The Cheese Stands Alone

 Su 7/30/23- Buddy Sick 725am (2-B). 1015am (1-B). 1155am (2-B). 525pm (2-B). 740pm (2-B).  Up 530am: Bright & sunny with temps to upper 80's. Weekly Cleaning, Mopping, Watering   Wrote up 'RANSOM' by Jay McInterney for the blog. Watched the Netflix disc 'SPOILER ALERT'.  It's a high quality gay love story with characters and a storyline that never becomes cliched. Two NYC men fall in love and create a relationship that's their own and not that of a typical gay movie couple. The film could have just been about their interesting relationship, but then one of them is diagnosed with incurable cancer and it becomes so much more but never (too) melodramatic; with Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge, Bill Irwin, and Sally Field. One win & 6 nominations. "61" Metascore.   Finished 'THE ENDLESS NIGHT' (Netflix).  The owners of Kiss and the band members were held responsible but the fire department and the city fathers have yet to be brought to justic...

 Sa 7/29/23- Buddy Sick 7am (2-B). 905am (1-SB). 1210pm (2-B).  455pm (2-B). 745pm (2-B).  Up 520am: Partly cloudy with temps to about 90.  Watched Netflix disc 'THOROUGHBREDS'.  Somewhat like a female version of the 'Leopold and Loeb Case'- 1924, Chicago. "We are supremely crafty & clever and we can get away with murder".  I liked it! The film is a flawless rendering of two very intelligent psychopaths as they verbally thrust and parry ; with Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, and Paul Sparks. "75" Metascore; 1 win & 25 Nominations. A cut above!  855am: PC is 'Off' and I'm going to walk to the Walgreens PO and mail back the disc before it gets too hot.   910am- 920am: To Walgreens...'LED ZEPPELIN- 'Presence'.  ***Buddy threw up in the living room while I walked to Walgreens.  I fed him at 1025am and he threw up in the bathroom within ten minutes & a little while later in the living room by the AC regist...

 Fr 7/28/23 645am (2-B). 1055am (2-B). 435pm (2-B). 725pm (2-B).  Up 510am: Hot as a blowtorch! Bright, sunny, & humid with temps to 100 degrees. EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING with heat index values in excess of 110. Watched 'THE INITIATED' (Amazon Prime). It's a fairly tame potboiler about 'Columbian Municipal Water Rights' and based on a series of novels by Mario Mendoza in which his main character, Frank Molina is a bipolar/ alcoholic journalist. 'The Snake's Nest' is the city's last source of freshwater and it lies hidden beneath a Catholic church in the center of the city. An evil politician wants to own this water 'for health reasons'. Odd Fact: Although it rains continually the rain water cannot be used because of Acid Rain.   Began 'HOW TO BECOME A CULT LEADER' (Netflix). The first episode is about Charlie Manson's rise to fame. I didn't know that Charlie and some of his followers lived with Dennis Wilson at his Hollywood...

 Th 7/27/23 7pm (2-B). NEW BATCH- 930am (2-B). 1225pm (1-B). 430pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 530am: Hot & sunny with temps almost to 100 {Humidity 89%} EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING thru Saturday. I didn't even open the windows this morning.  Watched 'KNOCK AT THE CABIN DOOR' (Amazon Prime). The theme is that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse arrive on earth as 'Guidance, Healing, Nurturing, and Violence'. Two dads and their eight year old adopted daughter must make a choice. One of them must die or all of humanity perishes and the three of them will live in limbo for eternity. I thought there would be a trick ending, but I guess the 'Four Horsemen' never lie; with Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rupert Grint, and Abby Quinn. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. NEW BATCH: 'Butterscotch Willy' Hybrid.  Finished 'BURN THE HOUSE DOWN' (Netflix). It was the other brother who started the kitchen fire. He was returning a swe...

  We 7/26/23 7am (2-B). 840am (1-SB). 1050am (1-B). 1240pm (1-B).  440pm (2-B). 725pm (2-B).  Up 510am: Hot & humid with temps to upper 90's. I've got the windows open (530am but closed by 830am) but probably not for long and 90's are in the forecast until next Wednesday. ***Last night as I came upstairs to fix dinner a fierce storm raged outside. I had been looking at the weather radar  while it was happening and nothing was on the screen but for a short while Westview was flooded and it was really coming down. I checked the rain guage this morning and we got about a quarter inch- a solid soaking.    Spent time culling through the new films at Kanopy (they've got 'THE TRIANGLE OF SADNESS') & Hoopla...and I settled on a Netflix selection.  Watched 'THEY CLONED TYRONE' (Netflix). A small-time drug dealer in an American ghetto (The Glen) is gunned down and miraculously comes back to life. With the help of a pimp and a prostitute...

