A couple of things I learned today

There is a moth called a Setaceous Hebrew Character after the Hebrew nun letter on its wings. It eats lobelia, among other things.

A derecho 'is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo.' I found this out because the storm system that knocked out so much power last night was described as a derecho.

I knew they collected the info, of course, but it's interesting to think about the ramifications

Your E-Book Is Reading You: Digital-book publishers and retailers now know more about their readers than ever before. How that's changing the experience of reading.

It takes the average reader just seven hours to read the final book in Suzanne Collins's "Hunger Games" trilogy on the Kobo e-reader—about 57 pages an hour. Nearly 18,000 Kindle readers have highlighted the same line from the second book in the series: "Because sometimes things happen to people and they're not equipped to deal with them." And on Barnes & Noble's Nook, the first thing that most readers do upon finishing the first "Hunger Games" book is to download the next one.

In the past, publishers and authors had no way of knowing what happens when a reader sits down with a book. Does the reader quit after three pages, or finish it in a single sitting? Do most readers skip over the introduction, or read it closely, underlining passages and scrawling notes in the margins? Now, e-books are providing a glimpse into the story behind the sales figures, revealing not only how many people buy particular books, but how intensely they read them.

Today marks the 104th anniversary of a mysterious explosion in Siberia

knownas the Tunguska event. Over the last century there have been many theories for the 1908 explosion, which was about a thousand times more powerful than the nuclear blast at Hiroshima in 1945. Theories have ranged from a mid-air explosion of a meteoroid or comet to the more far-fetched ones involving aliens. I've always found it interesting. There's also an article on the Tunguska event in popular culture that you might find worth looking over. I remember reading about it in books on mysteries as a child and the episode of 'In Search Of...' called 'Siberian Fireball' when I was 11, as well, so I've known about it since I was a kid.

I hate it when Kentucky makes the news for stupidity

Ky. woman tries to kill bedbugs, burns down apt.

Mind you, she doused her couch with alcohol and then dropped a lit cigarette on it. Because those two things, along with combustible material, go so well together that you'd just have to have a smoke while putting an accelerant on your sofa. Now 30 people have lost their homes due to that stupid action. It could have been worse--there could have been lives lost.

One, in the case of bedbugs, call a professional, or here's a thought, apartment maintenance, so they can make sure it's done professionally. Two, don't mix accelerants and fire, especially when conditions are exceedingly dry and hot. Three, don't wind up on national news doing something stupid. It's not worth the danger to yourself, others, or the fifteen minutes of infamy.

I've finally cooled off

I got a little later start than planned today, as I woke up at 9 am after a 14-hour crash in which I dreamed of all the minutiae I do at work, so I didn't feel as rested as I should have. Then I got a quick shower, dressed in the coolest possible clothing, shorts and a thin shirt, and headed out. While I was at the bus stop waiting I put on sunscreen on in the hopes that it would help, especially by the time I got to the farmer's market. I went to the bank on the bus, then over to Kroger's for bread, cream cheese, yoghurt, and bananas. I got back on the bus after a ten minute wait and rode to the stop by the library. I walked over to the farmer's market and bought tomatoes (both regular and pear), a pepper, zucchini, summer squash, a couple of cucumbers (no wax!), some new potatoes, and a lavender plant. Then I trundled home with everything, melting in the process, as it was about 11 by now and 88. I stopped by the leasing office with my rent, got home, stripped off my wet things (they're still damp even now, 3 and a half hours later), got into something else, ate some pear tomatoes (very juicy and good), got a sandwich, and played on Facebook for a bit, then laid down in front of the fan in the bedroom and got gloriously cool, falling asleep for another three hours. This time I dreamed that Brandon and his mother came over to this other apartment where my mom lived, and my dad was visiting. Very odd.

Now I'm up and I just ate some cucumber and tomatoes with a bit of salt on them. It's officially 101 ( a record) and possibly will warm up further to 103. Heat index is definitely above 105. There's a chance of a storm, which might be good, but one knocked out power in Eastern Kentucky, meaning no air conditioning for me, so I'm not sure I want to even think storm thoughts. I thought about going and getting a cola from the laundry room, but it isn't worth it. I'll drink ice water; it's better for me anyway.

Okay, I think I'm going to water my indoor plants and then read for awhile. Hope you're keeping cool!

H-O-T!!!

It's 101 currently, with a heat index at about 111. Fortunately a co-worker gave me a ride home, so I didn't have to stand outside waiting for the bus. It comes about 25 minutes after I get off work. (LexTran buses run ever 35 minutes during peak times and every 70 minutes on non-peak times, except on Sunday, when it's hourly).

I'm eating a dinner of grilled cheese and scrambled eggs tonight--something easy yet tasty.

Tonight and tomorrow I have free to myself (tonight was in doubt; a friend called me about coming over, but it turned out the tech problem he was having apparently fixed itself). I want to stay in as much as possible. I'm not even sure that I, being extremely pale and prone to heat issues, should try going to the pool with it this hot. I should go get my rent taken care of (although if all else fails, I've got until Thursday to pay it), and pick up a few things at the store. Also, there's a farmer's market very close to my house I'd like to check out. But if I do any of that, it'll be early, like 8-10 am. I could go to the store before the bank opens, then the bank, then the farmer's market on the way home (well, it's mostly on the way home, with a detour of a maybe 150 yards, so not long to walk). If it's really hot already, I may just wait till Monday to get my rent and hit the farmer's market only, as I think you can get bread there, and that's the main thing I would have gotten at Kroger. We'll see. The afternoon can be used for game notes, inside, in front of the computer, with the air conditioning on. :)

That's so sweet

I hadn't gotten around to posting yet tonight, so one of my friends decided he should check up on me. I had fallen asleep, of course. I can't listen to 60s music to keep awake every night. Thanks, Brandon.

It was 100 degrees when I came home, and topped out at 102 for the day. At work they made sure I had a ride, for which I'm grateful. Even now, at 10 pm, it's still 91. This is crazy. And Saturday, when I have a few errands to run, it will be worse.

The house is in good shape. I got up a little early today to take the trash out and do a few dishes, as the exterminator was coming for their regular visit. Maybe that's why I crashed. Now I feel a little groggy, and I think my blood sugar is up. Today I had the hardest time checking my blood sugar. Usually I check it on the side of my hand, no problem. Today was the day I would not bleed. I stuck myself five times this morning until I had success, and at least twice each meal afterwards.

Ironically, in light of Nora Ephron's death, I happen to have Julie and Julia out from Netflix. I think I'll watch it tomorrow night.

That's pretty much what's been going on in my world. I am actually considering donating a small amount of money to the Obama campaign; I'd like to see him in a second term. I can't donate much, but in light of some of the social issues and things like the health care victory, I think he will do a whole lot better for my interests than Romney ever would.

A song (or three) I love, from about the same time

the year I was conceived, my parents got married, and my dad joined the Air Force and began training for his tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.



Here's another I associate with the war...this one from 1965.



and lastly, more upbeat, a song that's been in my head for a few days now, recorded in 1967 but released in 1968:



Okay, enough of music for now. Have a good night

Some of the songs I like from the year of my birth...1967

• The Boxtops--'The Letter'
• Buffalo Springfield--'For What It's Worth'
• The Cowsills--'The Rain, the Park, and Other Things'
• Neil Diamond--'Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon'
• The Doors--'Light My Fire'
• The Four Tops--'Bernadette'
• Aretha Franklin--'Respect'
• Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell--'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'
• Bobby Gentry--'Ode to Billy Joe'
• Grass Roots--'Let's Live for Today'
• Tommy James & the Shondells--'I Think We're Alone Now'
• Jefferson Airplane--'Somebody to Love'
• Jefferson Airplane--'White Rabbit'
• Scott McKenzie--'If You're Going to San Francisco'
• The Monkees--'Daydream Believer'
• The Monkees--'I'm a Believer'
• The Monkees--'A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You'
• The Monkees--'Pleasant Valley Sunday'
• The Moody Blues--'Nights in White Satin'
• Peter, Paul, & Mary--'I Dig Rock and Roll Music'
• Procul Harum--'Whiter Shade of Pale'
• The Rolling Stones--'Ruby Tuesday'
• Diana Ross & the Supremes--'Reflections'
• The Royal Guardsmen--'Snoopy vs. the Red Baron'
• The Seekers--'Georgie Girl'
• Sonny & Cher--'The Beat Goes On'
• Strawberry Alarm Clock--'Incense and Peppermints'
• Tremeloes--'Here Comes My Baby'
• The Turtles--'Happy Together'
• Van Morrison--'Brown Eyed Girl'

I always loved this song as a kid

and someone synched it with footage from 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'. :)

Well, I found one additional benefit to posting about my life

Blood supplies are pretty low this time of year, so I'm getting appeals from the Kentucky Blood Center, with a twist. If you donate at KBC during their Summer4Life promotion, which runs through September 14th, you are automatically entered to win a 2012 Toyota RAV4. Now, I would donate regardless, but as someone who doesn't own a car, this did, I must admit, pique my interest. Granted, I probably couldn't afford the taxes and delivery costs to actually accept the prize, but it would be fun to win, even though I have some issues with SUVs. :) At least, as SUVs go, it's a small one, not one of those types that take over the road. Anyway, I thought I might schedule a donation this Saturday (although the weather may be an issue, as it will be very hot), but I didn't know how long it has been since my last donation, and whether I'd be eligible. By searching this blog, I was able to find out that it was April 24th, so I should be able to donate then. We'll see. I am all about donating when possible, but waiting for a bus in 104 degree weather is not good).

