January 2007

Monday 01- Welcome to the month of January and the year 2007- did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike- called some more folks to wish them a Happy New Year- was invited over to Mac’s home for some sushi and met Clint and his wife Cindy. The food and the conversation were enjoyable. I wondered why everyone had their shoes off. Mac said it’s a custom in his household to take your shoes off, I told him I was being polite to everyone keeping mine on- went for my evening walk- called Stoney and he told me that the USDA food distributing will be on the 8th of this month because of the King holiday and I need to correct it on my website- did some reading in history and started reading (again) “365 Starry Nights” by Chet Raymo, which will take me one whole year to read (just like last year)- started writing my column for the newspaper.
Tuesday 02- I was just going for my morning run when Bob Ascherin called to say he is bringing over an old newspaper article from the “Desert Journal” of Aug. 3, 1972 that he told me of a few weeks ago, which is about the Copper Mountain Lake earthquake; in response to a column I wrote last December. I lifted weights while I waited for him.
Bob, who turned 89 last November but looks 70, arrived with the article and I gave him the grand tour of my home. He told me a story how on Friday nights back in the seventies he dined on fish and chips at the Sunfair Inn which was operated by a mailman who lived in Yucca. On the wall was a sign “Dollars for Drops” a box with a slot underneath where one could donate money for the lake. Bob was a General Contractor back then, his painter, Glen Hall, also was a watchman at the lake, who was there when it drained all 60 million gallons and said it first sounded like elephants galloping in the water and then a loud gurgling noise. Bob has been hanging around our area since 62, moved out here in 65 from Lakewood Ca. and lives out yonder on Aberdeen Dr. After Bob departed I went for my morning run of 3 miles.
The newspaper he brought me has many pictures of the Copper Lake after the earthquake and a short article. I hope to gather more information, take a trip out to the once dreamed of lake of Copper Mountain, take some pictures of what it looks like now, and write a column about it. I just wonder what our Community would have been like if the park and lakes dream were realized.
-did some reading: Biology, and Meteorology- went for my evening walk- Ron and Linda called and we chatted for a few- Andrew called and we jawed for a while- wrote my column and sent it to the newspaper.
Wednesday 03- I was just going to do my stretches but it was such a glorious day I decided to run a mile, ride my bike, and lift weights- worked around the yard cleaning it up- did some reading on Geology, while my Toshiba laptop did a clean and defrag- went for my evening walk- Andrew dropped by on his run and we jawed a while- watched the new series “Wired” on PBS- Picked up reading “The Earth Dwellers” by Erich Hoyt, where I left off on it in early December.
Thursday 04- did my stretches and ran a mile- went over to Ron and Linda’s to help them setup a new ISP on their computer- went for my evening walk- called up my friends Agnes and her daughter Nancy who lives in Washington State to yak for a while- read some History- watched “CSI” on CBS, then a show on PBS about Seattle’s Monorail- emailed the newsletter.
Friday 05- very windy today- did my stretches- Ron and Linda called to tell me that the ISP was working just great- went over to Stoney’s and washed my clothes and took a hot shower. We had some leftover beans with rice from potluck- went for my evening walk(very cold and windy)- watched “Numbers” on CBS- downloaded Red hat Linux “Live” disk and then ran it, but it couldn’t find my WIFI, so it is quite useless to me- downloaded Puppy Linux and had the same problem finding my WIFI. Ubuntu and Suse Linux have no problem with my WIFI.
Saturday 06- did my stretches ran 3 miles and lifted weights- on my run I stopped to talk to Jeff Reed who was home and his mother and brother were also there. Then I stopped to talk to Biker Ron and his dogs- Seimi came over to view pics of my family in Tucson, and I gave him shoes that don’t fit me- Jimmy called to tell me that his ribs still hurt from crashing on the Honda 90- went for my evening walk, left knee hurts some because of the cold I think- called and yapped with Stoney as I tried to find Comet Mc Naught or C/2006 P1 with my telescope. The comet is low in the west southwest horizon at sunset and beneath and to the right of Venus. The sky was very mottled with suspended dust from our high winds and I couldn’t find the comet- read some Biology- watched “Rosemary and Thyme” on PBS- put some wood on the fire, worked on the computer, and did some more reading.
Sunday 07- it’s windy again and my right knee hurts, so I am taking the day off from exercising and resting and will see how the knee feels tomorrow- Ron D. came by with some really good bean soup and we jawed for a few- Dale from Landers called and we exchanged insults- for the rest of the day I worked on the computer and read a few chapters in the book “The Earth Dwellers”; it’s about ants and the folks who study them.
