#i thought i had to do a hard reset and loose all of my files in the process i was fucking shaking😭😭😭

[midnightcrustcat]

GUESS WHO GOT LOCKED OUT OF THEIR PHONE BY ACCIDENT

[mauserfrau]

Eyeshine, Part 1 - Bordertober

HEY KIDS WHO WANTS TO SEE THE TWINS ON THEIR SHIP HEADED TO PANDORA.

IT’S REALLY TINY.

AND THEY’RE HAVING ENGINE TROUBLE.

...or are they?

Lots of Tyreen eating and some other general nastiness from her.  Appreciably Claustrophobic.  

The jump brought them to a space so empty it didn’t even seem black.  No— darkness rested between other stars, far off and distant.  Here was a clear nothingness, out of reach of the rest of the universe.  

Tyreen drifted at his shoulder.  He could feel her fuming.

Neither of them had made much sound since they’d stopped.  The lights were low, the gravity still off and wherever they were now, it seemed like there hadn’t been a sound there since the galaxy formed.  A word from either of them would disturb this.

Besides, this wasn’t Pandora.  This wasn’t even the Pandoran system.  Or any system.  This was nothing.

“Stars move, you know,” Troy said, fumbling the silence apart.

“It’s only been like twenty years,” insisted Tyreen.  “They can’t move that fast.  We should at least be able to see it!”

He gestured a spiral with his hand.  Did she even care that the star cluster where Nekrotafeyo had grown spun opposite this one, that they were blue-shifting verses each other and that had choked the navigation system?  He decided to summarize.  “I think the computer’s a little off and umm...”

“Umm what?”

“I might have overcompensated for stellar drift since I ended up doing it manually.”

“Troy!” She made his name sound like she’d broken something.  He half-expected a slap.

“Look.” He forced calm into his voice and turned to face her as he spoke.  

She was livid, her whole body tense and her hair standing on end.  

“We can’t run out of power.  We jumped just fine.  We have water.  We have food.  We have a working toilet.”

“And where are we!”

“I’m gonna run an extrapolation and figure that out while the jump drive resets.”

“Can’t you math it in your head?”

“Um.” Sighing, Troy turned back to the view screen, focusing first on the blank reach where their ship rested, then letting his vision float to the stars.  The blackness lived between them, but in some strands there was no between, only points of light thick enough to make mist out of each other.  “I kinda don’t think so.”

Tyreen groaned and swam off towards the bed.

*

Tyreen moved better in zero g than he did.  Troy was always twisting around to his left to push, pull, founder.  Still, he hated to turn the gravity back on.  There was something about watching her float above the bed with the covers billowing around her.  She seemed so right like that, singular and and easy and in this case put out.  

Her Coeus reader was flickering lately.  She ended up groaning and setting it loose to float through the cabin where Troy caught it.

She also said— “Hey, turn the heavy back on.  I gotta piss.” 

“Alright.  On three.  Three.” Troy threw the switch.  His back crunched as weight returned to his spine through the seat at the command console.  His sister landed with a thump.  Their foodstores yelped and howled and shed feather-forms along the floor.  Tyreen caught herself with a huff and pulled herself into the water closet, giving the cage of spindly hexlings a sour look before she shut the door.  One of them shrieked after her.  Troy shushed it and went back to the console.

The keys pressed easier with weight back in his body.  He pulled up the extrapolation program.  Another likely set of coordinates failed a final round of testing and ticked away.  The system was working to match the spectrographic information of visible stars to known clusters as far as he could tell.  Color seemed such a tenuous way to determine place, but that might have been the emptiness intruding on his thoughts more than anything rational.  Besides, he kept thinking he had somehow spied the white supergiant that held Pandora out among all the other points of light.

Troy was tempted to ask his sister to try.  She was the siren.  She might be able to do it if she listened across all the dark matter between them and that place.

She was still in the water closet.  

Troy let the extrapolator run in the background and idly tabbed into the superstructure of the ship’s hard drive.  It had been made to be piloted by someone with little skill, all of the command icons in welcoming jelly style art with three to four clicks needed to access any functions more complicated than the gravity or the sublight engine speed.  He’d picked the interface up fast enough, but modifying the OS to accept a jump drive had been more hours of frustrated keystrokes than any actual handiwork.  

Every system responded in good order.  He’d done the same check once they’d cleared Nekrotafeyo’s gravity well and before the jump.  The only difference was thousands of light years to nowhere and the bottom falling out of his stomach halfway there, not more than a heartbeat.  

He even dug into the audio system.  If Tyreen asked, he wanted to be able to tell her literally everything was fine.

A handful of loose example recordings bothered the top folder.  Troy thought about moving them, but the system considered their poor placement de rigeur and complained when he tried.

Tempted to try, he clicked down the list, which was when he realized: one of them had a different date than the others.

He leaned over a speaker and hit play, curious what had been loaded on this particular sound test file.  Since that was probably it.

Instead, he heard Dad say, “Well, if it isn’t my favorite little minx.  Yeah, that’s a good girl.  Let me see those eyes shine.  I love it when you...”

He slammed stop.

There was somebody else on the file too.  They were laughing that bubbly way he knew happened, but he barely remembered as something he’d experienced in his own life.

Troy stared at the file.  He breathed again.

A thump sounded behind him and Tyreen came tripping out of the water closet, pants around her ankles and her underwear yanked up in her fist.  “What the hell was that?”

“Ah, system check.  Since we’re here, you know.”

She growled and she sat down right where she was and in the puddle of her pants.  “Warn me next time.”

“Your intuition didn’t tip you off?”

Those words didn’t even merit an answer.  She closed her eyes and turned her back to him.

The ship was so small he only would have had to lean out of the chair and he could have had his hand on her.  She wasn’t in the mood though, not about that, not about anything to do with Dad and definitely not about playing siren anytime before they made planetfall.

And well, then she wouldn’t be playing anymore, would she?

*

Maybe that fact had settled funny someplace in her stomach.  Troy just knew that after a while she stole her Coeus back and stood in the corner, smacking the screen.  The extrapolation program ticked off another hundred coordinates that didn’t suit, approaching 50% complete at a crawl.

Tyreen peered over his shoulder, but said nothing about the progress bar.

It looked like half of their chances for finding themselves had been spent.  Troy thought it was more of a best match situation.

He wondered what he would do if he was wrong.

The jump drive ticked down to usable quiescence.  Tyreen swore and started to get back into bed.  Instead she kicked her pants off and stretched out belly-down on the floor which was chalky with the bookmarks of the night they’d left.

It had only been two days.  He thought.  The active time on the sublight engine monitor was somewhat misleading.  Startup had taken so long, but he’d been fumbling all over himself, movements thick with the shock of what he was about to do.

What Tyreen said they were doing.

Like, she just… dragged him.  Now?

Now there his sister lay, looking like she’d melted into the ground.

“What’re you staring at?” she muttered without looking up from the well of her arms.

“Mm.  Nothing,” Troy murmured.  “I was thinking about when we were kids.  That game we’d play about not getting off the bed back when we only had the one and...” Well, he thought about that a lot, even though it hadn’t been bothering his mind in that moment.

Tyreen sat up, still hunched over.  Her Coeus rattled in her grasp.  Eventually, she tipped it into one of the charging slots.  “I’m eating now.  You want in?”

“Sure.”

Food was something to do anyway.  Troy hauled himself out of the chair and got himself into the cupboard after some of the stale rye bread they’d taken from the stores back at the homestead.  He checked it for mold and then also took a plum.

Tyreen picked over the cages with a tongs.  Did she want manta eggs? A hexling or two? A flush of air coral and sprat? One one of the lonesome baby Djira mewing in their own slime?

She took two eggs.  

The two of them hunched together on a sheet of tanned air algae.  Troy’s plum was sour, but he sucked the pit clean while Tyreen stared at him.  As he reached for the bread, Tyreen shoved one of the eggs at him.  “Open it for me.”

Troy sighed.  Speaking of games from when they were children— Tyreen could have eaten the egg regardless, but he’d gotten awfully good at spinning the tops off with his knife and one hand.  He smiled and he did this for her now, placing the egg on a spare sack so that his sister’s leavings would spread through the ship, get into the Instruments.  

The egg squished as she pressed her fingers inside.  It turned to dust and glass.  “Hmm.  That was fresher than I thought.”

“Good.  Want me to do the other one too?”

“Sure.”

So, he sliced again.  He was going to have to wash his hand before he finished his own super as much as the second egg leaked.

This time, his sister stared at her dirty knees.  “Are you sure you didn’t fuck everything up?”

“If I did,” Troy said softly.  “Then we’ll deal wi-...”

Tyreen sucked the other egg down, sloppy now, sand leaking between her toes.  She grabbed the piece of rye and stuck it in Troy’s mouth before burrowing into the bed and covering her head with the pillow.  

Troy chewed thoughtfully and then moved to clean up.  The baby Djira chortled in their cages as though night had fallen.  Well, it was that time by the engine clock.  

*

[draugsresurrection]

Draug’s Resurrection 0.9.0

A major new version of Draug’s Resurrection is now available. Link to the download on RPGMaker.net.

Here we are. Version 0.9.0. Draug's Resurrection is now a finished game, but not a complete one. Or maybe the other way around. At any rate, it is a game that can be played from start to finish (assuming no bugs) as a full experience. I'll get to the particular changes and bugfixes since last release after a perhaps preachy, perhaps whiny message:

I'm not particularly thrilled by the fact that nobody besides myself has playtested it since 2013. I absolutely can't fault anyone for not wanting to play a blatantly unfinished project. Still, it means all kinds of concerns, from difficulty, balance, to writing and gameflow logic all coming strictly from a single viewpoint. To say nothing about how many little bugs might've slipped under my playtesting. Then there's entirely external issues, like how or if it'll even run on modern computers. There's certain things I'm loosely aware of, like how it REALLY wants you to Run as Admin (explained further in a Readme within the files, and the game *should* now give a warning directly if not the case), how it might be called out as a virus by antiviruses, to awkward walking speeds (shown here), and have some documentation about them, but I'm sure there's many, MANY more potential concerns.

In short, what I'm trying to say is that it's paramount that if you experience bugs or problems that I be notified in some way. I'm fully aware there is a LOT of work I still need to do before Draug's Resurrection is truly, truly complete. But I cannot do it well without outside guidance.

This extends beyond just bugs, too. As touched upon earlier, I'd be eager to hear any thoughts things like game balance; what spells and gear you use, what you avoid, what monsters you dread fighting, if characters truly feel different from one another, clarity of objectives and of how the battle system operates, and so on and on. Even going a step further, things like suggestions of alternate dialogue branches are more than welcome. I have every intention to follow through on everything I humanly can; I didn't come through the last ten years to drop it at the very end.

Anyway, those changes:

+ True Endgames now exist, consisting of three wildly different scenarios based on a variety of factors throughout the game. This marks Draug's Resurrection as a complete game. However, many balance fixes and additional content needs to be added before I can call it truly finished.

+ Critical hits have completely changed. They do much less damage (generally 1.3x instead of 2x, although higher for crit-oriented skills like Sever), but now instead of doing more damage, they also boost the user's Charge while lower the target's. Some crit-skills raise their user's stats on a crit. After a crit, attempts to give Focus Strike/Meditation to the user to allow for a powerful follow-up. Basic attacks have much higher crit scaling, hopefully making them more viable later in the game.

+ Most enemies had their existing elemental resiliences further increased, particularly in regards to Slash/Bash/Pierce. This should make having a variety of different elemental skills more desirable instead of relying on one skill again and again.

+ Elemental resilences are now calculated before Defense/Resistance. This will make elementally-demanding foes like Blobs much easier to handle.

+ Battle toptext now displays the potency of ailments and the power of debuffs for Damage+Ailment and Damage+Debuff spells/skills.

+ Running from battles now mentions if rewards will be lost when running from a Determined Encounter.

+ Added the spell Aurora and the Sutra Dispel. Both function the same; they reset any stat-changes made to the target during the course of the battle. No enemies currently use Aurora, as it is situational, but eventual plans do exist to add it during an AI upgrade.

+ Human enemies have a cooldown on Ambrosia, so they won't obssessively waste time reviving a hopelessly defeated comrade. They will also no longer use Vigoor/Ecclesant Herbs, as they heal little and can easily result in heal-locking.

+ All Wall Spells have been nerfed fairly significantly; in short, their damage multiplier generally went from ~1.6x to ~1.1x. Beams have received a similar but much smaller nerf, as they're more difficult to use effectively.

+ The Axe skill Crush requires significantly more recharge now. Siege doesn't hit as hard and has an accuracy penalty. Armour Shred is less accurate, slower, and less powerful. Mystic Reaver is now P.Bash + M.Pierce instead of pure Magical Bash. High-speed spells (Sonicboom) have even less recharge. Other high-damage weapon skills have been minorly tweaked, typically downwards.

[bigskydreaming]

Btw, for those who’ve been asking, just a quick update on the jaw sitch:

I had that last appointment on Thursday and it went really, even surprisingly well? Like, better news than even she’d hoped for. We were crossing our fingers that the last CT scan (the one to map exact dimensions we’d need the prosthetic to be) would match up with a premade prosthetic so we wouldn’t have to wait to order a custom made and could jump straight to trying to expedite the surgery. 

Turns out I don’t actually need a prosthetic at all. The top of my jawbone, the condyle, which everyone thought was completely destroyed from all the previous scans and was part of what had to be replaced, its actually still there and largely intact. It wasn’t snapped off or eroded away like they’d been thinking, it actually just got bent enough at the top of it that somehow it slipped and got shoved up....underneath my skull, or behind my skull, I’m honestly not sure what the right word is to describe it, because of the angles/dimensions involved. The reason they could only see it with this last scan and not any of the others is this last scan like....looked through the back of my skull essentially, and showed the inside curvature of the side of the skull that’s where all the Drama is. And that’s where they saw, oh hey, he’s still got an intact condyle, its just been stuck inside/under/behind his skull this whole time instead of resting in the joint where its supposed to be and allowing for proper opening and closing. And as it got worse and worse this past year and a half, it wasn’t because I was constantly grinding down on what was left of the bone and wearing it more and more away....it was that it was actually constantly shoving up more inside my skull, day by day. So, still not fun, just a different kind of suck than they thought, lol.

I’m actually a little bit miffed by the reveal, not gonna lie, because like....it literally is EXACTLY what I’d been saying it felt like the problem was to me. For a year and a half. From the very start. From the very first time I went to the ER after it first snapped or slipped out of place or whateverthefuck, the very first doctor I met with, I literally described it as feeling like my jawbone got stuck up under or behind my skull and couldnt get loose or descend properly. And they were like nah, that’s not a thing, must be TMJ. And literally every other doctor I went to since then (including this one), I told each and every one of them the same exact thing but noooooooooo, why listen to the dude whose body it literally is lol why would he know what it feels like is the problem. Lmao. Ah well. Doesn’t change anything at this point and not worth souring my relationship with this doctor since at least she’s getting results for me and is easy enough to work with and way better than that other one I was going to before. But still. Annoying. It gives me no pleasure to be like ‘ugh I was right, I told you all’ because like, lol I don’t need the fucking ego boost, I would have much rather taken the ‘get started fixing all this a year earlier than it took to find the solution and thus spare myself a lot of time, money, aggravation and oh yeah pain’ option. BUT OH WELL.

Anyway. So this changes things a little but not a done. The general course of treatment is still the same. They still have to do the exact same surgery, only now instead of opening me up and putting in a new prosthetic joint, they’ll open me up, cut off the bottom part of my jaw so that they can then basically dig out the upper part from where its stuck behind/under/inside my skull, do something *mutters vague medical-ese in place of the details I glazed over here and didn’t totally catch look I am still very sleep deprived all the time*, then manually reset the condyle/top of the jawbone in the joint they restore via the vague medical-ese mumble mumble stuff, manually realign the whole rest of my lower jaw and then screw the bottom and top pieces of jawbone back together with like a plate or something. 

But now at least we don’t have to wait for a prosthetic, or pay for one, so that’s at least a couple thousand dollars cheaper though the rest of the surgery is still the same as before,like 20K out of pocket or thereabouts. And its always better when they can use/salvage your natural body instead of having to use prosthetics or insert foreign material - theoretically, this means I should heal faster, regain more or fuller function of my whole jaw, and there’s less risk of nerve damage since all the muscles and everything are still attached to the jaw and just unable to do their job because its literally just stuck, but again its always better if like, they don’t have to try and reattach or reintegrate muscles and all that around a brand new piece of bone or prosthetic that they place in there for the first time.

So its literally just a waiting game now? She sent off her updated notes and case file to my insurance company now to try and expedite getting a greenlight on the surgery. It only takes two weeks to book the surgery and get into an OR somewhere, and the only thing we’re waiting for now is payment, basically. As soon as I can afford the surgery, we can schedule it, and two weeks later, bam. So fingers crossed that my insurance company will approve it - she feels pretty confident they will, because she thinks she’s made more than enough argument and provided plenty of documentation to prove its an absolute medical necessity (hahahahaha just let them try and argue w/me about that, I WILL DEVOUR THEIR ENTIRE SOULS, MY JAW IS 90% UNHINGED ALREADY, IT’LL BE EASY).

So mostly its just a matter of how long it takes to get an answer from them, and if they’ll approve the whole thing or only part of it, and if the latter, how long it’ll take me to raise the rest. She said give it a week before I start calling the insurance company directly myself, to nag them, lol. But that her best guess is it’ll probably be around three weeks or so to hear back, for something like this.

So, fingers crossed that I get a quick answer and a good one in terms of paying at least most of the surgery. And then....blessed scalpel and morphine drip. *weeps in I Have Never Been So Excited To Be Cut Open On A Table Like A Fish, Seriously, What A Weird Thing To Have Be Like Christmas and My Birthday and Some Other Random Assortments of Holidays Used As An Excuse for Gift-Giving*

She’s planning on doing the surgery on a Saturday as its usually easier to book an OR on the weekend, and the surgery itself should only take a day and I shouldn’t need to stay overnight after all. BUT I still need to figure out finding some way to stay with someone for the ten days after the surgery though, which - no idea how to go about that just yet lol, working on it. But my jaw’ll have to be wired shut for the ten days post surgery, liquid diet only, so she was like “LOL yeah no, you should definitely not count on being able to talk for the first couple weeks of recovery. Or stand up really. Or like, get out of bed at all pretty much. As much as it sucks right now, its gonna suck even more then, you will definitely hate everything and it’ll hurt even more before it gets better, BUT then it’ll actually get better. Finally.” Like, I’m paraphrasing, but that was my takeaway, lol. Yay. Things to look forward, much excitement, can’t wait.

Nah but like, I will literally put up with anything at this point in order for it to be over, and after that, I shouldn’t need more than a month or two of physical therapy before I have full function of my jaw back. But she thinks it’ll be if not quite as good as new, at least close enough for there not to be much difference. She said she sees no reason for there to be any lingering or residual pain or nerve issues or vertigo once my recovery period is over, and my face should look pretty much the same as it did before all this started then. Said there’s a slight possibility, depending on certain things with how the surgery goes, that my chin might end up a little more recessed than it had been originally, but not enough that it’d be especially noticeable - if anything, it probably would only show as different from before when looked at in profile, from a side view. 

LOL, she was like, there is an additional procedure I can do right then and there while we already have you under, that’ll bring your chin forward and compensate for any differences there and its easiest to do it right at the same time as everything else. But that’s essentially just a cosmetic procedure, so your insurance likely wouldn’t pay for that. And I was like okay, well just so I know, how much is that procedure? And she’s like, oh, 8K. And I was all HAHAHAHAHAHA, doc, you funny. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m vain and shallow, but I’m cheaper and broker than I am vain and shallow, so that’s gonna be a hard pass from me. I’ll stick to just overcompensating with my wit and dazzling personality, mmkay.

