Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

5 minutes ago, b4pjoe said:

The actual changes...

That's encouraging. I still recommend end-to-end encryption, though.

Oh, and I got a call from QEH today and they gave me an appointment to see Dr. Jacinto on the 19th January!

So, good news all around!

 

[Schnickelfritz]

10 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Which brings me to another matter I have heard about but find very hard to believe. I've heard that one of the US cellular providers (T-Mobile?) Will now fine you if you say anything in your text messages that they don't like. Fineable "speech" to include any unacceptable texts about political, 2A, pro life/choice, etc, stuff they disagree with. Fines anything up to U$3,500 per offending text. You'll want to adopt one of the messaging apps that is end-to-end encrypted. I'd suggest Telegram over WhatsApp because the state has their hand so far up SuckerBorg's ass they literally use him like a sock-puppet. But you do you...

The cellular carrier will reportedly fine third-party messaging accounts up to $2,000 if they send spam, “social engineering messages or illegal content,” according to Vonage, which uses the T-Mobile network.

“These changes only impact third-party messaging vendors that send unlawful or unallowed commercial mass messaging campaigns for other businesses. The vendors will be fined if the content they are sending does not meet the standards in our code of conduct, which is in place to protect consumers from illegal or illicit content and aligns to federal and state laws.”

T-Mobile said in a statement sent to Cord Cutters News.

[b4pjoe]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

That's encouraging. I still recommend end-to-end encryption, though.

Oh, and I got a call from QEH today and they gave me an appointment to see Dr. Jacinto on the 19th January!

So, good news all around!

Agree completely about using the end-to-end encryption.

[Netfoot]

31 minutes ago, Schnickelfritz said:

These changes only impact third-party messaging vendors...

Right up to the next change in the terms of service...

But let's have faith in the corporate world to have our best interests at heart rather than those of their political paymasters.

[Schnickelfritz]

1 minute ago, Netfoot said:

Right up to the next change in the terms of service...

But let's have faith in the corporate world to have our best interests at heart rather than those of their political paymasters.

I'm absolutely sure they have nothing but our best interests at heart.... (sorry, laughing so hard, I'm having a coughing fit...) 😏

 

[andidante]

4 hours ago, Netfoot said:

That's encouraging. I still recommend end-to-end encryption, though.

Oh, and I got a call from QEH today and they gave me an appointment to see Dr. Jacinto on the 19th January!

So, good news all around!

 

That is awesome news! Hopefully he will be helpful.

[Netfoot]

47 minutes ago, andidante said:

Hopefully he will be helpful.

I think he's a she. But I don't know why I think that. I could ask Dr. Kristi, but I won't bother her about it.

And yes, I am hopeful that a specialist can help me with the drug therapy by getting dosages right. because right now, I am a mess.

[Spunkygal]

This site is not letting me react to any posts today so just wanted to say 👍to Netfoot for getting an appointment at QEH! 

[Netfoot]

15 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

This site is not letting me react to any posts today so just wanted to say 👍to Netfoot for getting an appointment at QEH! 

Thanks. I cou7ldn't even read, far less post anything last night.

[Netfoot]

If I drew your attention to the album Bat Out Of Hell, debut album by Meatloaf, you might immediately think of your favourite track from that 100% must-have classic. Perhaps the title track? Or Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad? Maybe You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)? All fantastic tracks and we'll well worth affection. But tonight I am listening to Paradise By The Dashboard Light, an almost operatic duet performed by Meatloaf himself and the stunning and gorgeous Ellen Foley. Two lustful youngsters driving out for some romance and bubbling biochemistry doing what bubbling biochemistry does so well. (They were barely seventeen and they were barely dressed!) Passion flared, promises were made and as the song reaches its crescendo, consequence rears its unavoidable head and the song becomes the cautionary tale we did not expect at the outset. (So now I’m praying for the end of time/To hurry up and arrive/’Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you/I don’t think that I can really survive!) But what a vocal rollercoaster we have to ride to get from that burning, teenage lust to the grown up bitterness and regret that is our conclusion!

Had peas & rice for dinner with a little corned beef and some seasoning. Didn't even bother to add any pak choy (still a little left) or onion to the mix. The failing sense of taste (and smell) makes much of what I eat bland do I end up putting plenty of pepper sauce and salt in the food to help me taste it. (And lots of sugar in my tea.) But tonight's rice actually tasted OK and I didn't leave any for Mo. He had his own special dinner which he scoffed in a hurry so I don't think he minded too much.

Lunch was Eclipse biscuits. We have no jam, jelly, peanut butter or cheese, but I smeared some red butter on them and that was that. Funny - a couple days ago I couldn't get enough to eat and now I just don't feel hungry. No, to be more accurate, I do get a little peckish, but not enough to get me up and into the kitchen to cook anything. 

Watched a film from the 60s called The Earth Dies Screaming. Very cheesy sci-fi with about £3, 10s & 6d budget for effects. The space-suited aliens look like their costumes were made by a 9 year old boy from toilet roll centers and tin foil. But it left me feeling nostalgic. I recall years ago when I was a student in Brighton (the one in England) there was a classic horror double-bill on Friday nights on BBC 2 for the summer.  It was timed so the first film ended (and the second started) at exactly midnight on Friday. A group of us would get together each Friday to eat food, smoke hashish and watch monsters in bad rubber masks terrorize the countryside until the peasants stormed the castle with pitchforks and blazing torches to put an end to the evil. And we, well fed and red-eyed, would ask the eternal question: "How is it that The Mummy, who shambles along at zero MPH, always manages to catch the girl, no matter how fast she runs away screaming?" What can I say?  Sometimes, crap though they may be, the old classics are just what the doctor ordered.

