Weather forecasts yesterday all said that it would rain later this afternoon. That forecast isn’t wrong, but they missed that bit of rain that is lurking just northwest of the city. I’ll have to type fast if I want to get any mowing done before the wet stuff arrives. Doesn’t that sound like fun?
There’s not much to type, though. I slept most of the day yesterday. I was back in bed a few minutes after posting yesterday’s update, got back up long enough to eat lunch, and then was back in bed until after 4:00. I can’t explain how deep in my bones the pain is, mostly in my arms and knees. The kids were sufficiently quiet until G started playing remotely with someone on his VR headset and by that time I needed to be up anyway.
Have you seen yesterday’s photo dump? Putting that together was a nice bit of creativity. I still need to replace some blending tools but that will come in time.
Tipper did something different last night. There were a bunch of 8-12-year-old boys playing next door at the construction site, as boys tend to do. She decided that she needed to go over and make sure none of them got hurt. What surprised me is that she 1. didn’t have shoes on, 2. was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt (instead of sweats and a hoodie), and 3. she didn’t know any of the kids over there. She ended up hanging out and playing with them until dark, even making a trip down to the creek with them.
The dogs and I sat in the yard and pretended we were cool with her adventure. I kept telling myself, “Let her go. She’s not four anymore.” I still had to fight the urge to stand along the fence and keep a close eye on her. I worry a little that she may not be as careful or as situationally aware as G is. But she has to have room to explore and grow. I’m pretty sure I felt more hair turning gray.
Okay, it’s not getting any brighter outside. If I think of anything else I’ll just add another post later. Maybe. If I’m not in bed.
Morning Update: 06/24/24
Hallelujah, we’re up and running! A MASSIVE amount of thanks to Michael Schlagenhauf for helping us out by bringing in an old box with 32 MB RAM and swapping parts and pieces around until we had a functional machine!! The CPU is slower, but it works and survived a night full of Windows updates without needing my direct intervention. Photoshop Beta and Bridge have been installed and are working. I’ll decide later today what additional software I want to run. One thing I’ve learned over the past few weeks is that there was a lot on the old system that I really didn’t need or use. We’ll see if I can avoid making the same mistake again (I doubt it).
For his part, Michael survived the onslaught of kids, cats, and dogs while he was here. Belvedere was rather chill about our visitor, but Hamilton and Frankie, the smashed-face wheezer kitty, were right there trying to assist with every step of the process. Frank is still staying pretty close, not sure what to think about the new box with its red glow. I enjoyed getting to know Michael a little better and greatly appreciate his experience in taking things out of one box and putting them in the other. That has never been something I’ve done especially well.
Now comes the task of recreating all the personalizations and deciding what shortcuts I want where. I don’t like having to hunt for things I use often, but at the same time, I don’t like a cluttered desktop or taskbar. I’m still giggling over how adamantly Microsoft’s Edge browser tried insisting that I didn’t need to download Chrome or make it my default browser. Edge developers tried really hard to sway my opinion. 🤣
With the PC issue out of the way, I can get back to other distractions, such as, “Why is my right knee hurting all the damn time?” You know that pain you get when you need to pop a joint? That’s what I’m living with right now and it’s bad enough that it disturbed my sleep quite a bit. I’m hoping that it comes from having to be down on the floor a lot the past couple of days. Any soreness should go away after a day or two. I’m old, though, and how many peers do I know that have already had multiple knee surgeries? That’s kinda the last thing I want to endure. Let’s cross our fingers that this all goes away.
Odd thing. I was coming back from the restroom a little after midnight and noticed a bunch of trash on the bedroom floor next to the bed. Where the hell did it come from? I know neither of the dogs moved from where they were sleeping, but it seemed like a lot more than what a cat would bring in and drop. None of the clutter was anything of consequence and was easy to pick up and throw away, but I’m still stumped as to its source. We have enough trash without it reproducing on its own!
Elsewhere, heat and flooding are the big stories. Over 100 million people have been affected by the heat and flooding across Iowa and South Dakota is simply insane. More than 1,300 people died during Hajj, many of them after walking in the scorching heat, which is a bit mind-blowing. The tourist death toll from the Greek heat wave has risen to 6, with some still missing. Thousands have been displaced in floods in north-eastern India. At least 30 are dead as torrential rains lash Central America. So, I’m wondering, should I have the kids mow the lawn this morning or not? Zoning can look the other way until this heat dome lets up, can’t they?
Here’s something frightening: A Conservative-backed group is creating a list of federal workers it suspects could resist plans should the Orange Felon become president again. With a $100,000 grant from the influential Heritage Foundation, the goal is to post 100 names of government workers to a website this summer to show a potential new administration who might be standing in the way of a second-term Trump agenda — and ripe for scrutiny, reclassifications, reassignments or firings. This is on top of Heritage’s own Project 2025 is laying the groundwork, with policies, proposals, and personnel ready on day one of a possible new White House.
So, let me ask you these questions. 1. At what point are you willing to abandon the US and move elsewhere? 2. To what country would you consider moving? 3. Assuming that large numbers of people would choose an EU country, how many of us would they take before we become an immigrant problem? It could be interesting to see how opinions change when we’re the ones needing to ask for asylum. Answer the questions in the comments, if you dare.
I’m really not feeling the lawn thing. My knee hurts and Belvedere had me up at 5:00 this morning. Maybe I’ll just go back to bed. Who’s with me?
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