April 2008

Welcome to the Month of April - did my stretches and ran two miles.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 47 to 73, winds out of the NW to SW at 3-12 MPH, humidity around 26 percent, high cirrus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Light wind becoming west southwest between 13 and 16 mph. Wednesday Night: A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. West northwest wind between 9 and 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.”
        Spent a few hours writing my column and sent it to the newspaper. Started pulling the Sahara Mustard weeds again while listening to an astronomy lecture. Got quite a bit of the weeds removed but there is still much more to pull. I’ll just do a little bit each day till I get it done. Hope came by to pick up the MacBook I am lending her. I took a break from weed pulling to setup the Mac the way she is used to using it.
        Read a chapter in the Sci-Fi book and then went for my evening walk listening to more lectures (I listened to two complete lectures today!). Did you know that the Sun converts 657 million tons of hydrogen to 653 million tons of helium every second. That the 4 million tons (subtract 653 from 657) is converted into energy that is radiated out to space. And that our Earth receives only 4 pounds of this energy every second that keeps the planet warm and supports all living life!
        Got back and read “Black Holes and Time Warps” for a while until “Nova: Voyage to the Mystery Moon” about the voyage of the spacecraft Cassini and its cargo Huygens (that landed on Titan) to study Saturn and its moon Titan. Nice program!
        Did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for my nightly run. The wind was blowing but not too bad and it was a dark and beautiful night; too windy for the telescope though. Read a little more of the “Black Holes and Time Warps” book. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 02 - did my stretches and ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights. Not too windy. Nice day!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 49 to 71, winds out of the NW to W at 7-19 MPH, humidity around 20 percent, altocumulus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 72. Northwest wind between 8 and 14 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Northwest wind between 7 and 9 mph.”
        Taxes, I need to start preparing my Taxes! That’s what I did for the better part of the day: Taxes. Have you ever tried to hunt up some particular information at the IRS? One section will refer you to another, one form needs another form. Call them up to ask a question and you can get two different answers; it seems like nobody really understands the Tax codes.
        Went over to Stoney’s for dinner. He and Roger were waiting for me in the living room; I was a little late. We all sat down in the kitchen to eat a chef’s salad that Stoney threw together, which was mighty filling and hit the spot. We jawed for a long while about the new Indian Casino that is being built in Twentynine Palms. Stoney’s friend has some property across the street from the site and she could get a lot of money for it now. I spent more time there then I thought and said my goodbyes.
        Got home and went on my evening walk listening to an astronomy lecture, then spent till sundown pulling out them Sahara Mustard weeds. It seems to be a fruitless situation because there is so many of them and I can’t get them all. My only hope is that I can get rid of most of them and that the bugs and other critters will eat the majority of what is left.
        Read the Sci-Fi book till late into the evening. Then I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for my nightly run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 03 - did my stretches and that was all; I am taking the day off and going to town.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 50 to 74, winds out of the NW to W at 8-11 MPH, humidity around 28 percent, cumulus Humilus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming west southwest between 11 and 14 mph. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. West wind between 14 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.”
        Did a few things on the computer and then I was off in the Gross Polluter headed for town. My first stop was to get gas and that was $3.46 at the Arco station in Yucca; just handed them $20 and pumped my gas. Stopped by the Chamber of Commerce at the California Welcome Center in Yucca to get some information on what I may need to do my Taxes for my dialup service (a friend told me to try there). They weren’t much help on that but the nice ladies there had some ideas where I could ask. Went to WalMart to get Fat Cat his food, and then over to Staters Bros to get a few supplies of my own. Got some 6 inch lag bolts for my patio at Home Depot to bolt on a two by four runner so I can have something to screw down the top to.
        Got home and called one of the numbers that I was given at the Chamber of Commerce, and the man who helped me said that I need to fill out schedule C and also a 540 for the state. Cool, I can do that! (I think)
        Went for my evening walk, but it was a little too windy so I cut it short. Did some more research on the computer for my tax return. Then I spent the night reading the Sci-Fi book, I guess I got really involved in it because I finished it all up at around 12:30am and didn‘t know it was that late. Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 04 - did my stretches, ran two miles, rode my bike and lifted weights. Not bad outside but the wind picked up later in the day.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 51 to 75, winds out of the NW to SW at 2-18 MPH, humidity around 18 percent, cumulus Humilus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. West northwest wind between 8 and 15 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. West northwest wind between 13 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.”
        Worked on the weekly update for my website Copper Mountain Mesa and sent out the newsletter. I got an email from Brenda Zimmer saying that out community center has been broken into again last week. This time they got in through the front door, then went into the kitchen and broke the locks on the two refrigerator doors and took some food. Stoney told me that he had asked them not to lock the doors to the refrigerators because they would cost more to fix then any food that would be pilfer, but no one listened to him. Anyways we all hope that the police catch him before we do.
        Did more weeding in the yard listening to an astronomy lecture. Seems like the lectures help the time go by a little faster. Then I started a new Sci-Fi book “The Two Faces of Tomorrow” by James P. Hogan, 1979, and read three chapters throughout the day.
        Went for my evening walk but it was windy again and had to cut it short. Then I read a chapter in “Black Holes and Time Warps” about Schwarzschild”s spacetime curvature. Hey this book is really tough! Hopefully some of it may seep into my little brain. Read a little astronomy too. “Numbers” was on CBS. A new one! About a meth lab raid leads the crew to a white supremacy group’s safe house and Charlie has to sort through data and figure out their evil plan.
        Did my stretches, lifted weights, too windy for a nightly run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 05 - did my stretches and that was all because of the high winds. I have never seen it so consistently windy in the eleven years I’ve been living up here.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 54 to 77, winds out of the NW to W at 7-14 MPH with gusts up to 34, humidity around 18 percent, hazy. According to the National Weather Service “Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. West northwest wind between 8 and 16 mph. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 51. West wind between 11 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.”
        George came by to pay for his dialup and we chatted for a while. He used to work on computers in the 60s and we talked shop about those old computers. He quit computers as I was starting and worked on some of the same antiquated equipment that I did! Cool!
