Once again, a Star Trek film receives Academy Award nominations for the artsy, technical awards but not the more prestigious ones such as Best Picture. The Oscar Nominations were announced this morning.

There was some buzz that Star Trek was a contender for one of the 10 slots in Best Picture, but lost out to films such as Up.

Oh, well. Guess nominations for Visual Effects, Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing will have to do.

If what danceswithfish and I saw at Worst Buy yesterday is any indication, next month's report should show a dramatic increase in consumer purchases of electronics. My theory is that all the buzz about the I-SanitaryNapkin has made people think about how they love to have the latest e-toys. They may not care for the I-SanitaryNapkin, but they think they might find something cool in the store anyway.

We were there because coffee was spilt that morning into a $400 laptop at home and voila, computer death! Rather than get another spill-prone item, we got a replacement for the noisy personal computer with Windows XP we've had for years (spill coffee on a keyboard and all you lose, maybe, is the keyboard, not the entire computer!).

The new one from Dell has Windows 7 OS and has a great deal more memory and processing power (dual-core Intel chip, not the hot-running AMD chip several generations old). Every indication is that this was an excellent purchase. For one thing, the new computer is much less noisy than the old one! Install was a snap (I said say yes to everything) and Win7 looks and runs very well.

Big issue was that we had to go to two Worst Buy stores. The one closest to our home didn't have the package we wanted. Driving to the 2nd one where they had good inventories was a hassle (I got on the wrong road...and when we got there had to wait to cross traffic into the parking lot). In both locations, very full parking lots and selling agents who seemed either disinterested or not fully infomed. However, we managed to get the computer home in less than two hours.

My effort to get a better handle on my work is actually working!

I do two things: summarize the day's activities and look at the calendar for meetings on the next day.
( the details )

Overall, I have a more positive view of what I am doing at work after doing this. It works and I plan to keep doing it. It makes me feel more professional and I believe it will allow me to be more effective in my job. I have tried such things in the past and they didn't work, mainly because they focused on what needed to be done. To-do lists can tend to be daunting. This seems to have staying power and I have been keeping it up for a couple of weeks now.

Looks like they will try again with Gene Roddenberry's The Questor Tapes. I caught the headline this morning on a local television station from its "entertainment buzz" segment and found two good online explanations here and here.

Maybe Rod Roddenberry will have better luck keeping the spirit of the program, because when his father tried the network messed it up by changing the approach. Rather than let that happen, Gene Roddenberry sadly pulled the plug but still maintained control of the scripts and concept.

The question now is: will they just start over or actually bring back Robert Foxworth as Questor with Mike Farrell as his human go-between...handing off to a new Questor to continue the series? That would be cool and fit perfectly in the original concept (because in the pilot each Questor handed off duties to a new Questor after so much time).

Meanwhile I am still struggling with "Hard to Find Films" aka "Nostalgia Collector" to get a DVD copy of the original pilot from 1974 (as well as Roddenberry's Spectre). I also ordered a VHS copy because I now have little faith in the New Jersey company after waiting two months. Also on the way: three additional scripts from the 13 originally written for the series, a blank and white publicity photo/still from the pilot and the paperback tie-in for the pilot.

The number of books now in my Library Thing has now reached 1250. We have certainly more than that, but the number is based on what I can enter!

The most recent additions are a number of Screen World volumes. danceswithfish turned me on to this series of annuals when she found one of them at the N. Lombard Goodwill store this month. These books are profusely illustrated with stills and publicity photos for the most popular actors and movies of that year. I got that first volume then found two inexpensive volumes online. The earliest in the series are more expensive, of course.

Also to round up the total to the nearest 50 I grabbed a bunch of Mentor books to enter. I like these paperbacks for their eclectic choices in classic humanities works but also for the great covers by an artist known only to me as "Jonas," but a little on-line research tells me it is Robert Jonas who, in addition to doing Mentor book cover illustrations, also did covers of Penguin books.

Colonel Harlan Sanders is no more. Someone today kicked his bucket and knocked his long pole.

Lorentz Bruun is the contractor and it has now plastered a very large sign on the chain link fence to say so. The remaining rubble was scooped away and the big hole was started on the lot at the end of our block.

