Something that made me cry....

Guide dog dies after pushing 4-year-old boy away from speeding car

A beloved guide dog died after he pushed a 4-year-old Atlanta boy away from the path of a moving car that ran a stop sign — seconds after the pooch was struck, the owner said.

Dave Furukawa — the visually-impaired owner of the brindle boxer, Simon — said he was walking his son, Will, to school when a red Chrysler ran through the stop sign and hit the pooch as they crossed a street on Monday.

But the brave dog bounced back up in time to push Will out of the way, witnesses said.

There is a picture of Furukawa and Simon sleeping with a baby Will, which is priceless. As a guide dog, Simon kept his owner safe, being his eyes. But he loved the child enough to, although already having been hit by a car, get up and push the boy out of the way. Having been hit by a car, I can tell you that I'm not sure even I would have the presence of mind to do that. I was kind of in shock, and couldn't even grasp at first what had happened.

“Broken leg, and he had a gash on his side and he had internal bleeding — but he followed home,” Furukawa said. “Once he was sure Will was okay, he laid down.”

The family rushed the injured 80-pound dog to an emergency vet, but Simon died on the way.

RIP, Simon. You were a brave and good dog. And please folks, slow down and pay attention to paedestrians. A car sped through a stop sign and killed this brave animal and nearly mowed down the humans with him. Running late, playing with your phone, whatever causes the distraction--it's not worth a life.

Home and tired after a busy day

I wound up being over with my friends for about eight hours, and did the grocery run and helped with an organisational project. I have one of my own to do, of course, the rearranging of the living room, but if I do that now and don't finish tonight then I'll not be able to do it Sunday (the game), Monday (the prep for the colonoscopy), or Monday (sore and sedated). I really don't want to start and then have books all over the place waiting to be put back on shelves. So I'm thinking of waiting till next weekend. I need help getting the entertainment cabinet out of the house, and A has said he would, but there won't be time tomorrow, even if I get everything else finished. So it might be worth just waiting. Besides, my back is hurting a bit and I don't want to make it worse, either.

Still no word from the gasteroenterology practice about directions for preparing for Tuesday and the prep involved. I'm going by what I've found on the Internet for now, which means I'm eating a low-fibre diet as of yesterday and Monday will be just clear liquids, which I bought quite a bit of today. I now have apple juice, white Gatorade (it's cherry, but not red), Jello, clear soda, popsicles, etc. Oh, and toilet paper. Everything but the prep itself, as I was hoping for some directions first. Oh, well. I'm going to call them Monday to see what the deal is.

I think I'll listen to some Imagine Dragons and rest a bit. The notes were finished earlier. If I don't happen to write more tonight, have a good night.

I totally slept

the evening away, falling asleep about 8 and waking up just a bit ago. I knew I was pushing it on a Friday evening even though I need to do notes from the Cthulhu game. So I'm going to go back to bed, get up early, and do them. I have to go do a grocery run at 11 am, and I plan on rearranging the living room after retrieving my back brace from work (I forgot it there). But the notes have to be done first.

I spoke to Brenda today about taking me to the colonoscopy, so it's all set, and we're on for Tuesday. I haven't gotten my material yet, but I've looked some things to help prepare on the Internet. Tomorrow, when we go to the store, I'll go ahead and get some 'liquid diet' items, like Jello and the like. Monday will be hard, both in terms of not really eating any solid food at work and the whole stay-in-the-bathroom-for-hours bit. Wish me luck!

Not your average catwalk

Okay, I didn't like the clothes at all and the women have horrendous faces at times, but this is great in that 1) it uses women who aren't pale imitations of plastic manikins, women who have curves yet who move and are active, and 2) definitely this is different from the normal walk and pivot. Thanks to Vanessa Irvin Morris for sharing. What do you all think?



Oh, and as to the faces, as one commenter, penelopeat8pm, said, 'I'm pretty sure that if for the last 60+ years they've been telling you you're not thin enough, white enough or beautiful enough to partake of fashion, you'd have the same face. :)'

Watched TV with a friend tonight

including some episodes of 'Castle' and 'The Big Bang Theory' season premiere, and enjoyed it immensely. The latter show especially causes me to laugh myself silly. So once I got home, I didn't feel like watching any videos or TV, so I'm listening to Big Country's The Seer and relaxing in front of the fan (I was a bit warm).

I found out a nifty thing about my TV. It has a fitness feature where you put in your stats and set up a weight loss plan, and exercise to various videos on the TV, which are free. There were several yoga ones, including beginner's (I'm rusty and not as limber as I used to be, so I should start back up small.) So instead of being a couch potato, it actually has the potential to help with my weight. Now I just need to come up with a plan and make time for them. Most of the videos seem to be about 20 minutes long. It tells you how long and how many calories it will burn for each one. I'm going to try a yoga video tomorrow, and see how I like it.

*Yawn*. I think I'll head to bed early; I need to try to make up some time at work and go in early tomorrow. At least it's Friday, though. I haven't heard from Brenda or the office yet about the colonoscopy. I'll check with her tomorrow and see if we can do it Tuesday. Presumably I'll get the info they sent me from the office tomorrow or Saturday. Fun, fun. Good night.

Breathe in, breathe out

Driving in rush hour traffic on Richmond Road today, I was feeling a bit anxious after a pickup truck crashed loudly into a car about ten cars behind me (and I'm not sure, but think it kept going--I heard it and just saw the aftermath briefly in my rear view mirror) and then just about 100 feet ahead two other cars had had an accident. I hope no one was hurt; I didn't really see either accident happen and traffic was heavy, so I couldn't really stop. But it was a little scary. Be careful out there, people. So glad to be home and away from it all now. I know from firsthand experience how quickly a car hurtling into you can change things.

Why is it?

That sometimes my least favourite songs get stuck in my head. Today's? Lana Del Rey's 'Summertime Sadness' (or whatever it's called). :( And my, it's long and repetitive. Sorry if you're a fan. I don't care for it. I also don't like Florida Georgia Line's 'Cruise' and turn both off when the songs play on the radio. And I have a pretty wide range of music that I like--Celtic, folk, blues, jazz, show tunes, Oldies, opera, world, Motown, rock, pop, country, metal, even some rap, if it's incorporated into actual music. I don't care if it's hokey, edgy, weird, or whatever, so long as it's good.

Last night

I wound up totally absorbed in putting something together and testing it out for about three hours. I let my phone, which had a low battery, totally go down to the point it turned off, then couldn't find it for about fifteen minutes when I finally did tear myself away, realising that it was after midnight and time to go to bed. I had several calls and texts, but it was too late to respond to either. I did send an email to the person who'd called, saying it was okay to call back if he wanted, which he did so later that night, and we talked for about an hour. The person who texted and I caught up with each other this evening and had a good 'text conversation'. The project meant I messed the house up a bit. In fact, I need to redo a bit of the living room entirely to really incorporate things nicely. This will have the added advantage of giving me more room at the computer At the moment, a small bookshelf is slightly in my way and I sit at an odd angle, which isn't quite comfortable and would be less so for anyone else who isn't used to it, especially a guy. Since most people who might come over and use my computer are, in fact guys, at least one of which is left-handed, which would be even more cramped (and that's my setup as well), it would be nice to revamp things. I probably should have done that tonight, as I was home. Instead I had a quiet evening of relaxation while I planned inside my head.