        Did some more tweaks on the website updating the calendar, adding a picture of the Sahara Mustard weed, and moving a few things around. Called my friend Larry Carlock to yap at him. He is looking to buy his daughter a new laptop and asked my opinion on which was best. Called a few other folks too.
        You know that sometimes it’s just good sense to just let yourself go. For instance when I play guitar at night, I do it with the lights out and my eyes shut, and I’ve found that if I let go of all negative thoughts that wander through my head and just listen and enjoy what I’m playing, that I hit a zone where I feel whole, complete, and happy. Strange, but it works! I wonder if I could use this in other portions of my life. I have met folks who seem to have incorporated this in a natural transcendent way, that gives energy to all those around them in a “never say it can’t be done” attitude. These are the people that interest me most.
        Went over to Stoney’s to have leftover chili beans mixed with rice, with him and Roger. I had to leave early to call Mom and Dad to see what they been up to. Then I pulled some more of that dang Sahara Mustard weed out of my yard. Read a couple of chapters in the Sci-Fi book, talked to my brother Kevin who helped me out with some tax questions I had. I decided to watch “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” on ABC and let the movie take my mind to the far away world of Wizards. Did my stretches, lifted weights, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night

Sunday 06 - did my stretches and lifted weights. Dang windy again!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 56 to 81, winds out of the W to NW at 10-16 MPH with gusts up to 34, humidity around 22 percent, hazy. According to the National Weather Service “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 75. West northwest wind between 10 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. West northwest wind between 8 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.”
        Can’t say I did much of anything today because of the wind. It did die down a bit around 3pm and I went for my evening walk then, but picked right back up an hour later. Went over to Stoney’s for dinner, we had some leftover chili beans on rice again, and I hope I’ve seen the last of them. Watched the ending to “Death Wish 4” made in 1987 starring Charles Bronson, who goes out and kills all the bad guys without getting his hair messed up. Yeah 1987, not cell phones but beepers, no internet just BBS (Bulletin Board System), roller skates not rollerblades, and five day deodorant (Imagine not showering for five days, saving water I guess. Yuck!).
        One good thing today was that NBC brought back “Monk” to Sundays, I always liked the show but they took it off regular broadcast TV some years ago and put it on their cable station. Anyways I glad we got the Monk back! Then I read some of the Sci-Fi book, did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 07 - did my stretches and got ready to go to town. Still too dang windy to run!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 50 to 79, winds out of the NW at 7-21 MPH with gusts up to 27, humidity around 24 percent, hazy. According to the National Weather Service “Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Breezy, with a west wind 6 to 9 mph increasing to between 21 and 24 mph. Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. Breezy, with a west wind 21 to 24 mph decreasing to between 10 and 13 mph. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.”
        Jumped in the Gross Polluter and drove on down to Yucca Valley. On the way I stopped off at the Library in JT to pick up some tax forms. Andrew was in Yucca getting his car fixed and I called him on my cell while driving and found that it is unsafe to talk and drive especially when you drive a stick shift; one hand on the steering wheel and one on the shifter, I had to tell him to hang on every time I shifted gears. I need to get a headset or something for my phone, hey maybe a Bluetooth ear thingy and look like the Borg! We went to an Internet Café and spent a few hours there. Lots of fun! Afterwards I took him to the Ford dealership to collect his car and dropped him off there. Went to WalMart to get some white paint for the porch I’m building.
        Gail called needing help setting up her computer. I told her I could do it in a couple of days after I got my taxes done. Then George stopped by to look at a trailer I have sitting in the back of my place. He said that it was too small for his needs. Went for my evening walk and then read a few chapters in the Sci-Fi book till it was time for “New Amsterdam” to come on. About an old partner of Detective Amsterdam who was dieing of a gunshot wound he had gotten years ago when trying to arrest gun smugglers.
        Did my stretches and lifted weights, practiced my guitar. Mike from Hermosa Beach called to talk while he was on a walk at the beach. Wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 08 - did my stretches and ran two miles. I caught it just before the winds started to blow!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 53 to 76, winds out of the NW at 11-23 MPH with gusts up to 40, humidity around 18 percent, hazy with some low clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 69. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 16 and 24 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. Northwest wind between 10 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.”
        This is one of those days where I’d rather be going to the dentist to get a tooth pulled! I spent all day doing my taxes. I have found that I am incompetent at doing anything that involves paperwork and filling out forms. I did complete my taxes to the best of my ability after running myself wacky; my little brain felt fried like a cracked egg in a sizzling skillet full of boiling bacon grease. I had to hunt down through a jumble of my old tax forms going back to 1999 to correct an error I had made in 2004 that was carried over the following years. Yikes! There is a secret place unbeknownst to me where paper and other items that I have need of disappear. I had spent many an hour looking for a paper that I just written some figures on that had vanished into this secret place. The dang tax mailing envelope went there too! I made copies of everything and filed them away and signed the originals, put them in a regular envelope, licked it shut, put a stamp on it, and I will mail it off tomorrow.
        While I was doing my taxes, my friend Joan came by to pay for her dialup. Andrew dropped by to yap for a bit. I got a call from some company with a recording saying that “this is the second warning that the warranty on your car has run out”; like I really have a warranty on the Gross Polluter! And I was somehow able to write my column and send it to the newspaper. Yes, I am burnt out!
        To mellow out some, I watched “NCIS” on CBS about a top secret radar that was stolen under NCIS’s noses while they had it under surveillance. The wind had died down, so I quickly did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for my nightly run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 09- only did my stretches because the dang winds are really whipping up a storm!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 52 to 69, winds out of the NW at 14-25 MPH with gusts up to 30-40, humidity around 25 percent, clear but hazy. According to the National Weather Service “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 72. North northwest wind between 9 and 14 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. North northwest wind between 7 and 9 mph.”
        Did some stuff around the house and then Andrew picked me up at 1:30pm to go to Twentynine Palms for lunch. We were also looking for any free WIFI Hotspot were we could connect our computers to the Internet. I threw my Asus EEE laptop in my backpack and took it with me. After much hunting around we only found one Hotspot at McDonalds, but they charge $2.95 for two hours. I guess it would be worth it if you really need it to download any large files. We decided not to test it out because we wouldn’t be staying that long. Stopped off at the Jelly Donut for a snack. There was this guy inside who kept saying over and over “you are Japanese” to himself, so we determined it was safer to sit outside and watch people pass by. Went to Stater Bros to get some supplies and then went on home.
