We would make a major error if we underestimated the challenge al Qida poses
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Clark's advice - worth repeating
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Final Illusions Shattered Trust No Thing
I am cut and pasting this because the NYT makes you sign in to access the article if I link it.
If you happen across a pond full of croaking green frogs, listen carefully. Some of them may be lying.
Dishonesty has been documented in crustaceans and primates alike.
A croak is how male green frogs tell other frogs how big they are. The bigger the male, the deeper the croak. The sound of a big male is enough to scare off other males from challenging him for his territory.
While most croaks are honest, some are not. Some small males lower their voices to make themselves sound bigger. Their big-bodied croaks intimidate frogs that would beat them in a fair fight.
Green frogs are only one deceptive species among many. Dishonesty has been documented in creatures ranging from birds to crustaceans to primates, including, of course, Homo sapiens. “When you think of human communication, it’s rife with deception,” said Stephen Nowicki, a biologist at Duke University and the co-author of the 2005 book “The Evolution of Animal Communication.” “You just need to read a Shakespeare play or two to see that.”
As Dr. Nowicki chronicled in his book, biologists have long puzzled over deception. Dishonesty should undermine trust between animals. Why, for example, do green frogs keep believing that a big croak means a big male? New research is offering some answers: Natural selection can favor a mix of truth and lies, particularly when an animal has a big audience. From one listener to the next, honesty may not be the best policy.
“I think it could explain a lot of mysteries in the evolution of communication in animals, including humans,” said Stephen P. Ellner, a mathematical biologist at Cornell University.
Tales of animal deception reach back at least as far as Aesop’s fables. In the late 19th century, the naturalist George Romanes made a semi-scientific study of deceptive animals. In his 1883 book, “Mental Evolution in Animals,” Romanes wrote about how one of his correspondents had sent him “several examples of the display of hypocrisy of a King Charles spaniel.”
By the mid-1900s, scientists had documented deception in cases where one species fooled another. Some nonpoisonous butterflies, for example, evolved the same wing patterns that poisonous species used to warn off birds. Within a species, however, honesty usually prevailed. Animals gave each other alarm calls to warn of predators; males signaled their prowess in fighting; babies let their parents know they were hungry. Honesty benefited both the sender and the receiver.
“The point of signaling was to get information across,” Dr. Nowicki said. “Deception was almost not an issue.”
There was just one hole in this happy arrangement: it presented a great opportunity for liars. Shrikes, for example, regularly use alarm calls to warn one another of predators. But sometimes the birds will use false alarm calls to scare other shrikes away from food.
Imagine that a shrike fools other shrikes with a false alarm. It eats more, and therefore may hatch more babies. Meanwhile, the gullible, less-nourished shrikes hatch fewer babies. If false alarms become common, natural selection should favor shrikes that are not fooled by them.
When scientists created mathematical models of this theory, they found that dishonesty could undermine many vital kinds of communication. The challenge, then, was to find out how honesty countered the advantage of deception. “The liars ought to be able to take advantage of the system, so that you’d have selection on the listeners to ignore the signals,” said Jonathan Rowell, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tennessee.
Amotz Zahavi, a biologist at Tel Aviv University, proposed a way for honesty to prevail. His idea was that honesty won out only because lying carried a relatively large cost. His theory eventually led to elaborate mathematical models and experiments that confirmed it.
Roosters attract hens, for example, with their large red combs. Hens benefit from choosing mates in good condition, because their chicks will tend to be in good condition as well. The bigger and brighter a comb, the better condition the rooster is in.
Theoretically, a weak rooster could fool hens by growing a deceptively large comb. But it costs a weak rooster more than it does a strong one to build a big comb. This tradeoff leads to honest signals from weak and strong roosters alike.
“The mystery of why there is honesty was suddenly solved,” Dr. Ellner said. “All the big problems fell away.”
But if they had explained why deception did not win out, why did it continue to thrive? “We couldn’t explain all the dishonesty,” Dr. Ellner said.
Dr. H. Kern Reeve, an evolutionary biologist at Cornell, said that “deception is popping up with a surprising frequency.”
Even crustaceans can lie. Male stomatopods dig burrows, to which they try to attract females. Some males choose to try to evict other stomatopods from their burrows and take them over. These conflicts are dangerous because stomatopods can deliver crushing blows with their claw-like appendages. But the stomatopods rarely come to blows. Instead, males raise themselves up and extend their appendages, like a boxer raising his gloves. The sight of big appendages causes smaller stomatopods to back down.Yet even the biggest, meanest stomatopod has his moments of weakness. Like all crustaceans, they must molt. A freshly-molted stomatopod has a soft, tender exoskeleton. Even in this vulnerable state, however, males will still raise up their claws in a bold crustacean bluff.
Dr. Rowell recently created a more complicated model of animal signals that may explain why deception is so common. Previous models examined only a single animal sending a signal to a single receiver. But real signals are rarely so private. “They’re not happening in a one-on-one situation,” Dr. Rowell said. “They’re really happening in public.”
A signaler may have different relationships with different listeners. In some cases, honest signals are best. But eavesdroppers may be able to use honest signals for their own advantage.
To capture this extra layer of complexity, Dr. Rowell built a mathematical model with two receivers instead of one. The signaling animal could choose to be honest or dishonest. The receivers could respond to the signal as an honest one or a dishonest one.
Working with Dr. Ellner and Dr. Reeve, Dr. Rowell discovered that honesty and deception could reach a stable coexistence in the model. The signalers could sometimes be dishonest, and yet the receivers continued to believe the signals despite the deception.
Dr. Rowell and his colleagues published the details of their model in the December issue of The American Naturalist.
“It’s really important,” Dr. Nowicki said of the study. “They’re coming up with new angles that could explain how you could have more deception and keep it stable.”
Dr. Rowell argues that real-world cases of deception, like bluffing, support the model. When a male green frog or stomatopod bluffs, other males have to decide whether to heed the signal or to ignore it and attack. Attacking is risky, because it is possible that the signaler is not bluffing.
“The challenger isn’t willing to take that gamble,” Dr. Rowell said.
The model also showed how deception could be used against eavesdroppers. Green frogs — along with many other frogs and toads — attract females with a distinctive mating call. Dr. Ellner’s rough translation of their call: “I’m looking for female frogs, and if you come on my lily pad, I’ll show you a good time.”
In most cases, male frogs follow up on their mating calls by courting the females they attract. But sometimes they attack instead. This deceptive reaction may be a way for the males to cope with other males that eavesdrop on them. Such eavesdroppers, instead of holding onto their own territory, sneak around and try to intercept females attracted to the mating calls of other males.
If males are always honest in their mating calls, they may lose out to sneaky males. But if they attack, they can ambush the sneaky males and drive them away. Natural selection thus favors deception, despite the fact that the frogs sometimes attack potential mates. The females, meanwhile, are better off trusting the mating calls than ignoring them.
Dr. Reeve cautioned that the model was only the first step in understanding how networks of listeners can drive the evolution of deception. “Right now it needs to be tested in detail, experimentally,” he said.
Different species may be prone to different levels of deception. Solitary animals may evolve to be more honest than animals that spend long lives in big societies. If that is true, then humans may be exquisitely primed to deceive.
“We’re in a network of individuals watching us,” Dr. Reeve said. “If you provide a signal to one individual, it’s being eavesdropped on by lots of other people.”
Dr. Rowell is exploring cases of human deception with his model. In one case, he examines how terrorist organizations communicate to their sleeper cells.
“Your two listeners are the government and terrorist sleeper cells,” Dr. Rowell explained. “The sleeper cells don’t have a direct communication with whoever your terrorist signaler is.
“They might give something out over the Web, and the government picks it up. You find that you can very easily get a level of dishonesty from the terrorist signaler to get the government to waste resources on phantom attacks. You can see this evolution going on between sleeper cells and the government.”
If you happen across a pond full of croaking green frogs, listen carefully. Some of them may be lying.
Dishonesty has been documented in crustaceans and primates alike.
A croak is how male green frogs tell other frogs how big they are. The bigger the male, the deeper the croak. The sound of a big male is enough to scare off other males from challenging him for his territory.