LOL. Anyway, so that’s where things stand right now, just....waiting. And hoping. And crossing fingers. And trying not to fall into my usual trap of assuming this slight uptick of good or positive news means IMPENDING DOOM elsewhere. Like, there is still a slight risk of nerve damage with the surgery itself, not the potential for full face paralysis that the other doc was saying might happen, she’s not worried about that at all, but she did warn that in like 10-20% of cases with this surgery, there’s a chance of nicking a sensory nerve that means like, ending up with your face numb around the chin and above and around your mouth, where you basically can’t feel much in those areas. Sometimes that lasts for a month or two, and occasionally there are some people who never regain sensation there, but she stressed that its not a huge risk, again only 10-20% of the time, but she did want to make sure I was aware. Course, my cynical ass is like OKAY BUT YOU UNDERESTIMATE HOW MUCH THE UNIVERSE LIKES TO MAKE EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE LINE UP WITH EXTREMELY LONG ODDS AND UNLIKELY POSSIBILITIES, WHY WOULD YOU TEMPT FATE WITH A DIRECT CHALLENGE LIKE THAT, DO YOU HATE ME, DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE????

LOL. Look I’m a Melodramatic Melvin, this is canon. And in the immortal words of Ugh Stiles, I’m almost to the point of no longer being able to ‘milk this anymore’ so I gotta cram my last good angsts in while I still can, y’know? Nah, but srsly, I’m gonna try and not stress about that too much because she said there’s literally nothing I or she can do to minimize that risk, it just is what it is, and the one thing I do know is that my body/brain tends to be highly suggestible and psychosomatism tends to play a huge role in my health and how well or quickly or thoroughly I bounce back from stuff. So. Trying to do the whole positive thoughts, eyes on the prize, Speak Only Good Stuff Into Existence until I’m out the other side. Like, take it for granted that the odds aren’t gonna fuck me this time so I don’t end up accidentally stressing myself into the perfect position for my body to be like Screw You Baby, One More Time.

I mean, we’ll see how well that goes, lol, but you know. Goals.

[writing-anomaly]

Torn

Fandom:  Jojolion

Summary: Yasuho’s life is tearing at the seams. The volatile Rokakaka trade is catching up to them and when Josuke unravels, Yasuho  is pushed to her limit. She’s left more vulnerable than ever as she struggles to protect two men who barely know her.

This a story in which the protected must become the protector.

Chapter 5

"Feel free to call me daddy."

"Haha, I'd rather not." Yasuho, faked her best smile.

This Kaito guy was really pushing it.

She was trying her best to be open to the situation, but it was difficult.

Yasuho had to consciously refrain from throwing scowls in her mom's direction. It had only been a few moments since the couple first dropped the news that they had eloped. Yasuho had barely been able to stop her knees from buckling under her. Autopilot was the only thing sustaining her.

Part of her felt betrayed.

Although, surprise was not a word she would use to describe her thoughts on her mother's behavior. A woman who could ditch her own child was capable of anything. The unexpected was exactly Yasuho's expectation of her mother and without any further explanation, Suzuyo pushed her and Kaito to the dining room as she rushed into the tiny kitchen in the adjacent room.

Kaito pulled out a chair from the square glass table and looked expectantly at Yasuho, a sheepish grin etched into his angular jaw. She stared at him a moment before slowly approaching him, accepting the small olive branch; Despite the situation, she didn't want to appear rude by refusing his attempt at showing goodwill.

Though she dragged her feet along the way.

After she sat down, he pushed her chair up to the table with an ease that betrayed his lithe form. It was almost as if she were the guest in her own home.

Yasuho sighed.

She imagined this was all a part of one of her mother's grand schemes to glue her makeshift "family" together. And while her mother was preparing their fantastical Italian dinner, she had been left to "bond" with her new step-father, whom she'd only known existed for the last 10 minutes.

Kaito was...friendly, to say the least.

He had taken the initiative in spurring a conversation, talking animately as he attempted to tear down the uncomfortable wall of silence that stood between.

Of course, the usual impersonal topics were checked off the list:

"How's school?"

"What's your major?"

"What are your hobbies?"

To which she replied,

"Great."

"Computer science."

"Coding."

Yada, yada.

Her lips barely parted, expression solid like a marble slab, as she mechanically responded to his questions. She hated being forced in to social situations. Yasuho trained her eyes on her view of the oak floor through the polished surface of the glass table, noting the scratch marks from where its black metal leg had been pushed to and fro.

This was not how she, wanted to spend her night.

There were so many other issues to deal with, like finding new leads on the Rokakaka, or getting more clues on Josuke's past..and her head hurt just thinking about all the homework she needed to catch up on for her discrete mathematics class! Speaking of which, she wondered what Josuke was doing at the moment..

Nodding absent-mindedly at whatever Kaito was saying, she slowly slipped her phone from the pocket of her flower covered skirt so as to avoid drawing any attention to her actions. To her delight, the message alert was present.

A smile broke through her hardened facade.

Sucking her bottom lip slightly she opened her inbox. Thankfully, her phone was already set on silent mode, curtesy of Paisely Park; She didn't have to worry about it making any unattractive sounds.

Gingerly peaking into her inbox, she nearly squealed when she saw Joshuu's name..

..and by Joshuu, she meant Josuke who had heroically liberated the communication device from his adoptive brother.

Yasuho instantly caved, opening the messages:

Josuke: Glad you're home.

Josuke: I'm gonna get you for ditching me like that Yasu-chan! Not fair :p

"As if!" Yasuho thought to herself with a grin. She still owed him for the tickle attack back at his house. There's no way she'd let him win twice in a row!

But still..

She was overwhelmingly thankful for his playful text. The weight on her chest was beginning to lift. His humor, like an eraser, wiped away the self-bashing lies and guilt that toyed with her fear of failing him.

Josuke never seemed to dwell on the bad.

No, Josuke was like a gust of wind, refreshing and strong enough to whisk her away from her self-maintained pit of quiet hopelessness. Ad she found it incredible, how adept he was to treading above water, even though his own life was flooded within a sea of misery and misfortune.

Truly, she envied his inner strength..

The glass table began to vibrate slightly, with a persistent tap that derailed her train of thought, tossing the blinding glare of the reflected chandelier light into her eyes, which she closed to stop them from stinging. Her hands, which she held beneath the table, reached for her face instinctively at a poor attempt to further shield her eyes, only to bang her phone against the underside of the glass tabletop, knocking the device from her grasp with a deafening clang. Yasuho felt an unusual draft brush against her calf as she awaited the bang of her phone hitting the ground.

But the impact never came.

"My apologies.. I'm not enough to hold your attention."

The words rang relatively close to her, reverberating within the walls of her ear canal. Yasuho's eyes shifted upward in alarm, locking with Kaito's whose face was mere inches away.

Her nostrils grazed on the earthy scent of his cologne which was sobering like the dew of morning grass, mingled with the mint of his breath. His torso leaned heavily against the glass, in a way that expressed he could sleep at any moment as he gazed up at her through half-closed eyes.

Yasuho hadn't realized when Kaito had exchanged chairs to sit beside her.

Her eyes traced along his bicep, up his forearm, to the left hand on which he rested his head. There, in his palm was a small cellular phone that seemed disturbingly familiar.

..above the glass, without a scratch on it.

Confused, Yasuho looked down through the transparent table, spreading her feet apart to check if her phone was indeed laying on the ground.

The floor was clear.

Patting her skirt didn't produce the device either.

Yasuho spared a second glance at the phone in his hand and, as if on queue, Kaito teased the power button with his thumb. It lit up, immediately displaying a lock screen of her favorite sailor boy.

How did he..?

"Yasuho-chan." Kaito looked up at her from his lounging position His eyes gleeful as he pouted, teasingly. "It's rude to play on your phone when someone's talkin' to you. I'm sure Suzuyo taught you better."

"S-sorry!" She withdrew from him immediately with a small bow.

"That's quite alright." Kaito set her phone on the table, but made no effort in returning it to her. Instead, he playfully flicked the power button again to display the lock screen of Josuke's goofy face with a mouth full of fries. A long finger trailed the outline of Josuke's form. She watched him, annoyance growing as he began to chuckle lightly. "You have interesting tastes. He's a very special looking fellow."

Yasuho's eyes narrowed slightly, not caring for the tone of his voice. "He's amazing, actually. The best man I know."

She'd had enough of Kaito's taunting.

Something about the way he gazed at Josuke, left her feeling violated, like an excavated treasure pillaged by a man with no means of proper appraisal. She possessed few things of value, but the boy on the lock screen topped them all.

Cautiously, she reached for her phone, staring down her adoptive father, challenging him. As her hand covered the hard plastic surface of her cellphone, Kaito laid his hand atop of hers. Involuntary shivers ran down her spine when his icy cool digits made contact.

Yasuho paused.

"Why don't you try asking me a few question?" Kaito did not stop her from pulling her hand out of his loose grasp, taking her cell with her. He offered a wide grin to reset the conversation.

Yasuho regarded him warily.

Sighing, she leaned against the glass table. "So, how did you two meet?"

Kaito sat up in his chair. His crisp green dress shirt wrinkled when he crossed his arms over his chest. Looking off into space with a dreamy expression, he began his tale..

"Well, I was on my way to work when I saw this gorgeous lady near the crosswalk, haggling with a food vendor about the price of her donuts. I felt drawn to her so..I slowed my stroll to indulge in your sweet mother's angelic voice as she said, "..If I have to spend 2000 yen on a dozen donuts I expect them to be lined with gold!"

Yasuho stared in disbelief.

"..and I told myself, now that's a woman I can jive with. I offered to pay, and slipped my card in the box."

He gave a boisterous laugh as he added, "I also let her know that if she wanted a little help burning those calories off she knew where to find me."

A wide grin appeared on his face as he began flexing his eyebrows suggestively.

"Kaito!" Suzuyo had returned from the kitchen, red faced.

Yasuho and Kaito both shot straight up in their chairs as she slammed a large bowl of spaghetti on the table, gritting her teeth through a smile wider than humanly possibly. It was a miracle that she hadn't cracked the glass surface.

"Honey, I think you're confused, we actually met at the bookstore, haha. Remember?" Her tone was soft as she daintily placed a hand on her cheek.

"No...I don't read books for fun.. hun." His word were slow, as if searching his memories for a forgotten file.

"Yes you do!" Suzuyo screamed.

The smack of Yasuho's palm hitting her forehead and running down her face was lost in their bickering.

Yasuho awoke the next morning tangled in a soft selection of thick aqua colored bedding. Slamming her hand down on the wailing alarm clock sitting on the night stand, she cringed as she remembered the events of the night prior. Dinner played out smoother than she anticipated after Kaito conceded to her mother's insistence that she had indeed been haggling for books on quantum physics, and not donuts.

Yasuho didn't care one way or another about what their alibi was.

She inhaled her spaghetti and chugged her water, barely sparing a good night before she escaped to her room. The activities of the day had caught up with her eternal clock by then, pushing her into a dreamless sleep nearly as soon as her body touched her western-style bed.

Groaning, Yasuho forced herself to rise. Any further attempts at sleep would be in vain. Vibrant rays of the morning sun were breaking through the blinds of her window and attacking her light sensitive eyes. So she opted to pick her outfit for the day, along with a towel and wash cloth.

Yasuho was ready to head for the bathroom shower but paused when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror of her closet's sliding glass door. Her pajama shorts were comfy but a little revealing. It wouldn't be a problem if it were just her and her mother in the home, but she wasn't comfortable with Kaito's presence yet.

She decided to change into loose fitting flannels that swallowed her curves.

It would be best to avoid any potentially awkward situations.

Luckily, she was able to reach the bathroom without running into Kaito in the hallway. After a hot steamy shower she finished the rest of her hygienic routine and dressed herself in black tights underneath a pair of gold buttoned, navy blue daisy dukes, and a gold sweater with the word 'autumn' printed in black ink. A high ponytail and pair of black-heeled boots polished her attire.

Yasuho was sure she'd be able to escape the apartment without any human interaction but was disappointed when Suzuyo called her name from end of the foyer. Every fiber in Yasuho's being wanted to ignore her, but hesitation allowed her mother enough time to run up and hug her from behind.

"Good morning to you too, mother." Yasuho turned to face her.

"So, what do you think?" Suzuyo was still dressed in her usual red night gown, a flowery silk bonnet covered her hair.

"About what?" Yasuho played dumb, wanting to avoid the conversation entirely.

Suzuyo wasn't having it.

She gave her daughter a stern look, too tired to play games; She waited.

"..He's ok. I still don't know him..but you seem crazy about him so that's what matters." Yasuho noticed the fall in her mother's expression.

"He really is a great guy..kind and loyal in all the ways your father-"

"Don't!" Yasuho cut her off. Her voice erupted like a volcano from her tiny body. She turned to head for the door, finished with the conversation, only to be yanked back by the book bag she was carrying on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry! But he abandoned us both, Yasuho." Suzuyo's voice ground into her daughter's heart like a rusted knife. Her wet tears penetrated the back of Yasuho's sweater as she held tightly around her daughter's mid section.

"Are you done? I have to finish some research at the library."

"No. I need you to do something for me."

Yasuho should've expected as much.

Handing her a spare key from her pocket, Suzuyo explained, "I need you to drop this off at Kaito's workplace. He'll be staying with us for a while until we close on our new condo, in downtown Tokyo."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not even half way through the school year! We can't move."

"I said us. That doesn't have to include you."

Once again, Yasuho could feel herself being pushed to the outer edge of her mother's heart. With much effort, she smoothed the worry lines from her brow and reinforced the dam that held her tears at bay. Her bated breath was the only indication of her high emotional state.

"Why don't you take the key to him yourself?! I didn't marry him." Yasuho's words were strained. She willed her ears to close, not wanting to hear any more as Suzuyo persisted.

"I would, but he decided to treat me to a spa day. I wanted to take you with me but you seem so busy with school." Suzuyo could feel her daughter go limp in her arms. "Kaito is a good man, and he's taking his new fatherly duties seriously. I'm sure I could talk him into paying for you to stay her while you finish your studies. He loves me, which means he'll have to love you too because you're the most precious part of my life."

Yasuho looked at the silver key resting in the palm of her hand. It was attached to a red, heart shaped, key-chain her birth father had bought as a good luck charm. She was surprised her mother hadn't thrown it away as of yet.

It was a cheap trinket from her happier days as a child and prior to the ugly divorce of her parents.

It was in good condition.

The words inscribed on it were still legible:

"My Love"

Yasuho could feel the fight leaving her.

If her mother was dead set on Kaito, then so be it.

Resigned to the situation, Yasuho uttered the only words left to say. "Where does he work?"

"The University hospital off of 53rd street."

And with that, Yasuho pried her mother's arm off and slammed the front door behind her without so much as a farewell.  

To be continued...

[biayahlife]

Recuperating, Regrouping, and Resetting

We are about halfway through 2021, and that just feels wild to me. The so far, 2021 has been just as messy and full as 2020, and sometimes it feels like 2021 has been worse than 2020. I feel like I’ve been flailing and stumbling through this year, and June felt more disorganised and disjointed than any other part of this year for me. After I finished the Star Gazing quilt, I’ve really felt a bit of project burn out. It’s not because it was a particularly hard quilt, and I don’t think that it was the thing that burned me out. I have several projects floating about in various states of complete, and I’ve not made the progress on them that I’d like. While I usually have multiple projects going on at the same time, I like to actually finish them, and this year I don’t feel like I have really finished much of anything. I’m taking the month of July to recuperate, regroup, and reset so that I can make the projects I want to make.

Recuperating

I’m building out my July bullet journal right now. The last several months I haven’t been using my bullet journal in the same way that I was in previous months. Sure, I’m still using the weekly planning pages, but I’ve not set monthly goals or intentions. It’s made me feel less focused and less intentional about how I spend my time. I try to build myself some sort of structure in my life, no matter how loose it is simply because I know that I can give myself the best existence by giving myself some pretty loose structure. I have discovered that I really enjoy having a quiet hour before I start my actual workday, which is not something I ever had to think about intentionally. I found that by June I was leaving this behind, and that’s not been great for me. This was ultimately a symptom of me not paying attention to what I need to feel content and accomplished in a day.

Here’s how I’m working to recuperate this month:

Taking the time to have a morning cup of tea: This should have been my first clue that I was no longer being kind to myself in the morning. I find that not giving myself those 10 minutes to make a cup of tea that I can enjoy while I start my day was really setting me up for feeling frantic and rushed during the day. This makes everything feel big and overwhelming for me, which ultimately leads to me wanting to hide in my bedroom because I just can’t contemplate what’s happening.

Taking time to stretch or do some yoga: This is a small, gentle way to be kind to myself. Like many of you, I sit in front of a computer during my working hours. The first half of this year has found me moving from sitting in front of my computer to sitting in a chair when I wasn’t doing something for work. I’m not doing things around the house as often, and I’m not taking the time stretch my legs at the very least. I feel better when I move around more. It makes sleeping and eating easier, and it helps my mental health.

Start winding down earlier: I have trouble sleeping. There are things that I know help me wind down to sleep, and I’m not doing them. I’m not shooting for 8 hours of sleep every night – I legitimately don’t feel good when I sleep that long – but I want to have uninterrupted sleep. That means limiting liquids and certain type of light before bed.

Regrouping

I have so many ideas for things I want to do floating around in my brain constantly. I could line up projects for years. That said, I only have finite resources. I need to have space for working, projects, socializing, house cleaning, etc. As things are opening up and people are getting vaccinated, we are able to spend our time with people who are important to us, and that is something that I get to factor into my time again. This is wonderful, and exciting, and something that is very much needed. That means I need to take a look at how I’m structuring my time and seeing what projects I want to accomplish. I’m choosing to take July to really regroup so that I know what I have, what I want to do, and how I can accomplish those things.

Here’s how I’m regrouping this month:

Assessing my workspace: My workspace houses both my work and my crafting space. We don’t have space for a dedicated crafting area, so my space is multi-functional. I need to see what needs to be put away, filed, cleaned out, etc. I have filing that I haven’t addressed in a couple of months.

Work on a task list: I have things that are halfway organised all over my space right now. Some things are “filed,” which is just a way of me being able to put it out of sight, even if it’s not in the place I’ll need it later. It’s creating an illusion of complete that’s ultimately creating a sense of foreboding every time I turn my back.

Build a brain dump list: This is something I stopped doing because it no longer felt useful, but since everything feels so scattered it’s something I’m starting again. The idea is just to sit down and write out everything floating around in your brain. They can be thoughts, feelings, projects, tasks, recipe ideas, you get the picture, anything that is taking up residence in your brain. This helps me acknowledge my thoughts in a meaningful way. It helps me choose how to focus my time because having everything in front of me helps me see there is something that is creating a pain point that needs addressing, and it helps to clear my mind.

Resetting

I struggle with resetting a lot. I know that this can mean a lot of different things to people. What resetting means for me is that I have a clean-ish slate. Since I work from home, there is a lot of grey space between my work and home life. This broadly doesn’t bother me because I don’t tend to need to decompress after work, and I can shift in and out of work mode pretty easily. What I do struggle with is taking the time to make sure that I feel like I have “closed the door” on work or a project or what have you so that I can start my day, or evening, feel like I have the permission to do so.

Here’s what I mean:

Clearing my desk: It doesn’t matter if it’s work or a project. I need to clean off my workspace when I’m done for the day or night so that I can enter a clean space the next morning. When I leave piles of paper on my desk without putting it away, I feel like I haven’t stopped working, and it makes me feel like I can’t work on a creative project. If I leave a creative projects spread out all over my desk when I go to bed, I don’t feel like I can start work the next morning.

Using time blocks: This is a bit more than just setting a timer as I often like to do. This means that I’m dedicating certain days or hours of those days to certain tasks. It also means that I’m creating a loose boundary. This means that I can focus on one area of my life without worrying about when I’m going to do something else because I have time set aside for that. For example, I can choose the time 1pm-2pm every day to set aside for chores. This means that even if I wake up and realise that I need do laundry, I can safely put it to the back of my mind and start work because I know I have the space to address it later that afternoon.

Choosing to engage with others in social situations: I am an extrovert. I find social situations and large groups of people incredibly relaxing. We have several social things planned for July. I find that I am more ready to tackle my workload and more energized when we engage in social activities. We have some game nights planned as well as a tubing trip so far. Hopefully, we will continue to add to this list.

That’s how I’m planning to spend my July. What sorts of things are you doing to recuperate, regroup, and reset?

