Glad this weekend is over!

Thanksgiving night personal

Well, E. was going to come bring me some food from his sister's Thanksgiving dinner, but it's getting a little late. Haven't heard from him since a little after 2:00, when he got a call from Comcast about getting his cable up and running with his new TV and DVD recorder. Hmmmm. Left a couple of messages. My guess is that he left the phone at home on the charger and drove up to his sister's; he had bought some food to take for the dinner.

Of course, then he called. He said he was a little too f****d up to come over tonight (he sounded a little). OK. He'll bring me my food tomorrow night.

Tuesday night personal

One more day! (And I'm off for four days.)

Not much doing tonight. Cleaned out the cat boxes, watching MSNBC.

Looking forward to "Millionaire Matchmaker" tonight. It's the season finale, with Patti as the client. I guess I'll have to watch it at 11:00, since I'm missing it now! (I screwed up on the schedule.) Guess I'll watch a couple of new "House Hunters" until then.

Tomorrow's a "free" jeans day at work. (Normally it's a $5 donation to a charity.)

[Later] "House Hunters" were good, and so was "Millionaire Matchmaker." Not too enthused about Patti's pick (but we'll see how that goes). Patti liked him, and they've gone out on more dates. (I never knew until tonight she was adopted.)

Monday night personal

Today was E.'s day off, and his parents took him out to BrandsMart and bought him a 51" Samsung flat-screen TV and a stand to put it on (similar to the one in the photo, but the TV sits directly on the top shelf on its own stand). The shelves are black glass and the dark wood matches E.'s floors.

His father (mom's long-time boyfriend, actually) had wanted to assemble it when they got back to E.'s but was getting frustrated, so E. told him to stop. (E. himself has never assembled furniture before and didn't want to attempt it.) His mother then said to call the old BF to come over and do it (since he's "good at that kind of stuff," according to E.), but E. said he didn't want him "to step foot" inside his new place. (His mother said good for him.)

So I volunteered to go over there after work and do it. (E. knew I was also "good at that kind of stuff.") Yet he was adamant about not imposing on me (he said later, as I was putting the stand together, "It's not all about me"). (See here.)

The directions were pretty easy to follow, and nothing was missing or ill-fitting. I got one piece wrong (upside down - the instructions were a little sketchy on this) and had to unscrew stuff and redo it, but it turned out great. E. was absolutely thrilled. The parts included an Allen wrench to screw in most of the screw-in parts, but I used a pair of wire-cutters E. had (bought by the sister's ex to install the light fixtures, which also look great, by the way) as pliers on the Allen wrench to get everything screwed-in as tightly as possible. (He has to get some pliers.) Fortunately he had a screwdriver, since four crucial pieces had to be screwed in.

I was back home before 9:30 and watched part of Anthony Bourdain's new show. (Was too tired to stay up past midnight and watch the whole thing over.) (I'll catch it another time.)

Sunday night personal - "habemus papam" * edition

Just finished watching "Angels & Demons" on SyFy. I'd read the book years ago but never seen the movie. And tonight I caught only the last hour or so, since I had chores to do (including a run to two Publixes). Yesterday one Publix was out of windshield washer fluid and tonight the other Publix didn't have Jimmy Dean's "D-Lights" Ham Bowls, which I've been eating for breakfast lately. (I should have bought the Ham Bowls yesterday when I was at the Publix that has them.)

I find the Ham Bowls far superior to the Turkey Sausage Bowls, about which also my supervisor had warned me that someone might complain because of its fragrance of sage and thyme. (I eat and work at my desk and have done so for years.) I used to eat Hormel's roast beef hash for breakfast, but someone had complained about the fragrance of that, so I stopped eating it. (Pretty fatty anyway, though high in protein.)  I discovered eventually that the complaining person, one of my buddies, has migraine headaches that can be triggered by odors. So everything has worked out for the best.

Now for "The Prophecy," which I probably won't watch to the end. Back to work tomorrow.

Thank G*d it'll be a short week, since we have Thanksgiving and Friday off.

I may have seen "The Prophecy" before, but I don't remember.

E. called at around 11:15 and we chatted for 15 minutes. His day today was even more complicated than originally related, and he did get up at 9:00, and had not put his phone on the charger, so it went dead.

Time to chill.

________________
*"We have a pope"

Early Sunday night

I guess "60 Minutes" will be delayed by the football game. No "Desperate Housewives" or "Pan Am" tonight - The American Music Awards is on.

Just made chicken gravy after skimming most of the fat off the pan drippings from the chicken I'd roasted Friday (?) night and stuck back in the fridge, roasting pan and all, covered with foil (after it had cooled down some, of course). (So roomy is my new refrigerator.) Sliced some of the chicken up for lunch tomorrow and added the gravy. Should be good heated back up in the microwave.

I'd called E. after I got up today and left a message saying I hope he got his light fixtures up this morning. Haven't heard a word back from him. (He's at work now.) (I'd left him a message on his voice mail at 2:30 last night, ending with, "It's not all about you.") I'm not going to call him back. The ball's in his court. When we talked last night, I told him I might go eat dinner there tonight, but I'm not.