        Read the Sci-Fi book most of the night. My friend Scott called to yap for a while. He lives in Lancaster now with the buffalo I used to care for when he lived down the street from me. The buffalo are doing fine and they are expecting two more little buffalos soon! I might take a trip out to see them soon. Did my stretches and lifted weights. I hope the wind dies down tomorrow so that I can take out my telescope before the Moon gets any higher in the sky. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 10- did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights. No wind, Yippy!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 49 to 73, winds out of the NW at 6-8 MPH, humidity around 23 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 75. North northwest wind between 5 and 11 mph. Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 51. North northwest wind between 3 and 11 mph.”
        Today was work in the yard day and I spent the better part of it pulling those Sahara Mustard weeds out. I went hog wild and cleared most of them out within my fence and will continue eradicating them on the other side of the fence tomorrow. I tell you that my back was aching from all that stoop labor but it feels good that I got most of those weeds pulled. I took the whole lot of them and stuffed them in a 50 gallon drum, threw a match in and burned them all up. There was a lot of smoke and I was afraid that someone may call the fire department on me; I will do it at night for now on. I also watered all my plants while I was at it.
        Went for my evening walk and took some pictures of flowers and stuff like that. When I got back home I went online to mindlessly surf the web for a few hours. Then I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 11- did my stretches, ran a mile.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 51 to 76, winds out of the N to NW at 7-10 MPH, humidity around 16 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 81. North northwest wind between 5 and 9 mph. Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 53. North wind between 3 and 10 mph.” Looks like we’re headed for some warmer weather!
        I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website, sent out the newsletter, and answered some emails while I awaited for Andrew to come on by to pick me up. He has some errands to do in town and I need to pick up a birthday cake for Stoney. My friend Joan called up needing some help with her computer‘s antivirus program updating the license, and I walked her through the problem. I did the same thing for Patty yesterday. Andrew, running late, finally showed up and we went to town. When I was in line at the checkout at the supermarket there was a lady behind me wearing a red Marine T-shirt. I asked if she was in the service. She said that her husband was over in Iraq, but he will be home in a couple of months. Remembering when I was in the Army during Vietnam, how badly I was treated by some civilians; I was spit upon, called a murderer, a baby killer, and other stuff like that. Hopefully these things won’t happen to out Troops this time, I really hope. I decided to pay for the few groceries she had. She said that I didn’t have to do this, I told her that I knew I didn’t but it made me feel good to do it. And I did feel good too!
        Went over to Stoney’s where he was in the kitchen broiling a couple of T-bone steaks for us! What a meal; T-bones and baked potatoes. We haven’t had that in a very long while. Stayed there to watch a few programs on TV with him. I told Stoney not to open the cake till his birthday on Sunday, and not to make any other plans for that day because I have a surprise for him. He said okay.
        Got home just as the Sun set and went for my evening walk to work off some of that T-bone. Read some Sci-fi till “Numbers” came on CBS, about an incarcerated gang member arranging from his cell to have witnesses who would testify against him murdered.
        I have a lady MySpace friend, Dahlia, who works in the Philippines. She was on a construction site when a conflict occurred between the military and communist rebels. Here is what she wrote me: I am here in the hospital recuperating from my wound. There was an encountered between military and communist in my project site. I was trying to negotiate but when I walked towards the man brandishing a rifle, a bomb exploded and a shrapnel lodged in my right thigh. I thought it's my end because of continuous bleeding. I called my former Boss, he was connected to the higher ups and he sent immediately a helicopter to evacuate me. Thanks I am still alive. I wrote her back saying: Hi Dahlia!
Gosh I'm glad to hear that you're alright!!! Was anyone else injured? Where and by whom tossed the bomb? Yikes! I guess you're not a very good negotiator... Here I am fighting weeds and you're out there negotiating with Rebels and getting bombed! Do Not Try That Again! Life is way too precious to waste it on folks with crazy political idealism, especially when they are brandishing a rifle! While you're unable to work take some time out to sit on the beach and watch the Sunset, listen to the birds chirp, and watch the children play. Close your eyes and let the Sun shine on your face, feel the breeze on your cheek, and thank God you're still alive! Get well and stay safe!
//bob
        Did my stretches, lifted weights, went on my evening run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 12- did my stretches, ran two miles, rode my bike, and lifted weights. A mighty fine day outside!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 53 to 81, light breeze, humidity around 14 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Northwest wind around 9 mph becoming east northeast. Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 59. East wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.” Looks like Monday will be a little windy.
        Didn’t do a whole bunch of anything today; sometimes that’s just the way it is. Patty dropped by and paid two months of her dialup. Went over to Andrew’s to help him remove a refrigerator from an old camper, but it wouldn’t fit through the door and he may have to cut a big hole to get it out; I left before he started that. Went over to Stoney’s to drop off a tire and some bolts of Andrew’s for a project Stoney is working on for him. Sat around and jawed for a spell about the community meeting he went to this morning. Said it was more of a waste of time then anything else; the board yapped about this and that but didn’t decide on anything worth deciding on, they decided.
        Got home and called my Mom and Dad and chatted with them for an hour or so. Then I read the Sci-Fi book till late into the night. Andrew came by for a while and I had to give his battery a jump before he could leave. Mike from Hermosa called to yap about his new job. Did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for my nightly run. The Moon is at first quarter and washing out the stars, otherwise it would have been a nice night to take out the telescope. I think I’ll take it out tomorrow night anyways, even with the Moon’s glow, and have a look see at the starry skies. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 13- did my stretches: it’s my day off from exercising.
Today’s Weather: Temps of around 56 to 88, light breeze, humidity around 13 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest between 18 and 21 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Breezy, with a west wind 20 to 23 mph decreasing to between 9 and 12 mph. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph.”
