The Blue Bloods

I like the TV Series The Blue Bloods http://www.cbs.com/shows/blue_bloods/.   It is the story of an Irish America family that has 3 generations of Irish American cops, 2 became police commissioners, one child is an assistant district attorney, one child a detective, one a beat cop who went through law school, and one child a cop who died on the job.

It is a story of good down home family values, and the stories of people who face and deal with the hard decisions of command, policing, and family.  It is also a story about how family values can help people do the right thing, or if not, couch the wrong thing in the right reasons.

The Patriots Vs. The Broncos

Okay, so tonight the New England Patriots are playing the Denver Broncos in Denver, Colorado  http://espn.go.com/nfl/schedule.  As the game is progressing, the weather is getting worse, with light snow to now heavier snow. It can be said that the weather conditions cannot really favor either team.  They both play in winter weather venues.  Perhaps the Denver elevation might make an impact. 

It Was an Ice Storm Weekend

The weather on Thanksgiving Day was not bad.  But Friday, it started off rainy and changed to icy.  Saturday continued icy.  I ran errands early Friday morning, before the cold front moved in, but sheltered in place after that.  This afternoon, I did all the errands I would have spread out over two days of a typical weekend.

I enjoyed having a stay at home, quiet weekend.  I had thought to rake leaves but not in this weather.

I am thankful for a day above freezing, so I could run errands.  Most importantly, I went to the library. The other stuff was incidental. 

Ice Storm Moving In?

Today was a very mild day, but somewhat cloudy.  As I drove to eat lunch with friends, there were minor sprinkles on the windshield of my car.

The weather forecasters are predicting wintry mix or icy conditions from Thursday midnight or later till Sunday morning http://www.kcbd.com/weather. 

As I sit in my computer room, I could watch the clouds move in from the north.  In fact, at one point, the sky to the north was dark, and the sky to the south was sunny.

I am hoping the weather forecasters get it wrong. My biggest concern is a power outage.  My contingency plan is that I will do my weekly shopping on Sunday, when the temperatures are predicted to be above freezing.

We will do what we need to do to stay safe. 

Edith Piaf

I just finished watching the DVD Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397094/.  I have been a fan of the song "La Vie en Rose" since first watching the movie Sabrina http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397094/  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047437/. Sabrina is one of my all time favorite movies.  And, I think it is the movie that introduced me to "La Vie en Rose." 

This is the most haunting of melodies.  And, I think, the life of Edith Piaf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89dith_Piaf is a most haunting story.  I think I will find more media about her to learn more about her.

Secret Santa

I have heard about this Secret Santa before. I thought that this approach was a wonderful way to help people and to help the reputation of law enforcement.  It is a good story. Pass it on!

https://www.facebook.com/CBSEveningNews/videos/10153003404704073/?fref=nf

People Who Cry

I have not always been an easy crier, but for most of my life, I have been.  But mostly it was tears of sadness, or anger relating to my own personal life.   But in the last 5 or 6 years, my crying has changed.  I find I cry tears of joy more and more often, I cry tears of sorrow and sadness and pain, not personal pain, but pain for human tragedy. My tears are often bittersweet.  My tears are an expression of joy for others.  My tears are deep felt emotions for expressions of patriotism, expressions of concern for human kind, expressions of elation at the triumph of humanity over depravity, of right over wrong, of good over bad. 

I thought this article on crying was interesting. http://www.lifehack.org/333775/8-reasons-why-people-who-cry-often-are-actually-mentally-stronger?dgs=1

How Does Taki Do It?

About an hour ago, Taki came into the computer room to check things out. She chose not to stay, and was lounging on the bed.  Until about 15 minutes ago, I pulled out my knitting. She raced into the computer room and wanted to play with the yarn.  I put it up.

But how does she do this?  How does she know when I have yarn and knitting out?  The rustle of the bag the yarn is in? The rustle of the yarn?  I did not even  have knitting needles out when she showed up.  I have not even started the project. 

Oh well, we had some quality time until starting grabbing at me too hard.  She still does not have that figured out.

Little Houses for Haiku and Taki

I keep the house cool during the day.  Sake liked it cool.  Haiku does not.  She used to get under the covers and sleep on the warm water bed mattress. She does not often get under the covers on the bed with the regular mattress. She and Taki sleep on the beds and can lay in sun spots coming through the south facing windows, for part of the day.

Today, when the mailman came through, Haiku was very disturbed. She raced around and raced around and cried. She went to the back door.  It was closed.  I usually leave it open if the sun is out, because it helps to warm the house to let the sun in. Finally, Haiku came to rest on the bed and I lay with her and Taki in the sun.  It decided me. 

Well, I had already decided I was going to find them little fluff houses or cubes and have been looking for them when I go to stores where they might be sold. Had not seen any.  I just made a special trip to PetSmart http://www.petsmart.com/ today to get them little houses. They are like oval domes with soft insides.

Haiku got in hers and got in and out this afternoon.  Taki sniffed at hers but did not get in it.  She does not seem to be so bothered by the cool.

