or constipation ... buncha stuff.

For the past two weeks I've had a feeling of impending doom, and I didn't go to the country house on Thursday as planned because I didn't feel right in my belly.

Next you get the aura.  Various kinds.  An optical migraine is the enlarging jagged flashing in the visual field.

The migraine starts from the constriction of blood vessels.  With me it's all aura, no pain.  The flashing is not in my eyes - it's in my brain.

This is followed by the next phase, when the blood vessels release and dilate, which can cause other symptoms and a throbbing headache.  Those "other" symptoms are interesting.  They can include physical weakness, difficulty speaking, difficulty understanding language, memory problems, and so on.

That can look exactly like a TIA (mini-stroke)!

The whole thing, for an optical migraine, shouldn't take more than an hour or two, with no lasting deficits.  My episode was less than an hour altogether, and the scary garbled speech and blanking on names was maybe a half hour tops.  No headache after.

Then after it's all over, you feel wonderful, light and healthy.

And I did, no remaining impending doom of the previous two weeks, I felt fantastic, energetic, EVEN THOUGH I was afraid I'd just maybe had a bit of a stroke.

So, my conclusion is that if you experience the symptoms of a stroke or TIA but have NOT experienced any kind of migraine in conjunction, then take an aspirin and go to the ER immediately.

If you experience the symptoms with or after a migraine, classic or optic, then see your doctor and get checked out, because who knows.   Maybe it was coincidence.  Maybe not, especially if strokes run in your bloodlines.

=============================

I am not aware of experiencing any garbled speech or memory problems after any other ocular migraine I've had, but then again, for most of them, I was alone.  I very well might not have noticed, not having done anything to expose or test it.   Reading once the jagged flashes were gone didn't seem to be a problem.
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3951 Migraine

Friday, June 6, 2014

Just for the record, I just started an optic (or ocular) migraine about a minute ago.  It's spreading, and soon I won't be able to see anything.  No pain, no danger, this is just so I can look up a record of how often I have them. (I'm glad I'm not driving.)

--------------------------------

I looked up the past ocular migraines:
1996
02/25/06
12/05/06
05/12/07
07/20/07
11/11/10
10/13/11
06/06/14

--------------------------------

The above was about 12/30 pm today.  When it started I was reading an article about WWII American soldiers in England, and the article mentioned Hyde Park, in England.  That sounded familiar, like there's a Hyde Park in New York state, but I couldn't remember where.  I tried to bring up Google maps to look it up, but I couldn't remember how to get to a website.  I was very frustrated, but finally figured it out.  Hyde Park, NY, is the next town south of Rhinebeck, which is south of the country house.  I know it well.  Have to drive through it to get to Poughkeepie.  I was very confused.  How could I not remember where Hyde Park is?  Within a few minutes the ocular migraine had spread to most of my field of vision and I was unable to read the laptop screen, so I gave up and went upstairs to take a bath.

I was soaking in the tub trying to read a book (the visual disturbance had pretty much dissipated by then), and I came across a reference to Franklin Roosevelt.  I couldn't remember who he was.  Then I couldn't remember my daughter's name.  I could remember the Nugget's first name, but not her middle or last name.  I panicked.  I worked very hard, and was able to come up with some names that sounded right.  I tried to say them out loud, and what came out was garbled.  I knew what I wanted to say, I could make the right sounds in my head, but what came out of my mouth was a mess.

Finally I said them right.  I ran through some other names, like Piper's, the Hairless Hunk, The Man.  It was very difficult to remember them, especially their last names, and even when I thought I had them I wasn't sure it was right.  Over the period of maybe 15 minutes it got better.  I could remember names and I could say them out loud.  Within 20 minutes I was not only 100% ok, but I even feel good, better than I have in the past two weeks..

So, maybe this was a TIA (a.k.a. mini-stroke).  Perhaps a tiny blood clot that dissolved quickly.  Or maybe a blood vessel spasm (I've had those in my legs).  I called the doctor I have been assigned by my new insurance, but his Friday hours are 8 to noon.  I refuse to go to the ER.

My history regarding names is poor.  I've had problems remembering names all my life.  One time when Daughter was in high school I called the office to tell them I would be picking her up early for an appointment - and I couldn't remember her name!  I had to hang up and look her name up.  Not being able to remember names is for me normal.  Sometimes I completely blank out.  What was not normal was not being able to speak. 

Whatever it was, it was over quickly, but I guess I should have some tests.  Bleck.  I'll call the doctor Monday.  I am not happy about that.

I didn't want to, but I went over to Daughter's house about 4:45 and told her what had happened, and that for the next two days or so I will call her every two (waking) hours, and if I don't she should check on me.  Naturally, she freaked out.  So she insisted that I accompany her and the Nugget to the grocery store.

I didn't keel over dead or say anything weird, so she seems to have relaxed a bit.

Jeeze!  Am I ever going to get up to the country house?  This is getting ridiculous.
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3950 Dead AOL id comes back to life!

Thursday, June 5, 2014

I have Jay's old email id on AOL.  I haven't used it in something like eight years, because we went through a period where on every AOL update I lost all my saved mail.  I don't even remember the password.  Back when I set up my Gmail account, I set AOL to forward all email to Gmail.  Over the years I've been getting fewer and fewer bits of email forwarded from AOL, mostly ads from cruise lines.  AOL, for all its faults, does a fairly good job of filtering out spam.

Suddenly I'm getting loads of crap forwarded from AOL, all unsolicited spam ads.  It all seems to be coming through some kind of bulk mailer called "iBuilder".

Where the heck did they get that email address?  How do I stop it?

(I may have shot myself in the foot.  It's possible that something somewhere, like a local store I was shopping in, insisted that I give them an email address, and I shrugged and gave them the AOL id without even thinking about it.)

----------------------------------------

Bonus rant:
Alexander Fleming DID NOT "discover" penicillin.   He merely named it and gave it a medical stamp of approval, and made it possible to make money on it.  People had been strapping moldy bread to injuries for centuries before he came along.
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3949 Turtle

Thursday, June 5, 2014

This snapping turtle was in my back yard yesterday.

Other turtles in other years have tried to lay eggs in my yard, but had been unable to dig more than an inch or two into the solid clay.  This lady was perhaps a little smarter.  She made four attempts right up next to the foundation.  The dirt (I refuse to call it soil) is likely to be a little looser there, having been backfilled and not having been packed by heavy equipment running over it.  Still, she dug four holes.  She didn't bother to refill the first three shallow holes so I assume there are no eggs there.  She did fill the fourth (right next to the air conditioner units), so maybe she got deep enough to actually lay eggs there.

This snapper is pretty small, about the size of a standard dinner plate.  Previous visitors have been almost turkey platter sized, and covered with moss.  They come up from the little stream/ditch at the end of my yard, that feeds into the lake just down the road.
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3848 Poison of the Vipers

Thursday, June 5, 2014

The following is a comment on an article on from whom Malia Obama will be learning to drive.   The comments on almost all articles of any type concerning the Obamas are vicious.  I've never seen so much vitriol.  This particular commenter says what I am thinking better than I ever could.

The article in question:
http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/whos-teaching-first-daughter-malia-obama-drive-171528363--abc-news-politics.html?vp=1

The comment (emphasis mine):

Yowza  •  

Two points here:

1. Since at least the days of the Kennedy administration, pretty much anything the First Family does has been a media topic either when it happens or when the media otherwise learn about it.

Historically, the First Family has always been the closest thing we have to royalty here in the States, so the ready comparison/analogy is the continuous media attention likewise accorded the royal family in the U.K.. And the American people sui generis have also come to expect that our Presidents and First Ladies will make themselves available to the media, and will make public appearances at events and/or on news programs, on essentially a daily basis, even when they are otherwise on vacation.

