February 2010

Welcome to the month of February- I did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 40 and 56 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 54 percent, cloudy skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57. West southwest wind at 9 mph becoming east southeast. Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. South southeast wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west.”
This is the first day that I feel any better after Stoney’s passing and I’m going to try and get back into my routine.
I went over to Stoney’s house to repair a leak in the roof that Denny told me about but he wasn’t there to tell me where it was. I got up on the roof but couldn’t find where the leak was coming from, so I’ll have to wait until another day to do this. I did find a file containing pictures that Stoney took with his camera that we had forgotten about and copied them to the desktop.
I dropped by Joel’s house and picked up some firewood that he had offered me and chatted with him for a spell.
I went for my evening walk just thinking things over.
I practiced my guitar for the first time since Monday night of last week. Then I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" about the formation of the solar system; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about the structure of DNA; “Digital Electronics Course” about NAND and NOR gates.
Kula called asking me how to get her mail transferred from Outlook Express to a file she can save to a thumbdrive. I don’t use Outlook but I’ll look it up tonight and let her know tomorrow.
I watched the movie “300” (2006) about King Leonidas and 300 Spartans who held off the Persians at Thermopylae in 480BC.
I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.
It has been exactly one month that I haven’t watched any commercial TV, yea for me!

Tuesday 02- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 40 and 59 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 39 percent, partly cloudy skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. North northwest wind between 3 and 6 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. West wind between 3 and 8 mph.”
I went over to Stoney’s to download some pictures I had found on his computer yesterday and talked with Denny for a spell. He invited me over for dinner but I declined; I’m having good days and bad days and this seems to be a bad day. The funeral is set for Thursday and I’m just not prepared for that yet.
Somehow I need to write my column for the newspaper but I’m just not in the mood and can’t think of anything to write.
I went for my evening walk and practiced my guitar when I got back. Then I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" about the concept of Angular Momentum; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about the role of Messenger RNA (RNA molecules are synthesized from DNA and used for templates to synthesize protein); “Digital Electronics Course” about XOR and XNOR gates (I’ll have to write about this later when I figure it all out).
I watched “NOVA: Ghosts of Machu Picchu”, and then “Frontline: Digital Nation” about how some are becoming addicted to the internet and multitasking. It was a very interesting show and how we use the internet to interact with others and the pitfalls of becoming too involved in a virtual life; mostly games. I myself use the internet as a tool. I don’t play games. I interact with a few people I find interesting and read their blogs. I usually have my IM turned off so I won’t be distracted. I find it a great source for information when writing my journal and newspaper column. And I know when to turn it off!
I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and hope to find something to write about for my newspaper column before I call it a night.

Friday 05- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 41 and 56 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 61 percent, partly cloudy skies with a little rain.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: A chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56. South southeast wind between 6 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Southwest wind between 11 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%."
” I am sorry that I haven’t been keeping my journal up to date lately but I am in a state of intense sorrow: these last few weeks since the passing of my friends Lee Hines in December, my best friend Bob Stonebraker (Stoney) on Tuesday 26 of January, and just as we returned home from Stoney’s funeral we learned of a death of another area friend Bob Seeley who had died on Thursday at 2:30pm as we laid Stoney to rest at Rose Hills Cemetery.
I like to write about happy things, about the things I like to do, trying new ideas to get ahead in life, and also I try to write my journal in a positive outlook of life. And I find this very hard to do at this time. So please bear with me just a little longer until I can get through this sorrow and get back to what I like to write about!

Saturday 06- I got dressed, jumped in the Gross Polluter and headed down to the community’s breakfast that we have on the first Saturday of the month. In the mood I am in I felt I needed to be around friends. Let me tell you that the food was just fantastic. I had pancakes with two eggs, bacon, home fried potatoes, and a glass of tomato juice. I had also ordered biscuits and gravy but apparently they had run out of them but I was mighty filled up as it was. We had sixty-one folks show up and Kath and I went looking through the past several years of logs and we found that this was the most folks we ever had for breakfast since we’ve been keeping this log from 2007! I think the crew did a mighty fine job of preparing such a fine breakfast!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 39 and 56 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 67 percent, rain.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56. Northwest wind between 15 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. West northwest wind between 3 and 9 mph.”
In my quest to be among friends I visited Frank and Mary for a long spell watching the movie “Ransom” (1996) starring Mel Gibson and Gary Sinise; a very good flick! I told Mary that I’ve been watching movies to keep my mind off of recent events and she gave me a bunch of DVDs to take home with me. I left before dark because my lights are still broken on the Polluter.
I called Family and Friends for the next couple of hours and then watched “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (2003) starring Sean Connery; it wasn’t all that good but it kept me entertained.
I’ve been slacking off on my exercises but I promise I’ll get back into them very soon. I wrote my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 07- Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 40 and 55 degrees, NW winds at 6 to 17 MPH, humidity around 59 percent, overcast skies most of the day.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Light north northwest wind. Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm.”
