At one point, I had a professor that used to congratulate effort with a single phrase: “Now we’re cooking with gas!” I didn’t have any context, but it sounded like progress. Well, now we are.
posted in environment | Comments Off on Cooking with gas, for real | 264 words
There is no tasteful way to broach the subject. Living creatures come with an “ick factor”. We all eat, periodically. And as a corollary, we all have to get rid of the waste.
posted in environment | Comments Off on Getting rid of the evidence | 252 words
Over the last few years, my nod to social activity has included irregular rounds of trivial pursuit. I’ve figured out that some team sizes are optimal. Others (like tonight) lead to hours of confusion and repetition. We were close to a dozen, seated around a banquet hall table among other oversize collections of players. Elsewhere, the largest attendance ever. The volume level turned everything into a challenge match; trying to communicate an idea without shouting was the challenge. Yes, you can be of great assistance to others, even inadvertently.
posted in environment, Wx | Comments Off on Trivia doesn’t work in large crowds | 268 words
Once in a while, the dishwasher gets called upon to wash memories. Specifically, today, the camping kitchen gear. We don’t cook over a Coleman stove much anymore. Change of summer habits, mainly. Still, the stuff gets taken out and run through the hot/wet cycle, as a reminder that we still could collapse into a tent, after hours of feeding the local mosquito population.
posted in environment | Comments Off on The best cups, in war or otherwise | 256 words
That moment, when the car coming in the opposite direction suddenly transforms into a dazzling light show; when you wonder what you’ve done wrong (while resting convinced that you’ve done nothing exceptional). As you pull toward the shoulder, and the car stops, across from you and then reverses (how do they do that so quickly), in pursuit of someone else, you realize that this doesn’t even qualify as “mistaken identity”. Just, a mistake, on your part. Not everyone cares about you, on the highway of life. For the record, I was just a passenger…
posted in environment | Comments Off on Mistaken pursuits | 278 words
Our local news program came with two different segments, dealing with forest fires elsewhere. Is this a heads-up? Are we supposed to figure that our natural firebreak (all that open water) won’t be enough to save us, should the sparks start to bridge the gap? I’ve got my water hoses on standby.
posted in environment, genealogy | Comments Off on The benefit of a deep well | 284 words
With the end of another month just hours away (and not a cloud of consequence in the sky), I’m going to extract some climate data. For here. No trend implied, just fun to know that it has been as warm and dry as observed by people here in the house.
posted in environment, Wx | Comments Off on Tracking the traces | 274 words
Part of the care (I have to give) with a chronic condition is to make sure I see a doctor occasionally. When it came to my attention that the last visit dated back to before the onset of winter, I called the office, only to come up against what was the longest recorded message I can remember. Basically, my doctor is also away from the practice, and all I can do is wait until winter returns. If things get urgent, there’s always the hospital. I’m not there yet. And so, I went for an alternate solution.
posted in environment, health | Comments Off on Sprinkler patrol on duty | 263 words
Watched a lot of Westerns, back in the day. There wasn’t much else in the lineup, given my age and the limitation of a single channel neighbourhood. Yes, the saddles and the six-shooters were cool, but high on my lust list was the canteen. Imagine carrying drinking water around all the time. No, I didn’t understand about taste or ambient temperature.
posted in environment | Comments Off on Water on demand | 254 words
For a number of reasons, I’ve gone through life without donating blood. I wish that the local mosquitoes would get the memo. Putting away the grill with its cover is an open invitation to feed the multitude. Unfair advantage to their team. When the wind is up, no big deal. However, that lull at the supper hour is more than enough for me to learn new dance steps.
posted in environment, media, Wx | Comments Off on Involuntary blood donations | 263 words
