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--

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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.
.

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.

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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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3822 HOTW - Everett McGill

Friday, February 21, 2014

I haven't done a Honey of the Week in ages, but I found one this evening!

I watched the 1999 (I think) movie "The Straight Story" this evening.  It's the story of Alvin Straight, and his trip to visit his ailing brother - 240 miles away, riding the distance on a lawn mower towing a home-made trailer.

The movie is almost two hours, and it's slow moving (just like Alvin, who is in his early 70s, has bad hips, walks with two canes, and can't see well enough to drive a car), but it's wonderful, worth every minute of the two hours.  If you have a chance to rent it, I highly recommend it.

It's all true, the whole story.  The only thing they changed was, for some unknown reason, the timing of the trip.  Alvin actually set out in something like June, arriving in August, but in the movie he sets out in September, arriving late October.  Folks from that area who saw the movie caught that discrepancy, because of the bicycle racers Alvin meets on the way - that race takes place in July.

Anyway, Alvin's first mower didn't get far, so he bought a newer (only 30 years old) John Deere to restart the trip.  The John Deere salesman's part is only a few minutes long, but it was long enough for me to develop a crush on him.  That part was played by Everett McGill:

 

Yummy.  (But somehow a still picture doesn't quite convey it.  The eyes and the smile, you know. See the movie.)

I think part of the attraction might be that he reminds me a lot of my father's sister Irene's husband Chick (Charles).  Uncle Chick was a strong, tall, silent, farmer and in my preteen years I had a terrible crush on him.  He died when a bulldozer fell on him (really).  I guess even the bulldozer had a literal crush on him.
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3821 Show Snovels and Checks

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Rules for snow shovels:
- Store the shovel outside for the winter, so it's at air temperature when you use it.  You can't shovel snow with a warm shovel.
- Occasionally (like every other use) spritz it with Pam, so snow will slide off easily.
- NEVER chop ice with it.  That will cause the sides of the blade to curl.

I can use the same shovel for years, as long as I'm the only one using it.  The one I have now is about three years old, and I love it.  It has that bent handle that's easy to lift, and the blade is plastic with a curl at the top and raised sides, which makes it perfect for using like a plow.  Because the blade is plastic, it's lightweight, and it has a metal strip on the underside to keep the edge flat.

Well, Daughter and Hercules (Wow!  The first time he's ever done anything resembling work for me without being asked/shamed into it!) used it after the last two storms, and now the blade is cupped.   It doesn't run flat anymore.

I am unhappy.

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

The real estate taxes on the city house are due quarterly.  I have it stuck in my head that "quarterly" is March, June, September, and December.  This being New Jersey, naturally they want it February 1st, May 1st, and so on.  So I didn't realize that I was late until Tuesday evening, the 11th - one day past the 10-day grace period.

Wednesday I hurried off to the town hall to pay, but they were closed for Lincoln's Birthday.  Thursday they were closed for snow.  Friday I couldn't get out of my driveway.  Saturday and Sunday they were closed.  Monday they were closed for President's Day (yeah, in addition to Thursday.  Nice job).  I finally got in today, and had to pay more than a week's penalty.  I think I got burned.

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

I have a 35-year-old checking and savings account (and a pre-approved emergency loan account) with my old credit union at the country house.  The credit union started life as the IBM Employees' Credit Union.  My account numbers were my employee serial number, with "001" suffix on the savings account, and "009" suffix on the checking, which made the account numbers easy to remember.  When IBM left that area it, the credit union, went pubic. 

For the past 8 years (8 because I'm a widow getting benefits on Jay's account) Social Security has been depositing my monthly check into the checking account, let's call it "123456009" (where 123456 was my employee number) on the second Wednesday of the month, with no difficulty.

Yesterday I got a letter from the bank saying that the SS check had arrived and they were unable to process it as written.  They processed it by hand, but would not process it next month unless it was fixed.

Duh?

They said that the check was sent for deposit to account 12356009, and they manually deposited it to 1234560001 CHK.

Ok, I see what SS did - they skipped a digit (the "4"), but I don't understand why the bank deposited the check into the savings account, and why did they call it the "CHK" account if it has the savings suffix?  I don't understand.  I called the credit union.

Turns out that they changed the account numbers last fall.  (I don't recall getting any kind of notification!)  Now the checking account ends in 0001.

I asked, "So what's the sufffix for the savings?"
She said, "Savings is 0001, too."
Me, very confused, "So how do you tell them apart?"
She, "The savings account number now starts with 2."
Me, "So my savings account number is now 21234560001?"
She, "Yes."

I don't understand.

I told her I've been writing checks with the 009 suffix printed on them.  She said that's ok, they'll still go through.  When I order new checks I'll see the new number on them.

Sheesh.  I write maybe 8 checks a year on that account.  I have a 15 year supply.  I wonder how long they'll tolerate that 009 suffix, and whether I'll get any notice when they update their system, or will they just start bouncing checks.

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

As if that wasn't enough aggravation, I got a call from the fuel supplier for the country house.  The house with the 300 foot uphill curved driveway.  The driver tried to deliver, and says the driveway is too narrow, it needs to be plowed wider.  (I do ensure that the trucks can turn around at the top, but I guess I can understand their fear that they may be forced to back down that slalom run.)

The plow piles on either side are about five feet high now.  They've had a LOT of snow this winter - 24 additional inches last week alone - and no thaws.  The Hairless Hunk has done a hero's job keeping it plowed.  I really really appreciate his being there.  But he's plowing with a pickup truck.  I don't know if he CAN widen it at this point.

So, I wrote him an email this morning, asking what can be done, and if he has to bring in reinforcements, I can overnight him the cost.  But I've got to get oil.  The last delivery was in early December.  The thermostat is set at 50 degrees, but the temperatures up there have been ranging between 23 and -10 since then.  The water is turned off, but still, the pressure tank from the well could freeze.  I don't remember whether I threw the breaker for the pump.

I'm SO ready for spring.
.

3820 Snow

Thursday, February 13, 2014

My quarterly real estate tax was due on February 1st.  I missed it, didn't notice it was due until I was paying some other bills on the 11th, last Tuesday.  (Somehow I have it set in my mind that quarterly stuff is due in March, June, etc.)  By the time I realized the payment was late, it was 2 pm, and the town offices close at like 2:30, so I figured I'd pay it yesterday.

I went to the town offices yesterday and found everything closed.  Lincoln's birthday.  Duh?

Today we woke up to 8" of heavy wet snow, followed by ice pellets, followed by rain, and a "code red" call from the township saying that all town offices and functions were closed.

I probably won't get out to pay tomorrow, either, since we are supposed to get more snow overnight and all day tomorrow.

In the meantime, penalties accrue.

I hate snow.

The neighbor up the street says the Garden State Parkway and the Throughway, and many of the major local roads, are closed because of jackknifed  trailers all over the roads.  I got a code red email from the country house township saying that the highways are closed to commercial traffic for the same reason.

I really hate snow.  At least plain cold one can dress for, but snow can leave us defenseless.

At least we still have power.  Maybe that's one good thing Sandy did for us - all the weak trees and branches are already down.

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

I am worried about my neighbor George.  He's got to be in at least his mid-eighties.  He gets out there shoveling.  He throws five shovelfuls, then stops and rests on the shovel handle for a while, kind of bent over the handle, then throws five more.

His late-teen great-grandson mows my lawn.  His granddaughter lives on the next street over, and some sons and daughters live in the area.  I can't help wondering why no one shows up to help him.  They all come for holiday dinners, so it's not like they're estranged.