I got two t-shirts in the mail this morning. One is for a friend, which I think he'll enjoy immensely, and the other is a Miskatonic University Department of Library Sciences shirt with chains on the book with a phrase in Latin around the design that translates to 'fire is to be used as a last resort'. That sounds awful if you're not familiar with Lovecraftian Mythos books. :) The shirts were from www.offworlddesigns.com, the same people who did my League of Extraordinary Librarians shirt and the cat in glasses reading a book that so many people compliment me on. I would highly recommend them in terms of their products and service. I am definitely wearing this shirt to the game Sunday, even if it is black and it's supposed to be 102 degrees (slightly less than Saturday).

Believe it or not...

I got up at five this morning and did four loads of laundry, including the bedclothes. In the process I enjoyed the relatively cool weather, with a robin singing merrily and a heron flying overhead as the the rosy fingers of dawn began to spread across the sky. It was in the 50s this morning and just got up to the low 80s. Thursday is projected to be 102 and Friday 101, so we should enjoy it while we can.

I nearly hurt myself getting ready for work. The clothes came out at 7, and I needed to leave by 7:30. I had just told myself that I had to slow down regardless of the time, when I did something I almost never do--I put my foot up on the ledge of the tub so I could dry my leg off. Usually I put it on the toilet lid or go into the bedroom and put it up on the bed, but no, this time I put it up on the tub, and of course it was slippery. My foot slipped out from under me. I did the splits, straddling the tub. Fortunately I didn't fall completely; I would probably have wound up hitting my head. Then there would have been the crawling into the bedroom to call 911 and wait for EMTs to come and get the naked woman who is a danger to herself (but rarely others) off of the floor. But I was a little sore on the way to work.

Work was good. I got a good start on the filing. Lunch was good--tortilla-encrusted tilapia with herbed and wild rice with almonds, grilled vegetables, and macaroni and cheese. Not bad for cafeteria food.

I weighed myself today. I am three pounds from 300. That's scary.

I got a ride home, and I had Simon & Garfunkel in my head, so the first thing after I put my bags down was put Pandora Radio on and now I'm listening to them and to related music (right now it's Simon's 'You Can Call Me Al') and eating pine nut hummus.

Okay, I guess I should go fold the laundry. It's on the bed and I laid a few things out flat that would otherwise wrinkle, but the rest is just sitting there waiting to be folded and put away.

I have three plants blooming at once at the office

both shamrocks and the violet, the latter of which is full of blooms, as can be seen in this picture. Isn't it lovely? Thank you Rhoda, for giving it to me when it had just a couple of leaves on it. :)

I suppose life

is a bit boring when you're excited by the arrival of a filing cabinet, but hey, it will help my working life quite a bit, taking my files, which have been in shambles from lack of space, and providing what I need to get that back to the condition they were once in. It's a standard upright four-drawer file. I've already put hanging folders in it, and Wednesday, which should be a little slower, I plan on starting the process of reclaiming my system. This gives me a total of seven file drawers for three jobs. :)

I didn't feel particularly well in the early part of the day, largely due to eating a lot of raw vegetables during the game that kept my blood sugar more even, but played havoc with my digestive system the next day. I very rarely have indigestion, but this was definitely the case. Things got better at lunch, although I would have preferred the spinach dip to have just been spinach and cheese without the crab. That was odd. Tomorrow is tilapia, though, so I'm looking forward to that.

I've felt off my game all day, and was a bit yesterday as well. I saw a visual joke earlier on Facebook that I just didn't get until the second time I saw it. I don't know what the deal was. And earlier, when I was writing I was actually getting a bit dizzy, even though my blood sugar was fine. That may have been something odd with my bifocal contacts, or the indigestion, and it passed, but it was annoying. I don't know what the deal was, but I wasn't at my best at all today.

I still haven't done laundry, and it's a bit late to start tonight. I'm going to try to do it tomorrow. I definitely need the lightest clothing I can find on Thursday and Friday--it will be 98 and 100 degrees, respectively. I'm thinking skirts those days, despite jeans day on Friday.

I also need to swing by the bank tomorrow morning, so that I may get money for tilapia. I'm going to head on to bed early. Good night.

Well, I didn't get to the laundry

I went over and spent some time with a friend, and then when I returned the laundry room was pretty full, so I got some dinner and went online. Now it's a bit late to start laundry, in my opinion, especially for someone who has to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning. So I'm headed to bed. Have a good night.

Russell Howard's view on the lessons of fairy tales

Well, he has a point, don't you think?

Speaking of Russell Howard, there's a video that's great, but you should watch this first, unless you've the the advert in Britain:


Now, watch this:

Whew!

I usually get up at 6:30-7 am, but decided to sleep in till 9:30 this morning. Since I woke up, however, I have:

1. Scrubbed the shower with a bleach gel of doom that now permeates the house. Normally I try for more natural cleaners, but the shower really needed this.
   
2. Removed the old shower liner and hung the new one.
   
3. Taken a shower.
   
4. Taken out the trash, including the old liner.
   
5. Taken out the recyclables, which were overflowing because I've been using the big hamper for clothes.
   
6. Burned some lavender incense in the hopes it has power over bleach.
   
7. Fixed brunch (eggs, cheese, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and portabella mushrooms. I can't call it an omelet, because I don't have the hang of omelet flipping, but it is tasty). Last night I cooked, too--summer squash, zucchini, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and cheese, cooked up in a skillet without shredding the squash this time. :)
   

Now I'm finally sitting down to eat. The main thing left on my agenda today is laundry, including bedding. I don't have any game notes to do; I finished those last week and then we didn't play due to Father's Day. (Brenda and her husband went to see Prometheus. She was of the opinion that the characters did some utterly dumb things in it that we would never do in the game. Of course, we've done some really dumb things, so I don't know about that. :) Of course, in the game it's all a learning experience, albeit sometimes without your beloved character anymore. In real life it doesn't work that way, and in movies, if the writers make your character do stupid things, you don't get to be cast in the sequel. Of course, since that was a 'prequel', it may not matter.)

Okay, I'm finished eating. I'm not quite ready for laundry. I think I'll check some things online first. Hope your weekend is off to a good start, too.

Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

Yes, Edgar Allan Poe created the words above, but HP Lovecraft filled them with true horror. I am so happy that 'Unshelved' chose an adaptation of HP Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness to spotlight in their weekly 'booktalk' comic strip. That story sends chills down my spine every time I read it, and I've played through the Chaosium roleplaying module, Beyond the Mountains of Madness, which was horrific not only in what was experienced but in the sheer amount of weekly sessions it took to get through it. If I never actually eat pemmican or wear reindeer fur, I will count myself blessed. :)

You'll see something a little different on Google tomorrow (or are, for those across the date line)

Google's impossibly clever Alan Turing doodle: In a doodle celebrating the 100th birthday of Alan Turing tomorrow, Google creates a conundrum that the majority of humanity simply won't understand. This is a good thing.

A Google Doodle for Alan Turing’s 100th Birthday

For more on Alan Turing, his many contributions to computer science, cryptography, and other fields, the prosecution for indecency for having a sexual relationship with another man, and his suicide, see the Wikipedia article or the one from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Turing was younger than me when he died, only 41, and that's sad, especially after his many gifts helped save lives, and yet he was convicted of a crime that quite frankly seems silly to most of us today, but through which careers and lives were unjustly ruined for many years.

On the bus

I got up at 7, which didn't really give me the time to take my Lantus, so I just took it with me and gave myself the injection at the bus stop. I carry a couple of empty test strip containers for sharps when I'm out and about.

I'm so glad it's Friday. I'm in a good mood and I hope it holds. The office looks great, nicer to work in now that the boxes are taken care of. I just have to recycle some things and I'm finished with that.

Okay, I should go. It's a little challenging to type on a Swype keyboard when the bus is moving and people are getting on and off.

Listening to:

I would have liked to be more productive at home tonight

Having two things to do--laundry and cleaning the bathtub/shower so I can hang a new liner. But today was very busy at work and included me moving about fifteen boxes of books to various places, as I am losing some of the storage I had reclaimed from my former closet. They're playing musical offices; in total four people/offices are involved, and the person who got the office in the library needs the back closet office as well. So yesterday we were told about the move and could I have my stuff out by Friday?

