Summer 2015 July 21 Tuesday

73 degrees this morning.  No walk, thunderstorm and rain.

Summer thunderstorm came in last night and is basically still on-going,at least a light rain and still lightning and thunder.  

I decided it is time to concentrate on losing weight again.  I have basically been at my current weight for about 4 years, and it is time to resume losing weight.  

While exercise helps you lose weight, or perhaps maintain weight, I believe the only way to really lose weight is to eat less on a continuous basis.   I don’t plan on any extreme weight losses, but I would like to go back to losing a pound every several weeks.

It is strange what motivates people.  In my case, I happened to see a reflection of myself in a door (perhaps it was somewhat distorted), but it helped me resolve to eat just a little less. 

My main approach will be to just not eat when I start to feel full and to avoid carbs as much as possible  

I used to use “iWeb” a lot until it stopped being supported by Apple  I switched to “Wordpress”, but really haven’t done a lot with it.

I have my chance now, a local community college is having a 15 hour short course in Wordpress and it actually is on dates I am free.

What surprised me was the thought of spending 3 hours per night, twice a night for two weeks (actually 2 1/2 weeks) doesn’t really appeal to me, in fact i rather dread it.  

Since I used to love to take courses and for years I frequently worked at least 3 nights per weeks in meetings etc., I am surprised in a way at my reaction.  

Anyway, I do need to learn more about Wordpress.  I am currently in that stage where I don’t want to do a lot more since I may not be able to get back to where I am now, if that makes any sense.  

Currently I use it as a small web page and a place for my blog.  I could do so much more on it, which is why I want to take the course.  

As I mentioned, I used to take college courses all the time, just out of curiosity, but haven’t since the last course I took in “Technical Writing”.  

Perhaps the access to almost unlimited information, or actually the information is truly unlimited since I have access to more information about any subject than I will ever use on the internet.  The fact that I can just put in a phrase and get 10 million responses (or whatever) means I have more access to information than I will ever need already.

There is something rewarding about being able to pick up an encyclopedia  or dictionary and just leaf  through it, but the same thing can be done on the internet.  

Probably one trend that annoys me more than anything is the passing of “neutral” journalism.  Now, it is all about pushing your opinion (or the opinion of the person who pays the most) instead of just what the “news” is.  

Nothing wrong with stating opinions or lobbying for change, but just don’t disguise it as “news”!  

I think that correlates with the “extremist” candidate pattern I have noted.  Instead of “serving the community”  (or state etc.) as candidates and elected officials used to do, there has been a big trend to extreme positions, or more likely, “single issue” politics, with lobbyists paying big dollars for favorable laws and decisions.

One of those things I can’t do a lot about, so I won’t worry about it.  Just saves me time as I quit reading and watching “news” that appears to be one big informercial.

That’s it for now, Tuesday, July 21, 2015.

Summer 2015 July 20 Monday (Time, Hyper-time and Measuring Time)

81 degrees this morning, Walk 42:58 minutes

Moon Day today.  

I can never figure out why, when I take the exact same walk, my time can vary so much.  I basically walk the same pace, etc, but he time still differs.  It doesn’t seem to matter if it is hot or cold, although I notice I am a little slower in cold weather gear in the winter.  

Or maybe I am just a little slower in the  winter anyway!

Of course, I clap cannot understand who the early morning (from the time I get up until I start work) is “hyper-time”, time just disappears into an abyss. 

Of course, it takes time to walk, shower, write this post, nap, eat breakfast etc., but still…..

Of course you can look at time in different ways, “dog years” is an example. 

Also, I like to measure time through the use of coffee filters.  I watch in amazement at 750 coffee filters (over  two years, even at one filter per day) disappears, showing how time can go so fast.  

Or, another way, is the little cups I bought to measure my peanut butter for breakfast, so I don’t get too piggy about peanut butter.  2,500 cups!  I decided I will retire when all of the cups are gone!  I guess that is one way of measuring time!  Assuming I use one every day (which I don’t), it would be about seven years.

Whoever said tasks expand to fill the time available was certainly right.  I was rarely bored at any time in  my life (even as a child with no tv etc, I was a voracious reader of books.  Even as a third grader I was reading my brothers and sisters high  school literature books, and the “5 foot book collection” and checked out the maximum # of books from the Library.  

I do have to admit one of my biggest worries was being bored (standing in lines etc.), but it rarely happened.  