Last year I watched the Super Bowl with Lee Hines and Marcie over at their home. Lee passed away in early December and I didn’t feel much like watching it this year. Besides I’m still in a funk but I decided that this coming Tuesday I’m going to start back into my routine and move on; I tried a few times already. There is a time to mourn a dear friend and there’s a time to get on with your life. Sorry about the sad posts lately!
Ron Dehart gave me a very old book (1902) of the “American Naturalist” and I thumbed through it and found an article on Kangaroo Rats that was most interesting; it even had pictures of them taken with a plate camera!
I watched “Nature: the Beauty of Ugly” on PBS about some of the most ugly critters on earth but explained why they benefited by being ugly. Then I watched a DVD movie “Battlestar Galactica” (1978) which brought back some old memories from that era.
Joel called at 10:30pm to tell me that some dirt bike rider had just gone through a barbed wire fence by his house and might have broken his back. The medics were waiting for a helicopter to transport him to the hospital. I went outside and saw all these flashing lights from two police cars, an ambulance, and one fire truck.
I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 08- I decided today was the day to stop mourning instead of tomorrow, so I did my stretches, ran two miles, lifted weights, and rode my bike; I feel much better!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 40 and 57 degrees, NE winds at 6 to 9 MPH, humidity around 45 percent, mostly clear skies. Looks like snow sometime tomorrow night.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of rain after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Light wind becoming south southeast between 11 and 14 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Tuesday Night: Rain likely before 10pm, then rain and snow likely. Snow level 4300 feet lowering to 2400 feet. Cloudy, with a low around 40. South southeast wind 7 to 14 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.”
Fed the birds; they’re now used to me and hang around while I fill the feeder chirping at me to hurry. I even cleaned up the house some.
I went over to Stoney’s; I’m still going to call his house that even though he passed on, to borrow his truck so I can go to the board meeting tonight. I haven’t heard from the insurance company about fixing my truck and don’t want to do any work on it yet, so I still can’t drive it at night. Roger was there and we sat for a spell reminiscing about our dear departed friend.
I went for my evening walk re-listening to Astronomy Cast lecture: Ep. 152: Binary Stars. They now have a few new Podcasts that I need to download.
I practiced my guitar and then I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" review of chapter 6; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” a short intro to the Genetic Code; and Digital Electronics Course Introduction to Combinational Logic Circuits which is really going to mess with my mind.
I got dressed up and drove down to the community center for the board meeting. The board decided that Marcie Hines is going to fill out her late husband’s term, and Bill Treas is going to fill out the late Bob Seeley’s term. I told everyone that we’re going to have a memorial for Bob Seeley at potluck on the 27th of this month. I also mentioned that a memorial for Stoney will be held sometime in April on a Saturday around his birthday of the 13th depending on when his family could come down. We discussed ways to recruit more members and volunteers to help out our little community; Rob Reese and Bill Treas will look into getting a list of property owners and maybe do some kind of mass mailing. The meeting went well.
I got home and did my stretches and practiced my guitar, and then watched “American Experience: The Bombing of Germany” which dealt with American bombing of military targets vs. British bombing of cities in WWII.
I finished the evening reading from “The Letters of Richard Feynman”. Then I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 09- I did my stretches and ran a mile.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 35 and 57 degrees, SE winds at 4 to 18 MPH, humidity around 67 percent, mostly cloudy skies with rain in the late evening.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Showers likely, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Northwest wind between 7 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 39. West northwest wind between 9 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.”
Ginger called asking me to feed Princess her horse because she had car problems and couldn’t make it; I told her no problem and moseyed on over. Princess was glad to see me and the carrot I brought her.
The Weather Service is saying that a bad winter storm is coming tonight so I drove down to Stater Bros. to get so supplies. There were a whole lot of folks in the store probably doing the same thing.
I got back home to practice my guitar and then I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" about Earth’s atmosphere; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about RNA viruses and reverse transcription; and Digital Electronics Course about encoders, decoders, multiplexers, and demultiplexers; yikes!
Got an email update from a family member of the dirt bike rider who crashed Sunday night: “The rider & passenger were riding down Copper Moon when they were struck by what he originally thought was a large tumble weed. Which turned out to be a huge ball of barb wire and wire fencing(said to be as large as an front door) Who knows how long it had been traveling around the desert with the extreme winds we experience! Needless to say the wire tumbleweed got the best of him. He did have a split second before impact to turn his body blocking the object from hitting his girlfriend who was his passenger. Thankfully she walked away with a scratch on her hand. He wasn't so lucky. He collapsed his lung, his mother who arrived before medical help, did CPR on him for over a half hour! He is still hospitalized due to his extensive injuries; collar bone, leg, fractured vertebrates, collapsed lung, not to mention the superficial wounds made by the barb wire.” Now we know the rest of the story! I hope he recovers quickly! That was mighty brave thing he did to take the bike down so as not to get his girlfriend hurt!
