Mr. Loveridge calling, thank you.

Last summer we received a couple of "business" cards from people who had more or less retired and therefore didn't have business cards in the traditional sense. But their cards told something about them, if only an address or telephone number to get hold of them.

Then recently my brother Bernell shared with us the card that he designed for him and his wife Nancy. That was it! I decided then and there to make some calling cards for Carolyn and me. Four months later they are a reality. The following is a sample of the actual card.


We had a meeting tonight at which someone asked for our name and phone number. We felt so smug just handing them a card. One of the nice things is that they come in sheets of 10 so even if there are changes or we want to have different designs, we can do so without a significant printing cost.

Think global, act local

Think global, act local! is a slogan that reminds us all that our actions usually effect only local conditions unless we happen to be a governor, president or some such high mucky muck (that really is a valid phrase). But acting local has just become easier with a new mobile phone company -- Credo. Actually Credo is just a division of a company called Working Assets which has been providing phone service and credit card services since 1985. their particular "thing" which distinguishes them from other phone/credit card companies is that they pledge a certain portion of their profits to causes that aim to protect our environment,

They also use their monthly bill to offer information about cases they're supporting at the time. Quotes from various political magazines, politicians, and bloggers give you a sense of where the money goes.

I'm torn between going for the commitment to good causes and getting a good deal. On the surface it sounds good but does the middleman take part of the donation or just facilitate the transfer of funds. Anyone have an opinion?

A hump, a bump, or a lump

Readers of the Sacramento Bee will hopefully forgive me today as I have liberally quoted from Tony Bizjak's "Back Seat Driver" column of September 28, 2009. The column relates to my previous post describing the Traffic Calming effect of certain asphalt constructs. The fact that you sometimes see signs warning of speed bumps, speed humps, makes one wonder if there is a system to it all. According to Tony's sources, there is indeed a system:

Herewith, a primer, so you can amaze your friends:

All are undulations, but each has its own special task. Speed bumps are the tall, narrow ones in parking lots that rise abruptly, forcing cars to go really slowly. Speed humps are the more gradual undulations, about 3 inches high, that you find on many residential streets. If you see a warning sign saying "undulations," it usually means there is a set of two speed humps ahead.

Speed lumps are a variation on humps. They're the ones that have small sections cut out to match the axle length for most fire trucks (and buses) so those vehicles don't have to slow much on emergency calls.

Then there are speed tables, which are about 3 inches high, like humps, but with a flat top that's about 10 yards long. It's for slightly bigger streets than residential, and allows you to go about 30 mph, but starts jolting you if you go faster than that.

Humps, bumps, lumps. It caused midtown business association exec Rob Kerth to once ask: Should we start calling potholes "dumps?"

Thanks, Tony, we will all sleep better knowing the difference between lumps and humps and bumps.

Next party

No sooner have we finished with one party when the next one seems to be upon us. When Carolyn was given the assignment of one party per month, she took it as a definite mission and not just a challenge. Now that the Wild West is behind us, get ready for



In approximately four weeks our house will be control central for a Halloween Carnival that will be designed much along the same lines as last year's Halloween party which should save some time in the planning phase even if it will take just as much work in the actual execution of the party.

Seussical, the Musical - a review

Have you ever awoken from a dream that was vivid, exciting, puzzling, and unforgettable all at the same time? Have you ever loved a Dr. Seuss book so much that you wished all books were so wonderful? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take all the books that Dr. Seuss has ever written and put them through a mixaconglomerator? What wonderful, strange, and delightful things might come out?

Well, the wonderful folks at the Davis Musical Theater Center have managed to do the next best thing to fulfilling all your wishes. Their production of" Seussical, the Musical" is a fast paced, never stop for a breath, don't look back 'cause more is comin' at you sort of play that works on so many levels it doesn't really matter whether you're a 5-year old or a hip teen or a 65-year old retiree. You're going to love it.