Note I said I “read’ the books when I was in the third grade, I didn’t understand them until years later, and maybe I don’t now.  

I remember a story “Alas Babylon”  which was about life after an atomic war.  I didn’t realize that for years.  I think I though it was an historic short story, which I guess in a way it was, perhaps a “futuristic historic” short story. 

I guess that is another way of measuring time, your understanding of life, or perhaps how you measure your life or what you want from life.  

I think one of the biggest regrets many people have is not realizing how time speeds by and making use of time when you have it.   I’m not sure if I have that regret or not, I don’t want to waste time thinking about something I can’t do anything about anyway!

Start of another week.  I have a lot of “work” work to get caught up on.  Not complaining, I love it. 

I’m not sure if my work is actually “productive”, but it is necessary, which may make it “productive”.  

2015

It is rather strange to be limited to 40 hours per week, after years of working much more than that.  I try not to “cheat” by working more than that, but it is hard not to do it when you know you have stuff you need to get done!  

Enjoying a great morning on the patio!

That’s it for now, Monday, July 20, 2015.

Summer 2015 July 19 Sunday (Mud Daubers, elevation & cable tv)

82 degrees this morning, Walk 41:08 minutes 

Sitting out on the back patio writing this on Sunday morning.  The ever-present wind is blowing, again providing almost a cool feeling even in 82 degree weather.  

I am always amazed at the difference altitude makes in weather.  82 degrees here is much different than 82 degrees in Memphis (which is almost sea level, something like 200 feet above sea level), Liberal, Kansas (about 3,000 feet), this city (about 1300 feet) and, of course Denver or other high city. There is a huge difference in the way the same temperature feels, the amount of snow etc.

I can remember working summers in Denver during college and coming back to Hays, Kansas.  I really noticed the difference.  Denver may be hot in the sun but was almost always coolish in the shade.

I am enjoying the hot, dry weather and hope it continues.

We somehow have a ‘mud dauber”  nest right above our back door.  Although i generally believe in ‘live and let live” , like the bird that pooped on our front porch, this is a little too much even for me, although the consequences for the wasp/hornet will be much more drastic (probably death) then the birds, which was dislocation.  (I always thought it was spelled “mud dobbers” but found out different, thanks to spell check and Google)

From the condition of our cars any time we parked it outside even for a few minutes, I think the birds got their revenge.  

I am going to spray the nest right after this, and I am not sure that I will come out after my nap light I normally do!  I expect there will be some very mad wasps out here.  

Sometimes I wonder how the cable company people can sleep at night.  I really expect many more people will “cut the cord” because they are tired of being lied to, cheated and the gross incompetence and greed of the cable companies.  

In my opinion both Cox cable and Comcast profile the worst aspects of a mini-monopoly gone mad with greed and averse, political payoffs  and just flat incompetence.  

For over a year, we have been unable to get the service promised by Cox cable.  They promised a service and are unable to provide it.  The representatives  come out, say it is a “software problem” and then disappear. 

Meanwhile, we are charged for HBO and Cimemax, which we never watch and $30 per month for “unlimited calls to Mexico” which we never call and are told if we cancel these our bill will increase!  What a joke.  

Meanwhile, when we moved, they had “contractors” who only could think of going on to the next job and doing as little as possible.  Three people have worked on it now and it still doesn’t work.  (This doesn’t include the 10 service calls at the other house that never fixed it either.)

To top things off, Cox attempted to double bill me during the move and denies it and apparently raised our rate about 25% without notice.  

Then, when I complained about the service again, I was directed some some mean-spirited representative who told me to “unplug the box” again.  I advised her we had done it this many times and it never works.  She insisted I do it, or “she was going to hang up”  and when I did, the phone went out!  So much for that, I”ll call back later. 

Obviously I am ‘unplugging” Cox cable as soon as the contact expires.  To top it off, somehow the Cox “land line” which was advertised at $19 per month, is now $70 per month through almost devious means like “$30 for unlimited calls to Mexico”.  

Anyway, if if i worried about stuff that that, I’d never get anything done, so I keep it in a compartment of my mine where I don’t worry about it, but don’t forget it either!

That’s it for now, Sunday, July 19, 2015.

Summer 2015 July 18 Saturday

81 degrees this morning, Walk 42:38 minutes

There is almost a coolness to the air this morning, if you can believe 81 degrees can be cool.  Maybe the relationship to the highs in the high 90’s make it seem cool.