I've got a delicate back and currently something wrong with my shoulder (rotator cuff?) so my daughter shovels for me if my little electric thrower can't handle it (note that's Daughter, not SIL Hercules), or scares up a kid to do it.  If I were capable, I'd help George.

Maybe I should review CPR procedures.

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

I doubt that mankind in general is any smarter now than, say, 200 years ago.  200 years isn't much in evolutionary terms, but I do believe that on average we are already demonstrably more stupid.  We know more "stuff", but we are in general, overall,  less logical, less understanding, less interested in understanding, and less capable than we used to be.  It's like thinking is evolving out of us.  Like we don't need it any more.

Science fiction illustrators often depict humans of the far future as having huge heads, enormous brains.  I don't know why they think brains would get larger.  I think it's more likely we'll have tiny braincases.  As computers do the work of remembering for us, we won't need to remember anything much.  We won't need to calculate anything - the machine will tell us.

We already see evidence of brain atrophy....
.

3819 I'm so sorry. Forgive me?

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

This is so cute.  The cat on the left seems to be trying to apologize.  I couldn't resist posting it.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNS7zzIzX-E]

In theory it's only 25 seconds, but be prepared to watch it five or six times.
.

3818 Mystery water

Monday, February 10, 2014

Jasper has been fussing about his water dish.  He doesn't like the water.  He doesn't want to drink it.  He splashes in it, as if he's trying to catch a fish in the bottom.  He hooks the side and drags the dish.  Since the dish is on a tray, when it crosses the side of the tray it spills all over the floor.  He'd been doing it for the past two or three weeks.

I mentioned it to Daughter, and she said two of her cats have been doing the same thing.

A mystery.

Then one day (Saturday, I think) I had left a glass of water on the counter when I went to bed, and absentmindedly drank it the next morning -- and spat it out!  It smelled and tasted strongly of iodine.

Water processing plants add iodine to the water when there's a problem with bacteria.  We've had several water main breaks this winter, one about three weeks ago just up the road, so it makes sense they may be worried about contamination.  I don't know why the iodine smell and taste gets so bad when the water isn't fresh out of the tap, but there it is....

Mystery solved.

So now I have to make sure his water is changed a few times a day.

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

Speaking of water, the Thames is flooding.  Parts of England are flooded for the first time in a few hundred years.  Weird.
.

3817 Silk Shoes

Monday, February 10, 2014

As usual at this time of year, I'm hibernating.  I resist leaving the house.   Most days I don't even get dressed, spend the whole day in a nightshirt and robe.  I also do nothing except wandering around the internet, reading books, watching video clips.  Except for Big Bang Theory on Thursday evenings, I can't even muster the energy to watch TV.  It's so bad my last "grocery shopping" was via PeaPod.

I discovered I can watch movies for free with Amazon Prime.  Not all titles are available for free instant viewing, but there are enough classics and lower-budget movies to keep me occupied for a while. 

Today I watched "Silk Shoes".  Found it by accident.  It's a Korean movie.  Independent.  English subtitles.  It was charming, glad I found it.  If you have Amazon Prime, I recommend it.

A lot of reviewers loved it too, but were disappointed by the ending.  Let down.  Confused.  I was confused because I didn't understand how the silk shoes were significant.

I did a little light research (with the help of this guy, who has provided an excellent review, synopsis, trailer clip, and link to the lyrics) and I figured it out.  The problem is that the subtitles didn't give us the lyrics of the song at the beginning and end of the movie.  So those of us unfamiliar with the song didn't know about the shoes.  It also explains why the old woman at the end asks Grandfather about his brother, which had confused me.

Well,  now you know, so go watch it if you have Prime.
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3816 Quizzes

Thursday, January 30, 2014

I took a few quizzes today at http://www.zimbio.com/quiz (if that link doesn't take you directly to the list of quizzes, click on "quizzes" in the bar on top).

I am:
Purdy from Sienfeld
Howard from BBT
Barbie from Toy Story
Cinderella from Disney
... and at that point I was thinking about giving up and crawling into bed, until I got
Dumbledore of Hogwarts.

I think I'll stop there.
.

3815 Beara!

January 30, 2014

I'm watching a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8P7pSm10s8) about the rise and demise of the old Hotel Sterling in Wilkes Barre, Pa.

I remember that place.  I had occasional date dinners there (in the early '60s), whenever a guy wanted to really impress me.

There's a fellow about my age talking in the clip about the hotel.  He claims to be native to Wilkes Barre, but I'm not sure I can believe him, no matter what he says.

Because....

He pronounces it "Wilkes Barry".

"Barry"?  No way!

Everybody from that area pronounces it "Wulks Beara".  (Actually a blurred sound halfway between "Beara" and "Burra").

Or at least they usta!
.

3814 Cable again

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Back in mid-December I called the cable TV/internet folks and got rid of all the extra channels I never watch.  Went to "basic".  Returned the now unneeded set-top boxes.  I thought I'd end up with just the basic networks - CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS - and some local stuff. 

It turns out I have way more than 88 channels.

I went through and eliminated from the automatic list the 16 Spanish channels. Every little municipality has at least one, more usually three, of their own channels - one public access, one townhall, one for school stuff.  I eliminated most of them.

I'm still left with a lot more than I expected - like 3 PBS channels with different programming (one is all children's shows), ION, a movie channel, weather channel, QUBO, and loads of stuff with names like CREATE, LIFE, BOUNCE, THIS, RISE, WORLD, and so on --- I don't even know what they are.

And I'm not particularly interested in finding out.

I wonder if there might be a BBC or a CNN tucked in there somewhere.  They might be the only channels I'll miss.
.

3813 Unbelievable!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Back when Nugget was born in 2011, Daughter was driving a 2-door Honda.  It was a good car, but it was getting pretty old, and it was very difficult for Daughter to get the baby in and out of the baby seat in the back.  So I gave her my 4-door 2003 Suzuki Aerio, and she sold the Honda.

I had bought the Aerio for about $9,000 in 2006 when the van was having serious problems and was costing me a fortune in rentals.  "Suzie" was a great little car, with its high roof and huge windows giving a great view all around, comfortable seats, sportscar handling, and a lot of zip.  It was always actually fun to drive, easy to park, and never gave me any problems.  Well, except for the body, which tended to drop random pieces of itself everywhere.  But they were at least unimportant trim pieces. 

It was a good car for Daughter for two years, then finally something important went wrong which set off the "bad light".  I don't know the words, but it had something to do with something that sits above the gas tank and something about vapor or something.  Anyway, fixing it would require major internal surgery, costing more than $1500, which was about what the car was worth.  It still ran just fine, but not fixing it would eventually run the risk of it catching fire.  And until it was fixed, it would not pass inspection.  The trusted mechanic said Daughter could continue to drive it, but to pull over immediately if she smelled gas fumes.

It was due for inspection last month.  No way it would pass.  So Daughter bought a new car, and parked Suzie until she could figure out what to do with her.

Yesterday morning while I was still in bed I heard a sound.  Looked out the window, and saw Suzie being loaded onto a flatbed.  I threw on a robe and ran out to pat her goodbye.

I really did love that car.  Hate to see her go.

Daughter was paid $350 for her.

That was yesterday.

This is Suzie:

The photo is from a used car dealership.  They are asking $1599 for her.  They describe her as "ready to sell".  I wonder if they will tell an interested buyer that she won't pass inspection, and just might catch fire. 

