The Cheese Stands Alone

 We 6/17/26- Branch Pickup/ Janny's Diagnosis/ Violent Storms Up 625am:  740am (GB: 5/ Durban Poison). 110pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 630pm (4-B: Red Congolese). 840pm (GB: 5/ Diablo Sativa).  Another dire prediction from The Weather Channel: "Becoming windy with strong thunderstorms likely this afternoon. Storms could contain tornadoes. High 83F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70%." I'm getting sick of the catastrophic and frightening weather forecasts every other week. The old 'Tornado Alley' weather pattern has most definitely moved east and seems it's now located right over Sangamon County.  Watched 'DENIAL' (Netflix). The film concerns a British trial about a holocaust denier who sues an American author for libel. In her book she demonstrated how Nazi policy decisions led to the extermination of millions of Jews.  The evidence was overwhelming and she would not debate a holocaust denier because it would be like debating someone who b...

 Tu 6/16/26- Roof Gutters Cleaned 9am (GB: Durban Poison). 935am (GB: 4/ Red Congolese). 105pm (5-B: Durban Poison). 3pm (5-B: Red Congolese).  550pm (5-B: Durban Poison). 830pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese).  Up 545am {to the alarm}. Morning showers about 9am then cloudy with temps to upper 70's. ***I went outside at 7am and hacked off branches on the big tree in the back and trimmed back the growth beneath it. I saw on NPR that the city will pick up branches all over the city starting this week because of last week's fierce storms. Westview's regularly scheduled pickup week begins on July 6th, so the debris pile won't sit out front for too long. REGRET: If I had engaged a professional I wouldn't have to deal with the debris at all. I can afford it. Enough of the 'A Chuck & A Truck' solutions.  The guy next door was in his backyard when I was trimming and he was on the roof by 730am and we finished just after 8am. Storm clouds were moving in from the southwest...

 Mo 6/15/26- Cut Down Pine Tree 1230pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 1pm [1/2 VIIA 'Day Drift' 100 mg: 50 mg total]. 535pm (GB: 5/ Durban Poison). 840pm (GB: 6/ a mix of Durban & Congolese).  Up 550am (to the alarm). Partly cloudy with temps to upper 70's. Ideal weather for a chainsaw party.  I drank instant coffee and read 'Mosquito Coast' until  we began work at about 820am. I pulled on the rope and he did the cutting. The first branch came down and glanced off my back; no harm done. The next cut he lost his balance and almost fell on top of the chainsaw. Also no harm done.  After the tree was down, he handled the scraps and I went out back and trimmed back the big bush by the computer room's rear window. I ripped off most of the vines growing on the metal fence. I told him I'd give him $350 for the pine tree removal and to blow out the roof gutters.  He wanted cash so I told him I'd go to the bank [after Esporta]. When I got home I put the cash in his m...

 Su 6/14/26 750am (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 825am (5-B: Durban Poison). 1010am (4-B: Durban Poison). 1240pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 210pm [two meager hits/ one hitter]. 305pm (4-B: Red Congolese). 535pm (6-B: Durban Poison). 835pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese).  Up 630am: Partly cloudy & breezy with temps to mid 70's. Feels good man.  Watched 'THE WEDDING BANQUET' (Hoopla). A sweet and intelligent gay film. A lesbian couple and a gay couple are friends. The guys want to get married but can't resolve 'green card' issues and the lesbians want a baby but IVF is too expensive. They try something that could benefit all concerned, but when one of the guys' grandmother (who is rich & influential) visits from Korea, things take a theatrical turn. Director Andrew Ahn's film (2025) is an adaptation of a film by Ang Lee (1993). Lee's film dealt with the issue of 'closeted gay' and Ahn's movie focuses on how queer people intentionally build 'chose...

 Sa 6/13/26 720am (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 755am (6-B: Red Congolese). 1240pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 225pm (5-B: Red Congolese). 435pm (GB: 4/ Durban Poison). 535pm (GB: 5/ Durban Poison). (no weed) Up 610am: Partly cloudy with the chance of a stray thunderstorm and temps to about 80 and then storms late.  I had one of those sessions where 'electric patterns' overwhelm my normal vision.  I took five minutes to decompress and it went away. The eye doctor said that it was similar to a migraine headache without the discomfort.  I had to wait for a windows 'update' and 'restart'...said five minutes but it was probably less than that.  Watched 'PROJECT Y' (Netflix). Two high end Korean prostitutes (sisters?) are cheated out of their savings and learn of a way to steal millions of dollars worth of gold bars from the bad guys. It's got a plotline with lots of twists and turns and some involve violent criminals, a crooked professional Korean basketball team ...

 Fr 6/12/26- Outage Power & Internet  825am (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 920am (5-B: Durban Poison). 1205pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 540pm (GB: 6/Durban Poison). 830pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese).  Up 550am: Bright & sunny with temps just over 80. The AC is 'Off' at least for the morning [all day & night]. Feels good man. Before I got on the internet I cleaned up some of the smaller branches that had fallen on the driveway. I talked with the guy next door and we'll remove the pine tree Monday around 8am. $300.  When I went online the internet was down and Xfinity showed the outage on the phone; text and outage map.  I read for a while and then tried again at 730am and we were up and rolling. The red light is now 'On' at the router and this signifies that the power was 'Off'. Paid Visa   Watched 'MAPLETHORPE' (Netflix). Kind of dull, yet a somewhat engaging portrayal of a very flawed individual. The guy had many rough edges and a lot of his behavior ...