2556 It's Meetup, damn it! Not Hookup!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Definition: Perfluxity - the feeling that
you are drowning in a sea of information.

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

I joined several Meetup groups, mostly travel, movie, and dinner groups. They are just to get out and meet up with some people to do things as a group. There ARE Meetup groups specifically for singles, for the purpose of meeting and exploring romantic possibilities, but that's not what I'm there for, and not the groups I joined.

Some guys seem confused. I've been getting regular mash notes and invitations from strange men. They can look at your profile and see your picture and what groups you've signed up for. One guy noticed I'd joined a few travel groups, so he wrote (through the site) and suggested that he take me somewhere for a weekend. Another has invited me to a movie in Rhinebeck (the next village down) - even though he lives in Manhattan. One young man in Albany, in his early 20s, invited me to go dancing. And so on.

Hey, guys - it's not an online dating site! What makes you think I'm looking to hook up? In fact, in my profile, I included a photo of me with The Man.

A more subtle way to approach it, if you see someone interesting, would be to watch what meetups they RSVP for, and then go to the same meetup. That way you meet in a group. Introduce yourself. Chat. See if she or he is open to overtures. Then maybe something might develop.

Some people might see that as stalking, I guess. I don't.
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2555 Near Panic in the Schools, and other things

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Gandhi: There is enough for everyone's need,
but not enough for everyone's greed.

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

I don't understand why anyone would volunteer for the foul and inexcusable abuse dished out on "Hell's Kitchen".

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

School's about to start, and it seems that many of them are going a bit overboard with the swine flu craze. Some have washed down the entire building(s) and contents with bleach. Many colleges have done the same, especially with the dorms. (I wonder if they replaced mattresses?) They plan to pass out hand wipes, and at the first sign of illness anywhere, they plan to cancel all gatherings, including athletic events and concerts. (Will the colleges close down the large lecture halls?)

The swine flu may spread easier than the usual seasonal flu, but from what I've read, it is actually less dangerous than seasonal.

So I have to wonder whether all these precautions are to protect students from swine flu, or to protect the school from lawsuits if one student dies. "Well, we did everything we could...."

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

All day yesterday and today I've had thoughts of crawling into bed. I feel so tired, but I know if I lie down I'll feel worse when I get up. Maybe I'm a little depressed.

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

Tuesday and Wednesday I rebelled, and ate carrot cake! And pulled pork quesadilla! With cheese! And sour cream! And I ate ice cream! (Sugar free.) And a spelt pecan cookie! And a handful of yogurt-covered raisins! I was very bad. But at least I watched quantity, and spread it out over time. Many small badnesses each day.

I got up this morning and I've lost another pound. I suspect this is NOT what the gypsy meant (in her comment) when she said I had to change something to get past the plateau.

I don't understand.
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2554 The concert I didn't go to

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Definition, from "Something to Talk About": Poison - homeopathic aversion therapy.

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

This just in - photo of the Bethel grounds. I didn't go to the 40th anniversary concert because I would have been alone, and I was convinced I'd never find the "turquoise"-ish tarp and the rest of the group (especially given that I knew none of them personally), and I didn't want to be alone. I think I was right.

Anyone see a turquiose tarp there?
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2553 Evening plans (I wish)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

W. Somerset Maugham: My own belief is that
there is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast,
would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror.

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

I'm going to dinner and a play in Albany this evening. The above quote does not apply to the evening.

I don't I agree with Mr. Maugham's belief, by the way. It probably does apply to me, I've got quite a surprising and horrifying history from the viewpoint of the average person, but I suspect that's true of relatively few people, actually. Most people putter through their sexual life in a very quiet and conventional way.

I guess whether you'd find something surprising and horrifying depends on your own experiences. If your total life experience consists of one or two partners, tops, one or two times a month, and always missionary, then even the average person's sex life might be shocking to you.

How one interprets anything one looks at comes down to one's own experiences, expectations, and definitions.

Poor Mr. Maugham.
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2552 Getting Discouraged

Monday, August 17, 2009

Laugh, and the world laughs with you.
Laugh hysterically for no apparent reason, and
they’ll leave you alone.

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

Today is the two-month anniversary of beginning the weight-loss regimen. I lost 10 pounds the first month or so, and just 2 more since. I'm still getting fewer than 900 calories per day, and I'm walking at least three times a week. I don't think it can be explained by building muscles. The measurements haven't changed much either.

Today I discovered one of those diabetic dinners in the freezer, so I stuck it in the oven. It's a vegetable patty, carrots, and green beans. When I took the cover off, I was shocked by how much food was in the tray. I'm going to eat half of it now, and maybe the other half for "dessert" later instead of the Nutrisystem dessert.

My judgment of how much food should be on a plate has changed. Restaurant meals always looked large to me anyway - now they look ridiculous. I no longer lust after the candies, chips, and cakes in the gas station. In fact, I look around and curl my nose, "All trash! How unhealthy! Why can't they have any good snacks?" (It's because they probably wouldn't sell.)

Market forces and capitalism conspire to create obesity and diabetic complications.

Which reminds me - something I read recently. When "they" give the mortality rates for various conditions and diseases, many of them were not what is reported, but are actually the result of diabetes. Like, my father's death would have been reported as a heart attack. But the heart had likely been destroyed first by diabetes. A lot of deaths credited to organ failures, circulatory problems including embolisms, and even accidental falls, are actually deaths due to diabetes.

(No, I don't have diabetes. Not yet, anyway.)
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2551 Medicare premium panic abates

Sunday, August 16, 2009

He was born on third base and decided he had hit a triple.

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

The link in Wondering Woman's comment on my post about the letter I got from the SSA said that they used 2007's income in figuring the premium, not 2008, as I thought. The letter was in the car, so I checked it, and yeah, it's 2007.

That feels a lot better. I know what happened now, and I might be able to convince the SSA that it was unusual.

2007 was the third and final year in the plan to move my savings from individual stocks to tax-free bonds and mutual funds. I sold a lot of old stocks, much of which had split five to eight times since I'd started buying them in the sixties, which resulted in huge capital gains. That's not likely to ever happen again, now that everything is settled down, as the 2008 returns should show.

So thank you, Wondering Woman. There's a short window for appealing, and left to my own misreading, I'd have missed it.
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2549 Explain it to me

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Swedish proverb: God gives every bird his worm,
but He does not throw it into the nest.

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

Sunday morning TV news. Folks at "town hall" meetings on health care, protesting, carrying signs, getting loud and angry. People interviewed on the street saying they don't want the government deciding who is worthy of treatment, who lives or dies, letting older people go.

I don't understand.

That's not how it would work, but even if it were, are they really saying that rather than decisions based on outlook, probabilities, and statistics (which are what a good doctor uses anyway), they prefer that decisions (often overruling doctor's recommendations) be made by insurance companies whose first priority is profit?

I really really don't understand what those people are thinking.

I DO understand the motives of those thinking FOR them.
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2548 My world is a compost heap.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

George Orwell: The past belongs to those who control the present.

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

I never actually made a decision whether to go to the concert or not, but it is now 11:55 am, and I didn't dress and get out the door a half hour ago, so I guess I'm not going. And I'm not upset about my having lost track of time, despite having been up at 7, so I guess that's ok by me. Shrug.

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

We've had so much rain this summer - well, not so much in quantity, more like constant drizzle then clouds so the prior drizzle didn't dry up before the next starts - anyway, so much that the ground is constantly moist. I opened the front door on the first sunny day in ages, a few days ago, and was struck by the smell.

Everything on the forest floor is rotting. Leaves and twigs and branches that take years to decompose are all rotting all at once. It's a deep, dark brown, loamy smell, with overtones of garbage pail and mold.

