New intersection, crown molding, ‘Sicko’, ‘Manufactured Dissent’, Kill-a-Watt,
‘La Vie En Rose’, ‘Trudell’, ‘Paris, J’Taime’ ‘Angela’
(posted from home)
(This post covers 14-21 November, 2007)
----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 21 November-
Today I spent the morning on the web and then had a medical appointment in the afternoon, a follow-up on my physical of several weeks ago. And I received the bill for my tick bite earlier this month ($450) with a note from the hospital: “we don’t know if you have insurance so please let us know if you do—and if you don’t please pay the full amount within 10 days”.
That evening we watched ‘Angela’, a Luc Besson film set in Paris and about a man who finds himself ready to commit suicide by jumping into the Seine and meets a woman about to jump from the same bridge. The film seems predictable but does have a few surprises which make it quite worthwhile.
----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 20 November-
Today I spent most of the day helping Labashi cut and install crown molding in our vestibule. The challenge here is doing everything at the top of two ladders in the vestibule and a stepladder on the main level. While we had our challenges, we did manage to finish the basic installation—i.e., we now have a continuous crown molding around the living/dining room, around the hallway to the bedrooms and back, and then around the double-high entry way. Thank goodness for Maypo’s compound miter saw.
Late in the day I again walked the four-mile course along the creek nearby home.
That evening we watched ‘Paris, J’Taime’, an interesting experimental piece. Here’s the formula: take famous directors and challenge them to make a five-minute film set in a specific, recognizable section of Paris and make a statement about some aspect of love in Paris. The experiment succeeds. Roeper calls it one of the best films of the year. I’m not sure I’d go that far but do recommend it.
-----------------------------------------------------
Monday, 19 November-
I continued with planning for the Everglades trip today and did some research on flights in case my brothers want to join me. Labashi and I also spent a few hours on some financial planning as we near the end of this tax year.
And though it was cold and wet today, I had to get out so I walked four miles along the roads near home.
That evening we watched ‘La Vie En Rose’, the bio-pic of Edith Piaf’s life. I’d say this one’s probably a gem for fans of Edith but for those of us who don’t know her music well, I had the feeling we missed many references made by the film.
Because we got an early start on ‘La Vie En Rose’ and the movies were due back the next day, we also watched ‘Trudell’, a documentary about AIM (American Indian Movement) icon John Trudell. For anyone interested in the background of the American Indian Movement, this is a treasure-trove of footage of that time.
-----------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 18 November-
I spent much of the day on the web planning part of my trip this winter. I’m hoping to take our fishing boat and perhaps later my kayak into the Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades. I read a most of the planning materials and found a web site with some good info about the campsites—including accurate GPS fixes. Labashi and I were on the south end of the Waterway in a rental boat and it took us several passes to locate the South Joe River chickee so I’ll be glad to have the fixes. Want to see where South Joe River chickee is? Go to Google maps and zoom in on south Florida, specifically that big green area—the Everglades. Now zoom in on the southwest portion of the Everglades, you will see Whitewater Bay appear. Zoom in on the river to the south and west of Whitewater Bay to the 2000-foot scale. You should see the words ‘Campground- South Joe River Chickee- Backcountry Campground’. Now, in the upper right corner of the page, click on ‘Hybrid’ for a satellite photo. Continue zooming in to the 200-foot scale. See that odd-looking white item at the top of the little bay above the campground label? That’s the South Joe River chickee, i.e., a dock-like platform which has two roofed pavilions for campers to pitch their tents. At full zoom you can see the two roofs over the tent platforms. They are connected by a wooden walkway, the porta-jon at the turn in the walkway (a shadow appears to cut off the walkway from the lower platform). The satellite photo happened to catch a boat nearby (I wonder if that was Labashi and me!!). Note that the chickee is not where the sign is. THAT’s why you need a good GPS position when you are out there — maps may not be accurate enough.
