Category: The DayBook

I need a little Kona – VOG and all. Our little pool up on the roof is a very poor substitute for the Pacific Ocean.

Sorry, no report on the liposuction coupons. The deal is over.

Oh, I just found out that the Washington Monument will be lighted at about 8PM this evening. And, they will light it up at dusk until the scaffolding comes down next spring. Photos soon.

 

With 7 hours left – 14 people have signed on for the plastic surgery coupon.

 

In case you care – 2 more folks purchased the liposuction coupons that amused me yesterday.

Another thing that is sort of scary – the Arlington Rec Department is offering “Belly Dancing for Seniors” this summer. Only $25 with your Senior Citizen ID Card.

 

I have been wondering, who on earth are the 6 people who purchased an online coupon for liposuction? HELLO PEOPLE-Liposuction ain’t like having your heating ducts cleaned or your carpets steamed!

And, you can give an online liposuction deal to someone as a gift. Bet that will go over big. “Happy Birthday, go have your beer belly sucked out.” Yeah, right.

Sometimes I worry about my quirky old Panasonic L1 camera. With its lenses it costs as much as a car. But, it is heavy. So, mostly it lives in the camera box. When I die, “they” will give it to Goodwill. Maybe someone will discover it at the Goodwill and buy it for $10 and realize they have a gem of a vintage digicam.

I put the L1 on the tripod and will let it take the 2013 fireworks.

People who came to DC for July 4th can not be too happy with the weather. But, when you travel, you take the weather that you get. Hopefully the Fireworks will go off as scheduled and then all will be forgiven.

Thank you American Taxpayers. You, via Medicare, paid $22,300 for Carlton’s daily visits to Out Patient Infusion during May. He went for two weeks in April as well. So, one has to assume that you will be paying another $11,150 for that service as well. I thank you again.

I tried the perspective adjustment tool on this iPhone photo that Sue took of me one day last month. I think it did a fine job.

I have become very crabby with the US lately. Becoming an expat is looking better and better. But, no surprise, not not so many countries have the welcome mat out for a couple of old people.

Since I did not get expensive FIOS and am staying with snail internet – I treated myself to Lightroom 5. No, of course I didn’t NEED an upgrade. I WANTED an upgrade. (How did I get the software considering my connection? Simple, I used a computer in the lobby that has FIOS kick-ass speed. But for some reason the “house” WiFi is also snail speed. Not sure why that is.

One of LR 5’s major new features is the perspective adjustment tool. It does a pretty good job on something that is easy to fix. I doubt it will do such a fine job on things that are more difficult. I’ll test that tomorrow.

But, the main reason I wanted LR 5 is “Smart Preview” meaning I can edit photos that are in my collection – but are stored on drives that are not plugged into the Airness.

I am also going to treat myself to a new underwater camera. Mine drowned last winter.

While walking home today, I stopped several times to “consider the lilies of the field” or in this case the neighborhood yards. They smell great. Outdoors. Indoors they are rather too much.

After much dawdling, I arrived home. What to cook in a flash for lunch? Something nukable? Nope, nothing to nuke in the freezer. Only some rather weary looking frozen solid tilapia from Trader Joe. The fridge yielded some yellow squash. Heat up oven, pop the frozen fish in a iron skillet. Cover with Old Bay Seasoning. Slice up the squash and and onion. Put them on top of the fish. All a little more Old Bay, drizzle on some olive oil. In the oven it goes. Cook until done. Put some lettuce on plates. The fish and then veggies go one top of the lettuce. Toss a handful of blueberries on top of the veggies. Balsamic vinegar and a little more olive oil and in about 30 minutes you have a good enough lunch. Without nuking anything.

In addition to my new “job” writing SQL reports so we can get information out of our new computer system – I have been making this little “ads” to put in the hospital-wide computer system. All things considered, I like making little ads more. But, I gotta admit I am pretty amazed when I get a report that does something that needs doing. Making Avery Labels for our employee files was a huge hit with my nurses. They have never been able to grasp Mail Merge. If Steve Jobs had designed Mail Merge, it would be usable by normal computer phobic people. But, Mail Merge came from Bill Gates.

Carlton and I both went to the dentist this week. We have different dentists. Carlton goes for cheap (a relative term where dentists are concerned). I go for quality of the work and location. I got out with just a cleaning. Carlton was told he needs to have a tooth pulled. He is in no rush to get it done. Not a surprise.

I broke down and took a moon shot. Nothing special. I just balanced the ZS15 on the balcony rail and put the timer at 2 seconds. Just one shot – but that was all I needed.

I think the scaffolding is finished. I think it will look like this for the next 2 or 3 years. I still want lights.

Bored today. Bored is a good thing after all of the medical angst since last December. I either need a vacation or some retail therapy.