October 2009

Welcome to the Month of October- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 57 and 81 degrees, NW winds at 6 to 8 MPH, humidity around 20 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 83. West northwest wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. Southwest wind between 8 and 11 mph.”
I spent a few hours climbing up onto the roof installing my new UHF antenna and then spent another hour finding the best direction to point it for the best reception. Almost all the channels come in pretty good and it is a vast improvement over the old antenna that had mostly fallen apart on its mast.
I did some reading of “Astronomy Today” just going through it slowly to make sure I understand everything correctly. Most of it is just the basics that I already knew but it is a good refresher for some of what I had forgotten; sidereal day=23hr 56m (star day) vs. solar day=24hr is noon to noon and because the Earth rotates at 15 degrees an hour and takes an extra 3.9 minutes to get back to the same spot as Earth orbits around the Sun. Same thing for the Moon; a sidereal month=29.3 vs. synodic month=29.5.
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 149: Constellation Program, where they talk about the new Ares Rockets that is our future transportation to the Moon and beyond. The Ares I will carry the manned module, and the Ares V is a heavy payload lifter. They both use off the shelf technology from the Apollo and Shuttle missions and are interchangeable and scalable.
I got back and sat with my binoculars looking at the waxing gibbous Moon as it rose in the twilight sky. I find this a better way to look at a bright Moon making it easier on the eyes than later when it’s dark. I read a little more until “Fastforward” came on ABC and I was able to watch it in color thanks to the new antenna! Interesting series! Then “Fringe” on Fox, where a police officer crystallized and blew up after taking a briefcase from a man wearing a trench coat at an airport.
I did my stretches and went for a night run; checked out Delta Cephei that was about the same in brightness as yesterday; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 02- did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 54 and 81 degrees, NW-SE winds at 4 to 11 MPH, humidity around 21 percent, A few altostratus clouds lingering around.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 83. West southwest wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 26 to 29 mph decreasing to between 13 and 16 mph. Winds could gust as high as 43 mph.”
I worked on the bathroom today hooking up the electric for the compost toilet and sorting out antenna wires in the wall. A few more things I need to do and then I’ll start plastering.
I went over to Stoney’s with some ideas for building a small observatory to house my telescopes. We sat at his kitchen table drawing up plans and trying to figure out how the roof will roll back to expose the night sky. We both decided to sleep on it and see what we can come up with.
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 150: Telescopes, the Next Level where they talked about what kind of equipment to acquire if you are a serious amateur; way too expensive for me!
I did some webwork and updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I watched “Numb3rs” on CBS about a bank robbery gone terribly wrong and two FBI Agents were killed in the shootout.
I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 03- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 57 and 84 degrees, NW-SW winds at 4 to 19 MPH with gusts up to 32, humidity around 27 percent, A few altostratus clouds lingering around.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 70. Windy, with a west wind between 28 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. West northwest wind between 9 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. ”
I got all the antenna and satellite cables sorted in the bathroom wall that connects to the TV and other equipment in the bedroom. I then put a box with the connectors on the bedroom side and all is working. I’m just a little closer to doing the plastering of the bathroom.

At 4pm I drove the Gross Polluter over to Ron Dehart’s and then drove over to the Dhamma Dena Desert Vipassana Center where Ruth Denison is celebrating her 87th birthday with her close friends. We all assembled in the Meditation Hall where Ruth gave an elegant talk about life and being one with yourself and one with all life (that’s what I got out of it).
Then we went over to the main building where food is prepared and served. All of us were asked to dedicate the meal to what we thought was important to us, and each and every one came up with something pleasant; I came up with the night sky, the stars and planets. The meal was very good! There was a salmon platter, different kinds of salads, fruits, and rice dishes. The eating room had low tables and we sat on pillows while talking and enjoying the food.
I got out my guitar and was just starting to play when a nice gal called Karen asked to accompany me with her flute; she is a professional flute player I found out later. I played one of my songs that I felt she could follow and she made my song sound so much better that everyone applauded! Folks wanted us to play a little more and we did.
Ruth got everyone dancing to Beethoven for a spell; at 87 she dances very well. Then the time came for her to blow out the candles and we sung two versions of Happy Birthday to her; one was her on version that was hard for me and a few others to follow. I then played guitar for a few more songs and it was time for me to leave, but before I left I gave her a birthday card and she gave me a sweet kiss. These are wonderful happy people and I am grateful to have them as friends!
I got home at 9pm and called Stoney to see what he was up to. He thinks that we could use golf balls for the sliding roof on the observatory I want to build. Maybe so, but I want to see what he has in mind when I drop by tomorrow.
I watched the last half of “Man on the Moon” (1999) about the life of Andy Kaufman. Then I did my stretches; checked out Delta Cephei but the full Harvest Moon made it nearly impossible to tell if it was brighter or dimmer, I couldn’t even find the Andromeda galaxy the Moon was so bright. I practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 04- did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 51 and 72 degrees, W-SW winds at 12 to 24 MPH, humidity around 37 percent, hazy skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 65. Northwest wind between 3 and 9 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. Northwest wind between 3 and 10 mph.”
I’m going to make this post short because I have a stomachache after eating a bunch of cake I brought home for Ruth’s birthday party. I don’t keep cookies or anything like that in the house because I’ll eat it all down; especially chocolate! Well now I’m suffering…
I worked on the bathroom and plastered up a big hole in the bedroom that holds the video connections for my TV.
I yakked with my sisters Paula and then Audrey for over two hours! I was going to go over to Stoney’s but it had gotten late and called telling him I would come by tomorrow.
I went on my evening walk trying to work off the sugar rush I’d gotten from all the cake I ate.
I watched “60 Minutes” on CBS, then “Nature” and “Masterpiece Theater” on PBS.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal after drinking a bunch of Milk of Magnesia, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 05- did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 48 and 72 degrees, NW-SW winds at 4 to 12 MPH, humidity around 35 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 72. North northwest wind between 3 and 7 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. East wind around 6 mph becoming calm.”
