Opiod Induced Constipation -Get Real

So, I am hearing this TV  commercial for Movantik https://www.movantikhcp.com/, which is prescribed to relieve opiod induced constipation.  Get real guys. 

I had surgery in July and was prescribed some pain medications after surgery. I was told to get a stool softener to help with constipation. The friend who drove me home from the hospital, and I talked about stopping at a store to get the stool softener, but we were so busy talking, we forgot to do that. I got home, and thought about it and decided I could use mineral oil, which I kept on hand for the cats, if they had constipation. 

So, that is what I used.  It worked very well. It did not taste good, but it is simple, inexpensive and easy to use.

Why would anyone want to use an expensive medicine for a common problem, when something simple like mineral oil works. Granted, it does not taste good.  But consider the cost/benefit.  I will go with mineral oil any time.

Not Our Routine

I have taken to leaving the front door closed.  Tonight, I have it open, anticipating there will be trick or treaters.  I plan to sit outside on the front porch, eliminating knocking and door bell wringing, which bothers the cats.  But this is out of the ordinary for the cats, and Haiku gets really upset when the routine changes.  She just cries and cries.

When I wash linens, and the bed is left unmade, that bothers Haiku.  If I feed early or late, that upsets her, even though I leave dry food out all the time, both cats are not happy with me.

I am a creature of habit, so I can appreciate how disconcerting it is when our routines are disturbed. 

Hallmark Reminder Service

For years, I have relied on the Hallmark reminder service http://www.hallmark.com/ to remind me about birthdays, anniversaries, and other events.  Today, at work, during a meeting, I realized that I was not reminded about a co-worker's birthday. I had a suitable card at work, and collected signatures, but was confused about what had happened.

Tonight, in my emails, I received a notification from Hallmark that they have discontinued their reminder service, but I could download my events, which I did. What was distressing to me is that they discontinued their reminder service as of October 12, 2015.  And they are just now informing their customers. 

I can understand that Hallmark discontinued the service.  I suspect that many people like myself used the reminder service, but did not buy products from Hallmark to commemorate the event.

The email also said the events in our calendars could be downloaded to other calendars, including Microsoft Outlook, which would be my calendar of choice.  When I tried to do that, I was forced into accepting an option of downloading my calendar entries to a Microsoft Excel program.  I did so, and will manually load the entries onto my Microsoft Outlook Calendar.

This is just an example of corporate America ditching services that are helpful but not profitable.  I suppose I should have expected it sooner than later. 

Memorial Gifts

I often do memorial gifts for someone who has died.  Or if someone I know has lost a pet.  Or in honor of someone.  When my parents were alive, in their later years, I sent them a small Christmas gift, but sent a gift in their honor to their church.

So, I also appreciate when someone does a memorial gift on my behalf.

But there is a catch to this.  Because when you send to a charity, you usually get put on their mailing list.  And, you receive endless solicitations from the charity requesting additional donations.  I understand that for the charity the cost for the request is minimal vs. the hoped for gain. But I hate getting all of that mail.

I have several charities to which I donate regularly, and if I am going to donate on an ongoing basis, it will be to those select charities.  I only do memorial or honoring gifts to select entities, and for specific reasons.  I have actually asked some of the charities or organizations I receive mail from to take me off their mailing list. 

I am not trying to be unaltruistic, but my ongoing charitable dollars are intended for specific charities. Period.

Walking

I have been doing a lot of sessions at the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx pool, doing the physical therapy routines.  I did three days in a row, and my skin was really dry and itchy tonight.  My eczema has started up again.  I have cream for it, but I decided I needed a chlorine holiday. Also, I wanted to go to the library tonight, and I was not sure how long that would take.

So, I did go to the library. I spent about 45 minutes looking for books.  Then went on to the Lifestyle Center, planning to walk.  I could have gotten into the pool in time to do a physical therapy routine, but I kept with the walking plan.  I have not walked like this in years! It was great.  I got a good cardio work out, a good burn, and a good breathing workout. I suspect I was also producing endorphins in my brain.  The night air was crisp, and the moon was full!  And, although it was dark outside, the track was lit, and I was in as safe an environment as I could be!

The PT routine is good for strengthening my back, but the walking is much more to my liking. I need to remember that. When I walk in the park, I cannot get this umph, mostly because the terrain is uneven enough, and I am still unsteady on uneven ground and steps (curbs up and down) that I cannot get this feeling.  Tonight was good. This is why I like to walk.

