a Steady One

degrees C or 34 F all day

Overcast ans snow squalls expected. The wind is SSW and strong

There was a snow squall watch issued at 7 Am but it went away. There will be snow but not blasts of snow.
We < in T.O. > are apparently in a shell. We missed ice storms that went by and hit the East of ON and PQ
There still is snow warnings for the area out to our SW.

Okay. " Anticipation is making me wait " as per Carly Simon
The ' old guy shuffles out ' and the ' baby waves its warms holding celebratory items < horn etc >

In Japan, all debts must be settled prior to tomorrow - sort of a clean slate.
Well, we eliminated our debt by fulfilling the mortgage in November. BTW, finally got a clearance certificate for house insurance. The rate drops if you have no mortgage.

The baby can wave its arms

A pretty snow fall < only b/c I'm not driving > is happening - not a squall or storm - Mother nature shedding some dandruff before January 1 2020
I know the feeling

Trees Swaying in the ..... ( #2537 )

summer breeze as sung by Peter and Gordon

NOT
The trees are shaking to their roots out there
Wet and wild
But nothing looks frozen yet

Its 35 -> 48 F Wind is Easterly and 25 mph
a rip roaring day ahead

The day was balmy as the wind died
For 3 hours, sun and warm

Back Deck says 30F

windy and gray

The roaring sound we hear is the wind kicking up. Yepper, bringing a storm and ................

We shall see said the Zen Master

Plan . Plan  .  Plan : is the advice on one website in regards to travel especially by car.
One long time traveller, pre-packs a small wheelie case and practices at home living out of the case, to verify that he / she has packed properly for a night's stay in a hotel.
Well, we are not there yet. We have 2 empty suitcases and a third smaller one w/ socks in it. Not quite enough for one night   < socks, yes everything else NO >
There has been much bandied about between us, sorta all theory no action - but at least there are socks.
These are the one size fits none variety.
We will get there.  

All will be right in the end
If it isn't right
then its not the end ..............  yeah, no toothbrush and 1 sock - thats the end

One friend said ' Pack ? You're going by car - toss it in the back til the back is full.
Wait ! Thats what it looks like at the last minute
80 % carefully stowed away and 40 % thrown willy-nilly in the back.

' flegum in the tubes'

a line from Cabaret. A German girl is learning English. When asked how she is,thats the reply
Of course, she had just read ' phlegm in her throat ' or the literal translation

I use a nasal rinser < squirt bottle > w/ saline solution to clear my sinuses. 
A problem that has remained from my early teens

In the last 15 years or so, I've basically needed to wash out my sinuses daily starting in late October - straight thru til March.

I discovered the impaired sinuses after getting massive headaches. Sharp blockbuster head bombs.
Reduced to tears, I was shopped around to specialists.
Diagnosis - poor vision or more accurately inability to focus.
Until - Dr Setsu < female opthamolgist > spoke up and said " does your nose drip like that when you have a headache "
Yes, mostly
A prescription for nasal spray - that subsequently became OTC - now called Otrivin
I gave up on nasal sprays when father said that he got a nosebleed. Dad was using Otrivin < I wonder where my blocked sinuses came from, says he >. Dad was inhaling saline to clear his sinuses
I started and someone gave me a squirt bottle to try
Thats where we are now

BTW, blockbuster headaches never returned.
Touch wood - just did

The day is now 36 -> 40 F Winds WNW light
Partly cloudy. We see patchy skies but plenty of blue

Segue from the title, do not use Vick s VapoRub for toenail fungus. Nor is it recommended for hair conditioning pre-washing your hair.

On te flavour front, wintergreen is found in the original double bubble and root beer.

Awake at 3 AM

coffee and blogging

Lay there for 1/2 h after 2:30 and said
' nope, not sleeping '

Well, last night 8 h ago. The traditional Xmas dinner at the cousin s house. We forgot the whipping cream, the wine and 4 chocolate reindeer.< for the little ones - aged 21 - 34 years old  - they're young pups ! >

Food was fantastic. The family stuffing and gravy < yes, the way Mommy and Aunties used to make it >
so reminiscent of growing up. And we did. The 3 cousins present , me, and Aunt Ivy s children, spent most weekends and holidays together.

Daylight come - kinda - awful gray out there

Gray < # 2533 >

Overcast and dim

10 Am - not so dim but gray

M was disappointed b/c I did not use the power block that she gave me for the purpose that I said that I wanted the block for.
Original idea was to use 1 power block behind the TV stand to organize the wires. However, on looking, I decided to raise the power bars < each plugged into a different plug same plate > off the floor. Then bundle the wires < mostly power cords > to organize the space.
The power block is an eight plug block w/ disrupter switch. The block will come in handy elsewhere.

