Fall 2014 November 30 Sunday (The Bird Returns, Passages)

66 degrees this morning, 58:16  minutes walking, two earthquakes

(Wind blowing at 29 miles per hour.  Hard to decide how to dress,since the wind makes it seem so much colder)

After an epic battle with bluebirds at the front door of our house, which included “Harold the Owl” being bombarded by a family of bluebirds after we removed the nest(s), we hadn’t seen the birds until….

We noticed a bird at our back porch hanging around the light.  We think it was coming in and setting off the motion detector light so it could warm up.

Anyway, we moved Harold the Owl to the back porch and so far we haven’t noticed the birds coming back or any nest building.  We shall see. 

Another passing of the seasons tonight as I removed the pumpkins from the front porch and Aliene installed some Christmas Holiday decorations.  

Another Halloween and Thanksgiving season has passed and the Christmas/New Year Holiday season is upon us.

To me, the pumpkins have become a signal of the cold weather to come and the end of Fall, even though winter doesn’t officially start until December 21.

Soon it will be 2015, which is very hard to believe.  It seems that 2014, a year of a lot of passages, sped by, like a blur, almost like seeing a race car coming and going, you anticipate, experience and it is past..  

Enjoying the four day holiday.  I don’t even remember the last time I had a 4 day holiday and just hung out.

Aliene ordered some eye-glasses today.  We were using (partially) eye insurance, which I have never used before.  It is difficult to determine if the insurance actually helped.  The eye glass places were worse than the car dealer and cable tv at the smoke and mirrors they used.  

I really can’t figure out why they can’t just be upfront and honest instead of playing games and trying to cheat you or at the very least, try to hide how they charge you, which means they are trying to cheat you somehow and don’t want you to see it.

One bad thing about this state, the eyeglass people go to the State Legislature and Sams and Costco (and Walmart etc.) are not allowed to sell eyeglasses.  They are about three times what they were in Memphis.  

We may well cancel the order and just get them in Memphis instead of rewarding the political antics that restrict competition.  

Wind is blowing again today.  I’m just glad it is relatively warm, otherwise it would be almost unbearable.

Finished reading the “Jack Reacher” book and am catching up on my magazines etc. before starting another book.  Also trying to keep up and learn how to use all (or at least more) of the aspects of “Evernote” and the Iphone and other computer programs.  

I feel like I’m just not using the full, or even partial, potential of the programs.  

Alinee was just commenting on how she hates the way Google and other programs make what appear to be unnecessary changes (normally without any real explanation of why, and how to deal with the changes).  It is frustrating.

As Kali starts on her 15th year and proceeds to her 16th birthday, I again wish her a Happy Birthday and hope she has an enjoyable and rewarding 15th year!

That’s it for now, Sunday, November 30, 2014.

Fall 2014 November 29 Saturday (Happy Birthday Kali!)

56 degrees this morning 55:55 minutes walking, no  earthquake

Happy Birthday Kali!  15 years old today.  Time really does go fast!  Hope you have a great day!  

Still keeping up with “My Fitness Pal”.  The reading (of what I have eaten) may not be very pretty, but at least I am generally keeping track of what I eat.

Portion control may be a problem.  I have a food scales I need to get ready and start using, at least for the food items I eat very often.  

I especially want to make sure I measure the amount of peanut butter right that I eat (since I normally eat it at least once a day).  I am interested in other nutrition almost as much as calories.

After moving and still having stuff I need to donate or throw away, I had absolutely no interest in shopping on Thanksgiving Friday or today.  I have enough stuff and need no more “stuff” until I wear out or donate what I have.  

Even clothes are amazing how long they last.  Many clothes continue to look nice for years, others tend to still be wearable, but not other than  just for causal wear.

I am always surprised at how long my exercise clothes have lasted.  They seem to maintain as decent to wear for years.  I have some clothes that are almost 40 years old.

I have to admit, if I had known how long they wee going to last, I would have been more careful in what I  selected!  I do have some times I have to replace (the items that fit over my mouth etc, mainly because they start to develop an unpleasant odor, even though I wash them after every wearing.  

Even when I was a child, I’d start t cough in cold weather.  I found out years later that I had “exercised induced asthma”, and covering my mouth when I walked helped prevent it.  I also use some “puffs”. 