I also like to walk for leisure and destination.  But when I want a good work out, this is the kind of walk I like!

It Is Autumn in West Texas

So this is the time of year when the days grow shorter.  And the overnight temperatures can dip into the 30s.  But the bright daytime sunshine can yield temperatures of 80s and 90s.  It is a good time to be in West Texas.  Rain is not uncommon, the wind is not bad, but the allergens are abundant.

It is still a good time to be in West Texas.

Air Freshener, Incense, or Candle?

So on Facebook I took this quiz, "How Hippie Are You?" http://quizdoo.com/how-hippie-are-you/.  I scored 62%.  I would have scored higher, but some of my habits have changed over the last few years.

One of the questions had to do with odor elimination.  The question was would you use air freshener, candle or incense.  I realized my preference is incense, but for convenience I often use air freshener. 

I love candles, but I realized that incense is more effective, and less dangerous, especially with my cats, who bump into candles and set their tales on fire (put out by dragging my hand on the flaming tail before it got to skin,) and knock them over (imagine burning wax spreading on a surface, which did not happen).  Also, consider my absent-mindedness, which allows a 30 hour candle to burn all night while I am in bed (I now only burn candles on the stove top where the cats do not go.)  Or imagine my absent-mindedness and I am melting down a candle on the stove to recycle the wax and I set the stove top on fire and unaware, walk into the kitchen and douse the flame with my ample supply of baking soda, on hand for a stove top fire emergency!

I realize the incense really is better for odor elimination, and it does not involve an open flame and burns itself out faster than a candle.  So it really is safer, as well as more effective.

A Bit of Baseball History

I learned a little bit about baseball history from reading the Mickey Rawlings mystery series written by Troy Soos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Soos. Mostly the information I learn from these series was about individual old time players, or something about their ballparks. 

But a really interesting bit I learned had to do with the baseball clubs and teams.  As he explained it, baseball clubs would be formed in communities.  These clubs were generally membered by business  men and other upper class individuals in the communities.  The clubs were social clubs, much like a country club today associated with a gold course.  The clubs would field and own baseball teams, and as often as not, the baseball players were not members of the club, but paid to play on the baseball team. Which would explain to me why the baseball locker room is called a clubhouse!

The American League Championship Series

So, I did not watch all of the games between the Kansas City Royals http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc&tcid=mm_mlb_sitelist and the Toronto Blue Jays http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tor.  I would have preferred that the Blue Jays won, but it was not the case.

I was watching the celebration on the field (while the team locker room or clubhouse was being prepared for the champagne celebration). The thing that impressed me the most was that how many small children were present with their fathers during the celebration. That was so impressive. I think it says something about the values of the team members.

It was a good series.  It was a good game. 

My Hair

My hair was always straight and thin.  My mother used to make me get permanents until I was old enough to put an end to that.  But I liked my hair long, and it was thin and stringy. 

At the age of 19, I started having gray hair.  It did not really fully change until the late 1980s, or another 10 years later.  I was told by a hair dresser that it was not gray, but a combination of blond and gray.  Some people thought  I was a blond. I thought my brown hair had turned to gray.  I never put any color on it, and rarely use conditioner, just shampoo.

I wore my hair long and stringy for a long time, usually with a center part.  In the early1990's I cut my hair short, with a blunt cut, and went to a side part. Some time after 2007, my hair started being wavy. I said it was my mother doing that.  My mother died in 2007.  My hair became coarser, and was wavy.  Under the top layer of gray or blond, there was still some dark hair.  I changed my hair style to include some tapering in the back, and eventually some layering on the sides. That gave me the opportunity to not have to do anything with the waves, and let everything be natural.  So parts of my hair might stick out, and other parts curl up or down.  But that was as it should be.  I just do not want to have to style my hair. Wash, comb and let it dry.

This past week, it feels like my hair has become fine again.  It won't hold a part. I have always tried to have a straight part.  It drives me nuts that my hair won't hold a part.  I am not sure what to do about it, but comb it and let it be.

Chronic pain

I hope this link gets to the picture I saw:  https://www.facebook.com/Inspiredotcom/photos/a.10152309729980361.927615.130380575360/10155061821775361/?type=3&theater

 

Before I had back surgery, I would sometimes think to myself "I'm not clinically depressed, but why did I not want to go anywhere, do anything, hide at home, not care about doing things around the house, drag myself to work, drag myself home, not want to go out with friends, and my social world became more and more restricted." I was not sad, hopeless, or feeling helpless. I was just in pain.