While most croaks are honest, some are not. Some small males lower their voices to make themselves sound bigger. Their big-bodied croaks intimidate frogs that would beat them in a fair fight.
Green frogs are only one deceptive species among many. Dishonesty has been documented in creatures ranging from birds to crustaceans to primates, including, of course, Homo sapiens. “When you think of human communication, it’s rife with deception,” said Stephen Nowicki, a biologist at Duke University and the co-author of the 2005 book “The Evolution of Animal Communication.” “You just need to read a Shakespeare play or two to see that.”
As Dr. Nowicki chronicled in his book, biologists have long puzzled over deception. Dishonesty should undermine trust between animals. Why, for example, do green frogs keep believing that a big croak means a big male? New research is offering some answers: Natural selection can favor a mix of truth and lies, particularly when an animal has a big audience. From one listener to the next, honesty may not be the best policy.
“I think it could explain a lot of mysteries in the evolution of communication in animals, including humans,” said Stephen P. Ellner, a mathematical biologist at Cornell University.
Tales of animal deception reach back at least as far as Aesop’s fables. In the late 19th century, the naturalist George Romanes made a semi-scientific study of deceptive animals. In his 1883 book, “Mental Evolution in Animals,” Romanes wrote about how one of his correspondents had sent him “several examples of the display of hypocrisy of a King Charles spaniel.”
By the mid-1900s, scientists had documented deception in cases where one species fooled another. Some nonpoisonous butterflies, for example, evolved the same wing patterns that poisonous species used to warn off birds. Within a species, however, honesty usually prevailed. Animals gave each other alarm calls to warn of predators; males signaled their prowess in fighting; babies let their parents know they were hungry. Honesty benefited both the sender and the receiver.
“The point of signaling was to get information across,” Dr. Nowicki said. “Deception was almost not an issue.”
There was just one hole in this happy arrangement: it presented a great opportunity for liars. Shrikes, for example, regularly use alarm calls to warn one another of predators. But sometimes the birds will use false alarm calls to scare other shrikes away from food.
Imagine that a shrike fools other shrikes with a false alarm. It eats more, and therefore may hatch more babies. Meanwhile, the gullible, less-nourished shrikes hatch fewer babies. If false alarms become common, natural selection should favor shrikes that are not fooled by them.
When scientists created mathematical models of this theory, they found that dishonesty could undermine many vital kinds of communication. The challenge, then, was to find out how honesty countered the advantage of deception. “The liars ought to be able to take advantage of the system, so that you’d have selection on the listeners to ignore the signals,” said Jonathan Rowell, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tennessee.
Amotz Zahavi, a biologist at Tel Aviv University, proposed a way for honesty to prevail. His idea was that honesty won out only because lying carried a relatively large cost. His theory eventually led to elaborate mathematical models and experiments that confirmed it.
Roosters attract hens, for example, with their large red combs. Hens benefit from choosing mates in good condition, because their chicks will tend to be in good condition as well. The bigger and brighter a comb, the better condition the rooster is in.
Theoretically, a weak rooster could fool hens by growing a deceptively large comb. But it costs a weak rooster more than it does a strong one to build a big comb. This tradeoff leads to honest signals from weak and strong roosters alike.
“The mystery of why there is honesty was suddenly solved,” Dr. Ellner said. “All the big problems fell away.”
But if they had explained why deception did not win out, why did it continue to thrive? “We couldn’t explain all the dishonesty,” Dr. Ellner said.
Dr. H. Kern Reeve, an evolutionary biologist at Cornell, said that “deception is popping up with a surprising frequency.”
Even crustaceans can lie. Male stomatopods dig burrows, to which they try to attract females. Some males choose to try to evict other stomatopods from their burrows and take them over. These conflicts are dangerous because stomatopods can deliver crushing blows with their claw-like appendages. But the stomatopods rarely come to blows. Instead, males raise themselves up and extend their appendages, like a boxer raising his gloves. The sight of big appendages causes smaller stomatopods to back down.Yet even the biggest, meanest stomatopod has his moments of weakness. Like all crustaceans, they must molt. A freshly-molted stomatopod has a soft, tender exoskeleton. Even in this vulnerable state, however, males will still raise up their claws in a bold crustacean bluff.
Dr. Rowell recently created a more complicated model of animal signals that may explain why deception is so common. Previous models examined only a single animal sending a signal to a single receiver. But real signals are rarely so private. “They’re not happening in a one-on-one situation,” Dr. Rowell said. “They’re really happening in public.”
A signaler may have different relationships with different listeners. In some cases, honest signals are best. But eavesdroppers may be able to use honest signals for their own advantage.
To capture this extra layer of complexity, Dr. Rowell built a mathematical model with two receivers instead of one. The signaling animal could choose to be honest or dishonest. The receivers could respond to the signal as an honest one or a dishonest one.
Working with Dr. Ellner and Dr. Reeve, Dr. Rowell discovered that honesty and deception could reach a stable coexistence in the model. The signalers could sometimes be dishonest, and yet the receivers continued to believe the signals despite the deception.
Dr. Rowell and his colleagues published the details of their model in the December issue of The American Naturalist.
“It’s really important,” Dr. Nowicki said of the study. “They’re coming up with new angles that could explain how you could have more deception and keep it stable.”
Dr. Rowell argues that real-world cases of deception, like bluffing, support the model. When a male green frog or stomatopod bluffs, other males have to decide whether to heed the signal or to ignore it and attack. Attacking is risky, because it is possible that the signaler is not bluffing.
“The challenger isn’t willing to take that gamble,” Dr. Rowell said.
The model also showed how deception could be used against eavesdroppers. Green frogs — along with many other frogs and toads — attract females with a distinctive mating call. Dr. Ellner’s rough translation of their call: “I’m looking for female frogs, and if you come on my lily pad, I’ll show you a good time.”
In most cases, male frogs follow up on their mating calls by courting the females they attract. But sometimes they attack instead. This deceptive reaction may be a way for the males to cope with other males that eavesdrop on them. Such eavesdroppers, instead of holding onto their own territory, sneak around and try to intercept females attracted to the mating calls of other males.
If males are always honest in their mating calls, they may lose out to sneaky males. But if they attack, they can ambush the sneaky males and drive them away. Natural selection thus favors deception, despite the fact that the frogs sometimes attack potential mates. The females, meanwhile, are better off trusting the mating calls than ignoring them.
Dr. Reeve cautioned that the model was only the first step in understanding how networks of listeners can drive the evolution of deception. “Right now it needs to be tested in detail, experimentally,” he said.
Different species may be prone to different levels of deception. Solitary animals may evolve to be more honest than animals that spend long lives in big societies. If that is true, then humans may be exquisitely primed to deceive.
“We’re in a network of individuals watching us,” Dr. Reeve said. “If you provide a signal to one individual, it’s being eavesdropped on by lots of other people.”
Dr. Rowell is exploring cases of human deception with his model. In one case, he examines how terrorist organizations communicate to their sleeper cells.
“Your two listeners are the government and terrorist sleeper cells,” Dr. Rowell explained. “The sleeper cells don’t have a direct communication with whoever your terrorist signaler is.
“They might give something out over the Web, and the government picks it up. You find that you can very easily get a level of dishonesty from the terrorist signaler to get the government to waste resources on phantom attacks. You can see this evolution going on between sleeper cells and the government.”
King Of Fools, Kayee Payow, Kellerina Ballerina...
...piss on Xmas, I say we celebrate the birth of our real savior.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers
Don't know any other way to describe it other than the name of the site...But I laughed real hard at some of them.
New Version of Blogger: Not ready for prime time
I was recently notified by Google, when logging in to create a new post, that their new version of Blogger is out of beta, and ready to import our blogs. Excitedly, I tried to let them do that conversion, and got an error message that blogs of some types (?) still can't be moved to the new system. Sounds, based on some of the issues folks are having, as if we got off light.
For the Google company line on the new version and its myriad of benefits, go here. For a little information regarding issues that they're having with the conversion, click either this link or the title bar. Apparently, I'm not the only one having a problem. So in the short run, your blog posts will look as they have up til now. At some point (when the bugs are shaken out), I'll try to convert this here tree house over to the new Blogger, so you kids can play with the cool new toys that they have available.
