Sunday, August 31, 2003
Grüß Gott in Himmel !!! It's 1:30 am PDT already ! I've been Googling like crazy to get a figurine appraised. It was from my Father's estate ( such as it was ) and is a Golfer kneeling and lining up a put with his putter used as a cue... but not a "Frykman" piece... similar, but less coarse... at least art-wise. The piece must have had a label on it at one time, the remnants are apparent, but the only manufacturer's mark is: XU1470 . I saw a similar art styled piece that may have been by "Lefton" on EBay. My eyes are blurred and quasi-focused from the exhaustive search.
Gail is still having pains in her chest and some indigestion and the "sweats". Her heart has been pounding so hard she can hear it sometimes. Dunno... if this continues tomorrow I'll have to wrestle with her to get to the emergency admitting at Marshall's Hospital or at least have the Fire Dept. EMT's take a look at her... or something. Her dad is also having chest pains, still, and won't see a doctor... hell, his practitioner lives next door... well, just the other side of the east pasture anyway, damn stubborn son-a-guns ! Gail has no medical insurance, but Larry has no excuse !
Was cleaning up my storage junk in the "blue" barn and found more stuff to sell on EBay. A bunch of Caribou Mountaineering items I purchased years ago at the employee sales. Fanny packs, a soft sided brief, bunch of map holders, and some fanny packs, and one bright pink ski cover. I haven't sold anything on EBay yet, and only made one purchase... mostly for the experience, and have one bid out now for the minimum $1 USD. It's kinda' cool. I received my first rating and was given an A++++++ by the seller... cool !! Anyone want to buy a whole bunch of OLD Apple stuff... Mac and pre-Mac ??? - To EBay it will go !!!!!!! Books... maybe they'll go for $0 USD if the buyer pays shipping just to be rid of them.
Watered my trees... pine, cedar, oak, plum, and apple; also the lilacs and periwinkles and lawn and everything else that didn't move, including one kitty cat by accident. My two house kitties are curled up waiting for me to go to bed. One, Figaro, always curls up by my legs when I go to bed, and never bothers me a wit. Taffy, AKA Taffy-doodles, protects the cat food at night.
Groan... it's 2:15 am PDT... I gotta' use that Mavis somebody's typing CD to learn to type faster !
E-mailed the family my Father's bio to get corrections/additions ( ad nauseum ) done. STILL need to send out the CD's I made of all the digital photos I've taken over the past 2-3 years and the research papers prepared for me by Sara Burkhalter about my Great Uncle Zack and Grand Aunt Ada of Anchorage, Alaska. Edited two pictures and started a new album at my _family website at SmartGroups in the U.K. Cropped my Father of his cigarettes and adjusted his gamma and RGB, and adjusted the gamma and RGB on my Grandfather in his WWII uniform using IrfanView, only, to edit. The images aren't as dark and are more aesthetically pleasing now... if I do say so myself.
Added ( 4 ) pics to my brother Robin's Photo album of his backyard project... waterfall and pond dug out of hard-pan. Did only a little more editing on my revamped website... still lots to go though. Mostly more photo editing and linking ( href ) left to do. I'm pretty happy about the content, and Lord knows I have enough links to keep me surfing where I need to. Still want to make my background picture into an image map... decisions, decisions. That leaves me with a very late BLOGGING session...
Thank y'all for dropping by, as my imaginary psychiatrist, Dr. Liebschitz, would say.
Sans souci ?... mais non !!!
Adieu...
C'ya.
Friday, August 29, 2003
A short excerpt from an email I sent to Debi and family:
... "If it's the BLOG you've seen, let me know what you think of it. I look at it as a diary that can be viewed by the world... ( or not if you choose to keep IT private ). I elected to publish to everyone... sometimes wearing my heart on my sleeve... sometimes being overbearing and smug... and sometimes an ass... which is : WHO I AM. It's cathartic for me to write in this medium... it stokes the ego and humbles the soul. It allows me to be creative and feel a part ( as opposed to apart ) of a greater community... not lost in this poor shell of a wasted intellect."
'Nuf said about that.