Very wobbly on my feet today. And Mo isn't helping because he has recently decided the only place he wants to lie down is in the middle of the path from my chair to the kitchen. 

I've been pressing for the Monday get together but so far only one person has said they like the idea, and one other has said they will "have to see". Nobody else has even commented, one way or the other. I will press again tomorrow, but if I don't get an indication that some of the others will go, I will abandon the plan. The last time I went up there, that was the day nobody bothered to come and Mo and I came home again after a couple of hours, somewhat disappointed. It's great to get out of the house but a large part of the appeal is the company.

I broke my last plate. I had three plates that I liked. A red one that developed a crack and was disposed of a while back, one with a yellow pattern that I found in pieces on the floor of the kitchen one morning a couple weeks ago, and a large (14-15") glass one I used occasionally when pigging out on something really good which I knocked off the counter yesterday and bust into shards. And managed to get s piece of glass embedded in the sole of my foot which I had to dig out with a Stanley blade. So now everything has to be eaten out of a bowl. Well, I normally eat soup, stew, rice and pasta from a bowl anyhow, so no biggie. I guess...

I will read my book for awhile now and then power down for the day. Will take my blood sugar again tomorrow morning and see what it looks like. I'm usually looking for low to middle fours but I wouldn't be too disappointed to see a high five or even a six tomorrow!

Edited December 31, 2023 by Netfoot

[luv2lurk]

haha I still remember the first time I heard the Bat Out of Hell album. It was maybe a year or so after it came out. And I was at a party hosted by a high school friend in her parents backyard. So summertime.

There might have been some underage drinking involved. But I was barely 17 and fully dressed.

After all these years, I do agree Paradise is the best song from that album, but the others are also great.

[Browncoat]

Paradise By The Dashboard Light is one of my favorite songs of all time.  

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

I was barely 17 and fully dressed.

Better luck next time! 

4 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

I do agree Paradise is the best song from that album, but the others are also great.

39 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Paradise By The Dashboard Light is one of my favorite songs of all time.

Without question, a fantastic song from a fantastic album. 

[Notabug]

Paradise is one of those amazing tunes that you just cannot help but burst out singing along.  The entire album is a masterpiece.

[Schnickelfritz]

12 hours ago, Netfoot said:

But tonight I am listening to Paradise By The Dashboard Light, an almost operatic duet performed by Meatloaf himself and the stunning and gorgeous Ellen Foley.

I can't help but insert myself into the discussion. I had the great pleasure of seeing Meatloaf in concert in 1994. During Paradise by the Dashboard Light, his daughter Pearl sang the Ellen Foley part. Yes, it was kind of creepy. (I think she was only 19 or 20) She has a stunning voice though, and they were having such great fun, that you kind of ignored the underlining story while singing at the top of your lungs. Fantastic concert!

Here's hoping that you all have a happy and healthy New Year!

[Netfoot]

16 minutes ago, Schnickelfritz said:

Here's hoping that you all have a happy and healthy New Year!

Thank you, and the same to you, and all here!

(On an entirely different note, I really hate the new LOL emoji. What were they thinking?)

[Spunkygal]

Happy, healthy and safe new year’s everyone! 

[Netfoot]

I just put $24 in gas in the car. (Mo was very pleased to see his Pump #1 girlfriend.)

Two members have said they are looking forward to coming up to the club tomorrow. Maybe a couple of others will as well. Mo and I will make the journey, hope to have a good time, enjoy the company of friends and return home safe and sound.

Blood sugar this morning was 4.5 mmol/L so just about right where I like it to be. I'd have been fine with a higher number just to compensate for the lows I've had recently. But I'm satisfied with this.

[Netfoot]

Just gone ten and Mo and I are in bed, but the alarm is set for 11:55. I'm posting and Mo is eating the pillows.

He isn't hungry, he's had two meals already today!

I had two meals as well - Bucatini and spaghetti (remnants of two separate packets found in the fridge) for lunch with tuna fish and egg, and biscuits & red herring for dinner.

Will read and listen to some music (Meatloaf again, by pure chance, Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad). But when the alarm goes, Mo and I will go out and see what we can see if of the fireworks. We can usually see a fair bit of it, nut but not as well as if we were better positioned. Dotty, Buddy and Mo have always enjoyed the fireworks with me. I asked Heidi once (was it a year ago?) Where was the best place to see the displays from the various hotels on the south coast. "My balcony," she replied. "The entire family comes here to watch!" However, no invitation for myself was forthcoming. Mind you, I'd have declined in any case, because for sure Mo will never get invited.

Yes, so Mo and I will pop out and see what we can see from the front of the house before returning to bed. Might drink a mug of tea around then, too.

I'm looking forward to visiting the club tomorrow. Mo would be too if he knew it was happening. I've told him, of course, but he never listens to a word I say. I'm just hoping we get there and get home again without incident. A flat tire would be a major issue - I don't have a spare since a tire burst going down Horse Hill one morning. But that won't happen, will it?

I will send that photo of Mo to his godmother along with best wishes for the new year. I also need to tell her about the appointment on the 19th (because I always keep her abreast of any such developments) but I will send a separate message on Tuesday because I won't contaminate a message of good wishes with what is, for her, work.

Anyway, I will wish all my friends here better fortune ahead and a happy and prosperous 2024. I may pop in again just after midnight to report on the fireworks. Or maybe not...

🥳🎉🥂

Edited January 1 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

I am so thrilled that you and Mo are going to the club! What a great way to welcome in the new year! Have fun!

