Book 1 Volume 28

This afternoon we both rested. It has been a miserable day here all day and this afternoon it just rained and rained. There was no swimming today. <sigh>


Tuesday, June 01, 20047:30 AM 55Deg at LVIA and 55.9 in the bus stop

It is a wet looking day today. It isn’t cold but it isn’t swimming weather either.  I saw and waved to Marlene and Lee Bollinger this morning as I sat up in the tent.

After Queen came down we went for our walk. Since this was the 2^nd day of the month a lot of folks on the other side of the street got nailed with parking tickets. I completely forgot about it. Queen got downstairs just in time to call neighbor Gary Kovacs and spared him a $5 parking ticket. I saw him move his car but didn’t make the connection or I would have warned some of the others. Golly!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

 1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height.
     Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him/her.

 2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

 3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
    Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop."
    And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

 4. Enjoy the simple things.

 5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

 6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on.
    The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.
    Be ALIVE while you are alive.

 7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,
    keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

 8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.
    If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

 9. Don't take guilt trips.
    Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country,
    but NOT to where the guilt is.

 10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

 AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

 Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Golly but it has been a busy day today. Now at 10:47 PM everyone has gone home. We had guests today. Belva and Fritz arrived about 2:30 PM for a visit and dinner. George, Kathy, Andy and Jason along with his “friend,” Christine were here also. Tommy was invited and we all had a great time. George brought a London broil, Belva an excellent tossed salad and we made buttermilk biscuits. We had an excellent dinner and all sat around the table afterwards telling stories and just having a wonderful time visiting together. It is always a treat when all are together. We had to put two extra leaves in the dining room table to accommodate the gang and I forgot to take pictures. <Groan>

It is times like this that make family so important. In some households it has become a lost art.

During the course of the afternoon and evening my crew of technical experts helped me clear up a lot of lingering problems. I am starting to use my new backup computer for writing these things. The old one is scheduled to go back to Delaware for a refurbishing. Andy is going to install a second larger hard drive which will enable me to clear up lot of problems with space. Pictures take up a lot of disk space. Then I shall have a convenient place to store much more. Also the fan on the power supply is making louder noises and I suspect is due for replacement. There are a lot of files on the other computer that I use regularly that I have copied and moved over here with the network. But I know I will have forgotten something. My God but that network is so handy and useful.

Wednesday, June 02, 2004 7:15 AM 54 Deg at LVIA and 54.3 in the bus stop

This morning the blood glucose is 135 and the weight 198. Good news in that department. It is a cool day today. Queen was already downstairs when I got up at 7 AM. I presume we will be going for a walk soon.

I sat up on the park bench for awhile after breakfast drinking my coffee. Soon the grass will need another cutting. As I sat there I savored our last evenings family meal and visit. Of course Tommy had many stories about the people he deals with every day at work. Some of them are really funny and some outlandish!!

Queen is out cutting off the excess growth down at the sidewalk from the honeysuckle that has spread rapidly. I was out and changed the mulch that was around the tomato plants. Jim told us that the hard wood mulch would sap the nitrogen from the tomato plants. Therefore I removed it, fed them, and re-mulched them with peat moss that we got Monday. Hopefully that should help. It was darn hot in the sun.

I am trying to get this computer set up properly for use when the other one goes out for repair. I was able to re-establish the network so the now this computer will be the primary source of signal on the network. I still need help from my “experts” to get the printers to configure properly.

My “experts” were here today and got most of the stuff straightened out. About 1 PM they arrived to re-install the satellite dish. It took a while to get it properly configured, but I never got a reading as high as they did. The signal meter went to 94. That is excellent. I had to call the company and they re-authorized it from their end. Now it works very well. We had a thundershower shortly after they finished and then Queen and I took a very short rest. At 4:30 I called the pool and found the water temperature to be 71, so I went and swam 10 laps then quit.

Tonight for supper Queen had chicken legs, cauliflower with a bit of cheese on it, green beans and cottage cheese. Then for dessert we had a rhubarb crisp she made earlier today with some ice cream on it. That with some coffee completed an excellent meal. We ate out in the bus stop and with Queen’s suggestion took an umbrella along out. We needed it. Another thunderstorm came upon us quickly. We did finish though.

