This is a previous issue that has been re-worked with Nvu
Founded
December 17,1912
Ceased Publication Thursday February 1, 1951
Book 1
Volume 11
Saturday,
January 31, 2004 7:29
AM 14 deg at LVIA and 9.9 in the bus stop. It is the end of
the month and nearly the beginning
of a new one. For me the only thing good about February is it is a
short month. One month closer to spring. It seems these days as though
I am using the snow blower almost as often as I did the lawnmower in
summer. Geez!! This morning my
blood glucose was 130 and the weight
206. <8:26 AM> I was out and watched the sun arrive over the
mountain. It was a lovely sight. I am already making plans for how to
fix the place up there for summer. Hey, the days are getting longer,
hope springs eternal!! I just got this from Henry Schwartz.
It should even make George Ashman
groan!!! Subject: Bell Ringer
After Quasimodo's death, the
bishop of the Cathedral of Notre Dame sent word through the
streets of Paris that a new bell
ringer was needed. The bishop decided that he would
conduct the interviews personally and went up into the
belfry to begin the screening process.
After observing several
applicants demonstrate their skills, he had decided to call it a day
when an armless man approached him and announced that he was there to
apply for the bell ringer's job. The bishop was incredulous. "You
have no arms!"
"No matter,"said the man.
"Observe!" And he began striking the bells with his face, producing a
beautiful melody on the carillon.
The bishop listened in
astonishment; convinced he had finally found a replacement for
Quasimodo.
But suddenly, rushing forward to
strike a bell, the armless man tripped and plunged headlong out
of the belfry window to his death in the street below.
The stunned bishop rushed to his
side. When he reached the street, a crowd had gathered
around the fallen figure, drawn by the beautiful music they had heard
only moments before. As they silently parted to let
the bishop through, one of them asked, "Bishop, who was this
man?"
"I don't know his name," the
bishop sadly replied,....... "but his face
rings a bell" The following day, despite the
sadness that weighed heavily on his heart due to the unfortunate
death of the armless campanologist, the bishop
continued his interviews for the bell ringer
of Notre Dame. The first man to approach him
said, "Your Excellency, I am the brother of the poor armless
wretch that fell to his death from this very belfry yesterday. I
pray that you honour his life by allowing me to replace him in this duty."
The bishop agreed to give the
man an audition, and, as the armless man's brother stooped,
picked up a mallet and struck the bells as beautifully as his brother.
But as he finished, he groaned, clutched at his chest, twirled
around and died on the spot.
Two monks, hearing the bishop's
cries of grief at this second tragedy, rushed up the stairs to
his side.
"What has happened? Who is this
man?" the first monk asked breathlessly. "I don't know his name," sighed
the distraught bishop, but..." "BUT HE'S A DEAD RINGER FOR HIS
BROTHER" <GROAN> This morning we went up to Giant to
get some more strawberries. The
last ones we allowed to set on the windowsill for a day or two. Golly,
but the entire house smelled like strawberries. We have done the same
with these new ones and the place smells wonderful.
Today, we
haven’t done much of anything. It is too cold for a walk so we are
staying inside today. I did take my shower this afternoon. Tonight for supper
we had some of the leftover ham
and bean soup. It has been in out outdoor fridge for several days,. The
longer it sets, the better it gets. It was good. Then for dessert, we
had some vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries on it. A cup of
fresh ground 8 o’clock coffee finished it all off. Last Friday when I
went to the “Iron Works”, I took
along my camera and had Jason, the instructor, and man in charge, take
a few pictures of me on the machines. I had to prove that I actually do
use them. Here are a few shots of that adventure.
Above are the Tummy Machine and
the triceps machine
The back machine and the triceps machine
The
biceps machine and a man doing leg exercises
The treadmill
When I use the treadmill, as can be
seen, I gradually increase the
steepness of the platform and still maintain a modest speed. This works
better for me than running like Hell to raise my heart rate. I usually
go for about a half a mile. Then, it is on to the specialized
equipment. All my exercises are planned with swimming in mind to
strengthen those muscles that I don’t use all winter. In the past it
certainly has worked well for me, even if I don’t really enjoy doing it.
