Flu, Chrome, another round of dieting, ‘Johnny Got His Gun’, ‘Bonk’, van leak repair, ‘Burn After Reading’,

(posted from home)
(This post covers 15 – 22 May, 2009)

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Friday, 22 May-

I had to buzz in to the Home Depot again to get more silicone seal to finish the van. I also picked up some Tazo Iced Tea at Starbucks since it’s an ingredient in an upcoming recipe.
Back home I finished up the van and cleaned everything up, then got back to researching questions about the diet.
That evening I went for a walk but only for three miles. The road I normally walk is now covered in stone as part of a resurfacing project and the passing cars covered me with dust.
That evening we watched what is becoming our standard Friday-night lineup. ‘Smart Talk’ on PBS had an interesting interview with Linda Thompson, the woman who upset Harrisburg mayor Steve Reed in the Democratic primary. In her TV interview after the election, she seemed spacey but she did well tonight.
Bill Moyers then had a good show about nationalized health care and the single-payer option which government is failing to pursue. And Now had an interesting show on the rehabilitation of terrorists in Saudi Arabia.

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Thursday, 21 May-

After working with the diet book some more, we decided we needed protein powder. We spent an hour or so researching exactly what we want and then I rode in to the GNC in the Galleria Mall for it.
That afternoon I started my project to find and fix the roof leak. On our last visit to Detroit we had a few days of heavy rains and found a wet curtain. Apparently there was a small drip at the largest window on the left side. I couldn’t figure out how it could be coming down from the roof when I had sealed it well previously. But there’s a decorative trim over the roof-to-van joint which has a vinyl strip. I had sealed the bottom of that strip but not the top. And while sealing the top, I think I spotted the real problem.
Now, I believe the problem isn’t the roof joint but the top of the window seal. I sealed it with an excellent-quality silicone rubber sealant but ran out of sealant about a foot from the end.
I also took a few minutes to put another coating of rubber-roof ‘paint’ around the van’s vent bubble to (hopefully) prolong the life of the sealant.
That evening we watched the Coen film ‘Burn After Reading’ with Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Richard Jenkins. It’s a strange story of attempted blackmail against a low-level CIA analyst by two utter morons. This one wasn’t the Coen brother’s best effort. It was amusing, perhaps even ‘funny’. But for some reason it didn’t have the spark of genius that was ‘Fargo’ or ‘Blood Simple’. Perhaps the extras give us a clue. The brothers tell us they wrote the movie for each of the celebrities because they thought it would be interesting to see them play off each other. It thus seems more like an exercise than an inspired story.

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Wednesday, 20 May-

The diet is going very well. I’ve lost five pounds in two days! I spent the morning continuing to research info about the diet and working in the office. That evening I rode the Concours in to Home Depot to pick up a silicone seal cartridge for tomorrow.
That evening we watched the rest of the ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ extras.
I also finished the book ‘Bonk’. It’s a history of sex researchers and presents many incredible facts and opinions. The author has an irreverent tone and manages to keep the subject light—just the right mix.


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Tuesday, 19 May-

We voted in the primary elections today. It sounds simple but to have any idea who you’re voting for takes some research. Labashi really digs in and prints off a ream of information for me and that’s a big help.
Before going to the poll today I thought I’d try the state’s voting simulator. It worked fine at first. But on a whim I tried the Espanol version and soon ran into a problem. When you select ‘Write In’ on the English version, a keyboard pops up for you to put in your candidate. But on the Spanish version, you select ‘Escribalo Aqui’ but the keyboard doesn’t appear. You can’t write in a candidate or learn how the write in process works from that point on. That’s incredible!!!! With all the concerns about the validity of electronic voting, you’d think this bug would have been found.
At the polling place I received another shock. The sample ballot posted outside the door was the wrong one. It was the one for Wrightsville. And only the Republican sample was posted.
When I asked why only the Republican version was posted, one of the helpful volunteers said ‘That’s probably because there are a lot more Republicans than Democrats who vote here’. What a concept that is! You only provide the helpful sample ballot for the Republicans!
I was so shocked I asked if Democrats were even welcome here. She realized she had made a mistake and asked someone else, who helpfully explained “That’s what they gave us. And that wasn’t the only thing wrong!!” That pretty much exploded my head.
Other than that, the voting process went fine.
That afternoon I walked-four and that evening we watched some of the extras on the ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ DVD where we learned Dalton Trumbo’s history. Interesting guy!

