Netfoot August 29 Share August 29 (edited) I just found this jem from my homeland! My mouth was springing from beginning to end and when I saw some of the ingredients he was using, even moreso. I don't know how much of his talk you will understand - try Closed Caption. I have never had pineapple chow. Of course, I've had the very popular mango chow and pommecythere chow (mentioned in the video) and even pawpaw chow. But I am now urgently in need of some pineapple chow..... It looks deliciously sour and hotter'n the hinges of hell! Back-of-the-throat hot, not the tongue-on-fire hot. And the use of things like salt prunes (or salt prune dust) and Chinese mango. (Chinese mango by itself is absolutely delicious!) I want pineapple chow! I want salt prunes. I want Chinese mango from Trincity mall! (Last time I was in there, I bought out their entire supply and went strait straight to Piarco to catch my flight.) I'd consider a quick trip to TnT but I'd have to sneak Mo in in my hand luggage. Which presents two problems. What would I have to drug him with to keep him quiet for the journey? How many pounds of salt prunes, Chinese mango and pineapple chow would I have to leave behind in Trinidad because I needed room in the luggage for Mo? It would probably be best to leave him home. But who would look after him while I was away? I'd have to go early morning and come back the same evening and leave him to take care of himself for the day. Which I'm sure he would do perfectly well. He is a big boy, now! Edited August 30 by Netfoot Link to comment
Netfoot August 30 Share August 30 Ok, so today went well. I did the entire batch of feet, including cutting to size, tapering, adding a pilot hole for attachment and sanding. I collected $400 for the originally requested 16 pieces, and I will get another $150 on Monday or Tuesday. I will bank the $400 first thing in the morning, and as soon as I get the notification that it's been processed, I will pay a month of electric and a month of water. That will leave $140 plus the original $18 for a total of $158, part of which I will use to buy some essential supplies. Lunch was the remainder of yesterday's meat sauce over some freshly cooked spaghetti. Mo got a large dollop over his chow. My dinner was chips. I bought potatoes a couple days ago but unfortunately the bag was full of small ones. Very few larger than a golf-ball. That's fine for boiling but not so good for cutting chips. Ended up with a bunch of short chips. They tasted fine and we're all crispy and good. But I have run out of Hotchup so I had then with mayo. Mayo belongs on chips, no doubt. But alongside ketchup. So a ketchup refill pouch is on the list of essential supplies. But you got to avoid just buying everything you want (like HP Sauce, PB&J, balsamic vinegar) as opposed to the things you need (stock cubes, loose salt, meat). Finished my movie. Bit silly, really. It was Kingsman: The Golden Circle. There have been several of these but I don't make a habit of watching. Ostensibly secret agent movies, they are more slap-stick comedies than anything else. I was attracted to this one by the names of some of the talent. Julianne Moore, Elton John, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Channing Tatum, Michael Gambon... Anyway, it helped pass the time. My program suite seems to be working well enough, at least those parts I have written. My Finger program suggests which finger to lance when testing blood glucose. (Which I will do tomorrow. It's been quite low recently: Three if the last five samples were under 4.0 of "dangerously low". My Three program now seems to successfully roll the day forward at midnight Lima rather than midnight Zulu. I just used it to lay out meds for the next three days, starting tomorrow. And my Low program checks for meds running low, works out the date by which they should be replenished and advises if a new prescription is required and if so, from who. (Whom?) It will even send a Telegram to my phone with the information. I think it's working well but right at this moment none of my meds are low enough to trigger a notification, do I can't be sure. I have created some bogus entries on disk for use as test data and everything works with them, but I won't be satisfied until real meds run low enough to trigger a warning Telegram and I can confirm that the quantities, dates, etc, match reality. Mo has just arrived and curled up on the foot of the bed. I'm letting my foot touch his back just so he can feel a connection. Wait... now he has moved up and is leaning against my back, between my shoulder blades. One improvement I want to make to the Low program is to limit the warning Telegrams. I get a Low-Drugs warning when the number of days supply drops to or below six, a Very-Low-Drugs warning when that drops below three and a No-Drugs warning when it falls to zero. I want a Low-Drugs warning at 6 days, but I don't want one every day! So once I've been warned about a drug, don't warn me again unless the warning jumps up in severity. That change shouldn't be too difficult, but I will wait until I can confirm it is operating correctly as-is, before trying to change anything. Hammering In My Head from the Version 2.0 album by Garbage. We spoke of Shirley only a couple days ago! I like this track a lot! Mo is now bathing me. After all that sawing and (especially) sanding today believe me I took a thorough shower because I needed one. So I do not need another bath now. But I think it is unwise to reject any show if affection from your pupper if you don't have to. Now he looks out the window. Five minutes to one in the morning. Sleep beckons. 3 Link to comment
Netfoot August 31 Share August 31 Paid one month of electric and one of water. Went shopping for groceries and bought some essentials and a few other things as well. Like bread, cheese, eggs, sausages (a break from corned beef) not to mention some pumpkin, cucumber and carrots, plus a small yam and a small sweet potato. With the potatoes and onions I have in hand I hope to brew up a pot of vegetable soup. There won't be any meat in it (unless I chop up a couple of sausages). It should be tasty regardless. Perhaps I should include a small amount of minced beef? We will see. I did not see any HP sauce. (My dad used to prefer Houses of Parliament to any other brand!) I did see A1 Sauce but decided not to buy it for some reason.... 😕 Lunch was cheese cutters and dinner was sausages and eggs. It's two minutes to midnight. I will not write a lot tonight. Watched a movie calledTrap starring Josh Hartnett who I think is a mediocre actor at best. This movie only came out a short while ago. Briefly, he takes his young daughter (14?) to a concert but finds himself embroiled in a manhunt for a serial killer. Lots of suspense and tension. I still don't think Hartnett is much of an actor, but not to the degree that he spoiled the movie or anything. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Got $30 in the bank which I hope I won't need to spend and expecting $150 from my woodworker guy early next week, plus $120 from Welfare next Friday. That's $300. Unfortunately, I have an annual bill of $500 coming up early in November and need to start saving for that. So as much of the $500 as possible will have to be saved. No sign of Mo. Will go and look for him in a minute, to see what he's up to. Listening to Crazy Love by Van Morrison. Often referred to as The Grand/God Father Of Grump, the Grumpfather, etc, but his music isn't particularly grumpy to me. He's got some good albums. I think this is off Moondance but Astral Weeks is also without a doubt, a great album. Ok, let me go and check on my little boy. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot August 31 Share August 31 It's 5:22 AM and the landlord just called. (Drunk? Psychotic episode?) It doesn't really matter because I have not slept a wink all night. Some real bad reflux surfaced just as I turned out the lights and forced me to take a Nexium. Which is thankfully kicking in, but only just now. So I was up anyway. Well, awake, if not up. But he didn't know that, now did he? Anyway, he had a letter for me. 'Twas my next two welfare cheques. The first of which is dated next Friday. I wouldn't have expected them until the Thursday before, but they are here already. Dunno what to make of it. It's almost broad daylight outside now. Should I still try to get some sleep? Or just get up and get started on the day? I got nothing to do until eight when breakfast meds are due. But when I sleep until eight I am still falling asleep by nine thirty... Link to comment
Netfoot August 31 Share August 31 Finally got to sleep around six and woke at twenty past eight. Had to pop outside for a minute... 1 Link to comment
Netfoot August 31 Share August 31 Started a pot of soup. Softened some onions in the bottom of the pot and then added minced beef and some seasoning. When the meat had browned I poured in water and let it come to the boil. At this time I also added a tin of lentil peas. I like lentils in soup! Next in was sweet potato and yam. The idea being to add the items that take longer first and then after a delay add the next item. Which in my case was English potatoes. I chose the smaller, golf-ball sized potatoes and cubed them, so as to leave the slightly larger potatoes for other uses later on down the road. Next would be pumpkin and cucumbers which don't take long to soften. Except, the gas chose that very moment to run out. A recharged cylinder will be around $43 and change. Bank balance is $30.24 only. So I have a pot of soup that is not cooked and no way to cook it. Or anything else. Until Monday, assuming woodworker guy comes with cash instead of a cheque. Assuming he comes on Monday at all, instead of waiting until later in the week. I have enough in the bank to get the replacement cylinder but if I spend it, the rent cheque (due tomorrow) will bounce. And the landlord is the kind of guy who checks his mailbox at 5:22 AM (apparently) and I know for a fact he stands outside the bank until it opens, so he can cash that cheque at 8:02 AM. 3 Link to comment