BTW - the power bars are supported on the baseboard by chopsticks driven into the baseboard. The advantage is even if they chopsticks fail, then you cut them flush and the hole you made is self filled w/ wood

So cheap ! But practical as well. Behind the TV stand who could will see. As well, although screwed to wall would make the whole system secure. This type of set up allows you to hold the power bar and unplug the the plug that you want. Much safer.

Was Santa Good to You

I don't know here
Won't know til 10 Am after coffee

The sun is lighting the tree tops b/c the day is a little gray still. No air movement except some swaying at the top of the trees

Merry Christmas

My biggie was my wireless speaker for the Chromebook. Then an induction stovetop that plugs in and heats only the pot / pan. This item will allow us to heat soup etc in summer w/out heating the kitchen up. Also, at the Q which has the white ceramic range surface that stains terribly < in fact fully cleaned its ugly looking and never gets better >
Clothes and toiletries that needed replenishment - of course, guaranteed to make me beautiful or less ugly

And you ?

Day never got brighter thus the burst of sun was the Xmas miracle. Golden topped trees to say  ' Good Morning '

Morning of the Eve

yes, very close now

We don't have children. Thus, its us on Christmas.
Some traditions. Xmas Eve dinner is smoked salmon or shrimp and clam chowder, The Italians etc often have a seafood dinner on Xmas Eve but we are not Italian.
And rolls or bread w/ cream cheese or brie or cheese spread.
We've been doing this for 36 years w/ some breaks b/c we weren't home - St Martin, Barbados (?) and Fla

Weather today. 27 but feels like 18 F headed for 34 w/ a NE wind at 9 - 10 mph. Humidity is 80 %

From Brett Anderson at Accuweather:

Cresting

Deec 23 - the eve of the Eve

Google asks      ' who left the lights on at the North Pole " - the elves

I didn't read the answer. I assume this is a non political thread

Coffee < left over >and 6:35 Am wake up call from inside me
' I was thinking ' and everyone around me knows to fear those words

I visited the CBC website and in the sections that I scan - one story from today :
" Why You Shouldn't Wash Your Turkey "

Weather : 36 F headed for 50 ish on a South wind  that'll blow pretty good
Part sun and cloud

As advertised, full sun and it is warm

I mentioned that I blogged in 1967 - obviously it was called  ' diary ' or < Reflections >. The effort was loosely based on the daily or so column by Richard Needham in the Toronto Star titled ' a Writers Notebook '.
RN was much more outspoken than anything here.
I'm endeavouring to be positive < no chuckling out there >.
RN  fired stuff out there.
BTW, not controversial I might have been but it was way more personal than here.
I've read those ' reflections ' in fact within the last few weeks and wisely binned the lot except for a few key momentos < and not my writing either.

Had you read the drivel - poor you then
teenage angst / lost love and crap poetry
no, I mean crap poetry
it rhymed

Funny That

we have an advert running on TV here in Ontario

The scene is a couple saying goodbye at the door to family. As the door closes, mayhem breaks out. Xmas tree comes down, decorations are binned and a calendar is pegged to the back of the door.
The voice over and writing on the calendar proclaim
" Boxing Day sale at Leon s < multi - location  furniture company > Dec 26.
The humour was not lost on me.
The anticipation of the event often outstrips the real moment.
" Anticipation is making me wait " Carly Simon
" For these are the good old days "

Well, we warm up today to 39 F
How, haven't a clue
but ' anticipation ' is all

I read the CBC feed each morning. Weather, Science & Tech, Health and Business. I wanted a good news story and I found......

" Giftless Christmas ......... 
but wait
" how one family is cutting the waste

Of course, I didn't read the story. I mean
Spin on the spin that the reporter spins
I'll make up a scenario in my head, its probably closer to the truth

The day is bright and clear
" busy sidewalks ........ full of holiday cheer "

Not in Scarborough. Its busy streets full of cars
At the supermarket < called Metro > throngs of wandering people - like me - eyes scanning the aisle markers
for 
evaporated milk
and butter in sticks

Success

... is counted sweetest by those 
who ne'er succeed '

sadly it was salted butter

Winter begins officially. I feel we've already did at least a 1/4 of winter - can't they kinda lop some off the back end

" .................and Christmas Trees Are Small

.... now I am tall

When I was small and Christmas trees were small

Jose Feliciano

Alrighty, the day in Scarborough < GTA really >

Sat. DE 21- the temperature is 23 feels 10 F

Wind ENE 12mph

37 F is the high w/ wind chill dropping that by 6
Sun / Cloud

Sadly, here in Canada 20 % of people donate to charities. This fact may need verification. It might be ' at Xmas time ' e.g.