I’m still not feeling very well from all the cake I ate yesterday. I suffered with a stomach ache all last night until I finally fell asleep after 5am. I awoke around 9am feeling a little better. I decided to ignore my stomach and just get out of the bed and get to work.
I completed putting up all the drywall in the bathroom and it is ready to be plastered. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get around to doing that.
I went over to Stoney’s for a spell to discuss the plans for the small observatory that I want to build. We figured out that the golf balls wouldn’t work all that well on the sliding roof (we are trying to do this on the cheap) and thought up a few other ways of sliding it.
I got home after sunset and didn’t feel like going on a walk, so I called a few friends instead. Then I watched two episodes of “Crime and Punishment: Criminal Intent” that were both old reruns that I haven’t seen. “Castle” came on ABC about a model that was found lying in a fountain stabbed to death. I like Susan Sullivan who plays Castle’s mother Martha Rogers. I first saw her on “Dharma and Greg” in the roll of Greg’s mother Kitty Montgomery. She’s a mighty fine actress!
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal; posted it to the web, and called it a night.


Tuesday 06- did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 52 and 73 degrees, NW-W winds at 4 to 8 MPH, humidity around 27 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. North wind between 5 and 8 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 51. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.”
I felt mighty fine today after I got over the stomachache fiasco of the last two days from eating (greedily eating) a bunch of cake on Sunday. I think I’ll try to be more moderate when I consume cake for now on.
Finally I got around to taping and plastering the bathroom walls. This took most of the day but I got much of it done and now I’ll only have to do the finish work on it. Then comes the painting!
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 151: Atmospheres where they discuss the atmospheres of Earth and other planets. Earth’s atmosphere consists of five layers: Troposphere: from the surface to 23,000 ft, Stratosphere: 51 miles, Mesosphere: 50–53 miles, Thermosphere: 200 and 240 miles where the Space Station orbits, and the Exosphere that extends outward for a few thousand miles. Venus has an atmosphere that is 91 percent heavier than ours. Mercury even has a small atmosphere that’s continually being created and blown off by the Sun.
I did a little reading of “Astronomy Today” until “NCIS” came on CBS. It was about a blogger who was thrown over a bridge after blogging that NCIS covered up a Navy Officer’s death.
I did my stretches and went for a night run; practiced my guitar. Then I went online but was unable to log into my email accounts: Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail. It seems that all of them have been hacked into and passwords were stolen. Finally I got into them by changing my passwords and logging back in. I think folks that hack and steal passwords should face stiff sentences when they are apprehended; they caused me and others much wasted time. I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 07- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 51 and 73 degrees, NW-W winds at 7 to 10 MPH, humidity around 31 percent, altostratus clouds.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Northwest wind between 8 and 13 mph. Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 53. West wind around 9 mph.”
I had a window in the bathroom that I forgot to tape and plaster so I did that this morning and will have to let it dry before I do the finish work.
Mat came over to return my book “Entanglement” and we jawed for a spell.
I went over to Stoney’s and was talking to him when Donna called on my cell phone. She lives in Florida and was on her lunch break when she called. When I got done with the call it was Stoney’s turn to receive a call from a family member. So I decided to beat feet back home.
I cooked an egg sandwich and got another stomachache but not as bad as the one on Sunday but it still was painful. It was taken care of with a small amount of Milk of Magnesia. I wonder what is going wrong with my gut…
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 152: Binary Stars. Then I settled down for the night doing some webwork and writing my column for the newspaper and sent it to them.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 08- did my stretches and ran a mile.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 53 and 79 degrees, NW-W winds at 6 to 11 MPH, humidity around 28 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 83. West wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 56. South wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.”
Somehow I lost my address book in all this mess I made remodeling the house. It had everyone’s birthday in it and I thought it would be safer keeping it on paper and off my computer; wrong! On the computer I have many backups and on the paper address book no backup, dang! Now I have to call, search old mail, or email them asking their birth dates. I already missed my friend Kula’s birthday and had to ask for her forgiveness, which she readily accepted.
I ran out of plaster and had to drive to WalMart in Yucca Valley. While I was there I picked up a few other items and at Stater Brothers. I bought some lemon chicken for lunch and took it over to Stoney’s where we made a meal out of it and some potato salad.
I didn’t have time to go for my evening walk today because I had a meeting at the community center with the Membership Committee where we discussed plans for our “End of Summer Barbecue Bash” that’s on Saturday the 17th. We hammered out all the details in under an hour. I will be supplying the mayonnaise. I think that mayonnaise is what’s causing my stomachaches or is part of what’s causing them. So I want to rid my kitchen of the two jars I have on hand. I think it’s a healthy choice.
I got back just in time to watch “Fastforward” on ABC and then “Fringe” on Fox. At 10pm Jay Leno came on NBC and I thought I’d give it a look-see. Looks like Jay is doing well in his new time slot. I heard that folks are recording it and then watching it an hour later where his show used to be broadcast before he left the “To Night Show”. God he is funnier than ever!
I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for a night run; practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 09- did my stretches and ran a mile.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 56 and 82 degrees, light breeze, humidity around 29 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 84. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. West southwest wind between 8 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.”
After my exercises and breakfast I went to plastering the walls in my bathroom. I was almost done when I ran out of plaster again. There is only a four foot section to be done. So sometime next week I’ll make another trip to town to get some more. It’s not a rush job and there are other things I need to do in between so it’s no big deal.
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 153: Dark Skies, about how you need to leave the cities to be able to see the Milky Way and how you can join the efforts to keep our skies dark. There are folks out there who have never seen the Milky Way. We get visitors up here who ask me what that bright cloud that runs across the sky is! I remember the first time I seen the Milky Way and saw satellites transverse the cosmos. It was when I was twelve and I was on an outing with the YMCA and we traveled to Yosemite National Park. I had a telescope (a little Tasco 4” reflector) when I was about nine years old but I could only see what stars were bright enough to outshine the city lights where I lived. The night sky in Yosemite was clear and dark and I’d lie in my sleeping bag stargazing for many hours until I fell asleep. Now where I live in Joshua Tree the night skies are pretty dark but we have folks moving into the area that want to bring their city habits with them; lighting up the night sky and wasting precious resources as they pollute our environment. We now have to worry about this Indian Casino that’s being built in Twentynine Palms polluting our wonderful night skies. I moved here because the skies are dark and I wanted to do astronomy and it would be a shame if this happens.