Did a bunch of stuff around the house and got ready to go over to Stoney’s. His son Jimmy and his Family are coming up from Norwalk just for the day to “surprise” Stoney on his birthday. Well it seems that Stoney knew something was up because of the cake in his fridge I wouldn’t let him touch and he wasn’t surprised after all. He put it all together he told me later because he knew dang well that I would have gotten into the cake on Friday when I brought it over, and also figured that his son would be the only one coming up. Oh well, we tried! Jimmy picked me up in his new truck which he let Angela, his daughter of 16 years, drive on the dirt roads. He said that his dad wanted us to go to Carls Jr. for burgers and I told him the closest one was in Yucca Valley that is about twenty five miles away. We got the order and we checked it and found they shorted us two bags of onion rings, and had to wait till they made some more. We got back and everyone was wondering why it took us so long to go to Burger King in Twentynine Palms which is thirteen miles away. Well Jimmy thought Stoney said Carls Jr. and that is where we went. Well we all had a great time eating our hamburgers (I had my favorite: Super Star with cheese and extra mayonnaise), and then Stoney cut the cake after blowing out a matchstick; we didn’t bring any candles. We sat around to jaw for a spell; Clarice talking about Weight Watchers, and Jimmy telling stories about radio controlled helicopters and cars. It was time for me to go home so Jimmy and Angela brought me back. After they dropped me off, Angela was backing up and ran into the burm of the dirt road and Jimmy and I jokingly made a big thing of it (well at least I was joking). She is learning to drive and still has a few problems with that big SUV.
        Went to my Friend’s home to feed his dogs hot dogs and to make sure that they had plenty of food and water. Called Family from there and yakked at them. Called my boating friend Hotsie and jawed about old friends and times gone past. His wife Kathy is making chili and salsa with cumquats from a cumquat tree in their backyard. I’ve never had cumquats, I guess because the name sounded kind of funny.
        Got back home and went for my evening walk to work off that burger and cake I ate. Then I spent the rest of the night really involved in that Sci-Fi book and before I knew it, it was 11:30pm! Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 14- did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 56 to 90, winds out of the West at 7-17 MPH with gusts of 26, humidity around 14 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Breezy, with a west wind 13 to 16 mph increasing to between 25 and 28 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. Breezy, with a west northwest wind between 22 and 28 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.” Dang more high winds!
        Did some work on the computer answering emails and sorting files. Mac called needing help on his computer. Hope called to say that she got her Mac back and I could come over to collect the one I lent her. So I jumped in the Gross Polluter, drove on over to Hope’s and got my MacBook back.
        Then I stopped off on the way back to visit Lee and Marcie. Lee had back surgery last week and is recovering nicely, of course he had to show me his stitches. Seimi came by with his dog Halo and yapped for a spell. Marcie wrote up an ad she wants me to put on the website for a house they want to rent.
        Went over to Mac’s to load up Avast anti-virus on his new Emachine computer running Windows Vista. I left to feed my Friend’s dogs. When I arrived they all came out to greet me; probably expecting hot dogs! Well there was a good supply of them in the frigid and I cut them up and fed them to the eagerly awaiting dogs. Went to Stoney’s to say hi and help him finish off that birthday cake. Then I drove home. All these stops I made were all along the way so I didn’t have to backtrack.
        Went for my evening walk but I had to cut it short because the winds started really blowing. I saw a beer can roll all the way up the hill in front of my home blown by strong winds out of the west!
        Patty called to tell me that the TV reception has been down since Saturday evening. Being out in the desert we get our TV broadcasted to us through a UHF transmitter that goes down every now and then because of the high winds. She said that she had called the station who broadcasts our signals but they didn’t answer their phone. Then I got a call from Joyce my neighbor complaining of the same thing. I told them both that I’d write something in my column about it. Then Joyce called back to tell me it was back on the air. Cool! I’ll get to watch my two favorite programs tonight! But I’ll still write about it.
        Read my Sci-Fi book till “Bones” came on FOX about racing motorbikes and a body found in a hot mud spring in a national forest. Then “New Amsterdam” came on (I really like this show), about a woman’s body found floating in the East River.
        Andrew called to chat for a spell. Then I did my stretches, lifted weights, went for my evening run. It was windy but it was a warm wind, so it wasn’t that bad. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 15- did my stretches, and ran two miles.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 58 to 80, winds out of the W to NW at 7-22 MPH with gusts of 40, humidity around 19 percent, with altocumulus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 74. North northwest wind between 15 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 49. North northwest wind between 8 and 15 mph. Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 77. North northwest wind between 6 and 9 mph.”
        Spent most of the day writing my column; this one took longer than most because it just didn’t sound right and I had to write it over a few times. I finally got it done and sent it off to the newspaper.
        Went over to feed my Friend’s dogs and then dropped by Stoney’s for a spell. He needed my help bringing over a piece of pipe from his backyard to his shop, where he will cut it to the size that he wants to fit on a project he is doing for Andrew.
        Got home and went on my evening walk listening to an astronomy lecture on white dwarfs. A white dwarf is a star that started out with much the same mass as our Sun, that had left the main sequence to become a red giant to burn helium, and when it could no longer burn helium the red giant looses its outer layers to form a planetary nebula and exposing its core to burn oxygen and carbon. Its core is held up by electron degeneracy pressure, which is that no electron can occupy the same quantum state at the same time. One electron has a spin of up and one of down and if more are added they get squeezed together creating pressure and preventing further gravitational collapse. If a star is much bigger than our Sun it could become a neutron star or a black hole. At least this is how I understood it.
        Read the Sci-Fi book until “NCIS” on CBS came on: about an MP whose body was found along with a kilo of cocaine and appeared to have been attacked by his German shepherd. Afterwards I spent the rest of the evening reading and finished the Sci-Fi book “The Two Faces of Tomorrow” by James P. Hogan. Written in 1979 about an Artificial Intelligent computer that was programmed to survive. And tested out on a space station to see how it would evolve and react to its environment. Great Book!
        The wind is really blowing strong outside. Could be as high as 45 or 50 MPH! Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 16- did my stretches and lifted weights. The wind kicked up pretty good this morning, too much for a run.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 52 to 74, winds out of the NW at 6-21 MPH: high winds mostly in the morning, humidity around 18 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 76. North northwest wind between 7 and 10 mph. Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 50. North northwest wind between 3 and 7 mph.”