I was fortunate. I was stubborn about getting treatment for my chronic pain, but finally, I did get treatment, and ultimately, I did get relief. I know others are not as fortunate.

Chronic pain can also mean chronic life changes that are not positive.  Support people in chronic pain, and encourage them to continue to interact with life.

 

Taking My Pills

I am on medication that I am supposed to take morning and night. Well, I have some, but little trouble remembering to take my morning medications.  But my night time medications have baffled me. I finally set a reminder on the computer to prompt me to take the night time medication. That has really helped me.  Tonight, for the very first time, I remembered to take my night time medication before the reminder prompted me. I am a slow learner, but I can learn.

Video Problems Persist

The video problems persist with my laptop.  I know how to correct it, every time it occurs: I go the Power Options panel, and choose "When to turn off the display."  The option is "never."  Then I have to restart the computer.  This is laborious, cumbersome, and inconvenient.  But, is it worth doing vs. paying someone to fix my computer?  At this point in time, yes.  Maybe in the future, no.  But for now I will limp along like this.

Woodlawn

I was looking for a movie to attend this past weekend, and I saw the icon for Woodlawn http://woodlawnmovie.com/, a football player standing in the end of a tunnel leading to a football field.  I like sports movies, so I did some checking.  It turned out that Woodlawn was less a sports movie, and more a Christian movie. So, as I was poking around looking at trailers for the movie, I stumbled upon the Liberty University Convocation http://www.liberty.edu/news/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=168708 with Sean Astin and other members of the cast and  crew of Woodlawn. And, uncharacteristically for me, I watched it.  And liked what I saw.

I like sports movies. I appreciate movies about the civil rights movement and the efforts to bring segregation and equal rights to the minority groups in the United States (which we have not done very well, by the way.)  So this movie hit home for me on two levels.  I tend to shy away from "Christian" events, because they sometimes have a feel of fanaticism, and fanaticism scares me.  But as I listened to the Convocation, and to Sean Astin, I realized that I was very much like him.  I tend to be judgmental of "evangelism" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelism. And, sometimes, evangelism is not inappropriate. 

I tend to think that people who spout the word of God and give endless testimony to Him are just wordsmiths, and except for working in their church, are not very Christian in their approach to every day life.  They may not walk their talk outside of their church, in other words.  But, then I think, do I?

I am unchurched.  I try to conduct myself in a Christian way when dealing with people in my life, whether it is friends, co-workers, colleagues, or acquaintances.  I am not always successful. I am imperfect and always need help to be better. At work, I often find myself facing an enigma posed by a patient, and a deep breath, and a moment to reflect often gives me an inspiration that I believe comes from God.  I am not that wise or well educated.

I am an introvert, and sometimes in public situations, I wilt rather than do the right thing. Or call up my indignation and rant and rave instead of being calm and collected.  (I am getting better at that.) 

Woodlawn was about all of that. About learning to face our challenges. Learning to face our fears. Learning to face the difficulties we have in our lives.  And learning that we can be good Christians while engaging in secular lives.  On so may levels.

I would very much encourage you to go to see this movie.

Licorce

When I was growing up, my favorite uncle, Joe Wojnar, loved old world licorice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquorice_(confectionery).  And he shared his licorice with me. And I loved licorice. Years ago, I was in Houston, and we were at a novelty shopping area, and I found a store that sold old world licorice.  That was great!  But for years, I did not have licorice.

I have recently found some licorice at, of all places, The Dollar Store http://deals.dollartree.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=315338.  This is very much like old world licorice.  I am so pleased to have found licorice again.  Just one or two places usually satisfies my desire for licorice. But it is really good. 

Taki and the Yarn

I do not knit much any more.  I have a hard time convincing Taki that when I am knitting, the yarn I am using is not her play thing.  She has this special sense and knows when I am knitting, and joins me, trying to play with and chew on the yarn.  I have tried "time out" several times, but that only works for a few days, and then she is interested in my yarn again.

Well, this weekend, I did want to do some knitting.   I gathered my supplies and started knitting while sitting in the computer room, watching TV. Sure enough, Taki joined me and tried to get at the yarn.  I stopped knitting, and found two samples of "her yarn."  We played for a while with that yarn, and then Taki scampered away. A few minutes later, she scampered back and immediately attacked the knitting bag. It was like it was planned.  Very often, Taki seems to be developmentally disabled, but her plan to attack the yarn I was trying to knit with seemed to be very point on. 