According to the L B website they should be finished in 45 days, February 24th, because that is what their previous KeyBank project took to complete. LB is the same construction company which did the remodeling of the Peninsula Fred Meyer store across the street.

Demolition of the 1969-built KFC building on our block is complete. The building is no more. It has ceased to exist. It has joined the choir invisible. It is pushing up daisies...well, at least pushing up rubble anyway.

The KFC bucket tower and two small signs for the drive-through remain, but those will soon go along with a pile of rubble.

The lot is being cleared to build a 1-story KeyBank branch with a footprint twice that of the KFC building.

The KFC roof was torn off today as the demolition continues at the future KeyBank branch site on our block. About all that is left are the exterior walls. I am pretty sure the Colonel's drum will go tomorrow, removing all vestiges of KFC (except, perhaps, the errant paper cups and other trash strewn through the neighborhood).

I'll see if I can get some pictures first thing tomorrow morning before it's all gone.

Next up, probably, excavation of the hole...then the foundation forms.

The KeyBank construction work continues on our block. danceswithfish, waking from a deep slumber, quipped "Oh, that wasn't my head then" referring to the jackhammer breaking up the asphalt at 8 this morning.

The shovel dug around the west side of the KFC building and then threw concrete, asphalt and siding into the dumpster.

By the end of the day, however, the building still stands and the Colonel's bucket still floats above the lot. It won't float for long, though.

In our block the preparation work began this morning for the eventual construction of a new KeyBank branch. Utility trucks were there marking underground pipes and lines. There was also a truck for the contractor, Lauretz-Braun Construction (that is what I wrote down, but can find no web presence for that or several spelling variations of it).

I haven't verified this by looking (it was dark by the time I came home...and it is raining, otherwise I would run out and check), but assume that their main task today was marking spots in the parking lot that would later be torn out. The KFC building currently there will be demolished and they will erect a new building at twice the footprint area somewhere in the lot. I imagine they will keep what part of the asphalt they can for their new parking, otherwise part of the lot will have to be chunked out at the same time as they tear out the building.

Last week they started tearing out some of the exterior coverings of the building and removing interior lighting and other things they can possibly salvage.

Just a note: Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 29, it started snowing. By 4:30 p.m. it was all fluffy outside and looked to be 3 inches accumulation everywhere. We didn't much care as we did not plan to go anywhere (I am on vacation this week).

For Portland area commuters it was a disaster with traffic backed up everywhere until midnight, people abandoning their cars on steep hills and so on. Tri-Met, ODOT, all agencies were caught off-guard. The weather predictions did not say there would be snow in the Willamette Valley.

Wednesday morning the snow started to melt. It was good that on Monday (when it was sunny) I had swept the walk way of leaves and opened up the path to the house. Without the debris and with the slushy snow it was super easy to use my push-plow to remove the snow from the sidewalk.

Today, Thursday, the snow has left the limbs of the trees but a lot of it is still on the ground. However, the sidewalk in front of our house is dry!

2009 was a really bad year in that I scored only 10/36. Interestingly, without looking at the 2009 list when I wrote the 2010 list, many of the items are back! A few unachieved goals have not returned for various reasons although the general direction is the same.

A few things were very unrealistic...like the one Ebay purchase per month concept. I have switched from a limit to a re-focus...with the hope that the result will still mean fewer online purchases.

I was able to rebuild the slush fund to $7,000 but then had to knock it down toward the end of the year. Again, I won't hold to a particular figure but instead focus on doing things that are sweat-brain equity rather than on spending, allowing me to save more.

Some achievements outside the list were also included and others were forced upon us (the new bookshelves were the former, the water heater and consequent basement work the latter).

To get a better score, though, we need to focus more on time management, not getting depressed or anxious and not falling off the path for one reason or another. For one thing, I at least need to refer to my 2010 list at least once a month. In 2009 I wrote the list and never looked at it until now!

( the 2009 scores... )

As we turn to a new year from 2009 to 2010, I feel quite optimistic.

Certainly many of the things I had hoped to come in 2009 were not fully achieved, but steps were taken in the right direction. It is okay for goals not to be fulfilled: better than to set easy goals with nothing left to do.

