Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

Netfoot · May 2

I sometimes wonder how Mo's brain works. I know he is intelligent. I just don't know if he thinks the same as we do. For instance, when we are in Garden Patrol

does he think that the grass in front of him is always illuminated by a spot of light by some mystical process? Does he think it's an inevitable fact of nature? Or does he realize that I always make sure he has light to see his way? It can't be the last because he is out at night all the time and no magical beam of light follows him around illuminating every step.

While patrolling tonight I spotted a huge whistling frog.

He's at least twice the size of normal and maybe three times bigger than many. I wonder what he's doing. They don't usually come out unless everything is very damp and today has been dry. Also, they come out en force and make a racket. But he appears to be the only one and there is no whistling to be heard.

Fire & Rain by James Taylor. A bittersweet song celebrating his friend and mourning that he will never see her again.

Cheese cutters for lunch. They were not great but the bread didn't actually taste nasty like the last batch. I had to put a teaspoon of pepper sauce in each one just to give it some taste. Now, admittedly the pepper isn't that hot. But I did destroy my Trinidadian-trained taste buds in '91 when I scorched the inside of my mouth. So a full teaspoon should really be too.much for me.

For dinner I cooked spaghetti and paired it with a simple sauce: olive oil, red butter, garlic powder and cilantro. Grated some NZ cheddar over the top. Simple, and nothing to introduce strange tastes. Still metallic.

Mo had chow and (of course) a good portion of my spaghetti.

Got foot cramps today. Normally, this causes my toes to be pulled down painfully and I have to stand up so my weight forces the toes up again, which usually stops the cramp. But today was different. For the first time ever, I got foot cramps while standing up! This lifted me onto my toes like some kind of ballet dancer. My weight was insufficient to overcome the cramp! Fortunately I was standing by the steps so I tiptoed onto the steps and standing on the edge of the step I was able to bend my knees and jump a few inches. When I landed with my toes on the edge of the step with my heels hanging over, the additional force from the jump overcame the cramp and all returned to normal.

I was doing some ultra-simple woodwork in the garage and discovered that if I work for 30 minutes I need 90 minutes rest to recover from the effort! As a result I'm knackered tonight. After doing the woodwork I took a shower just after dark. So I'm in bed, clean and dry, and technically I don't need another one tonight. Truly, I'm so bushed I really don't want to exert myself to even that small degree. But I feel like I would be more comfortable if I had a shower. I will decide when I get up to lock the door. I can detour to the shower easily enough, but I am honestly I feel too tired and yet think I'd be happier.

Mo is here peeking out the window one minute and curling up on the tiles the next. One thing for certain is that even if he were in a coma, he would leap up and race out the door the moment I get up.ti lock the house.

Back in 1971 I took a girl on a date to the drive-in cinema. Quite an achievement, seeing as this was three years before I acquired a driver's license. The movie was about motorcycles and bike gangs, etc. Apparently, this was a popular genre, characterized by violent gang fights and prurient sexual activity. But this particular film did poorly at the box office because it toned that stuff down considerably to make room for more character development and some actual plot. And a beautiful chopped Harley Davidson.

Anyway, I've wanted to rewatch that film for a while and I've been trying to find it online, for literally years. Finally found a grainy copy online today and watched it.

It was good to see it again. It brought back some memories. (I remember absolutely nothing about the girl except that she was a brunette.) 50+ years ago it was. It really was not a great movie. But the Harley was beautiful.

Also watched an olde Clint Eastwood flic called The Gauntlet. I first saw it when it first came out in 1977. By then I had my license but I no longer has my Austin Mini because I was studying in England. It's a typical "tough cop beats the odds" movie. I enjoyed it in '77 and again today. A spoonful of nostalgia probably helped.

Just got a WhatsApp from Heidi. It's one of what I call her "Scanning For Lifesigns" messages. I suppose it's best that I get these now and again. Better she check on me than the neighbors downwind call the cops to complain about the nasty smell. I'd like someone to come and take care of Mo sooner rather than later.

I should craft up some code that scans my blood sugar database. I post a news reading to that every 2-3 days so I should have some software monitor that and send an email if I don't post when expected. Just got to figure out a way to guarantee no false-positives.

Speaking of glucose, I'll do one in the morning. I had a mug after Garden Patrol so it will be good to compare the last "fortified" test with the "unfortified" result tomorrow.

Anyway, guess I'd better send Heidi my usual "Not dead yet" response, so I'll stop here.

andidante · May 2

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Fire & Rain by James Taylor. A bittersweet song celebrating his friend and mourning that he will never see her again.

It's one of what I call her "Scanning For Lifesigns" messages. I suppose it's best that I get these now and again. Better she check on me than the neighbors downwind call the cops to complain about the nasty smell. I'd like someone to come and take care of Mo sooner rather than later.

Anyway, guess I'd better send Heidi my usual "Not dead yet" response, so I'll stop here.

I love that song! One of his best I think along with You've got a Friend.

I am glad Heidi checks on you every so often to make sure you are ok.

Netfoot · May 3

Just made the trip from my desk to bed and it was as bad as it's ever been and worse. I nearly fell at every step. At one point I found myself staring at the floor, waiting. What for? I don't know. But obviously a little confusion crept in with the wobbles.

The two bank holidays this week have really screwed my financial planning. Cheques were deposited but still not credited to my account, pension arrived late, and generally the cash flow - which is usually pretty awful - was even worse than usual.

And now, someone who promised me a certain price for doing a job has decided he will "reassess" what he is willing to pay and let me know tomorrow. But the materials are already bought & paid for and the job is already done. So I can tell him to get stuffed and get nothing, or take what ever he says and settle for that. Now, "reassess" doesn't mean down. It could be up, but I think that unlikely. We will see.

Mo is here bogarting my pillows. I have not showered but I am not eager to get back out of this bed in case the wobblies returns.

My little man has a lesion on his foot and I have no idea where it came from. He is a playful youth and I guess scrapes and bruises are par for the course. I just wish he would avoid injury better. Even minor injuries like this one. And that when he got himself a nice, new scrap or cut, that he would come and show me.

I remember once when he was a puppy, Dotty stood on a pin. It stuck into a toe on one of his rear feet. He came to me and held the foot out for my inspection. I saw the pin and promptly removed it. If Mo would do likewise, I would be able to administer what ever I thought appropriate. BNT powder, ointment, or a trip to the vet, even.

Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed. I don't really like Lou Reed. He was one of that bunch that you were supposed to like. Andy Warhol, Velvet Underground & Nico... even Dylan. But while some of these were never my favourites, some of their stuff is worth listening to every now and again.

I once read somewhere that you should "Listen to music you don't like for 15 minutes every day." While I don't practice this daily by any means, I can say that I've had tracks, albums and musicians I didn't like become favourites over time. It has not happened often, but it has happened.

Wow. Ninja Mo, who was lying right next to me in bed has vanished. I twisted around to give his back a stroke and he wasn't there! He is extremely light-footed. He can appear just as unexpectedly as he can vanish.

I had tasteless egg & cheese cutters for lunch and ramen noodles for dinner. Mo had chow and tax on the cutters. He didn't get any tax on the ramen. I was going to cook a vegetable stew or a sweet rice for us to share for dinner, but Mo came along and demanded food early so he had to settle for chow. And I decided not to cook the sweet rice for me alone.

Oh, by the way, "unfortified" glucose test this morning resulted in a 6.0 mmol/L result. Maybe I should return to the full dose of Gliclazide. I stopped it, then I went back to half dose (all with Dr.Kristi's approval) but perhaps it's time to return to "normal."

Still no sign of Mo, but I will stop here and read until he puts in an appearance.

We need to do some shopping. There are shortages in the kitchen. Maybe tomorrow. Yes, better him tomorrow - the weekend is upon us!

Netfoot · May 3

11 hours ago, Netfoot said:

And now, someone who promised me a certain price for doing a job has decided he will "reassess" what he is willing to pay and let me know tomorrow.

I worry too much. We initially discussed $20-$25 per piece and he just came and paid me $22.85 each. So, I was completely wrong with my suspicions.

Netfoot · May 4

Bad spell on the way to bed again tonight. It's getting worse. Nearly fell over in the passage and would have fallen into the bed if I hadn't struggled mightily to prevent it.

Had ham & cheese on sliced white with tomato for lunch. Finished with a couple of bananas. Mo had chow and tax. His dinner was also chow, but I cur raw stew beef into tiny pieces and tossed it in with the chow. A gravy of blood from the styrofoam tray and he was in heaven. I had ramen with some of the same finely cut beef boiled in with the noodles. And again, a couple bananas for desert.

