I am in one of those states of mind
The last couple of days I have been having fits with my mind.
I take things the wrong way. I hear things the wrong way. I catch imaginary diseases.
I was talking to someone who lost a relative to stomach cancer. It went undetected until a minor medical procedure showed the cancer had advanced. Now I worry about that.
I worry that my drinking water isn't safe. I must have heard a news story about polluted water somewhere.
Even Facebook posts have bothered me. To much negative news, too many people yelling at each other. To many divisive issues being aired.
I can't sleep, can't focus, can't stop snacking. I haven't ridden my bike in a couple of days. My weight is going up. I have to have blood tests. It's hot in Europe.
I can't get things done I want to get done. Hell, I can't even start them to not get them done.
Took advantage of the wet ground to aerate my yard....ran out of gas. Of course, I had none in the cans so I had to wait until I made a trip into town for something so I could get gas.
Went to let the dogs out yesterday and did not take the right house keys with me. A 30 minute task took over an hour.
I made a joke and nobody laughed. Poor taste.
I bought a sprayer. The directions say insert pink hose. The hose is white. It is very long. I called the company. They said they switched to white hoses and black hoses but did not switch the directions. Thanks.
Went to print off some papers and the printer is out of ink.
Have a meeting tomorrow morning at 7. One time, the alarm went off, I got up, read the Trib on line, had tea....and forgot about the meeting, which was why the alarm went off. Hope I don't do that again.
Just a weird couple of days. Can't even write proper sentences.
Good night.
Good grief.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Monday, July 6, 2015
huh....did not know how I did that
I learned something about my cell phone today
I learned how to delete photos. I have taken a lot of pictures but I did not know how to delete them. John came over tonight and he showed my how to do that.
I deleted about 100 photos from my phone, and from my computer. I need to do that again tomorrow. Hopefully I can get it down to the 6,000 level on my computer, which would be a miracle. Doing the math, if I delete 100 a day....that is 1,000 in ten days.....or 6,000 in 60 days. By then I'll have added 800 pictures! Jeez, it's like I am on a treadmill here!
One thing I did not learn, but still did, was to delete someone from my phone.
I got a text, with important information, and when I went to reply ... poof! It was gone. Not only that text, but all other texts I received from that person today. No phone number, no text, no name....almost as if the person didn't exist except in my mind.
Yes, technology still baffles me. I prefer books, pencils and legal pads. But that is a different age.
Not sure I can adapt enough to learn all the new stuff. It keeps changing. Just when I think I have it figured out, a wrinkle gets added and I am at sea over the changes.
Such is life. Edison and Bell started all this....hope they are happy.
I learned how to delete photos. I have taken a lot of pictures but I did not know how to delete them. John came over tonight and he showed my how to do that.
I deleted about 100 photos from my phone, and from my computer. I need to do that again tomorrow. Hopefully I can get it down to the 6,000 level on my computer, which would be a miracle. Doing the math, if I delete 100 a day....that is 1,000 in ten days.....or 6,000 in 60 days. By then I'll have added 800 pictures! Jeez, it's like I am on a treadmill here!
One thing I did not learn, but still did, was to delete someone from my phone.
I got a text, with important information, and when I went to reply ... poof! It was gone. Not only that text, but all other texts I received from that person today. No phone number, no text, no name....almost as if the person didn't exist except in my mind.
Yes, technology still baffles me. I prefer books, pencils and legal pads. But that is a different age.
Not sure I can adapt enough to learn all the new stuff. It keeps changing. Just when I think I have it figured out, a wrinkle gets added and I am at sea over the changes.
Such is life. Edison and Bell started all this....hope they are happy.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Darwin was right
I just don't understand people
A guy decides to go swimming in a Texas pond that has alligators in it. There are signs. He is warned. People yell at him not to do it.
He says pish posh, gators won't hurt me.
Wrong O crocodile teeth. The gators ate him for supper. I guess he did not feel that the gators would feed on him because he was a nice guy.
And in Maine a young man died when he put a fireworks mortar tube on top of his head and lit the rocket. On top of his head!