I did some webwork updating the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the newsletter. Then I watched “Numb3rs” on CBS about gamblers in deep debt playing a game of Russian roulette with their lives at stake.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 10- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 57 and 81 degrees, light breeze, humidity around 30 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 81. West northwest wind at 9 mph becoming south southeast. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. West southwest wind between 5 and 9 mph.”
I mostly chilled out today doing a few odds and ends, calling a few folks, and catching up on some correspondences.
Ron Dehart came over with some old astronomy books he purchased at a book sale for me. I collect old astronomy books. He also brought me a microphone and stand that I can use with the guitar when I perform in public, but he didn’t bring me the nerve I need to get out and play in public. I guess that’s something I’ll have to come up with on my own.
D brought over P’s computer for some repairs which I’ll have a look-see at tomorrow when I get the time.
I went for my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 154: Dragon Con Live with Seth Shostak, about the SETI program.
When I got back I cooked up some eggs and potatoes, laid some Velveeta cheese on top and smothered it in ketchup. It filled me up and was mighty good.
Got a call from Ginger, my neighbor, she and her kids were at my back gate and wanted me to look at some animal bones they found while exploring. One skeleton was from a snake and the other was a skull from some small dog or coyote. The Sun had just set and I walked them back to their home as her two dogs ran and played with each other and her kids explored the desert. While we walked Ginger told me of a white truck towing a trailer full of mattresses and old tires that the occupants were dumping on the side of the road as they sped away. She tried to get the license number but the truck was just too fast. I don’t take too kindly to folks who dump in our beautiful desert!
I read a little astronomy and then watched a DVD movie called “Knowing” (2009) starring Nicolas Cage and Chandler Canterbury; a spooky thriller about a list of numbers written on a piece of paper by a six year old girl that predicts events in the future and placed in a time capsule in 1959 for fifty years until uncovered. It kept me entertained for the better part of two hours. Very good movie!
I did my stretches and went for a night run. The night was so dark and clear that I took out my binoculars for a spell and gazed out at the Milky Way and saw a few meteors. I practiced my guitar. Wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 11- did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 56 and 79 degrees, light breeze, humidity around 31 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Columbus Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. West wind 7 to 16 mph becoming south. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. Southwest wind between 9 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.”
I started working on P’s computer that is running Windows 2000 and the computer is ten years old; I don’t like working on old systems anymore. The problem is that Firefox hangs the system when starting and Internet Explorer 5 comes up with errors. I installed Service Pack 4 to see if that would help but it didn’t and Sygate Firewall doesn’t load anymore. I really don’t want to reinstall Win 2000 and all she needs is a working browser so I installed the newest version of Opera which worked just fine. The hard drive was formatted with FAT32 and I changed that to NTFS. I will download another firewall tonight and put it on her system and be done with it. Her computer smells like tobacco and I want it out of my home!
I went over to Stoney’s where Roger and I ate some chicken dumplings that Stoney cooked up. It was more like chicken soup but it was mighty good! We watched an interesting documentary on the Discovery Channel called “Discovering Ardi” about a team of anthropologists searching the deserts of Ethiopia and finding fossils of an early hominin “Ardipithecus” that walked the Earth 4.4 million years ago. The main point of the find is that this is the earliest find to the branch that leads to humans, and also that the creature had a grabbing toe that was more like a chimpanzee foot; other previously found hominid have feet much like ours. But unlike chimpanzees it walked upright and had smaller canine teeth; meaning that instead of the male fighting for a female it could carry food back to its mate. I thought this was most fascinating and a great discovery! The whole three episodes lasted three hours. I was so intrigued by the show that I forgot to change to my regular glasses and only when I drove home on a very “dark” night did I discover that I was still wearing my sunglasses!
I did my stretches and then went outside with my binoculars for a spell. I practiced my guitar. Wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 12- did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 55 and 71 degrees, NW-SW winds of 4 to 15 MPH, humidity around 39 percent, altocumulus clouds all day long.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 70. West wind 6 to 9 mph becoming south southwest between 17 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. South southwest wind 17 to 20 mph decreasing to between 9 and 12 mph. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.”
Last night I downloaded Internet Explorer 6 and Tiny Personal Firewall from Oldversion.com and this morning I installed those on P’s system. All went fine, now IE doesn’t get errors and close, and there is a firewall installed. I called her up to come get it which she did a few hours later. I hope not to work on that tobacco smelly computer again!
The day was overcast and I decided to get my books that I have stored in boxes for over ten years and put them on the shelves I build. There were Sci-Fi books, old college books of mine, carpentry books, and a bunch more that found a new home against the wall in my house and in easy reach.
I made eggs with Velveeta and potatoes for dinner and then went for my evening walk.
I studied from the textbook “Astronomy Today” for a spell until “Castle” came on ABC; about a conman who gets murdered in his apartment while pretending to be on an expedition to the North Pole.
I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 13- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 57 and 72 degrees, W-S winds of 4 to 18 with gusts up to 29 MPH, humidity around 47 percent, altocumulus clouds all day long.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. West southwest wind between 6 and 10 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. West wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.”
Today I needed to go to the post office to pick up the modem I ordered for Seimi’s netbook. Netbooks don’t come with a 56kps modem and out here in the high desert dialup is about all we have at present. I stopped off at the post office and got that. While standing in line there was a lady who kept sniffling and coughing that everyone gave a wide space to. Then I was off to Home Depot to get some plaster to finish my bathroom walls. I was going to go to WalMart but I’m trying to cut back on my purchases and I’d end up buying other stuff there. I had just received the last of the monthly checks for the property I sold up in Washington ten years ago and now have to live off of money from CDs, savings, and mutual funds that I’ve saved over the years. Right now CDs are not paying out very well but it’s enough to get me by.
