" Up on the Roof ... "

sang Carol King

I cleaned the gutters out front this AM. I knew there was debris that would wash down to the downspout. Yepper, lots there.

Weather is fall for sure. Nights are cold and the wind is that kind w/a bite to it.

She Said , He Did

that it felt like he was lurking

Hilary R C was in town speaking to promo her book.
She spoke of the election  and the ins and outs of the last weeks

The weather is truly Fall. The breeze is cool and you can feel the change.

I could list my problems , as at to - day. But if you look around , you can kind of go , like ' what the hey ! ' not bad

And I recall a quote from a priest who took confessions from nuns

' like being stoned to death w/ popcorn '

'nuff said

Did you know a 1/3 c of honey roasted peanuts is 300 Cal
I took a peek at the label
that was not smart
now , I know

However , I am using the Babe - e sitting and typing
a re - birth  , for sure

The To Do list included yesterday a) clear the front gutters
b) fix the electrical cord reel that is my favourite
and to - day
c) change the ballast in the fluorescent light fixture

I went to Home Depot and bought a 4 ft T 8 replacement fixture for the mis - firing fluorescent  fixture. The original intent was to replace the ballast in the old fixture. However , reality set in. the replacement ballast was $24. The T 8 fixture was $27. I bought the new fixture. I got home and found that I was replacing a T12 bulb fixture. I went back.
I returned the T8 fixture. And do they have a T12 fixture. NO
Thus , the conundrum re - buy the T8 plus new bulbs at $7 a piece
OR
I could buy a LED bulbless dome light for $34.
You got it - bought the LED
The LED dome is reckoned at 45 yrs
Right I'm going to see the dome LED burn out

5:30 and coffee is on

come on over

I guess.
Couldn't sleep after 5 , woke up w/ the earbuds in
Nasty habit that - earbuds

Lets set the scene. I'm YouTubing and find a video of singer - songwriter Sara Bareilles w/ her band , sitting in a car. AND

the DJ announces on the radio 
 here is a single from singer - songwriter Sara Bareilles , little known but w/ hits on i Tunes 

I'm not a fan of selfies or ' reality video ' as in greatest fails etc

BUT this video was amazing.

They offered to take me fishing and I said , I couldn't , after fishing yesterday.

The boys did fantastic
Oops !

' We'll Rant and We'll Roar

like true Newfoundlanders " goes the song

On the ' bee , the wind ranted and roared
We survived.
However , the morning was ultra warm w/ humidity
the breeze , although warm as well , saved us.

We took a break and tried again
Only the wind switched around and blew NW and cold getting colder. 80 F became 65 F in 3 hrs
We had it all.
And we got some fish.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

not for me

I think , yesterday , I had the stuffings kicked out of me.
I started by taking the truck in to the dealership
Then drove down to the city centre to pick up the relatives and bring them home. The ' Invictus Games ' are centred at the same hotel. 
I spent 25 min to travel 9 blocks or so.
Got them home
Around 6 P started for the airport
43 min out and 1 :15 hr back

Slept like a stone

Challenge Accepted

the Federation met the Klingons and survived

We challenged the traffic on #401 at rush hour and survived.

At 5:45 P we dared the trip to the airport. Across the city to Pearson Int'l.
43 min out and 1 hr back home

Success is counted sweetest 
by those who ne'er succeed  ( Emily Dickenson )

a great victory by our accounting

Still , hot and humid
A barn burner as they say
And the conditions hold til Wednesday night
Thurs offers a 9 C drop in tmeperature

Good Grief

what is going on in the world

Twenty five yrs ago , the scariest scenario for a World War was NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact.  A West leaning country would ask for aid from NATO and WP would object militarily.

Korea and the U.S. ( really the West ) have a 60 + yr history and it is not a loving relationship.
The show M.A.S.H. may have had some humour but the war it purportedly portrayed wasn't even close to funny.
The U.S. left Korea , a Phyrian winner , but really , damage was done culturally and politically.

The weather is high summer in the Big Smoke. H/ H is the order of the day.

I'm sitting here typing on Babe - e ( the converted W10 - Chrome OS) and thankful that I upgraded or down graded depending on your point of view.
There are limitations to using the Chrome OS outside of a Chromebook , proper. There were warnings by pundits.

