Happy birthday, dear
May. 16th, 2025 08:26 pmI've completed 81 NYT daily crosswords in a row—the longest streak I've had. (Yes, I cheat; there are so many cheater websites it would seem a waste not to take advantage of them.)
I had a long streak during lockdown, but I've managed to beat that. I don't know if this is going to jinx me and make me break my streak, but for now, I rule.
__________________
Yup, I got stumped today because the puzzle contained a few "rebus" squares that had as many as four letters each, but 81 is my current high of consecutive days.
I had a long streak during lockdown, but I've managed to beat that. I don't know if this is going to jinx me and make me break my streak, but for now, I rule.
__________________
Yup, I got stumped today because the puzzle contained a few "rebus" squares that had as many as four letters each, but 81 is my current high of consecutive days.
Toaster oven just burst into flames!
Aug. 29th, 2023 07:41 pmI'm freaking out and my heart is still palpitating because the new toaster oven I purchased last week BURST INTO FLAMES today while I was toasting two slices of bread in it. That isn't supposed to happen. [For documentation purposes, this happened about 6:30 PM.]
I've written to Black+Decker informing them I won't be purchasing their appliances ever again—even though we've bought several Dust Busters™ over the years. I realize my complaint won't carry a lot of clout with them, since I didn't retain the sales receipt—and I normally do—but I told them the name of the store where I bought it, and I think I could retrieve the sales info based on my debit card records.
Black+Decker is now owned by Stanley Power Tools, and I'm certain I won't be hearing from them because seriously: it's only a $50 toaster oven. But I'm shaking with rage at the same time I'm sorry it happened; I don't think I'll be cooking at all anymore.
To fill you all in, I had the Roommate From Hell living here for about a year, and he moved out several months ago. Well, during his time here, I was never able to cook in the kitchen; he even washed dishes in the bathtub. The crazy thing is that since I didn't need to take him in—he knew this—and he was staying as a guest, not a tenant, one would think he would have a little more consideration.
Unfortunately that's not how it works; I'm just relieved he's out of here now.
I've written to Black+Decker informing them I won't be purchasing their appliances ever again—even though we've bought several Dust Busters™ over the years. I realize my complaint won't carry a lot of clout with them, since I didn't retain the sales receipt—and I normally do—but I told them the name of the store where I bought it, and I think I could retrieve the sales info based on my debit card records.
Black+Decker is now owned by Stanley Power Tools, and I'm certain I won't be hearing from them because seriously: it's only a $50 toaster oven. But I'm shaking with rage at the same time I'm sorry it happened; I don't think I'll be cooking at all anymore.
To fill you all in, I had the Roommate From Hell living here for about a year, and he moved out several months ago. Well, during his time here, I was never able to cook in the kitchen; he even washed dishes in the bathtub. The crazy thing is that since I didn't need to take him in—he knew this—and he was staying as a guest, not a tenant, one would think he would have a little more consideration.
Unfortunately that's not how it works; I'm just relieved he's out of here now.
I just discovered these two early commercials with John Belushi on YouTube:
The YouTube blurb reads: John Belushi got his start at Chicago’s Second City Comedy Club. These commercials created by Jim Weller were the only footage he had to send as a Demo Reel to Saturday Night Live.
John Belushi's 1st Appearance on TV
The YouTube blurb reads: John Belushi got his start at Chicago’s Second City Comedy Club. These commercials created by Jim Weller were the only footage he had to send as a Demo Reel to Saturday Night Live.
John Belushi's 1st Appearance on TV
TW: Dog bite yesterday
Feb. 18th, 2023 10:58 am
I was walking Foxy, the Pembroke Welsh corgi with food-guarding tendencies on Friday, and he lunged for a scrap of food in the street. Because he's had mucho training to try and break him of his treat-surfing, all to no avail, I grabbed him; he bit me and held on. See pic above for the results of this struggle.
[Note: One winter a few years ago he dived into a pile of snow as we were just leaving his building and came up with a chicken bone, which he promptly swallowed; it lodged in his throat and I walked him to his vet. Ever since then, the owners have pledged to get him training—apparently to no avail—and this is the result.
Foxy is a popular, well-liked lap dog (see below) with this one main quirk. I sent a text of my bloody hand immediately to the owners, saying I had to cut the walk short, and hightailed it to the ER—first to Beth Israel, which is closer but the guard expected me to strip for the metal detectors so I got back on the bus and went to Bellevue.
I spent about five hours at Bellevue being examined, waiting, and being X-rayed—in case the bone had splintered when Foxy had bit down—and was given scrips for two antibiotics. I left and before going home, detoured to Two Boots Pizza, where I got a slice of "The Vegan Pep" made with Bee-Hive pepperoni.
Motto: All's well that ends well.