Listing here:  http://www.aberdeenautonj.com/2003_Suzuki_Aerio_Morganville_NJ_224234593.veh
.

3812 Long time

Friday, January 10, 2014

I hadn't realized I hadn't attempted a post in almost a month.  I've got a lot of notes saved up, so when I have time I guess I'll go through some of that, but not now.  It's late.

I've been kind of blah.  I read about that kid who was driving drunk and high and killed four people and then got off without so much as a slap on the wrist because he was rich and privileged and his parents had never taught him that one is responsible for one's own actions and actions have consequences.  His lawyer called it "affluenza".  (If you're not already familiar with the story, do an internet search for that word.)

Anyway, I thought of all the kids who go wrong because they had bad or uncaring parents who don't get second chances and who don't "suffer" from affluenza, just the opposite, and

something inside me broke.

It's like why even care?  Why bother?  I had several weeks of not caring about pretty much anything.  This whole damn society is going into the shit can, and nobody else seems to care.

I'm not over it yet.
.

3811 Screaming

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Sometimes, when following links deep into the web, I will have seven or eight or more tabs open, and suddenly someone is talking, or there's horrible music coming from the speakers. 

A video ad has started somewhere.

I don't know where.

(The worst is when more than one are running at the same time, talking over each other.  It sounds like a crowded cocktail party in here.)

I bounce back through tabs, scrolling through screens, searching, trying to find the damn thing and turn it OFF, and I can't find it.

I hate that!

There are popup blockers.  There should be an auto-start video blocker!  I'd pay money for it.
.

3810 Estate sale

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Well, I have medical insurance for 2014.  I suspect I'm not going to be happy with it, but, we'll see.  The cost is low, but it's a Medicare Advantage plan, and it's an HMO.  I always swore I'd never go into an HMO, but there it is.  The only plan of any type that I was eligible for that allowed me to choose my own doctors was extremely costly.  So.  At least that's done.

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

The country house is under storm alert this weekend.  10" of snow and then sleet.  Since the house is higher up, I suppose there will be at least 12" of snow.  We always got about 20% more than lower down.  Or more.  Temps in the low 20s.  I am worried about losing power there.  Sigh.  Another week I won't be going north.

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

I got an email a few days ago from my old auctioneer, George, saying he was going to be on a show on the Travel Channel, so I watched it.  It was another of those stupid shows that seem to be so popular recently --- you know, where we follow some "experts" while they buy unseen storage facility contents, or race through antique centers looking for bargains, or poke around mountains looking for gold.

This time, we had three "expert bidders" at George's auction.  It was very obvious the whole thing was staged.  He had a full room of bidders, but no one else bid on any of the boxes that were obviously solely for these "experts" to battle over.

It was so stupid.  THEY were so stupid.  They were bidding on unopened boxes and bags, no idea what was in them.  Number one, George never sells unopened stuff.  Number two, these "experts" didn't do their research.  One idiot kept saying "There's lots of mansions in [this village].  Huge estates. This is an estate auction so these boxes are coming from the attics and basements of these wealthy mansions.  You KNOW it has to be good stuff!"

First of all, the statement that there are lots of mansions in [the village].  Yeah, that general wider area is full of mansions, yeah, but most of them are run as tourist destinations by the national park service, like the Vanderbilt, Astor, and Roosevelt places, and a few other piles of marble with names and history.  There are a few private mansions around, but these days almost all of them are empty, like the place where Chelsea Clinton's wedding reception was held. (It's for sale and the owner volunteered it hoping for free advertising.) So, there's no good stuff coming from mansion attics!  Do your research, you fool!

Second, the "expert" doesn't even know what an estate auction is!

"Estate" in this sense doesn't mean mansions and land, anyway.  It means somebody's Aunt Sally died and left all her worldly goods to somebody who is now selling off the excess.  "Estate" in the sense of the disposals of a legal will.  Sheesh.  And these folks are "experts"?

(Sometimes George does sell items from a mansion, but when he does, he tells you where it came from,  "Sale of the Contents of Blah Blah Mansion", and the auction is exclusively those items.  In 10 years, I've seen only two of those auctions - one being Larry (Hustler) Flynt's place.  Usually George's estate sale stuff is bits from hither and yon all over the northeast.)

Third, one of the "experts" attempted to figure out what was in a locked duffel bag by SITTING ON IT!  Well, there goes that Faberge egg, eh!  How stupid is that.  The other guy was shaking boxes violently.  Duh.

It got to where I was yelling at the TV.

I will never watch any of those things again.  Bleck.  I will not miss cable.
.

3809 One thing I did do right

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Among all the things I've screwed up over the past week, I think I did do one thing right.  Or as right as I know how, anyway.

I am paying $168 a month for TV cable, internet, and a stupid house phone I didn't want and don't use.

I watch maybe 5 to 7 hours of TV a week, max.  And I almost never watch any of the 400 or more channels other than some basic broadcast networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS).  In fact, it's almost exclusively CBS and a little PBS.  I don't watch sports, the comedy package, the movie package, any of that other stuff.

Why am I paying for stuff I don't use?

So I called.  The first rep could cut it down to $158 per month for basic cable. $10?  Big whoop.  I made disappointed shop-around noises, so she passed me to another rep who "might know of some discounts".

It's now basic local cable and the internet will be twice as fast without all those channels, and I'm down to less than $90 a month.  Because it's just local broadcast channels, I don't need the four set-top (stupid design - how many sets have room for anything on the top these days?) boxes, either. I gotta keep the stupid useless phone because it's part of "the package".

You know what's really disgusting?  That's still ridiculously high.  When I first signed up for this entire package, it was $99 for the whole shebang, including four DVD(Tivo?) boxes.  In three years it has gone up 68%.
.

3808 Maybe I can see Jasper's vet? He makes house calls....

Thursday, December 12, 2013

A week, already?  Egads!

I didn't go north last week.  I didn't get everything finished that I had to do before I left, and, in fact, I'm not finished YET.

I really screwed some stuff up.  For the past 19 years, along about October, I'd get the package from IBM about the medical insurance coverage for the next year.  Choices/changes had to be made by the end of December (earlier, if you wanted the new medical cards by January 1).  If there was nothing you wanted to change, you did nothing, and you got the same coverage continued.  For 19 years, IBM taught me that the package could be safely ignored.

So I ignored it.

I should have known better.  IBM is (surprise) no longer offering the group packages.  They have seized the opportunity to dump all the retirees and "allow" us to get individual coverage through an exchange.  After all these years of experience with IBM, why am I surprised?  I should have expected that. 

They are being so gracious about it, they have contracted with a company to discuss our needs with us, and help us choose what works best for us.  In other words, they hired people to navigate the government website for us. 

So I freaked out last week and started studying the materials.  I will still have Medicare, of course, but I still will need a medical supplement, and something for prescriptions, and of course I don't know what I'll do for dental and vision.  (Oddly enough, dental and vision insurance coverage is the ONLY advertising junk mail that hasn't been arriving.)  And if I don't have the prescription thing nailed down by 12/31 and then find out I have to go with Medicare part D, I will have to pay a penalty for the rest of my life.

So, I read all the materials and went to the recommended we-will-help-you website and tried to set up my profile.  Yeah, sure.  It wouldn't accept it because "You must provide a number greater than 0" --- but I had filled in every space, and all numbers were greater than 0, and the site wouldn't tell me where I went wrong. Nothing was flagged.  I tried everything, including starting over from scratch, and after four hours I gave up.

