I like hot water for washing my hands, the way my Grandma Steam used to make it.
She also wrote a column in the local paper, "All Steamed Up."
Then there was my Grandma Stove, whose column was a little more embarrassing, since it was, "All Stoved Up."
Her column was a lot longer because she was so stoved up. Except the times she couldn't think of much to say and was stoved up.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Back In The '60s
Everything was great back in the '60s.
The way I remember it, dogs didn't get sick and die back then. Even old cats could hold their food. Mothers were healthy. Fathers were alive.
Our biggest decision everyday was what happy thing to do next.
The grass always had the right amount of greenness and always grew to just the right length to be presentable and not need cutting.
The garbage truck belonged to the garbage man himself. There were no chains.
The way I remember it, dogs didn't get sick and die back then. Even old cats could hold their food. Mothers were healthy. Fathers were alive.
Our biggest decision everyday was what happy thing to do next.
The grass always had the right amount of greenness and always grew to just the right length to be presentable and not need cutting.
The garbage truck belonged to the garbage man himself. There were no chains.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Car Surgery And Death
I had to get my car worked on a couple weeks ago. Tire problem. I didn't know I had a tire problem. I went in for an oil change. Then I asked them to give me my first of a "lifetime" of free tire rotations. It was then that a problem was discerned with one of the tires, having a "broken belt."
We were there for seemingly an interminable amount of time. Very --- not fun.
I was looking at the car back there, getting fixed by a mechanic in slow motion. It reminded me of people in the hospital.
The waiting room we were in was like the waiting room at the hospital, like in surgery. The doctor comes out every hour or so to tell you the progress he's making.
Finally, if things go badly, you're back in the room -- a hospice room now -- and they're telling you about the comfort measures. You just want to keep Dad comfortable, and the same of course with the car.
Wet his lips, put some salve on its grill every couple hours.
We were there for seemingly an interminable amount of time. Very --- not fun.
I was looking at the car back there, getting fixed by a mechanic in slow motion. It reminded me of people in the hospital.
The waiting room we were in was like the waiting room at the hospital, like in surgery. The doctor comes out every hour or so to tell you the progress he's making.
Finally, if things go badly, you're back in the room -- a hospice room now -- and they're telling you about the comfort measures. You just want to keep Dad comfortable, and the same of course with the car.
Wet his lips, put some salve on its grill every couple hours.
Monday, June 7, 2010
I Got A New Dehumidifier Today
The dehumidifier I had was one I essentially inherited. I didn't really know its vintage or provenance. (Pretty good word, huh?)
Maybe I had a bad attitude around it, or, since it's a dehumidifier, maybe my humor was too dry. Whatever, the stinking thing quit working.
Meaning, just like that I had to get a new one. So I went and got one. I got the biggest capacity they had, plus the one with the lowest temperature allowed, something like 42 degrees instead of the usual 65.
65 is ridiculous. Because if you use your air conditioner at all, which I do, of course in the basement it's going to dip below 65. But I hope this 42 degree one can get the job done without being too finicky.
Maybe I had a bad attitude around it, or, since it's a dehumidifier, maybe my humor was too dry. Whatever, the stinking thing quit working.
Meaning, just like that I had to get a new one. So I went and got one. I got the biggest capacity they had, plus the one with the lowest temperature allowed, something like 42 degrees instead of the usual 65.
65 is ridiculous. Because if you use your air conditioner at all, which I do, of course in the basement it's going to dip below 65. But I hope this 42 degree one can get the job done without being too finicky.
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Moola Mantra
Look it up if you're interested what this is all about, the moola mantra.
I've had a recording of it by Ananda Giri for some time, well over a year. I was listening to it about everyday for quite a while, mostly last year, but also earlier this year.
Then there was a kind of shift in my life, and a lot of the things that made up my "normal" at that time had to go by the wayside.
Now, finally, months later, I put the Ananda Giri recording on against tonight, for the first time in a long time, and it was great.
I can't remember the whole thing, what it's all about, but there are good explanations of it on the internet. And Ananda Giri's is the best I've heard (I haven't heard that many, but a few).
I've had a recording of it by Ananda Giri for some time, well over a year. I was listening to it about everyday for quite a while, mostly last year, but also earlier this year.