Happy Festivus,
Your humble admin
For the Google company line on the new version and its myriad of benefits, go here. For a little information regarding issues that they're having with the conversion, click either this link or the title bar. Apparently, I'm not the only one having a problem. So in the short run, your blog posts will look as they have up til now. At some point (when the bugs are shaken out), I'll try to convert this here tree house over to the new Blogger, so you kids can play with the cool new toys that they have available.
Happy Festivus,
Your humble admin
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
In Leiu of Whatever, Delicacy Striven For
http://www.shieldsnet.org/images/strange/eco-funeral.jpg
Sorry to be macabre, but some things have to be discussed.
If I were gonna be cremated , but planned to preplan a service, ahead of time, before the fact, for the benefit of survivors, would it matter to any of you if I were or were not there intact (except for being dead), during the festivities or before the festivities etc? Like, I mean, if you weren't hovering around my deathbed, would you want/need to 'view' me one last time?
Sorry to be macabre, but some things have to be discussed.
If I were gonna be cremated , but planned to preplan a service, ahead of time, before the fact, for the benefit of survivors, would it matter to any of you if I were or were not there intact (except for being dead), during the festivities or before the festivities etc? Like, I mean, if you weren't hovering around my deathbed, would you want/need to 'view' me one last time?
Misogynism never goes out of style!
If you don't like "Andy Capp" and "The Lockhorns", you're just not trying hard enough...
Sunday, December 17, 2006
T1 has finished her Masters work
Her paper is submitted, defended, and edited. She'll be headed cross-country in January to work in D.C.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Finally, for k & P, the time has come.
The gifts of the season.
We will be joyfully entertaining, with much gratitude, all who visit us this Xmas holiday. We will have turkey and all the stuff that goes with it. Anyone who desires may bring any alcohol of his/her choice. We will order or buy pretty much whatever food anyone wants.
We have pretty lights in the windows and a red on red tree. We have warm (heated with electric pads) beds for each and every one. We even have a glowing stove in one room.
We have a ramp out the back door to sled on if the weather should allow. The ramp does, however, have a bump every three boards to stop a wheelchair from careening into the shed in back should the pilot lose control. This might hinder the sled thing, or at least cause bruised butts.
What we do not have is purchased items to give to each family member.
We are grateful to be able once more to celebrate our love for all of you and your love for us. Your love is made abundantly clear to us by the effort you make to spend time with us whenever you can. Please let that gift of love, which could not be surpassed by anything money might buy, be what we share this season.
We eagerly anticipate the get-together.
PS: Don't bring ham.
We will be joyfully entertaining, with much gratitude, all who visit us this Xmas holiday. We will have turkey and all the stuff that goes with it. Anyone who desires may bring any alcohol of his/her choice. We will order or buy pretty much whatever food anyone wants.
We have pretty lights in the windows and a red on red tree. We have warm (heated with electric pads) beds for each and every one. We even have a glowing stove in one room.
We have a ramp out the back door to sled on if the weather should allow. The ramp does, however, have a bump every three boards to stop a wheelchair from careening into the shed in back should the pilot lose control. This might hinder the sled thing, or at least cause bruised butts.
What we do not have is purchased items to give to each family member.
We are grateful to be able once more to celebrate our love for all of you and your love for us. Your love is made abundantly clear to us by the effort you make to spend time with us whenever you can. Please let that gift of love, which could not be surpassed by anything money might buy, be what we share this season.
We eagerly anticipate the get-together.
PS: Don't bring ham.
Monday, December 11, 2006
It's All Fun and Games 'Till Somebody Drowns
Funny and morbid, they don't make PSA's like this anymore.
That omnipresent voice is Donald Pleasance.
That omnipresent voice is Donald Pleasance.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
"Dwindling Docket Mystifies Supreme Court"
Does it really surprise anyone that those who once looked to this court for justice now choose to wait for a less political forum. This group obviously is/are severely slanted and can be relied on only to select presidents. Good grief, is everyone mad? Are they stupid in addition to biased?
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
koALee Contributes, Rates "Love" (pseudo-beatles meet Percy faith)
Okay, I admit it,I was flim-flammed. The description sounded sooo good. And I am sooo disappointed. Sounds like an imitation of the beatles played by Percy Faith and his strings on Qualude and found on Easy Listening on Sunday afternoon in Peachtree City or any Del Webb development. Dammit. And I paid good $ for this, although I got free shipping--beware websites bearing gifts, I says. Anyone want the new "Love" album? Free?
A risk I'm willing to take
Have we lost the ability to contribute on our own, other than to comment on articles and videos, or put a line in the Chatterbox? I don't care.
This right here is funny, I don't care who ya are...
This right here is funny, I don't care who ya are...
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Effin' short version of Pulp Fiction
Safe for neither work nor children. Because Lebowski needed some company. Click the link if the embedded vid ain't there.
Aunt Margie and cousin Preston Invited To Xmas
I talked a long time to Preston today and invited him and his mother to Xmas with us. He is coming over tomorrow to watch the Colts with Pert. He is alone now. Okay by you all, I hope.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Disgorged Matter?
On our way out of town, within seconds of driving away from Echo (ECHO?), we noticed an odor quite similar to the one that hovered in the kitchen that one day. At first we believed that, oh no, it had been one of us all along--my God, we brought a vomitty smell with us! Then, after the odor dissipated (as if it had been lingering in the air around the car, had been sucked into the circulation system, and then had blown away once we left the area), we concluded that Gock must have been correct: icky, scary bile gas of some unusual sort floats around Fletcher Place!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Had a great holiday weekend
Thanks for everything, everybody. I was pretty much the poster child for this:
It was fuckin' great.
It was fuckin' great.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Something To File Away For A Much Later Date
Never too early to start on that underground bunker you always dreamed of building.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Current Happiness Quotient at ECHO
Linky
Will somebody tell me how to put a clickable link in the title? or show me at thksgvg.
Everything is cool here. Yesterday a retiree dinner. Mostly, lots of stuff to do every day in and on the house. And no end in sight. I'm lovin' it. G & GT here on weekends a lot, work on house moving along, new washer, new cable internet connection, mostly lots of distractions daily and upstairs will be there later. Got video from Agatha. Thanks. Looking forward with happy anticipation to the rest.
Will somebody tell me how to put a clickable link in the title? or show me at thksgvg.
Everything is cool here. Yesterday a retiree dinner. Mostly, lots of stuff to do every day in and on the house. And no end in sight. I'm lovin' it. G & GT here on weekends a lot, work on house moving along, new washer, new cable internet connection, mostly lots of distractions daily and upstairs will be there later. Got video from Agatha. Thanks. Looking forward with happy anticipation to the rest.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
The Magnificient Six?
I find it particularly annoying that reports and graphics almost always list the current Independents as Democrats. Aren't they, in fact, not alligned with any party?
With Independent Bernie Sanders taking over Jim Jeffords Senate seat, and Gleeber Man defeating his former fellow Democrat Lamont--and assuming the Dems are miraculously awarded Virginia and Montana--they'll still hold no majority. Technically that honor stays with the GOP by a Chewney tie-break at 49-49. Granted, Sanders, a reported Socialist, would vote with the Democrats as Jeffords did, but contrary to what the pundits say, Gleeber Man is not to be counted on.
What does this do to chairmanships and the like is what I wunner bout?
Hey, Ortega is back in business! Sandinista Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional!
With Independent Bernie Sanders taking over Jim Jeffords Senate seat, and Gleeber Man defeating his former fellow Democrat Lamont--and assuming the Dems are miraculously awarded Virginia and Montana--they'll still hold no majority. Technically that honor stays with the GOP by a Chewney tie-break at 49-49. Granted, Sanders, a reported Socialist, would vote with the Democrats as Jeffords did, but contrary to what the pundits say, Gleeber Man is not to be counted on.
What does this do to chairmanships and the like is what I wunner bout?
