March 2007

Thursday 01- welcome to the month of March 2007- did my stretches, lifted weights, rode my bike, and ran a mile, took blind dog with me- went over to Stoney’s for lunch (macaroni and cheese). Worked with him on his computer skills- Joel dropped off my mail- Andrew called to say that he saw a film crew filming some kind of race movie down on Lear and Poleline. There were two very expensive racecars and actors hanging about. He would have stopped to ask what the film was about but they didn’t look friendly, he said- went on my evening walk with blind dog-did my studies- started updating the website and sent out the newsletter.
Friday 02- cool and a bit windy so I just did my stretches and took blind dog for a walk- while reading my emails I opened one from my friend Agnes’s daughter Nancy that said Agnes had passed yesterday, she had took her nap and didn’t wakeup. I meet Agnes when I lived on a boat on a mooring in King Harbor back in the 70s. Agnes, her husband Jim, and their Newfoundland dog name Toby lived on a boat on V dock and I’d pass by their boat everyday on my way to my skip for the row out to my boat. Jim had passed on a few years after I’d met him and I’d stop by and visit Agnes to cheer her up every once and a while and we became very good friends. Agnes neighbors Joyce and Bill lived a few slips down were very good friends and also helped Agnes through that tuff time in her life. In winter of 1979 Agnes and Nancy went to Europe and traveled by rail. They inspired me to get off my butt and do the same that spring and I traveled around Europe for almost three months. After Europe Agnes went to live with Nancy and her Husband in Deer Park Washington. I bought Agnes’s Columbian M2 sailboat and lived on it for many a year with trips to Catalina Island and bumming around the South Bay. I made, I think, maybe three trips or more to Deer Park to visit Agnes and also had purchased property there. Agnes love to paint; she had many of her own work hanging on the walls of her mobile home and she had sent me a shirt with a seagull painted on it that I have never worn but keep covered up and in a safe place, I think I will take it out and frame it and hang it on my own wall. We kept in touch through the years. She was a very dear friend and I am really saddened by her passing- went over to Stoney’s just to get out of the house for a while and be around someone- went for a walk with blind dog- did my studies- watched “Frontline” on PBS about blogs and newspapers- worked on the computer updating the website and my own blog.
Saturday 3- got woken up at the ungodly hour of 9am by the Verizon phone tech here to fix my line. I told him what was wrong and he checked the house and said that wasn't the problem (I knew that already) and said it must be the amplifier to this circuit and told me that he'd call me when it was fixed- did my stretches, lifted weights, and walked the blind dog. I would have did a run but wanted to be around in case the phone tech guy called- Ron D. came by to chat and had a soup bone for the blind dog and split pea soup for me. Blind dog lost the bone and I hunted around the yard for 45 minutes but couldn't find it- called Tom and Aki, then Called Mom and Dad using cell phone- did my studies- went for my evening walk with blind dog- phone tech guy never called me back to say he'd fixed the phone and I've been off it all day so I decided to call Stoney and say hi and while I was talking to him the line went dead. I guess that is why the phone tech guy never called to say it was fixed-Mike called and we yapped for a while- did some work on the computer and some blogging.
Sunday 04- a little breezy and cool but I did my stretches and ran a mile with blind dog- called Joel to come over and we updated his website- my Brother called and left a message. I called him later in the day but he was busy placing vending machines for his business and will try to call me back tomorrow (my Brother is a real entrepreneur)- did my studies- went for my evening walk with blind dog- called and talked to Barb and Jerry for a while- watched "60 Minutes" on CBS- Stoney called to say that Scott, his grandson who is staying with him for a few days with his girlfriend, saw flashing red lights down by my house. I went outside to take a look see and it looked like it was up on Saturn street over by Judith's home so Stoney called her and she checked it out and it turns out to be her next door neighbor. We will find out more later what happen from Judith cause she went over there right after she got off the phone with Stoney- worked and surf the web the rest of the night.
