2017 Spring May 31 Wednesday

67 degrees this morning Walk 35:28 minutes

Reasonably good walk this morning, tend to dress too warm when the temperature is in the 60’s.  

Saw 3 cars this morning during my walk, which is kind of like Grand Central Station when I see that many vehicles.  Usually don’t see any, which makes me happy!  Especially with the sprinkler systems that spray the sidewalk at the time I walk.

Pace this morning was 18 seconds slower than my goal.  I believe my goal now is to eventually meet or be faster than my goal.  

Called Canon on the Canon printer. Found out it wasn’t close enough to the router!  Hard to believe that is still a problem with all of the technology improvements.  

As they say, they put a man on the moon almost 60 years ago and yet they can’t make a printer that works on wifi in a medium size house?  

What is strange, we have a couple of $40 printers we got was transition printers that work find on the wifi and yet a $300 printer doesn’t work on wifi?  As they say, something doesn’t compute! 

It may just be that technology isn’t as good as they try to make out when they sell a product and they overhype technology.  I see this all the time in apps, devices etc.  The technology isn’t at the point they frequently imagine, leading to disappointment and disappointment for consumers.

I have to wonder at some of the “reviews” I read for cell phones, iPads and similar devices.  The reviews miss the point, I don’t buy a device or even if it has a lot of “gee whiz” features I will never use, or even figure out for that matter.  

I buy Apple products because I know they will back them up and they are reasonably reliable, in fact I rarely have a problem with them. (I’m not sure what I would do if I didn’t live near an Apple Store.)  I bought one of the $50 Kindles and it didn’t even last out the guarantee period and, worse yet, there does not appear to be any support.  It isn’t that it doesn’t work, many parts of it still work, but there are parts that are just unacceptable  workmanship or performance.  

Another dream to report, this one actually from Monday:

5-29-17 Dream

Dreamed I was going to a meeting in some large city (I believe Indianapolis).  We (Aliene and I) went downtown to our hotel.  

We went to  a Dollar General  (this was in Oklahoma City) and suddenly the lights went out and we were told we had to immediately evacuate the store.  It was part of a huge concrete mall type facility with a huge parking area.  

We went to our hotel.  For some reason we directly from the street into an elevator that went directly to our floor.

On the floor the lights ere out again and I wondered around for a while looking for my room and wondered into the ICMA conference which I was apparently attending.  

I walked past the registration desk and say a City Manager I have known since my first job with a city and said “I see you at every conference”.  (it is true, in one of those strange coincidences I see him almost the first thing at every conference)  He said something like “yes I take a lot of vacations here”.

I woke up.

That’s it for now, Wednesday, May 31, 2017.

2017 Spring May 30 Tuesday

63 degrees this morning, walk 34:09 minutes.

Still a little cool this morning at 63 degrees.  Pace was 2 seconds slower than my goal.  

Actually thought about extending my walk this morning but I have to figure out my time, since almost every minute is committed from the time I wake up until I start work.

While some of this time is committed to naps etc., it still is committed!  

Went to the gym over the weekend, since my schedule changed slightly it has been difficult to schedule any time for the gym during the days I work.  Or at least at times I want to go.  We have avoided going during the busy “after work” hours, but we might have to consider that.  Since it is a 24 hour gym (at least during the week), it seems like we could find an hour a day we could go!  

Really had an excellent Memorial Day weekend, a good start to summer, although the morning temperature isn’t very summer-like.  I tried to sit out on the patio yesterday morning,, and this morning but gave up after several minutes.  

The Canon printer is purchased is really an indication that “brick & mortar” retail has a future if they can provide service after the purchase.  I will never purchase something like that over the internet again unless here is a convenient service facility nearby.  I simply won’t buy anything that does not have a convenient local service facility.  

Telephone/e-mail/chat support just doesn’t do it.  

Summer plans are starting to firm up, it looks like it will be in an interesting summer.  Funny how you can be planning something and flailing about and suddenly everything comes together.  

