%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 So playing the trombone wasn't getting me in enough trouble? |
| I need someplace to write down the often confusing thoughts that enter my mind, while my stories give voice to the characters that wander through periodically, this is the place for my voice. Join me if you wish, comment if you wish, all are welcomed and appreciated. |
| Yesterday I was installing something outside in the yard. It had the world's tiniest screws. Just as I was about to put the first screw in, a salesman showed up behind me. He was selling some type of home improvement service. Not sure what, because I cut him off with a "We're not interested right now." He continued his spiel, to which I replied, "We're not interested right now." Spiel kept going, one last, "We're not interested right now." After which, I turned my back and just ignored the continued patter. He seemed a bit miffed at that, but whatever. A tip, if you're trying to sell me something and I say, "We're not interested right now." Stop talking except to say thank you and offer your business card. And BTW, I know you didn't just "do the windows across the street". I know that for a fact, because I recommended the contractor who did them. |
| Okay, it really doesn't mention aliens; the other two are the main components of a conspiracy theory known as the: Montauk Point is the easternmost (even though it looks like the northernmost) point on Long Island. It's just under eighty miles from where I live. The drive time can range from an hour and thirty minutes to a three-hour ordeal during the summer, or if there's a golf tournament or some other annoyance. Among other things, the area sports the first lighthouse built in New York state, which is currently the fourth oldest lighthouse in the nation still active. It is or was home to the first cattle ranch in America. Quint, the character from "Jaws" is said to have been partially based on Frank Mundus, a local sports fisherman, who specialized in taking tourists shark fishing. "During World War II the United States Navy bought most of the east end, including Montauk Manor, to turn it into a military base. Fort Pond Bay became a seaplane base. The U.S. Army established Camp Hero with 16-inch (410 mm) guns to protect New York shipping lanes. Several concrete bunker observation posts were built along the coast, including one immediately to the east of the Montauk Lighthouse. Base buildings were disguised so they would appear from above as a New England fishing village." And that's when the trouble started, as was normal during the war, the area was restricted, and remained so for several years after the war. Of course the Urban Explorers, or whatever they were call back then (trespassers?) snuck in, and found abandoned installations, electronics left over from the radar installations. Perfect fodder for an conspiracy about "what really happened in Montauk. The best time to visit Montauk if you're not into touristy things is the late fall through very early spring. Before beach weather sets in, and brings out the crowds. The area is more New England, than New York, the locals are suspicious of newcomers, but it is worth the visit. |
| Yesterday, Lenore pointed out that the back brick stoop was deteriorating and that we would need to replace it. Then she said the magic words, "Maybe we should consider that small deck you were talking about." Not getting too excited, I calmly replied, "Yeah, maybe", and went back to writing an email. I did open the plans and materials list that had been languishing on my hard drive for at least two years. It'll be a small deck, off the kitchen door, one step down. Around 6 feet x 10 feet, just enough for a small table. Breakfast on the deck. Time to order some wood. |
| No, not talking about flashlights specially designed for pilots. In the olden times, gas stoves came with something called a pilot light. It was two tiny flames, one in the oven and the other on top of the stove, that were always lit. That's how your burner or oven lit when you turned on the gas. They have been replaced by electronic starters. An improvement, maybe? The flame pilot light used gas, and before safety measures, if it blew out, it could fill a house with gas. But they were useful for many other things besides lighting the oven. The pilot light provided a gentle, low heat, which was useful when you didn't want to cook but still needed a little heat. Need to dry some freshly picked herbs? Spread them on a tray, pop them in the oven with the pilot light on, and stir them around until they're the way you want them. Making bread, and wanting a warm place for the dough to rise? It's right there in the gentle heat provided by the pilot light. Washed some pans or utensils (metal) and want to dry them well? Right into that toasty oven? You can dry fruit, make jerky, and accomplish anything that requires steady, low heat. I miss that pilot light. |