The major drawbacks were gaming and sometimes advanced techniques ( split screen and multiple windows in use ).
In reality memory and speed are not altered ( cannot be changed w/out a new architecture and increased memory).
What changes is the stripped down nature of Chrome OS. I'm not dragging all the useless crap that came w/ W10.

However , compared to the baby laptop running W10 , there has been a re - birth , here.

The conversion turned a chore ( start up and site initiation addresses ) into an extended eye blink.
Compared to B's touchpad , a bit slower.

Day is a smoker out there and we are venturing out for supplies
, mainly booze , visitors to - morrow

In Your Dreams !

or while awake

It happened again. I'm watching the idiot box and the promo for       ' Supergirl ' plays. Supergirl in civvies rips open her shirt. Its erotic and she's wearing her costume underneath and you see the stylized  ' S '. So sad , its come to that for me.

The weather is a boiler room to - day. Margaret's cousin is in town staying in the Sheraton. The English , especially the northern variety consider 24 C a heat wave and we are going to 30 +
I sent a text message to drink plenty of water.

Supergirl , OMG

So sad , too bad (( M loves that expression ))

Mosquito Regret

oh , the little buggers got fed
and I'm still itching

Yesterday , while working on the deck , the bites were burning.
I do have an allergy reaction to mosquito bites. And this is fall , thus all irritation gets magnified during my ' hayfever ' season period.
I'm using lidacaine w/ aloe as a topical

The weather continues warm to hot w/ some humidity.

When Mosquitoes Bite

I itch

And itch. I got bitten fishing Tuesday , coming home at dark.
I treated the bites w/ a hot spoon ( to neutralize the irritant )

However , for the last two nights ( and day , sometimes ) the bite sites are on fire.
A general allergic reaction which is typical of me. I'm attempting to use Solarcaine aloe gel , said to be good for sunburn and skin irritation. Although , I applied betaderm cream , last night. My thinking is that I should avoid over use of steroidal products. 

weather continues as warm to hot ans some humidity. Showers are brief and mostly at night.

In an attempt to feel useful , I replaced 2 deckboards. The deck overall is 18 yrs old and has lasted but like things made of wood , the deck is subject to rot.
This attempt is the 2 nd set of boards that I'm replacing. I re - did another two boards last yr or so.
However , I'm cheap. You knew !
I measured the victims and ascertained that if lucky , I might re - use part of one of the boards. It worked.
I , also , pounded the boards from the bottom to make it easier to free them up.
Thus , I was at Home Hrdwre buying , one 8 ft deck board.

The project cost $ 7. 50 while using saved wood stain from the basement and tools that I hoard like gold.

I was a good pupil and father taught me to take care of tools and to value them.
When he gave up the house - bingo , bongo , I had double of every tool b/c I made sure that I was as ready as Dad.

And I am itchy like crazy

Juxtaposed

what the **** is this title

I decided , tough.

I'm sitting here typing w/ the baby laptop ala Chrome OS.
This conversion from W10 to Chrome - absolutely delightful
Almost fun to use as opposed to the previous sentiments which were fundamentally , un printable.

I'm using the baby laptop on my lap watching telly , specifically , ' You Gotta It Here ' or ' Diners , Drive ins and Dives ' gone Canadiana.

I'm icing my knee ( left ). Heat or ice always a difficult choice. However , years ago the rehab physio guy said ' put on the ice  , first and you'll know right away if it helps.  If it doesn't help don't use the ice. ' Thus , my strategy. My knee always feels better after icing

I'm re - naming the nu Chrome OS baby laptop. The designation NuCOS represents the love I feel for the re - incarnation of the machine. BUT , I'm calling her ' Babee '. Stupid and longer to type . What the hey , Babee is fast - er.

On ' You Gotta Eat Here ' and other food sampling shows. E - Z peasy. Marinate the meat for 48 h , cook slowly in oil. Cool and slice. Re -heat the meat in duck fat or butter. Add the side ingredients or veg. Throw on cheese - throw on cheese and a pat of butter.
I once saw advice that said ' don't worry about cooking at home and calories etc - there is very little that you can do at home , worse than eating out would do to your food '.