Monday 05- really nice and warm day- did my stretches and ran two miles with blind dog- studied most of the day to finish my two online courses, now I can start on something new. So far my phone has been working ok, but the phone tech never called back to say if it was fixed- went for my evening walk- Andrew dropped by on his evening run to checkout blind dog- watched “24” on FOX- started writing my column for the newspaper.
Tuesday 06- really gorgeous sunny day- did my stretches, lifted weights, took blind dog on a mile run, and rode my bike- Stuart dropped by to include this in my column: On Saturday 10, there will be a GIANT YARD SALE at the Community Center’s Old Fire Station from Noon till dusk, everything must go to make room. Come on down and enjoy Chuck’s famous hotdogs while you rummage through the bargains galore! I put it in my column and sent it to the newspaper- did my studies- went for my evening walk with blind dog- Ron D. came over with some leftovers and we jawed for a while- watched “NCIS” on CBS- Chuck and Joey stopped by with a turkey dinner from Bingo. They told me of a stolen late model Lincoln Navigator that some thief stripped and abandoned in a field near his home- wrapped up some loose ends on the computer and read the rest of the night.
Wednesday 07- did my stretches- went to Yucca with Stoney and did some shopping at WalMart. Saw Ron, a friend of Kern's, but he didn't have much to say. He was dressed for combat, thou he ain't in no army- did my studies- went for my evening walk with blind dog- called Roger T. for a jaw- called Stoney and my phone died again, so I guess it wasn't fixed- watched a video "Mouse Hunt" and it made me laugh.
Thursday 08- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile with blind dog, and rode my bike- checked my house batteries to see if they needed water- installed some hooks to hang coats on and a towel rack in the kitchen- Ron and Linda brought their dog over to visit blind dog. We took both dogs for a short walk on the desert trails that surround my home- went to Stoney’s for lunch (chef’s salad) and ordered some memory for our cameras and a 512 meg for Barb and Jerry’s computer- “CSI” was a rerun so I watched “The Rundown” staring the Rock- worked on website getting it ready for the weekend update and sent out the newsletter.
Friday 09- did my stretches and ran a mile with blind dog- updated the website- worked in the yard watering plants- did the laundry- Stoney called to say he baked peanut butter cookies and to come get some- Dana, my neighbor who lives with his wife to the northwest dropped by to say hi. I’ve only talked to him a few times and he seems like a real nice guy. He’s retired from driving cement trucks. I showed him my solar panels- did my studies and finish the astronomy book I’ve been reading- watched “Numbers” on CBS- did some computer stuff.
Saturday 10- did my stretches, weights, ran a mile with blind dog, and rode my bike- Ron D. came by with some bones for blind dog and needed me to print some PDF for him- started changing the clocks on my computers to daylight savings time- called Mom and Dad and yakked at them for a while- called Nancy to talk to her about her Mother (my dear friend) Agnes. She told me that they will be having the memorial for Agnes on the 17th of this month. Tried to help Nancy get her bookmarks restored after her son fixed her computer, but they were gone for good- went for my evening walk with BD- called my Brother and jawed with him about his business. Sounds like he is really getting things done- did my studies- just messed around with the computer the rest of the night.
Sunday 11- did my stretches and ran a mile with blind dog- worked in the yard- called Audrey and left a message- called Paula and we chatted for a while and she emailed everyone’s birthday- Dale from Landers called and we traded insults for a while- went for my evening walk with BD- did my studies- watched “60Minutes” on CBS- Mike from Hermosa called and we talked about electric cars- worked on the computer the rest of the night trying to get a movie to play.
Monday 12- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile (blind dog didn’t want to go), and rode my bike- Linda D. call to ask if I’d help her hook up her entertainment center as a surprise for Ron. Ron told me that there are some folks who had donated some money for blind dog to get him looked at by a Vet. I thought that was very nice- worked on my “Trusty” scooter: a line that provides oil to the engine had broke and it was a tight fit getting it back on- did my studies- went for my evening walk with blind dog- watched “24” on FOX- worked on my column and other computer stuff- took out the telescope for the first time this year- did some stretches, lifted weights, and went to bed.
