I just got done hooking up my tv converter box. No glitches, although I can see how someone without any experience with electronic technology at all could be frustrated. "Oh dear, what if I push this button and I blow up my tv?! Or just break it!"
I'm not so sure I qualify for being an early bird by getting the converter box connected this morning. It looks like five of our seven local channels are still using the analog signal...probably until later this evening. However, two channels have already switched and one of them is a channel I watch later in the morning.
Now I am a proud owner of two remote controls. An extra remote control to keep up with... it might prove interesting. The downside is that once all the channels have switched to digital signals I won't be able to listen to the tv shows on my walkman. (the walkman I have picked up most of the channels.) Bummer. However, I will be glad when I don't have to watch the PSA (public service announcements) any more.
So... shall I watch old movies or Japanese table tennis?
Added later: Oh great. Everytime I change channels, I have to get up and move the antenna! Sigh.
Sketch using a magazine ad. I chuckled when I looked at the drawing just now. That creek looks to be pretty deep. I'd be wondering what's in the water before I stuck my toes in there.
One of our local morning talk shows had a doctor/author on who has written a book about premonitions. (The Power of Premonishions by Larry Dossey, M.D.) He's, or 'they', are researching premonitions using measurments that will satisfy the sciencific world.
One of the things he mentioned surprised me because I do not remember hearing this about the 9/11 plane crashes. He said all four airplanes were only 20% full on average. He believes that this was as a result of a lot of premonishions happening. (I don't recall hearing this on the news... that the planes were not full. Have any of you heard this?)
Edit: I just googled and the only thing I found indicated there was an average of 61 people per plane, which includes staff. I've never been on a plane, but this sounds like the planes may not have been completely full. Please share if you know about how full or empty the planes were.
One example he gave was a woman, booked for one of the flights, was scheduled to speak before the United Nations. That morning she woke up with a great feeling of malaise. She called the UN and told them she would not be coming... one just doesn't blow off the United Nations, but she stuck to her guns.
Here's a reminder of what its like in the cool of winter. (Some of these scene may have been shown on national tv, so it might look a little familar.) What life can be like if you live on an incline.
ohmygosh... there's quite a few videos showing icy/snowy driving. Just a reminder of why I don't drive if there is more than five snow flakes on the ground. Here's a link to a video taken in Russia. If you watch it, check out the guy who ski's with his feet.
Now when the police shoot and kill someone the medical examiner lists the death as a suicide. How'd the police get the ME to do that?? (rhetorical question.)
And if you want to seek help for a friend or relative that may be going through something emotional, don't call the police. They'll just kill 'em. Some help, huh.
In our area we had a young man who tried to cut his wrists. The police were sent out on a welfare check and it ended up the young man was shot in the chest and died. A witness told a reporter that they just shot him and she didn't see him holding anything, like a knife. "They didn't have to kill him." The witness was quickly taken back behind the police tape so reporters couldn't talk to her more.
Most of us in this area of the country know that if you want to commit suicide and you don't have the guts to do it yourself, just call the police and when they get there throw a cardboard box at them. They will no doubt shoot you because they fear for their own well being.
Feared for their safety... a guy with a knife against several policemen with bullet proof vests, fire arms, tasers... what were they missing? Time? Time to defuse the situation? I don't know. The guy might have planned on suicide by police, but that doesn't mean the police need to actually do it.
As usual, I spent Saturday afternoon playing Upwards with my friend. (This shows the beginning of the game.) We were both making high scores, but I lucked out and won this one. She whipped my butt in Word Yahtzee, though.
Instead of the typical chips and dip fare, my friend served a fruit plate. Ohhhh the smell of summer. The melon was perfectly ripe and lucious, too. There is something amazing about a ripe cantalope... like a special present to us from the Universe.
It was hot yesterday, but we had a breeze. Its going to be pretty warm today, too. I better go open up the windows to clear out the apartment. If I can get it cold in here then its not bad for the rest of the day.