I decided years ago , butter , bacon and coffee are essential to life.
Don't get me wrong , coffee everyday. Bacon when we eat out and butter as necessary.
I butter a corner of my toast for effect when I have toast. most mornings.

Now, juxtaposed , did describe this post
Other words would also work

We shall see said the Zen Master

Now , go out and have a dyno - mite day

May the Force be with you
I am one with the Force

Here , Second hand News

.. isn't it always ! !

FYI , unofficial numbers put the number of residences w/out electricity in the Tampa Fla area at 26 , 000.
The number is rough b/c at 2 % , companies can stop reporting.
Plus , some suppliers are tracking by analog b/c systems are over loaded.
Most of these cases , mean that the resident has been w / out  electricity since Sep 10.

Weather ; T.O. is headed for 27 C and humidity creating a 30 % chance of rain. We could use some rain
I know , I know - I talked about rain  , all summer long.
We haven't had a downpour in 8 - 10 days.

I'm re - purposing, once more. We have a Dixie cup dispenser that sits on a ' shelf ? ' w/ a hole in the bottom. We used a soap dispenser at the Q. Here at home , nothing like that.
I've decided to use a plastic corner piece from a piece of furniture.
Its black plastic. I cut the hole in the base and now will cover the black to match the green paint of the wallpaper.  Or / cover the plastic w/ piece of green wrapping paper.
Another life hack , I guess.

Reporting , success. M looked at the ' new dispenser rack ' and declared it almost classy looking.
This is scary b/c , classy , is not a word that she uses often in reference to me.
Ah , such is life

I have watched :
Netflix -  Silence 
                Premise , feudal Japan has turned against the Christians , this means the Portuguese missionaries.  And the Samurai officials are not nice. Crucification seems to be biggie and thats a semi - nasty punishment

               Captain Harlock , a Japanese anime , futuristic adventure
               w/ swords and rapid fire cannon ( hey , don't look at me
                 I just watch'em ) spoken Japanese and English sub titles

              Kingsglaives Fantasy XV - anime - yep you got it

And re - watched ' Rogue One ' , the prequel that gets it all rolling in 'StarWars '. Lord Vader and the bad guys are doing their thing. The Rebel Alliance is starting to fracture. But ' Rogue One ' goes of on its own and succeeds and dies - all of them.

And , They All Fall Down

such is the way of life

Our front yard is adorned w/ a tulip tree. Its a love / hate relationship. It stands guard over the driveway but never was pretty. At least ours is not pretty.
Despite some trimming , much of it drastic , the tree was vastly overgrown on the west side.
So vastly overgrown that yesterday the bushy lop sided part fell down.
I cut loose the broken boughs and found 1 / 3 of a tree left.
Well , its all been hacked to pieces and dragged down to the ravine

A cute semi spherical tree remains.

Weather : we continue warm and slightly humid but are experiencing summer in September.

LIFE HACKS
or what I've been doing , all along
Re - purposing  , is ' life hacking ' or so I've been watching on YouTube.
There are reams of ' life hacks ' on YT. Such as a toy cross bow
out of hair barrettes and Popsicle sticks.
What you never needed to know , really

A/C is on

and we were running a space heater 8 days ago

A topsy turvy 10 days , for sure

Right , air conditioning is on. The neighbours  open their windows ( I bet )
nope , we turn on the cool

We drove the Gardiner and QEW to Niagara Falls w/ our English visitors. We ate at the hotel ( great view ) and headed home

All in all not bad. I mean the drive , considering its the QEW / Gardiner. If you look up traffic and back logs in a dictionary there you will find a picture of the QEW / Gardiner.
Overall , we were 15 minutes slower than we should have been

Off to the Falls

visitors are arriving and

We are off to the Falls - Niagara Falls

Again

Warm day coming w/ a touch of humidity

The cousins from Yorkshire , England will land at PIA ( Pearson International ) then be whisked off to the Falls.
by us

As Time Goes By.....

watcha doin'

I re - watched ' the Theory of Everything " , the story of Stephen Hawking.
' The most amazing things about the limits of the universe , is that there is no limit ' referring to any boundary for the universe
And in the end , it describes Hawking's life.
Divorced and w/ 3 children , he lives on. The prognosis was a 2 year life span when he was 24 or so.