Went out today, and visited the post office, the gas station, the super market and the 2nd hand book store. Was planning to go to the bank, but was so tired (doing hardly anything) I changed my mind and went straight home. Mo and I have not visited the Book Tent for ages. I think they will be open for business next Tuesday. Maybe we should pop around and say hello. Bought 5 Kg of meat scraps at the super market. Have not looked at them yet so it might be good stuff or it might be crap. Will check and bag in separate batches tomorrow when it's defrosted in the fridge overnight. I have not seen any pak choy in ages and I couldn't find any today either.

When I got home my legs went into the twitches again, from the hip down, jumping around with a mind of their own. It has passed off, now.

Watched a couple movies to pass the time today. One was Murder At 1600 which is an old Wesley Snipes movie about a murder at the Whitehouse (as should be apparent from the title). Also started Serpico which is another old movie starring Al Pacino, who plays the part of a cop who combats corruption in the force. Not finished that yet and (strangely) don't remember having seen it before, so not sure how it ends. Don't particularly like Pacino - nobody should ever be that full of themself - but It's going well so far. And it could be far worse. It could be that tosspot De Niro!

Going to read and then sleep. Had my shower already, Patrolled with Mo, drank a cup of coffee and just noticed it's past midnight!

Hammering In My Head by Garbage. I love Shirley Manson! I am so jealous of my cousin (who lives in Glasgow) who met her unexpectedly, one morning when he popped round a mate's flat.

So yeh, time to go!

andidante · May 4

11 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Watched a couple movies to pass the time today. One was Murder At 1600 which is an old Wesley Snipes movie about a murder at the Whitehouse (as should be apparent from the title). Also started Serpico which is another old movie starring Al Pacino, who plays the part of a cop who combats corruption in the force. Not finished that yet and (strangely) don't remember having seen it before, so not sure how it ends. Don't particularly like Pacino - nobody should ever be that full of themself - but It's going well so far. And it could be far worse. It could be that tosspot De Niro!

I don't like DeNiro either! I have always like Pacino better. Just my opinion.

Netfoot · May 4

Just now, andidante said:

I have always like Pacino better.

If I had to pick, I would agree, but I'm not terribly fond of him either.

Netfoot · May 4

14 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Bought 5 Kg of meat scraps at the super market. Have not looked at them yet so it might be good stuff or it might be crap. Will check and bag in separate batches tomorrow when it's defrosted in the fridge overnight.

Well, they were not defrosted completely, but unfrozen sufficiently for me to pull the huge, icy block of scraps apart for individual bagging.

The $22.16 bag of scraps was mostly chicken white meat. It broke down into:

Eight bags of chicken breast chunks, each of which contained enough meat to cook a soup, stew, rice or pasta dish of 2-3 servings, with a generous amount of chicken therein.
Eight whole chicken breasts, seven of which were very large and one of a normal (medium) size.
Two steaks of medium size and (by the look of them) medium quality also.
One medium sized lean, boneless pork chop that appears to be of excellent quality.

So, not a bad haul. Individually wrapped and stored in the freezer, they can now defrosted on an as-needed basis.

Netfoot · May 5

I cut up.a couple medium to large spuds and made chips. In a separate pan, I also peeled and fried two small plantains, along with a very nice pork chop and some cubes of stew beef. Deglazed that pan to make a little gravy when the meat was ready. Mo got the beef and I got the pork. We split the chips but I bogarted the plantains. The gravy was shared between us. I really enjoyed my dinner and I think Mo did as well, because he didn't delay in polishing off his meal.

I saw gravy crystals for sale this week. I used to buy them for just over $4 a jar but then they went up to $9.99 and are now $13.99, if you can believe it!

Finished watching Serpico. Good show. Still don't think much of Pacino, but... Also watched a new movie called something like Chief Of Station. Espionage and back-stabbing spy stuff. Given the cast I expected a good show, but it was disappointingly confusing and the plot development was slow, lacking and unconvincing. Too bad.

I will test glucose levels tomorrow. I expect the numbers to be on the high side because I have not skimped in the sugary tea or the lime squash all day, and that lime squash has quite a bit of sugar to offset the sour! We will see.

I've not seen much of Mo today. He came along at meal times, of course, and several times during the day to check on me and get head-snuffles and back rubs. He took a nap curled up on the foot of the bed after lunch, and I used the opportunity to give him a good cuddly-wuddly. Naturally, he joined me on Garden Patrol and took his sweet time examining some of the tallest grass. I guess it's been warm, and he has been staying outside where it's cooler. (There is a nice little breeze freshening in the window, right now!)

But I think the problem is that he stole that plastic lunchbox he previously chewed up, and chewed the crap out of it again. He got a serious bollicking for it last time, but since it was already destroyed, I'm not thinking of giving him another bollicking over it now. But I suspect he is worried he might be in for one.

Listening to Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. The Wall is not my favourite Floyd album but this is an undeniably great track. (Not that I think The Wall is a bad album, by any means. But there are several contenders for "Best Floyd Album" to choose from and if I flip-flop between DSOTM, Shine On UCD, Wish You Were Here, etc, The Wall just never gets my pick.)

Been thinking about a book I read a while back (several times, over the years) and wondering if I can find it somewhere in the house. Still haven't found Cryptonomicon but now I'm thinking The Source by James Michener. I generally like Mitchener's books (but was strangely disappointed by his Caribbean). The Source is a cleverly written take of an archeological dig/site in the middle east. There are two threads to the narrative, told in alternating chapters. In one thread we follow the investigation of the site, and see what artifacts are discovered as the dig proceeds top-down. And what scientific deductions and conclusions are drawn from those discoveries. In the alternating chapters of the other thread we follow the history of the site as it is occupied and gradually developed by human kind, and get to observe artifacts being laid down as the centuries pass. This leads to artifacts laid down early in one thread of the book being discovered late in the other thread, while artifacts discovered early in that thread not being laid down until near the end of the book in the other thread.

I know that book is around here somewhere. Prolly holding hands with Cryptonomicon. I wonder if any one else has by chance read it?

My feet are incredibly dirty so I will have to go and give them a scrub. Because I spend a lot of my day barefoot, dirty feet are a common thing and I keep a hard bristle laundry brush in the shower for just this reason.

I'm thirsty. I keep drinking but I'm still thirsty. Tea, coffee, water, lime squash, milk - makes no difference. I drink, but my thirst is not quenched. Maybe too much salt on the chips.

Ok I will go shower and clean my footies, fetch a glass of water and see if I can entice Mo to come to bed. Then I will read awhile and lock up for the night. I'll probably have to get another glass of water when I go to lock up! 🙁

Edited May 5 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 6

Several weeks ago - months, even - the landlord stopped cutting the grass. Apparently his weed whacker broke down. Bajans would rather cut the grass with nail scissors rather than use a lawn mower, so he went out and bought a new weed whacker. He cut a little bit of the grass today and then gave up, complaining that the machine would have to go back to the store. Reason? The cut-head spins "in the wrong direction!" I never knew that the direction of rotation made any difference. Any gardeners out there who can confirm that the direction of rotation is a make/break issue when it comes to weed whackers?

Back In The USSR by the Fab Four. When this track first came out there were people who wanted them thrown in prison for being disloyal.

Froze my chicken breasts two to a ziplock bag, but left one bag of two in the fridge. Today I fetched out a breast, lay it flat on the board and sliced it horizontally into two thinner breasts. (Still plenty thick.) Breaded and fried, they went into two cutters along with tomato and lettuce. The very fact that I spent money on the smallest lettuce I could find, says a lot. The chicken cutters were delish! Well, pretty good, anyway. So I fetched out the second breast and did the same thing for dinner. Poor Mo had to settle for chow.

Took a bag of chicken chunks out to defrost for tomorrow. With potatoes, rice or short pasta. Mo will eat either of them. I could do a rice with channa, pumpkin, carrot or any combo, then a separate sauce of chicken chunks with onion and red beans... We'll see how I feel tomorrow. Also I could boil (or fry) a plantain for myself. Poor Mo rarely gets offered the plantain because I'm lickrish and tend to to keep it for myself.

Speaking of Mo, he's with me now, bogarting half the pillows. The house is locked, I am showered and it's gone midnight.

Finished my book last night. Went looking for Tactics Of Mistake by Gordon R. Dickson but can't find it so I'm settling for Niven's Ringworld. As I said, it's late and I won't dig too deep into it but a page or two will get me started on my way. Tactics is the first of the Dorsai trilogy which is part of the Childe Cycle. Once again, I know it's here somewhere because I have them all!

I have all the Ringworld novels too, and in fact read them not that long ago. But I will go with it again, nonetheless. Probably not the whole series, but the original at least.

I noticed yesterday that when I was taking my shower the cold tap was quite warm. Tonight, the same. Good breeze in the window, but I hope we aren't looking at a scorching summer like last year. Funny, it wasn't that long ago that I had to wear long pants, long sleeves, socks, gloves and a "buff" around my face to sleep because it was so cold at night. Then, I was suffering from heatstroke 3-4 days a week. Don't understand it but prolly something to do with Reproductive Justice.