I haven't done my holiday gifting yet to the Salvation Army

14 and feels like 0

Wind is NE at 8 - 10 mph

That is a large wind chill factor
We can stay in today if need be

We've been active all week, completing appointments etc.

Alright. Turkey news. A success. The preparation was almost as onerous as a full turkey - stuffed. However, the cooking time was an 1 1/2 h < all in >

Alterations.
I did pan fry the pieces to brown the outside. This step got M the drippings that she needed for gravy.
The recipes that we found called for turkey breast w/ bone-in or boneless. Our little change was to add a thigh < for me >
Apparently, bone-in thigh requires just that much more time to cook through.
Thus, we'll know to treat the thigh like an extra thick breast and cook that piece longer.
Taste was very good. And considering the timing of Turkey Day, relatively small amounts of left overs.

In fact, more stuffing than turkey actually
???????????

Dunno, but that is what happened.

Big sun and crisp cold

Story : Elf on a Shelf. As friends were leaving, someone commented ' Oh, Elf on a Shelf '
Us : Huh ?
They explained that the Elf moved around the house.

I started, of course. Today, I went for a nap in the spare room and ....... he was there ' tucked in bed '

Got ya ........ was what it was

Well Done M, a got ya

TurkeyDay

no fooling
its ThorsDay by legend and all

But we are cooking a turkey
Well, pieces of turkey w/ stuffing

The basic idea is marinated turkey breast and thigh pan fired to brown. The turkey will go on top off the stuffing. Foil tent the whole shebang and oven away

The idea was to have our own turkey but not 2 days in a row e.g. Xmas Day and Boxing Day ( DE 26 in Canada ). We get turkey the 26 th every year at the cousins.

On target for 6 Pm menu : turkey, stuffing, sweet potato, rice and peas ( ? things still in flux, here )

Cold is the ruling factor today. Big white puffs are falling

WodensDay

Dark and cold
and to quote Winnie

' the colder it gets tiddly pom
the more my toes

The more it snows (Tiddely pom)
The more it goes  (Tiddely pom)
The more it goes  (Tiddely pom)
On snowing

And nobody knows  (Tiddely pom)
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom)
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom)
Are growing

This is Pooh's song but it was meant for Eeyore and Piglet sang accompaniment .

My toes are always cold

Recalling the advice for fall / winter wading in the river. ' All you need is neoprene stocking foot waders and one pair of socks '

Thus, I'm sitting in the cabin w/ my feet in warm water for 20 minutes - almost getting the circulation back
Wrong. My feet get cold - and stay cold

But my circulation down there is good

The Doc told me so. New Dr and first physical exam - nuts and bolts, as it were

I am typing right after watching a TED video of Eric Whitacre. His idea - a virtual choir.
He sent out a video comprised of him conducting and a musical score. Then people recorded their part < bass, alto etc >
A techno - genius synced ( really the words are trite c.f what this guy really does ) to aggregate a choir.
2000 voices - world wide e.g Alaska, New Zealand, Sweden and Namibia < to show the range not all the places >

I found out what the internet is and can be. Notice that I did not mention Google or Microsoft or Hauwei but bet your bottom dollar if they could make money out of it - they'd be in like a dirty shirt
I am inspired by that video
Hopeful b/c the world can come together
Nobody threatened
Everybody cared

Toosday < # 2524 >

named after the God Toos, patron saint of Arbys

20 on the backdeck at 8 Am w/ white stuff falling
at least its not volcanic like off New Zealand
Wind looks to be light, stuff is coming almost str8 down

Fast fact : Did you know Spain and Russia have similar GDP s.

And now you know why many pundits say Russia is running scared. Putin sees enemies every where

We are mortgage free. Or should be in 2 days. We have been waiting for news of our clearance certificate for the ex-cottage mortgage. 
I've had a mortgage for approximately 14 years - off and on -
for 5 years a mortgage of 45 K myself and lately the cottage for 325 K < us >

Angle brackets, used in pairs (  <  >  )
Website addresses are not usually included in references; however, if they are, MLA and APA recommend using angle brackets (< >) before and after the address. The brackets will help the reader identify the entire address, but this format also differs. CMOS does not include the brackets.

I had to look up ' <  > ' and how these symbols were meant to be used. Of course, the original use was        ' greater than or less than ' in mathematics.
For us, ordinary folks, these symbols would sit on the keyboard alone
friendless
that feeling that no one cares

Heck, I'm using ' < > ' 
I'll be their buddy in crime
Oh, yeah breaking all the rules of grammar
flaunting the MLA and APA and CMOS 

I think that I've done the long range forecast from Brett Anderson at Accuweather. I'll monitor the updates and fill you in on the DE 30 predicyion when it comes out
I believe that I check these to get an idea about how good these long range ' guess - a - ramas ' are.

