Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[chitowngirl]

There have been many recalls on eye drops here in the US. Could that perhaps be the problem?

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

There have been many recalls on eye drops here in the US. Could that perhaps be the problem?

Sure, I guess it could. I have not used it today, and the eyes have only a little trouble. I will apply the stuff a bit more and see what happens. 

(I will Google the stuff and see if anything relevant comes up.)

[Netfoot]

So, off we went on our Garden Patrol and all appeared normal until we were reaching the end of our usual routine, when I noticed Mo was not wandering around and acting as he usually does. He was sitting in one spot and watching me with an eagle-eye. He had that look on his face that told be he was expecting a bollicking. Oh dear! What's he done now? I turned the torch up from moonlight to bright and scanned the grass. What's that over there? A large paper bag which fell from the counter and which I neglected to pick up. Well, Mo doesn't have to worry about that. I won't give him a talking to for stealing a paper bag. I walked slowly up to him so as not to push him into flight, and patted his head, chuckled his chin and told him he was my love-dog. 

From there, I continued back towards the house with Mo following behind. As we reached the driveway, I turned to say something to him and I saw...

Oh. So not a paper bag issue, then. More a midnight snack issue. I knew that if my experience with Crocs was anything to go by, I would never catch him in order to relieve him of this. It would take guile.

Meanwhile, the waste pipe from upstairs which runs through my garage was making funny noises. I went to investigate this and Mo's curiosity got the better of him. He came to see what I was up to and stood in the doorway to get a better view of what I was doing. (Pressing my ear to the waste pipe.) When he was least expecting it, I shut the door on him and searched the garden until I found his snack, and disposed of it. 

I should have known Mo wouldn't have reacted the way he did for a mere paper bag!

Crackers with cheese and/or peanut butter for lunch. Dinner was cavatappi with a sauce made from an unusual combination of corned beef, onion, corn and garlic with chives. Not the best recipe I've ever prepared but not at all bad. I ate all my portion and even considered going back for more, but decided instead to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

One by Three Dog Night plays and I am amazed that this song, with it's simple, repetitive lyric, became one of their top-40 hits. But it is about loneliness and I guess it resonates with a large number of people. Humans are herd animals - or at very least pack animals. We come together in huge cities of millions of people, yet so many of us feel we face our futures alone.

Been watching movies. Grabbing anything off the net that crosses my mind and watching. I have acquired the trilogy Divergent, Despondent  and Detergent (or WTF ever they're called) but having done so I am racking my brain to try and remember what they were about. I know they were YA dystopian movies but the only vibe I'm getting is that they were stupid and senseless. [ETA: Like most YA.] Before I consider watching tomorrow, I will go to the YT channel of The Critical Drinker and see if he has done a review. I find his reviews amusing, whether he is tearing a movie to shreds or heaping praise upon it. 

Mo is outside barking up a storm. I peered from the window to see a number of small groups of people wandering past on the other side of the road. Possibly a group just exited from the cinema across the road at the mall. I used to go every Tuesday night when the new movies got their first screening. This is way back when Dotty was still alive. I was over there so often, buying a huge popcorn, a bulldog with everything and a humongous coke that the manager instructed the cashiers not to charge me for my drinks. Can't remember the last time I went to the cinema. Probably to see The Hobbit on the big screen. 

Anyway, I have to take a shower (without wetting my head) and lock up. Then a page or two from my book and then lights out.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

This morning when I got up, there was no eYer water on the pipes. With the water bill fully paid only a few days ago, I knew it had to be a neighborhood problem. (They are all too frequent.) I had a 2 liter bottle of water in the fridge and a full kettle (1.8L). I put half the cold water in Mo's bowl as a top-up and forgot about it. Only remembered when I went to boil my pasta. Water was back, but the kitchen tap was about half power or less. Taking my evening shower was worse. There was hardly any water coming out of the shower head and I had to settle for a sprinkle down followed by a dry off.

Starship launched! There were some things I wanted to see and all but the last few were met.

I wanted the rocket to 1) not blow up on the ground. 2) light all 33 engines on the booster. 3) launch without destroying the pad. 4) light all 6 engines on stage two. 5) successful hot-stage separation. 6) not crash-land on a population center. 7) make it into space (not orbit - this was planned as a sub-orbital flight from the outset).

All of these were achieved and so my expectations were met. However, the booster - which was never designed with hot-staging in mind - did RUD shortly after separation, and after several minutes of what appeared to be a text-book burn on stage two and shortly before engine shutdown for the coast phase, stage two also RUD. Very interested to hear what they deduce from analysis of the telemetry.

Of course, a controlled "landing" of the booster into the Gulf of Mexico followed later by a controlled "ditch" of the top stage near Hawaii as planned would have been fantastic! But it was only 7 months ago that the first starship launched with several motors failing to light (and doing serious damage to the pad in the process), failed to maintain controlled flight and RUD before separation. So I have every expectation that by June or July next year we we'll see yet another starship launch with even higher levels of success.

And thankfully, the loss of the booster and starship will not prove to be any sort of financial burden on the company. They were, after all, scheduled to land in water, with no attempt to recover them planned. So even if the flight had been 100% perfect in every way, both stages would have been lost anyway.

Now, it's just gone two, I've finally got Mo in and asleep, and I am going to join him!

Edited November 19, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

No water again today. Only, my 2L bottle was empty and so was my kettle. I put a large saucepan under the kitchen tap and turned it fully on. It began to drip. I figured I'd leave it like that and catch what water I could until the dripping stopped. 20 minutes later I went back and the drip had become a trickle and the saucepan was full. 

So I filled four 2L bottles, three 1L bottles and the kettle. As well as the saucepan. I figure that will hold me for a little while as far as food & drink is concerned.

This has happened before. We are on a very old (75+ years) cast iron water main. It fractures, it leaks, for several days they try to identify the place where it's leaking, and finally they patch the break, and the water supply returns to normal. Until next time.

What they don't do, is replace the pipe. That would be expensive. And the last administration stripped the exchequer of every dime. Which is why they didn't get one single seat in parliament in the last general election.

Blood sugar was 5.8 mmol/L this morning. Within normal parameters but higher than I like. Not surprised, tho. After all, I was eating crackers at 2:00 AM.....

Edited November 19, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

I've often said that Led Zeppelin's Since I've Been Loving You is my favourite LZ track of all time. Of course, I've said that about several LZ tracks because their catalogue is packed with so many fabulous tracks, it's hard to make a decision. But I think that while I've said that about several tracks of theirs, I've said it about this track more than any other.

Didn't realize how late it was until Mo came and reminded me it was time for our Patrol. Normally he waits for me to take up my torch, but tonight he got tired of waiting I suppose.

By time I was ready for a shower, there was pressure aplenty, in both hot and cold circuits. Had a good soak under the spray. Avoided getting my hair too damp (not hard when you have as little hair on your head as I) because I still have a runny nose. I also have a runny eye. I took no drops today and now the left eye is all weeping gooey tears and burns when it weeps. Going to have to figure out what to do about this pretty soon. Took a short trip with Mo to drop off my laundry. Despite it being after 4:00 PM and overcast, I found the sunshine in my face as I went west was almost completely blinding. The return journey with the sun low in the sky behind me was a little less troublesome, but not by much.

