Labor Day

"If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend." Doug Larson

More Numerical Biography

I have lived at these places, in approximate order:
43d08'55.84"N, 77d35'50.83"W (has since been demolished) 1953;
43d10'22.56"N, 77d37'48.68"W (approximate location) 1954;
43d06'29.98"N, 77d37'58.47"W 1956;
43d00'43.14"N, 77d37'04.06"W (my father built this one) to 1964;
43d03'20.56"N, 77d35'22.83"W to 1977;
43d06'02.30"N, 77d25'41.68"W to 1978;
43d15'07.50"N, 77d16'40.47"W to 1990;
33d23'29.15"N, 111d38'43.02"W (while waiting for the house to be built in Scottsdale).

A New Type of Biography

Rick Watson and I were exchanging GPS coordinates of places we live/lived in, and it got me to thinking. Our whole lives could be described by a series of GPS coordinates of the places we've lived and visited. For example:
I lived here until age 10: 48 degrees 00'07.21"N, 78 degrees 10'32.49"W;
I next lived here: 43 degrees 08'11.17"N, 77 degrees 35'44.79"W;
Next home was: 43 degrees 08'10.86"N, 77 degrees 35'42.61"W;
Next move was to: 43 degrees 08'12.38"N, 77 degrees 35'45.82"W;
School grades 6 & 7 was: 43 degrees 08'12.30"N, 77 degrees 36'01.65"W (The school has been converted into condominiums.);
School grades 8 through 12 was: 43 degrees 08'48.86"N, 77 degrees 35'53.79"W;
First semester college was: 42 degrees 43'55.14"N, 84 degrees 28'55.88"W. (The actual quonset village we were housed in has long ago been demolished.)

Get the picture?

In Between

We're in between houses now. We've paid for our new digs and are trying to get the old house sold. So we're busy carting some belongings to the new spot. In the meantime, I'm in the middle of having a bridge put in my mouth because of a cracked root and infected gum. Will see an oral surgeon Tuesday to have bits and pieces of the root extracted that our dentist couldn't get at. So it's euphoria and pain killers. What a combination!

Today, we take Ginger to introduce her to her new home.

More About the Protest

Here's a photo of Grandma Barnhart with her protest sign. Mr. Cuomo was the Governor of New York at the time we were protesting the superconducting super collider. And another photo of the protest sign I said we were going to salute in a previous post. And we saluted it.

Creepy Crawlers

This morning, I walked into our closet and happened to look up. Ohmygosh! A huge spider was looking down on me. It was about two inches across. Grandma brought a water glass that I used to capture it. And then it went swimming - down the toilet. I have no idea where it came from or how long it had been in the house.

Then as we were getting ready to go out for our walk, there was a HUGE beetle crawling along the garage floor, probably a palo verde beetle. Four inches long! So I swept it into the street and left it to find a more accommodating domicile.

That's enough creepy crawlers to last for the next umpty-ump years.

Tidy Living

Now that our house is on the market, we've been living a very tidy life. Kitchen counters are uncluttered; our desks are so neat, it's hard to find anything; the floors are cleaned every day; outside litter is cleaned up or blown away. It's a new way of living, and Grandma says we should continue it in our new digs.

One of the surprises was to find how much paperwork of various types we had stored in a four drawer file cabinet. We've been sorting it all out - it only took 18 years to accumulate. Some goes with us, some goes to the new homeowner, and some goes in the trash. We have a large shredder and we've been keeping it busy; so far three large trash bags full have gone out the door.

We had a rain storm Thursday night that left a lot of debris in the front yard. I had hoped the landscapers would come through to clean up, but no. So I did pick up as much of the larger stuff as I could handle. The timing was bad because the landscapers are here on Thursday for the weekly clean-up. The yard looked good for any prospective buyers for a few hours.

Now we're on tenterhooks, waiting for the next agent to call and schedule a visit.