Having the rest of my ham omelet for dinner. Delicious.

So, as I'm eating my omelet, E. calls. He acted apologetic (almost frantically so, but he was busy), saying something was wrong with his phone's battery or charger and he and his sister's ex were running back and forth all day to and from Home Depot, since the light fixtures E. had bought were broken and/or had parts missing, and then a fixture they'd bought for the bathroom was crooked, so they took that back and re-hung the other one, etc. OK.

Eating Del Monte Cherry Mixed Fruit now. Mmmm!

Late afternoon personal

Shots from the terrace. With all the trees growing in front of my terrace now (from a landscaping project a few years ago), I don't have much of a view these days (as noted in the appraiser's report). I used to be able to see the pool, for example, and some of Biscayne Bay in the distance. But as the trees grow taller, my view will come back. Meanwhile it's pretty cozy and private out there now, like living in the jungle.

View to the east

Detail of view to the east, showing Arch Creek basking in the sun (looks iced over)
with Bal Harbour in the background

View to the south. The appraiser took a shot much like this one and included it in his report. (See below.)

Hard-to-kill aloes and staghorn fern also thriving

A different type of aloe and below that an amaryllis (which has actually blossomed out there once,
years after its initial blossoming when I got it from the store one Christmas) (we had some crazy weather)

Appraiser's report ("Subject View")

A St. Pete Times Editorial: Occupiers must build agenda

[Posted in full.]

Occupy Wall Street's two-month anniversary this week marks a turning point for the protest movement. Protesters in Manhattan's financial district and in cities across the country have succeeded in putting economic inequality front and center on the nations's radar. Now the occupy movement needs to regroup and refocus to achieve something more than public sympathy. Americans have heard the protesters, and millions can relate. The question now is whether the movement can convert these grievances into a concrete agenda for political change.

There is no denying that occupy has touched a nerve and offered a compelling message. Calling out the continuing abuses of the big banks and corporations resonates at a time when many Americans have lost their jobs, homes and savings. In rallying the "99 percent" of Americans who are not super-rich or in control of Wall Street or Washington, the protest has extended its life by broadening its appeal. Support cuts across age, race and class because the protesters are not demanding an end to the system so much as a chance for more people to enjoy the fruits of it.

That simple call for economic opportunity and the largely peaceful way that protesters have conducted themselves explains why most mayors up to now have been reluctant to crack down on the demonstrations. But in recent weeks, police in Denver, Oakland and other cities moved in to arrest protesters and take down the encampments in public parks. In New York on Thursday, hundreds rallied in lower Manhattan only two days after police launched an overnight raid that swept away the movement's original tent city in Zuccotti Park. Authorities are clearly losing patience with what they see as both a security and an image problem. And protesters are struggling to decide which way the movement should go.

Occupy faces a choice. It can continue to push the boundaries of civil disobedience in the hopes of scoring political points against the establishment and the police. Or it can channel that energy in a more fruitful way and build upon the political momentum that the demonstrations already started. As the tea party, another populist movement, recognized, the best way to shape the nation's course is by electing candidates and participating in the electoral process. Occupy has a powerful message and the organizational abilities to greatly influence the political debate in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

There is no need to worry that losing this presence on the street will cause the nation to lose interest. Indeed, the very opposite might be true; a poll released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling shows that support for occupy has slipped in the past month. Its leaders should take this as a warning to change course. Occupy also needs order and discipline. Its decentralized decisionmaking was appealing early on, and it brought more diverse voices under the tent. But political movements need a clear message and recognized leaders. Occupy has an opportunity to change the nation's direction in the coming year. But to continue to be effective it needs to move its fight from the bullhorn to the ballot box.

Inside Scientology | The Money Machine

'Never enough'

Andrew Sullivan on why he's not making an 'It Gets Better' video

He didn't have it so bad at school. (See definitions of "swot" here and here.) (What's with the "posterization"?)

US Occupy: officers in pepper spray incident placed on leave

From The Guardian here.

Two University of California, Davis police officers involved in pepper spraying seated protesters are being placed on administrative leave as the chancellor of the school accelerates the investigation into the incident.

Chancellor Linda Katehi said she has been inundated with reaction over the incident, in which an officer dispassionately fired pepper spray on a line of sitting demonstrators.

Video of the incident was circulated widely on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter on Saturday, and the university's faculty association called on Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership".

Katehi said she takes "full responsibility for the incident" but has resisted calls for her resignation, instead pledging to take actions to make sure "that this does not happen again".However, a law enforcement official who watched the clip called the use of force "fairly standard police procedure". . . .

Here's the YouTube video linked to in the article.

Sunday afternoon personal

[Click to enlarge]

Today I made another attempt at producing a good-tasting diced-ham omelet using an Egg Beaters-type product (Better'n Eggs Plus, with Omega 3). I think I succeeded.