And for some reason I've been groggy and tired all day. I was considering all day whether to get up early tomorrow and go to Brighton, only realizing a short while ago that Brighton Market was this morning, not tomorrow. From about nine this morning I wanted to go back to bed and I've felt sleepy all day. I watched a couple of movies but quite often the movies watched me dozing in my chair. 

Went to the door and whistled for Mo to come in but despite whistling several times he didn't show. So I went in to bed and he arrived within a minute. But now he's gone again and I must get back out of bed to summon Jim again and lock up.

I think I will read a little of my book first, though. Because I don't feel like moving right now.

[Netfoot]

In 1991, as I lay in hospital bandaged from head to foot (with only a tiny patch of skin visible behind one ear, apparently) someone brought me a Walkman and a small handful of cassette tapes. I listened to those tapes over and over again. One of them was The Vegetarians Of Love by Bob Geldof and the most intriguing track on that tape was Thinking Voyager 2 Type Thoughts. With wonderful lyrics like "So rise up, Brendan Behan and like a drunken Lazarus, let's traipse the high bronze of the evening sky like crack-crazed kings!" I'm  listening to it again now and I still have absolutely no idea what that is supposed to mean.

Google informs me that Behan was an Irish activist, IRA supporter and writer who enjoyed considerable fame up until his death in the mid sixties of diabetes and alcoholism. Geldof himself was born in Ireland and first came to prominence as the lead singer for the Irish band The Boomtown Rats. I recall when that band appeared on Top Of The Pops (Thursday night, right after the news). The band lip-synced their way through the song - I forget which one - but when it came to the part where there was a sax solo no sax was available, so Geldof "faked it" by pretending to blow a brass candelabra. 

I presume that Geldof is a fan of Behan's work and gave him a shout-out in this song as a result. He has done this more than once. For example, he named Helen Shapiro on the track Walking Back To Happiness on the same album. Shapiro was a successful teen singer in the 60s and an actress later in her career. One of her early successes was likewise named Walking Back To Happiness - presumably the inspiration for Geldof's version, but his track is not a cover because the lyrics are in no way similar except for the title which also appears as a line in each song.

This post is proving difficult to write because someone

insists on tummy rubs which can only be interrupted for long enough to type 3-4 words before rubbing must resume. 

Also, my left eye is now so irritating that I have to bite the bullet and go see a doctor tomorrow - Dr. Kristi in the morning or Dr. Gabby after lunch - which ever can see me soonest. I hope they don't send me to a specialist but I fear that after 2 weeks of drops without success, this is inevitable.

I made the mistake to leave the door of the van open this evening and Mo went in and found some nice toys. I didn't discover this until Garden Patrol, when I spotted an entire tube of disposable cups lying on the grass in well chewed splendour. It isn't that he destroyed a dozen cups that I found distressing. It is that they were the type of highly desired but now unobtainable plastic disposable cups that you can use a dozen times before they have to be disposed of. Instead of the newer, paper disposable cups which fall apart in your hand and dump their contends down the front of your shirt before you can take a handful of sips. What makes then them acceptable, of course, is that we are saving the planet because they are not plastic. What also makes them great is that they are hygienically and individually wrapped. In plastic. (Fuck you, Gretta!)

Bag of chips for lunch; cheese cutters for dinner. The latter only because Mo came to demand tribute st at dinner time and got very stroppy when I told him I wasn't eating anything.

The problem with these eyes of mine is that their condition prevents me from continuing the search for a new job. If only I could create a GoFundMe to help pay expenses. I know that sounds ridiculous but didn't one if the Kardashians create a GoFundMe with the goal of becoming the first female (or the youngest or stupidest or whatever it was) billionaire? Yes that happened and why I believe we are in the "end times" is because people gave her the billion!

Anyway, tired of tummy rubs, my little man departed a while ago, so I will go and fetch him inside the house and lock the door. Then straight to sleep, I think. Today was another day of exhausting idleness.

Edited November 21, 2023 by Netfoot

[andidante]

7 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Also, my left eye is now so irritating that I have to bite the bullet and go see a doctor tomorrow - Dr. Kristi in the morning or Dr. Gabby after lunch - which ever can see me soonest. I hope they don't send me to a specialist but I fear that after 2 weeks of drops without success, this is inevitable.

I hope it goes well for you tomorrow! I am glad you are going to see the doctor. If they do send you to a specialist, hopefully you can get in sooner than next year.

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, andidante said:

If they do send you to a specialist...

I spoke to Clauder on the phone. She said "Don't bother to come in. If the drops didn't work, you need to go to an optometrist."

2 hours ago, andidante said:

... hopefully you can get in sooner than next year.

There are two in the mall across the street from my house. I called. One said they could give me an appointment in January. The other said 1:40 PM today.

So I am going to them early this afternoon. Depending upon what treatment is recommended, I may have to go back to QEH again.

[andidante]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I spoke to Clauder on the phone. She said "Don't bother to come in. If the drops didn't work, you need to go to an optometrist."

There are two in the mall across the street from my house. I called. One said they could give me an appointment in January. The other said 1:40 PM today.

So I am going to them early this afternoon. Depending upon what treatment is recommended, I may have to go back to QEH again.

Fingers crossed that you don't have to go to QEH again and they can help you out of that office.

[Netfoot]

Apparently, my left eye goes not close fully when I blink and does not open fully between blinks. Hence dryness in the eye which causes discomfort. Sort of strange to hear that my eyes are too dry when they are constantly pouring with tears, but.....

This business with the eyes not opening & closing properly can be a symptom of Bell's Palsy. Or Myasthenia Gravis. 

My next move is to see an opthalmologist. But for this I have to go to QEH since I'm broke again. We know how that went last time - 5 hours in line to make an appointment 4 months hence.

Well, I took the report from the optometrist and left it with Dr. K. because I will need an introductory letter from a doctor to get an appointment at QEH. I just hope she will help by preparing a suitable letter soon. If not, I will have to go to the poly-clinic and ask to see a doctor there. Hopefully they can refer me to QEH if Dr. K. won't. 

Of course, in the months before I might get this matter cleared up, I will be virtually blind in daylight. I walked to Dr. K's office this afternoon to avoid driving and I had a damned hard time making it there and back on foot! 

Heaven knows how I'm supposed to find and conduct a job in this condition. Which I must because there is no money. And every time I go to buy food, my estimate of what it will cost turns out to be wildly optimistic because the price of everything keeps going up. Electricity too is $25 more expensive every month. 

And I blame the USA for the mess we're in. When I say that, people ask me why I think our economy is affected by that of the USA. Well, because we are a tourism destination and when fewer people come to visit it affects us. And when those who do come are on a much tighter budget, they don't have money to shop, to visit nice restaurants, to tour the island, enjoy the water sports and other amenities. 

But not only that. Everything here is imported. Those Sony TV sets in the shop? They weren't bought from Sony, because Sony doesn't sell TVs 10 at a time. They sell 20,000 to a distributor in California who sells 500 to a regional distributor in Florida who sells 10 to us. So when prices in the USA skyrocket it directly affects us here. 

What I consider basic living norms have deteriorated year by year. Once upon a time I took occasional trips overseas. Now, England, America, even nearby Trinidad are completely out of the question nowadays. I don't go to the movies any more and a second hand book is a rare treat. All my magazine subs are, of course, cancelled. I can't tell you when last I went up to the club and gave Mo the freedom to run around while I chatted with my friends. I've skipped my annual birthday gift to myself (a pizza) for three years now.

