February 2007

Thursday 01- Welcome to the month of February 2007- did my stretches and ran a mile- Andrew came over to do work on a website he is currently evaluating for a client, and I did a whole bunch of updates on my community website- Margaret, a friend of Kath, called asking about what ISP she should get- went for my evening walk and Andrew came along- watched “CSI” on CBS, they had a rerun and a new one and I watched both- spent the night like I usually do; working on the computer and reading.
Friday 02- did my stretches and ran 3 miles- sent out the newsletter- worked on editing and printing out December’s blog to send out to some friends. It has been a longtime since I used MS Word in that fashion and I still need some work in the placement of pictures and text- tried to work on Joel’s computer but it just sat there and beeped at me. Called him up and told him it to old to spend the money to fix and he came and picked it up- went for my evening walk- did my studies- started to learn programming in Basic but I’m not sure that’s the language that I want to learn. I think C++ is the one I need- watched “Numbers” on CBS and then some “South Park” on KHJ- the last few nights I’ve been recording “Love Will Find A Way Home” trying to get a better sound and fewer mistakes so I can replace the one I have up on the website- worked some on the computer.
Saturday 03- such a beautiful day- did my stretches, lifted weights, and ran a mile and a half- Joel called and asked me if I needed anything at the store and I did; margarine. But I remembered that I was checking out Trans Fats to see what the content was on the margarine I use, turns out it was 1.5g! I believe that’s just too dang much, so I told him to get me Butter instead- Stoney brought me pancakes, eggs, biscuit and gravy, from the community center’s breakfast and it was mighty good!- finished editing December’s Blog and printed it out and will mail to my friend- Joel arrives with margarine, not butter, and two hamburgers, oh well- went for my evening walk and stopped over at Biker Ron’s and jawed with him for a few and tried to make friends with his two Pit Bull dogs- my Mom called me up and we had a nice chat; how I miss her and the rest of the family- watched “Law and Order Criminal Intent” on NBC, then “South Park” on Fox- recorded another “Love Will Find A Way Home” I think this one is good enough to upload and replace the one on the website (just wish I was a better singer, but I try).
Sunday 04- Linda D. called to ask if I’d help her and Seimi move some broken slab blocks. I told her I would in an hour- did my stretches and ran a mile- drove my trusty scooter over to Linda’s and we took Seimi’s truck to get the blocks. I learned from Seimi that Sharon Weaver had passed on that morn. I used to date Sharon when I first came to these parts, but I journeyed a different road then she some six years ago. She was a great gal back then- went over to Stoney’s to jaw and git some cookies- started weeding out all the plants that died from the freeze; not much left but enough to start some new plantings- went for my evening walk- my Brother called and we yapped for an hour about brother stuff- turned on the TV to watch “60 Minutes” and some football game was on so I turned it back off- Joel came by needing to get online to renew his website that has expired two days ago, so I helped him out on that and also renewed another one that was due on the 27th- not ten minutes goes by when Joel calls and needs help on his computer (out of memory) so I walk him through it over the phone- started watching the “X-Men United” when Mac calls and we yap for a while but our phones keep loosing connection; I think the Government is tapping his lines cause he’s always sending the Prez letters and emails- caught the last part of the X-Men when the dam broke and they just made it to safety in some flying craft that looked like an SR71 Blackbird. Well talking to real folks is more important than some movie (unless it’s Star Trek)- about my studies; I decided to take the weekends off for now so I wont get too burned out on it- as I write this my phone line keeps dieing out, so maybe the Gov is tapping me instead of Mac (only kidding).
Monday 5- did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights- Lee and Marcie stopped by and they had Hoss and Sandy with them. Hoss is just out of the hospital after a 3 month stay- work on my yard some- Joel dropped off my mail- scanned a bunch of old pics into my computer- went for my evening walk- did my studies- watched “24” on Fox- started writing my column and working on some web designs.
Tuesday 6- did my stretches and rode my bike- Seimi came by and we went over to a neighbor’s to replace a doorknob. There was some foam bedding that the owners wanted discarded and it looked like it would be a perfect fit for my bed; and it was- finished writing my column and sent it to the newspaper- worked in my yard and setup a place to compost all those dead plants from the freeze- went for my evening walk- went for hamburgers over at Linda’s- did my studies- watched “NCIS” on CBS, then “Law and Order Criminal Intent” on NBC- updated some files on the computer then surfed the web.