That evening Labashi and I watched ‘Manufactured Dissent’, a documentary purporting to expose Michael Moore’s lies and unfair tactics. We liked seeing the background info on Michael Moore but the expose’ didn’t convince. We all know he’s bending the truth to make his points. Does anyone believe he really thought he’d get treatment for 9/11 workers at Gitmo? Sometimes I forgive Michael his excesses, sometimes I don’t. But I’m glad he’s out there. And I’m glad the ‘Manufactured Dissent’ folks are doing their thing too—I just don’t think it achieves what the Moore-haters think it does.
-----------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 17 November-
Today I drove the hour-plus to my brother’s house to visit the indoor shooting range nearby. I wanted to rent two pistols I’ve not tried yet, just to give them a try and I was hoping my brother would like to come along. I stopped by his house only to learn he and a friend were installing a water line. Silly me, I thought I’d drive by and say ‘howdy’ on the way to the range. But before I knew it I had a shovel in hand and spent the next couple of hours backfilling the waterline. (Maypo can be very persuasive when he wants to!). Afterwards we cleaned up and headed to the range, arriving at 1610 to be greeted by a sign saying they closed early today—at 1600. ARGGG!!!!!
But we took those lemons and made some nice, tasty lemonade. We drove to the public range in the Michaux State Forest and had the place to ourselves for about an hour as the sun set and darkness came in. This turned out to be a good lesson for both of us in sighting targets in lowering light.
On the way out to the hard road our headlights picked up a man and two boys walking the dirt road in our direction. They seemed a little reticent so we asked if everything was okay. Dad had apparently misjudged the return distance for their afternoon hike so we gave them a ride to the campground.
Maypo and I had a fine repast of wings and a beer or two before I headed home.
Back home, Labashi and I watched ‘Sicko’, Michael Moore’s indictment of the US health care industry.
-----------------------------------------------------
Friday, 16 November-
Today the UPS man brought a recent purchase—a Kill-a-Watt meter. This electrical meter provides an easy way to assess electrical loads around the house and determine which equipment may need to be updated or used minimally. I want to know, for instance, what my antique dehumidifier is costing me. Do I stick with this works-OK one or is it time to spring for a high-efficiency model? I’ve wanted something like this for quite a while but only now found one for around $20 (on Amazon) to avoid the $50 list price. This will also help me assess draw on the inverter I use in Mocha Joe.
-----------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 15 November-
Today I had an early appointment with the cardiologist to review the results of my recent stress test. While the EKG portion of the test was normal, the graphic portion shows two areas of concern, i.e., two areas of the heart where blood profusion through the heart muscle appears to be lower than normal. The cardiologist offered two alternatives: a catheterization procedure or a second stress test, this one with echocardiogram. I decided to go with the latter and that’s now scheduled for late December.
That evening I went to my local indoor shooting range for a special event: ‘Glock night’. This event provides the opportunity to try out different models of Glock pistols at a reasonable cost. For $5 per gun and $3-6 for a ten-pack of cartridges (depending on caliber) you could try any model. I tried three models, a full-size, compact, and sub-compact and found the full-size models a better fit to my hand.
-----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 14 November-
Today the township fixed the intersection at the front corner of our property. I had called the roads supervisor in early September to ask him to put this intersection on his list to be reviewed for re-engineering and repair. The corner of the intersection next to our yard has sunk down a few inches over the years and we’ve historically had problems with trucks cutting the corner and leaving deep tracks in our yard. As we did our new lawn this Fall a low-boy truck took the turn and went a good foot into our yard—right through newly-planted grass. The problem really stems from the intersection being poorly designed— a longish truck-trailer unit just can’t make the turn even after swinging as wide as possible. The roads supervisor came by after my call, agreed it needed work and said he should be able to get to it the following week. That didn’t happen and several weeks went by but he did call to say he hadn’t forgotten about us. This morning the trucks showed up about 0800 and by mid-afternoon the job was done. We now have a more-gently-curved corner on the intersection, new asphalt correcting the sunken area, and a new curb in place to protect our lawn from water run-off. Thanks, guys!
While the road guys were doing that, Labashi and I continued work on the crown molding, this time in the hallway. Since I’m only needed for those portions of the project where two sets of hands are needed, I spent my spare time updating the blog.