So I called the we-will-help-you folks, the option for people without computer access.  There was only an hour and a half wait.  The woman asked me if I had my Medicare card in hand.  Well, I said no (I can be stupidly honest.  I can't find it, haven't seen it since my hospital stay last January), but I have all the information from the card.  She informed me she couldn't help me until I had the actual card, and, in effect, hung up on me.

I called Social Security and asked for a replacement card, was told ok, we'll mail it, but it will take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive!  No, they can't expedite it.  Yes, if I don't sign up for Part D by 12/31 and it turns out I need it, I will pay the penalty rate every year for the rest of my life.

I freaked out.  Then I remembered that my doctor's office had made a copy of my Medicare card, so I called there, and I now have a copy.  Not the original, but I'm not going to tell anybody that.  Turns out Medicare had screwed up my name slightly on the card, and if I don't use the exact same name nobody can accept it, and I had naively thought they'd used my real name.  (I'm beginning to hate the world.)

So tomorrow, I call again, and try again.

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

In the meantime, cash flow is a problem.  I'm waiting for a large check from my investments, but my car insurance and the insurance on the country house were due, so I went to their websites and put those payments on a credit card.

I have only two credit cards, by choice.  Also by choice, one of them has a very high limit, and the other has a very low limit, also by choice.  I use the low limit card for all low-trust online business and anytime anyone wants to walk away with it so that if anyone "steals" it, they can't get much.

Yup.  I screwed up.  I used the low limit card for both, and together they are going to blow the limit, so ONE of them will "bounce", but I don't know which.

I spent several hours today on calls to the insurance companies, the credit card company (I had them transfer cash from one of my checking accounts to the credit card, THEN found out that will take 4 to 6 days!)  So I tried to have the limit raised, but was told I had to go to the issuing bank to have that done.  So, I call the issuing bank.  They need to send me an application to raise the limit, which I have to have notarized and send back.  (I call B.S. on that!  They used to send me letters telling me they'd raised my limit, isn't that wonderful, and then I'd have to call them and say no, I WANT to keep that low.) That's not going to help.

So, one of my insurance policies is in jeopardy, and I don't know which.  I guess when I get the cancellation letter, I'll just call and switch it to the other credit card.

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

On top of all that.............................................

Blah.

Let's just say I've been running flat out for more than a week, I'm tired, I still have to get the van inspected, there's four inches of snow out there, the van is covered in ice, the BMW has ANOTHER tire losing air, and we can expect below freezing temperatures (way below average for this time of the year) for the foreseeable future.  I haven't made it to the country house yet, so I haven't put antifreeze in the toilets and drains yet (I think I did at least leave the water turned off after the last visit), so if the house loses power, well, I don't want to think about it.  Especially if it's that insurance that might get temporarily cancelled.

I am way way behind on correspondence.

I think I'll go to bed now.
.

3807 Kicking

Thursday, December 5, 2013

I'm  hoping to get through the to-do list today, enough of the high priority items that I can head north this evening.

In reference to the previous post, I got the advice of four people.  Three said ignore the woman.  One pointed out that if I restrict communication to email, I am in control and I can decide what information to give her and what to withhold, what to answer and what to ignore.

I decided that she's right.  I am in control.

So I have to do what is natural to me.  When someone extends an olive branch, I can't ignore it and walk away.  That's just not me.  It would bother me forever, and I should know that by now.  Remember - I'm the one who always sent a penny, even though I never got one.

So I did reply to her note.  All I said was that she had written her note entirely on the subject line [and I tried it from Gmail, and yeah, Gmail will allow you to do that without warning] so I don't know what she said; please try again.

That was Tuesday evening.  I have not heard from her, but I doubt she checks her email often.

Now, off to the to-do list.
.

3806 Scary World

Sunday, December 1, 2013

I've been searching the internet for people I hadn't heard from or maybe thought about in ages.  It started out as plain curiosity.  Where are they now?  What are they doing?

Men are easier to find than women, because their names don't much change.

It has become scary.

So far, every man I've been able to locate whom I had ever dated before Jay died --- is dead, with the sole exception of Ex#2.  (And him, I don't understand how he's still alive.)

I'm beginning to feel somehow responsible.

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

Things got weird in another area, too.  I have written in the past about a friend from work and also from Mensa.  I'm the first she called when her husband died, and I helped her through all the messy legal and emotional details that entailed.  She was so grateful she said she would put my favorite charities in her will, donations to be made in my name.  I gave her brain tumor research and doctors without borders.  By the way, she is fabulously wealthy.  We're talking original Picassos and Miros on her walls.  She has no family except a grand-niece somewhere.

She'd always been a drinker, and after her husband died she started drinking heavily.  She started calling friends in our group at 3 and 4 am to chat.  You'd explain to her that you were sleeping and had to get up in the morning, so, uh, goodnight, and hang up on her.  She was hard of hearing and tended to talk right over you, so ... the phone would ring again, "We got cut off!"  That would go on and on all night.  If you didn't turn the phone off it began to sound like an alarm clock.

Our friendship ended when she went to a Mensa party that was supposed to start at 7 pm, and showed up already hammered at the hostess' house at 7 am, oops, and then just stayed, drinking the whole time.  At the end of the evening no one wanted her to drive home, but she fought anyone who tried to take her keys and the hostess had had it with her and refused to keep her overnight.  So I volunteered (without her knowledge or permission) to follow her, to make sure she made it home.

I think my being a discreet distance behind her infuriated her, and kept her alert and on the road.

When I got home I found several messages on my machine, and then the phone rang again and it was her.  She was furious that I'd had the nerve to follow her home.  To treat her like she was incapable.  She yelled at me a while, and then hung up.

I don't think she ever went to another Mensa event, and at any rate, never spoke to me again unless it was the wee hours of the morning and she was too drunk to remember she was mad at me.

Then I moved to New Jersey.

About two years ago I got an email from a mutual friend.  He told me that she had asked for my phone number.  She had apparently tried to call the country house and the phone had been disconnected.  He said he figured he should check with me first.  "Is she still calling people in the middle of the night?"  "Yep."  "Thanks for asking first.  No, don't give her my new number.  Tell her you simply don't have it or can't find it."

And that was the end of that.

Well, last week I got to wondering about her.  She's only maybe two years older than I, but she has always been in poor health, has some kind of balance problems and falls a lot even when she'd been sober, and now with the drinking...  So I searched the internet.  She's still alive.  Ok, end of thought.

Until yesterday.

 I got an email from her.

A strange email, to the account I rarely use anymore.  She even sounds sort of sober...

except

...the Subject line says: "Hey, are you still out there?  Let me know.  The reason I am writing (besides just wanting to reconnect) is that some time ago I told you that I wanted..."

The body of the email, the text part, is completely blank.  She apparently wrote the entire note on the subject line, which, of course, got cut.  (Sheesh.  How do you even do that?)

Oh, cripes.

I thought about it most of yesterday and today.  It's ten years since her husband died and she wrote the new will, so I suspect her lawyer has told her it's time to review it, and maybe she wants to check my choice of charities.  I don't know.  I'd have to respond to her to find out what she wants to say.

I am torn.  I feel like the right thing to do is to respond.
BUT I DON'T WANT TO!!!!!!
I do not want to reconnect!
I'd rather she just thought I am lost.
But that's a bad thing to do, to hide from her like that.
It's a moral dilemma.
I do still feel some pity for her --- she's so alone.
She has no interests, no activities, no family.
But I need to protect myself from the suction of her life.