I was able to re-direct Taki.  Later, when Haiku came into the computer room, she also played with the "cat" yarn.  That was good. She was not interested in the yarn I was knitting with. 

Later, when I had my knitting project bag out, Taki sought out the yarn that I was using, once again. It is like she has this homing device directed to the yarn I am using for my  yarn project.

Helping the People Who are Homeless

So the mayor of Albuquerque started a program that offered employment to people who are homeless but want to work.  Granted, $9 an hour is not a living wage, and 5.5 hours a day, with no benefits does not provide a living wage.  It is more than what that person who is homeless had.  And, if someone is homeless and on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) through the Social Security Administration, because of a disability, as so many people who are homeless are, it probably does not mean they will lose all of their SSI benefits. So, maybe this is a good program.  It is certainly innovative, and if it stops the city from writing citations on people who are homeless, it is probably well worth it.

http://www.upworthy.com/the-mayor-of-albuquerque-saw-a-homeless-man-with-a-will-work-sign-it-gave-him-a-great-idea?c=ufb1&g=2

Good Deeds

This news article showed up in the Austin Statesman today.  It is about Concord, Ma. police issuing "good behavior" coupons to people, which they can exchange for ice cream.  How fun.

http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/massachusetts-town-issues-citations-for-good-behav/nn475/
 
Concord is just outside of Boston.  In fact, when you get to Concord from the west, you do not know when one city ends and the next begins. 

I grew up in Western Massachusetts, near Greenfield http://www.townofgreenfield.org/Pages/index.  When I was growing up, Greenfield had a summer program which stopped out of state cars (as per license plates) and offered tourists free accommodations and I think meals in Greenfield, as a ploy to get tourists to stop and stay in Greenfield. I am not sure, but I remember that the last couple years I heard about the program before I left Western Massachusetts, there were complaints from people about being stopped inappropriately, and the emotional distress it caused. I suspect that changed or stopped the program.

I hope the Concord Police Department get the desired results.

Marching Contest

The son of my friend and co-worker is in the Lubbock High School Marching Band. We went today to see the Region XVI North Zone Marching Contest http://www.abernathyband.com/uploads/3/8/0/9/3809659/schedule_nz_marching_2015.pdf at Lowery Field.  I could not find an online results page.

The bands were good. It was a lot of fun.  It was interesting to me that the 5A schools relied heavily on props, but the 6A schools had few props, and relied heavily on band performance. To be honest, that is probably as it should be.  

My Audience

Once again, I am watching my statistics on my blog.  I do not get very many hits.  And once again, the predominant origin of my hits is Russia.  I am not sure what I am posting the somebodies in Russia like.  But it is something.  I think it mucstbe some sort of search program, because each post is only viewed once. Someone is randomly checking me out.  Hmmmm. I cannot imagine what they find interesting.  I am not controversial or divisive.  

Video problems again

Well, last night, I started having video problems again on my computer.  It extended to the DVD player not working. Well, I poked around and looked for trouble shooting.  I am not sure where I went, but I found a Toshiba user's guide, and found a way to correct the video problem.  But it still would not play the DVD, which is from Netflix. It is an Acorn Media DVD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_DVD.  It might be a faulty DVD.  I loaded one of my own that I know works, and it worked.  I wonder if this was just a coincidence, or maybe not?

I like it when I am smarter than my computer!

Hitting the Wall

I did a lot of walking at work today. Not more than usual, but a lot.  I ended my day sorting papers at a spare desk in my office.  Doing this, because of the height of the desk, I stood at a slightly stooped angle.  I know better. That will set off a burn in certain muscles in my lower back.  I have had this problem since the mid-1980s. 

The truth be known, when this has happened over the last year or so, a session in the pool at the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/ took care of it.  Well, the pool is closed for cleaning and maintenance.  My next best option was a walk, which I took.  I felt like I was struggling, even though before I went for this walk, I put an analgesic patch on my back.  With immediate relief. But, I finished my walk.  I had some errands to run, and got Chinese food take out from the Fortune Cookie http://lubbockfortunecookie.com/. 

The muscles in my back are still burning.  And, when I got home from errands and getting dinner, I was pretty well worn out. I am just waiting for my brain to catch up with being tired. My brain is always less tired than is my body. We will get there soon.