I watched “NOVA: Extreme Cave Diving” very intense and very dangerous but fascinating!
I wrote my column for the newspaper and sent it in. I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 10- I did my stretches, lifted weights, and went for a walk to feed Ginger’s horse Princess.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 37 and 56 degrees, NNW winds at 6 to 11 MPH, humidity around 48 percent, mostly cloudy skies with light rain here and there.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. West northwest wind between 3 and 6 mph. Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. West southwest wind around 6 mph.”
Roger Smith called telling me his computer won’t boot up. I told him I’d come on over to have a look see at it. He had to go to town to cash a check and would be back in an hour or two so while I waited I practiced my guitar and then I read aloud from the textbook: “Astronomy Today" more about Earth’s atmosphere.
Johnny (Stoney’s grandson) called and wanted to go over to Stoney’s renter with him in a few hours and I said no problem but I’d be over at Roger’s if I wasn’t home.
Roger finally called two hours later saying to come on over. I found that his hard drive has died, but I’m still going to test it tomorrow to see if it’s really dead over at my house where I have the equipment to do so. Roger had baked some beans in his crock pot and we ate them all up.
I fed Ginger’s horse on the way back home and went for a short evening walk.
Johnny showed up at my house at 7pm just as I finished reading aloud “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about Recombinant DNA; and the Digital Electronics Course, a review of what I learned. We went over to the renter’s house to get some the bills straightened out of what he owes. Everything seemed to have worked out with the renter and I went back home where a nice warm fire in the woodstove awaited me; dang cold outside!
I did some webwork for a spell until it had gotten very late. Then I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 11- I did my stretches, went for my run and stopped off at Ginger’s to feed Princess and continued on my run, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 40 and 60 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 37 percent, sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Sunny, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph. Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 41. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.”
I tested Roger’s hard drive and found that it was working, call him and told him it was something else that was wrong and I needed to come on over to work it out. I arrived about an hour later while he was attending his bee hive and there were bees all over; I quickly made my way into his house. The problem turned out to be a bad electrical connector to his hard drive so I just switched it with another and the computer booted up just fine; Roger was mighty happy about that and I was glad not to be stung by any of his bees.
I got home only to hear a recorded message from my insurance company saying that the guy who hit me is saying that I was at fault; kind of made me mighty mad too! He stated that I had on my right turn signal when I turned left; which is not true. I’ll call my insurance company tomorrow to see what action I need to take. He knows he is at fault and is trying to lie his way out of the situation; why do people lie and make things tougher on their victims?
I went for my evening walk down to Ginger’s to feed Princess and brought her a carrot; she digs it out of my jacket pocket, such a sweet horse.
I practiced my guitar and then I read aloud from the textbook: “Astronomy Today" more about Earth’s atmosphere and ozone layer, “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” more about Recombinant DNA; and the Digital Electronics Course which I need to listen to a few cassette tapes before I can progress in the course; I hope I can find something to play them on.
After I called a few friends who helped settle me down from my being upset about the insurance news, I watched “The Scorpion King” (2002) which kept me entertained for a spell; especially Kelly Hu!
Then I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 12- I did my stretches and went for a 2.5 mile run stopping off at Ginger’s along the way to feed Princess.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 41 and 62 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 36 percent, sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 67. North northwest wind around 8 mph. Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. Northwest wind around 9 mph.”
I spent most of the day talking and emailing pictures of the accident scene to my insurance company; dialup is very slow when sending large files like pictures. I then called the guy that hit me insurance company and told them that I wasn’t going to give a statement and that they can get that from my insurance company when I file a claim. I did tell them a few things like: I did have my left signal on and not the right turn signal as was reported by the guy, that the guy was driving way too fast on our dirt roads, and I have pictures to prove it. His insurance company called me back an hour later and said they would send an adjuster down to my house next week to make an estimate of the damage to my truck. So I guess that they believed me. If I don’t like what they offer I will let my insurance company handle it.
I went for a walk down to feed Princess; she sure eats a lot of hay. When I got back home I called Kevin and told him about my day. After calling a few more friends I watched “Phone Booth” (2002) that was a nice thriller!
Then I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 13- I did my stretches and ran 1.5 miles and fed Princess along the way.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 44 and 66 degrees, calm winds, humidity around 32 percent, Sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 67. North northwest wind around 10 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Northwest wind around 7 mph.”
I’m going to make this post short because it is almost 4am in the morning, yikes!
I mostly called friends and family today except when I went over to check on Stoney’s house to make sure that everything was okay.
Then I went for a evening walk down to feed Princess; she looks lonely and I hope Ginger gets her car fixed soon so she and her daughter can come visit her.
I spent over two hours talking to my sister Audrey about this and that and some decisions I feel I have to make in the future.
I finally updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter. Did some webwork. Then I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 14- I did my stretches and fed Princess.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 42 and 65 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 25 percent, sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Presidents' Day: Sunny, with a high near 69. West northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph.”