[Netfoot]

What a disappointment! 

We are located back from the escarpment that overlooks the south coast, and that combined with the houses between us and the edge means we can't see the sites on the coast that compete each year to display their fireworks. While we can't see directly where the fireworks come from, the larger mortar shells usually rise high enough to be above the edge of the escarpment and the houses too. This means we can see several dozen fireworks rise up into the air and detonate in the air where we can clearly see the where we can clearly see the firebursts. 

This year - nothing seen! We heard the popping and crackling (from maybe 2 Km away) as the fireworks were set off, and sometimes a flash of light would illuminate the sky from below the edge - sort of like observing a naval battle taking place just over the curvature of the earth. But not a single mortar shell reached an altitude such that a single spark from the top of an expanding fireball could be seen. 

Personally, I see this as a very concerning symptom of a world that is sinking deeper into economic quicksand every day. 

Anyway, my mug of tea is almost empty so I will end here and return to my book.

11 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I am so thrilled that you and Mo are going to the club! What a great way to welcome in the new year! Have fun!

I too am looking forward to it a great deal. I used to take Mo to the club at least twice a week, and now I have to struggle to go once every six  months. We will both enjoy the fresh air and the company of friends, but I think Mo will enjoy most the freedom to run as far as he can until his legs tire, and then turn around and run  all the way  back again. I do get to leave the house from time to time, whereas Mo - despite going along for the ride as often as it is practical for me to take him - never gets out of the vban van until he gets home again. 

Edited January 1 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

May auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

Took a while to find his water bowl...

[Netfoot]

Assisting with aircraft setup and pre-flight.

Motorhead!

[Spunkygal]

Looks like a good time was had by all! New Years resolution for you…. Gather the mates together more often! The enjoyment in these pics is palpable. 🥰

[Netfoot]

The rain began to fall heavily by mid-morning, and given the photos of sodden grass and mud filled tracks that surfaced last Wednesday I was not sanguine about the chances for today. But the downpour stopped around 1:00 so come 2:30 I bundled Mo into the van and we set of at a sedate pace. We were first to arrive and the track looked surprisingly good and we went down the track without even a slither or a slide, with Kev right behind us.

Mo was thrilled and began running around peeing on stuff the instant he was released from the car. I sought out his water bowl and saw him all right and it wasn't long before Unka Rudy arrived with Yinger, his wife. Mo and Rudy had a right old reunion, I can tell you! Soon Wayne showed up. We also had a visit from one of the pilots from another nearby club, riding his rather nice purple trike. Later Keenen (Wayne's son; used to be a good, young, model aviator... until he discovered girls!) Put in an appearance as well, along with a friend of Kev.

Aussie never showed. Heard from him later - he spent the weekend on a yacht anchored in Carlisle Bay. Slumming it, again!

For some reason the duncs tree has not born any fruit. It usually bears in December but last year it was late and this year

It's now January and the fruit are nowhere near ripe as yet. Pity. That's the best duncs tree I've ever known, producing a large crop of big, tasty duncs.

Mo was very pleased to be back at the club. Wandering from place to place, poking his nose into every crevice and corner, or just standing around and surveying his domain with pleasure.

I did take him for a short walk around the perimeter and the little rotter kept racing ahead and leaving me in the dust. Or mud, as was the case. And me getting my feet tangled in the vines growing out of the canes nearly causing me to nearly measure my length in a particularly sticky, squelchy spot. He never quite abandoned me completely. When ever I thought I'd been deserted, I'd look ahead and there, in the distance, was my Mozie waiting for me to catch up.

[Netfoot]

Soon it was time to come home again. With so many vehicles traversing the track since we came in, it was in a far mushier condition than when we came in. So I let Keenen go first (4WD pickup) followed by Wayne (MG EV) and then us (Toyota TownAce of Awesomeness). We got stuck twice before we even got out of our parking area but with the pickup to help I was not concerned and a little clever maneuvering and we were rolling again, all the way out with no further issues.  And so, home.

Mo is very sleepy tonight.

I made myself a weirdo meal. It was corned beef rice with black beans, to which I also added carrots, a diced potato, three leaves if of pak choy and (halfway through) a dozen sticks of macaroni! Cooked up with a little pepper sauce and garlic, it actually tasted pretty good! Then I realized why - I'd forgotten to take my lunchtime meds, so my sense of ta0ste taste was recovering. I took my lunch meds after dinner and must now wait until a little after midnight to take my dinner meds.

Edited January 2 by Netfoot

[Ancaster]

On 12/30/2023 at 8:29 PM, Netfoot said:

 

I broke my last plate. I had three plates that I liked. A red one that developed a crack and was disposed of a while back, one with a yellow pattern that I found in pieces on the floor of the kitchen one morning a couple weeks ago, and a large (14-15") glass one I used occasionally when pigging out on something really good which I knocked off the counter yesterday and bust into shards. And managed to get s piece of glass embedded in the sole of my foot which I had to dig out with a Stanley blade. So now everything has to be eaten out of a bowl. Well, I normally eat soup, stew, rice and pasta from a bowl anyhow, so no biggie. I guess...

I will read my book for awhile now and then power down for the day. Will take my blood sugar again tomorrow morning and see what it looks like. I'm usually looking for low to middle fours but I wouldn't be too disappointed to see a high five or even a six tomorrow!

Sorry about the plate.  I hate breaking favourite things.  A couple of months ago my favourite plate leapt off the counter all by itself.  Too broken to be fixed.  😢

What are you reading at the moment?  I'm working on With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in an Age of Denial.  Less depressing than it sounds, and helpful for some volunteer work I do.