I put one on my bed and one on the floor in the computer room, where I had had a basked with a towel that all the cats liked to sleep in (not at the same time.)  The basket was pretty well torn up and went away today. The house was moved around the floor in the computer room.  Hmmm. That is interesting.

My pillow ended up on the floor next to my computer chair, and Taki has been sleeping on it. So, I put the other little house where the pillow was, and returned the pillow back to the sofa.

Maybe the kitties will use the houses, maybe not. We shall see.

Reach Out to France - Updated

We are saddened and shocked at the killings in Paris by ISIS http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/16/us-france-shooting-idUSKCN0T22IU20151116#aUdSsHG2hFY7YAcr.97.  The violence in the world is needless and insane.  That the world can be held at bay, as fear hostages, by ISIS is a little insane.  There have been so many terrorist attacks and to what end? The radicalized Muslims give the real religion of Islam a black eye.  Like "Christian radicals" who belong(ed) to the Klu Klux Klan, these radicals do not represent religion.  They represent bigotry, hate mongering, greed, lust for power, lust for domination over people who are unable to protect themselves.

That the world has not been able to eradicate ISIS demonstrates the weakness of the political position of failure to commit.  I do not believe in violence and war, but I am not sure how else ISIS can be fought.  My wish would be that Western and Middle Eastern Countries alike would unite for their own safety and security, demonstrate a united front and destroy ISIS.

Meanwhile, we must reach out to France. We must let the French people know that we stand with them, support them in their adversity, and support their efforts to take back their lives.  We do this with prayers, vigils, and support of their efforts to help the Syrian refugees and fight ISIS.

We must let the French people know that we will not forget their suffering on 11/13/15, that we will not forget the fatalities, the other victims, the survivors of the acts of terror on this date. Because the French people truly are survivors.

November 20, 2015 on the news, we learned that Parisians were in the streets en masse and at the exact time of the first shots of the disaster, a large noise was made, and lights came on, and the French people told ISIS that they will be STRONG!

Hurrah for the people of Paris!  Hurrah for the people of France!

Syrian Refugees

This is what I posted on Facebook last night...

This is not a yes or no situation. It has to be dealt with on a case by case basis, which I believe our country is doing right now. I do not want a terrorist next door, but let's face it, they are there. There was a kidnapping of a Texas Tech student last night. The perp was not a political terrorist, but a terrorist never the less. We cannot make people suffer because of fear of someone they are not. I am not a practicing Catholic, but I am still ashamed of the way the Catholic Church behaved during World War II. Gov. Abbott declared today Texas would not take in Syrian refugees, and Catholic Charities of Dallas basically said they will not help Syrian immigrants in deference to his policies.

I wonder what Christ would do? I think he would take people very much on face value, and offer solace to the refugees. I think our country should help the refugees monetarily in other parts of the world, while continuing to vet Syrian immigrants who apply for refuge in the United States. I am not naive, but Christ said to love one another. He did not say love one another but only if your politics agree. I do not want us to let in terrorists, but people born in this country are being radicalized, so the ideas are not being kept out. I think it takes true Christian love to open our lives to the misery the Syrian refugees are experiencing.

My Cats in the Morning

I am not sure where my cats sleep over night.  I know that sometimes, they are on my bed, but sometimes, they are not.  But about an hour before the alarm goes off on my alarm clock, they congregate on my bed.  Their behaviors vary.  Sometimes, Haiku slaps at my nose, which I assume is to get my attention. Other days, she snuggles next to me and seems to want to just be warm.  Taki likes to get on me and knead my body.  But some days, she scratches me to wake me up or at least get me going or get my attention.

Lately, on the weekends, the cats have allowed me to sleep in. While this delays their preferred breakfast, they have plenty of other food set out for them to eat.

Noise in My Brain

The last few days, I have been hearing the theme song from the movie The Longest Day  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056197/  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film) in my brain.  I do not think I know the tune, but as I get to the end of one segment, my brain tells me what the next segment of the song is. This is weird.

The first couple of times I saw this film, I thought it was all Hollywood. But as I grew older and learned more about D-Day, I discovered that there are some vignettes that are very accurate for a small piece of what happened on D-Day.

Of course it is not 100% accurate, but it is a very good depiction of many of the highlights of D-Day. 

The cast of the movie is "all star."  That is amazing to me also. 

If you like World War II movies, this is a must.

Veteran's Day

At work today, I saw a co-worker who wore a red white and blue flag motif tie. It was in honor of Veterans Day.  We chatted briefly: he was not a veteran, but had uncles who had been in World War II.  I shared that I had a paternal uncle who was in the Navy during World War II. When we asked my uncle what he did in the war, his stock answer was that he went to England. If you pressed him further, he would also say he went to San Diego. After this uncle died, in his effects, was a letter from Admiral Nimitz regarding his participation in D Day. My uncle never said anything about that.

I remember that I had maternal uncles who were in the military.  My recollection was that they served in Korea, but I could be wrong about this.  I know that one or more of my maternal uncles were in the military. Somewhere.

My father had polio as a child so had a medical deferment during World War II. He also worked in the electric power generation industry during World War II so would have probably had a deferment based on is profession.

