Off in the mountains . . .

. . . where there's no internet.
Be back later.

Today's my birthday

Happy Birthday to my cousin!

We pause . . .

oldest sister's birthday

She's ten years younger than I

Friday cat

twenty nine

Escorts

Nope, not about those escorts.
It's about the greyhounds of the sea.



The video takes some time, so allow for that.

I was reminded of the subject yesterday when I read the post from where I stole this cartoon.

You can read that post here.

those were fun times   . . . NOT!

Democrats, Joe 

They're Democrats!!!

Monday update

It is going to be brief.
I was away all weekend and now Sebastian is demanding a full share of attention this morning.
. . . as in he won't let me alone.

Besides, I have a full schedule through tomorrow, doing whatever it is I do.
Maybe Wednesday there'll be a Monday update.

Happy Thanksgiving to Canada!!!

there's something in the air

Saturday's late post

It's the early post, too.
One stop is all it takes.
Unless the donut shop is closed.
Then you're stuck with donuts from the convenience store.
So are you getting the drift now?
I have absolutely nothing really worthwhile to post about.
Well, that's a lie.
I just don't feel like posting about anything that requires me to think.
I haven't don't one of these don't stop typing for a minute posts since I can't remember when.
I kinda want to be anywhere else right now but I have committed to doing this for. . .

done

Hi Valorie!

One more thing

Four years ago, and a day, another blogger announced the end of his blog.
It's right here in black & white some strange colors.
Since then the liar has posted another 488 times.
He's also changed careers. . .

. . .and his softball team finally won a championship.

Yeah, Suldog.
I'm writing about him because, unlike most bloggers, I don't like writing about me.
What I like most about Sully is what you get at his place, when he isn't fabricating stories about quitting blogging, is the unvarnished truth.
And he doesn't use big words.

What this is is actually a smoke screen.
It is, as I mentioned earlier this week, a kind of anniversary.
I last mentioned it four years ago.
It appears that is the only other time it's been mentioned.

I wonder how long it will be before it happens again?

Thirteen years

Hint:
I started this blog when I stopped smoking.
So that isn't it.

E . B . F.

There's a point at which I don't let what is crowding my skull cross the invisible barrier onto the paper in front of me onto my keyboard, where it will then find its way to the eyes of those who might happen across this blog.

Mostly, it is related to opinions.
I have lots of opinions.
Many are not necessarily mainstream.
Others my say I'm not normal.
I should thank those others.
I don't necessarily condone normal.
I know a number of folks who consider themselves normal.
There's no way I want to be anything like them.

I don't express my opinion often because many others mistake it for judgment.
I judge very little.
You can tell I have expressed a judgment because, invariably, it is followed by, "How's that working for you?"

About the closest to an opinion you will get from me is an agreement with you when you express an opinion.

This post has been foisted upon you because yesterday I heard a brief talk given at a public ceremony, by the executive director of an NGO that raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
Suffice it to say there was a prolixity of statistics specifically created by this organization to justify its existence.
I won't detail what it was that raised my hackles because of my aversion to prolixity.

Extended Brain Fart

There's a new addition on the reading list.
Those with an affinity for history, particularly English History, may find it interesting.

What I did yesterday

Today is the ride home.

If that isn't the Oregon border at the top of the map, it's darn close. More proof that if San Francisco is in Northern California, we have to continue to tell others we're in the North State.

We drove down to Northern California yesterday.
For once there's someone else driving   . . .their own car.
I will tell you what I think of the Volkswagen Passat when this is over.

I mentioned on F/B about the passing of a shipmate (we actually only went through boot camp and 'A' School together) and he was an usher when I was married the first time.
It has been a 50+ year friendship.
His funeral mass was at 4:00pm yesterday.
The president of the Anderson Lions Club knew him and his wife from working for the US Post Office. . .   the pres has a newer car that doesn't need new tires.
The challenge is for me to stay awake when I don't drive.

Maybe I will have some stories to tell?

maybe not

The question now is. . .

. . .should I even bother to look back at 2014?

I mean, after all we're six days into the new year.
'Tis a whole entirely different celebration today.
To some it is the "real" Christmas, the Feast of the Epiphany.

I'm pretty sure I don't want to dwell on the past year, other than to acknowledge it was a year of loss.
Four persons who contributed to making the world a better place passed on.
They will be missed, one perhaps a little more than the others.

It is far better to look forward, to think positive thoughts, and to remember good times, of which there are many memories.