And even though neither you nor I may have voted for this particular president, or any given one or more of his predecessors, in each and every instance the majority of those casting ballots in the pertinent presidential election did so.

2. As someone who was an officer of my high school civics club, and who was an officer of my college's Young Republicans club, and an officer in my collegiate state's Young Republican organization, and a delegate to 2 Young Republican national conventions, I've been an active follower of both federal elections and administrations for almost 55 years now.

And as a First Family, the Kennedys were derided, and/or despised and/or mocked by many, and especially Republicans until the very day of his assassination, and likewise the Johnsons during both of his administrations, as were in turn the Nixons during both of his administrations (mostly by Democrats, but also later by many Republicans after the Watergate scandal), the Fords not so much (though Jerry was often ridiculed for his mental and physical 'ineptness', but with Carter the derision and despise bloomed anew once again, particularly about the Iran hostage situation and the botched first Special Forces attempted rescue. Reagan mostly got a pass though he was nevertheless criticized openly and frequently for the corruption in both his administrations and seriously called out for his "secret war" in Nicaragua...and George H.W. was likewise mostly given a pass, though he was nevertheless criticized heavily for the undue influence the military-industrial complex exerted on his administration...and for failing to take down Hussein after his invasion of Kuwait. And presumably pretty much everyone knows about all the Clinton 'situations' (Whitewater, Lewinsky and the ultimately failed attempt to impeach him),and of course W. and his administrations were pretty vigorously criticized by the Demos for a variety of things, after an early temporary "pass" after 9/11.

However, in my experience and opinion, none of the attacks and criticisms leveled at any of those past presidents and/or their administrations have ever been even remotely anywhere near as highly vitriolic and toxic, or as continuous, or as all-pervasive/encompassing as those that have been directed against Obama and his administrations...and no other First Lady in/over the last 50+ years been as openly, overtly and frequently attacked/criticized as Michelle Obama has been over the last 5+ years...even Hilary while she was First Lady...and I'm not sure that Michelle hasn't been subject to more direct attacks/criticisms than all of last 8 previous First Ladies combined.

Maybe I'm just "old school" and a bit old-fashioned, but where and the way I was brought up it was pretty much expected/accepted that a woman would stand by, and stand up for, her man...it was also always a given that you didn't attack or criticize her for doing so, nor were you supposed to openly insult or slur another man's wife no matter how much you disliked or despised either her or her husband...not only was it otherwise socially unacceptable to do so, but it was regarded as both being fundamentally uncouth/boorish and a matter of dishonor

---------------------------------------

Amen.

3847 I have dents in my forehead

Thursday, May 22, 2014

An online comment (I think it was on some article having to do with tornado victims):  "It is a tragic fact of life in these United States recently that we rush to judgment and bitterly, caustically denounce others with little or no real information. It's part of the negative social mood under which our nation now struggles. Hopefully, some day we will be able to move forward to better relations with our fellows. Don't expect I'll live long enough to see it on the internet, but I'll do my part where I am."

This guy GETS it!  It's been bothering me for so long, the way people JUST KNOW what's in other people's hearts and minds.  The negativity is so overwhelming and discouraging.

I blame Republicans.

===================

I get impatient when people say that Christopher Columbus "proved the Earth is round".  Um, no, he didn't.  That was his theory, but all he proved is that there is more land to the west of Europe.

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A CNN reporter tweeted that Thailand is now under marital law.   Not to be outdone, the caption on Getty images from the scene declare that Thailand is under Marshall law.

These are professionals.  I fear for our country.
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3846 It's easier to just repeat

Sunday, April 27, 2013

It's easier to just repeat what someone else tells you than to listen, learn, and draw your own conclusions.

That's happening right now to the NBA Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who's accused of racism after being heard on tape telling his girlfriend not to bring any of her black friends to his games.   He and she were arguing, and she taped the argument without his knowlege.  Now everybody is down on him, including Magic Johnson, whom Sterling had mentioned by name.  It's blowing up into a huge storm, players on the Clippers are making sort of veiled threats about letting their playing show how they feel, and even the NBA is planning to "investigate", which we know means he's already declared guilty in the media.

I don't think a single person who's yelling racism actually listened to the whole tape, or if they did I doubt they listened to the actual meaning rather than just pulling out individual words (and no, the n-word is not used once).  They are using sentences and words out of context!
They're repeating what they were told was said.

That royally pisses me off!

Isn't potentially ruining someone's life worth at least checking it out yourself?

Clippers Owner Donald Sterling to GF - Don't Bring Black People to My Games, Including Magic Johnson
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Where I'm coming from in my understanding:
My maternal grandmother was born in the nineteenth century.  She was a product of her time.  She was not simply racist - she was xenophobic.  You know, like "Those people are not like us".  She would have had a stroke if I dated someone of another race, OR a white guy whose surname ended in a vowel other than "e".  Or an Irishman.  Or a Jew ("they murdered our Lord, you know").  I'm not kidding. Absolutely.

So if I were dating someone of a different race, you can be damn sure I would hide that fact from her and everyone else in the family of her generation.  I just wouldn't want to hear anything they have to say.  And I would ask the rest of my family and friends not to mention it either. Let's not inflame anyone.

So, now, would that make ME racist?  Or am I simply avoiding having to deal with HER racism (which makes me a coward, but that's different)?

So, Sterling and the girlfriend.  She is very young, beautiful, exotic.  He's old and ugly (personal opinion - REALLY old and REALLY ugly!).  It's possible that a lot of his friends are either jealous and wouldn't be unhappy if he were hurt by her, or see her as a gold digger and want to protect him from her, or some combination, but they are unlikely to be benevolent toward the relationship.

Oh, by the way, she is of mixed race, including at least Black and Hispanic.

 He complains pretty explicitly on the tape that he's tired of his friends and people he has to deal with calling him or emailing him all the time to inform him that she's posing for photos with Black guys and posting the photos online.  In the argument, he is telling her that he doesn't care who she's friends with (he never says anything that can be construed as racist, he even expresses admiration for Magic Johnson, the most recent guy she'd been photographed with) --- but he asks her to please please be a little less public about it, more discreet.  He's tired of people poking at him about what she's up to now.  He just doesn't want to deal with it.

It sounds to me like he has a bunch of racist friends, and like me with my grandmother, he just wants them off his back.  He is forced to deal with these people.  So "do what you want, but cool it with the publicity, and for God's sake don't bring Black guys to my games."  Let's not inflame anyone, ok?

Folks without the patience to listen to the damn tape picked up on the "don't bring them to my games", and pounced on it without questioning what he meant and why.

And they are thoroughly pissing me off.
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3845 I Don't Understand "Art"

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A few years ago a friend and I visited the art museum at Vassar College.  A lot of it was impressive.  Some was not, like the 10' x 10' sheet of what I can only describe as graph paper.  White with black vertical and horizontal lines making squares maybe 5" x 5".  Just plain old graph paper, made big.

Art?  I don't get it.

A few years ago a friend and I visited the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA).  There was a room with a bunch of large white squares of paper.  Apparently identical white squares.  Each square had a placard next to it explaining it.  I don't remember the exact descriptions, but it was something like this: The first had been exposed to sunlight for several hours.  The second had been kept in the dark for several hours.  The third had been snowed on.  Another had been exposed to a cloudy sky. One had been exposed to loud rock music, while another has been exposed to classical music.  And so on.  As if that wasn't already ridiculous enough, there were people in the room walking from piece to piece examining them carefully, stoking their VanDykes, and commenting to each other on ... something.  I don't know what they found so fascinating (yeah, the idea for the exhibit was amusing, but that doesn't need examining each canvas) and I didn't have a chance to find out what they were saying because I was giggling too loud.  I got dirty looks from the cognoscenti.

