Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 (edited) Edgar Cochrane at 14:10 Now serving #908. After 2:50 minutes at the pharmacy at QEH, it looks like it won't be a cake-walk here either. Now serving #910. Sixteen more to go. Battery: 17% Edgar Cochrane at 15:01 They have removed the numbers from the machine so no new clients are being allowed in. The door locks at 16:00 so another 58 minutes before they throw out and tell me to try again tomorrow. Now serving #919 so only 7 more to go. But it's been painfully slow. Been waiting here over 1½ hours and they have only served 22 people. Another 28+ minutes for me to wait at this rate! Dr. Kristi will have left for home... Battery: 8% Edited September 16 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 16 Share September 16 (edited) EC at 15:32 Now serving ME! Just waiting for the meds to be dispensed and I'm off to see Dr. K! Battery: 6% Edited September 16 by Netfoot 3 Link to comment
Netfoot September 17 Share September 17 (edited) Got away from Edgar Cochrane after only 2 hours and 10 minutes. Add that to the 2 hours and 50 minutes spent waiting at QEH and I spent five hours lined up yesterday, just to collect my meds. Plus the time waiting to see the blasted idiot of a doctor at Outpatients. Made it to Dr. Kristi by 3:57... But she had already left for the day. 😕 Didn't have to buy any gasoline so all I need to do is get down Rendezvous Hill on Friday and I can cash my welfare cheque. I will then be able to buy $20 in gas. Plus a month of the water bill (around $80) and have $20 left over. I finally got my sausage, egg, chips & beans. Very nice. Unfortunately, I need a bigger ($42) plate for meals like that. So no more for a while. My phone is falling apart. It's been falling apart for month months. It still works well enough, given it's age (bought in 2019. Or was it 2018?). The front looks pretty good. There is a single, near-invisible crack but you can hardly see it. The back, however... There is a spiderweb of cracks all over the back of this thing. And if you want to see really scary, the area at the top around the camera is appalling. You can actually look inside the phone through the huge cracks. This phone was pristine, despite it's age. And then Mo... I don't blame him. He didn't do anything wrong, really. I came home with the phone in my front shirt pocket, he jumped up to greet me, the phone went for a short flight and landed on the concrete. But Mo was unharmed and that's all that matters. He was a trooper yesterday. Over eight hours On Guard and when I got home there was a cement truck with a crew of men milling around outside my gate. He successfully told them who was boss behind that gate all day long! Just gone midday. When I go home I will start another soup. Can't remember what and all I have to put in there but it includes minced beef, onions, potatoes, carrots, cucumbers and diced tomato from a tin). I'm hoping there is also yam and sweet potato and maybe even pumpkin. And I may have a tin of black beans or lentils that I can add as well. Got to check a few things on the net first, tho. So will do that now and then go home and start cooking. Or maybe just drink a mug of tea, collapse into bed to read, and start the soup this evening? Edited September 18 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 18 Share September 18 (edited) Just woke to discover a bunch of new WhatsApp messages on the phone. And a new email, too. How?!?? Did the hardware store across from my bedroom (where the phone was) fix it's internet during the night, allowing the phone to connect? No, because even if they had, their system always requires a (bogus) email to get online. And a quick check showed that I was connected to my own wifi, which was now connected to the internet! How?!?? The new email was from the Telco, offering me a free month of digital TV. Which I have not signed up for, seeing as I don't actually own a TV. (A fact that confuses them because each time they make such an offer, I ask what size TV they are going to give me. And when they try to tell me I have to provide the TV myself, they just don't understand me when I explain my TV died in 1996 due to a lightning strike, and I never got a replacement.) I highly doubt they have accidentally given me a free month of internet due to their digital TV offer, because they are not the same thing. I know internet access is required to receive the digital TV but it still makes no sense. So how?!?? I don't know how long this will last before someone realizes and corrects the mistake. So I think I will get out of bed early, brew up a mug of tea and take advantage of the situation to watch loads of pr0n! Or maybe I will just cuddle with Mo a while and then go check up on recent news. Oooops! Seems like the internet just got cut off before I could post this. No. I'm back online again. WTF is going on?!?? Edited September 18 by Netfoot 1 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 18 Share September 18 Just got an email from the Telco, dated 5 minutes ago and reminding me that my bill was due on the 21st. The sum owed has not changed so it isn't that someone (part) paid the bill for me, or that someone else's payment got accidentally applied to my account. So I still don't know... How?!?? 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 18 Share September 18 Soup! Minced beef & onions, browned in the bottom of the pot, and seasoned with salt, garlic powder, paprika, cilantro & pepper sauce. Once browned to my satisfaction, I added chicken stock, diced tomatoes, black beans, diced sweet potatoes, yams and carrots. Chicken stock because I don't have any beef stock. And a fair amount of water, because I want to have a thinner soup than last time. Not thinner, but with more broth to veggies than before. Because water is cheap and filling. When the yams, etc had time to cook a little, I added diced English potatoes and chopped white cabbage. I don't have any pumpkin and I am not putting cucumber in at this stage. When all the veggies were soft to a bamboo skewer, I dished myself out a bowl, and put a small scoop in Mo's chow. I thought it was pertty tasty and mo slurped up his chow in a blink! I have more diced tomatoes, sweet potato, yam, English potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Cucumbers are still waiting to be included. I can make dumplings (properly this time). But first I might cook up a little roux and see about thickening the broth just a bit. Internet still working, somehow... I will probably wake up tomorrow (if it doesn't happen sooner) and find it has gone away as mysteriously as it arrived. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 19 Share September 19 (edited) Still got internet. Tomorrow will tell its own story. A bowl of soup for lunch, a bowl of soup for dinner, and a bowl of soup for... second dinner? Good stuff. Tomorrow, will add more veggies and broth to bring the level back up to the top. When I have nice things in the kitchen, they don't last long.... Spent the day bingeing on internet connectivity. Get it while you can, said Janis. I'd be concerned they would charge me for the connectivity if they ever found out, except they charge you for the service whether you get service or not. So they are already going to charge me for it. Watched the last ever episode of The Grand Tour, in which the three stooges (Clarkson, Hammond & May) traverse Zimbabwe in three inappropriate cars. They end up at the very place they started their first ever Top-Gear "Special", something like 17 years ago. I have always enjoyed their "Special" episodes. And will admit it is with sadness that I consider that there will be no more to come. Today is Wednesday and I have nothing to do until Friday, when I will go and cash that welfare cheque. It won't help me much. The bills have reached monumental levels and at the same time I just can't seem to eliminate the need for food. Especially for Mo who should not have to go hungry because of factors he couldn't possibly understand. I would like to hope I get another woodworking job or two but I am not expecting any such and from the moment the electricity gets cut off, that will be that. Can't do the woodwork if the tools have no power. That welfare cheque won't even cover one month of electricity and I need a gill of gas for the car as well as some food. Mo went out this morning and came back in literally a minute, soaked to the skin! Jumped directly onto my tummy and began rolling around to dry off. Not rainwater but dew from the last of the long grass (which the landlord finished cutting today, thankfully). Crack 'o dawn and a wet puppy rolling around on top of you. Then finishing the drying off process on the sheets and pillowcases. I'd have flung him out of the window except I couldn't catch him... Listening to Breaking Into Heaven from The Stone Roses second album, Second Coming. Mo has just come in and slurped up half of my iced water. He absolutely thinks it is entirely his to lap. He, BTW likes soup on his chow. He had chow with a splash of soup for lunch, than at 5:30 PM demanded more. And again at 7:00 PM, then tried his luck (unsuccessfully) again at 9:00 PM! He's now lying on the floor beside the bed. Been watching YT videos again. News and cooking channels. I shouldn't watch the cooking channels. It only makes me hungry and I know I can't make that stuff nor can I go out and buy any sort of reasonable facsimile. Should stop torturing myself. And you know, it isn't the boeuf bourguignon or the canard à l'orange or filet de porc en croûte that I'm jonesing over. It's simple stuff like meatball subs or a cheeseburgers or BLTs... Going to go read my book. Mo has vanished. I will no doubt see him again later when it's time to lock up. Now, the big question: will I wake up in the morning to find my internet gone again? Edited September 19 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 19 Share September 19 (edited) Soup! I added more onion, carrots, sweet potato and yam. Also dumplings. (They came out great!) Carrot, yam and a small dumpling in the spoon. A big splash of the broth on Mo's chow and a good bowl for myself. Did I want second helpings? Yes. Did I take second helpings? No. Not yet.... More yam, sweet & English potato, white cabbage, carrots, onions and dumpling dough in the fridge for one more refill. And cucumber, too. Edited September 19 by Netfoot Link to comment
