I've Gone Frugal

I've determined that it's necessary for me and my wife to get very frugal right now.

We're between jobs (almost), and that means a lot of expenses getting there, getting things arranged, then a period of time where we won't have any income. So we have to depend on what savings we have.

How it's all going to work out isn't 100% known to me. Since there are these unknowns, with the knowns being as described above, I've laid down the law that we must be frugal. Rather, we discussed it and that's the understanding.

So we had some cheap ham sandwiches and chips and baked beans for dinner, and the same thing (without the beans) for lunch. I had cheap ham sandwiches yesterday too, at least for one meal, maybe both. We're not going to be going out to eat, we're not doing downloads, and we're going to be spending only what's absolutely necessary.

It was kind of a killer today -- but necessary -- that the dog and cat had to have some updated shots, which was over $100. So that's terrible, but we'll be OK. I can absorb several days like that, I just don't want to have to.

The thing is to have discipline and get the transition over with as time passes and steps are made. Then when we have a higher level of daily security we can go back to our normal ways.

Cutting Out Fish Butts

I'm moving.

That's a strenuous process.

I'm in the process of loading books into boxes. It's surprising how many boxes it takes for one bookshelf.

I've got a bunch of U-Haul boxes, which have flaps that need to be sliced in two places to fold them over.

The slicing, coming as it does right at the end, reminds me of cutting the butts out of fish when you're cleaning them. It's basically the last thing you do before tossing the fish into some cold water.

11 Or 12 Minutes Without A Basket

I watched the University of Northern Iowa last night get beat. This time I was actually for them, which might be a curse too big for any team to overcome.

At one point I was thinking, These guys really practice, and they back up and hit the three pointers. They go in and if they happen to miss once in a while, they still go in surprisingly often.

About the time I got done thinking that, which was at half time when I was doing the dishes, I went back for the second half and UNI literally did not score a field goal the last 11 or 12 minutes! Not from downtown, not from the arc, not from mid range, and not from under the basket. Not one single point. It was stunning!

If they hadn't been fouled and gone to the free throw line a few times, they would've had a big goose egg on the board that whole time. And even at the free throw line they basically stunk.

It really makes you wonder what it is that goes so wrong, how the percentage of a team can drop from 50-60 percent to zero. Part of it might be nerves, or wondering what's going wrong and then their confidence is sunk. I don't know. Because you'd think some would go in by accident at least. Especially ones right under the basket.

I was for them ... but they lost. I'm sorry about that!

This Time Tomorrow

I'm big on thinking what will happen and what has been accomplished "This Time Tomorrow." I've been thinking it since around 4 p.m. A big example, at 4 p.m., "This time tomorrow, I will be done with my CPR/First Aid class." 5 p.m., "This time tomorrow, I will be home, then I have a few quick tasks that need to be done."

In addition to that, I'm also big on thinking about "This Time Yesterday." Like, "This time yesterday, I was buying new tires." (I wasn't, that's just an example.) It could happen that I could be thinking, "This time yesterday, I will thinking about this time today, which then was this time tomorrow." You could turn time on its head.

I think I got that from my dad, who always used to say, "Last week at this time, we were..." Or, "It was a month ago today." Or, "A month from today, we'll be..."

It's tough just to live in the moment it always is!

Tea Party Progress

I read an article somewhere today that some of the leadership of the Tea Party group(s) was distancing themselves from the recent violence, so that's a good thing.

Distancing themselves in the sense of discouraging it and realizing that it doesn't have any place in our political system.

So that's a good thing. There seem to be lots of crazies along for the ride, but anything that discourages them acting out their craziness ought to be commended.

I Saw A Big Tree Cut Down Yesterday

I happened to be driving by a public park where some guys -- working for the city -- had a big chainsaw and were cutting down a tree.

The tree had an orange X, meaning it was marked for destruction.

So, like I said, I was driving by, and these guys had the notch out of one side and were working on the opposite side. That meant it was going to fall in the direction of the notch. Thanks to gravity and the fact that there'd be nothing to hold it up on that side.