I have, or had, no strong allergies. Spring pollen irritates my sinuses, but not enough to call it an allergy. But I think maybe I may be allergic to mold. I've had sinus headaches and a slightly sore throat for a few weeks now (that high curtain at the top back of the throat, on either side of the uvula - is that where my tonsils are?), and a lot of back-of-the-throat phlegm that has me coughing every time I leave the house.

It feels a lot like April 1999, when the house in Highland was flooded by a burst hot water pipe, which also filled the house with steam, and by the time we discovered it there was mold everywhere including the ceilings, and actual toadstools and mushrooms growing on the carpets. I had this same feeling in my throat during the several weeks it took me to sort and decide what of the contents could be cleaned and saved and what had to be discarded. (The house, by the way, was gutted, leaving only the exterior studs and floor joists, which had to be washed with bleach.)

On the upside, I've heard that the wild mushroom crop this year is spectacular.
.

2547 Illusion

Friday, August 14, 2009

On abstract art: The subject is limited, and there's no emotional connection.

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

It's interesting that the above quotation floated up in the 8-ball for this post. I met Nat in Wappingers today, and rode with him to Cold Spring, where we met Angie for lunch. Modern art was a topic of conversation on the ride.

Anyway, I found this optical illusion:There are four complete and perfectly round circles, and they are not interlinked or crossing. (It's all over the internet, at Switched, and Digg, and a few blogs, and I don't know where it started, so I didn't credit it.)
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2546 To go or not to go, that is the question.

Friday, August 14, 2009

There are a lot of people who like to be told what to think.
They are more dangerous than the people who tell them.

Oops. And here I am asking for advice.
---------------------------

I have a ticket to the 40th anniversary concert, "BETHEL WOODS MUSIC FESTIVAL starring Heroes of Woodstock", tomorrow. The groups appearing include Levon Helm Band, Jefferson Starship, Ten Years After, Canned Heat, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Mountain, Tom Constanten and Country Joe McDonald.

When I bought the ticket on line a few weeks ago, I didn't think it was going to be that big a deal. Lawn tickets were only $19 (about $31 after Ticketmaster added their ripoffs). There are a group of 40 of us who are to meet there.

Over the past week I have been getting one email after another from the organizer of our group, and from the concert organizers, and I'm getting more and more worried. Rule after rule, warning after warning.

It will take me about two hours to get from here to there, with normal traffic. The organizers warn that traffic approaching the grounds will be heavy and slow, and they advise that you get to the parking lot as early as possible after it opens at 2 pm. The gates to the grounds open at 3 pm, and "you should get in line early to avoid long lines". (The concert starts at 5 pm.)

Buses will be arriving from pickup points around the state.

What are the chances drivers and people in line will be courteous and thoughtful?

You can take in only two unopened bottles of water (for many hours in sun and heat?) and a blanket or towel to sit on. Oh, and lots of money to buy their food and water and rent chairs - all at reasonable prices, of course.

Once through the gate, if you must leave (like you forgot something in the car) you WILL NOT be allowed back in. Period. No excuses accepted.

I was getting more and more negative about this.

Then the kicker came today. How does our group find each other? Should we meet up just inside the gate? The organizer and her friend have notified us that they will have a "sort of turquoise green tarp, and will spread it out in the middle of the field in front of the stage". "look for the tarp."

Uh, I'm not arriving by helicopter.

This is looking hairier and hairier. I'm thinking about just not going at all. I wouldn't be so negative if I had someone to go with. None of the others in the group live within 40 minutes of me, and I'd be heading southwest, while most of them will head northwest or west. So I'm pretty far out of the way.

Anyone have an opinion? (Oh, yeah, the ticket has my name on it and ID is required, so no, it isn't useful to overnight it to you. And no, I'm not a fan of any of the groups. And if everyone stands up, I won't see much of anything, even if we're on a slope.)

I think I'll find something else to do tomorrow.
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2545 Another medicare shock

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Little girls grow up to be women.
Little boys grow up to be ... big boys.

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

I received a letter from the Social Security Administration yesterday, in reference to Medicare. They say that the amount I pay each month for medicare is based on my income level, and that they get those figures from the IRS. The total that they use includes income from all sources, including tax-free income.

When I read the number they had for my total 2008 income, I about fell over. It's at least 60% higher than I was aware of. I'll be paying a small fortune for Medicare.

I stopped by Piper's office today to ask him to please check it against his records and explain it to me. He has a lot of my investments in tax-free bonds, and he rolls over the interest from those bonds into new bonds, so I never really see it, never get to touch or use it, unless I specifically ask him to cut me a check. It's probably reported on those back addenda of the return, the pages I don't look at very carefully, because they don't matter to the IRS bottom line. I'm also aware that late last year he moved a lot of my stock out of "dangerous waters" into safer areas, so I suspect there were capital gains I never actually had that I could use, but that the SSA is counting.

He wasn't in. Perhaps I'll catch him tomorrow. I guess I'm going to have to pay more attention to what's going on.

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

Tonight I'm going to a lawn concert in Sugar Loaf, about an hour and a half southeast of here. The weather is iffy, but I'm going anyway. I'll take an umbrella. If it does rain, I suspect the group will relocate to a restaurant or bar down the road, so it won't be a complete waste of a drive. (Although, on my current diet, a restaurant or bar is a complete waste on ME.)
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2544 Robots. Just how functional are they?

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Explanations are interpreted at the level and understanding
of the listener, not the speaker.

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

Boston.com's Big Picture set today is on the current advances in robotics, from military to fun to humanoid. Asian developers seem to be fascinated by female humanoid robots.

I can understand that if you want a robot to "man" a reception desk, or serve drinks, or putter around the house, you'd want it to have some semblance of a face to interact with, and hands would be needed to use things designed for humans, but, uh, why does it need humongous breasts? At eye-level?
It's not like it will be nursing baby robots. And the "male-form" robots don't have interesting bulges for us ladies to peruse.

Unfair. And silly. And so so typical of humans.
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2543 A thought

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Computers have raised writing to a new low.

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

A few days ago I noted that health care doesn't seem like an area where profit should be the main determinant. Consider this: what incentive do pharmaceutical companies have to develop cures? That would be killing the golden goose.

Same for energy policy. What incentive do energy providers have to discover or promote more efficient machines, generators, or batteries?

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

I sent The Man some advice today: "Don't walk behind the elephant."

I got back a two word reply: "Too late."

I'm wondering, but I know he'll be too busy to explain until next week. Besides, I think he likes being mysterious.

Like I said - frustrating.
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2542 Typhoon Photos

Monday, August 10, 2009

Heat, pressure, time.
The same things that make a diamond also make a waffle.

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

Terrifically devastating typhoon in southeast Asia, over the past few days and today. 100 inches of rain. Wind. Battering waves. Flood. Amazing photos at Boston.com. Go. Look. Be grateful. See comments #12 and #19 under the photos at Boston.com.


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2541 Dressing, or Overdressing?

Monday, August 10, 2009

Originality is the fine art of remembering what you heard,
but forgetting where you heard it.

(I forget where I heard this.)
-------------------------------------

Many people have told me that they like the way I dress. Guys tell me I dress "touchably", but not flashily or provocatively.

I like loose clothing that I can move in. My favorite slacks (many pairs in black, and one each in the few other colors they come in) are a smooth knit with lycra, loose and flowing, swinging to brush the calf. I don't care for cotton or demin on my legs, because my legs are so very short, and by the time I get a non-stretch fabric loose enough to not constrict, my legs look even more stumpy. The few jeans I have are fake demin - stretchy with lycra.

I currently have no short skirts. They're all long, ankle or below, because I don't like to show my short muscular legs.