Holy crap, some people just don't seem to use common sense.
I do share in the sadness these young men bring to their families, but, holy cow!
Last week there was a video posted of some guy in a alligator pen attempting to pet one of the animals. He had climbed over the fence to get there. He luckily escaped when the gator turned and snapped, just missing him.
And then there are the stories of nominally sane people who think it is ok to pet the bear or the lion in the cage at the zoo. They invariably lose a limb.
Here's another hint: Don't stand in front of wild bison for a photo op. They will charge you and gore you. A student from Taiwan found that out recently when her host family took her to Yellowstone and thought that was a good photo idea.
I think that is why we have so many signs in our world that warn us not to do things that sensible people would not do.
So, Darwin's message might be something like "Go ahead and be an idiot...you'll only make that mistake once."
Or something like that.
Good night.
A guy decides to go swimming in a Texas pond that has alligators in it. There are signs. He is warned. People yell at him not to do it.
He says pish posh, gators won't hurt me.
Wrong O crocodile teeth. The gators ate him for supper. I guess he did not feel that the gators would feed on him because he was a nice guy.
And in Maine a young man died when he put a fireworks mortar tube on top of his head and lit the rocket. On top of his head!
Holy crap, some people just don't seem to use common sense.
I do share in the sadness these young men bring to their families, but, holy cow!
Last week there was a video posted of some guy in a alligator pen attempting to pet one of the animals. He had climbed over the fence to get there. He luckily escaped when the gator turned and snapped, just missing him.
And then there are the stories of nominally sane people who think it is ok to pet the bear or the lion in the cage at the zoo. They invariably lose a limb.
Here's another hint: Don't stand in front of wild bison for a photo op. They will charge you and gore you. A student from Taiwan found that out recently when her host family took her to Yellowstone and thought that was a good photo idea.
I think that is why we have so many signs in our world that warn us not to do things that sensible people would not do.
So, Darwin's message might be something like "Go ahead and be an idiot...you'll only make that mistake once."
Or something like that.
Good night.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
snap, crackle, pop
I like the July Fourth fireworks
I love watching the colors and shapes form in the skies over the rural landscape. Heck, I even like them in the city when WGN shows them. Well, when we used to be able to see them.
But I really don't like all the people who shoot them off from their backyards. It is 11:15 and some nut is popping off some pretty loud ones in my neighborhood.
I guess there is no better way to spend the Fourth than breaking the law and disturbing your neighbors.
I just wish all those people who say they love our country would actually obey the laws.
Think of that. Law abiding citizens taking to the streets. Police could concentrate on catching the bad guys and getting the drunks off the road if they didn't have to spend time ticketing speeders and all the other petty offenses that we, the people, commit on any given day.
Anyway, enough of my mini rant.....time for bed.
If I can sleep.
I love watching the colors and shapes form in the skies over the rural landscape. Heck, I even like them in the city when WGN shows them. Well, when we used to be able to see them.
But I really don't like all the people who shoot them off from their backyards. It is 11:15 and some nut is popping off some pretty loud ones in my neighborhood.
I guess there is no better way to spend the Fourth than breaking the law and disturbing your neighbors.
I just wish all those people who say they love our country would actually obey the laws.
Think of that. Law abiding citizens taking to the streets. Police could concentrate on catching the bad guys and getting the drunks off the road if they didn't have to spend time ticketing speeders and all the other petty offenses that we, the people, commit on any given day.
Anyway, enough of my mini rant.....time for bed.
If I can sleep.
Friday, July 3, 2015
it's a strange, strange road indeed
I am 0-4 in ball games this year.
The Cubs have lost all the ones I have gone to. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's the W flag I carry with me.
This was a very strange day.
There were over 40,000 in the park today and the 800 or so in our section were all hyperactive ADHD with overactive bladders and incredibly poor seat finding skills.
We watched one guy move four times. He and his son finally settled in the middle of a row.