The Cat in the Hat of course is the real star through the whole production although he makes use of Jojo, Horton the Elephant, the Grinch, Maysie, and numerous other stars to make his point - which is that your imaginization can take you anywhere and let you do anything. The diversitiy of the cast also reflects that statement. Members of the cast such as Steve and Jan Isaacson surely must be showing somewear and tear after 25 years ot running this Theater group but you wouldn't know it by their esxhuberant performance.

Plot, character development? Well, Horton the Elephant Hears a Who, of course. And he also tends Maysie's egg because he promised he would and he meant what he said and he said what he meant and an elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!!! Thing 1 and Thing 2 accompany The Cat in the Hat but you can't tell who puts who up to the most mischief. The audience was warned but we didn't believe it until it happened. I can't spoil the surprise but you will be surprised. And your favorite Seuss character is likely to be in the cast. Come and see.

I'm recommending the play to everyone. Don't miss it.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours

Just got back from watching a performance of "Seussical the Musical" at the Davis Music Theater Company. I don't have time or energy to do a proper review of the show this evening so you'll have to wait for another day. However, during intermission I found myself doing something I never would have imagined. The mother of an acquaintance of Carolyn's and I were comparing our respective walkers! You know -- mine was lighter and looked sleeker while hers had a couple more features and the storage area appeared more stable. They both folded up for transport and storage but mine was easier to fold. Just like comparing wheels with friends in High School!

Duets

There are two situations involving my playing the piano that almost qualify for the highest level of ecstasy. One is being surrounded by a group of enthusiastic, relatively qualified singers singing the songs I'm playing on the piano and clamoring for more. The second is to be playing four-handed piano duets alongside someone who is enjoying the activity as much as I am.

Arnold & Wanda on the piano (and looking more serious than they are)

This evening after an enjoyable day of visiting and sightseeing, my sister-in-law Wanda and I sat down at the piano and played duets. And we played and played. I didn't care whether anyone else heard or enjoyed our music although Woody was kind enough not to leave the room. Wanda and I were having a great time. We even knew when one or the other of us made a mistake but we either covered up or caught up so that we still finished the piece together.

We haven't tried it yet but I'm hoping we can switch parts and play some more during their vacation here.

What is there about singing in harmony or playing in harmony that is so rewarding? It isn't the same as singing or playing in unison. I don't know what it is but I sure like it.

Second summer

Here in Sacramento we're enjoying what in less politically correct days might have been called Indian Summer. Actually, I can't see anything derogatory about the phrase so maybe it's still okay to call it such. In any case we're having wonderfully warm weather during the day but warm, breezy evenings and downright chilly nights. It's cool enough, early enough that you can actually appreciate the fall sales and with Halloween still to come, Christmas hasn't hit the stores.

Carolyn and I are enjoying the visit of my brother Woody and his wife Wanda. All four of us are in the mood for letting this vacation happen as it will so that rather than try to make so many museums in a day or check-off so many sites we've seen, we can enjoy an afternoon just sitting around talking or comparing grandchildren. It's kind of like taking a cruise without all the food and crowds. And if in the process we see something of Sacramento that we haven't seen before, then that's even better.

Let's start discussilng the details

Now that everyone has gotten his anger off his chest about the Healthcare Reform, it seems to me we ought to start discussing real details. For example instead of denying or affirming that a "death panel" is proposed in the Reform act, let's discuss what a "death panel" might look like and when it would be appropriate and whether it is something that should be included in a package paid for by public tax money. The same should be done with premarital counseling, elective plastic surgery, breast enhancements, hearing aids, etc. The list is surprisingly short. Most of us have compared insurance policies during open enrollment with an employer. So we're not talking about a 1,000 page document.

I think we ought to talk about actual pay to doctors, hospitals, independent therapists. The discussion to this point is so general and non-specific that almost any plan might qualify. That may be the intention of President Obama and it may be a good strategy but it isn't one I particularly like. Give me some details just like I get from Blue Cross, Kaiser, and Pacificare.