Netfoot September 19 Share September 19 Just went through my freezer. Apart from flour, ice, etc, I found: A frozen pizza crust A bag of frozen peas & carrots A pack of minced beef I've also got some plain tomato sauce. I don't have any cheese. So! A cheeseless minced beef, carrot & peas pizza? Pension just dropped today. This leaves me with $29.16 after rent & bank charges. Plus $120 from welfare, plus $6.85 opening balance. I make it $152.91 total. Can't pay a month of electric with that. Will hang on to it and see if anything else comes my way..... 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 20 Share September 20 (edited) Coming up on midnight so I want to post quickly. Just in case some computer at the Telco triggers an automatic disconnection of my service again. Mo is here in bed with me now. He is cleaning his feet. I will have a shower and lock up later, after I've posted. Had soup for lunch and dinner and it tastes pretty good. A few more ingredients (more meat, some extra spices, a couple different veggies) might improve on things but it tastes pretty good right now. (Mo is double-kicking my butt. I've thrown the cover sheet over him so he will spend a few seconds disentangling himself...). Some bread to eat with the soup might (or better still, toast) might make it a little better but with the dumplings in already, I'm not even sure that is the case. Tomorrow, I cash the welfare cheque. I could try and get some meat scraps, chow for Mo, extra veggies to make the soup go further... Or ignore the need for food and put the money in the bank, then try to find a way to stretch it into an electric bill payment large enough to stave off disconnection. Not sure what would be best. Thoughts? Nothing heard on the woodwork side of things. A good project there would be hugely helpful, but I can't push the guy again. I will just have to wait until he is ready and hope that happens before the electricity is cut off. Watched a movie about a guy who breaks out of prison to avenge himself upon those who conspired to get him out in prison in the first place. Can't remember the name of the movie or any of the relatively unknown actors. Not a great movie but helped pass the time. Mo has departed. Mo has returned again. 5 minutes to midnight. Better call it quits and post this now. Or I will look up and discover that today is suddenly tomorrow and the internet has gone away. Edited September 20 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 20 Share September 20 (edited) Over at the mall. Internet was still connected when I left home. When I get back,no guarantees. Been shopping. Bought $20 in gas And groceries. Small bag of(suspicious looking) meat scraps, bread, cheese a d vegetables. Oh yeah, sugar (which was running low) And milk (which ran out midday yesterday). Had to buy Carnation for $$$ because no PHD available. Higher price means less Carnation. Cashed the cheque and deposited it at the bank, which is why I'm at the mall. Mo is waiting in the car so I can't stay long. Found a part for the ShopVac ho s system out in the yard this morning. Broken, of course. I didn't give him major smax because he was already clipped into the car. Seemed a bit unfair to wallop him w hen he couldn't run... The dement guys who have been pumping cement for my neighbor for the last 2-3 days have left me a present. Cenent spatter all over the front of the van. They were outside my gate and still managed to spatter the van yards away. And rather than day anything (so I could wipe it off while it was wet and maybe throw a protective cloth over the van) they kept shtoom about it so it would get a chance to dry. Anyway, going to take Mo home now. Not time for lunch yet, but no sense hanging here doing nothing while Mo languishes in the car. Might as well hang at home and do nothing with Mo at my feet... ETA: Home (after some draaama...) and internet is still on. Edited September 20 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
andidante September 20 Share September 20 2 hours ago, Netfoot said: Over at the mall. Internet was still connected when I left home. When I get back,no guarantees. Been shopping. Bought $20 in gas And groceries. Small bag of(suspicious looking) meat scraps, bread, cheese a d vegetables. Oh yeah, sugar (which was running low) And milk (which ran out midday yesterday). Had to buy Carnation for $$$ because no PHD available. Higher price means less Carnation. Cashed the cheque and deposited it at the bank, which is why I'm at the mall. Mo is waiting in the car so I can't stay long. Found a part for the ShopVac ho s system out in the yard this morning. Broken, of course. I didn't give him major smax because he was already clipped into the car. Seemed a bit unfair to wallop him w hen he couldn't run... The dement guys who have been pumping cement for my neighbor for the last 2-3 days have left me a present. Cenent spatter all over the front of the van. They were outside my gate and still managed to spatter the van yards away. And rather than day anything (so I could wipe it off while it was wet and maybe throw a protective cloth over the van) they kept shtoom about it so it would get a chance to dry. Anyway, going to take Mo home now. Not time for lunch yet, but no sense hanging here doing nothing while Mo languishes in the car. Might as well hang at home and do nothing with Mo at my feet... ETA: Home (after some draaama...) and internet is still on. How much would you have to pay on the electricity to keep it on? Would they take like $50 or so for now? 2 hours ago, Netfoot said: Do they have some kind of a low income program you can apply for? Ours does here, but not sure how yours works? 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 20 Share September 20 13 minutes ago, andidante said: Would they take like $50 or so for now? No, I'd have to pay off the amount of the oldest month in arrears. I think that's $167.99 but I can't be sure because they "upgraded" their website recently and ever since then it works perfectly... except for the part where you try to log in to check your account. If they actually disconnect, they will then demand the bill be paid in full (including the reconnection fee) and in cash, before they turn you back on again. 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 21 Share September 21 (edited) Ok, in bed. Mo hasn't shown up yet. Last time I saw him, he was relaxing on the verandah. Then we went on Garden Patrol. Lights, water and internet still all connected and functional. Tomorrow, of course, is another day. Had soup for lunch and again for dinner. I added a tin of lentils peas and 3 leaves from a large head of pak choy. The stalks are like celery but without strings and add crunch. The leafy parts rolled up and sliced very thin add a lovely fresh green taste and look to the soup. I also decided to add some pepper sauce to the soup for some zing! Being very low on pepper sauce, I bought the cheapest bottle I could find, but I have not opened it yet. Instead I poured a little warm water into the near-empty bottle, have gave it a good shake and poured the water back out, into the soup. Now, when you have an "empty" 1½ pint bottle with pepper sauce clinging all over the inside of it, it turns out there is more pepper in there than you might imagine. The soup was hott!! Hotter than I'd expected but thankfully, just on the good side of the line. There is enough soup there for at least one, probably two more meals. I've been thinking of mixing up a curry-shot and dumping it into the soup, just for a flavour change. I've held off on this because if I did it and it was horrible, I would not want to ruin 6-8 servings of soup. But if I wait until there is only 1-2 servings remaining, a curry-related culinary disaster would be less of a tragedy. So I might try that tomorrow. Also, I bought the smallest piece of cheddar in the shop. I have tomato sauce, onion, minced beef and cheese. So I might attempt tingetbsn to get an edible pizza from that pizza crust I found in the freezer. It might not have the most interesting toppings but who knows? It might not be too bad. Then, instead of making a fresh pot of soup (after the pizza) I thought I could make a curry sauce. Essentially curried vegetables with minced beef. (I have not yet examined the frozen meat scraps so I don't know if there is anything there I might add.) With a pot of curry on the stove, I could cook white rice and put a scoop of the curry onto it. I dunno if I'm going to go there or if I will simply go with more soup. My book is nearly finished. I am a sci-fi enthusiast and recognize that most people aren't. There are characteristics of a sci-fi book that make it better. For instance, if your book postulates a single scientific or technological advance (as opposed to new science/technology at every turn of the page) and then develops a story line based on the logical ramifications of that advance, I find the book delivers much food for thought. An example would be ACC's Fountains Of Paradise in which huge engineering projects, including orbital elevators, become practical solely as the result of the development of cheap diamond mono-molecules. Another sign of a good sci-fi book is when the science is actually validated by actual scientists. An example is Robert L. Forward's Rocheworld wherein an expedition to a double-planet orbiting Barnard's star encounters a very unusual lifeform and highly unexpected planetary behaviour. The fact that RLF's day-job is as an actual physicist lends credence to his storyline. My book is in the latter class. The authors have consulted geologists, biologists, planetologists, etc, to make the landscape their cast of characters operate within, as believable as possible. And they consulted psychologists and behavioral scientists to make sure that those characters acted in realistic ways. Ten past eleven. And ninja-pup has just arrived. And is looking out the window. I will end here and hopefully will still have water, electricity and phone/internet in the morning. Going to go lock up and see if I can finish my book tonight. Edited September 21 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 21 Share September 21 Thought the pot looked a little low, so I added about 30 really small dumplings and held the stove at a low boil until they were cooked. Even so, I had to drain the pot to get lunch. That means some sort of pasta or rice for dinner. Or I could make chips..... Internet, water and electricity still on. But it can't be long before the outstanding arrears cause disconnections to start happening. Finished my book last night. Good book, but I was a little dissatisfied with the ending. The villain, who deserved to come to a very sticky end, was allowed to live happily ever after, because after being directly responsible for the deaths of a dozen colonists and indirectly responsible for the deaths of maybe forty more, he said "Sorry!" I can't remember for sure, but I think the planet these colonists inhabit is called Californica. Or something. Not sure what book to read next, but I have a small pile to choose from. I have The Lincoln Lawyer cued up. Lead is Matthew McConaughey. I know I've seen it before a long while ago (probably when it first came out) but I don't remember any details about the film. Will watch it shortly. Ye olde phone is giving trouble. I think there is an issue with the radio on the phone. I've suspected this for a while. I've had issues with wifi and Bluetooth connectivity. Sometimes it says the wifi signal is too weak. I put the phone 1" from the router and it is still too weak. That might be the router, but sometimes I get the same sort of issue connecting to Bluetooth devices that are not router-related. Sometimes I can improve things by resetting the phone. I dunno if the radio is actually some sort of SDR, but if so, it might explain why a software reset would improve radio performance. Otherwise, I dunno. Mo is at my side, begging for his lunch. But I gave him his lunch two hours ago, when he first asked for it. I can turn my head and see that the food I put in his bowl two hours ago is still there. I normally like to indulge my boys when they are hungry, and give them extra meals if they ask. But I don't know why I should give him more food if the food I gave him just a short while ago is still in his bowl! Movie time.... Link to comment