Some girl in a cast came in in the eighth inning! She was almost all the way down in the section, so of course it took her forever to get there. She had three friends...it was like a freakin' funeral possession going down the aisle. And she was sitting in the middle of the row, so everyone had to stand up to let her hop to the seat. And guess what? She was in the wrong section! She had to get back up, move out of that row, cross the aisle and move to the middle of that row.
The one guy in front of us checked his phone every ten minutes....but he had to get up to get it out of his pocket. Then he sat down. Then he got up. Down. Up. Down. Up.
It was worse than Wac a Mole at the carni midway.
Our seats are on the right side of the aisle. So any time a beer vendor passes, which is about every 15 seconds, (People really like those $9 beers) or somebody comes or goes, they pass us, temporarily blocking our view.
There was one brief moment when a whole two thirds of an inning passed and nobody had to get up, move their seat, come in, or stand up.
I looked around at other sections and it did not seem they had half the movement ours and the one next to us did. Constant motion.
I like what they do at the Rockford Ice Hog games....when the game is in progress, you can't reenter the arena in some seating areas. You have to wait for a break in the action.
Even the people next to us noticed all the movement.
I have a Ventra card. It is loaded with money so all I have to do is swipe it to get on the L. When Dan and I were headed to the park, I casually said, "I wonder how much I have on my card?"
I found out after the game, where 39,998 of those on hand were moving to the L. I swiped my card and it said "Insufficient Funds."
By now 39,996 people had limed up at the Ventra machines to buy tickets.
So, I opted to walk to Belmont and recharge my card there. I saw a Walgreen's, and went in there instead. They were happy to recharge it so I could get on the L.
I asked Jackie to recharge it while I walked, but it seems I have a couple of passwords for my Ventra account. Either that or I have one incredibly long and complex password that even I don't get when I look at it.
Finally, capping off the weirdness. .. I stopped at the bar be cue place in DeKalb for supper. I was the only customer. And the people running it are Asian. Someone was singing O Holy Night. There are several video poker and slot machines. The man asked me where I worked. I told him I lived in Rochelle. He said he only got here two days ago and didn't know where that was.
His English wasn't bad.
But no southern drawl and it really shook my confidence in Chicago bar be cue.
The sandwich, and hush puppies, were pretty good, however.
Next Friday it's the Sox.....and I better not be 0-5 after that one!
The Cubs have lost all the ones I have gone to. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's the W flag I carry with me.
This was a very strange day.
There were over 40,000 in the park today and the 800 or so in our section were all hyperactive ADHD with overactive bladders and incredibly poor seat finding skills.
We watched one guy move four times. He and his son finally settled in the middle of a row.
Some girl in a cast came in in the eighth inning! She was almost all the way down in the section, so of course it took her forever to get there. She had three friends...it was like a freakin' funeral possession going down the aisle. And she was sitting in the middle of the row, so everyone had to stand up to let her hop to the seat. And guess what? She was in the wrong section! She had to get back up, move out of that row, cross the aisle and move to the middle of that row.
The one guy in front of us checked his phone every ten minutes....but he had to get up to get it out of his pocket. Then he sat down. Then he got up. Down. Up. Down. Up.
It was worse than Wac a Mole at the carni midway.
Our seats are on the right side of the aisle. So any time a beer vendor passes, which is about every 15 seconds, (People really like those $9 beers) or somebody comes or goes, they pass us, temporarily blocking our view.
There was one brief moment when a whole two thirds of an inning passed and nobody had to get up, move their seat, come in, or stand up.
I looked around at other sections and it did not seem they had half the movement ours and the one next to us did. Constant motion.
I like what they do at the Rockford Ice Hog games....when the game is in progress, you can't reenter the arena in some seating areas. You have to wait for a break in the action.
Even the people next to us noticed all the movement.
I have a Ventra card. It is loaded with money so all I have to do is swipe it to get on the L. When Dan and I were headed to the park, I casually said, "I wonder how much I have on my card?"
I found out after the game, where 39,998 of those on hand were moving to the L. I swiped my card and it said "Insufficient Funds."
By now 39,996 people had limed up at the Ventra machines to buy tickets.
So, I opted to walk to Belmont and recharge my card there. I saw a Walgreen's, and went in there instead. They were happy to recharge it so I could get on the L.