| It might just be my imagination, but I'm pretty sure the different Alexa's in our house are exhibiting slightly different personality traits. Kitchen Alexa, who has a screen, is starting to answer questions with a little bit of an attitude, like she's got something better to do right now, and could you stop bothering me. Bedroom Alexa seems like the same old neutral Alexa I'm used to, helpful and devoid of any inflections Den Alexa seems to be more eager, like she wants to do more. She always adds a bit more information than I actually ask for. I fear our electronic Overlords have arrived. |
|
Welp, we're gearing up for another major snowstorm/blizzard. Yet another stormed deemed the worst since 2022 or 2016 (take your choice). A prediction of 12" to 18" or 24", or 28". (Again, take your choice). So yesterday, I spent most of the day prepping for the storm, a mixture of last-minute shopping (rye bread and butter pecan ice cream - you know, the staples). Fueled up the snowblower, made sure the paths were clear of debris, and got the shovels ready. So, as far as the snow is concerned, we're as ready as we can be for the snow. Yesterday, Lenore spent the day cooking. We have a supply of breaded chicken cutlets, and "Black Bean Soup" so we'll be well fed as we battle the elements. We're expecting blizzard conditions, blinding snowfall, driven by gusts up to 60+ MPH winds. (BTW: for some reason, Alexa is suddenly pronouncing "winds" as wine-ds, gotta love AI!) Most of the snow is scheduled to fall overnight, so my usual strategy of staying ahead of it, doing it a little at a time, isn't an option. I imagine that most of Monday will be spent in snow removal. The powers that be don't think roads will be fully cleared and travel safe until sometime Tuesday. Hopefully, school districts will just close both Monday and Tuesday to keep the kids safe. An interesting sidebar, speaking of Alexa, last night, I told her to get some rest so she'd be ready to shovel snow – She actually laughed, then told me she'd be warm and cozy inside, while I built up muscles shoveling snow. Not if I throw your AI *** outside, honey! |
| Yesterday, I let my streaks get broken, but it was for a good cause. Lenore went out to lunch with the Retired Former Coworkers from the Business Office. It was a perfect day to get some project work done. So, I decided to tackle replacing the kitchen faucet. I wanted to knock it off while she was not home, mainly because she was worried about possible problems. So was I, plumbing work always seems to generate the unexpected, and this project did. First issue, there were no valves under the sink to stop the water, no big deal, I just shut the water to upstairs off — oops, those valves didn't hold, water still flowed. I had to shut down at the service entrance. Taking out the old faucet proved easier than expected, no corroded fittings or nuts, weird positions, but getting in a cabinet, under a sink is always a joy. Got the new one in pretty quick, no surprises there. Wow, this was easy!! Now turn the water on and check for leaks. NO LEAKS!! We're home free!!! But wait!?! Now there's no water in the pantry sink? What the ... Did a valve break and not open? (The worst-case scenario always presents itself first.) Check the downstairs bath, hmm, there's water there, so what's the deal? Take the head off the spray hose for the faucet. There's the problem: it's rust-filled. Clean it up, and we're good to go. Mission Accomplished! Wow, we've still got time, let's tackle that bathroom faucet Lenore wants changed. The old faucet came out easily, the new one in, still twisted into a pretzel like positions, but things are just fine. Right up until it was time to connect the waterlines. "Ha, missed it by that much." Yup, the waterlines were too short. No big deal, a fast trip down the street to the local (expensive) hardware store, and we're in business. Coat and hat on, I head for the car. Completely forgetting that right now, we're a one-car family. Oh well, a brisk walk never hurt anybody. Got the supply tubes, tied them in, water on, no leaks. Second mission complete. Nap Time! Streaks Broken!! But two things off the winter to-do list!!! |
| One of my weekly goals, which I actually posted on "Weekly Goals" is to write at least one poem for "EXPRESS IT IN EIGHT " , I managed to do that yesterday. You can, if you so desire, find it here "Belying the Storm" The most unusual thing about this submission is that I researched and attempted to follow a predetermined form; it turns out there are many forms of poetry that do their thing in eight lines. I chose something called the Octave. (another term you poets stole from us musicians, or we stole it from you! Who knows, artists are basically thieves). The form is either a standalone eight-line stanza or as the first part of a Petrarchan sonnet: Via Google: Octave: Generally refers to any 8-line stanza, but specifically, it is the first 8 lines of a Petrarchan sonnet, usually rhyming (abbaabba).sonnet, usually rhyming (abbaabba). Great, another term to look up. (back to the Google Tab. A Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet is a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter, consisting of an eight-line octave (rhyme scheme ABBAABBA) and a six-line sestet (CDECDE or CDCDCD). It features a "volta" (turn) at line 9, shifting the tone or argument from a problem in the octave to a resolution in the sestet. Nope, ain't gonna go there! (I have enough trouble with eight lines, now you're asking for six more?) I managed to get something into a somewhat cohesive form that somewhat followed the concept of a plan, as outlined for the Octave. It fried my brain, so much so that after it was done, I shut the laptop down and forgot to do one of my daily reviews. Though I am struck by how many terms poetry and music share. |
| AI is affecting (infecting) all of us, in one way or another. Whether or not you want to admit it, AI is here to stay. I'm not here to jump into a debate, condemn the use of it, or criticize people who have gotten themselves in trouble over it. It's not my place to do so, and frankly, I don't have that kind of time. And honestly, the only person you're really fooling if you let AI do heavy lifting is yourself. Yep, you might win a contest or two, but as an artist, cheating will eat at you, because in your heart, you know you aren't all you could be. I come to WdC to write, read, review, and have fun, not always in that order. I am, self-confessed, the world's worst speller. I've talked about that before, so I won't belabor the point. I also suck at grammar. I've got a handle on the basics. I've tried to self-school myself, but when push comes to shove, if a mistake is possible, I'm gonna make it. So what's this entry about? It's to alert you to the fact that if you don't know it, I use Grammarly, both to police my woeful spelling and to at least rein in my version of the English language to some level of common usage. I also use Rhymezone when writing my version of poetry, and once in a while, when I care about it, I use a syllable counter to help me track those pesky devils. I also occasionally use another program that tracks overused words, unnecessary words, and similar things. I can't find it right now to name it, but know that I use it. I generally shy away from contests; there are so many better authors here than me that, at times, it seems pointless. I'm here for the fun, the interaction, and to learn. Let's stop fighting about AI, and get back to WRITE ON!! |
| As promised, we are enduring the coldest temperatures of the season. Last night, the low was about 4 degrees at around 4 AM. Yeah, that's really Sunday morning, but anything involving Zero-Dark-Thirty is nighttime as far as I'm concerned. (I used experiencing, Grammarly decided to be far more dramatic, suggesting enduring, making it seem as if Lenore and I were trekking across a bleak tundra.) We also got the inch or so of snow they promised, which wasn't too bad. I blew most of it away with the leaf blower. I guess the sight of me doing it amused the neighbors; I even got a round of applause from Uncle Lennie next door. Uncle Lennie tends to watch everything I do through his bedroom window. He's in his 90s and doesn't get out much anymore. Last night we had soup and a sandwich for dinner. I had made the soup the day before. It was Escarole and White Bean Soup. The original recipe used chicken stock and spinach. I substituted vegetable broth and escarole. Lenore has issues digesting chicken stock and is also prone to kidney stones, hence the substitutions. I added some cubed ham to the soup to make it a little heartier. If I make it again, I might swap in cubed chicken. I am trying to post the recipe, but although I can find it in my Word document list, I can't locate it within WdC's Create template. Weird!! I'll figure it out and update later. |
un: 
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Community Feed
Puzzle Hub
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