I went over to Stoney’s to help him finish off the chicken and dumplings. I was eating some chocolate when my stomach began to ache like it did the other day. The only cure was to rush home and gulp down some Milk of Magnesia and lie down. The pain is incapacitating and really sapped me good. After I had the pain under control I fell asleep for a spell and woke up feeling weak. I guess I’m going to have to stay away from chocolate, if that was the cause, but I’m definitely going to watch what I eat for now on and be very picky.
I watched “Nova: Hubble's Amazing Rescue” that was quite an interesting story of how these Astronauts spent over two years practicing fixing a mockup of Hubble in a big water tank before going into space to do the real thing. The dedication and determination of these Astronauts and the folks at NASA to repairing Hubble and returning it back to service was just astounding! Then I watched “Frontline: Obama’s War” about the war in Afghanistan and how the new method of going out into the villages and staying to protect the villagers from the Taliban was going to be implemented and the pros and cons of such implementation. Also, the fact that the Pakistani Intelligent Agency is providing money to the Taliban at the border of Afghanistan has been hindrance to US forces trying to stabilize the Afghan government in rural areas. And the corruption in the Afghan government doesn’t help matters much.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 14- did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 58 and 79 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 40 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 84. North northwest wind around 8 mph. Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 62. North northwest wind around 8 mph.”
Paula Ragland called me this morning and it was quite a surprise! I haven’t heard from her since the late sixties. She is up in Wonder Valley taking care of her father’s estate and found me in the phone book. She now lives in Texas and has a grown son and a granddaughter. It was great to hear from her and I hope to see her before she leaves for Texas.
My stomach is still a little queasy from yesterday but I worked on the bathroom anyways finishing the plastering and doing some touch up. After I put everything away I noticed some more toughing up to do but that can wait until tomorrow. I hope to start painting on Sunday.
I went for my evening walk and then did a little webwork. I need to come up with a story about saving the environment for Blog Action Day which is tomorrow Thursday, October 15. I will post it on my Live Journal blog.
I did my stretches and went for a night run; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 15- did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 62 and 87 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 32 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 91. North northwest wind between 7 and 11 mph. Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 62. North northwest wind between 5 and 7 mph.”
I’m feeling mighty good today after two days with stomach problems; so I painted the bathroom and got the first coat of paint and hopefully tomorrow I’ll put the second coat on. I didn’t even get that much paint on myself!
Somebody abandoned a trailer up the hill from me. I noticed it on yesterday’s evening walk and my first thought was that someone was moving onto the property there. I walked up to the trailer and found that it had no tires, most all the windows were broken, and the insides were a mess with piles of garbage. Ginger my neighbor called telling me see saw an old blue truck drop it of earlier yesterday morning. If it isn’t moved in a few days I’ll call the police and report it.
Last night I wrote a story for Blog Action Day which ended up being 1,808 words long! The story is about my idea of what got us in this climate mess and what we as individuals should do about it. I even included a picture of my solar home and what I use to power it.
I went for my evening walk and settled in for a night of watching “Fastforward” on ABC and then “Fringe” on Fox. I even watched a little bit of the Jay Leno show.
I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 16- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 62 and 91 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 30 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 92. West northwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. South southeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming west southwest.”
I was going to paint the bathroom but noticed that I missed plastering a part of the overhead leading from the bathroom, so I plastered it and now have to wait for it to dry before I continue painting.
It ended up being a kind of kicked back day for me doing little knickknacks around the house and messing around with a really old laptop of mine running Win98SE. I have a Sony Clie PDA that runs on the Palm Desktop I have installed on the laptop and download Sci-Fi books to read.
I went for my evening walk and continued to play with the old laptop until it got late then I did my stretches and went outside with the binoculars for a spell; the night was warm and dark.
I watched “Numb3rs” came on CBS about a dried body found in a box and other people begin to get murdered just like the plot in a new horror movie about to be released.
I practiced my guitar; updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 17- did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 62 and 93 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 27 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south between 7 and 10 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. West southwest wind 14 to 17 mph decreasing to between 6 and 9 mph. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.”
I was getting ready to go to the “End of Summer Bash” over at the community center when Ginger call telling me that it was her son Vincent’s birthday today and if I’d like to come on over for some cake. I told her that I could only stop by for a little bit because I was needed over at the center to help setup the barbecue. It was one of the best cakes I’ve ever had and she said she had gotten it over at Stater Bros.
I got to the center a little late and most of the setup was done. Everyone had a job to do and mine was to go around taking pictures and yapping to folks. Annelies was doing a book signing of her best seller “Kenya Cowgirl” and donating the proceeds to the community. Rob was selling the tickets for the food. Steve and Ray were hard at work doing the barbecue. Katherine was keeping tabs on the money. Marcie was selling items at the Thrift Room. And Mary Helen was just all over the place making sure that everything went off smoothly. Katherine made a whole bunch of potato salad. Mary Helen did the same with a bean salad and banana bread. Rob made some desert cookies. All this came with the meal when you bought a hot dog or hamburger and all the food was mighty good.
I met Doug and Marlene Marren who had a cabin out here since 1985. They got the cabin from their parents who bought it in the fifties. Their thirty year anniversary is next month! I never met Doug before but he knew all about me from my column in the newspaper and also reading my journal and website online; it’s nice to know that somebody reads it!
I also talked to Dan Baker a CHP officer who has recently moved into our community. His wife Tammy is starting a nail salon in their home and he was passing out her business cards. I told him I’d put a little ad on our community website for her.
It was nice to see Raphael Cervantes and his wife Maria. I haven’t seen them for a few years since they moved with their daughter to Yucca Valley so that they would have more room for their grandchildren. They still own the property up here and told me that they are considering moving back soon. That would be nice because they are mighty fine folks.
We’d all like to thank Ruth Tuttle for her generous contribution she made at the barbecue and all the other fifty some odd folks that came on over to eat and enjoy our company and our community center!
After the barbecue I promised Ginger that I lend her a 12volt battery and an inverter so she could charge it up with her generator to watch TV at night. I got it all hooked up for her but the TV was taking so much of a load that it blew the fuse on the 400Watt inverter, dang! I had another 140Watt inverter that I lent her that will at least charge her cell phones and run some lights or a laptop.