I asked Jackie to recharge it while I walked, but it seems I have a couple of passwords for my Ventra account. Either that or I have one incredibly long and complex password that even I don't get when I look at it.
Finally, capping off the weirdness. .. I stopped at the bar be cue place in DeKalb for supper. I was the only customer. And the people running it are Asian. Someone was singing O Holy Night. There are several video poker and slot machines. The man asked me where I worked. I told him I lived in Rochelle. He said he only got here two days ago and didn't know where that was.
His English wasn't bad.
But no southern drawl and it really shook my confidence in Chicago bar be cue.
The sandwich, and hush puppies, were pretty good, however.
Next Friday it's the Sox.....and I better not be 0-5 after that one!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Kokachrome...and not by Paul Simon
I still have some 35 mm film
Yes, I have a film camera too.....someplace. We packed it when we moved from Skare Court, and I have not seen it since. But I know it is here someplace.
I thought about that today while looking at pictures on Facebook. A friend is on vacation, and her boyfriend has a camera. On the strap there is a 35 mm film cartridge. I almost fainted!
Hardly anyone uses film anymore. It's all digital.
I love the film process. You really have to think about the picture, compose it, check the lighting and then click.
With a digital, all you have to do is hold down the button and the camera just clicks away.
Our first trip to Europe, I took 10 rolls of film. That is about 360 pictures. On my first time with a digital camera, I took 1,200 pictures!
And of what? Six pictures of a door that didn't move or change in the entire time I was watching it?
14 pictures of Charlie Chaplin's statue?
With film, I would have taken one or two of each.
And now phones make is so anyone can be a photographer. No need to worry about f stops, shutter speed, or the optimum setting for the film you are using. Just point and shoot.
That explains why I took 7 pictures of a stationary object the other day.....I could have taken one.
With film, I always took two in case one of the frames was flawed. Now I don't have to worry and can take as many as I want.
The one thing in common: storage.
I used to get pictures developed and I put them in shoe boxes, like Paul Powell. (Digression. Paul Powell was Illinois Secretary of State when I was a kid. When he died, they found shoe boxes full of money and checks in his hotel closet....something like $800,000 in cash. When asked about how a guy making $30,000 could amass such a fortune, another pol said "He was frugal when he was young.")
Now instead of putting them in shoe boxes, they are on my computer. As of today, I have 12,580 pictures and 120 videos stored on my computer! That's a lot of pictures!! I thought I had three or four videos....I have 120!
Holy negative, Batman!
Plus I have two plastic tubs of shoe boxes filled with pictures. And my mom's pictures. And my dad's pictures. Even some of my uncle's! Holy crap, what should I do with them all?
It's too much for me to consider. Think I'll just sleep on it....and take some more pictures tomorrow.
You never know when a moment needs capturing.
Yes, I have a film camera too.....someplace. We packed it when we moved from Skare Court, and I have not seen it since. But I know it is here someplace.
I thought about that today while looking at pictures on Facebook. A friend is on vacation, and her boyfriend has a camera. On the strap there is a 35 mm film cartridge. I almost fainted!
Hardly anyone uses film anymore. It's all digital.
I love the film process. You really have to think about the picture, compose it, check the lighting and then click.
With a digital, all you have to do is hold down the button and the camera just clicks away.
Our first trip to Europe, I took 10 rolls of film. That is about 360 pictures. On my first time with a digital camera, I took 1,200 pictures!
And of what? Six pictures of a door that didn't move or change in the entire time I was watching it?
14 pictures of Charlie Chaplin's statue?
With film, I would have taken one or two of each.
And now phones make is so anyone can be a photographer. No need to worry about f stops, shutter speed, or the optimum setting for the film you are using. Just point and shoot.
That explains why I took 7 pictures of a stationary object the other day.....I could have taken one.
With film, I always took two in case one of the frames was flawed. Now I don't have to worry and can take as many as I want.
The one thing in common: storage.