andidante September 21 Share September 21 3 hours ago, Netfoot said: I have The Lincoln Lawyer cued up. Lead is Matthew McConaughey. I know I've seen it before a long while ago (probably when it first came out) but I don't remember any details about the film. Will watch it shortly. I watched that a few weeks ago and really liked it. I love Matthew McConaughey too! Link to comment
Netfoot September 22 Share September 22 (edited) Just watched an old movie called Double Jeopardy starring Ashley Judd. Her husband (played by Bruce Greenwood) fakes his own death, framing her for his murder. She leaves her son in the custody of an old friend and goes to prison. After some years in prison, she discovers that the "friend" was a part of the plot all along, and now lives with her former husband and the child. She escapes from her parole officer (Tommy Lee Jones) and goes after them. Of course, the double-jeopardy laws say that she can't be charged with killing her "dead" husband twice.... After finishing the soup at lunch, I cooked macaroni for dinner, with a small sauce made from minced beef, onions and tomato sauce with a few spices. Simple but edible. After cooking the pasta I put the meat scraps (now thawed) in the salty water to boil. They sold me some real crap. Ugly pieces of turkey ribcage with not-very-much meat attached. Thank goodness I didn't buy/spend as much as I usually do. Of course Mo will benefit because he will still get all the meat but I can't give him all those turkey ribs and backbones. Therefore, tomorrow (when the turkey has had a chance to cool down to room temperature) I will have to spend some time with a fork, teasing as much of the meat off those bones as possible before discarding the bones. My new book is called Island and is about a con-man who finds a very shallow spot in the Caribbean that is not inside anyone's territorial waters. By persuading a barge-captain, he has masses of junk dumped at that spot until he has his own island. He declares independence, applies for membership in the UN, builds a bank, a hotel, a casino... and that's when the Mafia and the CIA show up. It doesn't go well for them... Mo appeared when I was heading off for my shower. But as so often before, he had vanished by time I got back. I'm sure he will show up again pretty soon. During the day, if I go for a pee, Mo appears out of nowhere and waits on the bed. When I'm done, he demands cuddles, tickles and love-ups. This is not a chore! He has just arrived and is licking my arm (which I just washed) which makes the phone tricky to use. And now he is lying on the tiles next to the bed. Family Portrait by P!nk. Not a huge fan but this is one track of hers that I like. Ran a bit of an analysis on my meds/drugs software. The original program still works but is horrible and throws out more error messages than useful info. I decided to rewrite the functionality in the form of separate, smaller programs, each of which performs a smaller set of functions and is therefore easier to maintain, change and debug. There is obviously a degree of duplication in the code of the individual programs. To reduce this I added a module that contains subroutines that can be called as needed from each program in the suite. If a needed change is identified I can often make that change in the module rather than having to change each individual program. The original program is about 1,850 lines of code. The new program suite (including the module) is closer to 2,900 lines of code. But the code is much better organized, and better documented with comments. There is also considerable debugging code which I will be able to remove later once I'm satisfied the new suite is working to my satisfaction. The new suite also offers functionality that the original code base never did. It: Advises me when I need to seek a new prescription from the doctor. Warns me of up-coming doctor's appointments. Handles drug dosages that are not taken on a daily basis. This last is very useful now that I'm taking Prednisolone every other day. it more accurately computes meds consumption and predicts when I will run out. I've just finished the program that generates a web page showing how much of each medication I have on hand, and when I need to go acquire renewals. It also automatically uploads this new webpage to my website. I still need to look at the generation of the web page graphing my blood-sugar. Not technically anything to do with meds and prescriptions, I think it would be OK to include this functionality in the suite. Nearly one in the morning. Posting now and prolly going to go straight to sleep. Mo is still lying on the floor. His head is actually under the bed but his four feet are sticking out. The lads were talking about Buddy on the group. (The 3rd anniversary of his passing was only 2 days ago.) He was a good boy and I miss him still. What a terrible shame he died years before his time. I loved and still love Bud but when people ask if I would give up Mo to have him back, the answer is obviously no. Not because I love Mo any more or Bud any less, but because Bud had his time, I did all I could to make it a good time, and I think he was a happy boy. But now, it's Mo's time, and I'm doing the best I can to give him a good, happy life. Just as I wouldn't have given up Buddy to get Dotty back, I wouldn't give up Mo to get Buddy back. They say after you die, when you get to the Pearly Gates, you will find your doggies waiting with St. Peter, for you to arrive. I think if I make it to the Pearly Gates, it will be solely because Dotty and Bud interceded with St. Peter on my behalf. Dot, Bud and I will then continue waiting by the gates until Mo comes to join us. Edited September 22 by Netfoot 1 2 Link to comment
Notabug September 22 Share September 22 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Netfoot said: .They say after you die, when you get to the Pearly Gates, you will find your doggies waiting with St. Peter, for you to arrive. I think if I make it to the Pearly Gates, it will be solely because Dotty and Bud interceded with St. Peter on my behalf. Dot, Bud and I will then continue waiting by the gates until Mo comes to join us. Quote If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.- Will Rogers Each dog is special in their own way, aren't they? Edited September 22 by Notabug 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 22 Share September 22 2 hours ago, Notabug said: Each dog is special in their own way, aren't they? That, in no small part, is why I love mongrel dogs. You rarely find two alike. I've been blessed with wonderful boys, three out of three. Each one completely different to the others and each one amazing and fantastic. Don't know how I got so lucky three times in a row. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 22 Share September 22 (edited) Got going on that horrible turkey I boiled up yesterday. It wasn't all that horrible! Well, yes,it was. But there was plenty of meat there for Mo to enjoy. And since he insisted on wedging himself between me and the counter, you just know I slipped him a taste or two, right? Using a fork I teased away the meat from any bones. It wasn't hard because the meat was all thoroughly cooked and was happy to come away. I ended up with a large bowl of turkey meat: That is a large (11") bowl. What my mum used to call a "pasta bowl". I could just give this to Mo and it would be all gone by nightfall. But instead I am cooking a pot of rice with a generous handful of turkey meat in it. I'd say maybe ⅕ or ⅙ of what is shown in the picture. The rice should give him at least two meals. I won't be eating his rice. So, what did I get out of it? About 1½" of good turkey stock left back in the pot. And I threw all the bones back in there so after lunch I will add some more water and boil it all up a bit more. I hope to strain off a good set of turkey stock. This can be the basis for my next batch of soup. It doesn't look very appealing and I think that's why I condemned it yesterday. But once I strain the liquid off and discard the boiled over bones, I will have good stock. And I suspect Mo will enjoy his turkey & rice. So I will call it a win. For my lunch, I'm thinking maybe chips with a couple of fried eggs? I think I have two eggs left... My HotChup has run out and I will need to make more. Fortunately I had the foresight to lay in a refill-bag of ketchup. So I can do that. On the other hand, I have some salt bread so I may just make egg cutters. ETA: Well, Mo demolished the bowl of turkey & rice in the blink of an eye, so I assume he liked it... Edited September 22 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 23 Share September 23 The assholes that run this forum are so damned desperate to make a cent that they pack the page with adverts. The one I like especially is the one that pops up unexpectedly over your post as you type. Before you know it, you have touched it and you are whisked away to a shitty website for some crap nobody wants. By time you get back, your entire post is gone. All about Mo and his turkey & rice dinner. And his double-kicking me in the butt. All about the pain under my left shoulder blade. And the wobblies. All about YT videos about car design and construction. And food prep. All gone! But the forum did make ⅛¢ from the advert so all is good, right? Well they can just fuck off. 1 1 Link to comment