The nice thing is that I always think my setup in the living room involves a computer desk and entertainment center that between them have bedrails upon which books sit as a double-decker shelving, when in fact, the weight is borne by the computer desk and a matching bookshelf. The entertainment center is separate, with books above it. It has to come out, and can do so without disturbing the majority of the books, and then I can move the table currently dividing the living area from the dining area over where it has been, and then I can stack the four half-bookshelves together in that divider, giving the computer room. The end result would be losing the entertainment center, which is very battered and over 25 years old (and it was a Sauder pressboard product to begin with, It is actually a relic of my marriage.) But things would be streamlined.

This was all set into place because I finally bought a television that is flat-screened and it is just a bit longer than the entertainment center allotment. It's not huge by any means, it's 32 inches diagonally, but it can stream Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Pandora, among other things. The old TV, a cathode ray tube television my grandmother gave me used before she died in 1993, is clunky but still working, so I moved that to the bedroom, along with the Roku box, so I can stream those services in there (I don't have a second cable hookup, but I can watch or listen to plenty of things just with Roku). I'm going to see about hooking up an old DVD player there as well. I discovered tonight as I was texting with Brandon that it was very pleasant to have Pandora streaming while I had my feet up in bed. I eventually fell asleep, and then woke up about 12:30 am and came out to take care of things like turning the aquarium light to night time use and taking my insulin. The rearrangement is tempting to start, but I think I'll save it for later in the week. I wanted to go ahead and get something while I could. It wasn't terribly expensive (I got it through Amazon, on six-month financing). But that will be the last major purchase for awhile, I think. And for now, I'll keep my cable TV, which fortunately I was already paying for an HD cable box (not sure why), so nothing increased and all I had to do was plug in an HDMI cable to use it to its fullest extent.

I made my appointment for a colonoscopy for next Tuesday, October 1st. The reality of it is really hitting me. Before that it was all in the theoretical category. When I went by the pharmacy today I quizzed them on different preparations. So Monday night I'll probably not be blogging, or if so, it'll be from the tablet or phone, and Tuesday I'm off from work and will probably be out of it. This is all contingent on whether Brenda can take me that day. Hopefully that will be a yes. I originally scheduled for arrival by 7:30 am and then called back and chose a later appointment since although I live just across a major road, she's coming from out of county to take me. I kind of want to get it over with. I have a lot of appointments coming up. There's finalising and signing my will and related documents (which to be honest it would have been nice to have that done before the colonoscopy, but alas, it's a couple of days later). There's a mammogramme, a trip to my regular doctor, a trip back to the gynaecologist, and on Halloween I go back to the endocrinologist. I'm also supposed to be starting physical therapy for my back, but that's only going to happen if I can do it after work. I am obviously breaking down and getting older. On the other hand, that should get most appointments for the year out of the way. I do still need to do a cleaning at the dentist; I'll wait until December on that one so that if they find anything, I'll have a full flexible spending card come January for anything pricey.

Our benefits enrolment is coming up soon, in mid-October. I'm interested in seeing how the health insurance changes. There have been several rumours flying around, and we got a required notice on health exchanges today as a result of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which I gather we will not be eligible for because we will still have adequate insurance. But I am interested in any changes. This major benefit is one of the reasons I stuck with my present job through thick and thin and even when it was only 20 hours a week, because I got full health insurance even at that amount and it was very good insurance. It's eroded a bit over the years (higher co-pays for stuff like outpatient surgeries that we didn't used to have, etc., but it's been pretty good and I don't need referrals to see anyone who takes my insurance, so I've been really happy with it.

Last year I had gone to the benefits fair and then the very next day I was hit by a car. It's amazing to me that it's nearly been a year. The anniversary is in nineteen days. I am so lucky it wasn't worse. Another anniversary that I'm marking, yes, even now, is the death of my last pet, my beloved dog, on the 24th of September. She gave me sixteen great years of companionship. It's hard to believe it's been six years since she passed. I only have goldfish and a betta (not in the same tank) these days. All in all, that's good. I don't really have a great deal of time to devote to a pet and I'm allergic to both cats and dogs. But still...I never thought I'd go this long without one. Also, it's hard to believe, but tomorrow would have been my grandfather's 90th birthday. (Sorry YKWIA, I know you hate it when people dwell on that.) It's hard to believe it's been nearly 14 years since he died. I wish he hadn't smoked like he had; he really might have lived to see 90. Most of the people in my family live to be close to that; the only ones who didn't either died of smoking-related diseases, accidents, or in one case, a severe case of diabetes before we had better treatments.

Speaking of which, I really need to see about going to visit my grandmother soon. With all that's going on this month it will be a stretch to do, but I should.

Okay, I've babbled on longer than usual, and I've been up for an hour in the middle of the night. Good night.

Home from the Cthulhu game

which went pretty well. We had a nice visit. Brenda agreed to help me out in terms of taking me to the colonoscopy sometime in mid-late October. Despite a busy day, I'm a little tired but not overly so. I think I'll listen to some music and maybe read a bit. I have a book out from the library, Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead, plus plenty on the Kindle I need to read. I simply haven't read enough at all lately. So I'm going to get all comfy and go to the bedroom and curl up with a book.

I lost a few fish today, which isn't surprising, as the nitrates are still high. Oddly enough, they were the plainest of the bunch. The plecosotmus seems to still be there somewhere, although hidden. The snails are fine. There are still about twelve goldfish left. It's time to set the lights to nighttime (there are a couple of small blue lights for the evening). I am sorry that the ones didn't make it, although that is one reason I went for goldfish that are nineteen cents apiece. :) I put some water conditioner in that helps with the slime coat as a boost. Hopefully that will help. Sometime this week I need to give the tank a really thorough vacuuming.

Okay, time to retire to the other room. Hope you had a great weekend.

Ready for bed

Tomorrow, like most Sundays, will be busy. I spent the evening watching the fish, lighting candles and relaxing in the ambiance with the sound of the waterfall in the aquarium in the background. Then I rearranged the boards and blocks in front of the window so I could close the curtains easier. I usually keep them open, but the boards were so close I couldn't close then, really, and sometimes it's nice to have a little privacy. This entailed taking the plants off the top and taking the whole thing apart (three heavy boards and five concrete blocks). Note it's all back together, and even though it's only 10:30 I think I'll head on to bed. Tomorrow starts early. Good night.