Hey, Ortega is back in business! Sandinista Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Rent Rocks (a weekend in a downtown city)
Saturday:
3PM: While looking at movie listings, considering the possibility of seeing one, I mention that RENT is showing across the street. I assume GT wouldn't qualify to see it. GT says she may, G affirms it. We go online; there is a show at 4PM. GT thinks we should drive. And worries that we are not dressed appropriately. I don't care. P's old red sweat pants, a Purdue sweatshirt, black Reboks, a bushy head of uncombed hair; this seems to me perfect RENT. It is.
We get tix in the 10th row center on the floor, fabulous wonderful seats.
Okay, I was going to go on and on and on about all the cool details of this experience, but I just told them to OML on the phone and now they have been expressed and are out of me.
However, it was a great, memorable happening from conception to review and I told GT she had to remember it forever. P & G watched tv or whatever and when we got back we ordered in Chinese and for a while there I was living Seinfeld and Mad About You.
The set was created like my kind of art, with junk and trash and lights and shadows and the musicians were on stage and visable and the sound was great and...oh well, maybe you needed to be there. And we got t-shirts. "NO day but today" on the back of mine sold me.
There was a bar in the lobby, just like in old Broadway theater movies.
WEll, I had a good time. So did GT.
GT spent the night and G picked her up at 9A and they will be back later to watch the Colts with P...and me.
3PM: While looking at movie listings, considering the possibility of seeing one, I mention that RENT is showing across the street. I assume GT wouldn't qualify to see it. GT says she may, G affirms it. We go online; there is a show at 4PM. GT thinks we should drive. And worries that we are not dressed appropriately. I don't care. P's old red sweat pants, a Purdue sweatshirt, black Reboks, a bushy head of uncombed hair; this seems to me perfect RENT. It is.
We get tix in the 10th row center on the floor, fabulous wonderful seats.
Okay, I was going to go on and on and on about all the cool details of this experience, but I just told them to OML on the phone and now they have been expressed and are out of me.
However, it was a great, memorable happening from conception to review and I told GT she had to remember it forever. P & G watched tv or whatever and when we got back we ordered in Chinese and for a while there I was living Seinfeld and Mad About You.
The set was created like my kind of art, with junk and trash and lights and shadows and the musicians were on stage and visable and the sound was great and...oh well, maybe you needed to be there. And we got t-shirts. "NO day but today" on the back of mine sold me.
There was a bar in the lobby, just like in old Broadway theater movies.
WEll, I had a good time. So did GT.
GT spent the night and G picked her up at 9A and they will be back later to watch the Colts with P...and me.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Thanksgiving will be at ECHO, as will we all
We move to ECHO next Wednesday, 11/08/06. The movers are scheduled.
Shower in, floor down. Plumbing incomplete, but should be done by then.
Tower notified. Need to get a letter from P's doc to break lease & get $ back.
Work on ECHO still in progress, but the time has come.
Now I gotta change all those addresses again, Yuck.
Shower in, floor down. Plumbing incomplete, but should be done by then.
Tower notified. Need to get a letter from P's doc to break lease & get $ back.
Work on ECHO still in progress, but the time has come.
Now I gotta change all those addresses again, Yuck.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
A few from the funeral weekend
KOF and JoJo were good enough to provide some photographic evidence of the weekend's proceeding. Because Blogger is being persnickity about uploading them inline, I've uploaded many of them to flickr.
Thanks for sending them, JoJo!
Thanks for sending them, JoJo!
Monday, October 30, 2006
I check this site for info
http://www.wemove.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
It helps me to know what others deal with and what to expect--somewhat.
It helps me to know what others deal with and what to expect--somewhat.
Armageddon Is Near? Or Paradise, Perhaps?
1. Amazon is selling groceries, including ice cream. I got an e-mail this morning. (ice cream?)
2. Ivy, who never gets up before noon, called and woke me at 10:00 am.
3. High here today predicted to be 75.
4. Colts now 7-0. Ditto Da Bears.
Entries anyone?
2. Ivy, who never gets up before noon, called and woke me at 10:00 am.
3. High here today predicted to be 75.
4. Colts now 7-0. Ditto Da Bears.
Entries anyone?
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Granny Has Passed
Sometime this evening. Ken & Rog will arrange. P says he won't go, but I think he will. I think he needs to and I plan to push him to do it. Don't know details yet. Will let you know. Location is at Akins Funeral HOme on Highway 5 in Blue Ridge. (7871 Blue Ridge Drive Blue Ridge, GA)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Campaign Season Disclosure
My car is at Goodyear, right around the corner, having it's passenger side mirror repaired. This will take one day and I will pay the total cost from private funds.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did it. I swiped a support pedestal on the out ramp of the apartment parking lot. P had nothing to do with it. I accept full responsibility.
In my defense, I was watching a guy who was going to be in my path after I reached the bottom of the ramp and must have inadvertantly leaned a little to the right. This is no excuse, though, and I will continue to accept any repercussions. No public funds will be used to allay the pain and embarrassment caused by this incident.
After consulting with my advisors, it is possible I may enter a recovery program, perhaps an Eve Arden Spa, to deal with my problems.
Thank you for your compassion and support.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did it. I swiped a support pedestal on the out ramp of the apartment parking lot. P had nothing to do with it. I accept full responsibility.
In my defense, I was watching a guy who was going to be in my path after I reached the bottom of the ramp and must have inadvertantly leaned a little to the right. This is no excuse, though, and I will continue to accept any repercussions. No public funds will be used to allay the pain and embarrassment caused by this incident.
After consulting with my advisors, it is possible I may enter a recovery program, perhaps an Eve Arden Spa, to deal with my problems.
Thank you for your compassion and support.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Why, Oh Why, Don't You Get A Manual????
with Photoshop 4.0 or whatever. Can one get a manual someplace? I can't figure out how to even get a picture side by another picture so I can play with them. Waaa! My new bicycle has two flat tires and I got no pump.
Monday, October 09, 2006
if buying flat panel monitor...
is 'analog only' okay? any must haves? do de come with cords and plugs?
RSVP pr favor
RSVP pr favor
Friday, October 06, 2006
P's ma cared for by Hospice
Still in the nursing home, but the care is oriented differently, as she wanted. They say she is comfortable, in no pain, sleeps well, and it may be a few days or less.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Happy Birthday Tommy Boy
I think Tommy took offence at the Padres' Kurt Bevacqua for calling him a "fat little Italian" which elicited the provided clip.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Pert & koAla to Compound before Labor Day, etc.
We will leave here Thursday or Friday, be there for the w/e, stay till the 12th or so. P can see his pals. I can get hair done. P is on blood draws once a week now and we can carry our order to the compound and do it while we are there. Still see play on Friday the 8th.
We are having ECHO (the 719 house has a new name, dubbed by GT only) fixed up.
New, 36 inch wide back door and storm/screen.
All new windows, where they aren't already done.
Wooden, 10 x 12 deck in back, with railings, level with kitchen floor, with wheelchair ramp toward back and steps to sidewalk, toward front.
New shelter over back door to replace the old metal awning.
New, psuedo wood (golden oak, wide boards) floors in living room, dining room, downstairs bedroom.
Chimney has been repaired and bathroom vent pipe fixed so no more leaking in.
New shower, wall to wall, walk in, with molded seats on both sides, in downstairs bath where washer and dryer are now.
W and D will be moved to kitchen, somewhere tbd later.
New electric furnace and a/c, now or later, depending on what furnace person says tomorrow. (AC has stopped working.)
Sometime after all this is done (except furnace) we will move there. We hope to be able to do Thanksgiving dinner there this year, even if we haven't moved in yet. We hope with many dogs.
We hope this doesn't give anybody hark attacks. This is not an overnight decision and we both ('we' and 'both' are redundant, I know, but makes the point better) agree on it.
Love to all
We are having ECHO (the 719 house has a new name, dubbed by GT only) fixed up.
New, 36 inch wide back door and storm/screen.
All new windows, where they aren't already done.
Wooden, 10 x 12 deck in back, with railings, level with kitchen floor, with wheelchair ramp toward back and steps to sidewalk, toward front.
New shelter over back door to replace the old metal awning.
New, psuedo wood (golden oak, wide boards) floors in living room, dining room, downstairs bedroom.
Chimney has been repaired and bathroom vent pipe fixed so no more leaking in.