Well, I got it all moved. I also cleaned out my grey totes that were near my desk (the totes are mine; the stuff was the hospital's, but I found most of it could go, being files from 2001 and such). I've brought one empty tote home. I didn't bring another one home today because I was going to the store for the shower liner. But I'll bring one home a day, so three more to go. I'm getting an actual filing cabinet in that space for all the sheets I'm creating with referrals and the ones for charges. I have some items to recycle, and then all that will be finished. But tomorrow I need to be sure to order and copy some articles for one of the doctors, plug get a jump on the referrals for next week--there are several surgeries.

Unfortunately I wound up with a pretty substantial headache with all the moving, and then being out in the heat and sun, so I laid down for awhile this evening. The one good thing about today was that the buses were free. Well, it didn't impact me a lot because I have an unlimited pass, but it was a good thing and I got another one of those nylon bags like they gave out on Earth Day, which I've found are very compact and useful. It was Dump the Pump day, so all rides were free. So for those folks paying a dollar or so a ride, that was pretty good.

I think I'll put some music on and chill for a bit. A friend said he'd talk to me later about his day, so I presume he'll call me about the time I'm ready for bed. :) But for now I think I'll curl up with a book and listen to music.

The one sad thing about today was I found a turtle? tortoise? dead as I got off the bus this morning. That put a bit of a damper to my spirits. Also I wore shoes without inserts that contributed a lot to pain in my ankle and around the old area of the stress fractures. I couldn't wear my sandals (which do pretty well with my feet) today because I was going to be loading things on carts and moving it, and didn't want to roll over a toe or something without protection. I chose some white trainers instead of my normal black New Balance shoes which I usually wear, and that was a mistake. Anyway, tomorrow it's back to sandals. And it's jeans day, woo-hoo! so I'll wear my jean capris, which will be better than today's outfit, which surreptitiously included jeans--they're khaki though, so most people don't notice. I wanted something that I could get dusty in. But they were full pants to the ankle, and fairly heavy, and that's no good in 90 degree weather, even with a fairly thin shirt.

Bully for her

Breast cancer survivor can now swim topless in Seattle's public pools

Jodi Jaecks, the 47-year-old breast cancer survivor who made local headlines this week for wanting to swim topless at a Seattle-area pool, had tried many things to soothe the nerve pain she suffered following a double mastectomy and chemotherapy last year.
Drugs, physical therapy and specific pain treatments all failed to ease the burning caused by chest-wall nerves that are over-stimulated by the trauma of surgery. So when the facilitator of a breast cancer support group suggested she try swimming, Jaecks jumped on the idea.
"Water sounded soothing," she says.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find a women's swimsuit that didn't irritate her pain further. She asked authorities for the ability to swim topless; she has neither breasts nor nipples. At first they cited the idea that it would not work in a family-pool situation. Then a local paper printed a picture of her nude from the waist up, and the authorities relented, with a promise of reviewing other requests on a case-by-case basis for now, but perhaps eventually opening it up to all breast care survivors.

I understand nerve pain a bit. There are times when my feet are burning and painful, and I have to take my shoes off because I can't handle anything on them. Even the slightest touch is awful. But I can discreetly take off my shoes in public, especially if I keep them under my desk. It's a little different dealing with the chest nerves, and in her case medicine did not work. Anyway, I'm glad she got to swim after all.

Cool--will we see VGER looking for its creator in years to come?

I couldn't resist the Star Trek: the Motion Picture reference. :)

Voyager approaches edge of solar system

I was 10 when Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched. They did an amazing job of helping us explore the solar system, and continue to do so at its outer reaches. It's absolutely wonderful that 35 years later, they're still chugging along. Although we are slated to lose contact with them sometime between 2020 and 2025, they will continue as a testament to mankind's desire to explore space.

Pictured is the Voyager Golden Record. Each of the Voyager spacecraft carry one, which was a sort of time capsule of for anyone who might encounter them. In the words of President Jimmy Carter:

'This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours.'

Let us hope so....

One more reason to like Google...

Google launches Endangered Language Project: Google tries to promote info exchange on the world's 3,000 endangered languages.

Today, Google announced the launch of the Endangered Language Project, "a website for people to find and share the most up-to-date and comprehensive information about endangered languages." The project was built in conjunction with the Alliance for Language Diversity.

Google and its partners hope the Endangered Language Project will help by providing "an online resource to record, access, and share samples of and research on endangered languages, as well as to share advice and best practices for those working to document or strengthen languages under threat."

Although Google helped develop the site, they plan to turn it over to the First Peoples' Cultural Council and The Institute for Language Information and Technology at Eastern Michigan University.

Hell has frozen over

For the first time in years, I have a credit card, thanks to Capital One, the folks whose commercials feature barbarians asking, 'What's in your wallet?' The credit limit is small, but will increase if I make a purchase within 5 months and make five consecutive payments. And no, I did not rush right out there and buy something, although I did link my Roku player to it to avoid any unfortunate issues with my debit card. I'll likely do the same with the Science Fiction Book Club, which no longer forces me to deny or accept featured selections, but still. This also means that when I go on my Chicago trip, I can use it for the incidentals at the hotel and not have $40 held out of my chequing account. Little things like that make my life easier.

The plan is to get something in about the $30 range (I need a shower curtain liner and a couple of things for the house, so probably it will be that.) Then I'll pay off my bill in full. Then I an continue to charge small chunks I can pay off easily so that I get the increase in credit. The limit is such that I could pay the whole thing off on a good month, if need be. But I want to keep as much credit open for such things as the Chicago trip, whenever that happens this fall. There's no annual fee or anything like that, purchases are protected, although the annual percentage rate is fairly high, so this is not something I want to carry much of a balance on.

Capital One lets you choose what your design will be for the card. Mine is green with a lady bug on it, strange I suppose, considering the barbarian motif. I thought the envelope a little heavy for a rejection, but they've been sending me quite a few offers and I thought it might just be one of those. I stared at the card for a good fifteen minutes before activating it. :)

I've been stupid in the past with credit cards, but I've been watching how YKWIA handles his credit and I hope to follow his example, using it responsibly and paying off most or all of it before it becomes a liability. We'll see.

Poor things

Some zoo animals drown, people flee flooding in northeast Minnesota

Jeb, the black and brown dwarfed goat at Lake Superior Zoo, sought out Brad Jago every day for a little love, attention and a gentle scratch on the forehead where his horns once stood.

On Wednesday it was Jago seeking Jeb, as the groundskeeper and the rest of the zoo staff scrambled to find and recapture animals that escaped during torrential overnight flooding that forced the evacuation of some homes in a low-lying neighborhood in the port city of Duluth.

Zoo workers safely recovered two seals and a polar bear that had managed to escape their enclosures but Jeb and a dozen or so other animals from the zoo’s barnyard exhibit — including other goats, sheep and a miniature donkey — drowned.

10 inches of rain, and a near miss when a boy was swept into a culvert, but miraculously was rescued, so no major injuries or deaths among people. But it is sad that the animals died. Most were of the barnyard exhibit, although another report I read said there were exhibits underwater so more may have drowned. The seals were particularly resourceful. One was found in a street some distance from the zoo. :)

It's so fluffy!!!!

This is so cute! I made the 'cute' noise when YKWIA woke me up at a late hour to tell me about it, especially when I saw the photo that accompanies the article:

Baby robin cuddles up with SW Michigan cats

You'd think

that after so many years I'd stop having fears of being left behind or abandoned. I'm not sure if it stems from the time my mom fell asleep and forgot to pick me up at school when I was 6 or the multiple times my ex-husband, thinking it was terribly funny, kept pretending to drive away whenever I tried to get in the car.

So we went on the big grocery run, and I was helping put away groceries, and all I could feel was this great anxiety that Brenda would leave me there and drive away, even though that was absurd. Of course she didn't, she dropped me off at home, and helped me get my groceries, which had rolled about a bit, out of the truck.

I'm just now starting to feel calm, coming down from what was not quite a panic attack, but at least a whole lot of baseless anxiety.

I really must make a more concerted effort not to act psycho. Really.

On that note, I think I'm going to listen to some music, calm down and relax, and then maybe do that laundry.

One more thing

Today my shamrock (the smaller, green one) sent out a whole spray of white flowers. The purple one has some flowers coming up, in pink, but I really enjoyed the blossoms today. They don't last long, so I took a picture. (I should really get one of the violet, too; it's doing quite nicely and is full of blooms). Anyway, here's the shamrock (which is not really a shamrock, they're just called that, it's really a species of Oxalis).

Productivity

I had fallen asleep for awhile but had awoken from an odd dream when a friend called, and we talked for awhile. In the midst of our conversation, I started dusting my living room, because the electronics I've been playing with are quite dusty and there's some around the rest of the room, too. Then, after getting off the phone, I washed the hand washables, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned my microwave, and added five gallons of treated water to top off the aquarium. Not bad for a small burst of energy.