Wednesday 7- such a nice day- did my stretches, lifted weights, and ran a mile- scanned some more old pictures into the computer- did my studies- did my evening walk over to Stoney’s for dinner, he made a chefs salad, and I did some work on his computer setting up Gmail- watched “Bones” on Fox- Joel came by with some muffins from the Jelly Donut, told me of his day at the VA and the long drive back home on a congested Freeway because of a car accident. He was going nowhere so he pulled off at the next off ramp and went to a theater to watch some stupid movie, he said- did some reading and worked on the computer.
Thursday 08- did my stretches- went over to Stoney’s and finished working on his computer installing Mozllia Thunderbird mail client so he can email pictures from his desktop. I don’t like Outlook Express cause it’s just too dang flaky (proprietary) and hard to work with. And Hotmail won’t let you use a mail client if you haven’t got the paid service; so I dumped them both. Now Stoney has Thunderbird and Gmail, and maybe Firefox soon; he is still using IE6 and I haven’t downloaded IE7 for him yet cause he is just getting used to the computer again. I’d rather have him learn Firefox instead of IE7 if and when I need to download IE7 for his XP system because of crucial security updates. I have IE7 on my computers and find it ain’t worth a hog’s tit. We finished off the salad and I took home some cookies he baked- went for my evening walk- did my studies- watched “CSI” on CBS- sent out the newsletter and some computer work- last night I called the Buffalo Folk and talked to Anita. She said they are doing fine over there in Lancaster and the buffalo are happy.
Friday 09- did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike- Frank and Mary came by for a fast chat- updated website and did some work around the house- went for my evening walk where I ran into John M. on the trail. We were walking through a field when I spied a small round object which turned out to be a graduation ring from Palm Springs of the year 1979; I will try to track down its owner. We arrived at John’s home when we saw a helicopter circling the house where Officer Garcia was ambushed a few months ago. There were at least five patrol cars driving into the driveway and Officers running around the yard. I had my camera and was able to video the helicopter from afar. This all happened about 4pm and continued seeing patrol cars and their lights until after 9pm- did my studies- Mac and his son Dennis came by with a plastic foot recliner (I think that is what it is) and some other stuff they’d thought I’d like which I can’t identify. I gave Dennis my old Polaroid digital camera that he can use on his computer- watched “Numbers” on CBS- worked on the computer and read for the rest of the night- very productive day for me.
Saturday 10- cloudy outside- did my stretches and ran a mile- did some yard work and sorting through stuff I need to get rid of- Dale from Landers calls and we yap for a while- Stoney dropped by heading over to the auction at the center and asked me if I wanted to go. Not too many folks there and not anything I’d want to buy, but Chuck was BBQing some hotdogs and they were good. Took a bunch of pics of the folks scavenging and poking through the odds and ends of donated rubble. A lot of it ended up on Steve’s truck to be taken to the dump- called my Mom and yapped for a while- went for my evening walk- Seimi called and we jawed for 88 minutes about electric cars and saving the world- watched “Law and Order Criminal Intent” on NBC- worked on the computer the rest of the night computing things, and sent a copy of the picture I took of the raid that happened yesterday to the newspaper.
Sunday 11- saw two butterflies and a ladybug for the first time this year- did my stretches and ran 3 miles- read a few chapters of “The Earth Dwellers” which is a book about Ants and their behavior I’ve been reading for a few months now when I get a chance- it rained for 20 minutes, the drops were big but spaced far apart and the land soaked it all up 10 minutes afterwards leaving not a trace that the rain had happened at all- drove my trusty scooter over to Stoney’s where we messed around with our cameras and had hamburgers- went for my evening walk- watched “60 Minutes” on CBS- Mike from Hermosa called and jawed for an hour about computers- messed around and played with my computers.
Monday 12- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike- Stoney came by with groceries from the USDA- on my way over to Barb and Jerry’s to work on their computer I dropped by Mac’s house. I couldn’t stay long and dropped off an avocado I had. Chuck and his son were there and I asked him when he was going to pickup the VW bus I’m giving him; he said soon- worked on Barb and Jerry’s computer for over an hour or so. Got rid of Norton and loaded Avast anti-virus, Sygate firewall, and stopped some unwanted programs from running. Did a virus check on boot, and used CCleaner (crap cleaner) to cleanup the files. When I was done I showed Barb how to run Disk Cleaner and Disk Defragmenter and had her run them after I left- dropped by Stoney’s and had a salad and took home some cookies- went for my evening walk- Barb called and said she did what I asked and her computer is running better now- did my studies- watched “24” on FOX- got caught up on my emails and other computer stuff.
