1107

 Monday, November 7, 2022

In bed a bit after 10, up and on the recliner a bit after 2, unable to sleep.

And they call the wind Pariah

Can't tell what the maximum force winds were after the blackout on Saturday because we had no television and we weren't listening in to radio reports but the predicted winds were gusts of 60-65 mph.  Whatever they were, they caused us to lose electrical power for 26 hours, from 5 p.m. Saturday till 7:18 p.m. Sunday.  During the dark hours, we had Ikea candles, votive lights, and an oil-burning hurricane lamp providing enough illumination to avoid bumping into or tripping over things.  Geri had a muffin tray of tea lights on the dining room table so we could see the chicken she roasted at David's house and the green beans I cooked on the stovetop here.  I had thought Sarah might have preferred to stay at her mother's home even with the howling cat problem, but she came back here and coped with the darkness.  On Sunday, she watched the hard-to-believe Packers-Lions game with her Mom and again opted to come back here after the game though the power was still out and sunset was at 4:35 p.m.  She grabbed a chicken sandwich and fries at McDonald's on the way here and we did a combo McDoanld's/Culver's dinner.  When Geri and I returned from our dinner run, there were 4 big trucks with cherry pickers on County Line Road, giving us hope the power would be restored soon, and it was, at 7:18 p.m.

Digital Illiteracy

When power was restored, Sarah went to work on figuring out why our HP printer wasn't connecting to our LAN and why we couldn't print in color.  She fixed both problems quickly leaving me (a) grateful and (b) more persuaded than ever of my declining computer/digital literacy.

Ave, Caesar, Morituri Te Salutamus

JSOnline:  Packers suffer numerous serious injuries ahead of busy stretch of games

"The Packers went into the game without inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (knee) and they left with four starters and two backups facing an uphill climb to play next week.  Cornerback Eric Stokes (knee, ankle), receiver Romeo Doubs (ankle), outside linebacker Rashan Gary (ankle), receiver Christian Watson (concussion) and linebacker Krys Barnes (concussion) were the worst. . . Stokes, Doubs, and Gary were all taken to the locker room in carts.  After the game, Stokes wasn’t in the locker room, but he was tended to for quite a while on the field and limped off the field with the assistance of trainers. Doubs and Gary were both on crutches. . .

After a 15-9 loss to the previously 1-6 Detroit Lions, players trudged out of the locker room a few at a time.  Receiver Romeo Doubs and outside linebacker Rashan Gary were on crutches.  Doubs and running back Aaron Jones had support boots on their feet (Doubs, the right; Jones the left).  Receiver Christian Watson and linebacker Krys Barnes were off limits to the media because they were both in the concussion protocol.  Offensive lineman Jon Runyan was walking gingerly because of a knee injury he played through after some time on the sideline."

The National Pastime, watching men injure one another t earn money and provide entertainment for millions of Americans.

Poor Joe, he can't help it.  He was born with a foot in his mouth.

“Folks, I spent a lot of time — more time with Xi Jinping than any other head of state. … I’ve traveled 17,000 miles with him.” Nov. 3

“Today, the most common price of gas in America is $3.39 — down from over $5 when I took office.” Oct. 27

“On my watch, for the first time in 10 years, seniors are getting an increase in their Social Security checks.”  Nov. 1

“You are probably aware that I just signed a law that is being challenged by my Republican colleagues. … What we’ve provided for is, if you went to school, if you qualified for a Pell Grant … you qualify for $20,000 in debt forgiveness. Secondly, if you don’t have one of those loans, you just get $10,000 written off. It’s passed. I got it passed by a vote or two.”  Oct. 23

Is he really not-too-bright or just another lying pol?  Both?

Rollover transfer

Drove to Stifel in West Bend to get Geri's rollover documents faxed to TIAA.  43 to 94 to 45 to 33 out, 33 to 43 back.

I Always Knew

Listened to more of Barbara Chase-Riboud's memoir to and from West Bend, finding myself disliking her because of the fabulous lifestyle she lived, throwing away money on designer clothes, private schools and dressage lessons for her older son, multiple houses, travel all over Europe and much of Asia and Africa and the U.S.  I rethought my judgmentalism about her when I got home and cleaned up the dishes, silverware, pots and pans piled up over our blackout weekend.  Thought about how, compared to most of the world, I live a life of wasteful luxury.  I leave the hot water running in the sink as I gather and rinse off plates and bowls,  wasting both water and the energy to heat it.  I waste precious gasoline driving out to West Bend and back to get the rollover documents faxed rather than sticking them in the mail or mastering the technique for faxing on our own all-in-one printer.  I waste money on all sorts of stuff, including printing these jottings in a journal, wasting the ink in the inkjet cartridges and the paper the jottings are printed on.  If I had the artistic talent and work ethic of BC-R, and if I were married to Geri with all the journalistic, photographic, and artistic talent as BC-R's spouse, would I be living frugally or expanding my profligacy to match my available resources?  I'm sure it would be the latter cuz that's how I live now.  Judge not lest ye be judged, Carlo.

Insomnia (or not)

After a delicious spaghetti dinner, I didn't have enough energy to watch television.  Haven't had a good night's sleep for the last few nights.  I wonder every now and then if I have my dear sister's malady of insomnia, but realize my sleeplessness is irregular, hers was nightly.  In any case, as it approaches 8 p.m., I wonder if I could get away with going to bed around 8 instead of around 9, or even trying to stay awake until 10 - fat chance.