Tired is the word for today... only 5 hours sleep for me and less for Gail. Her BP was normal when we tested at the Rite Aid store, but she's still complaining of chest aches and has indigestion. Then we learned her Father was feeling out of sorts ( smoker: won't see a doctor ).
Some good news... my daughter has most likely sold her small mobile home she and her husband and two children have been living in for the past 4-5 months here on the property. They may move in with us for a while, though, until they can settle into their new bigger home they hope to put here. Going to be quite close, with the six of us in our little place. Already hearing rumblings about my computer room/office/sanctum sanctorum becoming a storage facility for them... I don't think so ! I've already stuffed any and everything I have in here for storage along with all my orphaned computers and two desks and treadmill that doesn't work and weight bench I haven't used yet and...
Talked to my Mom tonight. It has been suggested ( by me and/or Mom ) I visit her in Alaska while the "crush" is on. I really hope I can... I haven't seen Mom in (2) years, and it would make for less a clash of egos and space and tempers... I, the worst offender. Also, I've never been to Alaska - home to many in my family in the past. Problem is, Gail won't have me to help her out, and she'll be outnumbered 4:1 !
Off to bed... good night !
C'ya.
I haven't crept up from the abyss yet... heart still heavy.
Went with Gail today, all day. First stop I surprised her with a quick trip into Rite Aid drug store to check her BP. It was normal ! Gail did sleep much better, last night, as did I. I did the driving to, and she did the driving fro. Picked up Ashley from the daycare center about 4:30 PDT, fed the horses ( I think someone already fed them, but an extra flake will do them some good ).
After that I started pounding away on the revamp work on the website. Concentrated on the slide-shows and picture gallery. I think I got the bugs out of the moving .gif slide-shows ( I had inadvertently made the first batch with the images to be transparent )... they look fine in MY browser. Also added the Java Script slide-show to run independently in the same window while the .gif slide-shows are selected and show up in a separate window using the TARGET="blank" tag routine after designating the "href" location.
I'm using the website that still resides only in my C: drive as an Active Desktop. Makes browsing the web much more to my liking with all the links I use so handily available... and... with the ambiance of the surf playing looped ad infinitum from a .wav ( get it !!! ) file I can call up. The fun part will be when I edit those same "href" locations from my C: drive to the proper folders when I FTP the website !!! Wasn't too hard last time, a few broken links and dead routines, but nothing to worry about.
Midnight already ! Been on this 'puter for the better part of 7 hours and it seems like much less. Did get a spam e-mail from my sister Debi. Something about girlfriends ¿ with a graphic that choked in the server; and send this e-mail to all and sundry or your belly button will fill up with lint or something. Always good to get an honest original thought... I'm glad she thought of me. Surprised she has time to e-mail at all with her husband ill. Sent her a note back wishing her family well, and hey ! read more about me, me, me, in my BLOG.
oops ! forgot to turn the sprinkler off and take my decongestant/allergy stuff... good night.
C'ya.
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Tortured
My soul is gray
my id black
loathe am I
that which can not take back
An errant word
a withheld kiss
an unkind deed
my mind shunning bliss
Grace un-given
shadow falls
heart wrenched slowly
'til life ends all
: Bobby Nichols 8/27/2003
Not my best day; tired, tortured, and grave. I feel like my poem... short, cutting, and pained... agony... lost. I had maybe five hours of broken sleep - forgot to put the O2 on while running the Sleep apnia box... awakened early. Gail already awake with less sleep than I. She had another chiropractic appointment to keep at 9 a.m. PDT. I, stayed home.
Her practitioner took her BP... 176/112... worse than yestermorn. We picked up David ( 6 ) from school and went to our caregiver here on the hill for Gail to get a precautionary check-up. Her BP now down to 145/75, then 135/71. Prognosis... guarded; heart seemingly strong... cut down on the stress ( yeah - right ! ), eat healthier ( doubtful ), get exercise ( never happen ), and maybe write in a journal to excise any raw emotions ( not likely ). The BP's, though high, are spiky enough ( evidently not sustained ) to warrant caution only. A return appointment for next week and a few pain pills to try is prescribed.
