No need to notify Sheriff Chuck; our Internet/e-mail/TV connection absented itself from about 4:30 PM yesterday to 0830 hrs today. I shall shortly go out and pull weeds in the front yard, starting (and maybe ending) with those along the front walk. Reported current temperature 86F and predicted high 111F.
So far a good day; Miyoko and I both slept well, both are backs are a bit better, my lower GI tract is behaving, and it is our 39th anniversary (39th and a day, technically, because we married west of the International Date Line).
I do not go out when the temp is above 80° So, the grass remains uncut. It was 81° at 4 AM. Global warming seems most evident in the lows not showing up. Also, we are not getting normal ocean bteezes.
Leaving the grass uncut in hot weather really helps the grass!
A dear friend in Arizona decided when she bought her house not to sow even a blade of grass. Instead, she planted hardy trees, flowering plants and bushes that she can water by hand if needed, Then she made the rest of the yard out of various colours of natural stone. It's really quite pretty.
Got my bivalent Covid-19 booster at 3:50pm. So, it's been about 4.5 hours, and so far my only symptoms is a flushed face that kind of tingles. No fever as yet. 🤞
A text asked millions of Californians to save energy. They paid heed, averting blackouts [Click] Interesting indication of how many people use text messages. We didn’t notice, because we don’t do text messages. I notice than my business phone in particular often rings and picks up, but no voice message or is left, which I suppose indicates a text message attempt. They pile up in my cell phone inbox (which I *might* notice once a month], but I just do a global erase because they are too much of a bother to deal with.
On a related note, our grapes are probably more than 99% raisins; seems to be the fastest drying ever.
We separated the few raisins that might need a bit more drying, then cleaned off and stowed the drying tables for next year. Next (but not tonight) we remove the stems (a big and fiddly job), then sort by size, wash, dry a bit in the oven, and pack in sealed containers to equalize the moisture. The best ones go to Miyoko's youngest aunt in Japan.
Today I had the cavity filled in the tooth next to the one that was pulled. One point of the extraction was to give the dentist access to this cavity. But while she was doing the filling she noticed something wonky about the central space that is supposed to contain the nerve: at least at the top, it was empty. This isn't necessarily bad, but she is concerned that it could signal later problems in the tooth that is supposed to anchor the bridge, so she recommended a root canal. This will end with the space being filled with gutta percha, so nothing can go wrong in the future.
I have been cogitating a bit from time to time about the current low unemployment rate and increased number of job openings. It seems that many of the openings are at less desirable places--fast food joints, drive-through coffee shops, etc. I seem to remember that we got along pretty well without so many such places. If Starbucks, McDonalds, and most (even all) of their imitators were to go belly up I think we would be all right. Really, is it a terrible challenge to make up a thermos of coffee at home and take it with us? Having packed a lunch pretty much all my life (as did my father before me), I never could understand why so many of my coworkers, especially in recent years, would ALWAYS buy lunch at a take-out restaurant. Day after day, month after month, year after year, it adds up. Five bucks a day for lunch (not to mention nearly as much for a hot candy bar in a cup that is called "coffee"), five days a week, 50 weeks per year comes to $1250/year, and over 30 years enough to pay for (what I would consider) a pretty fancy car.
A few days ago I discovered an elmost complete absence of employees in a high-end department store. Things were so bad that people kept mistaking me for an employee. That's harder to explain. (By contrast, today I bought a pair of pants at a small Target that seemed adequately staffed.)
Maybe things are different in Chicago, but out here it has been decades since one could expect to encounter salespeople in a department store. The old department stores are gone, and the only employees regularly present (and few of them) are cashiers. During the Christmas shopping season they need more stockers and cashiers as well as a few more guards.
I don't know about "Christmas season" the day before Labor Day, but it was impossible to so much as find a cashier. And this in a store that considers $50 for a pair of pants a sales price.
At the barber shop I went to before it abruptly closed (I have an unpleasant suspicion the barber died unespectedly) a haircut was $23 + tip. At Great Clips it is $18 + tip.
A long time ago I saw a cartoon of a very hirsute hippie in a barber shop (I think there was a sign saying haircut $5) and the barber asking him how much he would like trimmed, to which the response was "About a dollar's worth, I guess." Before marrying I cut my own hair for a long time (I'm neither hirsute nor particular), and my sweetie has been cutting it since. My mom cut our hair when I was young. At 20-25 bucks a pop I guess I can afford full self driving in my Tesla [HA!].
Trump Told White House Team He Needed to Protect ‘Russiagate’ Documents [Click] “The former president, who left the White House with a trove of sensitive material, believes there are documents that would expose a Deep State plot against him — and told confidants he needed to protect them from the next administration.”
No need to notify Sheriff Chuck; our Internet/e-mail/TV connection absented itself from about 4:30 PM yesterday to 0830 hrs today. I shall shortly go out and pull weeds in the front yard, starting (and maybe ending) with those along the front walk. Reported current temperature 86F and predicted high 111F.
ReplyDelete
DeleteCurrent time 0945.
So far a good day; Miyoko and I both slept well, both are backs are a bit better, my lower GI tract is behaving, and it is our 39th anniversary (39th and a day, technically, because we married west of the International Date Line).