As I did last week, I cooked the omelet in a little butter in a frying pan sprayed with Pam, swirling the slightly browned melted butter into the liquid omelet at first. (I know some would say using butter defeats the purpose of using an egg-white product by re-introducing fat and cholesterol, but it was only 1 tablespoon.) The omelet mixture itself consisted of about a cup of Better'n Eggs, 1/3 lb. diced Plumrose ham, generous gratings of fresh black pepper, about 2 teaspoons of salt, generous dashes of garlic and onion powder, about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried chives, and a generous dash of ground cloves.

Came out fantastic, light and fluffy, with lots of flavor.  You wouldn't guess you were eating an egg-white omelet. (It was enough for two, so I saved some for tomorrow's breakfast, or maybe later today.)

Florida’s proposed casino tax jackpot for industry

From The Miami Herald here.

Las Vegas enjoys the lowest gambling taxes in the country, along with the nation’s most vibrant casino market. The industry wants a similar deal in Miami, but critics see it as a sweetheart deal. . . .

Pepper spray at Occupy protest probed

From CNN here.

(CNN) -- Under pressure to resign, the chancellor of the University of California, Davis, on Saturday called police use of pepper spray on seated Occupy protesters "chilling" and established a task force to look into the incident.

A campus police officer, in a sweeping motion, sprayed protesters point blank on Friday before other officers moved in. Eleven people were treated on site for effects of the yellow spray. Two of them were sent to the hospital, university officials said.

"Yesterday was not a day that would make anyone on our campus proud; indeed the events of the day need to guide us forward as we try to make our campus a better place of inquiry, debate, and even dissent," Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said in a statement. . . .

This is outrageous. It certainly doesn't look like "the officers were concerned about their safety."

Saturday nite late personal

E. had said he was coming over tonight, but then called a little after 10:00 from his place, after getting off work, saying he was home for the night. He said his sister's ex was coming over there at 8:30 in the morning to install two overhead light fixtures E.'d bought at Home Depot. (There's now a bare bulb hanging from the kitchen ceiling, e.g.) OK. Fine. (I just told him not to call me when he got up.)

Meanwhile, I'd done some cleaning in anticipation of his visit. I'd been looking forward to it, but at least I got the cleaning done (and it was much needed). So it's a net-positive.

Pepper-spraying incident at University of California at Davis

See here.

Early Saturday night personal

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When I got home Thursday after work, I noticed it was a little warm inside. After I'd upped the A/C, there was no improvement. I then turned off the A/C and opened up the cover. Frozen again! Not to worry. I got out the blow-dryer and melted the ice in no time. (That's the only thing I use the blow-dryer for these days.) (I used to blow-dry my hair, when I had hair.)

Had a lazy day today. Made myself stay in bed late to recuperate from last night's workout at the gym. (I always over-do it a little on Friday nights, knowing I can sleep it off the next morning.)

For lunch, had Lipton onion soup dip with fat-free Pringles. This time I used the Lipton brand vs. the Publix brand (which I'd bought since they'd been out of Lipton's). Tastes the same to me. From now on I'll buy the Publix brand unless there's a sale on the Lipton. (I also use Publix low-fat sour cream.)

[Click to enlarge]

Today I took a couple of pix of the dracaena, out on the terrace. Note that the new shoots are growing like crazy. (See here for older pix.)

Watered the plants today before sundown.

TGIF!

Been too busy and tired to post lately. Lot of crap going on at the condo. Trying to impose a $500 pet fee on any new pets. I was fighting that tooth and nail. (I even sought my own legal advice on the matter and passed it along to the powers that be.) Last night, the board met to vote on the pet fee rule (and other new rules). I think my efforts paid off - there will be no "fee," just a refundable deposit (which makes sense, and gives pet owners an incentive to be responsible for their animals).

I think the manager here was just trying to bring in more revenue (for herself and her staff). She said the fee was necessary to compensate for wear and tear on the common elements. But $500?! No way! And the main problem - the reason for the rule - was being caused by some renters allowing their dogs to defecate and urinate on the hallway carpets. (You can't blame the dogs - apparently they're not being walked enough.) But the new $500 pet fee would have applied to all dogs, cats and birds.

So I'm glad that's over with. I'd even accused the manager of basically being a "cat-killer." Here's a paragraph from an email I wrote to the president of the association (my neighbor across the hall, whose cat I take care of when he goes out of town):

(I have no doubt that the imposition of "excessive" pet fees in condominiums will deter the adoption of animals that the Humane Society, e.g., considers suitable household pets and will probably result in the euthanization of many adoptable animals.)

Busy at work, too.

*  *  *

Was at the gym tonight (weighed 162 lbs.) after a nap interrupted by a call I didn't answer (from an "unknown" caller). Probably a call for a political donation. Don't interrupt my nap, people. Next time that happens, I'll answer the call and demand they take me off their call list.

Made sure I got home in time to watch a new "Dead Files." Very interesting. This one took place in Key West and had to do with a KKK lynching of a Hispanic guy who had a mixed-race girlfriend. The girlfriend ended up putting voodoo curses on her boyfriend's killers, and some of them met gruesome unnatural deaths, including the leader of the KKK, in whose former house the hauntings were currently taking place. The present owner meanwhile had been dabbling in the supernatural in a way that would invite hauntings. (She's since stopped dabbling and the hauntings have ceased.) Good stuff!