My oldest brother was not drafted during the Vietnam War.  My younger brother's life was in between conflicts or war.

None of my female relatives were in the military, except the wife of one of my maternal uncles either during World War II or the Korean Conflict.

My first ex-husband was in the Marines.  His brother was in the Army, and served in Viet Nam. My first ex-husband said he was beaten and generally castigated because he did not go to Viet Nam. At first, I did not believe him, but years later, I do. 

I think the military services in the United States have some very barbaric and out-dated training and induction rituals that serve no purpose. I believe things have improved, and the racial discrimination has diminished but is not gone. I think the sexual harassment culture has decreased but has not been eliminated.

I think the reality is that women may not be able to do all of the physical things that men can do.  I also believe that women can do many things that they are believed not able to do, if they are only given a chance.

I recently watched a movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_of_Honor  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203019/   about Carl Brashear https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Brashear who became the first African-American Master Diver in the United States Navy.  The movie depicts the great odds and horrible discrimination he had to overcome to become a Navy diver, and to continue to be a Navy diver after he was seriously injured in service to his country. 

This movie is an eye opener about how racial integration in the military did not occur smoothly. It is a compelling story, and the racial factor adds to it.

I live in hope that we have moved beyond those racial discrimination lines, but I am not always sure about that.

But I can hope.

Philosophers and Welders

I did not watch the Republican Presidential Candidates debate last night, but evidently Marco Rubio talked about if you don't honor philosophers or welders, society will suffer.  I think I know where that comes from.  Years ago, I had a poster, and I cannot remember the exact wording but it was something like this:

The society that exalts philosophers for being a glorified profession, and disparages plumbers for being a humble profession, will neither have good philosophers nor good plumbers. 

In other words, neither its theories nor its pipes will hold water.

A Cat Scare, Or Taki in the Garage

When I arrived home Friday night, and opened the garage door, unfortunately, I saw the door to the house open, and Taki standing in the garage, facing the door.  Taki is always hesitant to go through a door that opens and closes. That, to me, is good.  I do not want her to be the escape artist Sake was and Haiku still is sometimes.  But this time, she was hesitant to return to the house.  I could see her start towards the door, then back up.  I  am sure the noise of the garage door lifting startled her, also.

I stopped the car before I got too far into the garage, and by the time I could get out and into the garage, Taki did go into the house.  I checked, and Haiku was in the house also. So, all was well. 

I need to double check when I leave, to be sure I have closed that door securely.

My ISP and SPAM

A couple of months ago, I noticed that I was not getting my online ebill for my AT&T credit card.  I have had this card for years, but do not use it much.  But occasionally, I do.  And, I know when I do.  I check my bills paid online a few times each month, and noticed that I did not pay AT&T one month. So I checked the website, and sure enough I had an amount due.  I checked back through my email, and could not find the ebill.  Well, I made the payment in time not to owe a finance charge, and thought nothing of it.  Then. Until, next month the same thing happened.  What the heck was going on?

Well, this past Saturday night, I sent myself a picture from my IPhone http://www.apple.com/iphone/.  I have done this before, and have noticed a delay in the email showing up on my computer.  But by Sunday morning, there was no picture.  I tried sending the picture again.  Multiple times. But it did not show up. 

I checked the phone user's guide, and learned that it might be my Internet Service Provider (ISP) blocking the photos.  Grrrr.  I went to the Suddenlink http://home.suddenlink.net/ email online website, and checked the settings.  I changed a few, including the one that said to dispose of SPAM and not show it to me.

The photos showed up shortly after I made those changes.

Well, lo and behold, I had no idea how much SPAM Suddenlink was filtering out from my email inbox.  And, I am glad that is happening.  But today, as I was browsing through the SPAM, there was my AT&T bill!  What the heck was going on?  I am not sure, but I sent the email to my inbox, and had my bill.

I have since added that email address to my contact list, in hopes that the future ebills will once again show up in my inbox, and not my SPAM box!

M. C. Escher

My best friend from college introduced me to M. C. Escher http://www.mcescher.com/. I was hooked. It was amazing and fascinating.   Tonight, I watched a DVD The Amazing World of M.C. Escher. Some of the premise of this DVD was the mathematical constructs used by M. C. Escher. What an amazing artist. 

Bacon Jerky

I occasionally buy beef jerky as a snack food. I have also found it is a good travel food, whether travelling by bus, auto, or plane.  This past weekend, I was intrigued by Oberto All Natural Applewood Smoked Bacon Jerky http://www.Osbert.com/products/#Applewood_Bacon, so I purchased some.  I noshed for dinner tonight, and decided some bacon jerky sounded good.

Haiku decided it smelled good, too. She ate several pieces.  That is okay with me.  Both she and Taki have been very picky about what they have been eating lately. They turn their nose up at foods they used to like, including some "treats."  They used to both like human tuna, and now Haiku shuns it more often than she eats it.  She eats some cooked smashed chicken liver, but very little.  Taki eschews it. 

I am less worried about Taki being so picky about eating because she can stand to lose several pounds. But Haiku cannot. I will remember about bacon jerky for Haiku.