And what the hell is the point of bitching about it? Everybody else is in the same boat and it's clear we are never going to get out of the slump. Because the elites don't want us out of it. Mom & pop shops get shut down in a pandemic, sometimes forcibly. But Amazon, Walmart and the other biggies make huge profits. Banks pay one twelfth of one percent interest on your deposit and you still deposit your money. So why would they ever put the rate back up?

Rant, rave... I'm in a lousy mood in case you hadn't noticed. Just ignore.

Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf. One Christmas when I was about 13 or 14, I received a record player. It was about the size of a coffee-table book and it had a "stylus" that was probably made from a bent pin. I went out and bought a handful of vinyl albums. Can't be sure if them all, but they included albums by Janice, Grand Funk Railroad, CSN&Y, and a couple more, plus Steppenwolf's 16 Greatest Hits.  I think I've purchased this album three times now. The first one was eaten by a dog whose name was Ludwig Maximilian von Stonk. I kid you not. Maxie was one of my mother's dachshunds. The second copy melted down in the same fire that toasted me good. The third was a CD as opposed to vinyl and I still have it in a cupboard. 

Egg sandwiches for dinner. Sliced white. Not eating well these days. Sometimes I just have mayonnaise on a spoon, straight out of the jar. (There isn't much coming out of that jar now, no matter how hard I scrape!)

Anyway, it's after two in the morning and I am tired of being awake  - which is not the same as just being tired. and I have a little man here who wants his tummy rubbed. 

Hey! Mama Told Me (Not To Come) by Three Dog Night! I swear I went to that party! But I guess we all went to that party. Or one just like it.

[andidante]

Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow to all who celebrate!

[Spunkygal]

3 hours ago, andidante said:

Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow to all who celebrate!

Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I’ve eaten like a bird today because I am going to embarrass myself tomorrow! 🤣🤣🤣 

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, andidante said:

Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow to all who celebrate!

We don't formally celebrate Thanksgiving here but as ever: Any excuse for a party! Our independence is coming in about one week,  and there will be festivities but local stores are advertising "Black Friday" deals and you can bet some people will use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to practice for Independence! 

1 minute ago, Spunkygal said:

I’ve eaten like a bird today because I am going to embarrass myself tomorrow! 🤣🤣🤣 

I approve. I know you guys have your turkey at Thanksgiving (rather than Christmas) and I've never understood the fascination with green beans, but a feast is a feast!

In any case, I too wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all who participate!

I've had an uncomfortable day. At least in parts. My left eye has been giving me hell, but not continuously. I've been so tired I was yearning to go back to bed from nine this morning. Told myself I'd hold out until 8:00 PM (Dinner Meds 💊💊💊) and go to bed then. Even so, it was twenty past nine before I finally crawled into bed. The program I was watching ran long, then I was finishing off a mug of tea followed by Garden Patrol, taking a cautious shower, and finally....

And my eye which was not hurting before, immediately started aching again as soon as I stepped into the shower. Dunno why - not a drop went near the eye.

Mo had been up to shenanigans again. While on Garden Patrol I found him apprehensive and sheepishly waiting for punishment. It wasn't hard to see why. Laying out on the grass was a thoroughly chewed ice tray! How he got that out of the freezer I will probably never know.  I patted his head and chuckled his chin and he became his normal, animated self. Right up until I set out for the bedroom. The Bluetooth speakers were on the floor. They are a super-cheap set but they sound good. Or they did until tonight, anyway. Now they sound a bit rumbly. <sigh>

You can sometimes see that he'd been up to mischief even though you never do find out what. Have a look at the "Who, me?" expression on this innocent, little face:

But look closely and you can see he has worn the top layer of skin right off his nosie by pushing it somewhere it doesn't belong, leaving it pink! Not the first time this has happened so I know it will come back perfect in a day or two. 

I'm listening to Porcelain by Moby. Apparently he didn't like the track and had to be persuaded to include it on the album. It turned out to be the standout track of the album and has received plenty of critical acclaim ever since. 

Anyway, I am going to sleep now. I will watch tonight's episode tomorrow morning because I've had enough of today. 

Oh! Forgot to say, I found my favourite plate face down on the kitchen floor this morning, with a big piece broken out of it. I didn't knock it down and I'm sure it didn't jump off the counter by itself. So it must be duppies. No other possible explanation comes to mind...

[andidante]

3 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I’ve eaten like a bird today because I am going to embarrass myself tomorrow! 🤣🤣🤣 

Right there with you! 🤣

[Netfoot]

😡😐😂

[Ancaster]

On 11/16/2023 at 7:28 AM, Netfoot said:

An observation on mayonnaise.

When you have spooned the last of the mayo out of the jar, the jar is not really empty. Because there is residual mayo still sticking to the inside of the jar. By carefully scraping with a spoon, you can extract more mayo from the jar! This process of scraping the jar until it is empty leaves fine, white lines of mayo between the scrape lines. But of course, those white lines are also mayo. So a second scraping can extract even more mayo from the jar, leaving even finer white lines between scrape lines. And once again, those finer lines are mayo. And additional scraping can deliver more mayo from the supposedly empty jar.

Taken to the limit, the conclusion is obvious: you can not empty a mayo jar! There will always be more mayo to be extracted!

The real reason people discard "empty" mayo jars is not because they are really empty. It is because the people are too lazy to extract the remaining mayo!

And this principle can be applied to every type of food and every type of container.

 

I had a conversation just last week about the impossibility of completely emptying a Marmite jar because of its shoulders.  If I were an engineer I'd design a special spoon, take out a patent, and make a fortune.

Belated happy birthday @Netfoot.

[Netfoot]

1 minute ago, Ancaster said:

Belated happy birthday @Netfoot.

Thank you.

When your Marmite spoon hits the market I will buy one. But first, I have to buy a jar of Marmite. It seems to have vanished off the shelves in stores around here because I can't find it. I hope that it didn't die from CV19 like so many other products have!

Also, I'm told that it makes a delicious pasta sauce. It sounds unlikely, but I'm dying to try it. In the name of science...

[Spunkygal]

9 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

 

I had a conversation just last week about the impossibility of completely emptying a Marmite jar because of its shoulders.  If I were an engineer I'd design a special spoon, take out a patent, and make a fortune.

Belated happy birthday @Netfoot.

Several years ago, an inventor pitched this on Shark Tank and I don’t think anyone bought into it. I found a small spatula-like utensil with a rubbery end at Big Lots. It does the best job of scraping remnants out of jars that I’ve found.

[Ancaster]

5 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Thank you.

When your Marmite spoon hits the market I will buy one. But first, I have to buy a jar of Marmite. It seems to have vanished off the shelves in stores around here because I can't find it. I hope that it didn't die from CV19 like so many other products have!

Also, I'm told that it makes a delicious pasta sauce. It sounds unlikely, but I'm dying to try it. In the name of science...

I will happily send you a jar if you think it would get through customs without being exploded as a possible bomb, or "disappeared" by someone's sticky (with future Marmite) fingers.

Message me your address if you think it might work.

Happy unThanksgiving.

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by Ancaster

[Netfoot]

6 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

Message me your address if you think it might work.

