Monday, January 07, 2013

January 2013


New Years- a very nice day to start the New Year off with!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I spent much of the day on the phone jawing with family and friends.
I did my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbbells, and went for my evening walk with my backpack. A cold wind started to blow out of the northwest so I had to cut the walk short.
I posted my online journal to the Internet.
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for my evening
I just watched "The Postman" (1997) and loved it. It's kinda long, almost 3hrs! I read the book many years ago and loved that too.

Wednesday 02- fairly nice day with not a cloud in sight.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up the hill with 5 lbs, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a house in the snow.
I did my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbbells, and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I started chapter 7 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”, DNA.
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I watched episode 16 of “Voyager”. They find humans on a planet in the delta quadrant and folks from 1937 held in suspended animation including Amelia Earhart.
I practiced on my guitar.

Thursday 03- sunny, cold, but no wind= a nice day.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a girl sitting at a computer.
I did my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbbells, and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I finished chapter 7 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”, DNA and its structure.
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I worked on chapter 1 of book two editing, and completed it after my night run.
I watched episode 17 of “Voyager”. The Emergency Medical Program, the Doctor, has problems with reality when playing a holonovel in the holodeck.
I practiced on my guitar.

Friday 04- sunny but cold.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up the hill with 5 lbs around in each hand, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I urgently needed to mail a letter, so I drove the scooter down to my mailbox on Border Ave. I was lucky the mailman was still there putting letters and advertisements in the boxes where I get my mail. I handed him my letter and was off on my way back home.
Jimmy called and we yapped for a short spell. He delivers large machinery to construction sites and was out driving somewhere to make a delivery something.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: two castle towers with a gate between them.
I did my stretches, lifted 10 lbs dumbbells, and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I started and completed chapter 8 of “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”, Lipids: their structure and functions.
I did my stretches, lifted 20 lbs dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I worked on chapter 2 of book two editing and clarifying some rough spots here and there.
I watched episode 18 of “Voyager”. Kes goes into premature mating season for her species caused by an anomaly in close vicinity of Voyager.


Saturday 05- a very sunny and clear day with a high of 47.
I did my stretches. I made a decision that I am going to start taking Saturdays as well as my Sundays off from exercising so that I will have two days to let my body rest and catch up. It will give me more time to do other work around my home that needs doing. My exercising takes around two hours a day to complete; that includes my evening walks and night runs along with my routine I do in the mornings.
I cleaned the kitchen very well. I also worked in the yard.
I worked on the Harley that won’t start, trying to figure out if I have a bad battery. I put the battery on a charger and will check it tomorrow to see if it will hold a charge.
I watched episode 19 of “Voyager”, they encounter beings that live in a forcefield in space that warps spacetime and the ship; everyone can’t find their way inside because the ship keeps changing.

Sunday 06- another nice sunny day with temps all the way into the low 50s.
I did my stretches.
Filled solar battery bank with distilled water and cleaned the connections.
Worked on the “Gross Polluter” (my truck)... It was having trouble starting and it turned out to be a loose wire to the battery.
It was supposed to rain this weekend but didn’t and I was holding off watering the plants; so they all got watered today.
I’m still not sure about the battery on the Harley. I’ll leave it on charge and check it again tomorrow; no rush on that.
I took a broom and dustpan and gave the whole house a once over.
Samsung finally came out with Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) for my Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and I happily installed it. I can now use Google Now which is really cool!
I watched season 2 episode 1 of “Voyager”, Chakotay faces a Kazon boy who needs to earn his name by killing him.
I updated my online Journal...

Monday 07- fairly nice day with not a cloud in sight.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up the hill with 5 lbs, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I haven't been feeling up to snuff for the past week or so. I had to cut down on my exercising, the Harley now wont start, Huell Howser passed away yesterday (Really big shock), and then when I was coming back from shopping my car died in the middle of the intersection and I couldn't get it started back up... cars were honking at me. I tried to push it myself but I was on a slight incline. Yes, stalling in the middle of an intersection is not a very safe place to be during rush hour! A young woman came and then a man to help me push it off to the side of the road. Another driver named James came a little later to help and we tried to get it going again, but it was to no avail. I ended up calling AAA to come tow me home. A really nice young man named Tommy from Hill’s Towing came about forty minutes later. We went over the engine, like I did with James, trying to determine what was wrong, but found nothing we could fix on the spot. We ended up towing the Cougar to my home. I was totally burned out last night and ended up doing nothing but sulk... It is actually good for me to sulk because it gives me time to figure out what I need to do to set things straight. I did watch two episodes of “Elementary”; a new one and another I had missed when I was doing the National Novel Writing Month.
I never met Huell Howser, but I've seen his house and also most of his shows...He was only 67... it's making me think about reassessing my priorities... I think getting my 4 books published and printed are going to be at the top. I believe the only reason I'm procrastinating getting them published is the thought that they might be really really bad, but then I remember I am doing it because I liked writing and not for any financial gain or to become popular...