        Today I am going to stay home to get some of my own stuff done. Got the MacBook out and started playing with it a little and doing some updates. I cleaned my kitchen, which was wanting for a good scrub. Went outside and spent an hour or more pulling Sahara Mustard weed and listening to part of an astronomy lecture on neutron stars and how they are formed. Loaded Microsoft Word 2000 on my Toshiba laptop; I’m so used to it now it is hard to use any other word processor.
        On my quest to minimize, I cleaned up some more junk that I don’t need anymore put them in boxes and placed them all in the back of the Gross Polluter to donate to the community center. This way I’ll be sure to drop them off next time I’m down that way.
        Andrew came by later in the day to checkout my solar panels and the way I have it all set up. We ended kicking back in my camper, looking out the open door to the desert beyond, and yakking about how much junk we accumulate in our lives and how much better it feels to reduce it all and live a simpler life. The time slipped by and I noticed that it was 7pm and I didn’t go on my walk yet! He also had things to do and we said our goodbyes.
        Went on my evening walk and listened to the rest of the lecture about neutron stars. This is one lecture I’ll have to go over again because it is so fascinating to me. I will write about this later because there are some elements of the formation of neutrons that I am not entirely sure about.
        Started reading “Stardancer” by Ed Howdershelt; another page turner about a ex-fighter pilot who finds herself aboard a starship after a biological attack. I finished five chapters. Then I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for my nightly run (no wind), Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 17- did my stretches and ran two miles. It was suppose to be my day off from exercising but because of the high winds this week I missed a few good runs.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 50 to 76, winds out of the N to SW at 3-6 MPH, humidity around 15 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming south southwest between 13 and 16 mph. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. West southwest wind 17 to 20 mph decreasing to between 9 and 12 mph. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.”
        Started working on the weekly update for the website, updated the classifieds with Marcie’s ad for a house for rent, the Memorials page, and the Solar page’s Meta tags. I’ll upload al the changes I made to the site tomorrow.
        Pulled some more of that Sahara Mustard weed. I started pulling it on the other side of my fence and out into the desert beyond. I filled up a 55-gallon drum with the weed! While I was weeding I listened to part of another astronomy lecture, this one on black holes. I also watered all my plants in the yard.
        Continued reading “Black Holes and Time Warps” and it is getting into white dwarfs and electron degeneracy pressure, just as I am learning about it in the lectures, cool!
        Andrew came by to use my computer and go online to checkout a laptop he wants to buy. After he left I went on my evening walk and watched the sunset. What a nice and wonderful day it turned out to be.
        Finished the astronomy lecture on black holes. This will be another lecture I’ll have to re-listen to because there is so much for me to absorb. Read a few more chapters in the Sci-Fi book until it got late. Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 18- did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 52 to 83, slight breeze during the day with winds picking up to 16 MPH out of the SW, humidity around 14 percent, clear skies. According to the National Weather Service “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Breezy, with a west wind 9 to 12 mph increasing to between 22 and 25 mph. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 50. Breezy, with a west wind between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph.” More winds!
        Did some more updates to the Copper Mountain Mesa website and uploaded it to the web. Then I went outside to do some yard work and pull out some more Sahara Mustard weed. My back was sore after I got done, so I think I’ll take a few days off from weeding. While I was doing that I also listened to an astronomy lecture on galaxies. There didn’t seem to be anything there that I didn’t already know.
        Completed the chapter on The Mystery of the White Dwarfs in “Black Holes and Time Warps” about the discovery of electron degeneracy by S. Chandrasekhar and the battle between him and A. S. Eddington a prominent English astronomer who refused to believe that stars with more than 1.4 solar masses wouldn’t evolve into white dwarfs but that nature would find a way to do this (he was wrong). The Chandrasekhar limit states that a star with the mass of more than 1.4 solar masses cannot become a white dwarf (he was right). Leaving the question of what happens to those with a mass higher than 1.4 solar masses.
        Went to feed my friend’s dogs; they were happy to see me of course. Than dropped by Stoney’s where I found him outside in his shop welding a short piece of pipe to a mount he improvised for the spear tire rack that goes on Andrew’s Jeep. I hung around to help and we jawed while he worked.
        Got back home and went on my evening walk. The winds were starting to pick up and made it hard to listen to anymore of the astronomy lectures. Then I sat with Fat Cat to watch the sunset and called a few folks. I read through the evening the Sci-Fi book until it was time to do my exercises. Did my stretches and lifted weights; was too windy for a nightly run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 19- did my stretches and ran two miles. Another windy day!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 50 to 79, winds W to SW at 4-20 MPH, humidity around 18 percent, altostratus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 74. West northwest wind between 13 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. West northwest wind between 14 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.”
        Spent most of the day calling Friends and Family. Finally got a hold of my sister Donna in Florida; she and her husband Roger are in the middle of moving and have all new phone numbers.
        Read a few more chapters of the Sci-Fi book. And cleaned a little around the house. Seimi called wanting to talk about solar power. He has a friend who is also interested in setting up his home to run on solar. I am always ready to help out anyone who wants to go solar.
        Went over to feed my friend’s dogs and feed them some hotdogs! Boy they like them hotdogs! I think I have their friendship for life now. Dropped by Stoney’s on the way back to jaw for a spell. He was actually reading a book when I arrived. The book was written by a gal who grew up on a country farm back in the1950s and tells stories about the lives and times, and the hardships of the folks that she knew back then.
        Got back home and called Mom and Dad and yakked at them for over an hour. Called my sister Leanne and chatted with her for a while about some old neighborhood friends we grew up with. She just got back from a vacation to the Caribbean and caught the flu on the airliner she flew back on.
        I watched “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” for the next three hours. Good movie, but I think I’d like to read the book if I ever get the time. Called Mike from Hermosa to see how he is doing on his petition-gathering job; he thinks he has enough signatures to bring in around $400. Did my stretches, practiced guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 20- did my stretches. Another dang windy day!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 53 to 75, winds NW at 11-16 MPH with gusts to 28, humidity around 20 percent, hazy. According to the National Weather Service “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 74. West wind between 6 and 14 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. West northwest wind between 8 and 10 mph.” Looks like we’re headed for a warm up come Thursday.