Well, here it is < again >

Dec16 - 22 mild to dry for the greater Great Lakes
Dec 23-29 mild esp S of L. Ont
Dec30 JA5 uncertain

MoonDay

the moon is like a boat my love
a lemon peel afloat my love
Mary Hopkin - a voice for all ages

Still dark and I was awake

Got the skinny on today s weather
25 now feels like 16 -> 32 F w/ W out of South

Tomorrow is colder

And shifting my bum, I got a back spasm.
Same old, same old
Exactly like last time and the last, last time etc

Electronic world news : I created a Recovery USB for the Chromebook.
Nothing should go wrong b/c very little is centrally stored in the machine
BUT if Chrome OS goes down on the machine
the Recovery Utility will bring back ' my Chromebook '.
Now, in the past for Windows, the recovery USB took about 2 h. The Chrome OS ? maybe 10 minutes all in.
The instructions came w/ all kinds of warnings... make sure that you have the right drive selected... right .... there was only one
Maybe, my set up is simple
Of course, its simple
or I wouldn't be able to use it

I was tossing < finally ? > some paperwork from 1968. I wasn't aware but I've been blogging since 1968. Only it was written ' pen and paper '
entitled ' Reflections ' - a little less reliable w/ some breaks of months < Ok more like 1/2 year or so >.
I cut out the picture and quote from Fletcher Jones May 1992. His horse ' Typecast ' was in a match race w/ ' Convenience '. Convenience was a pace horse, out front and steady. Typecast was a closer. Typecast failed to win.
Fletcher Jones : the scenario does not always work out the way would like. For every dictum there is a contradiction.
Jones was killed months later in a small plane crash.
He further stated that ' there are more winners than losers ; one must always balance the odds and choose quality over numbers ' < maybe, I'll need to look up that quote >

SunDae

or ice cream ala your choice
dark at 7 Am and the roads looked slick and glistened

The temperature was 30 ???? on the backdeck

Daylight come
and not much better but the wind is up and moving everything

Celebrate the age !

Phase Something or other of project projection. This morning, hooked the Chromebook w/ its charger to the dongle and plugged in the TV HDMI cable into the dongle. Voila, we have the internet showing on the big screen < 44 in screen >
The idea was to practice for - well, sometime when it would be neat to use the Chromebook in this way.
Apparently, I missed the boat a bit b/c there is an exterior plug in device called Chromecast which does what my hook up just did.
However, bearing in mind how cheap I am and needing proof that the crap that I buy might be useful,
You can see my morning adventure as a win - win.
EXCEPT - you didn't notice, I used the regular power supply for the Chromebook
NOT the extra power supply that I bought to get 65 Watts to power the dongle and still charge the Chromebook.
However, in my defence, the Chromebook was charging but I didn't notice the charge time. Typically, the Chromebook charges at a rate of 1 % per minute.
That is in the middle range, as you get close to full charge these electronics sometimes drop charging speed til finished.
But: the dongle allows plugging in 6 devices e.g USB, HDMI, SD cards < full and mini> and an Ethernet cable < this means a hard wired connection rather than WiFi >
AND this might need the 65 Watt supply charger

The chit chat on the 'net says the Chromebook is a master at multiple hook ups. In fact, unlike other devices e.g. tablets, the Chromebook is designed for this disparate functionality











































or ice cream ala your choice

We have DQ ( Dairy Queen ) 8 blocks away.
It serves ' fan food ' not fast food
and we don't go

The streets are slick
and ........... it looks grim out there at 7 Am

Celebrate the age !
















s

Saturnalia

no, just Saturn
Saturnalia - ancient Roman holiday of merry making - the beginning of Xmas ?

W/  the temperature at 34 but falling all day to 32 F
Wind is ENE at 14mph
Drizzly stuff to come
Did come - as rain

Well, I've got an ear worm - my brain is singing or humming ' One ' from " Chorus Line " the play / musical / movie. Marvin Hamlisch.

From the CBC, flu activity is being reported, to start the sicky season. We got the hyped up seniors flu vaccine. Its got more of what you need - We shall see said the Zen Master.

In Canada, Ocean CleanUp, a non - profit and boat brought ashore a boatload of 60 cubic metre bags of waste from the great Pacific gyre - a massive swirl of plastic and other floaters that gathers mid Pacific.
The Dutch NGO is using Canada as its base. What you see are plastic bags and rope and well whatever else gathers in the Pacific.
But to quote the fantabulous Cole Poter ' This Is Only the Beginning '. The guy in charge will need a fleet of boats ( special scooper boats ) that winnow the detritus out of the gyre < leaving the water behind >
His goal, remove half the gyre plastic every seven years.