 Tu 7/25/23 655am (2-B). 1225pm (2-B). 430pm (2-B). 730pm (2-B).  Up 515am: The heat wave has arrived! Today will be sunny & temps to low 90's. It will be very humid and temps in the mid to upper 90's through next Sunday. ***I created a new 'Cheese Stands Alone' and I've got the old entry on the PC hard drive and the external drives (and maybe Dropbox). Watched Netflix disc 'GREED'. A powerful satire about a kingpin of the British fashion industry. He is marketed as a 'self made man' but his money is all borrowed and he cheats his workers and pays no taxes. The reason the film works so well is that there are people on the Right of the political spectrum who could watch the film and see nothing wrong with this vile character; with Steve Coogan & Shirley Henderson. Directed by Michael Winterbottom.   More 'BURN DOWN THE HOUSE' (Netflix). I shut it down 4 minutes into episode #6. The plot thickens and the characters and their relationshi...

 Mo 7/24/23- Buddy Sick  710am (2-B). 810am (1-SB). 1150am (2-B). 435pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 520am: Bright & sunny with temps to about 90. Learned how to transfer 'Cheese Stands Alone' to thumb drive. So EZ, but I'm sure that I'll forget when it's time for the next transfer. Later I also loaded 'Cheese' to my external hard drive and next I'll tackle the 'sticky note' transfer...maybe- one fun at a time.  Wrote up 'TIME TUNNEL' by Murray Leinster for the blog. Watched 'TICKLED' (Tubi-TV).  I thought that I was watching an amazing mockumentary about a strange 'faux-sport' called 'Competitive Endurance Tickling'. By the end of the film I realized that the film is actually a real investigative journalistic piece about a man who inherited millions and uses the money to feed his tickling fetish and bully dozens of people with his threats of lawsuits and general harassment. The film induces weird and chilling thoug...

 Su 7/23/23 720am (2-B). 910am (1-B). 1150am. 445pm (2-B). 730pm (2-B).  Up 530am: Mostly sunny with temps to about 90. Did the Weekly Cleaning/ Mopping/ Watering Watched Netflix disc 'THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS'. A profile of the reclusive men and their trusted dogs who hunt for rare (and expensive) delicacies in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The men are of advanced age but still very much involved in the process of the hunt. Very well done. 9 wins & 22 nominations. '84" Metascore. Shot and set in the Piedmont area of Italy; just northeast of Monaco in the mountains near Turin. The Hollywood Reporter: "...directed, produced and shot this captivating vérité documentary, which finds humor, charm and poignancy in the crusty eccentrics and their adored canine companions who sniff out the aromatic tubers, usually under the secretive cloak of night."    Finished '1899' (Netflix). "Hello sister, welcome to reality". There is a fifty minute B...

 Sa 7.22.23- Birthday on Glenwood: 1130am 630pm (2- B). 840am (2-B). 450pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 525am. Mostly sunny with temps to low 80's. Buddy was sick last night at about midnight. I didn't put any Friskies out until this morning. He ate breakfast and seems entirely normal.   635am: FIVE MILES AT 4.1 PACE AND ZERO SLANT; finished MATT & SHANE'S podcast;  began MARC ANDREESSEN on J.R.E. Finished with the workout by 810am. More of '1899' (Netflix). Finished episode #5 and it ended with 'THE WIZARD' by Black Sabbath-  a fine choice.  1050am: PC is 'Off' and preparing for Thomas's birthday bash on Glenwood at 1130am. 1115am- 210pm: Jamie arranged to have a fire truck show up at the party. A little boy of about three and his mother stopped and got to visit with the firemen too. The kids got little fireman hats.  I stopped at Dollar General on MacArthur for candles & deodorant on the way home. But I didn't find any plastic containers...