I will probably die with a very long list of unachievements.

Nevertheless some things *may* be possible for 2010 with a plan.
( the plan... )

A new study reported by the BBC says that patients with tinnitus can be desensitized by listening to their favorite music...if that music has the notes removed that match the frequencies heard through the tinnitus. After about a half-day of listening stretched over a week, participants in the study reported much less of the ringing they previously experienced.

This is good, because I am one of those who truly feels my quality of life is lessened by the tone I hear constantly in my right ear. I believe it truly has kept me from relaxing as I once could.

Next year I hope to find time to see an ear specialist about it.

At least it is good to know there is active research on this.

I filed this story using public information today on the St. Johns Sentinel website.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KeyBank is building a new branch at 6815 N. Lombard Street. This was an operating KFC restaurant until Monday, Dec. 21 when a construction security fence was placed around the lot perimeter.
The bank has owned the land on which the restaurant stands since 2004.
The KFC building will be demolished, according to a permit issued by the city on Nov. 19 and first filed in August. As of Dec. 29, only an erosion control inspection is needed before final approval and demolition can begin.
According to the construction permit, which has also been signed-off pending final review, the new building will be a one story structure with 3,700 square feet interior space. This compares with the 1969-built KFC structure of 1829 square feet. The present 20,000 square feet devoted to parking will be reduced.
KeyBank's website says the bank builds its branches as ecology friendly with native plants used in landscaping and buildings which are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. The site says it installs energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; uses insulated low-energy loss glass windows; installs bio-degradable carpeting and uses energy saving light bulbs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The construction fence was backed off so we can use the alley way safely. Also the pedestrian walkway was also not blocked-off.

Several new facts:
* the KFC building will be demolished...and the permit is almost complete, so it will be gone soon!
* the new building will be twice the size as the KFC.

I checked the existing branch locations for KeyBank and there is a noticeable gap in Portland between Vancouver, Washington and the Beaverton-Hillsboro area. This branch will fit literally right in the middle of that gap. Obviously KeyBank is trying to gain greater customer share in an area which has not seen any of its branches.

It has been a good holiday, all things considered.( account... )

This story says one restaurant chain has calculated the carbon dioxide emissions per food product.

I am not surprised that for every 1 unit of beef delivered to the consumer that 17 units of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere. Beef is by far the most inefficient method of providing nutrition to humans and one of the prime reasons I no longer eat it and am an ovo-lacto-vegetarian.

What the story does not talk about is the 2nd most inefficient food product: cheese: almost 11 carbon units per one cheese unit!

Unfortunately, I do eat cheese (lacto) and that figure bothers me.

Even tomatoes: almost 3 carbon units per one tomato unit-- but that is for hot house tomatoes.

Which begs the question: can the carbon footprint change depending on how you get the product? Absolutely. Cheese is often imported from far distances. There is also a lot of processing which means a lot of interim products and transportation before it gets to the consumer. Buy local cheese and the carbon footprint should be less.

If I grow my own tomatoes, I would argue the carbon footprint to be much less than 1 when measured in units of carbon dioxide to units of food.

Even beef: if it is just grass-fed and locally raised and slaughtered, its footprint should go down quite a bit.

Anyway, something to think about. I still think if you focus on locally produced food you lower the footprint regardless of what you eat. Less meat and cheese: even lower.

My manager sent this ewwww tub link to me yesterday! Not so different for me today at work!

It's been a solid week! No drama, no disruptions and accomplishments every day of the week. Also, no feeling that I am lax in doing something. All this despite colder weather and a scratchy throat that does not want to go away!
( the list )