Instead of writing what I did today I’m going to share with you an email I got from an online friend who reads my journal, and my response to her email. I found it very intriguing! So here is her email and my response:
"Hey Bob, I've been wanting to write to you since Stoney went on ahead. Now I see you have lost another friend. Of course not as close as Stoney had become to you. He was so glad to have you there in these past years, I am sure of this. I believe he would have left sooner without you. You brought his spirit back. I hope you aren't feeling too bad about his passing, because you gave so much to him with your listening and asking him questions, you helped him to feel again. Don't ask me how I know this, I just do. I was sitting on the front porch, and had a strong feeling that you are now thinking of a move. Life has called you on it! I thought, I will read his latest blog, and yes, you did say you have some serious things to think about, or something like that. I thought sh*t he'll never believe me now, about pickin' up on this. BUT oh well, I don't have to prove anything to you. I am going to tell you exactly what I picked up on and you can take it, or leave it. I feel you are thinking of moving to be near family, which is not a bad Idea, but there is another place, (maybe near the water?) that you really want to go. for some reason in particular. You need to do this before anything else, or perhaps you will never feel completed. Everything from there on in will fall into place. You have a good and true heart and spirit. Follow what you know will help you to be happy. You do know, but maybe you make excuses in your mind. If you own this land in the desert, maybe you should hold on to it for a bit. If not, of course you know, you can come back anyway. From there on out I don't know anymore. I'm really not sure if writing you this was right for me to do, or if I am even close to anything. BUT I got the nerve up to do it, so there must be a reason. Anyways, wish I could have met you before you left, I wish you much happiness! I know, you’re not leaving 'that' fast, but still. Goodness is with you Bob! Take Care now!~~~Lisa"

You are dead on right! You have great insight! Stoney was my rock, my anchor here and I now have this feeling that I should cast off my lines and sail on. I write and play my own songs (nobody else’s) and have been doing so for years but never got the nerve to play in front of folks (even some of my good friends didn’t know I played guitar) until last December at the Road Runner Magazine’s Christmas party when I decided to just go and do it. One guitarist there thought that my songs where very good and was surprised when I said I didn’t know how to play simple Christmas songs when he asked me to play along. I told him that I only know about four songs that other people wrote back in the 60s and decided back then that I would write my own stuff because playing other people’s songs was just boring and not creative to me; my friends learned to play “Stairway to Heaven” and I never did. So here is my dilemma: are my songs as good as I think they are (it’s hard to critique your own stuff), or am I just charging at windmills. I need to find this out and quickly but I don’t really know how to go about it.
The family thing you wrote about is an option if and when I’m needed there.
I was looking at sailboats online a few days ago after I had a dream about them; I lived on a sailboat for 23 years before coming to the desert!
I will always have my little cabin here; a sanctuary to run back to.
So thank you for your wonderful email that kind of sums up about everything that I’m going through. I hope to meet you before I leave :)
I hope you don’t mind that I am posting this to my journal.
I listen, I learn!
Your Friend Bob DeLoyd

Monday 15- I did my stretches and ran two miles. It’s warming up and I ran in shorts and a t-shirt!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 44 and 68 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 30 percent, sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 70. Northwest wind between 5 and 7 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 43. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming west southwest.”
Ginger called me up last night saying that her car is fixed and I don’t need to feed her horse today. I went down to check anyways and Ginger was there with her kids and they had just given Princess a washing. Princess was even re-shoed earlier by some guy who drives out to do such things. When I drove up Ginger’s little killer dog Luna (the one that bit my toe) ran up to me and wanted her belly scratch- I think she’s setting me up. So we all stood around chatting while I fed Princess the apple I brought her.
I got back home and played guitar and then went online for a spell trying to get caught up on my emails, and read about the First Barbary War (1801–1805) that I found interesting because I’ve never heard of it before. It was a war between the USA and the states on the Barbary Coast of northern Africa.
I downloaded seven Astronomy Cast lectures yesterday and I went on my evening walk listening to Ep. 167: Future Civilizations. It was mostly about colonies in space on very large ringed space stations. We could also take all the matter in our solar system and another to create a Dyson Sphere that encloses the Sun in a sphere; I thought that was pretty cool!
I read aloud from the textbook: “Astronomy Today" about Earth’s core, outer core, mantle, and how scientists used P and S seismic waves to discover them. “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” more about Recombinant DNA- generation of recombinant DNA molecules using EcoRI to eat away certain parts of DNA, then combine them with human DNA, insert this into E.coli to replicate into clones, that produce phages containing this new DNA; I think I understand maybe ten percent of this.
I took the new 4.5” Meade reflector out for ‘First Light’ tonight. I’m using this as a fast setup and bang around telescope- it only cost me sixty bucks on EBay. I spent some time aligning the finder scope and found that I need to wear my glasses while looking through it; there doesn’t seem to be a focus adjustment on that. I checked out the Orion Nebula and the Trapezium looked very small even on my highest power lens. On my 12” reflector you get right up and personal with them. I can’t wait till I get that 12” fixed and working correctly!