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Vital Signs, pt10

Vital Signs Masterlist

Word Count: 2055 Tags: @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 and @outside-the-government, @jimfromsales, @donnaintx, @enterprisewriting

“Lady, there’s a guy in a towel running after us. Should I stop?” The cabbie asked me. I swung around to look out the window, and sure enough, there was Steve, barreling after us. I hoped he wouldn’t catch up. Not something you would need to hope for with any other man.

“No. Please just go.” I reached into my purse for a tissue and wiped my eyes. I mentally beat myself up for the entire drive to the helipad. What had I been thinking, kissing him like that? What would he be thinking of me? I felt as though I had touched a torch to a pyre with our friendship strapped to the top of it. We finally arrived and I paid the cabbie before checking in with the pilot.

“You are early, ma’am. Can I offer you a cup of coffee?” He asked. I nodded and accepted the cup. He turned back to his computer, printed a page and looked back to me.

“Looks like you are the only passenger on my manifest and we are cleared to depart if you want to get going now,” he offered. I leapt at the chance. If Steve was willing to run down the street wearing nothing but a towel, who was to say he wouldn’t try to follow me all the way to the helipad? I strapped myself in and waited for the pilot to get clearance. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket but ignored it. I was sure it was Steve and I had just stopped crying. I didn’t exactly want to have to explain why I was bawling to the pilot if I started again. We left New York behind moments later, and popped through the clouds into a beautiful clear morning sky.

“If you look out the window on your right, you can see the helicarrier in the distance,” the pilot pointed out to the horizon. “We’ll be about 45 minutes.” My phone vibrated in my pocket again. I was suddenly grateful that I wasn’t allowed to use it while we were in the air. By the time we landed on the helicarrier deck, I’d counted 16 messages based on the vibrations against my leg. I shook the pilot’s hand and checked in on the deck before heading to the infirmary. I signed in to change my location and collected my duty package from the staff files. My room assignment and key were in it. And since I had the rest of the day to acclimate, I headed to my bunk without another thought.

Once I was in my room, I checked my phone. I was up to 33 unanswered texts and 4 phone calls. I sat on my bunk and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to be a coward, and I knew I was going to have to face it eventually. And with a significant amount of air space between us, I figured I may as well face up to him sooner rather than later. I scrolled to the start of the texts and read through them quickly. He was obviously more worried than angry based on the tone of the messages. I dialed into my voice mail.

“Lex, I’m sure you realize this is Steve. I suspect that’s why you didn’t answer. We have to talk about what happened. I know you don’t want to, but we do. Call me back.” I deleted it, and moved on to the next message.

“Okay, you don’t seem to be viewing your text messages either. Are you okay?” He hadn’t left messages with the other two calls, but my call display showed it was him. While I stared at my phone, trying to figure out what to say, his picture popped up on the screen and it started ringing. I answered.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer sooner. I was on the helicopter to the carrier.” I didn’t say hello.

“You’re there now?” He asked.

“Yeah, just settling into my bunk.”

“In your haste to get away from me, you left your slippers and sling,” he sounded hurt.

“I wasn’t trying to get away from you, Steve.”

“Really? Because shoving me away and then disappearing in a cab made me feel you were.” He was definitely hurt.

“I’m sorry.” I was barely keeping my voice from breaking.

“You keep saying that.”

“Because I don’t know what else to say.”

“We need to sit down and talk about this.”

“I agree. But you are still in the city.”

“If you hadn’t run away, maybe we could have sorted this out.”

“I’m sorry.” The tears started falling again.

“Please stop apologizing. We can’t just leave things like this.”

“What else can we do, Steve? I’m going to be here for at least six months. You are being called away on assignments now. When are we going to get a chance to talk this out?”

“You said I was your best friend, so hear me out. What happened this morning doesn’t change any of that. It just happened. It’s my fault anyhow, I should be the one apologizing.”

“It’s not-“

“It is. I was giving you a hard time, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and I let it happen anyhow. It wasn’t fair to you. Now, I’ve spent most of my life thinking I was a pretty decent man, and I would like to think that hasn’t changed. We have to talk about this, but you’re right, we can’t do it over the phone. So here’s what I propose. Let’s forget about it for now, and we’ll stick with our original plan, where we email and talk and stay friends. The next time we can see each other in person, we’ll have a conversation about what happened and figure things out,” he was almost pleading. I sniffled and my voice caught in my throat.

“I just-“

“Don’t cry when I can’t be there to catch the tears, Lex,” he sounded pained.

“We’re truly okay?” I asked.

“Of course we are. Just… Don’t ever run away like that again.”

“I promise.”

“I’ve already lost one girl I care about, Lex. I won’t have it happen again,” he said. I blinked away the tears and nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. Neither of us said anything for a few minutes. It was painful, not even close the usual companionable silences we shared.

“I’ll send you an email when I’m more settled,” I finally said. He sighed.

“You’re my best friend too, Lex. Good night.” He hung up. I indulged in a good self-pitying cry and then took a nap. I awoke to pounding on my door and my name being called by a familiar voice. I pulled open the door to Jack.

“Good, you’re back. We need to get you back in shape.” He handed me a training schedule and walked away.

I was flat on my back on the gym mats by 0600 the next morning.

“You weren’t even gone three months. How do you already suck so badly?” Jackson pulled me to my feet. I winced at the pain in my shoulder. It was healed enough that it didn’t hurt during regular activity. It hurt like hell when I landed on it or tried to throw people with it.

“It was a trade off.” I rubbed the scar, hoping the ache would go away. It didn’t.

“Did you do anything remotely physical while you were on the ground?” He asked. I nodded and reset my stance.

“Yeah, I ran 5k twice a day.”

“We’ll do an endurance test this afternoon then. See where you’re at. I’ve been in touch with Romanoff. She’s going to help you with your hand-to-hand again. It should be on your schedule. She’s on and off the boat a lot, so on days when she’s not around, you’ll be stuck with me, but I figure even a couple days a month with her will improve you.” He threw a punch at me, and I blocked it and swept his foot out from under him. He still somehow managed to pull me down and pin me.

“Don’t forget that I have an infirmary to run.”

“Fury wants all SHIELD employees to be able to pass field competency testing.” He got up and tossed a towel at me. I wiped my face and scowled. I understood the motivation, but honestly. After going from the triumph of finishing med school with distinction, returning to being the most inept and defenseless loser on the helicarrier was almost too much. I headed to the locker room and was peeling off my sweaty work out wear when I thought I heard Steve. Shaking my head, I continued into the showers. I was obviously not going to get over the embarrassment of kissing him easily, if I was hearing his voice in my head.

When I walked back out into the gym, I stopped dead in my tracks. It had been Steve. He was standing on the mats talking to Jackson. When he saw me, he smiled.

“I was looking for you.” He walked toward me and swept me up in a huge hug.

“I thought we were going to email.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Fury tracked me down last night and told me to be here today.”

“Fury wanted us to talk this out?” I was puzzled and mortified. It’s not like I was in high school. Steve laughed.

“No, something about project that went badly, and a facility got blown up. He wants us to look into it.” He drew me away from Jack and toward the door.

“Us?” We walked out into the hall and toward my bunk.

“Stark, myself, a Dr. Banner, Agent Romanoff.”

“Ah.” I stopped at the door, hesitant.

“But right now is about us talking.” He looked over my shoulder at the door to my bunk expectantly.

“Right.” I opened the door and we both entered. He sat on the bed. I leaned against my desk, not quite comfortable enough to sit beside him.

“I owe you an apology, Alexandra. I was out of line yesterday. I’d been feeling at loose ends and after we’d talked about how different dating is now, I just. I don’t know. I guess my curiosity got the better of me, and I needed to know.”

“Needed to know what?”

“If men and women can balance friendship without this modern attitude about sex getting in the way.”

“So you pushed to see if I would what? Jump you? You’re right, you do owe me an apology.” I was angry. I was not a science experiment. Steve jumped up.

“No, that’s now how I meant it. Lex, you’ve been so honest with me, and so helpful. I don’t feel like I’m in the wrong place when I’m with you. But everything is so different now; I thought we must just be friends. But in being honest with me, you’ve said a few times that you find me attractive. And I just thought, you know, if I’m ever going to join this century, you’re the woman I’d want to spend time with.” He sounded unsure of himself. It wasn’t something I was used to.

“I don’t understand.” I furrowed my brow.

“Wow. Uh, this is a lot more uncomfortable than I thought it would be.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I laughed awkwardly.

“You know, I’m more a man of action than a man of words,” he laughed, and then pulled me into his arms. I leaned into his embrace, finally reassured that I hadn’t blown our friendship. He pulled back and looked down at me. And kissed me again. So thoroughly that I thought my toes would curl.

“Oh.” I couldn’t think of what else to say.

“I have nothing to offer you. I have no idea how I’m ever going to really fit in to this world. I don’t know how much we’ll see each other, I don’t know how we could ever make whatever the hell it is that we are work. But I don’t feel out of place with you.”

“Oh.” My mind was spinning, “so what you’re saying is-“ He interrupted by kissing me again. And then he proved that he really wasn’t the most naïve, innocent man-child in the world.

[infotainmentplus-blog]

Google Clips review: the $249 smart camera that shoots for you Are you a parent or pet owner? If so, you are probably frustrated with your inability to share enough content online. Don’t worry, Google’s here to help. The search giant has released Google Clips to help make sure every single person in your friend lists sees your little creatures, furry or otherwise. We’ve played around with one for some time and we’re ready to give you our full Google Clips review. Google Clips is a small camera that captures short videos, so we will keep this review appropriately short and simple. Related Articles Here are the best 360-degree cameras you can buy right now Opting for one of the many 360 degree cameras out there is a great way to take your videography to the next level. It allows you to capture your entire surroundings and can give viewers … Best of Android 2017: Which camera LOOKS the best? This year saw the release of some of the best and most interesting smartphone cameras to date. Dual lenses have become the norm among high-end devices and camera software is giving users more power. But … Design and build quality Google Clips focuses on simplicity. The tiny square weighs only 60.6 grams (with the clip on) and measures two square inches. It is equipped with a large shutter button, three LED lights, a rotatable lens, a nearly invisible reset button, and a USB-C port. Everything feels solid. The colorful back makes it look fun. The spotted white clip case offers both protection and functionality. Nothing feels loose, the button offers good feedback, and the lens can be rotated with complete confidence. A minimalist device is judged by the details, and we can say Google didn't miss a single one with the Clips camera. Edgar Cervantes A minimalist device is judged by the details, and Google didn’t miss any here. The search giant has given you what you need and nothing more. It looks like a smaller, more elegant action camera, but its features make it something else entirely. A bit on the specs and performance Google Clips touts a 12MP sensor with 1.55μm pixels, so it can handle low light situations with minimal noise. The clips I recorded in the darker environments looked rather clean. The Google Clips' biggest caveat is it shoots at 15 fps, which is crazy slow for video. Edgar Cervantes The 130-degree field of view also makes it simple to get potential subjects in frame. That field of view is especially important because the camera has no viewfinder. You can see a live preview using the smartphone app, but that is only for peace of mind. Once you get a feel for how wide the lens is, it is very easy to just wing it. The camera’s biggest caveat is it shoots at 15fps, which is crazy slow for video. This is because it is meant to produce short, shareable clips, but we must also keep in mind pets are an important part of the equation. Pets can be fast; especially my bengal cat. I had to scrap some of the videos because the frame rate just couldn’t keep up with some of its movements. The f/2.4 aperture offers a good balance, letting in enough light to keep shots well exposed without much noise and keeping a healthy depth of field for that fixed focus. Under three hours of battery life is not great for a camera that just sits there waiting for stuff to happen. Edgar Cervantes Another downside is battery life. Google claims about three hours per charge. I found it was usually a little less than two and a half hours. It’s not horrible, but I wish it was more. The camera is meant to be waiting for stuff to happen, after all — it’s not like you can really ration that juice. There’s also no audio — videos will be silent. That’s definitely a downside for many of us, but according to Google it’s all part of the plan. They only made this to produce light, shareable clips. Audio would apparently hurt the cause (also remember that in many places it’s illegal to record video and audio of an unsuspecting person, but silent video is OK). The only other thing you need to know is the camera uses Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth LE to connect to your smartphone. Those work well and make for a fast connection. How Google Clips works You can’t do much manually with Google Clips, but that is the whole point. This camera will do everything for you. It can recognize people, animals, and fun moments. The camera will simply start recording seven-second clips when the time is right — or at least, that is the claim. Google Clips picks its shots using its baked-in smart system, powered by artificial intelligence which Google trained with the help of professional photographers. It can also sync with your Google Photos account, which the camera will use to recognize familiar faces. Furthermore, Google states the camera will learn to better recognize people, pets, and potential clips of interest with time and use. It all works as part of Google’s magic algorithm. Simply turn the lens to the right, point it in the direction of your desired subject, and let it do its thing. Of course, the shutter button will also force Google Clips to start recording when you know there’s a picture or clip to be had. How does Google Clips work? In summary: it's all part of Google's magic algorithm. Edgar Cervantes It has 16GB of storage, which I found was enough. It will take a while before you start feeling the need to delete anything. I never went past 15 percent of its capacity before offloading what I had. Does it do a good job? For the sake of testing Google’s AI, we decided not to touch the shutter button. This is not exactly a test of camera quality (though that matters too), we just wanted to know if Google Clips is actually smart enough to capture the right moments. The truth is it didn’t get all the moments I wanted. It’s better to think about Google Clips as a bonus round rather than as your sole camera of record. Like, there was a time at the beach when I saw a dude popping a sick wheelie on his bike. I thought the camera would definitely get that. It didn’t. Maybe the bike was too fast, I don’t know. I was also shooting my cat and noticed him sprinting around his favorite dead tree, chasing a ball he pushed himself. It didn’t record that either. Regardless, it will probably capture more than you, though. In both instances, I probably wouldn’t have been able to record the moments, even if I rushed for my camera phone. Clips also captured plenty of normally impossible shots, which were great. Want to see some of them? We converted the videos to GIFs for the sake of web viewing. In addition, the GIF files have also been compressed, as the originals are about 10 MB each. Depending on your data plan, these clips might not so shareable, after all, huh? Anyways, those who want to see the full, uncompressed clips can click here. Chilling at the a beach recording strangers. Not creepy at all. We had to hide inside and finish our drinks. Time to go. Is this guy trying to race us? Google Clips recording while riding motorcycle. Yep, he is. Let’s show him who is boss. Time to go. Is this guy trying to race us? Dude, traffic! I guess he was boss. And also crazy. People watching again. Did you know that is where the Ceasar Salad was invented? I am thirsty! The moment you were all waiting for: the bengal cat! No more Ms. Nice Girl. I am a beast! Wait, what is this thing?! Sorry parents, I don’t have any kids to test it with — maybe one day. Let’s focus on these clips for now. As you can see, the camera struggled with dynamic range. If the background was too bright, it blacked out the subjects. You can still appreciate them, but we wish they were better exposed. We also took Google Clips out for a ride on my motorcycle. This may not be an action camera, but it did an alright job at it. Can’t complain about much else. These are pretty fun short videos. Google Clips did its job pretty well. The app You don’t need the app to shoot, but it will help for retrieving videos and getting the details right. Just like the device, the application is pretty straightforward. The clips show up in a vertical stream and play as you scroll over them. Tap on the clips and you will be shown three options: save, edit, and delete. There isn’t much in the way of editing here — basically all you can do is crop the clip. There is also a toggle on the top-right corner. Switch it on and the icon will turn into that Assistant logo from Google Photos. Google Clips already uses its artificial intelligence to get curated clips, but this switch pretty much grabs the best out of the bunch and presents them to you in an even more exclusive list. Tap the Google Clips icon on the top and more options will show up. You can see a live preview from there. In addition, a settings button will appear on top, in between battery and storage percentage indicators. The settings is where you can make pretty much all the important decisions, like if you want to output footage in GIF, MP4 or live photo formats. You can also improve the video quality, modify the capture rate, modify the Hz, and more. I like this application. It is intuitive and there is not much of a learning curve to worry about. It does what it is meant to do in a very efficient way. I have had no problems with it so far, which makes it amazing in my book. Price and conclusion Google Clips turned out to be a pretty fun device. It produces some good quality short videos you can easily share online without wasting all your data. They show more than a simple photo, but provide more snackable content than a full video. Google’s algorithm works pretty well too, at least most of the time. It misses some good moments, but overall I found it caught shots of unexpected events I likely would’ve missed. It is great for shooting candid videos of unpredictable beings like kids and animals. The Google Clips is $249. It is hard to justify that price for what is essentially a glorified GIF generator. Edgar Cervantes I wish Google had done better in some areas (frame-rate, battery life, no mic), but the Google Clips camera is amazingly fun — if you can get it for the right price. That’s the problem, though. This thing is way too expensive for what it does. You can grab a Google Clips camera for $249, but it’s hard to justify that price for what is essentially a glorified GIF generator. Plenty of great portable action cameras out there for less money could do the same job, and then some, with a bit of extra effort. Buy Google Clips , via Android Authority http://bit.ly/2HeTpMI

[cearyfloyd]

REVEAL: #JuniperStudioDeckMyHalls Living Room Giveaway with Overstock!

Eeeeeeeps!!!! I’m bursting with excitement over here because on Monday we gave a beautiful, sweet family a brand new living room, dining room, entry and kitchen makeover!!!

Here’s a little back story: In early November I sat down with my team and we talked about how everything was going after moving to the new studio space and with all the additional projects we took on this year. It’s been SO good and fun, but admittedly, it’s been a little crazy. We brainstormed some ways we could edit a little for next year and refocus on the areas of the business that are the most rewarding (and fun!). We thought it would be so great to do something now in 2017 to sort of wipe the slate clean in preparation for the new year’s mentality. We came up with the idea of doing a huge, HUGE giveaway for a local family for the holidays. I mean, what better way to press the reset button than to figure out a way to give back, right? We were all VERY excited.

I knew we could handle everything with the design and renovation work but that we were going to need some help getting a lot of the furniture together in time for a reveal before the holidays. I loved working with Overstock.com for their Design Challenge and #OverstockStyle Weekend and they obviously have the most ENORMOUS selection of beautiful furniture, that can adapt to any style, which was a must for a project that had to adapt to fit every family that entered. I crossed my fingers and toes and emailed them to see if they would be up for donating the furniture for this giveaway and Overstock was as excited about giving back as we were. I knew we had found the right partner! They have truly been amazing to work with this whole project. Asking a team to rush a whole house worth of decor and furniture during the holidays is such an oversized request, but they (literally) delivered in every way. Yay Overstock!

When it came to picking a winner, our team combed through the hundreds and hundreds of local applications through Instagram and talked for DAYS about each of your beautiful posts! (We laughed, we cried, we want to be your real life friends.) There were so many that we loved and that we wanted to help with! In the end, each of us on the team picked three applications (and, to keep things fair, they couldn’t be people we were related to or that we knew well) and then the final winner was selected at random.

The family whose name was drawn turned out to be the SWEETEST, most gracious people in the whole wide world. They could not have been easier to work with or more grateful! They are both teachers and they recently bought this cute little ranch home. They put in a new kitchen after moving in, but they were ready for some additional updates and new furniture and lighting! We met with them, took some measurements and notes about what they wanted in their new spaces and then we were off! We made our design plan, ordered all our items on Overstock in a snap and then it was time to get to work!

For starters, the homeowners don’t love their tile floors, but we had some good tricks up our sleeves for making the tile less of a focal point in the space and I think we really pulled it off! The color of the walls was a good starting place. They had picked a really pretty bluey-gray wall color when they moved in, but it seemed to only exaggerate the yellowy-brown color of the floor. So we painted the walls a bright, clean white and instantly the floors felt more neutral!

After the walls were painted, I got to work installing floating shelves in the living room. I recently discovered a local lumber yard (Timber in Mesa) and realized how much better the selection was compared to the big box hardware stores! For just a little more than the cost of construction grade pine boards, I found 2″ thick boards of 14′ long pine that were perfectly straight and had a lot less knots. And best of all, the lumber yard milled and sanded the boards for only $20 extra! AMAZING. I picked them up basically ready to stain!

The nice people at my local lumber yard also recommended this gel stain for pine, which can be finicky about accepting stain evenly. Gel stain sits on top of the grain more and worked beautifully for this project! I used a clear sealer as a top coat and after a night of drying, the boards were ready to install!