I had gone out and gotten a soda from the laundry room while on the phone (that may be where the burst of energy came from; I don't think it will affect my sleep, it usually has to be a lot when I haven't had any in awhile, even though it was late for caffeine), and just being outside in the muggy night took my breath away, and I had to use my inhaler. I don't know if there are more allergens at night or what. But I feel better now, and of course was fine doing all the lifting (the water) and scrubbing (the dishes and microwave).

The house is in good shape except I still need to bring order to the dresser top and some of the bookshelves, and I really need to buckle down and clean my shower/tub. The rest of the bathroom is in good shape, but the tub looks kind of scary. But I don't want to use the cleaner that works, that has bleach in it, tonight because that will make me have trouble breathing again, and the whole house smells like the stuff when I do, so that may be for Wednesday.

Tomorrow we're doing the big grocery run, so I'll probably be busy for a good couple of hours and won't feel like cleaning when I get home.

Ah, the aquarium sounds like a gently babbling brook rather than a waterfall. That's good. I'll have to add water more often; the plastic strip that the glass top hooks into keeps falling. It's cut to allow for the filter, but has a groove the glass fits into, and apparently it's either warped or I'm not getting it in right, because it keeps going into the tank. Without it on, the water evaporates a little more quickly.

Okay, back to sleep, hopefully without odd dreams of pizzerias without food.

It's alive!!!

I'm listening to Pandora Radio over my TV, thanks to the little tiny purple box connected to my TV from Roku. It's working fine. I've also linked my Netflix account. There are bunches of free channels, too. This is fun.

The only two things that are kind of difficult in my situation is 1) I have an extremely old TV (I got it in 1993 from my grandmother, who died later that year), so in order to plug in the video/audio cables, I use an RF modulator. Usually that is for my DVD player. So if I want to watch a DVD, I have to unhook the cable from modulator and switch to the one going to the DVD. 2) Even though there's free content, some channels are paid subscriptions, so they require a valid credit card for purchases. I only have a debit/cheque card, which works, but of course, that's linked to my bank account. On the other hand, I did set up a PIN so that I wouldn't accidentally purchase anything. So hopefully that works. They also let you use PayPal, if you don't want them to be holding onto your card info.

I'm such a geek. In addition to news, weather, Netflix, Pandora, and the free movie channel Crackle, I added NasaTV as a channel. :)

Now I have to figure out how to go back to normal cable, which I have (for now). I'll give it a little time and see how I like this, and if it's a viable alternative.

Sometimes it's just a matter of timing

I got on the bus as it sprinkled and the thunder rolled in the distance. While on the bus it rained quite hard. I transferred at the transit centre, which is, of course, shaded from the rain. When I got off that bus, it was sunny. I never had to open my umbrella. Yay!

We didn't have the game; Brenda and her family went to see a movie for Father's Day. I'm glad I held out on getting snacks. I had a feeling we wouldn't play. We'll go on the big grocery run sometime this week. I did my chores as per normal, but then visited with both friends, watched YouTube videos with one, and played with the dogs, since they did not get to see their beloved Brenda. They love me, but they fawn over her.

So now it's home and dinner--tomato basil pizza burgers by Morningstar Farms. They were on sale today so I bought two packages (the other was their classic grillers) and shared the bounty. I really had a desire to stop at Zaxby's and get some mozzarella bites and a milkshake, but fought off the temptation.

The Roku box is at work, delivered yesterday according the tracking--I checked on the tablet on the way home. I wish I had thought to call yesterday and check with our receptionist, but it didn't occur to me that it would arrive so fast--I ordered it Wednesday night, it had a 3-5 business day window, but arrived on Saturday, so I thought that was pretty good. If I'd known, I would have stopped by on my way home yesterday, but that's okay. A little wait will do me good. But tomorrow I should be able to configure and set it up.

Okay, now I need to decide if I should do laundry tonight or Monday. I'm really not in a laundry mood (do you get the feeling I don't care for that particular chore?) I don't mind it if I have a washer and dryer in my apartment, but I don't. I have to put everything into a cart, roll it across the complex, carry it down to the laundry room, and then reverse the process when everything's clean. Assuming we don't do the Kroger run tomorrow (and I don't see us doing that with A's schedule), then I'll have a couple of extra hours to do it tomorrow.

I think I'll go clean up the supper stuff, unpack the rest of the groceries I got today, and get everything ready for tomorrow so I can just grab my bag and go. (I have all my meds in my backpack, as I didn't have time to put them in their pill box earlier. I did that over at my friends' house, so I can take those back out, along with the voice recorder and batteries that I use for the game (and occasionally for library committee meetings). :) Oh, and I need to check to see what library books are due tomorrow and put them in my bag.)

Other than that, there's not much to do. I'm not quite up to Julie and Julia, the DVD I have out right now from Netflix. I may read for awhile and listen to some music. That sounds relaxing. I probably won't blog any more tonight, but you probably didn't expect me to blog on a Sunday anyway. Have a good evening.

By the way

If you look on the left side of this page, you'll see a little widget for Google-a-Day, where you try to find the answer to a question by searching. It's pretty fun. I've known about it for quite awhile but never got around to playing. Now I've been doing it about every day. Enjoy!

Plan for a better tomorrow

The game notes are finished. After what happened last Sunday with my blood sugar shooting up and having to call the game early, this is what I plan for tomorrow:

1. Take my Lantus tonight as I'm supposed to (I forgot to do so last Saturday)
   
2. Go to bed early enough for plenty of sleep (that I did; it didn't help)
   
3. Bring food for the morning and lunch before the game.
   
4. Make sure I have plenty of Novolog.
   
5. Take my meds, especially my Claritin (my allergies were bad last week, even with it--and dusting doesn't help them) and including my afternoon dose of Neurontin
   
6. Use my inhaler if I'm having trouble breathing (I didn't last week)
   
7. When we go to on the store run, buy:
   
   1. String cheese (for some protein and fat)
      
   2. Multi-grain crackers (but let Brenda have most of them)
      
   3. Vegetables and dip (something that will be less likely to raise my blood sugar and keep me from pigging out on the fruit, although a little fruit is okay)
      
   4. Soda for caffeine (I didn't have any last week, either)
8. Watch my fruit and crackers intake, nuts are okay if Brenda brings them
   

That's the plan. Unless Father's Day interferes or the game is otherwise cancelled, we plan on going to both Kroger and Lowe's tomorrow, so we'll probably play late. I have a very busy beginning of the week at work this week, so hopefully it won't be past 10, although of course there's always the trick of finding a good place to stop--if you're at the climax of the story, you obviously don't just quit then. :)

When I was young

I was in quite some pain, mainly due to fibromyalgia, something that no one really ever understood and called my 'fibrous migraines' because back then I talked about it all the time. I pretty much shut up about it, but of course it's still there. The carpal tunnel was more numbness than pain, but limited me for years before I finally did get the surgery because my hands were drawing up at night and it was becoming painful. Ever since my twenties, I've had a litany of syndromes, most of which were not in my head, my reputation among my friends as a hypochondriac not withstanding.

But I tell you, as you get older, it gets worse.

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather live each day like the gift from the Gods that it is. Every day, as one person told me, that you wake up on the right side of the grass is a great day. But I took a nap earlier and was awakened not by the alarm but from pain in my feet, hips, neck, and elbow. I think I'm getting tendonitis in the elbow again. I have bulging discs in the neck, osteoarthritis just about everywhere else, and neuropathy in my feet. I try not to complain much, and generally I just plough on through the pain. I'm good with chronic pain (although with acute pain, I'm a weenie). And the first thing I did when getting up (other than folding the blanket back up and straightening up the bed like a person trying to be neater in her life) was to take an Aleve and my medicine for my feet. So it should settle down soon, I hope.

That reminds me. I saw an old man who could barely walk earlier today, with one of those super-duper rolling walkers with a basket (the type I once saw two women comparing each other's on the bus as if they were muscle cars) and a bicycle helmet on his head. So he's obviously unsteady and tends to fall, and they want to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Maybe's he had a stroke or something. Anyway, I was admiring his gumption as he rolled the walker a few yards, then stopped to make sure his balance was okay, then repeated several times. I was a little worried when a car came through a bank drive through pretty fast, that it might startle him and he'd fall. But no, he just kept going.

Then he turned the walker to the street and jaywalked with oncoming cars on Euclid Avenue, which is pretty busy on Saturdays and it was right by Kroger's with the traffic there. He got across okay, but my goodness, I believe there might have been some dementia there as well, or maybe just guts. I mean, most everyone in the university area does jaywalk, but come on? With a walker? And a helmet? Eek!

Oh, and regarding my post earlier about bikes, it restored my faith in bike riders to see two of them while I was at the same bus stop riding, obeying all traffic laws, and (gasp) signalling. That's the first time I've seen that in some time. Do they even teach kids hand signals anymore? Do kids get bicycle safety classes like when I was a kid? There I am, sounding old again.