Monday 09- did my stretches and lifted weights. My knee still hurts some- went through last years bills and statements, putting them in order and tossing some in the trash- Stoney came by with some food from the USDA- read some Astronomy, History and Meteorology- went for my evening walk and stopped by at my neighbor Joyce’s but she wasn’t home- Andrew called and we jawed about computers and the CES show in Los Vegas and the new tech toys being announced- watched “American Experience” on PBS- started writing column for the newspaper.
Tuesday 10- woke up early and listened to a lecture on Biochemistry 1 from MIT online course on Biology- did my stretches and went for a walk- Andrew came by and we worked on his HP laptop trying to get his wireless working- Stoney called and told me this story and this is what I wrote about it and sent to the newspaper:
I heard talk that there was a home burglarize just up the street from my house Monday night around 8 or so, and that there was shots fired when the criminals were surprised buy the homeowner. I also heard that one of the thieves was shot as they tried to run over the homeowner and may have later been apprehended at a hospital in Palm Springs. Sorry if I’m so vague, I did see the red lights of a patrol car flashing that night, this is all secondhand info from a good friend and may be already reported in this newspaper.
-went for my evening walk with Andrew- read more of that Ant book- watched “Nova” on PBS and then “Criminal Intent” on CBS- wrote column and sent it to newspaper.
Wednesday 11- did my stretches and walked a mile; knee feeling lots better- Ron D. is going to town to do some errands and asked if I’d like to tag along; I said yes and did all my grocery shopping for the next two months- Annalice called to say she received the XP disks from Dell. She told me that the scan we did on the hard drive showed some unrecoverable sectors, so I told her to buy a new on before we install the new OS- watched “Science Investigators” on PBS and then caught up on some computer work and emails.
Thursday 11- did my stretches and ran half a mile- Stoney called and said he’s going to Wal-Mart to bay a camera and wanted me to come along and help him pick one. We look at several and Marsha (who works there and is a friend of mine) said the Kodak 703 with 7.1 MP, and 3X optical zoom lens was pretty good and it comes with a dock. Stoney bought it and also bought a HP Deskjet F335 all in one Printer, scanner, and copier for almost the cost of buying refills for his old printer. Very good price. Marsha said she also has one, I needed a scanner so I bought one too. Went back to Stoney’s after we had lunch at what used to be called the Silver Dollar Bar and we both had hot roast beef sandwiches. I set it all up for him and showed him how to use the printer and camera- nothing on TV tonight so I’ll do some reading- starting to get very windy and cold again tonight!
Friday 12- it is snowing outside at 9am! I grabbed my camera, took some pics and video of the snow cover desert- Ed D. called to tell me that Delores Jefferson has recently passed on. I updated the newsletter and sent it out and also posted it on my website that she had passed. I had last talked to Delores back in December. I called Ruth T. to let her know. I may go down for the service on Sunday with her- did my stretches but too dang cold to do any other exercise- went to Stoney’s to help him with his new camera and load some software on his computer. We had meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. It was very, very cold riding my “Trusty” scooter back home- Roger T. picked up some software I burned on CD for him and left some movies for me- Mac and then Joel called for computer help and resolved them over the phone- Linda S. and then Linda D. called about the community meeting tomorrow- my dear friend Terry Watson called and we jawed about this and that and other things for 164 minutes- did computer work the rest of the night.
Saturday 13- did my stretches, very cold outside so I just lifted weights- Carolynne Hansen called and told me that she was a dispatcher for the Fire Department back in the late 60s, early 70s and had some stories about the old lake and also from the area around these parts. We jawed for a while and since she had much information said she’d write up what she can remember and email it to me. Nice lady- I setup my new printer and printed a picture of Judith that she wanted that I took at potluck of her and her mother. Looks really decent- Mac brought back my old Toshiba laptop I had lent him when his was down- watched “Rosemary and Thyme” on PBS- tried to do another recording of “Love Will Find A Way Home” but I couldn’t get the recorder setup right and it sounded lousy, so I will try again tomorrow- forgot to tell ya all yesterday that when I went outside to use the outhouse that I had found snow inside of it and when I sat down to take care of business, the lid stuck to my butt it was so cold!