It certainly is not an unpleasant coolness, just a very subtle touch of coolness in the wind.  Such are the pleasures of the early morning hour!

Our sprinkler system seems to have a mind of it’s own and went off this morning.  Sometimes it is afternoon, sometimes not at all.  The sprinkler company will hopefully be out Monday to adjust everything.  

My dilemma is I really think using water simply for grass is wasteful, but if you don’t water it the results aren’t exactly desirable either.   

One thing I do miss about Memphis is the flowering plants, the Crepe Myrtles etc.  They would usually start blooming(? I guess that is the correct word) about now and last for the summer.  

I need to pick my preference of the areas I would have at work (areas are Zip codes).  As usually in such situations, there are good and bad things about each area. 

In regard to my comments yesterday morning about “panhandlers” (or whatever) standing on the medians, I think it is actually illegal in most cities due to the hazards involved.  

Yesterday afternoon (on Friday afternoons, traffic gets crazy about 2:00 pm. for some reason), and people were literally standing on each median and each corner soliciting money for something (they never are really clear, so I have  an idea the “cause” is their won well-being.

Anyway, people would stop to give them something, backing up traffic even more in the process.  If nothing else their running out to cars etc. creating hazards for both them and the car drivers.

We actually had a lease on our former rental house until July 31, which meant not only the rent, but also maintaining the yard and utilities etc.  

We learned last night, it may be leased as of July 21, which would really be a relief for us, both financially and otherwise.  10 days isn’t much, but it is better than nothing.

I have developed a fairly decent walk route in the morning  It includes more inclines than I am used to doing, which probably is the reason fro the wide variety of times.  

Still pondering about the YMCA or the 24 hour gym.  I think the access to swimming (and other activities, especially classes for Aliene) generally favors the YMCA..

I am not a “group  exercise” person, to say the least.  Maybe  a heritage of the high school sports, Air Force and College classes.  However, I do like dance classes, which are somewhat the same, depending on how you look at it.

This weekend will probably  include continuation of moving in, and perhaps more so, setting up.  I expect I will continue weeding, although all of the low-hanging fruit, so to speak, has been completed.  

Wind is blowing this morning.  I was  trying to figure out if there was an advantage to a north/south orientation, but probably every situation has it disadvantages.  

That’s it for now, Saturday, July 18, 2015.

Summer 2015 July 17 Friday

81 degrees this morning, Walk 42:08 minutes

A message i received on a “Hot Wheels” E-Bay listing was especially interesting.  Someone one E-bay was asking $20,000 for their collection of Hot Wheels!  I will need to look at the details, but it will be interesting to see what they have.  

There were a number of other toys etc. with a high “asking” price, which of course doesn’t mean they will get what they are asking.

Even then, considering that I have seen “Hot Wheels” for sale for $5.00 minimum (although with a shipping charge almost equal to the price), it wouldn’t take much to add up, again, if you could sell them.

They are having a “Hot Wheels” show here about 6 times a year when people buy and sell Hot Wheels, Matchbook cars etc.   I think they mostly look and trade, but it is interesting.

Attended a session on Home Owner Association legal considerations last night.  It was interesting and hopefully helpful.  Part II is next week.

I already knew a lot of the basic information due to my past work, but that helped me learn more about the specifies of this state.

As cities continue to not honor their obligations to residents and burden Home Owners Associations with what should be services provided by the City,  HOA’s will become especially critical.  

I really don’t think the purpose of HOA’s is to maintain drainage ditches, parks etc, walking trails etc. while developers, builders and commercial businesses get what only can be described as gifts and special privileges at the expense of residents.

Speaking of that, several years ago, I noted an upsurge of panhandlers standing at the corner begging money etc.  Most important, I feel this is a hazard to the public.  I personally know of one panhandler who was killed and probably they have caused innumerable accidents when people are distracted by them.  It seems the city, county or state is partially responsible for letting it happen.  

I was reminded of this because yesterday at a McDonalds, I was accosted by someone who wanted money.  I just advised her “no” like I always do to such requests. 

I always feel a little better when I remember an incident several years ago.  We were going back to Memphis and stopped at a rest stop.  We had just gotten a brand new car.  We were asked by the stereotypical “little old lady” with a cane for money to get home and I refused.

Guilt burdened me until about a month later we stopped at the same rest stop.  The same lady came with the same story.  I asked her “didn’t I see you about a month ago?”.  She literally ran away without the need for her cane.  