        I cleaned the kitchen real good! That took a while to do, but it is done and looks nice. I am kind of a slob sometimes. When I have things on my mind I just don’t notice stuff lying around here and there. It’s a clean mess but a mess all the same. It builds up until it gets in my way and comes to my attention. My little brain can only hold so much and I have to set something aside so as to have the capacity to focus on something else. This something else today was the kitchen.
        Called my brother Kevin and had a long chat with him. He is having a little problem with his new trailer that he is trying to resolve and I am sure that he will. He is going over to Mom and Dad’s today after our talk.
        Dropped buy Lee and Marcie Hines for a visit. Lee is doing a lot better now but is still in some pain from his back surgery a few weeks ago. Went over to feed my friend’s dogs again. Today they were waiting by the gate for me wagging their tails; makes me feel wanted! They were so good that I gave them all a little extra hotdog. Then I drove on over to Stoney’s and he talked about the Great Depression of the thirties. Stoney worked picking cotton for 45 cents a day until he got a better job at four dollars a week. We got on the subject when we were discussing gas prices of today and the long gas lines of the seventies during the oil embargo. I hope we don’t see either of them again!
        Got home and read a little of the “Black Holes and Time Warps” about neutron stars; their discovery and how they are formed. It’s really kind of neat to be reading about and listening to lectures of them at the same time. Neutron degeneracy is like the electron degeneracy I wrote about a few days ago but with much more mass: over 1.4 solar masses.
        Got a call from Tom and Aki and talked with them for a while. Then Ron Dehart calls and we jawed about his trip to Texas: it’s sure nice to get calls from folks who let you know that they are thinking of you. Watched “Monk” on NBC about when Monk goes to meet a man at a truck stop at 3am who claims to have information on his wife’s murder, gets hit on the head, robbed, and knocked out, placed in the back of a flatbed trailer, to wind up in a small town not knowing who he is. A lonely old woman who happens to see him wandering around the town acting in his usual manner decides to take advantage of Mr. Monk by telling him that they met on a cruse ship where they got married, and then has Monk fix her roof!
        Finished the Sci-Fi book “Star Dancer”. Great book but I think I’ll lay off the Sci-Fi for a while and concentrate on science now. Did my stretches and lifted weights. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 21- did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights. Nice day for a change.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 52 to 76, winds NW at 4-9 MPH, humidity around 18 percent, light haze. According to the National Weather Service “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming southwest between 14 and 17 mph. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. West wind between 17 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.”
        Did some work around the house, then started getting things together for my column. I’ll do some editing tonight after I write in my journal. Read a little bit more of “Black Holes and Time Warps”.
        Went to feed my friend’s dogs. Then had dinner at Stoney’s and did my laundry there while we watched “Dirty Jobs” about removing a water tank that sits on a high rise building in NY City. Seems like water can only go up to the twelfth floor and has to be pumped up to the tank that sits atop the building. The one they replaced was made out of wood and had to be taken apart piece by piece.
        Got home and went on my evening walk while I listened to an astronomy lecture. Read some astronomy until “Bones” came on FOX about a star basketball player whose body was found crunch behind motorized bleachers.
        Did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for my nightly run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and got started editing my column for the newspaper.

HAPPY EARTHDAY-Tuesday 22- when I woke up I went into the front room half asleep and banged my little toe really hard on a chair leg. Boy that hurt! Did my stretches and ran two miles anyways but had a hard time walking around as the little toe swelled up.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 54 to 82, winds NW to SW at 4-19 MPH, humidity around 14 percent, light haze. According to the National Weather Service “Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. West northwest wind between 16 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. West northwest wind between 16 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.”
        Finished up writing my news column and sent it off to the newspaper. Went outside to re-pot some aloe vera plants. They have recovered very nicely from the big freeze we had two winters ago when I lost over 95 percent of them to frost. I mix the aloe vera in my blender along with whole oranges, apples, and carrots for my morning drink. DHL arrives with a package for Andrew, but not the one we were expecting.
        Read some of the “Black Holes and Time warps” and finished the chapter on neutron stars. Very interesting to me that combining an electron and a proton forms a neutron! That’s what happens when a star with over 1.4 solar masses implodes to form a neutron star.
        Drove on over to Stoney’s for dinner. He cooked up some barbecue pork strips with baked potatoes. Roger Smith was also there and brought over some coleslaw for the dinner. We sat around to jaw about some of the crazy folks who live in our area. One of them is in a jail cell for threatening another with an ax.
        Got home to go on my evening walk but my little toe hurt too much and I had to cut my walk short. Jeanne Kula called and we had a nice chat. She has a friend who lives in Hawaii that needs some computer help. I told Kula to have her friend call me and I’d see if I could help her with the problem.
        Read some more until “Nova: Car of the future” came on PBS where they explore the future of automobiles and what may be possible in the near future. Then I watched “Frontline: Hot Politics” about global warming and what our government didn’t do about it. Seems to me that we shouldn’t wait for the government to do anything about global warming and just take on the responsibility and do it ourselves. Like: drive less, conserve water, use more efficient products in our homes, and act responsibly as a consumer. That would be a good start!
        Andrew called and we yapped for over an hour about the sorry state that our environment is in. Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 23- did my stretches and lifted weights. My little toe still hurts from me banging it into a chair leg yesterday, so I won’t be doing any running today.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 52 to 79, winds NW to SW at 10-15 MPH with gusts up to 23, humidity around 20 percent, light haze with some cumulus humilis (fair weather clouds). According to the National Weather Service “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 77. West wind 7 to 10 mph becoming north. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. North northwest wind between 7 and 11 mph.”
        I was just about out the door to drive to town when the phone rang; it was Patty with a computer problem. As I was talking her through the problem Joel knocked on my door and had my mail; I told him I’d call him later. Patty couldn’t get what I wanted her to do, so I went on over to her house on the way to town and fixed the problem there.