New shower, wall to wall, walk in, with molded seats on both sides, in downstairs bath where washer and dryer are now.
W and D will be moved to kitchen, somewhere tbd later.
New electric furnace and a/c, now or later, depending on what furnace person says tomorrow. (AC has stopped working.)
Sometime after all this is done (except furnace) we will move there. We hope to be able to do Thanksgiving dinner there this year, even if we haven't moved in yet. We hope with many dogs.
We hope this doesn't give anybody hark attacks. This is not an overnight decision and we both ('we' and 'both' are redundant, I know, but makes the point better) agree on it.
Love to all
Friday, August 18, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Rainy Days and Sundries
A few pieces of news, or at least information from the Southern front. First, some housekeeping:
On a more personal level:
- Thanks go to koALa, who figured out the source of her problem posting to the blog: Google has decided to try to tie your GMail ID (if you have one) to your Blogger ID. Therefore, if you decide to create a new post, you might get the sign-in page, with your GMail name and password pre-loaded on the appropriate lines. If you try to sign in that way, you won't be recognized, and it will merely invite you to create a new page. So, you may either (1) log back in with the appropriate user name, or (2) if you want to avoid that trouble in the future, I can send an invitation email to your current GMail address, and you can sign up from there. Let me know if you want to do that, and I'll test it out before trying it on one of you.
- The good news is that this is the beginning of a pretty major upgrade to Blogger (the first since Google bought this POS). The changes aren't available to us yet (unless we create a new blog), but I'll post more when it's time to switch over. I may try to transfer over the pics we have over on EvaPictures, then use that site as a guinea pig before risking all of our data (or whatever it is we have here) in an upgrade, and consolidate the two sites at that time. (If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the entire family struggling mightily to give a damn.)
On a more personal level:
- T3 is now in the employ of Hollywood "Hey, at least we're not Blockbuster" Video. He found that restaurant work wasn't to his liking (most of us can relate to that). He started this week, and one of his perks is that he can have three movies out at a time for no charge. This may be the best thing that ever happened...to me.
- The EvaDewer will also be working in a different position soon, though it will be with his current company, in a different group. This may not mean much to the rest of you, but it's a godsend for him. Among other things, this will mean a few trips to India a year. With any luck, some stops along the way might be possible.
- Gock has been quiet about it, but he is working again, as well. I'm sure he'll update us as he sees fit. Or maybe I'm not sure, so I just wrote that to be on the safe side.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Ink for the new play
The might Gwinnett Daily Post has some stuff in today's Arts and Leisure about Lionheart, the new play, and other doins.
The print version has the cast names in it, and another picture of me. But you'll have to trust me on that. Because it's all about me.
The print version has the cast names in it, and another picture of me. But you'll have to trust me on that. Because it's all about me.
August 14, 2006 Many Happy Returns, Dear OML
I accidentally posted this message on pictures. Go there for the whole message. Happy Birthday, OML. We love you and miss you.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Life in the City Yesssss
It's 11:40 Friday night and I just got back from an AA meeting and breakfast at Waffle House with Ivy. The windows and the balcony door are open. I'm listening to the roar of motors and the screeching of tires and the laughter and yelling of kids who just left the performance of a rock band that played at the Murat tonight. It sounds alive and exciting and I love it. I walked to the circle today and a violin contest was playing at the Symphony (the old Circle Theater) and I could hear the music a block away. Everyone was out for lunch on the sidewalks and tables at the restuarants were full and people were picnicing on the steps of the circle. One family In Universtiy Park even had a red & white checked tablecloth. The bloodmobile was on the circle too. Summer in the city, I love it.
Low res pictures of where I'm moving are online
Go to the usual place, the one where we rock, and add /HousePics/
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
A Visit Well Spent
Tini and I would like to extend our sincerest thanks to all of you for looking out for us during what turned out to be a more wonderfuller stay then even expected. This refers not just to the love and hospitality that you always show, but also your assistence, patience, and understanding. KOF and JOJO bent over backwards to accomodate OML with all of his special needs, GOCK rocked, and then he and GT1 rolled us around from place to place--including an emergency pick-up, KOALA made last minute arrangements and a real good time, PERT slept in the street so we didn't have to, and EVA, T3, T4, and AGATHA showed their charm, making the foreigner feel at home. Everyone pretty much did all of the above.
Apologies go to all of those who didn't manage to get their pics on EVA's Place. I don't have a lot of experience with documentation. We are safe and sound, and look forward to our next visit.
Apologies go to all of those who didn't manage to get their pics on EVA's Place. I don't have a lot of experience with documentation. We are safe and sound, and look forward to our next visit.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Do you have to use so many cuss words?
Not safe for work, if the speakers are on. Not worth the time, if they aren't.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Gock 'n' Roll Reprise
Despite his lamenting a lack of disciplined practice, the Gockster rocked hard enough last night for this music lover. Noah, the very talented host of the evening, played with several different combos, exhibiting the give(ing) and take required. My favorite of these was of course the one with his Gockness. Gock on!
Thursday, July 13, 2006
While you're dreaming of the moonlight on the Wabash...
It should come as no surprise to most of us that Indiana is ground zero.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Milk, Baby (sort of)
JoJo and I and a friend of ours attended an improv show at PROP THTR in Chicago last night and watched a performance by "The Impending Behavior Orchestra," of which our own OML is a member. There was "movement" and music and projections in the background. Much of the music was interesting, much of it was rockin' good. Some of the movement was interesting, certainly all of it talented. The most fun part for us, though, was the solo stand-up act by OML. He's a funny, clever, and cute guy; all of Eva's sisters are.
Got Any Plans for Christmas?
I have a rather unhealthy fascination with Stallone so I'll (and by that I mean KoF too) be there.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Vakashun Skejool Dubble-aught six
Here's your unofficial guide to all things koALapalooza:
All dates and locations subject to change on a whim:
Sunday, June 25-Friday, June 30
Gock and TO tan and dance in PCB
Friday, June 30
OML arrives at Hartsfield Hillbilly Aeropark
Gock and TO drive up to Norx from PCB
Pert and koALa load up and drive from PertoALaville North to PertoALaville South
Saturday, July 1
Day - Pert and klOAa join the rest of the Norx Krewe
Evening - The EvaDewer humiliates himself in front of what may be as many as 10 people, with help from T4
Sunday, July 2
P, K, G, TO, and OML head up to PertoALaville South during the day
The EvaDewer, T3 and T4 head up after the matinee performance.
Monday, July 3 - Wednesday, July 5
Whatthefuckeverwewannadofreeforallhidethekidsanddon'tlookEthel! There may or may not be boats, or boating, or people who own boats. There may or may not be pyrotechnics. But, by god, there will be dancing!
Thursday, July 6
The EvaDewer and his young'ns repair to Norx, to do shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Pert & koALa head for PertoALaville North
After that
Who the hell knows? But if you do, put it in the comments, and I'll update this post.
All dates and locations subject to change on a whim:
Sunday, June 25-Friday, June 30
Gock and TO tan and dance in PCB
Friday, June 30
OML arrives at Hartsfield Hillbilly Aeropark
Gock and TO drive up to Norx from PCB
Pert and koALa load up and drive from PertoALaville North to PertoALaville South
Saturday, July 1
Day - Pert and klOAa join the rest of the Norx Krewe
Evening - The EvaDewer humiliates himself in front of what may be as many as 10 people, with help from T4
Sunday, July 2
P, K, G, TO, and OML head up to PertoALaville South during the day
The EvaDewer, T3 and T4 head up after the matinee performance.
Monday, July 3 - Wednesday, July 5
Whatthefuckeverwewannadofreeforallhidethekidsanddon'tlookEthel! There may or may not be boats, or boating, or people who own boats. There may or may not be pyrotechnics. But, by god, there will be dancing!
Thursday, July 6
The EvaDewer and his young'ns repair to Norx, to do shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Pert & koALa head for PertoALaville North
After that
Who the hell knows? But if you do, put it in the comments, and I'll update this post.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Father's Day? Ha! There Oughtta Be a Pert Day.