I picked up corner metal braces at the hardware store along with L-brackets. I found the studs and marked out my entire wall, drilled in the brackets, set the boards and secured the boards to the brackets by screwing them in place from underneath. Can I tell you, I was pretty confident this method would work well, but it worked SO WELL. Those heavy boards are so well supported and are so sturdy!

You could only slightly see the metal braces from underneath the shelves when you were sitting on the sofa, so later we decided to touch up the brackets with a little bit of matching acrylic paint which helped a lot.

These shelves were such a win! I spent only a few hundred dollars in materials and Michael and I hung them together in a night. They make the space look so much more finished! And how about this new lighting?! Isn’t it amazing?! We hired an electrician to come in and install this chandelier and these three sconces along the bookshelf wall. I LOVE the look. Never underestimate the power of great lighting! It’s even better when the fixtures are as affordable as these from Overstock!

I was SO excited to style those shelves and get all the furniture moved in the next morning!

And here is the gorgeous space now, after all of our Overstock finds were moved in!

The sofa was our starting point for the design. Our homeowners wanted something a little more traditional but with clean lines. We found this BEAUTIFUL roll arm sofa from Safavieh on Overstock that is upholstered in a heavy weight oatmeal color linen. I have a similar fabric on my sofa at home and it has held up to my kids’ abuse wonderfully!

One of my favorite things to do in a living room is to use one large round table with a big lamp rather than two small side tables. I think it adds interest and height to the space and helps break up the boxiness that can sometimes happen in a living room layout. We used this small dining table from Overstock (with the coolest legs ever) and I love how it looks with our sofa while floating in front of the pretty shelves!!

We also knew we wanted a few leather benches to layer under the new shelves. These tufted benches from Overstock with those gorgeous modern legs completely fit the bill!

From there we picked a rug. This was another way we helped to minimize the presence of the existing brown tile in the room. We layered two large sisal rugs with this gorgeous 9×12 rug. I LOVE all the colors in this pretty rug!

I had my seamstress make the gorgeous blue linen blackout curtains and loose woven linen sheers. This large front window gets a LOT of full sun. The homeowners had only blackout curtains hanging here before which made the whole house feel dark. The double curtain rod that allowed us to hang blackout curtains and sheers together gave the homeowners a lot of flexibility and the most light and privacy possible. I love the look too! Isn’t that blue color so pretty?

I love how the pale blue curtains play with the colors in the rug and the gorgeous navy tweed arm chairs we got from Overstock. They’re comfortable and sturdy and I love the dark fabric that brings some much-needed contrast into the space! On that same note, the white coffee table played an important role in really lightening the room up! We also loved that this table was round (no sharp corners for the little one!)

The circle shape ended up being a bit of a recurring theme in this home. I found these vintage frames (you can see them in the first photo here below), sanded off the glossy finish on the frame and spray painted the old circle cut mats for a fresh new look! LOVE!

The homeowner sits at that desk every morning to teach English to online students, so she requested an alphabet print on the walls. I commissioned Angela Hardison, a local graphic design genius, to design it and she knocked it out of the park! The file is available today in the print shop! I love this for a children’s room or play space obviously, but I also love it for main living areas for a graphic pop!

The desk was a vintage find that I painted off-white (the little brass knobs make my heart sing!). The desk lamp and leather chair were both Overstock scores.

In the entry we had these gorgeous sconces installed and we hung a vintage brass mirror over my favorite wooden bench from Overstock. It has a slim profile and is PERFECT for small entry ways! I love it!

I’m SO happy with how this giveaway space came together. It was one of those whirlwind/stressful/exhausting/completely amazing experiences that I will forever treasure! Seeing this sweet family’s reaction to the space was THE BEST. So many happy tears!

Side note: I laughed so hard when I realized I was full-on twinning with the homeowner (literally, right down to our shoes) on reveal day. But I also had the thought it was a pretty good sign that she was going to like the things I picked for her house. :)

Wouldn’t it be weird to walk in to YOUR OWN HOUSE and have everything completely changed? I mean, pretty cool, but also a little weird, right!? We tried hard to incorporate family heirlooms and colors and themes that were meaningful to this family so they could feel at home as soon as possible! We tucked some wood blocks in this little basket on the bottom shelf for their young daughter so would maybe be distracted by all the changes in her spaces for even a minute! :) Ha! She was a champ though and I think she liked it all as much as we do!

Right before they got to the house for the reveal on Monday, we rushed to put up a Christmas tree and doesn’t it just complete the space? We couldn’t be happier for this sweet family! They were the best in so many ways and I hope they love everything we put in their new living room and entry! NEXT UP: the dining room and kitchen reveal!!!!

  SOURCES LIST:

Sofa

Navy Side Chairs

Leather Benches with Metal Base

Rug

Coffee Table

Round Side Table

Double Curtain Rod

Chandelier

Wall Sconces over Shelves

Lamp on Desk

Leather Desk Chair

Fiddle Leaf Fig

Entry Bench

Entry Sconce

STARLITE print

DAHLIAS I print

DAHLIAS II print

BUTTERFLIES print

ALPHABET print

This entire giveaway was made possible and sponsored by the EXTREMELY generous, kind friends at Overstock, a company I love and fully stand behind! Thank you, Overstock!!

The post REVEAL: #JuniperStudioDeckMyHalls Living Room Giveaway with Overstock! appeared first on Little Green Notebook.

from Home Improvement http://littlegreennotebook.com/2017/12/living-room-reveal-with-overstock.html/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[manic-old-man]

J17-06

We drag into another month, at 8.01 of 2017/06/01 R, with many problems, the biggest being perhaps the ca. immobility of the Arp.   See notes re feeling tired, hopefully only this morning – till pipe time.

 Another problem is the pipes aren’t cleaned, at 8.09.  A larger one is xxxx to seek airline tickets.  The wall rock is in there; what else carrying over from May, to do? Grass cutting is coming.  Maybe things aren’t TOO bad.  

 8.13 – ca. TV suggests lots of games are good for old me – sol qualifies, I am completely confident.  But, did their examples suggest 2-person games?  Not sex.

 Come with me back in time, after 8.48, back to the BDC, with its old, ca. smart sol game, and its Wonder Ware – can such open those quest files that seemed to be NG Word files?  

 Slip of 4/25 for 5/31 W; drag into draining at 9.41

V a. 12.24 – pee 1                               BELLS X

 V b. 3.27 – pee 2, VG

 V c. 5.17 – pee? V 3    Did I dream of the Goddess Athleta?  And super bugs, in the forest.  And 1’ NOP’s.   --   What it was, before 9.50, was a dream of Mitre and the 7090 that showed a bug of a program doing a pause waiting for some event, and the pause state would break after one minute, gratuitously.

 V d. 7.18 – poop

 V e. 10.39 – poop 2.

 V f. R 1.42 – pee 1

 V g. 3.48 – pee 2

 V h. 5.56 – pee 3, some audio; sun on clothes hamper

 V i. 7.28 – finally up, pee 4, quite asleep, no audio – now charging.  Earlier dream of squeezing into ~bus seat next to ~Diane Dixon   Tired today?  Only this morning?  

 V j. 7.51 – poop? V  Read Emily Dixon.

 Landing drag-ily done at 9.54.  Skip the pipe cleaning?  

 Back we come at 10.45 from the BDC, having finally got the smart sol game going, but unable to remember how to use the smart features, like endless apps////un-do’s. Also with W Ware, I am unable to find any of the old file boogers that would not open, by normal processes.  

 Before 10.48, I was poking about, drag-ily, barely refreshed by ca. 20’ in the recliner, in that ca. packet of undrained slips, and it was very clear to me, maybe not stated earlier, that these, coming soon after the 2/3 stricken-ing, suffered mightily in the quality of the handwriting, hence lack of draining, and that this was from the handwriting hand being on an arm and shoulder that were in deep do-do.  

 Well, I thought, before 4.04, that that Pipe Fairy had a hard job cut out for her today to get me completely restored, and indeed it was too much, in spite of a walk again to the second summit, and a good smoke starting in that corner, and moving under cover when a tiny shower came up.  Again I smoked only the B III tobac, and again it was jolly good.  Finally I must clean the pipes, and try to get the Bent Ehrlich unplugged.  

 Before 4.08, with Wonder Ware and the Quest notes, I was able to find dicey files, and ‘restore’ a bunch, but not specifically identify one that was earlier seen as dicey. Never the less, the thing is clearly powerful, if hard to use, but with a bunch of fiddling will probably do all that fetching stuff that I earlier called for.  Put the BDC back to hibernation, after another try at the smart sol features.  

 Done, at 4.30, but still quite stumped by those smart features; I couldn’t even start a new game.  How to crack this nut?  The answer lies deeply buried in some way-earlier J-file.  

 At 4.39, the real hot item is not PHC’s powder milk biscuits, but a ca. e/m to the Arp folk, citing the error message gotten just once – how come not again?  A vaguely remembered screen shot of the message is not readily found in the Aside paste file.  What was the text?  THINK. Before 4.49, it was to the effect that a coordination file could not be found/-located.  It is noted in last month’s notes?  Page 40 at 4.55 has ‘can’t load localization file’ as that note. Load, maybe find.  

 Before 8.04, an hour’s nap, out heavily, and then the dishes, sailed thru, together may have finally restored me.  Don’t count on it.  At 8.14, the P Soft ca. e/m is sent, using their nice form, omitting that I have had the trouble before.  I have to re-install?  

 Don’t count on it indeed, now or after 8.52, as I slide down the slope of fatigue.  I can book up the recent Lunch emails?  Pipe cleaning is what is really needed.    Google, etc., were only moderately kind to old sol, or supportive of its value.                                                                                R

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. F

 2017/6/2 A 8.46 F – the auto-date guy is not showing up for work – it will be a bad day? A note speculates that we are well-rested; grass-cutting, especially, may prove it wrong.  At 8.47, everything is okay propped up on those toothpicks – we can do these niceties and start the real work.  The TV Titan work is done already.  

 Before 8.49, at / 8 25 \ a peek at the P Soft web site suggests that their operation is / Stagnant \ in that their most recent News posting is from 07/23/15 – this suggests that, tho their bot acknowledges the sending of my query, that I may not get a human response.  This prompted at / 8 31 \ looking at the download collection, and seeing that on / 16 7 7 9,29 \ I seem to have created the time stamp in doing the / Arp down \ loading – look for in in J16-07.  / Can I find and rename the present version? \ I asked, before 8.55.  Or, / Re-install on BDC?  There is an Arp there already? Use that for a while? \ This seemed a good idea.

 Before 10.05, with seemingly many threads of activity ongoing, at / 9 16 \ I was back to the Bowling Banquet’s suggestion/invite to / Todd lunch \ for four, noted last month.  Liz will continue to consider a next Wednesday date.  For Todd, I have been seeking a song to apply my ca. new algorithm to, to generate goofy humor, of the sort appreciated by Todd.  Liz’s report of / Kate smith \ daily singing at 9 AM for Bitner, set me to composing, at / 9 58 \ starting to compose ca. nonsense lines, by ca. randomly shuffling particles (and then some) as in: / God bless the Mer’ca, land of a love, stand aside a, and glide a, … \ maybe to be continued after 10.25, and more grass cutting.      

 Earlier, before 10.26, at / 9 34 \ we had found that indeed the BDC has an Arp on board, and it records for more than one minute, but the cut is silent.  The setting of its / BUTTONS \ looks different – therein may lie the silence problem.  SRC buttons show all 8 top setting on, except for Voice.  10.30 – stop eating nuts.  Play a sol game/round as replacement.

 Oh dear, at 10.46 we have a mower balk – long time no see.  No better at 10.58.

 Before 10.59, we could hear no radio on the BDC – how come?  THINK.  Button settings noted and changed.  Look at dos search results.  At 11.03, I find the structure obscure, but an effective, hiding, rename COULD probably be worked out.  

 11.16 – try mower again and/or do more Booking.

 11.27 – the second big yank was a winner.  I mowed over to the rock brace boards, and found one or more ca. loose – the rock seemed to be staying in place on its own; maybe there’s hope.  

 Recent Lunch Book-ing caught up at 11.43 – there is an earlier, old problem?  

 Before 4.11, with the mower set down a notch, and thus producing mucho mulch, at / 3 37 \ we resolved, that we got to / Scrape   xygyg that sucka! \

 With the mower ca. stalled again at 4.03, and merciful clouds about, we will note the walk to the mail box and around the Scenic Loop.  Then we had an excellent smoke with Kuhner just on fire today, especially re the ca. burned out comedienne, and again smoking just one pouch’s stuff, Balkan I.  We cleared a plugged white boy - and the bent boy too.  We ca. indulgently took no mowing breaks during this sacred pipe time.

 Now, or soon after 4.07, we need to solve a Lunch Book problem, xygyg of a seeming big gap between 2016/7/19 and 2016/2/3, five months.  I guess we got to search back thru the Outlook holdings for possible neglected email during that time.  

 Hooray, the mower started on the first yank before 4.40, and we finished the living room plot, without too much more to go after we rest and cool off.                                                                                                        F

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD/ D/D. S

 2017/6/3 P 12.32 S – maybe it will help me perk up to try to catch up this typing.  I felt wiped out after finishing the mowing - and thru the evening, but pretty much okay in the early morning.  I can get up to Cy’s house by the designated 1 PM for our prearranged smoke?  I will carry a light kit.  

 I did cool off yesterday after 4.40, and finished the mowing with appreciable difficulty and fatigue. After supper I had an hour’s nap and then worked pulling clean dishes, and had to Recline for a while before loading the dirty dishes.  That done, I reclined more – and did a third work stint? Yes, only to load the few things to wash into the dish pan and then collapse back into the recliner – and remained there, sound asleep I suppose, till near 10 PM and TV time.  This I was at least able to stay awake thru quite handily, with Murder in Maine – with Betsy and Rachael.  12.41

 Earlier, at / 11 08 \ we vowed, before catch-up time at 9.46, to / Uninstall \ the Arp software, and at / 12 26 \ thought to seek / Factory reset and other options \ for it, feeling / Wibed out \ and at / 12.42 \ thought to seek such / Features on web site \ of theirs – not likely productive?  

 Completely restored, we are, after a delightful smoke with Cy up at his house, sitting just inside his garage avoiding the rain.  More is to be said about it I am sure, but WHAT is this stuff above?  I hope it will come back to me.  5.08 – it is what is to be done with Arp.

 On returning from the great smoke up with Cy,   --   I was interrupted by something, before 9.51, and time to hang it up.

 Before / 3 50 \ and before 8.58 M, I took a fall onto the driveway trying to ca. vault down off of the wall.  I had / Blood \ from a scrape on my left arm, pain from a bump to my right elbow that persists to this day at 9.00, and a bump on the back of my head from hitting the driveway.  I lay there prone a bit collecting my wits, and someone called from across the street, seemingly Desiree rather than Julie, are you all right?  I called back Yep as I rose, and meant it, I guess.  I had tho a ca. / Absent \ feeling from this / Fall \ which slowly passed away.  

 At 3.54, I am a little woozy, maybe from that fall, trying to vault off of the wall onto the driveway, and falling rather heavily, and some bloodying of my left arm.    It has quite addled my thoughts?  

 Now at 4.07, I am little better.  I need to go away and do something else – help Liz with the ca. gardening?  I could do worse than cleaning up pipes – or unloading a Slip.  Before 4.10, and before this fall, I did feel quite completely restored from any lethargy of the morning.  

 At 4.30 after helping Liz some and lying down for 10 minutes, I still do not nearly feel right – from that fall.  I thought I would have a knot on the back of my head, where it hit the driveway, but there seems to be none.  Yes, do clean those pipes.  At 4.54, I find some abrasion of my right elbow.

 Cleaned they are at 4.49 – good therapy, that.  BUT it is nowhere nearly fully restorative, and I still feel somewhat confused.  I was distressed in this cleaning process to find a ca. chip gone out of the stem of the White Boy, just to the right of the bit.  I dropped the thing yesterday?  Causing this damage – not nearly fatal.  I need to smooth down a sharpish edge?  

 Good therapy, before 4.52, but I still don’t feel nearly right.  Try some sol therapy?  Or Slip unloading.  At 4.55, the call is to clean up for the gardener.  

 That being done at 5.06, I still feel a bit woozy – sol therapy will help?  Repeated wins before 5.46 are encouraging, but I am not at all clear-minded – a little bit off.  Donning party clothes has helped some.

 We are back at 9.39 from nice dinner, with Liz, at Bison County with nice walk across that Charles River dam.  We had a nap of indeterminate length – but, that or the sum seems to have left us in fine shape, with seemingly no continued impairment.  We will clean up stuff above as much as possible.                                                                                        S

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDL D. S

 2017/6/4 A 8.26 S – we made good progress there above, but there is much more to do re this rather strange, complicated day.  There is much to do for THIS day too, in its own right.

 Slip of 4/26 for 6/1 R, to drain at 9.22, trying to get going

V a. 11.27 – poop? V #2 – helps me? V    BELLS X

 V b. F 12.56 – pee 1   --   Landing at 10.13 getting a little done

 V c. 3.26 – pee 2; dream of corporate intrigue & 1 like Mark Mathews  --   That is, the guy in the dream looked like Mark, but wasn’t him. 10.13

 V d. 5.51 – pee? V VG   View to Spy Pond   --   That is, we recalled days long ago when the trees were shorter, and we could see skaters on pond.

 V e. 7.16 – poop X – rested?  

 V f. 8.01 – poop #1

 V g. S 1.13 – pee 1

 V h. 3.41 – pee 2; finally getting under the covies.

 V i. 5.24 – pee 3; c later – 2 awake, Left heel is sore, rt. Foot ~bunion is better.  Left pinky is sore from mowing.   --   Not mentioned before 10.09?  Scrape and ca. bruise on right elbow – and another?  How could I have missed, before 11.40, the scrape and wound which bled, just below left wrist?  Progress made of mower scraping – maybe 2/3 done?

V j. 7.01 - up, pee 4 – pinky worse?                                                           U

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. M

 2017/06/05 A 8.42 M – how erratic, the auto-date guy is back on duty.  With an e/m gotten off to Holgate about lunch possibly Wed. after bike to BPL, I still have two days’ record to clean up above, and not trivially either.  A reply is wanted of course to Ivan re Arp, and Ukraine too.  Then there is still good old draining and TV Titan, and a wash load too.  At least it is a rainy day, limiting the outside drangs, to drag in some German.  And THIS time, clean the pipes!  I am quite well rested, yes?

 At / 7 47 \ and before cleanup at 9.08, I half-resolved to work up   xygy a method to have this here SRC time-out period of ca. 1 minute end with ca. 1 minute of the ca / Brush \ program that runs so fetchingly on Liz’s pc before it times out and shuts down.  It is named Stripes?  

 There, at 9.10, I think I have gotten ALL of the junk above ordered up.  Having gone quickly and well re Holgate, hopefully we can do as well with Ivan.  In comes the Swim Team.

 Back at 9.23 with the whole team coffee-ed up and me too, we turn to TV T and daily slip stuff.   At 9.34, most of that stuff rolls off till later, and we proceed with high hopes toward Ivan.

 Well, such went quickly, and well, before 11.01.  Then, alternating with the wash work, we roared into the TV and Slip stuff, sustaining well, I think, the extra stimulation/distraction of Joe Avery, etc., of P Hall CD, stored music ca. discovered in the process of the Ivan work file searching.  At 11.09, we are still roaring along, in great form, surely tops.

 Slip of 4/28 for 6/3 S, drain at 11.08, still doing well.

V a. P 9.35 – roll over                                    BELLS X

 V b. U 12.57 – pee 1

 V c. 4.56 – pee 2 – VG

 V d. 7.03 – up, pee 3

 V e. 7.32 – poop

 V f. P 11.29 – pee 1

 V g. M 4.41 – pee 2, VVG

 V i. 7.08 – pee? X   no alarm!   --   Before 11.13, she said No, she is not getting old and losing her grip.

 V j. 7.26 - poop

  11.32 - dry load is some dry?  That left pinky is still definitely sore.  