Warning : remember, reports here are mostly true - the facts may have been altered b/c I don't read the whole articles

Freezing stuff is falling - but we are home to stay

I took a look at the bloodwork results from this week.
The upshot : I may live til the Dr sees me Wed.
None of my numbers got a red check or flag
Thats encouraging
I tried to get a feel for how my results compare to normal values
????????? but I think it may be OK

Come on Doc, give me your opinion

Aha, Freya s Day

or possibly one of the origins of the name

And you'll need to search Freya Casey, she'll teach you to sing ABBA. Specifically, ' Thank you for the Music '

The temperature on the backdeck is 20 something < maybe > b/c I can barely see the face of the dial   
CBC says its 32 F 

It is sunny w/ blue sky

A tech type morning. I went on line and chatted w/ an agent at the newspaper. Apparently, when you give a date the computer believes you. I couldn't get to the account b/c the account was sleeping til the specified date that I entered last year.
All is cleared up
TG < thank god >

Well, in the tech vein as a segue, I've been exploring Virtual Private Network or VPN. While travelling and utilizing the in-house WiFi in hotels and restaurants there is a risk of viruses or hackers to your computer / phone / tablet.
The other possibilities include evading network blocks that institutions put up to restrict access to specific sites.
The VPN can let you choose a city that will show as your location from the VPN and to all who try to view your machine.
And if your Netflix is in one country then you can pretend that you're there in ' virtual ' space.

I went searching for advice on ' Chrome and Netflix '
the main thrust was a) you needed a plugin - go to chrome plugins < I don't get the website >
b) Even if you get the plugin, you may need to change the station that your device works on.
This change is fraught w/ peril
Great

Well, nothing ventured - nothing gained
I found Google tools and ' Netflix '
Downloaded the app from Google
Skipped how to pay b/c I'm already a member
Install, 15 seconds
Had to wait, M was watching Netflix and we have single device service

Clicked the button and the screen said ' ready for download - please select '

I picked the ' Musketeers ' b/c I've been watching the series

Thats it - Netflix on the Chromebook
Lousy squinty screen - afterall its 11 inches
But tomorrow - I'll throw it up on the big TV

In the U.S., I'll go VPN and choose Canada - and Netflix will think that I'm home

We shall see said the Zen Master

If You Make It to Thursday

the week is doable. I mean Wednesday is hump day

TGIF is right there
or the little placard that reads


" If you don't believe that the dead come back to life
Be here at 5 "

The temperature on CBC news is 16 F or
bloody cold

Fact : I went searching for "good news "
and found plenty of websites.
I chose Global News, an arm of a Canadian broadcaster of TV and radio.
The last story offered is from July 2019.
Let see, good news happens every 5 or 6 months.

the Donald has stated that Greta Thunberg < teenage activist > has anger management issues.
Really.  at least Greta pays someone to do her hair not like you ' donald '

W/ much doubt, I went for a pedicure. Fearing........ well everything. I said prior to sitting ' I've had ingrown toenail problems on the big toe '
" oh no worry "
Hurt a bit but now feels excellent

In fact, both feet are the best in 3 - 4 weeks.
The morning
We shall see said the Zen Master

Windy and Bleak

Ho  Ho  Ho

Nothing like frozen toes to get you in the Xmas way

The backdeck temperature is 20 F  

Signed and done :

Today the Trump Administration has reached a deal with House Democrats on the USMCA

Many of you will recognize this as the hit by the Village People in the 70 s

Bursts of sun

I watched a video based on the comic book and  movie ' Alita - Battle Angel ' my dream girl.

The video is called ' Alita s World '. Basically, expanding what you see in the movie, to fill out what you were supposed to imagine was happening around the main track of the movie.

Thus, we have ' Welcome to my Wireless World '
the hidden kingdom at our house.

Of course, the secret nugget is the Ignite modem < the source of all the good >. A signal flows through our house for the internet supplying TV s, laptops, Roku box, cell phones, VoIP phones and printer.
Magically, both my Moto g5 and Chromebook can motivate the new printer < HP OfficePro >
from anywhere in the house. Yes, the printer is on line. Oops ! to be fair, I've only done this while in the same room  However, b/c of the feature if printer and Moto g5 have access to the internet - well, remote means wherever the devices are
e.g. out of country too !
Plus, headphones and speaker are wireless but the range for these is 60 ft < or less if there are walls and doors >

To be fair, this is really dull c.f. Alita s World. No blood or cyborgs here.

Medical Day

I'm fasting for the blood test
and I pee into a plastic bottle thingy

The ultimate horror - no coffee til 10 A
A small wait at home and then back to Medical Arts for an hurry up appointment that I got for my ingrown toenail
which it seems may not be ingrown but it is sore

We shall see said the Zen Master

Day will grow colder and something will fall in some form or other
Hopefully, not ash and cinder as on White s Island, NZ
or Pompeii b/c there was a documentary on the plaster molds of the folks who got buried in 79 AD.

