Science matters

I am very interested in science and scientific matters, although my mind doesn't exactly run that way.  When I was in high school, liking science studies was the kiss of death for a teen aged girl, unless you were smart enough to get a college scholarship, or your parents were wealthy enough to send you to nursing school.  Most girls I knew went into clerical work, and I don't like to boast, but I excelled in it.  

I've always wished I knew a little more about science than I do, but I watch the few programs that come along with a true scientific theme:  I don't consider "How it's Made" to be real science.  But science can often come up with something to give you a reason to laugh, or to shake your head in wonder.  I did both when I read the following headline on LiveScience, an email I get every week.  The article says "Size of wineglass affects how much you drink!"  Well, duh, I could have told you that since I finished high school (with no scientific education to speak of).  The scientist who discovered this gem probably got a federal grant, and no doubt has published a paper in some scientific journal.

Another article says that fish recognize human faces.  That is no doubt why fish swim up to where I'm throwing a baited hook into the water.  I know they are communicating with each other - "Let's have some fun with her.  Steal the bait and run!"

There are a couple of terms I hear frequently when I watch science shows, including Youtube videos, or read scientific articles:  "SINGULARITY",  and  "EVENT HORIZON".  I've looked up the definitions often enough, but they still make little sense to me, and I think the same idea could probably be better expressed by a word or phrase that has been in our language and has fairly common usage for years, rather than come up with these two dumb-sounding words.

I went to Costco this morning and bought two more photo albums.  It is now becoming more clear to me how I want to organize the photos, although I should probably go through the remaining hundreds of pictures or I'll be having to rearrange the ones already in albums.  I have a small Brother label maker which I love to use but rarely have a need for, so I'm enjoying making labels for the albums. 

I also bought four colorful throw pillows for the outdoor furniture.  Right now I have them on my couch and may decide to keep them indoors.  I've often commented about the dirt and dust that always seems to blow straight toward my house and yard.  It isn't just my imagination, as I can tell by looking at my neighbors on either side of me - for one thing all the leaves and dust settle in front of my place and no where else.  I might consider getting a lattice divider to set up across my driveway to block some of the dirt, although a divider probably doesn't fall within the Park's rules.

I'm happy to say I'm back to feeling pretty good.  I still have a couple of little hamburgers left which I'll finish off this evening, although I don't feel my energy returning as much as I'd hoped.

They're back!

I haven't seen anything strange in the skies for several weeks or maybe months lately.  Today when I was walking over to the laundry room and looked up, I saw 3 perfectly parallel and perfectly spaced streams in the sky - they were so perfect I am sure they weren't from commercial planes.  The streams were all the same width and if left by a plane they hardly would have been flying 3 abreast.  I forgot to get my camera as soon as I got back home, and even forgot to look up again.  Later all I could see were some spider web-looking clouds in the area where the streams had been.  So I wonder if we are being sprayed and if so, with what.  I need to start looking up more often.

I got two baskets of laundry done, including the pillowcases.  I just didn't feel like taking the sheets off, and will have to do that tomorrow.  I probably should buy another set of sheets but it seems like a waste for just one person.  I have made do with just one set of sheets for years now.

I've accomplished a little today with the photo sorting.  I have some large, good quality photo albums and realized they are as good for storage as keeping them in a box.  I have a complete album of photos from trips to Germany which covers 3 separate trips.  I also found all my photos taken in El Salvador and put them together in an album.  I think I will do the same for my Appalachian Trail pictures and other camping trips.  I will need to get a storage unit that will hold the heavy albums, but for now I am really moving along - not very fast - but at a good enough clip for me. 

I've added a 5-day forecast for Alaska to the page where I have Sacramento, NY, and Philadelphia.  Tomorrow will be 87 here, 67 in AK.  I could deal with 67 very easily!

I have considered writing a little rant about abbreviations, and I think I'll do it now.  Where and when, and on whose authority did these collections of capital letters come to be universally known, except to me.  I kept seeing POTUS, SCOTUS, BREXIT, and other such ridiculous combinations and finally figured them out, except I want to know what is so difficult about saying "The President", or "The Supreme Court".   BREXIT took me a while longer, and although no one has ever confirmed it to me, I think it means Britain Exit from the European Union.  It seems to be totally dumb to me.  And then there are the people who write in shorthand, using R for "are", U for "you", etc.  I'm sorry, I think it's a shame that no one can write in "longhand" these days, and now they forget how to spell.  Don't mind me, this is just my Gemini rising.  (Gemini is the rising sign in my horoscope, and it's the reason I can't say anything in just a few words, get upset about poor grammar and spelling, and I'd better quit now before I really piss someone off!  (And yes, I'm aware that my grammar isn't always correct.)