Sunday, February
01, 2004 7:27 AM
18deg at LVIA and 12.6 in the bus stop This morning the
blood sugar is 129 and weight 206.
It is a beautiful day this morning. I was out this morning before the
sun arrived over the mountain and it was cold, but not blustery. This morning I
went for a walk. I went up to Doc
Cyr’s house and took a few pictures. As I approached, I could hear the
house softly calling, “Howard where are you?”
In addition, I took a picture of
Howard’s church steps handiwork covered with snow.
I am hopeful that
the problems with AOL and those
not being able to open my pictures, may be solved. I got an e-mil from
a friend of Walter Guyer who seemingly has solved this problem. “Bob & Walter (and for
forwarding to any other AOL users) -
Following the suggestions in one of your recent communiques, I tried to
download the Microsoft Internet Explorer. I probably did, but then
couldn't locate it on my computer ! However, during the process,
they (Microsoft) said they could send a
CD. (It was "free", but there was $5. or $6. shipping and handling)
which was fine with me. In short - I used their disk.
Everything was "user friendly". That
translates to "automatic". One of the programs it put on my computer
was the one needed to handle vector graphics (I don't understand the
technology, but when AOL formerly said I'd need it and then asked
whether I wanted to download it and I would say "yes", I immediately
would get a message that said "sorry, but that can't be downloaded - at
this time" !) Anyhoo - I can now download and
print your articles, including the
photos, and without minimizing AOL. I plan to continue to experiment,
in order to learn about minimizing AOL and using the standalone
browser, but thought I'd bring you up to date on my situation. Thanks
for listening. – Charles” It seems to me as though this might
also solve the problem with those
of you who may be using Juno. The easiest way to do it is as Charles
suggested, however it can readily be downloaded from this site. The
Microsoft Explorer can be found at : http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/ie6sp1/default.asp Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1
(SP1) is the latest version of
Internet Explorer and includes a full installation of the Web browser. When you download it, you will be
asked where you want to save it If
you tell it to download and save it to the desktop, you will avoid
Charles problem of finding it. There it can readily be found and
installed. If you have a dial up modem, this can take awhile it is a
big file. However, by doing this you will be able to avoid the
proprietary browsers that both AOL and Juno supply. It should help you
view a lot of other stuff on the Internet, not just my stuff. This afternoon I brought all the
Christmas cookies inside the
house took them out of their containers put them into plastic
vacuum seal bags, sealed them, and put them back into the storage box
and then back out on the porch. At least they will not get stale nearly
as fast. This afternoon I changed my bedding
in anticipation of tomorrow’s
“dreaded sheet day.” At least that is done. Tonight for supper, we had something
we hadn’t had since last summer.
We had a sirloin steak with hot bread and a salad. We did not prepare
the whole thing. It was very good. We had it on the Forman grill. We
were both too full for dessert. Coffee was all we could handle.