I watched “Hell Boy” (2004). I saw it before but it was some time ago. Then 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 16- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 42 and 69 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 29 percent, sunny skies; just great weather!
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 70. West northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm. Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 43. South southeast wind at 6 mph becoming west.”
The auto adjuster from State Farm came out to do an estimate on my poor truck. His name was John and seemed to be a pretty nice guy and spent some time going over the damages with me. I told him I just want to get fixed what the guy did when he hit me. He said that he might have to total it, but they didn’t go by the Blue Book value but what you can purchase one for off the street in the same condition; that made me feel better but I told him I really didn’t want to go through the hassle of it being totaled and have to deal with the DMV. He said something about the state law but he’d see what he could do.
After John left I lifted weights and rode my bike. I stopped off to feed Princess an apple on my way over to Stoney’s to check things out.
I went on my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast Ep. 168: Enrico Fermi who was a famous physicist who worked on the first atomic pile (Reactor) and on the Manhattan Project.
I read aloud from the textbook: “Astronomy Today" about radioactive decay that is used to measure how old the crust of the Earth is (3.9 billion years). “The Cell: a Molecular Approach”, more about Recombinant DNA- Vectors for recombinant DNA (something to do with Plasmids), and DNA Sequencing. I still need to listen to the cassette tape for the Digital Electronic Course.
“NOVA: Extreme Ice” came on PBS at 8pm and it was about the melting of glaciers and the ice packs at the poles due to global warming; very disturbing!
I watched “Hell Boy II: The Golden Army” (2008). I saw this one before too but again it was some time ago. Then I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote my column for the newspaper and sent it in; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 17- I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 68 degrees, slight breeze, humidity around 39 percent, sunny skies; another nice day!
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 69. Calm wind becoming south southwest between 5 and 8 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. West wind between 7 and 11 mph.”
I’m not going to make this a long post because my USB modem went out and I couldn’t use my Netbook. It was getting late so I had to use my old Toshiba laptop that I quickly setup with Firefox with a few adons to get it going. Tomorrow I’ll setup my Bluetooth modem and run my Netbooks off of that until I can get another USB Modem.
Ginger had invited me over for dinner tonight so I stopped by over to Stoney’s to take a shower and freshen up. I called her later and she had forgotten all about it, dang! So we’ll do it another night.
Seimi came by while I was playing guitar and we yakked for about two hours and he went on an evening walk with me.
I mostly did some webwork late unto the night until the USB modem failed, dang again! That’s when I got out the old Toshiba and set it up. Then I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 18- I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 44 and 69 degrees, S winds at 6 to11MPH, humidity around 36 percent, hazy skies later in the day.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. West southwest wind between 5 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Southwest wind between 8 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.”
I got a call from the insurance company that is handling the claim on my truck which their client hit. I spent a little time talking to them and we decided on an amount that was fair. They had to total the truck and I bought it back. I will have enough money to fix the damages with some to spare. It actually worked out pretty good for me. I called a few friends to tell them the news about the settlement and they were happy for me.
I went over to Stoney’s to check things out (I guess it’s kind of a habit) and ate one of the meals-on-wheels dinners. Sitting at the table alone eating without Stoney there just doesn’t feel right. I sure do miss him!
I got back home and went on my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast lecture: Ep. 169: The Fermi Mission, which is a space telescope that collects gamma rays from pulsars, black holes, and other deep space objects and then creates a map of where they are. While on my walk I dropped over and fed Princess a couple of carrots.
I felt like just kicking back tonight and watching a movie. Just before I did Ginger stopped by to give me a slice of pizza and piece of cake from her daughter’s birthday party they had over at Pizza Hut; I thought that was mighty nice! I watched “Troy” (2004). A very good film that kept me entertained. I’m not so sure how close it follows history because I never read Homer; maybe it’s time I do. Halfway through the film I called Andrew to yap at him for an hour and then went back to the movie.
I setup the Bluetooth modem and now I able to use my netbooks on dialup again; wish we had affordable broadband out here; it's like $50 a month and I can't afford that.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Friday 19- I did my stretches and lifted weights.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 63 degrees, SSW winds at 4 to14 MPH, humidity around 45 percent, hazy skies all day.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. Calm wind becoming west between 8 and 11 mph. Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. West southwest wind between 8 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.”
I was going to do a bunch of stuff today but something I ate gave me a very bad stomachache that knocked me out for the rest of the day. I started drinking milk of magnesia and throwing away anything I thought may have caused it; the mayonnaise went for sure! I did manage to play one song on the guitar before I had to stop to lie down for the rest of the day. Ginger called during the bad part of it to say hi, I tried to sound chipper and didn’t let on that I was in deep agony.
I also managed to update the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and send out the Newsletter.