Thanks for your kind offer. I will continue to search locally, but if I am unsuccessful and completely at a loss, I will get back to you and we will work something out.

[Netfoot]

Strange thing happened last night.

I was awoken in the dead of night by Mo barking furiously out the window. He does this this often but he was going crazy last night! I looked out the window and there, standing on the top of our wall, silhouetted by the security lights of the mall behind it, was a warewolf! 

Or, maybe it was a regular wolf.

Or maybe just an Alsatian dog. Yes, probably an Alsatian dog.

I've seen cats standing on my wall. And I've seen monkeys on my wall before. But never a muckle, great dog! 

Suddenly the dog jumped off the wall. Mo flung himself back away from the window with a yelp. This creature was at least three times as big as Mo so if he was a little scared I don't blame him.

Fortunately, the werewolf jumped out of the yard rather than into the yard. I can't imagine what would have happened next if he'd jumped into the yard. I don't know how he got on that wall from outside but from inside it would have been much harder. So, I'd have had to go out in the middle of the night to unlock the gate and let him out. 

Dunno where it came from but my asshole neighbor recently acquired a dog that would fit the bill. He doesn't treat it very well, so if it could get loose I can easily picture it making a bid for freedom. 

I've not heard  it barking yet today so maybe it did escape!

Edited November 23, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

I'm listening to Stairway To Heaven by LZ. What can you say about one of the greatest rock songs ever? I'm listening to the cut from the Led Zeppelin IV album, but I also have a live recording made six months earlier and released 26 years later on the "BBC Sessions" LZ compilation album. You can hear the great potential locked up in the earlier recording, but the polite patter of applause from the audience makes plain that nobody at the time knew what a monster the song would become. And in fact it was a couple of years after release, before the song began to reach the anthemic status it eventually enjoyed. I won't say it's my favourite LZ track... except sometimes it is. After all, they're one of those bands for which it isn't easy to pick one song.

My eyes have not been troubling me as much today. I've been actively blinking forcefully to prevent them drying out and spent some time with the left eye closed. Unfortunately, I have to make a 10Km drive tomorrow, with two stops, then back home again and this is in early afternoon so full sunlight. Not looking forward to it. 

In other news, I am having issues with my lips and tongue. My lips don't feel "right", I'm biting the tip of my tongue far too often and I've started speaking some words strangely. By which I mean lithping, slurring or somehow pronouncing words in a manner not usual for me. Not to mention some difficulty swallowing (a possible symptom of MG if I remember). And to add icing to the cake, I am having difficulty walking in a straight line and keep bumping into things and have a tendency to stagger off course and fall down if I don't grab on to something. And I wonder about an issue (which I mentioned a short while ago) about sometimes not being able to exhale through my nose.  Looking back I think some of the symptoms have been developing slowly for a while and I've not noticed or have ignored them. And this tiredness I experience daily (found myself with my head down on my desk at 9:30 AM today) might be more than me just being lazy!

I wish Dr. K. would hurry up and come home so I could talk to her about it. Or Heidi, who is also away. But Dr. K. would probably be best, since she would be able to give me some informed advice.

I have now watched the three Divergent movies and honestly, they are rubbish. I couldn't find a review by The Critical Drinker but I wish he would do one because he is so funny! I'm ignoring the whole "Homely girl catches most desirable boy in town" sub-plot because it's a YA movie and the protagonist happens to be the homely girl. But while the basic premise has potential, and the special effects budget was enough to produce some quite satisfactory visuals, I think they just screwed up the plot by going too many inexplicable places and asking me to suspend belief too often and handwave too much. The two sequels were obviously nothing but cash-grabs based on the success of the initial offering. And I suspect this is true for original source material as well as movies. As with most afterthought sequels, they had to outdo the original. This usually leads to more car chases, longer gunfights and bigger explosions, but in this case it lead to more handwaving and strained suspension of belief. Lots of hot-button technology talked about (like nano-particles) but not explained nor portrayed realistically. If they were making these films today they would be mentioning AI every minute. After all, every phone app, website and automated switchboard now is jumping on that bandwagon! 

Now, I did like The Covenant, about a US soldier struggling to get his Afghan interpreter out of the country before they are slaughtered by the Taliban. Maybe there were car chases, gunfights and explosions, but the show was really about determination. 

What else have I watched recently? I've been watching some TV shows, but nothing new that I can recall. Just grabbed the latest episode of Shetland from what I fear may be the final season. But I've not watched it yet. 

Had a bowl of rice today for lunch, with carrots and pigeon peas and a little corned beef. Will have to stop on the way home yesterday and grab a bag of food for Mo. I have enough for his morning meal tomorrow but after that, the jar will be empty. Of course, he will always get a share of what I am eating. He got a fairly large portion of my rice at lunch. I was a little concerned he didn't scoff the lot instantly but he did eat it up eventually, and he was right there with his head in my lap as I ate my dinner (cheese cutters) and got several bites of each one. (I do the biting, not him.)

He just arrived and played a brief game of Tummy Trampoline before peering out the window and rushing off again. He looked so cute I tried to get a photo but before I could bring the camera to bear he was off! Wherever the werewolf came from last night, I hope it stays there tonight. Mo was not at all happy about it last night.

Anyway, I will go read my book a little, and then head off to sleep. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Netfoot

[Browncoat]

7 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I have now watched the three Divergent movies and honestly, they are rubbish.

The books were mostly rubbish as well.  The first one wasn't too bad, but they got progressively worse.  I don't even know how I finished the third book!  I avoided the movies like the plague.

[Netfoot]

10 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

The books were mostly rubbish as well.  The first one wasn't too bad, but they got progressively worse.

Yes. It's like the author took the time to try and craft the first book as best they could, but the second and third books were cash-grabs and run off in a hurry without much thought or care. 

Apparently there were more book as well, written from the perspective of Tobias/Four but nobody cared.

[Spunkygal]

Paging Dr K! Please get your butt back home so you can take care of our friend Netfoot! Chop chop! 

[Netfoot]

Dr. K. was overseas on Wednesday but she's back and she just WhatsApped me from her office. She thinks it's Miasthenia Gravis back again and I have been thinking that for days. She wants me to make an urgent appointment to see the most expensive doctor in the island (and probably the western hemisphere) but my bank balance won't cover a single visit to his office, far less any testing he may want to do.

So I'm asking her if she will give me a referral letter to QEH. No response yet. We are messaging back and forth between her patients.

[Netfoot]

I went North on the highway to collect my new ID card today. Stopped at the mechanic on the way for him to make a minor adjustment now that the new fan belts have run in a bit. On the way back I stopped to buy 2Kg of chow for Mo and some gas for the car. 

It was excruciating. I had the left eye closed by means of a pad under the specs. But the specs are reading glasses. So I was driving with one eye (no depth perception) that could not focus due to the lenses. And yes, the left eye is worse but the right eye doesn't like bright sunlight that much either. 

I drive slowly and cautiously, avoiding every risk and deferring to other motorists all the way. The expedition was completed without even the hint of an incident, but it was a nerve-wracking exercise. I don't know if I could necessarily do it again tomorrow though. It seems the state of my eyes varies from day to day. Some days worse than others.