We picked up Ashley ( 2 ) from daycare and thought to treat the grandkids to a ride on the children's train at the park in Georgetown... arriving shortly after they had closed for the day. Played in the park after a snack on the swings and the slide and the trees and grass... a warm summer day... and drove home.
I lost it ! David's teasing of Ashley and indifferent insolence and yelling and screamimg... actually no different than any other day... I lost it ! In the short time it took to drive home I was determined to teach David a lesson. I was gruff, rough, and thoroughly self rightious... and wrong. DAMN ME !
C'ya.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Busy day today. Off with Gail at 7:30 for her chiropractic therapy and then breakfast. Dropped by Walmart for some stuff for Gail. While waiting had my BP checked at the free chair near the pharmacy... lookin' good. Gail check hers a few minutes after... not so good 165/90... I believe... not so good at all. Need to nip this in the bud quick!!!
Went to a few Hospice 2nd hand shops to do our "bargain" hunting. Nearly picked up a used external CDR for $5 USD... but hey, I could probably pick one up new for that much nowadays AND get the installation CD with it. Found a great deal at the second shop, brand spankin' new Levi's, in my size ( size MOOSE ), with all original tags on and everything for only $8 USD. They've got to be at least $30 USD at the Big and Tall stores I've frequented !!!
Did the e-mail thing... nothing from the family. "Sponge Bob Square Pants" on TV until "Call For Help" comes on. Did a quickie Scan and Defragged and checked AVG's updates ( none ) while watching Leo and Cat and roger. Entertaining, but for the life of me I can't remember a segment... except the dude that won the daily tech quiz was a computer repair guy and was asked what device an IDE cable would connect to: hard drive, mouse, something. For all his hard work, he won one of Leo's 2003 Almanacs. The answer, of course, was hard drive. Oh yeah ! the web quiz had something to do with "what version of windows was the first to use the registers, or some such: Win 3.1,Win95,NT, or some goofy answer". I made an educated guess and got that right ( Win 95 ). I still have a Win 3.1 and Win 95 computer ( amongst others ) and should have known that cold. Will I ever win a tee shirt ??? Actually no I won't... they don't make them big enough for me... maybe give it to Gail or Chrissy or Richard or ... if I ever win.
Missed "The Screen Savers" show. Maybe I can catch the rerun in the a.m. Was out looking at a truck that I desperately need. Needs lots of work, but my nephew is confident he can get it purring and all reliable like. It's an '85 or '86 Mitsubishi, black, 4WD, long bed for $300 USD. A lot of money these days for me, but I can't pour my money into my Dad's old car when I need to be able to get hay for the bloody horses, and, in general, haul "stuff" around. Put $50
USD down with the balance in EASY payments. We'll see how big a hit California gives me when it comes to paperwork et al.
Saw a shooting star tonight !!! Reminds me of when I woke up my grandson in the wee hours during the last really big meteor shower ( Nov 2001 ? ) and we watched hundreds of shooting stars in an hour. Need to go out tonight and catch Mars in its glory... beautiful clear skies up here in the Gold Country tonite... and to think it was raining in the a.m.. The day actually cleared up to get up into the 90's ( Fahrenheit ) today. STARS !!!... you can really see the stars from here.
Ad astra per aspera... good night !
C'ya.
Monday, August 25, 2003
Registered my own Domain name: http://www.bobbynichols.net at Registerfly.com. All other types: .com, .us, .biz, etc. are all still available too ! Guess they'll just sit there until I come up with a reason to use them.
Ashley's been with Gail today while David is in 1st grade and Mom and Dad work. The TV's all "Sponge Bob Squarepants" and "Dora the Explorer" and ilk. "Are you ready kids ? Aye aye Captain !!! Ohhhhhhhhhhhh... Who lives in a pineapple under the sea ? Sponge Bob Squarepants !!!!" I almost know the entire song by heart. Gail left Ashley with a chocolate pudding cup, by herself, and the 2 year old didn't disappoint. A complete bathing ensued. I took pictures, pre-bath, of course. E-mails with attachments to the family to follow.