Tuesday 13- windy and cold this morning- did my stretches- wrote my column and sent it to the newspaper- Joel dropped off my mail- Chuck came by to say he will bring me a sample of his cooking from the bingo dinners later tonight so I may write about it in my column- while I was thinking of it I did a system clean and defrag on both laptops- did my studies- went for my evening walk- Chuck dropped off some Hawaiian chicken and some creamed vegetables that was really good (had to fight my cat for the chicken)- watched “NCIS” on CBS and then “Frontline” on PBS that was about the rights of reporters to protect the identity of their sources- really cold to night, cold enough to stoke up the old wood stove- worked on the computer and continued reading “The Earth Dwellers”.
Wednesday 14- still dang windy- did my stretches and lifted weights. I hope the wind dies down so I can run tomorrow- got an email from a gal named Sandra who wants to know more about solar and how I have my home setup for it. I wrote her back: "I am really glad you are interested in trying out and experimenting with solar! Most folks just don't seem to care and burn up what oil we have left and don't think of the consequences that it creates to our health and environment. I even have people laugh at my LED lights!!! They just don't get it." I then directed her to my solar website CopperMountainMesa.com/Solar1.html where I have it all written down- did my studies- went over to Stoney’s and did a system clean and a defrag on his Dell. He cooked up some chicken (glad my cat wasn’t there) with mash potatoes and gravy- went for my evening walk- watched “Bones” on Fox- worked on the computer and continued reading “The Earth Dwellers”.
Thursday 15- not very windy so I did my stretches, ran 3 miles, and lifted weights- Stoney is having some problems with his email and I went over to see what’s up. It was his new Gmail that wouldn’t work it just came up and said done. I tried my Gmail and it worked ok on his computer so I remembered that Google had just opened Gmail up to everybody and you don’t need an invite anymore, so everyone is getting Gmail now and it has overloaded their servers with the new accounts. I’ve been using Gmail for some years now and my account must be on many servers and wasn’t affected like new accounts- did my studies- went for my evening walk where I found a little puppy, about 4 months old, wandering through the desert. The dog is skin and bones from lack of food and also appears to be blind. My first thought was to walk away because I really don’t want a dog and I know Cat wouldn’t either, but I couldn’t do that, and I let him follow me home. I had to make sounds so he could follow, he kept running into bushes. I fed him, gave him water, and Cat gave him a swipe on the nose. I will call the animal shelter tomorrow- watched “CSI” on CBS- started updating the website and set out the newsletter.
Friday 16- gorgeous day, must have got up to 70 degrees- did my stretches and rode my bike- worked in the yard cutting the dead palms from the palm trees hoping they will survive- did my studies outside sitting on a bench, real nice to do it that way when the weather is nice- called Stoney but he was too busy to talk because he was working on a trailer of a relative of Chris’s from New Mexico whose hitch had broke and needed welding. Stoney told me later when I called him that he spent 3 hours working on it and did it for free cause they where kin to Chris- went for my evening walk and took the blind dog with me to give him a little exercise. He is really blind and had to make noises so he could follow me. I called the Humane Society down on Sunfair and they said that kennel was full up. I asked them when it had a space would they call me and they said they aren’t taking blind dogs, I told them I understand and gave me some info on other places I might try- watched “Numbers” on CBS- Mike from Hermosa called and we jawed for a little over an hour about Quantum Computers- worked on the computer the rest of the night.