I had a brief maternal flash today as well. There was a little girl, 20 months old, that was actually cute (I don't say that about just any child) running about. Her mom was keeping a pretty good eye on her, but she strayed a little close to the street every now and then. They came over to the bench and waited with me for the bus, and she chattered and mom played with her, even though she had a baby in a stroller as well. When the bus came, mom was obviously going to have to work with the stroller, which has to be folded up and under a seat on the bus, the baby, and her bags, and the little exuberant girl was jumping down off the bench as the bus approached and without thinking I put my hand out and she took it, and then I helped her up on the bus, giving mom a chance to take care of everything else. For all that I'm not particularly child-oriented (I kind of fear them, and don't know how to be good with kids, having never had practice) despite working in a children's hospital, I feel very protective of kids, and I think it's everybody's job to keep an eye out on them so they don't get hurt.

Anyway, there was something about that soft little hand in mine that for a moment, just for a moment, I regretted not having a child. Then it passed, and sanity returned. I would be such a neurotic parent, and would never be able to let them just be kids. It's really just as well. But she was darling, and I'm glad I did that.

Okay, I think the pain is easing (although I do feel like I need some sort of rack traction). It's time to start the notes. I want to try to get them finished before dark. :)

This story makes me sad

Pregnant Russell County woman fought her attacker before being slain, coroner says

She was out on a run with her sister, felt like she couldn't finish, and headed back to their car. On the way, a man attacked and robbed her, strangling her and leaving her body under a bush. According to the autopsy, she was 10-11 weeks pregnant (she had three other children whom she leaves behind, along with her husband). The alleged assailant walked into the local hospital with injuries consistent with her fighting back, and has confessed to the crime, which was apparently random. So sad, and it just underscores that you're never really safe anywhere, although of course you can't live your life afraid of what could happen.

Cool

Exclusive: Hammer Plan For A Series Of Woman In Black Films, And Daniel Radcliffe Is Teased For A Return Role

I watched The Woman in Black the other day with friends and it was nicely spooky. Apparently they plan to make a sequel (or even a series) of films, the second of which might include Daniel Radcliffe in a reprise of his role in some way. (Which should be interesting--watch the movie and you'll understand.)

Anyway, I'm interested in what they might do. I gather from the story it's supposed to be set 40 years later. The only issue I had with the movie when we watched it was that, being set in the era it was, there was little light and on their TV at least it was pretty dark. Fortunately anything set that much ahead should be gloomy, but brighter, if you know what I mean.

If the evidence supports the claim

then I for one would have a hard time either sending this case to trial or convicting a father who found someone molesting his five-year-old daughter. Normally I would say there is a line between stopping him from doing so, and beating him to death. But I can see someone easily crossing that line with a child at risk, without really considering how deadly their punches were in the heat of the moment. Granted, that is also why we have manslaughter vs. murder charges. I suppose we'll see how the justice system will deal with the case. But I wouldn't want to be on the grand jury or any other jury on this one.

A few years ago, when I was on a jury (thankfully, a civil case), I was asked about cases I did not feel I could serve on. I said that one was a death penalty case, and the other would be any case involving the sexual abuse of a child. I did a very good job of sticking to the facts and letting no emotion in the case I served on (as opposed to several other jurors; thankfully on a civil case you just have to get 9 our of 12, because I was the one sticking, of all things, to logic and facts, whereas others were bringing up similar situations (in their minds) that family had gone through, etc.) But in the sort of cases mentioned above, I don't know if I could keep my emotions in check. Hopefully it won't come up again.

Small Texas community stands by man who killed daughter's alleged abuser

'Share the Road'

Means more than car drivers looking out for bikes. It means bike riders should not blow through a red light just as a pedestrian starts to cross with the green. I just almost got creamed, and that offends me when I'm obeying the traffic laws and someone else isn't.

This makes me dizzy just watching

From the Divo Ostrov Amusement Park in Russia. Thanks to CJ Applegate Stonehocker, who shared it on Facebook.

Not to sound like a loon

But sitting next to the new wireless router, my head feels distinctly unpleasant, and has from the moment I plugged it in. It's like there's a hum in my ears and head that is hard to describe. I'm also vaguely nauseous, but I had heartburn earlier so that may be it. I have issues next to giant transformers, too. I'm hoping I'll get used to it, and I've put it a little further away from where I sit next to the computer. I thought that I might just be odd, but other people also claim to have physical sensations when they're around radio or other electro-magnetic fields.

I cancelled the upgrade to Amazon Prime today, mainly because I actually read the terms and conditions and you're not supposed to sign up with a debit card, just a credit card, and my card is a Visa cheque card. I like the fast shipping (I ordered the router on Wednesday night at about 11:20--it shipped at 3:30 am, and arrived 10:30 this morning.) But I didn't want to really pay $79 all at once, and I'd rather keep a little cushion this payday without overspending.

I also bought a new surge protector for the television and assorted equipment, because when the Roku box comes there was no place to easily plug it in. This is labelled nicely with the various types of equipment, included surge protection (it was just on a regular extension box with a wind-up cord, like you'd use outside with power tools), and even includes a place to put the cable in and out to provide protection.

That's about all the major shopping I plan to do this month. Everything seems to be working pretty well. The wi-fi connexion is really fast; I downloaded an update to Angry Birds: Space in no time flat. I have it secured, but also have a guest account in case someone needs to use it, like my step-dad, for example, when they come over. Not that a lot of people actually come here, but it's there should it be needed. The installation went well, despite the fact my old Vonage router was in the mix. Yay for looking up things online when the manual doesn't explain enough.

Okay, everything's installed; I think I need a cold drink and maybe a peanut-butter sandwich.

I didn't sleep well last night

I thought I'd made an error that caused me a lot of tossing and turning. I finally realised I could check on it, and got up and did so, and I think everything's fine. But I really worried that people who depend on me to do something right would be screwed way beyond the time I put one of their bill payments in a box (we don't know what type) thinking it was a drop box rather than getting it to a teller or real drop box. I've never lived this down. This would be 10 times worse. Anyway I'm a little relieved, but now of course it's a half-hour before I'm due to get up, and the chirpy birds and babbling brook that my Gentle Alarm uses have already started--I can hear it from the other room.

Tonight I should be able to enter the 21st century in that I should be able to set up a wi-fi network in my apartment. I found a not-very-expensive (I want to avoid the word 'cheap' and its connotations) router from Amazon and it should be here today, which isn't bad as I ordered it Wednesday night. I'm tired of having to run to the library to update any of the big applications from Amazon (anything over 20 MB), plus it furthers my plan to discard cable and use streaming video, as I also ordered a Roku box for streaming it through my TV. That should be here in a few days, and was at a much better Father's Day rate than Amazon at the Roku website. So I am spending some, but the key is I can save in the long run.

Oops, there goes my regular alarm. I'd better go...

Spent some time with a friend and his family

who gave me a ride home from work (with a quick stop at Kroger for bread). It was nice to see them. Since neither of us have a car (he had borrowed one for the day), it makes it hard to get together much, and both of us stay pretty busy, but we usually text at least every other day. In fact, he's the main person (okay, the only person) I text. :) He and his wife just celebrated their ninth anniversary, and have two rowdy (especially the youngest) children. More power to them, they seem like great parents, but they have more guts than I do in that regard. :)

I've washed dishes, straightened up the kitchen, taken out the trash (the recyclables outside are full to the brim, so that will have to wait until tomorrow), and put away a few things I had on the loveseat. Tomorrow I need to call the leasing office and ask maintenance to have a look at my commode, as it seems to have a slow leak if you don't jiggle the handle a bit each time. It's probably time for the guts to be replaced again. I go through them fairly quickly for some reason. I promise, I'm not mega-flushing or anything.

I need to water the plants, which are doing well, but I think they're overdue for that--I normally do it on Saturdays at home, Mondays at work. The ones at work are flourishing. The shamrocks are growing like weeds (the purple one gets lots of oohs and ahs at work, it's so big), the violet is blooming (finally), the Christmas cactus isn't but it's very healthy. I did come in Monday to find the rose withered in places. I don't know why; it takes quite a bit of water but I gave it some extra towards the end of the week. I cut the withered pieces away and left the new growth, which was doing fine. I've never been able to keep miniature roses alive indoors, for some reason, but I'm going to give it a try.

Outside, the apartments have replaced the rather scrubby yew shrubs with holly ones, full of berries. I think they'll be a delight come winter when the berries are red. It makes for a nice change. I was saddened when I went into work the other day and they were cutting down a crabapple to get to the gutters and roof near the portico. They're working on the roof of the hospital, and likely will till November, replacing the whole thing. I'm getting somewhat used to the high-pitched sawing sounds, and the hammering, but there's something that causes a vibration that makes the walls shake that just gets under my skin. I've been wearing my headphones when I can and listening to music. Unfortunately, since a lot of my morning is spent on the phone, that's not always possible.