I finally got the Dell pc hooked up. As I sit here with cords draped around my neck and under my feet, I must say Why hasn't someone invented something to take away all these gazillion cords! No matter how I tried to keep them orderly, they refused to cooperate. Now I'm trying to rebuild my bookmarks. I may be asking for links if I can't get to them on my own.
As background information let me confess to being an illegal driver. Just for a minute. My car tags expired in April so I haven't yet paid for my right to drive in this state. Some unexpected things came up and I didn't have the money to get them right now. And my pc money was specifically designated for a pc, period. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) I figure the cops have a tendency to let the first delinquent month slide. Yeah. That sounds good.
This morning I jumped in my car to drive over the bridge to Vancouver Washington to buy the rebuilt pc. I know nothing of Vancouver but luck was on my side because it was a simple shot to the place. Basically it was just two left turns once I got off the freeway.
I'm not a nervous driver when my tags are expired, but I do pay attention to my surroundings. I'm not going to turn right in front of a cop or stay in front of a cop if I can go around the block without causing notice. I mean, lets use some common sense. But if I get a ticket, then I just deal with it.
So... I'm in Washington sitting at a left turn signal behind one car. There is a police car in front of the oncoming traffic. When the signal turned green for the oncoming traffic to move, I flashed on how far from the car in front of me I was and that there was a chance my license plate could be seen... but really, what are the odds?
The police car past by as I innocently watched the car ahead of me. Once past, I glanced into my rear view mirror and saw a red car behind me waiting to also turn. The police car did a quick illegal U turn and got in line for the left turn. Gulp. Ohmygawd! How did he spy my tags so quickly?!? Shit! What kind of eyes does he have, any frigging way?
Sigh. A deep sigh. Crap. Oh well. I took the chance so it will be the way it will be. Once I cleared the turn I glanced in the rear view mirror again. The red car was still behind me and the police car had turned on his red and blue lights. I saw the red car change lanes and the cops did the same thing.
(00) Whew!
HOORAY!! It wasn't me he had spotted. It was the guy in the red car. Be still my heart.
Okay, I said it was just a "brush."
So... I've got the Dell pc here. Haven't hooked it up yet. Probably will later today. And you know what? My current pc hasn't shut down once today. Go figure. Or should I say, isn't that the way it goes?
I hope you are all having a fine day. A fine year. A fine life.
Darius called yesterday, and using his most pitiful voice, he asked if he could spend the night. I had a weak moment and said "Sure. Bring your brother, too." That perked 'Mom' right up. You remember how it felt those few times when you found yourself without small off-spring.... great, huh! 'Mom' is going to get another break this weekend. One of her sisters is going to have the boys over for the weekend. It will be good exposure for the boys ("This is how an average families live. This is what an average family looks like...see, two parents. How about that, huh!")
I had already stocked the cupboards so I was good to go with house guests. I also had two squirt bottles at hand. Nothing like a warm day and water bottles to give active boys something to do.
Febreze... do you use it? I bought a jug of it recently and it seems to smell stronger, like cheap cologne added to water. Has anyone else noticed it?
Toilet bowl cleaner... what do you recommend for cleaning toilet bowls? Got any magic formulas? I've been using Comet, but its not cutting it.
Zippedy Yay... My Oh My What a Wonderful Day... Plenty 'O Sunshine... Coming My Way... Zippedy Do Da, Zippedy Yay!"
Looks like there will be movement on the get-Crusty-a-working-cpu project. I may be getting a rehab pc towards the end of next week. I talked to my daughter #2 a few days ago about my progress... there's not been any. Bleak outlook for near future. Yada, yada, yada. It ended that she will check around ("I'll check with my peeps." She doesn't really have "peeps", she just knows a lot of people.) That's when I knew I was in good hands. She's a strong Virgo. Organized and likes to get things done. If I ever had my own business I would want her to be the manager. You know. So I could take my favorite position. Sitting back and racking in the dough. (snicker) Hey, its what I do best.
