🗾 a silhouette

🗾  a taste of Japan

sunny. 65 F right now and going for 80

no rain. no rain foreseen

I've been on a trend. oven potatoes for breakfast
Step # 1     boil potatoes til par - done
Step # 2     roast in oven for 45 min in olive oil

Why ? less bread. and a healthy alternative for brekkies

Ugh ! still aching from ' battery displacement ' day
I'm not used to lifting 25 # of battery
then trying to get it into the boat !!!

Job today is buy a new starter battery.
Done
What does a marine starter battery cost, answer $ 189
that is $ 167 + tax

this Nautilus Marine battery is the match for the original boat battery from 2008
since 2011, I've been buying dual purpose batteries [ starter / deep cycle ]
deep cycle runs the trolling motor [ basically ]. Thus, this Nautilus is a single purpose battery.

We shall see said the Zen Master

i called the Emerald Is. Marina [ Evinrude shop in the area of Buckhorn ]

The owner said based on my description [  the ' clunk on ' turning the key ] , something is broken internally

the end of May

yes, another month is gone

Sunny and warm to hot

we went to the QMH and the E Tec packed it in.
thus, the day, today was spent. Charging batteries, lugging batteries and forcing batteries into their holders. Plus up and down the stairs, at least once too many

in a fit of sanity, we cut the trip short
running home to a/c and comfort

 

🔖 here we are 29 th

🔖 marking the closing of May

then comes June [ busting out all over ]

and we are heading out for a few days away
where ? you ask
the old Quarter Mile House [ or older or original away place ]

its a fishing get - a - way, 

in reality

its a ' will the engine run ' [ better or less balky ]
at 14 y.o. - expect a little bother
but the E Tec has a rep for gutting it out and getting on w/ running

we shall see said the Zen Master !

💯 bottles of beer on the wall

 💯 or perfect

story. I once had an examiner at Boys Scouts who marked freestyle. don't know what to call it.

the category was ' Pathfinder ' for a Queen s Scout badge. I diligently, worked hard esp on the local map.
The district chief called me in and relayed that my score was 155.
' oh, what is that out of ' says a bewildered scout '

Answer: is just a number but the highest in ten years of marking

????????? got the badge and a whole lot a knowledge of the area.

sunny. great.

in controlled scent testing, coconut based body wash attracted the least number of mosquitoes. however. the test was designed to combine the person s regular body smell and the body wash.
overall. its still trial and error.

The Truth. or my ' T ' [ if you've seen ' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ]
if it grows and is green - gives me a rash [ esp grasses and marigolds ]
if it bites - I'm ' prime rib ' [ or sushi ????? ]

when I watch ' Jeremiah Johnson ' - I want to be a " mountain man " and here s a guy that uses an electric blanket to sleep in the winter. Can you imagine the insects that feed on you in the mountains and swamps ??????? OMFL

Oh, my colds are the stuff of legends. M... calls them ' man colds ' 

my latest ' love her ' is Katelyn Touhy out of NC state. Now, a sophmore, she holds 4 NCAA titles and the fastest times in 3 race disciplines [ maybe 4 ]

🔗 linking

 🔗 follow up

the ' Wheel of Time "

then " All My Life s a Circle " or the circle song by Harry Chapin

died in a car accident [ Long Island ? ]

' there are no straight lines, make up my life
and all my roads have bends
there s no clear cut beginning and
so far, no dead ends '

Sunny and dry, heading for warmer as in 70 + that will last days
nighttime temperatures will stay in double digits

The exercise session today followed a pattern that I want. Set simple, achieveable goals.
Thus, the first mark was to get to 600 Kcal burned and then if possible complete 50 minutes.
And overall, I've been targeting the BPM range or cardiac zone of       ' cardio ' [ or 111 BPM to 126 BPM ]. So, approx 98 % of the workout was in the cardio zone. [' fat loss ' zone is below and ' hard ' is above ]

I averaged 116 BPM for the 50 minutes.

A vigorous but controlled workout. Culminating in a good sweat, bit of heavy breathing

Burgers from Harvey s [ Harvey s makes a hamburger a beautiful thing, is the jingle ]

🔂

🔂  ah ha. the wheel of time

another cycle

I'm re - watching the " Wheel of Time " a series based on books by Robert Jordan. Mostly, for Rosamund Pike. Babe.