Baby wants his tummy rubbed... Better go and satisfy his demands.....

Tummy needs a rubbin'...

andidante · May 6

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Several weeks ago - months, even - the landlord stopped cutting the grass. Apparently his weed whacker broke down. Bajans would rather cut the grass with nail scissors rather than use a lawn mower, so he went out and bought a new weed whacker. He cut a little bit of the grass today and then gave up, complaining that the machine would have to go back to the store. Reason? The cut-head spins "in the wrong direction!" I never knew that the direction of rotation made any difference. Any gardeners out there who can confirm that the direction of rotation is a make/break issue when it comes to weed whackers?

I know nothing about weed whackers, but I am curious as to why Bajans do not like lawn mowers?

Netfoot · May 6

34 minutes ago, andidante said:

I know nothing about weed whackers, but I am curious as to why Bajans do not like lawn mowers?

Weed whackers are cool!

b4pjoe · May 6

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Weed whackers are cool!

I can't imagine mowing a whole yard with a weed whacker. It would take forever. Unless your weed whackers are different than ours. In one pass you get about 8" inches of cut with a weed whacker vs 20" to 24" with a typical push mower.

Netfoot · May 6

1 hour ago, b4pjoe said:

I can't imagine mowing a whole yard with a weed whacker.

I think it's dumb, but it's done all the time! You can hire a guy to come cut your grass and he will arrive on his bicycle with his weed whacker balanced over his shoulder.

Netfoot · May 7

But one B.G. plantain does full up de pot
It's so satisfying, 'specially when hot
Lord knows ah suffering
Since you ban B.G. plantain
It is to much to bear
Doctor, you too unfair
I will do anything
To taste a B.G. plantain
B.G Plantain -- Slinger Francisco (The Mighty Sparrow)

Netfoot · May 7

One minute past midnight! Still dripping from the shower which makes the gentle breeze in the window cool and sweet. In hope it remains so as I dry out.

Mo is curled up against my butt (no photos) and is cleaning his feet.

I had tuna sandwiches for lunch and Mo had chow with corned beef stirred in to sweeten it. For dinner I cooked some pumpkin rice and while that was boiling I got a large pan with hot oil and put a large onion through the mandolin, to soften. To this I added a good portion of chunked chicken breast meat which I cut into even sized pieces. There was room in the pan so I peeled a plantain (not a B.G. plantain, alas). When everything was ready I split the rice evenly between Mo's bowl and mine, gave him about 40% of the chicken & onion and took the remainder for myself. Again, I bogarted the plantains. It tasted pretty good and Mo quickly ate his as well.

A friend popped around to deliver something this afternoon. I have not concealed that I have medical issues from any of them but I've not stressed how bad it can get. (I've saved that pleasure for you!) Anyway, he was standing at the gate for several minutes before I realized he was there so I ran out to greet him and not keep him waiting. I nearly fell down several times between door and gate, grabbing onto what ever was handy to stay upright. My friend observed it all. "Wow! Does that happen often?" It happens every day, 20 times a day, says I. He departed with a sobered expression on his face.

But fear not! I made an appointment to see Dr. Kristi on Wednesday morning. We will do the follow-up PT/INR, I will ask if she can write QEH prescriptions (which I'm fairly certain she can't), ask if she can get Dr. Jacinto to produce a prescription to cover the period from now until our next scheduled visit and try to get copies of the 10 blood test results done at Enmore last month, and hopefully see if Dr. Kristi can suggest possible causes for the wobblies I've been feeling these several months.

Because they are getting worse. Normally they kick in if I move from lying or sitting to standing. But twice in the last two nights I got a case of the wobbles just by rolling over in bed. I lie on my left to use the phone but roll onto my right to read. And just rolling over now causes me to go all loopy-headed.

Going to take Mo to see the ladies in the Book Tent tomorrow. Actually going to buy a tin opener but this will be a good opportunity to touch base with them.

Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman by The Tubes. It all happened when they parked the car down at Three Mile Point.

I've just noticed that a track on this phone has the wrong cover artwork thumbnail embedded. If there is one such error in my collection, there are probably more than one. Given the thousands of tracks in my collection there is no way I'm going to check them by hand. It looks like a job for (roll drums) software!

My collection consists of artist folders containing album folders. Each album folder contains the music files and the cover artwork image. The image artwork is also (inefficiently) embedded in each track because some music players are broken. I should be able to write a script to iterate through each track, extract the image embedded therein and compare it with the image file in the album folder. If the two don't match, I can replace the embedded thumbnail with the reference image in the album folder, and my problem will go away.

Unless the error is with the reference image itself, in which case... I will have to get clever.

Anyway, I am yawning and Mo is tucked up beside me, bogarting the pillows as usual. Will read a little bit more of Ringworld and then take the slumber-shortcut to tomorrow.

Netfoot · May 7

Took Mo to see the Book Tent ladies and they were very pleased to see him after so many months. Left the van parked near them so they were taking times to come and play with him through the window of the van.

Also bought a tin opener. Went to five stores and found them priced from $65 down to $16+. Guess which one I bought? Yes, the $16+ one which is twice what I think a tin opener should cost. Oh, one store assumed that I wanted some sort of kitchen counter appliance with a motor in it. You know, the type that leaves you unable to feed yourself if there is a hurricane and your electricity is off for a few weeks. The type of opener that appeals to people who insist on spice jars with lazy-man flip up lids. Who sing the praises of electric stoves and then come around cap in hand when the same hurricane forces to accept that gas is better!!

We came home and I had a pack of Eclipse biscuits for lunch, with cheese and pepper sauce on them. I bought a six-pack of Eclipse and it came with a seventh "Free Pack" of biscuits, but Tri-Grain. These have an unfortunate tendency to crack and crumble more than regular, and also, regrettably taste like shit. But I feel bad throwing them out so I dutifully eat them and then bitch about it afterwards.

Mo is curled up under my chair and I love having him nearby but I am terrified that I will push the chair back one day and unknowingly roll over his beautiful, wriggly tail. (He had chow for lunch.) To tell the truth I am always super cautious when rolling this chair back from the desk because Mo has ninja-skills and can creep up on you with ease, so just because he wasn't under your chair when you checked 30 seconds ago doesn't mean he isn't under there now!

Thinking some sort of short pasta tonight, topped with chopped sausage, onion and whole-kernel corn. Maybe even some diced tomato. I mean, having bought a tin opener for over sixteen bucks, I have to open a tin or two with it, or I wont be able to sleep tonight.

See? Just checked and Mo has vanished from under the chair! Now I can roll back, go brew up a cup of coffee and take it into the bedroom when I go for a nap!

b4pjoe · May 7

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Mo is curled up under my chair and I love having him nearby but I am terrified that I will push the chair back one day and unknowingly roll over his beautiful, wriggly tail. (He had chow for lunch.) To tell the truth I am always super cautious when rolling this chair back from the desk because Mo has ninja-skills and can creep up on you with ease, so just because he wasn't under your chair when you checked 30 seconds ago doesn't mean he isn't under there now!

Good to know I am not the only one with this issue! 😁

Netfoot · May 8

Cooked dinner as planned. Pasta spirals (there is prolly a formal name I don't know) topped with chopped sausage, onion and kernel corn. Taste pretty good to someone whose taste buds are only semi- functional. Mo had no trouble either.

So it's four minutes to midnight and I'm bathed and in bed. Left Mo sleeping on the floor outside but he will move around as suits him. The door is still open so I will pop out soon and lock up.

Modestly cool breeze in the window tonight again. I noticed something this last few days when showering. I have a hot and cold tap and I twiddle them to adjust flow and temperature to taste. I normally finish my shower by shutting down the hot tap. The spray cools and I end up finishing my shower with a brief cold-only sluice. But recently I will shut off the hot tap and find myself double checking I fully closed it because the cold tap is sorta lukewarm. Don't particularly like this development...

What Is And What Should Never Be from Led Zeppelin II. I guess I'm a child of my time, but these classic tracks from classic rock bands are hard to beat.

Oh, BTW, the new can opener worked beautifully. As I expected it to, seeing as it is brand new. But it's one of the butterfly type with a Teflon bushing that surrounds the working mechanism. That bushing will wear out quick enough, so it only remains to be seen how long it lasts on the cheapest opener available on the island...

The breeze in the window is fading...

Dr. Kristi tomorrow morning. Got to have that follow-up PT/INR to see if the warfarin needs tweaking again. And maybe she can suggest a cause for the wobblies. Not that I can actually do anything about it, mind you.

