2966 Saturday Muse

Saturday, May 15, 2010

It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that
you would lie if you were in his place.
--H.L. Mencken--

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Not much happening. I've been joy riding on back roads. Funny how I become an "attractive blond" in the right car. And the right hat. I can't wait to get on the Thruway.

It's been perhaps 18 to 20 years since I'd driven a car with a manual transmission, and in the four and a half days I've been driving Hal, it's all come back. I clutch and shift automatically already, without even thinking about it. I guess it had become body-knowledge.

Prior to the 1990 Ford Taurus, my first automatic, all my cars had been manual, and I must have been pretty good, because I drove a car an average of 6 to 8 years, and never had to have the clutch adjusted, let alone replaced. Same for the transmission. I also got a higher mpg than expected. Hal might be a little harder to squeeze out mpg, because I can't hear the motor. (According to Hal, I'm getting 25.9 mpg now. I might actually be getting more, but I've been spending a lot of time idling while I read the book and play with all the buttons. This evening I found out how to turn the headlights on! Go me!)

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

Piper is a big Frank Sinatra fan (when he gets drunk, he sings Sinatra at me), so to thank him for going to NJ and looking at the house with me and advising me on the purchase, I bought him the complete set of Sinatra movie DVDs, and gave them to him yesterday.

We were talking about the van's woes, and he told me about an excellent mechanic just around the corner from me. Says he's used him for years and has been very satisfied. Weird. It's not an auto shop, it's a painting company, but they have a large fleet of trucks, and a mechanic on staff. So I went there and asked, and they are willing to take a look at the van. They'll tow it away on Wednesday.

All else seems to be holding its breath.
.

2965 Closer to safe

Thursday, May 13, 2010

It is now quite lawful for a Catholic woman to avoid pregnancy by a resort to mathematics, though she is still forbidden to resort to physics or chemistry.
--HL Mencken--

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Hal now has a 2-inch extender on his clutch pedal, and he's much easier to control. Captain Vantastic charged me only the cost of the aluminum block, no charge for installation. However, he pointed out a problem I suspected and had asked the salesman about - I'm too close to the airbag in the steering wheel.

I had read long ago that short people are in danger of having their necks broken (or spinal cords stretched) by the force of a too-close airbag. The salesman said that shouldn't be a problem because Hal moderates the force of deployment based on the weight in the driver's seat. BUT! New York state requires 13 inches space between the driver's nose and the bag. I've got only 10.

Interesting.

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

A simple, cheap, "green" way to sop up oil spills:


[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5SxX2EntEo]

Quoting the comment on the video from "maydayfire":

one reason that oil spill clean up companies do not use this method is that for such a natural and simple solution like this, you cant sell it and you cant patent it. When Money/Capitalism becomes the sole motive for scientific firms and companies, such natural and easy solutions are overlooked.

I've heard that before. If someone can't make scads of money on something, that something doesn't happen.
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2964 Rolling

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I don't care who does the electing as long as I get to do the nominating.
--Boss Tweed--

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I took Hal (that's the new car's name, because it's half computer, rather imperious about it, and I don't completely trust it yet) out for a test ride early this evening with a throw pillow behind my lower back. The pillow worked fine. When I got home, there was a message on the phone from the salesman with the phone number for the place where I can get the clutch block installed, in Kingston. I'm not sure, but I think it may be the same guy who handled my purchase of the wheelchair van and serviced the electric ramp and door, and he's really good at adapting things. That's great. I thought they were going to send me to someplace in Westchester or something.

Things are movin' along.
.

2963 Car sedation

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Poor spelling does not prove poor knowledge, but is fatal to the argument by intimidation.
--Gene Ward Smith--

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I took Jasper to the vet's today. I wanted to ask if I could sedate him for the 2.5 hour ride to New Jersey, because he throws fits in the carrier. He'd had what appeared to be a seizure during the ride back from the boarding attempt, so he needed to be examined before we could talk about sedation.