Looking forward to a quiet evening at home

We're not going to watch the movie tonight, but I'll see if we can sometime this coming week. In the meantime, I didn't go to the farmer's market, but I did go to the library and on a Kroger run, along with a trip to Incredipet to get some feeder goldfish (I don't feed them to anything; they're cheap and tend to work well in my tank, which always has high nitrates despite my efforts, so when I told the girl that, she netted some of the prettiest ones--she seemed happy to be saving them from a short life). I got a plecostomus as well, to eat the algae. I found the lights that go to my new aquarium hood on half price, so I got two so I have a full complement, one of the daylight ones and one with red LEDs alternating with the regular to bring out the colours in the tank. Once I got home, I put the special one in the middle and the others on either side. The fish seem happy. I went from two medium-sized goldfish in the big tank to about sixteen fish altoghether, including the pleco. The feeder goldfish are on the small side, so I think I did okay on the whole fish inch per gallon ratio. While I was at Incredipet, a small evil dog was running around without a leash and under absolutely no control by his owner. He hiked his leg and peed on a display at one point. The guy tried to put a halter on the dog and when the cashier tried to help him, the dog lunged at her and tried to bite her, so she said she didn't feel comfortable and asked the owner to adjust the halter. He seemed put out. Really, I wish people took responsibility for their animals.

While I was over at my friends' house, a helicopter was flying very low over the area and there were lots of police cruisers running around. Turns out some juveniles had stolen a car, didn't stop when the police told them to, and wound up on a chase where the car eventually crashed into a cruiser and they fled on foot. They caught them. I hope the owner of the car was insured.

Okay, I think I'm going to open up the windows (it's a beautiful day, now that the rain's gone by) and do some relaxing. I'll try to write later.

Up in the middle of the night

Having given my monthly libation to Hekate (yes, the moon is just past full--I'm on another schedule that has to do with my menstrual cycle, as I have been for years. Once I hit menopause, I'll go to the standard time of dark of the moon). I checked the news a bit and I"m about to take my Lantus. I'm feeling much better after managing to get the tension in my neck and back to ease. My headache is a little better thanks to the rain finally moving in.

On tomorrow's agenda, I plan on:

1. Going to the library
2. Going to the farmer's market
3. Doing the grocery run
4. Watching Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters with YKWIA (I have the DVD out from Netflix)

The game notes, thankfully, were finished last week. So far we seem to be on target for playing Sunday.

Today I called the colonoscopy place to see if I needed to meet with the gastroenterologist before doing the test, and the answer was no. I'll need to ask Brandon or Brenda if one of them can take me since I'll be sedated, so it looks like it might be the middle of October sometime. I also scheduled a mammogramme today for mid-October, and while that fits with my other appointments (I didn't want too many in one week, and the first week of October will be busy, busy, busy), it occurs to me that I'll be pre-menstrual and having my boobies squished will probably hurt more than normal. Oh, well. The important thing is to get it done. That takes care of the three main cancer screenings (I had a Pap on Thursday). None of them are particularly fun, but they are important to do. Okay, I think I'm going to go back to bed. Good night.

My hometown went on lockdown today

after police received a 911 call from a nine-year-old reporting a robbery at a pawn shop and found three adults--the child's parents, co-owners of the business, and a customer shot dead. Also inside was the boy's sibling, whose age has been reported between eighteen and 20 months. The children apparently hid, and were unharmed. The shooter is still at large, although the lockdown of schools, including Centre College, has expired. Danville residents were warned of the danger through reverse 911 calls this morning shortly after the discovery. The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the murderer. (I originally linked to that story by LEX18, but the video automatically ran an advertisement when the page was loaded and I didn't want to have that happening, as I find it very annoying for videos to autoplay.)

Victims identified in triple homicide at Danville pawn shop

UPDATE: Three Dead In Pawn Shop Shooting; No Suspects In Custody

Danville Police Searching For Suspect Who Killed Three In Pawn Shop Robbery

Danville, Kentucky is a small town of about 16,000 people. According to Wikipedia, 'in 2001, Danville received a Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 2011, Money placed Danville as the fourth-best place to retire in the United States. Danville has recently been twice chosen to host U.S. Vice-Presidential debates, in 2000 and in 2012.' Although I wasn't raised there, I was born in Danville, started elementary school in nearby Junction City, and finished high school at Danville High. My family has been in the county for generations. It's a nice town with a goodly amount of history for the area, an excellent college, and an annual brass band festival. Murders do happen occasionally, but this was shocking. I am so sorry to hear that this little boy and girl are now without parents because of someone's needless violence, and to have witnessed what they did was horrible. They are in my thoughts and prayers, along with the families of all the victims. Police are looking for a white man in his 40s to 50s, in a green camouflage jacket, and in some reports with a pot belly or heavyset. The Danville police can be reached at: (859) 238-1220. I so hope they catch the person who did this soon.

I feel so much better than I did an hour and a half ago

I was overheated and red in the face from driving around town during rush over for an hour and a half, going to the pharmacy (twice, actually) for three people. When I delivered the medicine YKWIA had me drink some ice water. I'd had a splitting sinus headache for hours that was only getting worse (rain is coming in tonight). My blood sugar was over 200, so I decided to wait to eat until it had gone down. I had started my period (good thing I went to the gynaecologist yesterday, I guess) and all I had was a little pad they had at work to give out in emergencies. I'm a big girl, and I bleed fairly heavily when I start, so that wasn't cutting it. I put down a reusable Kroger bag just to make sure I wouldn't bleed on my car's beige upholstery. I felt tired and well, just bad, in pain from the headache and the cramping. My shoulders still ache due being tense while driving, although they've relaxed a good deal since then.

So I came home, changed to my regular pads, changed into some shorts, took the bra off, got comfy in front of fan, and went to sleep for an hour. I tried listening to soothing music, but it made my headache worse. The headache's still there, but much less than it was. I actually managed to relax a bit and let the tension melt away. And I'm so much cooler, thank goodness. My blood sugar before I ate was 142, much better. I've eaten a little and now I feel ready for the evening.

I was online earlier today looking for advice on the prep for a colonoscopy, and found Dave Barry's column on the subject, which I found hilarious, so I'm going to link to it here:

Dave Barry: A journey into my colon -- and yours

I need to make a list for the store and go get a few things. It's amazing how dark it is already outside. It's not even 8 pm. I guess it really is autumn now. We're supposed to have daytime temperatures in the low 70s this weekend to remind us of that, although today was the mid-80s. But that rain should make a real difference, if my headache is any judge of pressure changes.

Okay, off to the store. At least I don't have to do game notes tonight--I got those finished last week, something I only remembered today. :)

Five favourite chapter books from my childhood

Near my bed are bookshelves with children's books and science fiction/fantasy, along with mysteries. Looking at the kids' books, I am struck by five chapter books which were absolutely memorable and which had an effect on the person I later developed into. Here they are (in no particular order):

The Cay by Theodore Taylor
The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter
Sounder by William H.Armstrong
Black Gold by Marguerite Henry
The Grey King by Susan Cooper

What five chapter books do you consider integral to your childhood?

Happy harvest moon

It's hard to believe autumn will be here tomorrow. It was cool a few days ago, much like fall, but it's been pretty warm and humid today. I'm so glad I put the air conditioning back on last night--I've been warm all day, and I've driven around in the car a lot, plus my friends had their windows open but I just couldn't seem to catch a breeze.