luv2lurk September 23 Share September 23 Might I recommend you find a free ad blocker? I use AdBlock but not sure what will work for you. While I appreciate this site and understand they need to make money some how the ads just slowed down my computer and were nothing that appeals to me. Maybe they could instead run a campaign asking for donations. Link to comment
Netfoot September 23 Share September 23 7 hours ago, luv2lurk said: Might I recommend you find a free ad blocker? I use an add blocker on the browser on my desktop. It works well. But so far, I cant find one for the phone that I like. I will search again. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 23 Share September 23 (edited) Just got a call from the Telco. I am being placed on the "Royal Plan" which gives me landline and minimal internet (3 megabits per second) and I have to pay my outstanding bill over the next three months at $118.33 per month. However, the first of these payments must be made by Wednesday. If I fail to pay by Wednesday, they will sdo do a full disconnection on my service. This means they will not reconnect later if I find money and pay. I will have to re-subscribe like a new customer, which is not only expensive, but they can decline to accept the application if they so choose. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to pay the $118.33 due by Wednesday and no expectation of getting it. Edited September 24 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 24 Share September 24 (edited) Skipped lunch; made soup in time for dinner. Started browning some onion in the bottom of the pot, then added minced beef. When the beef had taken on some colour, I added the turkey stock and a tin of diced tomatoes. Only the tin, it turns out, contained sliced tomatoes... Let that come to a boil and turned it down to a simmer. Cubed up my last piece of yam and let that simmer in the soup for 10 minutes. (Mosie had has arrived, and is lying against my tummy and cleaning his feet.) After 10 minutes I cubed the last of my sweet potatoes and chopped some carrots and threw them in to cook for an additional 10 minutes. Next, I diced up some potatoes and gave them 10 minutes cook time before some belly pumpkin went in, followed by small dumplings. Another 15-20 minutes and I was having lunch. It was pretty good, and Mo thought so too, dinner time, given how fast he ate his chow with just a little broth over it. (For lunch, he had the third and final helping of turkey & rice from the pot I cooked yesterday. I will cook another pot tomorrow.) Now, the soup isn't perfect. And there is much I can do to tweak it a bit. I did not add any black beans. I did not add any pak choy. I did not add any cucumber. And I did not add any pepper sauce. All of which I could do to maybe make a good soup great. And will. But mostly I think it needs to cook about more to soften the yam a touch, and maybe I can make a little roux to thicken the soup or use some corn starch. (I don't have any arrowroot.) It doesn't need thickening by much. (Mo has retired to the tiles beside the bed. I dunno why, but wherever Mo is, when the lights finally go out, he appears in bed about a minute later. He don't always stay, but...) And just let me say the stock made from boiling the turkey meat for Mo and then boiling the bones some more? Really good. I don't know if I mentioned that in the bottom of the turkey-scraps bag I found two half-turkeys? They are pretty rough looking but I think I will try to roast them tomorrow. See, when I was rooting around in the fridge fishing out things to throw into the soup, I spotted the bowl containing Mo's turkey pieces. I picked out a little piece to give it a taste-test and when I turned around, Mo was there with a disappointed frown on his face, tapping the toes of one foot, and staring at me. So I gave him the little piece of the cold turkey but broke off a littler piece first and tasted it. It was good! So some roast turkey on my plate, maybe alongside some chips... In desperation, I sent my guy a message asking if he had and work he wanted me to do. This guy will say "See you day after tomorrow!" and not return for three weeks. So I don't think he handles urgency very well. And I didn't tell him it was urgent anyway. He got the message but has not replied. So tomorrow is my last chance to get the cash to stop my telephone service being permanently removed. Well, I suppose if I could get the money on Wednesday early enough, I could still pay it Wednesday, but I have no idea where money might come from. Still got electricity and water, so there is that. But for how long? Listening to a track called Wild Rodrigues by a band named War. The album had no name, but it is known as "Peace Sign" due to the large, firey peace sign on the cover. Very tired today, falling asleep at my desk. And a little wobbly as well. If I watched anything apart from YT videos, I prolly fell asleep because I don't remember doing any such thing. Watched more automotive design & construction videos. And memes, which are now (apparently) illegal on the west coast. Also more political videos than I wanted to because I don't seem to be able to get away from them. It is annoying, because in the first place, it isn't my election. And because I am an outside observer and no matter what conclusion I may draw, I will be told that 1) I don't really understand, and 2) it's none of my business anyhow. But I will make a prediction. America as I know it, will be destroyed before the next elections. And it doesn't matter who wins, either way. Unfortunately, when you go down the tubes, you will drag several other countries with you. Going to read my book, now. Edited September 24 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 24 Share September 24 I just received $150 as an advanced payment on a woodworking job. I don't even know what the job is, but I don't really care. I will pay the phone bill this afternoon. Could use internet banking but probably better to go over to the mall to pay in person and get a hard-copy receipt. I just hope Light & Power don't come and cut me off this afternoon, because then I won't be able to do the job I just got paid for... 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 24 Share September 24 Walked over to the mall to pay. They are renovating the showroom so they are operating out of a caravan in the parking lot and "I'm sorry, but we are unable to accept payments at this time!" Internet banking? "The processing time will be three days, so you will miss your deadline. Use SurePay.!" I worked with SurePay tangentially, once upon a time and they were simultaneously incompetent and crooks, so that's a NO! Anyhow, walked back to the house and found a way to pay via debit card that would be processed immediately, so I have made the payment and have an electronic receipt but no hard copy. Yes, I could print it but if it comes off my printer it can be questioned, but if it comes off their printer... Roasted those half-turkeys. Only, it turns out that the wings, legs, thighs and breasts have been removed. So less turkey-halves and more turkey-backs. Made more turkey & rice for Mo (and he enjoyed a portion for his lunch) and had soup for my own lunch. Added black beans and pepper sauce plus some corn starch to thicken a little. 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 25 Share September 25 Ok, so in the nick of time, the telephone bill has been paid for the next month. I would normally consider electricity more important, but since the entire service was at risk of being withdrawn... And it might be that I will get another job from another source. Only a small chance, but if it happens it would allow me to pay a month of electricity as well. Talk about surviving by the skin of your teeth! Mo is right here behind me. I've had my shower and locked up and hopefully he will curl up and go to sleep. Which is exactly what he didn't do last night. Preferring to keep me up as much as possible. He is rooting around and making strange noises.... and here come the double-footed butt kicks! I dunno why he does that. I guess it's because he was expecting more attention than he's getting. But he will curl up behind your back, low against your spine, and get annoyed when he doesn't get tummy tickles. When you can't reach his tummy to tickle it... Closer by Nine Inch Nails. I'm not a huge fan of NIИ but I'm quite OK with their music. To my surprise, because on paper it isn't my cup of tea. Trent Reznor is (or was) a mentor to Marilyn Manson and against all odds, I quite like his music too. He is down by my feet now. I'm about ¾ of the way through my book. It's an interesting idea, and well written in that it is semi-believable and humorous at the same time. Sometimes I am reading a book and as the conclusion approaches I feel sad to think it will soon be over, because I'm enjoying it so much. It's approaching midnight and Mo had vanished. The door is locked so... (peeps over the edge of the bed) yes, he is lying on the tiles. I will read another chapter of that book and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow will have to look after itself. 2 Link to comment
andidante September 25 Share September 25 9 hours ago, Netfoot said: Ok, so in the nick of time, the telephone bill has been paid for the next month. I would normally consider electricity more important, but since the entire service was at risk of being withdrawn... And it might be that I will get another job from another source. Only a small chance, but if it happens it would allow me to pay a month of electricity as well. I'm about ¾ of the way through my book. It's an interesting idea, and well written in that it is semi-believable and humorous at the same time. Sometimes I am reading a book and as the conclusion approaches I feel sad to think it will soon be over, because I'm enjoying it so much. I am glad you were able to pay the phone bill and that you have more jobs coming your way! I feel the same way when I am reading a book that I am enjoying. However when the book is not that good, I either skim through the rest to get it over with or I just put it aside and don't pick it up for weeks. Link to comment