I think all of his children agree, of all his wonderful qualities, our dad's warm and affectionate sincerity stands out most. Sure, he was a little mushy at times, but who of us cared? The hugs and kisses always available, he would pat our heads if the situation called for it--even after we became adults! The man never uttered a cross word; he always--always--had kind, sweet, and supportive things to say to us, even when we had done something wrong--heck, especially when we'd done something wrong.
"Anyone could have made such a mistake."
"That's why they call them 'accidents.'"
"Smarter persons than you have goofed worse than that."
All of us remember words like these just when we needed them.
So, let's all raise our glasses to Father, who--uh, wait a minute. Is this the Johnson family blog? I might have stumbled onto the wrong blog. . . .
"Anyone could have made such a mistake."
"That's why they call them 'accidents.'"
"Smarter persons than you have goofed worse than that."
All of us remember words like these just when we needed them.
So, let's all raise our glasses to Father, who--uh, wait a minute. Is this the Johnson family blog? I might have stumbled onto the wrong blog. . . .
Saturday, June 17, 2006
My Brothers' Talents
While we're on the topic, I want to let you know about the night I was lucky enough to go watch and listen to Gyinny Gyittar play with other musicians at a local pub called "Locals Only" in Indianapolis. (The place isn't Keepers, but that's okay; I suspect Gock would need more work in the EuroDiscoBeat genre to keep up in there.) As you all know, I am no musician, so my critique is unsophistocated. Nevertheless, here it is: he was great! He played well and, despite his disappointment that his noise was "crisp" (because of his guitar being plugged directly onto an amp), I really enjoyed the clarity of his sound. He really worked well with the other musicians (of which there were four: a second guitar player--Gock played lead--a bass player, a drummer, and a back-up or second drummer). They all sounded really good together.
GOCK ROCKS!!!!!!!
GOCK ROCKS!!!!!!!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Ink for the play
Grabbed this review from the AJC this morning. The print version actually has a nice picture of me; so she liked my looks, even if she wasn't very enthusiastic about my acting. Well, more accurately, she fell in love with the variety of supporting players and their comic relief, which is to be expected, if you see the play.
Note the love that T4 gets for her sound efforts, though! How 'bout that?
Note the love that T4 gets for her sound efforts, though! How 'bout that?
Thursday, June 15, 2006
P & k's Excellent Latest Adventures in Indy
June 9 through June11: P had increasing left chest/side pain for 2 or 3 days.
June 12: 10:00 a.m.: P goes to ER, diagnosed with multiple blood clots in both lungs, started on blood thinners. 8:30 p.m.: P admitted to St. Francis at Beech Grove. Continues blood thinners.
June 14: 2:00 p.m.: P released from hospital, goes home, via drugstore, to pick up meds.
Currently: P gets Lovemax, 120mg. injections at 10A & 10P, given subcutaneously by k. P takes 5mg. coumadin once daily at bedtime. P goes to St. Francis, Beech Grove lab daily for blood tests to determine blood levels--"thinness". Doc will call with info on when to stop injections and/or how to adjust medications.
Follow up appointments to be made in 2 to 4 weeks.
P is feeling well and happy and laughing and drinking beer. Must begin regimen tonight (June 15th) of bedtime after 10P shot.
P & k plan to go to GA. the first week in July if blood levels are stable enough to go that long without bood tests, but it is impossible to make definite plans now due to fluctuating blood. :)
Picture that!
There are gobs of people who regularly take coumadin and have blood checked.
love from Indy
June 12: 10:00 a.m.: P goes to ER, diagnosed with multiple blood clots in both lungs, started on blood thinners. 8:30 p.m.: P admitted to St. Francis at Beech Grove. Continues blood thinners.
June 14: 2:00 p.m.: P released from hospital, goes home, via drugstore, to pick up meds.
Currently: P gets Lovemax, 120mg. injections at 10A & 10P, given subcutaneously by k. P takes 5mg. coumadin once daily at bedtime. P goes to St. Francis, Beech Grove lab daily for blood tests to determine blood levels--"thinness". Doc will call with info on when to stop injections and/or how to adjust medications.
Follow up appointments to be made in 2 to 4 weeks.
P is feeling well and happy and laughing and drinking beer. Must begin regimen tonight (June 15th) of bedtime after 10P shot.
P & k plan to go to GA. the first week in July if blood levels are stable enough to go that long without bood tests, but it is impossible to make definite plans now due to fluctuating blood. :)
Picture that!
There are gobs of people who regularly take coumadin and have blood checked.
love from Indy
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Appropriate String for k & P Information
We are set up in the apartment. Still need to arrange medical, get doctors, dentists, eyes, etc. Working on transfering checking, charge, bill paying, e-mail changes, blah blah blah, but it consumes time. P weaker, stumblier, difficulty getting out of bathtub with 5 grab bars. He watches tv--new 26" HDTV, but not paying for HD broadcast, works Sudoku, reads and seems happy. As I am, Except for that little ache in the stomach that never goes away. We see Gock & his T a lot and are glad. But we miss Eva's and Agatha's and all the T's proximity too. We are open for visitors any time and would welcome any and all who show up. You'd love it. See everyone in July. Be prepared to tag or take whatever you want.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Glad He Was Born?
Well sure!
Hope He Hangs Around Some More?
You bet!
Let's make this the best year ever, okay?
Hope He Hangs Around Some More?
You bet!
Let's make this the best year ever, okay?
Monday, May 29, 2006
The "My Life" materials are ready for remix. Registration required to d/l
The original 24-track recordings are available for download either track-by-track, or all together.
You can download MP3 or WAV files. Yowza!
You can download MP3 or WAV files. Yowza!
A Good Time Was Had By All
Thanks to everybody for everything they did to make this Race Weekend a joyous and memorable one.
I love all of you and I think I need another couple of pints of water to get replenished, still.
I love all of you and I think I need another couple of pints of water to get replenished, still.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Hot time in the old town...?
Make of it what you will, but the prognosticators are calling for partly cloudy skies with a high of 87 on Race day. Pack your favorite flavor of sunscreen.
Non-Sequitur South will be two (Pert and yours truly), as T3 is working all weekend. There is a good chance that we'll be able to drive up on Friday, if that isn't a problem. Don't plan to make a fuss; we'll bring stuff if we're there at a decent hour. What's the ETA on Jo Jo?
Non-Sequitur South will be two (Pert and yours truly), as T3 is working all weekend. There is a good chance that we'll be able to drive up on Friday, if that isn't a problem. Don't plan to make a fuss; we'll bring stuff if we're there at a decent hour. What's the ETA on Jo Jo?
Sunday, May 21, 2006
P & K Lease 2br/1b in Downtown Gocktown
K's plan is to be there with visits to Eva & Agatha, perhaps by plane, periodically. We will go up after Eva & Pert return from the 500. My head is so full of stuff I have trouble articulating--well I guess that would be keying.
One trip to Evaville will be for the upcoming play.
There is more work here (GA) than I want to spend my time doing now. I can take care of P much easier in this apt. We both have friends there who will come visit & King and/or JoJo can come down. Biggest drawback is being farther from Eva & Agatha, but I need to cut down on space to manage and maintain now.
Guest apartments may be rented in the tower complex for only $50.00 a night. So we could still all get together for large gatherings if we wanted. Winter holidays come to mind.
I plan to transfer bills, business, etc., and make that the main residence.
PS: I got a pre-pay cell phone. Ludites can adapt after all.
AMENITIES: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, accessible fitness complex with recumbent bike, stepper, elliptical thing, universal weight machine, treadmill, Nordic track, regular stationary bike, hot tub, sauna, steam room. There is an outdoor Olympic? Pool with chairs and umbrellas. An enclosed courtyard a community room with giant TV and wifi plus a couple computers. All this stuff is accessible with no stairs to negotiate and there are grocery, hardware, bookstore, shopping with walking distance.
We will look up those Shy-Drager sites later and I can make sure P does what he needs to.
Right now I'm sorting through what to take so I can manage all the business from there.
Everything else is yet to be firmed up.(ie: renting this, selling this,keeping this for vacations.)
I'm not moving furniture. I have bought a new queen and Gock will send me a hide-a-bed after race w/e is over. Other stuff I plan to buy new. Sort of a snake shedding it's skin type of thing.