*   *   *

E. called at around a quarter to 12:00 and said he was exhausted after a busy night at work.

Meanwhile I'm glad to be back on my old gym schedule after having taken some nights off in the process of helping out E. in his move, etc.  Gotta take care of me, too. (Remember the book Looking Out for #1?)

Monday night personal

Whew. Had a long day. Time to chill.

On the way home from work, I stopped off at Home Depot to make a payment, then proceeded home on the bus. Fed the cats and then drove down to the store for some stuff I'd forgotten on my last trip, etc. Then I came home and changed clothes, and as I was doing so, I noticed fresh cat puke tracked all across the bedroom floor and on the sole of one of my shoes. A cat (probably Lucas) had managed to throw up on three (out of four) throw rugs in the bedroom (in addition to the tile floor). So while the stuff was still fresh, I cleaned off my shoe and hauled the rugs to the bathtub and scrubbed and sprayed them clean with the hand-held shower and hung them out to dry. Then I went back and cleaned up the bedroom floor.

The vast majority of the floor area here is bare tile, but nine times out of 10, a throw rug will be involved in a puke incident.

Today is E.'s day off. He called me at work early in the afternoon but I haven't heard from him since (I'd asked him whether he'd bought beer and he said yes). I don't want to call him when he's relaxing with his beer (or whatever he's doing). I'll wait till he calls me. It's his one day off a week, and I'm not going to poke my nose into it. (One Monday night he called from Flanigan's - just down the road from here - and wanted to come over. Bad idea, since I have to get up early in the a.m. to go to work - and he doesn't.) (It didn't happen.)

And the minute I finished writing that, he called, from home (good). He sounded fine. He'd had a few beers and done laundry and is now going to watch a show on Logo (which I don't have on my cable plan).

Sunday night personal

(Two Sunday nights this weekend.) [See below.]

"Desperate Housewives" pretty good this week. It started out pretty lame this season (its last) but has been slowly improving. (I think I'd remarked a few weeks ago that it was "going down in flames.")

"Pan Am" is a little far-fetched tonight, this emergency landing in Haiti amid the bloody turmoil and all - to get one little nitroglycerin pill for a passenger? And then the old guy dies of a heart attack before he gets the pill (of course). And the scenario over the orphan. And then the cockpit joke about having a heart attack towards the end. Good Lord.

And when they (again) emergency-land in Miami, which presumably does have landing lights that don't come on till the last second, they talk about how great Palm Beach is (as if they were going to "lay over" there, when the already-twice interrupted flight is southbound  to Venezuela). (And Palm Beach is a good 90-minutes' drive north from Miami and has its own airporr.) Ugh - not the best show. Who wrote this?

(Can't wait till next week, though.) (They hyped that well.)

Now how about some "Mega Piranha"? (I'll clean up the blog posts instead.)

Sunday evening personal

Worked today from 1 to 5 and was busy right up till the end. Got a major graphics project accomplished that wasn't due till tomorrow or the next day. (Good I got that done today, since we're going to be short-staffed tomorrow and this project took hours - I'd started it on Thursday.) First stopped off at Checker's across from the Omni for chili dogs and a "Big Chicken Sandwich "(something new there). Both the chili dogs and the sandwich were very good. (Have chili dogs left over for tomorrow.) (Not exactly healthy but satisfying.) (I can supplement with something more healthy.)

After I'd gotten settled in at work, I briefly fished around in one of my desk drawers and found the passport I'd been looking for! (So I'd left it at work - I did suspect I might have - after all that digging-around here last night.) So I just finished re-filling out the passport application online, providing the info on the old passport. It's just a little over 15 years old, but an old passport has to be less than 15 years old to be renewed - so I didn't qualify for a renewal. I'll still have to submit the application in person (at the post office up the street), along with a new photo.

By the way, I brought the passport home and locked it up in my fireproof box.

Having a tea now. A little hungry again, but don't know what I want to eat.

(Had a hard-boiled egg, a bowl of Del Monte Citrus Salad, two wedges of Laughing Cow Light French Onion cheese, and for dessert a couple of pieces of marzipan.)

Later

"Killer Mountain" is good, almost over. I remember having seen parts of it before, but I hadn't watched it from beginning to end. Now kind of watching the beginning of the "Yeti" movie, which I'd missed, and have been on the phone with E. since he got off work. (Busy night for him.) (Good.)

The other day, I suggested to E. we take a vacation together to Savannah, since he's never been there before - and it has its unique, unspoiled charms and is gay-friendly and not much of a trek from Miami. I myself had vacationed there, for the first time, a couple of years ago and had a wonderful time - walked all around the historic sector, had a "haunted" bus tour, ate at Paul Deen's restaurant, went to a couple of gay bars, etc. One of the bars, where the drag queen in the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" still performed, was a block away from my hotel. (My itinerary didn't allow me to catch one of her shows, however.)