More keepin' on keepin' up

We had another incident recently that had us wondering further about identity theft: We use Microsoft Money to track our expenses and I use it to make electronic payments. Last week I attempted to make a payment only to be told that our PIN was no longer valid. When I called to ask what had happened the bank representative said I or someone else had entered a invalid PIN more than 6 times. That locks the account and the only way to get to it is to reset the PIN. The representative said it would take 3 or 4 days to get the new PIN. I was to use the new PIN to access my account and the first thing I should do was to change my PIN.

The very next day I got a new PIN in the mail. I called, What was going on. How could I have asked for this PIN? I called again. No, this PIN wouldn't help. No, don't try to use it as the latest reset overruled this one. Still no idea who tried to break into our account in the first place. Three days later got another PIN. I used it to access the bank account but it didn't ask me to change the PIN. Called up the bank immediately.

After working with the bank rep for ten minutes or so, he asked the version Microsoft Money I was using. Embarrassed, I had to admit we were still using Version 2002. The rep said they only connected with versions 2007 and above. I thought for sure I was on my own then but the agent stayed with me as we together tried various commands. It turned out to be on a sub-menu one that started this whole mess. I was feeling pretty good that we finally got it working. I was able to download all my checks and deposits for the past week. Another potential disaster averted.

Do you think I need to upgrade to Money 2010?

La Sierra's Wild Wild West (party)

Here's the report on the church party that Carolyn and the rest of the Activity Committee were responsible for. I don't know exactly how you evaluate the success of such a venture except by the smiles and laughs and good times that people seem to be having. And judged by that, I would say it was a success. My guess is that about 120 to 130 people were there at some time with lots of young and very young. But the more mature turned out pretty good as well.

There was, of course, the usual food line.

And the line to get into the food line.

Most people ate at the tables which had been placed in the driveway for this event.

But a few birds preferred their own perch.

Mardy & Lora were the official (WANTED!!) photographers. Marty also put together the mix of Western ballads and Western swing that played in the background during the evening.



This is a sample of the WANTED posters that Tonya Phillips put together from the pictures that Mardy took. Note the authentic props loaned for the evening by the McMillens.



Here, the Bishop and his family are posing for their WANTED!! poster.


While these three are waiting for theirs.

Some of the activities included panning for gold.

Branding "genuine" cowhide (brown sacks) with "genuine" brands (potato stamps).

The pie eating contest was a favorite from the Ready, Set,....

GO!!!!!!

And the winner is... Well, I don't think there was a loser. Look at the happy faces!

I've always been amazed at people who can crochet while doing something else. Here, Sister Porter demonstrates the use of a glowing crochet hook which allows here to continue way into the night. I tried a flash but it just didn't show up at all.

This activity is going to have to be done a few more times to really catch on. A tarp on the cement was scattered with toys and candy, then covered with shredded paper. The object for the kids is to dig through the paper to find the treasures. Not easy but a lot of fun.

We could tell the evening was winding down when Ed lit the campfire.
Unfortunately, it was also bedtime for many, if not most, of the really young 'uns.

Ken Walker had brought his guitar and songsheets with a dozen or so songs of the Wild West. It sounded better when he sang alone but we still enjoyed singing with him.

Don Swain entertained us with some cowboy lore to wrap up the evening.

Everyone then pitched in to see how fast we could clean the place so it would look appropriate for Sunday services the next day.

Lawn mowing rivalry

Three weeks ago when I finished mowing the lawn, I said that would be the last time I mowed our lawn like that since I was just too prone to accidents and falls. Unlike shopping carts in the market, the lawnmower has to be pushed up a little hill in our front yard and down again. What I had in mind was a neighbor or church youth who wouldn't mind picking up a little bit of cash every two weeks.

But son Ed and his wife Tiffany had other thoughts when they heard me make the announcement. The result was Ed and the two boys showing up to mow and edge our lawn this morning. They would also vacuum the whole house carpet.

What I refer to in the subject of this post is that Jake was not satisfied with just the vacuuming. Ed told him no but he persissted until he was finally given a chance. I think he's about two years and 6 inches short of optimal condition but he's got enough drive and determination to make up for his deficits.