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Monday, 18 May-

This morning we started the new diet. Our last go-round of the Protein Power diet was an eye-opener on how easy it is to lose on an ultra-low carb diet. I think we made the mistake on our last round, though, of limiting our variety far too much. Day after day I’d have the same breakfast (Stauffer’s Chipped Beef) and grew tired of it. We also eventually missed pizza and pastas.
We’re approaching it a bit differently this time. We’re using the menu in “The 30-day Low Carb Diet Solution”. By sticking to this plan we can get some weight off and then at the end of 30 days elect to continue as is or transition to substitutions. In other words, we don’t have to wade through all the mind-boggling array of possibilities to come up with what we’re going to have for the next meal.
Today I also continued working on the sorting old statements, paid bills and caught up the offline blog. In the afternoon I rode the Concours in to town (mostly for a ride) though it was a very windy day. Since the repair of the exhaust system, I’ve been really enjoying my time on the bike.
I also walked my four-mile course today.
That evening we watched ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ with Timothy Bottoms and Jason Robards. We saw this one back in the Seventies and I’ve had it on my Netflix wish list for more than a year. It’s the story of a young World-War I soldier who loses his arms, legs, hearing, and face to a mortar explosion, yet is kept alive in a hospital for years afterward. He’s thought to have no mind but begins communicating with his caretakers.
Recommended! (And I see on RT that a new version of it recently came out).

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Sunday, 17 May-

Labashi and I spent much of today food shopping. It’s time for us to go on a diet again. I generally lose ten or fifteen pounds when we travel and that was true for my Florida trip this winter but I’ve regained it (and we’re not planning a long trip this year until Fall).
We had tried an Atkins-style diet years ago and was very impressed with how it brought blood pressure and cholesterol counts into the good part of the range. On my recent doctor’s visit my blood pressure was higher than expected.
I walked my four-mile out-and-back course today and that evening we watched the “Survivor-Tocantins” finale. We were glad to see ‘JT’ win. And it looks like the cat has come out of the bag on Coach. It appears the whole point of his appearance on Survivor was to ‘build a brand’. And when we learned his book-publisher was in the audience, it all became clear. If he had won Survivor, fine, all the better for the brand, but otherwise his “personality” is merely a publicity thing for ‘brand Coach’, the Viking-samurai-nativeAmerican ‘warrior’. Somehow, the only word that comes to mind is “Loser”.

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Saturday, 16 May-

I’m ready to declare I’m over the flu but it’s a rainy day today so I spent much of it playing with the Google Chrome browser after a quick install this morning. I had switched to Opera some time ago—probably two years back--- when I became frustrated with IE hanging up time after time. I like Opera in general and it fails a lot less than IE but I’m curious whether Chrome is even better. Sometimes a web site will only work correctly with IE (Netflix Instant Movies, for example) so I still occasionally fire it up.
Based just on today’s testing, I seem to get fewer router hangups with Chrome when I view YouTube videos but it’s of course too small a sample.
That evening we finished the ‘Corner Gas’-Season Two disk set. We hit several sub-standard episodes in the middle of the season but quality improved to the point where I’m ready to put Season Three in the Netflix queue.

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Friday, 15 May-

I was still feeling under the weather today (just a minor flu, I think). I posted long-overdue blog updates and patrolled my regular web news sites.
Labashi took care of the lawn mowing since we’re due to have rain for the next few days. That’s normally MY job.
That evening we watched more local election coverage on ‘Smart Talk’, then “Bill Moyers’ Journal” (making the case that Pakistan is not as dangerous as the media suggest) and “Now” (problems with UN peacekeeping).