E. didn't have much to say about that proposal. Then last night, he said he'd like us to go back to Canada. He and I had vacationed there before, in Quebec City (which I'd visited once before and loved), and also paid a one-night visit to "my friend in Canada" who lives down near Maine.

I said I was all for that, even though I thought he'd love to see Savannah (and it's closer). In the meantime, however, my passport has expired (I have two expired passports), and tonight I spent a considerable amount of time searching and double-searching everywhere I could think of for either of the passports - with no luck. The government's online passport application asks whether you've already had a passport (yes) and whether it's been lost (yes), and if so, requires the date of it to be filled in on the form. But if I can't find the passport, how can I fill in the date?

So I answered that I'd never had a passport before (and I do have the documents necessary under these circumstances, like my birth certificate). I assume this can all be ironed out at the time I submit the application (has to be in person). So next year I'll take a day off to get this taken care of. Fortunately I can get it done right up the street, at a post office, and also get a passport photo taken there, if necessary. (But I think I'll do my own photo here at home.) (I bookmarked the specifications off the government website.)

Saturday night personal

(Star of the SyFy movie)

Yesterday felt like Saturday - it was a holiday for my workplace - and today feels like Sunday, since I have to go in to work tomorrow for a few hours.

Did grocery-shopping tonight.

Watching a new SyFy movie: "Rage of the Yeti."

Now, "Killer Mountain."

Saturday evening personal - food

Just got back from dinner at E.'s place of business. (Wanted to show E. the tooth repair, for one thing.) He first-off served me a bowl of the soup du jour (fish), something I would not have chosen. But it turned out to be meaty and full of vegetables and not at all "fishy." (Needed salt and hot sauce, though.) Then I had half a meaty brisket/mozzarella "French dip" sandwich and took the other half home. Had grilled asparagus on the side.

Today when I got up I made a diced-ham omelet using a new (at least to Publix) "Egg Beaters"-type product: "Better'n Eggs Plus." (The "Plus" being 75mg of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids.) Pretty unexciting, even after having made it with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and freshly ground pepper (in a buttered pan).

The tastiest way I've ever prepared these products has been with salsa mixed in. (And that's easy, too.)

Saturday afternoon - plant edition

The dracaena on terrace is thriving

The dracaena is now sending out a second new shoot from one of the main stalks (top arrow). The bottom arrow shows the first new shoot. (Compare to photos below from September 26th and October 16th.)

9/26/2011

10/16/2011

Friday night

Firm holiday today. I had a 3:00 appointment at the dentist's to get a chipped front tooth bonded. (He did a great job.) Went down on the bus and took a couple of Valium along the way (prescribed by my doctor just for dentist visits). On the bus ride home, stopped off at the local Burger King for dinner (I saw that there's WiFi there now) and picked up some generic Prilosec at the Walgreens across the parking lot, then hopped back on the bus up to my place.

Was at the gym at around 8:30. Glad to be back on that schedule.

Life more back to normal after helping E. get settled into his new place. Last weekend was a little hectic.

Beautiful weather today and chilly tonight. Had the sliding glass door open earlier.

Wednesday night personal

Was back at the gym tonight after a nap. Had missed two Wednesdays, with all the other stuff going on. Getting back into the old (and more healthy) routine.

Had a very nice long weekend, though broke with some other routines and went out of my "comfort zone." (But I really don't think my comfort zone was all that comforting anyway.) Spent a lot of time with E. He's pretty much all set up in his place. The refurbished Samsung laptop I gave him as a housewarming gift has been fine-tuned for his needs. We even paid his Comcast bill online (and he now knows how to do it). (I made a "Pay Bills" tab on his Firefox "Speed Dial" plug-in, which I'd installed when I got the laptop.) (The BF had been paying E.'s bills on the BF's computer, and so we also had to get the BF off one of the old accounts so E. could pay the bill himself.)  (E. had long conversations with the tech people to get this done, while I was present in hopes to help out.)

He's on wireless Internet now from AT&T (I sprang for the wireless modem also - not expensive). Had to go out and get a new surge protector this weekend to get everything protected, since the one I'd originally bought turned out to be faulty. (A Belkkin - the same one I have protecting my TV.) (I'll return it for a refund.) I bought him something a little more expensive which also has some kind of fire protection.)

I lament that my ability to "spring" for things for other people is going to be severely curtailed by the cost increases in my health insurance at work. (I'd asked the benefits manger, jokingly, whether we're all going to get "Cost of Living Adjustments" to compensate for the increases.)

We really need to get a single-payer health care system in the U.S. - Medicare for all. May happen in my lifetime. Meanwhile Obama's health care bill has good cost-containment measures built into it (which the Republicans of course are trying to get rid of, since their election campaigns are financed almost exclusively by business interests). It's basically a money-corrupted system. And the Supreme Court has ruled that this is fine. I hope Obama will win again and be able to alter the Supreme Court in favor of better policies for a civilized society against the current winner-take-all trend.

(I also hope they'll change the archaic and increasing anti-democratic filibuster mechanism in the Senate.)

I have faith that things will continue to change for the better, and the U.S. will not continue to decline as a supposedly preeminent civilized country.