I missed getting a photo of the boys working mowing the lawn but at least you can see what a good job they've done on the front lawn.

And in spite of his hard work on the rear lawn, Jake still has enough energy to ride Tim's bike up and down the street. All you have to do to get Jake to do something is to tell him he can't do it until he's as old as Tim.

Keepin' On Keepin' Up

Now that we've pretty much solved our second computer problem (the old computer was a Pentium 2) with a state of the art laptop and have migrated most of our important programs I considered what our next concern should be. We now have 3 printers since we got a multi-purpose machine the last time we needed a scanner. But two of the three printers are hanging off the old computer and shared with the new computer. If the old computer decided to die on us we'd need to move those printers over.

It occurred to me that one of the printers (our trusty LaserJet 6p) only has only a parallel connection as it came out before USB was that popular and we weren't thinking of networking printers. In trying to find a solution I found that we had already purchased a parallel to USB cable but had never hooked it up.

Then this morning the parallel port stopped working. Because I had been working on the problem I found the USB cord and plugged it into a USB port. After a short period of recognition and handshaking, the printer was again up and going. And it no longer is a parallel port printer so it's lifetime has been significantly extended.

Wild West Family Fun Night - coming up

Thursday before a church party is usually the day that Carolyn has her "what have we forgotten" run through but today she had to fly to San Diego for a meeting. She returned this evening but not until about 8:00 which doesn't give her much time to make last minute phone calls. Fortunately, the regulars in the ward have been good about signing up for food and activities and a couple have called asking "what do you need the most?"

She had to get up at 4:00 am this morning to catch the plane so she tried to get to bed early. Why is it so hard to get to sleep two hours early? I needed to work on Friends of the Library accounts so I didn't feel like going to bed early. I'm afraid Carolyn's going to really crash after this party. Fortunately, we have Woody and Wanda's visit to look forward to.

Behind the Scenes

I don't this to sound like complaining so if it starts to sound like that stop reading.

I think it's a general rule of thumb that in most college classes you can expect as a student to spend in class per week the number of credit hours you get for that class and between 2 and 3 hours in outside study and work for every credit hour. Lab classes are significantly different.

I think it's also a general rule of thumb for teachers of college classes to expect to spend 3 to 5 hours per week for every credit hour of class you teach. Are these still valid rules?

I got to thinking about this as it might apply to my work as a treasurer and my "public" time is at most 2 hours per month in our board meeting. One could claim it was even smaller based on the time I actually said something versus just listening actively to the discussion and remarking as appropriate. But after the meeting is over I have another 4 to 5 hours of finishing the business approved at the meeting including checks signed by the President.

I wonder if anyone has ever come up with a metric, a way to measure your "class time" overhead for school, college, and weird jobs like Treasurer.

Branches, Affiliates, or Independent Organizations

It's interesting to know that the battle between a federal government and states' rights is alive and well in organizations as small and mundane as the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library. As it is organized we are only one organization with 28 branches which are wholly owned by the System Friends and managed by the System Board of Directors. Thus, for IRS purposes and all other legal purposes, we are one organization and submit reports only for that one organization. The interesting part comes from trying to monitor and enforce that.

We have found branches that apply for and receive their own IRS ID number. We have branches that refuse to follow fund raising guidelines as well as funding guidelines. In one case an outgoing treasurer moved out of state and took the branch funds with her claiming that the new treasurer was not properly elected. And there's the ongoing battle over who has the ultimate say in the practice of fundraising and the distribution of funds.

Tonight was the Board Meeting of the System Friends of which I am a member and officer, Treasurer. Although we didn't spend a lot of time on it, separation of duties and responsibilities between the System and the Branches came up again like it does almost every month.

Muddy Buddies

I don't know what there is about people who feel they need to have something to eat at meetings. We are having our Friends of the Sacramento Library Board of Directors meeting Tuesday evening and I have been assigned "cookie duty". Usually, the baking talented bake chocolate chip cookies although there has been a lemon crisp while the baking challenged simply buy a couple dozen cookies at the local grocery store.