Then there was a kind of shift in my life, and a lot of the things that made up my "normal" at that time had to go by the wayside.
Now, finally, months later, I put the Ananda Giri recording on against tonight, for the first time in a long time, and it was great.
I can't remember the whole thing, what it's all about, but there are good explanations of it on the internet. And Ananda Giri's is the best I've heard (I haven't heard that many, but a few).
Monday, May 24, 2010
Good-Looking Women Are Never At Rest
When you see a good-looking woman downtown, she's always moving. They come from you're not sure where. But they appear and they move quickly by. They don't stop and look around or say anything on their way past.
On they go, with a quick motion, up the sidewalk, but usually around the corner. How great-looking they are, too! Where they go, though, no one knows.
It looks like being in one place, a particular place, and staying there for any length of time, is up to the rest of us. We mill around. We gather and sometimes look uncomfortable. Very often we look bad. Not so good-looking.
Each of us has our advantages and disadvantages. Our disadvantages: we're not that good looking. But we have the advantage of being able to stay in one place long enough to do what we want. A big disadvantage in that the longer we stay there, not being good-looking in the first place, the more everyone around us can see how bad we look. But if they looked any good, they wouldn't be standing there looking at us. They'd be on their way.
The advantage for the good-looking woman, ever on the move, is that just a glimpse of her on her way lets us know how special she is. Her disadvantage, at least from my non-good-looking perspective, is that she has to hurry and go to that place that really is no place except a place for hurrying on to somewhere else, yet never being able to arrive.
It seems like that would be a disadvantage, because my thought is that every body in motion would prefer occasionally to be at rest. But there is no rest for this good-looking woman.
Right now, I'm sitting in a chair, coming up with this study on the movement or lack of movement that good-looking and non-good-looking people engage in. I'm so ugly that I can sit here at leisure, even taking my time. But somewhere out there, there's someone with many advantages over me. But one disadvantage, apparently, is that she has no rest whatsoever.
On they go, with a quick motion, up the sidewalk, but usually around the corner. How great-looking they are, too! Where they go, though, no one knows.
It looks like being in one place, a particular place, and staying there for any length of time, is up to the rest of us. We mill around. We gather and sometimes look uncomfortable. Very often we look bad. Not so good-looking.
Each of us has our advantages and disadvantages. Our disadvantages: we're not that good looking. But we have the advantage of being able to stay in one place long enough to do what we want. A big disadvantage in that the longer we stay there, not being good-looking in the first place, the more everyone around us can see how bad we look. But if they looked any good, they wouldn't be standing there looking at us. They'd be on their way.
The advantage for the good-looking woman, ever on the move, is that just a glimpse of her on her way lets us know how special she is. Her disadvantage, at least from my non-good-looking perspective, is that she has to hurry and go to that place that really is no place except a place for hurrying on to somewhere else, yet never being able to arrive.
It seems like that would be a disadvantage, because my thought is that every body in motion would prefer occasionally to be at rest. But there is no rest for this good-looking woman.
Right now, I'm sitting in a chair, coming up with this study on the movement or lack of movement that good-looking and non-good-looking people engage in. I'm so ugly that I can sit here at leisure, even taking my time. But somewhere out there, there's someone with many advantages over me. But one disadvantage, apparently, is that she has no rest whatsoever.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Government Doesn't Believe You
Celebrate with me my one-week anniversary of getting my new driver's license. It was last Friday, and by now common this time of day, it was already accomplished.
I'm making a point of saying it because it wasn't that easy to do. I didn't have to take a driving test or a written test, so of course I'm thankful for that.
But they do require you to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are who you say you are. Because, I guess, we don't want a lot of people driving cars who may be someone else.
Anyway, I was just by the turn that goes to the driver's license place and I got to thinking about it. We have "government by the people" with the odd twist being that the government doesn't believe that the people are who they say they are. Another way to look at it is, we have government by the people but we the people have decided that we don't trust one another to say their proper name.
Anyway you look at it, it's unnecessarily complicated.
I'm making a point of saying it because it wasn't that easy to do. I didn't have to take a driving test or a written test, so of course I'm thankful for that.
But they do require you to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are who you say you are. Because, I guess, we don't want a lot of people driving cars who may be someone else.