The little turd. Toddlers and animals will make a liar of you every time.

Here I am at the vet's talking about how he screams and bloodies his lips and paws on the door and ventilation holes, how he throws his body around and drools, and Jasper? Well, he's nodding off in the carrier. Kind of like when a toddler is running a scorching fever and is unresponsive, and you make the emergency call to the doctor, and when you get there 15 minutes later, the kid is fine and playing happily with toys. Rotten kids and beasties. They make you look like a hysterical parent.

So we now have some tiny pills, and we'll try one once or twice on shorter test-drives before the big trip.

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

Speaking of driving, I need a block, about two inches of extender, on the clutch in the new car. The salesman was supposed to call me last night with the 800 number to find out where I can have it done, but he didn't call, and time got away from me today, so I didn't call him. But I've decided I really shouldn't drive the new car much until I get the extender. It's really hard on my back. I woke up this morning with my back warning me not to do that again, or else.

Tomorrow I'll try a rolled pillow behind my lower back, but that's only a temporary solution.
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2962 Car Car!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Whenever anyone says, "theoretically", they really mean, "not really".
--Dave Parnas--

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Yesterday I went to NJ and the attorney and I worked on the house contract. It needs some changes. Then I visited Daughter at her office, then I drove to Newburgh and had dinner with some Mensans. When I mentioned I needed a way to get to the new car today, Roman volunteered. When I got home, there was a message on my phone from Piper, also volunteering.

So Roman picked me up at noon, and dropped me off at the dealership. The amount of crap that car thinks, does, monitors, and allows me to do is overwhelming. I guess I've got some reading to do.

There is a small problem - when I tried on the 2010 model, it fit me perfectly. However, that was an automatic transmission. I wanted manual. This car fits as far as the gas and brake pedals, just like the 2010, but the clutch is way out there. Even with the seat all the way forward, I have to slide forward and point my toes to fully depress the clutch. The salesman checked, and yes, we can put a block on it (I need about 2 inches), but it has to be done at a special "handicap refitting" shop. I guess having short legs is a valid handicap.

So, I'm driving it with ballerina toes, but I hope not for long. On the way home I stopped by Roman's and gave him a ride, then by Piper's for his ride. And even though it's only 55 degrees F, we had the top down. If you keep the windows up and turn the heat on, it's fine.

The amount of pure power is frightening!

These pictures were taken by Piper:

The white rings around the headlights are the daytime running lights. I don't want to even think about how much replacement "bulbs" must cost.

You can tell how far forward I have the seat by the length of the seat belt. I should be able to move it back a bit once I get the block on the clutch.
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2961 Wind and Babies

Sunday, May 9, 2010

If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.
--Isaac Newton--
If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders.
--Hal Abelson--
In computer science, we stand on each other's feet.
--Brian K. Reed--

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Whatever happened to the expression "I have a cold in my back"? It used to mean muscle cramps, which usually resulted from a draft on one's back. You don't hear it at all anymore.

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

Wind! We had 50 mph gusts yesterday. I went to see "Babies" at the arts theater, and almost couldn't get home. There were trees and large and small branches down on the road everywhere. It was complicated by bridge work. The county has used economic incentive money to replace bridges over the hundreds of streams and creeks and ravines on small roads everywhere, which is good for many reasons, except that they seem to have decided to do them all at once!

The Hairless Hunk cleaned up all the winter-downed branches on my property last week, and the yard looked good. He's going to have to do it all over again. Luckily, nothing has fallen on the house or driveway.

When Jay first moved into this house in the early '80s, his parents gave him a young maple tree as a housewarming gift. They planted it to the side of the house, outside a bathroom window.

Unfortunately, it was planted too close to the woods, and now it's huge and leans toward the house, looming threateningly over the roof. It's unbalanced, with more branch growth on the "open" house side. The Hairless Hunk has recommended that we take it out. I can't cut it down, because it meant a lot to Jay.