I asked Daughter, who tends to be one of those maddeningly black or white people, and she said I have no obligation to respond.  The woman cut me off a long time ago when I had been perhaps her best friend, and I can leave it at that.  She chose that loss, that path.  My only loss might be some large contributions to charity, maybe, if that's what the note was about.  So I can choose to not respond without guilt.

So, what do you think?
.

3805 Train wreck, in more ways than one.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

I turn the TV on for only four shows a week these days.  One of them is "Sunday Morning", although I've been disappointed in that show for the past few years.  Lately it's been just celebrity-type stuff, with a hidden sales pitch, rather than what's happening out there in the "real" countryside, like back when it was Charles Kuralt, remember him?  (Joke:   "My home town is so small Charles Kuralt has been there three times!")

Anyway, I was up this morning, turned the TV on, and instead of "Sunday Morning", it was a report on the Metro North train derailment.  Four dead so far, but so many are in critical condition I think unfortunately that number will rise.  I haven't heard yet how many people in total were on the train.  It had left Poughkeepsie (that's pronounced P-kip'-see by the natives, Po-kip'-see by newcomers, abbreviated "Pok") just before 6 am, due to arrive at Grand Central a bit before 8 am, so it wouldn't have been crowded - likely mostly people who work in the city, maybe some returning from the holiday.  There are a lot of commuters from the Pok area since the mass exodus from Manhattan after 9/11.  I'm sure some work on Sundays.

Story:  http://mashable.com/2013/12/01/new-york-train-derailment/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss#_

I am familiar with that train route.  That's the line I took from the country house on the few occasions I ventured into the city.  It runs alongside the east bank of the Hudson, and is quite scenic.

Amtrak trains running between Albany and NYC stop in Rhinecliff, and that's actually much closer to the house, only a few minutes drive.  But an Amtrak ticket is a small fortune, the trains go to Penn Station, the local station is manned only a few hours on weekdays, and there's no real parking lot in the tiny village of Rhinecliff.  You have to compete for parking along the river.  So I would drive the 40 minutes south to Pok where there are huge parking lots and a well-manned station, and take a Metro North train, which was a LOT cheaper and goes to Grand Central.  Metro North cars are the same trains that serve inside the city - some are actual subway trains.  Pok is the northern-most terminus of the NYC subway system.  Weird, huh?

Since so many people moved north after 9/11, there's been a lot of noise about extending Metro North up to Rhinecliff, but I doubt that will ever happen. 

Anyway - the point, finally.

Because Pok is the end of the line, they USED to have an engine at the north end of the train to pull it north, AND an engine at the south end to pull it south.  Then someone came up with a brilliant cost-saving idea.  They now have one engine, on the north end, which pulls it north, and PUSHES it south.

Pushes.

Any child knows that if you link some wagons together and pull them, they follow, and if one somehow goes off the path, it might pull others out of line, but they aren't going to jam up (well, from momentum, but that's all the energy in the jam).  But if you try to push them, if one goes off the path, the following ones will jam up and push even more off the path because of the energy coming from behind, and likely spill the contents.  Violently.

I hope Metro North saved a zillion dollars with that idiotic idea, because those passengers ought to sue the pants off them.

And I'm not an advocate of lawsuits for every little thing.

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

On the TV, there was a reporter talking from "near" the scene.  She startled me at first by reporting that "five of the seven trains" derailed.   Five trains!  Good Grief!  How does that happen!?  "One train almost went into the river".  "Several trains were on their sides".  And so on.

As she went on over the next half hour, it dawned on me that she was calling the passenger CARS "trains".  Does she not know what a "train", a series of linked things, in this case passenger cars, is?

There had to be people around her.  Why did no one correct her?  It got to the point that I was yelling at the TV, wanted to reach through the screen and personally strangle her.

I guess someone finally clued her in, because she started talking about cars.
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3804 Google wants your DNA, too?

Monday, November 25, 2013

Remember when I wondered if Google was getting too big, and too inquisitive?  

Now, does Google want your DNA?  Do you realize how much that test would cost if it weren't subsidized?  Why would anyone want to subsidize it?

I don't like the answer.
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3803 I never got my penny

Monday, November 25, 2013

There's a huge world-wide Secret Santa network being set up through Reddit:  http://redditgifts.com/about/.

I guess I'm a cynic, because I don't believe it at all.  I don't believe the numbers of people, I don't believe the numbers of countries, and I especially don't believe that everyone will actually send decent gifts.  I do, however, believe that this is one heck of an idea for gathering names and addresses, AND interests!  Google ain't got nuttin on Reddit!

Back in the olden days of pen pals and love letters, there was something called a chain letter.  You'd get a letter with a list of the names and addresses of five people.  You were to send some token, like a penny or a postcard to the top name on the list, then make five copies of the letter with the top name/address removed and your name and address added to the bottom, and send it to five new people.  In theory, each person would receive over 3,000 pennies.

I always always always sent a penny to the top name.  Always.  And since I had no allowance and felt so poor, I made ten copies of the letter (handwritten, of course, we're talking about the late '50s) and used my mother's stamps to mail them, hoping that I would get over 6,000 pennies back.

I never got a single penny or postcard.  Never.  Not one.  No one I ever asked ever got a penny.  The only people in the entire world who ever got a penny were, apparently, the ones I sent pennies to.

Way to feel like a patsy.  Maybe this is what contributes to my cynicism.

...and then there were the kids who bragged that they didn't add their name to the end - they jumped the line and added themselves to the top, so they'd get pennies sooner.  They didn't see the hole in that, no matter how many times I tried to explain it.
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3802 Toe

Sunday, November 24, 2013

I've done something to my toe.

There's a raised marble threshold at the bathroom door, and yesterday morning, walking into the bathroom in bare feet, I stubbed my index/second toe on my left foot on the marble.  The kind of stub where the toe folds under itself.

It hurt really badly.  I said some naughty words.  But then after a few minutes it stopped hurting.  I fiddled with it and it didn't seem broken or anything serious.

By late afternoon there was a red bar across the toe a bit above the base of the toenail, at that last joint.  But it didn't hurt at all and there was no swelling. 

Flashes of brief but intense pain woke me this morning.

It's driving me crazy now.  NOT because of the pain - there isn't any pain unless I move it a certain way.  The crazifying thing is that I can't figure out what that certain way IS, so I can stop moving it that way.

 I can tweak it with my fingers, I can bend it up, bend it down, use it to grip and lift the front of the sandals, everything, with no pain.  As long as I'm sitting there's no pain.  But I can't walk without random electric shocks and sudden hit-my-toe-with-a-hammer surprises. (My kitchen is three yelps wide.)  I'm not worried about it, just annoyed that I can't figure out what not to do, to keep it from biting me and let it heal.

Phooey.

Well, I don't think I would have been going anywhere today anyway.  It's 26 degrees F out there, and very windy.
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3801 Soup eats?

Friday, November 22, 2013

I opened a can of soup, Campbell's, for lunch today.  On the label were the words "Soup that eats like a meal".

My first thought was, "Soup doesn't eat!"

My second thought was, "Neither does a meal.  So I guess that's true."

My head hurts.
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3800 Jasper and the calendar

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Jasper gets dry cat food all week.  I try to buy food for him that's urinary tract friendly.  I don't especially like the idea of feeding him dry food, but I think it's better for his teeth.  Of course mice, chipmunks, and birds would be better for him all around, crunching the bones is the best thing for his teeth, but he has to kill them himself or he doesn't recognize it as food.