Netfoot September 1 Share September 1 Nine thirty. Headed out for bed at eight but got delayed repeatedly. Mo and I had PB&J cutters for lunch. And the same for dinner. When the nascent soup reached room temperature, I put the entire saucepan in the fridge. I have no idea what happens to onion, beef, yam, sweet potato and English potato if you bring it to the boil, extinguish the flame before it is cooked, and then leave the ingredients to soak in cold water for 48 hours. Or longer. I imagine the entire pot will be spoiled and have to be thrown away. Of course, no tea, because the kettle died some weeks ago and I've been boiling water on the stove ever since to make tea. Which probably hastened the demise of the gas cylinder. Out of bread so no idea what I can eat tomorrow. Mo can have chow, but I never really liked the stuff. I will make iced tea perhaps, although I've always started iced tea by brewing the tea with hot water in the usual way. Mo is here with me. Got less than three hours sleep last night, so I will switch off the lights now, and drift off to the sounds of Tears by Teenage Fanclub. And the heavy drumming of major rain on the roof. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 2 Share September 2 Eight thirty and bed. Still need to shower and lock up but will do that shortly. Woke at 8:00 for breakfast meds. Was back in bed by 10:00 and immediately fell asleep. Woke again at 2:00 ii time for lunch meds. Lunch was a number of cheese, cucumber and carrots sticks, dipped in a sauce made from mayo, Hotchup, pepper sauce, salt, brown sugar, garlic powder and a few more spices. It was not too bad, but frankly, I've never been big on veggie sticks. (Mo has arrived. At 20 this morning he was standing on three feet and walking by hopping with the right front. Now he walks perfectly fine without even a hint of a limp. Wanted to go back to bed right after lunch (say 2:30) but restrained myself until I'd had dinner meds. Then I realized I had to set out meds for the next three days which delayed my bedtime. Mo is now looking out the window. In a second he will race out of the room and... No, he has curled up next to me instead. Panting heavily,though. So between lunch meds and dinner meds I watched a movie called Rick Star or something like that, starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. He is a huge fan of a rock group and the leader of a tribute band. When the lead singer of the original group leaves, Wahlberg is invited to take his place.... I like Wahlberg well enough but I have never been too enamored of excessive behavior of hair bands. So while the movie was OK, I would have been happier if there was less groupie-chasing, binge drinking, and meaningless, self-destructive antics. Sent Dr. Kristi a joke this evening and instantly got back a message saying that they don't give medical advice on WhatsApp and to call the clinic during normal working hours. I've been sending Dr. K. photos of Mo (and very little else) every week or two since he was a baby. An occasion joke, a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Valentines" as appropriate, and Mo photos. That's it. Now my messages are being sent to a robot and presumably to /dev/null very soon thereafter. Mo is now clawing at my tummy. Ooof! It's time for TT, I guess... And now my left shoulder is getting a bath. My Eyes Adored You by Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons. And just before that (random chance) Who Loves You? by the same group. I'm thinking I should set up a... (Ouch! Mo is back.TT round two.) Yes, set up a music player that accesses my entire music collection via the network. I've got an RPi3, a 3½" touch screen (somewhere) and I could use the same speakers I'm using now. Not sure what software would be suitable Uh-oh. Mo is looking at me with a determined expression! Better get this finished before he pounces. Then I can go for a shower and maybe even lock up! Oooof! Too late... 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 2 Share September 2 (edited) It's 5:43 AM. The landlord called again.... The rent cheque got wet. Can I please write him another one? WTF is wrong with his head? Can he honestly believe that it's OK to call before six? Edited September 2 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
chitowngirl September 2 Share September 2 2 hours ago, Netfoot said: It's 5:43 AM. The landlord called again.... The rent cheque got wet. Can I please write him another one? WTF is wrong with his head? Can he honestly believe that it's OK to call before six? Be sure you get the “wet” check back so he doesn’t cash/deposit both of them. 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 2 Share September 2 3 hours ago, chitowngirl said: Be sure you get the “wet” check back so he doesn’t cash/deposit both of them. Yep! Was very careful about that. It isn't the first time a landlord tried to pull that on me. 1 1 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 3 Share September 3 (edited) Went back to bed right after breakfast meds. Slept until noon. Spent the afternoon waiting on that payment. It didn't come. Mo here beside me in bed. Bathing my left arm and just lolling against me. Very tired. Ministry of Health trucks came around fogging this afternoon. Horrendous noise and terrible stink of insecticide. And it was one of their smallest trucks. They seemed keen to squirt the fog at my neighbor's property. I didn't want to get too close because they squirted at least half a dozen times and I'm sure of if I'd gone out to see what was happening they'd have fogged me for certain. Six thirty I went to the shop and bought some food that could be eaten without cooking. Didn't want to spend the money, but had to eat something... Considered Chefette (local fast food chain specializing in fried chicken) for some chicken. They wanted $19.95 for six "Dings". Short for "Wing-Dings". They cut chicken wings into three, discard the flappy tip and call the remaining pieces "wing-dings". So for twenty bucks I would get six Dings which is six ⅓-wings (or three ⅔-wings, or just two wings). Settled for pastries, fruit, etc from the supermarket. Not sure about tomorrow.. No money left but some Gala apples remain from today. My soup now 48+ hours in the fridge waiting for heat. Horse Tears by Goldfrapp. I'm quite fond of this track. Mo now bathing my legs. I think I will have to go for a shower even though I feel like I would fall asleep on the way from here to there. Watched an episode of The grand Tour that I'd somehow managed to miss. I have a friend who calls Clarkson, Hammond & May "The Three Stooges". I find that they can be very amusing when they are on form. I particularly liked their "Special" episodes. There was a moment in the "Vietnam Special" from back in the Top Gear days when Captain Slow made me laugh so hard I literally thought I was having a cardiac event! They don't always hit the mark but when they do, they really do. And one way or the other, you can count on stunning cinematography, highlighting the region they are in. Going to go for that shower and see if I can get off early. If the damned phone rings at 5:30 tomorrow morning, not going to answer it. Damnit! When your phone rings at an ungodly hour like that, you are obliged to answer in case it is someone calling because of an emergency! Edited September 3 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 4 Share September 4 Several months ago, over a year, I'd guess, I spotted a device, hanging from the electric wires close to a PE near my house. It featured a flashing, red light. I reported it to BL&P but got no response not even an acknowledgement. I am sure sure I spoke about it in here, several times. It isn't bright enough to be easily seen in daylight but it had accompanied Mo and I at night when we go on Garden Patrol. And if I look out of the window at just the right angle, I can see it from the bed. Tonight, at the bottom of the garden, as we turned for home, the light was glaringly obvious by way of it's absence. Not only was it not flashing away as usual, but with my torch turned up to it's brightest setting, I could not find the object itself, hanging from the wires. I might be wrong but it appears that what ever it is/was, it's been removed. Either knocked down by a passing Ramier pigeon or a stone thrown by some vandal, or taken home to Walmer Lodge by some BL&P employee. This afternoon I distinctly smelled fog and heard the distant roar of the fogging truck. I thought we were in for another visit, but it never materialized. I guess it was working on some nearby neighborhood to windward. 72 hours now, the soup has been soaking in the fridge. If he comes tomorrow after work, it will be 96 hours, even if I go immediately out and get a fresh cylinder of gas! All I had to eat today was four very small Gala apples two for lunch and two for dinner. Cored, cut into 8 wedges each, and sprinkled lightly with salt. I have about $4 left to my name and I may have to go and buy more tomorrow. Or bananas. Thankfully there is chow for Mo. I'm pretty sure the soup will be spoilt. If I soak vegetables in water for days, should I not expect them to get soft and pappy? And after too many days, won't they simply begin to rot? I can I'll afford to lose all that food, but it makes no sense to eat decaying food which might just give you a major case of belly-cuttings as well as mega-trots. More Goldfrapp. This time it's Utopia. Nearly finished my book last night. This afternoon I retired to bed and completed the final two chapters. I did not take a nap. When I was done I got up and watched an episode of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. I watched the movie the other day, but this is a TV series from (I think) 2005. Maybe 1995? There are actually several productions of this story, some good and some not so good. I don't think I've seen this TV series before. The unabridged book itself is also very good and I looked on Amazon hoping I could grab the Kindle version. Alas, not free. Something like 56¢ so technically I could afford it, but 59¢ is prolly equivalent to half a banana, so... Anyway, I have to select a new book from my small pile so as to have something to read. Mozie has been dopey all day, laying about like a pot-head and not moving a muscle if he didn't feel he had to. Of course, movement becomes highly desirable when I come out of the kitchen with a glass of iced water and essential if the glass contains iced milk! In the absence of hot water I've been making the occasional glass of iced milk rather than mugs of tea. Evap. Doesn't taste very good, even when diluted with water. So I've been adding sugar. Putting sugar in proper milk is anathema. To the point where I got into trouble when I went to Deacon's Road Primary school for the day, to take my entrance exams at age nine. They gave me a big glass of milk at lunchtime and I took a large gulp.... and spat it all out on the ground! It took me ages to convince them I was not sick. And even longer to convince them that yes, I loved cow-juice entirely unadulterated! But nowadays, I will add sugar to watered down evap. if I am going to drink it. I just thought. I have a small jar of PB! I can throw some of that in the blender with watery evap. and sugar, and make some peanut punch! I might even find some sort of spice I could add to tweak it in the absence of any other ingredients. And speaking of PB, if I can afford salt breads, I can make PB&J cutters Tomorrow! 12 salt breads go for around $7.49 so a six-pack will be in the area of $3.75 plus. Plus because the larger pack would be cheaper per bread than the smaller. I got $3.84 in the bank and $1.80 in my pocket so I should be able to get a six pack of bread and maybe even 1½ bananas as well! Mo was lying down in the passage but has now come to surveil the yard from the window. Now he has retired to the foot of the bed and is cleaning his feet. Was. He had now departed. Book selected. Considered reading Writing Compilers & Interpreters - An Applied Approach but settled instead for The Ship Who Searched. This is a novel by McCaffrey in collaboration with another author (Mercedes Lackey) and set in the same universe as The Ship Who Sang. And having made my selection, with Mo back looking out the window, time to finish this and get started on the book! 1 Link to comment