Maybe, when I move and sell this house, the new owners will have more sense and less sentimentality.

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"Babies", the documentary, was enjoyable. It's perhaps not something you should schedule time for, but if you have some free time and it's showing near you, see it. It is very cute.

I had watched a TV interview with the director last week, and he had said that the movie illustrated that first-world children are over attended, over stimulated, and over scheduled, and it's absolutely not necessary, that children are perfectly happy playing alone with sticks and stones, and a little boredom doesn't hurt them. He said that the Mongolian baby was usually left alone in the yurt for up to eight hours while his mother was working with the herds, and he was perfectly fine.

Well, actually, the film didn't show any of that. You see it, but no point is made. Well, if there is a point, it's that a child must know that they are loved, unconditionally, and that they make their mother smile. Everything else is fluff.

The clearest contrast was the attitude toward dirt. The American and Japanese babies were protected from nature and dirt - the Mongolian and African babies reveled in it, with no harm at all. That's kind of my attitude. Babies should get dirty! The dirtier the better! They should french kiss the dog! I've told Daughter that I intend to sail leaves in the gutters with my grandchild, and dig worms, and make mud pies, and yes, we might even taste them.

(Maybe that's why I have no grandchildren yet.)
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2960 Car!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Democracy, n.: A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic... negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy.
-- U.S.Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), since withdrawn. --

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My car is in! The salesman called today. It will be two days or so before I can pick it up. I guess they need to "do stuff" to it first.

Monday is filled up with the NJ attorney and an evening dinner. Tuesday I have to take Jasper to the vet (maybe I can change that appointment, since it's not like he's sick or anything).

The dealership is about 40 minutes south, and I need to figure out how to get there without a car. Piper would happily take me, but he'd been in Florida for the past two weeks taking care of his elderly mother while his sister was on vacation, so I know he's buried in work right now, so I don't want to ask him. I checked the county bus routes. They seem to be geared toward getting people to jobs and home again - the latest of two daily buses downriver leaves the village at 7:56 am (! Ack !) and I'd have to change buses in Poughkeepsie. A taxi would cost a zillion dollars. Almost all my friends have jobs, and most of them live way the heck down there, so it's a strain for them.

Gee, sorry. Don't you wish you had my problems?

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

It snowed last night in the Catskills. Sigh.
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2959 Candidate

Friday, May 7, 2010

All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers ... Each one owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which he was born.
-- Francois Fenelon --

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An acquaintance is running for governor of New York State as an independent. This is her campaign video. She does make some good points - budget cuts go to the powerless.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMy9CniCGKY]
.

2958 Nothin' Much

Friday, May 7, 2010

Mitchell's Law of Committees: Any simple problem can be made insoluble
if enough meetings are held to discuss it.

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

Nothing much happening.

Yesterday the market went crazy. Piper called me to ensure I wasn't freaking out, since I'll be selling stock soon to pay for the new house. He asked how much I thought I'd lost of my private holdings (the stuff he doesn't control), and I told him I hadn't even checked. I figure it was an aberration, and will come back very soon, and today's financial reports seem to be bearing that out. But it's probably just as well that I'm moving a significant amount out of equities and into real estate, at least until Greece, Europe, and the Euro gets sorted out. Which may take a while.

I asked the nurse at the vet's yesterday what they'd advise for Jasper's move to NJ. He freaked so badly the last time he was in the car that I thought he'd had a stroke. She said that it sounded like a seizure - and yeah, now that I think about it, yeah. You'd think I would be able to recognize a seizure.

So anyway, she said that Jasper could be sedated for the trip, but if he did have a seizure, he should be checked out before we attempt that. So, vet appointment next Tuesday. I don't know what the heck they'd be looking at or for....

Nothing else going on.
.

2957 Prediction

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Art is anything you can get away with.
-- Marshall McLuhan --

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Yesterday I got an email from the company that I buy most of my clothes from. The online outlet was having a clearance sale.