We are approaching end of month [ again, so fast ] and the weather is warming. Not so at nights which continue to be 30 ish.

the premise of the series and books is that there is a cycle of life. All living things are caught up in the wheel.
Not sure if we talking real re - incarnation or energy transition. Sounds pretty Buddhistic if you ask me

⌚ something about, ?

⌚ waits for no man

or woman.

or ' is on my side ' [ the Rolling Stones ]

and if you watched " City Slicker " w/ Billy Crystal, there is                 ' a do over ' : like in stickball when the ball gets stuck in a tree, you get a do over

a sunny day, no disappointment, 

dear ether, do you get this ^^^^^^^ [ what is ^ ? thought I'd use the thing b/c seems it s the least used upper symbol ]

News, that is ..... don't know - ' some car makers eliminating AM radio on the dash ' we'd lose or traffic reports on ' all news radio '

Wait. There should be a focus for a blog
every blog has a theme or whatever

Ah ! " blather unlimited " - I've cornered the market

🌑🌚 the moon is a harsh mistress

🌑🌚  the lyrics to a Jimmy Webb song
plus a Sci Fi novel

and if you are a Linda Ronstadt fan

well, her version is legendary. LR is legendary

on waking

🤎🧡🂷😍💑♥❤   or my eyes are open

then ....... See

still groggy. sun and hazy white skies backed by blue 

However, managed to exercise w/ a slight adjustment.

Decided that max effort - well, not today. The App called Wahoo has a device called Ticker. I purchased the Ticker, say three years ago. Ticker has performed well. Ticker is the chest strap w/ heart rate monitor. I read Ticker signals off my phone

Recently, I discovered that Ticker has a ' cardiac zone ' real time display. I've religiously kept track of the workout values including cardiac zones.

Now, I monitor the workout ongoing.     Thus, today I decided        that ' cardio ' zone ( + 111 BPM to 126 ) was the goal. As well, I went for 600  Kcal as a 🎯 target.

Brew of the day, " Space Invaders" by Amsterdam Breweries, 6 % ABV. 

Prepare yourself for an invasion of cosmic flavour. The sky is the limit only for those who aren't afraid to look up.

Defend yourself !!!!

Much needed that - the IPA 

" a juicy and out- of - this world IPA using citra hops for a big grapefruit flavour & resinous hop finish "

What ? Or what !!

Drink it !!!!!! Glug glug

Thems the biscuits!!!!

forever young

 Alphaville circa 83'

watching Jennifer Connelly roller skate- in a video using ' Forever Young ' as the theme

or just stand there

sunny day and green is the curtain

Thus. Hello to the ' ether ' and all who sail in her

and the big switch .... Dylan s ' North Country Girl ' on the buds

Are the wildflowers returning ( perennials ? )

Well, one guy made an appearance

thank you Mr wildflower 

Welcome 🤗 back

♉ climate change

 meaning
this is when you invest a dollar and get back peanuts

 ♉the sign of May

gushes of rain for the last day which stopped last night
we had overflowing gutters but the deluge washed the catkins right out of the gutters

further to my knee and quads

Apparently, what I fundementally have is a misalignment of the quads as they track over  the patella [ knee cap ]. The route is hip, quads, knees and ankle / foot.

the misalignment can be started at either end [ hips or foot ]. in essence until the mislaignment is revealed or solved
yes, the problem is still  there

in response. I am flattening and massaging the quads followed by icing. This regimen seems to alleviate knee pain

- in the short term

thus, in 35 yrs of complaining and  treatment by physio s etc that  didn't deal w/ the root cause w/ knee pain
I now, perhaps find out that I've been misdiagnosed or undiagnosed

this week,  a tentative plan is fishing on Thur. - tentative b/c we have health issues here

trust me. everything is tentative
tentative is tentative

JHU is playing the quarter final game vs Notre Dame. ND has been dominant almost all spring. Ranked # 1 for a few weeks. In the 3 rd Hop is hanging tight down by 2
 

⩩ 230520 or the UPC for this day

 # 3 753 in the never ending ..... ether-verse

⩩ in his seventy third year ....... what
this morning the rain was pounding and I noted that the eavestrough were overflowing
thus, ladder out and clear out the downspout
then add a debris blocker [ homemade, of course ]
coffee and typing

" Mortgage rates going up " is not news

However, here s one
ready. stick on vaccines

true. researchers have a prototype PRINTER that makes stick - on vaccine patches. The ' patch ' has a sticky side w/ microscopic points that contain a vaccine. The points melt or dissolve from skin moisture. In about 10 minutes, all dissolving is over and your innocculated.