Spunkygal September 4 Share September 4 For a cooking source, can you build a makeshift campfire outside and heat the soup over that? I imagine you have scrap wood. 3 Link to comment
Netfoot September 4 Share September 4 2 hours ago, Spunkygal said: For a cooking source, can you build a makeshift campfire outside and heat the soup over that? I imagine you have scrap wood. I thought of that... What I need is a barbecue of some sort... 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 5 Share September 5 96 hours and counting. When I spoke with this guy on Friday, he said he would come with the payment "on Monday or Tuesday." He then asked if I wanted a cheque or cash. We discussed the length of time it took for a cheque to clear, and how I needed the money soonest. This morning I sent a message saying "Got to go out for an hour!" This was supposed to be a subtle reminder, saying that he should not come within the next hour but implying that he should come some time after. It didn't appear to work. After 96 hours the soup is almost certainly spoiled. Mince, onions, carrots, yam, sweet potato, English potato, lentils... all fit only for disposal. I dunno what that lot would have cost me, but the lentils alone were over five bucks. The reason I went out (for only 10 minutes, in fact) was to buy bread. A six-pack of salt bread, leaving me with $1.85 in the bank and empty pockets. I had two PB&J cutters for lunch and two more for dinner. There are two remaining for lunch tomorrow. After that, well, I will have to wait until Friday, when I can cash a welfare cheque. I am going to bed early. 1 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 5 Share September 5 (edited) Finally made it to bed after a shower. I brought with me a glass of milk and a bowl of milk. Mo was snoozing in the passage but he roused himself and followed me into the bedroom. I put the bowl on the floor and he started lapping. He didn't stop until the bowl was empty. I went for a shower and when I returned Mo had vanished. Thankfully, he left the bowl behind. It is crockery, not plastic, so he would have some trouble getting it outside but I'm sure he would manage it if he wanted to. He did it once before, managing to get the bowl all the way out to the gate before he dropped it. Of course, it smashed to bits. I will put tonight's bowl away safely before Mo returns. Now I'm going to read some more of The Ship Who Searched which I started last night. But as it's three minutes to midnight, I doubt I will read for long... Edited September 5 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 5 Share September 5 At 10:30 this morning I got a message to say the $150 was on its way. I put Mo in the car, locked the house and waited. By 10:45 Mo and I were in the road. $43.50 in gas, $20 in gasoline and $64.45 in groceries. Remaining: $22.06 and home again. After 108 hours in the fridge, the soup got flushed down the karzie. It was bubbling slowly in the pot. Obviously not fit for consumption. But! I now have sweet potato, yam, onion, cabbage, plantain, green figs, English potato, pumpkin, carrots, lentils, diced tomato and minced beef. And I have some salt kine in the fridge which I will soak overnight and hope it is suitable for soup. So tomorrow, I may just start again. Tomorrow I have another $120 welfare cheque to cash. Zombi-dog! Sweet dog! 4 Link to comment
Netfoot September 6 Share September 6 Thursday night. Just had my first hot meal since Friday last week. A prototypical British "fry-up", it was. (Another name for the famous British breakfast.) I had sausage, egg, chips and (alas) no beans. but it tasted very good indeed. I don't even remember any metallic taste, but maybe it was just hunger that stopped me from noticing. The true fry-up can contain so many things, that the three items I had may seem insufficient. Hence "prototypical". You must have eggs and sausage (or bacon, or ham, or preferably all three). Baked beans are very common. As are chips. Fried tomato, fried black pudding and fried mushroom are also common options. In addition, you can have toast on the side, with butter and a good marmalade. Or fried bread but that would usually be on the plate rather than on the side. I suppose you could have both but I've never seen anyone opt for both. And of course, plenty of tea. And yes, I had a mug of tea with my dinner. The first since Saturday morning, early. With the reasonable expectation that the soup would have to be thrown away, I went and bought veggies, meat, etc, to try again. Also bought sugar, but would you believe it? Pine Hill evap. is unavailable again, for some reason. Maybe the machine broke down once more. So tomorrow, I hope to be motivated to get the soup a-boiling in time for me to sample it for lunch. I would like to do a larger pot than the one I'm using, but the only larger pot I own is 8¼ gallons and requires 3-4 burners on the stove. I definitely don't have enough ingredients for that! I dug out the salt kine from the back of the top drawer of the fridge. Up behind the CA glue & accelerator and the box of tea bags. Two small pieces which according to the labels on the packages, I purchased in February, 2019. The meat looked like lumps of petrified salt, such as people carve nick-nacks out of. But I put them in the small saucepan over the lowest flame the stove was capable of. When the water was very hot (but not quite boiling) I changed it for fresh and when that also got hot, I took the salt kine out and sliced it thinly. Back into the hot water but off the fire. When it cooled to room temperature it went into the fridge to keep soaking overnight. It will be soft enough to go into the soup tomorrow. It may be rubbery, but it will give some flavour to the pot, and if it is too tough to eat, I will give pieces to Mo as I find them in the soup while eating it. Because you know The Hot Breath will be on my hip the entire time. The unfortunate side of this is that I'd not planned to spend all the money on groceries. but with all sorts of provisions plus meat and lentils being thrown out, I had to replace them and the new stuff obviously wasn't free. Listening to Bonnie Raitt singing Million Miles. Never been a huge fan but this song is quite good. She's a Blues singer. Blues has never been a favourite genre of mine. Better than Country, I suppose... On Saturday, when the gas ran out, I immediately thought to take the pot to Heidi's house and finish cooking it there. I sent a message asking if she was home but quickly realized the idea was impractical. She finally got around to answering my message today. She is apparently in the USA. I told her to "Have fun" and got told off, because she was not having fun; she was working hard. Doing what, I couldn't be bothered to ask. It reminded me of when she was back and forth working hard a few years ago. When she caught CV19 she begged me to appeal to Dr. Kristi to cure her, so she could travel! It turns out she was arranging the wedding of her second daughter in Colorado. But she didn't tell me that. No. I didn't find out the child was getting married until 6 hours before the ceremony. Just to be sure I didn't show up unexpectedly. Despite the glaring absence of an invitation. I don't know when I took on the appearance of someone who would arrive at a wedding uninvited. But I might have sent the traditional telegram of well wishes. If I'd a better destination address than "Colorado", which is all the info that I was allowed to have. Phone is at 15% so I'd better put it on charge. Mo is outside somewhere. I will go fetch him when I lock up. When I say "fetch" I mean "invite him to come in" because he is always free to spend the night outside. Mostly, he comes in. Because if he wants to sleep outside, he usually waits until I fall asleep, then barks in my ear at 109 decibels while clawing my skin with his talons. 11%. I'm off.... 