Saturday 17- did my stretches and ran a half mile; my right knee has been bothering me again- tried to get online to read my emails but the phone kept disconnecting. I’ve been having problems with it now for two weeks but it had seemed to get better until now. I found out that Linda S. has been having the same troubles and she called Verizon today- my Mom called and we talked for a while about family, I still can’t believe it is true, but it is- Linda D. and her dog came by to look at the blind puppy. We went for a short walk around my property she agreed that it was truly blind. She was going to the store so I tagged along to get some puppy chow- my Brother called and despite being cut off by my phone we had a nice conversation. We would be talking and lose the connection and he’d called me back continuing where we left off. I tried the phone on a direct circuit from the outside box by disconnecting the house but it still cut out so at least I know it’s not my problem but Verizon’s- went for my evening walk and took the blind dog with me. While going out the gate I looked back to the house and saw Cat on the roof watching us. Cat is jealous and I’ve been letting him stay in the house and feeding him extra food trying to keep him content and away from blind dog and blind dog is learning to stay away from Cat too! I was doing my stretches outside and Cat came between me and blind dog to guard me and swiped at his nose. After a few occurrences of this he avoids Cat by sniffing the air for him first- watched “Law and Order Criminal Intent” on NBC and then “South Park” on KCAL.
Sunday 18- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike- Mac came by with breakfast from the Masons Lodge and it was a lot: two eggs, two sausages, two sausage patties, two slices of bacon, two pancakes, and two biscuits cut in half with gravy! Dennis played with blind dog while Mac jawed and I ate- the phone is still messed up but was able to get online for bit and check emails- Joel came by with my mail and donuts. I really believe I need to cut these and other fattening food out of my diet- called up Tom and Aki to say hi- went on my evening walk and took blind dog with me- really nice sunset and I had my camera and took a picture and posted it here, what do ya think?- did some reading and watched “60” Minutes on CBS, then “Nova” and “Prime Suspect” on PBS- messed with the computer the rest of the night.
Monday 19- rainy windy day- did my stretches- Seimi came by with an old mattress he thought I’d like; I’ll use it in the trailer. He also got a look at blind dog so he can give a good description of him if he runs into anyone looking for a lost dog- did my studies- Linda D. came by to take some pics of blind dog and told me that Ron was home from the retreat- made a doctor appointment for Friday- went for my evening walk with blind dog. He’s getting better at following me but still bumps into a few bushes but not as many- watched “24” on FOX- started writing column for the newspaper.
Tuesday 20- got awoken by DHL at the ungodly hour of 7am saying that they will deliver my package between 11am to noon. A package of what I do not know. It could be that Welch's Grape Jelly contest where I entered a code that I found on a jar of jam on their website and they said I won a lawn game set! Cool, now all I need is a lawn in the desert and that ain’t going to happen- did my stretches, lifted weights, rode my bike and ran a half mile- DHL never showed at the time they had specified (and never showed at all today) so I went over to Stoney’s at 1:30 and helped him replace a trailer ball from his van while we jawed about him cleaning out his tool rooms- did my studies- went for my evening walk with blind dog- Jerry and Barb call to say hi and ask how blind dog is- Ron D. came by with a bone for blind dog- watched “NCIS” on CBS, then “Law and Order Criminal Intent” on NBC- finished column and sent it to the newspaper.
Wednesday 21- Seimi brought over a leash for blind dog- did my stretches and ran a mile- fat cat swiped blind dog a real good one in the face, so I decided to separate them and worked most of the day moving 16 dead L16 batteries that weigh around 100 pounds out of the old dog run that needed much cleaning and a shelter built. I used to have a doghouse in it but I gave Andrew it for his dogs a few months ago, so I built a makeshift shelter that seems to full the order. I got everything finished but as soon as I put blind dog inside and shut the gate he found a way out! I put him back inside and watched to see how he did it. He had found a wide part in the wire fence that I quickly fixed. Pretty dang smart for a blind dog - DHL finally delivers my package and it was from that Welch's Grape Jelly contest I entered- did my studies and started two online classes: one on "Understanding Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition", and another "Build your business identity "- watched “The Marines” and “The March of the Bonus Army” on PBS- worked on the computer the rest of the night.
Thursday 22- did my stretches, lifted weights, and ran a mile- Stoney called to asked for my help for a few minutes, so I went there and took a shower too. Now I’ll be clean when I see my Doctor tomorrow- did my studies- Dale from Landers called to give me a hard time and I returned as much- went for my evening walk with blind dog- Joel came by with a donation of two bags of puppy food and a Subway sandwich for me-watched “CSI” on CBS- worked on the computer replying to emails and stuff like that.