* had a great thanksgiving day: got needed supplies evening before; woke up leisurely; visited Betty right before her t-day lunch (and she was doing well); went home and rustled up a Tofurkey roast (good) with Tofurkey mushroom gravy (too salty), spiced quinoa (good), carrot-ginger-cranberry salad (okay, but the substitution of garlic for shallots bad choice...no shallots at Freddie's), Knudsen's sparkling blueberry and cherry (excellent: 100% fruit juice combinations), pumpkin pie from Freddie's bakery, artificial whipped cream; watched Buster Keaton's The General and then Joe Dante's Matinee, then Joe Dante's Innerspace.
* did hardly nothing Friday and Saturday except Saturday late afternoon put away some ties and sorted cables into storage boxes while hooking up an antenna to our bedroom television. Also did some reorganization on my computerized Theda Bara movie by movie image collection, watched four episodes of MacGuyver (1st season) and a two-part Star Trek Voyager episode from the 4th season: Year of Hell.
* Sunday woke late (missed CBS Sunday Morning) but managed to visit Betty (again, doing well) on a nice day (we went outside to visit the chickens), did our consumer rounds (bank, gas, groceries) and while danceswithfish put away groceries in a giddy mood, I stowed the Hallowe'en stuff into the basement and retrieved the other holiday stuff. I even put up the wreath (little consolation--our across the street neighbor has an over-the-top holiday light display already and the next door neighbor in Bad House has tasteful holiday lights with an obnoxious inflatable). Oh well, we'll get up some inside window holiday lights soon...and get working on the holiday cards to go out soon.
* Most of the weekend I was fighting a scratchy throat and nasal congestion causing headaches. I seem to be better this morning, however.
* In general a good weekend. Not as much done as I had wanted, but more than we have done in the recent past. Most important is that Betty is doing well!

I looked in the mirror the other day and I actually looked good to myself. Also feel my pants were a bit looser. So I weighed myself: I have lost weight! Now down to 150 pounds from a high of around 160 pounds a year ago.

If I aimed to stick to 150 I would probably be okay, but I still have a spare tire. It is more difficult to grab onto than it was and it is more a bike tire than a car tire...but I would be really satisfied without the "love handles."

Think I lost by concentrating more on breakfast...and by giving up sodas entirely. Water or water with squeezed lemon is how I hydrate in the evening...but still drink my coffee in the morning.

So will continue doing the same and eating as well as time allows (finding time and energy to prepare food not always easy).

Eventually plan on integrating exercise, not as much for this (although can't hurt) but to enable bike riding again.

* cleared most of the boxes from the floor of my office. Unfortunately this means I have scattered these in our bedroom and the hallway. ( lists... )

Did a little more exploring through Google Maps and then expanding through Wikipedia and discovered Atuona on Hiva-Oa. ( exploring... )

While following up on the history of Sri Lanka, I ran across three isolated island groups in the Indian Ocean: The Maldives, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island.
( internet travelling )

Just yesterday received the pre-ordered 2-disc DVD of Star Trek and viewed everything last night. Great extras, although disappointed the teasers and trailers were not included.

Now I understand why certain scenes from the trailers were not in the theatrical version: they were cut!

The deleted scenes are included in the 2nd disc where you get an even better understanding of Kirk, Spock and Nero. I did not listen to the commentary about why these scenes were cut, but likely it was for overall duration and what I call "rhythm" (the scenes disturb the pace, slow it down).

The deleted scenes answer some questions I had when seeing the original film: what did Nero do for 20 years while waiting for Spock, what motivated Kirk to steal a classic car, why did Kirk say what he said while messing around with the Orion cadet?

I can see why dialog and related scenes with the Orion were changed or cut. I can easily find out why (turn on the commentary), but expect it simply puts Kirk in a bad light and does not really add an essential plot point.

There is also a great gag reel and several "making of" featurettes, all of which help show that the process of making Star Trek was a happy and joyous experience for all involved.

This is sampling I can get into. Here is a music video which modulates Carl Sagan's voice accompanied by images from Cosmos(with a refrain from Dr. S. Hawking). Most important are the words: all by Carl Sagan.