I was dog tired when I got home and watched a little baseball Angels vs. NY, but it went into extra innings and I soon tired of that too.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 18- did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 61 and 89 degrees, SSW winds at 4 to 14 MPH, humidity around 25 percent, some clouds.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 84. West northwest wind around 6 mph becoming south southwest. Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 56. West northwest wind between 14 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.”
I put a second coat of paint on the bathroom walls and now I need to clean the floor really good and start laying tile. I got everything I need but I’m not really sure how to go about putting the tile down so I guess I better read the instructions first.
Called a few Family and friends just to let them know I’m still alive.
Ray Smith called wanting me to print him up a map with instructions on how to get to the Ronald Reagan Medical Center from here; his brother Orville is staying there. I went online to Google Maps, printed it up, and called him that it’s in my mailbox outside my house so he can pick it up tomorrow when he goes to the USDA food distribution.
I did a little computer maintenance on two of my netbooks, getting one of them ready for Windows 7 when it is shipped out to me sometime next week. I went for my evening walk.
I watched “Masterpiece Mystery-Inspector Lewis: The Point of Vanishing”. The only vanishing point in the show was my understanding of the plot.
I did my stretches and then went outside with the binoculars and saw Orion rise up out of the eastern horizon. Then I practiced my guitar.
I went online and read an article at Geeks Are Sexy website called “Remembering the ZX81”. I had a ZX81 back in the early 80s with the expansion pack that kept falling loose in the middle of typing long programs until I duct taped it onto the system. When I read this article I remembered that I have an old book that I used to copy games into the ZX81 called “49 Explosive Games for the ZX81″ by Tim Hartnell. The first game in the book is Death Maze! I no longer have the ZX81 but I still have that book.
I started writing my column and will finish it tomorrow; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 19- did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 56 and 81 degrees, SW winds at 4 to 18 MPH, humidity around 33 percent, some clouds.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind between 17 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 55. Northwest wind 14 to 17 mph decreasing to between 5 and 8 mph. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.”
I got down on my hands and knees with a scraper in the bathroom floor and scraped off all the plaster and paint I dropped. The floor needs to be clean of any substance that may cause the tiles not to lay flat. I spent the better part of the day doing that.
Stoney wants me to setup an account at a Canadian online drug store. I found a reputable site and we called the 800 number and got his account setup and all his doctor needs to do is call it in. He’s now paying $110 for a thirty day supply of Lipitor and at that price he can get a ninety day supply for the same amount from Canada. It really sickens me that we Americans need to go to other countries to get a break on prescription drugs while our representatives in congress sit on their hands and get campaign contributions from the pharmaceuticals that reap the rewards from congress’s inaction. Yeah our government is really looking out for us they like you to believe. Yes it makes me sick!
I went for my evening walk and watched the sunset. It was getting quite windy after the Sun went down.
Kevin called and I jawed with him for a spell as he told me all about his new girlfriend. Since he has been dating her he doesn’t call here much, but I told him that it’s okay and I am happy for him; which I am!
I watched “Castle” on ABC about a woman’s body found in a manhole. Then I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web. I will finish writing my column for the newspaper, and call it a night.

Tuesday 20- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike. I read in this exercise book that the best way to build muscle mass is to perform one set and do as many repetitions until you can’t do anymore. I been trying this for about a week and boy are my muscles hurting! It does feel good though…
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 55 and 77 degrees, NNW winds at 14 to 25 MPH, humidity around 31 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 79. North northwest wind between 9 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 50. North northwest wind between 8 and 11 mph.”
I got a call from Ruth Denison telling me that she is having problems with her mouse. I had some pictures and some video from her birthday party I wanted to take to her anyways, so I went over for a visit. She was nowhere to be found when I arrived and went looking for her. One of her helpers was cleaning out a storage room and found some baby mice and asked me if I’d put them in a box for him; he didn’t want to touch them. The babies were a few days old and looked cute; they made little chirping noises when I picked them up to transfer them to a box. Ruth thought that they were cute too and said, “Look at the life force in them; it is the same life force that runs through you and me.” She will feed them to the roadrunner when he comes for his dinner later in the evening. I must have spent a few hours after I loaded up the pics and video showing her how to work the software to view them.
I went over to Stoney’s for a visit. He was watching a movie on TCM called “Children’s Hour” (1961) starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner. It’s about a girl’s school where two of its students claim to have seen two of the women teachers making out. The two girls are lying but before the truth is found out the two teachers are disgraced and their careers are ruined. The movie reminds me of the McMartin Preschool Trial of the 80s where the staff of a preschool were falsely charged with sexual abuse of children.
I got home after dark to watch “NCIS” and “NCIS Los Angeles”, and then Jay Leno.
I did my stretches and went for an evening run. I then sat outside to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower. I saw many meteors and one really nice bright white orange earthgrazer! Then I practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 21- did my stretches. I’m trying something new with my morning stretch. I close my eyes, stand on my tip toes, and stretch my arms over my head to see how long I can balance myself; about 20 seconds is all I’m able to do right now. Then I hold my arms out to my sides and close my eyes again and try to balance one leg while lifting the other; less than 20 seconds. I figure if I do this every day I will improve my balance, I hope!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 50 and 79 degrees, NNW winds at 6 to 18 MPH, humidity around 25 percent, high cirrus clouds.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 84. North northwest wind between 5 and 9 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. North northwest wind between 3 and 9 mph.”
I went back outside at 3am last night to see more of the Orionid Meteor Shower. I saw a few but not as many than earlier when I was out there around midnight but still worth it.
I spent the better part of the day moving tile into the house and making room for it. The boxes of tile must weigh fifty pound and I have twenty boxes. I put most of them in the house and the remainder in the battery room. Lots of heavy lifting! I spent about an hour clearing out the shop so I can walk through it without stumbling over stuff I had lying around. Everything is coming together slowly but surely.