I almost never wear T-shirts because the high round neckline does not flatter my face. I wear knit tops, but with V, turtle, or scoop necks. I prefer micro-knit to cotton because they're silkier and feel good. I wear kurtas, because they are beautiful and loose. I have a very few button-front shirts/blouses, and those I do have are dressy, and I wear them open over a shell, like a light jacket. I have a problem finding them to fit, because my bust is way out of proportion to my shoulders, and if I size them to button, the shoulder seam is halfway down my short arms to the elbow, or if it's sleeveless, the armhole is huge. Looks awful.

(I do have some grungies - cotton knit pants, a pair of baggy jeans, some of Jay's old shirts, some Ts - but I almost never wear them off my property. Just ain't gonna happen.)

So, what's the problem?

The same guys who tell me they love the way I dress (women rarely say anything) also tell me I always overdress. The Man once asked me, "Don't you have any ordinary shirts?" Well, no, I don't. We'll go to karaoke in a bar, and all the other females there are wearing jeans and T-shirts or cotton blouses, and I'm wearing my black silky slacks and a hand-painted silk kurta. I don't feel out of place, because for me, that's ordinary attire, equivalent in my mind to their jeans. Being dressed perhaps more "nicely" doesn't make me stiff or stuck up. I bounce around and have just as much fun.

It's not like I'm overly concerned about appearance. I rarely wear makeup these days, can't remember the last time I set my hair, and don't polish any nails. I just like to wear pretty and comfortable things, and I do believe that what you choose to wear reflects your level of respect for the places you go and the people you're with.

I see guests on daytime TV talk shows, and I wonder, "Did they know they'd be on TV today?" I've seen people going to church on Sunday in clothes I would wear to paint the kitchen. To me, this seems disrespectful.

But then, I come from an era when women wore a hat and gloves to church, and even to visit the neighbor's kitchen for coffee. The year I started college (1962) was the first year gloves were not required in the dining hall at dinner. We were still required to wear skirts, stockings, and high heels. To dinner. In the college cafeteria.

Things have changed.
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2540 Photos from around the village

Monday, August 10, 2009

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
(When all else fails, play dead.)

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

Photos from some recent walks.

A squirrel on the fence around the village parking lot. He'd been lying there stretched out with all four legs hanging straight down, and his chin on the boards. He tensed up when he saw me watching him, but until then he was the epitome of laziness.

I liked the way the roots of this tree looked like lava pouring over the sidewalk.

This is a tree root bulging out of the ground, and full of water and grass clippings in the hollow. When the TV weatherman reminds people to dump standing water to keep mosquitoes down, I think of this. Yeah, we've had a lot of rain.
I fell in love with these whatever-they-ares in the lot of a business. Three clumps of some kind of grass-like plant. Not bamboo, though. They are over six feet tall. I'd love to have a clump on either side of the bottom of my driveway.
Closer, this is what they looked like at the base:
Anyone know what this purple flower is? I like it.
I like this stuff, too.
End of walk.
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2539 Remembering the bad things

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Josh Billings: "There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory."

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

In the movie I saw last Tuesday, the young man is hurting from the breakup, and his little sister advises him that to get over a lost love, you don't dwell on the good things, you try to remember the bad things.

Yeah. When we're in the midst of an infatuation, we see all the good and push away the bad.

I did that with Roman. He's got a lot of good points, but he's also got a lot of bad, and when I was too close to him, I saw only the good. That's why now, when the unacceptable situation that drove me away is gone, done, no longer an issue, I know that I'll never get back with him in that way again, because now I see him clearly. I still like him and count him as a friend, but no longer a partner candidate.

I know this happens with The Man, too. I feel wonderful when I'm with him. He's so strong and smart and protective, funny, fast, and physically impressive, and, well, other stuff. That wonderful feeling lasts about ten days. So if I see him at a minimum of every two weeks, I stay high.

When we head into three weeks, though, I start to see all the problems. He's covered in red flags. So many in fact that I wonder why he continues to see me, it's just all wrong, and then I get paranoid.

Today marks seven weeks since I've seen him. A date was canceled about 5.5 weeks ago and not rescheduled. Although I'm a little hurt that I'm not a higher priority than what he's doing, I know what's going on, and I understand, and I hope he succeeds, so that's not the problem. We have been keeping in touch. Just not literally touching.

The problem is that with such a (relatively) long separation, I'm beginning to forget the good. The red flags are flapping, and I'm wondering what I'm doing with him and why. I'm beginning to think that if I never saw him again, that might be a good thing, and I wouldn't be too broken up about it at all.

And then I look at the other men available to me, and I get depressed.

He has awakened parts of me I didn't know I had, and I never want to be put to sleep again.
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2538 Strength, Power

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Plants are living things too - they're just easier to catch and you can’t hear them scream.

(For all my vegetarian friends.)

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

Kim Komando's video of the day is an amazing pair of acrobats, known as Golden Power, from the International Circus Festival of Budapest. To quote Kim: "This type of acrobatics is known as Hand Balancing. The men essentially use each other as gymnastic equipment. They are amazingly strong and graceful. And each stunt is better than the last."

Um - if you watch the video in the blog, rather than through a reader or aggregator, you might want to turn the music off over there on the left. "Alice's Restaurant" really doesn't add to the performance....


[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYpUs87ha0w]
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2537 Movie

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Me: "Time is like a sausage skin. It has no set length of its own.
How long or short it is depends on what it's filled with."

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

Last night I saw "Ray", the movie for which Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles. I hadn't seen it when it came out.

The movie was very good. I recommend it. The music alone was worth it.

I watched it in a private home theater, about 40 minutes upriver. Twelve foot screen, seven black leather recliners. Surround sound. Nobody crackling cellophane or crunching candy in your ear.

It was just the host, Chris, and me, but it was ok, his wife and children were elsewhere in the house. I don't understand, but that's ok. He said that usually there are a few neighbors who turn up, but not last night.

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

I mentioned to Chris that I had joined several dinner and movie Meetup groups in the Kingston and Poughkeepsie areas, that many of them had been active for two or more years with 200 or more members, but that in just the past two months, several of them had lost organizers and no one would step up to take over.

He mentioned that it costs to run a Meetup group, and some people just get tired of paying the subscription fees. Members don't pay, but the organizer does.

I went out to the website this morning and looked up the fees to start and maintain a group. There are a couple fee structures, and I don't understand the difference between them, but just as an example, one is $19 a month.

At not one of the meetups I attended has the organizer mentioned a fee, although they are allowed to request a membership fee or attendance contribution if they wish. (An Albany dinner group I joined yesterday, but haven't been to yet, was the first - she asks for a $2 donation at the first event you attend.)

Now I wonder why any of them take on the role of organizer. Not only is it work and a pain, but it COSTS!
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2536 Nuthin'

Friday, August 7, 2009

There can’t be sin without knowledge.

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

Nothing day. The outside temperature was 75 F, but for some reason it felt terribly hot to me, so I didn't do any walking. It was 75 in the house, too, but it felt cool in here. Must have been the sun. And humidity.

Mostly I spent the day moving old emails from the AOL archives to my new Gmail id. Mostly from The Man. Naturally, I had to read them all as I transferred them - all 4000 or so from over the past 2.3 years. I've been reading them over the past several days. We've used email like other people use instant message, I guess.

I do love his mind, it's been fascinating reading, but he's also the most frustrating person I've ever known, so it's also been a rollercoaster read.
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2535 More sighs

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Pardoning the bad is injuring the good.

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

Quotes from soccer players that were interviewed:

1. Yes, the final score was 1-1, but it could have just as well gone the other way.

2. Soccer requires strategy. It's just like chess, but without the dice.
.

2534 Sigh

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Consensus is a political concept, not a scientific one.

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

A random “favorite quote” in a random Facebook profile:
“dont lsn 2 the 99 ppl who say ur useless n lsn to the 1 prsn who says u r”

I lost 30 IQ points just copying that over to here.
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2533 So good to be bad

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Bertrand Russell: “A stupid man’s report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.”
-----------------------

I was bad today. Since 6/17 I have been very good about the diet, and even better since starting the Nutrisystem. I really truly have not cheated.