Coffee time, yeah
Blood is low b/c they took 3 vials
and some pee

Story, this morning my toe doesn't hurt
right
while out at the med run - yup still hurts

The verdict : likely toenail fungus is the cause
Crap !
My ingrown problem ' oh sometimes there is a bone irregularity the hits the toenail edge - resulting in pain

I asked for full anesthesia when they amputate

Gray is the Colour .....

... of my true love s hair ' sang , no one

But the day is overcast and uncertain
Rain is due < much like Wadsworth which is being drenched >

Perspective is always interesting
the good, the bad
the unknown
all viewed through a prism of singular < and very often narrow > vision

" Everybody s got a vision, everybody got a plan "
sings, Diana Birch

Mine.
 getting more cynical by the minute
then in a massive wave
Crikey ! 
" Only one life, what does it mean "
Jimmy Webb in ' Only One Life '

" if living is such a chore
just existence, nothing more
then why does only one life
make such a difference "

See. perspective

This Chromebook has a trackpad
one finger moves the cursor and
a 2 finger touch makes something happen
scrolling or e.g. drop down menu
But I'm using a mouse
B/c although a convenience, the touchpad can be a pain - when you inadvertently touch and the screen goes away  "MF thing" has been known to escape my lips
Perspective. I adored the trackpad when I first got the Chromebook. A much better device than on the Dell
Studio which absolutely needs a mouse.
Now. I reach for the optical mouse first

" be kind to your web footed friends
b/c a duck could be somebody s mother "

from the " Hymn of Acxion " by Vienna Teng

' someone is following every crumb that you drop '
meaning data

I disable all of the tracking abilities of my Moto g5
Which means if I lose my phone that I cannot track its location
but Google doesn't track me in the meantime

And I don't have Neil deGrasse Tyson s problem.
What keeps NGT up at night
Dark Energy and it s consequences
To wit : there is dark gravity < an unaccounted for force  that holds the Universe together >
But there is also
Dark Energy
 a force that is pushing, nay accelerating the expansion of the known Universe. In fact, this expansion if it continues apace - would mean that within a finite piece of time, the other galaxies would have disappeared from view as seen from earth and the Milky Way.
In essence, there would be no reference points for the rest of the Universe

No thanks. I'll stick w/ my eavestrough problems
There is a reference and its not going away

" No " stalgia

recently, I sent an email w/ the header ' Nostalgia '
you can see from the title today that I was wrong

Wrong spelling and wrong idea
You can count on change
Its never pretty and its seldom convenient

faster, gaudier and w/ great promise

Sometimes, rarely, sometimes it is better in the end

" All will be well in the end
And if it isn't well, it is not the end "

The temperature is 24 F going for 41 but the wind chill right now makes it feel  around 6 degrees lower .
The wind is SSW and that brings the warmth

Sun came out to play w/ its friend blue skies

When they filmed the sci - fi drama ' the Abyss  '
- really they were probably basing the premise on Netflix.
I've sunk into Netflix oblivion
the crap movies that I watch
Crikey !

Saturday in the Park ...........

Right now 21 F
Later 27 but the wind chill is 16 degrees
partly cloudy / winds SSW gusty

...I thought it was the 4th of July ' no Chicago, it feels like 4th of Jan
but it wouldn't fit the song

Under the tag ' had to happen', Friday a deer came racing out of our gully onto the flat tableland followed by a sprinting dog.
No, don't know what happened after that 3 second 
flash of action.
Today, I rolled bread slices flat as pancakes to make asparagus roll ups. Thus, tomorrow for neighbour s night, I can say that I helped w/ hors'oeuvres. Pitiful but something

Snow Fell

a dusting

Icing sugar top up
Enough to make the roads slick

M sent me out last minute in the afternoon < in case the roads got slippy - they did >

Light snow now predicted w/ winds easterly at 4 - 5 Mph. The high is 32 but wind chill means 24  < bone biting >

I'm listening to ' Thank You for the Music ' by ABBA, the original for release  video. Agnetha belts it out.
This vid has 29 million hits and its deserved.
Sometimes I note the hits on YouTube and go ' what ? this is great stuff and only 4 000 hits should be a million '
Then I guess sometimes it is right

ABBA is big sound, open and clean
Thus, go to ' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v3JkDFyoXQ '
And Freya will make your day - teaching you to sing ABBA

The day is brilliant - big high sky but cold.
Snow stopped just after mid morning and now ....
loverly, just loverly

And the Time Is

6:01
no coffee

The pundits say :             

Today

Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries this morning. Wind northwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light late this afternoon. Temperature steady near zero. UV index 1 or low.