Stuff in the outlet is already 50 to 75% off, and they were offering 40% off the outlet price.

Wow! That means a top that normally sells for $70 is now something like $12. That's cheaper than Wal-Mart!

Naturally, I jumped. When they run sales like that, things go fast, especially in my size. I bought 3 jackets, 2 pairs of pants, 2 knit tops, a turtleneck, and a dress for a total of $110 plus shipping, in the smaller size I'm wearing now.

As I hit the "checkout" key, I thought to myself, "Just watch. I'll get a coupon tomorrow."

Sure enough, in today's mail I got a coupon for $30 off my next purchase over $100. And it has to be used by May 19.

I could spit.

But if I had waited until today to order, they'd have been out of my size in the things I liked.
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2956 Cleaning out

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought,
but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
-- Albert Einstein --

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Today I cleaned out three clothes closets, sorting into summer keep, winter keep, sell, donate, and throw out. I had a good time.

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I missed the miniature horses giving birth, but then I found some video clips at the Pacific Pinto web site [http://www.pacificpintos.com/new.html] of the very births I'd missed. Neat.

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Thunder storms last night, more predicted for the wee hours tonight.
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2955 Contract Review

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody will.

(Meetup is teaching me the truth of that....)
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I spent most of the afternoon reviewing the contract for the new house. I had 19 questions and/or things that needed changing, from the fact that my name was misspelled, to paragraphs that were incomplete, stopping in the middle of a sentence. A few of the things the builder/seller and I had agreed upon were not specified, but there's a paragraph that says that this is complete and anything not specified herein ain't gonna happen, so I want those things added before I'll sign it.

There are bunches of possibly important stuff, like the type of deed is "bargain and sale, covenants against grantors acts", which I don't believe is usual. I'd prefer "bargain and sale, with covenants". And the fact that I have to provide a something-or-other 30 days before closing, or I pay a penalty, and the contract sets a tentative closing date of May 28. I received the contract on April 29 - 29 days before the tentative closing date. Duh?

Daughter recommended the lawyer I'm using, but it looks like he received the contract from the builder's attorney, and sent it to me "If you are in agreement, you may sign the Contract and return" without so much as glancing at it. What am I paying him for? What if I had assumed he'd reviewed and approved it, and I went ahead and signed it? Since when does one have to research and cross-check the legal advice you get from your own lawyer?

Mother is not happy.
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2954 Moroccan Urn

Monday, May 3, 2010

A jury consists of 12 persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.
--Robert Frost --
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Every time I've ever bought anything fragile that had to be shipped, the retailer has told me that I must open the shipping container while the delivery guy is there, or the retailer cannot be responsible for damage.

Whether or not I understand that doesn't matter, because I have never convinced the delivery guy, whether UPS, FedEx, USPS, or the store's own people, to wait.

My urn from Morocco arrived today. I asked the FedEx guy to wait, and he said, and I quote, "No, I can't. There's no external damage. If anything's wrong, call them." Me: "Them who?" He: "The people you bought it from, or FedEx." And he left. He didn't even wait for me to shake it and see if there were any clanks. And that's the way it always goes.

The urn itself is ok. The lid has a finial on top, metal, soldered to a flat cap on the top knob, and the final has broken off. It would be easy enough to glue or solder the finial back on, except that the flat part it attaches to got bent off horizontal by the pressure it took to snap the finial, so glued back on, it would not be straight. Sigh. I'll have to find someone who can figure out how to straighten it out.

Here it is. It's all hand painted, very detailed, and trimmed in silver. I set the final on top for the photo, and turned it so it looks straight. Standing on the floor, it goes up to just past mid-thigh on me. Click on the photo for detail.