***Warning to guys who are sensitive on this matter: Commencing to write about gynaecological stuff***

Today after work I went to a new (for me) gynaecology practice--my least favourite kind of doctor's appointment so far. They took a fairly detailed history and the physician assistant gave me a thorough exam. Good news is, I should get the results of most of my tests in a few days. The bad news is, I was strongly urged to get a colonoscopy as the result of one of the in-house tests. I had hoped to put that off a few more years (I'm only 46). That may lead to yet a less-favourite kind of doctor's visit. :) But I did get my Pap, and an order for my mammogramme, and some encouragement about doing better and more frequent breast self-examinations. They also did some blood work to determine if I'm going into menopause yet, because I'm so hot so often and I'm starting to have a few issues with my cycle. One good thing is although my family is supercharged with diabetes genes, I'm not aware of any gynaecological cancers in our family on either side, and so I wasn't a candidate for any genetic testing, which was fine with me. If I'd met the criteria, of course, I'd have wanted to be tested in a heartbeat.

Before and during the appointment, I got news that one of my family members had a major health scare today that fortunately turned out not to be as serious as it could have been. I do hope everything is alright and that he gets a clean bill of health. It's downright scary when people younger than me have that kind of scare.

After the appointment, I hurried across town to the pharmacy to get some pen needles and medicines, then I got some gas at Kroger, and then picked up some fish dinners for friends and myself. I went over there and watched an episode of 'Alphas' and visited for awhile, and then came on home about 9 or 9:30.

I did not get to the YMCA, of course. I'm going to try to go tomorrow instead. I will make it eventually. Today was just so busy, and frankly, I didn't so much feel like working out after being poked and prodded in my lady parts (although the PA was really careful not to cause too much discomfort, unlike some places to which I've gone. One visit to a place over on Harrodsburg Road years ago nearly sent me off the table, out of the stirrups, and I wound up going home and curling up in a ball for hours, it was so bad.)

Anyway, at least that's over for another year, hopefully. I do go back in two weeks to discuss my blood work and other test results. But there shouldn't be any further examination for awhile.

My neck is bothering me. I think I'm going to get into my pyjamas, turn on some music for awhile, maybe read and relax for a bit before bed. Good night.

I've had a quiet night enjoying being alone and having some 'me' time

relaxing to a Pandora channel for Loreena McKennitt and then watching the last two episodes of series one of 'Downton Abbey'. I really must watch the other two before I encounter many more spoilers--there was a trailer for series four on Facebook this morning that managed to give away something major and I'm going 'lalalalalalala' to make sure it doesn't really sink into my brain.

I must get up very early in the morning and take a friend to an appointment before work, so I'm going to keep this brief. Just wanted to check in. Turns out last night I got home and just didn't feel like going onto the computer. I'd had a nice meal of Chinese food from Jin Jin and a couple of episodes of 'Alphas', so it was a nice night, I was just tired. Oh, speaking of Chinese food, I saw two things on Facebook today that were hilarious. The first relates to Chinese food (can't vouch for the numbers):

Then there was this. Even our local YMCA shared this one (although like the other, I first saw it from George Takei):

Today I got a book on fitness for all everyone by the Mayo Clinic. It's full of useful info like how to start a cycling or walking programme, how to exercise for different conditions, etc. Now the trick is going to the Y and putting some of that into practice. I'm going to try to go after my gynaecology appointment tomorrow if I can.

Okay, that's enough for one night. Hope your week is going well. I'll try to write tomorrow. Good night.

I got a kick out of this

YKWIA, having completed watching the series 'Fullmetal Alchemist', was watching the Japanese version of the second series ['Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'] (where they tell the same story differently). There are, of course subtitles. They have very helpfully titled just about everything, from chalk drawings, to electrical crackles, to 'optimistic, yet ominous music'. Yes. Really.

So cue the optimistic, yet ominous music, and with that I bid you adieu and go on to bed. Good night.

Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?

Iowa grants permits for blind residents to carry guns in public: Sheriffs and advocates are divided on whether that's a good idea

Don’t expect Iowa to revoke gun permits for the blind. It’s not even the only state that offers them

No offence meant to the visually-impaired, but we do, after all, prohibit people under a certain threshold of sight from driving cars because, well, that's dangerous. Isn't letting someone who can't see have a gun kind of, well, dangerous?

Thanks to YKWIA for sharing this story with me.

It's been a long day; time to relax

We didn't play The Call of Cthulhu game today. But I did:

1. Do the normal household chores for friends that I do before the game, wearing my new back brace, which helped
2. Predicted the killer on 'Law & Order'
3. Watched a little 'Full Metal Alchemist'
4. Watched two episodes of 'Alphas'
5. Helped fix a really yummy fennel and leek soup
6. Ate said soup
7. Visited for awhile
8. Helped with a couple of small things
9. Came on home and checked the news

Tomorrow I need to:

1. Do the normal work stuff
2. Take a friend to the dentist
3. Stop by the pharmacy for another friend
4. Help a friend with a project

So it'll be a busy, so I may get home late and not blog tomorrow. We'll see. I think I'm going to watch the fish for awhile and then do a bit of reading. I thought about watching my 'Big Bang Theory' DVDs, but I'm kind of videoed out. I must remember to mail Silver Linings Playbook tomorrow. Next up is Hansel & Gretel: Witchhunters.

I have accomplished everything I set out to do today, yay!

Everything I mentioned earlier got done, and I went over and did the grocery run and then watched an episode of 'Alphas' with YKWIA. Plus, I had A over tonight (at my house) without going all nervous and anxious at all, and we watched the movie Silver Linings Playbook, which was quite excellent. The acting was great, and the issue of mental illness was handled well. As someone with bipolar disorder (thankfully controlled with medication, which I take regularly), I could relate and at times felt uncomfortable in how close it hit home, but it was nevertheless a lovely and uplifting story. I had a lot of plot points figured out, but that was actually kind of nice. It was certainly never boring. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper did such a good job, and Robert DeNiro was great as the father who in some ways, was the craziest in the whole family. I loved the mother, Jacki Weaver, who I think was the sanest.

Now I've taken him home and I'm just relaxing. It's nice not to have to stay up really late or get up super early to finish the notes; they're already in my Dropbox folder and ready to access tomorrow. The voice recorder is in my backup; the batteries are charging. I'm not 100% sure we'll be playing tomorrow, but I'm ready if we are.

YKWIA shared a bit of trivia with me today. Ryan Cartwright, who played Gary Bell in 'Alphas', always seemed familiar to me. Turns out he also played Vincent Nigel Murray in 'Bones'. He was actually one of my favourite characters on that show. I haven't seen many episodes of 'Bones', but I saw most of the ones he was in, and the last episode he was in. He has a very good American accent on 'Alphas' (he's British), and does an excellent job in both roles, but especially that of someone with autism in 'Alphas'.