I realize probably 50% of the people really do need help and will use it for food etc.  .  We aren’t heartless, we try to tip well for people who are trying to make a living and donate to various causes and organizations that help people.  

Another pet peeve is the stores who ask you to “add a dollar” for THEIR favorite charity and then act miffed when I say “no thanks”.  I have become immune to any guilt feelings on that (I always say no), but I still resent being put in a spot by the store.  Somehow it seems they could  pay the investment bankers, their executives etc. a few million dollars less and donate the money to their “cause” if it is that important to them. 

Anyway, enough of that.  Office day today, I have a lot of catching up on paperwork today.  It all seems to take more time than I think it will!

That’s it for now, Friday, July 17, 2015.  

Summer 2015 July 16 Thursday

78 degrees this morning,  31:28 minute walk 

Thursday already.  It is always a shock to realize how fast time goes, and little I have accomplished when comparing it to things I planned to do1

Another relatively hot day yesterday, but I spend my day on “training” in an area where it was actually too cool!    The information provided for my job was good.    I have enough experience that it answered a lot of my questions.

Sleep patterns.  I have always (since even high school if not grade school) have liked to take short “cat naps”, never very long or I don’t feel alert like I do after a short hap. 

I am trying to decide on the best pattern.  I feel that the best pattern may be my normal nights sleep, following by a relatively long nap for me (30 min or so) after my walk, and then a short nap (from very short, 5 min, to normal, around 15 min) shortly before I start work.  Then a short nap at noon (if I am in the office) and then about a 15 minute nap after I stop work and before I do much else after work.  

I have found that just closing my eyes for a minute can rejuvenate me, even without a nap, during the day.  

I remember my entire life I had the tendency to drop off into the nap world if things slowed down, I remember napping when I was in elementary school, at least in the first to fourth grade, at movies and anywhere else there wasn’t any active stimulation.  

The naps helped a lot, I remember napping in high school, and I definitely liked naps after I started full time work.  The “after work” nap was especially important, just 15 -20 minutes or so.  I normally didn’t set a time or clock, just woke.  

It is something about taking a mental break, or even to prepare for a transition to another phase of my day.  Not a lot, just a short nap.  

I was thinking about this because yesterday I tried to take several longer naps before I went to work (since I was going to be sitting in my nemesis   for napping, a cool dark area in a soft seat where I wasn’t really expected to respond).  Although it could have been the subject matter, I didn’t get sleepy at all.  However later in the day, after work,  I took several very short naps- 5 minutes-and it didn’t do a lot of good.  

I actually really enjoy naps and find they really are just like starting a new day, and I feel a lot of energy.  

While driving on a long trip I  sometimes get the “sleepies”, a very intense tiredness.  I have found if I stop and take about a 3-5 minute nap (sometimes more, but rarely), I am wide awake and alert.  Of course the secret is to be ready to pull of and take a nap.  

I really like the patio here.  One exception is when I am on the “outside patio”, the wind doesn’t allow me to read a newspaper.  Usually I can read magazines or books, but not a newspaper.  Of course I can use my computer fine.

That may be one major factor in my decision on whether to go primarily to computer/ipad in my newspaper reading, plus the fact that it eliminates my dependence on a news carrier to deliver it on time each morning.  

Of course it also mades me dependent on an internet connection and electricity also!  

I am going to make a decision about exercise, since that will affect my time and go from there.  

That’s it for now, Thursday, July 16, 2015.

                                                  

Summer 2015 July 15 Wednesday

82  Degrees this morning, 41:08  minute walk.

July 15 marks the day I went on active duty in the Air Force, many years ago.  Strange how such a date sticks in your mind.  It was definitely a life-changing experience for whatever reasons.  

July 15 also marks (or at least could be considered to mark) the midpoint of summer before the the tilt to going back to school etc., even though the warm weather actually continues deep into Fall.  Many years the warm weather continues until almost Christmas, before the first snow begins.  

Every year, I think of taking a vacation int the dead of winter when I need a  break from the cool/cold weather.  I always thought about the Panama Canal zone, but there are other areas.

I’d like to see Dubai, if nothing else for the wild architecture, something like Shanghai.  

I have been thinking of saving up my credit card points for a trip to Dubai, and stay at the highest hotel in the world (a Marriott).  I actually could do it with my Marriott Credit Card and use my Delta America Express for the points to fly there.  Of course by the time I get that many points it may not be feasible to go, or, more likely the points required will go up faster than I can earn them!