Tuesday 08- a beautiful day with temps into the low 60s.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I am feeling better today, little steps...
I got the Harley running. Looks like I need a new battery for it because it doesn’t keep a charge for more than a day and I’ll have to start it every morning until I do. I drove it down to collect my mail at Lear Ave. and then stopped off at Mac’s and jawed for a long spell. He had a can of Quick Start that I’ll use to see if the engine overturns; if it does it is the fuel system that’s the problem.
I watched “Mission Impossible 3” (2006) and thought it was rather well done and took my mind off things.
I watched season 2 episode 2 of “Voyager” Ensign Harry Kim awakens in another timeline on Earth.

Wednesday 09- another nice day but a little hazy.
I did my stretches and yoga. I’ve decided to take Wednesdays as a rest day along with Saturday and Sunday for a spell and see how that works out.
I'm going online and doing searches on the Cougar. I know it's in the fuel system now because I sprayed some Quick Start in the air intake and it turned over, so I know it ain't getting no fuel.
Called my friend Joel and he is safe and sound back home from surgery and doing okay.
On Monday when we towed the Cougar back we left it in a spot where it was blocking my truck, so I had to push the Cougar out of the way and all that really hard pushing around in the dirt tired me out.
I watched “Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol” (2011) and that was just as good as the one I watched yesterday night.

Thursday 10- a very cold and blustery day!
I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes. It was just too dang cold and windy to do any running, actually it was too dang miserable outside to do much of anything. I Spent most of the day doing research on the Cougar for parts and such.
I watched a movie called “The Lost Tribe”. On an island in the Caribbean is the missing link to humans and the Vatican sends a hit team to kill off the researchers, but everyone ends up dead. Later sailboat picks up a wounded man at sea who, in the dead of night sails the boat into a reef, sinking the boat and stranding everyone on the island. Weren’t that great of a movie but it had its moments.

Friday 11- cold bitter day. A cold bitter day it was. The kind of cold that seeps deep down into your marrow and lies silently waiting for the abyssal rest of eternity.
I did my stretches and went outside and came right back inside, dang cold out there!

I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
Linda H. came around my place at 6pm to drop off some baby back ribs she picked up at Vons. I ate a few and saved the rest for later. That was really nice of her :)
I watched a new episode of “Elementary” called “M”...love the show!

Saturday 12- very cold but sunny.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up my hill carrying 5lbs, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
There has been a Homeland Security warning on Java for the last couple of days and I took it off all my computers. My computers and I didn’t even know it was gone after I took it off.
I watched season 2 episode 3 of “Voyager” Felix and Paris are both jealous over each other’s love for Kes.


Sunday 13- Still very cold and the temps got down to 11 degrees sometime this morning with a high of 38 for the rest of the day.
I did my stretches.
Stayed inside all day because of the cold. Messed around with the computers and cleaned the house some.
Remember those baby back ribs my neighbor Linda brought over last Friday? I ate the whole bunch of them... I'm probably going to hell they tasted so good!
I watched the movie “Outland” (1981) a Federal Marshal finds a drug distribution ring going on in a mining installation on Jupiter’s moon Io.