I'm feeling better about my work in regards to the referrals. I'm busy trying to get a handle on three very large clinic days next week, so I'm not doing them at the last minute. 'Course, I did that last week, too, and look how stressed I was Friday and Monday. :)

I'm listening to the Celtic music channel on cable. I'm seriously considering removing the TV package from my cable bill and relying on Netflix for entertainment. It would mean not seeing 'Doctor Who' as it comes out, but all the other seasons are on Netflix and I expect I could watch it after the new season ends. I'm bad about DVR'ing it anyway and then not getting around to watching it, especially as it comes on at a time on Saturday when I'm likely on my way home on the bus. We'll see. It seems silly to pay $75 a month for a service I rarely use. That's $900 a year. I'd still keep the Internet service, though, because, well, one, broadband service is important to me and I use it a lot, two, my Vonage phone piggy-backs on it, and three, that's how you watch those shows on Netflix. :) But it really would half my cable bill entirely. I only spend $16 a month for Netflix in comparison, and that's about $8 for the streaming bit, as I also have the DVD-by-mail subscription. I also have a trial going of Amazon Prime, which includes streaming video, which comes out to be about $6 a month. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to keep it. It also includes borrowing Kindle books and free two-day shipping. We'll see.

Okay, I think I'm going to go read. Or maybe play Ninja Chicken. No, read. :) Good night if I don't write again this evening.

Something that might be fun to watch for you astronomy buffs

Large Asteroid to Buzz Earth Tonight—Watch It Live: Find out how to see space rock 2012 LZ1 swing by our planet

An asteroid the size of a city block will buzz Earth tonight, and the flyby will be streamed around the world via a live online broadcast.

Interesting

WERE NEANDERTHALS EUROPE'S FIRST CAVE ARTISTS?: Paintings on cave walls in Spain are far older than previously thought.

A series of cave paintings in Spain are thousands of years older than scientists realized, raising speculation — but no proof — that Neanderthals could have been the earliest wall artists in Europe.

The oldest image, a large red disk on the wall of El Castillo cave in northern Spain, is more than 40,800 years old, according to an advanced method that uses natural deposits on the surfaces of the paintings to date their creation. The new findings, detailed in the June 15 issue of the journal Science, make the paintings the oldest reliably dated wall paintings ever.

I woke up to find my phone in my hand

I'd been texting someone back and forth and fell asleep. That's kind of sad. Sorry about that Brandon...and happy 9th anniversary to you and your lovely wife Angenette. :)

In other words, pretty much what our current endangered species are facing

Mammoth Extinction Has Lessons For Modern Climate Change

Until recently the cause of the woolly mammoth extinction 4,000-10,000 years ago has been unclear. But according to new research, they fell to a lethal combination of climate warming, encroaching humans, and habitat loss.

From Planetsave (share this quote)

A former student looks at the institutionalised culture of molestation in his school

Prep-School Predators: The Horace Mann School’s Secret History of Sexual Abuse

It's a disturbing look at lives damaged and eyes averted in the long term at a prep school in New York.

Putting the 'Great Recession' in perspective

Recession wiped out 20 years of wealth you built, Fed says

The Federal Reserve said the median net worth of families plunged by 39 percent in three years, from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010. That puts Americans roughly on par with where they were in 1992.

Well, I did get quite a lot done

and spoke to my boss about what's going on in terms of the amount of time it takes to get the referrals and how it's affecting the rest of my work. It's like being a private detective. Sometimes I have to try three different places to get the right physician's office, or go through interminable insurance lines, etc. I was also stressed about the data entry sheets that I was behind on last week, but he assured me that although we aim to get them within the timeframe allotted and it's good not to make it a practice of being late, it doesn't mean we won't get paid, just that there may be a delay. So I feel significantly less stressed, and got all of yesterday's sheets in plus several referrals, and managed to actually do some interlibrary loans and other things for the library, too. I got calls in for most referrals this week, so I can start gearing up for a busy time next week as well.

I stopped by the library and downloaded an update to a computerised jigsaw puzzle program and a game called Rocket Weasel that was free the other day from Amazon. I also downloaded a game that was free today called Ninja Chicken, which is pretty fun, and funny. I sometimes play games on the bus ride home or in lieu of television in the evenings. The Ninja Chicken game I downloaded earlier today over 4G, and played it during my lunch.

I picked up a couple of books at the library, including one called The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table that looked interesting.

Speaking of eating, I think it's time to scrounge up something for dinner and check the news. I'll write later.

Muggy

It's not even 70 degrees and the air is a bit heavy with moisture, and there's a fog advisory out.

I didn't have time for the oatmeal, but I'm not really hungry. My outlook is much better today, and I've taken my Lantus, both last night and this morning, so hopefully my sugar will be okay when I do eat.

I'm looking forward to today, and hope I can get a lot accomplished. Wish me luck!

I don't normally post on Sundays

what with the house cleaning, game, and the biweekly shopping we do on that day, but last night I was quite simply incapable of it. In fact, the game, I'm sorry to say, was called for diabetes.

I had not felt well through most of the day; I had not slept well and my allergies were especially bothering me, and my neck, too. But I felt better in the morning and then once my chores were complete, started to feel, well, fading. I hadn't eaten, so I took my blood sugar which was about 250, took my insulin, and ate a peanut butter sandwich. I perked up for awhile

Normally I bring string cheese and crackers to the game, but I really couldn't afford them this time, and I'd told Brenda she might want to get the crackers, as she's fond of them. I didn't mention the cheese because she hasn't been having some issues and hasn't really been eating it, and I didn't see any reason for her to get something she wasn't eating, and the game master sometimes eats them, sometimes doesn't, so I've been the person mainly consuming them.

Brenda brought food, her normal, some very good grapes and blueberries. Grapes, in particular, are fairly high in sugar (the blueberries are kind of low on the glycaemic index), and I ate quite a bit, and didn't have the cheese to anchor it (ideally, when a person, but especially a diabetic, eats, they should have some protein with the carbohydrates, and also some fat. That's why peanut butter and crackers are a good snack). Or so I was told in my diabetes class. It has something with the rate of how each is broken down int the body. Apparently I'd been balancing my intake of fruit with the cheese, so although my blood sugar tended to run a little higher than normal on Monday mornings, it wasn't affecting me to the point of inability to function. Unfortunately, I just had fruit and crackers, without that balance, and my blood sugar shot up to 356. I was having trouble thinking, was falling asleep, couldn't process well and could only approach problems emotionally. I felt physically beaten down and slightly ill. When the others realised what was going on, and the game master asked if I needed to stop, I was actually slurring my words some. I took some insulin, but only had 12 units on me. Brenda took me home, and I took some of the Lantus (I had forgotten the dose the night before, which surely didn't help) while I was waiting for the Novolog to reach room temperature, then in about an hour took some of that. By the time I went to bed, it was back down to 250 or so. YKWIA checked on me a couple of times, and then I went on to bed fairly early.

This morning I felt hung over. My blood sugar was about the same. I took my Lantus this morning and then when I had breakfast (a piece of bread with peanut butter and a bit of spreadable fruit), I took my Novolog. By lunchtime it was 172, definitely better. I expect it will head more towards normal because I started my period today, and it always does then. I asked our dietitian about that. She says it has something to do with the oestrogen levels affecting insulin resistance. I wish we could do that all the time. It's the only time I'm quite normal, although I'm usually better than I was this weekend, that's for sure.

The day was rainy, especially in the morning, and I was rather blah when I dressed, which was rather Goth, all in black with a black onyx pendant. I started out the day stressed because of the sheer amount of work I needed. I took a later bus than normal, making me 15 minutes late, and stayed a half-hour over my normal time as a consequence, getting as much as could be done today finished, and catching up on quite a bit of my work. Despite feeling blah I got a lot done, and tracked down several referrals, got a few more started, and phoned a lot of places, and did a lot of charge sheets.

When I went to go home, one of my co-workers gave me a ride home and asked me if I would like to go to Texas Roadhouse, her treat. Since I wasn't exactly sure what I'd be eating and had just had one more peanut butter sandwich and some pita chips that day, I took her up on it. It was a great meal. I love their grilled salmon, baked potato, and salad combination. We had a nice time, and her daughter, grandson, her daughter's friend showed up a little after we did as well. Then she took me home, and it was the most relaxed I'd felt all day. I really needed that. I came home in a very happy mood, and rested for a bit. Now I'm up and considering washing some dishes. I fixed some oatmeal to eat tomorrow morning that I can just put in the microwave to reheat. I have some packages of tuna I can take tomorrow and some salad makings I can fix tonight. Thank goodness we get paid Wednesday night. I have $3.00 in my bank account, exactly, counting the one cent in savings. :)

I think next week I'll definitely take the cheese and maybe a small thing of vegetables that I can snack on so that I don't eat too much fruit. Kroger has small veggie plates with tomatoes, celery, broccoli, and carrots that would work fine, and the others like that too. Or I may just get some veggies and make my own. We'll see. Maybe I'll start with one of theirs so I have the thing to put the others in later.