Okay, I think I'm going to listen to some music and then maybe read a bit. Have a good night.

In the hour I've been up

I've:

1. Washed both the dishwasher-safe dishes and those that aren't
2. Cleaned out the refrigerator
3. Wiped down the cabinets and kitchen island
4. Cleaned the bathroom
5. Sorted the laundry
6. Collected the trash and recyclables to take out

That's not too bad, really. I stopped for a few minutes because my back is now hurting again from all that, and I hadn't eaten yet today, so I'm having some Progresso lentil soup (I'm afraid I need to do some grocery shopping of my own today). I have the windows open. It's a pleasant, autumn-like day. The fish are cavorting in the big tank, happy to have light.

I'm going to take a shower, get ready, do just a bit of straightening up with the dining room table, make the bed, water the plants inside and out, and then go out and get a couple of things and maybe hit the farmer's market briefly (I need to remember a zucchini for a friend). Then I'll come back and start the game notes.

Let there be light

After nearly three weeks of darkness in the main aquarium, I stopped by Incredipet today and looked at what they had available. The problem with my hood wasn't the light bulb; it was the electronic starter, which is the second time that's gone out in about three or four years. So I looked at options for replacing that style of light. Turns out they had modular LED lights that fit over a glass top, which I already had. I got an Aqueon brand one that has space for up to three LED bulbs (it comes with one). There are two types of bulbs available: a day light bulb and one that has interspersed red LEDs that help accentuate the colour of the fish. I chose to wait and see how bright one light on its own is. One is plenty light enough, although I may add one of the others with the red lights, too. There are also a couple of small 'moon lights' that are blue that can be used at night so it's not in total darkness. LED lights last a long time, but I decided against the single-light, non-modular style because the whole unit would have to be replaced, and they're about $80 a pop. The lights themselves for the modular one are a little over $20, more than a regular light bulb, but a lot cheaper than a whole new hood assembly. So I went ahead and got the one in 30 inches, which fits my 29" long aquarium nicely.

Now that the light issue has been resolved, I need to:

1. Vacuum the gravel thoroughly
2. Do a water change
3. Clear out some of the Java moss.
4. Check the tank water (I particularly tend to have issues with nitrates)
5. Buy a few large snails (consequently, I also tend to have a lot of algae)
6. If water is okay, get some more fish (I'm down to two goldfish)

So that will keep me busy tomorrow. I also need to do the game notes, farmer's market, grocery run, spend some time with a friend, and have another over to watch Silver Linings Playbook. So I have a lot to do tomorrow. :) With that in mind, and the fact that it's half past midnight, I am going to go on to bed. Good night.

I just don't get it...

Washington couple guilty in death of adopted daughter Hana Williams

The starving girl died naked, face down in the mud in the backyard of her Sedro-Wooley, Wash., home just three years after Larry and Carri Williams adopted her from Ethiopia. Skagit County jurors convicted the husband and wife of manslaughter.

Toddler Weighed 11 Pounds When She Died

Around 1:45 a.m. Monday police were called to Einstein Hospital since the child appeared malnourished, She weighed only 11 pounds at the time of her death, which is less than half the weight of the average 3-year-old.

The girl "had not seen a doctor in over a year, even with all the severe disabilities," said Clark.

Investigators say that the twin girl had a chronic disorder and was blind in one eye.

A homicide captain says Rivera fled after leaving four other children with a relative Monday afternoon.

The other Rivera children -- ages 9, 8 and 7, along with Nathalyz's 3-year-old twin -- were being checked at a hospital before being placed with the Department of Human Services.

Later on Monday, homicide and crime scene investigators entered the home belonging to Rivera and Ramirez while wearing protective suits and Hazmat masks. Investigators say piles of trash and insects, including fleas, covered the home.

If you can't give a child a loving and nurturing childhood, then do not have them. Certainly don't go to the lengths of the first couple and go halfway around the world to adopt a child only to starve and torture it to death. I will never understand how anyone could treat a child this way. It's times like this I really have to remind myself that there are good people in the world. I saw a graphic on Facebook and shared it yesterday that said something to the effect of 'Scooby Doo taught us that the real monsters are humans'. As much as I would like to have faith that there are more people who are loving and good, it seems to me there are so many selfish, horrid people in the world. I hope both of these couples get the justice they deserve. I only wish their children had had a chance for life.

That reminds me

I haven't mentioned it much here, but in all likelihood I have a little over a year or maybe two left to my current job, because when (and if) the hospital does move near the University of Kentucky, the library and I as librarian will not be going. My job as data entry clerk is in a maybe status, but while it would mean keeping my benefits (which I need terribly), I couldn't live on the data entry salary and would still need to get another job. The ideal thing would be for me to find a library job (preferably full-time) before that happens. So, if you know of a position somewhere within driving distance of Lexington, Kentucky, that could use someone with 16 years of professional experience doing every aspect of library work and with some specialised medical knowledge, please let me know. I check the job list with KDLA fairly regularly, but nothing's really been posted for awhile that is professional level in the area. I'm afraid I'm not inclined to relocate just yet--I have ties here, friends I've known for 15-25 years, people I consider family, as well as my actual blood kin. It can be any library setting; I think I can adapt pretty well. I've been a solo librarian but I've always networked with other librarians and used educational opportunities to stay up to snuff. I'm very comfortable with technology, including social media and mobile technology. I've been known to help patrons at the public library with their Kindles when things were so new the staff there could only take them so far in borrowing Kindle books (they knew their platform, but in order to borrow Kindle books, you need to go to Amazon and do some things, too). I always tried to do it in a nice fashion so I didn't step on any toes, too. I've gotten along with almost everyone I've ever worked with, and can deal with lots of different kinds of patrons with various information needs. I am trained in cataloguing, and can do so in Dewey, Library of Congress Classification and Subjects, as well as the National Library of Medicine ones. I've had training in archives, worked as an intern in one, been a solo librarian in a hospital setting for many years, worked as a cataloguer for a big library vendor, done web design for our local PBS website, and I've had various jobs doing librarian stuff both as a student and later. You can view my résumé here. I've published quite a bit, mostly book reviews and selecting, but a couple of book chapters or so, too, as well as a finding aid. Keep me in mind if something comes up, and feel free to e-mail me or comment on my blog with any suggestions you have for positions that might be a good fit. Thanks!

Oh

I had an anxiety dream about work today that involved a co-worker and I discussing strategies for dealing with the move of the hospital to an ambulatory surgical centre (when in reality neither of our positions are going, according to the plan) and how we plan to weather the change, as well as mutant people with giant heads (as in a yard wide) trying to come into the library, which was located in one of the auditoriums in the Singletary Centre for the Arts at the University of Kentucky. That was about 6 am. YKWIA called me and woke me up from it, thankfully. One of the first people I saw this morning was this co-worker from my dream, and she told me she'd brought tomatoes for me. So while I was dreaming about her, she was bringing me tomatoes. A little weird, hmmmm? I'm so glad that it was all a dream, at least, except for the tomatoes, which were so terribly nummy I ate all of them (I think there were five) today. Have I ever mentioned I love tomatoes?