Art?  I don't get it.

I don't understand a lot of the stuff that is called art.  That guy who blocked off the canvas with black horizontal and vertical lines and then painted some of the rectangles with primary colors - Piet Mondrian.  Apparently a lot of people think/thought he's just wonderful.  Mind-blowing.

 

You can natter on all you want about "movement", and "weight" and "structure", yeah, I get all that, but, uh, no.   I see no "art" there.  I see craft only.

A woman died recently, Agnes Martin.  Her work is in major museums all over the world.  She's a "minimalist", which apparently means "paint a canvas solid blue and call it the sea", and "copy a sheet of lined notepaper".  (There's a good chance she was responsible for the graph paper at Vassar.)  This thing sold for $2,000,000.00.  Seriously.

Two million?  Why?  I see no particular skill or talent.  Go to the Google images of her work (here) and find anything there that couldn't be essentially duplicated by anyone with minimal training in technique (like, how to draw a straight line, how to color within the lines, etc.)!  

Is most of contemporary art a big joke?

I don't get it.

And then there's Cy Twombly.  Some few of his floral-looking things are interesting, but most of his output is like this:

Or this:

Check out his gallery at http://www.cytwombly.info/twombly_gallery.htm.

I think the REAL "talent" in the contemporary art world consists of showmanship, contacts, networking, salesmanship, business acumen, and a talent for convincing suggestible (rich!  famous!) people that what they are looking at is somehow special. 

Cyndi Lauper and Madonna hit the music charts at about the same time.  Madonna took off and soared while Cindi petered out.  In my opinion, Cyndi was a much better musician, but Madonna was a better manipulator.  

I guess art works the same way.

-------------------------------------------------------

I used to live near Woodstock, NY, and there are a lot of talentless people there who define themselves as artists. I guess they're right.  They can pick up a brush (or whatever) and daub paint (or whatever) on a canvas (or whatever), and that makes them a painter, by definition.   But just because you can put paint on a surface doesn't make you an artist.

Or does it?

Maybe so.  Maybe they just need to develop that other talent.

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3844 Addicted

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

I am addicted to the internet.  I browse for probably a good ten hours a day.  It's really getting out of hand.  There's just too much interesting stuff out there.  Too many links that lead me off into too many wasted hours.  Like, someone mentioned an episode of "Mama's Family" to illustrate a point the other day, and included a link to the clip on Youtube.  Three days later I had watched every 20-minute episode available.

I've been trying to limit myself, but it isn't easy.  Today I turned myself loose, and kept notes of what I did, where I went.  I learned a few things, like about methane, and about the active volcano in Antarctica, and how young men in Saudi Arabia are crazy.


Here's where I've been - one day in my addiction:

• Read some email: notice from town re water flush, some meetup notices.
• Scanned titles of offerings in my feedly feeds list.
• Watched a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gsbPLCBa8s on youtube.
• Researched how to watch any video in slow motion.
• Read an article re obtaining methane from dairy operations, including the links in it, http://nowiknow.com/another-way-to-milk-a-cow/.
• Shopped for refrigerator magnets on Amazon.
• Watched a scary video, changing tires on a moving car, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQm5BnhTBEQ.
• Took a trip to the future of the past, 1964 World's Fair, I was there! http://mashable.com/2014/04/23/1964-new-york-worlds-fair-photos/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss
• Read a slew of news headlines.
• Read an article re raindrops and windshields, http://what-if.xkcd.com/93/.
• Scanned a few "Cute Overload" posts.
• Read "Field Negro" opinion piece.
• Read a few short WSJ Law Blog blurbs.
• Read article, picky eaters don't survive, http://mashable.com/2014/04/23/survive-extinction-picky-eater/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss
• Watched video about students abusing Adderall, http://news.discovery.com/human/videos/are-students-abusing-adderall-video-140422.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1
• Read article re animals dining on humans, http://news.discovery.com/animals/do-some-animals-get-a-taste-for-human-blood-1402071.htm
• Read a You Suck At Craigslist entry.
• Read a blog entry from a guy who lives near the country house.
• Checked past RockyCat blog posts for more comments.
• Read latest post(s) on Cake Wrecks, New Dress a Day, Simian Idiot, Pearl Why You Little... (another cat one, so I skimmed it), Shoebox, FreeRangeKids, The Daily Coyote, Out There, QC RSS.
• Switched from Firefox to Explorer to read  four new posts on Comics I don't Understand, including the comments (the best part). Interesting discussion of the disappearance of cursive at http://comicsidontunderstand.com/wordpress/2014/04/22/of-course-we-cant-let-a-rhetorical-question-go-unanswered/#comments.
• Looked up Sutterlin font.
• Read the Wikipedia entry on origins of the QWERTY keyboard.
• Deleted without reading some 30 alerts from feedly.
• Took a break by playing a few games of 2048.
• Checked email.
• Read an article about a school bus driver bullying a disabled child.

-------------
Five hours have passed.  Food.  Bath, got dressed. 
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• Read about the spreading of the NYPD twitter fiasco. http://mashable.com/2014/04/23/mynypd-hashtag-anger-police/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss and http://mashable.com/2014/04/22/nypd-hashtag/
• Few more iterations of 2048 game.
• Read about a lava lake in Antarctica (never heard of that before!), http://mashable.com/2014/04/23/antarctic-lava-lake-erebus/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss *and* http://www.livescience.com/44892-gallery-erebus-volcano-lava-lake.html
• Looked up view of Hawaii's Kilauea caldron (supposedly one of Earth's four persistent lava lakes, because I don't remember seeing a lava lake, and yup, it doesn't LOOK like a lava lake), https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kilauea/@19.375395,-155.2770128,1464a,35y,77.53t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x7953da0ab927343d:0xfb584cf4fd7e4451
• Read article "Why Habitable Exoplanets Might Mean Humanity Is Doomed", http://mashable.com/2014/04/23/habitable-planets-human-extinction/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly
  

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Cut open five 50-lb bags of sand, filled Nugget's new sandbox on my back patio.  Added shells and toys.  Her 3rd birthday is Saturday.  The wind was so strong I could barely stand.

Later, Daughter and Nugget visited and we had a tea party.  Nugget did an excellent job pouring iced tea from a small teapot, and serving little cuts of carrot cake.

It is now 7 pm.  Will wash yesterday's dishes, and start something for dinner, then watch Survivor at 8.  After that I'll peruse the 21 items that have already dropped into my feeds reader since I cleared it out at 5:30 (plus any additional that arrive later).
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3843 Tennessee schools enrich the learning experience

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Headline:

Laptop, liquor, pornographic videos stolen from Sullivan school warehouse

Read more: Laptop, liquor, pornographic videos stolen from Sullivan school warehouse | Kingsport Times-News http://www.timesnews.net/article/9017821/laptop-liquor-pornographic-videos-stolen-from-sullivan-school-warehouse#ixzz2zTLxIyDq

I have no comment.  I just keep blinking.

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3842 Kitchen shortcuts

Sunday, April 20, 2014

I just saw a nifty way to halve cherry tomatoes on another website.  Put the tomatoes on a dinner plate.  Put another plate upside down on top.  There should a space between the two plates.  Cut through that space.  All tomatoes are cut at one pass.