I still remember when I started thinking about going to China, by chance I sat at a table with a person whose business was preparing people for going overseas!  While I wasn’t a star client by any means (her primary business was business people who committed lots of money to training someone to go overseas), I was able to get tips and get in contact with someone who helped prepare us for China.  

Like they say, “when the student is ready, the teacher appears” . 

Reading a newsletter which has some interesting theories on how we are all living longer and this is changing our view of work, as well as retirement. 

Obviously retirement is changing, I am very lucky that I have a “traditional” retirement plan, which is becoming almost non-existent.  The article mentions it won’t be unusual for persons born now to live to 100 and have an active working life much later than the 65 etc.  

They mention the entire concept of a “career” may change and companies much adapt their thinking about age.  

I can imagine my difference in perspective if I had realize that at age 40, I thought I would still be working at my current age.

Due to the problems with my printer, (I still like to analyze articles like this-at least some  aspect-on the printed page), I haven’t analyzed this as well as I plan to do so yet, although I probably need to learn to study articles without having to see it in print.  

That’s it for now, Tuesday, May 30, 2017.  

2017 Spring May 29 Monday

Memorial Day

59 degrees this morning, 34;03 minute walk.

Have to admit, I didn’t expect it to be this cool this morning, although it was a good walk.  I dressed in my “coolish weather” clothes I wear in the about 57 to 66 degree temperature.  I still can’t get it figured out as to exactly how to dress.  

Sitting out on patio, but just a little too cool and am going in.  (Maybe)

Pace was 8 seconds faster than my goal, although I am a little disappointed since I consciously tried to up my pace a little.  

Memorial Day today. As I mentioned before, I always remember it because we went to Soldier Kansas on Memorial Day to the Soldier Cemetery..

Also, I feel it is a good to set aside a day to remember and to honor those who prepared the way for us, so to speak.  

First outdoor swim of the season yesterday, felt very good!  I didn’t realize how much I had missed swimming. i expect after the summer I will need to find an indoor swimming pool.  

Didn’t wear my Apple Watch (which is waterproof), I didn’t want to get it wet! 

Not the YMCA, for sure, the closest one is only a mile away and has a fantastic swimming pool, but it is never available for members!  The director abuses the so called “public-private partnership to rent out the pool to make money instead of providing space for members.  

Complaints did not good, so we took the only available step and didn’t renew our membership and don’t support the YMCA in anything.  

Listening to the book “To Hell and Back” this morning the author noted that businesses didn’t support Hitler until they “realized how many profits they would make” with him as dictator and suddenly they loved him and supported him and of course made a lot of money (for a couple of years until the country self-destructed).  

Sound familiar?  Sounds like the lying bully’s program.

Of course, according to the book Dark Money all of the kook brothers money was made by the father building infrastructure for Hitler and Stalin.  Made a lot of money, but I wonder how many lives were lost because of his “profitable” work the his sons continue to use for evil purposes and attempts at intimidation and extortion to get their extreme beliefs imposed on everyone. 

I expect karma will take it’s course some day.  

The last day of a 3 day weekend.  It has been a great weekend, and today should be good also.  The temperature was around 95 degrees Sunday and in the  80’s yesterday and supposed to be about the same today.  Can’t get much better than that.

I don’t know why it is still so cool in the mornings, I don’t remember it being this cool in the mornings  this time  in the past.

If you have an Apple Watch and use it for exercise, you might heed my story about this.  Yesterday morning I went for my walk and didn’t get any information  on my walk like I normally do (time, pace, a map of my walk etc.).  

I found out that  the kids had played with the watch (it very much attracts children who love to play with it).  Anyway, somehow they had put it into “airplane mode” which means it didn’t communicate with the iPhone.

I changed it back to “normal” and the watch update the iPhone app and I was able to see my data!

That’s it for now, Monday, May 29, 2017.