The day is gray. The temperatures have been warm w/ some humidity. Definitely , an Indian summer kind of effect.
The sun is out and what difference. Summer came back , to - day.

I'm getting ready to de - clutter - started w/ an old computer monitor.  I left the monitor out on the curb and 2 hrs later a guy pulled up and took the monitor And he didn't want my tv.

However , the lawn service guy says ' are you throwing out that tv
" Yes "
I can get money for it at recyclingGo for it !

Done and one

" I Did My Best..........

but I guess , my best isn't good enough
Because here we are
back where it all began "      ' Just Once ' , James Ingram

Surprise , no hot water
Haven't a clue , how I knew

I went to the furnace room to hang a pair of pants to dry , and looked down
All the lights on the hot water heater , regulation panel were lit
" Mmmmm , never saw that before "
I turn on the lukewarm water and got lukewarm water
Hot doesn't exist
Tried re-set , noper !

I called the service company ' We will be there in the morning '
They gave me the 7 - 11 AM window
As when God closes a door , He opens a window

They didn't come at 7 or 8
we're waiting
Duh Duh , he made the 9 AM arrival
god opened a window
I figure that was a $500 job
But the hot water heater was a rental , thus No Charge
Thank goodness

So , It Starts

its 5:40 AM , the streets are dark.

And I am dressed and typing. But I've been awake for at least a half hour.
I answered an email at 5 and then thought what good does it do lying here < in bed>
Is this old age ? Awake at 5. We are away from home , maybe the change of venue is the problem.
" I don't expect to sleep through the night " OK Paul.

Back to the baby ' Chromebook ' , b/c the baby laptop is a different machine, now.
Years ago , when I went to the ' fixit ' store where the guy repairs computers. I told the guy that I'm trying to keep the baby laptop despite , the poor performance. Thus , the memory upgrade which was suppsoed to be magic. And then the change to Solid State drive which was supposed to be magic.
The fixit guy said ' of course , you don't want a tablet , you want a computer '
I said ' yes ' but didn't know quite what that meant.
I still think of a tablet b/c friends use them. 
however , cheapness keeps me in the ' Chromebook ' game

Weather : ????????? its pitch black out there and I am not turning on the boob tube to get the weather report.

Utility

thats the key

We are on the road and using WiFi ( as at home ) for the baby laptop. My ' Chromebook ' clone , meaning the baby laptop is a gem.
Way faster and easier to use. The laptop is now an email getter and web browser. To wit , we have recharged the baby laptop 2X since we got here. The ' Chromebook ' is turned on at 7:30 AM and used til 11 or so.
Charge 
And then used for the afternoon

The weather is fantastic , sunny and cool ( 70 s ) and dry

We are now aftermath gawkers , following the path of Irma and Irma left - overs.

Storm Gawkers

doesn't sound too impressive

We flip channels watching the coverage of ' Irma - gate '
She's a coming , sho nuf'

Our conditions out front are cool going to warmer and sunny
Predictions say 4 - 5 days of sun , sometimes w/ cloud 

I seldom mention names in this blog , unless your famous or hated

Caroline Andrews is a syndicated puzzle maker. Her forte is the crossword called the ' Cryptic '. A twice weekly inclusion in the TorStar , I await my chance to be humbled by CA.
I often mumble ' if I kill Caroline , it will justifiable '
Anguish and hair pulling are typical

Still gawking !

And sitting in the washroom , glancing at the Cryptic , I managed to do 4 answers w/out pencil or paper
Whoo whoo ! triumph - look out CA , I may go non written this week and see if I can do most of the Cryptic , visually.

Nope , bogged down after 1 / 2h , back to scribbling and screaming

Duck and Weave

for every good fighter

Then , when Irma does it 
Oh !
Irma is now tracking west - ish of the path anticipated yesterday.
For us , Irma is flying straight for our holiday resort.
We know that Gulf Blvd is maybe 6 ft above seal level and sometimes the water in winter touches the top of the retaining wall that borders the cut or arm of Boca Ciega Bay that is our water.

Weather : glorioso , full sun and cool but nice

Weather stayed nice

We are ' Irma ' watching. 