The puffs used to be very inexpensive and then (get this), the price, even with insurance quadrupled because the FTC (or some federal agency) decreed that the old container was dangerous to the environment.  

Of course it so happened that only one company could make the container they required, so the price increased by 4 times.  Hmmmmm.  I wonder why. 

I believe in protecting the environment, but I expect the # of people who couldn’t afford the medicine and were coughing (or got sick) were a lot worse for the environment that the little bit from the original containers.  

No counting, the amount of paper and ink consumed in the paperwork and the cost of materials for the new container. 

At least, this was the story the pharmacist told me and I believe it.

Learned a few new things about my iPhone (and iPad and Macbook) today.  I have had “Evernote” for years, but I know I don’t get the maximum benefit from Evernote.  

I actually use it quite a bid, but not near as much as I should.  

Again, Happy Birthday Kali!  

That’s it for now, Saturday, November 29, 2014

Fall 2014 November 28 Friday ("Progress" Positive and Negative)

44  degrees this morning, 58:10 minute walk, five earthquakes in past 24 hours

Wind this morning made the air seem cooler and harder to walk.

Good Thanksgiving. Great visiting, great food and great weather!

In spite of my better plans, I dd eat too much.  I took a little bit here and a little bit there and it added up to a substantial amount!   

However, it really was a one-time meal and I understand medical evidence is that one splurge won’t hurt you.  At least that is the way I read the study, although I may have had some wishful thinking!

The thumb/finger print opening on the iPhone is actually working well.  I think I was pressing too hard before this or maybe it learns.

I really like the screen because it is big enough I can see everything well, although I didn’t realize I had a problem with the screen size on the old iPhone!   Handling the size takes a little getting used to, but I really like it.  

Looking forward to another three days of options, since I am off Friday and the weekend.  

Thinking of the difference between Thanksgiving 2014 and the earliest Thanksgivings I remember.  

Computers, Cell phones, “smart” phones, better weather forecasts, safer cars, routine air travel etc.  

Probably a lot of advances or inventions  that are so common I don’t even think of them any more.

I think the major disappointment is the lack of advancement in “driverless cars
 and air travel  I really thought that by the time I was this age, cars would be driving themselves and we would be flying a lot more for long distances.

 Instead we are basically driving the same type car (although vastly improved) as we did back them and I”m not really sure if  air travel has actually improved or not.

Obviously the advancement in computers and cell phones is the biggest change, although  cultural and social changes were also major changes.

Also, the rise of terrorism was certainly not expected.  I guess no one thought such low life murderers actually existed.

I still remember my high school English teacher say that “no individual would ever invent anything major” again.  And that no major new fortunes would be made by individuals!  Absolutely wrong on both parts!  

There obviously are a lot of other changes no one really expected.  

I can remember when I was a kid.  I did imagine GPS in cars, automatic breaking when getting too close to another vehicle, spy camera from outer space and drones  Now that I think of it, I even had an imaginary terrorism group, although they didn’t have the human cruelty that exists and I considered them more as a lawless element.

We are actually getting to the point where individuals can actually be tracked like envisioned by many science fiction writers, and some entity can follow us and see us at all times, perhaps even worse than that envisioned by science fiction writers. 

I think the chances of this actually happening will happen based on “good intentions”, not some evil controller.  More on this another day.

That’s it for now, Friday, November 28, 2014.

Fall 2014 November 27 Thursday (Earthquakes, Thanksgiving)

33 degrees this morning,  minutes walking,  13 earthquakes in past 24 hours!.

I recently heard a speech where the speaker emphasized the tremendous increase in earthquakes in the past several years (it was like an increase of 1,000%).

He said “fracking” probably wasn’t the reason for the dramatic increase in earthquakes.  

He said “salt water disposal wells” probably is the reason.  While I don’t know that much about it, he said many of the salt water disposal wells go to the depth of the earthquakes.

Again, I don’t have any idea if he is correct or not.  He said an oil well pumps 10 barrels of salt water for every barrel of oil, so that is a bunch of salt water.

If they could desalt the salt water, that could be a real benefit!

I may do some research on this, at least quickly scan available information on it.  

Thanksgiving Day today.  We are going to a family gathering, which is always enjoyable.