 Yes, as I sometimes say, at 3.45, and always, I am always in a good mood after my pipes.  We are sometimes fully restored, and I certainly am today, if I wasn’t already in top form.  Yes, it’s great to feel good, Kurt.  

 I got in a walk to the second summit before 3.48, detouring away from the dripping trees, to open sky, tho dark and heavy.  Smoke in near drain pipe assisted by the paper and plastic recycle containers was very good, with old WM backing up the new one which is again crook.  Let us clear up that stuff and see what is pressing next.  Drat, no reply yet from Holgate or Ivan.  

 And, at 3.59, the winnah is – the Lunch Book e/m gap, noted somewhere – above, of HERE? Finishing the mower scraping has been rolled off to tomorrow, appearing to be another rainy day coming.  The reader will surely understand by now that I use HERE the way Shakespeare used THIS, in saying that this gives life to there, and perpetual life, as long as men may breath and eyes can see; my objectives to perpetuity are more modest, only 350 years – from 1666, if that is the year of the Great Fire of London, and Pepys’ note of it.  Make that 351, right?                xygy

 At 4.46, it appears that the five-month-plus gap in the Lunch Book record may be valid; that e/m search reveals nothing relevant, and the message content above and below the gap seems fairly consistent with Going Dark.  The alternative is that the sought missives are simply lost, deleted, but I think I was pretty careful with them.

 Before 8.02, we felt pretty tired right after dinner, but a little later, a 30 + 5’ Timer nap seemed quite enuf.  I did go right back to sleep for that second shot.  Now with just a few dishes done, and, drat, still no Replies, what’s next? Pipes are done, tho not before supper, as was sworn.  Some Googling clear-up is due.

 Done at 8.37, well enuf – tho carn and rath from church music did not resolve at all well. What’s next, questing or V3 typing? The latter, I think.  The weariness steals o’er me like a chill, or something.

 At 8.47, a five-minute chair-nap has helped, with a dream I can touch but not grasp; ended by footsteps above.                                                         M

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDL. T

 2017/06/06 A 7.43 T – the auto-date guy is on duty – a good sign for a good day?  It seems such so far – I seem well rested.  Mood continues quite flat, if we dismiss these ca. bursts of energy.  I am keen to finish the present chunk of V3 stuff and post it to Kurt, with a supplemental piece.  

 Slip of 4/29-30 for 6/6 T, partial draining at 7.47

V a. T 2.13 – pee 1                              BELLS X

 V b. 4.16 – pee 2; dream, OK, of RR tracks

 V c. 5.09 – pee? X   c later; good dream of good German backup woman – a widow?  My hand on her thigh.  I told her? No audio.   --   That is, before 7.55, I was fairly familiar with the reasonably attractive, slim woman in Germany, seemingly unattached, whom I may have told that if anything happened to Liz, I would want to have her address, to contact, and be with her.  

 V d. 6.29 – pee 3 now.  Yes, do measure waist.  Some audio.   --    xygy Make that 40 inches at 9.50, to be reduced.

 V e. 7.29 – poop

  There, at 9.24 this stint of V3 typing is done, and it is the last one?  How to tell?  Where is Kurt’s note?  I have to count the typed stints, = 3?  Bind the book back up.  

 The note is found, at 9.39, the book done up, and returned to that xxxx top shelf.  Me return to it fairly soon, maybe after more Questing, and type the next stuff in order – and return the book to the attic. Scrape?

 Yes, after 9.45 try to get the mower scraping finished in one stint - then next is that Kurt thing.  His note is found.  

 Oh dear, at 10.43, I am quite tired, but the mower is scraped.  A test start-up went poorly, maybe helped by filling gas tank. Another at ca. 11.30 will recommend sparkplug attention?  

 It started pretty well before 12.39, and a half-hour nap that may have well helped me, but try the mower again.  And, from bed,     xygyg Security I thought was the Control Panel icon I needed to find ca. Stripes for the screen – maybe screen saver – Security is NF.  What would be a synonym for such?   Read thru the icon list.  

 Before 3.51, in spite of the rain, we got in, with the big umbrella, a walk to the first summit, and turned back – the rain was too much.  Smoke was good in under cover, and, at / 3 24 \ we declared, / Restored? Yes. \ And, I add now, yes indeed.

 We have in the strange Outlook category, at 3.53, of Archive, some Lunch mail that may be ca. lost/missed over.  At 4.07, it looks like we have hit pay dirt – now comes the tedious process of scooping the stuff up.  

 In the quest for a Security D Top icon at 4.19, we encounter Dell Touchpad, and tentatively turn it off – soon back on?  We will avoid some ca. bobbling?  Likewise, at 4.22, in IDT Audio Control Panel, we disable Power Management, which it says will enable PC Beep.

 SFU: ‘screen’ at 4.34 leads us to the On-Screen Keyboard – neat; and maybe to the screen saver, and the ca. Stripes option.  4.36 – Ribbons it is.  Screen Saver is set for wait 1 minute, and to do Ribbons.  At 4.40, it’s pretty, but understandably cpu heavy, at about 20% - how do I get it to stop in a bit?  After 4.52, forcing it to Sleep will be good enuf?  7.39 W – no, regular sleep setting at TWO minutes takes care of the problem.

 7.28 – 35 + 5’ Timer nap not enuf?  Where’s my coffee?  Try pipe cleaning.  At 7.39, it has worked pretty well.  Still, the weariness of the post-mower morning has returned.  

 Dishes done at 8.10; some weary; we can progress on the e/m scooping?  Before 8.21, I got along a little way – then hit the wall.  

 8.24 – making shopping list was enuf for the Stripes to come up – and then soon gone!

 We are too tired for questing?  Maybe back to V3.  We can finish the Kurt e/m, short?       That made it easy, at 8.33.  Onward we drag, at 8.57.  The Ivan work revealed Win OS tools not known before – DxDiag for getting the ca. configuration of the machine, and recorder.log for Arp ca. recently going berserk.                                                                          T

    DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. W

 2017/06/07 A 7.42 W – wow are we on a roll, pumped by the lunch deal, as the slip note observes – or 3x5?  

 PJ Pocket 3x5 of 5/21, initial draining at 7.43

V #1. 2.57 – SEPARATE, GROSLING   --   See below after 9.07 re subway separation.  Grosling for some reason seemed a good name for a tinny runner shoe – a brand name?  

 V #2. 3.57 – 2 – DIR *AVED*   --   Can the Dos Dir search command xyfy skip past the start of the name SAVED GAMES?  9.10 P 9.24 – indeed!

 X #3.  --   Before 8.07, we had another lost item/idea?  No?

 X #4. 4.32   WORD…   --   One seems lost here.

 V #5. WINNER   --   See below re Reality Winner, after 9.11

 V #6. PUMPED BY LUNCH   --   Mood, energy, creativity way up, < 9.12.

 V #7. 4.38 – TDC, CUDDLE   G: BDC, & URB;   --   Google top and xygy bottom dead center, of engines or activities, and see X Urban Dict. too.

 V #8. TOUCH, CARESS, CUDDLE   --   See below, after 9.13.

  Slip of 4/29-30 for 6/6 T, final draining at 8.41

V f. W 2.13 – pee 1

 V g. 3.41 – pee 2, c later; some; do some audio? After a nap.  Good dream earlier of a ~cuddling girl on bus   --   Also see below, 9.14

 V h. 7.01 – pee 3, VVG    37 seconds – beep   B F P from bed: ____ fungus Psalm    ____ is backspace?  Yes - meaning WHAT?   --   The WBZ xygy time beep was at 6.59.37 on the SSH; compare.  9.36 – 31” behind SRC; dope out the logic when fresher.  8.29 R – that time has come, I hope.  The SSH was 23” behind the radio beep; it is 30” behind the SRC clock. So the beep seems to be 7 seconds behind the internet time – OK?

 V i. --   Mushrooms are fungi, right?  10.26                               xygy

                                                                                                             xygy

V j. --See the hymnal for Oh God, our help in ages past – what psalm? 90  

 V k. 7.33 – Winner as surname, verified (7.21 - poop)   --   Reality Lee xyg Winner in the news has an awfully odd name, at 8.05.

  At 8.47, try to handle all this touching and cuddling stuff together here – it is that I have lately a number of dreams in which I become somewhat intimate with a fair lass, usually young.  At least two of the dreams have involved being on (T) transportation, but the one with Emily Dixon on the bus was not of a fair lass.  I sit next to them, perhaps to talk, somehow to touch, then to stroke and then to caress their arm, or in the case of the German woman a thigh, in a way that says she has lovely, silky skin.  She does not reject these advances and compliments, and soon my arm is around her, cuddling, and she happily, delightedly, cuddles back.  In one, her newspaper was in front of me, its contents being the subject of the ca. oncoming conversation.  

 In the SEPARATE dream noted before 8.55, Liz and I were in a subway car as it reached our stop. I went out, with her behind me.  I turned looking to see her emerge, but she did not.  I waited as more came out, then scanned around the platform, but she was not to be found.  I became agitated, maybe desperate or hysterical, not only at her absence and yet again such a separation, but also at the implied threat to my sanity, and my knowledge of physics in the world, and causality. 8.59

 Reading thru this work so far at 9.05, I think that Kurt or other Freudians can have fun with the contrast displayed above.  

 Boy have I got a lot of catching up to do at 3.51, not the least being the rest of the stuff from last night’s active time.  There, at 4.38, a lot of the small, easy items are done, including tightening the bicycle seat knocked askew when I fell, once again, approaching the library and misjudging how high a lip I was trying to regain the sidewalk from the grass.  This gave me a slightly bloodied left knee; I am carrying five wounds now?  Left wrist - and another from that wall fall?  Right elbow was from that?  What else? At 8.05, left pinky is still some sore, but better.  8.27 R – add in the bad arm and shoulder!

 Lunch with Michael before 4.42 was pretty good, good waffle with better Nutella, with him seeming to accept the ca. challenge to get on Tumblr, follow me, and hopefully get to the archive – unspoken of.  Politics were gingerly brought up – ye gods, he wanted to vote for Bernie. He agreed with me we should do this again – fairly short, 45’ – after he has time to enter the Tumblr glade?  

 Before 5.03, now grasping at light straws, I had a half-hour nap, most of it asleep I think, doing me good.  Library trip was fine.  Belated smoke was good, somewhat shortened.  

 There, at 8.00, we have even gotten the ripping started of the BPL CD’s of Death in Belmont, which wonderfully complete, including the old drug store where I bought my first cassette player/recorder.  The book seems pretty good, heard some doing dishes, after 35 +5’ Timer nap, seemingly enough.  The ducks come into a row.  

 Now, at 8.10, the Landing is finally done, but there is MUCH doing to do.  With more advancing still done at 8.44, I think we down to the x-ie’s and the abundant Googling, but first let us clean the pipes in a timely fashion.  We can start another Rip to go with it.  Pipes are done at 8.59, done with rapid and precise movements, becoming ever more rapid, and more practiced.  CD #3 is starting to rip.                                                      W

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. R

 2017/06/08 A 7.58 R – soldiering on; as the slip notes, we are back to the blah’s of M0; the party’s over.  Continue last recent cleanup above, then some earlier x-s, and a shakedown note to Ivan, and more Lunch Book pursuit; weed whacking outside.

 Too tired at 10.39 to think it’s just the weed whacking.  We will see afternoon recovery?  I must do edges and associated weeding soon, ahead of rock stuffing.  

 Also, after 4.51, sweep stairs and sidewalk and get rid of dead bird.  Pooped, but the weeds are done – with ca. thread exhausted

 Pipe - burned box

 9 10

 Give up                                                                                                         R

     Dddddddddddddddddddddddddd. F

 2017/06/09 A 9.05 F – I wander thru the several things needing done this morning, and stumble upon the matter of Father’s Day gift requests – I had in mind three items needing ‘net purchase, right?  CTC minimum subscription has been spoken of; ppi Tungsten replacement, ca. $40, has not; the May file reveals Balkan Sobrannie ca. smuggled tobacco as a third; it suggests/reveals no more?  No, we say at 9.21, with coffee service done for the returned swim team, triumphant. At 9.29 we are not finding $30 ppi’s; push it back – go for the tobac?  $18 price seen at 9.35 is to be believed?  $7 for 1 month of CTC at 9.37 is great, at 9.38.

 Yesterday, alas, before 9.22, I dropped the ancient but currently long running perk coffee pot’s lid assembly on the stone-hard sink, and broke it into a thousand pieces – a big problem.  Liz dug a more ancient perk pot, non-self-heating ca. like the broke one, out of her ca. archive, and I struggled thru its first use for that team service.  

 Good news before 9.38 was Reply from Ivan, but saying do full delete, fresh download, and re-install; this will later need a new ca. certificate number?  How much time is this going to take?  Do before slip draining, but after starting on that sweeping?  

 The stairs are half done at 10.20, and my arm is tired.

 At 10.52, we are back from the mailbox mailing Cynthia’s BD card, with legs tired.  

 From the Dos view at 11.07, arp looks in order, way too complicated to try to hide with renames – also Ivan calls for complete reinstall, and probably means full uninstall.

 What was that layer idea I had and lost before 11.09?  it was, if it will come back a little more, to handle Death in Belmont files by xygy changing  something - the Album file, yes, that’s it, if that can be done to the folder containing the several files of a disk image.

 Ivan’s called-for and regedit.exe deletion of AudioRecorder left above it an empty Folder Pistonsoft, which I deleted too, before 11.26, bolstered by new probiotic trail mix, in lieu of morning nut ration, forgotten.  Ready to download?  Oh dear, at 11.34 there is a conflict with something already existing – a folder? Break off.

 Back at 12.15 from 15’ nap we are, involving a dream, good, of Leslie Fink sharing an office with James Comey, maybe at MIT – partners, they were sent out on some sort of a case together.  I was not in the dream at all?  This is rare.

 Back we are at 3.58 with the front steps sweeping finished, and till too hot.  Kuhner was again today VG, with me getting every bit of it I could, to the ca. detriment of yesterday’s Rush stuff.  Four pipes are to be cleaned, and more tobac to be portioned out.

 We had a late morning walk to the mailbox – oh yes, I said that, and it sufficed for walking and hill climbing.  Yes, I said it is hot, ca. 82%% max.  I guess now at 4.17 with a break for gardening support and a bit of good old sol, we turn back to download stuff

 I think I have maybe said how, before 4.18, how I like the sol game better after Google, etc., gave it fairly good marks for exercising the mind.

 Ugh, I am stuck at 5.00 needing response from Marc as to the Administrator password, in order to delete a P Soft folder that the download install process is complaining of. Worse than that, my e/m to him is not coming back as a bcc.  

 Strange, the bcc finally arrived just before supper, before 8.53, and his reply with a NG PW after supper, showing a time stamp ca. 4’ before that on my bcc, above it on the screen.  Get NG reply off to Ivan soon, after I regain some strength.  The sweeping seems to have done me in.  I closed my eyes for a nap at 6.22, and opened them at 7.23, quite by accident – and fatigue.  

 Air plane tickets mentioned before 9.07 – she said we still don’t know when this house is getting painted.  Tired – pooped – too much to clean pipes?  Try another sol game - then fall back on dish pulling.  Winner.  9.15 – too late, right?                                                  F

     Dddddddddddddddddddddddddd. S

 2017/06/10 P 3.19 S – we return to the top to do the niceties, and, being quite fully restored from a BAD morning, we start to catch up.  

 7.14 – my sloth and shame overwhelm me.  I can recover?  --   That is, last eve I was quite wiped out, and did shockingly little, and was off early to watch the continuing-great Laugh In reruns.  How quaint and strange and un-PC they seem, with smoking, and jokes like if Beverly Veronica Hubbard, of Germany in 1049, married Otto Drenwitz, she would be BVD; and Lilly Tomlin in her great phone sketches introducing herself to her called party as Miss Tomlin.  Also, before 9.23 T, jokes re marriage.

 Slip of 5/5 for 6/7 W; drain at 7.18 – yes.

V a. 9.38 – poop #2    BELLS X   --   doing penance.

 V b. R 133 0 pee 1.  Wound => break in skin?   --   Usually.

 V c. 4.03 – pee 2 – try some audio? V

 V d. 5.34 – pee 3 – back to dull M0.

 V e. 7.04 – pee? 4 – Over-drowsed.

 V f. 7.28 poop

 V g. F 12.08 – pee 1; bad dream of NF sox & threat of finger infection

 V h. 2.08? V pee 2 – bad dream continuing of trouble formal dressing.  Hotxx Pilsxx – help?

 V i. 4.28 0 pee 3 – long, good dream of tall, bonny bldg. at S end of long, oval lake in NY state – not a finger lake.

 Continuing to clear and catch up at 3.28, we have from / 2 41 \ that I was quite / Restored \ from the shortened smoke time, but with / Tinnitus \ just a / Trace \ and at / 3 16 \ noted / Great smoke, running thru that pouch of Balkan III \ involving the / Principal 3 pipes \ - 3.30.

 Not at all hot thru 87%% heat, low humidity I guess, some breeze, till near the end, tho the temp’s seemed to have been down to 82.   --   That from about 3.17, and before 3.30.

 I spent a good deal of the morning ca. babysitting the attempts at installation of a new AC in Liz’s bathroom.  I was already strangely almost dead tired from only a moderate amount of sweeping of the front sidewalk, keeping to the shade, in the only moderate heat – not extreme. 3.32; I kept pigging out on nuts and this great probiotic trail mix, hoping to gain strength, and collapsing into the recliner.  May I hopefully continue in top form for the rest of the day, God willing.

 What to turn to at 3.35, seemingly caught up with the old, ca. near stuff, the clutter? The Ivan matter maybe; it is tops? Survey.  

 An element of clutter at 3.41 is the ca. advancement of the Junger Belmont stuff, with it not now clear what disk to turn to, or how.           S

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. U

 2017/06/11 A 10.14 U – why so dull and wan, old sinner, why thee oh so tired?  Could running out of Omeprazole with last pill Friday have anything to do with it?  I thought I might be needing Zantec for the sour stomach by now, but no such thing. O-zole is another medicine I might be getting rid of?  

 Does heat, and the prospect of MORE heat, have, at 10.18, and before, anything to do with it? Does sleeping long dreamless, audio-less stints and rising late and returning to the sack have anything to do with it?  A lot, you say?  You might be right.  

 Liz is feeling wan or something too, also sleeping late – with us finally agreeing that church had been eliminated, before 10.21.  I wish them well, ongoing.  With breakfast we brewed the second pot of ca. new coffee, with Liz getting the swell idea to boil the water in a separate, wider tea pot, and then pour it in the coffee pot, to start the brewing.  

 What happened, before 10.23, to that Saturday afternoon, and the associated evening?  I did get that Ivan stuff doped out, and his e/m sent; and the re-request to Marc was in there too?   The evening saw another excellent supper at Burton’s, and then some attendant running about to relevant Burlington mall shops.  We reached home and soon fell to watching the overly-ca. scary 20/20 In an Instant two-hour cult show, which I pulled out of ca. 9.40.  Some work HERE preceded a return THERE, and so much for the evening.  

 Now, at 10.20, we must pump ourselves up on coffee, maybe on sol, survey the mail and TV Titan and such daily chores, clean the pipes, settle the Belmont file placement, and maybe do something good.  Oh yeah, do a Drainage.  And try to stay cool – turn off the overhead light?  

 Trying to cool down at 3.22, we will clean up here a bit, and soon go out to sweep more.  No walk was had, in deference to the ca. 89%% heat.  Corner smoke was cool enuf, in our tank-a-top and shorts.  We quit with two pipes plugged, and again falling back on the little bent thing.  It took only ca. 15’ for the last smoke of the dear, reliable briar, getting us in some early.

 Before 3.25, at / 3 16 \ we resolved to / Sweep \ as noted above. / Rest9red””?  Maybe not. \ We concluded, with poor typing.  

 Slip of 5/6-7 for 6/9, F, we drain at 3.27, as above, and filling in more.

V a. 6.06 – pee 4 – pills not helping.  Some audio, Hear Death BELLS X files (W) dishes.

 V b. 7.03 – pee 5; 37” WBZ – same?-   No, 31 – sample more.  9.09 U xyg 10.05 6/30 – last sample – the SSH is 4 ½ seconds behind the beep, and 5 seconds behind the SRC clock, so WBZ beep time is very close to ‘net time.