A Return to Chia

or the Chia Pet Project gets new legs

I took a 6 day hiatus from chia seeds while on the road to Good Morning. I substituted Brownberry brand , Grain Extra bread.
A delicious mash up of seeds and such.

I'm mixing chia seeds and skim milk / sweetening w/ French Vanilla coffee creamer.
Painless and almost enjoyable

Weather : RAIN   RAIN
Vad else ???

However , 3 - 5 days of clear , sunny and cool ish ( 70 s ) are coming.

On the baby laptop front and Chrome OS. One , I'm getting used to navigating on Chrome OS. I'm discovering all the features missing from Windows 10 based systems.
And , of course , I've found all the substitutes on Chrome
I even put up my own wallpaper on the introductory screen
( we'll see if my wallpaper is still there , to - day )
P.S. 5:30PM wallpaper is there !

And , I was giving advice , yesterday on the ' cloudready ' community forum. Right ! me giving advice
Not so wierd , actually, I went through so many problems and solved them , I might know some little tidbits that could help someone
On Facebook , I announced the conversion W10 to Chrome OS but clearly stated the ' struggle ' part ( didn't say how long )
On the surface , the effort makes sense  A) not tossing more electronics on the junk pile and the associated by products
B) repurposing items which is a lost theme in so many ways

" I get all the news , I need on the weather report " P. Simon

And I segue into a movie , that was on last night. ' Garden State ' highlights , 6 days , in the epiphanous home coming of a L.A. based part time actor.
The supporting cast included Natalie Portman , Ron Lieberman , Jean Smart and Ian Holm.  NP is young in this film and cuter than a button.
And the film uses P Simon s ' Only Living Boy in New York City '
hence the ' weather report ' line

Of course , in many ways , w/ Irma bearing down on the U.S. , the weather report or hurricane update is the lead almost every hour on the news.
CNN or disaster central is right in there pumping out the terror

The Norm

is that at this time of year we recover from the dryness of summer

Fall rains usually green up the lawns and replenish the trees
We are supposed to water the trees as the trees prepare for winter

Well , we are green and were green

Weather is going to have temperatures in the mid 70 s but it might be a reach to say 75 F for the day. Full sun , now but showers are possible.

My verdict on the conversion of baby laptop to Chrome OS is positive.
The hype was ' you will get a lightning fast machine ' from the old laptop that was slow and bogged down.

The truth : baby laptop is slightly faster but in the acceptable range

As stated , we use Google pretty much for everything. And some problems that I blamed on Google esp. the business of apps and extensions are gone ( w/ the loss of Windows )
Windows 10 has done wonders on the big laptop but brought a load of extra background programs and files

More as time passes and the baby laptop gets used more

The physio babe had at me , this morning. She massaged and pushed the3 shoulder muscles around. Her comment ' like strands of rope ' she did not say corded steel - rope
as in all knotted up
great !

The clouds are rolling in and gray is dropping in
And it rained !

Under the categories of Things They Never Tell You
add
using ' cloudready ' to access Chrome OS , you basically , cannot get a virus
I asked about a firewall b/c I couldn't see one anywhere on the settings.
W / ' cloudready ' the base program isn't mine or on the baby laptop. The main system gets the virus not me.
I don't control the underlying architecture and get protected

Who wudda thunk of that ?

I asked my firewall question on ' cloudready ' Community forum and got back replies in 3 hrs

EVO - lution

or somesuch

Heroically or stupidly
The old last college try took place this AM
After all the ups and downs and swearing and angst
and 4 plus hours
I fitted the USB stick into the baby laptop
booted in safe mode 
and before I could really do anything
the ' cloudready ' logo appeared
Cloudready is the program that can introduce
a new operating system into your device

For the next 20 minutes , ' cloudready ' is installing Chrome OS as the platform that runs the baby laptop.