* Marvin spent the day at the vet's yesterday and came back sans 3 teeth (no more snaggle tooth) and loopy on drugs. He also has high blood pressure, so danceswithfish is going to buy medication for that today. Today Marvin is in pain (he is sitting in "beetle position" and barely responsive) so we need to give him more pain meds.
* danceswithfish is going to get her eyes checked today for a new prescription. I need to do this eventually.
* A procedure on danceswithfish meant to help diagnose certain things did not work in an office visit on Monday, so she has to go to Pill Hill where they are better equipped. The earliest we could get in is right after my birthday anniversary in early January.
* We went to the Goodwill on Tuesday and came back with books for both of us, clothes for danceswithfish and various "display items." It has been some time since we have had a thrifting expedition.
* My vacation this week was not a complete success in that I didn't get my office completely clean, which was the point. However, all the steps taken were needed and necessary, so the books, photos and magazines on the first floor was reorganized and shelved properly and a clothes closet was reorganized. Yesterday I even began to sort out stacks of things in my office and can actually see my turntables and mixing board! There is at least hope now.
* Star Trek is released on DVD on Tuesday, Nov. 17, less than a week now! I am only 4 episodes away from finishing Stargate Atlantis, so I can finish that series off and re-enter Star Trek again!

This is Memoloose Island on the Columbia River in Oregon...Years Apart.


1896 by B.W. Kilburn



2009 by B.V. Caloz



Obviously the 2009 perspective was from higher than that of the 1896 picture. Also the 2009 shot was from the right a bit. You will also notice the water line is much higher in 2009, thanks to the Columbia River dam system, no doubt.

The island was used by the American natives as their burial ground. You might say "oh, look, isn't it nice they put a monument up to commemorate the spirits of tribal members." But, of course, the monument is for a white settler who thought he would be better in death with the natives.

Besides the navigation light at the end of the island and the water level, not much has changed in more than 100 years.

Just brought the total number of books catalogued on my Library Thing on-line database to more than 1225 books. These were books that I have had for a while but were hiding in a tall dining room bookcase which was removed yesterday and replaced with a new Maple finish bookcase with an extra shelf. danceswithfish says the new bookcase brings more light into the dining room: a happy accident as that was not the reason for changing out bookcases.

( switching out bookcases... )

A friend today said "There is more and more darkness in the world today."

In one sense I agree: there is no shortage of problems and difficulties faced by life on this planet today.

However, to me darkness is the baseline. Sometimes more light is added, sometimes it is diminished but the darkness is always there. I tend not to think of it that much except to resist it and try to hold it back in favor of the light.

So this is what I do: Fight the darkness. Look for the light.

Things are, as an elementary school teacher of mine always said, "moving right along."

Today was one of my better days:
( work bullets )

All of this means I am clear to a good vacation this weekend and will be able to focus on finishing some things at home.

I have maintained what I have cleaned so far in my office, so it is one step forward and no steps back.

In control of paying bills: am completely up to date now!

Just got a DVD of Genesis II in the mail today and have pre-ordered a DVD of Star Trek for delivery some time later this month!

Wearing ties to work on occasion (I have hundreds: I decided after visiting with my Dad that I should wear them when I felt it). danceswithfish captured images of me yesterday with what I think was one of my best tie-shirt combos.

Looking forward to entering the final weeks of the year with comfortable surroundings at home and the ability to celebrate...something I have not really felt able to do for quite a while. This means, among other things, making cookies, a nice Thanksgiving meal and getting our holiday mail posted on the weekend of Thanksgiving!

* Two Gene Roddenberry pilots have been located on Warner Bros. Archive: Genesis II and Planet Earth, both concepts featuring his character Dillon Hunt who awakes hundreds of years later. In the first pilot television movie, Alex Cord plays Hunt. It is one of my favorite TV movies. With the failure of that pilot, Roddenberry tried again with Planet Earth, this time John Saxon played Dillon Hunt (yarg!). I think I have seen part of this movie and was not impressed. However, I ordered both anyway (BTW, you may find the name Dillon Hunt familiar. The concept lived on, loosely, in the series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, produced by Majel Roddenberry). WB Archive DVDs are a bit more expensive than mass-produced DVDs and have no special features but they are created from the original material, albeit with no restoration. Has to be better than the VHS tapes I recorded off of television years ago!
* Now, if only The Questor Tapes would be released on DVD (it was on VHS) and, also, Spectre would also be nice (as far as I know never released). There are some homegrown copies around but sincerely doubt they pass the quality test. Those were two other television pilots Roddenberry did which went no where: The Questor Tapes starring Robert Foxworth and Spectre starring Robert Culp.
* I have an interesting DVD coming which has a Halloween theme. The intent was to get a 1908 French short film of about 10 minutes produced by Pathe called The Red Spectre. The silent film is apparently well regarded. Also on the DVD are a number of shorts and cartoons through the 1950s.
* Today I watched a bit of Edison's Frankenstein from 1905 (via you tub). Most of it was pretty bad, although the creation scene was actually pretty cool! The monster's look was interesting, although certainly not as good as the classic monster created in the 1930s.
* Viewed the entire Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? movie last night. It was a pore movie. ;) Ha! When I say that, I mean it was a black and white movie that had some very close-up shots of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor and definitely showed the pores of their facial skin...which was quite appropriate. The movie's acting, cinematography and dialogue is outstanding: just didn't find the content personally appealing in any way. Glad to have seen it once, though.