Be prepared in July to select anything in this house you want to keep.
One trip to Evaville will be for the upcoming play.
There is more work here (GA) than I want to spend my time doing now. I can take care of P much easier in this apt. We both have friends there who will come visit & King and/or JoJo can come down. Biggest drawback is being farther from Eva & Agatha, but I need to cut down on space to manage and maintain now.
Guest apartments may be rented in the tower complex for only $50.00 a night. So we could still all get together for large gatherings if we wanted. Winter holidays come to mind.
I plan to transfer bills, business, etc., and make that the main residence.
PS: I got a pre-pay cell phone. Ludites can adapt after all.
AMENITIES: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, accessible fitness complex with recumbent bike, stepper, elliptical thing, universal weight machine, treadmill, Nordic track, regular stationary bike, hot tub, sauna, steam room. There is an outdoor Olympic? Pool with chairs and umbrellas. An enclosed courtyard a community room with giant TV and wifi plus a couple computers. All this stuff is accessible with no stairs to negotiate and there are grocery, hardware, bookstore, shopping with walking distance.
We will look up those Shy-Drager sites later and I can make sure P does what he needs to.
Right now I'm sorting through what to take so I can manage all the business from there.
Everything else is yet to be firmed up.(ie: renting this, selling this,keeping this for vacations.)
I'm not moving furniture. I have bought a new queen and Gock will send me a hide-a-bed after race w/e is over. Other stuff I plan to buy new. Sort of a snake shedding it's skin type of thing.
Be prepared in July to select anything in this house you want to keep.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
I think I'm gonna sit this one out.
Anyway, didn't one of those guys roll his truck a couple of weeks ago?
Monday, May 15, 2006
Insert Annual Self-congratulatory Post Here
We're two years old now! Happy Anniversary, all, and thanks for contributing so generously.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Under the wire!
A is for the... aw, fuck it. Happy Mother's Day! I hope your travels are fun and fruitious.
We just got back from Miami. T2 is all gradumicated, and we had a wunnerful weekend down there.
We just got back from Miami. T2 is all gradumicated, and we had a wunnerful weekend down there.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Car Accidents, Purchases, & Thefts in GA
This heading seems necessary, given the oddly high number of "issues" there seem to be with automobiles in the Atlanta area.
Shower Issues
This blog is for comments about the new showers. It may also be used to comment about the condition of JoJo's & King's upstairs shower, which, come to think of it, might better be discussed under the heading for revolting posts. . . . This is too hard!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Look out, the Foyt's are gonna kill everybody!
Pretty quiet 'round here so I thought I'd post some seating info for Race Day
The Fab Five's seats:
Location: SW Vista, Sec.13, Row HH, Seats 6,7,8,9 & 10.
The Fab Five's seats:
Location: SW Vista, Sec.13, Row HH, Seats 6,7,8,9 & 10.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
P & K Order Two New Showers
A guy is coming on the 27th to start work. A regular size fiber glass shower downstairs in K's room and replace the P house bathtub with a white porceline tile walk-in shower filling the same space as the tub does now. All with grab bars. I am so happy. All baths will be upstairs after that.
Monday, April 10, 2006
It sure is boring out there...
so I'll post upcoming events:
April 14-17 - Ag and the EvaDewer head to the beach!
April 16-25 - Pert & Koala join us there
May 11-14 - T2 gets gradumacated in Miami. We take advantage of that by planning a 4 day weekend there. We might even attend the ceremony!
May 27-29 - Gock, Jo Jo, the EvaDewer, and Pert: Vroom vroom!
June 25-29 - Gock and GT1 hit PCB with a ferocious dancing vengeance
June 26 - First hurricane of the season smacks the Panhandle
July 1-8 - "Pertoalapalooza '06 - The Caucasion Invasion"
April 14-17 - Ag and the EvaDewer head to the beach!
April 16-25 - Pert & Koala join us there
May 11-14 - T2 gets gradumacated in Miami. We take advantage of that by planning a 4 day weekend there. We might even attend the ceremony!
May 27-29 - Gock, Jo Jo, the EvaDewer, and Pert: Vroom vroom!
June 25-29 - Gock and GT1 hit PCB with a ferocious dancing vengeance
June 26 - First hurricane of the season smacks the Panhandle
July 1-8 - "Pertoalapalooza '06 - The Caucasion Invasion"
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
I knew I liked this guy
Pretty interesting or so would say our friend, Spiro C. Theorist. I've heard some of this stuff before and maybe you have too. The major media outlets picked up the story but those good 'ole boys at "Google" didn't think much of it...at least not at first.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2006/230306googlecensoring.htm
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2006/230306googlecensoring.htm
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Anyone having problems posting?
Seems like I've been seeing a lot of flooble messages about frustrations when trying to post. Is anyone still suffering from that? Is it just new messages, or is it comments, too? Please post a comment to this thread, if you've been having difficulty, and describe the specifics. If you can't post a comment, put some data in the Chatterbox, and I'll see if I can figure out what the problem is. I know that the Google Geeks replaced a troublesome router last week, and that may have been the source of some of the issues.
Remember, we here at "Non-Sequitur" value each and every one of our clients -er- family members, and want to provide as positive an experience as possible when you visit us!
Remember, we here at "Non-Sequitur" value each and every one of our clients -er- family members, and want to provide as positive an experience as possible when you visit us!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
T3 gainfully employed
Panera Bread Company has put the boy in the workforce. He interviewed and got the job today. Apparently the specific "willing to work spring break" skillset he possesses was what separated him from the pack. It's about damn time he started supporting *me* for a while.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Barry Bonds--- The Official Definition
A no good, dirty, rotten, perjuring, cheating, condescending , unfaithful, unappreciative, spiteful, malignant, racist, browbeating piece of vomit-ridden dogshit.
Monday, February 27, 2006
P Has FIVE (5) Tickets for #90!
Date: Sunday, May 28, 2006.
Time: Because of Daylight Savings Time, although the tickets are printed 12:00Noon EST., the race, according to an curmudgeny insert with the tickets, will actually start, (long, pained, implied sigh from IMS) for the SECOND time, at 1:00PM EDT, (local time.)
You'd think by the second year they could get it right.
Location: SW Vista, Sec.13, Row HH, Seats 6,7,8,9 & 10.
P is pleased. I hope you all are also.
Time: Because of Daylight Savings Time, although the tickets are printed 12:00Noon EST., the race, according to an curmudgeny insert with the tickets, will actually start, (long, pained, implied sigh from IMS) for the SECOND time, at 1:00PM EDT, (local time.)
You'd think by the second year they could get it right.
Location: SW Vista, Sec.13, Row HH, Seats 6,7,8,9 & 10.
P is pleased. I hope you all are also.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
For a deputy he was a fine landlord
When he left Mayberry, the show died a horrible death. When he moved in after the Ropers left, "Three's Company" was rejuvenated (I myself never really cared for the above mentioned Ropers).I'd say he was pretty good.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Bond...Shemp Bond
Hey, I don't really care. The Bond franchise stopped mattering a long time ago. These guys have a point, though. And there's one of Curley, too!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Following Fripp
Road trip
friday night feeling
caffeine buzz
music on the radio
free, high, sing along
tires hum
cracked window whistles
gas up, pee, more coffee
flying
I'm somebody else tonight
Have fun Gock!
friday night feeling
caffeine buzz
music on the radio
free, high, sing along
tires hum
cracked window whistles
gas up, pee, more coffee
flying
I'm somebody else tonight
Have fun Gock!
Monday, February 20, 2006
Wait! Now they're saying that he's still alive!
Little known fact: Gowdy rarely knew what the hell he was talking about. He'll be the first at the gate to "high-five" Tom Carnegie when his time mercifully comes.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Classic funny PSAa
These have been around for quite a while, but some of you may not have seen them.
"Look at all your different colored hats!"
"Look at all your different colored hats!"