If all goes well , the baby laptop will start up only w/ cloudready and Chrome OS

the downside is that the baby laptop will be subject to the whims and vagaries of cloudready , Chrome and Google.
To wit , the search engine will be Google only
Only w/ difficulty and luck will another search engine load or function

the upside ( s ) is / are that this blog is g mail based , our email accounts are all g mail and the word processor we use in now Google
However , all files are lost during the wiping
But I have a current back up for all personal files that were on baby laptop

' one small step for me and one giant leap for baby laptop '
I paraphrased and shamelessly borrowed from NASA

Weather is damp looking and cool

Eleven AM , a Report on Chrome OS

And success , sort of
Where are we
The baby laptop is Chrome OS ( totally dependent on Google )

Does it load faster ?
Really , instead of 1 1/2 min , we are looking at 30 seconds
slightly more work signing in

Is g mail faster ?
One of the factors in switching was a slow load for g mail
and g mail is barely faster

Oh , well , worth a shot b/c the baby laptop was too slow , overall
we'll give it a month for proper evaluation

Facebook loaded , alright

Four PM update
I've managed to add features. And right off , I can tell that this stripped down version of the laptop does many functions much better and faster

E - volution

damn
Off and on for four hours , I tried to make the baby laptop over into a Chrome OS machine
The best that I can say is ' no harm done ' and both computers still work

Took my mind off computers and operating systems 
Went fishing
We launched at approx 9 Am and fished til 2:30 P
I didn't get outfished - in fact , I might have won biggest fish and most good fish , both

Lunch was phenomenal , as one of the others is a master in the kitchen. you have to like rice and noodles but beyond that you are set

" You Say , You Want a

revolution "

the Beatles

Segue to e - volution
My baby laptop has gone through some  < evo > already.

1. The update to Windows Home
2. The increase in memory
3. The switch to Solid State Drive
4. The new battery which is a beast of a power source
5. The update to Windows 10

Recently , in Ohio , I got to compare baby laptop w/ someone's iPad ( ? ) an older model
Baby didn't compare well. Baby is slow

Thus , I researched on line for a replacement
Recall baby laptop cost $ 180 ( Cdn ) minus $30 for SDM points and since has required additional money to the tune of $ 200. All in $ 400 probably

A replacement would be $ 500 for a 13 in screen and power like you wouldn't believe ( w/ SSD )
Downside is limited plug in ports , slightly heavier b/c baby is a 10.5 " jobbie. And of course , this is a pad type device not a computer per se.

However , while searching reviews for a Chromebook which runs the Chrome OS platform ( not Windows ) , I came across a video ( there are over 10 available )
to convert your laptop into an Chrome OS machine
Free ! I like free



As of now , I'm backing up the baby laptop and getting ready to convert ' her ' to Chrome OS.
Beware , you'll hear the screaming from Scarborough if things go
will go wrong.
It s a brave new world ( sorry Aldous ) we live in

So , here goes nothing
We shall see said the Zen Master

Oh , day is slightly overcast w/ rain possible and will get warm , 80 F + humidity
But I'll be inside - screaming and foaming at the mouth

You have been warned

Labour - ing Rain

but rain will will bug out , PDQ

We are supposed to clear up by this afternoon

Texas got flooded , big time
Our Toronto flood was part of the high water on the Great Lakes and environs. Our leisure park islands are opening for the first time , this season. Toronto has barrier islands that double as amusement and picnic areas. Accessed by a ferry , the islands host 1 000 s each week end.
Business is reportedly down 85 % year over year

Enjoy 

FYI - I'm off to get heat therapy on my ' frozen ' gimpy shoulder , followed by a Voltaren gel rub.
Heck , I may rub Voltaren ( emugel ?  ) it all over my body as preventative maintenance.

Forgot to mention : latest movie reviews

Wonder Woman  ( thought I did this , but can't find it ) D.C. comics did a bang up job. And she is a GAL

Snowden  ( knew I'd hate it ) Why hate it 
b/c its true 
worse than Poltergeist
' They ' re here ! '
An interesting movie

Thank You

we had a spiffy time visiting

The beauty of a small ( read , tiny ) readership , is that you can make arcane references and at least a third to half of the audience might get the reference.

The day broke sunny but cool ish. Rain to come but the front pushed by or the remnants of Harvey will sweep east quickly.

We are adjacent to a ' Field and Stream ' store , think Bass Pro Shoppe. A dream come true. The problem is that $2 is really $3 after the currency conversion. I still picked some bargains.
Of course , I found bargains.

Thursday is Moving Day

for us

We are heading out and going east and home

The long range from Brett Anderson at Accuweather

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or