  Th 7/20/23- Buddy Sick {I noticed on Saturday morning that I had neglected to include Thursday and I still can't believe this happened. I copied the entry from 'Trash' in the email} 735am (2-B). 1015am (1-B). 1235pm (2-B). 440pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  ***Buddy was sick again during the night about 1am. Although he ate some Friskies around 6am he seems unusually lethargic, but he hasn't thrown up (715am). 730am- he cleaned his  plate and seems back to a 'slow' normal- he eats but not with the usual voraciousness. Partly cloudy and humid with temps to about 90. 940am: a moderately heavy rain shower lasted a few minutes but the brunt of the storm passed to the east and south. Then it cleared up and began to broil- AC 'On'. Watched 'THE TUTOR' (Netflix). A college entrance exam tutor gets a plum assignment at a stately mansion on Long Island for $2,500 a day, but his eccentric student has a sinister agenda.  Later we learn that the tutor is far crazi...

 Fr 7/21/23 745am (2-B).  820am (2-B). 1035am (2-B). 440pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 520am: Mostly sunny & cooler with temps only to 80. To County Market/ Fairhills: $142; (7am-745am) Back home and all put away. ***It's 'Moving Day' for Bob & Carol. They were up at 6am moving bags into their cars when I was watering the plants. Mayflower arrived at 8am & left by 9am. Watched 'GRUDGE' (Netflix). A Turkish police captain is returning home from a ceremony where he received the award for 'top cop' of Istanbul. On the way home he becomes involved in an altercation with his taxi driver and kills the man. The driver was part of a revenge plot targeting  several members of the Istanbul police department in a case involving the poisoning of three officers. The award winning police captain was a lead detective in that investigation  and failed to listen to the confession of the boy who poisoned the food.  I liked this one because it was a clever and compell...

 We 7/19/23- Buddy Sick! 715am (2-B). 1220pm (2-B). 440pm (2-B). Up 540am: Partly cloudy with temps to upper 80's. Talked with the guy next door when I watered the flowers about 620am. He said he mostly watches YouTube videos on 'how to do stuff'. Watched 'MAN FROM RENO' (Amazon Prime). A famous female mystery writer from Japan travels to San Francisco to hide from the press and the public. She meets a man at the hotel bar and has a one night stand and becomes involved in murder, mayhem, and an exotic (and illegal) turtle sale worth $500,000. This man turns out to be a serial killer and it looks as if he is never caught. A fine piece of Noir. Filmed in San Francisco and San Benito, CA which is about 140 miles south of San Francisco. 10am: PC is 'Off' and the plan is to mow the lawn. Mowing: 1020am- 1105am Read a bit downstairs with the fan and finished 'THE WATER IS WIDE'  by Pat Conroy. Icy Cool. Weights:  3 sets/ 15 reps   1230pm:  To Washington Pa...

 Tu 7/18/23 710am (2-B). 825am (1-B). 1015am (1-B). 1155am (2-B). 440pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B). A frustrating day ***Just as I was ready to start the 'morning movie'  my right ear sealed up nearly completely. I went to the medicine closet but could not locate the green rubber 'ear bulb'. I looked all over and never found it. But later in the morning I noticed that the ear cleaning kit that I was looking for was on the bookshelves above the toilet. The ear product that I had in the closet was a second kit that didn't come with a bulb. I didn't use the bulb until the bath after the workout. ***When I got to Planet Fitness I could not get on Netflix, Spotify, or Amazon Prime Music (for some reason I could get Amazon Prime), but I had a strong internet signal. I watched a complete 'TUESDAYS WITH STORIES' and a bunch of other comedy podcasts on YouTube. It was as if they targeted certain sites to not work. When I left I asked a clerk who said that they were aware...

  Mo 7/27/23 710am (2-B). 810am (1-SB). 920am (1-B). 1120am (2-B). 435pm (2-B). 725pm (2-B).  Up 545: Buddy was sick around 4am on the rug in the hallway and I cleaned it up before I fed him again at 6am. He seemed fine and I think a hairball caused him to vomit.  ***When I went back to sleep at 4am I had a vivid dream about retiring. I had gone to work and the staff and building were completely different and I was convinced that today was the day I must stop working. I was scheduled to take poles somewhere and I was gearing up to walk out. High Anxiety.  Cooler temps with highs only to about 80 and a chance for stray showers this afternoon. Smoke from the Canadian fires is still in the forecast.  Watched 'SILENCE OF THE MARSH' (Netflix). It's a blend of fact and fiction as an author creates the plot for his new dramatic thriller. His character kidnaps (and brutally murders) a corrupt state official and learns of a huge money laundering operation....

