Month: October 2019

Annoying

On By JohnIn electrics/electronics, home improvement, human conditionLeave a comment

Brought the boat up to dad’s house in Soap Lake to store it temporarily with the travel trailer until I have a suitable location to park them both. Noticed that something was amiss when I looked at the travel trailer…

Battery cover was on the ground.

Hmm… strap was cut (you can just un-lash it), cables were cut (poorly), battery missing.

$125 battery, maybe $20 worth of cables. I should probably notify the police department. Wouldn’t expect them to do anything other than log the occurrence.

Soooo… let’s find the local non-emergency number for Soap Lake PD…

Its Google page link results in a 404.

Maybe the link I had available is outdated. (Strike 1)

I’ll just go to the city’s page then drill down from there.

Well, that’s additionally unexpected — it returns a default ‘bluehost’ unprovisioned page. Means that the hosting provider isn’t presenting a page or its DNS is misconfigured.

No idea how long its been that way. (Strike 2)

Okay, let’s just search again on Google for the “Soak Lake Police Department non-emergency number”. I prepare myself to simply say, “Hey, I know you guys are super busy, but I’d like to just report a petty theft so it can be logged.” Right, that’ll do.

Let’s give it a shot… **dial, dial, dial…** Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, “Goodbye.” **click** (Strike 3)

Uh… did its computer just hang up on me?

It wasn’t long ago that I’d commented that somebody had included on their receipts a number to dial for complaints/feedback. But the number that was included was a non-number (000-000-0000 goes nowhere except “the operator”). Perhaps Soap Lake has caught on and simply routed their calls to /dev/null to save themselves the troubles.

“We’ve had no calls? Really? Wow, we must be doing absolutely amazing out there…”

—

Update: went out hunting near Wilson Creek the following morning and was able to reach them upon our return.

An Old Joke…

On By JohnIn amusingLeave a comment

…but still funny.

A farmer stopped by the local mechanic’s shop to have his truck fixed. They couldn’t do it while he waited, so he said he didn’t live far and would just walk home.

On the way home, he stopped at the hardware store and bought a bucket and a gallon of paint. He then stopped by the feed store and picked up a couple of chickens and a goose. However, struggling outside the store he now had a problem – how to carry all of his purchases home.

While he was scratching his head and pondering his predicament, he was approached by a little old lady who told him she was lost. She asked, “Can you tell me how to get to 1603 Mockingbird Lane?”

The farmer said, “Well, as a matter of fact, my farm is very close to that house. I would walk you there, but I can’t carry this lot.”

The old lady suggested, “Why don’t you put the can of paint in the bucket. Carry the bucket in one hand, put a chicken under each arm and carry the goose in your other hand?”

“Well thank you very much,” he said and proceeded to walk the old girl home.

On the way, he said, “Let’s take my short cut and go down this alley. We’ll be there in no time.”

The little old lady looked him over cautiously, then said, “I’m a lonely widow without a husband to defend me… How do I know that when we get in the alley you won’t hold me up against the wall, pull up my skirt, and have your way with me?”

The farmer said, “Holy smokes lady! I’m carrying a bucket, a gallon of paint, two chickens, and a goose. How in the world could I possibly hold you up against the wall and do that?”

The old lady replied, “Set the goose down, cover him with the bucket, put the paint on top of the bucket, I’ll hold the chickens.”

Pondering…

On By JohnIn healthLeave a comment

I have a touring bike that I bought years ago — 2007 maybe? Honestly, I don’t recall exactly when.

Not motorcycle*; a bicycle.

But now I’m pondering another.

Not a mountain bike or road-racing bike. And not another touring-class bike. But perhaps a gravel-bike. Maybe a 650B. Maybe a One-by like a Salsa Journeyman.

2019 Journeyman Apex 1 650

I should see about venturing out to find a nearby purveyor to test the fit of each size.

But, it’s on the ToDo list.

If I lived somewhere that I needed to regularly travel beyond the home to commute to an office, then maybe adding a simplistic E-Bike like an Aventon Pace 500 or a Rad Runner would be reasonable.

—

*I have a motorcycle, which I haven’t had the confidence to ride since my TBI. And I’m entirely too narrow-minded to part with it. That’s another topic.

I Know, I’m Surprised, Too

On By JohnIn healthLeave a comment

There was an old Nike ad years ago: I’m not a runner…

…yet.

I resumed running on about 3 January. About a year after the fall and a stroke. And on the tail end of the infection issue… and a collapsed lung.

I was completely sedentary for the year.

Recovering.

Existing, really.

So, I began walking.

Not very far. I couldn’t even walk much more than a few hundred yards (!) at first.

I’m far too narrow-minded to just hobble along. I wanted to do more.

After a few weeks, I found that I could walk a bit further. I could go half mile then found that I could even jog for very short bursts along that half mile walk.

Re-learn how to walk before you can re-learn how to run.

After a few more months, I was able to jog more than walk. Very, very slowly. And only 10 or 15 minutes or so. Maybe a kilometer. I’m sure it seemed peculiar to the neighbors to see an old guy out at odd hours ambulating around the neighborhood.

I eventually went further and faster than my wife could keep up. So, I made sure that her bicycle was in sufficient shape to travel along with me. She could go with me occasionally when I was out for a run.

I’d posted a few months later that I was going to do a 5k. Okay, fine. Did that. It wasn’t meant to be a metric of speed to compare to anyone else. But a metric of completion.

Fast-forward a few months…

I still run. In fact, now I run a 5k regularly, two or three times per week.

My determination to move, to do more than just exist, has gone a long way toward recovery and improving my overall health.

  • My endurance is improved.
  • My resting and peak heart-rates are improved.
  • My mental focus is improved.
  • My stress is decreased.
  • My fatigue is decreased.
  • I no longer feel consistently “drunk” all the time.
  • I no longer have diplopia.
  • I no longer have migraines.

I am not a physician. Do not expect that running or exercise is going to fix anything and everything for you. Consult your doctor. Seriously. But do not give up and accept defeat.

On each Tuesday and Thursday morning, I run a 5k. On Saturdays, I run a bit further. It seems that over a few months, that Saturday run has grown to a 10k.

Besides, I have a run that I need to prepare meself for next May.

And then another in October.

Grrr…

On By JohnIn tbiLeave a comment

I’ve complained before about noise. Ambient noise, white noise, just noise. It seems somewhat common from what I’ve read to be sensitive–sometimes very sensitive–to noise with the TBI. But it’s honestly freaking tiring.

Here I am, nearly two years on–today, doing a bit of simplistic home-improvement, and generating a bit of noise in the process–and I’m exhausted. Completely and totally mentally spent.

Then again, recent events may have also contributed.

Nah, it’s totally my ability to perceive audio. It will, like all things, change with time. Continuously imperceptible to me, and, in time, it will change–or I’ll become more accepting of my own perception of it.

I wonder if I should start using some mild-strength earplugs to help dampen or take the edge off of sounds on the left side.