So. . .  what have you been doing for the past couple of days, Skip?
Short answer:  Just kicking back.
I watched a little TV.
New Years Eve there was the Gershwin Celebration, Live From Lincoln Center.
I forget what else and I went to bed before 11:00pm.
For the first time in years I wasn't awakened by some clown shooting off his shotgun at midnight.
New Years Day there was a parade.



My main interest was to see the Lions Clubs International float and to find out of the commentators will talk about what the Lions do or about how many navy beans and coconut leaves there are on the float.

We did the traditional split pea soup and corn bread for the first meal of the new year.
It is good and it is almost gone.
We had to do something because the usual Thursday evening meal was unavailable.

Friday I went Costco and TJ's.
It was not the best day for a stop at either place.

Saturday we did Thursday's meal.

Somewhere there was a survey of states visited.

Create Your Own Visited States Map

I've been through some of those not yet marked, but didn't stop.
Perhaps I will put them [the unmarked ones] on my Bucket List.
I already have Li'l Rhody in my sights for later this year.
The main question is about timing, other plans, and fly or drive?

Sunday was the first weekend of the month which meant rising early to prepare the monthly fundraising breakfast for the Frontier Senior Center.

Monday was spent thinking about what to post after the Twelve Days of Christmas [less the first three].

The balance of the time has been spent stirring the pot. . .   because, you know, it's less apt to boil over if you keep it stirred [wink,wink,nudge.nudge].

the answer is goats,

what's the question?

Tickle your @$$ with a feather?

What did you say?

Particularly nasty weather?

So there we were*. . .   Del, Bill, and I, standing in the foyer of the Student Union at CSM.
There had to be at least 60 people crowded into the space.
I would use a technical military term to describe how crowded is was, but shoulder to shoulder will have to do.

Understand the campus sits atop a hill overlooking just about the entire San Francisco Peninsula.
Whenever the wind blows, which is almost constantly, it affects the campus no matter what direction it is blowing,
On this particular day it is also raining. . .   a lot. . .   and the wind is from the west, which is the direction the exterior doors of the foyer face.
It is blowing so hard that only about half the raindrops even hit the ground.
The rest end up in the bay, about three miles to the east.
Visibility through the floor to ceiling windows was extremely limited, which was why there was a bottleneck in the foyer.
It didn't help that the only access to the Student Bookstore was via the stairway in the foyer.

A number of the students carried umbrellas, which were rendered useless by the wind.
It seemed like everyone was just standing there   . . .waiting for what?
Yes, the doors were difficult to open because the opened outward and the wind wasn't helping on bit.

About that time a young lady turned around and looked at Bill squarely in the eye, though she did have to tilt her head back because he was about a foot taller than she, and asked, "What did you say?"
He had more sense than to repeat what he'd said.


I am reminded of that story because of the conditions around here this morning.
The power has already been off once.
We've had about 2 1/2 inches of rain since 3pm yesterday.
The wind has been steady at about 35mph, with gusts to over 60mph.
An umbrella would be useless.
'Tis fit for neither man nor beast.

Emily Drive, on the right is obviously closed.

The picture, above, is only about 1/4 mile from here.
Fortunately it is also downhill from here.

someone tell the cat why 

we won't let him outside

*What’s the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story? A fairy tale starts with “Once upon a time” and a sea story starts with “So there I was”.
(that previous line paraphrases another blogger's tagline)

A musical interlude

because I can

More...

I was maybe just a little flip with my post yesterday.
A lot of folks don't understand how much Agricultural (or rural, if you prefer) California differs from Urban California.
This story, from the LA Times, goes a long way toward explanation.

I add that in my end of the Great Central Valley the excitement was not nearly as great as 125 miles south in the Twin Cities (Marysville & Yuba City) area.
But then we don't have the population they do.
Their excitement has been nothing compared with that of that of the southern part of the valley.

 
I wasn't aware, until yesterday morning, it was Derby Day at Epsom Downs.
If I hadn't written yesterday's post, I probably still wouldn't know.
I guess that makes me a lot like the folks I was writing about in that post.

The good news yesterday is I didn't have to concern myself with conflicting sporting events.
The Giants didn't play until last night . . .at the same time as the Hockey game.
Wait!
Why are they still playing hockey in June?
Then there's the NBA.
Why are they still playing basketball in June?
Those guys all need to get outside and get some fresh air.
Somebody should tell those folks the fighting season in Afghanistan is shorter.

BTW - the Giants won in walk-off fashion after being down 4 - 3 going into the bottom of the ninth.
In previous years it's been referred to as "torture."
I'm guessing it isn't this year because the G-men are 20 games above .500.