Sad to report that Vic Mizzy died recently. Vic Mizzy wrote the Addams Family theme (and sang it!). He also wrote "Don't cross the street in the middle in the middle in the middle in the middle in the middle of the block". Anyway, he is one of my faves. Not too long ago had a new CD out so was quite active until he died at the age of 93.

Talked with M and R last night and they got here on US 26...not cold enough yet for winter weather concerns...and as it is a shorter route than US 197, I think I will head back that way.

Will still see if I can check out Peterson's Rock Garden in Redmond on the way back.

At the Old St. Francis Hotel: great place! I am in the Mike Breen room: each room is named and dedicated to a different student who attended the St. Francis School. Each room, at least by example of mine, has a painting of the student from some class picture, and a biography of him or her. Mike Breen's painting has him in 3rd grade, I believe.

The trip through Portland and through to the Dalles on the Interstate through the Columbia Gorge was harrowing. My fastest windshield wiper blade speed could not keep up with the rain. There many lightning flashes a long the way, a little hydroplaning and a lot of cars which followed way too close (especially in Portland).

Once I got to the rest stop shy of The Dalles it had cleared up and the rest of the drive was fine. I got some shots of Maupin which I think will work as a "Years Apart" photo pair with photos I found on-line.

Also stopped at the Crooked River Gorge US97 crossing. US97 no longer crosses the old 1929 bridge, but they left that one as a pedestrian bridge as part of a park. I got some great shots of the 300 foot gorge.

Madras has a couple of thrift stores. I stopped in one directly across the street from the Shell station where I filled up. That was a an utter waste of time! A few blocks south there was the Opportunity Thrift shop which looks more inviting, but went past it too fast to make a convenient stop.

Redmond, too has a thrift store: run by Goodwill. Like the Opportunity store, I passed it before I realized I couldn't get to it!

Redmond and Bend are in danger of becoming a single urban sprawl community. They are only about 20 miles apart and the boundaries of both urban areas are getting closer and closer to each other.

Meanwhile U.S. 97 looks more and more like an Interstate Highway all the time and there are some really ugly subdivisions hugging it along the way.

Driving to Bend today via The Dalles, Maupin, Redmond. Staying overnight at The Old St. Francis School (another McMenamin's site) then driving home on Sunday. Occasion: an elementary school friend (the blond boy in the center)is celebrating his 50th birthday anniversary.

The BBC introduced me to a map service which, among other things, does not have rights restrictions, OpenStreetMap! While many of the things you can find on other mapping services are not there, it has many features the others don't have. For instance, I looked at the map of my community and it showed all the rail spurs and junctions. Also, it detailed the alley behind our house as if it was a street!

Of course, the best thing is the export feature: any part of its database can be copied as an image file or even a data set file and saved on your computer to be used as you see fit!

You can even add map features to it so that others can benefit from it. Atlanta, Georgia has about 200 volunteers doing this. All features will have their coordinates found using global position devices then those coordinates and object descriptions uploaded to OpenStreetMap.

When I was an enthusiastic bicyclist (I still WISH I could ride a bike to go everywhere I need to go), I wanted to have a map with all the pay telephones (back then people did not have portable phones), public bathrooms, water fountains and free air pumps (back then the gas stations let you pump your tires for free!) marked. The technology is finally here which would make this not only easy to do accurately but also easy to share!