Later the Lafayette Avenue Elliston’s arrived for a visit. George and Andy finished the work needed to get this computer running properly for the time the other one goes to their shop for refurbishing. It will be gone for a month. I will be using it to write this thing as I am now. Certainly I realize that more and more as I get involved with this web page the importance of their help. It is a very humbling experience to see how much they know and are willing to share their expertise with an old geezer who every day realizes that he is in this stuff way over his head. Everything comes harder now. I have to write a list of how to do it. I.E Step1, 2, etc. That is a bummer. If I were much younger I realize how much more I could be capable of learning. I am missing or forgetting many of the finer points so necessary to make this all work cohesively. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. It is broad with no turns. Golly!!!
Then we all sat around and gabbed. It was a great way to end the day. But we are really pooped out tonight. A hot shower will feel good tonight.

                                         
George                                   Andy, George, and Kathy                            Christine and Jason

Thursday, June 03, 2004 7:21 AM 59 deg art LVIA and 57.3 in the bus stop

The blood glucose this morning is 149 and the weight is 200. It looks like a lovely day this morning.

We will be going shopping.

<Much later> We got back about noon. The stores were not crowded and it wasn’t uncomfortable heat wise. The grazing at Giant was especially good. Queen has suggested that they didn’t get a chance to pull the sample trays back when they saw Bobby enter. Ha!!

We took a rest this afternoon then about 2:45 PM I went out and cut the grass. Now I hope Queen will cut my hair then I will go for a swim.

<5:05 PM> I am back. I sat and talked with George Ashman who was also there. He said several volumes of the original The Palmerton Press have been microfilmed and received by the library. I want to look at them when they have all arrived. Ones of particular interest I want to try to photograph with my digital camera and see if I can use them in some way here.
Today 10 laps were enough. The water had warmed all the way up to 72 deg. Ha!!

This too from Mike!!

“Ways To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity

 1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a
    hair dryer At Passing Cars. See if they slow down.

 2. Page yourself over the intercom.  Don't disguise your voice.

 3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

 4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

 5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.

  6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Sexual Favors"

  7. Finish All Your Sentences With "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

  8. Don't Use Any Punctuation

  9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

 10. Ask People What Sex They Are.  Laugh Hysterically After They answer.

 11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

 12. Sing Along At The Opera.

 13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme

 14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical sounds AllDay.

 15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

 16. Have Your Coworkers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock.

 17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won! I Won!"

 18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go." (I love it!)

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity:

20. Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile . . Its Called THERAPY”

This evening I went outside and took these pictures. Everything has been so beautiful this year. After supper we sat up in the tent and savored the beauty of the place. It is such a lovely quiet place to enjoy a nice time with my best girl. The little wren was singing up a storm. I presume those eggs will soon hatch.

                 
These are a yellow flower of some kind that we can’t identify.

This is Queen’s Peace Rose

Friday, June 04, 2004 7:18 AM 52 deg at LVIA and 50.9 in the bus stop.

This is a great looking day today. Butternut and I were out perusing the property. We saw Marlene and Lee Bollinger walk down Columbia Avenue. We exchanged waves. The weather forecast for Saturday stinks again with rain heavy at times on the docket!! <Groan>

This morning the blood glucose is 139 and the weight 200. I see Dr. Nicholson this morning to have my earwax removed. Perhaps that will improve the performance of my hearing aid. I hope so.

Then I must go to Radio Shack to get a ground rod and wire for the satellite dish. George tells me it is important to make sure that a static charge does not build up on the dish. The LNA doesn’t like static charges. So we will also be looking around elsewhere.