I decided not to take Mo with me and I regret that. I thought I might have to wait long periods at each stop bit in fact I got my tasks completed rapidly. And the girl on pump #1 asked, "Where is your partner in crime today?" and he would have been pleased to see her. But on the other hand, he came a bit boisterous in the car, which might have been a little too distracting for a first-time one-eyed driver.

What Do You Want From Life? By The Tubes. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I am a fan of this band. Saw them play live, many years ago it was. 

Mo was just here complaining that he needed water so I went out And filled his bowl. Actually, I only partially filled it. A full bowl last long enough for mosquito larva to develop so I usually don't fill it to the very top. That means it needs refilling more often. And some days are hotter than other so we get more drinking and more evaporation. Ideally I would throw out any remaining water from the previous day and fill it afresh. And this is what I try to do. But some days I am distracted so yesterday's water remains for today as well. As I was going out this afternoon I noticed it was low but told myself I'd refill it when I got back. And of course, I forgot. Mo prefers to drink from puddles anyhow, but on dry days, if I forget and the water level gets too low, he comes and reminds me. 

Very tired again this evening. Won't stay up reading too late tonight! Mo is outside so I have to go fetch him in and lock up before going to sleep. Calling him is now more of a chore than before because I can no longer whistle. I used to have a friend who was a musician (trumpet player). He always told me that I should become a professional whistler. Idiotic suggestion. But now I can't whistle at all! All my boys had a whistle they would come to and Mo is no exception. But now, my lips & tongue refuse to produce a note. Oh, well. At least the pretty girls are safe, eh?

Corned beef cutter for lunch, egg butties for dinner. Mo-tax paid in both cases. Wanted pasta but couldn't be bothered to cook.

Watched the latest episode of Shetland and tried a couple episodes of an old tv series called Profiler. The latter, being 26-27 years old was a little dated. It was also hard-subbed in Dutch or Swedish or something. Not sure I will be motivated to watch any more. 

Mo brought a toy to bed:

Half of a bottle. He plays hard and the bottle goes where it will. He then pounces on it, even if it's landed on your face!

I was thinking about going to Brighton tomorrow. Getting there would be no trouble, as it would be dark. Coming home might not be so easy! And Austin, who I'd like to chat to, is in Bequia anyway. So I will give it a miss. I should stay abed tomorrow. But at some stage I want to cook a pot of pasta with tuna fish, ot a jorum of vegetable soup with corned beef. 

Will get to my book now, for a page or two. I could easily read for hours if tiredness did not step in. But when I start dropping the book, that's usually a good indicator that it's time for sleep.

This mobile web site sucks. There is an advert that now pops up right over what you're typing and frequently overlies navigation buttons. Desktop is fine, but mobile is yakk! There are 23 ads on this page and they are all identical.

[Spunkygal]

This eye issue is confounding. I wish you did feel comfortable enough in getting to and fro Brighton. I think it would do you good to see some of the familiar faces and possibly snag a free morsel or two. I agree that having Mo in the car would be too distracting right now while you’re battling this eye impairment. And I’ve just started three sentences in a row with the word “I” which is annoying. 

Wanted to add this…I wonder if it could be a corneal abrasion? https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/corneal-abrasion?sso=y
 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Spunkygal

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

And I’ve just started three sentences in a row with the word “I” which is annoying.

I don't know what's wrong with that. I do it all the time. I think! 

[Netfoot]

11 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I wonder if it could be a corneal abrasion?

It might be. But there are other symptoms that point to the return of MG. The drooping lid. The incomplete blink. The reduced mobility of lips & tongue. The difficulty swallowing. Inability to whistle. The biting of my tongue. And also the unsteady walk, the wandering off course, the bumping into things and the loss of balance. 

Without even knowing about half of these (because I have not had a chance to talk to her about it), Dr. K. is strongly of the opinion that it's MG. And I've been thinking the same thing myself. 

But maybe it isn't. Maybe it is something less troublesome, and we can come up with a simple solution. I certainly hope that is the case.

[Netfoot]

Garden Patrol over, I'm now lying in bed listening to music (21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson). But I have not had my shower yet, and Mo is off doing his own thing. 

My eyes have given me virtually no trouble all day and I hope I'm not putting goat-mouth on them by saying so! Mind you, I have not been out in the sun at all so I'm sure that's a factor. Still got a disquieting distinction in my lips which was most evident when eating spaghetti for lunch, or drinking tea. I was able to eat and drink but with an unusual feeling of lack of control. You know spaghetti usually requires some skill to get it slurped down and sent on it's way with appropriate wriggling of tongue and pursing of lips...

Oooo! 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago! A song that has left many a listener confused as to what the line means. I've always taken it to mean the time of "Twenty-five (or -six) to four (AM)" and I believe the original author has confirmed this. In any event it is a song that most people will sing along to, even if they are at a loss to explain the words coming out of their mouths.

Yes, so spaghetti & tuna fish with onions & garlic for lunch and I enjoyed it so much I forgot to leave any for Mo. Dinner was Eclipse crackers with corned beef and mayo. And Mo extracted payment in full, getting not only his share of the crackers & bully, but a few small pieces of bully by themselves.  There is just enough bully left to make a small pot of vegetable soup tomorrow. You may ask what bully beef is doing in vegetable soup, but let's face it. All vegetarian dishes can be improved by the addition of bully beef, bacon or chicken chunks. 😁 Salt kine does wonders as well!

Blood sugar this morning was only 4.2 which is much lower than I expected, given that I ate lots of bread and drank plenty of sweet tea yesterday. That's encouraging. 

Baby Mo just came in and demanded plenty of tummy tickles. And when I thought he'd had enough, he draped himself over me and chewed my hand to make sure I understand that he hadn't had enough!

Currently he is at the bottom of the bed rubbing his back on my shin and alternately chewing a bottle and my left foot. Oh, wait! He's looking out the window... now he's gone.

We are not supposed to discuss politics here, do I won't I'll just say that from the news I'm getting, things are shaping up to be a battle between the incensed and the insane. It's the same all over the globe. Who do I side with? Well, they're all scum I wouldn't allow in my house, but I'm with the ones who will make my life a little easier. Who will make it easier, not promise to make it easier. Especially when past promises have not been kept.

You guys have an election coming up. The process takes almost a year and couldn't be made more complicated without including a talent show or a swimsuit competition. Thank goodness our election process takes a maximum of 6 weeks from the government calling the election to polling day. Often less. And the results are known late that might or early the next morning, with the new government taking the reigns of power immediately. None of this six week wait nonsense!

Anyway, time for my shower, a little perusal of my book, then sleep. 

Mo's back...

[Netfoot]

After a dry day, a sudden, heavy shower of rain fell around 9:30, just as I was about to embark on Garden Patrol. Mo ran out and got damp, of course. I sat outside in the living room and heard all sorts of yelps and other noises coming from the bedroom. I went to investigate and there was Mo, very tousled and rolling about on the foot of the bed to dry off. I leant over to see exactly how wet he was, so he leapt to his feet, head-butting me mightily, under the chin. 

When the downpour ended (which took about half an hour) we went out to do our Patrol. There was much water flowing about in the driveway, on the grass and on the concrete walk that borders the house. A light sprinkle persisted, so we did not dilly, nor did we dally, and soon we were back inside. I drank a cup of tea (almost out of tea bags, so better enjoy while I can) and thence to bed to write this post.