 Su 7/16/23 815am (2-B). 1155am (2-B). 435pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up at 5am but went back to bed till 615am. Thanks, Buddy!  A mix of clouds and sun with a chance of storms later this afternoon with temps in the upper 80's. Also, a Poor Quality Air Alert due to the Canadian fires. Did the Weekly Cleaning/ Mopping Watched 'THE INVISIBLE GUARDIAN' (Netflix). A serial killer in Basque Country ritualistically murders teenaged girls because he believes in 'saving' the community from their wanton sexuality because he believes they manifest a clear threat to society. This film felt familiar, and I noticed that I had given it 'two thumbs up' sometime in the past. It was the first in a three part Spanish trilogy and it doesn't look like I've watched the other two. Set in Baztan, Spain which is in the northeast corner of the country on the border with France. A little over 100 miles east of Bilbao, Spain- the heart of Basque Country.  1130am: PC is 'Off...

 Sa 7/15/23- The Brandenburgs  635am (2-B). 8am (1-SB). 910am (2-B). 1205pm (2-B). 1250pm (2-SB). 445pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 5am: Partly cloudy with temps to the mid 80's. Wrote up THE KINKS KRONIKLES by John Mendelssohn for the blog. Watched Netflix disc 'EMPIRE OF LIGHT'. The film is set in 1980 at a classy boardwalk cinema in Margate, England, on the country's far eastern shore. The middle aged white female manager develops a sexual relationship with a young black man who joins the staff at the theater. A touching love story that examines issues of class, ageism, race, and mental health; with Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Colin Firth, and Toby Jones. Nominated for 1 Oscar; 1 win & 34 nominations. "54" Metascore. Watched 'ROBBING MUSSOLINI' (Netflix). Set in Milan, Italy during the final weeks of WWII a group of Resistance Fighters conspire to steal a truckload of gold from El Duce. The Stones 'Paint It Black' is used in the film and su...

Fr 7/14/23 715am (2-B). 1125am (2-B). 435pm (2-B). 725pm (2-B).  Up 515am: Partly sunny with temps to just over 90. Wrote up 'KATE VAIDEN' by Reynolds Price for the blog. Watched 'THE TRIP' (Netflix). A couple's marriage is on the rocks and they agree to spend a weekend at a remote cabin. What they don't know is that each plans to kill the other and that three escaped convicts are secretly living in the attic. It turns into a 'splatter-fest', but the dialogue is clever and funny; with Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie. Filmed in Harestua, Norway.  Hysterical Line: "It'll be like doing deep knee bends over a fire hydrant". 10am: PC is 'Off' and will hit Esporta later, but a little reading first.  Weights:  3 sets/ 15 reps  1140am:  To Esporta. 45" Precor.  45"Treadmill.  30" Cross.  30" Recumbent Bike.  30" Precor;  watched a 'MODERN LOVE' (Amazon Prime)- 'Strangers On A (Galloway) Train'; complet...

Th 7/13/23- Dr. Garg: 1230pm. 625am (2-B). 830am (2-B). 445pm (2-B). 725pm (2-B).  Up 515am: Partly cloudy with temps to low 80's. 630am:  FIVE MILES AT 4.1 PACE AND ZERO SLANT; complete TUESDAYS WITH STORIES at The Gramercy; more TOM SEGURA on J.R.E. Weights: 3 sets/ 15reps.  Watched 'ELDORADO: EVERYTHING THE NAZIS HATE' (Netflix). An eye opening portrayal of Hitler's persecution of gays during the 1920's and continuing through the end of National Socialism. I didn't know of Ernst Rohm who was the head of the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party and a gay man. By the late 1930's Hitler suspected him of treason and had him executed. This led to Heinrich Himmler's grip on nearly all policing powers within the German State. The film shows that as quickly as Rights are granted, they can also be taken away. ***Paid Visa card  1050am: PC is 'Off' and preparing for a visit to Dr. Garg at 900 N. 1st at 1230pm.  As I was turning off the PC I checked '...