I used to get pictures developed and I put them in shoe boxes, like Paul Powell. (Digression. Paul Powell was Illinois Secretary of State when I was a kid. When he died, they found shoe boxes full of money and checks in his hotel closet....something like $800,000 in cash. When asked about how a guy making $30,000 could amass such a fortune, another pol said "He was frugal when he was young.")
Now instead of putting them in shoe boxes, they are on my computer. As of today, I have 12,580 pictures and 120 videos stored on my computer! That's a lot of pictures!! I thought I had three or four videos....I have 120!
Holy negative, Batman!
Plus I have two plastic tubs of shoe boxes filled with pictures. And my mom's pictures. And my dad's pictures. Even some of my uncle's! Holy crap, what should I do with them all?
It's too much for me to consider. Think I'll just sleep on it....and take some more pictures tomorrow.
You never know when a moment needs capturing.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
finally!!!!
I finished my raised strawberry garden today
And realized I am an idiot.
I now have a 4 by 8 foot raised bed for strawberries!
I just love the little guys when you pick them fresh and put them on cereal, or just eat them. I don't like the ones grown in California, picked not quite ripe, and sent on a week's journey to reach our stores only to sit in a cooler and then another truck to the store and then get put out for sale. They just don't taste like the ones we used to pick at Grannies just up the road.
So I built a raised planter for strawberries.
I got rid of my dirt pile in the process. My arm is killing me. But I got the huge pile moved to the bottom of my planter. Then I went to the store to buy bags of stuff to fill the planter.
I bought 2 bags of peat moss. It's good to amend the soil. And I bought 15 bags of organic peat and 15 bags of top soil to finish it off.
I had a guy at the store load my van.
Let's do the math. Each bag of organic peat was 40 pounds. That is 600 pounds. Each bag of top soil feels about the same. That is another 600 pounds.
Any idea what 1,200 pounds in the back end of a mini van does?
It makes it look like the back end is dragging and the tires are low.
I was afraid the axle would break. Or the tires would blow. Or the bottom would get caught on the railroad tracks. Or I would have a flat tire and need to change it with 1,200 pounds in the back end to jack up or unload by the side of the road and appear to be a man building a pillbox with dirt bags along the side of the road, so the police would come and a swat team would take me out and Jackie would be stuck with coming to pick up the dirt.
But next year she would have strawberries.
And the kicker? I only used 10 bags of the composted peat and five bags of topsoil. The rest is now stacked in the garage.
Almost enough for another planter.
Hmmmmmmm........cantaloupe anyone?
And realized I am an idiot.
I now have a 4 by 8 foot raised bed for strawberries!
I just love the little guys when you pick them fresh and put them on cereal, or just eat them. I don't like the ones grown in California, picked not quite ripe, and sent on a week's journey to reach our stores only to sit in a cooler and then another truck to the store and then get put out for sale. They just don't taste like the ones we used to pick at Grannies just up the road.
So I built a raised planter for strawberries.
I got rid of my dirt pile in the process. My arm is killing me. But I got the huge pile moved to the bottom of my planter. Then I went to the store to buy bags of stuff to fill the planter.
I bought 2 bags of peat moss. It's good to amend the soil. And I bought 15 bags of organic peat and 15 bags of top soil to finish it off.
I had a guy at the store load my van.
Let's do the math. Each bag of organic peat was 40 pounds. That is 600 pounds. Each bag of top soil feels about the same. That is another 600 pounds.
Any idea what 1,200 pounds in the back end of a mini van does?
It makes it look like the back end is dragging and the tires are low.
I was afraid the axle would break. Or the tires would blow. Or the bottom would get caught on the railroad tracks. Or I would have a flat tire and need to change it with 1,200 pounds in the back end to jack up or unload by the side of the road and appear to be a man building a pillbox with dirt bags along the side of the road, so the police would come and a swat team would take me out and Jackie would be stuck with coming to pick up the dirt.
But next year she would have strawberries.
And the kicker? I only used 10 bags of the composted peat and five bags of topsoil. The rest is now stacked in the garage.
Almost enough for another planter.
Hmmmmmmm........cantaloupe anyone?
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