2017 Spring May 28 2016

Coolish morning even for 69 degrees.  Somehow the break point seems to be in the 68-72 degree range when I need to wear something over my mouth. (To prevent or mitigate coughing from the cool air).  

I tried to pick up the pace midway throughout the walk, but still ended up with my pace 9 seconds slower than my goal.

Listening to “To Hell and Back”, Europe between 1914 and 1949.  He is discussing the Spanish Civil War.  It is of special interest to me since I was in Spain while I was in the Air Force, and Franco was actually still ruling and alive.  I saw his future grave site, “The Valley of the Dead”.  

I hadn’t realized some aspects of the Spanish Civil War, I’m a little surprised when I think about it that I don’t know more about it, since I was in Spain and the Spanish Civic War actually figures  a lot in literature, especially the International Brigades.  

I may get a “Great Course” on the Spanish Civil War to catch up on it, apparently it is another matter of countries failing to help Spain due to the Nationalistic trend at the time.

I am amazed at how events of almost (or more than) 100 years ago have such truth now.  Scapegoating etc. is still a large part of the political process, as is pandering to the lowest of human emotions instead of trying to be a leader.

Had a dream yesterday I waned to note

5-27-17 Saturday Dream

Dream that I was in some kind of setting where a lot of other people were around (not a dorm , but not a hotel room).

My phone “timer” (which I use for naps kept going off and I couldn’t find the phone to shut it off.  

I tried to get it out of my coat packet (a lightweight “favorite” jacket) but couldn’t’ get the pocket open and I was thinking I didn’t want to have to tear up my favorite jacket.

Then I found the phone (don’t recall  how I got it out of the jacket, but it was almost like two different phones were ringing) but I couldn’t get it to shut off. I finally smashed it (it was the phone I got a long time ago, actually got it the same day as 9-11-01 or maybe the day before).  I thought when I smashed it, ‘“well it was an old phone anyway) without the connection to 911

Suddenly some kind of liquid came out of the phone spreading gall over and I couldn’t pick it up.  In this case it was spreading over to cots people were sleeping in, so I felt bad about polluting their “living area”.’

A person I used to work with was in the dream for some reason, other person in the team were, well, dream like and I didn’t know them.

What is strange was I was taking a nap and Aliene woke me up and told me my phone had been going off!  (The ring I use for the timer for my naps).

Not sure what it meant or even where I was, but it was a very strong dream.  \\

That’s it for now, Sunday, May 28, 2017

2017 Spring May 27 Saturday

75 degrees this morning, walk 35:37 minutes, weights

Good walking weather this morning, still that little chill in the air.  I overdressed for the temperature as I tend to do at first.

Tomorrow if the temperature is still the same (and we are supposed to have a “heat wave”, at least for this time of year) I will go to my shorts and t-shirt walking outfit.  I am still a little hesitant because of that little bit of chill in the  area.

Although I thought I was walking at a fast pace, my pace was actually 20 seconds slower than my goal!  (Sigh).  I just can’t gauge my pace at all, probably because my mind is elsewhere and I am listening to my book.  

A three day weekend is so nice, a little oasis in the desert of the working period.  I enjoy my work, but I also enjoy being off of it, especially when I am “completely off”, a concept I haven’t really gotten used to yet in my inner self.

I have this undercurrent that there is something I need to be doing, or that I could be doing etc.  It is getting less as time goes by, but still flares up for personal items or projects I have been putting off.  

Sitting out on the patio again this morning.  Not quite as good as the one at Lakeland, but excellent and enjoyable.  It is certainly the best available to me at this time and that is what  really matters!  That i enjoy what I have. 

Got my main printer going again yesterday (I hope). Used an Amazon technician, or one that is contracted through them.  So far I have been reasonably pleased with them, certainly with the rate.  For a person as mechanically disinclined as I am, such things are a blessing.  

For some reason, my manual skills have always been amazingly absent and I have always admired people who can fix a car, or repair a house.  