Tuesday 13- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile (and again blind dog didn’t want to go), and rode my bike- did some cleaning up of my living room- wrote my column and sent it to the newspaper- did my studies Sam from UPS dropped off the 512meg memory for Barb and Jerry’s computer but not the two SD cards, they will be here tomorrow. Sam wanted to see the pictures I took on my trip to Tucson. His family is doing fine: his Wife is going to college taking nursing and his oldest Daughter is taking some high level music classes- went for my evening walk with blind dog- Joel called to say hi- called Seimi and had a chat with him- Chuck and Joey came by with some leftovers and was yapping at them when Stuart and Lee’s Daughter and Granddaughter stopped to see blind dog- Mike from Hermosa called to say he may have found a kennel that takes in German Shepherds, but the lady there said only as a last resort- watched “NCIS” on CBS- Stoney stopped by on his way back home from Bingo- lately I have been taking my telescope out. I haven’t done so this year because of the cold and the wind. Last night and again tonight I trained my scope on the constellation Cancer and the Beehive open cluster. Further to the east on the Ecliptic is Leo, a backwards question mark in the sky, where I found Saturn, tilted just enough to make a nice display of its rings- did some stretches, lifted weights, and went to bed.
Wednesday 14- Mike from Hermosa called me up late last night and gave me the number for a shelter in Fullerton that would take blind dog. I have to give it some thought, I think I’d prefer to have him in a private home than in a shelter. I just don’t know- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile with blind dog, and rode my bike- John came by to ask if I needed anything from the store: bread. He told me that he was selling his Toyoda truck that was rolled and missing a windshield. I made him an offer, he checked with his wife and accepted, I wrote him out a check and he will drive it over tomorrow- Linda brought her new Apple MacBook over for me to drool over and install Firefox on it for her. I was going to setup her ISP but she forgot her password and user ID- Sam the UPS man came with the rest of my delivery- drove my “Trusty” scooter over to Stoney’s and put the SD 2 gigabyte drive in his Kodak camera. I went over shooting videos on his camera with him- went for my evening walk with blind dog- watched “Bones” on FOX- did my studies- worked on some computer stuff then did some stretches, lifted weights and went to bed.
Thursday 15- Mike from Hermosa called to tell me that Adele from the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County will call to make arrangements to pickup blind dog. Adele called and I asked her many questions about her organization and was satisfied. She would be driving out from Orange County and would meet me at WalMart. I called Stoney for a ride down to WalMart and he said he would. I got blind dog ready for the trip, I was getting really sad and was having second thoughts, but I believe this is the best and that he’d get the best care. Stoney brought Roger S. who needed to go to town to get a VW part, I loaded blind dog into his van and we arrived at WalMart 30 minutes later. We were parked in front and as I opened the door blind dog jumped out and landed flat on the street twisting his leg and yelping. Everyone there at the store turned their heads in my direction and I had thought “my god he broke his leg” but he started limping on it and eventually was walking ok. Adele came up to me and said I must be Bob. We talked some and took pictures of me and blind dog. The German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County is a non-profit organization that has about 125 volunteers. When they first get a dog they drop it at the vet, sometimes spending thousands of dollars. They post the dog’s picture on the website and put the dog in a foster home (not in a cage) until it is adopted: which they have strict rules about. I said farewell to my little blind dog and it felt like I had lost a good friend- Stoney took me and Roger S. to get some lunch at a Chinese restaurant and then took us all home- at home I cleaned up everything of blind dog’s, took apart the shelter I made for him, filled all those holes he dug, and put away his collar and leash. I thought it best not to be reminded of him at the moment- John M. delivered the Toyoda truck and I drove it over to Stoney’s for him to have a “look see”, he said it was fixable- went for my evening walk and felt lonely cause I didn’t have my friend trailing behind me and made up my mind to call Adele and tell her that if they can’t find some one to adopt blind dog that I would have him back- Adele called me to say that blind dog was dropped off at the Vet and one of the gals there fell in love with him, that he will get all his shots and anything else he needs, even surgery for his vision. I told her about my feelings and she said that I will be his safety net if no one adopts him. His new name is Sully now and she emailed me some pictures she took. Adlele told me that she drove 267 miles today! Now that's what I call commitment- did my studies and worked on the computer the rest of the night. What a day!