I was trying to call Stoney all day but his line was busy so I figured that he had left his computer online (we both have dialup) and moseyed over to his house to tell him. Sure enough he had left it on but the good thing is the computer updated twelve security updates! I gave him a small alarm clock that has a unique way of unfolding when it opens; he really liked it. I received the clock for free when I ordered some item or other online.
I went for my evening walk taking a few pictures of the sunset. I watched the nightly news to see what else our friends in government has messed up for us and then “My Name is Earl” which I found to be very funny. I spent the rest of the evening doing webwork.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 22- did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 54 and 81 degrees, NW-E winds at 4 to 12 MPH, humidity around 27 percent, high cirrus clouds.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 86. North northwest wind between 5 and 9 mph. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Northeast wind at 7 mph becoming west.”
I went to town to pick up a few items I needed and check my mail. Gassed up the Gross Polluter and then made a stop at WalMart but they didn’t have what I needed so I just walked around the store looking at stuff I can’t afford. I noticed there were lots of preschoolers with their Moms. Most of the kids were coughing and sneezing so I tried to stay clear of them; I’m not used to being around kids anyways. As I walked down an aisle in the electronics section one young Mom told her child to cover her mouth as she sneezed when I passed by. I just hope this H1N1 flu going around isn’t as bad as the news stories make it out to be. I bought some fried chicken to share with Stoney over at Stater Bros. and continued on my journey to Home Depot to get some LED lights and some solder.
I called Stoney but he wasn’t home and I found out later wouldn’t be home until 5pm. So I had this fried chicken sitting in my house with its aroma filling the air for two hours! I got frustrated waiting and went for my evening walk early to kill some time. I was mighty hungry and held off eating until I finally got hold of Stoney and went over to his home to eat. He’d been at the doctor’s office since 11am having some tests run and he was mighty hungry too!
I watched the Angel’s game against New York; what a nail biter! Angels won 7-6 yea! Then I watched “Fastforward” on ABC.
My long awaited order of Windows 7 was ship by Amazon today but to the wrong address, dang! I live in a rural area and the US post office doesn’t come to my house but to a PO Box six miles down the street, but Fed Ex and USP come right to my home but not to the PO Box. When I order something online I never know what method it is being shipped and I have to guess. I paid extra to have it shipped hoping that it would go UPS or Fed Ex and used my street address, but dang Amazon shipped it USPS and now it will be undeliverable and sent back to Amazon, double dang!
I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 23- did my stretches, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 55 and 85 degrees, light breeze, humidity around 25 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. North northwest wind between 5 and 8 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. West wind between 7 and 9 mph.”
I stopped by Ginger’s on my way to Ron’s to see what she was up to. Yesterday she had gotten stuck in the dirt with her truck, got mad and burned her tires trying to get out, I could see the smoke from my house, and she buried the back tire deep. I could have gone over to help but she had other people about and I felt that it was none of my business if she didn’t ask for my assistance. Today she told me that her and she girlfriend tried to get it out last night but couldn’t and she had to wait until this morning for her son to pull her out with his truck. I then showed her the correct way to get unstuck if it ever happens again.
I went over to Ron Dehart’s home to check out his new neighbor’s house that is being built next door. Ron wasn’t too happy about all the noise made by the workers laying cement and having neighbors so close by but he has come to accept it. Linda (the one I bought the compost toilet from) is now living in her new motor home and is temporarily parking it on Ron’s property until she gets her bearings; I thought that was nice of Ron.
Mac came by my house for a short chat. His car doesn’t have reverse and parks it so that the car rolls backwards down the hill in front of my driveway. I took him inside to show him all the work I’ve done and the tile I’ll be laying down throughout the house. I think he was impressed but it’s hard to tell with him.
Stoney invited me over for dinner. He cooked up some country strips that are some kind of pork. We also had pea salad and mashed potatoes with gravy.
I got home in time to go for my evening walk just before the sunset. I watched the nightly news which has been giving me nightmares, and “My Name is Earl” which makes me laugh! I think I’ll skip the news for now on and just watch Earl!
I spent a couple of hours reading from “Astronomy Today”. This chapter is about the history of astronomy; much I already knew but it’s nice to have a refresher.
Then I did my stretches and went for a night run just before “Numb3rs” came on CBS about a missing little girl that was a clone of a former employee of a giant pharmaceutical who wanted her back for experimental reasons.
I practiced my guitar and broke another string; updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 24- did my stretches and ran two miles.
I got this call from a really insane person that truly upset me for the rest of the day. She lives in our area and is known to be a trouble maker, has no friends except for the ones she bullies, and folks tend to avoid her. What she said over the phone was totally untrue but still it pissed me off; she has a way of doing that. I won’t go into what it was about or the parties involved, but it did ruin what was starting out to be a very nice day.
I went over to Stoney’s to finish off what was left over from yesterday’s meal. I played him the message that this crazy woman left on my cell phone and he agreed with me. He has had run-ins with her before and had to band her from coming to the USDA Food Distribution because of her rudeness to the volunteers.
I got back home just in time to go for my evening walk and spent the rest of the night working on a new project to keep my mind busy; I do that when I get upset. The time had slipped by before I realized it was 5am in the morning. So I did my stretches; practiced my guitar with one string missing, and called it a night without writing to my journal.

Sunday 25- I did my stretches. I’m feeling much better today!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 52 and 83 degrees, winds from the NE at 4-18 MPH, humidity around 25 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 78. North northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. Southeast wind at 6 mph becoming west southwest.”
I mostly lost myself in my computers today. I like to test stuff so I used my Toshiba laptop and went to a known website that loads this malicious fake anti-virus program onto your system when you click and install a bogus flash update; I wanted to see what it does. I ran it under a user ID that didn’t have administrative access. This program kept telling me with popups that I had a Trojan and to download their program to get rid of it, and it would shut my system down every half hour or so. My Avast anti-virus program was catching all the Trojans that this program was trying to install; I know this because I ran a scan at boot later. I then logged into my user ID and deleted the user ID that downloaded the malicious program and this stopped that fake anti-virus from running. But what it did do was corrupt files on my system like MS Office 2007 and other files. Like I said this was a test. I’ve never had a virus or Trojans on any of my systems and wanted to see how someone might get one. So after I learned what I needed to know I formatted the drive and reinstalled Windows XP. This is what I do for fun around here!