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 6 Share September 6 (edited) Soup! Scoured the pasta pot good. It had bad soup in it and I did a double in getting it s*** and span. [ETA: Why can't I say "S.P.I.C and S.P.A.N" any more? Was some poor soul offended? Did I spell it wrong? When a society gets so delicate it is offended by it's own language, it's decline and fall is imminent.] Heated a little oil and out some onion rings in to soften. When they were translucent I added minced beef and a little salt. With the meat browned, I added lentils, tomato sauce and water and brought it to the boil. Next in when the cauldron was bubbling, was cubed sweet potato and yam, plus carrots. Gave those provisions a chance to cook down and soften a bit. Drained and added the salt kine (which has been soaking since yesterday) at around this time. When the pot had been going for a while, I added cubed English potato. I also heated a little oil in a small pan and put in a spoonful of brown sugar. Over a hot flame it wasn't long before the sugar melted and then burned on the oil. I poured the seething hot mixture into the soup which went Shhhhhh!!! Very loudly and sent up a vigorous column of steam. The caramelized sugar substantially darkened the colour of the soup. It did not affect the taste at all but darkening the mix aesthetically improved the appearance. I also heated some oil and added a couple spoonfuls of flour, frying together while stirring vigorously until a roux resulted. This went in and thickened the broth just a little. At this time I got a small, separate saucepan and placed into it two green figs and two plantains that I had topped, tailed and skit the skin. Adding some salt I set these to boil in their own private pan. Plantain, banana, green fig boil best in their skin but the skin turns the water inky and you want to avoid getting that ink into your soup. While these were cooking, I diced some belly-pumpkin. The plantain, being ripe, cooks faster so I took that out of the pot, discarded the skin and cut into smaller pieces. These and the pumpkin went into the soup. Pumpkin cooks quite quickly so after it had been boiling for awhile I got the green figs out of the little pot, deskinned and cut it into bite-sized pieces and added it into the soup. The pasta pot was now only ½" from overflowing, and simmering nicely. I gave everything 10-15 minutes of simmer before I got out a bowl and dished myself a large helping for lunch. The soup was tasty. Not overly spicy, but quite flavourful. With so many different ingredients I had to pick and choose what was in each spoonful, since there was no way to get some of everything into the spoon at once. So one mouthful would be sweet potato & carrot, the next would be green fig & yam and next spud & plantain. The thinly sliced salt kine was much better than I'd hoped for. It was not tough or rubbery and when a piece showed up in the spoon it was a pleasant encounter. When the bowl was empty I went inside and had another (smaller) helping. Good stuff! There remains at least four generous servings in the pot. And I have more veggies I can fortify the pot with. I've no more yam or sweet potato but I have another green fig, another plantain, a bunch more onions and carrots, taters and pumpkin, plus cucumbers and purple cabbage to add a new twist. Could also add dumplings. Looking forward to dinner! Edited September 7 by Netfoot 1 1 Link to comment
Spunkygal September 6 Share September 6 I’ve said this recently but you and Mo need a few hours out at the club. Call your mates and convince a couple of them to meet up. Mo needs a good play date. 3 Link to comment
Netfoot September 7 Share September 7 4 hours ago, Spunkygal said: I’ve said this recently but you and Mo need a few hours out at the club. Call your mates and convince a couple of them to meet up. Mo needs a good play date. I plan to take Mo up for a visit but it won't be immediately. Perhaps in a week or so. And there is a meeting some time near the end of the month and he will get to go up there on that occasion too. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 7 Share September 7 (edited) Soup! Again! For dinner! A nice, large bowl was just what the doctor ordered. I wanted a second helping but refrained. Even Mo enjoyed soup after a fashion. I got a bowl of chow, and used the ladle to get a good scoop of broth from the soup which I poured over the chow. He inhaled it! The problem with making soup as a cost saving food source is that if the soup tastes too good, you eat it up in a hurry, so it doesn't last to the end of the week as it should. I will add some more potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, plantain and green fig tomorrow. And also some cucumber. Plus extra stock. You can end up adding more and more provisions until the soup is so thick a spoon will, as per the legend, stand upright in the bowl. But if there is no actual broth, then the soup is no longer a soup. It's just a collection of boiled provisions and you might as well eat it with a knife and fork. So I will add a good set of stock. And (if I am not feeling too lazy) a dumpling or two as well. Listening to Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies. The track is Sick Things. This is a good album. (I also like School's Out.) AC was so scandalously weird! But it turned out he was just an ordinary guy who figured out how to game the system and make a hugely successful career out of his music by adding makeup and wild hair. And from time to time, some outrageous lyrics. This afternoon it rained so hard I couldn't hear the audio track on the computer. By Garden Patrol there was no rain but the grass (Long. In need of a cut.) was soaked and there was ankle deep water on the concrete walkway beside the house. I still need so go take a shower but I will finish this post first. Mo is nowhere to be seen. He was asleep in the passage earlier. I made my way along in the pitch dark but I knew to look out for and avoid stepping on a puppy-shaped patch of extra darkness. When I made my way back down the passage, the puppy-shaped patch was gone. But he will come and see me when he is good and ready. He was very affectionate last night. He stretched out and pressed tightly against my side and stayed there all night until dawn. He is usually quite touchy but tends to move around. Last night, each time I woke, he was right there, and never moved for the entire night. I don't usually just go to sleep and wake up again hours later. Ever since the fire (1991) I wake every 90 minutes or so. Or I should say "surface" rather than wake. I usually don't even open my eyes but I become aware of my surroundings. If all appears well, I sink into sleep again. Otherwise I come fully awake. Anyway, I will go for a shower now, and I will read a while before locking up and going to sleep. Edited September 7 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 7 Share September 7 Mozie decided to sleep outside last night so I locked up and went to bed. At 3:29 AM there was a yipp!! under the bedroom window. I got up and looked out, but he had already departed. Serene in the belief that one yipp!! was all that it would take. I briefly considered leaving his arse outside but (of course) I opened the door instead. As I was opening it, Mo squeezed in like toothpaste. By time I got it closed again and flipped the lock, he had disappeared. In the bedroom I was greeted by the sight of him comfortably curled up on top of my pillows. I opened up again at around 5:45 because he was barking at max volume and doing his helicopter impersonation. That's when he leaps into the air, somehow rotating like a top. When he lands again he just kicks off and the hovering, rotating dog is just perpetuated. The problem with this is that when ever he is facing me, he claws at my back (usually) which is quite painful. Since he spins quite fast this can be at least once per second. I swat at him forcefully with a pillow to stop the clawing, but he is adept at dodging the pillow. I would love to get a video of the Hovering Helicopter Dog but I don't know how to go about it. This usually happens when he wakes me up to let him out, after he sees something out the window. I'm usually groggy with sleep, there is often poor light and the phone is on a shelf in the bedside table. Besides, when Helicopter Dog starts clawing at you the only thing on your mind is to get out of bed ASAP so the spinning, clawing, barking will stop! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 8 Share September 8 Soup again! For lunch and dinner. Mo had chow & soup which he likes a lot, it would seem. I added extra potato, plantain, green fig and carrots, and also added cucumber and purple cabbage which were all absent up until now. Filled the pot up to ½" from the top again. It really tastes good! But tomorrow I will have sausage, egg and chips. Because I don't want to overdo the soup. I've had soup these last four meals in a row and if I keep that up I will end up sick of soup, no matter how good it tastes. What I have left to add is potatoes (maybe, depending on what ever becomes chips tomorrow), pumpkin, carrots, cucumber, purple cabbage and onion. No more yam, sweet potato, plantain, green figs... Or meat. I do have some sausages but I don't know that they will really suit the soup. They will add the occasional meaty bite, but not infuse the soup as a whole. I don't believe. Wotcha think? What I'd like is some other meat like chicken or beef or pork. But the price is unreal. Was looking at chicken tenders last time I shopped: $34.99 per kilo. Chunks only $29.99/kilo. Sorry, I can hardly justify that. I got a notice from the modeling club. The administration has been in disarray ever since the lockdowns, particularly because our President was trapped overseas for nearly a year. So they are now trying to get things sorted out now. I (and everyone else) owes three years subscription. So do I want to pay $750 or degrade my membership status to "Non-Flying" which would then be only $150? (Note: "Non-Flying" also means "Non-Voting".) Well, with a $480 annual bill coming in early November, my electric bill standing at $497, telephone at $333 and water probably in the area of $240, with $141 in the bank and the next welfare cheque a fortnight away, with little food in the kitchen (large pot of soup not withstanding) and my woodworking guy saying to me that he might have something for me to do in "a couple of weeks"..... When it comes to going up to the club, 8 have to be restrained. It isn't just the price if gas. The van is running on four very old and worn tires. The fifth tire burst months ago so I have no spare. Any of the remaining tires could burst every time I take the van out. And how would I get the van (and Mo) home again on only three wheels? The last time it was serviced was in 2019. I have tried to ensure that there is oil in the engine (added a quart only a week or so ago) but I can't afford to do a full change so I'm just topping up and the oil just gets dirtier and dirtier. And the oil filter is 5 years old... So a run up to the club is slightly more of an adventure than you might think. Even with gas in the tank, I have to consider that such a long run would stress the vehicle more than a five minute drive to the supermarket. And if it does break down, the van could be even farther from home than usual with the increased difficulty of getting Mo safely home and retrieving the vehicle. Hitch hiking with Mo is not a practical expectation and honestly, I would feel very hard to ask even a friend to give me a lift home if Mo had to come along for the ride. Not that he would do anything bad. But nobody could be blamed for considering the state of their own upholstery. Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer. I know so little about this band and the lead singer. And I feel that if I googled some info I would have forgotten it all by the next time the song came up in the playlist. But I do like this song. Sort of "sweet". And that is a strange thing for a self-professed lover of rock to say. I think Mo is outside lying in front of the car. That's where he was when I went out for Garden Patrol. The grass is getting quite long out there. Thankfully, it was not wet tonight. Oh, here he is now! Ok, I will spend some time cuddling with him then read then sleep... 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 8 Share September 8 Finished my book. (The Ship Who Searched.) Now, I'm glad that the brain/brawn pair were able to find a path to happiness. But the construction of a wi-fi controlled, cybernetic body for Tia, even equipped with full sensory feedback, just so she and Alex could get physical? Not sure if that isn't at least slightly creepy. Cracked open a chest of books and found a few that needed rereading. A weighty tome in compiler development, a pair of books (Parts I & II) detailing the amazing aircraft of the "golden age of aviation", and a small number of novels. One of which is Dolphin Island by Arthur C. Clarke. Now, as a died in the wool sci-fi lover, there is not much written by the giants of the genre like Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, etc, that I have not read. Or at the very least heard of. And the fact that this book is in one of my book vaults indicates that I've read this book before. But I have no idea what it's about. Other than what I just learnt by reading the blurb. Its small, less than 150 pages, and supposedly concerns dolphins and the great barrier reef. So I think this will be my choice of reading material for the next couple of days. And seeing as it is still earlyish.... I might as we get stuck in! Link to comment
Netfoot September 8 Share September 8 Mo had chow and soup for lunch. He really likes it! I had sausage, egg and chips as planned. I have a couple of questions about frying chips which, if you can answer, please do. 1. I shallow-fry in a large, beat-up pan. Because it is beat up, it doesn't sit perfectly level on the stove. The oil is deeper near the handle of the pan and shallower on the side opposite the handle. It may only be ¼" difference (if that) but the difference is real. Now, I put the pan on the stove centered over a large gas burner. Would the oil at the shallow end of the pan get hotter than the oil over at the deep end? Because the chips at the shallow end cook faster than those at the deep end. 2. Do any of you guys put a matchstick in the oil when frying chips? My mother routinely used to do this. She would cut the potatoes, pour the oil into the pan, light the stove and add the matchstick. As the oil got hotter it would eventually get to the point where the match would self-ignite. She would take her spatula, flip the spent match out for disposal, then put the cut potatoes into the oil. She judged the oil hot enough when the match self-ignited. Do any of you guys use a matchstick to determine when chip-oil is hot enough? When I tried this technique recently, the match stubbornly refused to self-ignited even though the oil got hottern hell! I had to give up on that plan. Although I didn't eat any soup today, I brought it to a good boil at lunchtime before dipping out a small amount (one ladle) to sweeten Mo's chow. I will boil it again at dinner time. Periodic doses of heat should prevent it from going bad. I have one more potato, some carrots, some purple cabbage and some onions as well as cucumber, with which I can raise the level of the soup in the pot. Also considering rolling out some dumplings. But not for tonight. I don't have enough potatoes for more chips but I still have some eggs so maybe scrambled egg and sausage or even a sausage & onion omelette? Mo was just here giving me kisses but then the doggie next door have a yip! and he shot off like a rocket. He loves me but he has his priorities in order! Link to comment
andidante September 8 Share September 8 2 hours ago, Netfoot said: Mo had chow and soup for lunch. He really likes it! I had sausage, egg and chips as planned. I have a couple of questions about frying chips which, if you can answer, please do. 1. I shallow-fry in a large, beat-up pan. Because it is beat up, it doesn't sit perfectly level on the stove. The oil is deeper near the handle of the pan and shallower on the side opposite the handle. It may only be ¼" difference (if that) but the difference is real. Now, I put the pan on the stove centered over a large gas burner. Would the oil at the shallow end of the pan get hotter than the oil over at the deep end? Because the chips at the shallow end cook faster than those at the deep end. 2. Do any of you guys put a matchstick in the oil when frying chips? My mother routinely used to do this. She would cut the potatoes, pour the oil into the pan, light the stove and add the matchstick. As the oil got hotter it would eventually get to the point where the match would self-ignite. She would take her spatula, flip the spent match out for disposal, then put the cut potatoes into the oil. She judged the oil hot enough when the match self-ignited. Do any of you guys use a matchstick to determine when chip-oil is hot enough? When I tried this technique recently, the match stubbornly refused to self-ignited even though the oil got hottern hell! I had to give up on that plan. 1. I would think the shallow end would get hotter faster as there is less oil there. Not sure about hotter but that would make sense. 2. I have never heard of the matchstick method. I usually put my hand over (not IN) the oil and judge by that. Or sprinkle a bit of water in the oil to see if it sizzles. Probably not the best thing to do! 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 9 Share September 9 So we just had a thunderstorm. Sheets of multicoloured lightning that flickered for 10 seconds or more, followed by a deafening rumble that lasted another 10+ seconds. And of course, rain. Halfway through, the rain stopped so Mo and I went out and did our Garden Patrol. With wet grass way up past my knees, I couldn't fault Mo for sticking to the concrete walkway. And all afternoon I could hear weed-whackers at work, so I was sure the landlord was working on the grass... But no. We got in again just in time to avoid the rain which came sluicing down again. A late chow dinner for Mo and sausage & egg for me,with a mug of tea. Two sausages, two tea bags and one egg remain. Mo ate his dinner with relish despite the fact that I had not added any soup as a sweetener. Intended to do so, but I suddenly needed to pee so I put the bowl on the ground and rushed off. By time I came back, the chow was gone! After dinner, as I stirred my tea and the storm flashed and banged over our house, Mo climbed up under my chair and plaited himself in with my legs and the legs of the chair. I am always glad for him to be near, but this makes it difficult to move even a muscle! Mo never exhibits any sign of fear when there is stormy weather. But he makes no secret of the fact that he prefers to experience such moments with company! Anyway, the storm petered out after a while and I was able to extricate myself from the mix without distressing him much. Listening to Live And Let Live by Love. This band from the sixties. I think this album (Forever Changes) is the only one of theirs I have but there are a couple good tunes on it. Been looking at my finances and I think I'm at the end of my rope. Probably $1,500 of outstanding bills and no source of funds. There is approx. $140 in the bank but there is not much food (or Mo-food) in the house so that will almost certainly have to be spent on grub. It can only go downhill from here. Oh well... Phone down to 7% tonight. The battery in this thing is very soft and I have to keep charging it. Anyway, I will stop now. I wish Mo would join me in bed because the breeze in the window is quite chilly tonight. So I will stop now. I have to go take out some trash anyway. Stuff that will spoil in the wheely-bin that I keep frozen. I put it out on Sunday night and SSA takes it away om Monday morning. If I forget, it stays in the freezer for another week. Not an issue. It's wrapped in plastic and frozen solid. But best get it out of here while I remember. 3 hours ago, andidante said: have never heard of the matchstick method. I don't think my mum ever cooked chips any other way. And I'd happily do the same, except as I said, when I tried it the other day, the match floated in the oil until the stick turned brown and the oil looked scary hot but never ignited. Did they make matches different back then? 4%! Better go... 1 Link to comment
Spunkygal September 9 Share September 9 11 hours ago, andidante said: 1. I would think the shallow end would get hotter faster as there is less oil there. Not sure about hotter but that would make sense. 2. I have never heard of the matchstick method. I usually put my hand over (not IN) the oil and judge by that. Or sprinkle a bit of water in the oil to see if it sizzles. Probably not the best thing to do! I agree! Since the shallow end has less volume, seems like it would heat up quicker. When I’m testing the oil for hash browns, I just drop a small bit in to see if it sizzles. I’ve never heard the matchstick method. Link to comment
Netfoot September 9 Share September 9 (edited) I know you believe I make stuff up to entertain. Impossible stuff I claim happens that just isn't possible. Like Helicopter Dog..... Edited September 9 by Netfoot 4 Link to comment
Mr. Sparkle September 9 Share September 9 I've been waiting for a Helicopter Dog video. Link to comment