On 12/31/2023 at 9:08 AM, Schnickelfritz said:

 

Here's hoping that you all have a happy and healthy New Year!

 

Happy New Year to you and all the other Primetimers who read and post here. May 2024 be filled with joy and laughter and more Netfoot stories and posts from you because Schnickelfritz takes the prize today for best name, and I need to see it regularly to keep the gremlins at bay.

[Netfoot]

9 hours ago, Ancaster said:

What are you reading at the moment?

It's called Quicksilver. It's volume #1 of a three volume set called The Baroque Cycle by author Neal Stephenson. Volume #1 is just over 900 pages long and is itself broken into three "books" under the same cover.

I've cut & pasted the blurb from Amazon for anyone who is interested in details. I will spoiler-tag them so those who aren't can easily skip over:

Spoiler

Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.

It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox.

And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance.

A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.

And it's just the beginning ...

I have read it before and I'm thoroughly enjoying it all over again!

Unfortunately, it isn't a new book. The typeface is not large and the pages have discoloured. This makes it slow reading and I'm only just at the very end of book #1 in volume #1. 

I've also read (and have around here somewhere) two other books by NS, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed and hope to dig out and read in turn. They are Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon. If anyone has read any of his books and would care to comment I'd love to hear opinions. 

Now I have to go out. I've got 24 minutes to get to the bank, a full mug of hot tea at my elbow, and I'm not dressed yet!

Edited January 2 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

,I don't like tinned "mixed vegetables". Don't like how they taste. Or the texture. But I had a couple of cans knocking around so I knew that at some time, I'd have to eat them. 

So, I made up a pot of rice with a tin of  mixed veggies. And a strip of red herring, chopped fine. The fish had a very strong taste so it doesn't take much to flavour a pot. Carrot, corn, white beans and (gag!) green peas. I diced in a potato as well. Didn't bother to waste any spices on it sincecitcwad since it was going to taste like crap anyway...

It actually tasted pretty good! I had dinner right before evening meds so the lunchtime dose was wearing a bit thin. As a result, my taste buds weren't completely numb. And I enjoyed the meal! So there you go! 

Mo has been acting all dopey today. I wanted to give him a treat so while I was making myself a cup of tea after dinner, I poured out a little cold milk in a bowl, and added a block of ice. He looked at the bowl a little dubiously. So I judged it towards him an inch with my toe. He ran away! But two nights ago he enthusiastically lapped up a bowl of milk fixed the exact same way, block of ice and all, and served him in the same bowl on the same spot. But then, who can figure out the inner Molasses? 

Watched a movie this afternoon: Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring Cate Blanchett as the queen (QE1). This was a reprise of her role in an earlier film (which I am now motivated to acquire and watch). Court intrigue and the defeat of The Spanish Armada. Also watched a couple of movies about WW-II. In the first, called PT 109 we learn that PT boats were awesome, but JFK was even more awesome. (I will probably get suspended now, because you can't mention political figures. Say what you like about Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain but don't dare mention anyone important!) The next movie informed me that the Doolittle Raid (the first air raid on the Japanese  home islands, carried out with great ingenuity, daring and risk) was really about brave Navy sailors in a submarine, talking almost exclusively about "dames". Sorry, the name of that one escapes me. 

Draaama at the bank. They charged me an annual fee which they shouldn't have. They agreed to reverse it, but in the mean time, a cheque was presented for which there was NSF (due to the erroneous charge). Therefore, an overdraft fee. Which they didn't think they needed to reverse as well. I was eventually able to get things put right but not before nearly falling over in the bank due to an attack of Wobbly-Legs. 

Really hope that Dr. Jacinto can adjust the dosages to help with that, when I see her on Tuesday 19th. Except the 19th turns out to be a Friday.... which will probably mean the appointment gets cancelled and it will take me 8 months to reschedule. 

Mo came in, gave me a kiss on the forehead and went back out again. He is really acting a little strange. He was his normal self when we went to the bank this morning...

Listening to Autobahn by Kraftwerk. This music was produced in the 70s and I always get a kick out of the heavy electronica sounds they were able to produce, using the equivalent of two tin cans and a bit of wet string! The digital signal processing that is available to musicians today is totally incredible, especially when you realize how they produced these effects way back when, literally using steel springs, hollow pipes and other mechanical gizmos in unexpected ways. 

Mo came in a moment ago, lay in his back for tummy rubs, but soon left again. Anyway, time for me to shower and lock up. I will test blood sugar again in the morning.

Edited January 3 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Twenty to nine, and in bed. Just back from Garden Patrol and Mo is alternating between chewing my toes and burrowing under the top-sheet.

Not a good day. Feeling very depressed. Life is going nowhere and no jobs to be found. 

Felt like going back to bed around 8:30 this morning, but held off until now.

No breakfast. No lunch unless you want ti count a mug of tea around eleven. Dinner was boiled potatoes and cabbage topped with a little fried onion with a tablespoon of if corned beef. Tasted OK. Not great but quite good enough. Washed it down with my second mug for the day. 

Mo has departed.

Meant to try calling QEH and double checking the date & time is my appointment. Just kept looking at the phone and looking away again. Maybe tomorrow.

Listening to Crazy by duo Gnarls Barkley. It's the debut single from their debut album (St. Elsewhere) and must be pushing 20 years old by now. These guys aren't my favourite artists or anything like that but this track has merit.

Started on Book #2 of Volume #1 of Quicksilver. Making progress, if slowly.