Netfoot September 25 Share September 25 31 minutes ago, andidante said: when the book is not that good, I either skim through the rest to get it over with or I just put it aside and don't pick it up for weeks. I know what you mean, but I am a bit of a completist and the book has to be very bad before I will just abandoned it. There is a bit of a row going on in the club right now which I son't want to be embroiled in but it seems to be happening anyway. We have a club member who thinks the club rules don't apply to him. He asked permission to fly a US$25,000 280 lb., 11 foot size, agricultural crop-spraying drone at the club and this permission was denied. He flew it anyway. Over the fields of the agricultural plantation upon which we are located, and in contravention of our insurance cover. Now the insurance company is pissed, the landowner is pissed, and the gentleman's agreement between us and the landowner is gone. We will have to sign a formal agreement and pay rent from now on. 1 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 25 Share September 25 Just paid $180 towards the electric bill. As far as I can tell, that should cover the oldest month of arrears, which looks like $167.99 but I paid more because I couldn't be sure. If I'm right the payment will also part-pay the current month by a small amount, like maybe 15-20%. I hope the payment gets processed through internet banking quickly. Because their own website is completely screwed up, I could not pay them directly. Had soup for lunch; Mo had the third and final bowl of turkey & rice from the latest batch, cooked yesterday. There is enough turkey for at least two more batches. 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 25 Share September 25 (edited) So, having gone to extreme lengths to get telephone and electricity bills paid at least partially... I now have no water. I know that my area is prone to outages. And I have been and examined the water meter to see if it is sealed. It has a stopcock through which a seal can be placed and crimped into place. It is a very serious offense to break this seal. My stopcock is in the open position and there is no sign of a seal. However, the meter is a more modern variety than the older type I had for years. It is possible that the meter itself can be electrically or electronically instructed to close an internal valve to effect a disconnection, possibly remotely. I don't know if this is possible or not. However, the water meter has no way to power itself. There are no electrical connections or solar panel. If it contained a battery pack, someone would have to go around and periodically replace the packs with freshly charged ones. I find it hard to believe that even a government department would think it was a good idea to adopt such a scheme. So while possible, I think this is unlikely. I will just hope that the water is off in the neighborhood generally. If I see a neighbor, I will find out if their water is off as well, or if it's just me. Meanwhile, I will wait and see if it comes back on by itself. Last time I checked, the reconnection fee for water is $67.50 which is almost as much as a month's charges which is usually between $77 and $83 depending on use. Edited September 25 by Netfoot 1 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 26 Share September 26 (edited) Mozie is fast asleep on the bedroom floor. He is husbanding his strength and energy, so he can rampage around the house at three in the morning, behaving like Attila the Hun. Water is back on, of course. It took longer than usual to the point where I unlocked the gate and walked around on the outside of the wall to check the meter again. The stopcock was wide open and there was no sign of a lead seal. So I just waited. When the water comes back after a session like this, the taps have a tendency to spit and fart so I would normally leave them running wide open for five minutes to clear air in the pipes from wherever the BWA was working on them. This time, I decided not to bother. I was filling the ice trays when the kitchen tap released a huge fart of trapped air, blasting water all over me, Mo (who was auditing my trip to the kitchen to see if he would get any titbits out of it), the stove, the fridge, the floor, the ceiling and essentially the entire room. The only place the water didn't go was in the sink. A friend was telling me today that he was looking for a doctor. His GP is soon to retire and he says he doesn't want to wait until then to go looking. He asked me if I would speak to Dr. Kristi and see if she would accept him as a new patient. I can't imagine why she wouldn't, but the day I first met her 15+ years ago my first question was whether she accepted male patients and if so, would she accept me. (That first day, I walked in with no appointment and found the waiting room full of females. I thought it prudent to confirm that she did take male patients. She laughed as she answered.) Anyway, I will prolly see her tomorrow to ask and pass in the word. I would have to see her in 10 days to 2 weeks anyway to get a new prescription... Listening to You Stole The Sun From My Heart by the Manic Street Preachers. I got turned on to this band relatively late, but I think some of their music is very interesting. Finished my book last night. The island was created by land reclamation methods on a shoal in the Caribbean sea by Harry, a con man, as a way to gyp rich, foolish targets and fleece then of their wealth. To facilitate this he had to bring in workers from around the region, make them "citizens" of the new nation, and see to it that they were well rewarded for their labours. When dark forces moved to seize control of the island, Harry discovered that he was no longer a con man, but a patriot of the nation that he had created. I have selected as my next read, a double-book. Set on the early 1800s, the two stories tell of adventure under sail of a man whose loyalty is commanded by the admiralty. The soup pot is low again. I think I will try adding some pak choy and cucumber tomorrow, and see about flavouring it with curry. An experiment I've been contemplating for a short while. Well, I guess I'd better end here and start in on that book. Got to consider paying some of the water bill. Next welfare cheque is two Fridays from now. Still not 100% sure that welfare cheques are going to continue for much longer, but I will make that dangerous assumption and proceed. The cheque after that will have to pay the second payment to the Telco.... Just hope I get some woodwork to do for my friend. And don't forget: the next job he brings I don't get paid for because he pre-paid me yesterday! Mo just woke up and left the room. (The door is still open.) The rampage may start early tonight. Edited September 26 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 26 Share September 26 (edited) Over at the mall. Staging through here on my way to Dr. Kristi. Our AGM is Saturday (subject to confirmation). I am trying to borrow a car to take Mo up there so I can touch base with the other guys and so he can get a run-around in the country as well as you hing touching base with the fellas. Trouble is, I am not a paid-up member of the club. I can pay for non-flying membership, but it costs as much as a water bill. And if I don't pay up, I won't be a member, so I won't be able to attend the meeting or (technically) be on site at all during the meeting. So, if I can borrow a vehicle (questionable), I will have to go up early and chat with the guys as they arrive, but as soon as the meeting is about to be called to order, I will have to leave again. Now, I could go up two hours early (say) and chat with the lads as they arrive. Mo would have plenty of chance to run around and enjoy himself. But the late arrivals could get there only minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting. If past practice is anything to go by, they are more likely to arrive after the scheduled start. So I would get essentially zero time to socialize with those guys. Is it worth my time to borrow a car, to go up there, to have a few minutes at max to talk to any of my guys, to then be required to eject myself from the place and go back home? Yes, if I go early Mo will have time to examine all the bushes and leaves he wants, but he won't get to interact with his our friends any more than I will. And it is by no means likely (far less sure) that I will be allowed to borrow the car in the first place! And I really don't want to take the van that distance with no spare tire. OK, let's go for a walk and try to see Dr. Kristi.... Edited September 26 by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 27 Share September 27 Lunch was soup. Surprise! I added pak choy and English potatoes plus a bit of water and set it to boil. It's only when I dished out a bowl I realized I'd forgotten to add curry powder! So for dinner I added pumpkin and cucumber and curry powder and set it to boil up and cook the new veggies. It turned out quite nice! There was a lot of curry in there but the taste was not overpowering. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and by the addition of the pak choy, potatoes, pumpkin and cucumber, the volume of soup ended up more than it started with. And I can easily see that a tin of diced tomato and one of black beans (or lentils) plus a bit of onion and even maybe some minced beef will increase the soup more, plus adding different flavour notes. I could even make more dumplings... Mo is here looking out the window. He has been alternating between rushing in and going to the window and then rushing out again. There he goes.... Went to see Dr. Kristi. Obviously, she is more than happy for my buddy to become her patient if he wishes to. She has invited him to make an appointment to come in so she can meet him, and take a medical history. We also chatted a bit about my own state of health. She says I look "Much, much better" than the last time she saw me. Which I suppose is a good thing... Something fishy is going on at the club. I contacted the Sec./Treas. about the AGM (Saturday, 3:30) and told him I would try to get there but since my membership had not been paid, I would leave before the AGM itself was called to order. He told me I should attend the AGM and mumbled something about my membership class. I have a nasty suspicion they are going to make me a Life member or (worse) an Honorary member. I hope I'm wrong, or if I'm not, that I can put a stop to any such plan before it goes into effect! Watched a Schwarzenegger movie today. Can't remember what it's called. He is an ex FBI agent who goes undercover into an organized crime operation and cleans it all up by shooting or just beating the bejayzus out of them all. And he gets the girl, too! Except he sends her on her way and goes back to his wife. Mo is still back and forth from the window like a blue-assed fly.... No, wait! He had just curled up next to me and is cleaning his feet. Lilac Wine has to be one of the sweetest tracks on Jeff Buckley's album Grace. His death was a terrible loss. And so small a catalogue left behind for us to enjoy. Grace is a very fine album but it leaves you wanting more. I think the majority of his music was probably released posthumously. Mo is in and out again... I don't think I'm going to be able to go to the club meeting in any case. I don't want to take the van, and I don't know who would lend me a car or jeep for the afternoon. My brain is rambling. I think I should go to sleep. In fact I will do exactly that. As soon as Mo stops running back and forth across my face! 1 Link to comment