Mentioned something about Teflon earlier. Watched a movie called Dark Waters, about a suit brought against Dupont for dumping industrial waste byproducts from Teflon production in a rural community for 45 years or something like that, despite being fully aware that the stuff was deadly. Something like 70,000 people were affected. Dupont was required to pay damages. An amount that worked out as three days profit on their Teflon sales...

Well, time to lock up and get some shut-eye. I'm feeling a bit tired and unfortunately a little refluxy as well. I have built up a pyramid of pillows & cushions and will sleep on it tonight without (I hope) needing to take a Nexium.

Since I've Been Loving You. My favourite LZ track of all. Perfect timing.

Edited May 8 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 8

I have an arrhythmia that is brought on by stress. We've known about it since 1991. The more stress the more the arrhythmia kicks in. If it gets too bad, I actually start to feel poorly. A few years ago I was highly stressed and was feeling badly. Dr. Kristi sent me to see a cardiologist who stuck me on a whole bunch of heart medication which I never did think I needed. I'm still taking that stuff years later, even though I haven't seen the cardiologist for years.

Went to see Dr. K. this morning. Blood pressure on the low side. She diagnosed "Postural Hypotension" which is low blood pressure due to changes in posture. This can cause the wobblies. So, we are halving the dosages of those meds that could cause this. Hopefully the wobblies will improve and if not, we will further reduce those meds to see if we can get that to happen.

Dr. K. came out to the van and chatted with Mo for 5 minutes. He was thrilled to see her. (She is his godmother.) She wanted to know why I didn't just bring him into the clinic. I explained that the place would be a shambles in under two minutes, with people fleeing to safety by helicopter!

Anyway, I see her in 10 days for her to check on the BP.

This morning the glucose was 6.0 mmol/L again. I am on a diabetic medicine because the steroids elevate blood sugar. But then we reduced the dose to half. Now I'm back to normal and hopefully the glucose levels will stabilize in the mid- to low end of the acceptable range, instead of dithering around at and above the high end.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, hopefully with a few changes to dosages, things can be steered back in the direction of normalcy. Time will tell.

TAR tonight! Hopefully with more interesting goings on than last week's "who follows who" drama.

Edited May 8 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 8

By the way, as a first step towards confirming that the embedded album artwork in my music files is correct, I wanted to confirm that the folder-level artwork was correct. To facilitate this, I wrote a quick script to display all the folder artwork in 30x30 pixel size on the screen of my desktop. (When I looked at them I increased the image sizes to make them easier to examine.)

I wish I were clever enough to have the individual images reordered so as to produce an overall mosaic image of something. Like Mo. Or to recreate one selected album cover by using all the others in a mosaic layout.

Anyway, it appears that the folder level album art is correct.

Edited May 8 by Netfoot

andidante · May 8

7 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I have an arrhythmia that is brought on by stress. We've known about it since 1991. The more stress the more the arrhythmia kicks in. If it gets too bad, I actually start to feel poorly. A few years ago I was highly stressed and was feeling badly. Dr. Kristi sent me to see a cardiologist who stuck me on a whole bunch of heart medication which I never did think I needed. I'm still taking that stuff years later, even though I haven't seen the cardiologist for years.

Went to see Dr. K. this morning. Blood pressure on the low side. She diagnosed "Postural Hypotension" which is low blood pressure due to changes in posture. This can cause the wobblies. So, we are halving the dosages of those meds that could cause this. Hopefully the wobblies will improve and if not, we will further reduce those meds to see if we can get that to happen.

Dr. K. came out to the van and chatted with Mo for 5 minutes. He was thrilled to see her. (She is his godmother.) She wanted to know why I didn't just bring him into the clinic. I explained that the place would be a shambles in under two minutes, with people fleeing to safety by helicopter!

Anyway, I see her in 10 days for her to check on the BP.

This morning the glucose was 6.0 mmol/L again. I am on a diabetic medicine because the steroids elevate blood sugar. But then we reduced the dose to half. Now I'm back to normal and hopefully the glucose levels will stabilize in the mid- to low end of the acceptable range, instead of dithering around at and above the high end.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, hopefully with a few changes to dosages, things can be steered back in the direction of normalcy. Time will tell.

TAR tonight! Hopefully with more interesting goings on than last week's "who follows who" drama.

I really hope the medication adjustment works for you!

Mr. Sparkle · May 8

4 hours ago, Netfoot said:

By the way, as a first step towards confirming that the embedded album artwork in my music files is correct, I wanted to confirm that the folder-level artwork was correct. To facilitate this, I wrote a quick script to display all the folder artwork in 30x30 pixel size on the screen of my desktop. (When I looked at them I increased the image sizes to make them easier to examine.)

I wish I were clever enough to have the individual images reordered so as to produce an overall mosaic image of something. Like Mo. Or to recreate one selected album cover by using all the others in a mosaic layout.

Anyway, it appears that the folder level album art is correct.

I enjoyed scanning through these to see which ones I recognized (and owned.) Much easier on my work computer than this little laptop.

Netfoot · May 9

5 hours ago, Mr. Sparkle said:

I enjoyed scanning through these to see which ones I recognized (and owned.) Much easier on my work computer than this little laptop.

When I used it the images were much larger and easier to see. And hovering the mouse popped up a tool-tip giving artist & album name. But I reduced image size so as to get them all in one image.

Ok so I'm all buttoned up in bed, listening to Special Cases by Massive Attack. Sinéad O'Connor is featured as a guest vocalist on this track - guest vocalists are frequently appear on Massive Attack albums. I can think of Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl) and Elizabeth Frasier (Cocteau Twins) right off the top of my head.

I'm feeling much better today. Well, to tell the truth, I feel exactly the same but a visit to Dr. Kristi..... Most people get anxious when they go to the doctor. There is even a condition called "White-coat Hypertension" where your blood pressure increases at the very sight of the doctor. Dr. K. has the opposite effect on me. As soon as I see her I feel better. But I think the fact that she had made a reasoned deduction as to the cause of the wobblies and we have implemented steps to solve that problem allowed to feel better tonight, despite having the same wobblies on the way to bed.

Last night I had a touch of reflux and didn't sleep well. It never got so bad as to make me get up and take a Nexium but I am feeling a little refluxy again so I've taken one and hopefully that will ameliorate the issue.

Dinner was left over pasta fro last night. I added some tomato and a few spices. Was going to add curry powder but couldn't find it. Not sure why. It only lives one place in the fridge.

I paid electricity & telephone bills on Sunday. I received a new electric bill and a new telephone bill today. Keeping one's head above water can be surprisingly difficult sometimes.

Mo was here with me a while back but has retired under the bed. Partially.

I'm sure he will be moving around periodically, once the light goes off. He was so pleased when Dr. K. came out to the van and paid him some attention this morning! My sweet baby boy.

Anyway, it's 1:30 in the morning so if I plan to get any sleep at all before the Part Panther Pup wakes me up to open the door foreday morning, I'd better consider getting to sleep now!

Netfoot · May 9

Put two chicken breasts to defrost yesterday. Cooked both of them this lunchtime, and reserved one for making a chicken cutter for my dinner tonight. It was plump enough that I could have sliced it horizontally to make two cutters but I only got the one salt bread so it will be a single, fat cutter for dinner. (I expect Mo will get some of that chicken as well.)

I fried up a big pile of chips. I'm not good at making chips but I think I'm getting better at it. I used a bucket full of oil in the process. While the ~~chops~~ chips were frying I also popped in a plantain to fry as well.

When the chicken defrosts in its Ziploc bag, I take it out and bread it in a home made coating. The bag ends up with an oily, fatty, chickeny liquid in it. I pour this into the hot oil that I'm cooking the chicken in and it quickly fries up into a crispy, crunchy, tasty chicken treat. I added this to Mo's lunch, which was simply chow. Naturally, He ate that first.

So I enjoyed a fried chicken breast with a pile of chips and a fried plantain for my lunch and honestly, if someone came along and stuck a second plate of the same in front of me now, I would go for it in a flash.

Now I have a bucket of dirty oil cooling in the kitchen. I have decided to bottle it, and reuse it until it is either completely black or the food cooked in it starts to taste of football boots.

Edited May 9 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 9

23 hours ago, Mr. Sparkle said:

I enjoyed scanning through these to see which ones I recognized (and owned.) Much easier on my work computer than this little laptop.

Just for you!

https://www.anjo.com/Music-Artwork.php?size=50

Kind of primitive. Change the size parameter to anything between 16 and 300 as you see fit.

Mr. Sparkle · May 10

Thank you! The pop-ups make it much easier. We have a lot of overlap, except I don't own any Chicago or Cake.

Netfoot · May 10

In bed, listening to Diary by Bread. I like this song a lot, but I've never understood how it could be. He reads her diary, misinterprets her words to mean she secretly loves him, and marries her, only to discover afterwards that it's someone else she loves. Now he hopes she can be happy with her true love...