I have decided to start faithfully using “My Fitness Pal” to document everything I eat, or at least most of it.  It computes a rough estimate of the calories you eat, as well as exercise etc.  (All of my exercise burns about a candy bar.)

A primary purpose is to keep tabs on my carbs, fat, sodium etc. that I eat.

Thanksgiving may not be the best time to start this, but I have to start sometime!  

I have to revise some of what I said yesterday about the Apple iPhone 6.  I tried using the “thumb or finger print” opening today and it worked about 90% of the time, so it may be I didn’t give it a good chance.  It is convenient.  

I went to Apple store today about iTunes and found some changes I hadn’t been aware of, minor things like the locations of indicators etc.  

Minor things can make a big difference sometimes!   Especially minor things you don’t know!  

I always say anything is easy once you know how to do it!

While at the Apple Store I looked at the Nest Thermostat and smoke detectors.  I was very impressed, to say the least, after my experiences with smoke detectors and, to a lessor degree, thermostats.

Spent the day catching up on my “field days” Monday and Tuesday. I really enjoy it the work, both the office days and the field days.  I think they offset each other so I don’t get bored or tired of doing the same thing.

Believe me, no two days are the same!

Looking forward to four days “off”.  I think it isn’t the time off as much as the feeling I have the chance, whether I use it or not, to get some things done I have been planning to do etc.  I actually look forward to the work and starting work each morning.  

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving.  

That’s it for now, Thursday, November 27, 2014

Fall 2014 November 26 Wednesday (Thanksgiving, Apple products)

44 degrees this morning.  55:10 minute walk  12 earthquakes in last 24 hours!

A Wednesday that seems like a Friday!  Although i enjoy my job, it will be good to have a break.

Thanksgiving has always been a special kind of holiday.  When we were kids, I know we frequently visited on Thanksgiving and one of my early memories is relatives getting caught in a snowstorm and having to stay in town because they couldn’t get out.

fI think Thanksgiving is simpler than the other major holidays and may carry fewer expectations that you “have” to enjoy it, so you may relax and enjoy it more.

As I mentioned, this will be the first Thanksgiving in 13 years we didn’t travel to OKC for Thanksgiving, so it will be different.  

The weather has been wonderful, a little cool, but that is expected this time of year.

We live about a mile from a major mall, so I expect we will need to learn to deal with heavy traffic until after Christmas.  

Hopefully out travel patterns will be different enough that we won’t have to deal with too much traffic and we are close enough to the mall, we can go at odd times if we need to go (although we aren’t planning on going).

I want to go the Apple Store tomorrow for training, so I am hoping the traffic isn’t too bad.  

The Apple store is located at “the” mall to shop at, and of course, it has the least parking.  Parking there is madness to say the least after Thanksgiving, and even on normal weekends and weekdays it is bad enough.

For some reason I have been having problems downloading from iTunes, and also I wanted to review the setup on the phones.  

Last night, my iPad rang and it was actually a call to my business phone, which for a number of reasons I don’t answer after work hours.  (There is an override for VIP’sI).  

Rather irritated at  Apple Computers on several fronts.  My iPad Air has relatively small storage, so I had to delete some items to make room for an update. 

 After it started updating I noted the update didn’t even even apply to this iPad!  Why in the world wasn’t Apple apple to determine that and now bother me with it?  It is just wasting a lot of my storage!  

Also, I learned my lesson and I am getting my devices with more than minimum storage!

I like my iPhone, but it is very irritating to have to use the pass code (or the finger/thumb print that really doesn’t work that well anyway) every time I go out, for even a second.   I probably will just eliminate the password to avoid the aggravation, which also means I can’t use the “buy with Apple” feature.  I’ll redo my print and see if I can get it get it better. 

They need to have the option of a 15 minute “open” window, to many people are going to eliminate the password.   

Somehow it seems that technology companies frequently just outsmart themselves or think they need to control too much.

I got my first Apple  spam with a link (either a virus or some type of spyware, I’m sure), so maybe they need to spend more time on preventing that rather than attempt to over control the users!  

I have been using the search engine “DuckDuckgo” which doesn’t track your usage.  I think it gives a a more varied selection of results than Google does and isn’t so targeted to Amazon et.

Wishing all who are reading this a happy Thanksgiving!

That’s it for now, Wednesday, November 26, 2014.