Monday, February
02, 2004 7:32
AM 7 deg at LVIA and 9.4 in the bus stop Sheez, the weight
is 208 and the blood glucose is
151. That is not at all great. Moral, go easy on steak and hot bread.
<Sigh> I just got this
from neighbor Mike. It says it all, If AOL Made A Car The AOL car would have a
TOP speed of 40 MPH yet have a 200 MPH
speedometer. The AOL car would come
equipped with a NEW and fantastic 8-Track
tape player. The car would often refuse
to start and owners would just expect
this and try again later. The windshield would have
an extra dark tint to protect the
driver from seeing better cars. AOL would sell the same
model car year after year and claim it's
the NEW model. Every now and then the
brakes on the AOL car would just "lock-up"
for no apparent reason. The AOL car would have a
very plain body style but would have
lots'a pretty colors and lights. The AOL car would have
only one door but it would have 5 extra
seats for family members. Anyone dissatisfied could
return the car but must continue to
make payments for 6 months. If an AOL car owner
received 3 parking tickets AOL would take the
car off of them. The AOL car would have an
AOL Cell phone that can only place
calls to other AOL car cell phones. AOL would pass a new car
law forbidding AOL car owners from
driving near other car dealerships. AOL car mechanics would
have no experience in car repair. Younger AOL car drivers
would be able to make other peoples AOL
cars stall just for fun. It would not be possible
to upgrade your AOL car stereo. AOL cars would be forced
to use AOL gas that cost 20% more and
gave worse mileage. Anytime an AOL car owner
saw another AOL car owner he would
wonder, M/F/age? It would be common for AOL
car owners to divorce just to marry
another AOL car owner. AOL car owners would
always claim to be older or younger than
they really are. AOL cars would come with a
steering wheel and AOL would claim no
other cars have them. Every time you close the
door on the AOL car it would say,
"Good-Bye." In his letter Mr.
Seaton said the following: "I
can
now download and print your articles, including the photos, and without
minimizing AOL. I plan to continue to experiment, in order to learn
about minimizing AOL and using the standalone browser." I would suggest
opening AOL as usual. After you know
you are on-line, minimize AOL with the small _ in the upper right
corner. Then open your new MS Explorer and operate from it. It will be
a small blue Icon; with a lower case, e located on the desktop. Use it
for your entire web browsing, keeping AOL minimized. It may be
necessary to copy and paste my address that came in the Valen e-mail
into the address box. This should cure many problems.
Then look in Microsoft Explorer browser. When it opens, look at
the top of the page and look for tools and down to Internet options.
When that opens look on that open page for set present browser as
default. Hopefully, that may take the proprietary browser out of the
scene. <10:26 AM> I
just got back from the “Iron
Works.” I had a good session. When I first got there all the treadmills
were busy, so I tried the stepper. I had to quit that one; it hurt my
knees too much. So, I ran a stationary bike until I was able to use an
available machine I got the heart
rate up for the allotted time and
then moved on to the other stationary equipment. I used the tummy
machine for 100 repetitions. I have been taking Fritz’s advice and use
lower weights but do more repetitions. I made my rounds of the machines
and then it was time to go home. Queen wanted to go to the store after
I got back. On the way down, I
stopped in at the TN office and
spoke for a moment with the staff. Sharon informed me last week that by
Monday her cold would be gone. How do you know I asked? I am telling it
to leave. So, I asked her if it had indeed left. No, it didn’t listen
to me. Ha!! Pattie told me
that her step Dad would be entering a
rehabilitation program. That is great. I saw what they can do for folks
at the old “Iron Works” of the Good Shepherd rehab center at 2nd and
Franklin when I went there last year. Their work is impressive. <12:32> We
just got back from a trip to
Lehighton. We went to Aldi, Wal-Mart, and Giant. Golly, in Wal-Mart, I
met an old friend from the television service days, Verdell Felter. He
was the chief technician at my old friends, ACE Electric, the Admiral
dealers in downtown Lehighton. Verdel and the Mulligan family were all
good friends, and we helped one another when need be. I made many good
friends most of whom I haven’t seen in years. I haven’t seen Gene or
Eddie Mulligan in a long, long, time. I wonder if they have e -mail
addresses. I would love to keep in contact with them. That is why
“Dell” was such a welcome sight. They used to take
me along to the Admiral service
schools held at a posh Elysburg Pa, resort. We had a ball. Good food, a
few adult beverages, and a meeting with a factory representative for
classroom sessions. Sometimes, we actually learned something. I haven’t
seen Gene or Eddie for years.
Here
he is Verdell, the huckster at the Palmerton Festival
Dell and I
were talking of old times and the
difficulty we all had learning how to switch from tubes to transistors.