But when he mistakenly thought she loved him and asked her to marry, why in hell did she say yes?!??

And now, Guitar Man...

Mo is cuddling up against my tummy and cleaning his back feet. I came in and found him in the bed waiting for me. I have yet to shower and obviously the door is not yet locked.

I thoroughly enjoyed my chicken cutter for dinner. Or at least as much of it as I was allowed to. A certain person just insisted on being given bits of it until I think they had just as much of it as I did. Which was a bit out of order! It was only one cutter to start with and then I was deprived of half of it! And to add insult to injury, when the last morsel had gone down his neck, he demanded more and got very stroppy when no more was forthcoming! I've taken a small (and not very good) steak out of the freezer for tomorrow. I have more spuds, so maybe steak & chips? I have two more plantains, too....

I don't want to sound too hopeful as yet, but I've noticed something today. Several times I've got up to go for a pee or to get a mug of tea, or what have you, during the course of the day. And I have not had to hold on to the wall, the door frame, the book case or anything for the whole day. It's not that I have not felt the wobblies, but that the degree of wobblies has been low enough that I could comfortably walk from my chair to the bathroom without feeling like I might fall over.

Hopefully this is really happening and not my imagination. I will wait a couple of days before I assume it's for real, but it certainly seems to be real enough so far.

It's only been one day since Dr. Kristi changed the meds! If things improve a little bit more over the next few days I will be very happy. To be honest, I'm very happy now! It's already much better than it was. She said she wanted to see me again in 10 days so I assume there is room for improvement over that time frame.

Gentle breeze in the window, but not very cooling. It will feel better when I get back from my shower with wet skin. But skin does dry off. Mo has gone out to bark at something.

2 hours ago, Mr. Sparkle said:

I don't own any Chicago or Cake.

I have quite a few Chicago albums but I listen to only a selected few. Mostly the earlier ones. Someone recommended Cake and I had the good luck to pick up a handful of 2nd hand CDs for like 25¢ each so I grabbed them when I could.

I will pick up CDs on the cheap when I can. Some of the 2nd hand book places sell used CDs at 25¢ and I nearly bought an album on Tuesday when Mo and I went to visit the Book Tent. But when I opened the jewel case, the disk looked to be in mighty poor shape, so I put it down again. There were three boxes of used CDs but mostly stuff of no interest to me or albums I already owned. The problem is, every time you go, you find yourself looking through a whole bunch of disks you've already rejected several times before. But if you don't, you might miss something new that is well worth a quarter...

Anyway, I will go and have a shower now, and then read a while before I go lock up. I could snack on something right now (seeing as half my modest dinner got stolen) but there isn't anything immediately snackable in the kitchen. I could eat Eclipse biscuits with PB&J but a pack of Eclipse is probably more than I really want. I know someone who would be happy to help me with the biscuits but I think he has enjoyed too much of what I am eating already for the night. So I will have to manage without any snack.

Right, a hot shower it is!

Edited May 10 by Netfoot

andidante · May 10

9 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I don't want to sound too hopeful as yet, but I've noticed something today. Several times I've got up to go for a pee or to get a mug of tea, or what have you, during the course of the day. And I have not had to hold on to the wall, the door frame, the book case or anything for the whole day. It's not that I have not felt the wobblies, but that the degree of wobblies has been low enough that I could comfortably walk from my chair to the bathroom without feeling like I might fall over.

Hopefully this is really happening and not my imagination. I will wait a couple of days before I assume it's for real, but it certainly seems to be real enough so far.

It's only been one day since Dr. Kristi changed the meds! If things improve a little bit more over the next few days I will be very happy. To be honest, I'm very happy now! It's already much better than it was. She said she wanted to see me again in 10 days so I assume there is room for improvement over that time frame.

This is good news! Hopefully it will continue.

Netfoot · May 10

This is the sort of thing I was talking abut earlier.

Found a service online that did this,mosaic - they want five bucks for a copy of this with the advertising removed and the tile quality up to 100%!

11 minutes ago, andidante said:

This is good news! Hopefully it will continue.

I will give it a few days to decide if it's real or if it is all a wish fulfillment hallucination on my part. But so far, so good.

Netfoot · May 11

Ok. I went out to QEH this morning hoping to run in to Dr. Jacinto and get a new prescription. I run out of MG meds next week.

I was told she would not be in until 1:00 PM so would I like to wait for three hours? Or go home and burn more gas to return later? Well, on my way in I saw about 75 people waiting at the pharmacy so it didn't make sense to insist I get my prescription immediately. I persuaded the staff to give Dr. Jacinto the info and let her leave the prescription for me at the counter. I will go collect it on Monday and hopefully fill it at the same time.

Stopped for a liter of milk on the way home and came out of the shop $88 poorer. But I did find some pak choy to buy. Have not seen any for months; bought two large bags. Plus other stuff.

Although I did not spend hours at all of the above, when I got home I was absolutely exhausted. I was so tired I had difficulty walking up the steps to my own door. I had to make 5-6 trips to slowly empty the box of groceries in the van, a few items at a time, with 10 minutes rest breaks in between.

I had planned to have a very low-quality steak with chips for lunch, but I had cheese on sliced white instead. And for dinner this evening I had more sliced white with PB&J plus banana. Was it Elvis who ate banana sandwiches? Dunno. But my brother Hamish did... Mind you, Hame was weird. He used to put a banana on his plate next to his steak. Anyway, after all that bread and sugary stuff I better test glucose in the morning.

After lunch (Mo had chow) I took a nap but I'd been getting hand cramps all through lunch and when I nodded off to sleep I was soon awakened by painful cramps rippling up and down my legs from knees to toes on both sides. And there was a lovely, cool breeze in the window - I would have really liked a chance to enjoy it. Alas, the breeze in the window tonight is far lighter and not as cool as this afternoon.

Went to bed where I found

Mo waiting. He played with me for a little while then retired to the tiles next to the bed.

So I've been very tired and suffering from weak muscles all day. No surprise - that's what Myasthenia Gravis is! But it seems to me it might have been to a greater than normal degree, I would say. (Hands still cramping. Hopefully, no leg cramps in the night, but not in the least confident.)

One good thing: the wobblies have again been mild! I've still felt a bit dizzy-headed but far less than normal. I've confidently walked around the house today without once feeling I was going to lose it and should hold on to prevent myself falling.

Death Of A Party by Blur. A song that quietly bemoans the end of the BritPop scene of the day - a scene pretty much created by Blur in the first place. The constant partying, alcohol, drug abuse, unsafe sexual practices, all leading to the physical, mental and emotional breakdown of those who rode the top of the BritPop wave. People like Damon Albarn (lead singer) himself.

My legs/feet are starting to cramp. Not bad, but not a good sign. The last time this happened I fought it from 10:00 PM until 6:00 next morning before I gave up.

Ringworld is going well. Mind you, I've read it many times in the past. But it isn't like I've memorized it. The characters are fun. Humans Teela Brown & Louis Wu, the Kzin Speaker-with-Animals and of course, cowardly/crazy Pierson's Puppeteer Nessus. I'm just under the halfway point in the book. If you know the story, they've just left the wreck of the Lying Bastard and are proceeding in the direction of the nearest rim-wall.

Typical Larry Niven (author). He presents us with the ring, the most gigantic engineering structure and alien artifact in the universe (at least until someone in some other book discovers a Dyson sphere), and leaves nobody to give any exposition or explanation on it.

Argh! Legs, feet & toes really starting to be bothersome now.

Ok, I will stop now and make a few preparations for an painfully uncomfortable night where I will get no opportunity to sleep, to recover from the tiredness I feel from today. 😠

Edited May 11 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 12

Lukewarm water in the cold tap in the shower. But there is a cool breeze from the window on my wet skin as I lie in bed.

I'd expected last night would be a nightmare of cramps in my legs and feet. But it didn't turn out too bad. I only had to climb out of bed twice for a couple minutes to put weight on my feet to stop cramping. The remainder of the time I slept fairly soundly.

Mo is here as usual, leaning against my left foot and cleaning himself.

Today was the third day that I was able to walk around pretty much free of concerns of stumbling & falling due to wobble-head. I've been getting the wobbly feeling, but mild enough that I could confidently ignore it and walk around without having to stop and hold on. But! Twice today around lunchtime, it did get bad enough that I held on for a few seconds to steady myself and eliminate any chance of a fall. A step back? Maybe, but it was only twice over a half hour period around lunch.

Speaking of lunch, I finally had that poor quality steak,with chips. But the steak turned out to be pretty good. It wasn't very large but it was tender, with little fat, no gristle, and a very palatable flavour. The chips came out well (I told you I'm improving!) and another fried plantain rounded out the plate. Deglazed the pan and made a little gravy which also came out well. Mo taxed that steak heavily!