I'm not exactly baking-abled but when I saw this recipe on the back of the Rice Chex box I thought, even I can do that! First of all, I made a 1/3 batch to see if we'd even like the stuff. It was a hit. It tastes almost like chocolate wheat check but a little sweeter.

The recipe, written on the back or side of most Rice Chex boxes couldn't be much simpler:

Muddy Buddies (snack food)
9 cups Rice Chex
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In micro wavable bowl combine all ingredients except sugar and Rice Chex. Heat on high for about a minute. Stir thoroughly then heat it again for 30 seconds. MIx in rice chex and stir until evenly distributed. Place in resealable 2 gallon plastic bag and pour in powdered sugar. Now bounce, turn, shake, and otherwise have fun with the bag until the powdered sugar is spread all over the pieces of Muddy Buddies. Store in airtight bag in refrigerator as it will quickly re-clump.

This is what my looked like just before putting it in the bag for shaking.

Serving suggestion

Tip of the Hat - Elephant Bar

One circuit speaker I listened to once said that when we have a bad experience we tell 10 people but when we have a good experience we only tell one. That's a pretty broad generalization for such a specific idea but common sense tells us we do complain more than compliment.


Today I'd like to single out the Elephant Bar for a tip of the hat. We live right between two Elephant Bars, about 5 miles either direction so it isn't exactly convenient for us to dine there. But last night we were in the area of one of them so we dropped in. We were told it would be a 20-25 minute wait and given one of those blinking red coasters. Ten minutes later it signaled that our table was ready.

Everything went well from the waitress introduction, explanation of meal choices, drink order, and food order. Service was prompt, accurate, and friendly. The menu is amazing and the prices still in the $10 to $16 for most entrees. We ordered shank of lamb and grilled trout with a lobster sauce. The food was served hot and tasty. Drink refills for sodas was prompt.

But the real coup de grace came when we were ready to pay our bill. I had an old paper Senior Discount Card that expired in 2006 and I expected the restaurant to disallow any discount but maybe sign us up for a discount the NEXT time which is their usual policy for a new customer. Instead the manager paid us a visit, thanked us for coming, handed us two of the plastic Senior Cards, and told us our bill had been reduced 20%. I think we'll be coming back.

So Long, Meals-On-Wheels

One of the major effects I have experienced due to Parkinson's or the medication I take for PD has been to slow me down considerably. I get out of my car slower; in my car slower; I walk slower or not at all; I shower slower; I eat slower; I get out of bed slower; I think you get the idea. If I were to plot a line indicating my speed from month to month the line would be a downward sloping line.

Taking my speed changing as a signal, and getting another call from the Headquarter of Meals on Wheels inquiring about why sometimes I go over my time limit; I decided that I should email the volunteer coordinator to suggest we should start the process of replacing me. Well, it turns out that a lot of people have been applying to do Meal on Wheels so that is not a problem. The coordinator Richard suggested making the change immediately.

I still have much to keep my days full including a serious backlog of books that need to be repaired for the Friends of the Library so I'm not worried about boredom.

782 month checkup

My "movement specialist" neurologist who has my case at Kaiser (at least for all the Parkinson's related diagnoses and treatment) has suggested that we meet twice per year unless there has been no change in my condition. Six months ago, he suggested that I can merely call and cancel the appointment if called for.

I felt my walking problems have been getting much worse each day such that I can no longer walk with no assistance or with a cane alone. However, according to my doctor, there have been no significant changes since my last appointmentve

Are we recovering?

Who is one to believe? We hear talk that the recession is worsening and is really a depression. We also hear that the recovery has begun but that it will be slow and painful. I personally believe that talking about how bad things are leads to a certain paralysis and feeling of inevitability, that we're doomed so draw in the drawbridge, batten down the hadges, and get ready for a wild ride. I'm opstimistic. I'm with Kohl stores who, while cutting back their planned expansion, are expanding 75 to 100 stores per year.

I have a defined contribution pension plan courtesy of Long Beach Community Hospital and Harbor Regional Center. (We're talking stock market & mutual funds here) Every once in a while I actually look at it. The investment decisions for the plan supposedly take into account my risk aversion and retirement needs. For all intents and purposes, it is a closed plan because I don't put additional funds into it and so far we haven't had to take money out either. So I kind of look at it as my "economic pulse". The index for this fund went from 1.11 on Oct 1, 2002, to .759 on Feb. 1, 2009 to .885 on Sep. 1, 2009. To put a shiny face on these numbers:

10/1/2007	1.111
2/1/2009	0.759	-0.352	-31.7%	16	-2.0%
9/1/2009	0.885	0.126	16.6%	7	2.4%

We lost 31.7% over a 16 month period or 2% per month. In the last 7 months we have gained 16.6% or 2.4% per month. That looks like a turnaround to me. Modest,yes, but still a turnaround. And, of course, this is only one fund among millions.

Music Collection Progress Report #2

First of all I'd like to thank all of you who wished Carolyn and me well. Our life together is its own most satisfying reward but to have so many friends and relative friends (or should that be friendly relatives) just adds icing to the cake, mozzarella to the pizza, etc.


==========New Topic==============
I'm coming close now to completing the scanning and indexing of all my variety music books. I have not undertaken to add to the database individual books which represent single Broadway plays or my Scribner Classics, for example, which are unlikely to contain songs someone wants to sing (or even hear).

I now have 5,380 entries, of which 1,157 are duplicates. One number shows up 8 times to claim the championship, another shows up 7 times for the runner up prize. And 7 numbers showing up 5 times each to claim a tie for fourth place. Here are the songs and their standings so far:

1st place What the World Needs Now is Love (8)
2nd place Something (7)
3rd place Amazing Grace(6)
4th place tie

America the Beautiful (5)
Autumn Leaves (5)
Hey There Lonely Girl (5)
It's Magic (5)
Lover Come Back (5)
This Guy's in Love with You (5)
Young at Heart (5)

It's been a fun project and has enabled me to learn more about my music, my scanners, and even more about Excel.

42nd Anniversary

The 42nd Anniversary of our marriage is today. It's not a silver, gold, or diamond anniversary. In fact most tables of "suggested gifts" by anniversary year, leave it out entirely. After the 25th they go by 5 year leaps - as if these "in between" anniversaries don't mean as much. In fact, we don't show the same enthusiasm and romanticism about the anniversary as we did our 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. She sends me a lovely e-mail from work but reminds me that a prior commitment will mean she'll be home late. I buy her a pretty card but can't remember what I did with it. I buy myself a book and tell her it's her anniversary present to me. She does the same.

But, y'know this past year has been just as precious to me, just as meaningful as the other 41. I've seen the miracle of modern medicine combined with faith and hope bring my beloved wife from the brink of death. Forty-two years ago, this probably wouldn't have been the outcome. I've watched Carolyn lose 75% of her stomach and 33% of her body weight and 100% of her hair and marveled at her attitude. A couple of wigs for her head, a new milk-free diet for her stomach, and many hours at the sewing machine and in the clothing stores completely redoing her professional business wardrobe. This woman has fantastic energy, stamina, and a positive outlook on life, not to mention that she's still the sexiest 62-year old I know. She's made this 42nd year of our marriage one of the most meaningful.

Carolyn reminded me that we could almost be celebrating the 43rd anniversary of her asking me out on our first date. That story deserves it own post but one thing led to another and just a little later we tied the knot. And I think we both couldn't be happier that she did and we did.

Let me also add a word of thanks to our kids, their spouses, and our grandchildren. We would have to look long and hard to find anything serious that any of you have done to mar this 42nd year of our marriage. Believe me, it means a lot to us that you are all just such GOOD people. I can't express it in any other way because you're all so good in so many different ways.

Happy Anniversary to us.