Now that I have it in the house, I realize I goofed. I should have chosen something more toward the red, pink, orange, brown, green, or tan color group. I have next to nothing blue in my house. But I loved this at first sight and didn't think of that. Still love it.
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2953 Weekend

Monday, May 3, 2010

Mythology, n.: The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its
origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth,
as distinguished from the true accounts which it invents later.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" --

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

Another thing I don't understand: Why is the drain in a bathtub always under the spigot? If they sloped the tub away from the spigot and put the drain in the opposite end, it would be sooooo much easier to clean the tub, and doesn't change the function at all. Of course, the dooflinky to open and close the drain would need to be smooth so you could lie comfortably against the drain end when it's closed, but that's a minor design change.

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

I had a great weekend. The Man has joined a barbershop chorus, and they competed at a convention in Scranton (where I was born) on Saturday. We left Friday afternoon, checked into a hotel in Moosic (the convention hotel was full), stopped by the convention (the quartets competition was Friday), had dinner at the new hotel in the old Lackawanna Railway Station around the corner (where my grandfather used to work), and then found a bowling alley where he could practice. (He gets two lanes and bowls 20 lines in quick succession. It's pretty impressive.)

I love to watch him bowl. He's so intent. He's incredibly focused and intent no matter what he's doing, and I love to see it. Or feel it. (Yeah, ok, I'm in love again.)

Saturday we returned for the chorus competitions.

Now, The Man doesn't like barbershop style, and he's especially annoyed that the group he's in sings only the old standards, which he finds irrelevant to today. But, the man's gotta sing. It's one of his ways to relax. He was hoping he could get them to sing like Christmas carols at nursing homes and hospitals, and do some a-capella stuff at street festivals, but all but one of the other members are over 70 and stuck in their ways. "We don't sing carols." Huh? But he's their strongest bass, so he decided to stick with it for now, I guess, and if he can't change their minds, I suppose he'll eventually find something more suitable.

A group warming up on the street:

The winning chorus (NYC). To tell the truth, I didn't like their performance. There was so much going on onstage it detracted from their music.

The second-place group (Westchester). I liked they way each of them was a different type, and it was easy to identify who/what they were. "Willy Nelson" was perfect, and the hippie, and the Amish guy ... click on the photo to enlarge and see who else you can identify.

The Man says that the groups come in types - the "top" being the competition groups, like the two above. They spend money on costumes, and spend all their time learning two to four songs for competitions. I forget what the middle type is, but most of the rest are recreational. They get together to sing together for fun. They just need to compete every so often to keep membership in the national group. The Man's group is one of those.

Some other groups:



The competition was over and scored by 1 pm on Saturday, and The Man didn't want to stay for the afternoon's festivities, so we went to North Scranton and I showed him where I spent almost every summer of my childhood, then we headed back to NJ to my car. The original plan was that we'd part then, but he was going to practice again and asked if I'd like to watch, so he bowled another 15 lines and I watched.

I wanted to visit Daughter on Sunday, so I asked him to find me a room near her (he's got a membership that gets nice upgrades, so I let him make the reservation and have the points when I stay anywhere). His hips were aching from all the bowling, so I said that if he found me a room with a Jacuzzi, I'd allow him to soak in it. Neat how I wrangled another night together, eh?

Sunday he went to a small bowling tournament where he did pretty well, and I went to Daughter's. I didn't go into the new house, and now I kick myself because once the contract is signed, I'm not allowed to until just before closing. Apparently that's a standard clause.

I got home in time to watch The Amazing Race.
.

2952 Thoughts

Friday, April 30, 2010

Impartial, adj.: Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two conflicting opinions.
--Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary --

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Where are all those people who were yelling for more offshore drilling? They've been awfully quiet these days.

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What happened to that bacteria that someone had discovered/developed fifteen years ago or so that "ate" oil? I thought it was used off the shore of Texas when there was a drilling leak sometime in the '90s, and it worked.

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There's something the psychiatrists call omnipotence, where one thinks their actions and thoughts have widespread influence. I think I may suffer from it. I have to sell some stock to buy the new house, and what I was counting on to get about 20% of the money from is BP stock. It's very hard for me to accept that it's coincidence.