After my evening walk I watched “60 Minutes”. I was going to watch the Angels vs. NY game but I didn’t think I could handle the stress; Angels lost 5 to 2! So instead I worked on this old IBM 570 laptop with an Intel PII 300MHZ processor. I had loaded up Puppy Linux 4.2 a few months ago and dual booted with Win98SE but for some reason I botched the install. I reinstalled Puppy Linux and got it dual booting under GRUB just fine this time. A few years ago I replaced the hard drive with an IDE 2Gig flash drive that makes it mighty fast when it comes to reads and writes and the only hindrance is the processor’s speed when it comes to video; video plays really slow. But I’ve haven’t seen a system boot up faster than this one running Win98SE! The best browser I’ve found that works on Win98SE is the current version of Opera. Old systems never die they just get tinkered to death.
I did my stretches; put a new string on my guitar and practiced a spell; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 26- I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 53 and 78 degrees, winds from the NE at 4-7 MPH, humidity around 22 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Areas of blowing dust after 11am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Windy, with a west northwest wind 8 to 11 mph increasing to between 30 and 33 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Tuesday Night: Areas of blowing dust before 11pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 43. Windy, with a north northwest wind 33 to 36 mph decreasing to between 21 and 24 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph.”
I thought I’d better get off my butt and stop procrastinating and start laying down some tile. I’ve never done floor tile before so I’m a little afraid of screwing it up. I went looking for a notched trowel but the only one I found had small notches and didn’t look like the one in the Reader’s Digest “Complete Do-it-yourself Manual”. I called Stoney and he found one but the notches were small too. I then drove over to Lee Hines who had one somewhere in his garage. After hunting around, we finally found one that looked just like the one in the book. I left his house with the trowel and a bunch of cookies that Marcie gave me.
I mixed the thin set (the glue type stuff) to all most the consistency of peanut butter just like Lee told me and then spread it on the floor with the trowel at about a forty-five degree angle. I started lying the tiles down in a straight line and did this until I had the whole bathroom covered excepted for some edges that I’ll have to cut and lay down later. By the time I finished the Sun had already set and I was beat. There is a lot of stooping involved in a small area and I couldn’t step or even place my hands on the tile for leverage or else they’d slip out of place. So far it looks like I did it right. I’ll have to wait twenty four hours it said on the bag of thin set before I can walk on it.
I watched the Nightly News; all bad stuff. And then watched “My Name is Earl” to cheer me back up. I messed around doing this and that planning where I’ll lay the tile tomorrow, and did my stretches and went for a night run. “Castle” came on ABC; about a vampire found in a cemetery with a stake in his chest. This episode was especially cool because it opened with Castle dressed as a Brown Coat from Firefly for a Halloween party!
I practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.


Tuesday 27- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 70 degrees, winds from the W-NW at 9-30 with gusts up to 55 MPH, humidity around 25 percent, the skies looked foggy to me.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday...Mostly sunny and windy. Highs in the upper 50s. Northwest wind 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 40 mph in the afternoon. Wednesday Night...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 30s. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 35 mph in the evening.”
The wind was blowing hard and the air was cold and looked heavy with fog, so I spent the whole day inside. I had to move a desk and a few other things outside so I’ll be able to lay down more tiles. That’s what I did all day move stuff and lay tiles. I’ll post some pictures so you can see what I’m doing.
To dang windy and cold to go for my evening walk so I just laid more tiles. I watched the Nightly New and still there wasn’t any good news, so I watched “My Name is Earl” to balance it out. “NCIS” was a rerun but I watched it anyways; just too dang tired to do anything else. Then Jay Leno came on and he always cheers me up. I wrote my column for the newspaper and sent it in.
I had a strange dream last night that I was heading to fight a fire with hundreds of other folks to some mountain community. We had to walk for several days to get there. I remember being very thirsty climbing a steep mountain being helped and helping other folks make it to the top. We finally came to a small mountain town surrounded by tall pine trees. The friends I made on the trip waited for me outside a small café while I got a drink of water but I was only allowed one glass of water by the café’s chubby waitress with black hair. I went back outside to chat with my new found friends who came from all parts of the country to fight this fire and they were stunned that the residents of this small town who we walked for many miles to save from the fire were very hostile to us. Then I woke up. I only mention this dream because it was very vivid.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 28- I did my stretches; too dang cold and windy to do anything else.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 60 degrees, winds from the NW at 16-31 with gusts up to 45 MPH, humidity around 22 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday...Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Thursday Night...Clear. Lows around 40. Northwest wind around 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the evening.”
I called up Vanguard Mutual Funds to sell all my shares in their SP 500 index fund. I made a couple of thousand on it and figured it was time to get out and not be greedy.
I needed to go to my mailbox to send out my property tax and a Visa bill from BofA for $1.50 in interest on last month’s bill that I paid in full. I was thinking of calling BofA up to ask why but decided that it wasn’t worth the effort.
I got back and went right to work laying tiles, but before I could do that I had to disassemble the wood stove and haul it outside. So here I am doing stoop work again that’s starting to hurt my back and knees. I was laying the last tile of the day when the broom I had nearby to sweep away debris decided to fall over hitting a glass jar on its way down. The glass jar fell right on the thin set where the last tile was going in and broke into a hundred pieces. As I was carefully picking it up I cut myself on the thumb and finger which started to bleed, dang!
I watched the Nightly News; still nothing good and I think it’s giving me strange dreams. And then “My Name is Earl” to help me forget what I just watched on the news. A really fantastic show came on PBS called “The Botany of Desire” which gave a plant’s view point of the world and how it uses us humans to become successful and propagate. Very interesting! Jay Leno came on and I watched that, too.
I did my stretches as my whole body was protesting with aches and pains here and there from laying tiles. Maybe I’ll take tomorrow off and if the weather is good go for a nice long run. I practiced my guitar and my singing voice seems to be getting better or maybe it’s just my imagination. I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 29- I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 46 and 62 degrees, winds from the NNW at 4-16 MPH, humidity around 25 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 71. Northwest wind between 6 and 8 mph. Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 47. North wind around 6 mph becoming calm.”