I can't believe it's just a little after 10 pm

I have:

1. Gone over to a friend's and fixed something on the computer
2. Come home and contacted someone for a friend
3. Blogged
4. Caught up on the news
5. Filled both fish tanks and cleaned out and replaced the filters, fetching about 10.5 gallons in various containers despite my back trouble (it simply had to be done)
6. Taken something for my back
7. Filled my medication holder (I forgot to do it yesterday and didn't have anything but the metformin to take today. I've graduated to a bigger pill box, as both the potassium and metformin tablets are huge, and I have a total of ten pills to put in each day's space, three of which are about 3/4 inch or more long. Fortunately a couple are tiny and two are half pills.)

I think now I'll retire to the bedroom and do some reading. I don't really want to watch any TV or DVDs right now. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment. I need a refill on my insulin, there's the back of course, and a couple of other issues that are pressing. I have a friend who has an appointment a few minutes after mine that I'm going to take, along with his spouse, so at least I'll have some company. Saturday I think A and I are going to watch the Silver Linings Playbook. That means I have to do the game notes early enough to have that evening free. I think it's doable, especially as most of the latter part of the evening was spent working on a puzzle that stumped Brenda and myself completely but which, when I looked at it with fresh eyes yesterday and paid attention to the help the game master had given us, I had it in something like 10-30 seconds flat. :) Hope you have a good evening.

:)

I personally would love to see Tom Baker and the other surviving 'Doctors' make an appearance on the 50th anniversary special. Tom Baker was the first Doctor for me, the one I watched as a kid on the PBS station out of Wichita, Kansas in the 1980s. Ah, nostalgia. 'Care for a Jelly Baby?' Speaking of Tom Baker, I've noticed several of the classic 'Doctor Who' seasons are listed for free to watch on Amazon Prime, going back to the original Doctor, William Hartnell and going all the way to Sylvester McCoy. I have "The Deadly Assassin", "The Pyramids of Mars", "The Five Doctors" (which was done without Tom Baker, actually) and a couple of others on VHS, but it might be fun to go back and watch those episodes that first drew me to 'Doctor Who', as well as the ones before and after. There's the issue of the missing episodes, so it's by no means complete, but still...between Netflix (which has about 75 episodes of classic Who as well) and Amazon, which both run the newer series as well, I can watch most of the Doctors with streaming video (the movie with Peter McGann (the 8th Doctor) is only available on DVD.)

Very sad, especially when something like this is being put forth as progress

Fairfax County library revamps system, discards books, reduces librarians

Clay, who has been head of the Fairfax library system for 31 years, defended his plan as necessary to deal with declining budgets and to remake libraries in the digital age. The strategic plan lists the first part of its “future direction” as transitioning from “a print environment to a digital environment.”

Clay has proposed hiring librarians who may not have master’s degrees to run branches, hiring people without bachelor’s degrees to staff the libraries, and having children’s librarians spend 80 percent of their time devising and running outreach programs instead of working in the libraries. He said jobs would be eliminated by retirements and attrition, not by layoffs.

“We’ve got decrease after decrease,” Clay said. In the past five years, the libraries’ budget has been cut by 23 percent and library visits have declined about 10 percent. Circulation is down about 6 percent over that time.

“We’ve got to turn that around. . . . We’ve got to get the library in the community, to bring people to the table,” Clay said. “I want to be the table.”

This just doesn't seem the way to handle budget cuts. They've destroyed or thrown out at least 250,000 books--many in good condition and not merely 'weeded'--without giving books to the Friends group to try to raise money through sales, etc. Patrons, city managers, employees--none of them seem happy with where this is going. The people of Fairfax County deserve better. The actual strategic plan is all glossy and happy and apparently customer-driven, but the reality seems to indicate otherwise. Mind you, budget cuts make things very difficult, and while everyone for the most part agrees that libraries are great, no one ever wants to pay a bit more to fund them, from what I can tell. But there are better ways to handle this. Also, given the plan to 'dump' qualified librarians, even if by attrition, in favour of non-degreed managers and worker, I seriously have trouble with this statement from that strategic plan:

FCPL values and recognizes the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our employees and volunteers. The library is committed to providing a supportive work environment that offers opportunities for learning and professional development.

Let's see, so you don't want people who have the expertise that is considered a gold-standard in the profession (i.e., an MLS for a practising librarian, and a bachelor's or at least some college for paraprofessionals) that other systems require because it will save you money by paying less in terms of salaries, but you value expertise in your workers at the same time and hope to encourage their development? How is that, again?

Stories like this make me somewhat frustrated and sad. One day, it is my hope, that we as a society will value schools, libraries, and other essential educational institutions over things like bombs and profits and politics.

Up briefly in the middle of the night

I came home about 7 pm or a little after. I was in bed by 8, lying down because my back was bothering me. I did a lot of scanning and copying today at the library, and although I spaced it out, it made my back hurt. So when I got home, I took a fourth of a muscle relaxant and very quickly fell asleep. I just got up, took my insulin and some more medicine. I think it's time to go back to the doctor. I need to for my insulin refills anyway.

I'm going to try to get up early and do some things before work. We'll see how that goes. But I did get Silver Linings Playbook in the mail today, so I'm looking forward to watching it with A. The house is in good shape and I'm going to invite him over.

Okay, I'm still sleepy. Or maybe the new medicine has already begun to take effect. Back to bed.

It's been a decent weekend

I went to the grocery with my friend yesterday and then watched a couple of episodes of 'Alphas' with another friend afterwards. Then I came home about 9 or 10 pm. Today was the game, and preparations for it. My back has been hurting on and off all day. Basically if I stand for more than about three minutes, it hurts. So now I'm going to lie down, put my feet and knees up, and see if it helps. I took some some ibuprofen already. I thought I'd post something short and wound up going on the laptop, only to have it restart without warning to put in some Windows updates, then the keyboard got hung up, backspacing over and over and trying to put in one word, 'my' over and over. Grr.... Maybe I should have just sat down at the desktop, but I'm sitting in front of the fan on the bed cooling down. So anyway, I'll keep this short and sign off for now before any other technological craziness happens. Hope you had a good weekend.

The notes are finished

my friend's ball game is over (and Kentucky won over Miami of Ohio 41-7), I've watered the plants inside and out, and the mailman is working his way up our row of apartments, so after the mail runs, I'll head over to my friends' house for the grocery run. Ah, the mail is being filled right now. I'm pretty much ready to go. I'm oddly sleepy. I really want to take a nap, but sadly, cannot. Oh, well. Time to check the mail and go. Hope you're having a good weekend.

Mmmm....

Having a couple of tomatoes from the farmer's market right now. Very yummy! I got about 3 lbs of tomatoes and a couple of summer squash, the latter of which I'll sauté with some onion, zucchini, and tomatoes later on. It was a beautiful day for the market. Before the farmer's market, I went to the library, paid my fine, got a new library card with key fob (one that fits with the others on my keychain better, so it won't become as damaged. My old one was falling apart.) I got three books, one on fitness by the Mayo Clinic and two on Google+, which despite being a techie, I've never really used to its full potential.