Can't Get This Stuff No More by Van Halen. One of two new songs recorded specifically for their "Best Of - Volume 1", the tracks feature vocals by former band member David Lee Roth, who was invited back for the occasion. It's a bit cheeky to introduce a new track on a "best of" album, but it's a great track, and really suits DLR's voice. And it was probably a clever move from a commercial PoV as well. Fans who already owned all the band's albums now had a reason to get the album, because the new tracks obviously weren't already in their collection. 

Made vegetable soup/stew with corned beef, potato, carrot, cabbage, black beans and seasoned with garlic and some of my few remaining red pepper flakes. It was tasty but I chopped the cabbage too coarse, and had difficulty managing it with my misbehaving mouth. That didn't stop me eating the leftovers for dinner!

A second day in a row with no trouble from my eyes. Mind you I didn't go out into bright sunlight at all, but I think that's encouraging. So I will try to go job-hunting tomorrow. Getting a job is an urgent priority seeing as there is hardly anything in the bank and no income. This series of medical issues could not have come at a worse time. But maybe I can handle the sun tomorrow.

Mom has just arrived. I only knew he had joined me because he started kissing my toes. Buddy and Dotty would jump into bed and if I was not looking in that direction I would still know they had come or gone or even moved to a new position by the feel of their footsteps on the mattress. But Mo is an absolute ninja. He can come and go without the slightest feeling reaching me through the mattress. Sometimes like just now, I'm surprised to learn he is there, and sometimes I'm surprised to discover he's gone. He came and gave me a cuddle just now 

And has now taken up a position at the foot of the bed.

I still need to lock up and then I will read a bit before turning out the lights. 

Earlier this evening, I dropped a utility knife I was using. It bounced off my left ankle on its way to the ground. I picked it up and carried on with what I was doing. A few seconds later, something told me to look down. There was blood everywhere! My shoe was filling up and there were pools and puddles on the floor... I'll post a photo but I will Spoiler Tag it so as not to distress the faint-of-heart. 

The falling knife had made a tiny puncture in my ankle (maybe ¼ inch?) and the blood was pouring out! I grabbed up a piece of tissue and put pressure on the puncture but it just kept bleeding. This went on for several minutes, and I was starting to wonder what to do next! No family, can't hold my ankle and drive myself to the hospital Accident & Emergency. I was just starting to get worried when after about 10 minutes the bleeding began to abate. Another five minutes and I was able to fashion a fresh tissue pad and hold it over the puncture with masking tape. (Fortunately, both of these were within reach of where I was sitting.) 

I'm curious to know what's under that masking tape right now, but I'm not going to peep right now. Instead I will reinforce the tape with a strip that goes right around the ankle - not tonight too tight - to keep everything in place during the night. I will have a look in the morning. But I will have all my proper supplies to hand before I take the bandage off. (Mo is demanding tummy rubs and kicking me in the nuts when I don't rub to his satisfaction!)

Ok, let me attempt to post a bloody awful photo...

Spoiler

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

That’s, uh, not good. Do you have anything to disinfect it with when you take the tape off?

[Netfoot]

In bed with Mo, but I suspect he will be to and fro for a while! After a dry day we did our Garden Patrol without incident, except I noticed the flickering light at the top of the utility pole nearby. It no longer flickers, but is now solidly illuminated all the time.

More accurately, I seem to be seeing brief flickers in the brightness of the light or momentary reductions in the intensity, but the light is never off. What is probably happening is that the light is flickering on & of but the rate and/or mark space ratio is so high that it appears to be solidly on. One of these days I am going to go out and get s photo of the pole number and then call it in. I expect if it gets worse there will be a thundering detonation one night and the power will go out in my neighborhood as transformer shrapnel rains down!

As I'm checking lights in the sky, I notice I've got a bit of double vision going on. Distant lights, stars, the moon, in fact just about anything. But double vision is normally caused by the images from your two eyes not syncing up in your brain. I still have double vision, even if I cover one eye. I have no idea how that's possible! Now I'm not talking about two Mozie's, one on each side of the room. I just mean a ghostly image of the moon (for example) overlapping the main image with a tiny offset.

Took the tape off my ankle this morning and the little tissue pad fell off. It wasn't stuck to the wound and there was no "pull" when it came off. A little bead of blood immediately escaped the tiny cut (after 12 hours!) And a fresh tissue was used to mop it up. Another drop followed and was also soaked up. But within a minute the flow stopped an I've had no more trouble with it today.

I've been tired again today, and I nodded off twice between morning meds at 8:00 and 10:30 when I finally brewed myself a cuppa. Will stop the Histal tablets for the next few days. Histal does make you drowsy, but I never thought it would be so effective at this. 

For lunch I cooked a large pot of white rice and tuna. That was it. I ate half then, and stir-fried the remainder with an egg for dinner. Neither a spectacular meal, but a lazy man's meal for sure. 

Listening to Pinball Wizard by Elton John, performed for The Who's concept album Tommy. Or, more correctly, for the soundtrack of the movie, Tommy. Not familiar with the movie? Well, it is pushing 50 years old now! Directed by Ken Russell and featuring an ensemble cast, it's weird with a beard but the music is worth a listen if you like music from that period, and there are several guest artists (like Elton). Key brain-boggling scene: Ann-Margaret covered in baked beans...

Having now brought Ken Russell to mind, I must try and obtain a copy of a movie I say years ago and have never seen or heard of since, probably because it was not well reviewed. Called "Aria" and described by WP thusly: "A 1987 British anthology film that consists of ten short films by ten different directors, each showing the director's choice of visual accompaniment to one or more operatic arias." Ken Russel was one of the directors.

My book is almost at a conclusion so I will end here and read a while. I will fetch Mo in awhile - assuming he does not come in of his own volition - and then try to get some sleep.

Another day with negligible issues with my eyes.....

[Netfoot]

Check out this YT video:

Two very popular fish consumed in this island.  If ever you're here and someone offers you dolphin to eat, don't freak out. That's the local name for the fish shown here., proper name dorado or mahi-mahi.

[illdoc]

20 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I still have double vision, even if I cover one eye. I have no idea how that's possible!

From Google: Monocular diplopia is double vision that occurs only in one eye or only when one eye is open. Common causes of monocular double vision include refractive error, a change in the shape of the eye, which causes vision to become distorted, or the early stages of a cataract, a clouding of the eye's lens.

 

[Netfoot]

2 minutes ago, illdoc said:

From Google: Monocular diplopia is double vision that occurs only in one eye or only when one eye is open. Common causes of monocular double vision include refractive error, a change in the shape of the eye, which causes vision to become distorted, or the early stages of a cataract, a clouding of the eye's lens.

Wow! More good news!

Square eyeballs and cataracts.  😵

LOL! Thanks for the info. The news is not good, but the information is welcome.

[Netfoot]

Arrrrgghhh!

This damned mobile editor has eaten a lengthy post, not once but twice!

Ok. Take Three:

Was all dressed to go job hunting this morning and started to tell Mo he'd have to look after himself for a while, when I realized I was talking like Elmer Fudd And Daffy, all rolled into one. I immediately went over to see Dr. Kristi without sn appointment to talk at her for a minute so she would know what I was talking about in any later conversations. She promptly gave me the third degree and the speaking in cartoon plus other symptoms convinced her all the more that the MG is coming back.