I have my own hacks that I'd never seen before:

• If you want to make nice even slices of onion or large tomato, first cut an end off so you have a flat surface.  Instead of cutting down through the onion or tomato, which puts your fingers in jeopardy and sometimes gives you uneven slices, plop the thing flat on the cut surface on the cutting board.  Cover the "top" with your flat hand.  Using a very sharp knife with a fairly flat-sided handle, lying on its side, cut parallel to the cutting board, away from you, sliding each slice out from under after it's cut.  If you need thinner slices, move the cutting board to the edge of the counter to drop the handle (depending on your board), or for thicker slices, support the knife handle with your fingertips as you pass it through.

• For uniform pie crust and pastry rolling, you'll need some pieces of wood the thickness of the dough (I've used variously chopsticks, a pair of rulers, strips of plastic Jay had cut to size for me, etc.).  When you're almost finished rolling the dough out, while it's still a little bit too thick, place the sticks on either side and roll across them.  You get uniformly thick dough.  I started doing that when I was making Welsh cookies.  They are rolled in batches, fairly thickly, and then cut into circles, and it's important that they all be the same thickness so they'll all cook evenly on the griddle.

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3841 Enforced diet?

Sunday, April 20, 2014

I don't understand saber-toothed tigers.  You always see them depicted with these enormous long teeth, right?  Well, how did they get food in their mouths with those barriers in front like that?

They could open their mouths 130 degrees.  Nice start.  But if you look at the skulls,

(photo from http://www.propsport.com/11-sabertoothed-tiger-skull-modelversion-40-p-10.html)
even with the jaws fully open, you can't fit much more than a very small rabbit in the resulting open space.  I haven't found any explanation of how they got food into their mouths anywhere out there.

Maybe once the prey had been stabbed to death they could nibble off bits with those tiny front teeth, between the sabers, or chew off small sticking-out chunks with the side molars.  The saber-teeth would not be very helpful at tearing off chunks because they were very brittle and broke easily.  It all seems very inefficient for a beasty that big.

Saber-tooth tigers (not really a tiger anyway) just don't make any sense to me.
.

3840 Confession

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

I don't understand the moon.  I don't understand anything about the moon.  I mean the phases, the route it takes, the direction, nothing.  Today I read that the moon crosses the Earth's equator every two weeks!  Does that mean it stays north of the equator for two weeks and then south for two weeks, then north again?  How does that work?  Sometimes the moon is very high in the sky.  How can that happen without the moon crossing the equator, unless during parts of that time it isn't visible in the opposite hemisphere at all?  Are there periods that the Arctic or Antarctic have no moon until it crosses the equator again?  I assumed it crossed the equator on every circuit or something.

I vaguely understand that the phases (full, new, quarters, etc.) have to do with the alignment of the moon and the sun, but "vaguely" is literal.  Like, when we see a full moon here, is it full everywhere on Earth?  How does that happen?  Are there nights when we don't see any moon at all, no matter what the phase, because it appeared in our sky during the day (like it did last week)?

Over the years a few people have tried to explain it to me, but then when I start asking questions it becomes clear even to that person that they don't really understand it.  They just thought they did until they really thought about it.

You know what?  I've decided I don't care any more.  I've given up trying to understand the moon.
.

3839 You're Kidding!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

I forget which days it was exactly, maybe Friday and Saturday, but we just had two days in a row that were 85 degrees F.

This morning there's snow in the shaded spots, and a strong icy wind blowing. It's 33 degrees at 8:30 am.

You know that phrase, "It'll be a cold day in Hell before I..."?   Well, where'd I put that list.  It's time.
.

3838 Treasure

Saturday, April 12, 2014

My grandmother hid savings bonds.  I don't know why.  Maybe because she lived through the Great Depression, maybe because she didn't trust Grampa not to drink or gamble it away (Grampa had some serious faults, but drink and gambling wasn't among them), maybe it was just packrat tendencies.

On several occasions in my childhood, teens, and young adulthood, she took me around her home and showed me where it was all hidden.  Most of it was in envelopes taped to the underside of drawers, in her dining room and bedroom.  There must have been tens of thousands of dolllars, especially given that most of the bonds were old, well past maturity and still gathering interest.

She impressed upon me the bonds and their locations were a secret, and that I was the only person who knew this secret.  That if anything ever happened to her, I was to swoop in and gather it all up.  I don't know what I was supposed to do with it except to make sure it wasn't lost or stolen, I guess.

Well, in my late 20s and especially my 30s I was dealing with mental and emotional issues, and not keeping in very good touch with family.  I depended on my mother to keep me posted, which I guess wasn't the best idea.  When my father died, nobody thought to inform me until long after the funeral.  Same when Grampa died.  I found out he'd died when I happened to call Gramma a few weeks after the funeral.  I went to visit her, and that's the last time I saw her.  Nobody told me when Gramma died, again not until long after the funeral.  (I've often wondered - if I hadn't been there when Mom died, would anyone have told me?)

Anyway, several years after Grampa died, Gramma, in her late 80s I guess, had to vacate her apartment, and she moved into one of those senior complexes, you know, with her own apartment and her own familiar furniture, a kitchen but also a dining hall downstairs, nurses available 24 hours, and so on.  Mom said she was very happy there, was still taking the city bus into town to shop, and so on.

I asked if Gramma had taken her bedroom set and dining room set with her, and Mom said yes, except for the dining table, that was too big.  But she sill had the buffet, server, and china cabinet.

Gramma died in her mid-90s.  As I said, no one told me until Mom called one day to complain that Mom's brother's bossy wife had cleaned out the apartment something like the day after Gramma'd died, before the funeral even, and there was nothing left of anything besides a few photo albums.

I was aghast, but for an entirely different reason from my mother!  What about the dining room set (which I had always loved)?  Oh, they threw it all out.  They had a company come in and everything in the apartment went to the dump.

Well, I never said anything to anyone about Gramma's bond stash.  I don't know if it was still there, taped to the bottoms of drawers, but it wouldn't have done anyone any good to know at that point.  There was enough bad feeling floating around.

I still wonder, though.
.

3837 Grease

Thursday, April 10, 2014

With my Amazon Prime membership, I've been watching free movies, mostly "classics" I'd never seen.  Today was "Grease".  Another blogger mentioned that she was rather proud that she'd never seen "Grease", and it occurred to me I hadn't seen it either, so I watched it this afternoon.  (I fast-forwarded through all the songs.)

So, ok.  Now I've seen it.  Duh.

Can anyone explain to me why, at the end, Sandy decided to ditch "Sandra Dee", and remake herself into a Cha Cha clone?  Danny liked her a LOT exactly as she was.  I can understand why Danny ditched the leather jacket, since it was Sandy that ran away from him and he felt he needed to win her back by winning her approval.  But all she had to do was flirt a little and he'd be all grateful that she wanted him back. There was no need for her to change.  If anything, that change would just increase the chance of his doing again what had annoyed her.

So why'd she do that?

I don't understand.
.

3836 Facebook knows EVERYBODY!

Friday, April 4, 2014

So, I google some name, and I get a list of hits, and some distance down the list there will be an entry for a Facebook profile for that name.  But then when I click on it, more than half the time there's no person by that name on Facebook.  It looks a lot like somebody just fills in the name in a skeleton "hit".  Piss me off.

This evening I was reading about some animal caught in Texas that the local yokels have decided is a chupacabra, but other more reasonable people think is a hairless raccoon.  Which got me wondering, is there something called a hairless raccoon?  I mean like a breed, not just a sick bald 'coon?

So I googled "hairless raccoon", hoping for something like a wikipedia entry, and got this:

Hairless Raccoon

https://www.facebook.com/public/Hairless-Raccoon‎

View the profiles of people named Hairless Raccoon on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Hairless Raccoon and others you may know. Facebook gives ...