That's weird - that he does recognize unmoving kibbles in a bowl as food, but does not recognize a dead bird (a raw chicken wing, for example) as food.  Especially weird since he was living on his own, feral, when I caught him.  On the other hand, his "hunting" back then consisted of being cute in the parking lot of a long-term hotel, his prey being luncheon meat and cheese caged from lonely businessmen.

He gets canned food on Sunday mornings.  Sunday treat.  The little Fancy Feast fish flavors.

What amazes me is that he always knows when it's Sunday.

Back when I was working and had to be up by a certain time every day, my cat companion would always wake me at that time.  Very handy if I'd forgotten to set the alarm or something.  I haven't been working since long before I got Jasper, so he doesn't wake me.  When I finally do get up, he follows me around until I go downstairs, then he politely reminds me that it's time to feed him, and doesn't mind waiting a bit, because there are always crumbs left in the bowl anyway.

Except on Sundays.  On Sunday mornings when we get downstairs he wraps himself around my legs, and yells loudly NOW! NOW! NOW! (his meows sound just like that) and frantically leads and pushes me to the cabinet, cutting off my attempts to escape, until there's Fancy Feast in the bowl.

How does he know it's Sunday?  There are no churches near here, no bells.  No neighbors loading up the car to go to church.  I'm normally up by 7 or 8 am, so I'd notice. There's nothing different from Saturday.

Ahah!  I thought two weeks ago that I had figured it out.  I watch "Sunday Morning" on CBS at 9 am, so on Sunday I turn the TV on as soon as I go downstairs.  Sunday is the only day I turn the TV on in the morning.  That's his clue!

Last Sunday I slept in. I've been sleeping late a lot lately, since my doctor put me on a powerful decongestant for my sinuses.  Sunday, I didn't wake until after 10, and then only because he was jumping on my legs and yelling NOW! NOW! NOW!  I thought the freakin' house was on fire!

He never wakes me.  How did he know it was Sunday?
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3799 Blowing my nose

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Heard on BBC radio, in reference to attacks on women in India: "Each attack is more brutal than the next."  Um, doesn't that mean the attacks are decreasing in brutality?

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

"The government didn't violate a convicted terrorist's constitutional right to a speedy trial when it detained him for five years at Guantanamo Bay before trying him in court, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday" [not this past Thursday].  Details here.  Basically, a federal court ruled that his right to a speedy trial was not abridged by his having been held at Guantanamo for more than five years without charges, during which time he was subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques".  From the WSJ Law Blog, "The circuit court agreed with a lower-court judge that the government’s decision to delay prosecution so it could extract valuable intelligence on al Qaeda was reasonable."

Let me get this straight.  The court said that a speedy trial does not trump national security, so it's ok to keep this guy for five years of intense interrogation because he's a terrorist, BEFORE a trial to determine if he's a terrorist.  In other words, if the authorities think you're guilty then you're guilty.  He was convicted right off the bat, with no hearing and no lawyer, without a trial, by his captors. And this is ok?

I don't know about you, but that's scary, and even scarier that a federal court said it was ok.  What if that kind of thinking spreads to other federal or state agencies?

Actually, it has been going on for a long time.  If you are arrested on on drug dealing charges, or even if you are only suspected of illegality, the state/feds can confiscate practically everything you own and sell it, and keep the money, BEFORE your criminal  trial.  If it turns out you are not guilty, you don't just get your stuff back.  It's a long expensive legal battle you can't afford and are unlikely to win.  Too bad, so sad.  Your property is long gone, you had been "convicted" and fined on mere suspicion.  Look up "asset forfeiture" on Wikipedia.

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

Ever wonder whence the expression "short shrift", meaning you were shrugged off quickly and not taken seriously?  Not being Catholic, I didn't know that shrift is confession to a priest and the penance and absolution that follow.  So if you were given short shrift, either your sins were minor, or you got a brushoff.  Simple.  Wow.

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

Google wants to scan and digitize millions of books, the entire book, from research libraries as grist for their search mill.  They'd already processed gazillions of books when publishers and authors' guild(s) protested that it was copyright infringement.  It's significant that research libraries buy the books, and don't make money on them.  Google has not purchased the books, and will make money on them through advertising on search results pages.  Fair use?  Not?  I say no, get permission, but I'm not the judge.

If you're interested, the story's at http://mashable.com/2013/09/24/google-books-lawsuit/.

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

I'm thinking Google is getting too big.  They provide an lot of very expensive services for free (think of Google maps - how much must THAT cost?) and supposedly they get income from advertising, but, uh, when's the last time you were very aware of Google advertising?  They are gradually taking over the internet, and then tying it all together (Blogger, Gmail, Chrome, you can't have a YouTube account anymore unless you also have a Google+ account, etc.) and they are asking for a LOT of information through those accounts and gathering more information from your activities on those accounts.

Advertising isn't paying for everything Google is doing, I guarantee that.  Not even selling top ranking in search results.  I am very suspicious.  

Pretty soon for every house on those Google maps, they will have the names, ages, details, photos, interests, purchasing habits and preferences of all the occupants.

Who is funding all this, and what is the ultimate purpose?
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3798 Little Drummer Girl

Sunday, November 17, 2013

This is Nugget playing the bowl drums.  The first selection (13 seconds) is from earlier in the week when it was just the two of us.  It's short because the battery in my camera suddenly died (no warning!). 

The second (26 seconds) was a few days later when her daddy was watching, too, and she seems a lot more restrained.

It was windy outside, and the wind sometimes catches the flap over the dryer vent and makes a banging noise.  At the end of the clip, the flap banged and startled her, and she jumped up and ran for her daddy's legs.

[I don't understand why the Youtube logo is on the lower right.  If you click on that, you don't get these videos. Blogger did that all by themselves, and these videos are not on Youtube.  I don't understand.]
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3797 Halloween Haul

Sunday, November 17, 2013

I forgot to mention what I gave out for Halloween this year.  I wanted to do it up well because the kids missed Halloween last year because of the hurricane.  I'm still reluctant to give out candy, but I discovered the A&P had boxes of small packages of nice name-brand cookies for a very reasonable price.  So I got those.  I also bought these on Amazon:

LED Finger lights (they're like little flashlights):

and Flashing gel LED rings:

I got them much cheaper than these specific linked ones because I bought them in higher quantity, and they were on sale for Halloween.  There's a lot of folks selling them on Amazon, at a lot of different per-piece prices.

I sat on the porch all evening, so nobody had to ring the bell and freak out Jasper.  The first fifty kids got a package of cookies and a ring (girls) or a finger light (boys).  After I ran out of cookies (I did reserve some for little bitty kids who shouldn't get things-to-put-in-mouth-and-choke-and-lead-parents-to-sue), girls got a ring and boys got 2 finger lights.  Plus I located the packs of cider powder from last year's non-Halloween, and everyone got one of them, too (just to get RID of them!)

My house was the most popular that night.  There were flashing and glowing lights up and down the street, and as other kids on other streets saw them, they got directed here, too ("the house on x street with the wide porch").  I had asked the neighbors how many kids to expect, and was told "between 50 and 60, usually".  I and my neighbors got at least 120 visitors.  Some neighbors were annoyed at me for attracting so many kids. Others, parents themselves, thought the lights were a great idea - made the kids very visible.

The Nugget, well, that was a bit of a sad story.  At first the activity on the street kind of frightened her and she didn't want to go out at all.  Hercules had bought her a dinosaur rider costume for last year's non-Halloween, and he decided that she should wear it this year.

Nugget flatly refused to put it on.

She refused to go outside at all.