Dr. K. is a generalist, not a neurologist. But since I can't afford to go back to Dr. Scrooge McDuck, she will have to give me a referral to QEH and we know how that goes, right?

But between now and the end of next year when I finally get to see the neurologist st QEH, I can't just do nothing, right? Do So she gave me a prescription for steroids, which was what I got started on way back when. And she is sending an email to Dr. McDuck to see if he can recommend better drug therapy that can hold me until I see the QEH guy. (Who is, I believe, actually a gal, but let us not digress.)

So, I'm on prednisolone. Again. And considering that Dr. McDuck once charged me $180 to tell me over the phone that because we were in the middle of the CV19 lockdown it was OK for me to skip my monthly appointment.... I doubt he is going to be very helpful. But we will see what we will (or won't) see 

I am saving this here and will continue in another post because I will not tolerate this editor eating the post for a third time!

Edited November 29, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Continuing right on: I took a dose of prednisolone and after a short while, cartoon-speak went away. So I proceeded with my hunt for a job.

Things don't look good. Most of the businesses I visited had empty reception desks. Companies are not looking to hire, rather they are divesting themselves of employees they can do without.

Anyhow, I spoke to whoever would listen and filled out several application forms, and attached my abbreviated CV. One fellow told me to take the form away, fill it out and email it back in PDF format! Hmmm. And several others told me to email the CV to "corporate", and gave me an address. One or two gave me a form to fill in and return by hand, which I will do tomorrow. 

One place said "We're not hiring, but try upstairs!" The folks up there apparently make commercial and industrial tents and awnings. The sort of thing that's 100' long and 75' wide, held in place with steel hawser. Sounds interesting. I went up and ended up going in to see the boss. We sat, and I began to explain why I was there... and Elmer/Daffy were back!

It was a terrible experience. I immediately apologized for my voice and explained I didn't normally talk that way, and was consulting a doctor and taking medication to rectify the situation. Naturally, there was no job opening for the Cartoon guy...

Oh well. I can visit more places tomorrow. But in passing, while my eyes gave nothing like the trouble they did going for my new ID card last week (I think?) They were quite painful to drive with, and excruciating, when I had to get out of the shade of the parked car and walk over to the building. Most such trips were made with my eyes screwed firmly shut 90% of the time, going on autopilot with periodic blinks open to course-correct.

Anyway, it may be difficult and actually painful, but I'm doing the best I can. 

Came home and had lunch at 4:00, thereby alleviating the need for dinner. Penne with a sauce made from corned beef, onions and black beans. 

I Love You by Climax Blues Band. This band had a revolving door lineup so I never was a fan. But this song was one of their biggest hits and a personal favourite of mind from it's release. That was in the early 80s, so you're talking 40+ years, now. And I wasn't really into that type of soft rock music at the time! But for some reason the song resonated big with with me. 

Dr. Kristi sent a long cardboard for Mo to play with. It's about 1½” in diameter and a little under 2' from end to end. Mo looks at it with deep suspicion. The mistake I made was to try and give it to him. I should have made it plain it was not for him and told him to leave it alone. He would have moved heaven & earth to steal it ASAP, after that!

I finished my Terry Pratchett book last night. Got to dig out another book of some sort and start reading that. So, I guess I will go do that now, and get s chapter in before I close my eyes.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Arrrggghhhh!

It ate another post! A mercifully brief one, but still.

Went out this morning to photograph the number of the pole with the flashing red light. 

 

Now thinking the flashes are coming from that little box on the wire and not the pole at all. 

I will still report it in the morning but what ever the doohickey is, I suspect it is not as much of a risk as a transformer. There is no transformer up that pole, but in the dark of a Garden Patrol, I could not see that 

You wouldn't believe how painful it was to stare up into a sunny sky to take this picture and the other one showing the pole number!

Yes, it's 4:30 and I can't get to sleep no matter how hard I try. Maybe I shouldn't have stopped the Histal after all!

[luv2lurk]

@Netfoot Do you like children? And do stores hire "Santas" over the holiday? I am thinking you would make a perfect one. Just think of it - a Jolly red suit, some extra padding and sit in a chair all day 😀

[Netfoot]

27 minutes ago, luv2lurk said:

Do you like children?

I like them well enough. Especially if you can tell their parents to take them away when they get annoying.... 

I've thought of the Santa gig. I don't have a suitable red suit, but I should be able to find one if I had to.

I believe the secret to Santa-ing is to have a separate chair for the kids to sit in. You don't want a host of kids sitting in your lap because one of them is guaranteed to pee!

6:15 and bright sunshine but I still can't get to sleep.

[andidante]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Continuing right on: I took a dose of prednisolone and after a short while, cartoon-speak went away. So I proceeded with my hunt for a job.

Things don't look good. Most of the businesses I visited had empty reception desks. Companies are not looking to hire, rather they are divesting themselves of employees they can do without.

Anyhow, I spoke to whoever would listen and filled out several application forms, and attached my abbreviated CV. One fellow told me to take the form away, fill it out and email it back in PDF format! Hmmm. And several others told me to email the CV to "corporate", and gave me an address. One or two gave me a form to fill in and return by hand, which I will do tomorrow. 

One place said "We're not hiring, but try upstairs!" The folks up there apparently make commercial and industrial tents and awnings. The sort of thing that's 100' long and 75' wide, held in place with steel hawser. Sounds interesting. I went up and ended up going in to see the boss. We sat, and I began to explain why I was there... and Elmer/Daffy were back!

It was a terrible experience. I immediately apologized for my voice and explained I didn't normally talk that way, and was consulting a doctor and taking medication to rectify the situation. Naturally, there was no job opening for the Cartoon guy...

Oh well. I can visit more places tomorrow. But in passing, while my eyes gave nothing like the trouble they did going for my new ID card last week (I think?) They were quite painful to drive with, and excruciating, when I had to get out of the shade of the parked car and walk over to the building. Most such trips were made with my eyes screwed firmly shut 90% of the time, going on autopilot with periodic blinks open to course-correct.

Anyway, it may be difficult and actually painful, but I'm doing the best I can. 

Is there any kind of sunglasses or something that you could put over your glasses to help with the sun? I'm sure I am not explaining myself well! I do hope you have better luck with finding a job.

[Netfoot]

Finally got to sleep at around 7:30 and had to get up again at 8:00 for breakfast meds. Funnily enough, don't feel particularly tired right now.

Sunglasses. Would be a help, unfortunately I don't have any and can't afford to buy even the cheapest pair.

[Netfoot]

I had a piece of red herring for lunch, pulled apart between my fingers and eaten just like that, dry and salty, with the fine bones tickling my throat as they went down. Not easy to swallow, but then, neither was my dinner which was a portion of ramen noodle soup. Just couldn't get those noodles to go down without washing them down with a large swig of water. Poured the broth into a mug And had trouble drinking that as well. Lips not managing the mug very well. Same for mugs of tea, of which I've had two for the day. One mid-morning and one which I brewed up and left drawing while we went on Garden Patrol. With the ramen I had a tiny leg & thigh of chicken, smaller combined than a regular sized leg. Anyhow I fried that inexpertly and ate it. It was so tasty I retrieved a similarly tiny breast & wing from the freezer to defrost for tomorrow (maybe). 