I had no dinner. I had defrosted sausages and was considering rice with chopped sausage, carrot, cucumber and pak choy. But I couldn't face that much effort. So then I thought I'd just fry some eggs and sausages but couldn't face that either. So no dinner tonight and instead of a mug after Garden Patrol, I had a glass of iced water.

I've put chicken chunks to defrost so tomorrow I have the choice of sausage or chicken (or both) in the rice. And I can also add cucumber and pumpkin to the list of possible ingredients. Perhaps I could cook a soup instead of a rice? If so I have some English and sweet potato I could add too. We will see what I'm up to when the time comes.

50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain by Ten Years After. This band had several (10? 12?) moderately successful albums but it's breakthrough moment came with it's absolutely iconic performance of I'm Going Home at the Woodstock festival in 1969. That 12 minute performance gave us one of the tracks that defined the music of Woodstock, and at the same time defined the band as well.

Damn it, I'm starting to get leg cramps again. Not to mention a lumpy feeling in my chest that is highly reminiscent of reflux!

Watched a movie today called The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Not bad but not really all that great. Supposedly based on the true story of the first "Special Forces" operation. But I think David Stirling and his 22 Regiment SAS might disagree.

The movie was action, interspersed with some moments that would pass for mildly humorous. There was a femme fatale on the team whose purpose I still have not divined, but apparently she took part in the original raid so I guess it's reasonable she be included in the movie. It was entertaining but I don't think it will go down as a classic.

Also tried watching Gandi but 3:11 proved too much for me.

Mo has gone off and I will need to track him down and fetch him in before I lock up. I think I'd better take a precautionary Nexium as well.

I'm out of mayonnaise. And seeing as I'm a mayoholic, I wonder if I should go buy a jar in the morning? I have red butter I could put on rice instead, and I just know that if I go to the shop I will come home with a dozen things, depleting my tiny and dwindling supply of cash.

Right. Nexium, puppy, door!

Edited May 12 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 12

No cramping during the night, thank goodness. And no reflux. The precautionary Nexium was probably a good idea.

Mo woke me at 4:30 to open the door. Then he woke me again every 15 minutes until I finally crawled out of bed at 7:30. Don't know why he had to keep waking me up. To open the door, I understand. But after that?

Naturally...

Went out to look for it and Mo was (for some reason) over the moon to see me outside. I don't know why he was so pleased to see me. I go and look for him several times a day and give him cuddles and snuffles. He comes to look for me several times a day as well.

Ok, so I will go and have a mug of tea now. Otherwise, I have no plans for the day other than to cook something for lunch. Hopefully something that will serve for dinner as well.

Netfoot · May 13

Just out of the shower. Scalding hot from the solar, and then cold-only to finish. Came into the bedroom to find:

What a handsome boy! I asked him if he would like me to get him his own pillow but he only smiled.

The landlord must have got his weed whacker issues resolved over the week because he came and cut all the bush that had grown up in the yard. No more fighting through shoulder high patches of grass on Garden Patrol!

Sausage, egg & cheese cutters for dinner. But lunch was rice with channa & pak choy, and topped with diced chicken & sausage fried with onions. Could have had beans & tomato but decided not to eat everything all at once! It tasted pretty good and Mo ate his portion speedily and polished the bowl.

Respect Yourself by The Staple Singers. One of the better known tracks from a band that was first active in the late 40s. And here comes I'll Take You There, probably better known, and certainly one of my favourites.

I watched a movie tonight called Widows. It's a heist movie about the wives of a gang that got themselves killed during their last foray. The wives decide to carry out the next heist which the gang had planned, and had left detailed notes for. It wasn't a great movie but it passed the time between dinner and Garden Patrol.

Hoping for another eventless night. Got to go to QEH tomorrow, to see if my blandishments on Friday had any effect. Hopefully, there will be a prescription waiting for me at Outpatients. Now, the pharmacy down there can easily make you wait hour's and hours, but one Friday I was there late - 4:00 with them closing at 4:30 - and I got served in about three minutes! So, should I wait until quite late tomorrow, and hope for things to be quiet? Or does that only happens on a Friday? If so, I might have to just go and wait, or risk being thrown out at 4:30 and have to go back on Tuesday!

I also have to go to Edgar Cochrane polyclinic too, as not only MG meds are running low. So I might as well make a day of it. At the polyclinic I will also see if I can wangle an appointment with some doctor and see if I can talk them into ordering regular, periodic PT/INR tests. Still waiting on the results of the one Dr. Kristi took blood for on Wednesday.

There isn't much breeze in the window tonight, and my fan seems to have lost its puff. The mesh guards front & back skim dust out of the air and over time get very clogged. I take a screwdriver to the fan, remove the screens, turn the shower on full blast and wash them clean, before putting them back on to the fan. I live on a noisy, dusty corner so the water from cleaning those screens is as black as India ink.

Having said that I live on a noisy corner, I must say that tonight, it's uncharacteristically quiet. Very little traffic - which is the source of most of the noise. Cramps willing, I should be able to sleep peacefully & undisturbed. Well, up until around 4:00, 4:30, anyway...

Took two more chicken breasts out of the freezer to defrost. Judging from last time, I should get two cutters out of each breast. So two meals at least. But with tomorrow being a mystery as to when I will be coming & going to QEH, polyclinic, etc, who knows when those cutters will be eaten? Must remember to check the fridge to see what spuds are on hand. If I'm going to make chicken cutters, I may want to fry chips as well. May need potatoes. And mayo. And a coke or two. Or three. But don't tell Dr. Kristi because I'm not supposed to drink coke. Mind you, I'm not supposed to eat much sugar either! But when I told her the only thing that has any taste is sugary stuff, she said I should go for it!

But right now, I will grab my book and read a little. I could drink a glass of water but don't want too much sloshing around in there, increasing the chance of reflux!

Where is my little baby?

Edited May 13 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 13

It's 10:03 AM. I'm at QEH, sitting in the pharmacy waiting area. There are about 100 others waiting. I have ticket 911 and they are currently serving 779. It remains to be seen how long this is going to take.

Not too long I hope. Mo is in the van. It's parked under a shady tree with the windows open and a nice breeze blowing. He has his "unspillable bowl" of water and is fairly comfortable. But he won't be happy if he has to stay there until the middle of the afternoon!

10:06 and we are at 780.

I still have to stop at Edgar Cochrane on the way home. Could have stopped there on the way out but if this exercise proves too much and I have to skip the polyclinic, I will go tomorrow. It is much closer to home than QEH so I will get that out of the way first.

But what to do while I wait? Should have brought my book. But getting forgetful. Exited the house and had to unlock to go back for my phone. Exited again and guess what? Had to unlock again, because I still didn't have my phone.

I could download the Kindle app and find something free to read, but don't want to kill the phone battery. This old phone has a soft battery so it doesn't stand up to lengthy use terribly well.

10:10 and 784.

10:38 and 801.

I've downloaded a Jules Verne book and I'm reading it in my Kindle app. Battery is 84%.

10:46 and 811. Only 100 to go. It's taken 43 minutes to move forward by 32 numbers so presumably 43 x 3 minutes (2 hours and 9 minutes) to go the next 100.

11:18 and 845. Faster than expected. So far, at least. Snoozing as best I can. Back hurting.

11:55 and 873. Been googling. Bradycardia is slow heartbeat. Under 69 per minute. Can result in a number of symptoms. All of which I'm experiencing these last few months. Will have to do some more googling to see if Bradycardia is caused by excessive Verapamil and Diovan.

11:59 and 878.

12:28 and 893. Only 18 to go. Just had "lunch". Two small bags of tasteless chips (American style) and a coke. And a boiled sweet for 25¢. It's now lunchtime, and while I don't think the pharmacists (three) are supposed to stop for lunch, things are distinctly slower right now.

12:47 and 904. Before I left home I had ramen for breakfast. Mo had chow. Not sure why we were both hungry... Maybe Mo is always hungry but I skip breakfast most mornings. I'm supposed to take my Prednisolone with my breakfast meal but the prednisolone is my breakfast meal...

12:50 and 908. I am going up front.

12:56 and I handed in my prescription. They are checking to see if my meds "are in stock." Which prolly means they aren't.

Edited May 14 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 13

1:13 PM and I'm out! With only three days worth of Pyridostigmine. Pharmacist says he has no idea when they will get more, so probably not in 3 days, since it takes over a year to get biopsy needles...

Netfoot · May 13

Home. Skipped Edgar Cochrane polyclinic. Will go there tomorrow. Bought potatoes. And cokes. And milk. And current slices, which I had for lunch. Couldn't face the kitchen to prepare something.

10:03 to 1:13 is three hours and ten minutes. And they didn't have the Pyridostigmine, which is the only reason to go to the QEH pharmacy in the first place. Everything else is available at Edgar Cochrane.