There they were, struggling with the chainsaw, two of them at times but mostly one guy. I was hoping the second guy wouldn't get his head cut off, because I didn't have my video camera with me at the time.

They struggled on like that for a time, going at it at various angles, keeping up the assault in a persistent way but stepping back repeatedly to discern their progress.

I sat in my car watching. My dog was in the car with me but she didn't seem to notice any of this.

At this point, I'm thinking, "That tree has stood there for 100 years. And now it will come down. How weird that I just happened to be driving by." Weird, but true. I knew, and I thought of it, it will come down but it will not go back up!

Just then, finally, there was a cracking and a movement, with the tree toppling and crashing to the ground. I was trying to see as much as I could, because, without my camera there'd be no instant replays. That's really the way to live the most intensely, by leaving the camera home and paying attention intensely. The dog heard the noise, was afraid, and hit the floor.

The tree quickly came to rest in a prone position.

Then, what's this? I saw a squirrel come running out of what used to be the top most branches and make a mad dash for a different tree! That makes you think, the squirrels have no idea what's going on, but suddenly a tree they've depended on all their lives went crashing down. It'd be enough to make a squirrel doubt the world and his security in it.

The Hot Dog -- A Wonder Drug

I was thinking today of medicine from a dog's point of view.

Whenever our dog gets sick and needs to take pills, we always put them in with a piece of ham or, more commonly, in with a piece of a hot dog.

Meaning that, from a dog's point of view, the hot dog is a wonder drug. "My doctor always prescribes hot dogs. 'Take two hot dogs and call me in the morning.'"

Always Trying To Maintain My Viability

I can't say I envy people who don't try to maintain their viability.

Of course most people would like to cut loose once in a while, like if you were on a desert island with no chance of getting off. It would be fun to drink too much fermented pineapple juice, I suppose. And maybe go a little crazy out there and start walking around nude.

But of course I don't do any of that, because of the viability issue. Maybe you remember something way back from Bill Clinton's history. That he was worried about his military service record or lack thereof, and even as a teenager was trying to maintain his "political viability."

I think the same way. Always wanting to keep my reputation as clean as possible, which I think is a good idea just in general. But it makes a difference when you're filling out forms. Have you ever been convicted of a felony, child abuse, or been drunk and naked on a desert island? I'm always proud to be able to say "No."

That's one of the reasons I have a hard time understanding people who go to political rallies and end up on TV carrying big crazy signs, or are seen shouting obscene slogans, racial epithets, etc. You wouldn't catch me doing that. That's crazy. I've got my viability to worry about.

Same thing about going to some far off city and being caught like Tiger Woods. Really, I have to say, the guy was living dangerously. He had some $40 billion worth of endorsement contracts and one of the most recognizable faces in the world. How did he think he could get away with it forever? I'm sitting here, as unknown as anyone can be -- seriously, I'm not at all famous -- and you wouldn't catch me doing any of that. Even if I wanted to, which I don't.

Tiger had all those gals. But I've got my viability to keep me warm!

A Time Machine CD

I'm listening to a CD that I haven't listened to for years. Dire Straits' "Brothers In Arms."

It's on my iTunes, from back when I was trying to get all my CDs on there, and only managed to get up to E or G.

It's definitely a time machine CD, since I don't listen to it with any regularity. I remember buying it at the place we lived in 1986-87. CDs were very new at the time and I didn't have a lot of money to buy them. So it was a big deal to get it.

Now that I'm a big success, having enough groceries for a couple of days, this CD reminds me of tougher, more challenging times.

If I'm ever down on my luck -- which could happen out of the blue -- I'll know which CD to get out to promise me we'll get through it.

Sheriff Issues Stern Warning (1967)

I have a subscription to an online newspaper archive. Is there more than one?

Sometimes when I'm killing time I go to a random paper and random date and see what was going on.

Today I was looking at a paper called Emmetsburg Democrat Emmetsburg Reporter, Emmetsburg, IA, Dec. 28, 1967, p. 1. That's the actual name of the paper, that whole mouthful, it would appear.