 V c. 9.44 – poop #2

 V S 1.18 - pee 1; prep 11

 V e. 3.38 – pee 2   ~bad dream of being ~stranded on Nantucket

 V f. 5.11 – pee 3; no dream

 V g. 7.02 – pee 4 – overslept, D: 2nd dogwood blooming, seemingly

 V h. 7.29 – poop   --   Cool enuf now, at 3.32

 V i. U 3.44 – pee 1 – fantastic.  Leg cramps, lower rt, then both.  Prep 11?

 V j. 6.09 – pee 2 – VG.  No audio, or omep.

 V k. 7.26 – pee 3 – overslept; get W’s are from Omeprazole last pill Fri?

 V l. 7.43 – poop? V

 Back we are at only 3.51, with only the kitchen steps done, not so much from the now 90%% heat, as from arm fatigue – one more than the other.  

 Re Belmont Murder file placement, we find at 4.41 that we CAN control the placement of the stuff, but only of an individual file, and not by folders, as was sought – one-zie-s are just too tedious to be of use.  What disk image are we wanting to load?  Disk 4 has been heard – maybe out of order.   One of the later disks seems to be missing in the ripped stuff, and WMp says it has already been ripped.  It is, at 4.45, disk 4, so we are okay.  Loading: none now, two are already up to bat.  All done?  We seem ready for a return to BPL.  Do a Reply to Marc.  V

 After 8.40, try that Delete not via Dos, but Wxp.  9.19 – NG – tired.

 Can we, at 9.40, advance the Lunch Book, or even the V3 typing?  At 9.50, we have got all the Lunch e/m’s in sight – how to search any further?  Wait till they turn up?                                                          U

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. M

 2017/6/12 A 7.42 M – Happy Birthday Nelly – still sick with flu?  We here are well-rested?  Did we say there is a forgotten stretch of sidewalk to sweep?

 Slip of 5/8 for 6/11 U, drain at 7.46, getting going we hope – on the day.

a. 9.42 – finally up?  No Trin.                                 BELLS X

 V b. P 10.09 – finally burping up acid – Zantac pill taken.

 V c. M 12.59 – pee 1

 d. 2.18 - try to pee, 2, only. V  Continuing bad dream of having to code a language, & trying to get out of a cave, & ending sans car & wallet.  Zantac was slow to kick in.   --   Before 11.15 T, it was that I had to write the code for a language compiler or something, that I did not know how to do readily.  

 V e. 4.56 - pee 3; ~bad dream of muddy snow outside revolving door.  Why so many dreams some nights?  Absence of fatigue?  Heat?

 V f. 6.57 – pee 4; Liz up at 6.32 for summer swim hours; I lay drowsing.  Hardly any audio.

 V g. 7.27 - poop? V   scant

 9.24 – D: Todd lunch Wed.; keep wash going.  Not noted: can I rename the P Soft.exe file, if not delete it?  9.28 – nope, Access Denied, again, to Dos.  Play Marc’s PW reindeer/PW games.  

 Admin PW cracked before 10.52 and laundry finished, P Soft.exe renamed, good news sent to Marc – send such to Ivan too?  Done at 11.37.  What did I have BDC up here sleeping, waiting for something?  Not Palm work?  It is now sent back to hibernation.  Nothing to do but Quest, or V3 typing?  Before 4.11, we remember that it was interest in the Wonder Ware, re the Questing clunker files.  

 At 12.50, with high temps, we take a walk only to Alan’s erstwhile house, where the tree shade ends.  Now we wait for the sun to get out of our smoking corner.  

 Slowly we cool down at 3.25, with our fan turned to LOW and the overhead light off, in deference to Dan McCauley’s Reverse 911 call re power load.  I never was overly hot out in the corner smoke, again emerging with a plugged pipe or two.  Inability to keep the white boy going into the heel smoke cut the excellent experience some short.

 Did I say a while back, before 3.43, that I was getting less / Enjoyment \ from the pipes? The last couple days have set that right.  Good smokes are back, if they were gone, or weakened.  Try some questing?

 We had a pretty good session up to now, 5.04, but with a note about possible collating problems with the file naming in the Journal folder.  We may be approaching the need for a Zantac pill.                              M

    DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. T

 2017/6/13 A 8.30 T – Lord, what a night.  At 8.56, how shall we tell its tale?  Let it suffice for the moment to say just sour stomach.  The moral of the tale is to collect the time pattern evidence, see if indeed it xygyg shows two pre-supper onsets on two consecutive days, and, if so, take such a pill today half an hour before the ca. patterned onset time.  

 We have noted collating problem of above to settle at 9.00; Draining, pipe cleaning, pill ca. patterning, and another Ivan go-around to do; enuf easy work, maybe enuf hard work, to keep us busy this morning, whacked or not.  

 Slip of 5/9 for 6/12 M, to drain at 9.03, ca. reluctantly            xyg

X a. 7.35 – what word shifted emphasis?                         BELLS X

 V b. P 9.35 – Zertec pill taken   --   At supper, before 9.06, I thought water then crackers and lots of supper would soak up or dilute the ca. rising stomach acid, but gave up at 9.35, after some good Quest evening work.  After 9.17, read that as Zantac.  

 V c. 11.26 – pee 1, F1   --   Floor 2 was too hot, as well as, before 9.08, needing to be fairly upright against the tummy acid problems.  

 V d. T 12.21 – pee 2; tummy is all better now?

V e. 1.02 – pee 3 why so many?   --   I wondered, before 9.18, about acid stomach somehow provoking kidneys – not likely.  The assumption was that each of these pee’s yielded the regular urine volume.

 V f. 2.03 – pee 4

 g. 2.52 – pee 5 – awful   afghan) – small rug?   --   Read, after    Xygy  9.11, blanket. 9.20 – get derivation.  Before 9.37, it kept me warm.

 V h. 3.53 – pee 6 – a bit of an OK dream of a queue of actors   try F2

 V i. 5.27 – pee 7. F2 good.  Good dream of Arno in their back yard.  Turn off fan   Earlier good dream of Tom & mirror-image DNA   --   The Arno is, I think, the name in Ullman’s White Tower book of the Aarn River, roaring hidden by boulders, and in the dream such a memorable stream flowed just behind a principle’s house, with a freshet coming down to it.  The Tom dream involved him saying the name of a substance taken up by viruses for sustenance, and me unable to remember the name, but talking about a ca. mirror-image of its molecular structure, and the possibility of the two forms meeting in a burst of energy.  I slept better with the fan off, but got not nearly enuf rest for the night.  9.30

 At 9.50 slip is landed, bed is made, but clean dishes are not pulled – more donkey work; much to be done.  Try the collating thing.  Cleared at 10.24, not without cost.  Continue with more wd22 questing, I think.  V

 Now at 10.49 the dishes are pulled, the sol game is won, and pipe cleaning is the last time sensitive task for the morning.  The Patterning matter is sensitive for the day, after 10.52.  Ugh, too hard for 11.09 – try it PM, post-pipe – the pipe fairy will rise to the challenge of the day?  Try the Ivan thing now?  It’s harder than further questing, but it’s more interesting.  

 Ugh, at 11.30 the Administrator is saying she can’t erase the Pistonsoft folder because something in it is open to another program, even tho I shut down Arp – Fox could possibly in there?  Dos does think he has deleted the file, but it still shows up!  11.36 – Fox being gone no help.  Organize: Close for the file is accepted, but no help.  I need a Restart for cleanliness?  

 Maybe, at 4.09 on the SSH, we are going to get our wish.  Outlook locked up trying to get to MML, and won’t clear out with a cancel command. The task bar doesn’t come back, and some other things are unresponsive.  No, that’s it for non-response.  No, at 4.13, Dos won’t Minimize.  THINK.

 Curiously enuf, at 4.30, Ribbons came up, ran some, and froze with strange white lines across it.  Start cleaning up – but how will we get to Admin to shut it down?  The Windows key is dead.  We will have to do a hard, cold shutdown?  That will kill the Admin all right.  V

 Here we are back up at 4.44, with only Word and T Manager running, and we will try to that folder delete for Ivan.  It went before 4.48 slick as shit, but the deleted folder is not seen in Jim’s recycle bin – okay I guess.  Start rebuilding, ahead of further Ivan work?  I thought there was a Restart option somewhere in the T Manager, but I couldn’t find it.

 5.05 – mostly rebuilt.  Later recount the afternoon; restored, yes, I think so.  More so at 5.10, but B Box won’t come up.  Well, at 9.04 and tired of dishes, tired of high heat and dry, tired of lower heat after thunderstorm and damp, tired of life just now, we will re-install Arp and see if it can see a radio signal.  

 Bad news at 9.15? the Arp comes up with the same Sch items – okay?  And Arp gives that Bass error/whatever; due to no sound?  Fox won’t start either.  Restart again?  THINK. Clean pipes?

 Sol has not helped at 9.33.  Try cleanup of the day.

 Note that before 9.41, a welcome Roth Reply was received, recommending Rabbit, Run – CD’s duly ordered, when I finally got MML contact.  The smoke was just a wee mite hot, bordering on uncomfortable, at 96%% - remarkable how some little breeze in my catching and focusing corner will keep me cool/okay holding real still.  ‘nuff said? Restored?  Not so sure now.                                          T

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. W

 2017/06/14 A 7.13 W – we have a lot of time-critical stuff to do this morning, not the least of which is pipe cleaning.  Re-acquisition of radio sound is uppermost.  TV Titan is low;

 Slip of 5/10 for 6/13 T, drain at 7.19 – high enuf ca. priority.

V a. 7.14 – pee 8, surely a record.  Up, overslept.  BELLS X

 V b. 7.39 – poop; hard again, ~scant? V

 V c. 10.04 – poop #2

 V d. 5.17 – one acid burp & Zantac taken

 V e. W 12.07 – pee 1, Zantac taken, #2

 V f. 2.34 – pee 2, tummy fine, now   --   That is, for a while, before 7.30, I was having some acid problems.

 V g. 5.19 – pee 3, VG, from bed – C & W – continued good dream of hand on waist, (W) her 6’ tall.  G lost, Class?  Visit to ~class using ~tab equip – to make ~costumes.  Caramels?  On the floor as cont.  VG sunrise.   --   The earlier hand on waist involved a young, lithe silky-skinned beauty, but this 6’ older, dark-haired thing was very well padded – fat - above and below her belt.  We leaned together, to whisper on the tour at WGBH of these young people using a printer to print out sewing patterns, and some other tab equipment, but I said I missed the clunk clunk clunk of the 407 reading cards.  They used USB interfaces for the control of their equipment. 7.36 Caramels:  In this continued dream, before 9.27 and more ca. groping cleanup, I picked up some caramels from the edge of the floor, and pushed back in, away, some other more junky things.

 V h. 4.59 – 5.19 is NG – 4.49?

 V i. 6.43 – pee 4, 2 up

 V j. 6.56 – poop, pre coffee

  There, at 7.28, draining is done, maybe in record time, in spite of my awful typing – not manic?

 7.37 – some landing done – time to restart?  Make it a practice to note in this record the uptime – T M reports 1 hour 26 minutes, if I am reading that right – it must not include the Sleep time – reasonable? I would make it ¾ of a day since the forced shutdown – before that up for a week?  

 7.45 – back in jig time, with sound coming booming right up.

 7.49 – ugh, Arp, tho seeing the sound okay, cuts out at 1’.  What to do now?  7.51 – sound back somehow, with fiddling – go wash?  Brood.  

 File, test – how, before 8.27, did I lose yesterday’s Rush Fox file?  It was never made, somehow?  Start doing the testing of the smoke    xxxxx detectors.

 Arp still fails, at 8.38 – have I done all of Ivan’s steps?  Certainly not the later ca. unregistering.  Tomorrow, repeat them all as cleanly as possible?  Cut the grass today; finish building the working environment.  Why, if it’s coming down tomorrow?  

 At sixes and sevens at 9.33; we should start grass cutting?  Pipes are cleaned, with the super briar showing up plugged! Sometime       xxxx get back to pipe reaming.

 Finally at 10.49 the mower is carried up, and the first patch is cut, and I am tired already. Come on pipe fairy, do your stuff, in a timely fashion of course.  In the meantime, brood some more on Ivan and that game, and maybe try a bit more questing. How and when will we get back to V3 typing?  It is really low priority, lower maybe than prepping and posting some more T-stuff. Let’s see if I have any new T-followers; they used to send me an e/m re such coming on?

 Nope, no new at 11.02, still 6, two being tingle and my follower account. Cut some more grass? Why not?  Sun?  11.29 – no start – still.

 At 4.19 the top grass is cut, and the gardener is available at 4.30 to help carry the mower down. The smoke in BEAUTIFUL weather was great tho with plugging pipes, some cleared, some not, and the little bent boy brought in to help out.  Mowing tho quickly got hot.  No walk, needless to say.  

 Before 4.21, we got that message that restart is needed to finish updating, so we have got a two-fer, for potential restart for Ivan, etc., tomorrow.  

 At 9.04, in beautiful but now chilly weather continuing, I have been laboring onward in the Quest, but now I ponder weak and weary, like Poe, and pack it in.                                 W

     Dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. R

 2017/6/15 A 7.34 R – I am jolly keen to start that restart, etc., process, but am I being too quick?  Reviewing Ivan’s note, I will restart, clear PSoft folder from admin, clear the registration thing, take new download being careful of old, and install.  

 Back up in jig time at 7.47, but where in that list was un-install the old Arp?  Ideally earlier than this, but okay now, and then check the folder, and unregister?  7.49 – already uninstalled - no folder.  7.54 key not found.  7.59 – installed – Sch items are there – okay?

 Test new Arp at 8.03 – why do we get funny, repeatable ca. sizzling sound on speakers, and B Box is normal?  Arp says that Bass error something already started – we need to restart again? Think, and shave, etc.

 Done at 8.37 – no improvement here.  Shut it down.

 After strange trouble getting the sound to go, before 8.59 and smooth restart, the Arp acid test comes up bad but different – at 59” into the recording, it stops and says Not Responding, rather than closing a 1’ file.  Send Ivan the bad news, and another Recorder.txt file – from My Doc’s.  

 Sent at 9.10; build up working computer rig better, answer Todd’s e/m and soon Tom’s – then what?  Clean pipes, that’s what – and earlier.

 At 10.10 we are back from mailing Marc’s BD card – sometime we will get up the hill for a return walk, finally – and maybe in good weather.  

 Now at 10.44, my back is tired from sitting out on the ca. picknic table bark pulling out the interior weeds.  Soon comes the start of the big edging job of that patch, with greater fatigue.  

 Hooray, at 11.25 that pipe cleaning is done, and I grow more weary – come, o Muse of the Pipe, Come.  

 And, before 3.47, I think she made it, and made me, to full restoration, with a great smoke sitting out below the hill steps, on another quite beautiful day, but with the big bent boy emerging plugged again.  I have belatedly fished out one of those thick pipe cleaners bought a good while ago which I think may do good for the Best Briar.  What to do?  Did I start the Roth reply?  I could well start that long grass border weeding – and get the gardening stool returned to the back yard.

 That weeding went pretty well, before 8.08, till my back got tired.  Then I did good work on a Reply to Tom, and a PS, which I can now stand now to Book Up.  Clean pipes first?  What else is To Do?                                     R

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. F

 2017/6/16 A 7.24 F – still no auto-date thing; it will work in the xygy Quest Book, and not here? 8.44 6/19 – nope.

 Ivan’s Reply of this morning, at 7.25, says disable all features – scheduler, damp, eq – those of the Arp, not of Windows, right?  I have on SPLITTER, SCHEDULE, not VOICE, LPF, EQ, AGC COMP – what did I have on a while back, as noted?  Splitter could certainly belong being off.  

 These settings at 7.29 are back to a clean cut-off at 60 seconds, to my surprise.  Oops, I had 2 copies of Arp up – the first was saying Can’t load localization file! Program will be terminated.  Now at 7.33 it goes down, and comes back up very strangely quickly.  Then it is back to regular slow start, at 7.34.  This quits clean at 1 minute.  

 With all the seven ca. features OFF at 7.36, it runs on!  Ivan would agree to Sch being on, and Agc?  We have any idea what Comp is?  At 7.40, the G Beck Sch item for 9 AM is enabled as a test.  VOICE certainly doesn’t want to be on.  For this test, Sch, EQ, AGC & COMP will be on.  

 Before 7.44, it was Splitter that made it stop after one minute?  I should have guessed; one certainly gets the impression that Ivan did not write this code.  Break at 7.47 for washing and quiet celebration.  We can hang Fox up, with compliments for a job well done – but not till Rush is proved in.

 Before 9.01, we had a ca. 35 second SSH reading for the WBZ beep – same?  

 At 10.27, now tired from more weed pulling, we have lost the task bar in the process of shutting down all iexplore tasks, to clear ca. unresponsive email. We have to restart?  Again the Windows key is dead.  

 Slip of 5/11 for 7/14 W, drain and think about it, at 10.31

V a. 11.11 – Zantac, again.                                     BELLS X

 V b. ~11.30 mail gives omep; 1 taken.

 V c. R 1.31 – pee 1; cool; good sleep

 V d. 3.27 – pee 2

 V e. 4.59 – pee 3.

 V f. 7.03 poop; up early

 V g. F 12.30 pee? X

 V h. 1.04 – pee 1

 V i. 4.21 – pee – 1?  (No, 2) c later, rt. Foot cramps.  Seemingly long awake, after good dream of designing fighting ship for planes on 2 levels.   --   Not an aircraft carrier before 10.42; maybe for VTOL craft.  

 There, at 10.43 the draining and landing is done, and I have stalled xygy about as much as I can. Did that last iexplore cancel kill the task bar?  Try it. Shut down, I guess.  Indeed before 4.14, it did kill the task bar.

 I bobble my way back tiredly at 10.56, with task bar restored, and even the clock.  The Ivan piece is ready for a final proofreading.

 Sent at 11.10; more ca. rebuilding shows a lack of sound from B xxxx Box – this trouble again – why do I keep getting it?  Restart needed again?  Call it no big deal?  Just then, before 4.15, it was so, but not so long term.

 At loose ends at 11.12, dare we weed some more?  And carry rock supplies from wall to bark ca. repository.  And finish and clear a Rush file, listening?  Yes to the above.

 Well, before 11.40, it may have been a bad decision, but at least some work is done. There is still hope for that pipe fairy’s efficacy, and my restoration.  A hill walk will be a challenge, after so long away?  Ivan has answered very quickly, but without comment on Arp Features, as I xygy rather expected.  I should try out that LPF, and see if it seems to do anything, later?

 12.21 – no start, double!   --   That is, before 4.17, Arp and Fox both came up hung on that busy channel thing.  I had to do a cold, forced shutdown, right?  It was because of the task bar lost and the Windows key dead again, right?  Before 4.20, I said, at / 3 21 – restored?  Maybe. \ And it may have been, at least some, before some more uphill weeding in the front plot, awkward work.  / Task bar \ was / Yes \ killed before 4.32, as above.  We labor on, pretty tired.

 The walk was easy enuf to the second summit, and could have gone on around the loop, but for the time, before 4.33.  The threatened rain, finally here, did not bother me sitting in my favorite corner, coming out with the bent Ehrlich plugged again, but not marring the event. Load the new, semi-victorious Rush file? No, not till we are better rested and recovered.

 Did I sleep for 1 ½ hours after supper and before 8.19 and doing the dishes, and only roused by the need to take a leak?  A lot, anyhow; would that this particular brand of weeding is soon done; also that some ca paralysis of Outlook soon melts away.  

 Well, a 9.07, with the test cut having come up okay of SH, can I drag my way thru mpe RL and Death file loading?  At least the pipes are done, and in a timely fashion – it CAN be done.  Dragging done at 9.19 – time for Laff In yet?                                                                                          F

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD;D. S

 2017/6/17 A 7.27 S – Good morning.  I here am still tired after a night of pretty heavy sleep, no audio, and no dreams? No, some ca. seen, but not noted – right?  I am still tired; coffee will banish it?  