Believe it or not, she is on Facebook, lives in Kentucky (why am I not surprised), and if you scroll down a bit you'll find a photo (actually, three).

Sigh.
.

3835 Crack me up!

Friday, April 4, 2014

I just read this article (http://mashable.com/2014/04/04/drone-crashes-elementary-school/) about a military drone crash near Harrisburg, Pa.

The "and was then run over by a car" cracked me up.  I'm still giggling.
.

3834 Public Transportation?

Friday, April 4, 2014

There's a Mensa dinner next week just south of here.  It would take me 21 minutes to drive to it.

Being a good citizen, I wondered if it would be possible to take a train or bus to it. Once it warms up around here, the highways get clogged with stop-and-go frustrating "shore traffic", so it might be a useful idea anyway to check out the buses.  So I asked Google maps.

Well, yes.  I can get there by bus.  Sort of.

First I walk a mile, and catch a bus that will take me north several miles, where I transfer to a different bus that goes back south.  Then, halfway to the restaurant, I transfer to a third bus for the remainder of the trip, then walk several blocks.  Total time, 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Or, I can walk it in 5 hours and 13 minutes.

And we wonder why everyone needs a car and drives everywhere.

Sheesh.
.

3833 I want one!

April 1, 2014

Apparently these automobile accessories have been around for at least 8 years, yet I had never heard of them.  They look very handy.

There are several commercials on Youtube.  This is a ten-minute compilation:


[If that doesn't work, go to YouTube and search for "trunk monkey".]
.

3832 Micro Me

Friday, March 21, 2014

There's a little thing called a microexpression.  It's a tiny expression of emotion, lasting a fraction of a second.  A give-away to what's going on inside.  It may be a flicker of an eyebrow.  Or a tensing of the muscles around the lips.  A blink or a downward glance.  A slight narrowing of the eyes.   It's very quick, a fraction of a second, but most people watching are sensitive to even the tiniest flicker, even if they are not conscious of them, and although the microexpression and what it means may be individual to each person, it will still be subliminally caught and understood.   Most people are not aware of their own microexpressions, and it's very difficult to control.

An example:

One day at work two guys came to my office with a proposal.  The one guy explained what they wanted to do, and as soon as he was done, without even a pause, he turned to the other guy and said, "I told you she wouldn't like it!"

I objected.  "I didn't say I didn't like it."  He responded, "No, but your nostrils flared.  You always flare your nostrils when you don't like something."

I laughed, and had to admit that my first reaction was negative, "But let me think about it a while."

He was right.  I do make a tiny quick nostril flare when I'm annoyed, in that instant before I take control and don't express that annoyance.  

 I have a bunch of microexpressions, but being aware of them doesn't make it easy to control them.

The Wikipedia entry on microexpressions linked above isn't very good, actually.  It tends to wander off into general facial expressions of emotion, leaving confusion.  The article says that very few people can catch and interpret microexpressions, but I don't agree with that.  Have you even spent some time with, say, a couple, and later you conclude that she is afraid of him, and you're worried for her, but if anyone asks why, you don't have an answer?  Or you know someone you instinctively don't trust, even though they've never done anything wrong?   It's because you pick up on microexpressions, and you don't even realize it.

There are a lot of people who are unpopular, socially isolated, and they don't know why.  It can be anything from poor hygiene to no social skills, any of a gazillion reasons - but one of them is likely their microexpressions.  They expect people to disappoint them, or to not meet their standards, or to otherwise piss them off, and they SHOW it.  Outwardly they are very pleasant, but their microexpressions expose their poor expectations of others, their rejection of them,

and no one likes to be judged

or rejected.
.

3831 Spanks Needed

Friday, March 21, 2014

That kid who climbed the WTC "Freedom Tower"?  He's 16, he was seen entering the grounds at 4:10 am, he's from New Jersey so you know this wasn't just around the corner, and his twitter feed is full of other climbing stunts and trespassing.  I've read several reports, and in none of them did anyone ask the question I have:

Where are the kid's parents?

Where did they think he was that night, or don't they care?  Do they think this is ok?  What responsibility do they have to control the kid?  Um, let alone guide him....
.

3830 Hal and I are on the map

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A few months ago (last summer?) I happened to be stopped at an intersection when the Google Maps car went by.

If you go to https://www.google.com/maps/place/919+N+Concourse/@40.445829,-74.213752,3a,15y,318.04h,78.26t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sROo6PdNZcJUFKafqRsJglA!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c234b38a33c909:0x3f9818f443aaac80 (I hope that link works for you) you'll see a little black convertible (Hal) with a little old lady inside (me).

If the link doesn't work, go to maps.google.com, ask for 919 N. Concourse, Keyport, NJ, pick up the little man (street view) and move him to the nearest intersection, drag the screen to face him the right direction, zoom in, and with luck, we'll be there.

I'm almost sorry I wasn't doing something embarrassing.
.

3829 Screaming Meemies

Monday, March 3, 2014

Last Wednesday morning I woke to the chirp of a smoke detector complaining about its battery.  I had been slightly aware of it before I woke, actually.

Every 20 seconds, chirp!

By the time I was up, piddled, pants and shoes on under my nighty-t-shirt, the chirping had stopped.

I hate when the detectors chirp.  There are six of them.  One in the downstairs hall, one in every bedroom just inside the doors, and one in the upstairs hall, and when one starts complaining, I always go crazy trying to figure out which it is.

So, nothing all day Wednesday.  Thursday morning, I again woke to the chirp.  Every 20 seconds.  This time it didn't stop.  It was the one in the downstairs hall, so it wasn't too difficult to find.

I went to my battery supply, and opened a new package of those rectangular 9-volts.  I brought the taller stepladder down from upstairs.  I climbed up and changed the battery.

It continued to chirp.  Every 20 seconds.

I got my battery tester and tested the new battery.  It's ok.

I verified the polarity and inserted it again.

It continued to chirp.  Every 20 seconds.

I looked for some kind of reset button on the unit.  The only button was the test button, so I pushed it.  All six detectors went off, including the one that yells "Fire! Fire!" in a woman's voice.  I pushed the button again and they all shut up.

But this detector continued to chirp.  Every 20 seconds.

I don't know what to do.

I've been listening to that thing chirp since Thursday morning.  Every 20 seconds.  I've been pretending it's a bird.

I'm about ready to wring that bird's neck.

----------------------------------------

Embossing on the cover says to consult the unit's documentation for operating procedures, but of course the builder never left me any documentation, and once the check cleared, the builder became incommunicado - literally, his office closed.  (I heard he got sick.)  I could look up documentation online, except that the unit does not have the manufacturer's name anywhere on it.

I recall having this same problem when I replaced the batteries on the upstairs hall unit, and discovered that pushing the test button did reset it, but that didn't work this time.  The units don't look the same.

Leaving the battery out doesn't work, either.  It chirps anyway.  Every 20 seconds.
.

3828 Slammed #2

Monday, March 3, 2014

Second slam:  Back about February 18th I got a call from the fuel oil supplier for the country house saying that they couldn't get up the (300 foot uphill) driveway to deliver to the country house.  I contacted the Hairless Hunk, and he took over.

So this morning I hear from HH.  The oil guy tried to deliver late last week, but (HH just found out) was able to pump only 9 gallons when the intake pipe "overflowed".  Their conclusion is that the tank is still full from the early December delivery.

ACK!

(HH is suspicious of that because he went up and checked, and there's no evidence of overflow.)

Anyway, the country house apparently has no heat, and may not have had heat since, oh, early December, or maybe even before that.  Great.

Lots of possibilities:
The furnace is dead.
The power is out.
The fuel line is clogged.
Who knows.