Friday, February 17, 2006
k Has New Stove Installed in Downstairs Room
No, not a cook stove. A smaller version of the one in the corner of the l/r (that heats the house.) This heats the downstairs of the two story. k is happy as a clam. Why do they say that, are clams happy? P. as you can well imagine, is extatic (sp?) clicking his heels together and all like that. Too cool. Tell the kids.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Rog ****'s Up A Perfectly Executed Plan
After all remuneration and benifits were settled, Rog's uneasiness wouldn't let him rest, so while I was up north he and P went and laid all the past financial details regarding G's place out for the powers that be. So now we have to hand over 1/3 of the sale price on the domicile to the UCNH. "I'm sure glad my folks taught me smarter than that." That's a quote from the sister who took care of my mother in this regard and warned me after she found out the hard way. Hope this makes sense.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Next in Line?
Sorry, I finally got around to installing Photoshop and couldn't resist. This is the way I see the latest events in history.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Monday, February 06, 2006
Koalas make great Birfday gifts
As usual I'm late on dates but I'll take the easy way out and blame KoF and God for it.
We do hope that she enjoyed herself nonetheless eating Hershey Bars, chugging Diet Coke and watching a really awful football game.
We do hope that she enjoyed herself nonetheless eating Hershey Bars, chugging Diet Coke and watching a really awful football game.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Wikipedia Bans Access from Capitol Hill Computers
This is an NPR short about how congresspeople et al have edited info about themselves and their bosses. Funny.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Today belongs to Jo Jo Gunne
May all of your Stones concerts be filled with obscurities, appear in small venues, and be played by band members who still have all of their teeth.
(Edit - According to the birthday boy, the celebration may have looked something like this):
(Edit - According to the birthday boy, the celebration may have looked something like this):
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Does a person stop being a bastard once his parents marry?
Is a Hoosier a person born in Indiana or a person living in Indiana? These questions, because opinions vary on the answers, have nagged Eva for forty-six years. (The correct answers are out there, most likely, but opinion is fact as far as we're concerned.)
We believe that yesterday was the anniversary of the day on which Pert and Koala wed. Congratulations, and we hope the day was filled with happiness.
It's awful that this day will also be remembered for having been the day Chris Penn died.
We believe that yesterday was the anniversary of the day on which Pert and Koala wed. Congratulations, and we hope the day was filled with happiness.
It's awful that this day will also be remembered for having been the day Chris Penn died.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Streaming music: Squeezebox may be it
The Gockster and I have been waiting for the way to play any music we own, anywhere in the house, with an elegant interface. This will get cheaper, but the more I read about it, the more I want it.
It's a little 802.11g compliant unit that can stream music, either from your "music server" (in my case, the PC where I've ripped all of my CDs, and most of Gock's) or from any of the internet radio stations.
Some notes -
This can be run (driven) from any of three (or more) places:
By the way, the software to run the server (SlimServer) is free, and open source. It can be downloaded and run just like any other music player (takes a while to scan all of your music, if you have a lot). There is also an application (SoftSqueeze) that can be downloaded and run on a PC to emulate the interface of the actual Squeezebox unit and its remote control, so you can really take it for a test drive before using it.
The client and server recognize and can create playlists, if you're into that. They can each search by Artist, Album, Song, or Genre, to the extent that you have your tags correct on your mp3 files (should be automagic if you're ripped them from CD).
Somebody stop me before I drop money on this. That's the hiccup, by the way. It costs $300 for the wireless version, or $250 if you can live with wiring it to your router or hub. There are other (cheaper) alternatives out there, but this one looks like the coolest by far in its price range. I already want two of them.
It's a little 802.11g compliant unit that can stream music, either from your "music server" (in my case, the PC where I've ripped all of my CDs, and most of Gock's) or from any of the internet radio stations.
Some notes -
This can be run (driven) from any of three (or more) places:
- From the unit itself, attached to your stereo or powered speakers. Admittedly, with only a two line display, it has its limitations
- From the server that houses all of your music (mp3, OGG, wav, whatever)
- From *any* PC on your network, wireless or otherwise
By the way, the software to run the server (SlimServer) is free, and open source. It can be downloaded and run just like any other music player (takes a while to scan all of your music, if you have a lot). There is also an application (SoftSqueeze) that can be downloaded and run on a PC to emulate the interface of the actual Squeezebox unit and its remote control, so you can really take it for a test drive before using it.
The client and server recognize and can create playlists, if you're into that. They can each search by Artist, Album, Song, or Genre, to the extent that you have your tags correct on your mp3 files (should be automagic if you're ripped them from CD).
Somebody stop me before I drop money on this. That's the hiccup, by the way. It costs $300 for the wireless version, or $250 if you can live with wiring it to your router or hub. There are other (cheaper) alternatives out there, but this one looks like the coolest by far in its price range. I already want two of them.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Uncle Sam Wants Your Google Searches (And Already Got Results From Others)
Tell me you didn't see this coming.
Monday, January 16, 2006
G & G Enter UCNH on January 5, 2006. All is Well.
P's big brother and younger brother, (not youngest, he has a job) came down to help move G & G to UCNH on January 5. They all spent 3 days doing paper work for financing of said home etc. Well, big brother was so disturbed by the whole thing he was sick a lot--the family syndrome--and had to stay at the B'ville house packing dishes. As of Jan 14, when k, in order to make sure the boys had taken everything G & G might want or need, visited twice, G & G were doing well and seemed happy and Sister smiled and talked to k more than in years before. Ma recognized k, and was happy to see her, but, upon being questioned, didn't know exactly who k was.
The brothers left Sun. Jan. 8, in the AM. k spent last Wed. Thur. Fri. packing, sorting, disposing, donating at the B'ville house. One more day and it will be ready for big brother to move to the Hemptown house for his and the grandkids' use.
The B'ville house cannot be sold for three months. The administration at the entity in which it sits has, by contract, right of first refusal and also 3 months to decide yea or nay.
Upon completion of all paper work etc. having to do with G & G' move, which should be done by the end of Jan., P & k plan, eventually, to flee to the Florida Panhandle for R & R. (The want to be in GA. for Eva's latest performance, which starts on 2/17 and runs for 2 weekends.)
k is thrilled to be staying at Wildwood and feels like a new woman.
P has been back on Prozac for a couple of weeks and, it seems to k, is much perkier. He has returned to exercising regularly and is reading a new Truman biography.
Except for despondency over the Colts and the Bears, k & P are deliriously(dammit, doesn't this thing have a spell checker?) Oh, never mind, I found it.
So, all is well at the compound.
A note on everyday living:
k, while cleaning out the fridg in a rare fit of energy, asks P about some sour cream that has been here since t'gvg. P says, keep it in case the kids come. k throws it out, but only because she recalls Eva's charming habit of checking expiration dates.
The brothers left Sun. Jan. 8, in the AM. k spent last Wed. Thur. Fri. packing, sorting, disposing, donating at the B'ville house. One more day and it will be ready for big brother to move to the Hemptown house for his and the grandkids' use.
The B'ville house cannot be sold for three months. The administration at the entity in which it sits has, by contract, right of first refusal and also 3 months to decide yea or nay.
Upon completion of all paper work etc. having to do with G & G' move, which should be done by the end of Jan., P & k plan, eventually, to flee to the Florida Panhandle for R & R. (The want to be in GA. for Eva's latest performance, which starts on 2/17 and runs for 2 weekends.)
k is thrilled to be staying at Wildwood and feels like a new woman.
P has been back on Prozac for a couple of weeks and, it seems to k, is much perkier. He has returned to exercising regularly and is reading a new Truman biography.
Except for despondency over the Colts and the Bears, k & P are deliriously(dammit, doesn't this thing have a spell checker?) Oh, never mind, I found it.
So, all is well at the compound.
A note on everyday living:
k, while cleaning out the fridg in a rare fit of energy, asks P about some sour cream that has been here since t'gvg. P says, keep it in case the kids come. k throws it out, but only because she recalls Eva's charming habit of checking expiration dates.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Giants go down hard
First playoff shutout of the Giants in 20 years. Wow. Wonder who did that to them last? You might want to ask the Rams.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Back to the grind...
I really enjoyed the holidays, but it's great to be back to work, contributing. And by that, I mean
I wish our time together could have been longer.
I wish our time together could have been longer.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Happy Birthday to Agatha, Eva and T2
Hope they are happy and prosperous in the coming year. Much love from k & P & Dip who is here with us.
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