Friday 23- really windy with some clouds blowing by today but it didn’t rain. Took a few pics of the dust being blown into the sky and over into the mountains from the dry lake down there on Sunfair- did my stretches- Stoney arrived at 1:45 and drove me to town for my Doctors appointment. Afterwards we stopped at Santana’s Mexican restaurant and had a couple of beef burritos with lots of hot sauce and jalapenos. Before he drove me home we swung over to his house so I could show him how to edit some graphics on his computer- watched “Numbers” on CBS and then “South Park” on KCAL- worked on the computer.
Saturday 24- nice and sunny day- did my stretches and took blind dog with me when I ran a mile. He did really good following and not running into things- updated website- worked around the yard putting things away so blind dog won’t walk into them and cutting some more dead palms off my poor palm trees- on his way to potluck Stoney dropped off a bowl of his legendary chili- went for my evening walk with blind dog- called Mom and Dad- coming back from potluck Stoney had a plate of leftovers for me- did my studies- watched “Rosemary and Thyme” on PBS- Mike from Hermosa called and we yapped about this and that and computer stuff for 80 minutes- worked on the computer and read the rest of the night.
Sunday 25- did my stretches, lifted weights, rode my bike and ran a mile with blind dog- worked in the yard some- did my studies, because I missed doing them on Friday due to Doctors appointment (I usually take Saturday and Sunday off)- my Brother called and we jawed for over an hour- went for my evening walk with BD- Joel came by and brought dinner and I did a minor correction on his website- called Mac but the phone kept cutting out, so we made it short- watched “Nature” and then “Prime Suspect” on PBS- called Mike from Hermosa.
Monday 26- did my stretches, lifted weights, rode my bike and ran a mile with blind dog (same as yesterday)- did my studies- I’ve been checking out the Nokia N800 which is an Internet Tablet since they released it last January and I might dig into my savings a bit to purchase one (not that I can afford one, but I can save my pennies, nickels, and dimes. My lack of will power in this is due more of my addiction to high tech and my hermitism then anything else)- went over to Stoney’s and helped him on his computer and ate cookies- went for my evening walk with BD- watched “24” on FOX- started writing my column for the newspaper- oh yes, it was nice to hear that Helen Mirren, who I watch on the “Prime Suspect” show on PBS won an Oscar for best actress last night for her role portraying the Queen. I haven’t seen the movie but saw the ads for it on TV but didn’t know it was her till today when I read she won. A fine Actress indeed!
Tuesday 27- really windy with the dust clouds coming from the dry lake bed just like last Friday- did my stretches and took the blind dog for a walk- wrote my column and sent it to the newspaper, had to send it later in the evening because my phone kept dieing- yesterday and today Linda S. called and we discussed the blind puppy. She said she may be able to help me get a few jobs around here fixing folks computers and installing solar panels- fat cat is getting fatter now that I let him stay inside and feed him extra. He was getting kind of jealous over blind dog and I had to compensate him with food- went for my evening walk with blind dog and fat cat did something I never seen him do, he followed me and the dog far away from the protection of the fence and his sphere of influence, his territory, his realm: the backyard! I will keep him inside the house when I go for my walks for now on- Linda D. came by with some leftover food from where she is working- watched “NCIS” on CBS- did my studies and messed around with the computer but the phone still keeps going out.
Wednesday 28- still very windy and cold. It reminded me of that movie “Alien” when the spaceship Nostromo landed on that planet with high winds blowing dust and the crew went outside in spacesuits. I didn’t have a spacesuit so I just did my stretches and walked blind dog- worked on the website changing the calendar to March and a few minor small tweaks- John M. calls to ask my help moving a truck that a guy left in the middle of Friendship Road. The guy ODed on some drug or other and his girlfriend dragged him over to poor John’s house, where John called the paramedics. We tried to move the truck but we couldn’t get it into gear because you had to use a crowbar as a shifter. So we left it there and John called the gal at the hospital and said he’d watch it for them until they could get it moved. John said that the gal told him that they lived around here close by- I finally got fed up with the phone disconnecting all the time that I called Verizon to have them fix it, only to get an automated voice asking me what’s wrong and I telling it the problem and to schedule a technician to come out and fix it. One hour later that automated voice calls to say they had fixed the problem and asked me if the line was better to answer yes or no, when the line abruptly goes dead. I called and got a live person this time and they will send a tech out Saturday- FedEx delivered me a package- took blind dog for a walk- watched “Secrets of the Dead” On PBS about D Day invasion of Normandy- worked some on the computer- Farewell to February you been quite a windy Month!!