 We 7/12/23 710am (2-B). 940am (2-B). 1215pm (2-B). 435pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 545am: Mostly sunny with temps in the upper 80's and the threat of extreme weather about 1pm. Watched 'ONLY GOD FORGIVES' (Amazon Prime). Shot largely at night on the mean streets of Bangkok, Thailand the film is a strange and haunting Art Film about a mother and her two mobster sons. A local police detective takes his bloody revenge on mom and both of her sons; with Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas. "According to Nicolas Winding Refn, this movie is a thriller produced as a western, all in the Far East, and with a modern cowboy hero". 925am: PC is 'Off' and will hit the sidewalks ahead of the fierce storms that should hit about 1pm. Seems eerily similar to that Thursday 6/29 when the power went down for a long time. (And much later in the day I learned that we had dodged the bullet once again. No rain fell on Wednesday).  950am: The plan was to walk to Washington Park, L...

Tu 7/11/23- Buddy Sick/ INDICA 730am (2-B). 1015am (1-SB). 1150am (2-B)[new batch]. 5pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 6am: Bright & hot with temps to about 90. ***Buddy was sick in the hallway about 4am. When I got up he seemed OK and ate normally, but his behavior is more lethargic than usual- almost withdrawn. Ran Windows Updates   Watched the Netflix disc 'SWISS ARMY MAN'. An Absurdist/ Art Film about a man stranded on an island with a corpse that becomes his friend and savior. The film is about friendship and the ability to express genuine feelings. I think I tried to watch this movie a long time ago and I gave up on it because it seemed too absurd (the dead body as a farting motorboat), but I'm glad I gave it another shot; with Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Dano, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Filmed in Humboldt, California, Redwood City, California, and Los Angeles. The film should be viewed as an intentional 'Infantile/ Magical Realism/ Fever Dream' and it works more of...

 Mo 7/10/23- Sump Pump Check/ Mowed Lawn 750am (2-B). 310pm (2-B). 435pm (2-B). 715pm (2-B).  Up 6am: Sunny with temps to mid 80's. Buddy was not sick during the night and I fed him about 130am. He hadn't had anything since about 930pm. The plan is, from now on, to not give him any food for at least four hours after he has vomited.  Today the plan is to walk the treadmill before the sump pump repairman arrives between 12pm-2pm. Coffee & reading first.   755am:  FIVE MILES AT 4.1 PACE AND ZERO SLANT; Watched a 'BLACK MIRROR' (Netflix).  An actress guilty over a hit and run lands in an asylum and is rescued by paparazzi. Demons or monsters are at the rehab hospital and I didn't get it; finished BOBBY LEE on They Might Be Drunk; began JOEL MCHALE on WHISKEY GINGER.  Weights:  3 Sets/ 15 reps ***945am: I got on the living room PC and made a few notes and then the internet dropped off. I read and then noticed I was back around 1015am. ...

Su 7/9/23- Buddy Sick 720am (2-B). 12pm (2-B). 440pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 510am: Bright & sunny with temps to low 80's. Weekly Cleaning/ Mop/ Watered Plants Watched 'SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW' (Amazon Prime).  In Los Angeles, a female TV producer has a reality TV series about Food called 'Dessert Island' and learns that the final season has wrapped and there will be no more. She goes back to her hometown in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State and tries to hook up with an old lover who is about to get married. It sounds banal and corny, but it actually worked and the dialogue was clever and funny; with Alison Brie, Jay Ellis, Danny Pudi, Haley Joel Osment, Julie Hagerty, and Amy Sedaris. Filmed in Leavenworth, Washington; Estacada, Oregon and Portland, Oregon. Leavenworth is a Bavarian-styled village in the Cascade Mountains.   Began 'JOHN WAITE- THE HARD WAY' (Amazon Prime). I know next to nothing about the star of The Babys and Bad English. These...

Sa 7/8/23 720am (2-B). 1150am (2-B). 445pm (2-B). 725pm (2-B).  Up 520am: Cloudy, then clearing with temps only to mid 70's. Wrote up three novels that I finished during the Power Outage of July 2023; THE MORMON MURDERS, THE SACRIFICE, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER.  Watched 'VILLAGE' (Netflix). A young man works at a large recycling plant at the edge of his village in contemporary Japan. The man is bullied and ostracized because his father opposed the plant and killed an executive and then burned himself alive. The film is deliberately slow and this adds to the drama. Not for everyone, but I liked it. "Noh—its name derived from nō, meaning “talent” or “skill”—is unlike Western narrative drama. Rather than being actors or “representers” in the Western sense, Noh performers are simply storytellers who use their visual appearances and their movements to suggest the essence of their tale rather than to enact it." Finished 'SAFE' (Netflix). Jenny was in hidi...