Browncoat September 27 Share September 27 7 hours ago, Netfoot said: I have a nasty suspicion they are going to make me a Life member or (worse) an Honorary member. I hope I'm wrong, or if I'm not, that I can put a stop to any such plan before it goes into effect! Why would that be a bad thing? 5 Link to comment
Spunkygal September 27 Share September 27 1 hour ago, Browncoat said: Why would that be a bad thing? I agree! If this happens, I hope you will graciously accept. What an honor that would be! You and Mo definitely need to find a way up there. 3 Link to comment
Netfoot September 27 Share September 27 6 hours ago, Browncoat said: Why would that be a bad thing? It is a little complicated for me to cover all the issues, but for instance: Honorary membership is essentially intended to thank and honor someone who is not an R/C flier but who has assisted the club in some way. For example, the ham radio club made the Governor General an honorary member. This membership did not give him the right to run for office within the club, nor cast a vote at club meetings. Similarly, honorary membership in our club does not come with the right to vote, or to use the facilities (eg., fly). Unlike the GG, I do wish to have a say in club affairs, vote in the election of officers and on other issues, potentially become an officer of the club (I was President for one year) and use the facilities to fly or just hang out when I feel like it. 4 hours ago, Spunkygal said: If this happens, I hope you will graciously accept. If it happens, I won't react ungraciously. But I won't be happy if the honor deprives me of the rights of an ordinary flying member. Or even those of a non-flying member. It depends exactly what they have up their sleeves. And since it's all hush-hush I don't know the plan. I'm hoping they simply waive my subscriptions for the year. We have done this for certain long-term members in the past when it was not practical for them to pay the subscription fee. Tony who was a long-standing member and who served as Secretary/Treasurer for many years moved away and took up residence overseas. But Tony returned each year for a couple of weeks on vacation. Rather than require he pay a full year's subscriptions in order to fly for only two weeks, or classify him as a non-member and force him to ask permission to make each flight, we simply waived his fees every year. That way, he remained a full flying member with all rights and privileges at no cost, to the end of his days. As I mentioned before, we have a club idiot who thinks the rules do not apply to him. I would hate to think some matter relating to his recent actions (which have damaged us in the eyes of our insurers and put us in the bad books of our landlord) should come up for a vote and find me unable to participate in that vote. But since I can't afford the subs, I would not be entitled to vote anyway! So... 2 Link to comment
Netfoot September 27 Share September 27 A friend and fellow member has offered me a lift to the club for the AGM tomorrow and home again after. Unfortunately, the offer does not extend to Mo. And I can't find fault with my friend. He has a fairly new car and I understand he wants to preserve his upholstery. I feel bad that I will get to go to the club while poor Mo will be left to languish at home. Were it not the AGM I would decline the offer. But you've heard people say that every village has it's idiot? Well, our idiot has caused us some serious harm. And he's been pulling this crap for 12 years now, and getting away with it. Now, I've seen the letter advising him that disciplinary action will be pursued and I'm told that will be in the form of a one year suspension. I have heard from his own mouth that he intends to challenge any action taken against him. We came one hair away from losing our flying site for good, thanks to our idiot. I put too much time, money and sweat into this place over the years to be sanguine about someone endangering it. As it is, we have to now pay rent for the first time in 40+ years. The landowner is also demanding that he gets a say on who gets to join the club and what aircraft we can fly there! (Hopefully, we can calm him down on this.) As for insurance cover, I would be very surprised if our premium does not go up. I would guess a minimum of double. What ever happens at the AGM tomorrow, I want to have first-hand knowledge of it. And (if it comes to that) cast my vote on any decision made in that regard if I am allowed. So I won't stay home and keep Mo company. I will go, but I will miss my little man terribly, as I do whenever I am separated from him. 4 1 Link to comment
Netfoot September 28 Share September 28 (edited) Ok, I've been talking with some of the guys on the management committee. They do not intend for any contention to arise tomorrow between themselves and The Idiot. The matter is not in the agenda and they do not plan to raise it. The Idiot may raise the subject himself but he will have to do so under "Any Other Business" which is immediately before the end. As I have a minor issue to raise myself, by time The Idiot gets a chance, attendees will be anxious for a wrap-up. The letter that advises him that disciplinary action will follow, will be handed to him after the meeting so he won't be able to insist it be discussed during the meeting. I hope the entire meeting goes from start to finish and the entire matter never gets mentioned once. I don't need no draaama! Just advise him that disciplinary action will follow, and at a suitable date thereafter, he can be advised that he has been suspended. I finished my curry soup. I quite liked it! I didn't make the mistake of making it as strongly flavoured as if I were making an actual curry. There was enough to give an unmistakeable flavour and no more. I will make more curry soup. But I think it would be another mistake to make too much of it. As it was, I had three bowls full and enjoyed each one. But too much of a good thing could easily become a bad thing, here. A full pot of soup is probably a dozen bowls. I think 12 bowls of curry soup in a row might be a bit too many. With ordinary soup, I can tweak it's nature by adding more pumpkin today, dumplings tomorrow, black beans the following day.... But the force is strong in curry. No matter what you add, curry soup will remain curry soup. Can't Get It Out If My head by ELO. You know, I really am an olde farte. I like the stuff I enjoyed in my youth just as much today as I did back then. And it isn't that I eschew modern music. It's that so much of the modern stuff is crap! I am thrilled when I hear something that is new and yet worthy! And when I was working in the middle of town, my drive through rush hour traffic, morning and evening, was a chance to listen to the radio and hope I got to hear something new and good. Which did occasionally happen. Nowadays, the radio plays only rubbish. I suspect I could find something in the way of an internet radio station or SiriusXM or something that played music in the genres I like. l but my van is not equipped for that. Spoke to my woodworking guy on the phone. He says he has had hell getting a clear decision from his clients as to what they want, but they seem to have finally settled on a design. So he should be getting the lumber to me, if not tomorrow morning then Sunday or early in the week. (He knows I won't be home tomorrow afternoon.) Now, he has already paid me for this job, and I used the money to pay the Telco. But my usual preference is to do the work, have it inspected, and then get paid. This eliminates the possibility that I won't be able to complete the work and end up having to pay monies back again. How could this happen? Well, if the electricity had been cut off between him paying me and my finishing the job, I would not have been able to complete the work and so would have had to repay the advance payment. As you may know, I have no spare tire for the van. Today, a buddy asked me what size tires it used. (They are 185/70 R13's.) Now, why would someone ask you that? I mean my birthday is coming up in a few months but those Potenzas cost me something like $305 each. And that was long ago. A dirt cheap brand might be only $100 but that is way over what my mates and I would consider a reasonable gift. Obviously he isn't planning to buy me a tire. So, what? Mo was in bed when I came in. After showering and locking up, I returned to the bedroom. He had come down off my pillow pyramid and was under the bed with his feet sticking out. He has not moved since. My book (technically the first book in the volume) is going well. I'm starting to get a feel for the characters but only slightly, so far. The ship left Britain and has made landfall in Boston harbour after an encounter at sea. They were being shadowed by a mystery ship and managed to confront them but had their t'gallants shot away and the mystery ship fled while they were unable to pursue. All damage was repaired and lost masts and spars replaced at sea before Boston, but I'm pretty sure they will encounter the mystery ship again before long! I think I would have liked living during the age of sail! Except for, you know, 100 lashes at the grating for failing to show obeisance to an officer. And scurvy. And losing your arm to gangrene as a result of a splinter in your finger and the lack of antibiotics. And press-gangs. And rampant, virulent strains of syphilis. And open sewers running down the middle of the streets. And dentists having only one tool of the trade: a pair of pliers. Mo just moved up from the floor and curled up behind my back. He is a sweet, fuzzy boy. I notice he gets more affectionate with the passage of time. (And the significance of the passage of time is that time gets more significant as it passages.) Mo also loves to give kisses! I think if your pupper wants to express his affection, you should not prevent him from doing so. But it means I get lots of wet, slobbery kisses every day! Thankfully, his preferred target is my nose rather than my mouth. But still. I give him Eskimo kisses in return because I'm not licking his nosie, no matter how cute it is! Ok, I will go read my book to discover what happens to the ship at and after Boston. Can't remember what type of ship she is. All I recall is that she carries 66 guns..... ("The 2A said you could own firearms, but not any firearms! You couldn't own a cannon...." Actually, you could own an entire East-Indiaman with 104 32-pounders, each with a gun-crew of 14 men plus a powder-monkey. You could go to a ships chandlery and buy 100 tons of gunpowder and 20,000 shot and it would all be delivered on board with no questions asked. And anybody even come close to you on the high seas, you could blow their asses off and nobody would say a single word about it!) Edited September 28 by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