Chiropractor visit

I went to my appointment this morning with a list of questions, but forgot to ask about the lemon water.  I did mention that I have been plagued with indigestion and heartburn, and when he checked the nerves leading to the digestive tract he made a couple of very sharp corrections.  I am keeping my fingers crossed, but I haven't had a problem since.  This had become constant, but as soon as I left his office I noticed an immediate difference.  I had decided to use lemon juice in a glass of water every other morning, and will work my way back to every morning if I don't have problems.  Getting into chiropractic care was the best thing I've ever done for myself!

I might add that his office submits the proper forms to Medicare and I have already gotten several checks (one fairly sizeable) in return.  I would consider my money well spent even if I didn't get the Medicare break.

I have to be grateful for every little positive thing, so I am grateful that the weather isn't near the century mark as it has been.  After tomorrow's predicted 91, we should be having a few days in the upper 80's.

I stopped on my way home today and bought a pound of organic grass fed beef.  I cooked several small burgers and ate two for lunch.  I thought I would have them for dinner, but think I will see how I feel later.  I may be having an evening snack of a hamburger tonight.  

The heat has really reduced my appetite and I have seen the scale going down a pound every few days.  I have probably lost 3+ pounds during the current heat wave, and my problems with indigestion.  Three pounds may not sound like much, but I don't have it to lose.  I put on a loose, long dress yesterday that fit me last year, and realized I shouldn't be wearing it.  It would be a major sewing alteration to take up the straps, and I have a problem holding it up and in place!  Now that's pathetic.

I need to get back to the gym and at least walk on the treadmill in the mornings.  I've really been lax, but have just felt such a lack of energy and motivation I haven't been able to get moving.

I hope all of you in the southwest can stay cool, and those in Florida, the Carolinas etc., stay safe.  The best to everyone!

Long Day

I got an early start Saturday morning, when Jeanne and I took several bags of items to donate to the homeless.  These items were taken to the Girl Scout store; the Girl Scout troops in Sacramento have an intensive drive every year called "Shoes4Sacramento", and these are distributed to homeless and needy children.  The Girl Scout Store takes all donations at their store and will make sure the are given to the needy.  It was so interesting to hear about the distribution process; the Sacramento Sheriff has a warehouse for collection of items for homeless men.  Women's donations are transferred to W.E.A.V.E, (Women Escaping a Violent Environment); kids shoes are taken to various distribution points.  The woman described going to schools where soccer teams, swim teams, basketball, baseball (and other sports) are being formed, but the children don't have the proper footware.  Can you imagine a poor little kid who would like to get on a team or try a sport but don't have the equipment and shoes they need.  Some don't even have flip-flops so they can't go into swim pool areas!  It just breaks my heart.

From there we went back to Jeannie's house for a little while, and then drove to Costco.  We put all the cold stuff in my fridge and then spent a couple of hours at American River Brewing Company.  They have remodeled the patron area and it now looks more like a sports bar.  I liked the original place better, but then I'm not their target patron who wants at least one TV on every wall tuned to various sports.  I really enjoyed the beer though - it's as good as ever.  

We left the brewery and they wanted to go to Whole Foods; I stayed in the van with Arianna since she didn't want to go into the store.  I really didn't want to go in either, so she entertained me for a while.  I was totally worn out when I got home, had a Klondike bar for my supper, and went to bed early!

I think I have written that my internet connection has been terrible.  When I mentioned it to Donald he told me to reset the modem - so this morning I just turned off the power bar for half a minute, and then turned it back on.  The connection is working perfectly, and a check of the TV shows it was reset successfully as well.  I am so happy I didn't have to deal with ATT to get this back on track.

Friday musings

I think the heat is melting the electric lines - I just lost my TV service, and the internet has been running slow for a few days now, and getting worse.

I've officially acknowledged summer and got out some white capris to wear today.  Those of you from the east will understand (at least those in my age category) that you never wear white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day.  Californians don't have rules about those kinds of things.

Do any of you ladies (and perhaps some gents) remember when you were a little kid and got hold of a pair of scissors and cut your hair?  Usually it was the bangs smack dab in the middle of the forehead where it is most noticeable.  I did it at least once as a child, and now I'm at it again as a senior!  I have let my hair grow, partly because I don't have a nearby hairdresser, so I'm trimming my own bangs every week or so.  To tell the truth, they look pretty bad, but when I try to fix them it just makes it worse.  Life goes full circle!

I don't remember Jeannie cutting her hair, but I recall finding Mike and her outside on the back steps, him with the scissors in his hand.  He flashed me a beatific smile and said "I cut her hair.  Isn't it beautiful?"  My inclination was to be furious but he was so darn cute and sincere I probably laughed.  He was probably around 4 at the time, so she would have been 2.  I wonder what makes kids do something like that.