Fall 2014 November 25 Tuesday (Holiday Music, Gas, Decorations)

34 degrees this morning, 56:10 minutes walking,  seven earthquakes.

Holiday music is here!  I happened to pick up my first “commercial free” holiday music this morning and I am excited to be able to listen to it for the next month!  

I had planned to listen to my Spanish cd this morning, but as soon as I heard the holiday music, I was hooked and listened to it all day.  

I heard “WinterWonder Land”, Twelve Days of Christmas” and many others and the first of what I am sure is the first of many “Santa Baby”.

One year I actually found a number of internet stations that have Holiday music all year  round. I  decided to just enjoy it for the month or so around Christmas.

I’m not sure what I like about Holiday music, but it is always a welcoming sound to hear the holiday music sounds.

At a Christmas party one year at work, one of the events was for different people to sing parts of “the  Twelve Days of Christmas”.  Every time I hear “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, i remember some persons involved in singing.  

Weather, while cool, has been relatively mild.  The wind is really what makes it so bad.

I got gas for $2.31 today (and saw it for $2.28).  Gas in my “territory” where I work is about 10 cents less per gallon than it is where I live, so I have been waiting until I drive to my territory to get gas!  

One good thing about having a hybrid with over 600 miles range on a tank of gas is that I don’t need to get gas often, so I can plan on where I get it!

I tend to be loyal to 7-11, since they maintain a reasonable difference between the cost of “regular” gas versus “premium” gas, which our other car requires.  

At times, we would pull into a station and the advertised “regular” would be a low price (say $3.21) but premium would be $3.81.  At 7-11, premium was always about .20 above regular gas.

Oklahoma City for some reason was especially bad about that, in some cases advertising “regular with Ethanol” for (say) $3.21, and having “regular without Ethanol” marked up to $3.71 and then pricing premium off the “regular without Ethanol”, resulting in even “premium with Ethanol” being priced at .60 or even .80 higher.

Anyway, even though I saw cheaper gas today (and it irritates me that 7-11 doesn’t take American Express), I stayed loyal to 7-11. 

Interesting day “in the field” today.  I am finding that every day is definitely not the same!  I run across something new almost every day, if not almost every customer.  

Aliene is decorating the house (inside) for Christmas.  She has a number of decorations she puts out for every season, with of course, Christmas being having most of the decorations (with Fall/ Halloween a close second, I believe).  

It is fun to see some of the same characters and decorations  come back each year, usually with one or two new ones and one or two  that go away.

34 degrees this morning, but seemed warmer than that.  No wind is probably the reason it seemed warmer.

That’s it for now, Tuesday, November 25, 2014.

Fall 2014 November 24, 2014 (Exercise Water Leaks and Time)

40 degrees this morning. 56:41 minute walk, four earthquakes  

The “short week”, off Thanksgiving and day after.  Will be interesting that we are “home” for a long holiday.  Hasn’t happened for 13 years as I mentioned yesterday.  

Maybe I can finish up some books this weekend!  

Also, I want to get back on a more rounded exercise program.  I may cut back my walk a little so I can also ride the bike on a daily basis and also I want to start “bench pressing” again.

I have kept up a little, I do 40 situps and barbell exercises with relatively light barbells (20 lbs).  My weight bench actually has mushrooms growing out of the bottom, although the cold weather killed them.  (That is the truth).  Not quite sure how that happened. 

I do my weight exercises outside so the bench is exposed to the elements so to speak.  It is about 8 years old, so it has a right to be a little worn and have some mushrooms!  It has been outside the entire time and I doubt if they are built to be outside.  

It has been an excellent weight bench.

Anyway, I am looking for a “bench press bench”, so I can start adding bench presses to my routines.  I think my walking and bicycling are adequate for my legs.

I miss swimming.  The addition swimming pool is right across from my house  but it is a “summer only” pool.  There are some exercise places close but…

The nearest YMCA is just a little too far for me to want to drive it every day.  

Aliene is going to start walking and exercising again when she gets her neck and back problems worked out, so that may help us decide.  

Anyway, if I can get the “bench press bench” and get my punching bag set up, I can see what I can do, as well as reschedule my time so I can ride my bike every day (although it is a little more of a  problem to ride the bike versus walking on a really bad weather day.)