Anyhoo... She checked with a small rehab store in her area and found a Dell for $199. (00) Be still my heart!! She also made a proposition I couldn't refuse. She spoke to the owner of the store about me coming in to pick up the pc, paying what I have saved for it so far ($100+) and she will pick up the rest. This should transpire sometime next week. No waiting!!
My daughter has also come up with an idea for making some extra money while talking with the shop owner. She will instruct older citizens in the very basics of operating and using a pc so they can surf the web, use email, instant messager, etc. She can also load software or help them to do it themselves. It sounds perfect and I think its a needed service. There are lots of us older citizens who would love to have a nice, friendly person come to our place, sit down with us, and show us step-by-step how to do things. ("To turn on, push this button here. If the pc freezes and you need to get it turned off, push the same button but hold it in for six seconds and the pc will stop. This shouldn't be done if you can avoid it. Do it only when there's no other option to try. Here's how you copy and paste.")
The shop owner said she had been doing it (charging $100 an hour) but the shop business started taking up too much of her time. So there's a market out there. All in all, it was a pretty good day.
I got some black ink and tried a few water-and-ink blot spots. Practice is needed. I want to do it until it becomes fun. I also want to get some colored ink.
Below are some blot spots that I'm studying to see what image I can make of them. I'll post some after images if I come up with anything.
We are having some BEAUTIFUL days!! Warm but not hot. This morning was perfect. It screamed morning-coffee-in-the-garden at me. Lots of green plants high and low with some flowers tossed in for accent. Sun shining. Birds singing. Bugs not up yet. Did I mention housekeeper? A Virgo who loves to laugh and loves to care for the house. Oh. And me. Great morning for fantasies.
There is a Swedish artist on youtube that I follow (sort of)... I really like her art. She does it with ink and water. Its mystical and magical at times. And she makes it look so freaking easy, damn it!
I'll try to link to one of her blogs here so you can see what I mean. (Go to her channel if you want to see more of her stuff.)
I tried several things and none got even close to what I wanted. This flower is the best I was able to do. The first photo shows the flower after just using water and liquid watercolor paints. The second one is after I used a couple of Tombow pens (watercolor pens) to try to separate petals and add leaves.
I'm going thru one of those periods where I just want to toss all my supplies out with the trash. "What the hell was I thinking!" Perhaps I should just stick with pencils, but even then....
Can you say frustration? I can. After all, its an F word.
Other than the frustration all is quiet here. That doesn't give me much to blog about. No news is good news.
Is it just me? I had my 'dashboard' link saved in my "favorites" list and now it has disappeared. That is a link I would not delete, nor have I been deleting any of my favorite bookmarks lately. What the hell is going on? Is there a limit to how many sites one can save? I'm beginning to think this machine (pc) is haunted or something. I am not amused!
My grandson Darius (5) has a favorite color. Wanna guess what it is? If I was guessing the color would be at or near the end of my list of colors...or I would not be able to guess it at all. His favorite color is pink. Jokingly, his mother turned to me and asked "do you think I should be concerned?"
I heard that there will not be a cost of living increase for those on Social Security this coming January because the cost of living has not increased. We must live on different planets. I think they come up with the cost of living based on housing and big ticket items like cars and, of course, their prices have dropped because of the economy. The price of everything else has certainly gone up and I suspect they will continue.
Obama may not have raised federal taxes but boy oh boy.... every other tax is being increased. State and local taxes are going out of sight. Fees and everything else they can possibly think of is going up. Its like a thousand leeches sucking from one tiny, bloody body.
I wonder if the people who caused this economic disaster ever watch the news and connect things to their actions. I doubt it. I don't think they are "getting it" yet. Sigh.
On to another subject, I heard there has been some studies done on why some people are optomistic and some aren't and it is looking like our genes may have something to do with it. Its always been my theory. So... I can't help being crusty. Its the way I was built!