Have I mentioned, anywhere besides the reading list, I have read the first five books in the Game of Thrones series?
Had I known it was also a TV series, I might never have picked it up.
It have found it disturbing.
That is quite possibly because the character development is pretty well detailed and the author has made all of the characters flawed in such a manner that the reader can identify with many of them.
The odds are pretty good that I will continue reading the series.

You might be wondering now why I brought this up?
There is a character in the series whose every word of dialog I have memorized.

 it can even be

 used as an expletive

. . .and not many would

realize it

I've been challenged

Or is it, I've been goaded?
Nah... inspired is the word I want.
Now, the trick is to actually write something that will make some sense.
That means, dear reader, you will have to come back another time if you want to see what it is.
Then, I'm not sure it will be such a great story anyway.
The reason you have to wait is I only have a topic.
It is almost ancient history,.. almost!

It is what is sometimes called a sea story

I should have time to work on it later today,
...maybe some time tomorrow,
...and with any luck at all,
...you should see something by July,
...or Saturday.

maybe sooner

Life untethered ...the beginning

I think I mentioned [oh, hell! I know I said it] we weren't entirely Internet free while the wi-fi, or modem, or both [yeah, they've both been replaced] were on hiatus.
GS, PHG, and I all have iPhones.
They all can connect to the Internet.
They just do it better when there is a free wi-fi network available.
It helps when you know the password for the wi-fi network.

Blogging from an iPhone is not fun.
I have enough challenges using a real keyboard.
The keyboard on the iPhone ...and any other small portable device for that matter ...is almost torture.
Throw in auto-correct and it's almost comical [it is comical when someone else suffers].

But there were lots of other things to occupy our time.

And there was this 

click it so it biggers

...for almost two weeks

Hey kids!

Do you know what today is?

It falls on Friday this month

Yeah, that right.
But that's not what I am leading up to.

The first thing we do is get a name.
Here's mine:

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Rackham

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Then we celebrate for just about as long as possible.


Friday is always a good day to start.

Well, it's about time

Most days I get a post up before eight in the morning, sometimes even earlier.
Not this morning.
I slept in.
I didn't wake up until ten to seven.
Most days that wouldn't matter.
But it's Wednesday and we're back to the routine.
That means GS has to get up and moving around seven so we can be at the oncologist by nine.

There are some things I have to do before GS gets up or I will play hell getting them done.
Fortunately, they don't take long and aren't life or death issues... at least not in the short term.

Did I mention there's only one major issue I have with our house?
It has two bathrooms.
That means, since I live with two women, I don't have a bathroom.
I'm allowed to use their space.
OTOH, the medicine cabinet in the master bath is all mine.
I just can't get to it unless it before GS goes into the bathroom, or after she is done in there.

But enough about me...
GS's lab numbers are all good and they folks at the oncologist were pleased to see her after a two week absence.

I have to take heart in the little things this season.
It appears the Giants will not be defending the championship this season (HSWHTPFIHC).
The home run in the video was calculated at 476 feet.

The advantage to being late to the blog is there's ample opportunity to take in the happenings of the day before sticking my neck out.
Add to that the three hours extra West Coast folks have and you'd think we could come across as brilliant.

too bad it doesn't work like that

Shut up and listen works, though

The second one ever

I accept.

The Cranky old man gave it to me.
I am truly honored because I admire his forthrightness [I wasn't even sure that was a word until spellcheck said it was] and he's a daily blogger.
It's going right below the other award.
The one Suldog gave me.
I will treasure this award.
That's because I don't have to do anything to keep it.
Well, yes, I do.
I am supposed to make up and answer some questions about myself.
Here's one two.
Q. Do you remember what post you wrote that tells everything anyone would ever want to know?
A. No![that's a lie]
Q. Name two places you've been that you haven't mentioned in your blog.
A. Burlington, NJ and Pottstown, PA.
Now I'm supposed to pass this along to somebody else.
I am giving it to someone I really admire, who really puts a great deal of effort into his daily blog posts, who is very talented and extremely humble.
I won't embarrass him by telling you who he is.

I was going to write some other stuff today.
This is better.

thanks Joe 

Does anyone mind if we do music again

I heard this song on the radio yesterday...
...and I really, really like it.

There's a line I heard as

"...there are pie holes
you could see all the way to China through the assholes."

Do you think that's a mondegreen or do I have to visit an audiologist?

don't burst my bubble

Oooooooh!

Saw this on APOD... had to share.

better'n rectal effluent