Are the Koch brothers denying your vote?

Email from Sen. Bill Nelson

See here, regarding the suppression of voting rights.

The right to vote is, and always has been, at the foundation of our democracy. But this fundamental right is under serious attack right now, in Florida and more than a dozen other states. Many believe a handful of super-rich conservative activists are behind an orchestrated effort to keep millions of seniors, younger voters and minorities from casting ballots next year. . . .

[Emphasis added.] (P.S. It's true.)

Thank G*d I'm off today

Taking some PTO. E. came over and spent the night. I got up early and am going back to bed. (E.'s still sleeping.)

Sunday nite late - Boozy edition

FDR: "I welcome their hatred"

No love for Romney at Tea Party convention

"Hundreds of conservative activists at the Florida Tea Party Convention in Daytona Beach show no enthusiasm for Mitt Romney, the man widely expected to win the GOP presidential nomination." From The St. Petersburg Times here.

DAYTONA BEACH — At the Florida Tea Party Convention on Saturday, you could find buttons calling for Marco Rubio to be on the presidential ticket, T-shirts declaring that Barack Obama has made communism cool again, and freeze-dried foods to last up to 25 years in case society collapses.

Scarce among the hundreds of conservative activists gathered in Daytona Beach? Any enthusiasm for Mitt Romney, the man widely expected to win the Republican presidential nomination.

"The party establishment has wanted Romney all along, and they've been pushing him on us," lamented James Koll of Fort Dodge, Iowa, who said he would support a third-party candidate or write in a candidate before voting for Romney.

His brother, retiree Don Koll of the Villages in Central Florida, nodded. "Some of these Republicans think they have our votes in the bag no matter what, but they don't," he said, complaining that no top-tier Republican candidates came to the tea party convention. "They're turning their back on us, and they will pay a price." . . .

The weekend convention was billed as the biggest tea party gathering ever organized in Florida, but it wound up provoking plenty of disappointment, frustration and anger from activists attending it. Organizers had billed an event featuring a presidential debate, a Florida U.S. Senate debate, and speeches by luminaries including Scott and Rubio.

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is expected today, and Rubio sent a videotape, but the weekend was devoid of A-list speakers.

None of the major U.S. Senate candidates — Adam Hasner, George LeMeiux or Connie Mack IV — showed up, and neither did any other statewide elected official in Florida.

Several prominent invitees insisted that they in no way meant to snub the group or distance themselves, but that they had never committed to the event as the organizers suggested.

[Images not from this article]

Will & Kate Plan Move to Kensington

From The Daily Beast here.

Could this be another hint that Will and Kate may be expanding their family? The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will make Kensington Palace their permanent London home, with Prince Harry joining them when they make the move in two years. They will take over the apartment where Princess Margaret once lived, a five-bedroom home with three reception rooms described by royal aides to be "the size of a terraced London house." Renovation on the apartment will begin in September 2012, and the couple is expected to move in sometime in 2013 after William finishes his duties as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot in Anglesey, North Wales. The newlyweds currently split their time between their farmhouse in Anglesey and a one-bedroom apartment at St. James's Palace in London.

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Wikipedia article on Kensington Palace here.

History of the Euro

Dentist buys John Lennon's tooth

Also from the BBC here.

A Canadian dentist has bought one of John Lennon's teeth for £19,500 [$31,200] at an auction in Stockport.

Alberta-based Michael Zuk bid by phone to secure the molar given by the former Beatle to his house keeper Dot Jarlett, who worked for him in the 1960s.

The tooth was from a collection of rock memorabilia owned by Alan McGee, former boss of Oasis's label Creation Records.

Other items being sold included oil paintings from John Squire of the Stone Roses and gifts from politicians.

Mr Zuk, who has written a book on celebrities' teeth, said: "Once I heard it was up for sale I had to have it."

He plans to display the tooth in his surgery as well as take it on a tour of other dental surgeries and dental schools.

"Some people will think its [sic] gross, others will be fascinated by it," he added. . . .

"John Lennon came back from the dentist and gave it to his housekeeper and said to dispose of it 'or better still give it to your daughter as a souvenir'."

(Apparently dentists are not addressed as "Dr" in the UK.)

More at CNN here.

Signs of ageing halted in the lab

(Before receiving the drug)

From the BBC here.

The onset of wrinkles, muscle wasting and cataracts has been delayed and even eliminated in mice, say researchers in the US.

It was done by "flushing out" retired cells that had stopped dividing. They accumulate naturally with age.

The scientists believe their findings could eventually "really have an impact" in the care of the elderly.

Experts said the results were "fascinating", but should be taken with a bit of caution.

The study, published in Nature, focused on what are known as "senescent cells". They stop dividing into new cells and have an important role in preventing tumours from progressing.

These cells are cleared out by the immune system, but their numbers build up with time. The researchers estimated that around 10% of cells are senescent in very old people. . . .

Sunday afternoon

I'd forgotten about the time change last night. Clocks and watch have been re-set to computer time.