In this issue there was a story about some trouble out by the lake. Sheriff Dick Miller reported that several private cabins by Lost Island Lake were broken into recently.

But the crooks weren't looking for just anything, just liquor. Once in they left everything else alone.

The thing I like about the article is the sheriff's stern warning:

"It would appear that some people no longer have any respect for private property, and I am fed up with it. If they are apprehended, I will see to it that they get the book."

You don't want to get him "fed up" or he'll get right on it and see that the perps get the book!

To me it sounds like kids, the whole booze angle. Wonder how it turned out!

Why I'm Not For Oklahoma State

I'm not a big sports fan. I have very few favorite teams. But I've been watching the Georgia Tech/Oklahoma State basketball game.

So how am I for? Well, I'm not for Oklahoma State for this reason, because I don't like the politics at Oklahoma.

Georgia might not be much better. But at least they're not notorious about it.

UPDATE:  Georgia Tech is ahead by 5 toward the end, and there it is, Oklahoma State lost! Thanks to their crummy politics, no doubt.

All The Missing Obits

I was trying to look up an obit for one of my uncles, who died in 1998, and couldn't find it.

There's too many missing obits. I've come to the point that I expect this stuff to be there, so I can find out the details of someone's life.

Plus, it's not like he died in 1492.

So, come on, funeral homes. Get it on there!

My Phone Number Is 7

The graphic is from a 1938 grocery store ad in a newspaper (Leon, Iowa). How about the phone number, 7?

That would be wild to have a single digit phone number. Back then they no doubt had to have the switchboard person connect them, like on "Andy Griffith." Otherwise anytime someone started dialing a number that started with 7 your phone would ring.

Wonder who got 1? That'd be something. The day you got the phone number 1 there was no one to call, at least in that town.

It was probably a disruption for them when the phone numbers got lengthened. They'd be thinking, We've been 7 all these years! Why can't we keep it!

Here is someone who had their phone number as "1". The newspaper, The Spirit Lake Beacon, Spirit Lake, Iowa, in 1933.

It's A Joy To Write This

I have some level of contentment tonight. Maybe it helps that I was just out for a really decent meal.

(I have some future anxiety coming up, but I'm trying to put it out of my mind, to keep my contentment going.)

I decided to check out some streaming radio stations on iTunes. They're playing a Jimi Hendrix song, "Look Over Yonder," (suddenly it's ended), so that was nice.

It's a joy to write this, to write anything. To add to the noosphere. Am I really adding to the noosphere, though, or is the noosphere actually set and I'm just manifesting something from it? Good question, thanks.

Some nights I have a hard time with it. But those times I'm not into the stream of consciousness like a person ought to be. Even my fingers are unusually warm tonight. The free music, the Snuggie I'm wearing, the meal, all is right with the world at this moment. (Except for the future anxiety thing.)

Treat your life as an adventure ... anyway. It's not set exactly what you need to do in perpetuity. You never can tell the next thing, so be open to it.

Poach Alligators, Not Eggs

I don't know that I've ever had a poached egg. I had a chance to have one today and asked for fried instead.

As for eggs themselves, it's a good thing I grew up eating eggs, because I don't know if I'd be able to eat one if I wasn't already used to it. They look so strange. And since they're basically the goop that goes into making and nourishing a brand new chicken, it seems odd to be eating them.

We've eaten to death several generations of chickens by now. And one of them might've been the chicken Einstein, or Chickenman himself.

Chickenman wasn't the Messiah (of chickens), of course. We might've eaten the Messiah of chickens. He was going to be born at their equivalent of Bethlehem, with a whole flock of wise chickens on their way to bring him gifts. And we lumped him together with "cackle fruit," as my dad used to call eggs, and ate him.

I Was Beware Of The Ides Of March

I made it through most of the day successfully. There's still an hour and a half to go till midnight. But no one's stabbed me yet.

I was looking for my thin copy of "Julius Caesar" today but never could find it. I have one of Shakespeare's thicker editions but I didn't want to cart it with me. (I'm traveling). I thought I could read parts of it in my free time. But it's just as well. I didn't have any free time today.