Here’s what may be the beginning to a book I might write:

A cold bitter day it was. Indeed, the kind of cold that seeps deep down into your marrow and lies silently waiting for the abyssal rest of eternity.
I got the early morning call on the scanner that a body was being retrieved from waters off the fishing wharf by pier 39. Being a freelance reporter for a local newspaper is how I make my way through life, writing about it is how I maintain my sanity.
I arrived and navigated my way through the lookie loos made up of Asian fishermen and white middle class  joggers, to the front where I flashed my press credentials to the officer standing guard; he knew who I was anyways but there is protocol we both have to follow.
One always notices, at least I do in circumstances like this, the silence which falls upon the scene at the first sight of the body; kinda like we all feel the impermanence of our own being. I don’t know if it’s true, but it is how I feel and I’ve been to many a scene like this one.
Her opacificated gray eyes matched the morning’s frigid sky she stared defiantly into as the three divers carried her small form from the bay’s somber waters. Little wisps of steam arose from the divers, like a thaw against the morning chill, as they place her body on top of what I knew was a bag.
I had taken discreet pictures of the scene leaving out any of the body; it’s not my way to focus on the morbid cravings of some who search the internet for such things. I feel it takes away what dignity is left to the victim and their family’s grief; plastering it all over the Internet is just plain sick, looking for it is even sicker.
The Medical Examiner kneeled down over the body with his back to me checking for any signs of life I guessed, turned to write something on a clipboard he had resting on his knee, then stood up and nodded to two ambulance attendants standing nearby. They walked over, zipped up the bag, tenderly maneuvered it onto a gurney and wheeled it off towards their vehicle; that’s the best time for me to get some pictures as they slide the gurney into the back, and I took them.
Now to start asking some questions of the men in blue. My first question would be, who was this young woman pulled from the murky waters of San Francisco Bay.


Monday 14- very cold and windy. Temps from 11 to 39 degrees.
I did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes; too dang cold to do any running.
I got all cleaned up and ready to got to the Neighborhood Watch meeting at the community center, but when I went to start the my truck the battery was dead. That put a damper on my plans for tonight and I let Peggy know I wasn’t coming.
I watched season 5 episode 10 of “Castle”; Castle’s ex wife comes to take care of Alexus.
I watched season 2 episode 5 of “Voyager”; Chakotay meets up with his tribe’s Sky People.

Tuesday 15- still cold with a low of 19 and a high of 47; things are warming up.
I did my stretches, yoga, I ran up the hill with two 5 LBS dumbbells, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.
I took the battery out of the truck and put it inside to charge on one of my solar panels.
I spent the better part of the day working on my first book “A Little Desert Home” getting it ready for the final printing.
I watched season 5 episode 11 of “Castle”; a DJ is found shot after leaving a party where a cell phone is stolen.
I watched a movie called “District B13” (2004); had a lot of action with guys jumping around trying to recover a neutron bomb stolen by gang members.

Wednesday 16- a little bit warmer still, but windy and cold.
I did my stretches.
Worked on book.
Messed with computers.

Thursday 17- temps almost to 60 degrees!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes. Finally warm enough to get out to do my running... really missed that!
I did some cleaning around the house.
I drove the scooter down to Border to collect my mail.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I worked on my book throughout most of the day spending perhaps about five hours editing. I have four chapters done.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I watched season 2 episode 6 of “Voyager”; Kes meets some of her kin on a space station that belongs to the companion of the caretaker who brought them it this part of the galaxy in the delta quadrant.

Friday 18- temps finally into 60 degrees, yay!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I rode my scooter to Lear Ave to get my mail.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I worked on the book throughout the day again and finished all the way up to chapter 8.
The end of Microsoft’s discount Win8 is January 31 and it goes from $39.99 to $199. So I thought I’d give it a try... I bought it around 10:30pm and it was finally fully installed by 4:30am... I was too darn tired to mess with it and went to sleep.

Saturday 19- another fine day with temps in the very low 60s.
I did my stretches and went for a short walk.
I worked on Windows 8 getting the feel for it. I do believe that it is really a social media GUI laying on top of Windows 7... I don’t see any anti-virus program running...
I called family and friends.
I finished editing chapter 8... very slow process.
I watched an season 5 episode 10 of “Fringe” called “The boy must live.”

Sunday 20- temps still in the 60s with lows into the high 30s.
I did my stretches and went for a short walk.
I worked on the truck cleaning all the battery cables and fittings and re-installing the battery; works really fine now! I also cleaned up the shop area and tools while I was out there.
I finished editing chapter 9... I think...
I watched season 2 episode 7 of “Voyager” Seska lures Voyager into a trap to steal its technology.