I’m not sue what we would do when we got there, other than look around in ah, but nothing wrong with that.

Actually, I have wanted to go to Dubai ever since I read “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman where he described the architecture of Dubai, Hong Kong etc. 

I also hope to go back to China in the relatively near future, hopefully  as part of a City Manager’s conference or tour, at least partly.   I want to  have a “self guided” tour also, that was really fun.  

I still haven’t given up on my bicycle “ride with the Summer” , although I will need to train for it.  Actually I am more likely to be able to do it now, although I probably will have to condense the time.  I hope not to “retire, retire” for at least six more years, so that would restrict any long rides more than two weeks or so.  Of course, probably just the riding of the bike will restrict any long rides to several days! 

The streets in my neighborhood are cleaned up (thank goodness) so that should help me started training on my bike. Thanks to the City.   I am considering getting a “weinee bike”  (one with an electric motor “assist”, definitely not an electric bike).  

The difference in an electric bike and an “electric assist bike (my definition) is that an “electric assist” bike, the electric motor is charged by pedaling and is used only when going up a step hill, or when you are tired etc., and is actually used very little of the time.  

Anyway, I need to start training for the “ride with the summer” regardless of when I may actually do it.  Maybe I could even do it one week and then follow up on weekends.  Anyway, I”ll work out something.

Moving continues, trying to empty boxes, decide what to do with everything, assuming that where it ends up now is where it will probably live for years.  

I am planning on listening to/reading the book on “The Japanese Art of tidying up”.  Even if I don’t agree with everything, I will get the concept down.  The library finally has it in for me, so I have no excuses not to read it.  I also plan on listening to it on my morning walks.

Classroom training today.  While I think it will be interesting (I hope it will provide answers to questions I have), I still am somewhat dreading it.  Working at home and in the field is a real luxury that I appreciate (and I’m sure I get much more done at home than in an office with the normal disruptions) and it will make sitting in a classroom much more difficult!

That’s it for now, Wednesday, July 15, 2015.   

Summer 2015 July 14 Tuesday

81 degrees this morning, 42:25 minute walk

Driving to Toastmasters last night, I was thinking of how music affects your mood.  I’m  not sure if it “makes” your mood, but it can enhance your mood.  

Music can made me happy, sad, reflective or other moods and (if seems to me) even affect you physically.  

As someone told the municipal judge in one city when he appeared on a speeding ticket “Rock Music is always good for an additional 10 mph!”  (Case dismissed!)  This is actually a true story, but I won’t name the city of course!

One thing about having so many music devices, I can categorize my music by device.  Of course with the devices they have now, you can put all your music and categorize it on one device, but it is kind of fun to have a certain kind of music on an entire device.  Even the smallest device can hold enough songs for my walk.  

I haven’t gotten into “music streaming” yet, I haven’t even gotten close to listening to all of my music yet, plus I have XM radio to listen to some new type of music without committing too much.

At some point I may try it, but with all of the internet radio stations etc. that may be one thing that I don’t really have any interest in trying.  Nothing against it, it’s just not for me although I may try it just to see if it does have any benefit for me!

The “Endless Summer” is here, although it is someone of a contradiction.  (Somewhat like “the World Without End is Ending”.  

I think of the “Endless Summer” as that time of year when it is hot, the sunsets are long, and the cicadas are heard throughout the evening and the birds welcome the sun in the morning.  Obviously, it won’t be endless, but the mood is endless.  

Walking this morning, I still haven’t met another person or a car during my walk, but i did see an animal (in the complete dark) that could have been a skunk.  Obviously I kept my distance and kept my little flashlight on hoping to scare it away without it becoming TOO scared!  If indeed it was a skunk.  

Probably going on a ‘field day’ today, although I have a lot of paperwork to finish up, primarily investigating why there may have been a snafu on either end.  People tend to get very creative and sometimes creativity and formal structure don’t always mix well.  

Just mentioning a dream I can only remember snippets of, I was riding on some kind of vehicle and we were going through a road full of what appeared to be emergency vehicles (fire trucks etc.).  Even though the road appeared blocked, a way would almost magically open up.

I’m not sure what that means, but I wanted to note it.  

Sitting on the patio in the early morning is part of the “Endless Summer”.  It is too early for the birds, but you can hear the continuous background sounds of the insects and the night.  I’m not sure what the sound it, it is like a babel  of insects, what I consider as “night sounds”.