I didn’t lay any tiles today and just rested my poor old tired body. I uploaded fifteen pictures of the End of Summer Bash that we had at our community center to the Copper Mountain Mesa Website.
Stoney needs me to add the 760 area code to his dialup number so he can get online. The double area code overlay went into effect yesterday and now we have to add it when we call our neighbors. I told him of my aches and pains and he said that I was welcomed to come over for a hot shower. Let me tell ya that hot water running on my sore muscles made me feel like a new man!
My front door would only open about a foot and I had to squeeze to get through after I laid the tiles in front of it yesterday. So I fixed that today by jacking up the door and resetting and tightening the bolts that hold it. Then I went for my evening walk just before the sunset. The winds started to pick up on my way back making it a cold and windy walk.
I watched the Nightly News again; just bad stuff, and I think it will be the last time for a while. I watched “My Name is Earl” to cheer me back up. “Fastforward” came on ABC; it’s starting to get drawn out. The best show tonight was this film on PBS called “Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree” about the independent musician folks in my area of the desert. I saw the show tonight and thought it was wonderful! I was at Chuckwalla Fest at Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneer Town in 2007 which appeared in the show. I wrote an article about it in my column "Copper Mountain Mesa News" for the Hi Desert Star. The show makes me want to take my guitar down to the JT saloon and play some of the songs I wrote! Judy Ruggles has been trying to get me to go down there on Tuesday's open mic night and I just might take her up on it.
I did my stretches, practiced my guitar, wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Here's the column I wrote:

06/09/2007

Our little Community has heard from Scott Sorensen and his gal friend Anita that their buffalos Buffy and Sally each had babies last week. I used to care for their buffalo before they moved to Lancaster.

Last Sunday Ron Dehart and I drove on over to the Chuckwalla Fest at Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneer Town. On the way we went through all the devastation that last July’s Sawtooth fire had caused: the hills stripped bare of all vegetation leaving charred Joshua trees and naked rocky vistas that were once lush with green life and folks homes. So sad that I decided not to take any pictures. We walked through the restaurant where we had our hands stamped leading outside that held two stages, one big and a smaller stage for individual performers. Judy Van Ruggles picked a good banjo and belted out some great vocals. Steve and Darlene Lester played some very nice Bluegrass while these nice looking gals hula hooped. I was especially entranced with one hula hooper in tie-dye green dress and beads in her hair, reminded me of the 60’s. She hooped with little effort right in front of me, I felt right at home! Alice and Albert played on the small stage some original songs of theirs and they made it all worth it! (well them and the hula gal) The Chuckwalla fest use to be held at the Metaphysic Center in JT and I liked the wide openness of it all there better, but Pappy and Harriet’s has a distinct atmosphere all of it’s own and I had a mighty nice time.

Thought for the week: Imagine a Democracy where there aren’t any political parties and everyone was sovereign unto themselves. That way no group could control to the detriment of others.

Friday 30- I did my stretches and ran a mile.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 47 and 72 degrees, winds from the NE to NW at 4-8 MPH, humidity around 24 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 78. West northwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 52. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.”
I laid more floor tiles today. I mixed up too much thin set (the stuff that glues the tiles down) and ended up starting on the bedroom with the excess. I had to cut the rug from part of the bedroom to lay the tiles shoving part of the uncut rug under my bed. Now I’m wondering just where I’ll put my bed when it comes time to tile there. I worked on all this tile laying until almost sunset when I quit for the day, washed all the tools off, and went for my evening walk. All my muscles are sore again! I think I need another hot shower over at Stoney’s.
I did NOT watch the Nightly News tonight but I did watch “My Name is Earl”! Then I did some webwork until “Numb3rs” came on CBS; about bolts of plasma raining down from some craft and frying folks.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night. I’m dog dead tired!

Saturday 31- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 53 and 75 degrees, light breeze, humidity around 25 percent, clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 80. West northwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm. Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 52. East northeast wind at 7 mph becoming west northwest.”
Stoney called me up to say that our neighbor and friend Donna Myers had passed away Friday night. I heard that she wasn’t well but I didn’t know that it was that serious. Last time I saw her was at last June’s potluck where she whipped up a wonderful tuna casserole. Donna was a fine lady and the community will miss her!
I took the day off from tiling my floor and just kicked back calling Friends and Family until I had to get ready for potluck. I cooked up some turkey stuffing with raisins. Stoney called again telling me that he had left his parking lights on overnight and his battery was dead and if I’d come on over and give him a jump, which I did.
There weren’t many folks at potluck this time but we didn’t mind. We figured that it was Halloween and they had places to be. We heard that Dyan Carrol was down with the flu; a good reason not to come. Marcie Hines made some mighty fine enchiladas. Marie Morrison brought a lemon cake that was mighty tasty. Chris Jonas spent all day cooking up his famous macaroni salad. Ruth Tuttle brought some cookies that her daughter baked. Bob Seeley had his fruit platter that is everyone’s favorite. And Rose Matich boiled up some yams that were fantastic. The mood was a little subdued because of the passing of our friend Donna Myers.
I watched “CSI” on KCOP, it was the one where Grissom left CSI and went to the jungles of South America where his beloved Sara who was camped out taking pictures of monkeys. I love that scene where Grissom is walking through the jungle, notices a bug on a leaf almost stops to examine it, but instead keeps walking on to Sara’s camp. For me that was the end of CSI and the best ever ending I’ve ever seen; brought tears to my eyes.
My friend Mike from Hermosa called to say that he’s riding his Harley up here tomorrow after leaving his group of bikers who will travel on to the tram in Palm Springs. I hope he doesn’t get lost like the last time he tried to come here for a visit. I waited in Joshua Tree for two hours until he called to tell me he went the wrong way and wasn’t coming. This time he will come directly to my house because I told him I ain’t going to wait for him in town again.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.
Goodbye to October!