Netfoot September 9 Share September 9 1 hour ago, Mr. Sparkle said: I've been waiting for a Helicopter Dog video. It was not easy to take! I was asleep when that started, caused by the fall of rain. Mo desperately wanted the door open. So he could go out, so he could get soaked, so he could dry off on the bedclothes, so he could go out, so he could get soaked, so he could dry off on the bedclothes... If you turn your back on him when he's doing that, then one of his landings/jumps (bounces?) will be on your back, with his claws. So I had to get the phone, ensure I wasn't going to film myself in a state of nature, and capture Helicopter Dog, all without turning my back on him! 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 10 Share September 10 (edited) Helicopter-Mo and I are in bed. He isn't helicoptering now, of course. He only does that when he wants the door opened and only when he thinks it is urgent. Such as when he looks out the window early morn, and sees something that he believes he needs to attend to right now! I see you guys laughing at the video, but I tell you he is positively dangerous when he does that because what the video does not show is him making liberal use of his claws to make the helicoptering extra persuasive. I had soup today for lunch and dinner. I added my last potato, an extra carrot, the last of the pumpkin and two good sized onions to the pot earlier today. Also some extra stock, with garlic, cilantro, and plain old pepper sauce. Oh, and a batch of dumplings. These were not as good as I'd hoped they would be, prolly because I was in a hurry. They ended up larger than I prefer, and with a texture which made them prone to breaking before they were cooked. Which was fine in a separate pot before being added to the main soup pot. Because they were larger than usual they took longer to cook and half a dozen started sticking to the small pot. Result dislodged with the spatula when time to transfer to the soup proper, but those dumplings ended up with small pieces missing off the side. They ended up fine in the end except they are too big to comfortably eat in one bite so I'm having to cut them in half with the edge of the spoon in the bowl. I have a few things I could throw in still. A few more carrots, more onions, a small remaining piece of the purple cabbage, cucumber, diced tomato (tinned) and a tin of black beans. No meat of any type. I have to shop. There is no more tea. Used the last bag tonight after Garden Patrol. Milk is low and last time I checked, PHD (Pine Hill Dairy) evap. was not to be found, again. I think I might buy 5Kg of meat scraps, more potatoes, any other veggies that are available at an affordable price, some tinned stuff, another dozen hen-fruit (got one left) but most important, chow for Mo. There is probably only 2 more meals remaining in the jar. So I had better get a bag for him, preferably a 5Kg bag that will last a while. But the funds are limited so it will all depend on how much stuff I can get for what I've got. And after that? Who knows? Finished Dolphin Island last night. Set almost entirely in the Great Barrier Reef, it isn't really sci-fi, although the author did include some futuristic elements. ACC settled in Sri Lanka (still known as Ceylon, back when the book was written) where he became a sort of national hero/treasure to the native population. His move was motivated in no small part by his love of SCUBA diving and the beautiful tropical reefs this sport/hobby allowed him to enjoy. Dolphin Island was obviously written at least in part, as a tribute to the fascinating underwater world that so captivated him. Mo is bathing my left arm. That always makes using this device a challenge. In fact much of what Mo does makes life challenging! The fuzzy little sweetheart... Watched a movie today, called Upgrade. About a quadriplegic who is given the opportunity for an experimental chip implant which restores his physical abilities. Unfortunately, it isn't long before the chip decides it is more intelligent than he is, and starts to take over his body. Anyway, I'm now looking for a new book to read. I have narrowed it down to Fallen Angels by Niven, Pournelle & Flynn, or Beowulf's Children by Niven, Pournelle & Barnes. Larry Niven is an excellent sci-fi writer, known for conceiving the Ringworld milieux and authoring several books set in that universe. In collaboration with Jerry Pournelle, the pair have written several books that are good reads. On his own, Pournelle is not as impressive as the collaboration, I'm sorry to say. Largely because all of solo his novels devolve into primitive warfare, involving pikes, archers, horse cavalry, and so forth. His books are not bad, but they are too samey-samey. I used to read and enjoy his lengthy column in Byte magazine, back when that was a thing. Michael Flynn is described as a hard-science writer. No recollection of ever trading anything of his. While his catalogue lists a couple that sound interesting, I am in no position to pursue those books right now. Steven Barnes has a catalogue of at least two dozen works, with varied conceptual ideas well explored. In collaborations with Niven & Pournelle I am familiar with, he makes a positive contribution. So. A pair of astronauts crash land on a glacier in North Dakota where they are pursued by one group that means them harm and another that trys to save them? Or, colonists on another planet make a lengthy, overland journey while dealing with local fauna that are not exactly friendly? I will decide when I get back from my shower..... Edited September 10 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 10 Share September 10 (edited) Mo helicoptered me out of bed early this morning, which is prolly why I'm feeling tired. It doesn't explain the aches and pains, though... We went to three supermarkets - one of them twice - buying 5Kg of chow for my boy, but no meat scraps were available. Got sweet & English potatoes, yam, white cabbage, carrots, eggs, tea, diced tomatoes and minced beef. Plus salt bread and two 250ml Carnation evap. milk. PHD evap. still not available. Came home and had a bowl of soup for lunch. The pot is quite low and with the provisions I bought today I could fortify it and have it early full again easily. But I think I will finish it off completely, clean out the pot and start from scratch. It will essentially be the same recipe with the same ingredients but it will be a fresh start. I've developed a sore spot on the side of my tongue for some reason. It's quite uncomfortable. One thing I splurged on is a tin of beans. $2.25 for the smallest tin of Heinz beans you've ever seen. So now I can have sausage, egg, chips & beans. And fried bread too, for that matter. If they weren't $5+ each, I could have bought tomatoes and added fried tomato to the meal as well! I just noticed the activity indicator on my remote blinking! I have a 5-device remote on my desk and an identical one beside the bed. I can remotely switch the light over the bed, the bedroom fan, the passage light, the desk fan and the light over the desk from either the bed or the desk. When you are pressing any of the buttons, a red indicator on the remote illuminates. I just saw that indicator flickering on its own. At first I thought "Mo is fiddling with the other remote!" But no, even if he was, it wouldn't cause the indicator of this remote to illuminate. So using the skill I learned studying engineering and the wisdom of my years, plus aeons of genetic memory, I solved the problem. I have it a solid whack! Edited September 10 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 11 Share September 11 (edited) The soup pot is empty and soaking in the sink for thorough clean-up in the morning. Mo got a large scoop on his chow and I got the remainder. It was more broth than veggies because much of the veg had mushed down to nothing. I should have put this through the blender and added it back to the pot, but instead, I just ate it. Most of the chewy bits were substandard dumplings but there turned out to be quite a bit of salt kine at the bottom so the final bowl was unexpectedly meaty. Tomorrow I will go with the sausage, egg & chips theme for lunch & dinner, and even adding chips to one of those meals. And fried bread. Tested my Med-Low program today for the first time in several days and was a little concerned because it did not warn me that I was low on Spirolon, which it should have, because I am. The program allows two switches to be specified: --console and --telegram which direct the warning to the console or sends a Telegram to my phone. (Or both if you request both.) If you don't specify at least one, it should default to the console (providing it's being run on the console) but it wasn't, so I fixed that default. Still no warning. Then I realized that the program won't repeat a warning if you have received it already. You get a LOW_MEDS warning at 6 days but you won't get another at 5 and 4 days. Nothing further until 3 days, at which point you should get a VLOW_MEDS warning, and a ZERO_MEDS warning when you run out completely. When the program ran earlier without defaulting output to the console, it never sent a warning but it thought that it had! So it was deliberately withholding what it thought was a duplicate warning. So I added a new --duplicate switch to force appropriate warnings to be sent even if it would be a duplicate. Now I have to slightly rearrange the control flow so the program does not record a warning as having been sent unless it actually has. And I'm thinking that if I manually run the program on the console I should probably get the warning, whether or not it is a duplicate. It's only when the program runs automatically from (say) the cron daemon that I want to limit warnings sent by Telegram. Just so I don't get bombarded by repeated warning Telegrams. Somehow I've managed to bash my right heel which is now sore and very painful to touch. My bruised/sore tongue is still a pain, and there is a lot of joint and muscle pain too. I am a living wreck. And here comes Living Wreck by Deep Purple off their ...In Rock album. That was a coincidence. Mo was last seen snoozing near the door but I imagine he will come visit soon. I will meantime go read my book. I chose Fallen Angel. Inhabitants of the orbital colonies are not seen favourably by citizens of an earth gripped by an ice age. Why? Not clear at this point. The astronauts who crash landed on earth are being hunted down by one group who intend to punish them. What for? Again not clear as yet. Another group is determined to rescue the astronauts and spirit them away to safety. Where exactly is safe? Unclear. I think I need to read a few more chapters and hope that I can pick up a few clues as to what exactly is going on! Here is my Mozie now! Cuddle-time! Edited September 11 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 12 Share September 12 The moon is at first quarter. The grass in the yard is way long for cutting. And also dry. Maybe the lack of damp is the reason, but Mo insisted on examining every blade of grass, three times over. Garden Patrol ran quite long this evening. But I