Overlooked No More: Vera Menchik, First Women’s Chess Champion
I thought![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
eller would be interested in this article, if she doesn't have access to it. (You've probably already seen it.)
I particularly liked the part where Ms. Menchik said she looked forward to "drinking some men's blood." I noticed after the fact that she lived in the 20th century—but of course; there are lots of women chess players now, and women skateboarders! (I don't remember any girls skateboarding when I was a kid.)
I thought
eller would be interested in this article, if she doesn't have access to it. (You've probably already seen it.)I particularly liked the part where Ms. Menchik said she looked forward to "drinking some men's blood." I noticed after the fact that she lived in the 20th century—but of course; there are lots of women chess players now, and women skateboarders! (I don't remember any girls skateboarding when I was a kid.)
To eller: Sounds of Silence
Aug. 14th, 2022 03:48 pmFound this zither piece posted to my Twitter:
Very awesome, especially if it's a chord zither. Here's the link.
Very awesome, especially if it's a chord zither. Here's the link.
So today I tried to donate blood at a local blood drive; I had only supplemented with iron for one day, not the whole week previous, so I didn't make the cut. My hemoglobin was ridiculously low; I'm a vegan, so in order to donate, I usually have to supplement for a whole week with liquid iron. (I'm never anemic, so the issue is that I don't produce enough iron for a whole 'nother person as well.) I just figured I was close by, so why not take the chance; I had been avoiding caffeine for a couple of days, which is another thing I have to do before donating.
Plus! My blood pressure was way down at 80/50! I had been walking in circles to find the location of the drive, so that was the reason it was so low. They don't take donors with BP that low; usually mine doesn't get below 96/57, which is still in the ballpark.
The woman said there was another drive Thursday at the same location, but that doesn't give me enough time; so fuck it.
Plus! My blood pressure was way down at 80/50! I had been walking in circles to find the location of the drive, so that was the reason it was so low. They don't take donors with BP that low; usually mine doesn't get below 96/57, which is still in the ballpark.
The woman said there was another drive Thursday at the same location, but that doesn't give me enough time; so fuck it.
So this happened…
Dec. 14th, 2021 08:15 pmA month or so ago, I lost my debit card; I don't have credit cards. I had it replaced the next day at my credit union, and figured that was the end of that.
Surprise! Today I got a call from a woman claiming to be from the Federal Reserve System; she told me my card had been used in transactions for over $1 million clear down to Colombia. Clearly someone had grabbed it from me; in any event, no amount of backtracking would turn it up, so I didn't report it.
I still think it's likely the phone call was part of the scam, and I gave no information—only to state that I held no commercial-bank accounts.
And to top it all off, DeBlasio's henchmen finished destroying East River Park today; they got to the historic bandshell and started ripping it down. All the trees are stumps; this is in violation of a stay that had been in place until the next court date, but clearly the priority here is to raze it all before the court action starts. "Well, Your Honor—says the developer—there's nothing here but prime land to build on" [wiping a trickle of drool from the corner of his mouth.]
NYC continues to cut down trees at East River Park despite court order
"Okay," says the judge, "It's all yours!"
All the feels: sad, depressed, bitter. Goddamn it!
Surprise! Today I got a call from a woman claiming to be from the Federal Reserve System; she told me my card had been used in transactions for over $1 million clear down to Colombia. Clearly someone had grabbed it from me; in any event, no amount of backtracking would turn it up, so I didn't report it.
I still think it's likely the phone call was part of the scam, and I gave no information—only to state that I held no commercial-bank accounts.
And to top it all off, DeBlasio's henchmen finished destroying East River Park today; they got to the historic bandshell and started ripping it down. All the trees are stumps; this is in violation of a stay that had been in place until the next court date, but clearly the priority here is to raze it all before the court action starts. "Well, Your Honor—says the developer—there's nothing here but prime land to build on" [wiping a trickle of drool from the corner of his mouth.]
NYC continues to cut down trees at East River Park despite court order
"Okay," says the judge, "It's all yours!"
All the feels: sad, depressed, bitter. Goddamn it!
Came home at midday today to read that my Twitter account has been locked.
"We've temporarily limited some of your account features
Fallopia Tuba #BLM #RIP Breonna Taylor
franklanguage
"What happened?
We have determined that you have violated the Twitter Rules, so we’ve temporarily limited some of your account features. While in this state, you can still browse Twitter, but you’re limited to only sending Direct Messages to your followers — no Tweets, Retweets, Fleets, follows, or likes. Your account will be restored to full functionality in:
11 hours and 48 minutes."
Oh well.
And if I keep doing it—or worse—I may have my account terminated. You win some, you lose some.
(Did everyone get what the title of this post was a reference to?)