Sunday 14- still very cold this morning, 35 degrees at 10am, so I just did my stretches- Ruth Tuttle picked me up and we went to Delores Jefferson’s services at Mountain Valley Memorial Park and then to lunch held in her memory at the Joshua Tree Community Center- on the way home we saw a house fire on Ritchie Rd. and Giant Rock that was totally engulfed and burnt to the ground. My friend Dale who lives just a few yards away from the fire called and told me later that he saved the 89 year old lady that lived there. The lady is fine and the Church she belongs to is taking care of her- watched “24” on FOX- worked on my computer and started planning my column for next week.
Monday 15- 29 degrees with winds of 7-15 mph, so I only did my weights and stretches mostly inside- called Delores Jefferson’s son John and interviewed him about his Mother for my column. It was a very difficult and emotional interview to do, for him and for me, but we were both glad to do it- Stoney picked me up and took me to his home where we messed with his new camera, worked on the computer, and had stew with baked with dough on the top, very good- worked on my column most of the day and took a break to watch “24” on FOX and then continued to write and edit column- fished my column and sent it out to the newspaper.
Tuesday 16- got up to 40 degrees, no wind, so I ran a mile and lifted weights- almost all my plants are dead from the freeze. My Alavera plants that I blend in my breakfast drinks are froze, my Palm Trees look wasted, and all the flowered plants took a dump- worked on the computer some, found that I’d misspelled a last name in the column I wrote and had to correct it and resend to the newspaper- Linda D. called and asked me to come over to fix some problems on her computer. Was working diligently on her computer when I noticed that it was 4:25pm and I was suppose to meet Stoney outside my house to give him the picture I took of Judith and Juanita so he could give it to her at Bingo. Well I finished at 5:30 and Linda drove me down to the center to give them the pic and tell Stoney I’m sorry for not being there when I said I’d be- watched “NCIS” on CBS and then surfed the web.
Wednesday 17- cold and windy, temp in the 30s, did my stretches and lifted weights- did some cleanup inside and outside the house. Started pulling all those telephone numbers and addresses off envelopes and tiny bits of paper and putting them on my computer- did a clean and defrag on the old Toshiba laptop- went for my evening walk (finally)- watched “22nd Century” on PBS. It was about the wired brains and networking them together- worked on my blog and answered emails and helping my friend Kula figure out a way to transfer her address book to Gmail.
Thursday 18- I have never seen it this cold, lasting this long, since I’ve moved here in 1998. Well I really don’t want to run in the cold cause it hurts my right knee; seems that my hamstrings tighten up by the cold, so I just did my stretches today- loaded 2006 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica (3 gigs) onto my laptop. Lots of good stuff on it and don’t need to be online to use it- went to Stoney’s and had lunch, a salad, and messed around with his camera and installed Charlie on his computer- read some History; Alexander the Great and ancient Greece- watched “CSI” on CBS- worked on computer stuff.
Friday 19- cold, windy and cloudy day, so I just did my stretches- updated the website and sent out the newsletter- Annalice called to cancel our appointment for me to repair her computer, so now I have some time to kill- fixed Kula’s email problem by having her send me her address book in CSV form, but it arrived in WAB. So I just imported it into my Outlook Express and then logged into her account and imported it into Gmail- tried to get some files off my very old HP 200LX palmtop to no avail. I tried the IR between several devices and even put the PCMICA storage card from the HP into my laptops, nope ain’t going to happen. Will try and come up with something later- went for my evening walk- spent the rest of the night catching up on my reading (History, Astronomy, Geology, Meteorology, and Biology) and watched a online Biology class from Berkley.
Saturday 20- finally a decent day to go for a run; no wind and the temp was in the low 50s- I ran a mile, biked and lifted weights- Joel came by with my mail and we jawed for a while- Stoney called and asked when I was available to help Roger S. install an engine in his VW. I went to Roger’s at 12:30 and we finished putting the motor in around 2:00- called my Mom and had a nice chat- went for my evening walk- departed for Stoney’s where we had a spaghetti dinner with Roger- watched “Rosemary and Thyme” on PBS- Katherine brought over her computer to be repaired- spent the rest of the night computing and reading.
Sunday 21- winds up to 20mph, temp below 50 degrees, I just stayed inside and did my stretches- worked on Kath’s computer reinstalling her XP upgrade, then got it current with all the critical updates; took about 3hrs of my time- called some family up to say hi (to let them know I’m still around ;)- did my studies- watched the “Poseidon Adventure” on DVD on my laptop- loaded RealBasic C++ editor on my laptop and will start using and learning it.