The VCR/DVD recorder has been extricated from the TV/cable box (and the TV still works!). I cleaned it up and bagged it, along with the cables, instructions and remote control. I'll take that over to E.'s place tomorrow.

Later personal - a bit annoyed

E. just called. He was home from work. Had a busy night. Was tired. (I'd eaten dinner there earlier tonight - a delicious spicy crab cake, etc.)

I think around the time of his move into the new place, I'd promised to give E. my four-year-old DVD Recorder / VCR Combo, which I never use. He'd asked me to bring it over on Monday, the night I got him online with AT&T. I had looked in back of the TV and seen all the colorful connections between the recorder and the cable box (and even snapped the picture below and emailed it to him so he could see what a mess it was), and told him that unhooking the recorder would have to wait for another day. (As it was, I barely had enough time to get him online that night, considering I started working on it after I'd gotten home from work and couldn't stay out late since I had to get up and go to work the next day.)

When he just called and I told him I was making of list of things to learn on the computer for Monday, he again brought up the DVD recorder. It kind of ticked me off. I thought, what's up with that - he has a deluxe cable package as it is (as I saw online at Comcast today). I told him he pays twice as much for cable as I do, that I'd teach him how to watch TV shows on his computer, and not to make the DVD recorder a priority (but said that tomorrow I'd look into disconnecting it, which I will). (Maybe he's accustomed to having use of a DVD recorder at the BF's.)

He must have sensed that I was annoyed. But seriously, with the cable package he has - and with the new computer he's started using to go online - he's certainly got enough stuff to keep himself entertained until I get around to disconnecting the recorder.

But I guess that will be my project for tomorrow. I'm not going to attempt to connect it for him at his place, however. He'll get the recorder and the owner's manual (along with the "Quick Setup Guide" for connecting to a cable box). Tonight he insisted that it was easy. (Maybe the one he was used to was newer and/or easier to connect.) He said you just plug this into this - and I reminded him there were yellow plugs, red plugs, white plugs, black plugs, etc.

P.S. The "Quick Setup Guide" (below) has Comcast's 800 number written on it, along with some instructions, so I must have had to call Comcast to get help at the time I connected the cable box to the recorder. (I also see a couple of X's - I guess the Quick Setup Guide was wrong (?).) Let's just see how "easy" this will be for E. (Maybe he has a better aptitude for this kind of stuff than I do.) (Which actually wouldn't surprise me - I don't pretend to be a whiz at this stuff myself.)

P.P.S. No longer feel annoyed.

Saturday night

Was all cleaned up and out of the house at around 1:00 p.m. Headed straight up to the insurance agency to sign the paperwork for the homeowners policy, then dashed down to E.'s, to help him out on the computer, as planned. He wasn't even home. I called him on the cell and he was in WalMart, buying bottled water. (He hadn't expected me to arrive at his place so soon, but I'd told him I'd be there ASAP after I left the insurance agency.) He said he'd be right home.

I sat on some stairs for a good 15 minutes or so, waiting, then called him back and said I was wasting my time. He appeared about five minutes later, empty-handed. I asked him about the water, and he said he'd abandoned his shopping cart in the line at WalMart and rushed back home. (He'd been afraid I'd leave - and I would have.) (The lines at WalMart can be horrible, which is one reason I avoid going there.) (And I can imagine that at that time on a Saturday, it was BAD.)

Anyway, we then set up his online banking and he was able to view his balance and transactions. We also set up his Bill Pay online at Comcast. (When he gets them in the mail, we'll need his bills to set up FPL and AT&T [Internet].)

Monday morning he's going to his bank to close the checking account and open a new one. I think he's afraid the old BF might have access to it and try to use it [i.e., steal], since the BF had been paying E.'s bills for him online.) (E. now knows how that works.)

Meanwhile, I've prepared a whole list of things to teach him on the computer on Monday (after his banking), including hands-on stuff (like paying his Comcast bill). I also found a free Photoshop-type program that we'll download and use (Gimp). I've downloaded it here tonight and learned how to use it (just the basics). (From my research, it's the best free Photoshop-type program out there.)

I'm also going to attempt to figure out how to take a snapshot (of E.) with the laptop's built-in camera. Then we can edit that in Gimp and upload it to his Facebook profile. (The BF confiscated all of E.'s photos from the time they were together - all of them, even ones without the BF in the shot.)

Meanwhile, the BF is back from Mexico but hasn't called E. Just as well (as E.'s mom told him). E. has no intention of calling him.

TGIF!

Was back at the gym tonight after a deep, dream-riddled albeit rather brief nap. (Weighed 161.8 lbs.) Had not been able to snooze at all on the bus home from work, as it was packed (fortunately I'd been able to get a seat when I embarked downtown) and there was a lively, bordering on sordid, conversation going on in my midst most of the way home. (Who could possibly sleep through that?)

Woke up from my nap kind of disoriented and even forgot to put on my wristwatch before walking down to the gym. (I look at the wristwatch to time my rests between sets.) Put on a jacket before I left the house, however (and glad I did). Was getting chilly. (Right now it's 61 F.)