* Just south of Cottage Grove, once dubbed "The All-American City", there is a small hill which has been polluted with cookie-cutter houses, peering over the freeway. It looks really bad.
* Between Eugene and Grants Pass, numerous clear-cuts are now looking much better with the dense growth of evergreens. Finally replanting is starting to show positive signs.
* Fred Meyer logos on those info signs at exits are new: sort of an oval with red, blue, yellow green insets within. Guess Freddies is not going to be replaced by Kroger anytime soon in the Northwest, but it is certainly moving its marketing drive in competition with Wally World and Targe (first Targe had the concentric circles, then Wally World responded with its "*" and now this for Freddies).
* The Salvation Army store in Sutherlin is gone. Maybe it moved? The location I always stopped at for a brief visit when on I-5 was sort of a shoddy building. But it may have succumbed to the powerful Goodwill. In fact, just a block away was a new Goodwill store. Coincidence?
* The Salvation Army store in Medford looks to be barely hanging on. It is still at the same location it was in since it first moved there in 1976 or 1977, but their stock is severely depleted.
* The Redwood Inn on Riverside Dr. in Medford is really cheap, its rooms are comfortable enough, it has free wi-fi but no complimentary coffee, no continental breakfast and it has a lousy attitude. Definitely it was better than the Tiki Motel which was probably the worst motel I have stayed in that I can remember. Next time I stay in Medford I will try for yet another motel.
* A once open field near where my Dad lives, near Providence Hospital in Medford, is fully subdivided and set up with utility lines and streets. However: no houses. The depression hit just as the development was set to begin building. Wonder how long it will stay this way?
* Total (approximate) cost for my trip: $40 hotel, $70 gas, $22 thrift store, $15 lunch at Cobblestone Village on Riverside Drive in Medford and $15 breakfast at Marie Calendar's on Biddle Rd. in Medford, $2 donation to a bedraggled Vietnam Era veteran at a south-bound rest stop, $2 donation to a sun-burnt woman with her Labrador retriever at a north-bound rest stop. Total: $166.

* Yesterday got my first annoying "floater" in my left eye. This is a little piece of the retina which broke off and now floats in the otherwise clear jelly which surrounds the eyeball. For near-sighted people these are common, especially after the age of 40 which I am well past. This is really difficult for me because it is like a gnat following me around everywhere I go. Supposedly these eventually float down and out of vision but for now it is driving me crazy.

* I am driving to Southern Oregon today to see my dad, staying at the Redwood Inn in Medford and then driving back tomorrow.

* Work is getting me down. I am trying to get into new areas and am frustrated at every turn. Yesterday I was happy to find and fix a bug in some of my code: that made me feel good. And last Monday I finished basic development of a new program...and that was an achievement. The rest of the week though was not very fulfilling.

This year I discovered, during one of the rare times when I could sit down in quiet (no fans, no ventilation, no television, no radio, no computer), that it was impossible to hear silence anymore. My right ear has tinnitus (although yet to be confirmed by a doctor). In silence it can drive me crazy because I can't turn it off!

I hope I can deal with it for a bit longer until they find out more about it and come up with effective treatments (there is none today). The news is good though that researchers are beginning to understand it and find ways to treat it. It seems to be based in the brain, not in the ear...so if scientists can discover how it starts, what triggers the neural activity...maybe they can find a way to stop it without severing the nerve.

In the most extreme cases for people with tinnitus in one ear doctors have been known to severe the nerves. I don't particularly want that.

Forget jet packs, ray guns and flying cars, what I want in the 21st century is a voice controlled audio-video server! ( geek dreams ahead )

Going to the waste transfer station today with a truckload of styrofoam peanuts, rags, moldy cardboard, mildewed 45 rpm record albums, bags of crap swept up from the basement floor, insulation batting that used to cover our old water heater and an Onkyo amplifier that stays on only ten minutes at a time

With the stuff I removed from our basement last weekend and more stuff I pulled out this week, I have enough to justify making the trip 'cross the Willamette and paying the load fee.

The basement is looking better and better.

While down there I also removed the wet-dry vacuum that I have had for 9 years sitting in its original box, assembled it and then hoovered the return duct to our furnace. After getting 3-67 cent 16 inch by 25 inch by 1 inch filters at Freddy's (they were on sale from the normal $1), I installed one of them and then started the gas furnace for another heating season.

The thermostat I installed at the end of the last heating season works great! I am hoping the set-back round digital unit will help us better manage home heat for both comfort and energy use. The wake-up time I programmed, though, was too early (5 a.m.), so moved it to 6:30. When the heater goes on, it wakes us up.

I brought the wet-dry vac to the first floor as I intend to use it to vacuum the needles and leaves that have matted our front bushes for a while. It's the only way: beating with a broom is not good enough.

There are now 1200 entries in my Library Thing database. Many of the recent entries are related to my quest for materials on Theda Bara and from obtaining cheaper "photoplay" books for possibly "lost" silent movies. I rounded the number to 1200 by adding some recently re-discovered books from basement storage and a Star Trek novel (most of my ST paperbacks I have not yet added).

Others have mentioned this, so this is mainly for my own records: today was the first day I needed or wanted to wear a sweater. I am holding back from turning on the pilot light for the furnace because the longer I can hold off the lower the gas bill. However, I know I will have to turn it on sometime in October.

Anyway, for me, it is now really Fall. That was a very short Indian Summer!

Last few days have been weird, but every thing's fine now.( possibly Too Much Information follows )

But today, danceswithfish goes in to the dentist to get her permanent crown. And tomorrow we have our wedding anniversary! Maybe we do something this weekend to actually celebrate it, for now I am just happy to say we have each other!

For months we have stacks of storage boxes here and there. Recently I got them all to the first floor but needed a full day to clean up the basement enough to accept all the boxes. Today was that day and the deed is done. ( details )

"The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his ass." --U.S. General Joseph Stilwell, sometime in the 1940s, in China.

U.S. General Joseph Stilwell (1883 – 1946), best known for his service in Burma and China, was nicknamed "Vinegar Joe" because of his blunt honesty. This harsh manner landed Stillwell in political trouble with President Roosevelt when Stilwell repeatedly clashed with America's ally, the corrupt Chinese Nationalist General Chiang Kai-shek.


However, to be fair, his quote is actually a modification of a much earlier quote by a guy who would later be proclaimed a saint by the Roman Catholic church!

"An example from the monkey: The higher it climbs, the more you see of its behind."

also translated as:

"A lesson from the monkey: The higher it climbs, the more you see of its behind."

-- Saint Bonaventure aka Giovanni Di Fidanza (1217-1274), theologian, minister-general of the Franciscan order and Cardinal Bishop of Albano, from the Conferences on the Gospel of John

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"If you don't know how to fix it, don't break it." -- Environmental Activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki, at the age of 12, speaking before a UN sponsored Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 1992.

Turns out that the real estate listing for Bad House 2 was pulled last week but then resurrected yesterday. But now it's online as MLS 9072117.

This is one of the two attached houses in the lots next to ours which I call Bad House only because I wish they had never been built. I just hope nice people move in. The former residents were fine: for one thing they liked cats. For the moment, though, I am enjoying the easier parking in front of Zolacmanor.

Price they want: $280k. Price they bought it for just last year: $269k. Price it was marked at originally last year when first sold: $290k.

Went back through old Live Journal entries by tags and I see sort of a pattern of colds for me:

End of January (almost always)

End of April (infrequent)

End of August or early September (almost always)

Middle of October (although this may be more of a flu)

In addition there has become an annual bout of Sinusitis in early January which starts with teeth pain and ends with taking an anti-biotic.

I told my doctor about this and he said NEXT time I should see him and they can do x-rays to confirm this and lead to some longer term solution besides annual antibiotics. The last two times it was dealt with by visiting first my dentist, then my endodontist.

For the record, I had a cold which lasted basically a week, ending last Friday. Actually, it still lingers, which is why after a week of not kissing danceswithfish and then doing so, she now has a cold.
( record of my cold )

Today I still feel some congestion, but don't feel drained or sick as I did a week ago. Unfortunately, not so with danceswithfish.