Monday 21- nice day.
I did my stretches.
I hopped on the scooter and drove down to WalMart to fetch me a battery for the Harley. I was going to do this at the Harley Dealer but I forgotten they are closed on Mondays. I did some shopping while I was there and at Stater Bros.; there is only so much you can carry on a little scooter.
I met a couple of interesting folks, street people I guess you’d call them, in front of WalMart. One was a young man called Forest who had all his belongings in a shopping cart that was connected by leash to his dog. He wore a hat that had all kinds of pins and buttons the same as his Levi jacket. He held up a sign that said smile. One lady didn’t like him there and called the police saying he was asking for money from shoppers. Forest was upset and was yelling at the lady saying he didn’t ask for any money. I told him to calm down and walked him away from her to over down by Staters Brothers where the guitar player was. We stood and yakked for a spell. I went in the store to buy supplies and when I came out, both men were gone... maybe the police came and ran them off or they went off to better hunting grounds. I found them very pleasant to yap with.
When I got back home, Linda H. and I drove around the back areas in our community to document all the dumping going on.
I watched season 2 episode 8 of “Voyager”; on a planet to retrieve needed material for the warp engines the away party gets captured by the police of a corrupt oppressive government.

Tuesday 22- even a better day with temps almost into the 70s!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I drove around in the “gross polluter” my truck, picking up large rocks on the side of the road to use in my yard. I found a really large one and I should have left it there but I had already moved it into the road so I was committed to lifting it onto the back of the truck; hopefully my back doesn’t hurt tomorrow. I did some work around the yard cleaning up here and there.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I finished editing chapter 11.
My brother Kevin is helping edit book one of the sci fi trilogy I wrote and has finished 3 chapters.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I watch season 5 episode 12 of “Castle”; the creator of College Girls Gone Wild is found dead strangled by a 44d bra in the woman’s bathroom stall at a nightclub.
I watched season 2 episode 9 of “Voyager”; Torres reactivates a robot that they came across floating in space and she reactivates it...

Wednesday 23- mostly cloudy but nice.
I did my stretches.
I worked on the Cougar getting the back seat removed so I can get to where the fuel pump is and remove it by cutting out a bigger hole than what is there. There was all kinds of junk under the seat: Zippo lighter, old Cds, sunflower seeds... Yuck!
I replaced a fuse that was blown on the truck and was able to plug in the air compressor into the cigarette lighter and pump up the tires that were low or flat: wheelbarrow, bike, truck, spare tire...lots of tires.
I got the new battery ready to put in the Harley, but it said to trickle charge it for 3-8 hours and I’ll have to do that tomorrow before I install it.
I watched a movie called “District 13: Ultimatum” (2009); lots of jumping around much like the other the first movie. I thought it was very well done and held my attention.
I didn’t work on editing the book today because I needed a break from it.

Thursday 25- cooler and cloudy but still nice outside.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I worked on the Harley for 5 hours installing the new battery which I found out had the battery posts opposite than the old battery had them, making it so the +- cables couldn’t reach their proper posts. I had to exchange one cable for the other so they would reach... undoing the two nuts that held them on, in very tight places, was a major pain in the butt. I finally got it all back together and crossed my fingers and turned it on hoping what I did wouldn’t blow something up; it started right up!!! I had checked the size and the AMP hrs of the new battery, but I never thought to check to see where the +- poles were; I just assumed that they were all standard...
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I finished editing chapters 12 and 13 of my book...
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.

Friday 25- rain all day long.
I did my stretches, yoga, ran up my hill with 5lbs weights in each hand, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes. I was lucky that there was a break in the rain when I did the run.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells, but didn’t go for my evening walk because of heavy rain.
I finished chapters 14, 15, and 16... I’m done! Now gotta go update it and print out a few copies.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, but didn’t go for a night run because of the rain.
I watched season 1 episode 8 of “Alley McBeal”; Alley tries to tell a dirty joke. Also watched season 2 episode 10 of “Voyager”; to survive in the delta quadrant Janeway tries to form alliances.