I told HH there's no panic.  With the below 0 temps they've had almost all winter, if there's any damage, it's already happened.

The thermostat had been set at 50.  I had turned the well pump off, and opened the faucets in the bathtub and the kitchen sink to allow for expansion.  I THINK I had filled all the traps and toilets with antifreeze (but I'm not sure, and even so, who knows how long before it evaporates anyway).  To tell the truth, I had been slightly worried about sewer gas from the septic tank filling the house, and the damn place exploding at the first spark.

So I guess I have to go up there later this week and sort it out.  If there's any damage from frozen pipes, it will be no more than whatever water was sitting in the pipes, and fixing can wait for spring.  I can carry water for my stays.

If there's power, I can have heat while I'm there, because the otherwise defunct old heat pump has electric backup and I can run that.  Costs a fortune, but, well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.   If the house has already been without heat so long, it won't hurt to just turn it off when I leave.  What more could happen?

If there's no power, I'll stay overnight in a local motel and then just come home.  No way I can do anything about anything until spring if it's anything more than a tripped circuit breaker.

Bad bad bad winter.  Go away.

------------------------------------------

Note:  More evidence of my mistrust, according to the electric bill for the country house, it used 564 kwh in December and January, and the bill claims this is an actual reading.  If the furnace was off, all that's running is a dehumidifier in the basement and a refrigerator in the kitchen, and if there's been no heat, I doubt either has been running much.  But those are the same usage numbers as last year.  So either the power was on through December and January, or the electric company is inventing numbers.
.

3827 Slammed, #1

Monday, March 3, 2014

I got slammed twice this past week, plus one screaming meemie.

The first slam:  I received a letter from John Hancock, the providers of my Long-Term Care policy, stating that my annual premium would be increasing.

Shortly after Jay died Daughter informed me that she hoped I had a good LTC policy, because there was no way she could do for me what I had done for Jay.  I had no policy.  I knew that the older you are when you get one, the more expensive they are, so I got me one right away, well before I turned 60.  It's pretty much the gold standard, providing for everything from housekeeping help to full home nursing care, nursing home, whatever necessary.  It includes a 5% annual increase in daily limits (the maximum offered), and lifetime benefits.  It costs me $3,384.00 annually.

I had been hearing rumors that most LTC insurers were applying for premium increases.  Their actuaries had screwed up.  They'd figured that about half of the people who signed up for LTC policies would eventually let them lapse.  Well, that didn't happen.  Most, in fact, kept them, so now the insurance companies are looking at a huge balloon they didn't expect.

Most of what I'd read said that they were looking for anywhere from 15% to 45% increase, with some sources saying an average of 40%.  John Hancock says their increases will average 25%.   (One article:  http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20131111/FREE/131119992#.)  Insurers are not allowed to raise individual premiums.  By law, they have to raise premiums across the board for a class of policies. 

The letter I got assures me that my "class" has nothing to do with my age.  They did not otherwise deign to define the class for my edification.

My premiums will increase from $3,384.00 to $6,429.60, as of May 2, 2014, the due date of my next premium.  Ack!

This is a 90% increase!!!!!

Even if 90% weren't already ridiculous (average 25%?), I carefully budget and save to make that payment.  With the increase, I am now $3,100 short of making it.  A little more than 2 months notice would have been nice.  WTF!  I can pull from investments to make it up, but what about people who just plain can't pay that much?

I think John Hancock's actuaries will get their heart's desire.  A lot of people are going to drop their policies, even though they may have been paying on them for decades.

It's a 12 page letter.  I read only the first two pages and set it aside, because every time I looked at it I felt like I was going to throw up.  All day Friday and Saturday my stomach churned.  Finally, Sunday, I read the rest of it.  They give me several options that will reduce my increase, most of which involve reducing my benefits, like going from lifetime coverage to a set number of years, or setting a longer wait time of need before benefits kick in, and so on.

Then I found the magic key.  If I reduce the inflation number for the daily max benefit from the current 5% compound to 2.7% compound, my premium increase drops to 0%.  Nothing.  Same as before.

Duh?

That leaves me wondering now, if that's all it takes on a gold-standard policy, who in the rest of my class is contributing to that 25% average?  Something smells fishy here.  It's not adding up.

I'm supposed to return a form by the end of this month requesting that it be changed.  So that's what I have to do, I guess.

You know, when I bought this policy, I thought the premiums would never go up, since it was based on age and risk and what I'd asked for, and this is what they had figured their risk was for me.  One thing I had considered was investing that money earmarked for long-term care, but after running the numbers I figured insurance would actually end up providing more.  A lot of people buy LTC insurance and end up using very little of it (they die quick, I guess), so it still averages out as a win for the insurance companies.

Now I'm going to worry constantly.  There's no assurance that next year they won't try the same thing again.

----------------------------------------------

Just to show you how little faith I have in anyone anymore - in all the articles I had read about insurance companies raising premiums on LTC policies, they all said that the companies were applying for state board permission.  In none of them was there any indication that permission had actually been granted.

So what if they are subsequently not given permission to raise rates?  Will they still hold me to the lower inflation figure?
.

3826 My music so far

Wednesday, February 2014

"At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution,

once revealed, must seem to be inevitable."

 --Raymond Chandler--

---------------------------------------------------------------

I've been building my Pandora music channel.  The following list is what I've given the "thumbs up" (forgive the dates; I can't figure out an easy way to get rid of them), copied from the list kept by Pandora.  Of course, this isn't everything I like, just what Pandora has offered me so far. 

I've requested a few specific things that Pandora apparently does not "stock", like David Bowie's  Ground Control to Major Tom, and a few others I can't remember at the moment.  I also have a few Mid-eastern things I like, but no go (even though Pandora has oodles of African stuff).

Well, this is a start.