Daughter finally convinced her to go over to a playmate's house on the next street over, and carry the costume to show her.  That was ok. 

So Nugget ended up going trick-or-treating with her little friend, to a few houses on the playmate's street, carrying the costume.  If you asked, she was a "dinosaur tamer".

I didn't get to see her that evening until she was all done and came to show me her haul.
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3796 I am just unreasonable, I guess

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Well, we're coming up on the fiftieth anniversary of the JFK assassination, and there are all kinds of shows and articles now on JFK.

The worship and adulation annoy me.

I'll tell you a secret.

Well, first I need to point out that I very rarely hate anyone.  There are people that annoy me, people who stress me, people that I do feel anger toward, people whom I don't want to deal with, but I can't say I hate.  I tend to play devil's advocate a lot.  I try to understand where they're coming from, why they are as they are.  Live and let live kind of thing.  I don't like them, maybe I even actively dislike them, but I don't hate them.

The only living person I can say I truly hate is Dick Cheney.   In my opinion, that man is pure evil, and the evil goes back a long long time.  There are many many reasons for my hate.  It's absolutely defensible.  There is no redeeming or excusing him.

The only other person alive during my lifetime that I can say I have hated is JFK.

I have no idea why.  I really don't.

From the very first time I saw JFK on TV, I hated him.  He struck me as fake, privileged, conceited, entitled, blah blah blah, whatever. It used to drive me crazy when other women swooned over "how handsome" he was.  I never "got" that.  I found him to be actively wimpy, even ugly. His hairstyle verged on the jellyroll favored by the local hoods.   His eyes were too close together and seemed dead to me.  Worse, his marriage seemed fake, a marriage of social and political expediency on both sides.  There didn't seem to be any love there.  It seemed like everything about him was an act.

Ok, that's enough to dislike him, but my feelings went beyond dislike.  For me it spilled over into active hate.  I hated him. Still do. 

Now, of course, I can point to various revelations and say, "See? I was right."  But that's hindsight, might rise to the level of dislike, not hate, and can't be used to justify my initial hate.  And you can point to all the wonderful things accomplished, but they're not enough to change my feelings. 

I don't understand.  I don't know why I would put Dick Cheney and JFK on the same level, but I do.

(Oddly, his brothers had many of the same characteristics, but I didn't even dislike, let alone hate, them.  They were sort of ok, even though they used to dragoon high school girls for ski lodge parties.  Yeah, I have personal knowledge of that.  Somewhere in the distant past in this blog I talked about that.)
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3795 Piss me off!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Many years ago I reserved "(MyName).com" through NetworkSolutions.com, just in case I ever wanted a website for whatever purpose.  It's just a few dollars a year to keep it, since I don't need a host yet, but if I ever decide to use it, it's there.

Warning:  Don't go there!!!!!!  Not for a while, anyway.  I'll explain in a minute.

I have been getting emails since the first week of August at the rate of about one a week from Network Solutions reminding me that my reservation of (MyName) will expire soon and it's time to renew.  Fine.  I intend to renew.  However, it doesn't expire until June 23, 2014!  Sheesh, folks.  Alright already!  I'll renew in May, when I get the calendar reminder to renew, but not before then!

Network Solutions makes a few bucks by letting third parties advertise on my "under construction" page.  Over the years it's been mostly legitimate fabric sellers, sari sellers, drum and instrument shops, stuff like that, which I didn't mind.

All these emails prompted me to take a look to see who's advertising there now.

Horrors!

It's dating sites, and NOT nice ones, either.

I have WOT (Web of Trust) installed on my system, and it went crazy.  WOT tells you if a link is dangerous, if there's a possibility of viruses, spam, other nasty stuff, based on the comments of others who had gone there.  (MyName) is apparently ok, WOT allowed the site to load, but the links on the page are NASTY!

Worse, if your cursor even passes over some of those links, without even a click, it looks like the link is taken, and some of those sites set off WOT.  There may be dragons there!

Holy Crap!  I don't want (MyName) to get that reputation!


This is majorly scary.

There is a way to change the construction page, and I'm going to have to do that, but it'll take some figuring out.  And it might cost more.

Sigh.

Shut up, Network Solutions.  The renewal reminders were ticking me off, but this whoring out (almost literally!) of (MyName), heretofore a sweet little lady, takes the cake.

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

I highly recommend WOT.  It's free.  http://www.mywot.com/ 
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3794 To blog or not to blog

Monday, October 11, 2013

More and more bloggers seem to be thinking of quitting, two just this morning, several have disappeared over the past year.  Many have moved to Facebook or Twitter or whatever, but although that's a way to keep in touch with friends and family in a "I did this, then I did this" way, it's not the same as bogging in that blogging requires thought and introspection.   Well, maybe not always, but often enough.   

I have found that writing (blogging) clarifies my thinking. I'm forced to put my thoughts to the test of logic. "Does this make sense?" Sometimes the thinking doesn't make it into the blog, but the thinking wouldn't have happened without the blog.

Blogging has allowed me to look at things that have happened in a less emotional way, to look at things from several viewpoints, so I'm better able to come to terms with it.  Blogging got me out of the hole I'd fallen into after Jay died.

Sometimes I have a strong reaction to some news.  If I decide to comment on it in my blog, I have to do some research first, like finding the best link about it, some details, and sometimes along the way I discover that my first impression was entirely wrong.

Blog for yourself, not for others. When anyone says they have nothing more to say, they really mean they don't think others want to hear/read it, but they themselves actually have plenty to mull. And even only one or two lurking readers can keep you honest with yourself.
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3793 Buy American! Um, how?

Thursday, November 7, 2013

If you prefer to buy American-made products, read the linked article.
Especially if you prefer Apple products, read the linked article.

http://mashable.com/2013/11/07/trapped-in-apple-supply-chain/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Don't stop reading before you get to the story of Dhong.

And yes it's possibly, maybe even probably, true of every other "American manufacturer" to some degree.

It's not so much the simple taking advantage of that gets me.  It's the taking of enormous profits on the ruined lives of others.  How much of the price of that iPhone is manufacturing cost?  How much is sheer profit?  At what cost?

There "outta be a law" !
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3792 What happened to Bill?

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

I saw this picture of Bill Gates the other day:

(From http://mashable.com/2013/11/04/bill-gates-interview-human-health/)

The photo confused me.  He's younger than I am, a lot younger, but he looks ten years older.  His skin looks like he's spent every waking moment out in the sun, without sunblock, and we know that's highly unlikely.  There's something wrong.

So I asked Google.

Nothing definitive or verifiable, nothing from reliable sites, just unverified rumors of Parkinson's Disease.  Whatever.  But I'm sure there's something going on with him.  Can it be just stress?

Wandering around what turned up for "Parkinson" with various other search arguments, I am surprised at how many people in public life have Parkinson's.

Ten years ago it was brain tumors.

Almost like ... a fashion, or something.  Strange.
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3791 Beware of strangling sheets

Monday, November 4, 2013

We are doomed.  Last night on "60 Minutes", Leslie Stahl (I think that's who is was) actually said in reference to the Guantanamo trials, "one obstacle after the next".  I was horrified.

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

If you ever see an ad for "1800 thread count microfiber sheet sets", usually mentioning Egyptian comfort in the text, DON'T BUY THEM!