"We've temporarily limited some of your account features
Fallopia Tuba #BLM #RIP Breonna Taylor
franklanguage"What happened?
We have determined that you have violated the Twitter Rules, so we’ve temporarily limited some of your account features. While in this state, you can still browse Twitter, but you’re limited to only sending Direct Messages to your followers — no Tweets, Retweets, Fleets, follows, or likes. Your account will be restored to full functionality in:
11 hours and 48 minutes."
Oh well.
And if I keep doing it—or worse—I may have my account terminated. You win some, you lose some.
(Did everyone get what the title of this post was a reference to?)
Chocolate and coffee all damn day…
May. 18th, 2021 10:15 pmI had to go two days without caffeine for a Pulmonary Function Test at NYU Medical the 13th; this is part of my diagnostics relating to the World Trade Center health program. Have no idea how I did; the results haven't been posted to my chart (MyChart) yet.
[ETA: I got a call today—Tuesday, May 18—and was told my lung function is normal, and will be used as the baseline in all successive (yearly) studies. So that's good news; although I thought for a moment she was about to say I was disqualified. No, I'm not disqualified.]
My main observation? God, I'm such an addict; the past two days were hell—even though I usually abstain from caffeine for a week before I give blood. Otherwise, my hemoglobin isn't likely to be high enough and I'm turned away, which sucks.
So after the test, I indulged in a cold-brew coffee—no ice, please—and a bar of 100% dark chocolate. If I'm going to be a junkie, I might as well be one for caffeine.
[100% dark chocolate is because I have to severely limit my sugar intake, and if I can learn to like unsweeetened chocolate—turns out I can—I'm going to do that.]
[ETA: I got a call today—Tuesday, May 18—and was told my lung function is normal, and will be used as the baseline in all successive (yearly) studies. So that's good news; although I thought for a moment she was about to say I was disqualified. No, I'm not disqualified.]
My main observation? God, I'm such an addict; the past two days were hell—even though I usually abstain from caffeine for a week before I give blood. Otherwise, my hemoglobin isn't likely to be high enough and I'm turned away, which sucks.
So after the test, I indulged in a cold-brew coffee—no ice, please—and a bar of 100% dark chocolate. If I'm going to be a junkie, I might as well be one for caffeine.
[100% dark chocolate is because I have to severely limit my sugar intake, and if I can learn to like unsweeetened chocolate—turns out I can—I'm going to do that.]
Under the Overpass
Mar. 18th, 2021 11:40 amMy friend Josh is homeless; I just found out last week he's been living on the streets for a few years. I knew he had taken a buyout from his landlord several years ago and thought to myself, "That can't end well."
Please contribute to his GoFundMe if you can, and share this video far and wide; I know it's been on Facebook, but I'm not on FB or I probably would have already known about his situation.
[Here is the blurb from the filmmaker: "The people you never see who won't get a stimulus check. Hi Neighbors. I want to point out that there are neighbors here that you may not notice or pay any attention to. They are the homeless and they live here too. They need your help. Here is a film I made to help my friend Josh get out of this predicament. Please give and share and help others in similar situations. Thank you!" https://youtu.be/W704P_wUTPo]
Voter nullification in progress
Sep. 26th, 2020 07:45 pmWell, I got an envelope today in the mail from the Board of Elections; silly me, I thought they were mailing me my long-awaited ballot. Instead, it turned out the poll worker who had processed my ballot request form misread my name and sent back a letter indicating that the voter in question was not registered—and therefore not eligible to vote.
In response, I fired off a short cover letter to return with my second request for a ballot. Although I have a strange, awkward last name that has often gotten misspelled and mispronounced in my life, I have been an active voter in the state of New York since 1980, so this latest slight just pisses me off. (And yes, I'm sending a copy of my tattered voter registration card—front and back—along with the letter and all the copies; I admit I neglected to enclose it in the first place, and I could have avoided all this bull$^%@#$%.)
Although this is a strange, convoluted way to practice voter suppression, I'm sure it's going on in spades all throughout the rest of the country. I'm prepared to go to the polls in person on election day, if it comes to that.
In response, I fired off a short cover letter to return with my second request for a ballot. Although I have a strange, awkward last name that has often gotten misspelled and mispronounced in my life, I have been an active voter in the state of New York since 1980, so this latest slight just pisses me off. (And yes, I'm sending a copy of my tattered voter registration card—front and back—along with the letter and all the copies; I admit I neglected to enclose it in the first place, and I could have avoided all this bull$^%@#$%.)
Although this is a strange, convoluted way to practice voter suppression, I'm sure it's going on in spades all throughout the rest of the country. I'm prepared to go to the polls in person on election day, if it comes to that.
Depressed…
Sep. 9th, 2020 10:54 amWell, who isn't, these days?