That ' zero ' is really 32 F

Somehow the  highlighting came w/ the copy and paste  Kinda like the newspaper columns

Thus, brief snow drifting down.
The day was reasonable if you could bundle up.

The wind bit but the sun was mitigating.
Some chores were finished.The new accountant who find some missing credits from the last accountant. Submitted a recalculation for 2900 Dollars and we got back 1400 but he has talked to Revenue Cda and thinks that the difference easily explained and we will get most of the rest owing.
Great ! it manages to pay what we sill owe for 2020. The Cda REvenue collects in advance for old people < like us > in case we croak before year end.
Thus, we pay taxes in advance 

Where We're We

what time is it

5:30  coffee

Fell asleep

It snowed but they're calling it flurries
I'd say cold and the trees are still

The day unfolded and now folded up again
Boy, does that go fast
Blink and its gone

In Buddhism, the impermanence of life is a given. All things in life are to be accepted as they come. We do not expect life w/out suffering.
" I play for Seasons not Eternities
so says Nature laughing on her way "
     Georges Meredith
and then something about ' beheading blossoms as She goes ' ( ? )

And whales wash up w/ 100 s of lbs of plastic balled up in their guts.
Important lesson - don't eat plastic
but we do - microbeads of plastic

How depressing !
Exercise time
WBR today

Grumbling All the Way

to the service station

The subaru needs to make a long drive coming soon.
A special service session was needed for safety, lube - oil - filter, brakes, fluids and all round maintenance.

I chose a recommended guy referred by the tire girl.
Its 25 min from the house.
Handy. No. And M let me know several times coming home

My take, is that this is still a people world. You deal w/ people.
At the dealership, I'm not sure the guy at the front reception even sees your car. Nice guy, sure but what about down the line. Front guy only reports what the last guy told him or printed out.
Trust me, Louis is not sending any printout anywhere.
His fellows will walk up and say ' X ' he'll say this is what I want done.
Yes.  Service.

Bright day but recovery from the snow fall is on going.
Thank goodness we got plowed out.

P.S. M loves the Louis guy. He's personable and reasonable
Now that drive doesn't seem so bad.

I like to get credit for good decisions.
I've got the Type C hub ready to enhance the 
Chromebook experience.
However, the Bluetooth speaker is now playing. The Rove comes w/ a mount screw hole. I happen to have a tripod that I bought for a small camera.
Well, I've been using the tripod to mount the Rove in a conventional manner to broadcast to a room. Speaker is very good for that.
How, though, is this speaker suppose to work outdoors < really it isn't that powerful - or perhaps you need to really crank it up, No, not even >

Today, the tripod is hanging from the bedstead w/ the Rove attached.
Aha, you see the tripod has flex legs. One leg is hooked over the rail and the other 2 < straight > legs are bracing the whole shebang.
Versatile. versatile big time

the Life and Times

of Judge Roy Bean, the film

He was " the Law West of the Pecos "   w/ Paul Newman

Andy Williams sings the theme song, ' Lemonade, Sassafras and Honey ( ??? ) '

The love of his life, ' the Jersey Lily ' - Miss Lily
Lily Langtry

Along the lines of ' what do you do when you wake up early ' kinda thinking

You check for phone messages on line almost as practice for when you're away from home. We are VoIP service or internet phone. Free calls in Canada.
For international calls we use a third party service called Yak. Yak charges us about 3 cents / min to the U.S. while our regular ISP for VoIP is up around 10 cents.
Then you determine what speeds your internet is achieving. We are promised up to 1 Gb /sec for internet
When I ran the test < in the basement, modem upstairs > Ping was 12 : Download 460 Mb/s and upload 32 Mb/s. ( WiFi )
The Canadian average was 16 Mb/s but you really need about 4 Mb/s for email and basic web use.
Most internet related articles say that you'll get 1 / 3
of the ' up to ' speed promised.
Thus, even in the basement I'm doing quite well.

Previously, our DSL service was Lite 10 and produced 3- 5 Mb/s and thats hard wired not WiFi
But way cheaper. We were paying $30 for DSL. Right now we are getting a subsidy for new customers. In March 2020, we can expect to pay approx $70 for this service.

For personal curiosity, I measured the house for footage. I came up w/ 1715 sq ft.
I'm not sure how the real estate dudes do the measuring. I broke the house into 3 blocks. For example, there is a step up across the house that separates the living room and dining room. I eyeballed the step and assumed that it could go across the hall and forms the back wall of the hall coat closet.
I used the long wall for block 1 and subtracted the bay window inset for block 2.
Roughly, was all I was going for
It jives pretty much w/ what we thought the footage was.