I know the weather has a lot to do with how I feel, but I think there is something else that makes me so lethargic.  I really don't like red meat all that much, but eat fish, vegetables, and chicken once in a while.  In the past when my energy drops really low I start craving a hamburger.  I cook up a pound of ground beef into about 6 small hamburgers, and eat them throughout the day, and that has always been the "cure".  I don't have any ground beef on hand, so I think I will buy some this weekend and see if it helps.  I also notice that I felt better in many ways when I added lemon to my morning glass of water, although I don't have the indigestion that plagued me.  I should try it again for one week on , one week off, and so on, and see if that works. 

The swamp cooler is working valiantly but has a difficult time keeping up with 100+ temperatures.  I have one fan aimed at the kitchen to keep it bearable, and the small personal fan would keep me a little cooler except that it "travels" no matter where I set it or how I prop it up. 

My oldest grandson is Joshua in New York, and he will be 10 tomorow.  Autumn won't be 10 until December.  I can't believe how fast the years go by.

Wilted in the heat!

I feel like a poor sad droopy flower, long past its prime, and wilting in the heat.  The only thing I've been able to muster up the energy for today was to go to the grocery for bananas and a box of Klondike bars.  I just ate one of the ice cream bars and that might well be my supper for tonight.  I was planning to cook, but . . . 

Interesting that I should have mentioned my still being able to drive under certain conditions.  This morning I received an invitation to attend a Pow Wow in South Dakota in September, and the wheels started turning.  I did a quick search on Mapquest and discovered it is possible to drive from here to there on local and state routes, and completely stay off interstates.  In my decluttering frenzy I got rid of most of my maps, figuring if I ever needed them I could always go to AAA and get updated replacements.  I did keep a US map and the California sectional maps, and I think this trip would be doable.  

The problem is that I know I wouldn't enjoy the driving experience like I used to.  I immediately thought of Ara, my granddaughter, driving with me, except she is on the east coast and I haven't addressed the logistics of her getting here, driving halfway back across the country, returning to CA, and then returning home.  It's just a thought and i probably won't go, but it is tempting.  I've been to one other PowWow in the 1990's, in the wilds of New Jersey.  Don't scoff, part of NJ is extremely wild!  The Pow Wow was hosted by the Lenni Lenape Indians, and it was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.  

Oh well, if I ever lose my ability to dream then I'm done for!

I received word that one of my aunts, who is also my godmother, passed away in the early hours this morning.  She was 95 and was the next in line to my Mom.  There are three surviving siblings, which is a testament to their good genes!
 

Short shopping trip

I drove to B&N to return the radio I bought last week; then went to nearby Best Buy.  They had exactly what I want, well almost exactly.  I still can't read what all the buttons are for, but the radio has dials that actually turn for volume and to tune in a station.  I checked and can get NPR, so I'm satisfied.  It's a miniature boombox, less than half the price of the model I returned.

As I mentioned in a reply to a comment yesterday, I want to reduce my internet connection time although I'm not sure if I can replace it with anything but a Verizon jet pack, like I had several years ago.  I found out from the Park manager than AT&T has a lock on this entire mobile home park (although you can get service from Direct TV and Dish, both of which I understand belong to ATT.  When I cancel my TV service I will see what they can offer me for internet service alone, although they talk around in circles and will probably try to convince me to add services I don't want to get a "bundle price".  It is disgusting to me that businesses can thrive on trickery and outright lies, but many of them do.

You may be wondering how I can drive when I can't see the writing on a piece of paper in front of my nose.  I can say that my vision of the expanse in front of me is still fairly good.  So driving is no problem (yet) although like many older folks I try to limit my driving to times of day with less traffic, stay off the interstates, leave enough space between me and the car in front of me to be able to react if necessary.  I never drive with the radio or CD's playing because I don't want the distraction.  So for now I feel I am ok to drive, but as soon as the situation changes I will turn in my keys.

My work on photo sorting continues.  I have  3 x 5 cards for separating events, periods of time, etc. but they are temporary.  I'm still not happy with anything I've come up with for sorting - strict chronological order doesn't always make sense.  So I'll continue to go through the pictures and group them where I can.  I hope Jeannie can give me her ideas on it.  I will eventually print up a list of categories and sub-sections to make pictures easier to find.  One photo storage box is filled (supposedly holds 1100 photos), and I'm working on the second box, and may have to order another box or two.  I have a number of pictures in albums that I plan to leave intact.  Now I have several empty shoe boxes that formerly held pictures and are too sturdy to just throw away, but I haven't figured out a use for them yet.