Yesterday I broke up with my optometrist; I didn't expect to, but the university has a policy in which they don't allow masks that have vents on the front. I had taped up the vents with gaffers tape and showed this to the guard at the front desk, but he wouldn't budge, so I left. (Plus, the mask has an N95 filter inside.)
I'm feeling pretty hung-over about this decision to leave, but there's nothing I can do now. I wrote an email to my doctor at the University Optometric Center explaining why I hadn't been at the appointment and why I was leaving. I admitted it was a "pretty odd hill to die on," but I felt it was better to give the security guard power in this situation. My (now ex-) doctor has not returned the email. I reason he's a popular doctor and will appreciate having his schedule freed up even by just one less patient.
I also have to return the lenses; they're scleral lenses—meaning they cover the entire iris and a little more. They provided superb comfort, because only the edge of the lens touches the cornea; the lens itself vaults over the eye. I only wore them for a few weeks and they're in good condition. I may ask if I can mail them; I'll gladly pay the postage and insurance if I never have to set foot in there again.
Although the State University also operates an Ophthalmology school, word is that the optometry school is so good, even the ophthalmology school students and faculty go to them for their glasses and contacts. I may have my records switched to the Ophthalmology school, though; there's no rush.
Yesterday I broke up with my optometrist; I didn't expect to, but the university has a policy in which they don't allow masks that have vents on the front. I had taped up the vents with gaffers tape and showed this to the guard at the front desk, but he wouldn't budge, so I left. (Plus, the mask has an N95 filter inside.)
I'm feeling pretty hung-over about this decision to leave, but there's nothing I can do now. I wrote an email to my doctor at the University Optometric Center explaining why I hadn't been at the appointment and why I was leaving. I admitted it was a "pretty odd hill to die on," but I felt it was better to give the security guard power in this situation. My (now ex-) doctor has not returned the email. I reason he's a popular doctor and will appreciate having his schedule freed up even by just one less patient.
I also have to return the lenses; they're scleral lenses—meaning they cover the entire iris and a little more. They provided superb comfort, because only the edge of the lens touches the cornea; the lens itself vaults over the eye. I only wore them for a few weeks and they're in good condition. I may ask if I can mail them; I'll gladly pay the postage and insurance if I never have to set foot in there again.
Although the State University also operates an Ophthalmology school, word is that the optometry school is so good, even the ophthalmology school students and faculty go to them for their glasses and contacts. I may have my records switched to the Ophthalmology school, though; there's no rush.
When I was a kid in the early 70s, I used to see these ads and at first I didn't "get" it…then I did.
I got a Landlubber® denim shirtdress when I was in high school, and I wore it to church every Sunday.
There are a few still floating around, but as with most vintage clothes, the smaller sizes are more available and in much better shape than the larger sizes.
Although the company still exists and is trying to resurrect itself, they don't have this particular dress available, so I'm browsing Etsy and Poshmark trying to find it at a decent price and a size I think will fit.
Well, I'm scared now…
Apr. 21st, 2020 03:37 pmI had resisted taking my temp until today, figuring if I didn't feel ill and was sheltering in place and masking up and gloving up before I went out, all was well, right? So I finally took my temp and the thermometer read:
So now my other symptoms are coming to the fore; if my temp rises, if anything gets worse, I'll have to make a [judgment] call on it; I haven't been out today, and it's raining so I won't be going out anyway.
Here's my getup the last time I went out:
Wash your hands, people! The life you save may be your own.
So now my other symptoms are coming to the fore; if my temp rises, if anything gets worse, I'll have to make a [judgment] call on it; I haven't been out today, and it's raining so I won't be going out anyway.
Here's my getup the last time I went out:
Wash your hands, people! The life you save may be your own.
How COVID-19 Kills (Please Share)
Mar. 31st, 2020 08:35 pmPlease share this video far and wide; it's a surgeon explaining simply how the virus in the current pandemic kills and why we need to exercise extreme caution.
Sometimes I wish
realdonaldtrump were half as smart as he says he is; then he wouldn't be telling us we can go back to work. We can't—not yet.Introvert party all over the world!
Mar. 18th, 2020 11:20 pmHere in NYC, we're kind of shell-shocked, but still moving around; I've heard rumblings of a possible quarantine order going down, but I'm hoping it isn't needed.
I've actually loved spending the whole day alone indoors with my cat; asbitterlawngnome remarked, "It's an introvert party!"
It would be nice if more people on DW connect, but regardless, let's enjoy the party.
Feel free to join the Quarantine Livestream and invite whoever you wish!
I've actually loved spending the whole day alone indoors with my cat; as
bitterlawngnome remarked, "It's an introvert party!"It would be nice if more people on DW connect, but regardless, let's enjoy the party.
Feel free to join the Quarantine Livestream and invite whoever you wish!