======== end of 21 November post ====
‘La Vie En Rose’, ‘Trudell’, ‘Paris, J’Taime’ ‘Angela’
(posted from home)
(This post covers 14-21 November, 2007)
----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 21 November-
Today I spent the morning on the web and then had a medical appointment in the afternoon, a follow-up on my physical of several weeks ago. And I received the bill for my tick bite earlier this month ($450) with a note from the hospital: “we don’t know if you have insurance so please let us know if you do—and if you don’t please pay the full amount within 10 days”.
That evening we watched ‘Angela’, a Luc Besson film set in Paris and about a man who finds himself ready to commit suicide by jumping into the Seine and meets a woman about to jump from the same bridge. The film seems predictable but does have a few surprises which make it quite worthwhile.
----------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 20 November-
Today I spent most of the day helping Labashi cut and install crown molding in our vestibule. The challenge here is doing everything at the top of two ladders in the vestibule and a stepladder on the main level. While we had our challenges, we did manage to finish the basic installation—i.e., we now have a continuous crown molding around the living/dining room, around the hallway to the bedrooms and back, and then around the double-high entry way. Thank goodness for Maypo’s compound miter saw.
Late in the day I again walked the four-mile course along the creek nearby home.
That evening we watched ‘Paris, J’Taime’, an interesting experimental piece. Here’s the formula: take famous directors and challenge them to make a five-minute film set in a specific, recognizable section of Paris and make a statement about some aspect of love in Paris. The experiment succeeds. Roeper calls it one of the best films of the year. I’m not sure I’d go that far but do recommend it.
-----------------------------------------------------
Monday, 19 November-
I continued with planning for the Everglades trip today and did some research on flights in case my brothers want to join me. Labashi and I also spent a few hours on some financial planning as we near the end of this tax year.
And though it was cold and wet today, I had to get out so I walked four miles along the roads near home.
That evening we watched ‘La Vie En Rose’, the bio-pic of Edith Piaf’s life. I’d say this one’s probably a gem for fans of Edith but for those of us who don’t know her music well, I had the feeling we missed many references made by the film.
Because we got an early start on ‘La Vie En Rose’ and the movies were due back the next day, we also watched ‘Trudell’, a documentary about AIM (American Indian Movement) icon John Trudell. For anyone interested in the background of the American Indian Movement, this is a treasure-trove of footage of that time.
-----------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 18 November-
I spent much of the day on the web planning part of my trip this winter. I’m hoping to take our fishing boat and perhaps later my kayak into the Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades. I read a most of the planning materials and found a web site with some good info about the campsites—including accurate GPS fixes. Labashi and I were on the south end of the Waterway in a rental boat and it took us several passes to locate the South Joe River chickee so I’ll be glad to have the fixes. Want to see where South Joe River chickee is? Go to Google maps and zoom in on south Florida, specifically that big green area—the Everglades. Now zoom in on the southwest portion of the Everglades, you will see Whitewater Bay appear. Zoom in on the river to the south and west of Whitewater Bay to the 2000-foot scale. You should see the words ‘Campground- South Joe River Chickee- Backcountry Campground’. Now, in the upper right corner of the page, click on ‘Hybrid’ for a satellite photo. Continue zooming in to the 200-foot scale. See that odd-looking white item at the top of the little bay above the campground label? That’s the South Joe River chickee, i.e., a dock-like platform which has two roofed pavilions for campers to pitch their tents. At full zoom you can see the two roofs over the tent platforms. They are connected by a wooden walkway, the porta-jon at the turn in the walkway (a shadow appears to cut off the walkway from the lower platform). The satellite photo happened to catch a boat nearby (I wonder if that was Labashi and me!!). Note that the chickee is not where the sign is. THAT’s why you need a good GPS position when you are out there — maps may not be accurate enough.