You're supposed to add bread, or milk, or vegetables, or fruit to the packaged meals, and as between-meal snacks. I haven't added much bread (110 calories per slice!) or milk, but I've been getting lots of veggies and fruit, and absolutely nothing fried.

Today temptation struck.

I LOVE fried green tomatoes.

I haven't had them in years because you can't easily get green tomatoes unless you grow them or know someone who does. There used to be a farm down the road where the kid running the farm stand would pick some for me, but they went commercial years ago. No more roadside stand.

Now there's a new farm stand just outside the village, where I turn around on my walks. They DO sell green tomatoes because the Hispanic people buy them. So during the second half of my walk yesterday I was carrying a few pounds of green tomatoes.

I used to coat them with egg and crumbs or corn starch, but that soaks up the frying oil. Today, to be a little bit good, I didn't coat them and I fried them on a thin film of olive oil.

They were even better uncoated! They were wonderful, with a little splash of low-sodium soy sauce.
Bad is so good.
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2532 Truth and honesty are not the same thing

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

You know you're in law school when you consider dropping out of school approximately every hour, but after that first semester you realize you are already in too much debt to be anything but a lawyer.

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

The movie last night was "500 Days of Summer". I have no positive or negative recommendation. If you like that sort of thing you'll like it, if not you won't.

There were seven of us, all female. I was surprised to see a few scattered men in the theater. Date night, I guess. Can't imagine a man choosing that movie for himself.

We went to a faux-Thai restaurant next door after the movie. For once, I had an actual thought about the movie that I wanted to express, but I never had a chance. Five of the women knew each other from other meetups, another woman and I were the new folks, and that other woman monopolized the dinner conversation, completely. Utterly. We heard about her move from Florida, her job interviews, the garden she's planting, how she gets lost even with a GPS, her husband and his naval career, everything. Everything. She had that loud excited way of speaking that takes over and brooks no interruption, and I found her very annoying.

One funny thing happened. Several people mentioned that it was a bad neighborhood, that they were glad there was a security guard in the parking lot. We were sitting on the patio, and noticed a heavy police presence, constant cruisers up and down the street. Between ordering and the arrival of the food, I lifted the chain around the patio and stepped out to the corner where there was a trash can, to have a cigarette. I was watching the traffic on the street when a police car pulled up across the street, and sat there for a bit. Then the policeman, without getting out of the car, got on a loudspeaker or something, and said something, it was so loud and distorted that I'm not sure what he said, all I could understand was "rumble rumble rumble come over here rumble rumble".

I looked around and couldn't see anyone he might be talking to. A few older people sitting on their porches enjoying the slanting sunlight. No kids on the sidewalks or in the street. I couldn't see inside the car to see what direction he was looking. And then it hit me.

I put the cigarette out, lifted the patio chain, went back to the table, and sat down with my group. And the cops left.

Learned: When in bad Albany neighborhoods, do not stand on a street corner next to a lamppost watching the traffic go by. You will suffer sexual harassment. From the cops!

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

My observation from the movie:

Truth and honesty are not the same thing.

Guy falls in love with new coworker (Summer) at first sight. She says she doesn't want a boyfriend, that they should be just friends. She says it many times, every time he starts getting too romantic. But she kisses him, dates him, sleeps with him, plays house with him, feeds his fantasy, until she meets another man and drops him.

It bugged me that it was obvious that we weren't supposed to be angry with her. After all, she "told him the truth!" The guy has a too-wise younger sister who points out that he shouldn't have fallen in love with Summer, because she told him right from the start that she didn't want a boyfriend, just a friend. So "it's your own fault."

By the way, I think the little sister was wedged in to tell us what to think.

Well, I AM angry with Summer. Yes, she told him the truth, but then she acted differently. She knew he was falling in love, and she played with his feelings. She was not definite enough, she allowed him to hope, and she knew it. And I don't think she cared.

Truth and honesty are not the same thing. Summer may have been truthful, but she was most definitely not honest.
.

2531 Three days?

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

T.S. Eliot: "Some editors are failed writers,
but so are most writers".

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

I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy moving archived emails from AOL to Gmail, and in the process, I'm rereading them. Fascinating. And we've had a few days without rain, so I've been walking. I'm still eating under 1,000 balanced calories per day in five or six "meals", but I'm still stuck at 10 pounds lost and 15 or 20 to go, so every day it's not raining, I walk.

I'm going to a Meetup movie and dinner tonight in Albany. We're to meet in the theater lobby at 6:00, and I don't know exactly where it is, or what rush hour traffic might be like. The GPS says the drive should take an hour, so I figure just to be safe, I've got to leave here a little after 4.

It's not raining, so I want to get a walk in before washing my hair and dressing.

Bye.

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

A few minutes later: Wow! Google maps is helpful! The GPS would get me there, but I still wondered where I was going, so I looked it up.

Then I looked at the street view, and my heart fell. The theater fronts on a street full of businesses, with a store abutting on each side. Albany is famous for parking difficulty. I didn't see any sign of a parking lot or lot entrance next to the theater.

So I looked at the satellite view. Bingo! There's a large parking lot immediately behind the theater reached by turning in at the next side street.

GPS wouldn't have told me that.
.

2530 Music

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Scott Adams: “The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management.”

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

I don't like hearing music on others' blogs or websites, because their choices are never my choices, and I find it annoying. Of course, MY choices are perfect. Everyone will just love it. Or lump it.

Over there on the left. Pink block. Playlist. Hear the music? Too loud, probably. Haven't figured out how to make it softer. DIY.

The website to build the list has links to MP3s for thousands of selections entered by users. Unfortunately, not everything is there (and some are just ringtones - watch the "minutes" notation when selecting). Click on "pop-out" to see my complete list.

Almost everything on the list has some meaning to me:

• The Kingston Trio was high school boyfriend Obie's favorites, although the specific favorites don't seem to be available.
• Buffy Sainte-Marie was my first album. "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying" was my favorite, but the link is broken. BTW, "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" is supposed to sound like that. There's nothing wrong.
• John Wolford broke my heart in eighth grade. My last dance with him was to "To Know Him Is To Love Him". When I hear it, I still remember the scent of his woolen sports coat.
  
• It was BNL that provided the connection to The Man.
• "Norwegian Wood" is connected to Warren Roscoe, my still wondered-about lost cause.
• Tracy Chapman speaks to my heart, my childhood fears and desires.
• M&P's "Dancing Bear" is just plain beautiful.
• Johnny Mathis got me through many college study nights.
• Judy Collins and Joan Baez, well, everything.
  

... and so on for the bulk of the list.

I suspect only someone my age will fully appreciate the collection.
.

2529 Bits

Friday, July 31, 2009

Common in Paris: “[That] is forbidden. But possible.”

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

I did a volunteer stint at the tourism booth at the county fair (the next county over) yesterday. Man, that's a sad fair. It's really just an overblown carnival, very little on the usual county fair offerings. Mostly just rides, lots of "bad-for-you" food, and those knock down the clown and win a teddy bear booths.

I came home to change and wash and eat before going to the movie last night, and found no electricity. With a well, when there's no electricity, there's no water. And no microwave for the Nutri-dinner. So, I didn't go to the movie. House was hot, so I went to the diner in the village and had tea and a sandwich.

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

Stupid commercial for a whole-grain cereal: "Studies have shown that people who eat mostly whole grains have a healthier body weight."

False implication of cause-and-effect.

By the same logic, since people who live half the year on their yachts are wealthy, if you want to be wealthy, you should buy a yacht.

People who want and work for health are simply more likely to eat whole grains.

People who have more money are more likely to buy yachts.