I watched “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” (2003). Wow I can’t believe it came out so long ago! How time slips by!
I got to feeling a little better after the movie so I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Saturday 20- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 41 and 58 degrees, W winds at 8 to16 MPH, humidity around 67 percent, cloudy skies all day.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57. West northwest wind between 8 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. West wind between 11 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.”
I’m still feeling under the weather from yesterday’s stomachache and didn’t do much of anything but call a few friends and family. So I just laid low and kept to myself. There was nothing on PBS to watch and I really didn’t feel like watching another movie. I just stayed in bed and rested.
As soon as I powered up the computer to write my journal the dang Bluetooth modem quit on me and I spent another half hour or so troubleshooting it. I finally got it to work by uninstalling it and then adding it back into the system; and all I wanted to do is write a fast post to my journal! I wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night. Tomorrow I hope to run two miles if the weather lets me!

Sunday 21- I did my stretches and ran two miles. It was a bit cold and windy run but it felt good.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 56 degrees, WSW winds at 8 to 20 MPH, humidity around 47 percent, clear skies all day.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 54. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 20 and 26 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36. Northwest wind between 8 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.”
I actually did some cleaning of the kitchen; it was getting a little overgrown with dirty dishes but there is still more to clean. I just need to get out of this funk I’m in and press ahead.
I did a reinstall of XP on my Toshiba laptop. I was testing some programs on it lately and it was starting to bog down even after I uninstalled them. A reinstall is no big deal to me and I get a clean machine.
I went over to Stoney’s to check to make sure everything was alright and then went down to Ginger’s. Ginger’s son Chris drove up just after I got there to pick up the barbecue grill. We said our hellos and then I went over and fed Princess a carrot; she likes them and also likes when I brush her.
I went for my evening walk; it was a short one because of the wind was gusting and blowing sand and dirt into the air.
I watched “Nature: Invasion of the Giant Pythons". Those snakes can get up to twenty some feet and swallow an alligator, yikes!
Then I watched a DVD movie “Jarhead” (2005) about the Desert Storm war that lasted four days and four minutes, but took almost 200 days to begin. It was a very deep and honest look into the lives of two Marine snipers and how the war ended before they could shoot at the enemy.
I did my stretches and lifted weights; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Monday 22- I did my stretches; too dang cold and windy to do anything else.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 36 and 56 degrees, WNW winds at 13 to 31 MPH, humidity around 36 percent, cloudy skies here and there.
According to the National Weather Service: “Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. North northwest wind between 5 and 8 mph. Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. South wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm.”
Well I needed to sign and mail the insurance papers today and drive down to my mailbox before the mailman gets there and that is just what I did. But first I had to hookup my scanner to the Netbook. It’s running Windows 7 and I thought I’d have a problem getting it to run. I didn’t install the scanners software, I just plugged in the USB connection, it loaded the scanner right up and I was scanning the documents in no time, wow! Then I got everything together and jumped into the Gross Polluter for the twelve mile round trip to my mailbox.
I spent the next four hours when I got back or so going through all my old pictures looking for any of Bob Seeley. When I found them I’d copy it to another file that I’ll take to Marcie who needs them for Bob’s memorial this Saturday; I found around fifty or so pictures of Bob and transferred the file onto a Thumbdrive.
Way too windy for an evening walk and cold too! I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today"; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach”, and then spent my time going through old college papers I had done over twenty years ago. They were mostly on astronomy classes I took. I was reading one that was about Intrinsic Variable Stars printed out from a computer that I didn’t remember writing and thought it may have been some professional research paper I had printed out: it read really well! Then I found the same paper handwritten by me! It was from my Independent Study in astronomy at El Camino College on Intrinsic Variable Stars. Ah what memories!
Andrew called telling me of this 40’ Piver Trimaran he found for sale for a decent price; he remembered that dream I had last week I wrote about. That got my interest and we talked about it for a while. Then I thought about it for a spell. Then I called him up later in the night to talk about it some more. He may go down where it’s moored tomorrow and have a look-see. I told him what to check out for and what questions to ask the seller. I know Pivers well because I lived on a 32’ Piver in Redondo Beach for many years out on the moorings; the picture you see to the top left is my old 32’ Piver Tri.
Then I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Tuesday 23- I did my stretches and ran two miles; a lot warmer today than yesterday!
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 39 and 58 degrees, WNW winds at 13 to 31 MPH, humidity around 31 percent, mostly clear skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Light wind becoming south southwest between 14 and 17 mph. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. West wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.”
I did some work around the house and then called Marcie up so I can take that picture file of Bob Seeley I spent four hours on yesterday over to download it onto her computer. She was home this time so I went right on over. She wanted me to print them out for Seeley’s memorial this Saturday but I spent the next hour trying to get her dang printer to work. First it was unplugged. Then it wouldn’t print because the yellow cartridge was out of ink. I tried to bypass it to just print in black but it wouldn’t do it, dang. She’ll have to go and buy a new one.