Wating for

the internet to fulfill the promise of unity and better understanding

' Dreamer, such a ........... dreamer ' by ???
and I still hear this line in my head
BUT
its really

' Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer '
by Supertramp

Talking of promise < lousy segue >
the day will bring weather misery

If the weather gods get it right 
we will slip and slide all over the roads
Its the kind of day when the news casters say things such as ' thank goodness there wasn't the weekday rush hour ' meanwhile 200 cars will meet metal to metal
really !
How much metal is there
I guess its plastic to plastic

Hello Wadsworth, Ohio
You were up early < 5 ? >

Summary of what fell
????????? its white
sometimes the windows tinkle
its cold, as in frigid
looks slippery
< cuz we aren't going out >

Thus, it came to pass. 
Outside Kingston, 2 1/2 h East of here, the 401 < read I-401 >was closed. The emergency responders directed a bus load of injured to  sent 16 people to medical facilities. Its not clear but the chain reaction collision may have involved upward of 50 35 cars.
There was a death but no information of cause etc.
And hundreds of vehicles were trapped in a mess of autos etc.
However, stranded motorists were sent by bus to warming shelters.

Ugly is acceptable in describing the roads.

Start w/ the

temperature and go from there

20 F on the back deck, no sun anywhere
Trees are still and branches are still

A biggie storm is due tomorrow bringing ............
everything from sleet to freezing rain to ???????
All depending on how far we are one side of the squall line or temperature divide
Messy
Black Friday weekend kind of messy

Everyone has a BF sale, including " Healthy Planet Organic " Store. Vitamins etc are 2 or 3 for 1.

Well, I got to use my Bluetooth speaker early. Merry Xmas.
More tech.
Today. Some investigation into what I have and maybe what I'd need.
Story. When I bought the Chromebook, the advertising called the Chromebook's ability to take plug ins - or dongles, amazing.
However, the best use of plug ins or other devices comes when you add a Hub. 
The Hub takes the connection to the Chromebook and adds 6 or 7 ports that allow other connections. The hub that I bought has 3 USB ports, a type C port, HDMI slot, full SD slot, a micro SD slot and a hard wire internet connector port.
BUT. The hub seller failed to mention that all this plug in stuff requires power. As in, a bit more power than the Chromebook's adapter can provide.
Yep, you guessed it. You need to buy an upgrade power supply to juice up the hub and charge the Chromebook. Or you can steal the power supply from your Nintendo - that was a recommendation.

Today, I checked on how versatile the setup that I've bought can be. Namely, hook up a monitor to an 11 inch Chromebook to get a bigger display. I used the 22 inch TV from the exercise room. 
The advantage to a TV is that the TV has its own speaker. Sometimes when you hook up a monitor, you also need a sound system or speaker. It really depends on the connection
However, the TV worked a charm and we went from an 11 inch screen to a 22 inch screen on the TV.

This setup today, means that we can dump the 19 inch laptop that runs Windows and substitute the Chromebook and TV.
AND I can buy a 40 inch TV for the exercise room.

the Real Black Friday

meaning today is Friday - not Thursday or Nov 22 or Nov 1

We even have Black Friday shopping up here in the ' six '

Cool - ish looking day and hung over w/ clouds

Shop til you drop
or knees buckle
and throb

Actually, not cool ........ cold w/ a bitter wind
Traffic nuts coming home

I've notice that funeral homes don't have Black Friday deals - I mean incentive is incentive
" Everyone wants to go to Heaven but nobody wants to pay the price " an oft heard aphorism ( ? )

But at 40 % off - who knows
many things start to look good

Seasonal

Happy Thanksgiving to the U.S. readers - all 2 of you

Temperature will be north of 32 but barely

We never made it downtown - pizza and wine here

Ran errands w/  a pub meal out

Something about an ' anachronism ', hmmm !
The Bluetooth speaker is hooked ( not hooked Dummy - connected to the Chromebook ) and the sound is clear. 
Ah, the modern age
or getting there

BTW to my follower in Northborough Mass - I tried to send Thanksgiving wishes and your email bounced
( address not found )

OK whats next to join the rest of the world

First song - ' Thank you for the Music ' sung by Amanda Seyfried
#2 - ' Cinema Paradiso Suite ' Kaori Muraji
#3 - ' in the Bleak Midwinter ' Corinne May

The sound is getting better -- but I absolutely adore this version of ' Bleak Midwinter '
#4 - is ' the Lady Caliph < dinner > Ennio Morricone composer and the NNJO  brass band
sublime rendition

Speaking of hooked up
Something or other is always charging at our house
The Chromebook is plugged in for a feed of juice
after unplugging the Moto g5 and the iPhone or spare downstairs cell phone was down to 12 % .