People get paid for this kind of lying-by-implication? Nobody had the courage to say, "Uh, that's not honest."

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

I'd like to remind folks who complain about bailout/stimulus money about the "bailout/stimulus" efforts of the past administration. In January of last year, Bush gave 53 billion dollars in advanced weaponry to seven Islamic nations, some of whom are already the richest nations on Earth. There's an article here that talks about part of it.

Note that "sales" doesn't mean the US gets paid. The purchase price is discounted and is a loan which will be forgiven. I don't have the links anymore for the rest of the $53B.

Who was he bailing out, and what was he stimulating?

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

In an effort to get out more, I signed up for several Meetup groups. The two I enjoyed most - a dinner group and a dinner/movie group - are dying. They've both been very active for literally years, but the organizers of each has decided to resign, and no one is picking up the reins.

I don't know about the dinner group, but the movie lady is sick and tired of getting emails from people who were too stupid to be on time, or too dense to know that the ten people standing in the middle of the lobby WAS the group (they expected a sign), or who didn't like the movie and restaurant choices. As the group got larger, the proportion of inconsiderate idiots went up.

But gee. The groups have been around for ages. Why now? Is it ME? Kiss of death?
.

2528 Music on blog.....

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Ben Franklin: "In wine there is wisdom,
in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria."

(This seems to be The Man's credo, too.)
---------------------------

I've added music. It's the pink block over there on the left. I can't find a volume control on the block, but you can turn it off if you don't like it. It's set for random, but if something you like shows on the tiny screen you can click it, and it will play.

It's a few of my favorite things. Some play all the way through, some seem to be cut short. Sometime when I have time I'll try to tweak it.

I'll be volunteering at the tourism booth at the county fair tomorrow, and then going to a movie tomorrow night, so - see y'all Friday, probably.
.

2527 Enforcement

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Abraham Lincoln: The philosophy of the school room in one generation
will be the philosophy of government in the next.

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

I've heard people say,"I deplore rules and laws that cannot possibly be enforced."

Does that mean the speaker won't obey a law or rule unless there's someone standing there with a stick to make them? Unless there's punishment? What's wrong with having rules or laws that one is expected to obey simply for a well-ordered society?

To quote an acquaintance, "When we act based on what's right, rather than on what we can do without getting caught, we act as mature adults, members of a community."
.

2526 Bits

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Scott Adams: "All meetings last longer than they should."

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

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. I'm starting to panic. Tomorrow is shot - I'll be volunteering at the Ulster County tourism booth at the county fair. Saturday I want to go to Red Rock mountain to visit Jay, and then Sunday to the top of the mountain to see if there'd be anyone I know at the Lopez Old Home Day. And then it will be August. What the devil happened to July?

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

Nutrisystem report: I'm still at 10 pounds lost. The food is mostly ok. Not great, but ok. I do have a few complaints:

1. Most of it is to be heated in the microwave. The cups or trays are sealed very tightly with plastic, which is understandable because the meals are not frozen, but have real meat in them, like canned in the trays. I have great difficulty peeling that plastic off! And if there's a sauce in there, I end up squirting or spilling it all over trying to wrestle it open. I gave up. Now I run a knife around the inside edge and just cut a hole in it.
   
2. When I chose my 28 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, I went through the lists and chose everything I thought I'd like, then went through and ordered multiples of certain things, because there was nothing else on the list I wanted to eat. The plan I chose included seven free days-worth of meals that they would choose for me. It never occurred to me that they'd choose from the ones I didn't order. Yuck. Wouldn't it have made more sense to double up on things I'd already indicated I expected to like?
3. I have always been very regular, once a day every day, usually late morning. On this stuff it's four or more times a day, not diarrhea, but urgent anyway. Is it possible to have TOO much fiber?

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

Something I don't understand. The government is taxing cigarettes heavily because they're not good for people, so they want to discourage purchase. All that means is that poor people have to cut out other stuff (like food) to buy cigarettes.

Now there's a "let's fix obesity" movement afoot to heavily tax "bad" food, like fast food, rich food, fatty/sugary snacks, to discourage people from buying them.

I don't know if you're aware, but grocery stores in economically depressed areas are very small and very expensive. Fruits and vegetables are outrageous in those stores because of delivery and storage problems and the lack of bulk discounts to the stores. Fast food and snacks are not only cheaper, they're convenient! When you work two jobs, convenience and opening times is important, as is keeping the kids happy.

So taxing fattening foods is only going to take money from the economically stressed. It doesn't solve the basic problems of availability, expense, ignorance, and convenience.

The other thing I don't understand is howcome universal medical care is "bad" because it's socialism (I don't see that socialism is all that bad, actually), and cameras at traffic lights are "bad" because they're a privacy intrusion when you want to break a law, but taxing things to discourage people from buying them is ok. It's not. It's a government fine on a legal lifestyle choice (especially egregious because some people don't feel they have that much choice). Isn't that "Big Brother"? And an even bigger privacy intrusion?

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

My season of twice-a-day annoyance is starting. The Saratoga racetrack season opened today. That means fully 1/3 of the local TV news time will be devoted to Saratoga every day until it closes. As if nothing else is happening in the world.
.

2525 Eve and Adam

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Scott Adams: "In any group of three people,
there's generally at least one disruptive moron."

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

"Lord, I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples."

"Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you."

"Man? What is that, Lord?"

"Man is a flawed creature with many bad traits. He'll lie, cheat and be vain; all in all, he'll give you a hard time. But he'll be bigger, faster and will like to hunt and kill things. I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs. He will be witless and will revel in childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about. He won't be as smart as you, so he will also need your advice to think properly."

"Sounds great," says Eve, with ironically raised eyebrows, "but what's the catch, Lord?"

"Well," says God..."you can have him on one condition."

"And what's that, Lord?"

"As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant and self absorbed, so you'll have to let him believe that I made him first. And it will have to be our little secret...you know, woman to woman."
.

2524 No show

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Scott Adams: "To mediocre minds,
a brilliant idea and a stupid idea sound identical."

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

It's been only three days on the thyroid supplement, and I'm already pulling my head out of the hole and looking around. What I'm seeing will send me back in the hole. What a mess this place is! I don't know where to start.

I got washed and dressed today, even washed my hair and put makeup on, and headed for the antiques fair that I couldn't go to yesterday. The gates were closed, and the lot was empty. The fair was yesterday only.

Huh? It's never been only one day. It's usually Friday through Sunday. The dealers always have huge old furniture pieces that need to be unloaded, unpacked, put together, displayed in a suitable setting, and then at the end, if not sold they must be disassembled, repacked, and reloaded. I can't imagine anyone doing that for a one-day show.

I am disappointed.

Oh, another thing growing since I started the thyroid pills - I'm getting hungry.
.

2523.5 No surprise, no prize.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Life is uncertain. Order your dessert first.

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

I'm watching the Chris Matthews show (political discussion). I am surprised and frustrated to find that they seem surprised that it's starting to come out that over the past eight years, there were effectively TWO White Houses, one had the name, and the other had the power. They seem surprised to discover that Cheney was running things.

I've been saying that for nine years!

Cheney wanted to be president, but he knew he'd never win an election, so it was Cheney who pushed for Bush. Bush, because he knew he could control him.

Sheesh.
.

2523 Health care

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Theodore Sturgeon: "95% of science fiction is crap.
Come to think of it, 95% of *everything* is crap."

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

I just watched Frontline's "Sick Around the World", an examination of health care systems in other developed nations. It's in five parts of about 11 minutes each, which can be watched individually. I highly recommend it.

I haven't been following what's been going on with health care reform here, but I do hope whoever's looking at recommendations has examined what's done in other countries, as Taiwan did - rather than allowing profit-making entities like insurance companies, hospitals, and drug companies to have the major input.