Soccer Moms

So, I don't get it.  I went for a walk tonight, and my route took me by the park in my neighborhood.  At that time of day, during this time of year, there are lots of children in the park, practicing soccer.  They mark off the field and goal with cones.  The cars line the park.  As I went by the cars, in almost every other car, a mom or a mom and her friend were sitting: texting, talking, but not watching their children.  It was a little warm out, and the park does not have benches where the children practice, but there were plenty of parents and siblings near the practice field supporting the soccer players. What's wrong with these moms?  Don't they care how and what their children are doing?

I have to excuse one person.  She was obviously studying from a text book.  If she is the mother of small children, the time at soccer practice is probably the only quiet early evening time she has to study.  I get that. 

But the other mothers?  Get involved!  You could have paid a taxi to take your child to and from soccer practice. 

Tap Dancing

Call me corny, I don't care, but I love to watch tap dancing.  When I was little, I don't know what age, my mother enrolled me and siblings in tap dancing classes. We did not persist, and I believe I did not make it to the recital. (I think I hated it.)

As an adult, I have grown to admire tap dancing.  Even in the old Lawrence Welk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lawrence_Welk_Show TV shows.

Tonight I was watching the Stephen Colbert Show http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/, and he had a guest who was a tap dancer, Michelle Dorrance http://www.dancespirit.com/news/michelle-dorrance-to-appear-on-the-late-show-tonight/.  Colbert and Dorrance performed together, and Colbert admitted he had practiced before the show.  They did good.

I like tap dance. I am glad to see it is not dead.  Thank you, Stephen Colbert.

Thank You Governor Abbot - Not!

Okay, so I am a baseball fan. I am not a Texas Rangers http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tex fan or a Houston Astros http://houston.astros.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=hou fan, but living in Texas, I would have liked to see the Rangers and Astros play each other in the American League Championship Series. Especially since the New York Yankees http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy and Boston Red Sox http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos were out of it.

Well what happened was that Gregg Abbot, the Texas Governor's verified Twitter account http://www.wfaa.com/story/sports/mlb/rangers/2015/10/12/did-gov-abbotts-office-jinx-2-texas-mlb-teams-one-tweet/73839364/ prematurely congratulated the Astros on a win against the Kansas City Royals http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc on October 12, 2015. The tweet was attributed to a staff member, but it does not matter. Any baseball fan knows that "it ain't over till it's over" http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34324865  http://www.yogi-berra.com/ . That jinxed not only the Astros, but the Rangers as well. There was to be no all Texas ALCS. I strongly believe that!  I am not superstitious, I do not believe in the occult, but I do believe in Karma. And I think presumption and arrogance, like pride, goeth before a fall.

My biggest hope about this is that Texans everywhere will realize what an arrogant, presumptuous governor has been elected in Texas, and maybe, in the future, a more real, down to earth, in touch with the people governor will be elected. Can sports influence politics, I hope so! 

The First Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate 2015

I wanted to watch the Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate on CNN http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/13/politics/democratic-debate-updates/ tonight, (After all, I have watched two Republican Presidential Candidate Debates this year.) but I also wanted to go to the pool to exercise.  I have two very old TVs, one with a built in VCR recorder that no longer works, and another without. I do not have DVR or TIVO or anything like that, although I am moving closer to the point where that will happen.

So, I decided the debate would continue until after I returned home from the pool, and I was correct.  I enjoyed what I saw of the debate.  The best thing is what some of the participants themselves said:  It was substantive and addressed issues, instead of being full of hate, personal criticisms, and personal attacks.  It really made the Democrats look like the finer statespersons.

I hope as the campaign progresses, the Democrats remember that: The substantive issues vs. the personal attacks really are what the voters of the United States want to hear. 

Campbell's Advertisement

So, I am very bad about not watching advertisements. Tonight, I was watching Stephen Colbert http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/.  He did a piece on a Campbell's soup advertisement http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/newsroom/news/2015/10/05/campbells-new-portfolio-advertising-campaign-celebrates-real-life-moments/.  Specifically, he showed the advertisement of a gay couple feeding their son Star Wars Soup.  This advertisement was being protested by One Million Moms http://onemillionmoms.com/. 

Colbert made the point that if the One Million Moms group had not made such a big deal about the ad, most of the rest of us would not have thought much about it.  On the other hand, now Campbell's is getting free advertising, and the One Million Moms group are looking like the haters they are! 

Toshiba Updates

I updated my Tobisha http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops laptop a while back.  I had been ignoring the notice for a while, because my past experience with Windows updates http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ has usually not been good.  I was disappointed after I did it.  It was blocking some of my videos in Facebook, and elsewhere.  You Tube posted a notice I could pay $59.xxx (I can't remember the cents) to see the videos. With the three  position cents, I felt that was a bogus site anyway! But that was weird and wild, and of course, I could have cared less. I just decided I would live without those videos.  And I did.

Last night, after ignoring it for a couple of days, I clicked on another Toshiba update. Specifically, I was hoping they would correct their previous screw up.  Guess what?  They did!  They must have gotten a lot of complaints for this correction to come out this quickly!

Cat Attention

Haiku and Taki have been very affectionate lately.  They both want to sit in the bathroom with me. They (independently) want to sit on my lap, whether I am in a chair in front of the computer, or on the sofa. If I am at the dining table, they want to sit on the table near me. The cats want to be near me.

I have not been on the sofa much the last 3 weeks, except on the weekend, when I do a lot of reading.  When I am on the sofa, one or both cats wants to sit next to me, near me, or on me.  When I am at the computer, one or both cats wants to sit near me, or on me.

I love them.  I love their company.  I suspect that their increased attention is due to the increased level of stress I have brought home from work for the last 6 weeks or so.  My cats are sensitive to my moods and stressors.  They let me sleep when I need to sleep. They are not demanding when I am not doing well. But they are very demanding when they want attention from me, even more demanding than when they want food from me.  Lately, my cats have been very demanding about attention. 

There has been research about how pets help with lowering blood pressure and dealing with stress.  It is their demanding nature for attention when someone is stressed that helps with calming and relaxing.  I love my cats.  Thank God for their presence in my life.

It is Now Technically 10.12.15

It is now technically Monday morning.  I am wishing I had words of wisdom, enlightenment, or uncharacteristic for me, humor, to share.

I do not. 

I just have to say that I am keeping my head above water. 

I am reading an interesting book, Our White Boy  by Jerry Craft with Kathleen Sullivan http://ourwhiteboy.com/, about a young white pitcher who played in a West Texas Colored League in 1959 and 1960 in the Wichita Falls area of Texas. He calls it West Texas. Maybe it is. He went to Texas Tech, which is in true West Texas.  But the area of North Texas in which he played baseball, for the most part, is more aligned with West Texas, than North Texas or Metropolitan Texas. 

The Judge

This is interesting to me.  Several years ago, I watch the production of the movie "Labor Day"  http://origin.labordaymovie.com/  in the Greenfield Recorder.  I do not follow the Greenfield Recorder much any more.

So tonight, I watched the movie The Judge  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872194/   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Judge_(2014_film).

This is the kind of movie I like: maybe schmaltzy, but definitely about human relationships, difficult complex human relationships, because  it is so real.

As I was watching the movie, I thought the bridges looked a lot like the bridges in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. But what do I know. 

The movie was good. And I enjoyed it.

One of my nieces taught me to stay for, or watch for the credits.  So I did.  And the credits thanked the people of Shelburne Falls and Buckland, Massachusetts.  The Wikipedia article also noted that there was a scene filmed in the It's About Time Clock Shop in Millers Falls, Mass. which is my home town. 

That was really interesting to me!  I liked the movie, without knowing it was shot in Western Massachusetts and Los Angeles. 

Printing, Part 2

So this is weird.  I had something to print from the Internet tonight, and it printed just fine.  I do not understand about this.  Especially because yesterday when I was trying to print, the settings said my printer was working properly.   So weird.

Post Season Baseball

Can you believe it?  There are two Texas teams in the American League Division Series http://mlb.mlb.com/home playoffs.  The Astros?  Are you kidding?  What has made the difference about them? They were perennial has beens for years.  The Rangers, on the other hand, have done pretty good the last few years. 

Of course, I am disappointed that the Red Sox or the Yankees are not in the post season play offs.  But, I want to watch the progress of the Texas teams. 

Printing

So, I was trying to print a Barnes and Noble discount coupon tonight. When I sent it to the printer, either nothing happened, or the paper went through the printer without anything being printed on it.

I tried all kinds of things:  First of all, I checked the ink levels.  Ok.  I printed a word document. Ok.  I got on help, and tried the things they suggested, checking commands and settings. I unplugged the USB cord and reconnected. I unplugged the printer and reconnected. I shut off the computer. 