Need I say "Its raining"? Last Saturday we had a severe but fast thunder storm move across the city. It lasted about 15 minutes, but trees came down nonetheless. I was driving home and one of my windshield wipers stopped working. The driver's side. Not good. Fortunately for me, the rain didn't last long and I managed to get home. I haven't spent anytime looking at it yet. (We all know how 'looking at it' usually fixes things, right?) My schedule must once again depend upon the weather.
Here's where you can check out a lot of photos taken at one of our 'farmers' market'. They almost made me go vegan! (might be a reference photo for painting in the mix.)
I'm sooooo bored. I was born bored. Sigh. But this, too, will pass..... just like gas. (Looks like the sketches don't want to show up. Just as I clicked on the publish button the pc snapped off. I'll try to post the sketches again.)
Chalk pastels on colored construction art paper. Subject selected from the choices provided by Brenda.
Chalk is the right term to use for these pastels. Colored chalk. Sidewalk chalk, perhaps. No matter. Well, except the box didn't have a true red... just dark pinks. I was disappointed. Isn't red a primary color? Oh well. The rooster still crows.
'Mom' and the boys stopped by for a few minutes the other day. Mom was in need, so she left with my car and a little bit of my money. Everyone has to have at least one safety net. My net has a lot of holes in it, but it can still hold someone up a little bit. 'Mom' is part of a couple, but it seems she's the only one who takes care of business. What's up with these males? They apparently expect to be mothered for their entire life. I don't know....
Don't get me wrong. I like the guy enough. He seems nice and I'm told the boys really adore him... first decent role model in their lives, but geesh. Man up and contribute why doncha.
Do you ever wonder why I often put the word mom in single quotes? Its to indicate my daughter is a mom but not my mom. I knew you've been wondering.
I've gotten rid of my bed. My daughter came and got it yesterday. I was expecting the bedroom to look large, but surprisingly it doesn't.
I've got a thing. Would it qualify as a fetish? I'll need to look up the definition. I have always preferred to sleep on the couch. In the beginning my then partner took it as a rejection. Many years later in the relationship I think he preferred me sleeping on the couch, too. (Weak smile.) But I digress.
So.... I've got an empty room to use however I want to use it. Well, its not completely empty. The table, chairs, and pc are in the room, but I think I've got a modified studio. And the window faces north. bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
There is some cleaning and clearing to do. You know, move a bed, find a dust bunny. I've also got the two other pc's (and a monitor) to store. (they don't work.) I need to ruthlessly declutter the closet and I can put the extra pc's in there, etc.
Wouldn't it be great if I could come on here and say "OMG, I'm a smaller size!?! Amazing!" Well, it ain't gonna happen. The smaller size of which I speak has to do with products.
I decided to treat myself a little and grabbed a box of Little Deb's version of Ho-Hos. The price is higher. Almost mainstream now. And the box is the same size, but you know where this goes from here, right? The actual product is smaller. I noticed it right away. Bummer. How could you, Debbie? I'm disappointed.
Reducing the size of products has been happening for some time now, so its not like I didn't know about it. I was hoping Little Deb might be different, though.
No I wasn't... I wasn't going around with the thought "Gee, I sure hope Little Deb doesn't make her products smaller", but you know what I mean.
But its of little importance. Oh... on the upside, I was able to buy some cigarettes without the Fed's extra tax. (Insert big smile here.) I hope everyone is well and hardy.
Just here to leave a wave and a "Hi Ya!" Pc's been stubborn and my mind has been blank so I just haven't had anything to say. I've been able to get around to some blogs at least every other day, so I'm still following you guys.
OH.... we are having three SUMMER-LIKE days here!! It got past 75 degrees yesterday and will just be a few degrees cooler today. The guy next door is mowing his grass. The sounds of summer. ACHOO. And seasonal allergies. We'll get back to spring rains but for now all the little flying bugs are throughly enjoying the sunshine. (There's so many of them... and its hard to get back in the door without a bunch of them in your hair or clinging to your clothes. Life. Ya gotta love it. Well, maybe you don't HAVE TO, but it makes it easier.)
"…the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” –Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarschall
