Weighty Matters - 8 - 15 - 2004 to 8 - 22

August 15, 2004
"Some Satisfaction"
5:31pm

I had a productive morning answering email while Julia watched the CBS Sunday program. She grew very tired of our TV fuzzing up and the picture shrinking. Our TV is failing, and Julia was the first to suggest getting a new one. We went first to Target, but was unsure they have delivery. Neither of us can manage lifting the heavy beasts, so I thought perhaps Sears across the street would have home delivery. They do, and for an additional 15 bucks, will haul your clunker away.
Assuming we COULD lift the thing, it's not a good idea to heave it into the dumpster. Saturday next, we have a new TV arriving. Having heard analog TVs are on the way out, I thought it better to have the HDTV that will not be obsolete in two years. It is a wide screen set, to match the widescreen movies on DVD.
We bought a special surge protector which will keep our new purchase safe from variations in electrical current. However, when plugging the DVD into it, I felt a strange sensation on its cord. Black electrical tape had been loosely wrapped around the end which connects to the plug. Julia vaguely remembered a dog we once owned had bit the cord. We debated, shall we have it professionally fixed, or shall I do it myself? I opened up the thin tape and found the plug had been entirely bit off!! I don't know how Laura managed to get it to work without the wires touching.
I didn't see any way I could tape it with any degree of confidence in its safety, so I'll be bringing it to a repair shop. I can't imagine it's difficult for an expert.

"Periplaneta americana" close up...

While rummaging down around the floor, Julia found the dead critter above. I was fascinated with its details, and took its picture, Julia helping by holding flashlights to it, before tossing it outdoors. By comparing pictures on the web, I learned it is a "Periplaneta americana". That does sound much nicer than 'American cockroach'. We may need to have the place sprayed.
Perhaps now that we have a decent vacuum cleaner, I can keep better care of the carpets. Before, it was futile to even try. Aiming for better cleanliness, I also gave the kitchen floor a much needed scrub. It is at times like these I do not mind that the kitchen is so small!

9:02pm

Southern Copperhead

While checking out the differences between the regular cable programs and the digital cable programs, I learned some programs on snakes were showing at Animal Planet. I learned about various kinds of snakes. The snake sticks out its tongue to pick up scent particles, which are then sampled via ducts in the mouth which contain an organ that can process the data. The oldest snake ever was a boa constrictor who made it past the big 4-O. The longest snake can be nearly 33 feet. The fastest, the Black Mamba, goes 7 mph (11.27 km/hr) in short bursts. Black mambas, as well as most snakes, devour their food whole. Mambas and a few other species can fit food up to four times the size of their head into their mouth and will even dislocate their lower jaw in order to cram more food in. It was amazing to watch one snake swallow an egg four times its own head, pass the huge bulge down the body until inner teeth broke up the shell, and then neatly spit out the shell in a compacted pile.
When they shed their skins, their eyes at first get cloudy, sign that it's about to happen. Then their head pokes out of the thin skin, and they wriggle their way out of the skin. Most have babies from eggs, while a few give birth to fully formed snakes. Some snakes live in the sea, and the longest of those can be 9ft (2.75m).
The next show featured an Australian dude and his pursuit of spitting cobras. Yes, this man pursued them, irritated them and got them good and angry. He had no hat, short sleeves, short pants, and only thought to put sunglasses on at the last minute. Often, he carried no water and once had to beg some Masai naives for some rare water to wash the venom out of his eyes. The amazing snakes got his eye region every time, except for the times he'd thought to bring a backpack as a diversion for the spit. I was rooting for the snakes!
But the filmers got some good views of their heads and hoods. All while watching the shows, the TV stayed steady. Possibly, could removing the DVD player with the damaged cord have fixed the problem? Meanwhile, we have a new TV on the way.

Snake skelton at San Diego Zoo, 1999

August 16, 2004
"Our Daily Bread"
7:08pm
106 °F / 41 °C high

Fry's does not carry Nutella. Julia and I walked ALL over that store, searching for it. The creamy delicious hazelnut spread must have initially been bought at another store. I love it spread over graham crackers. I am now addicted. I will eat it the rest of my days.
Our entire shopping cart nevertheless was filled with several small jars of tasty gourmet stuff. Black raspberry jelly from France, raspberry honey mustard, two jars of tomato spread . . . In addition to basic stuff like milk and French country bread, we got vanilla soymilk, and I insisted on blue corn chips. We also got a loaf of gourmet Ciabatta bread. Oh, it was so chewy, so tasty. Between the two of us, we finished the entire loaf in one sitting. Pesto sauce, tomato spread and later Irish butter covered it. We don't ordinarily 'pig out' like that. Still, the Atkin's low carb diet is never for us!
After eating all that, I laid down to nap while I digested it all. My sleep was short, but deep. I awoke to see 7:00pm and panicked, shouting, "Oh my God!", which ellicited a remark from Julia. Groggy me thought, 'Julia answered me, that means she's home, I didn't oversleep and forget to pick her up.' Then I remembered the shopping trip, 'Yes, I haven't abandoned her!' Ever since one hot day I slept to 5:30 while Julia cooked in the heat waiting, it is a re-occuring nightmare.
People die in the heat here in the desert. So I want to be especially careful to be prompt in getting Julia. I look forward to cooler weather.

August 18, 2004
"However Slowly"
3:56pm

I arise sticky eyed. I went to bed as soon as we got home last night, after the Java Oasis visit. Both Julia and I found ourselves hungry for the cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. However Julia slaked her thirst with a hot caffeinated drink, while I chose the B'wana Blueberry icy smoothie made with real fruit.
Julia complains of feeling like she's coming down with a bug, and I do, as well. My throat is just a little scratchy. It, no doubt, is why I want to sleep so much. Although I did rise for an hour or two for some reading, I am further along to page 94 in the Luck book, I've had plenty of sleep and want more.
In my S_L_O_W reading of Rescher's book, I came across this paragraph on page 67 which rather tickles my mind:

"Two sorts of disabilities impede our being 'in control' of our lives: limitations of knowledge and limitations of power. (They are closely interrelated: power is useless without knowledge, and knowledge itself is a mode of power.)"
I ponder its possibilities, and what we might do to overcome our limitations. Certainly, everything we can learn advances us towards that direction and always I thirst for knowledge. It surely is a mind tickling proposition.
I have several books newly ordered when I finish that book, and there are previously ordered books I've not read, as well. The only question is which one will I pick first? I'm definitely on the path of acquiring knowledge, however slowly I proceed!

August 21, 2004
"Slow Progress"
5:27am

I went to bed last night around 5:30pm. I vaguely remember Julia telling me the TV man was coming between 10:30am and 12:30pm. I vaguely remember Julia sliding into bed around 10pm. Other than that, I slept straight through for eleven hours. I must have needed it. However, I woke with a very stiff back.
Taking advantage of the cool darkness, I've begun the wash. Three loads are in, including my favorite green velour blanket. I like it next to my skin, as it feels soft to me, but Julia finds it scratchy. We've taken to each having our own pile of blankets, as she is often cold when I am not, anyway. It is the reverse of Laura and I. Laura was usually hot when I was cold.
Either Julia and I keep the house warmer or I am running hotter. I am willing to admit it could be the advance of years and the changing of my body. Perimenopause, they call it. Whatever.
This is the weekend I've slated to deal with annoying tasks. Doing the bedding is one of them. I also have to write a letter to Travelocity, sending a jpg of the bank statement showing the hotel's debit. I tried twice with the hotel, and a refund never has showed up. Perhaps Travelocity will have to refund that portion I paid to them, if nothing else can be none. You can be certain in the future I will deal directly with the hotel. But I was unexperienced then, and the ease looked inviting.
Also, I have a packet of voting materials to look at. It is the primary election, and although the book looks thick, Julia tells me the section pertaining to our district is small.
I already dealt with the jury duty paper I was sent. I hope to be released from it. I sent one pay stub and a copy of the rental contract, with arrows to pay, 'PUNY!' and monthly rent, 'EXPENSIVE!' If that doesn't qualify, I'll do my duty, but this comes at a time when work will be gearing up into the busy season. October/November is the fiercest time of it, and I'll be working late and Saturdays just to keep up.
I saw the news item of Oprah during her jury duty stint. They made a special point of highlighting her $3000 suit and $50,000 purse. I can't imagine spending that much on a purse! Cheap mobile homes cost that much! I suspect if I were wealthy, I would still shop at L.L. Bean and Lands' End. I can't see wasting good money. Maybe for her it isn't a waste, but I can just see so many better uses for that money.
And just maybe I have no comphrension of just how truly wealthy that woman is. Still, I would much rather be me. I would rather be me, of the sagging and huge bosom, bulging belly and flattening butt. Most of it has joined my midsection. I measured myself the other day: bust=47in, waist=37in, belly=45in, hips=45in. But I remember my waist a few months ago was 39in, so I count it progress.
Progress, slow or not, is still progress. Some wash loads are now ready for further processing.

August 22, 2004
"Sad Facts And Stylish Elegance"
9:09am

We had bad luck in that the TV they brought failed to work. Alas, we must wait until next Saturday for another one! The DVDs we'd rented, hoping to see them on the better screen, will need to be renewed. I have an educational one I'd bought about Hitler, that will wait as well. The new screen is the widescreen kind, which will work best with the DVDs.
So it's a matter of learning patience. As we did not watch movies, we each turned to our books. I am more than half way through LUCK now, and will soon finish it.
Also, this morning we will go to the big screen to watch DeLovely, the movie about Cole Porter. I may have more to report on that later. And maybe I will draw a picture of a deer. They are concerned with deer here in Arizona getting Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and perhaps while drawing the picture, I can send them good energy to keep well and elude the hunters!
It is just an idea, now. I will report more later.

10:03pm

When I read the story about deer and elk getting CWD, I thought it was terrible the Arizona Game and Fish department is asking hunters to bring them the deer heads off their catches. But apparently there is no other way the animals can be tested for this illness, although researchers are studying possible methods. CWD causes spongy degeneration of the brain leading to loss of body condition, altered behavior, and eventually death. So far, it hasn't been found in Arizona.

Moving from fact to slightly fictionalized fact, in today's movie Cole Porter's wife visited Arizona during one 'spat', and I wondered where those scenes were filmed, or if that was an artificially constructed Arizona. We are very glad to have seen DeLovely in the big theater. It is a visual treat for the eyes. They dressed so elegantly then, and the songs are 'lovely', of course. I am glad I did not read the mixed reviews before I went. Not that they would have influenced me terribly, for I can tell even when a movie is badly reviewed if I will like it. (For instance, I liked the remake of Stepford Wives). They dealt delicately with Porter's bisexuality. They showed his wife to be a strong woman in her own right, as she gave him the freedom to explore his 'misbehavin' side. They could have showed a tad more of that side, if he had any relationships with men that were also strong and enduring. They did, however, have him admit, "I wanted every kind of love that was available, but I could never find them in the same person, or the same sex."
Their lives although touched with melancholy were still so beautifully stylish in all those beautiful clothes and environments. The various renditions of his songs were nicely woven in with the biographical parts. Next chance I get, I will buy the soundtrack.

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