Friday 16- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile, and rode my bike- sent out newsletter- drove the “banged up” Toyoda over to Ron and Linda’s to show it off and help Linda move some heavy cement blocks into a kind of mosaic walkway- Stoney called to say that he thinks he can use parts of the old Suzuki, especially the front grill where the headlights are. He needs me to leave it over at his house for a few days and I will drive it over later on after I help Linda D. setup her ISP on the new MacBook- drove my Toyoda truck over to Stoney’s. We both checked out the damage to come up with a plan to fix it, I left it there and walked home for my evening walk- did my studies- Stoney came by with Judith who’s car broke down on Lear Ave. and we got some rope and towed it to her home- updated the website- check to see if they got blind dog on the German Shepherd website and they did you can click here: Sullivan, the name they gave blind dog to see him.You Might have to reload the page to make it appear- did my studies, lifted weights, surfed the web and went to bed.
Saturday 17- did my stretches- Stoney called and is going to town for a part for Judith’s VW and wanted to know if I wanted to go. On the way to town I spied a camper in someone’s backyard that was for sale, we’ll stop on our drive back. Went to Staters, got some gas, mailed our letters, then stopped at Desert Cycle to check on a fuel feeder for the Honda Sprees (Stoney wants to have one repaired for Angela when his son Jimmy’s family come out to visit) and found that it would be cheaper and easier to make them ourselves then hunt them down. On our way back we stopped and took down the phone number for the camper. I called them and went back down with the Toyoda and bought it. Slid the truck underneath and drove away, it is sitting in my driveway right now- got good news from Adele that a couple had adopted Sully (blind dog). Their dog who was also blind and adopted had died a while ago and they are going to be Sully’s new owners. That is good news indeed!- did my studies, surfed the web and went to bed.
Sunday 18- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile, and rode my bike- moved old “faithful” truck that took a dump out of the way to make room for the camper and new truck. And it weren’t easy doing it by myself, took about 2 hours of backbreaking work- went over to Stoney’s to take a “real” shower and then watched him play Spider Solitaire. He was tired too from working on Judith’s VW- went for my evening walk- watched “Rolling Stones Circus” on PBS- did my studies- lifted weights, surfed the web. Put in-house repair on my Verizon account so I won’t have to worry about them charging me when they come out to fix this problem that’s not in my house line but theirs, Verizon has been out here two times for the same problem already and have said it was their problem but never fixed it and I don’t want them billing me by mistake @ $87.00 an hour!
Monday 19- did my stretches- Joel came by with my mail and some sweet rolls- Andrew calls about a computer problem, he knows I like them- Jerry came by to give me a ride to his house so I can upgrade his computer with the 512Meg of RAM that I ordered last week. It took only a few minutes to upgrade the RAM and less than an hour to install, update, and run Spybot anti-spyware program. Barbara made some Mexican something or other out of ground beef, mushroom soup, and diced jalapeno on a tortilla with cheese for lunch. It was mighty good!- dropped by Andrew’s to checkout computer problem- did my studies- went for my evening walk- Andrew came by for a chat. I showed him my new truck and camper. It was getting dark so I took out the telescope and watched the crescent Moon set behind the mountains and then turned it on Saturn. Andrew saw a meteor shoot across the lens of the scope. We also tracked a satellite as it cross the sky- watched “24” on FOX but I kept switching it over to ”Deal or No Deal” to see how a girl that was plucked from a hotdog stand was doing, she ended up winning $67,000! Then watched “Secrets of the Dead” on PBS- worked on the computer.