Not a word from Dr. Kristi today. I'm pretty sure Dr. Scrooge McDuck has not (and will not) contact her with any sort of free advice. Funny how Dr. McDuck's initials are actually correct...

The red light was still burning up the pole. I did send them a message but not until mid afternoon because I forgot about it. No response email and nobody did anything so I guess they didn't get around to it today. If they even got my messages. It is shocking how many company websites have a "message us" page that leads direct to /dev/null and half the time the company don't even know it.

(The bank across the road is worse. They have a telephone system with some sort of meaning menuing system that rejects all calls to their PBX. I you know the direct number you get through. If you dial the PBX and try to enter an extension it tells you there is no such extension. Press zero for the operator and the computer voice tells you there is no operator available. This is a bank and they have not noticed that no calls are coming in? And it's been like this for months that I know about.)

Garden Patrol was somewhat weird because Mo wouldn't come on Patrol with me. He stood on the edge of the lawn and watched keenly as I made the rounds but ignored my calls and beckoning (since I can't whistle) for him to join me. Because he raised raided the garbage and retrieved the bones from that piece of chicken and ate it! Naughty little Klepto-pup! 

Now I've been told not to feed him chicken bones. Ok, well the dozens and dozens of dogs we've had around the family over the years from Lena the elderly dachshund that was a mature dog when I was born, right up to Budweiser and all the many - maybe as many as 50 or even more in between - have eaten chicken bones at every opportunity and chowed down enthusiastically and never had any issues whatsoever. But they say I have to deny the pleasure of eating chicken bones, so I put the bones in the trash instead of giving them to him. 

Anyway, he went and stole them and  then obviously was concerned I might want to give him spanx for doing so. Therefore he would not accompany me on Patrol. And the three articles of stolen clothing found on the grass might have had something to do with his reluctance, too.

Music by Gerry Rafferty and is one of his big hits: Baker Street. I like the song but I know someone who thinks it is the greatest song ever written! Which I think is a little excessive.

I started my new book which is XPD by Len Deighton. It is about a wartime treasure hoard found concealed in a mine. It's the same mine featured in a different story in the 2014 film The Monuments Men, which I'm sure you've seen. (If you have not, watch it immediately!) Anyway, when I grabbed up XPD, I thought I was grabbing something called UXB which refers to UneXploded Bombs that must be defused by men with huge balls and tiny brains. 

For some reason I am still not sleepy although I only got about 30 minutes sleep last night or early this morning, to be more accurate. But I think I will go and call (not whistle) for Mo to come in and read a page or two of XPD (eXPedient Demise, a term used to refer to political assassination) before killing the lights and grabbing some sleep. I hope.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

On 11/23/2023 at 11:09 AM, Ancaster said:

Happy unThanksgiving.

And a happy unIndependence Day to you!

[Netfoot]

Had a good night's sleep last night, interrupted only once by Mo at about ten to four. The breakfast meds alarm went at 8:00 but I just kept snoozing it until I finally got up at 10:00 instead. 

Still having trouble swallowing and speech switches back and forth between normal and cartoon with cartoon predominant.

Independence Day bank holiday and I'm at home with Mo watching cheesy sci-fi movies.

[Netfoot]

In bed with my sweet boy. Cooked some potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions and corned beef with garlic and paprika. Had a portion for lunch and the balance for dinner. Eating still remains a difficult chore. The difficulty swallowing may have two beneficial side effects. i) reducing grocery bill in a time when I have no money to buy groceries anyway. And ii) help me lose some weight.

I should have taken the opportunity when I saw Dr. Kristi a few days ago to jump on her scale and see how much weight I've put back on.

Mozie has departed. The door is still open. I took his collar off. Mo is very possessive of his collar! Very! When you take it off he becomes agitated and you have to be careful how you go about it. I release the clasp and let it fall to the ground. He will immediately lay on top of it in a very possessive manner, to make sure you don't steal it! That's when I ruffle his neck fur and chat to him. This calms him and after a few minutes he realizes his collar is not being stolen. He has just walked out of the bedroom and left the collar here on the bed beside me. He's comfortable not wearing it and no longer concerned that it will be stolen. 

Disappointment by The Cranberries. Not one of their better known songs, but I like it. The band was very successful in its day. According to Google, their music video for Zombie was the first Irish band to reach one billion views. Irish or not, a billion views is not a number to be dismissed. The number today is closer to 1½ billion views.

This post just saved itself so I am adding more as an edit.

It's late, and again I am not tired. It's been dry all day but I'm getting a rainy vibe from the breeze in the window. There was nothing to suggest rain when Mo & I did our Garden Patrol. But I would not be surprised if it began to rain soon. 

The red light is flashing on the pole still. But obviously, nobody was going to do any work today. I have not seen or heard a living soul for the entire day. Maybe someone will come and fix the problem, what ever it is. Maybe there isn't a problem and flashing lights are acceptable. If so, I hope they send me an email and tell me so, so I can stop worrying about it.

I think I will go out and pour myself a glass of milk. I only have three teabags left, so I can spare some milk. I can use the milk to lure Mo in to the house and lock up before any rain starts to fall. That way I can avoid being used as a towel. Then I will read a bit of my book before trying for sleep.

Edited December 1, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Had rice & peas with corned beef for lunch, and the remainder for dinner with a tiny piece of chicken. I fed Mo a fair amount of the chicken and put the bones where he can't get them. 

Chewing and swallowing is a real problem. Also, I was speaking quite normally this morning but the speech has deteriorated to cartoon come mid-afternoon. I wonder if it's because I'm taking my prednisolone with my breakfast med? Maybe I need a higher dose, say 10mg three times a day instead of 20mg once a day?

There was no rain last night nor today. While on Garden Patrol I noticed could see quite a few stars for a change. Orion was plainly visible with his belt and sword quite unmistakable. I'm hoping this means no rain tonight not tomorrow. I've set the alarm for 5:00 and if, when I wake up, I am not too groggy, I will go to Brighton. 

Go Down Gamblin' by BS&T is playing. It's off BS&T; 4. I think this band was great in its heydays but unfortunately their popularity waned quickly. Probably because this band changed their lineup fairly often. I've always thought this was not a good way to generate fan loyalty. Anyway, it's a shame. They're now playing God Bless The Child. 

Finally convinced Mo that he must not touch that cardboard tube. Not under any circumstances. 

Mo is a very naughty puppy. What we call "own-way". Thank goodness! Ooof! Tummy Trampoline.

I burned my finger on the pan as I was reheating the rice this evening. It has a rubber handle but there is a small piece of the handle right next to the pan itself, which is not insulated. I had the pan in my right hand and tried to transfer it to my left. Instead of putting the pan down and picking it up again, I grabbed the handle close to the pan and my finger began to sizzle. I put ice on it right away, so there is nothing to see (right now) but it is painful to touch. And I'm fairly sure a pretty water-blister is going to form in the next day or two. 

Unfortunately, Mo has decided that chomping on that very spot is the greatest of sport. I guess he either likes to see me jump or likes my high-pitched squealing. Maybe both. I'm just curious to know how he found out about that spot in the first place!

Ok, it's minutes to eleven. I will have a shower, lock the door and try to get some shut-eye. Can't stay up late if I want to get up early tomorrow. I snoozed the breakfast meds alarm this morning too, until nine!