 A thought from the sheets, and the pot – what a lot of time and effort, and a lot of tedious Fox cuts, all because I somehow clicked on Arp SPLITTER, and I wasn’t sensible enuf to recognize the one minute failure, and Ivan wasn’t knowledgeable enuf to help.  Break for poop, at 7.30.

 Dragging back at 9.17, with laundry to come.

 And it is in and ca. chopping, whacking, at 9.35, and I am still tired, with coffee.  Weed pulling does not explain this.  Still, the pipe fairy may be able to banish it.

 In spite of ca. 45’ nap before 12.46, I still feel quite tired; go, fairy, go.  

 And, before 3.51, I think she has done her job.  The smoke finished up with about five raindrops which did not continue. The walk went around by Cy’s house where two deck chairs and a sand chair were set up in our smoking area, as tho he was expecting me, but I did not see him.

 The smoke was fine, with the white boy almost plugged, but finishing okay.  Before 3.53, I did about a half a ton of Rush stuff, and finished one of the Death loadings – now we refresh a lot of stuff. We enjoy a slightly cool cup of the first product of the new coffee pot, which looks like it will be very good.  

 Death disk 4 claims it is already ripped, at 4.12, but I can’t find the results.  I certainly have not heard the audio; I have to skip it or Arp-record it via loop-back cable?  I am presently hearing disk 3; wait and see.

 Slip of 5/13-14 for 6/16 F, partial drain at 5.04, filling time

V a. 4.24 – I missed a pee earlier?  Yes.                           BELLS X

 V b. 6.47 – pee only please.  No audio! Note omep. Return   --   That xygy is, after 5.15, try 2 pills at 11 again.

 V c. 7.04 – poop

 V d. S 1.06 - pee 1, prep 11, NSH

 X e. 3.44 – pee 2; D: call Cy?

 V f. 4.48 – pee? X 3; FOUNDLING); try pills at 11?  Dream earlier of returning to Mitre to an office (W) Mike Wortis

 V g. 6.16 – pee – 3 count; no audio.

 V h. 7.17 – up; overslept.  Pee V

 V i. 7.31 – poop, in an awful rush.  

The LPF feature of the Arp is, at 5.28, probably a Low Pass Filter – it would enhance bass, and would not be wanted?  Try it now, approaching ca. 5.40 push time to Captain Jack Miller’s Boston Ale House, for a couple of ribs and half of a great Captain Jack’s Buried Treasure dessert.

 Before 5.34, the cut of radio voice and music showed no detectable change at all – stick to four features, and try not to accidentally click on SPLITTER!

 Before 8.39, did I have about an hour’s nap?  It seemed like the blink of an eye.  The supper was indeed fine.  Re Death disks, I could delete or rename or otherwise hide one disk image, and try to re-rip it, to see what’s going on with disk Four.                         S

      Ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. U

 2017/6/18 A 9.11 U – Happy Father’s Day to me.  The big hit was Len’s card that 4 out of 5 dach’s agree I’m a great dad, with Dachshunds outfitted as doctors –take it to church.  From Marc – candy bar known good, choc almonds, Starbucks coffee – good for our new pot; refill shaving soap stick, great.  Liz: nuts - and ‘net things to come.    Tired again?  No good reason?  Thus, mood?

 How to start, at 3.15, just after our pi-time mini-celebration, to catch up the day? First at the end – the pipe fairy again did her magic, and restored us.  Have I told you that she is first cousin to the tooth fairy?  

 No walk, in the 88 degree weather, and humid; still, corner-sitting was comfortable enuf. The smoking process, involving only the bent Ehrlich and the white boy, was marred by the former being lightly plugged, so that I could not keep the thing going, reloaded it, and could not get that lit.  So I have to dump out the pipe load.  

 Father’s Day presents after breakfast was good – oh, as noted.  Church was okay, but with a guest preacher woman going on and on way too much about sanctuaries – not quite saying cities.  I asked, do you think she voted for Trump?  No way.  

 First courtyard punch had a treat of about five offerings of delicious party breads, and Munchkins – replacing my anticipated rib leftover.  Nap was long, ca. 45’, but not enuf – going toward my fairy cure. Gail P was back doing healing at church, but I thought it late to be going for HER cure.  3.24

 Slip of 5/13-14 for 6/16 F, final draining at 3.27, cleaning up

V j. U 1.07 – pee 1, & 2 pills.  Dream, OK, of writing astro paper at Harvard.

 V k. 4.21 – pee 2, VG!  Set 2 clocks                                                      Xygy

 V l. 6.09 – pee 3, good, dream, good, of mist becoming rain, & upper deck.

 At 3.56, with sol ca. hung - what we going to do?  We will excuse ourselves from that awful weed pulling in view of the heat, and the festive, indulgent day; pipe cleaning does not beckon, but maybe calls – and Questing?  Witches’ lunch is far away, alas.                                  U

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. M

 2017/6/19 A 7.28 M – inadvertent Restart last eve instead of Sleep, for the night, has lost some stuff above?  Somewhere in there I got pipe cleaning done - and moderately thorough Portioning. There was a lot of sol.  

 This morning I seem to have a tangle, a swirl of ideas in my head, of things to do, like trying for the 8 AM WBZ time beep on the B Box, Liz’s clock not seeming to want to go for me.  Then I hit this ca. blank screen, from the restart, and it sets me back.  

 Ye gods, at 7.35 we have got Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation, Local, eating a fairly steady 25% of the cpu.  Now, at 7.37, it seems to be tailing off.  At 7.39, down to a reasonable 1%, maybe normal.  Strange.

 Another idea before 7.40 was to maybe record S & Garfunkle’s Feeling Groovy song which was so great last night on TV, From the Park. Hear Olivia N-J’s slow-down song in comparison.

 Sound, etc., at 7.51 and before seems to be settling into an unfortunate rut/habit of wanting Listen to be turned off and on before I can hear WBZ, etc.

 58 33 wbz wow   more   --   Finally we return, at 11.23 of 6/28.  I was surprised at this beep-data, and desired more.  

 Outlook on F Fox seems to work well at 8.46, not eating the cpu too much, but shows no Focused facility of ca. sorting the recent mail – strange.  Now, how about TV Titan?

 58 32.5 WBX at 9 – it is consistent.  Go figure. I misread that earlier data by a minute? It could happen.  

                                                                                                   Xzygy

After 9.04, figure out B Cen for tomorrow with Pelligrini & Co. at 11 – haircut, choc at CVS, maybe, and something else qq before BPL maybe at the end, to give best chance for Rabbit to come in.  $$ too, right?  No junk silver.  Do Stimudents today.  Do Xerox at library; take change.  Try the scanner myself?  V

 At 9.34, with a wash load in too, and new coffee made, I am finally up to the point of looking around to pick something to do next, rather than having it virtually forced upon me, by time or some sort of circumstance.  

 Slip of 5/15 for 6/18 U, getting on, with Bill the Custom guy here

V a. 7.13 – up, pee? V 4, overslept. NO audio!  Well rested? BELLS X Happy Father’s Day, say 2.   --   Draining at 10.22, limping on

 V b. 7.27 – poop

 V c. 7.48 – canola) rape oil)                                                                   Xygy

 9.02 – great prez – Marc choc bar, almond-choc, coffee; Docs-Dach’s; Liz - nuts; …   --   Add also shaving bar/stick, from Mya, before 10.24

 V e. 4.32 – after poop #2, way too rushed, awful mess.

 V f. 11.50? Pee 1, c later, prep & pills at 10.

 V g. 2.16 – pee 2, poor.  OK dream of sealing Word files.

 V h. 4.57 – pee 3, better   OK dream of extending a ~quota.  Try F Fox. Strip Arp.   --   Okay, for the first RL file at least, we will strip ARP down to SCHEDULE only.  I already said F Fox is doing fine?  What was its earlier problem, eating the cpu, right?

 A while back, before 11.38, we turned off the touch pad, but now find, hooray, the right and left click ca. buttons below it are still on.  This xygy will be handy.  Use it again.  6/30 9.52 – back to ca. normal.  It’s easy.

 Well, before 12.53, I finally got my rib for lunch, and, having logged 1 ½ pound loss this morning, I awarded myself a cookie.  These and a 15’ rest I thought had me well on the way to restoration, but I was a little doubtful on arising.  Now after dragging up the first summit in the fairly oppressive 85%% heat, I am more doubtful still.  Still, Go Fairy, Go.

 Did she do it, before 4.36?  I think she did; I still feel pretty good, in spite of pulling another bunch of those awkward front yard weeds; we are still cooling down, tho it didn’t feel too hot out.

 At walk time it DID feel hot, and at 4.37 it’s still humid, and I went only to the first summit.  Corner smoke was again good, with good audio marred a bit by failing WM batteries; we returned with no plugged pipes – three.  Ehrlich is still down.  Again, sitting still with ample breezes, was no heat problem at all.  The pipes are cleaned already.  Now, what to do?  Try that Death re-rip thing.

 At 5.04, renaming allowed the re-rip to go forward; but where is the output?  Maybe doubled up in the Unknown music folder; return the disks, then sort it out at my leisure.

 It’s now 8.18, and the dishes are done, and sol has finally beaten me, and I start to feel some tired, after holding up pretty well, almost fully restored.  We’ll do another round of Stimudents, and then Questing?    M

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. T

 2017/6/20 P 4.34 T – late start, probably not a record.  I finally have the ducks in a row, with weeds pulled, not tiring me too much now, just at the time, and the dish washer unloaded.  The pack, from B Cen just cast aside, is a big exception, but it will keep fine, not being at all time sensitive.  Don’t reply again to Todd re tomorrow’s Chelmsford Seniors lunch - or yet to Marc re his piece, and his birthday?

 The bike ride went just fine, with me finally arriving for dentist a half hour early, before 4.38.  My ordered cyber-goody arrived this morning at BPL, just right.  The eastern-European girl barber was all alone, resulting in some waiting, with lots of slack.  Riding wasn’t too hot, and 88%% and moderate humidity did have me changing from short sleeves to the tank top.  The smoke was just fine, tho with having to dump out the reluctant White Boy – then he did okay.  That’s about it?  Pilligrini before 4.44 regretted that he was rushed, and did not have time to ask me questions – about my life, I guess; I am his model for an 80-year old?

 Earlier, before 8.27, I declared myself fully restored, if I was ever diminished, by the bike ride or the weeding – now I feel quite diminished, seemingly by a one-hour nap, that I am not snapping out of.  Ugh.  All I can muster is sol, but must do out the pack, at least.  Pipe cleaning wouldn’t be bad.                                                                                         T

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. W

 20217/6/21 A 8.25 W – could it be this morning that we have just a whiff of elevated mood? It may be just the mild excitement of having had a three-media night, including no audio, just charging, and ca. mild fun of ca. unraveling the note records.  Or it could the milder-still ca. fuss of us going to lunch with Todd, etc.

 Slip of 5/16 for 6/19 M, partial drain at 8.29

V a. 6.52 – pee 4, OK? 2 up                                    BELLS X

 V b. 7.11 – poop – OK?   --   I think at 9.56, I was funnin’ with that OK.

 V c. P 11.09 – prep, pills

 V d. T 2.07 – pee 1; good dream of Nixon in my ofc at R-HQ, re $ giving; dream of M & M color purity, in pockets

 V e. 4.24 – pee 2; c later?  Itch on left thigh is a bug bite?

 V f. 7.24 – poop; 7 – up

  BPL Due Date slip of Tues, stuff for Wed., drain at 8.59, used in lieu of Slip, it being in bed room

V #1. 2.42 – pee 1; prep, pills, swish mouth wash at 11, VG.

 V #2. Tenuous ideas   --   For several days, before 9.58, that, as I may have already said a ways above, that I seem to be less able to follow Rush’s sometimes tenuous trains of logic that he lately seems to spin out about the ca. weedy subjects around Trump and that FBI guy – admittedly obscure, but say five years ago I have the feeling that I could follow such better. When I have trouble following Kuhner, then I know I’m in trouble – it happens?  

 Slip of 5/16 for 6/19 M, final drain at 9.04, for W

V g. 4.29 – pee 2, c later; good dream of girl’s warm hands on the (T); earlier such of me predicting 20% ~profit on the (T) )). V   Leg is just awful – bug bite

 PJ Pocket 3x5 of 5/21, drain at 9.09, from last night

V #9? 4.59 – TRY SPLITTER & VO. ACT ON ARP.   --   To my surprise before 10.39, the Voice Activation does not kick in for a second cut after the Splitter feature ends the first cut one minute after the B Box was wired in.  Vo Ac does tho go in and out as the radio signal is cut and restored.  I still don’t see how you would use Splitter to do something like make short segments for an Audio Book, or such.  

 What to say about lunch with Todd, no Margie, and two Lingus’s?  Basically, it was very good – but time consuming.  The drive is rather long and a bit tedious, but worth doing again, I guess – in two, maybe three weeks?  4.55

 A short smoke back here of two pipes was still good, and then grass pulling - finishing a couple of ca. legs, I think at 4.56 has not hurt me.  Restored?  I venture to say yes.  Bad news – Brother Reese is out on vac on lunch day, the 29th.  Ask Kurt if his scruples will allow a twosome?  

 Ugh at 8.07 with dishes tediously done, tho there weren’t so very many of them, and enuf attention given to sol, I ought to drag myself to knock together a piece to Marc – tho I don’t much feel like doing it.

 Kurt has replied the lunch date has to yield to Ron’s vac schedule – I don’t have to reply yet, at 8.09.  Dishes saw the exhaustion of loaded Death files – the rounding up of more is one of the seemingly many tasks bearing on my shoulders.  

 With a Marc draft dragged out of me at 8.45, maybe good enuf, why do I feel so very tired? A slump/rebound from that possible mood bounce of the morning?  I doubt it. I can drag myself thru the pipe cleaning I never did yesterday?                                                                              W

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD/ D/D. R

 2017/6/22 A 7.30 R – oh dear me, I –DO- feel tired this morning, and felt tired during the night, with bad dreams, and particularly tired last evening – I could not get thru that called-for pipe cleaning.  I had about a 15’ chair-nap, and gave up.  

 Such fatigue I do not much expect to pass away today, at least not this morning, not before, possibly, the purifying pipe process.  A walk might help.  7.33   There are many loose-end things I hope I can clean up today; being tired like this is good for such?  I think I –WILL- ask Kurt about a twosome.  July 29th is too late for a lunch, too near NJ vac – that is his date?  No, the 20th.  Finish Marc first.  Done at 7.43 – go wash.

 Back at 8.28, still bushed, but pushing back the frontiers of disorganization.  Do Kurt next?  No, hymns, etc., from Todd.  Done at 9.34, and pull cord for opening hopper window, and nut ration, and new pot of coffee, and pipes – did I say?  So much, but how to I fire F Fox up for TV Titan?  All done and Bookmarked at 9.42; so much, simple stuff, is getting done you might think I was feeling good – but you would still be wrong.  We have also done a run of cutting out real junk mail, like LinkedIn’s piece; much remains to be done to clean up threaded good stuff.

 Wow at 9.49, I have finally succeeded in knocking down the ppi hot synch manager, and thus gotten rid of its frequent message about not finding the Com1 port.  See screen shot in Aside2, if needed.

 Slip of 6/5 for 6/21 W, draining at 9.58, still progressing

V a. 6.47 – pee – 3   2 up. Bad dream of muddy ascent of boulder ~bridge, almost falling down.

b. 7.12 – poop? V 2 from br. Table – Todd, copy – JXM* to Lunch Circle?  How to copy discs like Liz’s scanner stuff?  * - he’s too busy?  How’s Cy doing?   --   And, continuing at 10.29, how’s Holgate doing?  

 V c. 10.23 – poop #2

 V d. P 11.53 – pee 1 – why so poor?  Prep, pills, swish at 11.  ~good dream, OK, of team of 3 looking for trouble (W) kids ~balking writing journals.

  Oh dear, before 10.25 and bed-making, etc., I forgot to tell Todd of my humor-generating algorithm, of shuffling particles.  But I am getting other stuff done, and am quite on a roll – it feels great; almost as good as not feeling tired, and feeling energetic.  See what we can do with Death files.  

 At 11.26, I think that those - and a Quest mess - are temporarily above my pay grade.  Go to the mailbox, or just play a little sol till full lunch time?

 I should have, before 3.35, at least started ripping the Rabbit disks.  A walk to the mailbox sufficed, I hope, for walking; restored after the smoke?  Yes.  I was a bit too warm in this shirt – I should have had the tank top down here.  I ended with a partial refill of that little bent boy; otherwise quite good. Pull weeds soon – finishing I hope, and starting the recovery from these itchy bug bites.  

 At 4.50, we are cooling down, after wondering at / 4 36 \ if we were / too tired? \ After a particularly awkward and bending weeding session; but we are / Done \ with that top front stuff; now we need to do a bit of work on the weeds of the / Sidewalk? \

 Now at 5.05, the Quest ca. lost text problem is hopefully fixed.

 It’s 7.43, and the dishes are not done; 25 + 5 Timer nap was followed by some recliner time, and, still with coffee, I do not feel tip-top.  Do the dishes - and maybe we can shape up the Death files, or at least clean the pipes – and start Rabbit rips.

 At 8.27, beaten by sol, we have our marching orders, to find Death disk 4.  Well, before 8.39, I found something to load, but then couldn’t find it in the mpe.  Similarly, I loaded the short GB cuts into the Audible folder, but to mpe, it still appears empty.  Think about it, and return.  V

 Well, at 8.48, if we can’t load Death disk 4, try for 5 – and on up, if necessary.  At 8.50, we have maybe gotten all of disk 5 loaded, maybe goofy, maybe some duplication.  Try some Rabbit.  Try again when 18 Megs are freed up, after 9.01 – clean pipes and shut/ease down? 9.32 – more sol and Rabbit ripping done.                                   R

     Dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. F

 2017/6/23 A 8.46 F – ye gods, I got to get back to B Cen for BD choc and card.  Rabbit CD’s can maybe be returned at the same time.

 In a lightening-like raid before 8.57, I tried to install Liz’s scanner software to see if it would come up at least as well as that Epson stuff on the BDC machine – but in vain.  It seemed eventually to be looping, saying installing the reference guide, seemingly the 4th item to do of four.  I eventually killed it, and found none of those four seemingly installed; it did not look quite like a problem of a missing driver, as Liz predicted.  

 I can’t yet quite get the BDC Epson stuff going before 9.00, but there is hope for that, finding and seeing old slides, and maybe for it driving the scanner, anew.  

 Alas, at 11.13, I have given up toying with Photo Impressions 4 on the BDC, and put it back to hibernating.  I could bring up and view and manipulate their sample ca. slides, but not my old ones that I think some of were in there – I could tho find such in Palm Land. And I could not get it interested in starting to drive the scanner.  I am done and defeated?

 Are we well rested today at 9.03, and bright?  It would seem so – can/do we keep it up?  Oh dear, at 9.43, I fear I may have labored too long on the sidewalk weeding, but at least I got nearly all of it done – quite enuf, till next time?  And, back at the ranch, the ripping has finished.  The rain threat continues – else I might think of the bike.  

 If, at 10.02 we have done too much back-intensive weeding work, we may be somewhat substandard this morning, below code, but such a condition will surely not get past that marvelous pipe fairy – I love her so much I should give her a name?  It would not be Rou, such already being given to the goddess of mind potions, as was told of in JVol3.  

 Slip of 5/17 for 6/22 R, drain at 10.05, somewhat wearily.

V a. 6.22 – pee 3? 1 missed; bad dream of broad-sliding bike      BELL X down steep grassy slope, steering (W) caliper brakes

 V b. 6.49 – pee; up – couldn’t wait    Tired.

 V c. 7.18 poop? V    coffee – still tired

 V d. 10.06 – poop

 V e. F 1.11 – pee 1; try pills at 10?

 V f. 3.06 – pee 2, NSH.  OK dream of film speeds & GUPSLOG mailed in by Frodo Connelly.

 There, drained and landed at 10.14 – do I feel a flicker of satisfaction, pride? Conceivably.  

 Well, we have some excitement today, starting before 3.44, shortly before lunch, after starting that big picnic bark edging project.  For some reason I opened Show Hidden Icons, and saw a strange icon, which is shown in tje Aside 2 file – see it if you can.