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My urine has had a very bad odor for several months, so bad that I hate it in the morning. It's hard to describe - sort of like the vitamin-B odor with overtones of iodine, and what your hands smell like when you've been handling copper and zinc. Lately I get whiffs of the odor when I'm just sitting around. I'm beginning to worry that whatever it is, my skin smells of it too.

I don't have a UTI, so I thought maybe I'm dumping one of the many vitamins and supplements I take. While I was in Morocco I didn't take anything but the prescription thyroid supplement (L-Thyroxine), and my urine still stank, so maybe that's it? Internet research doesn't list stinky urine as a side effect.

As an experiment, I stopped the L-Thyroxine three days ago, and my piddle now smells like piddle. I guess the next step is to ask/tell the doctor. I'd been taking the lowest available dose of the thyroid, so unless you can cut the tiny dot-like pills, I can't take less.

(The pills are so small they're hard for me to handle with my fingers. I scoop one up with a fingernail.)

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

Sign on the deli door, carefully hand-lettered in multiple colors and mixed cases:

~~NOTICE ~~

- No ID
- NO CiGERETEs
- No BEER
- No EXEPTioNs

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In June of 2009 I had crept back up to 150 pounds. Last February I started the "6 meals a day, a bit of protein at every meal, no sugar, low fat" diet. I am now at 126 pounds.

I weighed 135 when I first met The Man in March 2007, and he thought I was underweight then. He likes full-figured women, and I think that was a factor in my gradual weight gain over the next two years, but I didn't like it. I like me better now.

The weird thing is that I STILL have big thighs and a belly pad, and I'm hoping he will be satisfied with the 40" bust and 39" hips. They don't seem to ever go away. I'd like to lose the belly pad. At this point it seems to be just thick loose skin. I've got thinner loose skin everywhere. It hangs in very soft silky drapes that feel wonderful, but look awful. I won't be able to go sleeveless for a while, if ever.

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After yesterday's post, one might wonder how I have time this morning to post this. Well, Jasper has actually been sleeping on my bed lately. Last night I found his lost favorite tiny felt mouse, and I put it in the middle of the kitchen floor where he'd find it. This morning, he was tossing and pouncing on the felt mouse on my bed - at 6 am.

I got up early.
.

2951 Crunch

Thursday, April 29, 2010

With capitalism man exploits man. With communism it's the exact opposite.

The only difference is that it's reversed.
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It is absolutely imperative that I pay bills today. I planned to start at 1 pm, but then I got notice of some critical Mensa business, and the research and subsequent emails took a few hours. So then at 4 pm I figured I'd better get to the bills - but I received an email from my NJ attorney, with the house contract attached, along with a note that if I had any comments or questions, to contact him tomorrow, otherwise I should sign and return it.

Of course I have questions! The estimated closing date is May 28 (ack! too soon!), and in another paragraph it says I have to provide to the seller a something-or-other, a minimum of 30 days before closing, or pay a penalty. Um, May 28 is 30 days from YESTERDAY, so obviously I can't sign this. There are also a few other things the builder/seller and I agreed on verbally but that aren't mentioned in the contract, and since unfinished items are not an acceptable reason to delay closing, I want to see them in the contract. Like sod, and the wider driveway, for example. Otherwise I could end up with seed and a skinny driveway, and I can't safely park the second vehicle on the narrow street. (Yeah, I could park it on the drive in front of the garage door, but that means I'd have to move it every time I wanted to use the other car. Not to mention, um, overnight company who won't want to park on the street.)

Ok, normally, I'd just write up my concerns and email them to the attorney tomorrow morning - except that tomorrow I'm leaving for a short trip with The Man, and I've got a bunch of stuff to do for that, especially since he moved the leaving time to a little earlier.