andidante September 28 Share September 28 11 hours ago, Netfoot said: Can't Get It Out If My head by ELO. You know, I really am an olde farte. I like the stuff I enjoyed in my youth just as much today as I did back then. And it isn't that I eschew modern music. It's that so much of the modern stuff is crap! I am thrilled when I hear something that is new and yet worthy! And when I was working in the middle of town, my drive through rush hour traffic, morning and evening, was a chance to listen to the radio and hope I got to hear something new and good. Which did occasionally happen. Nowadays, the radio plays only rubbish. I suspect I could find something in the way of an internet radio station or SiriusXM or something that played music in the genres I like. l but my van is not equipped for that. . (And the significance of the passage of time is that time gets more significant as it passages.) I have Sirius XM as I love my 70s and 80s music. I really do not care for any of the music of today. I guess I am an old fart also! LOL And I see what you did there with the passage of time. 🤣 Link to comment
Netfoot Sunday at 03:32 AM Share Sunday at 03:32 AM (edited) The AGM went well. We got a lot done and a good thing too - regulatory changes are coming and we have to do some reorganizing to get ready for that. Thankfully, the fireworks that I feared might occur were avoided by simply not raising the subject of The Idiot's suspension. He tried to make an issue of it but got nowhere. As the meeting was winding down I introduced a topic in Any Other Business which got everyone discussing another matter until they all just wanted to go home. The Idiot is aware that a response to his behaviour is forthcoming because he has been warned to accept expect it. But he doesn't know when to expect it and he does not know what to expect. We now pay rent to occupy the premises but thanks to Raf pulling a pistol on the landowner, the rent is only $120 a year. Our insurance has doubled and they additionally want to do a risk assessment which will cause that insurance to go up even more when the assessment is complete. You have heard me speak of Unka Rudy, I'm sure. (Mo has just joined me in bed. He side-dropped heavily onto my tummy, then double kicked my butt, drank my water and bogarted my pillows. I love that boy!) Well, Unka Rudy and I were elevated (?) to Honorary membership status. Fortunately a motion was placed before the members that our Honorary membership would retain all the rights and privileges of a full flying membership. This motion was adopted unanimously. I expressed my reservations about any sort of Honorary membership only a day or two ago. With this motion adopted and the fact minuted, my concerns have been laid to rest. How do I feel about it? Well, I've spent a lot of time, sweat and money on the club over the years. And while I've never sought any recognition for that, it is sort of nice to have that recognized. However, most of the old timers have done the same as I have. And I feel a little strange accepting that Honorary membership when others I believe equally deserving were not so honored. Also, we are told the club funds are low because our membership had diminished, so subscription income had fallen. Then I am made an Honorary member who does not pay subscriptions, thereby diminishing club funds even more. I suppose that while I truly appreciate the gesture of being elevated to Honorary membership, I wish I could simply afford to pay my subs in full in the usual way and thereby support the club financially. But I can't do that, so I am happy to remain a member of the club with all rights and privileges and will continue to do all I can to support the club in any way I can, as I have always done. (Mo has gone to lie on the floor partially under the bed with his feet sticking out. Come to think of it, I once did the same in a bed-sit in ye olde Londinium.) I am proud to recall that when we moved to this site and started building our new clubhouse and field, I was the first person to ever take off, fly and land a model on that strip. It was a Sig 4✴️40 (Four-Star Forty) in yellow, beat to crap by it's former owner Ericson. The strip was so bad I didn't expect to get it down in one piece and wondered if I would even get it up in one piece. (Guys don't like to admit when they're worried about getting it up.) The 4✴️ was the only aircraft I was willing to risk because it was so beat up to begin with. Zig-zagging the takeoff between rocks on the strip I got it in the air and had a good flight. Then the landing was more zig-zagging between rocks. The model took everything in it's stride, rocks and all. When those photographs circulated, members started bringing their models and risking a takeoff. We had one rule: before each flight you had to fill a galvanized iron bucket with rocks and dump them off the strip. I should dig out some of the photos of early days on that site to show you. But I bombard you guys with way too many photos already. Only saving grace is that mostly they are of Mo. And technically, it isn't possible to have too many photos of Mo. Dotty's ashes lie on that site, as do Buddy's. Anyway, I'm listening to Breakin' Away by Al Jarreau. Not a fan to speak of, but I like a few tracks here and there. Had pasta for dinner. Promptly felt sick. Only enough milk for one mug of tea so I skipped my post-Patrol mug and saved the milk for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, I may persuade myself that buying a carton of milk is a fiscally responsible act. OK, I'm going to read my book, now. And just so you know, Raf is an IPSC competition shooter and the landowner is also a competition shooter. So by the time they got done showing off their guns and discussing ammo, etc, our rent was an incredibly low $10/month. This fortunate coincidence does not in any way absolve The Idiot of his stupid, self-serving actions. Edited Sunday at 12:31 PM by Netfoot 4 Link to comment
Netfoot Sunday at 01:33 PM Share Sunday at 01:33 PM I've got some old photos of the club and strip being developed. If you aren't interested, please skip this post. Here is the site as we were presented with it. Just some bush. Not very encouraging, but... blue sky above: We got a couple of bulldozers (free, thanks to Tony) which allowed us to debushed the site: You can just make out the pond in the background. The ground was uneven and lumpy. Normally you pay a lot for dirt and pay even more to get it delivered to you! But Tony stepped in again, and we got 128 loads of dirt dumped on site. Free of charge. OK, so it was rocky and horrible, but it was free! And when the bulldozers were done with it, if you closed one eye and turned your head on a side, you might just have seen an airstrip! Tony stepped in again and a grader showed up at the site. Free. And worked for several hours, grading and leveling the site. The two gentleman on the left are Rick & Norman. Founding members of the club. Alas, both no longer with us. But the grader did it's job at the time to their great satisfaction, and after the giant steam-roller came and went (Tony again) we ended up with something that you didn't have to close one eye to recognize might some day become an airstrip! All we needed at that point was grass! So the call went out for grass seeds, and before long... 5 Link to comment
Netfoot Sunday at 01:38 PM Share Sunday at 01:38 PM (edited) [It was at this point that BL&P cut off the power to the entire neighborhood...] Nobody was willing to risk a nice aeroplane on that strip, but eventually some fool brought a Four-Star Forty to the field... And after some scary takeoff maneuvering... Edited Sunday at 01:40 PM by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
luv2lurk Sunday at 08:47 PM Share Sunday at 08:47 PM @Netfoot please take some happiness in your new Honourary membership. If financial things change, you can always contribute. While it is sad that Mo could not be there, Dotty and Buddy were. And the efforts made by your friends to make sure you were at the AGM, from offering you a drive to a spare tire are remarkable! 3 1 Link to comment
Netfoot Sunday at 10:08 PM Share Sunday at 10:08 PM (edited) 23 hours ago, luv2lurk said: @Netfoot please take some happiness in your new Honourary membership. If financial things change, you can always contribute. While it is sad that Mo could not be there, Dotty and Buddy were. And the efforts made by your friends to make sure you were at the AGM, from offering you a drive to a spare tire are remarkable! I'm sorry if I have gave the impression I was displeased with the Honorary membership status that was conferred on me yesterday. I'm quite flattered but yes, a little embarrassed as well. Like when the wait-staff at a restaurant start singing "Happy Birthday". The too-much-fuss-over-just-me reaction. I was concerned about losing my voting rights and privileges in the club just at a time when The Idiot had kicked off a large, contentious battle between members over his actions, and whether he can or should expect consequences. I was very pleased when the President tabled the motion to ensure/confirm that all privileges be retained and it was unanimously approved. When a suitable moment occurred yesterday I spoke individually with everyone concerned and gave them my genuine thanks, and shook every hand. I've always done my best to contribute to the club and tried to ensure it was a slightly better place every time I drove away, than it was when I arrived. I will continue to do so. Perhaps not to the same degree, but to the best of my ability. If my circumstances change for the better or the worse, my methods will have to change to suit. And I'm good with that and can't think anyone could legitimately expect any different. Been reading my book again. I already mentioned that we had a power cut in the middle of my post on how our strip came to be. We had another since then. To my surprise, my computer has survived both outages. Had chips for lunch. My chips seem to have hit a wall. They taste pretty good but they are not crispy enough. There is some crispness which is good, but they are also slightly oily and I can't get them past that point. I drain them on paper and they are good eats but not perfect and I don't seem to be making progress any more. I have to step up my game. Made a three-serving pot of turkey & rice and fed one serving to Mo for his lunch. He will get another for dinner and the last for lunch tomorrow. There is enough turkey for a two-serving pot of rice thereafter and then we will have to replenish our supplies. Welfare cheque on Friday coming. Will have to do some severe budgeting to decide what I can do with the money. Edited Monday at 07:50 PM by Netfoot 2 Link to comment