Another very wobbly day. Nearly fell off the steps when I bent down to retrieve Mo's bowl to fix his lunch. I have to hold on with one hand. This makes it tricky to set out his food and water. I can use one hand to put the food bowl inside the water bowl and then use one hand to pick them up. But I can't use that trick when outting them out, because they are full. 

Going to end here and read for awhile. Not sure how long I will stay awake. Let's see!

[Netfoot]

Went out for Garden Patrol and found my spring-loaded kitchen tongs lying on the driveway. Took the tongs in hand and did my best Godzilla impression while clacking the tongs meaningfully at Mo. He took off like a scalded cat!

He's here with me now, cleaning his feet at the foot of the bed. I noticed a handful off sweetheart clinging to one paw. I picked them off one by one, but Mo doesn't like people stealing his stuff. Not even sweethearts. So you have to give them back to him and he promptly eats them. SMH. 

I had a bowl of porridge (oatmeal, gruel) yesterday evening late. There were several small black specs floating on top after I added the milk. I've noticed them before. So I took a toothpick and lifted one out for later examination. When I was finished eating I dug out my pocket microscope and had a good look at the floater. It was brown and shriveled. I dunno what it was and it definitely wasn't alive but it did have two dried, shriveled legs still attached to it. So, prolly one of those bugs the Let's Stop Oil idiots want me to eat instead of beef. 

Repeated the same experiment tonight with the idea of taking a photo to post for you to all yeeech out on. But all the dark spots I could find were all legitimately vegetable in origin. Mind you, stems and stalks probably shouldn't be in my oatmeal, but...

Lunch was spaghetti with a sauce made from a very small amount of corned beef, onion and half a cucumber finely diced. I say 'sauce' but it was not a sauce per se. More accurate to say it was a fried concoction of  the few ingredients, in which the spaghetti was tossed. Using my spring-loaded kitchen tongs. The spaghetti itself was a little undercooked. Deliberately. I'm not too sure what al dente means in terms of mouth-feel but I hate the very idea of pasta (or rice) with a crunchy center, which has been described to me as what al dente dies does mean. I'm OK with a somewhat chewy consistency and that's what I wanted today. It came out just right and I enjoyed it a great deal. Of course, it could have used more 'sauce' and it would have been much better if my taste buds were working properly, but beggars can't be choosers. 

I think my best chance for getting tasty food (other than stopping the meds entirely) would be to cook and eat my main meal of the day first thing in the morning. But I have never liked to get up and eat immediately. Unless driven by hunger. I love breakfast food, but I prefer if it's served a couple hours after I rise.

I'm trying to minimize meals because steroids push up your blood sugar and cause weight gain. But when I eat lightly, I find myself lying in bed at night thinking about the remainder of the uncooked spaghetti in the fridge and considering how quickly I could turn it into a meal!

Did very little today. Found myself asleep in my chair several times. Once, for 45 minutes! How I didn't fall out of the chair I don't know because the chair is old, worn and wobbly and it tries to throw me onto the floor even when I'm wide awake and paying attention. Plus, these days I fall down at the slightest provocation. Or at least, I come close, and have avoided it (so far) due to sheer luck.

Where has Mo got to?

Listening to Rose Rouge by St Germain, stage name for some French guy. It's sort of nu-jazz mixed with electronica. I'm not really into jazz but the electronic component makes it more appealing to me. This album ended up in my collection somehow, and I like this track well enough. 

Mo has returned and is curled up against my back, cleaning his feet. He gets footy problems from time to time and has to go to the vet every so often for an exam and medication. Usually the same prednisolone I'm on, funnily enough. But right now I can't afford to take him to the vet because I need to buy him some food! And while he is touchy about you fiddling with his feet, I have had a look and he is fine right now. We will see what happens with the passage of time. Now he's thrashing around on his back making imperative yips while kicking my bum with his back feet. I think he wants his tummy rubbed again. Maybe I should go and fetch the spring-loaded kitchen tongs. That would probably change his frame of mind... 

Remember when I was suffering from all those cramps due to loss of electrolytes as a result of high perspiration during the summer? It's starting to happen again, except I'm not sure why. No crazy hot days. No excess sweating... I don't remember that being a side effect of the meds from last time... I could ask Dr. Kristi but I will not bother her with trivia. It is nowhere near what it was like in August!

Mo has gone again. OK, I will read for a while and then lock up. 

Edited January 5 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

A noteworthy anniversary. It gets me down.

[Netfoot]

Just wrote a giant, long post about many things, including my mum (who died 14 years ago today).... and the editor ate it.

So instead, you get this:

...which you will probably prefer. I know I would.

Interesting. Didn't noticed until right now, the two lighter patches of skin on my leg, visible in this photo. Those are a couple of the areas from which skin was removed to graft onto other parts of my body, over 30 years ago. I have four such patches on each thigh, one large patch running from hip to armpit on each side of my body, and a single patch on one butt cheek. They can't take skin from both sides of your butt because if you get pneumonia, you have to sit upright and you need at least half a butt to sit on.

They remove the skin with a dermatome and it is hand cranked through a machine which cuts it into a mesh so it can stretch to cover a bigger area than it was taken from. Some of my grafts show the pattern of the mesh still, after all these years.

I'm in a fine old mood tonight. I'm gonna stop now before I say something stupid. Or the editor eats another 5,000 words...

[andidante]

11 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Just wrote a giant, long post about many things, including my mum (who died 14 years ago today).... and the editor ate it.

My father passed away 24 years ago in early December, so the holidays are always kind of melancholy for me. I still enjoy them but he is always there in the back of my mind.