PS Yesterday was my day for minor injuries. I got a pretty decent scratch on my hand and wrist from the puppy (whose claws were trimmed later that day) and at some point during the game, I dropped my pencil. It looped in the air, scratched the inside of my middle finger enough to draw blood and require a Band-Aid, and then fell to the floor. I am a danger to myself (not so much to others) through my klutziness.

Well, that was a fairly long post. Maybe I'll read a bit, too. I'm working my way through a collection of Cthulhu Mythos short stories. Good night.

In addition to all the other things I did today

which included stooping through bushes, finding two more muzzles at the store (the first four having been chewed by the puppy), discovering that the hardware store at Tates Creek Centre has once again gone out of business, doing a grocery run for couscous, etc., I also watched a movie I have out from Netflix with some friends. It was The Woman in Black, which was spooky and very reminiscent of what we might find in the game, with a surprise ending. The only trouble was it was hard to see a lot because, true to the era, there wasn't much in the way of lighting, so you didn't always catch what the character was reading or reacting to. Otherwise it was a nice solid supernatural thriller. There was a film in the previews which looked vaguely interesting, called Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, with Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, and Kristin Scott Thomas, but it is not out on DVD yet, according to Netflix. The next DVD in my queue is Julie & Julia, which I hear was delightful.

Not surprisingly

I got about as far as 6:30 pm and then crashed till about 10 pm, missing a call from the husband of my own personal patron (hey, he calls me his personal librarian) for an urgent question. So bleary eyed, I checked my messages, researched the question, left a message for him via his husband (it being Sabbath, he couldn't talk on the phone himself), and then took a quick walk outside to stretch my legs and clear my head.

It's been an extremely busy week, both in the library and with revenue cycle, and although I got a lot done, I spent most of the week (and continue to be) behind in all sorts of things, which isn't good. Monday and Tuesday are going to be killer clinics, too, so short of overtime, I'm not sure how to catch up, although perhaps I'll have a better perspective then. I spent all day trying to do so, given that it was slow (we had our big sports clinic outside, and most people were outside most of the day). Lunch was free (they even had veggie burgers), and I had a tiny scoop of Amish ice cream (after grilling my co-worker, who has a background in both biology and farming as to its safety). But I'm not used to feeling this behind. Still, as they say, tomorrow is another day.

Tomorrow I have a lot to do with and for my friends, plus I just am not up to game notes tonight. Sunday is the game and all that entails. But I absolutely have to get some rest this weekend if I'm in hope of tackling things Monday. I just don't know how to put everything into the number of hours I have. To be quite honest I'm going to have to start early tomorrow, so maybe I should head on back to bed. Good night.

I am all for tradition and observance of religious laws

But if I were a parent wanting a bris for my infant son, I'd have some questions for the mohel (the man who performs the ritual circumcision in Judaism).

N.Y. health chief calls for end to metzitzah b’peh rite in circumcisions

Health Department investigations of newborns with the herpes virus from 2000 to 2011 have shown that 11 infants contracted the herpes virus when mohels, or ritual circumcisers, placed their mouths directly on the child’s circumcision wound to draw blood away from the circumcision cut, according to a statement from the department. Ten of the infants were hospitalized, at least two developed brain damage and two babies died.

The metzitzah b'peh, or placing the mouth on the circumcision wound to draw the blood away, is mostly still practiced among the very Orthodox. In Judaism, there are laws, and then there are traditions that grow up around the laws. I'm not sure which this is, but if it is a tradition, then perhaps it is time for a change. In interpretation of the law, rabbis often come down on the side of health and wellness, as evidenced by the fact you can use a telephone to call for a medical emergency on the Sabbath or the decision by some rabbis that abortion is allowed if the foetus is deemed to be too much for the woman's health, something that can be interpreted strictly or widely depending on the rabbi. Since circumcision is at the very heart of what makes a boy or man Jewish, representing the covenant with G-d, then I don't know how this will work out, especially among the Ultra-Orthodox. Still it's disturbing to think of such a needless death or in the case of some, brain damage, no matter how small the percentage overall. It's a tragedy for each family, and even more so because it was preventable.

Equal marriage rights should also include equal divorce rights

But for same-sex couples, things can get really sticky, opening up multiple cans of worms for the parties trying to divorce, especially legally and financially, but even down to parenthood.

Denied divorce, some same-sex couples 'wed-locked'

But if a marriage should fall apart in a state that doesn't recognize the couple's legal status in the first place, that's when things get complicated.
Some states that do not allow same-sex marriages to be performed also do not grant divorces for same-sex marriages that occurred outside of the state's borders. It's a tricky situation when a couple wants to dissolve their same-sex marriage, and neither spouse is a resident of a state that recognizes their marriage as legal and valid.

So tired I think I looked drunk walking home from the bus stop

and it's almost too much trouble to get dressed for bed, although the shoes came off first and then the contacts that were trying to flip on my eyes came out. I just got home, having worked a very busy day and then I went over to help a friend with some projects. I got to see his new house trim (shutters, gutters, etc.) They are a light purple colour. They even painted the back door that colour. It's absolutely amazing (and of course I love it, since it's purple).

I almost missed the last bus out because I'd forgotten the weekday bus was 10 minutes earlier than the Sunday one. I actually had to wave my hand and hobble as quickly as I could, catching it in the nick of time, which is good, as I haven't got the money for a cab. Thank goodness I'm neurotic about the buses and go out a full 10 to 15 minutes earlier than they're supposed to be.

Can I just say I love that my employer has given me a three-year notice with a retention package

as opposed to:

University of Kentucky laying off about 140 people, eliminating 164 vacant jobs

All affected employees will receive 90 days notice in lieu of severance packages.

and

Some layoffs started as early as May 29, according to Anissa Radford, an assistant dean for undergraduate affairs at the Gatton College of Business and Economics.

On that day, she and six other employees were summoned one by one to the dean's office, told about their layoffs, handed a sealed letter, given a 5-minute informational lecture and instructed to be out of the building in 10 minutes.

"We were locked out of our computers, our university email deactivated, escorted to the exit door in front of our colleagues at mid-morning with as much of our personal belongings as we could hold," Radford said in an email to the Herald-Leader. "We could not even check our office calendars to see what student appointments were scheduled for later that day and that week."

Radford said she was given no information about how her duties will be handled and was not asked to participate in any kind of transitional strategy.

Saddened by the loss of a master storyteller

whose imagination spawned many thought-provoking stories, including perhaps his most famous, Fahrenheit 451. Here's an interview where he speaks of how the book came about, his love of libraries, and his love of writing. We have lost a wonderful writer in Ray Bradbury.



Scientists and sci-fi authors alike mourn Ray Bradbury: His visions for the future forever changed landscape of what could be imagined

Ray Bradbury, author of 'Fahrenheit 451,' dies

Ray Bradbury, Master of Science Fiction, Dies at 91

The Wikipedia article for Ray Bradbury

I really should pay more attention

I had some summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and garlic that I decided to combine in a skillet with some olive oil and cook, adding some Havarti cheese there towards the end. Everything turned out fine, and it's quite tasty, but I did make a little error. My food processor has a double sided blade. One way it slices, the other way it grates. I put it in without looking at which was on top, and grated the squash, so it sort of looks like it'll be put in some sort of batter for bread--but it is yummy. I'm having some Greek yoghurt and blueberries for dessert. :)

By the way

I caught the full moon in clouds the other night. It's not what I call a clear picture of the moon, but it's kind of misty and mysterious looking:

Snapped this on my tablet while watching NASA TV

I know someone who's going to be indignant over this

It's official: Twitter kills the Queen's English

The Queen's English Society, which has caviled at writers', politicians' and entertainers' "misuse" of the language for 40 years, is disbanding at the end of the month, its chairwoman, Rhea Williams, announced in a message to members, The Independent reported Monday.

(Befitting the organization's traditionalist bent, Williams insists on being called "chairman.")

It's basically an issue of too few participants.

On the other hand, there's this:

Diamond Jubilee Weekend: Be as a Queen in the World of Tech and Texts, Mobile App Texts with Queen’s English

Apparently the application is structured using aspects of the Queen's English. Therefore, if the user writes "it's", the programme changes it to "it is". In addition, since the Queen has a tendency to maintain a positive tone in communications, words echoing the same sentiment are used. Finally, there is also the opportunity to learn the Queen's English, from historical texts and also from emails, texts and/or social media data.

"The Queen's language reveals that she has a generally optimistic frame of mind and so the words 'confident', 'delighted', 'glad' and 'please' were uttered 125 times more than her famous 'annus horribilis,' which was the phrase that she used in the 1992 Windsor Castle fire," said Medlock, who has a PhD in natural language processing from the University of Cambridge.