Our Protesting Adventure

There was an article in the paper today about the collider in Europe about ready to be turned on, which reminded Grandma and me of the time long, long ago when we joined the protest movement in the town of Ontario, New York. Well, here's how it happened:

Back in the 1970s, our Government decided that we, the people of the United States, and more specifically, the scientists among us, needed a super collider to play around with, so they initiated a contest among all the states to see which state would have the best plan. Never mind that work had already begun in Europe to design and build a super collider, and that our scientists would be able to share in the work there. So the Powers-That-Be in Albany, New York appointed a commission to prepare plans for, not one, but two sites. One site had the southern arc of the huge circular collider running right under Hill Cummorah, the sacred hill where Joseph Smith found the plates that were used to found the Church of Latter Day Saints. Needless to say, the Mormons were not amused, and applied enough pressure on the commission that they moved the giant circle a few miles north, which put the northern arc right under our house. It was to run under the local cemetery, down our street, and under the local Methodist Church, which is on the national register of historic places. When the plans were leaked to the public, a massive protest was undertaken. Grandma and I, along with Grandma's mother, and many neighbors joined in the protest rallies and marches. There was an informational meeting of the residents with the commission members and the Lieutenant Governor, at which we were all allowed to speak for or against the project. I stood and informed everyone present that the work would involve digging up the cemetery where Civil War veterans, and members of Grandma's family among others, were buried. At that, the Lt. Gov. turned to the commission members and asked if that were true; they concurred. As I remember, only one person spoke in favor, and he was roundly booed. Not too long after that we learned that the project had been granted to Texas, and after several millions of dollars were spent on the Texas site, the project was dropped.

Grandma and I have fond memories of our days as civil protesters, when we made banners and placards and marched, chanting "No collider here", through the streets of Wayne County. One former neighbor still has one of the protest signs hanging prominently in their garage. We plan to salute it when we visit them in July.

Oh, My Aching Knees

Today, I have housemaid's knees, having spent a good deal of time yesterday on my hands and knees cleaning the tile and grout in our laundry room. We have a Hoover carpet/floor cleaner, which I used to go over the tile twice, before getting down to attack the grout. My neighbor showed me a special brush for cleaning grout, which works well. It can attach to a handle, so one doesn't need to get down and dirty, but I find that I needed to really scrub hard, so... After the two washes, I ran the cleaner over the floor again using clean water with no soap, before applying grout sealer, on my hands and knees, of course. It was well worth the effort, as the floor virtually gleams today.

What Happened, Jacob?

"What do you mean, there's no more Popsicles left? I was just getting started."

Pomp and Circumstance

Well, so much for Pre-school! Twelve more years and Corbin will be college material. And breaking hearts along the way!

Chase

"I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

Just Fishin'

The other day, Rick Watson, on his "Life 101" blog, told a fish story, and that reminded me of something that happened about 60 years ago in a far away place...

But first, a report on our weather. Last Sunday, we broke a record at 110 degrees, and today we'll top out at about 75, cloudy and rain. And we should be back in the 100s by next Wednesday. Some roller coaster, eh what?

Oh yeah, fishing. Well, I've written previously about Joe Maloney, who I believe is still wanted by Interpol. This is another Joe Maloney story.
South of Rochester, NY is a county park called Mendon Ponds. There are several ponds within the park boundaries, including one with a sand beach. At one time it was possible to rent rowboats there, which we often did in our pursuit of fish - Largemouth Bass, Strawberry Bass and Northern Pike. One day back in the 40s, Joe and I were at the beach area. I don't remember the time of year, but the beach was closed, so it was probably in the spring. Anyway, we were using worms and were casting out into the water to see what might decide to bite, when I heard Joe shouting "Bob. Bob. What do I do now?" I looked over to find Joe at one end of his line and a duck flying in circles at the other end of the line. It seems he decided it would be more fun to fish for ducks, and now he had hooked into a live one. I told him to reel in his line, and we unhooked the duck to everyones relief, especially the duck's and the rest of the flock that was all a-quack. Fortunately, there was nobody else around, particularly the game warden, so we packed up our gear and headed out.

I don't know what the moral of the story is, but I don't remember ever going fishing with Joe again.

Routine?

Last Friday, our canine alarm clock, Ginger, started "talking" to us at her usual time of 5:20 a.m., so we woke up and went through our usual routine: feed Ginger, eat breakfast, have coffee and read the newspaper. Sometime after all that, go for our walk. Monday, however, the routine changed. We still had our early alarm, got Ginger fed, but then we went out for our walk before anything else. Why? Well, it turned out that the temperature was predicted to be in the 100s, so we wanted to get out before it became too warm. Good thing, because a new record was set - 110! And it's predicted to be 105 today. A short taste of the summer then back down in the 90s tomorrow and maybe even in the 70s on Thursday. I'm not ready for the summer heat yet!

Chase

The only thing I could think of was Chase asking "Is it soup yet?"

Sam's Two Birthdays

Our good friend, Sam, celebrated his 70th birthday this month. He was a New York State Trouper, and has many funny stories to tell about his adventures there. He and his wife, Joy, moved to Arizona and enjoyed the good life until his heart began to fail. He was added to the heart replacement list, and was sent to Tucson where he received a slightly used heart in February 1991. Since then, he has been taking his many medications regularly, and has passed all the tests given to heart transplant patients. He lives on the other side of the Valley, so we don't see him and Joy as often as we'd like. So here's to Sam's 70th May birthday, and we're happy to see him celebrate his 17th birthday in February as well. We wish him many, many more of both!

Fifth of May?

Well, it's that time of year again when normally patriotic Americans go all out to celebrate a small battle fought in Mexico in the 1800s in which some Mexican soldiers beat some French soldiers before losing the war. Yes, it's Cinco de Mayo time. As it was explained to me yesterday in Watercolor Class, who cares that it's a Mexican celebration, it's a good excuse for going out and consuming copious quantities of marguaritas and burritos. I think I'll pass. I'm waiting for November 5th (Guy Fawkes Day) so I can fill up on English stout and Steak and Kidney Pie. Or maybe October 3rd (Unification Day) for some Liebfraumilch und Sauerbraten. We'll see.

Odds 'n Ends

We had a problem with flies in our vanity area. In the morning, there were 6 or 7 hanging around the skylight, which I disposed of via Hoover's cleaner. The next day, more of the same. So up on the roof I went to check the skylight. Surprise! It wasn't attached to the roof! I could lift it right off. Fortunately, Home Depot is right around the corner, so I drove over and bought a replacement unit. All OK except the replacement let in more light and was energy efficient. That's when Grandma decided we should replace the other 3 skylights. Now we have light, no flies and are more energy efficient. Turns out the others weren't fastened down very well either.

This political campaign season, unfortunately, is as devisive and uncivil as past campaigns. It would be nice if the candidates attacked the issues and not the people running against them. What many voters have lost sight of is that there will be change regardless of which candidate or which party wins. The large question is: Will the change you propose be for the better or will your change make things worse?

And don't forget that it is Congress that controls how our taxes are spent. If you don't like what happens to your money, go after your Congressmen/women. The President suggests and Congress spends.

Our neighbors are getting ready to leave this beautiful weather and head back to Omaha. Grandma and I can't even think of getting away from the Valley of the Sun. This is the right time of year to be using our evaporative cooler instead of the air conditioner. Unfortunately, it needs some work to repair or replace the water pan, which is all corroded. So the agenda for this week includes visiting a few shops to find what alternatives are available (low cost, we hope!).

I read an article recently that said the origin of the Olympics torch ceremony started in Germany under the Nazi regime. With all the problems with protests along the route it might be time to end another reminder of Hitler and his henchmen.

More Computer Stuff

I don't know what kinds of problems you've had in setting up a new computer, but I've had a bunch over the past few days. I already wrote about the iTunes problem. Well, since then,I've experienced a strange phenomenon: the PC would suddenly shut down, then start up, then shut down, repeating the cycle every few seconds, until I turned off the main power. When I turned on the power an hour or so later, it started up normally, then about 5 minutes later, it started the on - off cycle again. Not knowing anything better to do, I restored the system to Day One. That meant re-installing all my programs, and re-copying files from my external hard drive. This time I kept a log listing each step of progress. And I've been selective in copying files. So far, so good.

The problem with the duplicate iTunes music was overcome as follows:
I went into the external hard drive and deleted the complete music file. Then I copied the music file from my laptop into the ext. hard drive, then copied it into the new PC. Problem solved! It turned out that the ext. hard drive had been storing earlier versions of the music file, including some duplicate items.

It seems as though I almost know what I'm doing.

New Computer

Last Saturday, we bought a new HP desktop PC with Windows Vista Home Premium already installed, so I started to set it up on Sunday. But first I copied all my document files from the laptop to an external hard drive; it took over an hour just to copy all my music in the iTunes folder. Loading software went OK except for the Broderbund Print Shop 20, which is no longer supported by Broderbund. So I dug up version 15 and loaded that with no problems. I managed to get my mail working, but only one of the three addresses, so I need to get Cox involved in that process. (We use Mozilla Thunderbird for mail and Mozilla Firefox for Internet access.) The PC came with Norton security, which I un-installed, because we subscribe to McAfee. The surprise came when I opened my iTunes file and found more music than I had on the laptop computer. Somehow or other, some tunes were duplicated, others were there but with no data other than the name of the tune. And when I tried to delete the duplicates, I couldn't. They're still there. Anyone have any ideas?