(The cynic in me says nah. Americans seem to think they know best without bothering to look at what others do. Arrogance is an American "virtue".)

Without having looked at it carefully myself, it seems to me that most Americans seem to think that the major problem is that too many people are under- or uninsured, so they want to fix availability of insurance. And that's about it.

I'm not sure that's the problem. The major problem in my opinion is that too many entities are in the health care field to make a profit. Maybe I'm betraying my hippie tendencies, but health care doesn't strike me as a place where profit should be the major determinator of decisions.

It also strikes me that people yelling "socialism!" haven't examined other systems either, and have no inclination or desire to do so.

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

[Later - I wrote the above before watching the last segment, on Switzerland, wherein they make the same observation I did - that during the last election, everyone talked about health care reform, but nobody mentioned the lessons to be learned from other democracies.]
.

2522 Steam shovel? Earthmover?

Saturday, July 25, 2009

“Unquestioned answers are more dangerous than unanswered questions.”
Put another way,
“Unanswered questions may be frustrating,
but unquestioned answers are dangerous.”

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

I've been on Nutrisystem 4.5 days now, and the scale now shows 10 pounds lost since 6/17. That's 5.5 weeks, so that sounds pretty good.

I read comments and forums before I started the Nutrisystem, and quite a few users mentioned headaches, flatulence, and diarrhea.

Today I've got one of them. There's some kind of very loud machinery working in my belly. I've heard growls before, but not as loud as these, and not as constant. And it doesn't seem to realize that my exhaust system doesn't have a muffler.

Now there's a puzzle - where's all the "air" coming from? We're talking about 25 cubic inches every 40 seconds for the past five hours. We've gotta eventually run out of whatever it's making it from, don't we?

I got up early to go to the recycle center, come home and change, and then go to the antiques fair. I did go to the recycle center, but for the rest of the day I plan to sick close to the bathroom.

Just in case I develop the other side effect.
.

2521 Not my car, darn it.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Every great idea I have gets me in trouble.

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

I opened an email about an hour ago from the auction house I frequent, and found this:
It's a Porsche 911 SC. The email didn't say anything about it other than the photo. It will be auctioned off Saturday evening, Aug. 1, along with a few hundred other items. I could tell from the photo that it's out back behind the auction hall.

This place regularly auctions off things like three-year-old BMWs for much less than $20,000. The furniture goes high, but the cars are always a steal, because they come from estates, there's no warranty, and you have to pay for it that evening.

My mind went into overdrive. I was trying to figure out how I could get my favorite mechanic to look at it, wondering if I'd be allowed to take it for an hour or so to get it up on a lift (probably not), if I alerted Piper on Monday would he be able to cut me a check from the money market account in time for the auction, and at the same time I was pulling a shirt on and heading out to look at it. It was parked only two miles from my house.

Sadness. It's at least 20 years old, possibly more. The interior smells of motor oil. They have it covered with a tarp under a stretchy sweater, because it's sitting there with the top down. (Of course I crawled under the tarp.) Top down is a bit suspicious, especially with all the rain we've been having. From the rear it looks sexy, but the front is weird looking - the hood drops straight down and the headlights look like they're in torpedo tubes.
Nah, I'll pass. But it was nice thinking about it.

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

It's raining as I write this. Just started. The thunder is so loud the house actually, literally, jumps from it. Scary.
.

2520 Thirty-first question

Friday, July 24, 2009

I tried to be good, but I got bored.

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

On the 30 questions post, I invited commenters to ask questions. Becs asked, "What's the best decision you ever made in your life?"

I've thought about it for 28 hours, and I'm still thinking. I went over all kinds of decisions I'd made. Places where a big decision made a difference in the course of my life, and others that weren't so big. A few were good decisions, but most of them proved to be VERY bad, with ramifications through the rest of my life. In fact, almost all of the good decisions turned out to be corrections of the very bad ones, many of them forced. It was very depressing thinking about it. Hard to accept that I'd messed my life up so badly at every opportunity. It seems like every choice was wrong. What's worse, I sort of knew it at the time.

There are only two good decisions that weren't half-assed corrections of bad decisions. One, of course, was loving Jay. But that's not the best decision.

The best was starting psychotherapy with Dr. K. in 1977, working hard at it, and sticking with it for four plus years until I found me.

Giving up would have been easier, but without it, I wouldn't be who I am now. I might not even be alive.

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

I suspect that almost everyone who examines their life will find a lot of bad decisions. I suspect that I'm making bad decisions still. I suspect that The Man is one of them, but I'm determined to play out that hand.

When I look back at all those bad branches, and think about how things might have gone had I taken the other path, I'm not all that sure that things would have been any better. Different, but most likely not better.

The only thing I'm sure of is that without Dr. K., I wouldn't be who I am now. And I might not like who I would be.
.

2519 A diagnosis, I hope

Thursday, July 23, 2009

If you don’t know who the “mark” is at the table, it’s you.

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

After Jay died, I gained a LOT of weight over the next three years. In 2005 I woke up and started losing. By early 2007, when I met The Man, I still had 15 pounds to go, but I was looking pretty ok.

Over the past year and a half, the weight started climbing again, and I wasn't eating all that much. Other things were happening, too. Like, I seemed incapable of starting or finishing anything. I was tired a lot, but not sleepy tired - just inertia tired. My mind wasn't working well. Thinking, formulating opinions, it was all so hard. Memory was going. I'd find a note on the counter in my handwriting, like "RSVP Susan 345-123-4567". It would be written on the back of a grocery receipt from only two days before, but I'd have no memory whatsoever of having written it, or why, or who Susan was and what I was supposed to RSVP for. Stuff like that.

I'd go back through the journal/blog of a few years ago, and I was amazed at the things I thought about. It's just too hard to think about things now.

I hadn't seen a doctor at all since 2000, except for a UTI in 2007. I probably wouldn't have this year if it weren't for the breast scare.

I've been eating carefully for five weeks now. Partly for weight, and partly for blood sugar. I lost some pounds the first two weeks, but nothing since.

Tuesday I had another blood test, and it WAS the thyroid they were rechecking, and yeah, I've got a sluggish thyroid.

If true, it explains everything.

I start the thyroid hormone pills tomorrow, should see some effects within two weeks if that really is it. Blood tests (aaaagh!) every six weeks for a while to adjust the levels.

I hope that is it. I was afraid it was just age, ye olde hardening of the arteries.
.

2518 Burning calories

Thursday, July 23, 2009

T-shirt: “If I’m mean, it’s because you’re stupid.”

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

I walked today. I had done some research. It's a common theory that whether you walk or run doesn't matter, that it's the distance that matters, that since you're moving the same weight over the same distance, the same amount of energy, i. e. calories, is expended. Walking just takes longer, and doesn't have the same cardio advantages.

Of course not everyone agrees with this, there are arguments both ways. It's not an easy thing to measure. But I did find something interesting, with good arguments to support it, and I choose to believe it:
Walking quickly burns more calories over a mile than walking slowly.
Walking quickly burns more calories over a mile than running!
A 20-minute walking mile burns more calories than a ten-minute running/jogging mile.

The argument with walking slowly versus quickly is that more muscles are used when walking quickly, the body moves more. And with running versus walking quickly, entirely different sets of muscles are used. In one you are lofting and momentum helps move you, while in the other you are in continual contact with the ground, with little or no momentum. In running there are fewer steps per mile than in walking.

Makes sense to me.

So today I walked the same route as yesterday, but instead of taking an hour, I did it in 40 minutes. The first 3/4 of the loop went quickly, but my thighs were complaining on the last quarter. I plan to keep doing that until I can do the whole distance in 30 minutes with no problem, then I'll increase the distance.

(I stopped at a farm stand halfway through the loop and bought cucumbers, peaches (soft ones!), and blueberries. Carrying them may have been what killed the thighs. I do better when I can swing my arms and hips freely.)

