Wireless Mouse

Years ago, I was given a wireless mouse.  And loved it.  This was so long ago, I was still using my desktop computer, and eventually, bought a wireless mouse so I could use one for the laptop and one for the desktop, because I was crazy and would have two computers going at the same time. 

Sometime back, I realized that what I thought was a problem with my computer being non-responsive, was a problem with the first wireless mouse I had acquired.  So, I started using the other one, and the problems went away. 

Last night, one of my cats was trying to get on the desk, and I did not react quickly enough to keep her from tilting the laptop.  In the course of doing so, the antenna on the mouse was destroyed.

So I hooked up the other mouse, that worked okay for everything but drop and drag.  I use a lot of drop and drag when I play Words with Friends  https://apps.facebook.com/wordswithfriends/ on Facebook.  So, this afternoon, I went to Office Depot https://apps.facebook.com/wordswithfriends/ and purchased another wireless mouse. A computer search indicated that both Office Depot and Wal Mart https://www.walmart.com/ had sales on wireless mouse that were therefore priced less than $10.  I went to Office Depot.  Technically, I could walk to Office Depot, and I have in the past, but today, I had a time constraint so chose to drive.

This mouse will take some getting used to.  Interestingly, the antenna is a small little nub, and is stored in the battery compartment of the mouse.  Which is better for traveling. This mouse has a wheel, and unlike my older mice, the wheel does not have a feel of cogs when it turns.  But it works just fine, once I became used to it.  Ergonomically, it feels comfortable.

Weather

Wednesday night, Thursday morning, a storm blew through Lubbock.  I was asleep, and unaffected, but evidently there was a lightning show and rain.  When I woke up, there was evidence of rain in the back yard. I was pleased.  I do not think it was much rain, but something is better than nothing.

Thursday night, at 5 PM the sky was cloudless. By 7:15 PM, clouds were moving in. By about 11:45 PM the lightning was moving in. We shall see how much rain we get. 

DCI 2017

DCI is Drum Corp International http://www.dci.org/. and tonight was the opening night of their season of competition.  This is the 45th year of DCI.  I have watched one or more of their competitions over the last 4 or 5 years, since I realized they were available on Fathom Events https://www.fathomevents.com/. 

I went to the showing in town.  I was surprised at how full the theater was.  I was pleased that the audience clapped at the end of each performance, and sometimes, during the performance.  Even though our applause did not reach DCI, it was good to acknowledge the quality of the performance.

Air Conditioning Fix

Well, the HVAC repair person came early today, but I was home, so that was okay.  I used JD's One Hour Service  https://www.jdsonehour.com/.  He suggested I change the filter, and he checked the unit.  He said it was dirty, so the air was not recycling properly, so the Freon could not cool down, and if I did not have it cleaned, it could burn out the compressor. Otherwise, the pressure was fine.  So, he cleaned it, and I could tell the cool air coming in was much stronger and colder.  It was less the $400, a bargain compared to a whole new unit that could cost $3000 to 4000 for  a house my size.  This is amazing, since I do not recall ever having the unit worked on before.

Haiku's Eating Habits

I have written about Haiku's poor eating habits, and the need to find an alternate kidney care food.  Some days, she eats that food, some days, not so much.  I have taken to feeding her on the kitchen counter, because feeding her on the floor, Taki stands there, staring, intimidating her to leave her food and then Taki eats it.  Taki can jump on the kitchen counter, but rarely does, at least when I am around. I do not know what happens when I am at work.

Tonight, I fed Haiku a couple of times.  I am trying to feed Haiku every time she asks to eat, and if she will not eat the kidney care food, I give her treats to eat.  Tonight, she ate in the kitchen a couple of times. My sense is that she cannot eat too much at once, and when she eats, it makes her very thirsty, because she sits at the water bowl a long time, sometimes drinking, sometimes just looking at the water.  I used to feed Haiku on her chair in the computer room, but have avoided doing that because Taki intimidates her to stop eating, and then eats her food.  Tonight, after feeding Haiku a couple of times on the counter, we were in the computer room, and Haiku began crying.  She did not get up with me when I went to the kitchen to get her dish, so I brought it to her, and she ate again, but this time on her chair.  Of course, when she was done, Taki came looking for the food dish, which I moved back to the kitchen.