[Spunkygal]

47 minutes ago, andidante said:

My father passed away 24 years ago in early December, so the holidays are always kind of melancholy for me. I still enjoy them but he is always there in the back of my mind.

January 5 was the 39th anniversary of my dad’s passing. He too is on my mind during the holidays. I still remember his last Christmas with us.

[Netfoot]

Just into bed with Mo. He came in and sat by the door, watching me change the sheets. But then 8tveas time to put in the new pillow cases and he immediately jumped in and helped. I use four pillows and when I buy bedclothes I get a fitted, a flat and two pillow cases. So, I have to find a separate set of another two pillow cases to buy so I have four matching. This is why I prefer plain colours (anything but white) because it's easier to find a set of two red pillow cases rather than a set of two blue Paisley pillow cases. Even so, a match can't be found, and I have to get a pair of contrasting pillow cases. Say, two black ones to go with a set of red sheets and cases. 

But the latest sets I've looked at are now coming with a fitted, a flat and only one case. These are marketed as "Hotel Style" but it is only a ploy to c***** you out of one case and thereby save on production costs so as to increase profits. 

After the bed was properly made, there followed a lengthy and strenuous game of Tummy Trampoline! But the Monster has gone out again, now. No doubt I'll see him later!

My bee hive (which I am sure I told you about a couple weeks ago) is gone. The landlord finally paid to have it removed and two chaps came around and did it this afternoon. When Mo and I went out for Garden Patrol, the only sign it was ever there, was a single bee, clinging to the spot where the beehive once was.

The Patrol was a little scary. When we stopped to check on the hive, I naturally shon my torch upward and tilted head back to look. I immediately did a sort of wobbly maneuver in which I nearly fell over. Within the next minute, as we moved in, I nearly fell twice more. Grabbing into the wall which I was near, I prevented the fall, and just stood there for a couple minutes to leet the swoon pass over. When I thought all was well again, the Patrol continued, but I had two more near-falls on the way back to the house. And as I walked past the van heading indoors, the sixth and final one.

Each time, I've avoided falling by having the presence of mind to be standing or walking near something I could grab onto.

Into My Arms by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Cave has a lovely, baritone voice and a quirky sense of what makes for a suitable theme for his lyrics. (He has an entire album called Murder Ballads with suitably themed tracks, but this track is from The Boatman's Call which followed a year later.)

Had rice for lunch. With corned beef and a potato diced into it, along with a scoop of kidney beans from a pot full of them I'm soaking. Spiced with garlic and a sploosh of pepper sauce it tasted pretty good, considering my porky functioning taste buds. But foelr some reason, the rice was yellow. I added no saffron nor tumeric so I am not sure where the colour came from. I can only think it came from the pepper sauce which had a fair amount of mustard in it. But I have used pepper sauce in rice before without seeing that yellowing effect. Besides, you don't usually dump I'm more than a little pepper (a tablespoon would be a lot for one serving of rice, even if it was a big serving!).

But lunch came late, after three. I woke this morning at 10:15, having completely failed to hear the alarm. So the entire day was set back by two hours. Meds, food, and now bedtime. So after a late lunch I have skipped dinner. Since lunch I've had two glasses of water, two glasses of lime squash and two mugs of tea. And that's it. I'll. Prolly be boiling pasta at nine tomorrow morning.

Watched a good mini-series today, called Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office staring Toby Jones in the title role. An incredible but true story of how thousands of sub-postmasters around Britain were accused of and persecuted for stealing money from the GPO as a result of faulty software. The persecution went on for over 15 years and the matter is not yet fully resolved, although I hope this mini-series will shake up the courts, the government and the public at large to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion. 

Toby Jones was in a delightful series called Detectorists (amongst many other things) which I can recommend. 

Mo has returned and is curled up on the foot of the bed and washing his feet.

I will end here and read awhile. Not sure if I want to take a shower or not. Would not be good to pick up a speed wobble and fall on the tiles. I feel perfectly fine, but then, I'm lying down, so...

[Netfoot]

I notice that the PC Filter has kicked in, munging a word I used near the top of my last post. It took me a while to try to figure out why... The word I used was "C H I N K S" which, around here at least, means to short-pay, not give full measure, etc. Alternate spellings may be "C H I N C S" or "C H I N C E " or even "C H I N Z E". Selling a set of bedclothes and then pretending that such a set is only supposed to include one pillow case is a perfect example of CHINKSING. Another would be not contributing your fair share of a bar or restaurant bill.

It is a pity that every word these days has to be viewed with suspicion and distrust, and that steps have to be taken to ensure that some delicate soul won't get their feelings hurt. What emotional weaklings we are all assumed to be!

I tried to edit the post to add this comment at the bottom but this was not allowed. And then the forum went offline for what, the fifth (Sixth?) time in less than 2 weeks. Anyway, let's see if this post will be accepted...
 

[b4pjoe]

Probably too close to this?

[Netfoot]

1 minute ago, b4pjoe said:

Probably too close to this?

No doubt. But it's unfortunate that we are expected to assume the worst as the obvious explanation. 

And the sentence in which the word originally appeared would be meaningless if that interpretation of the word were used. 

My real issue is that I could have woken up this morning to discover that I'd been banned from the forum for no good reason. With, as far as I know, no opportunity to explain, nor any avenue for appeal. 

[b4pjoe]

I agree but I am sure it was a software filter. Maybe they need one with AI? 🤣

[Netfoot]

18 minutes ago, b4pjoe said:

I agree but I am sure it was a software filter. Maybe they need one with AI? 🤣

I'm sure it is a filter and obviously based solely on word spelling. I'm sure the sentence "How do you c**** a log cabin?" would fire the filter.