Mo was a trooper. All that time in the car and he didn't turn a hair. Now contemplating a long nap. very tired.

Netfoot · May 13

16 hours ago, Netfoot said:

And a coke or two. Or three. But don't tell Dr. Kristi because I'm not supposed to drink coke.

There can be an occasional downside to living on a small, tropical island.

WhatsApp Message from Dr. Kristi:

Her clinic is in the same parking lot as PriceLo, where I stopped on the way home to buy potatoes. And cokes. Now my arse is in a sling!

Netfoot · May 14

Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh! But I'm going to get a bollicking next Monday, when I see her. Or sooner, if I have to get a prescription before then!

Mind you, I must have been an idiot to walk past Dr. Kristi's clinic with a six-pack of cokes peeking out of the top of a cardboard box... I told her about my morning at QEH and that I was just giving myself a consolatory treat. Her response: "A treat is one."

Went out on Garden Patrol tonight and as we got to the furthest part of the garden, I felt a drop of rain. Try as I might I couldn't get Mo to hustle! But the rain actually held off - with only the occasional drop coming down - until after I was back inside. Then it all came howling down, so hard I had to pause the video I was watching because I couldn't hear a thing, even at full volume. I thought I was in for fun with a wet dog but he was lying in bed the whole time. He's gone out again now, after the rain has stopped, but I think I can still expect some wet footies, if nothing else.

I forgot to look into cleaning out the fan. Still no puff to speak of. And not much breeze in the window. Must try to remember to do that in the morning.

Old Man by Neil Young. What to say? The Y from CSN&Y, with a good catalogue of solo music. I don't pay any attention to anything he's done in recent years. Relevant back when he wrote Ohio (as in Four Dead In Ohio), but a bit of an olde farte nowadays, his back catalogue is worth listening to.

Was reading about a movie from the mid-80s: Highlander. "I am Angus McLeod of the clan MacLeod!" But I'm not much good with a sword. And definitely not an immortal... A little annoying I can't superscript the "c" properly. Somewhat of a cult classic, I was surprised to discover it made very little money when released. I think it actually lost money. Also surprised to learn that Christopher Lambert, the eponymous protagonist, didn't speak a word of English when he got the part! He had to parrot-learn his lines, and rely heavily on his dialogue coach to make himself understood. (Jackie Chan is - or at least was, initially - in the same boat when making many of his movies.) There was loads of Lambert's dialogue redone after filming, too. Sean Connery who played the part of Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez agreed to participate but only for one week.

Anyway, I was inspired to grab the movie - which came along with it's four sequels. The sequels are if I recall, all rubbishy cash-grabs. But I will probably watch the Directors Cut of the original tomorrow. If I don't spend the entire day at Edgar Cochrane.

Wet footed dog standing in my bed. He is such a good boy. He helped me with my dinner!

I had ramen for breakfast, a couple of current slices for lunch (I don't know why they call them that because I'm sure they're made with raisins instead of currents) and ramen again for dinner.

I diced some corned beef very small and threw it into the water as it boiled, along with one pac choy leaf. The stem chopped fine and the green rolled and sliced into thin ribbons. When the noodles were cooked I poured in a beaten egg which cooked almost instantly. The result was a reasonable meal which I ate with chopsticks. I used to use chopsticks when I was a student, years ago, but I've completely lost the art. Now, I eat all my ramen with chopsticks to try and relearn the skill. Nowhere good enough to try regular pasta - linguine or cavatappi. I usually finish my ramen with a regular spoon but tonight, when the remaining noodles were too small for me, I gave the balance of the meal to my little companion. There was also quite a bit of corned beef plus some of the pak choy and even a little egg, remaining in the bowl. Mozie was pleased! I could have eaten it, but it was my third meal of the day - fourth if you count chips and a coke at QEH. Which you should, if the price was anything to go by.

Tomorrow, I hope to have chicken cutters with chips.

Had one unpleasant case of the wobblies today and had to grab something. But that was when I bent down to see into the back of the bottom shelf of the fridge. Bending low never works well. Nor looking and reaching up overhead.

Anyway, I am going to read my book for a while and then switch to energy conservation mode. And I think I will start now. Mo has vanished but he will be back....

andidante · May 14

9 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh! But I'm going to get a bollicking next Monday, when I see her. Or sooner, if I have to get a prescription before then!

Mind you, I must have been an idiot to walk past Dr. Kristi's clinic with a six-pack of cokes peeking out of the top of a cardboard box... I told her about my morning at QEH and that I was just giving myself a consolatory treat. Her response: "A treat is one."

I

Hopefully she will not be too hard on you when you see her. Also I hope you can get more medication soon!

Netfoot · May 14

I used to buy Pyridostigmine from the regular pharmacy before I started getting it for free at QEH. It was on the formulary and I paid $16 & change. Now, I can't get it from QEH so I tried the pharmacy but it is no longer on the formulary. Price is now $89.55 per month. Since I can't really afford $16+ monthly.....

At the polyclinic, I said I wanted an appointment to see a doctor. The idea is to get them to do the PT/INR tests to manage the warfarin.

Next appointment available: end of October.

Netfoot · May 14

Just wandered into the bedroom to find Mo lying on the bed in the sweltering heat. I opened the window,and a lovely, cool breeze rushed in!

Tell truth, I've had belly cuttings every since lunch. I went to make chicken breast cutters and to my surprise, the defrosted chicken was not breasts, but chunks. So I fried them and made chicken chunk cutters, and chips. The cutters and the chips came out well (except I still don't have any mayo) and the only drama was the stove went off in mid-cook and I had to switch to a fresh gas cylinder in a hurry. The lunch was fine so I don't know from whence the belly cuttings, but they persist.

Anyway, I determined to enjoy some of the breeze in the window and Mo's company at the same time. Not long before I noticed the fan.

Whipped off the screens and had a look.

Clogged with dust! Not terrible but pretty bad. I know there appears to be plenty of space for the passage of air, but take my word for it, airflow is hugely reduced. And it's over the entire circular area of the fan blades as well!

To prove the point I turned on the fan with no screens and it's blowing a gale, as it should. DON'T do this at home, folks! The screens are there for a purpose which involves avoiding unpleasant outcomes when you walk nonchalantly out of the shower and pass too close to the fan while towelling your hair.

(Just had a double charlie-horse cramp along with a simultaneous cramp in my right hand. The right hand is OK now; it's the left that is cramping at the moment. And both legs are making it plain that the moment I take my weight off my feet those leg cramps are coming back. And while I wait for that to happen, I can enjoy two hip joints in spasm. Mo has run off - who can blame him, with me crying out in pain while lying in bed?)

Anyway, as soon as it's safe to do so I will give these screens a wash under the shower and try to put them back on before the little screws get lost. If they do, I will have to rely on Duct tape which will look shabby. Because I can't afford to go and buy 20 replacement screws.

Fortunately the fan blade itself is clean and doesn't need to come off and have a bath as well. When these fans get really bad, that is often necessary. It isn't hard to do - the fan just pulls off the motor shaft and pushes back on when cleaned. But the shaft has a flat spot and the hole on the fan is shaped to suit so you have to align the two to get them to go back together. Again, not really difficult, just a PITA because you can't see that well when putting the fan back on the shaft.

Anyway, after a battle on two fronts between the cramps and the karzie, I am now lying in bed drenched with sweat despite the powerful puff from the fan and the cool breeze from the window.

And now someone is harassing me via Gmail. Who are you and whaddya want?

Netfoot · May 15

Had a brief nap with cool breeze blowing on me. No more than 10 minutes but I woke feeling very much better. I just hope I'm ~~fine~~ finished with cramps for the day.

Done our Garden Patrol but I'm still sitting at the computer. Soon will pop into the shower and go straight to bed. Had scrambled eggs with tomato & cheese for dinner. Usually I start out to make an omelette and ~~and~~ end up with scrambled. But tonight I didn't even think about an omelette and went straight for scrambled. It tasted good! Mo didn't get much tax - only a little. Alas, no toast. The eggs would have been great on toast. I must really look into a toaster. Probably $100+ which is impossible, but I will look into it anyway. Just don't let me buy the cheapest, nastiest toaster in town that will be ready for the dump after only 6 slices of toast!

My book is approaching a conclusion but I don't think I will finish tonight. I am working on future reading prospects. There is a six-book series I want to read and 8 I have located five of the six. Unfortunately, the missing book is #1 in the series. Austin says he may be able to locate the missing book but he is gallivanting down the islands in a yacht again. So I will have to wait until he returns before he can check if he ~~had~~ has it.

Fan screens to be rinsed when I go in the shower. May reattach then immediately. But they will be wet. I can smack them against the wall to remove most of the droplets but I think it would be wisest to let them dry overnight before reattaching them.