Don’t recall if I mentioned it, but yesterday morning I was walking and heard a “rushing sound”.  At first I thought it was a really weird wind storm, maybe even a localized tornado, but it was a huge water leak.  

I called the water leak in and saw the crews out fixing the water leak later in the day.  This kind of weather they have a lot of water leaks.

Plan on going back to visit friends in Memphis in several weeks, looking forward to it.  It will  seem unreal.  When we go back it is just like we have never left, it is so natural to be with them.  

We have lived here a little over five months now.  Don’t mean this in a negative way, but it seems much longer.  I have actually only been working at my current job for almost 3 months. 

I really enjoy it, but it seems like it has been longer.  

Of course, time goes so fast that soon it will be 5 years that we have lived here and five years in my job.  Time just screams by.  

Sounds like it may be another nasty day tomorrow.  Today wasn’t too bad, although we had some strong winds come in.

I will be “in the field” Monday  and probably Tuesday, depending on the administrative work involved.  

That’s it for now, Monday, November 24, 2014

Fall 2014 November 23 Sunday

54 degrees this morning 58:06 minutes walking two earthquakes

A good day Saturday, although it probably didn’t do my weight control any good!  I was relatively controlled except for the two pieces of cake, the ice cream and Doritos!   And the wonderful cornbread muffins.  

All items I have a problem resisting. But it isn’t an everyday thing, thank goodness.

I always enjoying hearing what has happened with everyone since we last met.  

We went to the Plaza area to pick up some  Christmas presents we had  ordered.  It is always amazing to me when I see a previous area that was deteriorated, to put it lightly, and now it is a thriving shopping and eating area

It looks like it has  a good mix of companies and person involved in the businesses and the area should maintain well.

I’m not sure what makes it (redevelopment) work, but I would sure like to know!  It takes more than just money.

Yesterday was a relatively warm day, but it rained early and was cloudy and rather nasty.  Today will likely be the same, although I don’t think it is supposed to rain until this afternoon.

While walking this morning, I heard a “rushing” sound, almost like a strong wind.  I really expect to walk into a high wind.

Instead, it was a huge water leak, which was coming out of the pipe and going down the drain.  

When I got back, I called the water emergency line and reported the leak.  While this time of year they have a lot of leaks, I expect that is one they will want to fix as soon as possible.  

Walking when I do (around 3:15 a.m. or so) gives you a special perspective on the neighborhood.  I see very few cars, although  there  are “regulars” that are either going to work or coming back. 

Saturday and Sunday morning there is frequently a lot more traffic, probably due to Friday and Saturday night.

I note garage doors open (normally two or so a night), loose dogs and the occasional cat.

Cats seem to run their own patterns, although they seem to have regular handouts.  

Occasionally I will meet another exerciser (normally a runner)    although not every day.

There is a newspaper that is delivered in the north area of the neighborhood at that time.  I’d like to find out which newspaper is being delivered so I could subscribe to it if it was a newspaper I would like to read.

I still miss getting the papers early in the morning. There  are a lot of alternatives (read it on the internet, read the previous morning papers etc.), but nothing beats actually reading  the paper.

Actually, USA Today  I like better on the internet than the actual physical paper (the content is about 80% different than the printed newspaper)  The Walll Street Journal is aiso good on the iPad.. 

I have also started looking at  “Flipboard”,  but I tend to spend too much time on it.

That’s it for now, Sunday, November 23, 2014

Fall 2014 November 22 Saturday

62 degrees this morning. rain, no  walk,  1 earthquake

The weekend is here!  We have the periodic “birthday” party (today) for persons whose birthday is within a month of so of the date.  It is fun to remember birthdays, but not get overwhelmed by celebrating them on the exact date.  

It is good to celebrate immediate family members on the exact day, but beyond that it is nice just to remember and acknowledge it.

Birthdays do make you realize how fast time goes, especially when you see how fast children grow up!  

I always like New Year Day or even New Year Eve to reflect on the past year and the coming year or years. 

I understand the reason I noted for the difference in earthquake count (local and from “Oz Earthquakes) is that “Oz” app only includes earthquakes over 2.5.  Other counts may include earthquakes under that. 

Gas is getting so low here, I almost fill up even though I don’t need any.  I saw $2.25 pre gallon the other day.