Netfoot Monday at 02:01 PM Share Monday at 02:01 PM (edited) [ Somehow fell asleep last night before posting this: ] Not much going on here. Lying in bed after my shower, with Mo looking out the window. Used the mandolin to thinly sliced some spuds and fried them up as chips of a circular nature. Still only somewhat crispy, still a little oily. Mo had more turkey & rice. He really seems to like rice, if it tastes good. Which is a pretty stupid thing to say, since practically everybody likes rice if it tastes good. (I'd say "Fancy rice", except all rice I cook is fancy. If I decide to cook plain, white, rice it is a special occasion and the fact that it's plain is noteworthy. Mo has gone to lie in the floor beside the bed. Listening to Fade Away And Radiate by Blondie. I did not like Blondie when they first hit the scene. But Debbie Harry won me over. I'm still not a huge fan with a copy of every album of theirs. But I do have a copy of Parallel Lines which I would not part with. Had one serving of milk today, because I deliberately left it over from yesterday. Dividend it in two and had two mugs of tea today, but if I want to have tea tomorrow I will have to get more milk. Mo has jumped back up and gone to the window. I will prolly walk over by Dr. Kristi and see if they have Pine Hill milk. If not I guess I will have to get some more Carnation. I think I can afford $7 or $8 in milk. Will have to review the budget first. Mo has left the room. And probably the building. Today I watched two episodes of a show called Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega. This show was new about 1½ years ago but I never bothered with it. It's based on a character from The Addams Family TV series from around 60 years ago. I never watched that as a kid. Nor The Munsters. (I did watch Dark Shadows featuring that Canadian guy as Barnabas Collins.) Anyway, watched two episodes of Wednesday and it's OK. I can see where they are trying to go with the character. I think it could use a little less exposition on her weird outlook, and a little more showing how weird she is. But I will keep watching and I'll see how it goes. Apparently another season is in production... Came to bed to find my book in disarray. I normally leave my book beside my bed, closed, with a bookmark. But this time, I'd left it face down on the bed, open at the current page, without the bookmark. Mo had disturbed it and it had been closed and my place lost. (Easily found again.) I'm pretty sure Mo didn't do it deliberately. When he was quite small, he stole a book, took it outside, and tore it to bits. I collected a stack of pages about ¼" think and spanked him thoroughly with them and there ave been no more book-related incidents since. I think he was scratching his ears or licking his butt or rolling around on his back and accidentally bumped against the book, causing it to close. I can hear him barking at something outside. Whatever it is, he is not barking non-stop. It's a couple of woofs, a pause, then three yips, another pause and then a ruff! Anyway, time for me to go read the book. Plenty of swashbuckling action! Actually, it's not the swashbuckling that attracts me. It's the ship handling and the management if her sail plan that fascinates me. A square rigged ship was an extremely complex beast. With course, top, t'gallant, royal, skyscraper, moonraker and starsail possible on each of her three (or more) masts, maybe two tops and t'gallants instead of one. Then there might be several jibs from the bowsprit or jib-boom to the foremast and several staysails between fore and main masts, repeated all the way back to the mizzen. Then stunsls on each side of each mast, plus one or more spritsls under the bowsprit. Each to be finely tuned and constantly adjusted 24 hours a day (or night, in complete darkness), maybe a couple hundred feet in the air in the case of the uppermost sails, in possibly hurricane weather, with absolutely no safety gear whatsoever. Often with powder-smoke in your eyes and the crash of cannon in your ears, while shot and ball whizz past your head. And sometimes handling huge spars and upper mast sections as well. It is amazing what they were able to accomplish given what they had to work with. Anyway. My book. Edited Monday at 02:04 PM by Netfoot 1 Link to comment
Netfoot Monday at 02:26 PM Share Monday at 02:26 PM About three months ago I woke to find a blood-blister on my tongue. It vanished by the next day. This morning, it was back, but on the inside of my cheek: Mo is well. He was very affectionate this morning, and I got a ton of kisses and cuddles before I even got out of bed! Got to walk over by Dr. Kristi and buy some milk. And maybe a tin of corned beef? Have avoided that stuff for a couple if weeks, but I can't do it for ever. And I need to boil more soup.... 3 1 Link to comment
Netfoot Tuesday at 04:03 AM Share Tuesday at 04:03 AM Walked over by Dr. Kristi this morning. Popped in for 5 minutes to recover from the walk in her A/C. Didn't see her or Clauder but I did see eight people in the waiting room. Any idea I had of possibly showing her my blood-blister went straight out of my head, so as soon as I caught my breath I went and bought two 250ml cartons of evap (not PHD), a tin of corned beef and a sweet potato. Couldn't find any of the yellow ones that showed up here a few years ago and that I've come to like. Instead, I bought one of the white-fleshed variety that I enjoyed for decades, from boyhood. They had breadfruit too, but they were all already soft so they would have turned to mush in soup. Pity! I like breadfruit. A lot. By the way, some time this afternoon, the blood-blister disappeared, leaving only a little bit of raised white skin in my mouth where it had been. You can see it in the photo if you zoom/look close. It's just like what happened with the last one! So I came home and started cooking soup. Three onions, fried in oil in the bottom of the pot, and after they softened a bit I added ½ tin of corned beef, a bucket of stock and the sweet potato, diced up. Along with a tin of diced sliced tomatoes. Let that cook for a while and added carrots. After some more cooking I added English potatoes & white cabbage. Hubble, bubble for a while and I threw in pumpkin and a tin of black beans. I have a tin of lentils but the last time I used one of those tins it seemed to contain mostly liquid. Checking the label the weight is 14.1 oz. But the drained weight is only 8.5 oz.!! That's 40% of the tin by weight being water! I bought those tins because they were slightly cheaper than black beans but if 40% of the content is water I may as well not "save" money that way next time. I have a little pak choy I can add tomorrow and a couple of cucumbers as well. Had a bowl for dinner and it went down very well. (Skipped lunch, had a mug of tea instead.) Mo had the last of the recent batch of turkey & rice for lunch and chow for dinner. I will cook two more portions of turkey & rice for him tomorrow. That will be the end of the turkey. SSA came and collected the trash today. They were expected last Monday, so exactly a week late. I pay for collection as a part of my water bill. It is something like $48 for them to collect once a week and they can't manage it. A single collection is now like $25 and they complain to me that thectrash stinks. I said "If you didn't want it to stink this week, maybe you should have collected it last Monday like you were supposed to." Prolly gonna regret that when they refuse to collect my trash ever again. But if that happens I will refuse to pay the $48 and dump my trash next door do they will have to collect it anyhow! My woodwork guy brought materials and plans for 30 items he wants made. Parts for headboards for beds. Each item requires two separate pieces be cut to size. One then needs to be drilled, they both will need a simple sanding, then they must be screwed together. I've already cut the pieces so drilling, sanding and screwing will commence first thing in the morning. He said he would like to collect at least some of the finished items tomorrow (hopefully all will be ready) and told me he would pay cash. So I may get some spendies tomorrow. This will be good because I still owe BL&P and BWA. And some groceries would be good too. You will remember he paid me in advance last week, but he says he has some simple sofa legs he needs me to make and they will cover the prepayment. He also said he hopes to give me a big-ticket job later in the year. That would be good. I might even get the bandsaw back in action. I recon $300-$350 in parts, including a new blade. Unless I have to spend all the money on accumulating utility bills. Or on bribing SSA to start collecting at my house again..... One of the guys at the club asked me to make him an engine test stand. Told me he would give me the design in a couple days and we could work out the price then. I refuse to charge a fellow club member for doing a little modeling-related work for him! I mean, it isn't like he wants me to paint his house! Mo is here with me. Right now he is on the tiles cleaning his feet but he is highly mobile tonight, back and forth between there and propped up against my chest and left arm. Rich And Strange by a British indie-rock band called Cud. (The U of Cud is supposed to have three udder thingies hanging down under it.) I heard about this album and that it was good but only available used and difficult to find even so. Put a guy on the case and he not only found me a copy, but a brand new copy, still factory sealed in the original jewel case! And at the regular price, too! It is an interesting album but this is my favourite track. Just minutes to midnight and my battery is low so I'm going to end here, try and remember to post it, and then read a few pages of my book before dousing the light and getting some shut-eye. Already yawning big-time! 2 Link to comment
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