ReplyDelete❤️❤️ HAPPY 39th ANNIVERSARY MIYOKO & ALAN! 💐
Delete~ listener
Hope you're having a happy one!
DeleteThanks; we're doing OK.
DeleteI do not go out when the temp is above 80° So, the grass remains uncut. It was 81° at 4 AM. Global warming seems most evident in the lows not showing up. Also, we are not getting normal ocean bteezes.
ReplyDeleteLeaving the grass uncut in hot weather really helps the grass!
DeleteA dear friend in Arizona decided when she bought her house not to sow even a blade of grass. Instead, she planted hardy trees, flowering plants and bushes that she can water by hand if needed, Then she made the rest of the yard out of various colours of natural stone. It's really quite pretty.
{listener}
ReplyDeleteOur website is up!
wizardofozandshakespeare.com
Got my bivalent Covid-19 booster at 3:50pm. So, it's been about 4.5 hours, and so far my only symptoms is a flushed face that kind of tingles. No fever as yet. 🤞
ReplyDeleteFever forfend!
Delete6.5 hour mark...no more face tingling and still vertical!
DeleteA text asked millions of Californians to save energy. They paid heed, averting blackouts [Click] Interesting indication of how many people use text messages. We didn’t notice, because we don’t do text messages. I notice than my business phone in particular often rings and picks up, but no voice message or is left, which I suppose indicates a text message attempt. They pile up in my cell phone inbox (which I *might* notice once a month], but I just do a global erase because they are too much of a bother to deal with.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, our grapes are probably more than 99% raisins; seems to be the fastest drying ever.
We separated the few raisins that might need a bit more drying, then cleaned off and stowed the drying tables for next year. Next (but not tonight) we remove the stems (a big and fiddly job), then sort by size, wash, dry a bit in the oven, and pack in sealed containers to equalize the moisture. The best ones go to Miyoko's youngest aunt in Japan.
DeleteToday I had the cavity filled in the tooth next to the one that was pulled. One point of the extraction was to give the dentist access to this cavity. But while she was doing the filling she noticed something wonky about the central space that is supposed to contain the nerve: at least at the top, it was empty. This isn't necessarily bad, but she is concerned that it could signal later problems in the tooth that is supposed to anchor the bridge, so she recommended a root canal. This will end with the space being filled with gutta percha, so nothing can go wrong in the future.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good plan, Bill.
DeleteGood for you taking care of your teeth!
DeleteI have been cogitating a bit from time to time about the current low unemployment rate and increased number of job openings. It seems that many of the openings are at less desirable places--fast food joints, drive-through coffee shops, etc. I seem to remember that we got along pretty well without so many such places. If Starbucks, McDonalds, and most (even all) of their imitators were to go belly up I think we would be all right. Really, is it a terrible challenge to make up a thermos of coffee at home and take it with us? Having packed a lunch pretty much all my life (as did my father before me), I never could understand why so many of my coworkers, especially in recent years, would ALWAYS buy lunch at a take-out restaurant. Day after day, month after month, year after year, it adds up. Five bucks a day for lunch (not to mention nearly as much for a hot candy bar in a cup that is called "coffee"), five days a week, 50 weeks per year comes to $1250/year, and over 30 years enough to pay for (what I would consider) a pretty fancy car.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago I discovered an elmost complete absence of employees in a high-end department store. Things were so bad that people kept mistaking me for an employee. That's harder to explain. (By contrast, today I bought a pair of pants at a small Target that seemed adequately staffed.)
DeleteDepartment stores have been replacing full time employees with temporary Christmas season hires for a very long time.
Delete$5 for lunch? Not for the last decade or so. It's more like $15! One could opt instead for early retirement...!
DeleteSo these "temporary Christmas seasons hires" are ghosts? They certainly weren't visible human beings.
DeleteMaybe things are different in Chicago, but out here it has been decades since one could expect to encounter salespeople in a department store. The old department stores are gone, and the only employees regularly present (and few of them) are cashiers. During the Christmas shopping season they need more stockers and cashiers as well as a few more guards.
Delete$15 for a take-out lunch? I don't dare ask what a man's haircut costs!
DeleteI don't know about "Christmas season" the day before Labor Day, but it was impossible to so much as find a cashier. And this in a store that considers $50 for a pair of pants a sales price.
DeleteAt the barber shop I went to before it abruptly closed (I have an unpleasant suspicion the barber died unespectedly) a haircut was $23 + tip. At Great Clips it is $18 + tip.
A long time ago I saw a cartoon of a very hirsute hippie in a barber shop (I think there was a sign saying haircut $5) and the barber asking him how much he would like trimmed, to which the response was "About a dollar's worth, I guess." Before marrying I cut my own hair for a long time (I'm neither hirsute nor particular), and my sweetie has been cutting it since. My mom cut our hair when I was young. At 20-25 bucks a pop I guess I can afford full self driving in my Tesla [HA!].
DeleteTrump Told White House Team He Needed to Protect ‘Russiagate’ Documents [Click] “The former president, who left the White House with a trove of sensitive material, believes there are documents that would expose a Deep State plot against him — and told confidants he needed to protect them from the next administration.”
ReplyDeleteAmong the scariest things are the empty classified document folders at Mar-a-Lago.
Delete‘Woman who can smell Parkinson’s’ helps scientists develop test [Click]
ReplyDelete