I've been trying to devise a piece of software to do a wellness check but I just can't seem to get the machine to do what I want. I've tried several approaches without success.

The idea is to detect keystrokes and record the date/time of the last key press. I use the computer every/all day so if I fail to use it for a longer than usual period of time, a query should be sent to my phone. If I don't react within a reasonable time frame, then maybe it's time to advise family to check on me?

I can achieve this now, but it would result in a program running constantly on the system, checking continuously for keystrokes. Don't want to impose a permanent load on the system like that. By My computer is an old banger built a few days before Buddy and I went into lockdown in 2020 and I was forced to make some regrettable parts choices due to better parts not being available anywhere in the island at the time. So it's best not to ask it to do any more than absolutely necessary.

Anyway, time to go wash some fan screens and then read for a while. I can hear Mo quarreling about something, out by the gate. I will fetch him in after I've showered.

Edited May 15 by Netfoot

Netfoot · May 15

Good night with no cramping. Mo woke me at two minutes to four to get the door open. There must be some light in the sky before I will open up, but I didn't argue this morning. He's only small but he's loud!

The fan blew hard and the window provided lots of extra, cool breeze, leasing to a comfortable night. I didn't finish my book, but I came close. Should finish next time. Already got a book lined up to follow - one of the Jack Reacher series I've somehow manged to miss. (I like Reacher.)

Replaced the screens on the fan this morning. Even though just cleaned, they do restrict air flow over an unscreened fan. But not by much. If it were just me, I would be OK with operating the fan unscreened, because it's back from the bed and in a corner of the room I rarely go into, with things in between. But Mozey is Nozey and I would hate his sweet little nozzle getting beat up by the fan, so the screens are back on.

Spunkygal · May 15

Any talk of you and Mo having an outing at the club soon?

Netfoot · May 15

24 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Any talk of you and Mo having an outing at the club soon?

I've been thinking about it. I'd love it and Mo would be very pleased as well. I can probably scrape up the gas money, and risk the van on a longer trip.

But no sense my going if nobody else shows up. I've tried in the past to persuade the lads to commit to a trip up so that we have a good handful getting together. But nobody seems able to say definitively whether they will be going or not.

I will talk to Austin & Kevin who seem to go most frequently. Perhaps we can organize a wee BBQ or summat.

Netfoot · May 16

Yeow! Cool breeze in the window, fan puffing hard and wet skin? brrrrr!

Just hopped into bed and Mo joined me a moment later. Got to lock up, but I will get to that.

Had spaghetti with tuna for dinner. No, I didn't try chopsticks. Used them on the ramen & pak choy I had for lunch. Mo got chow but he also taxed the ramen and the spaghetti. He's looking out the window, the little darling. Prolly deciding how early tomorrow he can wake me.

Had two incidents today where the wobbly feeling struck, and it was bad enough I thought it prudent to hold on until it passed. Not sure why this is happening. Must double check my meds to ensure I have not dispensed the old dose I'm accustomed to dispensing from before Dr. Kristi reduced it last Wednesday.

I wonder if it has something to do with food. The issue, as I understood it was low blood pressure as a result of medication. There is a condition that produces the same symptoms that is low heart rate. Maybe I'm suffering a little bit of both. And I'm not sure, but it seems this happens after a mug of sweet tea. So perhaps immediate blood sugar is involved? Who knows.

Still no results from the PT/INR from a week ago. Dr. Kristi doesn't work Fridays these days so if I don't get the result tomorrow I will see her again (Monday) without having got the results as yet. I pity the lab in that case. She will fire a bazooka down that phone line.

They used to produce results by the next day. I dunno what is the problem these days.

Mo has wandered off. I am thirsty so I will get a glass of iced water when I go out to lock up. I will take my chances with reflux because I'm quite dry. Oh, he's back.

Watched Highlander today. Still a grand old flic. Also, I was following a discussion about the Kurt Russell movie Soldier so I watched that too. Otherwise, messed about on the computer and chatted online with a couple of the guys. Would have taken a nap, but got caught up in something else and by time I was free, it was really too late.

Listening to Wrapped Around Your Finger by The Police. From their Synchronicity album. I have probably told you about the time two cute girls (Fiona & Claire) invited me to go with them to a Police concert and offered me a free ticket. But I declined because my GF (a different Fiona) had just broken up with me and I was feeling down. Sometimes when I hear The Police, I remember that incident as one of the dumbest moments in my life. But it was 45 years ago, so I guess I just might get over it some day soon. Only, say, another 5-10 more years.

The Witching Hour approaches. I'd better end here and see how many pages remain in my book. Need a short piece of dowel forvsomething I want to.make. Will search around and see if I can find something suitable. If not, I will try to dredge up enough change to pop next door and buy one. Should only be a couple of bucks, but my QEH lunch from Monday pretty much dried up my wallet...

Netfoot · May 16

Good morning!

I love my puppy and I can prove it.

The proof is: he is still alive!

😤😡🤬

Netfoot · May 16

I need to figure out how to make these out of wood.

Approx. 2" wide and 1¼" high.

Weird hole size (maybe ⁷/³²" diameter?) with a ⅜" counterbore, ⅜" deep.

Netfoot · May 17

Weird day.

Very wobble-headed. And I actually fell down, which is a very rare thing, even when I'm at my worst. I fell off the steps 😮 while carrying a basket of laundry. I couldn't grab on to stop the fall because my hands were occupied. I landed on the headstock of the lathe. The basket landed on the headstock, with me holding on to the basket for dear life, at arms length. When all came to rest, I was standing on the steps, but leaning over the side at 45° and doing a push-up on the laundry basket (which somehow failed to break into a million pieces) that was leaning against the headstock of the lathe. How I extracated myself from that position is too long a story to cover. But I got through the entire incident with neither ache, pain, injury or blood loss.

Obviously, the thing to have done was to drop the basket of laundry at the first indication of a problem, and gone into self-preservation mode.

I had corned beef rice with black beans and pak choy for lunch. And plantain. Didn't taste bad. Mo got half (plus a small tax on my half) but I kept all the plantain for myself.

Later, I got a call from someone who was going away. They said they were cleaning out their refrigerator and would I like the good stuff? Obviously, yes. And most of it was good stuff, but I have to say, I am often surprised at what people spend money on. Pre-grated mozzarella? OK...

Best score was half a 30 lb. bag of chow for Mo. I usually buy 4 lbs. at a time so 15 lbs. is a lot of food for him!

Anyway, dinner was chocolate "bark" and pineapple juice. Mo got some of the new chow to taste-test and thankfully he is fine with it. Another good score was bacon-like dog treats. I think Mo would prefer a bowl of them for his meal but he won't get that lucky. I might conceal one treat in his bowl of chow every few days, if he's lucky.

Anyway, fridge packed full of stuff to the degree that I can't find anything. I think there are three small oranges in there but I've no idea where. I'd have eaten one for desert after my chocolate entrée if I could have found it....

Liontamer by faithless with Zoë Johnston on vocals. I like this band. Had to look up the guest vocalist. Apparently she is quite well known, but more for her collaboration with other musicians than for her solo work. I'm also curious about the spelling of the word Zoë. I have a niece (Heidi's baby sister) named Zöe but I'm pretty sure the umlaut is on the "O" (as shown) because that's the whole point of the umlaut in the first place? But hey, spell your name however you like.

No word from Dr. Kristi today WRT test results. The told me she wanted to see me again in 10 days, which from last Wednesday is in fact next Monday. She even said "Good! Because I'm working Mondays all day these days. So, that works out." But I've just realized that Monday is Whit Monday which is a public holiday. So I'd better remember to call Clauder tomorrow and get that sorted.

Just as I was thinking about going out on Garden Patrol, a thunderous downpour began. It was at least half an hour before it abated enough to go out, to find Mo and patrol. Only, Mo was not outside. It turns out the whole time he was lying on the end of the bed furthest from the wide-open window, where the drenching rain would be able to soak two pillows, but leave him completely dry and toasty. As soon as I realized this, I shon my torch in through the window and in a flash, I had my patrol partner at my side. But the pillows are still wet. Now, he's disappeared again. Probably outside enjoying the breeze. It's quite pleasant in bed tonight, especially with the fan augmenting the window. I expect he will show up later, as soon as he feels inclined. Or I can call him when I go to lock up.

I nearly trod on him earlier, lying on the floor in the dark and supremely confident that I would step over/around him as I went about my business. He should have been less supremely confident that I would see him in the first place! It was a close thing.

I've already had my shower and so I will read a little before calling it quits. It's already well past midnight, so it won't be long. And I guess I'd better get to it.

(Mo has just arrived. He is a lucky puppy to have been blessed with enough sweetness to offset the naughty.)

Edited May 17 by Netfoot

Sign In

Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Netfoot

Netfoot

Netfoot

Posted Images

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment