Odds and Bits

My BD is coming soon. Ah , you didn't know !

However , every gaming site does. I can take advantage of on line gaming at 3 - 4 sites.

If the " Donald " fails to get elected - will there be a fire sale of ' 31 ft ' ladders ,esp in Mexico

Weather , looks to be de - lish. Blue sky , cold - ish but do - able

Gaming. Our host casino Seneca Allegany has a BD promo , as in $ 10 free play on the slots. Of course ,this represents 40 seconds of playing time. Hmmph !

And , the offers pour in - on your BD take advantage of a time share. Time share ??? 

Best of all , if I don't want my BD bonus then I can decline the free money ( credits ). OOOOh lucky me !

Cubicle Day

Where you celebrate the cubicle
cell of business
prison of the soul

as compared to

the open space communisto system

ah , privacy is the issue

or noise reduction

the Cubicle , space saver , money saver

a Lovely Day

cloaked in cooling winds

However , in Canada , there is always a ' however ' , the ppl of Newfoundland got 3 " of snow. This dump follows the 6 - 8 ' that fell last week.

We had bright sun and high cloud.

I indulged , always do , and went for Chinese soup and noodles.
In a food hall associated w/ a Chinese shopping arcade , there is " Yogi's Noodles ".
My family says that the soup or dashi is everything. And Yogi makes great soup. Thus , for $5 , I got lunch. And it was overall great. Overall ? Well , they added beef brisket and it was ' brisket ' as in the gristle and such. Not the way , I remember , the beef.
Still a good meal and cheap.

There's a Cavern in ..............

.......... paraphrased from " There's a Tavern in the Town " trad song

The cavern is deep and the cavern is wide , in my mouth at the back

The Driller says " We are A - OK.   The cavern is clean and smooth. "
Healing quite well , thank you
Then he added , you're still rinsing regularly ???
Yes , but he said it like thats what he told me
He may have meant the instructions from the original pull day. Don't think he said anything on the scoop out day. Maybe it was the pain and I didn't hear.  
Lucky , I'd gone on line and found an ' after your extraction , care page ' and that said to rinse

The weather is cool and rainy and cool and rainy. Coming home from the QMH , there were big flakes and ice pellets and sleet.
And ... a car spun out on the #115 and was sitting wrong way in a ditch. A guy was standing beside the car holding a child. There was debris on the road and a flat bed pulled over on the right. Greasy greasy roads.

The Closing of the Door

.....................................

What does this phrase mean  ?
Dunno

I was trying to create an interesting title and failed...........
I made something up
hope its not too grim

Sort of ' when God closes a door , he opens a window '

Let's see , we are about 2 weeks from going VoIP or internet phone via the computer. Recall this is a cost cutting move. Both internet and phone will now cost 59 dollars not 100. for now.
apparently , prices change and even the 3 rd party carriers perform the same voodoo w/ prices that Bell does ( our present carrier )

So far , the support from Tek Savvy is exemplary. I've signed on to their Forum and help seems pretty quick ,i.e. 1 - 2 hours.

the pessimist in me , cannot believe their claim

To wit , plug in , the modem and you have the internet
go to the home page and specify what you want.

For phone plug in the cord

The only tough part is setting a code for the wireless system

And of course , there will be teething pains

We shall see said the Zen Master

A Lovely Saturday

Canada signs on to the Paris Accord on Climate.  Each head of state , some 140 + / - people , were given 40 sec to sign and speak.
Sort of Canada's moment on the stage. 40 sec.
The highlights include the U.S. and China agreeing
However , ratification is not automatic
In the U.S. , e.g. , there is doubt that a Republican leadership would sign. Thus ,hope is that the Paris Acc is passed pre - election , 2016.
The general mood is Washington is that this is dead season. That means that they plan to do less than usual. Scary . Scary.
When is less more , not here

The sun came out out play and the breeze is reputedly cool.
The bedspread and our living room blanket are hanging on the porch rail , airing out. " getting that dust blown off "

Sally Field , actress , is getting rave reviews for her portrayal in        " my Name is Doris ". The trailer has a neat sequence in which a acquaintance says : ' change ? you still have plum sauce packets from 15 yrs ago '
Doris :  ' they keep '

TG , I thought that I needed to throw mine out !
Saved by the movies.

#1

Cda may be #1 in over prescription of opioid meds

The Morning After ...

........ no ship was sunk in the making of this blog

There's got to be a morning after  - the lyrics from " Poseidon Adventure "
For preventative reasons , I took tylenol and advil combined after the reaming out for the infection.
No pain meds at night though , just amoxycillin.
This AM , no pain but there is a hole

To forgo the joy of the last round of healing , I decided that I'll use a gauze pad over the hole for a few days while eating.
The pad makes eating difficult and maybe I'll be forced to limit the type of food that I try to eat.

Its a plan and we're going with it

No Artifacts

.............. ?????????????????????

The dentist has National Geographic Mag in his waiting room. One of the issues was " London Underground and the Past ". This past was represented by bones and objects dug up during the digging for a new subway line.
The dentist found , no artifacts in the hole left by the tooth extraction. He did find a poorly organized clot ( not good ) in the hole. Some foreign object got in there and prevented clot formation , the good kind.
He reamed out the hole ( called starting at square 1 ) and rinsed the hole. Now ,we wait for the healing ( again ). On the plus side and this surprised me ( i.e. that there could be good signs ) there was no pus below the scab. That means that the infection was primarily a surface phenomenon and not deep. However , he did go deep , cleaning out the hole.

I go back in 5 days to get checked. The mantra is keep crap out of the hole. Eat smooth foods for 3 days. 
Beer seems to be smooth.
We'll see what else qualifies as smooth

Gone but not Forgotten

.......... good or bad ????

Definitely , bad
The site of the extracted tooth - which caused pain and angst in Fla
has become infected .... Ooh , not goood   , baaaaad !

The site has been slightly tender , is this normal , yes
There has been a slight after taste in my mouth ...... apparently , not right

The regimen is anti - biotics starting this PM 
Noon to - morrow , the driller goes in and ' scoops out ' the mess in the hole and cleans the tissue
I am to come pre - drugged w/ extra strength ' what ever ' and then he freezes me and  goes to

And then , I heal .... again and hopefully the infection dies under the anti biotic treatment

More to follow

weather is dynamite ... warm and breeze is cool . Brilliant sun

So , do the windows. I used the long pole and soft mitten attachment and squeegee on all outside windows. This operation ( poor choice of phrasing  there ) takes about an hour. No ladders and no Windex.
The solution is dish soap +  2 capfuls of vinegar.
30 windows , big and small.  The biggies are 8 ft tall and the widees are 7 ft

The Sun......

....... came out to play

and stay ??
Well ,the days ahead look fair and warm - a possibility of 70 F or close on Mon

A Story Unfolds or

............ the story of folding and unfolding ,as it were

CBC has a story from New Zealand starring Inky and Blotchy , octopi .  Actually , months ago ,Inky , star of aquarium and zoo , slipped away. Clues led the staff to believe , Inky crawled through a gap in the lid of his tank and made his way to a drain. Said drain feeds into the ocean. And freedom.
Blotchy stayed.  Inky , though , was Mr Personality , for a mollusc , I suppose.  He will be missed or is missed.

The weather is beauteous , cold or cool and slightly breezy but --- looks good.
And the warm is coming.

Recovery

........ or Life in the sGWN

All evidence is gone , a spring look for sure but that wind is a bugger.
Cold.
Mixed everything to - day. Snow flurries , ice pellets and rain - blazing sun , to boot.
Now , we get warm ---- they promised , they did !

We're Canadian , used to 3rd place. Well ,we had to settle for 8 th.
Behind Chicago , NY and San Francisco , our Edmonton came # 8.
In pizza !
Edmonton was voted in the top 10 pizza cities.

Someone had to be 8 th.

There is a multi colour neon ( ? ) sign TORONTO on display in the forecourt of the City Hall grounds. Created for the PanAM games , hosted here in T.O.. The sign's future was unknown , w/ many venues suggested.
Some 120 million photos ( 120 thousand ???? ) are available w/ the TORONTO sign featured in personal photos.
It was announced that the sign gets to reside where it is for 5 yrs
and then ...............................

One Last Blast

AGAIN  !!

Alright , not that bad , maybe an inch. Snow I mean

The cold is fading or warming - back to season average

Ah , life in the sGWN
The little crocus is in deep trouble
He popped up and bango - cold and snow
" Ah , the struggle is the glory "

" Hows the World ...

.......... Treating You " Mel Tillis ??????

Not bad , for me

In the Age of the Disappearing Middle Class , the people are there the money and security are not , we are Middle Class.
In the Last of the Mohicans ( movie ) , the title caption reads " 3 men the last of a vanishing breed " thats us.

And I still get a kick out of the rest of that caption " are on the Frontier , West of the Hudson ( as in river ) "
Frontier ! meaning everything west of there is " injun country "

So , the MC is doing OK , Should be. 

The weather has stayed chilly but the Northern air is going to leave or have less influence - Monday is on its way to 50 F , + or -.

Play4Fun

thats the come on

Our Casino , Seneca , offers a free gaming site. Slots and video poker are the choices. The start is 50 000 credits. Every 4 hrs , a player can collect 10 000 credits. There are levels and at each level extra credits are gained.
As well ,at specific levels , new games are introduced. And approaching week ends , trial games are offered. I'm at Level 28 and the last game on trial was from Level 350
In perspective , I'll need 2 billion credits played to get there. Presently , my bankroll is 100 000. I'm screwed. or Stuck in Level 30 land , forever.

Worse scenarios are possible.

The weather is all over. cold , rainy , and sunny bursts. Monday should top 48 degrees but w/ rain

The Hubbub Around here

........... well , what passes for hubbub , around here

We are switching telecomm providers and going 3 rd  party
Kinda like discount airlines
I know , crash and burn

Preparing for that day , two weeks off , we re - arranged the den or computer room.
To get the perspective , Inertia is amazing
The last changes to the room , likely happened  12 years ago , when we added a small pull out sofa from my parents condo.
Since , objects might have moved a foot either way.

Yesterday. First , the service is DSL ( phone line ). The telephone cord ran some 30 ft from the hall , up and over a door jamb and 6 ft to the modem / router. By re - shuffling furniture , the cord , now , travels 18 ft and doesn't cross the doorway.
The benefit is that w/ a shorter cord , there should be less signal degradation. As well , it would appear that the new cord is higher quality.
 We shall see said the Zen Master.

The down - side : we had to re - discover paper and bric - a - brac that was hidden or carefully shoved deep behind other things.
Crap !  thats what it was

Something about " a room unexamined is not worth living " 
Sorry , stole that from ....................

a Book Report of Sorts

The venue was the B/ B Appel Salon at the Toronto Public Library - Central Reference.
The guest was Donna Leon , writer.  DL is renowned as a mystery writer and has been named one of the 50 greatest mystery writers.

The room is large but cosy and the sound attributes , very good.
If your intent was to learn about being a writer , last night would have been a waste.
However , on a cold T.O. night , a composed and interesting lady talked casually about her life , her life in Venice and her experiences , basically , world wide.
Her claim is that she is not Venetian or Italian b/c she writes in English. BTW , of the 50 languages that her books have been translated into , Italian is not one of them.
Her hands , though , are Italian , as in the way the hands move. trust me , I know , I've seen it too often.

DL created the character , Chief Inspector , Guido Brunetti of the Venice Police Department. Solving crime in Venice is an art form , much like the city. Both function but the nuances are purely Venetian.
DL noted the Venetian need to be charitable , openly , just b/c , no other reason. The polyglot way , all people are thrown to - gether in a city of 56 000 and limited space was fascinating.
Ah , the ships form Hell , the tourist oceanliners. Bringing 3 million visitors a year ( 30 million ??? , I forget , a big number , anyway )

I forced , myself to go , on a cold night , on the Tube.
Good choice !

How It Goes

........... you take your snow tires off the car and ..........

The Toronto area got 3 in of snow over the night. T.O. missed the first go round on Sat night but Sunday night's dump was equal to all of Dec or  Jan monthly snowfall.

I swept away the salt at the front walk 3 days ago , we were tracking the salt in the house. The tires are all weather  anyway.

The temperatures as reported stay cold for the week , warming by the week end.  Apparently , there is nothing new about this snowfall pattern. In fact , to be expected. Sure , by who ???
Not me.

All in perspective , the Hopkins Blue Jays went 1 - 1 over the week.
They beat a lower ranked team and lost to one. Unfortunately , the Rutgers loss is against a B1G team , a conference fixture.
Thus , Hop is 0 - 1 in conference play. Oops !

Mr and Mrs Ohio

have moved

and they have a deal from TW re: their VOiP phone
$7 plus some benefits , for calling
I checked and here in Cda , the VOiP is $14 w/ less perks

But , my investigations lead me to believe that I need to move to a third party provider. Our cell phones use a third party provider.
I guess we are just third party people
The savings for internet and phone approx. $ 36 / mo.
Now , bear in mind , we have estimated that we are away from home better than 3 1/2 mo out of the year. You got it , we pay all these bills even when away.
Saving 36 x 12 $ makes even more sense