Advantages are less space required for storage. Easy to carry. There is minimal training to be the ' health professional ' innocualtor '.
No vacciantion trauma w/ reduced risk of infection.

The printer is the key here. How to make ' many many ' printers.

Knee pain. I used a rolling pi last night instead of a wooden edge b/c someone said the massager person used it.
Today, I'm back  to the wooden paddle. Flatten the quad muscle [ BTW ,its the left knee that hurts both w/ or w/out the paddle ]. Then stretch the quads out

what a diffference ! the pain is minimal after flattening, stretch and ice

How long did I suffer ? 28 yrs ? 

🍟 there is a struggle daily

🍟 to find ' good ' news ', in fact, some days it borders on sad - how little that I find

BONUS : Google is honouring ' poutine '

to be clear, poutine is french fries [ see picture ] sprinkled w/ cheese curds [ note : not Velveeta or cheese sauce ] then covered in gravy
really it is an art form

origins are mythically, Quebec. Mythically or purportedly

doesn't matter the Quebecois staunchly defend their claim,                as the ' birthplace of poutine '

dear ' ether ' out there. Yes, trivial, it is but the world beneath the ether is not nice, not nice at all

Poutine or death .... is the cry

🈡 marching along to the sound of May

  🈡  May makes a sound ???

 brilliant day w/ a touch of chill

a doctors appt for M. We are hoping for relief and Dr provided some

luckily, The marine store got in fuel filters [ for the E Tec 75 HP ]

And we struck a deal to lower [ highway robbery still ] our internet, phone and TV charges + home security

thats a debatable one, the last ..... I'm not sure what security that we'd be talking about

🆒 says the weatherman

 the ups and downs of May in the Great White North
Firstly, the temperature fell to 40 F or so. And in three days,  we get 70 F.

The dandelions are hanging tough but the flame thrower is primed and knows what to do

🆒 chugging along, and hoping for ...... the heat of July, the humidity
oops ! better think this through, take what you can and enjoy

The family Dr mentioned that my knee pain didn't all come from arthritis based on the type of pain. I noted that my muscles inner thigh near the knee were tender. Doc said perhaps some quad strengthening was in order.

Today on YouTube, I watched a lady physio discuss and demonstrate evaluating quad tightness. Not strength, but tightness.
Four steps. On 1, you flatten or lightly massage your quads [ all 4 ]. Crikey !!!. I was so sore on the inner quad after massage - couldn't believe it

Quad tightness !!!! Really, lady physio said that you likely have knots if the quad is sore after massage

Knots.  

it s the " Ether " Bunny

 🐰 make wish ? [ oops ! ] wrong holiday

Sunny today, cool ish breeze but welcoming for sure

well, when you're sending to the ether
" anything goes " ala Cole Porter

one of my favourite albums [ yes, really, album ] was   ' Anything Goes ' by Harper s Bizzare. Re - takes of Cole Porters songs

🐙 mid month in May

 or the Ides of May

🐙 is someone s astrological sign the ' octopus ' ?

this is for you

sunny. cool ish w/ full sun
backyard is greener than ever

Octopus !!! say what ? - look I needed a picutre for colour. Octopussy was there and so

the dandelions are showing approx 5 or so yellow heads
I tell them ' resistance is useless ' ala the robot in ' Hitchhiker s Guide ' but those dandelions are determined to struggle

And problems. # 1 a banner flashed on the Garmin GPS ' your maps are currently out of date, please update '. Sure. However, if you follow the blog, all computer in this house are Chrome OS machines. Well, Garmin only loads to Windows or Mac s.
Thus, I borrowed a laptop from our neighbour. AND I haven't used a Windows machine in months. What a learning process. However, the maps are laoding [ over an hour of downloads ]

# 2. For travelling to the U.S. to the Casino in NY, I took our downstairs cell phone [emergency ph ] and used the phone to place hold the U.S. SIM THEN I switched the US SIM into my regular Pixel 6a.
Unfortunately, Moto G8+ needs you to manually re - connect the SIM that you add
This morning, I pick up the Moto G8+ and saw ' you have no service '. So, there I was trying to find out if I let the service renewal date go by w/out re - loading funds. And when I looked a the SIM display ' you have no active SIM s '. I activated the SIM slot and bingo - bango, SERVICE available

My morning.