They analysed speeches and various documents from the Queen. I use another application, Swype, so won't be downloading the module, but it is rather interesting. People could use some better grammar in their texting. :) I wonder if it changes 'app' to 'application'?

Sorry to hear this

University of Kentucky begins laying off 'significant' number of employees

The University of Kentucky has begun laying off a "significant" number of its roughly 14,000 employees, a process that is expected to continue this week and next, according to university officials.

"It is a painful exercise to implement significant reductions in our workforce," UK President Eli Capilouto said in a campus-wide email sent at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. "But there simply is no way to patch over the holes in our budget with temporary measures or one-time sources of funds any longer."

UK, Lexington's largest employer, employs about 2,500 faculty and 9,000 staff. An additional 3,000 employees work for UK Healthcare.

Speaking with one of the library administrators for one of the campus libraries the other day, I know she'd lost several positions, and she indicated that the job I applied for would probably either not be filled or be filled by the tech already working in the consumer health library. But I guess it is better than I wasn't hired and then, due to lack of seniority, let go. I may have two and a half years to find a job, but at least I have one now. My condolences for the UK employees who are losing or reducing theirs.

Clouds keep passing in front of the sun here

and it's heading towards sunset, so I'm watching the transit of Venus online thanks to NASA. Here is a beautiful picture as it nears transit taken by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (you can see more sizes of it on their Flickr page).

Yay!!!

I originally missed the Masterpiece Mystery programme that showed the first instalment of the second season/series of the British show 'Sherlock', called 'A Scandal in Belgravia', but I found out that it was on PBS.org in its entirety, along with 'The Hounds of Baskerville' (which I have on DVR) and 'The Reichenbach Fall', which I did see with my friends. So, I finally got to see Irene Adler in action.

The programme (both series 1 and 2) is really quite excellent, with good acting and extremely good writing, which is perhaps not surprising, as Steven Moffat (who does 'Doctor Who') is the main writer. Anyway, I'm glad I finally got to see it. I'll try to watch the second instalment tomorrow.

Good night

Despite waking up at 5:30...
Despite cleaning a house for hours...
Despite a Kroger run...
Despite a good Cthulhu game that lasted several hours...
Despite quite a bit of blogging afterwards...
I am just now getting sleepy. Maybe it's a sign that I'm finally managing to stay up to a normal hour rather than packing it in at 8 or 9 pm. We'll see. I've put away the groceries, put away my medicine, watered the plants, and done all the aforementioned things. It's been a long but satisfying day. But now I'm ready to turn in for the night. Hope you had a good weekend, and good night.

PS I'm hoping I can see at least a bit of the lunar eclipse tomorrow morning before the sun comes up. For those of you in more opportune areas, be sure to catch it.

Listening to haunting songs

Loreena McKennitt's 'Tango to Evora', from The Visit



And then there's 'The Old Ways'

Congratulations to Her Majesty for a long (and hopefully longer) reign

Monarch of the seas: Britain marks the Queen’s reign with rain, and pageantry

Perhaps, as she looked out over the hundreds of rain-lashed boats sailing down the Thames to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, the Queen was thinking of another cold, wet, miserable spring day: June 2, 1953, the day of her coronation. She is, after all, the monarch of a windswept island kingdom in the north Atlantic, where the only sport more popular than complaining about the weather is proudly enduring it.

:) I do love the British.

Good for them!

300 Mormons march in Utah Gay Pride Parade

SALT LAKE CITY - More than 300 Mormon church members who are not gay drew shouts of approval and tears from spectators while marching in the Utah Gay Pride Parade in downtown Salt Lake City.

The Mormons say they sought to send a message of love to Utah's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community by joining the annual parade Sunday. Their participation marked the first time such a large group of Mormons took part in the parade, organizers said.

A man who knew how to make you laugh

Richard Dawson, who made ’em laugh on ‘Family Feud,’ dies at 79

Richard Dawson brought a saucy, unabashedly touchy-feely style to TV game shows as host of “Family Feud.”

The British-born entertainer, who died Saturday at age 79 from complications related to esophageal cancer at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, earlier had made his mark in the unlikely 1960s sitcom hit “Hogan’s Heroes,” which mined laughs from a Nazi POW camp whose prisoners hoodwink their captors and run the place themselves.

But it is as the kissing, wisecracking quizmaster of “Feud” that he will be remembered.

I loved "Hogan's Heroes", watching re-runs late into the night in junior high school when I should have been asleep, and Dawson was charming and personable in "Family Feud". YKWIA told me of his death earlier today, and although it makes me a little sad, it brought the laughs he inspired to mind, which I guess is the best way of remembering someone.

Horrific, indeed

Both for the animals and the people below:

Sheep rain down on cars in Australia

MELBOURNE — Sheep plunged onto cars on a busy Australian highway after a truck carrying 400 livestock crashed while crossing an overpass, spilling its cargo into the path of terrified motorists below.

Up a little early with 15 minutes or so to go before I head out to the bus

I must remember to ask for a transfer, as I have an actual dollar with me rather than a valid bus pass. I also have the Bulgarian woman's bag in my backpack, although I doubt she'll be heading to work this early in the morning.

I got a good night's sleep, which is rarely the case before the game, waking up at 5:30 without hitting snooze once. I also got plenty of rest Friday night, so this is almost unheard of, short of an actual holiday, and even those tend to be busy. So the trip to Danville was good as far as getting rest as well. I remembered to take my Lantus, since I wasn't rushed, as well.

Okay, I need to go check a couple of things on the computer and then I'm on my way. Have a nice Sunday.

A milestone

This my 8,000th post, in 10 and a half years or so. That's a lot of writing!!! Thanks for reading, even the boring stuff. :) I really appreciate it.

That was a sweet and lovely movie

I've had Corrina, Corrina out from Netflix for awhile. I finally watched it. I have friends who have the soundtrack, so I knew it had some great music in it. Here's one I really loved, 'We Will Find a Way' by Brenda Russell:

(the spelling/grammar's not the best on the lyrics to the video, but you the music's wonderful)

Also, the version of 'Over the Rainbow' by Jevetta Steele was very nice:

I'm home

Apparently the pictures look fine on a regular computer. It may just be because I was getting less than 4G service in Danville, so the loading of the pictures timed out.

It was a very good visit, with the exception that my mom took a bad spill right before we left Danville, hitting her cheek on a marble table, as well as skinning up her hip and possibly spraining her ankle. She has my grace, you see. Fortunately, it looks like they're just painful but minor problems, although they'll keep an eye on her to see if she does alright once the shock wears off. She was carrying the hourglass my grandmother had said I could have (it's table sized, about two feet high) and tripped on a basket of magazines. Fortunately, the marble table, the bowl and pitcher on it, and the hourglass all survived as well, although of course my mom's the important one here.

It was a very good visit and quiet. Ma's still feisty, even at 88. It was good to see Sharon and Terry (although I wish I'd seen Eddie and Sharon as well). Everyone seems to be doing fine. I didn't see any of my step-brothers, who tend to have a lot of drama associated with them. Really, Momma's fall was the only negative thing about the trip. Even the weather mostly cooperated. It was a little cool and cloudy yesterday, but didn't rain or anything. And today is very pleasant.

I've unpacked partially, eaten a bit, re-potted a plant, and now I must admit I feel like a nap. I think I may turn off the air conditioning (it isn't running anyway, since I have it set to kick on at something like 76 and it's below that) and open the windows. I'm trying to decide if I want to go anywhere--this is my last day with this bus pass. But tomorrow we should be going to Kroger's for the big run, and I can get a new one then, plus snacks for the game. At least I don't have to do game notes now--I finished those last week, and then we didn't play.

Thanks for reading.

Let's try another

This is a picture I took in my grandmother's kitchen directly from the Blogger application, rather than loading out from the gallery on my device. My mother had brought done blooms in and put them in a vase.

This is the hydrangea in my grandmother's yard

Isn't it beautiful?
PS I am having trouble getting the photo to show with the mobile publishing. I'll fix it when I get near a computer again. Sorry about I'm
still working out the kinks.

A nice visit so far

I'm trying out Blogger's mobile application. I couldn't get service in Stanford although my phone works fine, but here in Danville it's much better, which is nice as my grandmother doesn't have cable. But I have the tablet, my Kindle, three print books, a DVD, and music on my phone, so I came prepared.

I got to see my aunt and uncle for a few hours before they headed to a family reunion for his folks. We ate at Arby's, and let me tell you, they were very accommodating to the vegetarian, making me a veggie wrap that was very good, plus I had some cheese sticks. We visited with my grandmother for awhile and then they headed out and I went to my mom's house. We watched some movies and then had dinner, and then I came back to my grandmother's to stay the night.

Not bad. I did miss the other aunt and uncle, but maybe I can see them next time.

Okay, I'm going to play with the little dog who's at my feet and then check the news. Take care, and have a great weekend.