So, bye now.
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2950 The Birds

Thursday, April 29, 2010

You can never say anything about another person that’s true.
-- Joe Biden’s father --

Not completely true, anyway. There's always more that you don't know.
People who gossip should keep that in mind.

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Last year I wrote this very sad post about the birds who nest on the front porch lights.

The male arrived early again this year, and at first I thought he was going to be alone again, but there's a tail sticking out over the edge of the nest on the left light! He's got a new mate!

I'm very happy for him.
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2949 Windy

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

One plus one does not equal two. It approaches two as an upper or lower limit.
-- Silk --

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It has been windy today, but I didn't realize how windy until I took a quick trip to the deli. There are branches down, some quite large, all over the road. None down in my yard, which is surprising, since most of my trees are black locust, which are quite brittle.

I thought I felt pretty good today, compared to yesterday, but as soon as I got outside, I felt that stuffy feverish feeling again. One more day of sleeping with the heating pad, I guess. I need to feel better by Friday.
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2948 Fighting a bug

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

No two equals are the same.
-- Malaclypse the Younger --

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Found online: (go ahead, google her), a realtor in Memphis named BJ Worthy. Well, I guess potential clients don't forget her name.

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I got rained on a lot on Sunday. Yesterday was raw windy cold, and I had dinner with Mensans in a restaurant where the waiter disappeared for an hour at a time, and it was freezing in there. We all wore our jackets to eat. I had a cold draft on my behind. Today was freezing wind - the TV weatherman actually said snow in the mountains. I was supposed to meet someone in Rhinebeck at 4, but we'd had a small spat last week, and I wasn't sure he'd come. I didn't want to email or call to ask, because then I was sure that he WOULD come, and frankly I preferred that he didn't. So I stood on a windy corner from 4 'til 4:30. My body was well covered, but my hands, neck, face, head froze. He didn't show up. Considering that he really should have told me, he'll never get another opportunity, so that's one problem solved.

But...
... my body is rebelling. I have a headache, I'm freezing no matter how high I punch the thermostat, even though I'm wearing long knit cotton underwear under my slacks and turtleneck. Every joint in my body (especially my back, but including my fingers) has taken a turn at screaming. I feel like I have cotton in my lungs. I hurt. This has been growing since Monday morning, but I didn't take care of me. This afternoon I guess it was more important that I be the one in the right (or perhaps that he fall into my trap, leaving me the wronged one) than that I take care of me.

But, there are other people close to me going through Hell right now. It's doesn't lessen my aches, but ... a little perspective, Silk. Go blow your nose.

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I am fully aware that chills don't cause colds. Germs cause colds. However, we are exposed to those beasties constantly, but we don't have colds constantly, because our immune system fights them off. You get sick when either your immune system doesn't recognize the new attacker, or when your immune system is weakened - like by stress, which includes physical stress, like getting too chilled. So there. Stress can result in illness. Physical stress is stress. Stress in the absence of germs will not result in a cold. It takes both.

Actually, three - stress, germs, and not paying attention. You can mentally rev up your immune system.
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2947 The (possible) new house

Monday, April 26, 2010

Common sense is what tells you that the world is flat.
-- Malaclypse the Younger --

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I don't think I've put pictures of the (possible) new house on here.

These photos were taken by Daughter a few weeks ago, when the rooms inside were just stud-outlines. Oddly, I didn't take any pictures when we visited last Friday.

Front. That thing on the left is a construction dumpster. The porch will have a railing when finished, and it is wide enough for wicker or rocking chairs.

Side. As you can see by the red house glimpsed across the street, this is one of the larger houses.

Back. The yellow house next door looks large, but although it's two stories, it's only maybe 15' across the front. Narrow, high, and deep.

Roughed-in master bedroom, large closet at the back. The bedroom and closet are the full depth of the house.
Four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms. There are two separate furnaces (gas) and two A/Cs for upstairs and for downstairs, two zones. 2300 sq. ft.
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