It'd be both a great day ... and a terrible day to be stabbed. Great because it is the Ides of March. Terrible because no one wants to be stabbed.

Hey, you know what? I was stabbed today, because a nurse was giving me Step 2 of a TB test. So she did stab me in my arm! That's my stabbing story. There was a stabbing pain.

Too Many Books

I was demonstrating to someone today that I could get rid of a box of books off my shelf just like that, by setting a box by the shelf and putting them in it.

I have a bunch of books. But a lot of my books are ones I bought on a second's notice on the cheap, so I'm not so terribly attached to them as it might seem.

I do have a philosophy about them that would help me get rid of them. It's this: There are lots of other books that I could have and find indispensable. So because I don't have them, it doesn't make any sense that the ones I have would be indispensable now. That is, if I can live without the ones I don't have, then I can live without the ones I do have. It's an offshoot of one of my older philosophies, which is this, If you can't have everything in the world, there's no reason to have anything.

There is, to be 100% accurate, plenty of reasons to have something. Because you do need a certain amount of things in the course of life. But you could be stripped down to about nothing and still get along perfectly well. Having something, say a book, or not having it isn't going to make any big difference. Anyway, there are millions (or many thousands) of books you're never going to have, so why worry about the ones you do have?

All that said, it doesn't follow that I'm going to get rid of them wholesale. Because I might get some good out of them.                 

No Complaints

I was at someone's funeral in the last month, the father of a friend, and the minister said of the deceased that he was never known to complain.

I find that hard to believe, but of course we're all existing from our own perspective. Being a complainer myself, if they say that when I die we'll know they're lying! Except I won't be here to tell you. So I'm telling you now. I will put it in my will that this particular blog entry needs to be read out loud.

I'm a complainer. There, I said it. I've been complaining today, at least to myself, about the crappy service at a restaurant and an MP3 website on the internet. And the day's young ... but not as young as it will be [technically it'll be tomorrow] when we spring forward for Daylight Savings Time.

I feel like complaining about Daylight Savings Time, even though it's nice to have it not get dark till 9 p.m.

By the way, that's how they did it in the Bible, that business about Joshua's longest day. Except back then they did it in the middle of the day. Joshua said it's 4 p.m. instead of 3, and everyone had another hour to win the battle.

I think the internet is a great place to complain, if only I could make my complaints go viral. I'd be able to bring down some of these big businesses who treat their customers badly. But alas, my complaints go nowhere. They don't make the news. And that's something to complain about.

A Bunch of Alfred Hitchcock Movies

I bought one of those video bin DVD sets at Walmart, a bunch of movies by Alfred Hitchcock, $5 for four DVDs.

Some of the reviews I looked at at Amazon say there could be technical difficulties in there somewhere, which I wouldn't doubt. A few years ago I got a John Wayne set that had technical difficulties, such as freezing up at certain points no matter what you did.

But so far so good on this one. But I've only watched one and most of another movie.

The one I watched last night was great, "The Lady Vanishes." I was definitely trying to think how it was going to resolve itself, the whole business on the train about Miss Froy vanishing. Maybe she wasn't even there, because the other woman was hit on the head by a planter. That was a mystery, which, if you haven't seen it, would be worth your time to find!

I like the various actors in the film, since they had some really weird spooky looking ones on the train, characters. The two Englishmen were pretty funny too, both at the hotel which the film starts and on the train. There's a lot of witty things throughout.

The other film I'm having a hard time staying awake for, even though it's not bad. It's silent, so I'm listening to music while having to pay extra close attention to the film. It makes me tired and I have to give up for a while. It's called "The Farmer's Wife." I'm not a big fan of silent films, because of all the work you have to do to watch one. Also they're very unnatural.

Anyway, a farmer's wife dies, then he marries off his daughter, then he feels like getting married himself. But who should he get married to? He's going through the list of possibilities, picturing them sitting in his wife's empty chair. He has a housekeeper who he's not even considering, but the box says she's "secretly in love" with him, so I would guess he eventually opens his eyes to the very fit woman already under his roof.

