Blue Moon

As I write this I can see the "blue" moon out my window. This morning on the way to work I saw the moon, too... looking huge and pinkish just along the tops of the trees of the horizon at the top of the hill.

Flags were flown at half staff today for Neil Armstrong. I can't think of a bigger hero.

And a blue moon on the day of his burial. Perfect.

Sold American

The Sunday Morning Muse, August 19, 2012

An unseasonably cool and cloudy morning as the cat peers out the window at the bird on the newly trimmed bush under the window. It feels like fall weather. August may not be more 90 degree days after all. And I'm good with that. We had more than our share.

It's nice to be outside. Away from the campaign ads assaulting the airwaves. I visited the county fair this week, and it was a perfect day... nice blue sky puffy clouds. Walking from the parking lot in the wide open field toward the main gate, I remembered how excited I used to be at fair time. The rides, the food, the demo derby. Especially when I was in high school. It was a time for seeing your school friends for the first time in weeks. Or how about throwing darts to win a big mirror with a picture of a Queen Album cover etched into it? I kept that thing, schlepping it around for 25 years of my life, finally getting rid of it when it was damaged in one of my numerous moves.

These days I am juggling a slice of pizza while walking around the booths and talking to people selling things. Perhaps some new casement windows for the house? Sure, come see me. Give me a bid. Or a stroll through the flower barn. A peppermint Zinna won first place. I have several of those here. I could of had a blue ribbon.... but my sunflower isn't that high. Sheesh. That big one must have been 15 feet.

Didn't want a picture of myself with a python for 5 bucks. Not even if they paid ME the five bucks to have my picture taken with their python.

Ate some fudge. Admired the new style fancy chicken coops (with windows and shutters and a gabled roof).
Sat on a bench for a while and saw far too many ugly tattoos. Why Why Why do people do that to themselves? Am I judging people or just expressing an opinion? Probably both.

Time to go.

The Sunday Morning Muse, August 12, 2012

I got up early today and went out to look for shooting stars. This weekend is the height of the Perseids Meteor Shower. I didn't see anything streaking across the sky but it was a treat to see the beautiful moon with two planets in a line and a few stars nearby.

It was great to see that NASA had a successful Mars landing this past week!  I think it is truly amazing that we can land something on a planet 350 million miles away. There are some really smart people on this planet.
I'm even doubly happy that they succeeded in the mission because I won't have to listen to the dumb cluck naysayers bitching about it, preferring more tax cuts for the very rich or something.

I love space exploration. It is our only hope. I have said it a million times. This planet isn't gonna last forever.
If whatever is left of the human race can survive beyond that, we have to get started at some point.

Ron Meets Chad Everett

 I listen to This American Life every week. I just love it, and if you have an IPOD you can download free episodes through Stitcher or just go to their site and listen on your desktop. This past week I listened to the stories of Special Ed, and this is a clip of Ron meeting his hero, Chad Everett.  It is heartwarming. This is Ron's dream. Ron said everyone must have a dream, and he was able to make his come true during a bus trip across the country where he eventually got to interview his favorite TV star.

Hang On Little Tomato

A Lesson on Statins

I've been a bit under the weather recently so bear with me. I learned a valuable lesson this week. Statin drugs have a lot of side effects. By now everyone knows someone who gets joint pain from statins. Despite the marketing, it is a common side effect, not a rare one. I had that, and switched to another, and got the pains again, and switched to another, and got them again. And now I am on yet another. No joint pain, this time, but my stomach went to Hell, which caught be by suprize.

 I only mention this, not to whine, but to point out that this is a serious side effect. I suffered for a few weeks now and didn't really know why. I was waiting for the joint pain...and didn't even think about a statin causing such stomach problems. I refused to look up the side effects, because that always "works on your mind" and you end up with most of them. When I finally did, and saw the many patients who reported stomach pain and all sorts of other stomach trouble, a bell went off.

 Long story short, I quit taking the statin, and I am amazed at how quickly I got better. I feel like me again. I am exercising, and eating pierogis, and not clutching my stomach all the time, thinking I was destined for gall bladder surgery. Even drank a half a beer.


 I know I'll have to fess up to the doc and tell him I am not taking these statins anymore. And I'm sure there will be a conversation about cholesterol again. But quality of life is important, too. People suffer on these drugs. Why can I rattle off names of several relatives who have had to quit taking them, or just take two pills a week? The side effects are bad, and they are common.

Rainy Day

The Sunday Morning Muse, August 5, 2012

It's a stormy Sunday morning, and play has been suspended over in Akron, OH for the WGC.  Looking out my window at the muddy bluish grey sky, and checking the radar,  what they have now for weather will be coming here next.

One of the great things about all this new technology is knowing how to brace for the weather when it gets bad. I get obsessed with checking the radar, and predicting storm paths and such. You feel like your own meteorologist.  I'm no longer watching TV waiting for someone to break into programming and tell me to get under a heavy table.