am glad Mo was motivated to do a thorough job and I was happy to stand with my torch and be a lamp post for him. I am not sure how much he needs the light, because he has been known to root around in a clump of bushes for ages, with no illumination at all. Earlier, when I went to get his bowl to fix his dinner, I mashed his foot. (West Indian: Mashed = Stood on) I stepped lightly on his toes, with my toes, and I never put any real weight on him because I felt it immediately and never put my full weight down on the foot. He gave a small yelp! and I held the foot and squeezed it gently between my fingers to see if he would complain, but he looked at me calmly and did not object. I observed him closely after that, encouraging him to walk here and there. No sign of any discomfort, no limp, nothing. So I am pretty sure he is unhurt. Of course, I am not happy it happened. I am always careful not to hurt him, such as when I move my chair. I'd hate to roll over his sweet, wriggly tail! Not sure how I managed to catch him this evening. Did he move? I know I felt very wobbly immediately afterwards but I believe that was as a result of bending over to check his footie. Anyway, more care and attention in future. Naturally, of the four feet I might have chosen to stand on, I managed to get the Left Front... He got chow for dinner (and lunch). My lunch was sausage, egg & chips. (I need a bigger plate.) I chose to forgo the beans and save them for another time. I did have some fried bread but I got it wrong. Fried bread is not the same as bread toasted in a pan. I was going after the latter but I fouled up (for a change, right?) and ended up with something more like NVG fried bread. Dinner was just a bowl of chips which I ate with my fingers. And a ketchup/mayo sauce with garlic powder and pepper sauce to dip it in. Started watching Cloud Atlas today, but hit pause after about 3 seconds and it's still paused there. Don't think I even got a single word of dialogue. I can't actually remember why I paused at that point, but I still have the entire movie to watch. A week or so ago I linked a video of a Trini making pineapple chow. I was intrigued by his use of salt prunes in his recipe. And/or salt prune dust. At the time I said how that ingredient was very interesting. YT has recently suggested three separate videos of Trinis making mango chow. Mango is the traditional chow known and loved by all Trinis. And all three of these recipes included salt prunes as a "secret ingredient". I am now very keen to try chow with salt prunes or salt prune dust. But I have not seen salt prunes in the shops since before the lockdowns. We usually get it from Trinidad. I'm not sure where they get it from. It is a Chinese thing but I'm not sure if they import it or make it locally. I have seen them selling in Port of Spain in 55 gallon drums, with several varieties: Red, soft black, soft black seedless, hard black, hard black seedless, hard white and hard white seedless. (White salt prunes are exactly the same as black ones, only completely covered in a white crust of salt crystals.) Anyway, I could locate a semi-green mango or two, a couple of Bonny peppers, limes, vinegar, even shadow Benny (Chadon Beni), but the red salt prunes (the type these chow makers are using) just aren't available. I'd need someone going to TnT to bring some for me.... Mo just came in and curled up on the floor beside the bed. And the rain immediately started to fall, so the garden is no longer dry. But at least the breeze in the window has turned cool. And he had moved up into bed and is curled up behind me cleaning his ears. And double-kicking my butt. Now he has moved to the foot of the bed, and is cleaning his rear feet. No, he is back on the ground beside the bed again. Keeping track of Mo is a full-time job. Listening to Cherry Blue Skies by Thicke. I like Robin Thicke's music. Don't know much about him but his A Beautiful World album is a keeper. Gotta go get a shower and lock up. With the rain falling (quite heavily) the prospect of a shower is no longer as appealing as it was a short while ago. I dunno why. I won't get any wetter because the rain is falling outside. But yes, got to shower and then read a little before turning in. And I should refill my ice trays to ensure an adequate supply of ice for tomorrow. So let me do that now. Might have A PB&J cutter as well. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 12 Share September 12 (edited) Got up this morning to find that telephone and internet were not working. Over at the mall now to check, but I'm pretty sure it's because the bill is two months in arrears. As is electricity and water, so they will be next. Walked over here to discover I'd left the phone at home so I had to walk back again to collect it and then back over again so I could check messages. I used to be able to connect to the hardware store at the corner of the mall from my bedroom window but now I get an error when I try to do so. The error has been there for at least six weeks (that's when I reported it) but they have not fixed it yet. They probably have not even reported the error. I dunno why. Obviously, they are paying somebody for the connectivity for the convenience of their customers. I don't understand why they would continue to pay but not be concerned when they are not getting the service they are paying for. Mo is fine. I went outside to find a tee-shirt in a heap on the driveway, soaking wet. I hung it up to dry in the garage. Fortunately, the last tee-shirt thatas hanging there is now completely dry and can go inside and be out in the laundry basket. $6.85 in the bank and 5¢ in my pocket. The next $120 welfare cheque is not due until next Friday (over a week) and it isn't enough to pay even one month of telephone or electric. (It will pay one month of water but not two.) Last time I spoke to my woodwork guy he said he "...might have something for me in one or two weeks." Not sure how long ago that was, but given that he is almost always late, no sense counting on that. It looks like I've finally hit the wall. I'm glad there is 5Kg of Mo-grub and a full cylinder of gas for the stove. There is even some food in the house - the stuff I bought a couple days ago, mostly veggies. I may have to eat it in the dark, but at least I can cook food. I'm going to go and confirm that the reason phone/internet is down is for non-payment. I owe $334.98 which is two months plus the reconnection fee for last time I was disconnected. 😕 ETA: Yep, confirmed it is a disconnection. I must pay $184.99 to get it out back on, which is one month service fee plus the previous reconnection fee. And of course, I can expect another reconnection fee. But I can't pay anyhow, so no need to worry about that! Except, I understand that even if they disconnect you and you get no service, they still bill you for the service that is disconnected. Bastards. Going to the hardware store to see if I can motivate anyone enough to get them to fix their internet service. Chance of success: Low, I'd guess. Edited September 12 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 12 Share September 12 (edited) While at the mall, I went "shopping". I use quotation marks because, if course, I am not planning to buy anything. Found a nice 13" plate. This would probably hold enough chips. Glass/see-thru is not optimal but it would news. (West Indian: News = Use) Pity I can't afford to buy it! Also looked at cookie sheets. Didn't take pictures but found 11x17" cookie sheets selling for $120. Looked a little more and found different 11x17" cookie sheets for $42 with a matching cooling rack. I expect the cheaper ones are of lower quality but a cookie sheet is only a bit of shaped sheet metal. How much quality do you need? And while the wire cooling rack might fall apart quickly depending upon how well it's made, it has got to be a better deal than no cooling rack at all, which is what you (don't) get with the cookie sheet that costs three times as much! ETA: Oh, went to the hardware store. When you go in, their wifi overpowers the mall wifi and asks you to sign in. Which fails. Spoke to a supervisor, pointing out that sometimes I come in and while browsing need to check something on a product but can't get on the net. So I have to exit the store and reconnect to mall wifi, but I can't take the item out with me so I can't refer to the label when googling. He told me they were revamping some part of the store and there was disruption as a result. But I have been all over the store and there are no workmen or signs of renovation anywhere so I think that's just BSCU (Bullshit to Shut the Customer Up). Pointed out that I'd reported this issue 6 weeks ago and was told that The workmen were working slowly. Yep, BSCU. So no connecting from the bedroom window. No payment of the bill. I recon I have $1,600 outstanding bills now, and no way to pay any of them. So I guess the only thing to do is to walk home and spend my day cuddling with Mo, reading and watching Cloud Atlas. And eating chips. Out of a too-small plate. Saw a very pretty girl in here a minute ago. Tall, slender and too young to have any idea what life is really like. Lucky child Edited September 12 by Netfoot 2 1 Link to comment
luv2lurk September 14 Share September 14 Hey @Netfoot please walk to the mall and provide updates so we know you are OK Hugs 4 Link to comment