I still am unable to change a tire on a bicycle, although at one time I did become able to change my oil and filter.  Of course, the first front wheel drive I got, I couldn’t get the filter back on.  

Fortunately, I lived on a hill and was able to let the car go down the hill in neutral (this was probably over 30 years ago) and push it to a gas station where they tried to control their snickers as they put the oil in and filter on.

Obviously, I never  tried to change the oil on a car again and I don’t even open the hood if I can avoid it, except maybe to admire how someone could actually come up with an engine like that!  

I even try to avoid adding water to my windshield wiper fluid, since one time I got that and antifreeze mixed up!  

Anyway, had a really strong dream want to report on:

5-26-17 Friday, Dream

Dreamed I was in a car outside the Harrah Library.  several guys were washing my car.  I hadn’t asked them too and was wondering if I should tip them or pay them.  First I thought there was one, then I realized there was three.

My car was in a driveway and I was actually driving it while they were washing it.

One of the washers looked at me and started laughing saying I had an “eye tooth” in my check.  asked him what an “eyetooth” was. He started laughing harder. 

Right then there was sudden commotion as two babies were in the medan and people were trying to get them to safely.   (There actually is no median on that road but then this was a dream.) 

I tried to hit my 4 way hazard blinkers, but couldn’t find them.  (as I mentioned, I am mechanically inept)  

I found the  switch and activated it but then I woke up.

It was a very strong dream, I woke up thinking it was real.

That’s it for now, Saturday, May 27, 2017

2017 Spring May 26 Friday

77 degrees this morning, walk 35:03 minutes 

Wow!  77 degrees, up from, I believe 59 yesterday!  I didn’t know how to dress for such a warm temperature!  Yes, I dressed way too warm for it!

Walk itself was good, no real wind.  Pace was 2 seconds faster than my goal, so must of my walks are coming right within the basic parameters of my goal pace.  Time to ramp it up a little, at least soon.

Sitting outside this morning writing this!  The first time this year, which is great!  It actually is very comfortable and nice.  I had forgotten how nice it is to sit out on the patio.  

I have to give “three cheers” to Apple Computers again.  My iPhone 5, which we use only for audio books and music basically started to expand out of it’s case.  

I took it in and found the battery was expanding (the phone was still working fine).  Apparently it was expanding so “it wouldn’t blow up”.  Nice to design it like that!  i don’t like to think of the alternative of the battery blowing up!

This is actually the first Apple product (going back to my very first iPod Shuffle and my “original iPod”, which I believe is about 10 years old where the battery has gone bad.  All of my other products still have a usable battery.

However, what is strange the iPhone 5 still worked fine, and charged fine.  

Anyway, I was able to buy a brand new replacement iPhone 5 (not a reconstructed one) for $79.  (The iPhone 5S was $399, so that was not an option!).  I grabbed at it, since we use it for an  audio book and music device, and it is  still a good backup phone,   (We don’t buy phone service for it, but on WiFi, we can call on Facebook etc. and we can always change over the sim card.)

I realizes it may be out of date soon, but it will run what we need.  Actually when the iPhone 8 comes out (or whatever they will call it),I plan on replacing my iPhone 6 so we will have another backup phone  

We still have our iPhone 3 and 3S, although we rarely use them for anything any more.  Even in Audiobooks, there have just been too many advances.  

Actually, I hope to use the iPhone 3 and 3S for monitors (including a “dash cam” for one of the cars) as they will still work for that  I am still working through the technical matter of placing the phones, there are plenty of apps for the monitor and the dash cam.  

My poor old iPod shuffles and original iPod are almost never used anymore, although I like to know they are there for backup.

it is hard to beat a company that treats you that well and has that good of a quality of product.  

Friday of a 3 day weekend!  Somehow it doesn’t quite seem like it is Memorial Day yet, but it definitely is here!

Short dream I had yesterday, I am trying to remember my dreams better and write them down, so I’ll make a note of it.