Ramp Up to Labor Day

Ed and Tiffany are at a good time in life to be able to enjoy holilidays either by visiting museums or fun ride places or actually working. They decided to install a ramp on their front porch for those of us who are a little walking challenged. I was a little surprised that Tiffany had used a scroll saw to cut the large ramp boards instead of borrowing our table saw. We then brought it over so that at least for the remaining cuts she can use it.


Tiffany engineered and designed the ramp, checking to see that it met ADA requirements.


Camdan with his newly discovered ability to walk directed traffic and yelled just for the fun of it.


Edward was the co-designer and assistant contractor.




Grandma was cold just thinking about Camdan wearing only a diaper so she pulled on a little bit more clothing for the little guy.


Tim and Jake were doing their part by mostly staying out of way. They have also discovered their razer scooters can be a real thrill.


Hear is a wider look of the ramp under construction.


Typical construction crew: 3 supervisors, 2 workers. It got too dark too soon to finish it

Harry Potter - the umpteenth movie

Also subtitled "the Half-blood Prince" which conveniently helps us identify which book it is supposed to relate to, be a visual aid for, or something along that line. Maybe it's because the gap has grown so large now between reading the book and seeing the movie that I felt like this was the first HP movie that could really not stand on its own. If someone had not read the corresponding book for each of the previous HP movies, it would still be an enjoyable movie. There would be a plot, some character development, and some unexpected twists, etc. But this time I really felt there should be a pause button somewhere and the message "now turn the page". That's it, it's a glorified Storyteller tape!

Let's face it, I suffer from Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. I lose interest in anything that has been in the public eye more than 5 years. So I went to the movie with Carolyn, my oldest son Ed and his oldest son Tim with the intention of enjoying the special effects.. We thought that all the special effects would do for Jake was give him nightmares.

As I said, I couldn't pick up a plot or character development (except maybe for the suggestion by Dumbledore that Harry could use a shave). The budding love interests were handled tastefully, if a little on the embarrassing side. Having read the book, I could tell every once in a while when the movie had wandered and was now coming back in sync with the book.

If you just have to see the book for yourself, hold on just a little while longer for the DVD version. Then you really can push pause and read along with the movie.

Unripe coconuts

I know, its hard for me to believe it also. How could I get to the ripe old age of 65 without realizing that coconuts ripen! At least it never occurred to me that stores would sell the unripe variety without a warning.

For the Luau theme ward party Carolyn bought 2 coconuts to play Coconut Bowling. One uses coconuts for the balls and plastic soda bottles for the pins. Cheap enough equipment especially if one then opens the coconuts and eats the meat inside.

Carolyn is really good at opening a coconut and digging out the meat. Unfortunately, it tasted awful - not sweet at all or even nutty. Yuck!!

"testing the smoke alarm"

It's an old story in our family. About twice a year or about as often as we're told we should test our smoke alarms, someone in our house would burn a pot of beans or something similar. Well, the alarms didn't go off but I did see smoke beginning to collect along our ceiling this afternoon. It wasn't hard to determine the source:

Yup, a big pot of 15 bean soup that Carolyn had purchased from the 99 cent store the day before. It had looked so good that we had dug through the freezer last night to find some Kielbasa (Italian sausage). Today I had carefully diced the meat into the beans, sstirred the pot, and left it on the lowest setting to steep for awhile. In the meantime, I began working on our computer file organization and email problems.

Severeal minutes later (you know how time flies when you're absorbed in something) I wondered how the beans were doing. Too late I discovered that the extra 2 cups of water I had put in had boiled away as well as the water that Carolyn had left.

My first response was to attempt a rescue effort. I dumped all the loose liquid and beans into another, clean pan. I then added a little water and broke up all the lumps and clumpss. I tasted the soup. It was actually quite tasty until I got a crunchy piece. It tasted like a piece of charcoal - pretty bitter. I'm not going to recommend charcoal. It didn't look that feasible to remove just the burnt pieces. So that rescue effort was abandoned.