Netfoot September 14 Share September 14 (edited) 15 hours ago, luv2lurk said: please walk to the mall and provide updates so we know you are OK I am good. I didn't go to the mall yesterday because I was feeling a little under the weather. And because of the actual weather. It was rainy and I didn't fancy getting caught out in the rain. It's rainy again today but nowhere as bad Night before last I cooked a large portion of chips to eat... and managed to burn them. Left the kitchen for a moment (never wise, I know) and got distracted by Mo. Not blaming him - just saying he is distractingly cute. Had egg cutters yesterday for lunch and a mug of tea for dinner. Since I expect the electricity to be cut off soon, I took a piece of pork out of the freezer. It is from a meat-scrap buy a while ago but I didn't know what to do with it. I could have cut it up but I thought I would wait and maybe roast it in the oven. When I had more gas. Well, I've got a new gas cylinder now, if I'm going to fo that, it better happen before I lose electricity or it will spoil. Weighed it in at 1 lb., 15.8 oz. But it has a laaarge bone in it, which is why it was probably consigned to the scraps bin. That and the thick layer of skin on top. But think: Crackling! The bulb over my desk died again. You know, they said the curly fluorescent (and now, LED) bulbs would pay for themselves because they not only used less juice but lasted much longer. So why is it the incandescent bulbs used to last 5+years but the new bulbs have to be replaced every few months? And why has my electricity bill gone up? Anyway, the fitting is bayonet and the only bulbs I have are all screw. (I hate screw bulbs but the world seems to have adopted them, despite their being unreliable and generally horrid.) So I am over at the mall looking up directions on how to cook a 2 lb. pork roast and looking for illumination. Found (and noted) the former, but the latter is an issue. In the hardware store I searched for a little item that will concert a bayonet socket to screw. No dice. Found the opposite (screw to bayonet) and it was nearly seven bucks, do evening I found what I wanted I prolly couldn't afford it (bank: $6.85, pocket: 5¢). So I figured I would simply buy a new bayonet bulb. I see bulbs selling in a variety of shapes and sizes and wattages and colours with prices up to $33 each, but they are all screw. I am going back into the hardware store and see if I can find a lamp socket that is screw. If I had one I could remove the bayonet socket from the cord and replace it with a screw socket so I could use the spare screw bulbs I have at home. But I very much doubt I will find one for less than $6.85 and even if I do... Well, I was saving that money for an emergency. 😐 Finished my book last night. It wasn't bad but a bit silly. The astronauts who crash landed on the glacier were pursued by the authorities. Because the country was being run by a bunch of idiotic, anti-STEM luddites. (Sounded exactly like where the USA appears to actually be heading to, at break-neck speed.) They (the two astronauts) were rescued by a group of people from an illegal Sci-Fi convention (illegal because of wrong-think) and spirited away. Then, a secret network of sci-fi fandom transported them across the country, located a rocket in a museum, loaded them into it and shot them back into space. All the while avoiding the authorities by means of a series of hijinks drawn directly from sci-fi literature and lore. Like I said, a bit silly. The basic premise would not have been too bad but the ridiculous "Green" authorities, and the "Sci-fi fans are the only people smart enough and capable enough to do this" sort of pushed it a little over the top. Ok, well I have to go and check for a replacement screw socket for my overhead light, then head back and see about destroying piece of pork without (hopefully) destroying the oven/house. Mall closed tomorrow. Might get back over here this afternoon, but who knows? I might spend the afternoon eating pork instead! (Chance would be a fine thing....) Maybe I'd better research roasting potatoes as well. Oooo! Before I go I have to post my latest blood sugar test result online. 4.6 mmol/L it was. That's good. Much better than the "dangerously low" 3.8 I got last time I tested. So let me do that now... Done! Edited September 14 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 14 Share September 14 A brass one. Increased shock risk and still more than twice what I could afford to pay. Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 8:48 at QEH. I didn't think I would get here. I had my eyes glued to the fuel gauge the whole way. Made it, but return journey not guaranteed! Might have to buy $6.85 worth of gas to get home with. Traffic was bad. I drove more than half the distance without touching the throttle. Just lifted my foot off the brake, let the car creep forward, And back on the brake again. Got to see the kidney cancer people, then I might as well go to the pharmacy, then over to Enmore for a blood test. Which I should have done before but I forgot. They start cutting up nasty and I will remind them that they "forgot" to call me with the date of the biopsy like they promised they would, four months ago. And I think the test was to be done prior to the biopsy, so with no biopsy date ever received, no test really needed to be done. Right? Got my book to keep me company while I wait but I'm sitting in the corridor. I want a seat inside as soon as one frees up because I want to hear my name when it's called. The pharmacy waiting area sure looked packed when I came through there. Guess I will be spending a lot of time here when all is said and done. And Edgar Cochrane polyclinic and then a flying visit to Dr. Kristi to tell her what (didn't) happen here. I like to keep her informed. I used to just send her a WhatsApp but now I get a stern auto-response saying the clinic does not give medical advice via WhatsApp. Which prolly means she has a new phone or something. Anyway, any excuse to say howdy is a good thing. Now let me go and see if a seat has opened up. Will add to this as time passes. Battery: 84% 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 (edited) Last time, I was contemplating roasting some pork. Using directions from the internet I stuck it in the oven with some potatoes. 15 minutes at 425° to brown the outside then reduce heat to 350° for another 45 minutes. The potatoes were perfect but the crackling was nowhere near ready so I have gave it another 10 minutes and checked back. And another, and another, and another..... After a total of 1:45 I took the pork out and ate it. The crackling was not ready. It could have used another 30 minutes at a guess. It was very tasty but I still had to give most of it to Mo because it was still rubbery. The pork itself was good. I'm old-school enough not to like the idea of "pink pork" but there was only one tiny bit of pink and it was a very pale pink so I ate it and so far I'm not dead. Got three solid meals out of that piece of pork. There was a huge bone in the middle of it, and the fat cap was pretty thick so there was less meat than it appears. And I did not hold back. If I'd had bread I could have made pork cutters and "stretched" it further. But no bread and a good thing I didn't go out and buy any because if I did there would be no money to buy a liter of gas to try and get home. I've another photo but for some reason the forum won't accept it. I'm using a new photo compression app these days and maybe a third of the photos get rejected by this forum so I have to go and find a different app to use. The one I used for ages just decided to vanish out of the app store a few weeks ago, and the copy on my phone announced it would no longer work. Go figure. Using some jiggery-pokery I got it to post. Wotcha think? Edited September 16 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Mr. Sparkle September 16 Share September 16 (edited) 23 hours ago, Netfoot said: I'm old-school enough not to like the idea of "pink pork" but there was only one tiny bit of pink and it was a very pale pink so I ate it and so far I'm not dead. Me too. I like my meat cooked. Social media would declare any steak cooked for more than 3 minutes to be ruined, but I don't care. Edited September 17 by Mr. Sparkle meat, not meet Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 (edited) 41 minutes ago, Mr. Sparkle said: Me too. I like my meet cooked. Social media would declare any steak cooked for more than 3 minutes to be ruined, but I don't care. I am fine with rare beef. The better quality beef can be rare but poorer quality I prefer cooked more. Pork I've always been told should not be rare. I know that nowadays meat is certified as good so it should no longer be a problem. QEH Pharmacy at 10:20. Got a bit of a wait ahead of me. They told me the reason I had not been called for the biopsy is because the biopsy team leader had gone off on holiday. "For four months?!??" Stern look. The CD of the scan that I was asked to bring (and cost me $20) was handed back. "These machines," pointing to a bunch of equipment, "don't work, so you best just hang on to this." But there is good news. I don't have to go to Enmore for the test today. Not until the week before the biopsy. So not to worry until I get a date for the biopsy. Please come again in three months (16th December). I wonder if the meat certification guy is family to the biopsy guy? They both work for the same government... Battery: 56% Edited September 16 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 (edited) QEH at 11:35. Number of the Beast. Sixty numbers gone in the last hour and a quarter, 75 more to go. So maybe another hour and a half. Been reading, but feeling quite tired and the chairs are all occupied so I'm sitting on a very uncomfortable bench over to one side. Trying to nap but not easy on this bench and I don't want to be sleeping when they call my number. Because when they call a number, if you don't respond within 10 seconds, they assume you have given up and gone, so they skip forward to the next. You have to go pull another number and start all over again. Battery: 47% Edited September 16 by Netfoot 1 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 (edited) QEH at 12:15 Now serving #706. I think the later numbers go faster because more people have given up and gone home. Sometimes the number jumps forward 4-5 at a time. I just saw it jump from #699 to #704. All good so long as I don't get skipped over. Tired and hungry. In the confusion I forgot to take my meds this morning before leaving home. Confusion? Guess who couldn't be found? He finally showed up from godnoze where. I have to lock him in the house before opening the gate to get the van out. Nothing but agro. if I fail to do that because he will be down the neighborhood looking for a bus to jump under in a flash! Was especially wobbly this morning and kept bumping into things And near-falling an aweful lot. Then forgetting to take morning meds. Looks like I will miss lunchtime meds too, at this rate. Battery: 42% Edited September 16 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 QEH at 13:10. Just got my meds -oudda here! 3 Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 (edited) Edgar Cochrane at 13:33 Now serving #897, I am #926 which is 29 numbers. Better than the 135 I had to wait through at QEH.... Battery: 24% EC at 13:58. Now serving #902. Five numbers in 25 minutes. St that rate I will be here another two hours. 😩 Sure hope they speed up soon. Battery: 20% Edited September 16 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.