5-25-17 Thursday Dream

Dreamed Aliene and I came back from somewhere and my car was up on a stand like they have in tire shops.  I walked up and asked what was going on and they said they’d noticed I had a flat.  Thought ti was strange, but woke up.

Before that we were going over a long long bridge, but I can’t remember that part of the dream other than the bridge.  How soon we forget!

That’s it for now, Friday, May 26, 2017.

2017 Spring May 25 Thursday

59 degrees this morning, walk 35:43 minutes

“Cool” 59 degrees this morning.  Wind was up a little.  Pace was 24 seconds slower than my goal, maybe it has something to do with the cold.

Listening to the book “To Hell and Back” during my walk, the quote “Man always have to have his scapegoats” struck me.

It is certainly true of any dictator or demagogue  who panders to the lower than animal instincts in human beings.  Add in trying to demonize the news media and you have a  truly unqualified and incompetent lying bully as president.  

Add in the lying and the attempting to tear down people personally, the corruption etc. and it is a very scary situation.

They lying bully’s family is almost even more scary, especially the slum landlord son in law and his opportunistic daughter who sees it as a change to make money and the nazi leaning president bannon, the criminal EPA head Pruitt who sold out to the oil and gas companies in Oklahoma even, and a truly incompetent like de vice, who shouldn’t be allowed near a school, mush less in charge of education and you have a truly  depraved group of people “in charge” of the country. 

Unfortunately, there are also a bunch of Senators and Representatives who have no backbone and are welling to sell out to depravity to get what they want, not what is best for the country.

Back to the “scapegoating”, you can certainly see it in the lying bully’s actions, anyone who dares to express an opinion, he attempts to destroy personally because he doesn’t have the capacity to do otherwise.  A disgrace. 

Thinking about restaurants, where you are only as good as “your last meal”.  

Even though we have eaten over 100 meals at the restaurant I recently mentioned where I had the episode with the peanut butter (and I have overlooked much worse), we haven’t been back in probably a month now.  It wasn’t necessarily deliberate, we just haven’t been back.  

Somewhat like Cracker barrel, they won’t let up substitute a small pancake (even at an extra charge) for the toast/biscuit at breakfast.  Also they don’t have peanut butter.

Nothing against those policies, they have their policy and I rarely eat there for that reason.  In fact I think it has been a year since I ate at one.  

These thoughts all came up because of supper last night.  We went to a “casual” dining restaurant, probably “upper casual” which usually has great service and food.  The service remained great, the food…..

I ordered fried catfish.  In fairness I rarely do since it is difficult to do it right, I normally order grilled or blackened where available.  Usually where fried catfish is the only type available I switch to something else, but in this case the catfish sounded good.  Supposed to be “lightly braked”. Ha!  

Anyway, it was hard to find he catfish meat between the breaded fried exterior, the “glazed carrots” which are usually great were overcooked and soft (but still good, just not as good as usual) and the french fries were soggy.  I still ate everything, although I regretted the catfish later.  

I may eat there again, but it won’t be the catfish.  I shouldn’t be eating french fries anyway.  

When I was a manager, I always said (and honestly felt it), “tell me if something is wrong, so I will know and I can correct it”.  Did I say anything last night?  No I didn’t.  One reason is I always get overreactions to mild negative comments.  I think I will start say something, if I don’t it will never change.  More on this in future days.

That’s it for now, Thursday, May 25, 2017.

2017 Spring May 24 Wednesday

51 degrees this morning, walk 35:06 minutes.

Relatively “warm” 51 degrees this morning, believe it or not!   Pace was five seconds slower than my goal.  

Seems like it should be warming up “for the Summer” and do away with these 50 degree temperatures!  I am really looking forward to warm and even hot weather. Hot weather doesn’t brother me.  It has been a long cool spring.

Soon hot wether will be here and I will forget the cold.  Next year though, we are definitely going to take a break from the cold sometime in late Winter or Spring!