I checked on a friend’s home who is on vacation and watered his plants and gave him a call from his house phone (he has unlimited calling) to see what he’s up to. He said he expects to be home by next week.
I went on my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast lecture Ep. 170: Coordinate Systems. Stuff I already know but it’s good to have a refresher! If you don’t know alt-azimuth, right ascension and declination, arc seconds and arc minutes, this would be a nice lecture to listen to. I stopped by along the way to feed Princess an apple and a carrot.
I got back home and read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" about Earth’s Magnetosphere, and Tides; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about detection on Nucleic Acids and Proteins- if I even understood one percent of this book I’d feel accomplished! Then I practiced my guitar.
I watched “NOVA: Megabeasts' Sudden Death” about how large animals in North America became extinct twelve thousand nine hundred years ago, and the present day theories that try to explain what happened. Most believe that a comet hit Earth wiping them out.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote my column for the newspaper and sent it in; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Wednesday 24- I did my stretches, ran a mile, lifted weights, and rode my bike.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 60 degrees, SSE winds at 2 to 11 MPH, humidity around 39 percent, mostly cloudy skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Northwest wind between 13 and 17 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. North wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm."
I did some yard work planting some cuttings off the desert willow tree and watering all the plants just in case it doesn’t rain. The desert willow has been growing here for about four years and was given to me by Linda Dehart who handed me a stick and said plant it. Well it grew up- I almost killed it once by pouring grapefruit juice on it, but it survived somehow through my ignorance.
I went on my evening walk listening to Astronomy Cast lecture: Ep. 172: William Herschel who discovered Uranus in 1781. It was the first planet discovered by a telescope. He also discovered infrared radiation by accident when he was trying to measure the ambient temperature around a prism that was emitting a rainbow of light from the Sun. I visited Princess while on my walk and fed her a carrot. I found out that she likes lemon drops too! I had one in my hand to eat and she nudged me for it; I gave her a couple more of them.
I got back home and practiced on my guitar. Then I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" review of the chapter on Earth; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about the detection of small amounts of DNA or RNA by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). The book keeps on saying “See chapter so an so” and maybe when I get to them chapters I’ll know what they’re talking about; Digital Electronics course is still put on hold because I’m still looking for a cassette player.
I did some webwork for the rest of the night and then did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Thursday 25- I awoke with the computer still on with a half written reply on the screen. I have my Netbook on a stand that swings over my bed so I can lay there and use it and apparently I had fallen asleep while in the middle of typing. I did my stretches and ran two miles.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 66 degrees, NNW winds at 8 to 14 MPH, humidity around 35 percent, mostly sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 66. Calm wind becoming southeast between 12 and 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. South wind between 5 and 11 mph.”
I called up Marcie to see if she had bought the yellow ink cartridge for her printer so that I may print out pictures of Bob Seeley for his memorial this Saturday; she didn’t but said she might get it today. I’ll call her tomorrow.
I’m getting low on bird seed and I hope to catch a ride to town with a friend next week; the Gross Polluter isn’t legal to drive to town. I wonder if they’d like oatmeal because I got plenty of that. Now some doves are hanging around in the yard! I guess that they go after whatever the little birds knock out of the feeder by accident.
Seimi came over so I could show him how to use the word processor again. I spent an hour or so re-showing him how to work it. This time I gave him some homework to do which is to be completed before he comes over again when I’ll teach him about the internet. When we were done he went on an evening walk with me down to feed Princess an apple and a carrot.
Joel came by with dinner; two hot dogs, a bowl of Chili Mac, and two small itsy bitsy teeny weenie chocolate donuts. It was mighty good!
I practiced my guitar and then I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" starting the chapter on the Moon and Mercury; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about probes for screening recombinant DNA libraries. I’m not going to try to explain what this is or even understand it all myself, but I can only say that I am enjoying the subject of molecular biology.
I then watched a DVD movie called “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” (2008) which kept me entertained for a spell. Some of the lines were kind of corny and you could see the actors trying to say them and keep a straight face.
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 26- I did my stretches and ran a mile.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 43 and 66 degrees, SE winds at 4 to 10 MPH, humidity around 31 percent, mostly sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Saturday: Rain likely before 10am, then rain and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of rain and thunderstorms after 4pm. High near 55. South southwest wind between 8 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. West northwest wind between 7 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.”
A guy called Mark came by asking me if I wanted to sell one of the campers I have sitting outside my place. He’s been living over by Winters Road and Lear for about two years now. I showed him my friend’s camper and he said he’d think about it. Then he asked me about my solar panels and I gave him the grand tour. I walked him to his truck when we were done and saw a white duck sitting in a box on the front seat. Mark told me that the duck is his pet and has been driving along with him since the duck was a hatchling. I thought that was kind of strange but cool.