        Got gas in JT at $3.84 a gallon! Picked up a package at the post office; some nice Polo shirts sent by Tom and Aki. Went to Home Depot and roamed around looking for this and that: such a big store! Drove and parked the Gross Polluter over by Stater Bros and noticed that the Dollar Tree store was open and thought I’d give it a walk through. It was about what you’d expect to find at such a store; cheap stuff manufactured everywhere but here. Stoney bought three cans of spray paint once at a 99-cent store; it took all three cans to paint a small chair and awful shade of green. These spray cans it turned out had only been filled one third of the way up! Went to WalMart and then to Staters and stopped by the Health Food Store in JT to pick up some powdered yeast for my oatmeal in the morning.
        Got home and started reading when Andrew dropped by with donuts! We sat around and jawed for a spell while munching on the lemon filled Krispy Kreams; I finished off the last one later in the night. Continued reading until “Secrets of the Dead: Aztec Massacre” about the skeletons found at an Aztec temple that turned out to be European sacrifices to the Aztec gods. This throws new light on the conquest of the Aztecs by Spanish conquistadors that turns out not to be the reported “cake walk” that the Spanish conquers made it out to be. There was cannibalism involved in the Aztec’s ritual; kind of made me a little queasy after all them donuts!
        Called Andrew to see what he was up to. He and Sandy were working on Hoss’s old bike getting it ready for tomorrow when a prospective buyer comes to look it over. Did my stretches, lifted weights. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 24- did my stretches. Mighty windy outside!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 49 to 77, winds NW to SW at 9-24 MPH with gusts up to 40, humidity around 20 percent, light haze. According to the National Weather Service “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 81. North northwest wind between 3 and 10 mph. Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 54. Northwest wind between 7 and 10 mph.”
Started doing the weekend update for the website that I’ll upload tomorrow. Did some reading of “Black Holes and Time Warps” about the building of the hydrogen bomb and how physicist use the formulas for creating the bomb to use on understanding the formation of neutron stars and black holes. Then Ron Dehart came over and we went on a walk on the footpath around my neighborhood. Saw an iguana on the trail as it scurried for cover under a creosote tree. He sat still long enough for me to snap a few pictures. Cool!
        Went over to Stoney’s to finish off the barbecued pork strips. Watched the “Science Channel” for a while about the abyssal plain that is the deep flat seafloor which lies off the continents at a depths of between 7 and 18 thousand feet, and of the sea life that exists there. My favorite was the Dumbo squid that actually looks like Dumbo the elephant from the Disney movie of the same name: with two big flappers on its head.
        Got home and watched the sunset with Fat Cat. Did more reading until “American Experience: Victory in the Pacific” came on PBS. About the war in the Pacific to take Japan. It was a two hour show that covered the beginnings at Pearl Harbor, island hopping by the US Navy to get closer for our planes to attack, the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the capitulation of the Japanese to the American forces. Great documentary but sad in a way; it led to the sacrifice of many people who needlessly died on both sides for the Japanese military’s appetite for empire and their stubbornness and disregard for their own people.
        Andrew called needing me to print up a document he needs by tomorrow morning. He emailed it to me and I printed it up and placed it in my mailbox for him to pick up whenever he comes around. Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 25- did my stretches, ran a mile, rode my bike, and lifted weights. Very nice day!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 50 to 86, winds NW to SW at 3-8 MPH, humidity around 13 percent, light haze again: probably from all the dang wind we had. According to the National Weather Service “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 85. North wind around 8 mph. Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 59. North northeast wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.”
        I had just done my weights when I saw a lady jump out of a truck that had stopped off to the side of the road, She ran into the desert, picked something up, and jumped back into the truck. When the truck drove by my house I noticed that it was full of young kids and two adults. They stopped just up the road and the lady got out again to retrieve something again. So I made my way up to the truck to ask what they were up to. I met Egie, her husband Marvin, and their young daughters who were out cleaning up our desert of trash and collecting any metals they could turn into the scrap yard for cash. The family had fell on hard times since Egie had been laid off from her job, and have taken to collecting anything that they could recycle for some extra cash. I got their phone number with the hopes of writing a story on them.
        Worked on the weekend update for the Copper Mountain Mesa website and uploaded it to the web.
I then started to work on the east patio that I been waiting for the high winds to end before I could begin building. I had in my mind how I wanted to do it, had all the materials to construct it, and have been a little stressed about having to wait so long to initiate the project. Well I got to work digging the holes for the cement anchors, pounding this and screwing that. I only stopped for lunch when Stoney called to say he had made chicken salad sandwiches. Then it was back to work, I got a lot done too, and was dang tuckered out when I called it quits for the day.
        Went for my evening walk listening to an astronomy lecture on Galaxies. Andrew came by and brought me some lemon cake (my favorite) and we jawed and watched the sunset. We sat around and jawed some more when Joel came by with an old Blackberry device he wants me to checkout for him before he buys it for $25. It was such a fine evening that I decided to take out the telescope. Joel left and it was Andrew and I who were left to explored the night skies. We saw the Orion nebula, Mars, Saturn, and other such nightly wonders until about 9:30pm.
        Watched “Numbers” on CBS about a family who were taken hostage to get at their son who served in Iraq, who the kidnappers thought had info to some pilfered money that was earmarked for rebuilding Iraq. Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 26- did my stretches, ran two miles.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 54 to 86, winds NW at 3-11 MPH, humidity around 12 percent, light haze again but clearing up. According to the National Weather Service “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 85. North northeast wind around 9 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Northeast wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.”
        Mostly called Family and Friends until it was time to go to potluck. Stoney wasn’t going because he didn’t feel none too good, but he didn’t miss anything; only four folks showed up and that’s including me. There was Bob and Rick Seeley when I arrived at 4pm. We sat around and reminiscing on the good old days when the place would be packed with sounds of folks yapping and their kids running around doing whatever mischief kids do. Judith Bowman showed up just as I was leaving and I stuck around a little longer to have some of the strawberry pie and sandwiches she had brought. I left early for Stoney’s to see how he was doing and took a few of them sandwiches for him. We sat for a spell watching the “Myth Busters” on the Science Channel about turning cow droppings into methane to power a lawnmower.