Words have different connotations and usages in different parts of the world and the forum, like the internet itself is international in scope. There are words commonly used in the USA that have a different meaning in my part of the world, and while I don't take offence when I hear them spoken or written, I always notice.

A prime example would be the word "backside". I hear people say things like "I painted the front white, but I painted the backside blue.  In this part of the world your backside is your butt, your derrière. An object has a front, two sides (left & right) and a back or rear. The back/rear is not a "side". 

Of course, if I were a total fool, I would complain about the forum being moderated by people who were completely insensitive to my culture and embark on a journey to embrace my victimhood. 

Edited January 8 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

It's late. I'm tired. I slept soundly for several.hours this afternoon, waking in the dark and not knowing what day it was. But still tired.

The one bee remaining after the removal of the hive has multiplied to about 15-20 bees, clinging to the spot where their hive once was. Bee Guy told me there would be stragglers and that they would disperse after a couple of days. By disperse I assume he meant die.

Went on Garden Patrol with my old, original walking stick. Used it to form the third leg of a tripod when I walked, and so avoided falling down. Extremely wobbly wandering around the house. Found a hand towel and a pair of boxers outside in the wet grass, thanks to Klepto-pup. 

Been soaking two packages of kidney beans over the last 48 hours, setting them to boil for an hour then turning off the stove to let them continue to cook with the residual heat. Done that several times a day for two days. Despite that, the beans are still not soft the way I like. The bean itself is soft and tasty (the water was seasoned so they have soaked that seasoning up) but the outer shell or skin or carapace is still a little bit bit harder than ideal. I have always had this issue with kidney beans, whereas others soak up and come out nice with far less effort. Lentils are a good example. Good thing I like lentils!

Anyway, added onion, tomato, minced beef and garlic plus the last of my red pepper flakes. Cooked a pot of white rice and added a dollop of sauce, and that was lunch. Plenty more left in the pot

Just listening to Aladdin Sane, title track from Bowie's sixth (I think) album. I love this track and I believe this album along with Hunky Dory are his best albums. Mind you, with something like two dozen albums over a fifty year timeframe it isn't easy to pick a #1 album, or even a #1 period. But if I had to pick my faves it would be these two. With Ziggy Stardust thrown in to keep them company, maybe? Yes, I think so. And as for Aladdin Sane the track itself? The piano is insane! Ever hear a piece and think "I wish I had played the sax on that track" (Supertramp's From Now On from Even In The Quietest Moments...)? Aladdin Sane is the track whose piano I wish I'd played.

Gotta go fetch Mozie in (assuming he wants to be in) and lock up.

[Netfoot]

In a recent post eaten by the editor, I mentioned having watched a movie called Goodbye, Mr. Chips, about a schoolteacher at an English public school. I had watched the 1939 original and the 2002 remake. The latter was in colour and somewhat updated in tone, but the story eas essentially the same. There were some variations made for no good reason I could see (Mr. Chipping meets his wife while in the mountains of Switzerland in 1939 but on the banks of a trout stream in 2002.)

I've just got to watching the 1969 version. At least I've watched the first 30 minutes and that was more than enough. It stars Peter O'Toole in the titular role and it is a musical. Mrs. Chips is first encountered in a club or small theater where she is "on the stage" in a play of some sort, and again in the ruins of Pompeii. The movie was ruined for me in quick order by everyone bursting into song all the time. If a dormouse farts in the back pantry of Brookfield school, the headmaster breaks into song. Or the boys do. Or the school masters. 30 minutes was all I could stand.

I also managed to watch both versions of The Thomas Crown Affair.

The original  1968 version stars Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway and I must say that McQueen gives us a more believable "villein". He arranges the theft of the princely sum of 2⅔ million bucks from a bank and Dunaway sets out to show he dunnit. In the process, we get the (in?)famous Game Of Chess, they become lovers and the movie arrives at a reasonable and understandable conclusion. 

The 1998 remake stars stars Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, and the theft is of a valuable Monet from a museum. (Faye Dunaway plays a cameo role as Brosnan's psychiatrist. Not sure why. Peter O'Toole was alive at the time - why didn't they  also bring him back as Russo's chauffeur or something?) Brosnan does what he usually does - he plays so cool and suave he refuses to be the person he is supposed to be. This is what ruined him as Bond, for me. Rather than be the brutal thug with the license to kill that Fleming described Bond to be, Brosnan's Bond would never do anything that might muss his hair or wrinkle his suit. rather than be an art thief, Brosnan lets us know in  no uncertain terms that he couldn't care less about the stolen art. There is a clever twist in the tail of this movie, but one which proves my point. And confirms that as an art thief, Brosnan is little more than a dilettante. The twist leaves the viewer with no option but to believe that he was never serious in the first place.

Both movies are worth watching, and before you conclude I dislike Pierce Brosnan, let me say this is not the case. He has been in a number of worthy movies and TV shows that are enjoyable to watch (but Mamma Mia! is not one).

People often call me weird for watching back-to-back versions of the same movie. I've found this can be rewarding, but I well understand why others may be disinclined to try this. The first time, it was involuntary. I was trapped in a hotel room in some part of the USA (Dayton? Atlanta? Can't remember) and the only thing watchable on TV was 12 Angry Men. The 1957 version with Henry Fonda as Juror #8, immediately followed by the 1997 version (Might have been Los Angeles!) with Jack Lemmon as Juror #8. Set entirely in the jury room, there is little opportunity for structural differences in the story to arise. But the 40 year separation in style and dialogue plus the different performances by the actors made both versions of this classic tale gripping.