 Fr 7/7/23 645am (2-B). 815am (2-B). 1020am (1-SB). 1135am (2-B). 445pm (2-B). 720pm (2-B).  Up 530am: Buddy was sick around 4am. He seemed fine when I got up and wolfed down a plate of Friskies and was acting perfectly normal. It might have been a hairball that set him off. Bright and sunny with temps to about 80 and rain predicted for tonight.  I vacuumed the whole downstairs area after I cleaned the vomit from the rug in the hallway. 655am: To County Market/ Fairhills; $100, back and put away by 745am.  Watched Netflix disc 'TOWER'. It's a powerful and adroit blend of animation and actual footage from the event; Whitman killed fourteen people and wounded 31 in 96 minutes.  YouTube link to Monday 8/1/66: about the incident and Charles Whitman https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=movie+Bonus+Features+%27TOWER%27+Charles+Whitman   I had intended to finish 'SAFE' (Netflix), but I shut it down with 29 minutes left to go in the final chapter....

 Th 7/6/23 7am (2-B). 855am (1-SB). 1255pm (2-B). 445pm (2-B). 710pm (2-B).  Up 650am: Sunny with temps to low 80's...A picture perfect summer day. Watched Netflix disc 'BABYLON'. Lurid & grotesque, but the film delivers a powerful punch. It takes profanity to a level of supreme eloquence yet for all the melodramatic excess, it's a brilliant look at the change from Silent Film to Talkies. Tobey McGuire was an executive producer and Flea really was in the film.   ***Internet was 'On' before I went to bed, but 'Off' this morning. At 745am I noticed that it had returned. Hope it sticks around.  When the internet returned I checked my calendar for the first time in a week and noticed that I should have had blood drawn yesterday. I'll call Garg's office and find out if a day late will make a difference. Too long a wait when I called at 805am.  I tried to call and pay the car insurance, but it was too early. Will hit them later, also.   1045am: Beg...

We 7/5/23 11am (2-B). 450pm (2-B). 715pm (2-B). Up 6am: Sunny early with the threat of severe storms around 3pm with temps to about 90.  I seemed to be connected to 'ken' on my phone so I assumed that I'd have internet on the PC, but no dice. I went ahead and transcribed my notes onto a file and while I was working the internet came on at 745am. I worked on the notes and got them done about 930am.  At 10am I checked the downstairs PC and it's up and running but I noticed that it required an update. I ran it and things are back to normal. And then I had to do an update on the upstairs PC. And, as usual, no discernable difference for any of these 'changes'.  I called Brewer and the clerk will tell Dr. Kirk that Buddy is doing fine.  1045am: Decided to get in a workout at Esporta before the severe weather begins. I'm so sick of this.   1115am: To Esporta...45" Precor   45"Treadmill.  30"Cross.  30" Recumbent Bike.  30" Precor;  wa...

 Tu 7/4/23- POWER OUTAGE 845am (2-B). 210pm (2-B). 445pm (1-B). 855pm (1-B). Up 550am; Bright & sunny with temps to 90. I threw away condiments and frozen vegetables in the fridge.  ***ANNOYING ASPECT: The incessant beeping of the sump pump to notify that the unit is not hooked up to a source of power. Why is it programmed to beep every ten seconds? I am fully aware of the problem but it's been 'alerting' since 1215pm on Thursday. Guantanamo tactics.  830am-910am: I threw out the condiments in the fridge and wiped down the surfaces. Looks presentable, but I'll consider getting a new unit. I'd like to have one that at least makes ice cubes.  8am: Guys on bucket trucks behind Bob and Carol's house are working on the lines.  950am: Walk. Parkview (two Xfinity trucks and three Asplundh trucks), Wash. Pk. southside, (ran into Larry and his wife...."Oh, you poor dear"..."My pioneer spirit is waning"), Wiggins, Lincoln, Leland, Walnut (some idio...