        Went for my evening walk listening to an astronomy lecture on Galaxies. Found a horny toad lizard that let me pick him up. Kind of cool him sitting in the palm of my hand where I could get a closer look see at all the intricate designs with different shades of brown on his back. Then I rubbed his belly and let him go. I remember when I was in kindergarten at Whites Point Elementary school in San Pedro, we had a horny toad in an aquarium that we could pick up to pet. We also had an ant lion in a fish bowl that was kind of boring to watch and in another fish bowl a caterpillar that changed into a butterfly. We even had a white bunny rabbit in a cage!
        Watched “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” on ABC. Dang it was a whole three hours but worth it! Did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for my nightly run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 27- did my stretches and ran a mile. The horny toad came out on the trail to greet me again and have his tummy rubbed!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 57 to 87, light breeze, humidity around 14 percent, light haze with high cirrus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Light wind becoming south southeast between 13 and 16 mph. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. West southwest wind between 7 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.”
        Been working on the patio today getting it all aligned and got the first panel up! Looks like it might hold together too! Took a short break for lunch at Stoney’s for leftover chicken salad sandwiches. Then I worked until it got dark.
        During the day I got a call from Kula and Tom while they were on their way to a birthday party in Orange County. My Brother Kevin called. And finally I got a hold of my Sister Audrey who I haven’t talked to since Christmas.
        Watched “Monk” on NBC about a murder of a woman who was trying to extort a married man by secretly filming him. While investigating, an actor is trying to portray Monk for a movie and goes a little to far picking up his strange habits. Then “Carrier” came on PBS about the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Dang good show, but I found it is in ten parts.
        Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 28- did my stretches and ran two miles, rode my bike, and lifted weights. The horny toad didn’t come out today. I guess he’s tired of me picking him up.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 58 to 90, light breeze, humidity around 13 percent, light haze with altocumulus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Windy, with a west wind 7 to 10 mph increasing to between 27 and 30 mph. Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 60. Windy, with a west wind 27 to 30 mph decreasing to between 16 and 19 mph. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph.”
        I got right back to work on the patio. I got five more panels up! Spent all day doing it too! Andrew came by and said it looked good; I think he was just humoring me. I will try to get a few more panels up tomorrow. I am pretty much spent out!
        Sam the UPS driver (and my friend) delivered my new 8Gig Corsair thumbdrive. I’ve been wanting it for so long. We stood around for a spell catching up on things. His sister-in-law may want me to clean up her computer again.
        Went for my evening walk listening to an astronomy lecture on galaxies and the Hubble Constant, that deals with the expansion of our universe. They recede from us at 72 kilometers per second, per mega parsec (or about 3,262,00 light years distance), so the farther away the galaxy the faster it recedes. And talked about the missing mass or dark matter; all the matter that we can account for is only four percent of the total mass needed for the expansion. Weird!
        Watched the sunset with Fat Cat and then “Bones” on FOX about a lady who was run off the road and then murdered by someone setting her on fire with gasoline. They found her baby high up on a tree limb. I was going to watch “Carrier” on PBS but I need to get other things done like writing my column and getting it ready to publish. So I spent the rest of the evening doing just that. Then I did my stretches; to dang tired for my nightly run. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 29- did my stretches and ran a mile. The wind was picking up.
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 61 to 91, W to SW winds at 8-18 with gusts up to 30, humidity around 15 percent, light haze with altocumulus clouds. According to the National Weather Service “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 80. West northwest wind between 9 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. Breezy, with a west northwest wind between 16 and 24 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph.”
        I finished writing my column and will send it to the newspaper later on in the day. Then I got back to work on the patio putting up the panels. The panels that make up the roof slide together but they are old and sometimes stick, and it takes a whole lot of effort to get them to fit. I must have been up and down the ladder over fifty times today! This whole patio is made up mostly of stuff I have scrounged up here and there. The wind started gusting which made it a lot harder to mount the panels; they seemed to want to take flight with me holding on.
        Stoney called needing some help getting a washer down from his trailer. I felt it was a good time to quit on the patio after putting up six panels and drove on over to help him. I had a shower and lunch when I finished. We watched the last half of “Cosmos” on the Science Channel. I remember when it first came out on PBS in the 1980 and I was awed by the way Carl Sagan presented the history of the universe and I never missed an episode.
        Got back home and Kula called having problems with her Outlook Express. Seems like it is purging her “Sent folder” of messages she has sent. I’ll have to look this one up because I don’t use Outlook at all for my mail or any desktop program; I only use web-based mail to store my email and keep all spam that may contain viruses and bad stuff like that off my machine.
        It was too dang windy for my evening walk, so I just laid down for a spell until “NCIS” came on CBS. About a Marine who was shot just as a mortar attack took place in the “Green Zone” in Iraq. Then I watched “Carrier” on PBS. About: a search for someone who fell overboard and life of the people who run the ship and fly the planes.
        Did my stretches and that was about all I could do because I’m so dang tired from working on the patio in the heat. Last night I couldn’t even keep my eyes open and went to sleep around 1am and woke up at 9:30; I usually go to bed at 3am and awake at 9:30. Practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 30- did my stretches and lifted weights; Boy it was windy!
        Today’s Weather: Temps of around 54 to 79, W to NW winds at 14-20 with gusts up to 40, humidity around 22 percent, light haze with altocumulus clouds again. According to the National Weather Service “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 72. North northwest wind between 13 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. North northwest wind between 5 and 13 mph.”
        Decided to take the whole day off to rest my poor old tired body and catch up on some stuff I have neglected while building the patio. I worked on my computers updating them and doing a little PM too. Watered the plants. Started reading a new Sci-Fi book called “Interstellar Patrol” by Christopher Anvil that was written in the 60s.
        Joel came by with my mail and I gave him back the Blackberry that he wanted me to check out. I told him that it didn’t have a charger so I couldn’t get it to start up, besides it was an old unit that wouldn’t be worth the investment to fix.
        Went for my evening walk but it was a short one because of the gusting winds; I am really tired of all these windy days we been having. There must be something going on with our climate.
        There was nothing on TV that I wanted to watch so I just surfed the web until late in the evening. Did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night. Goodbye to April. You’ve been a very windy one just like the months before you, but at least you were warmer!