Didn’t get a newspaper yesterday so gave me the experience of trying to get my news off the Internet.  (I get “replica” newspapers but it isn’t the same.  Actually, the Memphis Commerical Appeal was the only newspaper that seemed to  get the “replica” newspaper right, so you  felt as comfortable reading it as you did the normal printed newspaper-almost.  I don’t know why other newspapers can’t get it right).

Anyway, it wasn’t all that bad and it did save me some time.  I’ll need to think about it. 

Another hot day forecast, supposed to be about 103 degrees.  Wonderful!  

That’s it for now,  Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

Summer 2015 July 13 Monday

79 degrees this morning.  (estimated):  41:29 minute walk  (regular route, forgot to stop timer)

Another Family Reunion completed.  It was a lot of fun and enjoyable to catch up and have the chance to visit with everyone and have some new experiences.  

I don’t know that I will ever go back to Lindsborg, Kansas, but I will have fond memories of it both as a result of my experiences there, and that I appreciate a community and city which obviously cares about the community.  To get results like Lindsborg has takes a lot of work and cooperation by all parts of the community, especially the business community, city and volunteer organizations.  

Family reunions are somewhat like markers (probably not the right word) in my life as I notice the generational changes,as well as the major changes and minor changes that comprise our lives.  

It was a surprisingly different experience to take the comparable short drive from where we currently live compared to the drive from Memphis. 

It seems like I have been gone a lot more than three days (actually only 1 or maybe 1 1/4 days of work), although not being here on the weekend, I also note the omission of the regular weekend routine.

Today I will be catching up on returning phone calls and e-mails from when I was gone and also catching p on some paperwork.  This week has a couple of administrative matters in it, one today and one Wednesday. 

Had a very enjoyable walk yesterday morning in Lindsborg.  The weather was perfect and it was nice to have some good o=conversation while  walking.   I hadn’t walked in the daylight for a long time (other than the day before!), so that also was nice.  

It was a different experience to walk in the daylight  versus my normal walk in the dark, more than I realized it would be.  

While I am able to catch the top news while I am at the Family Reunion, I normally don’t read a newspaper, watch tv news etc, so I basically just skim the news on my iPad or iPhone,  I don’t miss it  since too many other things are going on, but I always welcome the opportunity to catch up and read the news again.

I have been debating what news I should continue reading.  It seems like reading the newspaper takes a lot of time.  I think about that, and then I think, if I enjoy it, so what?   So the internal debate continues on how best to spend limited time, and if reading a daily newspaper (well, several daily newspapers) is worth the time or not.  

Anyway, so it is a good opportunity to see how I feel about not reading a daily newspaper.  However, as I mentioned, it really isn’t the same, since so much else is  going on, and I”m not in my  normal routine.

Nice to be out on my back patio again in the early morning.  

Just thinking, 42 years ago, I got out of the Air Force today.  As they say, it is hard to believe the time has gone so fast.  I wonder what I would have thought if I had known what the next  42 years were to bring?   

I took off on a a three day trip from Hampton, VA, to Washington DC, down the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Wakeeney, Kansas, where my parents lived.  About a month later I was enrolling in Wichita State University for my M.A. in Political Science.  

I do remember the feeling of having all the options in the world, I was out of the Air Force and ready to start life in “the real world”.   Fortunately, while i realize my options are somewhat more limited, I still feel that way.

That’s it for now, Monday, July 13, 2015.  

Summer 2015 July 12 Sunday

77 degrees this morning.  (Walk later this morning)

Lindsborg, Kansas

Nice walk after I posted yesterday morning  This is a very nice City to walk in and I really enjoyed the city.

I also paid attention to where I was so I wouldn’t get lost, although that isn’t all that likely!

Planning on walking with several other people this morning, which will be nice.

Sitting in the lobby of the hotel writing this.  There is a kind of timeless quality about it.  I believe the hotel (or at least the building) is over 100 years old, which may be interesting, but doesn’t always make for the greatest hotel facilities.  For example, no elevator to the second floor rooms, which I expect is impossible.  

Otherwise, it has been a nice experience overall.  Definitely not a “chain” hotel, which has both positive and negative points.  

We rode a “quadracycle”  (kind of like a golf cart, except four people peddle).  It was a lot of fun, it also made us realize how hot it was!