Now there is less than a month before Summer, which is great, but it also means the days start getting shorter and we descend into Winter again!  

Memorial Day is coming up.  I always remember Memorial Day because we went to Soldier, Kansas on that day.  

I believe the Community still serves a meal on Memorial Day and have a wonderful meeting room and park.  I don’t know how they maintain everything.  

It was a nice break for us, it wasn’t really that far of a trip from where we lived, but I always remember the trips.

Three years ago we had just gotten back from our trip to China and were still recovering from that.  It was a wonderful trip and I still am going through the pictures I have taken.  

The WiFi was out (or at least not responding well) this morning and I was reminded again of how dependent we are now on the internet, fast shipping and, especially, electricity.  Of course, add the smart phone etc. and we are really dependent on others.  

I recently read about “battery packs” for houses, where a house could generate electricity from the sun or wind and store it in a battery etc.  

I understand it isn’t efficient yet (except in Hawaii), but the time is getting close when it will be feasible to at least partially go “off the grid”.

One thing I like about the city I live in is it has it’s own electric company.  Electric companies are so interdependent on other electric companies, it doesn’t really mean a lot except if you do have a severe outage, I figure there is more ion a chance on having  electric  service reconnected sooner since they have a smaller area.

Of course, the bigger electric companies have  more personnel and equipment also, so it probably balances out.  

My experiences with private companies (I am referring to the national corporate ones) haven’t made me much of an admirer of private companies.  I think I know the  reasons while they have problems, they are just inefficient and are more concerned with stock prices or fees then they are about providing good customer service.

That’s it for now, Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

2017 Spring May 23 Tuesday

56 degrees this morning, walk 33:51 minutes

Walk was cool this morning, probably the moisture in the air. Pace is 21 seconds below (faster) the goal time.  

Of course, now I on’t want to change another f f

Getting ready to start on some long term projects, including Aliene scanning her pictures, picking up on making pictures of the “Hot Wheels”, as well as t-shirts. 

I am starting to sort through my t-shirts to convert many of the t-shirts to a quilt of blanket.  I do plan on taking pictures of he t-shirts first.  I still still kind of have a “waiting period” before I actually take them up to be turned into a quilt, although I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t proceed with it.  

Taking pictures of the Hot Wheels has been more a matter of finding a place with decent lighting as much as anything.  

Watching the State Legislature at “work”, I have to wonder what a large number of them thought they were doing when they ran for office.  It seems that they feel special interests elected them, not the voters.  They certainly cater to special interests more than they are concerning about providing services to the public. 

One thing about trying to give a speech or write about something, you learn want you don’t know also.  Tried to prepare a speech based on a small part of the book “Algorithms in Daily Life” and realized I didn’t understand it as well as I thought.  

I think the solution is to realize that much of it is theoretical and trying to turn it into practical advice takes a short leap of faith so to speak.  

For example, while I understand the significance of the “37 % rule” on making decisions etc. on, say, purchasing or renting a home, I have to think that there also has to be some consideration on how you set the “total field” before you start.

As an example, the theory is that to avoid buying/renting too soon, but still not taking forever to make a decision you look at “37%” of the total field of homes and then make a decision on the “best” home after you have looked at 37% of the number you planned on looking at.

My concern is, how to you find the original “37%” field?  That is, how do you decide on the universe of what you potentially will look at?  Is it 10 houses, 20 houses 100 houses?

Also, the same is true for the “time” factor.  Do you decide you are going to look 30 days? If so how many house/apartments will you work on each day or week?  It won’t do a lot of good if you wait until after 20 days to start looking!

I’m sure here are some answers, or at least enlightened thoughts on this!

I think that is why it is so important to try to pass on your thoughts and attempt to explain something you have read, it really helps you understand the concepts a lot better and also of course any misunderstandings (or failing to understand)

That’s it for now, Tuesday May 23, 2017.