Tuesday 20- did my stretches, called Verizon, I got fed up with the line cutting out every few minutes. I got cutoff when I was telling my problem to a phone person. He called back and said he ran a test on my line and it was a problem with the inside line. I told him, how could that be since I’m calling from the outside box with the house line disconnected; but he insisted and I hung up. I called Stoney and he brought me over a brand new phone and I connected it to the outside box and called Verizon again and got a friendlier and reasonable person and was telling him the problem when it went dead again. He said he would put in the log that it went dead while he was talking to me when I was using the outside box with the house line disconnected. The repair person will be here Thursday- did my studies- John M. and I went to the DMV to register the truck- went for my evening walk- Seimi came over for the 50 lbs of dog food I have leftover- watched “Nova” on PBS- wrote my column and set it to the newspaper.
Wednesday 21- did my stretches and ran a mile- Andrew picked me up and we went over to Roger T.'s home to get a Windows XP disk to repair Andrew's laptop- installed the XP on my desktop to see if it was functioning, and it was- phone repair guy shows up and tries to fix it but it still cuts out. He will have some other repair folks replace some sort of amplifier tomorrow or the next day, until then my phone is worthless- Chuck dropped by for a chat- did my studies- watched "Bones" on CBS, then "Through Deaf Eyes" on PBS- worked on the computer the rest of the night.
Thursday 22- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile, and rode my bike- cleaned out the camper and found where the 12 volt gets connected- did my studies- watched "Insomnia" on KCOP- worked on the computer- my phone line is still messed up.
Friday 23- did my stretches and ran a mile- called Martin from Verizon to tell him that my phone still isn’t working. He will have some tech guy come out and change something somewhere that sounds like a piece of equipment from a particle accelerator- dropped by Stoney’s to move his welding rig over to the old Suzuki he uses for parts and we’re going to take the front end off to put it on my Toyota- went for my evening walk- did my studies and worked on the computer the rest of the night- my longtime friend, Lenore, from long ago when I worked as a security guard at Harbor Cove called. We chatted for only a few minutes because my phone would keep dieing.
Saturday 24- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile, and rode my bike- phone still not working- Ron D. called to say hi- did my studies- Dale from Landers called to jaw about my “Thought of the Week”- called my Mom and Dad- went for my evening walk and found that somebody had dumped a pile of garbage by a vacant cabin on the corner of Borland Pass and Presswood. I did a fast search through it to see if I could find anything with an address when I call in to report it. As I picked up a bag of “Ol'Roy” dog food from the heap, a big gray long tailed rat leaped out landing on my shoe which made me jump back and drop the bag. I decided to just poke around the debris of kitchen trash, and construction rubble, with a piece of iron rod that was laying about. I found an old wooden box, the hinges were worn and wobbled, an empty cavity where a lock’s mechanism had previously been. The wood was stained dark brown and a little warped, bigger than a cigar box, more like a jewelry case, I’d say. Inside I found old handkerchiefs, pressed flowers in wax paper, a clipping from some newspaper, a picture of a baby girl from the 40s or 50s, and a Wedding Certificate! The certificate was dated 1942, the Groom was 55 and the Bride was 39. I took the box home. I don’t believe that these are the folks that did the dumping. I think that it was dumped by somebody doing a renovation of a cabin they had just acquired and threw out the contents of the cabin along with the other rubble. I will report it to the police if my phone will let me- read some and worked on the computer the rest of the night.
Sunday 25- forgot to tell you about a couple I met yesterday when I was riding my bike. Their names were Abner and Anna Marie, they have a church down in El Monte and are looking to build a retreat for their church goers over on Mars and 5 acres down from Borland Pass. They seemed like nice folks and asked if there were any parcels of land around here for $2000, I told them not anymore and not for a long, long time- did my stretches and ran a mile- did a systems cleanup and defrag on my Toshiba laptop- removed the towing eyes from Toyota that John M. called me last night at 1:30 to tell me his son-in-law had left on the truck and needed back- Stoney called to tell me he made some cookies, so I rushed on over there. We checked out how we were going to install the front end from the Suzuki onto the Toyota and watched some “Gun Smoke” on TV- went for my evening walk- did my studies- watched “60 Minutes” on CBS- messed around with the computer.