Stopped off at the grocery store afterward for a few items, then watched a new "Dead Files" (good). Then a "How Do I Look?" I hadn't seen. Wanted to watch "The Big Chill" after that on the same channel ("Style") (an old movie I'd never seen but looked interesting, with actors I like), but the volume was barely audible on the movie although normal on the commercials. Thus, if you upped the volume for the movie, the commercials would come on and blast you out of your chair (and have the next-door neighbor banging on your wall).

This is an odious practice by TV broadcasting companies that has now been outlawed, but the law won't take effect until next year.  (Meanwhile I'll avoid anything on the "Style" channel, including "How Do I Look?", which I like, but not that much.)

See here.

On December 15, 2010, President Obama signed the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act requiring TV broadcasters to ensure that commercials air at a volume no louder than the programs in which they appear. Here are some facts you need to know regarding the CALM Act.

Who Will Enforce the CALM Act?

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will enforce the CALM Act once it takes effect.

When Will the CALM Act Take Effect?

The CALM Act gives the FCC until December 15, 2011 to create and adopt rules - federal regulations -- by which the CALM Act will be enforced. One year following the date on which the FCC's CALM Act regulations are adopted, TV broadcasters, including all standard, cable and satellite broadcasters, will be required to comply with the regulations. . . .

(Watch the Republicans try to water this down, even though they voted for it.)

Years ago, I used to see TVs advertised that would modulate the volume in this situation, but no longer see that mentioned as a feature. (Maybe the Republicans got rid of that, too.)

Later personal

You guessed it. It's income inequality night on HGTV - "Selling LA" and "Selling New York." Rub our faces in it. (The top .1% must be glued to their TVs.) The apartment here was going for, I think, $27 million, and had 7-8 bedrooms and 9 1/2 bathrooms. Who really needs that much space to live in? Who stays in all those bedrooms? Who uses all those bathrooms? (The Wall Street banker's 2.5 kids must have some elaborate sleep-overs.) A plus - it was right across the street from the Metropolitan Museum (and Central Park, of course).

The place on top of the hill in Malibu was spectacular, going for $14 million. Enormous piece of property, with a vineyard even. (A famous soccer player from Verona, Italy, was interested in it.) (Cute guy.)

*   *   *

Looking forward to my long weekend. I'd arranged to take PTO on Monday and Tuesday, and then we have Friday off as a firm holiday (when I'll be going to the dentist to get a chipped tooth fixed).

*   *   *

The Upper East Side may be snootier but the buildings on the Upper West Side are cooler (giving the Upper East Siders a cooler view across the park, however).

The San Remo (and, at far left, The Dakota, where John Lennon lived - and died)

The Eldorado

Economic Policy Institute presents my favorite Nobel laureate with first-ever 'Distinguished Economist Award'

See here. Read his columns every Monday and Friday at The New York Times.
He blogs at the NYT here.

Wednesday night personal

Going to chill out tonight. Been doing a lot of running around lately after work. Need my down time. Just have to clean out the cat boxes.

Done.

A new "Restaurant: Impossible" on tonight. Can't wait! Love that show.

Loved it.

Tuesday night personal

I'd erroneously told E. today that if he put the top down on the laptop, it would go into a sleeping mode and he wouldn't have anything to worry about if he went in to work today and left the computer on.

Then, when I got home from work, I went through his laptop's instructions again and found out this wasn't advised. (This was OK for my netbook (my recollection) but not for E.'s laptop, which could overheat and get damaged.)

So after work I drove up to E.'s place of business and got the key to his apartment and went in and opened up the laptop (no damage had occurred) and meanwhile started to run 12 Windows 7 updates and left. All is OK.

I saw that he'd already managed to figure out how to get on Facebook and had only a few steps to go. He's learning on his own (as I'd suspected he would). He has a lot of family and friends on Facebook and they've encouraged him to join. (I'll have to warn him about it.)

Monday night personal

Spent hours tonight over at E.'s new place getting his wireless DSL set up. Got hung up at one step in the process and had to call AT&T Tech Support. Spent I'd say half an hour to 45 minutes (if not longer) troubleshooting with her and ended up having to uncheck one little box somewhere before we were able to proceed. Then she walked me through the final stage - going wireless - and made sure everything was working before we ended our call. (Excellent support, I have to say.)

So glad that's done with. (And this was E.'s night off, so he wasn't into seriousness.) (And this was serious business for me.)

But all is well. I showed him how to do a few things (like check his email account, which I'd already set up for him a few weeks ago on Yahoo!, and check the weather - both of which I'd put on a tab on Firefox's Speed Dial plug-in), but there was really no time left for E. to get any supervised "hands-on" training. I had to go.

Meanwhile the thing is working and he can explore it on his own. (He's never had a computer nor been online.) I think (and he's all for it) I'll stop over there Saturday for a while to help him out (have to be in the neighborhood anyway to sign some papers at my insurance agency re: the refinance.) By then, he'll have had more experience using the computer and may have some specific questions I can answer.

Meanwhile I told him not to keep any liquids (like beer) anywhere near the computer.