Anyway, I was just by the turn that goes to the driver's license place and I got to thinking about it. We have "government by the people" with the odd twist being that the government doesn't believe that the people are who they say they are. Another way to look at it is, we have government by the people but we the people have decided that we don't trust one another to say their proper name.
Anyway you look at it, it's unnecessarily complicated.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Mouth Full Of Mush -- Voice Recognition Software Fun
This post is going to be me playing with my voice recognition software and pretending that I have a mouthful of mush:
1) Bill is gone now by the ponderous, and now it's crazy dog with you and scare the lightning or require while.
2) When I was a kid is Donald Trump and shoot rats with a ball in our area. Babies started towards her whole whether arrow sticking out of, a bunch of blogs everywhere.
3) One of our same error my morals when we lived wrote ketchup bottle to run old TV or throw aerosol can and will fire a watchable. Doctrinal studies of five.
OK, that's it. It did a terrible job.
Here's what I actually said:
1) It's really stormy outside. The thunder's coming down like, it's crazy. The dog was even scared of lightning there for quite a while.
2) When I was a kid I used to go down to the dump and shoot rats with a bow and arrow. They'd be staggering toward their hole with an arrow sticking out of their back, a bunch of blood everywhere.
3) One of the funnest things I remember was when we would throw a ketchup bottle through an old TV or throw aerosol cans into a fire and watch 'em blow up. Back in those days we had a lot of fun.
1) Bill is gone now by the ponderous, and now it's crazy dog with you and scare the lightning or require while.
2) When I was a kid is Donald Trump and shoot rats with a ball in our area. Babies started towards her whole whether arrow sticking out of, a bunch of blogs everywhere.
3) One of our same error my morals when we lived wrote ketchup bottle to run old TV or throw aerosol can and will fire a watchable. Doctrinal studies of five.
OK, that's it. It did a terrible job.
Here's what I actually said:
1) It's really stormy outside. The thunder's coming down like, it's crazy. The dog was even scared of lightning there for quite a while.
2) When I was a kid I used to go down to the dump and shoot rats with a bow and arrow. They'd be staggering toward their hole with an arrow sticking out of their back, a bunch of blood everywhere.
3) One of the funnest things I remember was when we would throw a ketchup bottle through an old TV or throw aerosol cans into a fire and watch 'em blow up. Back in those days we had a lot of fun.
Kafka Vodka
I don't know if there really is a vodka called Kafka, but it'd be a good idea.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Listening To An Oldies Channel
I have been doing a lot of driving as a part of my job, and so I have been passing some of the time by listening to a radio station that plays oldies.
I have not done this over the years consistently. But I used to live in the same area 20 some years ago and heard the same channel at that time. Now that I am back and listening to it again I can really tell that the oldies format has changed. I knew it would, and remember saying a number of years ago that as time went on, the songs from the 50s would drop out and songs from the 70s and 80s would be in. And that is exactly what has happened.
20 years ago and a little more, of course some of those songs weren't considered oldies, at least in the same sense. Now that I am listening to it again, I like the newer songs but I wish that they would put in some of the oldies from the early 60s and the 50s. Still, those teenybopper songs from the early 60s, along with Herman's Hermit's, the Dave Clark Five, etc., as good as they were and actually still are, they get tedious when they are on heavy rotation. So I am kind of glad those ones are out.
If I am still around in 20 years I will make the same observation!
I have not done this over the years consistently. But I used to live in the same area 20 some years ago and heard the same channel at that time. Now that I am back and listening to it again I can really tell that the oldies format has changed. I knew it would, and remember saying a number of years ago that as time went on, the songs from the 50s would drop out and songs from the 70s and 80s would be in. And that is exactly what has happened.
20 years ago and a little more, of course some of those songs weren't considered oldies, at least in the same sense. Now that I am listening to it again, I like the newer songs but I wish that they would put in some of the oldies from the early 60s and the 50s. Still, those teenybopper songs from the early 60s, along with Herman's Hermit's, the Dave Clark Five, etc., as good as they were and actually still are, they get tedious when they are on heavy rotation. So I am kind of glad those ones are out.
If I am still around in 20 years I will make the same observation!
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