Finally, I highlighted the coupon and transferred it to a word document and had it printed that way. 

I have printed from the Internet before. I hope I can still do that in the future.  But this was frustrating tonight.

Late Night TV

I was a sometimes fan of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/classic/jay-leno. I tried to watch Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show.  I could not.  Early on he made fun of a situation in which a child was put in danger.  I sent a letter of protest, but did not get a response, not even a "canned acknowledgement" and a picture, which is what I used to get from Jay Leno. Granted, the pictures were black and white, but at least it was SOMETHING!  Nothing from the Jimmy Fallon crew!  NOTHING!  Really, I did not care about the stuff but the presentation about the child was pretty sickening to me.  I have no sense of humor when children in danger are concerned.

I had heard that Stephen Colbert had taken over the "Late Show on CBS" http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/.  I watched tonight. It was a really interesting show. Sen. John McCain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain, ballerina Misty Coleman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misty_Copeland, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma http://www.yo-yoma.com/, who celebrated his 60th birthday on the show.    Yo-Yo Ma played for Misty Coleman to do a dance number.  It was great!

I might have to check out the "The Late Show on CBS" again. 

Haiku Does Not Like the Cold

This is the time of year Haiku starts to get cranky. She likes the summer months and the heat. She even likes to get in the very hot garage and sit on the warm (or hot) hood of the Vue.  I can relate to that. Sometimes I am so cold, from being in a super air-conditioned room, that I feel like I need to roast to warm up. 

Haiku likes it warm. This time of year, I like to open up the house and cool it down.  I had the house open over the weekend, and the temperature got down to 70° or even 69°.  Haiku complains about this.  I understand, but there are plenty of warm places for her to sleep.  The cat stroller has a covered shelter that would hold her heat. She can use a crate in the closet, and it will hold her heat.  She can sit on my office chair with an afghan and pillow on it. There are several throws and afghans on seats throughout the house that she can burrow into. 

When I had the waterbed, she used to burrow under the comforter and blanket, but she does not do that with the conventional mattress. She likes to sit on me or near me when I am on the sofa or in bed. But, she does not like to sit on my lap.

When I get out the space heater, she wants to lie in a chair near it so she can be really warm.

I am sorry Haiku dislikes that I keep the house cooler in the cooler weather.  But she is not being abused or neglected. She has plenty of warm places inside. 

Cat Language

Taki wanted something tonight.  I can tell, when she uses her claws on my knees.  But when I got up to check on her, she did not move. She just sat there.  So, I could not tell what she wanted.  I picked her up and held her briefly, but that was not what she wanted. She got Haiku, who insisted she wanted something.

Haiku led me to the kitchen. Her food dish had treats in it, but Taki's did not. So, I gave Taki some treats, and they both settled down to eat. It was that simple, but Taki did not know how to show me. But she knew how to get Haiku to show me!

Shopping Online

Except for purchasing books, I do not do much shopping online. Except, sometimes I shop on Amazon.  My Amazon account is linked to my cashback account with Discover. So I can purchase something at Amazon, and use the cashback account with Discover to pay for it. That is a very painless way to shop.  I do that only on occasion.  Especially because my cashback account with Discover does not usually have a lot of money in it.

A Gray Day

It was a gray day.  There were showers at various times during the day.  I kept the windows locked open, except when I was out running errands.  It is cool out.  The house is holding at 70°.  It should be good sleeping weather tonight.   I did not sleep good last night and after a brief nap, I stayed up until after 4 AM, reading.  Even when I went to bed, I did not go to sleep for a while. And I had some weird dreams.  So, it was not restful sleep. I woke up about 8:40 AM and could not go back to sleep, which was just as well.  But I was slow at getting going this morning.  (Don't you just hate that phrase, "getting going?" But I use it anyway.)   My back hurt a little today.  It was just muscle, eased by an analgesic patch. And aggravated by my being tired.  I thought I would be able to go to sleep early tonight, but not yet, after 10:30 PM.  Everything was gray about the day.  

Taki Likes a Hidey Hole

Taki likes a hidey hole, or a cave, or some place to crawl into.  I have a cat tunnel that she likes to sit in, usually half in and half out.  If I hang a blanket or afghan over the end of the bed, she crawls in under it.  Sake used to like to do that.  Haiku does not do that as much.