Now with computers, we old timers are all left in the dark. I mentioned
that all my years in that business were not worth a damn thing in this
computer age. I might as well have been in the buggy whip business. I
told him about my grandsons and how it comes easy to them. We both
threw up our hands in agreement and disgust. Geez!! Ah, tonight we
dined in God’s restaurant. Queen made
her spaghetti. As usual, it was wonderful.
Tuesday, February
03, 2004 7:31
AM 25 Deg at LVIA and 25 deg in the bus stop It is a lousy
looking day this morning. At 7 am, the
sky had turned pink in color. It isn’t doing anything yet, but foul
weather is predicted for the day. Snow and later ice is expected.
<Sigh> This morning the
blood glucose was 148 and weight
207. Not red-hot readings for the old man. I fed Butternut
and let him out while the coffee was
in the works. After getting my e-mail and starting this day’s page, I
decided to sit out on the park bench this morning and while it was damp
and chilly it was not precipitating yet, but the radar shows it is
close by. <9:24 AM> I
just got back from a quickie trip
to the store. Queen wanted some bananas and a few other things. It was
a quick down and back trip. The place was not too busy at all. Everyone
is watching out for the weather.
<10:54> We are going for a
short walk. We will mail a letter and probably walk up to 1st Street
and back home. It is starting to snow now. We both want to get out.
<11:11> Golly we didn’t go far. We went up to the Post Box and
continued almost to 1st and turned back. We walked on solid sleet. Then
going back, we had it in the face. However, we both needed to get
out. <Later> 3:51 PM it has turned to rain now thank
goodness and is raining quite hard but it is melting. Tonight for supper
we had the last of neighbor
Jean’s homemade chicken soup. She makes the best damn soup.
Wednesday,
February 04, 2004
7:26 AM 36 deg at LVIA and 32.9 in the bus stop My weight this
morning was 206 and the blood glucose
was 134. That is a bit of an improvement. It looks like a good day on
hand this morning. It is icy out side when all that stuff froze
overnight. I shall be heading out with my coffee soon. Ha, I stepped
out to to go up for my to intended trip to the park bench and
discovered that the sidewalks are all a sheet of ice. That should be
ending soon, but for now no way. One very welcome
bit of weather news is that now at
8:10 AM, I now have sunshine here in my face at my computer station as
the sun comes up over the mountain. This only happens twice a
year, in fall and spring. Ah, this is the spring solstice making its
imminent presence known. Wonderful. Already neighbor Mike tells us that
it is getting too warm. Ha!!! I keep telling him my days are coming. This morning I
intend to go to the “Iron Works” for
one of my three trips this week. <10:14 AM> I have been down and
back. It was not at all
crowded. Our nice neighbor Mrs. Jo Ann Tackas was there as were
Mrs. Naab and Joe Lendvay as well as others whom I recognize but not
recall their names, Sheez!!! One always meets new folks there. Most are
nice people and quite friendly. Jason, the manager, came by and
assisted in properly adjusting one of the machines I was
using. After I finished,
I went home and Queen had decided
today would be a good day to finish our food shopping. It really didn’t
take too long in spite of the late start. A trip to Aldi, and then over
to Giant took care of the Lehighton part of the trip. Then, we went to
country Harvest and got the rest of the stuff. Late this afternoon I took the
garbage to the alley so that last weeks
fate would not befall me. On the way up near the top of the walkway, I
nearly fell on my Kazoo on the %@#*@# ice. Winter sucks!! For supper this
evening we had a salmon filet, a
baked potato each, some of Queen’s superb Cole slaw, tomato cottage
cheese salad, half of a large blueberry muffin she made yesterday plus
some fresh coffee. It was excellent. I will be awaiting the blood
glucose reading tomorrow. For whatever reason, salmon always raises it.
We shall see. Tommy stopped in
tonight we all discussed the rotten
weather and all the other stuff that has befallen us. He also thinks
Queen would enjoy the Iron Works. The things like the treadmill at the
Iron Works she should be able to handle. Golly, if we can walk a mile
from our house up to 1st Street and down to 5th Street that is probably
over a mile, she should be able to use the treadmill at her own speed.