Now I'm going to take a brief break and then work on tackling the game notes from last time.

Came across this fun piece on Facebook

Thanks to Bill Hart for sharing...as someone who spent years studying ancient and mediaeval history, I am highly amused.

The last couple of nights

I have come home and been too exhausted to do much more than go straight to bed. Last night I was nearly falling asleep on the drive home, even though it was about 8 pm, but I did manage to rally just long enough to watch an episode of 'The Big Bang Theory'. It was the one with the luminous fish and Sheldon's mother, from season one. But then I just crashed.

So now I'm up. We're dong the grocery run after the UK football game lets goes off (around 3 pm), so I have some time to do some things. The plan is:

1. Go to the library. I have fines to pay (bad librarian!) and I want books.
2. Go the the farmer's market. I am craving real tomatoes.
3. Work on and finish the game notes.

If I have time, there's getting an electronic ignition for my aquarium hood and going to the YMCA. But the first three are the ones I really want to get done before I go over to my friends' house. I'm up, I'm showered and dressed (except for shoes), and I'm eating some coconut cranberry granola cereal I got from my foray into Trader Joe's the other day. So I'm almost good to go and it's not quite 10:30. :)

Relaxing

My home is full of the scent of newly-baked bread and of soft Celtic music. While the bread baked, I took a nap (I baked it on the rapid cycle, so it was less than two hours). It has been a good evening. The bread, a standard white, is excellent. I had a little with some cheese, letting the cheese melt on the warm slice. What a nice time.

Are you listening, publishers?

Cory Doctorow: Libraries and E-books

Unlike every other channel for e-books, libraries are not the publishers’ competitors. They don’t want to sell devices. They don’t want to win over customers to a particular cloud. They just want readers to read, writers to write, and publishers to sell. They deserve a better deal than they’re getting.

:)

Okay, when they announced that Android 4.4 would be known as 'KitKat', my first thought was, how did they manage the trademarks? I wasn't the only one:

Google™ Strikes Bizarre Licensing Deal With Nestlé® To Name Next Android™ Kit Kat®

Well, apparently they did in a deal where no money actually changed hands but Google and Nestlé partnered in a fun way. I found this amusing:

I didn't comment when this story first broke

But it saddens me that any judge would make such a horrendous statement. He should be removed from office, plain and simple, for he has no business being the voice of justice.

Prosecutors appeal 30-day rape sentence as illegal

Montana state prosecutors on Wednesday appealed as illegal a controversial 30-day sentence handed down by a district judge in a rape case involving a teacher and his 14-year-old student.

District Judge G. Todd Baugh had received widespread condemnation for the lenient sentence he ordered last month and his comments that the victim, Cherice Moralez, was "older than her chronological age."

In sentencing the 54-year-old teacher, Stacey Dean Rambold, the judge also said that Cherice was "as much in control of the situation" as her teacher.

Cherice's mother, Auliea Hanlon, stormed out of the original sentencing hearing. In a written statement, she said, "I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14.

Cherice killed herself in 2010 at the age of 16 after the case was sent to criminal court.

It's terrible enough that this young girl took her own life because of what happened to her. At the very least her memory is due some real justice.

Got home while the sun was still streaming through the windows

It's beautiful outside--80 degrees but with low humidity and a slight breeze. I can feel my tension in my shoulders relaxing a bit now that I'm home. I've turned off the air conditioner, opened the windows, and just have a fan going.

Today I said goodbye to my boss of many years. I will miss her a great deal. She's always been there for me through the good and the bad, and she was super great during my time off from my injury last year. She's moving to academia, and I'm sure she'll do fine.

The first thing I heard today was my alarm clock giving me the news of the day (it always greets me and then gives me three headlines in a male British voice). The first was the Ariel Castro suicide. I can't say that I'm sorry to see him dead and gone. Maybe it's my Christian upbringing, but I usually feel that it's bad to think that of other people; I'd like to think everyone has some good that can redeem the person, but I don't have much faith in that for him. He imprisoned and raped three women over a decade, heinously kidnapping them and stealing away their youth and bright futures, and fathered a child in that terrible situation. While he declared he was not a monster, I beg to differ. I have to admit, my first reaction was 'good riddance'. I only hope that with his death, these women (and the little girl) can find closure of some sort, some normalcy, and go on to have full and happier lives.

Today

I had a very busy workday. Then I went to the pharmacy and barely made it there on time (they close at 6 pm). I got my meds, including my rapid-acting insulin, which is good, as I was on my last pen. They forgot to give me one of the meds, though, so I'll have to go back soon. But I also picked up some medication for a friend and there was some of his that they didn't have in stock, so I was planning on going back anyway. I think I have enough of the missing medication to last a couple of days.

After that, I went looking for three items for another friend: fennel bulbs, bananas, and tweezers that were metal and wide-pointed. The last two were fairly easy to get from Kroger. The fennel turned out to be a problem. They didn't have them at the Chinoe Kroger on Sunday, but I thought they might be at Alexandria Drive's Kroger near the pharmacy. Nope. Then I tried Good Foods Co-Op, which was remodelling its entire produce cold case and so again, no fennel bulbs. Finally I decided to try Trader Joe's. I hadn't been there yet, and I found that it was nigh on impossible to correct my route when I accidentally turned too soon off Nicholasville Road. It took a good fifteen minutes and two trips back onto Nicholasville to get into the right parking lot. Fortunately, they did have the fennel. I also got some coconut cranberry granola cereal and milk for myself. In all, it took two hours to do all those errands between work and arriving at my friends' house.

I made some food for YKWIA after I stopped to drop things off, and then stayed till almost 11 pm watching videos of one sort or another and visiting. Now I'm home, I'm tired, and I'm glad it's almost time to go to bed.

I got a package from Amazon today with three CDs (Big Country, The Crossing, Big Country, Steeltown, and Mike + the Mechanics, Hits [the first two I've been listening to due to AutoRip, even though I didn't physically have the disc yet. The second I listened to in the car earlier. RIght now, I'm listening to The Crossing). Having discovered reading glasses were totally useless in helping me do data entry (unless I perched them way down on my nose, which was uncomfortable, so I could see the computer, too), I had also ordered a document holder that was metal mesh with magnets to hold the paper and a nice-sized lip so quite a few papers would fit. This brought the tiny numbers I need to look up things with up to a better level. I also got a paperweight magnifier for use when things are really tiny, and it'll help with the computer screen as well. So that solved my problem. I also sent back the remake of THe Nightmare on Elm Street today to Netflix and should get another disc by Thursday. It's a surprise for a friend. After that, there's The Silver Linings Playbook, which he's very keen to watch, and I'd like to as well.

I did try to cancel my cable television today. The first call I was on hold but got interrupted by an issue with a copier. Then the local number went kablooey and I had to call the toll-free number after several attempts locally, only to have a friend call while I was on hold. You'd think someone were trying to tell me something. I'll try again tomorrow.