 It reported that I had some sort of a Trojan-Horse-Spy thing aboard, and do I want it removed? Some high level consultation said yes, which took it a bit of time to do, and it said Restart to tidy it up. Well, with lunch and Rush coming on, I said Wait.  Meanwhile, the SRC charging plug had fallen out again, and, maybe it was after a walk to the second summit featuring the Greenstein’s driving by and stopping to report that Ira is now a senior VP of a travel company, etc., etc.  I got back to find the SRC Out of Gas and shut down, right in the middle of the Rush cut, which picked right up with power restored.

 A somewhat short smoke before 3.52 was interrupted by a thunder shower, moving me in about ten feet under cover, and then okay. I did the restart soon after washing, and we are back up without incident.

 How long was that ca. hidden icon in there – way before 3.54?  I xxxx should look in there often?                                                                            F

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD; D/D/D/D. S

 2017/6/24 A 9.42 S – oh dear, oh dear, why am I so tired?  It would not be from the unaccustomed sound of an air conditioner making our bedroom cool enuf to stay under a sheet; I have made this noise-transition plenty.  One thinks of mood, and its variation.  Anyhow, I haven’t taken a shower, putting a still bigger implied load on tomorrow morning.

 At 9.45, let us try a bit to account for the journalistic blackout above, after 3.54.  I was feeling pretty good then I think, pretty spry, but was worn down later by the labor of helping to move that ca. new AC box upstairs, followed by lengthy stretches of some helping and some just baby-sitting its installation.  Yes, I think it is this total process what done me in.  

 The evening actually saw, before 9.49, the dishes getting done, actually with some audio. Not noted: no audio at all last night, just charging, again.  After dishes I just went downhill, with sol and later heavy recliner use, with only the merest tip of the hat to pipe cleaning, let alone the contemplated Questing – that is, I thought about such a little, as I contemplated what I would like to be doing if I could, and that’s as far as I got.  Let us now at 9.52 drag ourselves off to the done dish washer, but still loaded.

 P. S. at 9.53 – I need to ride my bike to B Cen for card and choc, and maybe BPL back, and it’s raining, on top of this exhaustion.  

 Perhaps after 11.34, and in the afternoon, the rain will be gone – but, even after the help of the pipe fairy, will I have the strength for the ride?  And can I be back and spiffed up by 5.10 for push time to Jimmy’s Steer House?  God be praised that the dishes are done, early.  

 Slip of 5/18 for 6/23 F, drain at 11.36, struggling forward

V a. 5.16 – pee – 3, OK   Good dream filming old India   BELLS X

 V b. 6.51 – pee 4, 2 up

 V c. 7.09 – poop? V

 V d. 7.42 – BDC has Twain, etc.?

 X e. 10.32 – poop 2? X

 V f. S 1.43 – pee 1; prep, pills, swish at 11 – good.  Dream, ~bad, of far north corn farm & my best friendxx.  Not so terrible tired now.

 V g. 3.58 – pee 2 – NSH.  Lost ~bad dream.  Small AC is helping sleep.

  Possibly a little less tired after lunch and regular 15’ repose, at 12.23 – go out to smoke.

 Before 8.25, now still full of good dinner, we thought, at / 2 37 \ in early from a good smoke and no walk, we were / Restored?  Maybe \ with much progress made on / Junger \ and Death stuff, all ready to roll files over.

 Before 4.21, the ride was tiring, and hot, but I think I can shake them both – maybe.

 Yes, I did pretty well before the big supper, but now, at 8.27, I am pretty tired, and ready for the 9 PM TV show about trouble in the SLC library. S  

       Dddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. U

 2017/6/25 A 7.11 U – mood is up, for sure; may I feel as good as I do now for the rest of the day – nay, for the rest of my life.  

 Before 7.14, \ but, at 7.36, I can’t remember what I was / Focused \ upon, or something.  2

 Before 7.31, and breaking for a poop, I finally got, ca. a week ago, a better handle on that preciousness of all life thing, human, and this conceivably extendable to lower life – it is the uniqueness of each individual – they really are individual, if you look at them closely, as Murray was ca. wont to do, and get past the seeming blankness and uniformity of two billion Chinese or whatever it is.  

 Slip of 5/19 for 6/24 S, drain at 9.01 – still feeling good?  Less so?

V aa. 6.13 – pee 3, 2 up, c later                                        BELLS X

 V b. 7.25 up – pee? V   still tired? More dreams lost.

 V c. 7.45 – poop – hard

 V d. P 11.43 – pee 1, pills

 V e. U 3.31 – pee 2, bad dream of Ed Bensley helping me (W) little girl’s book text of gift given to Her.  Mood rebounded?

 f. 3.39 – return to attic work?  Swish finally done.                              xxxx

 V g. 6.14 – pee 3, good; c later.  Good dream of conf. table trying to clear analog tapes, & smart, shy girl next to me. Audio earlier

 Before 5.17, at / 3 36 \ I observed that I was / Stuck in this shell \ and added at / 3 47 \ that the shell, my body, was full of / Complex processes \ such as urination, which was the activity of 3.36.  I understand better and better the lure, the fascination with, the idea of downloading one’s brain contents into an appropriate computer, and assuming an uncluttered, eternal life of pure intellectualization.  

 At / 4 20 \ we added / 6 20 push \ time to birthday special dinner in Stallina’s courtyard.  Still no word from Nelly about her birthday, or Ti’s and her present, or Liz’s, or Father’s Day – all before 5.23

 At 4.51, we have done a bit of edge-cutting, and come in with a few raindrops on us.  Were we restored by the pipe and attendant fairy? No, her work was already done – we were already in top form, even after a hot-ish walk around the full loop – we finally made it.  

 With a late start after BD presents or something, smoke-time was still a bit short, but, with that and the edging-time, we finished the audio book of Death in Belmont, by Sabastian Unger – ending inconclusively as to whether DeSalvo or Smith killed in Belmont.  Oh, oh – we’ve still got to get that murder house’s address.  4.56

 In starting that search before 5.04, we found a strange, not-too-loud squirrely sort of noise on the speakers – like ca. static form the lamp, but it’s not that; now at 5.11, it is gone – a pretty mystery.

 At 5.24, shall we, after changing clothes, clean pipes, or maybe return to Questing? Pipes can definitely wait, for the potential sluggish time after another good dinner, surely with a beer.

 We are back at 9.26 after a nice nap just ending when Marc called with longish wishes for the birthday girl.  The bluefish and crustada were delicious – I gain more weight?  The living has been easy, and good.  

 9.44 – pack it in after considerable Quest-success.       U

     Ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. M

 2017/06/26 A 9.35 M – wonders never cease – the auto-date dude is back.  He sobered up?  I have dragged myself thru a shower and getting out the lawm mower on this cool, dry, beautiful morning – but still it doesn’t perk me up.  I am back to being tired, alas.  But being maybe tired-er from mowing will not necessarily be a loss.  Now I need to drag myself thru pipe cleaning and portioning – but I can hear the end of the M Styne file to help me along.  

 At 10.50 the Styne thing is done, the dryer is going, and did drag all the way thru that double pipe process.  Oh how I look forward to the pipe time, communing with that fairy, without a tedious walk, maybe in the cool, scant shade near St. Francis.

 10.57, and we sink into a bit of sol, and brood on those mistakes I continue to make – increasingly?  They are mostly from errors in scanning across, and up, for possible moves before taking the next card from the stock.  Call them sol-gaffes?  

 Before 4.55, at / 3 30 \ we felt quite / RESTORRED \ a lot of it having to do with an excellent out by the hill stairs, watching a bunny for half an hour, sit on the grass cautiously eyeing me, and finally turning to eating clover blossoms, in the un-mowed grass.  I finally said, ‘Get ready to move, bunny, I am thru smoking my pipe and receiving the blessings of the pipe fairy, and I am getting up.’  I did, and still the critter didn’t move, to my surprise.  I walked toward it, and it moved a couple feet. More advances finally got it to move in a respectful way.  Thus, before 5.00, we resolved to / MOW \ and so it was.

 Double frustration at 4.54 – I can’t get the mower to start, and I can’t get a sol win, to ca. cover the time.  

 At / 8 48 \ we had had a nap of / 1 ½ hr’s \ which seems to have pretty well restored us from the hot, extended exertion of finally getting the lawn mower started at 5.10, and continuing straight thru the rest of the job – not a pretty picture. I did slump into that nap.  

 Over dishes I got pretty well dug into Rabbit, Run – and it does, at 9.16, seem pretty good. What did Tom say about writing like that?

  \ which seems to have pretty well restored us from the hot, extended exertion of finally getting the lawn mower started at 5.10, and continuing straight thru the rest of the job – not a pretty picture. I did slump into that nap.  

 Over dishes I got pretty well dug into Rabbit, Run – and it does, at 9.16, seem pretty good. What did Tom say about writing like that?  At 9.20, it is about Updike writing in vignettes in a sort that I don’t quite dig.      M

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDL. T

 2017/06/27 A 7.52 T – the auto-date guy is still sober, and on the job.  After that 9.20 we got a bit more Questing work done.  Today, cranking up the CTC $6.95 subscription, I see only five years of archives xxxx offered - not enuf to get back to Art Bell?  I’ll try it, then B Sobrannie.

 In from edging and then some rain at 10.34, we sort-a shuffle along.

 Slip of 6/2 for 6/25 U, drain at 10.35, progressing – somewhat.

X a. 7.01 – pee? 4; c later.  I woke up right on.  Confused       BELLS X

Dream, good, of trying to clear analog tapes.

 V b. 7.16 – poop – just right.   --   Meaning, I think at 10.47, that the process does not at all crowd over up into bed time.  

 V c. M 4.17 – pee 1 – prep, pills, swish at 11 – WOW!  W = 5 ¼ hr’s!

 V d. 6.12 – pee 2 – c later   Tired?

 V e. 7.16 – up, poop? X  Tired. Pee 3.

 V f. 7.37 – poop

 X g. 8.13 – much rested post shower?

 V h. 9.25 – rather intensive M Styne audio earlier; it done me in?  (Tired again now)  I don’t think so.

 Ca. 50’ nap has maybe got me fixed up OK at 7.40 after being tired-out by edging work then getting down Liz’s hill-cuttings. Walk to Radcliffe Road summit then corner smoke were good.  We can get going on EOM work?

 Wow an x-survey shows us at 8.44 that this file is in great shape, with few short range, fixable things to do, and more long range, reminder type things.  After 1/3 inches of rain, heavy at times, semi-far-away thunder rumbles on and on.                                                                                     T

      DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDL. W

 2017/6/28 A 7.23 W – drunk again.  We could not remember a night of such thunder and crashing lightening, not both of us together.

 The current slip speculates that we rise today, after much audio, mostly running out Rush, and one M Styne, maybe at a level of M3, no it was 2 – this level of energy and cheer.  No, Kurt, I still can’t separate mood from energy.  

 PJ Pocket 3x5 of 5/19, drain at 7.27 from last night

V #1. 5.33 – 2 – SONG, CAPTURE     BREAD,   --   That is, at 7.31, we have seen today. and hummed, the Trin Presentation Hymn – This is the place; it used to be longer, and we are now using just the end?

 #2. LGBTQ+ --   That is, before 8.24, I wanted to capture the somewhat remarkable Staff Tumblr post involving the LGBTQ+ community; more and more people are picking up the new Q letter, seemingly for Queer, a somewhat vague category, in contrast to T, which I guess is about the most specific.  The newly-added + is, I guess, a provision for a ton of additional letters that may dribble in thru the open door.  Here’s the text:

 Hi Tumblr —

We’ve heard from a bunch of you that Safe Mode was filtering posts from the LGBTQ+ community even though they were completely innocuous and totally safe-for-work. Please know that was never our intention - and we appreciate you letting us know so quickly—and forcefully! We’re deeply sorry. Tumblr will always be a place where everyone is welcome and protected, so we want to explain what happened.

The major issue was some Tumblrs had marked themselves as Adult/NSFW (now Explicit) as a courtesy to their fellow users, and their perfectly safe posts were getting marked sensitive unintentionally. That should never have happened. We’re sorry.

It’s a sad world out there at 8.31;   we’ve got to take it back – and I think we can, with Trump’s help – and God’s.  

 Before 11.21 we have done some edge cutting, and a bit of that stair weeding, till the sun got too much; the edging involved very wet soil, but not bad.  At least the pipes are cleaned, for a change.  The day is cool and beautiful.  

 Trying to pick up the tale at 10.03 R, I recall a walk, maybe to the second summit, and then a goodish corner smoke interrupted by the grocery shoppers arriving home, and carrying their stuff in.  The much bigger interruption was for repeatedly calling the Arlington lawn mower shop, and hitting their tape, beginning with 2.30 announced shop opening time.  

 Forgotten before 11.34 R was the rather big deal of, on the walk, finally resuming the habit of the promenading pipe – smoking the briar quite successfully as I went, refilling it, and it bearing up quite well under the strain.  

 The morning saw much ca. bustle of lawnmower ca. prep and decision, and the later afternoon with the trip taking the sick puppy in.  I was surprised that the gas was so bad, apparently leading to water in the carburetor and here and there, before 10.41 R.  We waited for the work, with some difficulty.  The later afternoon saw what?  

 At / 5 02 \ and before 10.43 R, played, for ca. solace, a sol game with / SAME SOL DECK FOR SURE \ as I am still convinced, but still cannot believe.  

 Doing dishes before / 8 08 \ saw much thinking of the boogie-woogie music of / WILL BRADLEY \ maybe held on a tape, or on an            xxx / LP \ - seek it?  How would I find such a tape?  The hymn / WE GATHER TOGETHER \ also thought of, and found.

 Before 10.48 R, at / 8 51 \ we found the mpe, lost since pipe time and NF in the pipe basket, on the / FLOOR AGAIN \ partly under the desk, just like that earlier, extended panic time.  The evening saw fatigue.     W

     DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. R

 2017/6/29 A 7.39 R – what a strange night.  It’s the dreams – I said, I’ve been trying to figure out where they came from – maybe from 111 Mass Ave.  Call it Fast Eddie’s Place?  It is a strange place indeed, with all those antiques and strange things crammed in. And strange people in a way – so very ca. nice.  Go back annually, for a tune-up, and more?  

 Some before 8.09, while washing, it seemed to me that this strangeness/weirdness maybe comes from the end/outrun of a mood cycle – elated yesterday morning, tired/isolated/shut off - last night, to the point of depression.

 Slip of 5/22 for 6/29 R – at 8.12, get to draining.

V a. 1.52 – pee 2, c later; pills                      BELLS X

 V b. 4.26 – good! Pee 3.  Dreams, OK, many, vague, lost.

 V c. 5.58 – pee 4 – strange, ~weird dreams of bad ~reading lists & no one knows who we are or where going.  C later. Strange food.  Earlier – locating a tree house.  Very tall power pylons.)   --   That is, before 8.17, that should have been who THEY are.  The food was sort of like pound cake – to make ca. us grow fast?  I still can’t make anything of that reading list thing – it was instructions for what we were to do, not so much what to read?

 V d. 7.03 – up – pee? V no?  Liz up earlier, not sleeping well.  Earlier dream of 2 men walking, & deliberating – tree house location?  My fate?  Audio not even close.  

 V e. 7.07? Dreams not very vivid)   --   From front of 5/22 slip   XYGY

 V f. R 7.14 – poop, hard – finally something normal?   --   This note is overflow, onto the front of the June 1 slip – see both if you can.  

  Slip of 6/1 for 6/27 T, drain out of order, at 8.26

V a. 12.47 – pee? V – 1 – Prep, pills, swish @ 11.  EOM – from   BELLS X WHERE?   --   That is, before 11.07, the reality of EOM upon us seemed to come out of nowhere.

 V b. 2.54 – pee 2

 V c. 5.14 – pee 3; Good sunrise

 V d. 7.01 – up, pee 4

 V e. 7.29 – poop

 V f. W 1.29 – pee 1; ~OK

 V g. 3.34 – pee 2

 V h. 5.14 – pee 3, NSH

 V i. 7.47 – 2 up; pee?  Lotsa audio done   --   That 7.47 should have been written as 6.47, right?  - 11.11

 V j. 7.08 – poop; hard

 V k. 9.22 – poop #2, a manic thing to do.  Some rushed, not hard.

 V l. R 12.07 – pee 1; prep – only   --   With pills & swish pushed back

 We drag ourselves back to what we hope at 9.58 is productive work, possibly being too tired from hill and edging work to recover readily – before lunch – that pipe fairy can surely dispel any malaise like THIS.

 Indeed, at 11.12, with Landing done, we are pretty draggy.  What needs to be done?  Not pipes – check x-s.  11.14 – do Fast Eddie’s check.  At 11.37 we have not been able to find an envelope or stamp, but HAVE helped with more A/C games, that are somewhat like reindeer games.  

 Before 4.51, we walked again smoking the good briar to the mailbox, then to the Leader Bank for back-fill cash, and then had another good corner smoke, soon running thru some more Rabbit stuff, but puzzling me, as to why he seems to be deserting his family, driving south.  

 Some more edging stuff has left me some tired at 4.53; was I restored after Pipe Time? Maybe.  We recover okay this evening, even taking a short-ish Timer nap?

 A 25’ such nap has left me a little groggy, but I am hoping to pull out of it – maybe with sol’s help. At 7.39, try dishes, with Rabbit.  At 8.19 we have to report very limited success.  We can get pipes cleaned before we crump?

 Done before 9.08, but crumping is close.  No x-ie’s found to do; too tired to call Cy, or ream pipes.  We cash it in at 9.19, and look for TV.   R

     Ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd. F

 2017/6/30 A 8.30 F – poor Journal, still getting hind tit, coming back only after I clean up everything else, win two games of sol, and finally look around – oh, what can I do – Journal!  

 Is the night worth commenting on, at 8.31?  no, not really; the Slips will cover it well enuf, when filled, and drained.  The weather threatens showers ca. 11; I can start carrying rocks up the hill, clearing up at least some, and pulling some more of those stair weeds.  

 Maybe such will be with Rabbit; I do keep thinking of it, for the fairly gripping story, and not at all for the Harvard summa’s occasional flights into soaring adjectives, and language seemingly celebrated as very ca. eloquent by sager heads than mine. It IS pornographic in places, or at least very explicit.  8.35

 We return at 9.48 more tired than we anticipated before we stood up; we were in a little bit of rain-shower trouble, or might have gone on longer.  We could return, but, after a bunch of time and labor spent in ca. household support, we certainly should do a stint here, not just with sol, but trying to advance something; maybe the x-s can be advanced a bit. Geez, tomorrow is the first, and tonight is closing time; we are pretty well ready?  

 At 10.03, with some improvement, we are about as ready as we can get in present time.  

 The foray made earlier, and before 10.38, into Tumblr ca. account xxxx security, or management, ended today with a change made that should send me an e/m when someone (or I?) log onto that account – the MOM one, I think, not the Follower. Also at logoff time?

 With the decks cleaned of more and more found things, like putting away the hymnal, is it appropriate to ask about Booking up the recent run of lunch memos?  The account would seem to be dead for at least a month, after 11.02.  I was tempted earlier in my searching to go back out to cut edges, but now I think wisely drew back, with my upper body now feeling more tired.  I could have quite wiped myself out.  11.04

 Before 8.23, at / 3 30 \ the / SHOPPING BEAUTY \ was back, and my interrupted smoke time was over, and I felt only / PARTIALLY RESTORED \ a big impediment it being / TOO HOT \ and / HUMID \ and at / 3.34 \ thought to / Ca. rush out to the weeds, with Rabbit ca. hanging on the edge? \   He was out to dinner in a dicey situation.  At / 3 37 \ the story is told in / Not first person \ if that is the form Tom said it had.  At / 4 37 \ the / Lower stairs done \ were, it then seeming / Not too hot \ altho earlier we had / Ca. 87 max, ca. 40% - humid \ yes, humid indeed.  / Timer nap will be sufficient? \ Yes, before 8.28 35 + 5 seemed to be sufficient - and I guess is.  Smoke time, tho interrupted, was okay – no, say good.  At 8.30, we are about ready to close up.    F

 2017/7/1 A 7.40 S – back, to the Journal version.