the long lonely battle ....🍀

 .... w/ dandelions

🍀 this was the closest that the emoji board could come to a dandelion [ there are clovers in the lawn ]

the sun boomed out
the backyard view is green, green and the leaves have closed in for the year
we are a little enclave in here. the ravine is down below but we are in our own tiny green kingdom

the story of this morning, is the flame thrower and me vs. the dandelion forest. I did my best but those buggers are hanging on
I dug and torched but I believe another go round is needed.

and if you can't get ' off the wall ' comments and news ' from here - sending to the ether 

where else...... since approx 2007, chewing gum sales have plummeted
the analysis : the i Phone took customer s attention away from their surroundings i.e. at the cash / checking out
then. the self serve checkout means no vendor space for ' gum and candy '
what has this factoid got to do w/ anything  ...... Dunno

in essence, the computer screen ' big or small ' is the focus, now

just saying

🎥 view from the security camera

 🎥 shows a green lawn

however, a few yellow tell-tales are poking up if you stand at the door

the war isn't over

however, the ' yellow heads ' are having a tough time
but
through the burnt leaves and stems - the yellow heads are leaving seed balls.  Scarggly but the seed puff balls are visible.
I'm still after them, an unrelenting scavenging de-dandelioning machine [ right, like they care ]

Weather is sunny, warm ish and w/ a cool breeze

🚘 to Ohio

 .... is that a song
like ' walking in Memphis  '  .....

' I'm in a NY state of mind '

🚘 thats the plan, Stan

day looks great, I'm sure the dandelions think so

how to wage a war:

first you use the standing dandelion puller    [ easy and effective .... NOT ]

on your hands and knees, w/ a long nose hand trowel dig out the roots [ NOT ]

finally, the war is lost. break out the weed torch
in essence this is a flame thrower for weeding
I burn off the yellow blossoms and the buds that make the seed ball
in desperation, I burn out the stem confluence where the dandelion comes out of the ground

I'm going nuclear next week, Bikini Atoll model 102

and you know, Godzilla started this way - absorbing radiation and growing

wait ! there'll be a mushroom cloud ...... w/ deep roots no doubt

where is agent orange when you need it

the bleeding dandelion bits in the garbage can are producing those white puffballs to spread the seeds [ in the garbage !!!!! ]

I'm going after them again w/ the flame thrower in the morning.
call me the ' breath of death '

😔😔 Huh ?

 a follow up.
a week ago, the plumber - handyman [ on A ... s rolodex phone ] came and spent the day
last night, I found out how much, I owe
$ 250 
I add that A .. and I went for parts

but ..... two hundred and fifty ?

A ... has a large list of service people on the role
and I know that when I mention his name - cash only and it must be a special price

cuz ' , 250 is a special price😔😔

the installers for the washing machine said that their recommended plumber has a fixed price of $ 185 for the washer shut off valve replacement

apparently, I'm farming dandelions out front [ and back ]

its a storybook picture if you like weeds
and my perennial garden is gowing and I can not tell friend from foe
crikey, its all green

always in battle, identify the enemy

Okay so here I am watching TV and apparently there is gridiron concrete or concrete gridiron it's football for wheelchairs. It's incredible what they do to each other. I guess you can't take the boy out of the man or the man out of the boy

🎂 a double celebrtion

🎂 almost.

my birthday and our anniversary

what happened ?
we visited the Q and ate in
came home and got takeout

the highlight was organizing the fishing equipment at the Q [ more later ]

doesn't sound exciting
I would remind that in my life ' excitement ' is my day going nuts and not recovering for a week
so dad

23 / 05 - 7

 as time goes by
so quickly

I play for Seasons not Eternities
So says Nature, laughing on her way ........... Georges Meredith { ? ]

We ahve sun galore out there w/ streaks and layers of clouds

B1G Slips away

 in a semi final loss to Maryland for JHUmenslax [ thats their Twitter handle ]

the weather should be more or less dry barring some showers and temperatures are on the rise

Carrie Fisher got a post humous Star on the Walk of Fame [ on " May the Fourth Be w/ you " day ]

and the sun is in charge today
no doubt, full sun and warm w/ a cool ish breeze

I woke up pondering the vent cover up - at 5 A, oh yeah

Thus, I went out a bit ago and took a photo of the wood cover plate that I fashioned yesterday
my assessment is ' not bad ' 
athestically, pretty good [ not stained or varnished ] and maybe, you can see the need for insulation / weatherproofing around the edges

23/05-05 will bring ?

 dunno
Stranger Things ?