The film has a hired man who's fun to watch. He looks like a real character and plays the rustic part to the hilt.

The Kids In Kindergarten Through Third Grade

How often do you think about the kids you knew in kindergarten through third grade?

Up until recently it wasn't very often. Some of them in my case were kids I re-met in high school, but of course by then everything had changed. Because we moved, whatever relationships we had broke off in mid-third grade.

But now that we have Facebook, there's some movement underway to become friends ... with these very folks. It's cool.

Now I should find the pictures from those years, which I don't have possession of .... but somewhere "back home" they probably still exist.

Still Thinking About Candy

In 9th grade speech class one of my speeches was on "How To Eat Candy In School Without Getting Caught," including several great pointers on unwrapping candy under your leg, to muffle the sound.

Now that I'm an old man I'm still thinking about candy. Namely how to eat it without rushing it and thus needing more. I put it in my mouth with the best of intentions, that I will stretch it out and make it last. If I'd do that, that one little thing, I'd have candy tomorrow and the next day instead of just today.

But even though I have that intention, I put it in my mouth and start moving my mouth and next thing you know my swallowing instinct has made me consume it and so I need another piece. That's ridiculous. Why can't I do this?

I've tried smaller pieces, but the same movement and swallowing instinct seems to have a mind of its own.

Another thing to really enjoy candy to the utmost is to breathe a lot through your mouth. That's where the taste comes from. If you keep your mouth closed, you can barely taste it, or certainly not as well.

There went another piece. Also when I'm doing something like this, writing this, I have a hard time focusing on my best of intentions. But really that's my limit. I've had several already. And I want to save some for tomorrow, no matter what it takes.

Toyota

Is this the end of the road for Toyota?

They say there's no such thing as bad publicity. But hearing about cars that don't work, and when they do work won't stop, has to be bad.

Is there anyone out there who thinks their next car might be a Toyota? Me either.

Peripheral Vision

I had the thought today that you might see more interesting stuff if you aren't looking at everything directly.

I was at the doctor's office for an appointment and was sitting in the waiting room (for labs) and people were passing in the hall. I wasn't looking up or looking that way, and a couple of times I could've sworn some weird spectacles walked by. But since it was just my peripheral vision, mixed in probably with the fact that nothing is clear that way, I'm sure the people looked perfectly normal.

It made me think that every time I see something that reminds me of something outlandish, I always look to clear things up. But the real key might be not to look, not to get things cleared up. Just let your imagination run wild as these creatures are passing in front of your peripheral vision.

It could've been some big bird person, like from mythology. Or a giant.

Coincidentally, after thinking this, I took a vision test which included a peripheral vision test. I did fairly well on it, so that means I could put my new thoughts on looking at things only peripherally to the test.

Constipated 30 Years

Come on, if you're constipated 30 years, that's the new normal for you. At that point you don't know any difference. Sure, you'd still have your memories that you used to go to the bathroom. But really, if you can make it 20 years, you can do anything.

But we have Alice Burns' testimony. 30 years with constipation, choked by souring food. Then she took some Adlerika and became a new person.

(Ad from Lyon County Reporter, Rock Rapids, IA, Jan. 11, 1934, p. 9.)

A Night For Salmon

It reminds me of the Seinfeld where Kramer was making a link between Salmon Rushdie and salmon the fish. That's what I've been thinking of.

Tonight was a night for salmon. I was at the store and saw some frozen salmon in a bag and it didn't seem like too much, so I got a bag.

It's frozen but thaws out pretty fast in some lukewarm water. And it cooks fast under a broiler. The pack says five minutes but I let it go longer than that, plus I flipped it over.

It was good. I had two filets, leaving me two left in the bag. That's something I don't eat very often. I believe I had it only once before, out of a can. This was definitely better.

Disturbing The Jelly Beds

We went out for breakfast today, so i witnessed the sad sight of jelly being disturbed in its bed.

What a rude awakening, to have the covers ripped off you, then not only to be exposed to the cold but to have a cold knife thrust into you and to find your hide chafing against a piece of rough toast.