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Normandie Ridge visit, ‘Iron Man’, sick days

(posted from home)
(This post covers 9 – 14 May, 2009)

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Thursday, 14 May-

Today was another sick day and I faded even faster today. I went back to bed only an hour or so after rising. I read and slept off and on until mid-afternoon and then watched (of all things) ‘Death Wish’ on Turner Classic Movies channel. ‘Death Wish 3’ came on right after but I couldn’t stand any more. But I was starting to feel a little better toward the end of the day.
That evening we watched ‘Survivor’ and we both cheered when Coach was blindsided and voted off. I suppose the world needs blowhards like Coach but I was glad to see him go.
I was hoping to watch some more Corner Gas but Labashi wanted to see the PCN special on judicial candidates for the upcoming primary elections. In the end I was glad we saw that. Just watching these guys talk for awhile is very helpful in making decisions.

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Wednesday, 13 May –

Well, dang it, I apparently overdid the walking. I woke with a sore thoat and felt a cold coming on. I faded mid-morning and went back to bed. I read a couple of chapters of ‘Bonk’ and slept for two hours.
That evening we watched three episodes of ‘Corner Gas’ (Season 2, Disk 3). Something apparently happened to the writing staff for the last few episodes. We’re descending into recurring predictability and lots of laugh-track.

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Tuesday, 12 May –

Today we went in to York to take a tour of the Normandie Ridge retirement community. This is another of the local continuous-care facilities, i.e., it offers independent, assisted, and nursing care, all under one umbrella company. The apartment layout was excellent and we liked the amenities but there are no current openings and they want prospective residents to buy in now to their plan to build more apartments in the next two years. In this economy, that would be a risk. And if you do get in before the two year mark, you’d have to live with construction noise and dirt.
Afterwards we drove downtown and parked near the library, then went looking for lunch. I wanted to go to a new restaurant, ‘Agrodulce’ but couldn’t find it. It turns out to be near the stadium in a building I thought was still under construction.
After walking up and down George Street, we selected ‘Colesseo’, an Italian restaurant. We ordered a simple Margherita pizza and ran into one of the frustrating things about living in this area. The menu said the pizza has fresh basil on it. But it arrived without basil. The server had no idea why but eventually tracked down the fact that they had run out of basil ‘this morning’ (yeah, right—they had only opened about ten minutes before we arrived!). But rather than tell us about it, they just served up the pizza and hoped we wouldn’t notice.
After the horrors of being shorted the fresh basil on my pizza, my nerves were shot but we somehow bravely struggled on with our lives. We walked on to the library and read the papers. I checked out ‘Bonk’ and ‘The Last Lecture’.
Back home I walked the six-mile loop and then we watched ‘Iron Man’ with Robert Downey, Jr. I thought the movie would be completely over the top but it was surprisingly good. I see RottenTomatoes agrees; it gets a 93% on the Toe-ma-TOM-eter.

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Monday, 11 May-

Today I continued sorting through the investment statements from years back. I needed a way to store them so drove the Miata in to Staples to pick up some expanding ‘wallets’ and thoroughly enjoyed the top-down drive. Since the transmission and exhaust changes, the Miata is more fun than ever to drive.

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Sunday, 10 May-

I spent most of today opening and sorting through years of statements from my parents’ investments. Maypo turned a three-foot-long box of statements over to me to organize and I had been putting it off until today.
Late in the day I walked my six-mile loop course. I was surprised to see it go so well. I was accelerating uphill in the last mile and it felt great! My leg seems to have healed to the point where I don’t have to worry about it any more. Hopefully the knot beside my right knee will continue to slowly go down. It’s a bit tender to the touch but otherwise okay.

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Saturday, 9 May-

This morning I caught up the offline version of the blog and then spent a few hours on the web, mostly on my scan of news sites.
Late in the day I walked the four-mile course along the creek. The road-side foliage has grown incredibly since my last walk. And I saw a Baltimore oriole today!!!