Mo 7/3/23- POWER OUTAGE/ Buddy Sick 810am (1-B). 145pm(1-B). 7pm(1-B). 825pm (1-B). Up 610am; Bight & sunny with temps to upper 80's.  ***Buddy very sick. This morning he was sleeping in my chair in the corner of the living room. He seems very lethargic and I put the medicine in his ear and he didn't want to get off the chair.  I got a text that Jamie and Melissa now have power. The text came in at 11pm last night. Jamie's family were on vacation to Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. They were staying at a large KOA campground in the area.  815am: To Wash. Pk. Parkview, (ASPLUNDH CONSTRUCTION was doing the pole work. Not ATT- 5 gus and many trucks but no action), Wash. Pk. southside, northside, up the hill, Parkview, Fairway...ONE HOUR AND 30 MINUTES.  ***Buddy was still in the chair and very lethargic. At 1025am he ate more and kept it down. I fed him a little more at 1145am but threw it up at 1210pm. 1215pm I called Brewer and got an appointment for 430pm. I w...

 Su 7/2/23- POWER OUTAGE Up 545am: Temps to upper 80's with showers predicted for the afternoon.  735am (2-B). 1025am (2-B). one hit on the roach in the parking lot around noon. 805pm (1-B).  I opened a new gel pen. When I went to the car to charge the phone I noticed that I have a battery icon on the car. This was only have full and I was wondering if this was somehow connected to me charging the phone. I don't think that the car icon ever indicates a 'full' charge, but I really don't know. I pulled up the city Outage Map and it seems that my local area is one of the hardest hit in the city. 745am: Walk..(I ran into my neighbor again this time on Kenyon. He had his wife's little dog 'Socks' and was talking to a repair guy from Xfinity. I mentioned that I got a text from Xfinity on Thursday night saying the internet would be back at 2am on Friday. He said that was sent before anyone knew the extent of the damage. He said that it would be several hours af...

 Sa 7/1/23: Power Outage 815pm (2-B), 240pm (1-B). 645pm (2-B).  Rain ended early in the morning but severe weather was predicted with strong winds, hail, and possible tornadoes.  I was pleased that Buddy didn't get sick during all the violent confusion.  7am: Began 'SACRIFICE' by Joyce Carol Oates on the breezeway to the roar of the generators in the background.  825am-1045am: As I was walking on Westview up to Kenyon the guy next door was on his bike and we talked for a bit. He said the humidity was really bothering him...Parkview, Wash. Pk southside, East to Pasfield, Governor, Back to Wash Pk. southside, up the hill, Parkview, Kenyon...TWO HOURS and 20 MINUTES. **Four trucks were on the scene, but no workers. Reading more of 'SACRIFICE'. 145pm: Weights: 3 sets/ 15 reps (1st time since Wednesday). CRAZY THOUGHTS: "The AC is 'Off' so I'll just use the fans"..."I don't need the Internet, I'll just listen to my CDs on the player in...

 Fr 6/30/23- Power Outage 720am (2-B), 3pm (1-B). Up 6am: Sunny and temps to about 90 with a chance of storms later in the afternoon. 605am- listened to a little of Greg Bishop WMAY on the phone..."7pm curfew last night and over 30,000 in Springfield without service and no guess when restored". 630am: Put phone on charge in the Elantra. One Hr 14 mins to full charge, but I left it on for only 30 minutes to see what that would do. It didn't seem to work with the engine 'off'. 730am-940am: Parkview, Wash. Pk. southside, Wiggins, Outer Park, Lincoln, Leland, Walnut, Wash. Pk. northside, up the road, Parkview, Fairway, and up to 940... 2 HOURS AND 10 MINUTES. I noticed near perfect stacks of branches along Wiggins. It looked like it they were arranged by either engineers or artists. Cherry & Wiggins- intersection completely blocked by downed telephone poles and branches.  Three poles down at Kenyon & Parkview. At 10am the trucks arrived. This is probably the b...

Th 6/29/23- Massive City Wide Power Outage 740am (2-B). 1105am (2-B). Up 545am: "There is a marginal risk of severe weather today". Temps to about 90 and we still have haze from the Canadian wildfires. I heard that in Chicago today the air quality is like smoking seven cigarettes.  ***I put up the new garden hose stand. 'No assembly required' but it was still a bit of a problem since the area that it was mounted on was not entirely level. Will work just fine. Within an hour it began raining. Very odd- sun shining through the haze and a gentle rain was falling. Just enough to wet things down but not a heavy soaking, but more rain & storms are in the forecast.  Watched 'PERDIDA' (Netflix). Fourteen years ago a young girl went missing in southern Argentina. She was at a local bar with friends and was never seen again. An intrepid female cop, and friend of the missing girl, will stop at nothing to find out what really happened to her  friend.  Fil...