Monday 26- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile, and rode my bike- Ron D. came by to chat and played a little guitar too- did a system cleanup and defrac on my IBM laptop- Stoney called, he was over at Sue's fixing leaks on her trailer but I will go over with him on Wednesday to get at the hard to get to places for him. I drove over to Stoney's to pick up a tarp I had left off the Toyota when I went to get the camper. Stoney was plumb tucked out from all the work he's been doing lately and was sitting in his boxer shorts playing Spider solitaire on his computer while I hit the cookie jar- went for my evening walk- did my studies- watched "24" on FOX- Andrew called asking my help in relocating a baby snake that had wandered into his home while he was painting. Turned out not to be the poison kind and we set it free over on Borland Pass by an old abandoned cabin. I don't like killing critters for no reason(my Fat Cat doesn't hold my feelings toward critters that as I do) and Andrew feels the same as I- phone is still cutting out after two days of working without it dieing on me.
Tuesday 26- really windy so I just did my stretches- Stoney called to say he’s going to Bar Lumber in 29 to pickup tubing to fix the water pipes in Sue’s trailer and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I needed a 5 gallon tank of propane so I went along. After Bar we got cheeseburgers at Burger King- John M. came by with some items that Roger T. wants to buy and Roger came over and picked them up- did my studies- too cold and windy for an evening walk today- Chuck and Joseph dropped off some BBQ sausage and beans, mighty good stuff- watched “NCIS” on CBS- wrote column and sent it to the newspaper- phone is working good today!
Wednesday 28- not feeling well (something I ate) so I just did my stretches- called Stoney to see if we were going to Sue's to fix water pipes, but he couldn't get a hold of her so we'll do it tomorrow- just did my studies and went for my evening walk- watched "Bones" on FOX- surfed the web the rest of the night.
Thursday 29- did my stretches and ran a mile- Stoney called to go over to Sue’s trailer and we spent over 5 hours trying to fix leaks. We would fix one and then another would burst squirting a stream of water. We finally found one that we couldn’t get to easily and because it was getting late will have to continue it tomorrow and we hope that Sue will clean up some of the rubbish around where we have to work- went for my evening walk from Stoney’s after I took a shower there to remove some of the crud and threw my grimy work clothes in his washer- someone (Joel?) left a box of “Chips Ahoy” cookies in my mailbox- did my studies- Chuck and Joseph brought me by some bbq pork and chicken that they are preparing for Bingo dinner next week: it was mighty good- watched “CSI” on CBS- updated the website and sent out the newsletter.
Friday 30- did my stretches, lifted weights, ran a mile and rode my bike- Stoney came by to barrow my wet-vac for Sue to clean her trailer- Andrew came by(it was he who left the "Chips Ahoy" cookies in my mailbox yesterday) to get a DMV form printed off the web for Chuck, then Chuck shows up and we all sat around and jawed- started working on my taxes but couldn't finish them cause I'm missing one 1099-DIV- went for my evening walk and jawed with Biker Ron and his Mother- did my studies and finished the Meteorology textbook, last week I finished the Astronomy textbook. I am getting most of what I am studying out of the way for when I begin the programming course. I am still trying to decide which language to learn: C++, Java, C#, or Ruby- watched "Numbers" on CBS- Mike from Hermosa called but my phone died.
Saturday 31- did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike- spent the afternoon finishing my taxes- on his way to potluck, Stoney dropped off a bowl of chili beans (which I immediately consumed)- went for my evening walk- called and yapped with my Mom and Dad- my Brother Kevin called (I still have a hard time believing that I really have a Brother, and four Sisters!) and while we were talking Andrew came by and I let Kevin talk to him, then Stoney drove up and Kevin got to talk to him too! Chuck pulled in for a fast chat then left. I was taking pictures of the sunset and Andrew came up with an idea for a shot of him holding the sun, but I like the pic of him trying to eat it, looks strange and it’s the one posted here- did my studies- watched “Rosemary and Thyme” on PBS- updated the calendar on the website- surfed the web for info on programming languages. Good bye to March! Ya have been very windy, and a little sad for me, but still a productive and out of the ordinary month.