That evening Labashi and I watched ‘Manufactured Dissent’, a documentary purporting to expose Michael Moore’s lies and unfair tactics. We liked seeing the background info on Michael Moore but the expose’ didn’t convince. We all know he’s bending the truth to make his points. Does anyone believe he really thought he’d get treatment for 9/11 workers at Gitmo? Sometimes I forgive Michael his excesses, sometimes I don’t. But I’m glad he’s out there. And I’m glad the ‘Manufactured Dissent’ folks are doing their thing too—I just don’t think it achieves what the Moore-haters think it does.
-----------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 17 November-
Today I drove the hour-plus to my brother’s house to visit the indoor shooting range nearby. I wanted to rent two pistols I’ve not tried yet, just to give them a try and I was hoping my brother would like to come along. I stopped by his house only to learn he and a friend were installing a water line. Silly me, I thought I’d drive by and say ‘howdy’ on the way to the range. But before I knew it I had a shovel in hand and spent the next couple of hours backfilling the waterline. (Maypo can be very persuasive when he wants to!). Afterwards we cleaned up and headed to the range, arriving at 1610 to be greeted by a sign saying they closed early today—at 1600. ARGGG!!!!!
But we took those lemons and made some nice, tasty lemonade. We drove to the public range in the Michaux State Forest and had the place to ourselves for about an hour as the sun set and darkness came in. This turned out to be a good lesson for both of us in sighting targets in lowering light.
On the way out to the hard road our headlights picked up a man and two boys walking the dirt road in our direction. They seemed a little reticent so we asked if everything was okay. Dad had apparently misjudged the return distance for their afternoon hike so we gave them a ride to the campground.
Maypo and I had a fine repast of wings and a beer or two before I headed home.
Back home, Labashi and I watched ‘Sicko’, Michael Moore’s indictment of the US health care industry.
-----------------------------------------------------
Friday, 16 November-
Today the UPS man brought a recent purchase—a Kill-a-Watt meter. This electrical meter provides an easy way to assess electrical loads around the house and determine which equipment may need to be updated or used minimally. I want to know, for instance, what my antique dehumidifier is costing me. Do I stick with this works-OK one or is it time to spring for a high-efficiency model? I’ve wanted something like this for quite a while but only now found one for around $20 (on Amazon) to avoid the $50 list price. This will also help me assess draw on the inverter I use in Mocha Joe.
-----------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 15 November-
Today I had an early appointment with the cardiologist to review the results of my recent stress test. While the EKG portion of the test was normal, the graphic portion shows two areas of concern, i.e., two areas of the heart where blood profusion through the heart muscle appears to be lower than normal. The cardiologist offered two alternatives: a catheterization procedure or a second stress test, this one with echocardiogram. I decided to go with the latter and that’s now scheduled for late December.
That evening I went to my local indoor shooting range for a special event: ‘Glock night’. This event provides the opportunity to try out different models of Glock pistols at a reasonable cost. For $5 per gun and $3-6 for a ten-pack of cartridges (depending on caliber) you could try any model. I tried three models, a full-size, compact, and sub-compact and found the full-size models a better fit to my hand.
-----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 14 November-
Today the township fixed the intersection at the front corner of our property. I had called the roads supervisor in early September to ask him to put this intersection on his list to be reviewed for re-engineering and repair. The corner of the intersection next to our yard has sunk down a few inches over the years and we’ve historically had problems with trucks cutting the corner and leaving deep tracks in our yard. As we did our new lawn this Fall a low-boy truck took the turn and went a good foot into our yard—right through newly-planted grass. The problem really stems from the intersection being poorly designed— a longish truck-trailer unit just can’t make the turn even after swinging as wide as possible. The roads supervisor came by after my call, agreed it needed work and said he should be able to get to it the following week. That didn’t happen and several weeks went by but he did call to say he hadn’t forgotten about us. This morning the trucks showed up about 0800 and by mid-afternoon the job was done. We now have a more-gently-curved corner on the intersection, new asphalt correcting the sunken area, and a new curb in place to protect our lawn from water run-off. Thanks, guys!
While the road guys were doing that, Labashi and I continued work on the crown molding, this time in the hallway. Since I’m only needed for those portions of the project where two sets of hands are needed, I spent my spare time updating the blog.
======== end of 21 November post ====
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:47
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