Saturday 26- it mostly rained all day long again.
I did my stretches.
I cooked a rice and chilli bean thingy and headed on down to the community center. I was going to take the scooter because I didn’t completely trust the truck on starting, but it was raining so hard before I left I decided to take the truck and stay dry. Mary and Chris Koval created a chicken and vegetable Alfredo, super brownies, and Christmas cookies that were mighty yummy. Marie Morrison cooked up some fantastic scalloped potatoes that quickly vanished on the first round. Ruth Malton concocted a mello yello jello fruit salad. And finally Chris Jonas, the master chef among us, used his secret recipe learned from years of patient experimentation with different herbs and seasonings created the most perfect potato salad that had ever crossed yer lips. Not many showed up but for those that did we had a wonderful and pleasant time yammering away the hours eating our supper.
I got back home and called my friend Mike Long and we jawed for over an hour.
I checked my battery voltage and noticed that it was 11.74 volts when it should be around 12.5... something was wrong. I went out to the battery room with my voltmeter and found one of my four batteries is dead. I had to switch out the bad on and another and just run on two of the newest ones. Doing this I had 12 volts again, but not enough to run me through the night without harming the batteries. So I decided to run my laptop off its internal battery and use my cell phone WIFI hotspot connection to get me through the night.
I watched the last two episodes of “Fringe” and I believe that is the end of the show for good... I am sorry to see it go...

*** some stuff I wrote here and there ***

When I was a very young child I lived half a block from the ocean and was able to watch ships at sea from our home on Leland Street in San Pedro. I would draw pictures of the palm trees that grow along Paseo Del Mar, the backdrop of Catalina Island with the ships crossing in between. I always wondered where these ships were headed, what cargo they may carry on their lonely voyage to far and distant lands.

I spent many a day with the rain falling on calm waters when I was moored in Redondo Harbor.... kinda special feeling runs through you, a calm like meditation of organic oneness...

Dang, I can smell the sea and boats just looking at these. A boat in water has a special smell to it ya know

***********************************


Sunday 27- mostly sunny but with high winds.
I did my stretches.
I tried to reset the pump emergency button on the Cougar, but it still wouldn’t start. I charged up its battery with the truck’s and let it run for half an hour. I also ran the Harley for a spell.
I watched season 2 episode 12 of “Voyager”; Tuvok does a mind meld with a murderer and loses control.
I watched episode 10 of “Ally McBeal”; Ally has to defend a transvestite in court.

Monday 28- cloudy, cold and very windy.
I woke up really late not feeling very well, but I still did my stretches, yoga, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes. Way too cold and windy to do my run.
I spent the whole day working on my first book and finally got it published at around midnight. What an arduous time I spent on the publishing website trying to get it to work for me.
I watched episode 11 of “Ally McBeal”; the firm is having a Christmas party.
I watched season 2 episode 13 of “Voyager”; Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres has to disarm a Cardassian missile she had re-programed years before to target Cardassian fuel depot, but it made its way with them into the delta quadrant and now has retargeted a planet with 2 million to destroy.

Tuesday 29- another cold and windy day.
I still feeling under the weather and only did my stretches.
Linda H. came by with some agave that she dug up from her yard for me to plant.
I went for my evening walk.
I watched season 2 episode 14 of “Voyager”; Q comes back.
I watched episodes 6 and 7 of “Numb3rs; first one was dealing with a train wreck, the second was about counterfeiters.

Wednesday 30- a beautiful day and the temps are in the low 60s!!!!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
Went out into the yard to do a bunch of work. I moved a whole bunch of wood away from the fence to clear a place where I’m planting the agave Linda H. brought me yesterday. I dug holes for the agave and placed them in and then I watered them real good.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I watched two episodes 15 and 16 of “Voyager”; The Doc falls in love. There is a traitor on board and Tom secretly enlists to find who it is.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.

Thursday 31- drop dead gorgeous day!
I did my stretches, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I did my laundry at Stoney’s and picked up my mail at both boxes.

I did my studies; a lesson in Beginning Latin book, and another in “1100 words you need to know workbook”, and I drew something: a woman standing

I studied “Molecular and Cell Biology for Dummies”; How cells communicate.

I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.

I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run. It was such a clear night that after the run I got out the binoculars and stargazed for a spell.
Finished the chapter on beetles in the book “The Practical Entomologist”...
I practiced my guitar.
I watched season 2 episode 17 of “Voyager”; Two Voyagers caught in a spatial rift.

Goodbye to January a cold month indeed!
****** Something I wrote *****

Enjoy the Sunshine!
A day filled with sunshine, friends and a happy heart is never to be taken for granted; everyday is a gift, an opportunity to express ourselves of who and what we are.