Only cheap if you review it in comparison to what i has been.  It was at least close to 3.60 for a long while (and even more for premium.  Our car uses premium  and we easily could pay around $4.00 per gallon.

The hybrid will make up  a  lot of difference, especially if the gas goes up, but it is even making it substantially cheaper now.  

So far I have averaged around 36 mph which isn’r bad.  

In addition, the electric motors provide excellent pickup.  I don’t understand whey, but from the

Prius, I knew the pickup was good and it is really good on the Camry. I have a lot of fun with the “electric vehicle mode” where I can travel around on just the electric motor and use no gas at all.  Of course, it doesn’t last for all that long before it kicks back into gas mode, either from the speed or the battery is low.

Ron, Sara and Peter were here and helped put up the last major picture  (my painting from Arizona).  It is nice to get the ones up we have to get up.

Surprised at rain and relatively warm weather this morning.  Would have enjoyed the walk.  

It is strange that when I can’t walk, I think of “everything I can get done” with the time I save.  Guess what?  Of course, I fritter it away, in a sense.  

On the other hand, maybe it is good to have some time to fritter away and I get something done I need to get done that I don’t know I need to get done.  So to speak.

Watching my “time shifted” programs of boxing.  I don’t know why I like it, it isn’t the type of thing I like, but I especially like the lessor known matches. I think it may be the psychological aspect of it.  I know it is a lot of a lot of promotional hype also, but I kind of enjoy that aspect also.  

The Christmas/Holiday season has started.  It will b a lot different than in past years since we won’t be making the trip from Memphis to OKC for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

We will have soon lived here five months.  Somehow it seems like we have lived here longer.  Not a value judgement, just an observation.  

We are looking forward to seeing our friends in Memphis in several weeks when we make a visit there.

That’s it for now, Saturday, November 22, 2014

Fall 2013 November 21 Friday

47 degrees this morning. 58:00  minutes walking  three earthquakes according to “Oz Earthquake” app, but I heard a local news report there were 16 earthquakes either yesterday or the day before.

I don’t know why I always walk slower (or at least take more time) in winter than in summer.  Obviously some of it is the clothes etc., but it seems as if I actually walk slower in winter, I think because of the cold.

Also, it is rather strange, but the cold seems to take on a different nature in the winter.  For example, I dressed this morning (47 degrees) a lot warmer than I did for the same temperature a month ago, but I didn’t feel like I dress too warm now or not warm enough then.

It is almost like the cold, when it comes, tends to become ingrained, or just a part of the overall atmosphere, it is hard to explain.  

The same thing happens in the Spring, when the cold seems to linger on forever.  The warmth of the summer doesn’t linger quite the same, but it is the same concept.

Got my new iPhone 6+ last night.  It is nice, haven’t really had a chance to look at tit yet.

I am looking forward to looking at it and playing with it. It does appear to be much easier to write on.

One of the decisions is what type of case to buy, if any.  I haven’t decided on a case yet. My current case has a pocket for my license and several credit cards on it.  I liked it because I always keep track of my phone, my license and credit cards, so it is good to have them in one place!

Also, somehow they did this and made the  case slim and not overwhelming.

For some reason,  the phone service did not get transferred from my “3G” to my “5”, so I am still using the 3g for my work phone.  I should be able to get it resolved today.

Have a “birthday”  gathering together this weekend.  Should be fun, especially since almost everyone is here this time.

Sill finishing up transferring things to our new environment.  Bank accounts, etc. and then have to worry about getting W-4 a;mounts at the end of the year.

Have an appointment with my new eye doctor (routine test).  The first time I went to an eye doctor, they “over dilated” my eyes, so I had could hardly see to drive home.  

The last one we saw in Memphis was really good and we will miss him.

My day “in the field” yesterday went well.  I enjoyed working with the people and the process.  One of those days when everything goes right, but still something tends to pop up to take up your time.

The major problem appears to be the amount of administrative time required.  Not a “problem” as such, just part of the job, but I need to learn how to estimate the amount of administrative (paperwork) time required.

I planned to go out today again, but the administration involved is enough I’ll probably make this an office day.  It’s not really a “problem”, it’s just part of the process and understandable, but I just need to figure out how to estimate the time required.  

I probably still “over plan” for going out in the field, but I am beginning to understand what I need to do and what is important.

That’s it for now, Friday, November 21, 2014.