I bought two sets maybe five years ago, when they first came out, at a booth at a county fair, for just about $49 a set. The product name was "1800 Thread Count Egyptian Comfort Sheet Sets".  The label said, "Enjoy the softness of Egyptian cotton", in large type. In smaller type it said "microfiber".  I stupidly thought that meant they were Egyptian cotton.  Egyptian cotton has exceptionally long fibers, so it is possible to spin it into finer threads, and I thought that's what the "microfiber" meant - very fine cotton thread - and that's how 1800 count was possible.  (Remember, this was before microfiber dusting cloths were so common.)

Not true.  Nowhere near cotton. They're a synthetic fiber. 

The damn sheets don't really fit any mattress.  Technically, they fit, the corners meet, but they don't stay taut.  The bottom sheet gets baggy in the middle of the bed because the sides won't stay tucked under the mattress, making folds and slippery patches, badly enough that when you move your legs, the sheets can, like, wrap your legs.  When you turn, the top sheet wants to tangle around you, too.  Unlike real cotton, they don't have enough body to behave.

The only good part is the pillow cases.  They can be good for your hair style, but they won't stay on the pillows.  You have to pin the opening closed or the pillow escapes.

The people selling this crap imply that you'd pay up to $300 for sheets of this quality in a major department store.  Bull poopy.  No legitimate store will sell them, and nobody anywhere sells them for more than $39, usually between $20 and $30.  Perhaps they figure nobody will sue as long as the price is ridiculously, embarrassingly, low.

See this online retailer:  http://www.egyptianbedsheetsets.com/bed-sheets.asp
Note that NOWHERE do they say anything about synthetic fibers.  These folks don't even mention the word "microfiber".  You are purposely led to expect cotton, even though they don't actually say what they're made of.

BEWARE!
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3790 Three kinds of sleeping men

Sunday, November 3, 2013

I was lying in bed this morning, snuggled under the blankets with Jasper curled against the back of my knees, and I was thinking about which side of the bed I choose to sleep on.  I start on the left**, often roll over to the right during the night, then back to the left by morning.  I guess it's because the table with the clock and my eyeglasses is on the left.  At the country house, I sleep on the right, and pretty much stay there.

In my experience with sleeping with men (and I have a lot more experience than you'd even guess), I've found they seem to fall into three groups.

The first two groups don't consistently prefer one side over another.  Their choice is based on the layout of the room, and in that they are consistent.

1.  Some insist on sleeping on the side of the bed nearest the door.  If you ask, that's what they say, that they want to be nearest the door. Even if you're sleeping in a strange place, like a hotel, they want to be nearest the door.  Which side they sleep on changes with the room.  I think of them as "The Protectors".  These men also tend to walk toward the outside on sidewalks, and insist on opening doors for ladies.

2.  Some want the side of the bed nearest the bathroom, and if you ask, that's what they say.  The bathroom.  I think of them as "The Piddlers".   These guys tend to be a little  bit self-absorbed and stingy.

3.  Then there's the guys who always sleep on one particular side.  If you ask, they say that they always sleep on the left (or right), with raised eyebrows, like "Duh?  Is there any other possibility?"  Mostly you don't have to ask.  They simply state it as fact, no discussion allowed.  I think it probably has to do with which side of their body they sleep on, and want to be facing out, or in, and know exactly where the edge is.  These are "The Rigids".  They like things a certain way, seldom break routine.

Of course this is just my experience, and some men are combinations or exceptions.  The Man, for example, always sleeps on "his side" of the bed and is pretty Rigid in his habits (well, very rigid) and often his thinking, but in all else he is a Protector.

Do you prefer a particular side?  Why?

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

**I'm never quite sure what people mean when they say "right" or "left" in reference to a bed.  Is it as when you lie on your back on the bed?  Or when you stand at the foot facing the head?

Seems to me that since the bed has a head and a foot, it would have a right hand and a left, so it would be like lying on the bed on your back.  But The Man uses the opposite, and we all know he's never wrong.
 
It doesn't  much matter what's correct, since the person speaking is not necessarily using it that way.

Later - We don't seem to have this problem with chairs.  "Put the table to the right of the chair" means to your right, not the chair's right, and most people understand that.  Oh, Good Grief!  Does that mean The Man is right again!?
.
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3789 Missing the target

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

There's this thing I'm seeing more and more of, where someone is keeping track of everything you look at online, and then selling that information to advertisers, who then focus on your "interests" for those ads over there on the margins.  Targeted advertising.

Hey, folks, you're doing it wrong!

Like Amazon keeps track of what I've looked at or bought, and then makes suggestions, "just for me".  Only what they show me are things I've already looked at or already bought!  That makes no sense.  I already have it, or I've already rejected it.

When I buy something on eBay, I get a message that "People who bought [what I just bought] also bought [pictures of of similar items]".  Well, a couple of problems there:
1. There are NO other people who bought what I just bought.  I bought the only one.  You lie!
2. If other people bought these other things, they're already sold.  What help is that to me?

If I search for toy ovens, for days afterward I am inundated with ads for toy ovens.  Hey, I just bought one!

I have to draw on my eyebrows, and they frequently disappear within an hour, so the other day I searched for and bought a blond eyebrow pencil (actually a liquid with a fine brush to draw "hairs" with) that is guaranteed to last all day.  I bought it from a particular beauty supply outlet.  Now my margins are filled with ads from that outlet, not ads for any of their other products, but ads for the very same pencil I already bought.  Duh?

Targeted advertising is crap.  It's been poorly implemented by people who don't have enough brains to understand that people don't want to look at things they've already looked at.  It's being signed up for and paid for by retailers who are no smarter.

Maybe people might be interested in things related to things they've looked at? 

Like after I had looked at covers for the a/c units, maybe instead of throwing more a/c covers at me, you should suggest patio furniture or grill covers.  After I bought one John Smith book, instead of suggesting I buy that book again, maybe you could suggest other books by the same author, or a different author in the same genre.  After I bought the toy oven, maybe you could suggest other toys in the same age range.

I am especially disturbed by Gmail's scanning my emails for keywords.  I mentioned to a friend recently that I had gotten chubby since last we met (Yeah, I've gone from the size 6 and S I wore three years ago to 10 and 12 and M, and at my height, that's really chubby), just that one line, and suddenly my sidebar on Gmail is full of ads for shops specializing in foundations and those sizes with the Xs in them (which I can't wear no matter how big I get because the proportions are off for my height, the shoulder seams reach to my elbows).

One of these days I'd love to write an email full of exciting keywords just to see what happens - but I don't want to draw the attention of the NSA.
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3788 I don't get some people's taste

Sunday, October 27, 2013

There's a bunch of women discussing the attractiveness of a Scotsman on "Cute Overload", here.

As one woman said, he's "a little long in the tooth, and portly to boot, but a full head of hair, nice smile, lovely accent", but still a candidate for the "Men of" calendar.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind meeting him.  He has potential.  And my taste in men runs to dark hair and eyes.

Then the commenters suggest who he reminds them of.  One woman suggested Mr. Bates from “Downton Abby”, and others agreed. Many women have found Mr. Bates attractive, including me.  (He's the one who went to jail on bogus charges.  I'm unsure how much of Mr. Bates' attractiveness has to do with his appearance, and how much is the character's personality and our sympathy for his situation.)

Anyway, a few other women suggested who he looks like, and here's where I lost the connection. 

Um, Benny Hill?
Johnathan Winters?
Uh, yeah, they all have squarish faces, and hair, and the proper number of eyes and noses, but the level of attractiveness is way off.  Not even close!  In fact, I have to wonder about any woman who finds either of those two attractive.

Hmmmmm.

I guess it's good that different women (and men) see and are attracted to different things.  Otherwise a lot of us would never find a mate.
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