I drove over to Mac’s to help him move a Harley off his truck; it’s a really nice bike! He’s selling it for his son who lives in Arizona and it felt good to me sitting on it. We sat for a spell and swapped stories and then I was off to Stoney’s to take a shower. Roger Smith was there cutting lumber for a rental house he is building, so the place didn’t feel so lonely.
I went over to Joel’s to get some wood to burn in my woodstove and on the way back I hit a big rock on the road and it blew out my right rear tire. I wasn’t that far from home and just drove it all the way there without doing any damage to the rim. I changed the tire with the spare so it will be ready for tomorrow and the rains if they come.
I went on my evening walk listening to an Astronomy Cast lecture “Ep. 171: Solar System Movements and Positions”. I had a carrot for Princess and saw a white truck pull up in front of Ginger’s. It was the Joshua Tree Water Department turning her water back on. His name was Dan and he lived out in this area since he was four. I asked him to tell me a little history of the area, I’m always looking for new stories, and we chatted for a long spell.
I read aloud from the textbooks: “Astronomy Today" more on the Moon and Mercury; “The Cell: a Molecular Approach” about gene function in eukaryotes. Then I practiced my guitar.
I watched “Aliens” (1986) one of my favorite Sci-FI movies. Then 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.

Saturday 27- I did my stretches.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 42 and 55 degrees, SW winds at 6 to 16 MPH, humidity around 57 percent, Cumulonimbus clouds bringing rain here and there with a bit of lightning.
According to the National Weather Service: “Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 15 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 43. West northwest wind between 8 and 11 mph.”
Brian and Naomi came to visit me with their two cute daughters Courtney and Kala, a nice man called Prax. We stood around yapping about world events while the two girls built a rock wall around the water bucket I have out front for the critters; very cute!
I cooked up some turkey dressing out of the box, added raisins and a bunch of walnuts. This is what I brought down to Bob Seeley’s Memorial Potluck. Folks were already arriving when I got there and I set up a slide show on my Toshiba laptop of pictures I had taken of Seeley over the years. Marcie had taken the digital pictures I gave her down to WalMart and had them made into pictures she framed and presented nicely on the front table. I guess there were around fifty folks who showed up for the memorial. I met longtime area residents Bob and Yvonne Francis. Their folks had a cabin on Coyote Valley road since 1956. They helped get tables and chairs for our center when it was first starting up. All the regular folks who attend our potlucks were there: Marcy Hines, Marie Morrison, Dyane Carrol, Dorothy Jacobsen, Chris Jonas, Rose Matich, Ruth Tuttle, Karen and Dana Van Noort and the rest. There were a lot of newcomers that I didn’t know and a few that come every now and then to our potlucks. Bob Seeley’s son Rick, Daughter in-law, Grand Daughter, and great Grand Daughter were also there. Folks got up on stage with the microphone and told stories about Mr. Seeley and how he was instrumental in getting funds to build our Community Center and made it his life’s work to keep it going and funded. I had something I wanted to say but I’m not very good at speaking in front of a lot of people and I chickened out. When all were done speaking we held a silent prayer for Bob and then got down to eating. There were a lot of fine foods cooked up and there was plenty for everyone, but there was one important item was missing: Bob Seeley’s fruit platter!
When I got back home I had a few messages on my answering machine and spent the next couple of hours returning calls.
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.

Sunday 28- I did my stretches and lifted weights, dang windy outside.
Today’s Weather was: Temps of around 41 and 61 degrees, NW winds at 10 to 19 MPH, humidity around 37 percent, mostly sunny skies.
According to the National Weather Service: “Monday: Sunny, with a high near 65. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.”
I went over to Karen and Dana’s for a visit. Karen was asleep taking a nap so we left her that way. I wanted Dana to check out the Gross Polluter to see what would be involved to repair the truck. He had an old Toyota truck sitting in the back of his property that we salvaged a hood from. He took a tire iron to the front fender and straightened it out some. I think all I need now is a slap hammer to pull out the fender some more and get the headlights fixed. Dana has this 1947 Dodge that he’s going to restore and use it for trips to visit family up north in Fresno.
I went to Mac’s to install Avast anti-virus on his computer, but first I had to help him mount the Harley on a hydraulic stand and hold it steady as he pumped it up. After I installed Avast and updated it we sat around and yakked for a spell.
Way too windy for an evening walk so I did a little webwork. Mark dropped by for a spell showing me this little computer he got on EBay for $100. It runs Win CE 6, has an ARM 8505 300MHz processor, a 7” screen, and is made in China; a nifty little computer! He wants to trade it for the old trailer I have out back. I told him the only problem he would have is getting the trailer moved and would need a 4by4 to move it through the soft dirt. He should think about how he could do that first before we trade, I said.
I watched “Nature: Is That Skunk” and “Masterpiece Theater: 39 Steps” on PBS; both were mighty good shows!
I did my stretches; practiced my guitar; wrote to my journal, posted it to the web, and called it a night.
This makes it the second month without watching commercial television! Goodbye to the month of February!!!