Monday 22- still windy and cold; did my stretches and lifted weights- Joel dropped by with some donuts. I printed out instructions for his friends on how to change the settings for a new ISP and copied a dialer program to floppy for them- finished up on Kath’s computer and it’s ready for pickup- played around with an old laptop doing some tweaks on it- went for my evening walk- did my studies- watched “24” on fox- started writing my column.
Tuesday 23- cold but not windy so I ran 3 miles- did my studies- went for my evening walk- scrutinize the President’s State of the Union Address, then watched “NCIS” on PBS- finished writing my column and sent it to the newspaper.
Wednesday 24- real nice outside! Did my stretches, ran a mile, rode the bike, and lifted weights. When I was riding my bike a truck came up and bumped my rear tire, even though I was all the way to the side. I got off my bike and approached the driver, who looked surprised, and asked him what the f&%# he was doing! Turns out I looked like someone else who had swiped some of his property. He was very apologetic. I told him not to do it again- Joel came by for a chat- did some financial figuring and purchased a one year CD- went over to Stoney’s. Him, Roger, and I finished off the leftover spaghetti- went for my evening walk- did my studies and surfed the web.
Thursday 25- did my stretches and ran a mile- did some yard work and did some assessing of the damage that the cold did to my plants- Annalice picked me up to do an install of XP on her computer. It was the install from hell! I installed a new 80gig harddrive with no problem. Then I loaded the install XP CD, I thought, but it turned out that I grabbed the wrong CD! Annalice had found a Windows Millennium Edition “ME” install CD earlier (her computer is running Win 98) and had placed the CD (same color as the XP CD) by the computer in case I needed it; I didn’t, and had to go through with the ME install because XP wouldn’t load until ME was installed. Then while installing XP it came up and asked what partition to put it and if I wanted to delete the Windows folder. Well I thought it was the ME folder and deleted it, but it turned out to be the XP folder I was presently loading. Had to start all over again loading ME because XP went into a loop not finding the file. I will not tell you how long I worked on this simple install that should have only taken an hour. I will do installs at my home for now on- did my studies- watched “CSI” on CBS.
Friday 26- nice day, did my stretches, rode my bike and lifted weights- Stoney called and said he’s going to the store and if I’d like to come; we went to Staters- went for my evening walk- did my studies- updated the website and sent out the newsletter- downloaded Free Dos and will install it on my old Toshiba laptop.
Saturday 27- did my stretches- worked around the yard. Tried to hook up an old propane tank somebody had given me, but the valve leaked and I don’t think it was propane (smelled like acetylene) so I will discard it - called Family- called Annalice to see how her computer was running and tried to walk her through importing her address book; I will do it for her next time I go over- Linda D. called and we yapped for a while about composting our dead plants that had died from the frost- on his way to potluck Stoney came by with some of his homemade chili. He got to talk to my Sister Audrey while I dished myself some beans- went for my evening walk- did my studies- watched “Rosemary and Thyme” on PBS- fooled around with the computer the rest of the night.
Sunday 28- did my stretches and ran 3 miles- did my studies- went for my evening walk- Mike called from Hermosa Beach to say he is sick with the flu- watched “60 Minutes” on CBS, then “Nature” on PBS- Kath came by and picked up her computer I fixed- did some more of my studies.
Monday 29- my dear friend Agnes form Deer Park Washington called to say and that she was well- did my stretches, ran a mile, rode the bike, and lifted weights- started writing my column for the newspaper, finished it, and sent it to the newspaper- worked in the yard and cut some wood for the stove- dropped by Stoney’s for a visit (he baked cookies)- went for my evening walk- did my studies- Kath called and couldn’t get online; worked with her to until we solve the problem- watched “24” on CBS- Ron D. picked up all kinds of avocados from where he was staying in San Diego (because of the freeze they dropped out of the trees and they can’t sell them without the stem) and brought a truckload up here to give away to us desert folks- messed around with the computer and did some reading.
Tuesday 30- did my stretches and ran a mile- did my studies- Joel came by with his computer he wants me to backup and a Mexican casserole- Kath calls and asks me what type of monitor to buy- went for my evening walk- watched “CSI” on CBS- did some more reading and computer stuff.
Wednesday 31- did my stretches lifted weights- Seimi dropped by to lend me a book called “dancing in the dharma” by Sandy Boucher, we sat and jawed for a while- did some cleaning of the kitchen- went for my evening walk- did my studies- watched “Bones” on FOX- worked some on the computer. Good bye January! Ya have been a cold, windy, but productive month.