    Rocky Mountain High (Unplugged) (Live) by John Denver
    02-26-2014
    Homeward Bound (Live) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-26-2014
   You Can't Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones
    02-26-2014
    Hey Jude (Live) by Paul McCartney
    02-26-2014
    The Battle Of New Orleans(British Version) by Johnny Horton
    02-26-2014
    Here Comes The Sun (Live) by George Harrison
    02-26-2014
    I'll Follow The Sun by The Beatles
    02-26-2014
    I Call Your Name by The Mamas & The Papas
    02-26-2014
    Floating The Flambeau by Gaelic Storm
    02-26-2014
    Watermark by Enya
    02-26-2014
    Unchained Melody (1991 Version) by The Righteous Brothers
    02-26-2014
    My Girl by Otis Redding
    02-26-2014
    I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by The Four Tops
    02-26-2014
    Apache by Jorgen Ingmann
    02-26-2014
    Walk Don't Run by The String-A-Longs
    02-26-2014
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles
    02-26-2014
    Long Long Journey by Enya
    02-26-2014
    Copper Kettle (Live) by Joan Baez
    02-26-2014
    Let It Be (Live) by Paul McCartney
    02-26-2014
    Chain Of Fools (Unedited Version) by Aretha Franklin
    02-26-2014
    Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes
    02-26-2014
    Do You Love Me by The Contours
    02-26-2014
    Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash
    02-26-2014
    The Joker by Steve Miller Band
    02-26-2014
    Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream
    02-26-2014
    Jumping Jack Flash (With John Lennon's Introduction) (Live) by The Rolling Stones
    02-26-2014
    Homeward Bound (Live 1969) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-26-2014
    Sunshine On My Shoulders (Unplugged) (Live) by John Denver
    02-26-2014
    I'm Looking Through You by The Beatles
    02-26-2014
    Dream A Little Dream Of Me by The Mamas & The Papas
    02-26-2014
    Homeless by Kenyan Boys Choir
    02-26-2014
    Khawuleza, Hurry Mama Hurry! by Miriam Makeba
    02-26-2014
    What A Wonderful World (2007) by Israel 'IZ' Kamakawiwo'ole
    02-26-2014
    Conditional by Tracy Chapman
    02-26-2014
    Piney Wood Hills by Buffy Sainte-Marie
    02-26-2014
    Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) by The Beatles
    02-26-2014
    Dedicated To The One I Love by The Mamas & The Papas
    02-26-2014
    The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) (Live 1969) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-26-2014
    North To Alaska by Johnny Horton
    02-26-2014
    Let It Be (Live At New York City) by Paul McCartney
    02-26-2014
    Leaving On A Jet Plane (Unplugged) (Live) by John Denver
    02-26-2014
    Mama Said by The Shirelles
    02-26-2014
    Dawn by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
    02-26-2014
    Brian Wilson by Barenaked Ladies
    02-26-2014
    The Retreat Song by Miriam Makeba
    02-26-2014
    Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Live) by The Band & Bob Dylan
    02-26-2014
    The Ballad Of The Devil's Backbone Tavern (Live) by Todd Snider
    02-26-2014
    Mbube by Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds
    02-26-2014
    Guiss Guiss by Cheikh Lo
    02-26-2014
    Jho Avido by Dobet Gnahore
    02-26-2014
    The Three Bells by The Browns
    02-26-2014
    Let It Be by The Beatles
    02-26-2014
    A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation) by Marty Robbins
    02-26-2014
    You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' by The Righteous Brothers
    02-26-2014
    The Sound Of Silence (Live) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-26-2014
    Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival
    02-26-2014
    Go Where You Wanna Go by The Mamas & The Papas
    02-26-2014
    Ventures' Medley: Lullaby Of The Leaves / Walk, Don't Run / Perfidia by The Belairs
    02-26-2014
    Top Eliminator by The Darts
    02-26-2014
    Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel
    02-24-2014
    Bad Moon Rising (Live At The Wiltern Theater) by John Fogerty
    02-24-2014
    Funny How Time Slips Away by Ricky Nelson
    02-24-2014
    The Sound Of Silence (Live 1969) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-24-2014
    Blackbird by The Beatles
    02-24-2014
    Respect by Aretha Franklin
    02-24-2014
    Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season) (Live) by Judy Collins
    02-24-2014
    Scarborough Fair / Canticle (Live 1969) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-24-2014
    Blowin' In The Wind (Live) by Judy Collins
    02-24-2014
    The Wanderer by Dion
    02-24-2014
    It Always Will Be by Willie Nelson
    02-24-2014
    Good Hearted Woman by Waylon Jennings
    02-24-2014
    Hey Good Lookin' by Johnny Cash
    02-24-2014
    Stand By Me by Ben E. King
    02-24-2014
    Lonely Bull by The Challengers
    02-24-2014
    Mary Hamilton by Joan Baez
    02-24-2014
    I Say A Little Prayer by Aretha Franklin
    02-24-2014
    Reels: The Trip To Derrow / The Traveller / St. Anne's Reel by Barry Dransfield
    02-24-2014
    You've Got A Friend (Live) by James Taylor
    02-24-2014
    Blowing In The Wind (Live 1976) by Joan Baez
    02-24-2014
    Don't Be Cruel by Elvis Presley
    02-24-2014
    Can't Help Falling In Love by Chris Isaak
    02-24-2014
    I Feel Fine by The Beatles
    02-24-2014
    City Of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie
    02-24-2014
    The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Live) by The Band
    02-24-2014
    Nienafing by Rokia Traore
    02-24-2014
    Torin Torin by Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
    02-24-2014
    The Click Song by Miriam Makeba
    02-24-2014
    Watermelon Man (1962) by Herbie Hancock
    02-24-2014
    District Six (Live) by Hugh Masekela
    02-24-2014
    Come Together by The Beatles
    02-24-2014
    Homeward Bound (Live In Central Park) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-24-2014
    Tomorrow Is A Long Time by Judy Collins
    02-24-2014
    The Bargain Store by Dolly Parton
    02-24-2014
    I Walk The Line by Johnny Cash
    02-24-2014
    A Good Hearted Woman (Live) by Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
    02-24-2014
    Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys by Willie Nelson
    02-24-2014
    Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival
    02-24-2014
    Java by Al Hirt
    02-24-2014
    Fire And Rain by James Taylor
    02-24-2014
    Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens
    02-24-2014
    Tears On My Pillow by Little Anthony
    02-24-2014
    Denise by Randy & The Rainbows
    02-24-2014
    Down On The Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival
    02-24-2014
    Creeque Alley by The Mamas & The Papas
    02-24-2014
    Light My Fire by The Doors
    02-24-2014
    Take Good Care Of My Baby by Dion
    02-24-2014
    Silhouettes by Rays
    02-24-2014
    Since I Don't Have You by The Skyliners
    02-24-2014
    Sleep Walk by Santo & Johnny
    02-24-2014
    Come Go With Me (Master) by The Del-Vikings
    02-24-2014
    Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers
    02-24-2014
    Motorcycle (Significance Of The Pickle) Song (Live) by Arlo Guthrie
    02-24-2014
    Up On Cripple Creek by The Band
    02-24-2014
    Statistician's Blues (Live) by Todd Snider
    02-24-2014
    Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) by Jim Croce
    02-24-2014
    In My Life by The Beatles
    02-24-2014
    So Early, Early In The Spring by Judy Collins
    02-24-2014
    My Country Tis Of Thy Peo by Buffy Sainte-Marie
    02-24-2014
    An Gabhar Ban by Clannad
    02-24-2014
    Maid Behind The Bar / Sligo Maid / The Green Mountain by Craig Duncan And The Smoky Mountain Band
    02-24-2014
    It Ain't Me Babe by Joan Baez
    02-24-2014
    Wild World by Cat Stevens
    02-23-2014
    Blackbird / Yesterday (Love Version) by The Beatles
    02-23-2014
    Up Around The Bend by Creedence Clearwater Revival
    02-23-2014
    With God On Our Side (Live) by Joan Baez
    02-23-2014
    Scarborough Fair/ Canticle by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-23-2014
    Imagine by John Lennon
    02-23-2014
    The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia by Reba McEntire
    02-23-2014
    Stand By Your Man by Tammy Wynette
    02-23-2014
    If I Were A Carpenter (feat. June Carter Cash) by Johnny Cash
    02-23-2014
    Sweet Sir Galahad by Joan Baez
    02-23-2014
    American Pie by Don McLean
    02-23-2014
    A-Quiet Tear (Lagrima Quieta) by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
    02-23-2014
    Dunlap's Creek by Anonymous 4
    02-23-2014
    Tempus Adventus: Populus Sion by Gregorian Chant For Seasons Of The Year
    02-23-2014
    Time Of The Season by Guess Who
    02-23-2014
    The House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals
    02-23-2014
    She's Not There by The Zombies
    02-23-2014
    Until It's Time For You To Go by Buffy Sainte-Marie
    02-23-2014
    Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles
    02-23-2014
    9 To 5 (Live From London) by Dolly Parton
    02-23-2014
    Jackson (Live) by Johnny Cash
    02-23-2014
    Alley Cat by Bent Fabric & His Piano
    02-23-2014
    Highway Chile by Jimi Hendrix
    02-23-2014
    I Will Always Love You (Live) by Dolly Parton
    02-23-2014
    Harper Valley P.T.A. by Jeannie C. Riley
    02-23-2014
    I Saw Her Again Last Night by The Mamas & The Papas
    02-23-2014
    Time Of The Season by The Zombies
    02-23-2014
    When I'm Sixty-Four by The Beatles
    02-23-2014
    I Got A Name by Jim Croce
    02-23-2014
    Night Comes On by Judy Collins
    02-23-2014
    The Boxer (Live 1969) by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-23-2014
    For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield
    02-23-2014
    Suzanne (Live 1976) by Joan Baez
    02-23-2014
    Killing Me Softly With His Song by Roberta Flack
    02-23-2014
    Cat's In The Cradle by Harry Chapin
    02-23-2014
    Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles
    02-23-2014
    Veni, Sancte Spiritus, Motet For 6 Parts (Doubtful): Veni Sancte Spiritus by Josquin Desprez
    02-23-2014
    Poison Glen by Clannad
    02-23-2014
    The Maid That Sold Her Barley by Deanta
    02-23-2014
    Caribbean Blue by Enya
    02-23-2014
    Harvest Moon Jig by Aine Minogue
    02-23-2014
    It's All Wrong, But It's All Right by Dolly Parton
    02-23-2014
    I Walk The Line (Overdubbed) by Johnny Cash
    02-23-2014
    This Time by Waylon Jennings
    02-23-2014
    Welfare LIne by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson
    02-23-2014
    On The Road Again (Live From Austin, TX) by Willie Nelson
    02-23-2014
    I'm Yours / Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Straight No Chaser
    02-23-2014
    Save Us All by Tracy Chapman
    02-23-2014
    Walk Away by Ben Harper
    02-23-2014
    It's All Been Done by Barenaked Ladies
    02-23-2014
    Roll To Me by Del Amitri
    02-23-2014
    Gospel Ship (Live) by Joan Baez
    02-23-2014
    The Sound Of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel
    02-23-2014
    Prudentia Prudentium, Gloria: Gloria: Prudentia Prudentium by Gregorian Chant
    02-23-2014
    On The Road Again (Willie Nelson & Family) (Live) by Willie Nelson & Friends
    02-23-2014
    Have You Ever Seen The Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival
    02-23-2014
    Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin
    02-23-2014
    The Burning Of The Midnight Lamp (BBC Sessions) by Jimi Hendrix
    02-23-2014
    Down To The River To Pray (Live) by Alison Krauss & Union Station
    02-23-2014
    Newgrange by Celtic Woman
    02-23-2014
    People Are Strange by The Doors
    02-23-2014
    Something / Blue Jay Way (Transition) (Love Version) by The Beatles
    02-23-2014
    Hotel California by Eagles
    02-23-2014
    Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World by Israel 'IZ' Kamakawiwo'ole
    02-23-2014
    One Week by Barenaked Ladies
    02-23-2014
    Run-around by Blues Traveler
    02-23-2014
    Yesterday by The Beatles
    02-23-2014
    First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack
    02-23-2014
    Suzanne by Joan Baez
    02-23-2014
.