When I got home, I found a message on the home phone from my doctor, which may detour this whole weight loss attack. Next post....
.

2517 Thirty questions meme

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Arthur Schopenhauer: “Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see."

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

Today is Daughter and Hercules' third anniversary. Congratulations on finding each other, kids. Have many more.

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

A meme going around:

30 Things You Wouldn't Think To Ask

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
Beyond the general airport thing, and purse peeks at government buildings, no.

2. Do you close your eyes on a roller coaster?
No.

3. When's the last time you've been sledding?
Good Grief! I don't remember, which is sad, because I like it. At least 30 years ago, I guess. I think I got less enthusiastic when I realized that dragging a sled uphill just to go down again makes as much sense as golf - hit the ball into a pasture, walk around searching for it, and when you find it, hit it away again.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
With a chosen man, of course. Otherwise, alone.

5. Do you believe in ghosts?
Not the usual definition of ghost. I do believe that persistence of cohesive energy, and the influence thereof, is possible.

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Not in the usual sense (the "arts"). I do find very unusual and efficient ways of doing things.

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
I really do not have enough information to form a belief. Suspicion is not belief.

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Huh? I guess I'd rather talk with Jennifer. She seems more real.

9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics?
Enough to form general opinions.

10. Do you know how to play poker?
How, yes. Do I? No.

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
Yes. Often, even occasionally at this age.

12. What's your favorite commercial?
The old Kodak commercials with the "Turn Around" song. Nothing current comes to mind.

13. Who was your first love?
John Wolford, in first grade. Obie Philpot in high school.

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around, do you run a red light?
No.

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
There are a lot of things I know that no one else knows, but they're not secrets. Just ask, and I'll tell all. (There are a few things I know that are someone else's secrets, that I won't tell, but they don't count.)

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Eck. I don't care.

17. Have you ever been ice skating?
I practically lived on skates until my mid-twenties or so. I still love skating, but I hate rinks, and otherwise it's difficult to find safe available ice. Too many pond owners are afraid of lawsuits.

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
If you mean how often do I have a dream I remember, it's about once or twice a month. I'm sure I dream more than that. I sleep pretty soundly.

19. What's the one thing on your mind?
Snort. I have a thousand things on my mind. But The Man is almost constant. Positive thoughts, negative thoughts, frustration, wondering what the hell I should do about him.

20. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Yes.

21. What talent do you wish you had?
I wish I had more confidence in the few talents I do have.
Later: Came back to this one. I own about ten different musical instruments. I wish I could play any one of them.

22. Do you like Sushi?
Only with The Man. He likes it a lot.

23. What do you wear to bed?
Summer: sleep bra & panties, or nothing. Winter: sleep bra, panties, and T-shirt, or nothing if there's a male bed warmer.

24. Do you truly hate anyone?
I'd like to say no, but I have to say Dick Cheney.

25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
No one springs immediately to mind. I like to look at some ( like Taye Diggs, pant pant), but I'm more into mind than appearance, so I don't have the "want" reaction. Well, ok, maybe Sean Connery.

26. Do you know anyone in jail?
Not currently. I know a few that have been.

27. What food do you find disgusting?
Scrapple. Can't even stand the smell of it. Pennsylvania will reject me as native-born.

28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
If I make fun of someone, I can't count them as a friend.

29. Have you ever been punched in the face?
No. Slapped hard and backhanded, but not closed fist punched.

30. Do you believe in angels and demons?
Not by the usual religious definitions. But I do believe in dimensions and influences most people are unaware of.

Anybody have a question they'd like to ask in the comments?
Remember, you can comment anonymously.

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

From the Nutrisystem dessert wrapper last night, in the list of ingredients: "..., evaporated cane juice,...".

Uh, don't we less sophisticated folk call that "raw sugar"?
.

2516 Blah and Bored; Diet Digest

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A relationship is about give and take. Love is all about giving.

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

I am fully switched over to Gmail now, and I LIKE it! It's so much easier to find and keep things, very nice. Because it's easier to see what needs attention, I've been writing notes to people I've owed correspondence for forever. Playing with mail and writing notes has taken up much of the day.

I drove into the village today and measured off some walking routes. I've got about four routes now, so I can vary them. I also walked for an hour.

Diet synopsis for the past week:
Wed 07/15 - 1228 calories (It was a BLT that blew that day)
Thu 07/16 - 960
Fri 07/17 - 935
Sat 07/18 - 930
Sun 07/19 - 865
Mon 07/20 - 715
Tue 07/21 - 910

Weight lost since 6/17, 8 pounds, from 150 to 142. Goal, somewhere between 130 and 120-ish, depending on how well it goes. I don't dare try smaller than that, or my skin will drag on the floor. My "ideal weight" is supposed to be around 109 (4'10" tall), but that doesn't take the big bust and wide hips into consideration.

I decided to try Nutrisystem. I was going a bit crazy trying to find suitable things to eat, and they lay it all out for you. My order arrived Monday afternoon. You get breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert in microwavable packages. You're supposed to add some dairy, fresh veggies, and fruit with the meals and as an afternoon snack, so you eat five times a day.

The portions are tiny. If you've ever been in the hospital - yeah, like that. And yet I'm satisfied. The meatloaf was pretty good, and the macaroni and cheese with beef, but mostly it's pretty blah. Not a big deal, I'm not a gourmet.

I think it can get a bit boring, though. There's an awful lot of pasta in various yucky tomato sauces. Guess what's my least favorite food (although the cheese tortellini was good). I got to choose what I wanted (28 from the breakfast column, 28 from the lunch...), but the choices were mostly heavy on pasta. A little rice or potatoes here and there, which I would have preferred more of.

Folks on the forums say that, within reason, you can have a free day once a week without messing it up. Just choose wisely and watch portion size.

So, heading into Month Two.
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2515 Cold!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

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I'm freezing. I looked at the thermostat. It's 72 degrees F in the house. But I'm freezing! Sweater and everything.

I don't understand.
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2514 Gmail - friend or foe?

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Some people are like a Slinky, not really good for anything,
but you still can't help but smile
when you shove them down the stairs.

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A little while ago I decided to try Gmail. Right now my email addresses are on AOL and Yahoo. I dislike Yahoo, and don't have a lot of confidence that AOL will be around forever, and their programmers seem to be bottom of the barrel. I set up an account, and then used a Gmail facility that allows you to transfer the contents of the AOL inbox to Gmail - leaving a copy of the email in the AOL inbox. Sounded good to me. You can also ask it to transfer AOL email to Gmail as it arrives, again leaving a copy with AOL.

It sorta worked. All the AOL email (I had about 550 items) appeared in the Gmail inbox. However, when I went to AOL, about 20 of the oldest items had disappeared. They weren't in "Deleted" or in "Old Mail". They were simply gone.

The next day when I went to AOL mail, I was shocked to discover I had only four items in the inbox, mail that had arrived overnight. The other 500+ were in the "Old Mail", which is bad, because they are automatically deleted after one day. If I'd been away for the weekend, they'd have disappeared. So I pressed the "Keep as New" button 500+ times to put them back in the inbox.

Once Gmail "grabs" a copy, AOL apparently considers it read, not new, and trashes it 24 hours after it becomes "old". Telling AOL to "Keep as New" should fix it, right?

Next morning, same thing.

I don't understand. Why is AOL ignoring the "Keep as New", on mail Gmail hasn't grabbed again?

So I went to Gmail and changed the option so it would no longer "grab" new mail from AOL. At all. In theory, Gmail doesn't even know about the AOL address any more.

Problem solved, right?

No. AOL is still trashing email that Gmail originally copied, over and over, every day.