She often has to slow me down. Those walks always included hills down
and back. There she can walk on the flat. It sounds good to me. I would
like to take her on a trial basis and then if she can handle it get her
a monthly membership. The sociability that is available there with many
of her friends would be a big plus also.
Thursday, February
05, 2004 7:19 AM 21
deg at LVIA and 21.1 in the bus stop The blood sugar
was 140 and the weight 208. It
appears to be a good day today so far, bur I am receiving weather
warnings here on the computer from many sources, here as well as in WV
so I presume we are in for it again. <8:09 AM> I
am back from my visit outdoors. I
can see the clouds beginning to roll in. Now the sun is weakly trying
to shine in my face here at my computer workstation. It is a
welcome sight indeed.
Here is the new
day Thursday 2/05/04
Last evening our
son in law Jim Hill phoned and said
they would like to visit us and have dinner with us today. They will
bring along Lillian Rau, Mary’s former mother in law. That is great. It
will be good to see them all once again. This morning we
had to get a few things downtown; We
went to Country Harvest out to Sunoco for gas and home. We were
figuring the traveling tomorrow does not sound good. Apparently, we
weren’t the only ones. After lunch Dr Nicholson’s office
called and asked me of I could make
it over there this afternoon rather than tomorrow morning as scheduled.
So I quickly got my shoes on and off I went. My blood pressure was down, but I had
gained some weight. I am
retaining water. That is not too good. I am to elevate my legs while
doing this. After examining me, I ask his frank
assessment of my physical shape.
His reply of pretty good for a man my age pleased me.
He also thinks
Queen’s use of the treadmill would be excellent for us both,
particularly in this cold weather. He also encourages both Queen and me
in using computers. He said, as her do I, it is excellent form of
mental exercise as well as a marvelous way for seniors to communicate.
Therefore, I have not given up on hoping the good doctor discovers all
they could see and do with a computer on line. I will bet his kids have
them and it would be an excellent way for his wife, Joan, to keep in
touch with them all. Queen had been working at her
computer showing them her prowess at
spider solitaire. She is damn good at it.
She seems to be having a ball with
it. I am delighted.
It was good to see
the folks this afternoon. They
brought along a London Broil that we had in the oven’s broiler. That
along with baked potatoes and mixes veggies, cranberry sauce, a loaf of
fresh Italian bread, and pickles and olives made for an excellent meal.
I was too full for dessert.
Friday, February
06, 2004 7:39
AM 28deg at LVIA and 28.4 in the bus stop It is sleeting
freezing rain with a predicted to be
rainy day on hand. At least, this morning is a decent day health wise
with the blood glucose at 125 and weight 207. Needless to say,
Butternut did not venture far from
the back door this morning. Even the old man has had an acute attack of
good sense and is staying inside the morning. I wanted to take Queen
along to the “Iron Works” this morning but the rotten stuff pretty well
precludes the whole idea.
Yes,
that is freezing rain 2/6/04 with slipping and sliding on this Friday
morning 2/6/04
My satellite dish covered in ice
So far, I have not
even attempted to clean off the
sidewalks. It is still raining quite hard, I am hoping that a lot of it
will melt. So far, the temperature has not cooperated very much with a
temperature of 33.6 on the east side of the house. Well, I did go out
about 2 pm and used Queen’s QVC shovel. It is the first time it
actually worked as I had wished. It was heavy as heck, but I did get
the sidewalk cleared. I was hoping to do Mike’s as well, but I simply
ran out of steam. I didn’t do any more of ours either. It is still 34
deg at the airport and 33.2 in the bus stop. The weather folks said a
secondary low formed and that is keeping it from warming up. Please Love one another, Mom
and Bob [ Queen and Bobby]
Below are some more sites of the Mars
lander and some really amazing
pictures.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
born on 30-Nov Get your facts
first, and then you can distort 'em as much as you
please. Albert Einstein
(1879-1955) Try not to
become a man of success but rather try to become a man of
value.