3825 Blogs Coming Back!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

"Criminal: A person with predatory instincts

who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation."

 --Howard Scott --

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Blogs had been dropping like flies, as people's lives changed, or they moved to Twitter or Facebook.  I have a lot of sites I follow on feed lists, and as blogs tapered off, I just left them on the feeds list. Just in case, you know?

Well, in the past three weeks, four of my old favorites, unheard from in like two or three years, suddenly showed up in my reader!  Wow!

The brilliant young lady in Iraq has finished her studies and is now an (unemployed) engineer.  I can't wait to hear what she does next.  The slyly humorous bachelor somewhere in the mid-east seemed to have found the love of his life and dropped away a few years ago - and now he seems to be single again. I can't wait to see if he's perhaps wiser.

And so on.

I wonder why suddenly now?  It has awakened my curiosity about others.  Will the Arkansas teacher be back?  How about the lesbian drummer?  Or the Wisconsin gal who finally got her man?  Or the gay furry with the fascinating mind?  Will the American married to the Irani and living in Iran ever be back?  Will we ever hear again from the handyman with all the beasties?  Or the slob who managed to get her followers to send her gifts and money with all her sob stories - which infuriated me because half the stories were unbelievable, half were her own damn stupidity if true, many were copied from elsewhere, and half the pictures she posted as her own were straight out of magazines or off the internet (did she really not know people could use Google to find where she stole from?), and yet people SENT HER GIFTS!  And if anyone tried to call her on any of her shit, her sycophants would viciously attack to defend her.  Even though she infuriated me, I followed her bog because I just couldn't believe it.

One thing I like about following the blogs of others is that it illustrates so well how different the lives of other people are, how differently they think.
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3824 Confused

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

"Nothing can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man

who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own."

 --Sidney J. Harris--

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Confusing snow.  All the weather sites said "light flurries", and "total accumulation 1 inch or less."  A half hour ago, there was (were?) already three inches, and it was coming down fast and  heavy, big clumpy blobs, and I was rapidly losing the will to live.  Now, precipitation has stopped, the sun is out, the road has melted clear, and there's maybe an inch of new stuff left on the ground in shaded spots.

I don't understand.

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PeaPod is wonderful!  It keeps track of my prior orders, including stuff I bought on trips to the Stop & Shop, so all I have to do is check off stuff I want more of.  Delivery is slightly less than $7 (except that as a new customer, I get several weeks of free delivery) plus an optional tip for the driver, and I consider it worth that.  Daughter wondered if the items cost more, but I compared some old register strips to the PeaPod online prices, and they are pretty much the same.  Pistachios are cheaper, canned soup seems to run a few cents more, and so on.  In the aggregate it looks like no real difference in cost.

The only problem is that they don't have everything I would buy in the store.  Like they don't have the Quaker granola cereal, or Stacy's pita chips in the flavors I like.  I suspect they "PeaPod" only the most popular of the brands and flavors.

-----------------------------------------

I just noticed that my minivan is blue!  I've had it for 13 years.  When I bought it, it was a strange color mid-way between dark green and blue.  Half the people asked described it as green, half as blue.  I described it as blue-green.  But now, "suddenly", it's definitely dark blue.  Not even a hint of green.  Weird.
.

3823 Evolution?

Monday, February 24, 2014

Just because there are questions doesn't mean there are answers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday morning I torqued up Pandora for the first time in ages, first time on this laptop.  I set up a channel and primed it with things like Barenaked Ladies, Simon & Garfunkle, Buffy Saint-Marie, Dolly Parton, Don McLean, Mommas and Poppas, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, a bunch of Irish stuff, and a slew of stuff from my youth.  Then I actively clicked "like" or "dislike" on what Pandora selected, to make sure Pandora had a wide sample of my taste to work from.

It started out pretty good, but oddly, after about 20 hours of play, Pandora has pretty much evolved (devolved?) to Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, and Johnny Cash, one after another, with occasional side excursions into other stuff I like (and don't like, e.g. trumpet instrumentals (ugh!) and Frank Sinatra (ugh ugh!!) thrown in.  Duh?)

I don't understand.  Yeah, I like Willie, Garth, and Johnny, but good grief!  Not exclusively!  And how many times do I have to click "dislike" on Sinatra and jazz before they get the idea?

Pandora's algorithms need some work.

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After something like four or five days of balmy sunny days rising into the forties and fifties, almost all the snow is melting away.  I actually had a surge of energy, got out and did some stuff.

Today we have been cast down again.  It's 36 F, and there's a strong nasty wind out of the north that actually hurts.  Oh well, not much longer now....

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LATER:  Ok, I figured out why Pandora keeps sending me Jazz and trumpets.  I've been clicking "Like" on everything from Hugh Masekela.  Check out "District Six".  Masekela isn't your usual jazz.
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