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‘A Man Named Pearl’, ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’, Bethany Village visit

(posted from home)
(This post covers 4 – 8 May, 2009)

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Friday, 8 May-

Today I was working away on some office stuff when Labashi asked if I’d like to go to lunch at the Bethany Village retirement home—she had received tickets in the mail. The home sponsors a brunch every few weeks to introduce prospective customers to some of the residents of the home and today happened to be the day. We would be able to ask any questions we like of the residents.
Labashi has been doing quite a lot of research on the local facilities and facilities in Michigan for her parents and for us to better understand how the plans work.
Our visit today was an excellent one. After lunch the marketing person and six residents gave short talks and then opened up the floor to questions. Afterwards we joined an impromptu tour of an apartment, then had a personal tour of the parts of the facility further along the continuum-of-care line, i.e., the assisted-living and skilled-care facilities. We came away impressed and with a very good sense of what the residents and staff are like.
We didn’t get home until almost supper time and talked over our impressions. And of course Labashi took copious notes and generated even MORE questions. Pretty soon she’ll know what brand of detergent they use in their laundry service and whether they buy it in large or small containers!
That evening we watched more ‘Corner Gas’.

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Thursday, 7 May-

After a morning on the web, I had to get out on the Concours. I rode down to Gander Mountain, hoping to find a specific holster but of course they don’t have any left-handed ones. I hit the nearby Wal-mart for some covers for the motorcycles on the way home. I then walked my standard four-mile out-and-back route along the creek. The leg tolerated it but did swell a bit. I’ll have to get back into the swing of things slowly. Fortunately I have no pain and the xrays came back clear of any indication of a bone chip or bone problem. The lump looks like another knee cap, only an inch lower and an two inches to the left of the real one.
That evening we watched ‘Survivor’ then the DVD extras to “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”.

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Wednesday, 6 May-

We had a bit of a break in the rain today and took advantage of it to get the lawn back in control. Labashi began mowing the lawn, thinking she’d have it all to do because of my tender leg. I thought I’d see how the leg reacts to all the walking and soon found I could mow with no problem. She did the upper section, I did the lower. That was about the right amount of activity for the leg, though. I was starting to feel it at the end.
I spent the afternoon working on a letter for the estate project.
That evening we watched ‘The Diving Bell and Butterfly’ by director Julian Schnabel. It’s the story of a French man who has a stroke, leading to a rare condition called ‘locked-in syndrome’. He was paralyzed and could hear and think just fine but he could not speak and could communicate only by blinking an eye. A therapist came up with the idea of speaking letters of the alphabet (in most-commonly-used sequence) and he’d blink when she came to the right letter. Using that frustrating and exhausting process, he dictated a book about his life. His book became a best-seller in France.
Director Schnabel and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski won multiple awards, including Oscar nominations. Very highly recommended. Note: the film is in French with English subtitles.

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Tuesday, 5 May –

Rain, rain, and more rain the last few days. Once again we woke to a foggy morning followed by a persistent light rain most of the day. The lawn needs mowing but it won’t be today!
I spent the day working on estate stuff, preparing to sell a house (that ought to be interesting in this economy).
That evening we watched ‘A Man Named Pearl’, a very nice little documentary about a Bishopville, South Carolina man, Pearl Fryar. Mr. Fryar decided he’d transform his property by taking discarded plants from the local nursery and turning them into topiaries. His vision and dedication to his project are incredible. And we learn something important about ourselves as we watch the film. Highly recommended.

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Monday, 4 May-

This morning I found my leg looked a little better though I’m not sure I didn’t just have better light to examine it. Yesterday I had done some internet searches about my problem last night which warned of the possibility of blood clots. I decided I’d better see my doctor—just in case.
My doctor said the bump appears to be a simple hematoma and the discoloration of my lower leg comes from the blood and other fluids which drain down from it by gravity. The bump will slowly re-absorb but he sent me for an xray to rule out a bone chip or some skeletal problem. I drove to the x-ray facility from my doctor’s office and had two x-ray views of the problem taken.
That rainy afternoon I caught up and posted my long-delayed blog entry.
That evening we watched two episodes of ‘Corner Gas- Season 2’.

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Michigan trip

(posted from home)
(This post covers 24 April to 3 May, 2009)

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Sunday, 3 May –

I had a surprise this morning. I found significant discoloration and some swelling on my lower right leg and foot, below the bump I’ve had for two weeks now. Labashi and I had planned to stay in Michigan yet today but after seeing my leg, we decided we’d head home now so I can see my doctor tomorrow.
We left at 1100 and had a very easy ride home. Labashi drove the middle two-thirds of the way so I wouldn’t be putting pressure on the leg. We would have made it home by 2000 but stopped at the Hillside Restaurant for our supper.