The looked very comfortable, too, the strawberry and the grape. Like they thought it'd always be that way. And some in the back room probably still have that hope.

Some are taken, some are left.

Trying To Learn The Key Of F

This probably isn't very interesting.

But really, what is?

Isn't life just one boring detail after another made interesting by your attitude toward it? I believe so. I think I'll state that as a statement instead of a question. Life is just one boring detail after another made interesting by your attitude toward it.

I have my own things going on. In a way, I'm not that into these particular details, but I'm writing something tonight and this may as well be it.

I'm an old man who's been playing the guitar for 40 years. Or just a little over. But I'm one of the more unusual old time guitarists in that I haven't greatly improved in all that time.

Of course I've always known the F chord and can do it OK. But I haven't really played songs in the KEY of F, and I didn't even know what chords were the basics in it till the other day. Normally I've done F without the bass strings, but looking at the key of F, an online description of it, they bar across, etc. I can do that only fairly well.

It's the next two chords that I'm not great at, B flat and C7th. Although I know a version of C7 which is just the C chord plus one finger down on the 2nd string. The C7th chord on the website is different and sounds slightly different, with some barring on the 3rd fret and two other depressed strings on the 5th fret. That one comes tough to me, not being used to it. And B flat I've always done without the bass strings, but trying to bar across is tough on that one. Because your fingers are very bunched up.

It's not sounding good. Plus my old fingers are getting old and hurt a little more than they did 40 years ago.

Potential New Republican Hero Arrested

Ahh, they arrested this guy before any damage was done. And to think, we might've had the next Republican hero.

NEW CASTLE, Del. — Police in Delaware say a man angry about his sewer bill was arrested after he suggested someone should crash a plane into a county government center.

Since the Republicans were on board with the guy who crashed his plane into the IRS building, especially Iowa Republican Steve King, who "empathized" with him and 'understood his frustrations', our hearts go out to them that they may have been deprived of a new hero.

I can't believe what Republicans can get away with, the stupid stuff they say, like Steve King and his remark about understanding the frustrations of the IRS plane guy. I can't imagine a Democrat getting away with that kind of thing, let's say if we had someone stupid enough to say something like it.

Or Republicans who are secessionists! They love America so much they want to leave it. What Democrat could get away with such a lack of actual patriotism, again, if there was one dumb enough to say such things?

Violence isn't the way, stupid.

The Senate Is Such A Joke

One guy -- Bunning -- has the power to shut the whole place down.

That is what I would call one ridiculous institution!

Trotsky

Which are you gonna do, trot or ski? Trotsky, always hot to trot.

A Personal Filmmaker

I just read about a guy who was the "personal filmmaker" for a famous rock band of the past.

I'm not specifying the band or the guy, because there's a better than even chance that I used to know the guy personally. He told me in the 1970s that he took one of the photos on the back of one of their LPs and that he knew at least one band member's phone number.

So when I was Googling the guy's name, I find this reference to him, that someone with the exact same name was their "personal filmmaker." It surely wasn't him was it? I remember this guy having lots of cameras and saying he made films of various rock stars, in their swimming pools and other places, but I just don't know. I never saw any of the films, although I did see plenty of pictures he took of other stuff.

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a post about the mysteries of this particular guy -- who may be dead now. Because I see that a filmmaker with the exact same name did die in the last couple years, even though he still has an apparently alive Facebook page, so you tell me...

I would love to know. Is it the same guy? Is he alive? Is he dead? The guy with the exact same name who was a definite filmmakers is indeed dead. I saw it at two separate web pages, by experts who apparently would know.

The more the mystery drags on, the less likely that my guy will be alive. Anyway.

It would be cool to be someone's "personal filmmaker." Except for me, I'd be so nervous that I'd film them all day only to find out that something went wrong with the camera. They're all high-fiving each other for the great hijinks that we filmed. And I'm standing there with a camera full of tangled up film and nothing. That would be terrible.

That's also the feeling I would have if I were a wedding photographer. I would need four separate cameras taking pictures of everything, so I could definitely have at least one working.