Worse, Gmail is still grabbing copies of email from AOL, but not every piece. It seems to be random, and it's NOT leaving a copy with AOL. I wandered over to Gmail this morning, and found several bits of email sent to the AOL address over the past few days that never showed up on AOL.

[Sorry, Sister. I wasn't ignoring your travel confirmation. AOL was. I'm glad you're going, I'm sure you'll both feel a lot better.]
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2513 Blood, A fire dream

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Mike Meyers: "My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare."

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Another blood test this morning. I forget what they're checking this time, either sugar or thyroid. Whichever, there's another scheduled in two months for the other.

Last month it hurt so bad. It took three or four attempts in the doctor's office before they gave up and sent me to the hospital lab. I was left with a huge nasty bruise. But last time I'd had an interesting morning with The Man, and then drove a bit over an hour straight to the doctor's office.

This morning I had slept alone, and I drank three 12-oz glasses of water before going in. The nurse was able to get a flow on the first try (but it still hurt a LOT). I think I'm going to have a huge bruise again, because the vein she used, which is usually a fine blue line, now has a blue lump in it, about 1/2 wide and an inch long. I think it's leaking, even though I did press on it for a long time.

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Last night the attic fan was still running at midnight. I walked from the den to the kitchen through the living room, and was struck by a strong odor of wood smoke. I checked outside - many of my neighbors have woodstoves, and often burn brush in their yards - but there was no smoke odor outside. It was definitely in a strip from the living room to the hall.

I checked the basement, but the only place I could smell woodsmoke was that strip. I figured that the attic fan, which was still running, must have pulled air down the chimney and through the fireplace, through the living room into the hall, and up out the attic. But why now? Why haven't I smelled it before? I went to bed nervous.

And then I dreamed all night about a house with fire. Not this house. It was a house with lots of large windows, and lots of Christmas trees. (Christmas trees? Me? I don't do Christmas trees.) A big tree in every room and small tabletop trees scattered all over. The first fire was in the fireplace. It started by itself with no wood, and then spread outside the fireplace, and then died down. Then a large Christmas tree burst into flame, all over, like in a satanic movie. When it died down, another little tree flashed, and so on, one tree after another. The fire department came, and didn't know what to think of it. All these fires, all over, staring with a flash and then "turning off" with no damage. I was rather calm about it all. Annoyed, but not frightened. I remember turning to Daughter and saying, "I always liked this house. Too bad we moved away. I like all the windows." (The house in the dream was not one I'd ever lived in.)

Strange. It might even be reflecting my feelings about The Man right now.

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When Daughter was younger, I always corrected her pronunciation. It's my theory that if you can't pronounce it, you can't spell it. Like "ath-el-etics", or "li-berry". The same theory works for phrases.

My latest gripe is people who write "one in the same", or "in this day in age".

Snarl.
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2512 I Hate Ticketmaster!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Alan Cohen (Why Your Life Sucks, Page 70): “While you may be very careful about what you pay for with your money, you are probably less careful about what you pay for with your attention. In the long run, how you spend your attention affects your life far more profoundly than how you spend your money. Attention is energy. Whatever you feed it to will grow.”

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I signed up for a group activity next month in Bethel (the original Woodstock concert location). Tickets were like $60 for reserved seats, $40 for unreserved seating, and $19.69 for lawn. The organizer said to get lawn tickets.

The only way to get the tickets is through Ticketmaster.

I passionately !HATE! Ticketmaster! They are a complete ripoff. First there's a flat service charge. Then there's a flat convenience charge (in addition to the service charge, mind you - explain the difference, please?). Then there's a delivery charge - I chose "I'll print it off myself" because that was the cheapest. They were nice enough to allow me to use my own time, paper, and ink for only $2.

My $19.69 ticket ended up costing me $31.69. Not including tax.

That's 61% of the base cost of the ticket added on for Ticketmaster charges! And you know they're getting a percentage from the venue, too.

I think they should be charged with scalping. That's pretty much what it is when they're the only source for the tickets. They have them all, and you pay what they ask. Isn't that scalping?
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2511 Maybe I'm depressed?

Monday, July 20, 2009

Isaac Asimov: " And above all things, never think that you're not good enough yourself. A [person] should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning."

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I don't feel depressed - except for feeling like I want to cry, but I can't think of anything I need to cry about. I just feel like I have no energy. My arms and legs feel heavy. About the best way I can describe it is that I feel "done". There is no more. Done, done, done. All done.

I've lot a long list of things I have to do, and I just don't feel like I have the energy to do any of them.

On the other hand, I've been trying to walk every day that it's not raining, and I have plenty of energy to walk.

I don't know what's wrong.

Today I walked about a mile and a half, bought and mailed an anniversary card for Daughter and Hercules, cleaned a cat litter box, and weeded about half of the front flowerbed weedbed. I also went through all my internet bookmarks, cleared out some, sorted the remainder. I also put away a month's worth of Nutrisystem food that arrived today. I'm getting serious about this dieting stuff. I didn't do anything that really needed to be done, though. All the important is still waiting.

Maybe I just need sex.

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Another blogger wrote about trucks hitting overpasses. That reminded me of a cartoon I saw once, a long time ago. A trucker is approaching an overpass bearing a large sign saying "Clearance: 12' 3". The caption says, "Um, let's see --- twelve feet three inches, and I'm twelve foot five inches, so that gives me two inches of clearunnnnnnnchscreeeeeech!"

Which (somehow, don't ask me how) reminds me of another old favorite (which may have been a "Far Side" cartoon by Gary Larsen). A group of cavemen are sitting against the walls in a cave. They have swollen bellies, obviously connected to the huge pile of gnawed bones in the center of the cave. Some of the cavemen are sleeping, some look quite sated, a few are picking their teeth. One caveman is looking speculatively at the bone pile - and the scavenging rat on top. The caption: "The invention of dessert".
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2510 Meeting Costs; ICC

Sunday, July 19, 2009

I was depressed last night so I called Lifeline.
Got a call center in Pakistan, and told them I was suicidal.
They got all excited and asked if I could fly a plane.

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I wish I had the following link back in the '90s, when politically ambitious people at work called required meetings for the sole purpose of advertising their own wonderful projects. It's a constantly updated counter, displaying how much this meeting has cost the company so far.

http://tobytripp.github.com/meeting-ticker/

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PBS is right now airing a program on the International Criminal Court (ICC), on P.O.V., "The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court.

It's available for viewing at http://www.pbs.org/pov/reckoning/. I highly recommend it. To quote the website,

Over 120 countries have united to form the International Criminal Court (ICC) — the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators, no matter how powerful, of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The Reckoning follows dynamic ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and his team for three years across four continents as he issues arrest warrants for Lord's Resistance Army leaders in Uganda, puts Congolese warlords on trial, shakes up the Colombian justice system, and charges Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur. Like a deft thriller, The Reckoning keeps you on the edge of your seat. Will the prosecutor succeed? Will the world ensure that justice prevails? An Official Selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Read the full film description »

A small mention was made of the fact that the Bush-2 administration tried to kill it. Gee, I wonder why? I can understand not joining (in Wikipedia terms, "being a party"), but why threaten sanctions on any other country that signs on?

I don't really wonder why. I know why.
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2509 Medical Coverage

Sunday, July 19, 2009

The Japanese have a term, muda, which refers to
activity that doesn't add value.

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It's about 2 am. I've spent the past several hours reading up on Medicare stuff. I've got to make some decisions in the next week or so. I've got material from The Company, from various medi-gap folks, and guides I printed off from the Medicare website. I have a thousand questions, and I haven't even started comparing options yet.

The material from The Company arrived in Saturday's mail. I glanced through it quickly at the mailbox, and from just a brief look, it appears that between The Company and the government, I'm going to end up paying a LOT more for a LOT less coverage and a LOT more complication.

It figures. Don't know why I'm surprised.
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