Okay, I'm getting downright sleepy. I suppose I should say good night and be on my way to dreamland. Tomorrow will be a somewhat sad day, as it is the last day my boss of fourteen years or so will be there. She's moving on to better things, but I'll miss her. She's been great. Anyway, have a good night.

When YKWIA first told me about

Massive Mirrors Will Bring Light To Norway Town Shrouded In Darkness, my first thought was 'Oh, no! What if the mirror intensifies the light and people spontaneously combust like ants?' Okay, I don't think like a normal person, I know. Well, then today, there's this: This London skyscraper can melt cars and set buildings on fire. Maybe I wasn't too far off, after all.

Intriguing and...yay!

Amazon Rolls Out Kindle MatchBook: Buy a Paper Book, Get the Kindle Version Cheap or Free -- Buy a paper book from Amazon, and you can have the Kindle version for $3, $2, $1 or free, depending on the title

It's sort of like AutoRip (which works for music, and which I love) for books:

Introducing “Kindle MatchBook”: Soon Customers Will Be Able to Purchase Kindle Editions of Print Books Purchased from Amazon—Past, Present and Future—for $2.99 or Less

Amazon today introduced Kindle MatchBook, a new benefit that gives customers the option to buy—for $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or free—the Kindle edition of print books they have purchased new from Amazon. Print purchases all the way back to 1995—when Amazon first opened its online bookstore—will qualify once a publisher enrolls a title in Kindle MatchBook. Over 10,000 books will already be available when Kindle MatchBook launches in October, including best sellers like I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, with many more titles to be added over time. Customers can learn more by visiting www.amazon.com/kindlematchbook.

I feel so much like John Watson sometimes

I just watched the 'Sherlock' episode "The Hounds of Baskeville", which I've had on DVR for quite some time and had not seen before. It was excellent. I considered re-watching 'The Reichenbach Fall', but it's been a pleasant evening, and I find that episode (while absolutely riveting) somewhat disturbing. But as I watched tonight, I was reminded of just how much YKWIA strikes me as a sort of a cross between Sherlock and Sheldon from 'The Big Bang Theory', although he is more functional than either in terms of social skills, etc. He's much better than either to be around, but many people find him, well, difficult. They see me as the reasonable one, despite the fact that he lives his life based on reason and I am much more emotional.

I've set up my Roku box to play Amazon Prime videos, so I can watch things like episodes of 'Grimm', which aren't on Netflix yet. But right now I'm using the Roku to listen to a Rob Thomas channel on Pandora.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to call and cancel my cable TV. The only thing I watch when it is first-run is 'Doctor Who', which, now that I have the car, I can just go to YKWIA's and watch with him. I have Netflix and Amazon Prime for most anything else I would watch. If it weren't for the fact that I have a wired desktop, I'd cancel the cable completely and get a mobile hotspot from my phone company. But I do need it for that and for the home phone (which is through Vonage). So I'll keep the cable Internet connexion, but it will half my bill, approximately. And if they offer some bundle that would really save me, I'll keep it, but generally there's no sense in me having it; except for the occasional foray into news or weather and 'Doctor Who', I simply do not watch.

It's been a very peaceful day

I've done quite a bit of reading, and finished the last novel of the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries. I enjoyed it, although I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending, which I will not go into here to avoid spoilers.

I'm finally ready to go into the pool but it looks like it could rain any minute, so I may not be able to get in after all. We'll see. I didn't go to the Y though, as I was really into the book and was loathe to put it down. And no, I can't walk and read at the same time, even on a treadmill, without getting a bit motion sick.

I also found that once I got up and got a shower, I didn't want to rush into a re-potting craze just yet. I didn't feel like going out and getting pots and potting soil, when the plants are probably fine for now. I'll try to do that on another weekend soon. I think they'll be fine so long as I do it before winter.

I spoke on the phone with a friend a little while ago and was invited to Thanksgiving dinner there. :)

So that leaves the evening ahead. I think listening to music and watching videos is in order to make a peaceful day complete. Then tomorrow it's back to the grind.

Wow...

One of the things I did before bed last night was disarm the five alarms I use to wake up in the morning. I rarely just sleep in to when I want these days, and I decided I was going to do it. That was about 11:30 or so last night. I woke up about 10 am and got out of bed at 10:22. I slept well and long. So I'm up, it's cycling between sunny and cloudy outside, and the cicadas are so loud I can hear them from inside.

Things I'd like to do today:
1. Do some reading. I'm working on Charlaine Harris' Dead and Gone, the last Sookie Stackhouse novel.
2. Watch some videos. I have one of the 'Sherlock's to catch up on, some 'Downton Abbey', etc.
3. Go to either the pool or the YMCA, or both.
4. Work on the window boxes (they were tossed around by the storms this weekend, and some of the plants need some attention, plus the strawberries are sad and almost dried out in places.
5. Get some pots and re-pot some of the indoor plants like the hoya and the prayer plant.

I don't think I can do anything about my dark aquarium. The folks who told me about the electronic ignition assembly (I can't remember what it's actually called) are usually closed on Labor Day, as it is a family-run business. I'm not sure Incredipet or PetSmart would be helpful. I don't have to replace the whole hood, just that assembly, but I don't remember how to, to be honest. That may be something for later in the week.

A nice weekend so far

Listening to Of Monsters and Men, 'Slow and Steady'

Friday was a very long day, one where I played catch up on various things, and mostly did manage to. But it was so nice to get away from work that afternoon. I went to Gabriel Brothers and went purse-shopping, with success. A friend asked me to bring some creamer over and we watched Disney's 'Beyond Witch Mountain', and then I came home, tried to work on the notes without success, and went to take a nap that lasted far too long. I was just so tired.

On Saturday I got up a little early and made the bed, folded the laundry, and did a few things around the house. Then I went over to my friends' house and helped get everyone to the Indian restaurant (Masala, in Beaumont) by around noon. We had a lovely buffet meal. I especially liked the vegetable korma and a dish I don't remember the name of, but which had eggplant and potatoes in it. The naan was great. I even had a couple of gulab jamun. This was in celebration of a friend's birthday, and afterwards he was having a real craving for Baskin Robbins ice cream, and it turned out there was one at the end of the shopping centre. So we went there and had dessert. After returning to their house, we watched some videos, including the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. It had some good moments, but I really prefer the original. Robert Englund, in my opinion, is Freddy Krueger. He simply isn't replaceable.

I finished the game notes early this morning, then overslept. Today was the game, where we progressed a bit and I think we're set to go for next time. We also did the grocery run today, as well as the normal game preparations. I got home a little after 10 pm.

Tomorrow I am totally free. I have checked and the YMCA is open shorter hours, but open. I think I'm going to try to go. I also plan to do some reading and some video watching. The house is in good shape; I just need to make the bed and do about four dishes and some flatware. Really. So tomorrow is a day to have some fun on my own.