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Saturday, 2 May –

I spent much of today driving around suburban Detroit. On my last visit I had seen a nice little portable jack at Michigan Tool but today found the business had changed hands and doesn’t have that item any more. I had bought a portable jack from the AutoZone right down the street last year just before our Alaska trip but that one turned out to be too light, the frame bent, and I had to throw it away. Rats!
I also drove over to the shooting range I’ve visited in this area but I only spent a few minutes browsing around before moving on.
Back home I talked Labashi into walking down to the local Starbucks with me. The walk is only about a mile. We had a drink and read the day’s Times before ambling back home.
After supper we took another walk of about two miles, this one into a nice little neighborhood which can only be entered via a dirt road. This area has a country feel but is right on the Detroit city border line. If I had a job in Detroit I think I too would seek out a place like this. Give me dirt lanes and lots of trees and a small creek and I’ll leave the golf-course lots and condos to someone else.
That evening we watched ‘The Whole Wide World’ with Rene Zellweger and Vincent D’Onofrio. I’d give this one a pass unless you’re a big fan of the actors.

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Friday, 1 May –

Today I worked on the garage door, hoping to resolve an issue with how well it closes. I unbolted and adjust the track up on one end but that only led to another problem so I reverted to the old mounting point.
In mid-afternoon we drove to Labashi’s sister’s home for a visit. We had a bar-be-que and a fun evening catching up on the news.

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Thursday, 30 April –

Today I continued working with the computers through mid-afternoon. Labashi and I then drove over to her brother’s house for a visit. We had the grand tour of the house, enjoyed a good pizza, and sat around talking until late evening. Nice visit!

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Wednesday, 29 April-

This morning (at Mom and Dad’s home in Michigan) I repaired a door handle and lock, then spent the rest of the day resolving issues with Mom and Dad’s computers. The main problem was getting updated security software and virus signatures downloaded across the ultra-slow dialup communications lines. I also downloaded the Glary Utilities and cleaned the systems up, defragged the disk on Mom’s machine, and researched some display problems.
Labashi and I then went shopping for replacement garage doors, just to see what it would take. Afterwards we realized it’s not just a matter of calling someone in to replace the old door. There are some clearance challenges inherent in switching from a one-piece door to a panel door.

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Tuesday, 28 April –

Very early this morning Labashi and her Mom took Dad to the local hospital for a minor operation, as scheduled. I joined them a bit later and we had breakfast in the hospital cafeteria. We (Labashi and I) had been expecting him to be in the hospital for a few days but they sent him home by 1030 that morning. In fact, in would have been earlier but we couldn’t be found. The pager they had given us didn’t work in the area of the cafeteria we chose. I believe both Dad and the nursing staff were a bit annoyed with us for being late.
With Dad safely home and in bed to recover, we did some shopping and Labashi prepared dinner.

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Monday, 27 April-

Today we finished packing and then did an all-day drive to the Detroit area to visit Labashi’s parents. We made an early start and arrived by 1700. Along the way we listened to four episodes of ‘This American Life’ podcasts.

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Sunday, 26 April –

This morning we helped clean up the cabin area after the party, then headed home in Mocha Joe. We had to get our lawn mowed today before heading out on a trip of a week or two.
Today was again a hot one so I didn’t venture out with the mower until 1600 or so and took several breaks to cool off and water-up.
Labashi was busy on the web that evening so we didn’t watch a movie. I did check out a British series called ‘The IT Crowd’ on Netflix Instant but couldn’t get into it.

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Saturday, 25 April –

Today we drove to Chambersburg, then on to a cabin in the mountain above Roxbury for a family party to celebrate birthdays and the arrival of Spring. We enjoyed hanging out though today’s very high temperature (in the 90’s) had us looking for shade. We stayed overnight in Mocha Joe, parked along the approach road to Letterkenny Reservoir. That ensured we had plenty of company early Sunday morning as the fishermen drove by on their way to the launch ramp. But we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t mind. We may wake when the vehicle passes but fall right back asleep.

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Friday, 24 April-

I spent the morning updating the blog and then prepared for our weekend trip and next week’s trip.

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