The reunion continues (and ends today).  It has been very enjoyable and a lot of fun. As usual, my main problem is when I get out of my environment, I tend to eat too much, I think out of some kind of internal fear I will be hungry (unlikely).

Maybe more likely, I am in a new environment, so I try new things, including food.

This is a community with a lot of Swedish heritage (if you haven't already guessed that) and they do an excellent job of emphasizing that to both attract tourists and also just to make an excellent community, one of the nicest small communities I have recently visited.  They do need to get ATT service and some new hotels!

I “tweeted” ATT, and was rather surprised to receive a response that their analyst showed “no problems in the area”.  I guess being completely unavailable isn’t a “problem”.  I wasn’t asking them to fix a problem, I certainly know it is unavailable, I was just asking where the closest service was.

It does seem odd that a city just off I-35 and with a college and substantial tourist visitors wouldn’t have any ATT service. 

For some reason, I had this trust that ATT was basically available everywhere while the other companies had substantial gaps.  Verizon (and I believe Sprint) are the only two cell companies that have service in this area.  For Verizon, and especially Sprint, to have service and ATT not have any service at all, is really a surprise.

I guess that is a result of my believe advertising or maybe ATT projecting an image of benign everywhere, which couldn’t possibly be true anyway.

Back to the real world tomorrow. Well maybe not the “real world”, but the “usual” world.  Overall, it has been a very nice break and we got to see a lot of family (some of whom we have never met before) and visit a lot. 

It will be an “office day” tomorrow, basically.  It will give me a chance to return phone messages from Thursday afternoon and Friday and whatever e-mail messages I may have.  Next time, I will change my voice mail message and set up an automatic e-mail response that I am out!  I hate to have people feel I don’t return phone calls for just don’t return them for several days. 

Forecast high temperature of 101 degrees today, 103 degrees tomorrow.

That’s it of now, Sunday, July 12, 2015.

Summer 2015 July 11 Saturday

76 degrees this morning.  plan on walking when a little lighter.

Lindsborg, Kansas

Heavy rain yesterday morning eliminated an opportunity to walk, I did get some walking in as he day went on.

An enjoyable day of visiting and just hanging out.  

That is what I like about this  format for a family reunion, you have time to talk and don’t feel pressured to make use of time.  

It kind of starts off like some classical music, with a few people arriving early, then more coming in as the weekend goes, to the climax, and then people start to leave and the reunion slowly ends.  

I’m never sure if it ends when I leave (it ends for me) or ends when the last person actually leaves.  Probably doesn’t really matter since in reality, it ends when I leave.  (Although I am normally one of the last to leave).  

It is kind of like a day, I get up early and do my morning routine, then Aliene gets up, the work day starts etc., and then it winds down at night.  

The hotel is turning out to be ok.  I am going to make sure I understand (and document) exactly what the rates are after this .  

Lindsborg is very active in keeping up the town, and the businesses also appear to be involved making a wonderful little town.  It apparently works, since there was a number of visitors yesterday who were obviously from out of town and visiting here. 

The really big problem is the lack of phone service (any carrier except Verizon). At least the hotel and most coffee shops and restaurants have good wi fi, which helps, although it hardly makes up for the lack of phone service.  

I have been trying to contact ATT (obviously not by phone), but haven’t gotten a response  I’m not asking much, just where the nearest ATT service is so I could make some phone calls.  

I had about five calls I had to make (mainly just responding to phone calls) so I could advise phone callers that I was ou until Monday.  

Since there is no ATT service, I could not respond to my work e-mail, since it uses ATT service for a connection and I couldn’t access ATT.  

I”ll make sure  I change my phone message and e-mail message in the future to indicate I am on leave and can’t respond!  I have just never gotten into the habit of doing that, primarily since I prefer to respond.

Went to a wonderful art exhibit at the college in LIndsborg.  It is always a pleasant surprise to discover a jewel like that in a small city.  Actually the entire city is somewhat of a jewel (excluding the appalling lack of phone service), with nice surprises all over town.

Sounds like summer is returning with at least one forecast calling for 97 degrees today, 105 degrees tomorrow.  

Looking forward to the continuation of the Reunion, heading back tomorrow.  Usually return early Monday morning, but it sounds like no one else is staying and with the cost of the hell, we can save a significant amount of money (basically enough to pay for our food while here) plus I can use less Annual Leave.

Actually will get to take a walk this morning, heading out!

That’s it for now, Saturday, July 11, 2015.