My second response was to make split pea soup which Carolyn had also purchased at the 99 cent store. It turns out to be a pretty simple recipe: split peas, salt, celery, carots, water, and strips of bacon. They also recommended milk and onions but we decided the soup looked and tasted great as it was.

Beginning of split-pea soup

Final picture of split-pea soup

e-mail identity theft?

The more I discover about my e-mail problem, the more I am convinced that I have been the victim of e-mail identity theft or at least attempted e-mail identity theft. The pieces fit together too well for it to be anything else.

First, I set up a mirror email site by forwarding all my email to another web-based server but not removing them from the original Surewest server. That way I could assume that this second site was a control site in that virtually all my email should appear on that site. I also change by Outlook settings so that my email should stay in the Surewest server even after Outlook downloaded it. After a couple of days it became clear that I was indeed losing email. But about the only difference between mail that actually made it to me and mail that didn't was whether or not I had Outlook up and running. If I did, apparently I got to the mail on my Surewest server before the thief did. If Outlook was not running such as overnight or while I was at work, the thief got the mail. When I logged by on with Outlook, there was no mail to pick up.

The obvious solution was to change my email password. As soon as I did, the Surewest server started keeping my email, indicating that the thief was not getting it. The real test will be going overnight with the computer off.

This hypothesis also is consistent with the timing of this problem and the fact that Carolyn never had the problem. On our recent Utah vacation we tried to stay in touch with the world by accessing our email accounts. Both of our hotels had Wifi but one or both of them were "unsecured networks". We could have been giving away our passwords to anyone clever enough to capture our keystrokes. I don't recall accessing any of our banks for bill paying (I don't usually worry about that during vacation) but changing our passwords all around might still be a wise thing to do.

The theft was not only preventable but the thief gave himself away by actually taking the email. If he had left it for me I would never have known that someone was messing with my email account.

Now the question is: Since I don't know who the thief is and to my knowledge have not suffered any loss, should I report this to law enforcement and, if so, to whom?

Pitch for "independently owned" businesses

This infomercial was included in a notice about a local store which had tried to expand into a neighboring city and found it rougher than expected. It has the look and feel of a professional public relations firm which ironically enough probably isn't a local business but could certainly be independently owned.

I'm tempted to agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of the message but I suspect it is the "cheer for the underdog" part of my heart that is agreeing and not my whole heart. After all, what would our economy look like if we all supported only businesses that were independently owned - 19th century America or England. It is risky to be an independent businessman which is why more than 50% fail within two years of starting. But they have enough appeal that people keep coming back and starting new businesses. In spite of all the drawbacks people find the notion of being their own bosses enough to try to make it.

I fully support local, independently owned businesses but I also support those they exclude - the e-businesses, the franchises, the home-based businesses, and the multi-state, multi-national chains. I believe there is a place for each and an appropriate civic cost (taxes & fees) for each. And you can't always tell by the volume of the whining whether a business is paying the appropriate civic cost.

The case of the missing e-Mail

Before we began moving our essential programs to our faster and more powerful computer I was perhaps living in ignorant bliss but I really believed I was getting all but junk email. Then, in the process of moving computers, we temporarily used an email program that transferred email from our ISP (Surewest) server, told the server to delete it, and then promptly deleted the copy of the email it had just downloaded. So I know for a fact that some programs deliver 0% of your email. After several upgrades and modificatins along the way I am now getting SOME email. My question now: are we getting 100% of our email or some other non-zero percentage? And a second question: How do we find out what percentage.

I understood Microsoft Outlook to be a end user email system that looks for mail on a web mail server, retrieves that mail, sorts and delivers it locally, then directs the web server to delete it's copy. In other words, every morning before I run Outlook there should be a collection of email piling up at Surewest waiting for my login. But the few mornings that I have tried it, I've been unsuccessful at finding undelivered mail at the Surewest web mail portal.

Any suggestions out there for assuring myself that I am getting all my important e-mail or
catching those email messages that aren't getting through to me?