I got this from Bob Green
Interesting, isn't it?  Surprising would be more like it.
******************************************************************
”The buildings that AREN'T burning in Iraq. "They have a saying in the news business," Geraldo Rivera related this week. "Reporters don't report buildings that don't burn." And with that introduction, he told a TV audience about the story that is being systematically denied to our entire nation: the success story of post-Saddam Iraq.
Are we losing some soldiers each week?  Yes. Is there some frustration in the public about electricity and water service? Yes. Are some Saddam Hussein loyalists throughout the land, making trouble? Yes. Has this opened a window for some terrorist mischief?  Yes. But that's ALL we hear.  No wonder the country is in a mixed mood about Iraq.  If you hear about the buildings that are not burning, though, it is a different story indeed.
Rivera is no shill for George W. Bush.  But Bush, Condi Rice and Colin Powell together could not have been as effective as Geraldo was Thursday night on the Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes program.
"When I got to Baghdad, I barely recognized it," he began, comparing his just-completed trip to two others he made during and just after the battle to topple Saddam.  "You have over 30,000 Iraqi cops and militiamen already on the job.
This is four months after major fighting stopped. Can you imagine that kind of gearing up in this country?  Law and order is better; archaeological sites are being preserved; factories, schools are being guarded."  But what about the secondhand griping that the media have been so efficiently relating about power, water and other infrastructure?
"To say that Iraq is being rebuilt is not true," answered Rivera. "IRAQ IS BEING BUILT".   There was no infrastructure before; we are doing it.  I just think the good news is being underestimated and underreported."  At this juncture,  one must evaluate how to feel about the voices telling us only about the bad news in Iraq, whether from the mouths of news anchors or Democratic presidential hopefuls.  At best, they are underinformed.  At
worst, their one-sided assessments of post-Saddam Iraq are intentional falsehoods for obvious reasons.
If I hear one more person mock that "Mission Accomplished" banner beneath which President Bush thanked a shipload of sailors and Marines a few months back, I'm going to spit.  That was a reference to the ouster of Saddam's regime, and that mission was indeed accomplished, apparently to the great
chagrin of the American left.  No one said what followed would be easy or cheap, and that's why the dripping-water torture of the cost and casualty stories is so infuriating.
Remember we pay our soldiers whether they are in Iraq or in
Ft Bragg, North Carolina.
We should all mourn the loss of every fallen soldier.  But context cries out to be heard.  Our present news media is not performing this task.  As some dare to wonder if this might become a Vietnam-like quagmire, I'll remind whoever needs it that most of our 58,000 Vietnam war toll died between 1966 and 1972, during which we lost an average of about 8,000 per
year.  That's about 22 per day, every day, for thousands of days on end. Let us hear NO MORE Vietnam comparisons.  They do not equate.  What I hope to hear is more truth, even if we have to wrench it from the mouths of the media and political hacks predisposed to bash the remarkable job we are doing every day in what was not so long ago a totalitarian wasteland.  Local elections are under way across Iraq, Rivera reported.  "Where Kurds and Arabs have been battling for decades, things have been settling down. Administrator Paul Bremer is doing a great job."
So does Geraldo think his media colleagues are intentionally painting with one side of the brush?  "I'm not into conspiracy theories,..but there's just more bang for your buck when you report the GI who got killed rather than the 99 who didn't get killed, who make friends, who helped schedule elections, who helped shops get open for business,  who helped traffic flow again.
"The vast majority of Iraqis are very happy to have us there.  I would like to see a bit more balance."  This needs to be reported to the American Public who are presently being duped.  I expect the dominant media culture to nitpick and attack Bush, and Democrats to blast him with reckless abandon.  But when that leads to the willful exclusion of facts that would shine truthful light on the great work of the American armed forces, that level of malice plumbs new depths.”

I went for my swim this afternoon at 3:30 this afternoon. The water temperature was still 72 deg. I took my 10 laps and got out. George Ashman was there also and we went home together. He said earlier today he had been down at the intersection of RT. 248 and Hazard Road, cutting down weeds that were badly obscuring visibility at that spot.

I installed my ground wire and rod on the satellite dish this afternoon. I was telling him that I was halfway in the front window and had great difficulty moving one way or the other!! <Groan> This getting old stinks but so far it beats the alternative.

We had the Elliston’s here for supper with a Mac and Cheese dinner. It was excellent dinner. Not exactly a low carb meal though.

Well it is time to end this for the week and send it to the proofreader and censor, my Queen.

Please love one another. Mom and Bob [Queen and Bobby]

“If the automobile had followed the same development as the computer, a Rolls Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year killing everyone inside.”
Robert Cringely, InfoWorld

“Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately, it kills all its pupils.”
  Hector Berlioz