Peanut Butter

I learned, or re-learned something last week.  If you pet gets into chewing gum,  peanut butter helps to dissolve or at least make it possible to get it out and finish coming it out.  I think I actually knew that at one point in time in my life.  And, I think I knew it because I believe that works on human hair, too.

Baseball Bats

I used to dabble at baseball and softball, but never played on a team.  I am listening to the Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros https://www.mlb.com/ game tonight, The sportscasters are talking about bat size, and how Dustin Pedroia uses a 30 oz. bat.  I used to use a 32 oz. bat.  I thought a heavier bat could help me to hit further, but I was never a good hitter.

The Star Spangled Banner at the Westwind Band Summer Concert

I started attending the Westwind Brass Band http://westwindsbrassband.org/concerts.php concerts in the part when I first moved to Lubbock, in 1977. Then, they played at KN Clapp park https://www.ci.lubbock.tx.us/departmental-websites/departments/parks-recreation/top-navigation-menu-items/parks/city-parks.  Now, they play at Wagner Park.  I did not always attend regularly, and there were years I did not attend at all. But in the last 10 or 12 years, I have been very consistent in my attendance, with occasional misses due to other obligations.

The concerts always start with the playing of The Star Spangled Banner https://www.google.com/search?q=the+star+spangled+banner+lyrics&ie=&oe=.  Over the years, people have started singing along, more and more. I do not sing well, but have always mouthed the words, but now I sing.  Tonight as the national anthem was being played I looked around.  There were Frisbee throwers in the park, and volleyball players in the park, and they all stopped, the men took off their caps, and many held their hand over their hearts during the playing of the national anthem.  Wow! I was impressed  It made me feel good.

Air Conditioner

It has become absolutely apparent today that the 26 year old air conditioning unit at my house can no longer keep up with the very high heat.  It is pumping out cool air, but not enough to really cool the house.  I will call my plumber/HVAC person Monday and see what I can arrange.  I hope a shot of coolant can help until we can get a new unit in.  Because I am a realist, and a 26 year old unit needs to be replaced by a more energy efficient, environmentally friendly unit.

Talking Boxes

My cats like the quiet.  But they put up with all of my "talking boxes."  Think about it.  I have 2 TVs, a couple of radios, a couple of CD players, a smart phone that broadcasts alerts regarding weather and news emergencies, and a weather radio that broadcasts severe weather and other emergency information.

I wonder what my cats think about the talking boxes, especially the weather radio, because it broadcasts so infrequently, and only when there is severe weather in the area, or an Amber alert or Silver alert.  So, how do they know what to think about these noises and how to re-act.

Instinctively, I think, Haiku, knows to hide in the crate in the closet when there is severe weather. What tells her to do that, I do not know.  Taki just hunkers down in the hall way near the linen closet.

If You Bite Me, Your Gone

Taki has some issues, and one of them is biting.  Tonight we had a session of brushing that Taki likes.  So after a while, she started biting. I was able to redirect her so she did not bite while I was brushing her. I just do not want to work with her if she is biting.

Storms

Originally, there was a small percentage chance of storms in our area, but as the evening has progressed, that chance has increased.  Now, I can see to the north the lightning of the storm, and hear the thunder. Checking the front porch, there is no rain yet, but the smell of ozone is very strong, which is to be expected with the lightning.

Exercise

I need to exercise regularly, but for a number of reasons, I had forsaken my exercise routine during much of the month of May.  I decided to resume today, and was able to complete the entire routine, which surprised me.  I think my body needed a rest, because if was not feeling tired or weakened by the time I finished my routine. We shall see what happens tomorrow.

Intermittent Rain

We have been in a pattern of intermittent and scattered rainstorms the last few days.  They are not only intermittent and scattered, but of varying duration and amounts.  Yesterday, we got some rain in the area, but I could not tell that it was very much.  This afternoon, the clouds were building again, and about an hour ago, it started getting very dark. I had been cleaning and had some trash piled in the yard. A while ago, it got dark, and the wind picked up. I decided it was time to take the trash to the dumpster.  When I did, there were some sprinkles. The dirt in the alley had marks on it from raindrops.  These kinds of marks show up when we get intermittent and light sprinkles.  Sort of what I thought. Not 10 minutes later, the rain started and the wind increased even more. It was a downpour with lots of rain and some pea sized hail. The downpour lasted about 10 minutes, then tapered into sprinkles. I heard some thunder, but did not see any lightning.