A little more work on revamping the website. Still thinkin' of content and links. Since I'll be the only person using/viewing the site... unless I put EBay pictures on there, and maybe family, it will be mostly stuff I peruse on the web and pictures. Reference and news and web and tech content, as well as a huge section on Access and Assistive Technology... something I've been contributing to on Tech Tv's message board... on occasion, and have amassed copious web linkage on.
Turkey sandwiches... mmm mmm mmmmmmmmmm. Made two for me and one for Gail, glass of milk, and I'm sated for the rest of the day !!! But there's still one small turkey leg left... maybe a little snack before bedtime.
Nothing exciting in the e-mail today, an earthquake bulletin( or two ), my TechTv and Gnome newsletters, space.com... nothing from the family. I'll inform them of the BLOG when I email them... have to download Ashley's images from the camera and edit and resize, with IrfanView first, though.
ttfn
;)
C'ya.
Been working on my reworked website in AceHTML application. Lookin' better every day. Adding links and testing links and researching links - I'm 'bout Googled out. Need to decide if animating .gifs will be sufficiently usable as "quickie" slide-shows, or if I need to employ the method ( java script ) I used on Candy's site. So far the .gifs seem to have holes or artifacts associated with the pictures... not good... maybe the compression ?
Had turkey ¿ for dinner with stuffing and asparagus and mashed potatoes - yum ! Even got the leftovers for tomorrows turkey sandwiches... mmmmmmmmm !
Took an online IQ test at Emode.com earlier for a giggle... tried to complete with my 6 year old grandson, David, staring over my shoulder and trying to carry on a conversation with me:
Congratulations, Bobby!
Your IQ score is 138
This number is the result of a formula based on how many questions you answered correctly on Emode's Ultimate IQ test. Your IQ score is scientifically accurate.
During the test, you answered four different types of questions — mathematical, visual-spatial, linguistic and logical. We analyzed how you did on each of those questions which reveals how your brain uniquely works.
We also compared your answers with others who have taken the test. According to the sorts of questions you got correct, we can tell your Intellectual Type is a Visionary Philosopher.
This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns. And that's just some of what we know about you from your IQ results.
Only 138 ?... go figger. Next took their ink blot test:
Bobby, your subconscious mind is driven most by Reserve
You approach the world with reserve because unconsciously, and perhaps consciously, you like to be in control. You keep your emotions to yourself and you may seem mysterious or enigmatic to others.
You're often very cautious about truly expressing yourself. Even people who have known you for some time may find it hard to get close to you.
Your psyche is very deep and rich; the more you learn about it, the more you will understand who you really are.
Not bad from a company that wants to milk money out of me for the 15-25 page analysis they peddle. A little closer to the mark that time. Cautious to express myself... hmmmm. Still, the tests were fun and I was entertained.
Nearly 1:am... Gail's in the bath to try to relax herself from her excruciating chronic pain so she can get back to sleep. I best close for now and hit the hay myself... bon nuit !!!
C'ya.
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Had a relatively good sleep ( dogs,cats,Gail,kids not withstanding ). Got up when my back couldn't take it anymore. Watched the news, made coffee and breakfast of (4) eggs and some left-over steak and ate what was left of a portion of sautéd mushrooms. Watched the better part of "12 Monkeys", a sci-fi movie I can never get enough of, starring Bruce Willis . The genre has fascinated me for years. I may have read every story of Time Travel ever written... I hope not. "Slaughter House 5" ( or "Slachthause Funf" ) was brought to mind, memorable in that I had a "crush" of the major kind on a certain blonde female protagonist for years.
Turned the 80's music channel on DSS TV and started my e-mail regimen and found this BLOGGER thing proselytized at TechTv from one of their daily e-mails I subscribe to. Hey ! the spell checker in IE works !!!... wasn't too sure of "proselytized" spelling... good thing I checked !!! Been thinkin' of starting one of these things, since I need to get my prattling done somehow without flooding the family with vexatious platitudes. SO TODAY'S THE DAY !!!
Hopefully the HTML will work... be a good place to practice.
Well , time to go... someone wants to use the phone and there's only one phone line ! C'est la vie... à bête noire !!!
C'ya.
... digg.com