Yesterday began cloudy and damp and matured into almost full sun for the afternoon

today is a lighter gray than yesterday in the morn

the struggle out front

from yesterday. the plumber opened an existing vent for the basement
storage canteen. We ended up not using the pathway. However, the vent was not replaced and was basically left opened up. It turns out the best option is to close off the vent [ one is still functioning ]
but it was up to me to finish the job

right. 9:30 til 2:30 P,  b/c its not a standard opening - kinda a built in structure
I believe the term is ad hoc [ shitty is the word ]
and I made some big mistakes
and it turned out that the first set up would not have worked well

of course, I'd figured that out after starting the second way

in the end. well, not bad. Almost better than the original

I had the advantage of not having to make the vent function
simply seal it off

🟔 may the forth - be with you ...

 rebellions are based on hope

🟔 

 gray day and dampish BUT the way ahead is sun and warm and WARM
maybe 6 days of above average temperatures

there is a chance that the all round plumber guy may fix the leaking shut offs for the washer
and tackle the blown circuit

follow up from the early edition. we solved the blown circuit
absolutely, bizarre. I tried every breaker and none seemed tripped or loose [ wobbly connection ]. A .. was here and the tried same thing
we stood around staring at the electrical panel
then I said ' we don't have a water heater, did someone run regular service through the dedicated ' water heater fuse box ' ?

NO, nobody does that, ' its a 240 V fuse box '
Me : ' should we check
Plumber, waving and shouting ' no , no, never '

A.. looks at me and says ' well, you said there are unusual ways that things got done, in this place

Plumber / electrician opens the fuse box
Yepper, a 240 V fuse box w/ one 20 A fuse on the left and no fuse in the right. the left fusetron is blown.
A while back someone found a 30 A. fusetron and I said ' we don't have a fusebox '
you got it. the spare for the fuse box. [ wrong size, as well ]
we popped in the fuse and ' yes, lights !!! ' 

the rest of the day til 6 P was sorting out an ouside outlet for the water and replacing the leaking shut offs for the washer

I'm beat

Follow up Fri May 5 STILL beat

All I did was stand

continuing the ' push for colour and pictures ......

I found this graphic / image on Twitter

The Boys of Spring are hosting the Semi and Finals of the B1G lacrosse champiohships. Depending on which  poll that you use, Johns Hopkins Mens Lacrosse is below Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia and [ ? ] Maryland.

The rain ends sometime in the next 20 h and then clear and building warmth begins. And we are talking about 75 - 80 F by Monday May 8

BTW, thats likely it for the good news. there is a bunch of blather about a debt ceiling
BUT the number is way beyond how my mind works
not saying that thats good news

raining still

I crossed wire a lamp and blew a circuit breaker and can't find the breaker [ XXXXXXXX and thats not fingers crossed !!!! ]

thus one whole room is un - powered

Il est Mort

 

legend, Gordon Lightfoot passed away

' my light is growing dim .....' from a Song for A Winter's by GL

the image was how I can see him - long ago

I saw him live in a cafe / bar in 1970 or so

the week will have some rain for two days
THEN clear skies and risng temperatures and we are talking 70 s

The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top
The snow is softly fallin'
The air is still within the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly callin'
If i could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands i love
Upon this winter night with you

 the lyrics that intro ' Song for a Winters Night

upon this winter s night w/ you

in Quebec, a system to treat patients at home is starting. Patients can tele health [ the new ' personal ' contact w/ med dervices ] but get in home help.

I've heard of similar programs from England
originally, I thought that it was too good to be true
b/c advocates have long petitioned for such care

cost reduction
personalized care etc

We shall see said the Zen Master

ꫩ Jose Feliciano sang ' But guess who'll cry

 come first of May .....

But guess we'll cry come first of May - the quoted lyrics

ꫩBut you and I, our love will never die, 

we got sun and not bad temperature
hope
' rebelllions are based on hope ' from " Rogue One ' - a StarWars Story

' all you need is hope '

' hope is never mere ' [ as in its mere hope ] - " Rings of Power "

The Zodiac Sign for May is Taurus
b/c thats me
I'm a Tiger by the Chineses Zodiac

apropos. Tiger or Giant Tiger. Typically, Sunday is Tiger day. For a change - I went today. At the cash, the lady said 'Phone number , Senior ? '
Bonus. First Monday [ I forgot ! ] is Senior discount. Thus, I'm a senior and forget about first Monday and I get the discount ! Duh, something wrong here.

The day is clouding over and the forecast says late day rain and then again tomorrow [ light showers ]

rain fell intense [ maybe 6 out of ten ]