I recall now eating two racks of baby-back ribs as I watched, which places me in Atlanta at the time!  The ribs came with a gigantic portion of potato chips fries, a similarly gigantic portion of fried onion rings and a matching portion of coleslaw.

[Spunkygal]

I prefer the Robert Donat version of Mr Chips. Isn’t Petula Clark in the O’Toole version? I wasn’t a fan of her portrayal of Mrs Chips. 

Ribs and fries and onion rings and coleslaw? Yes please! I would have never forgotten that city! 🤣🤣🤣

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

I prefer the Robert Donat version of Mr Chips. Isn’t Petula Clark in the O’Toole version? I wasn’t a fan of her portrayal of Mrs Chips. 

The 1939 version starred Robert Donat. Petula Clark did play opposite Peter O’Toole in the 1969 musical version. She was a singer, so I guess that made her a good choice for a musical film.

Quote

Ribs and fries and onion rings and coleslaw? Yes please! I would have never forgotten that city!

Once I remembered the ribs, etc, I immediately placed it as the Atlanta Mariott Suites Midtown, across the garden/park from the AT&T building. Good grub! I could eat that right now. With a 2L coke to go with it!

[Netfoot]

Just back from a shower. Dried off the worst if the wet and lay in the bed. Panther-pup made a leap from the other side of the bed and I think I now have problems with the right kidney!

Didn't feel dizzy or wobbly or fally-downy in the shower at all. Nor during Garden Patrol. Dunno why it is bad sometimes and not all the time. 

Last night I went to bed with a glass of water. Didn't drink all, apparently. Or maybe I did, because in the middle of the night I was awoken by a deluge of rain falling on my face, with a howling wind blowing it in the window. Maybe rain fell in the glass and added an inch of water. 

This morning I went to collect the glass and noticed a honey bee dead, floating in the water. Good thing I didn't wake up thirsty. A nasty incident might have occurred before I put my spectacles on!

Noticed the small clump of bees had disappeared while on Patrol tonight. Also noticed something about the grass. For reasons unknown, the landlord left a patch of grass uncut when last he mowed. It's now about waist high with onevpatch up to my collar bone. Mo disappears in it quite easily. Anyway, a big patch of the grass was twisted this way and that and pushed down almost flat. I expect we had a short squall during the night which flattened the grass, caused rain to fall on my and scattered the bees.

Now, I have an appointment to see Dr. Jacinto on "Tuesday 19th January". This date was given to me over the phone. I got the appointment card and asked the caller to repeat it. I wrote it down, read it back to them, and got a confirmation. Trouble is, the 19th is a Friday. I need to calk and double check. Unfortunately, what I didn't think until this evening is that today is Tuesday 9th January. I may have missed the appointment already! If so, I will be really annoyed. I should have checked before today. 

Lunch today was potatoes & cabbage with a ladle of meat/bean/tomato sauce over it. Dinner was 100 gr. Of macaroni elbows with more sauce over it. The sauce is pretty tasty and the beans improve with each reheating. I have some tinned, peeled tomatoes I can add, and I have some chicken chunks but maybe I will save them and make a curry when the current pot empties.

Mo likes the sauce too. He gets a tiny bit poured over his chow sometimes. Not every day. 

There is not much food in the larder, the bills remain unpaid, there is maybe $10 in the bank and no jobs are forthcoming.

Mo has just rejoined me. He looks like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards. Or like a hedge that's had a dog dragged backwards through it! I will stop here and attempt to brush his coat a bit. This procedure can be fraught with trouble. He much prefers to steal the brush and run off somewhere and eat it. But I will give it a go...

Edited January 10 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Just found in my porridge:

Yeeech!!

Edited January 10 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

Nooooooooo!

[Netfoot]

So, on Monday,  11th December I went down to QEH to get an appointment to see Dr. Jacinto. Left after a couple hours with an appointment card but no date/time. I was promised that Dr. Jacinto would set the appointment  and someone would call with a date & time. 

On Friday, 29th December (I think, will check date confirmed) I got a call from QEH and was told my appointment was Tuesday, 19th January. I said "Hold on..." and fetched the appoint,ent card and a pen. I then said "Go ahead..." and the person repeated "Tuesday, 19th January". I wrote this on the card, and said "Ok, I have it as Tuesday, 19th January." The voice on the phone confirmed "That's correct, Tuesday, 19th January". 

But I later realized that the 19th January was not a Tuesday. It was a Friday.

I called today and got someone on the phone (after six attempts). Explained all of the above. They asked for my hospital registration number and they were able to state categorically that there was no appointment scheduled for me with Dr. Jacinto  on Tuesday (or Friday) 19th January, or at any other time. 

The person I spoke to said they would call me back with the date/time of an appointment. And they did! Several hours later they called back to say... that Dr. Jacinto would set the appointment  and someone would call with a date & time.

So. I am now in exactly the same position I was in on 11th December... one month ago. 

I've lost one complete month in time, have been soaking my brain in nasty chemicals, and have not moved forward one single day from when I first realized the MG returned. 

But bad as that may sound, consider that I do have an appointment at QEH, scheduled for 4th March. At that time I will be seeing a doctor about my kidney cancer. The same doctor who I saw on 15th May, last year. The same doctor who has done absolutely nothing to deal with the kidney for nearly ten months. 

The next time some idiot sheeple starts bleeting on about Universal Healthcare, just remember that I have difficulty getting to the bathroom without falling on my face, and every day I wonder how far the cancer has spread in the ten wasted months.

Edited January 11 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

I’ve often thought that the term “health care” was a misnomer. Outrageous!