1972 Book: Cyborg Continuing in my grand plan to read one book a month from every year of my life, I've moved on to 1972 and decided to give the book Cyborg by Martin Caidin a try.
For those who don't know, this is the book that was the basis for the TV movie and series "The Six-Million Dollar Man," a show I watched regularly as a child. It was a pretty interesting read, because there were a lot of a familiar names popping up, but the characterizations were very different from the show. The book was published as science fiction, which makes sense since it is dealing with futuristic technology, but it is really more in the category I would call Men's Adventure, with all the standard tropes of that genre thrown in (there is a subplot through the first half of the book dealing with Steve's doctors basically throwing pretty women at him in an attempt to help with his "recovery" and it made me roll my eyes, every time it got mentioned). This was my choice for a book published in 1972 and is definitely a book of its era. All that said, I did enjoy it and I'm sort of interested in seeing where some of the other books in the series went with the characters.
Well, that was a first. We had some sweet potatoes left from our weekly produce delivery and I decided I wanted to make Sweet Potato Chicken Curry. So, I found a recipe that looked good from some of the ones I've saved over the years, picked up the ingredients I needed for it and then went to make it for dinner the other night. Only, once I started in on it, I realized the cooking time was over 90 minutes and not the 30 minutes I was expecting. Weird. Okay, so the last stage of the recipe simmers for 30 minutes, so that was probably what I'd been thinking of. Also, it had a few ingredients I'd apparently missed earlier that we actually didn't have on hand (technically, we did have some canned garbanzo beans, but they were all dated as Best By sometime in 2020, so I figured it was best not to use them). It was all very strange and I couldn't figure out how I'd gotten it so wrong.
So, tonight I started in on it again... better supplied with all the ingredients I would need and plenty of time to get it done before dinnertime. Guys, I was a full hour into making this thing before it finally hit me that there were TWO DIFFERENT RECIPES with basically the same name (one, which is the one I'd actually wanted to do, that I'd apparently saved off 13 years ago(!) and one I had found more recently). The older recipe took 30 minutes to cook, but the one I ended up attempting tonight was a whole lot more involved, had a whole lot more ingredients (which is why they'd been missing the night before) and took a whole lot longer. *facepalm*
So, at this point, I looked over both recipes, dropped a few ingredients that hadn't been added yet from the one I'd been following, tossed in a few from the other recipe that I thought would taste good and just winged it. And wow... was it good! I sat down and wrote out what I did, because I will definitely be making this again.
Dusting Things Off Earlier this year, with my 55th birthday fast approaching, I realized I had a wonderful opportunity to read one book published in each year of my life, sequentially, with the hopes of being done by the time I reach my 60th birthday (I have five years, which means just one a month, so I'm hoping to pull it off), starting with Year Zero (which ultimately means I'll do 61 books for this endeavor). I set rules for it... in particular that the book has to be one I've never read before, with preference given to books I already own (the idea being that I'd obviously already wanted to read it enough to pick up a copy).
It also occurred to me that this would be an ideal opportunity to finally get around to dusting off my old Livejournal/Dreamwidth accounts. If you happen to follow me on Good Reads, you're probably going to end up seeing these things twice. So, here are the first three months, all at once!
Dreamwidth I know I don't really post here anymore, despite my best intentions, but with world circumstances being what they are, I figured it was a good time to remind everyone that I also have an account over on Dreamwidth and I would love to keep in contact with people there. I managed to snag Fenchurch on that site, so my DW page is here: https://fenchurch.dreamwidth.org/
She speaks! Er, writes... Okay, so I know I haven't posted in ages, but I'm hoping to do better (ha!). And I had a bit of a tale to tell, so I figured this would be a good place to do it. Seriously, though, I've had "Post to Livejournal" as a weekly goal for about a year now and I've been failing at it rather miserably.
Last year, I think, we picked up a stationary recumbent bike for cheap or free (I no longer remember, but if we paid anything it was maybe $20 or so) from a local Buy/Sell/Free group. The folks selling it had lost one of the adjustment knobs for the arm exerciser part of it, had tried to replace it with a regular bolt and it had gotten jammed in without holding the arm piece in place, meaning the arm exerciser was unusable.
We've been using it just for the "bike" part since we got it and really enjoying it, then earlier this year rackham managed to finally get the old bolt out. We've been trying to figure out a solution to attach the arm handle again, figuring we could maybe find a new bolt and use a washer with it or something. Then last week, just as I was drifting off to sleep... epiphany. The sort of thing that makes you feel both clever and stupid at the same time. I sent myself an email so I wouldn't forget and the next morning, we looked up the manufacturer online. Where we were able to order a new adjustment knob for a whopping $8 with shipping...
We also found out the recumbent bike is still being sold and runs around $1300, new. O.o Oh well, the loss for the folks who sold it to us is definitely our gain!
It's certainly coming in handy this year... and is making me feel better about cancelling my gym membership. Between that and the walking pad/treadmill, there are certainly enough options here at the house for days when it's too miserable outside to go walking or hiking.
News about Wisemack Hey everyone! I know I haven't posted in forever (I keep meaning to and then getting distracted by other things), but I wanted to let everyone know that I recently heard from wisemack's daughter... who let me know that she had passed away last November 4th in Hilo, Hawaii (where she's been living for the past few years). I told her daughter I'd try to get the word out, since I figured her friends here would also want to know, as well.
Good Karma Yesterday was one of those days that makes me want to believe there is such a thing as karma. Or at least good karma... although it usually doesn't come back to you that quickly.
I started out the day donating blood over in Redmond City Hall (I try to donate four times a year and this was my fourth!). Since I was right there, I headed over to Pharmaca to pick up some supplements, but first decided to walk across the street to the British Pantry... where I discovered they still had slots available for their special English Christmas Dinner next month. I got signed up for that, walked back over the pharmacy and did my shopping... and spotted Peppermint Little Secrets (they're basically M&Ms, but are dark chocolate and are generally dairy free... the peppermint ones are seasonal) on sale! Grabbed a couple bags of those and went to check out, where it turned out they had a coupon (and she had an extra sitting right there) for a free pair of earrings if you spent over a certain amount, which I had. So, bonus earrings!!! (Really nice earrings, too.)
Shortly after I left there, I made the realization that every single traffic light I came to was either already green or changed to green right as I pulled up. Every single one. It was actually a bit freaky, to be honest. I sailed right through all the way to Woodinville, did a bit of shopping and then realized I hadn't heard from the optometrist about my new glasses... gave them a call before heading home and they were ready for me to pick up. Once again, sailed through all the lights all the way to the optometrist's office (which was not nearby... like I said, it was getting a bit freaky) and made it home from there faster than I ever have before.
I'll be honest, I am a bit superstitious, so by the time I got home I was sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop... but it turned out that the universe just decided to smile on me yesterday (and, apparently, on rackham who had the same freaky green light thing happen to him, too, and made it home from work in record time).
BTW, I really am trying to remember to post here more often. It's even one of my weekly goals that I've been utterly failing to accomplish.
Feeling bad about a goldfish We have a Ryukin Goldfish named Doofenshmirtz who lives in a tank in our kitchen/computer room (we've adapted the dining room area to be a space for our computers, since we're on them so much). We got the fish about three or four years ago after the former Doofenshmirtz (it's just too good a name for a goldfish not to use more than once) moved on from this world. He's been lively and interactive (like his predecessor, he enjoys watching us do food prep on the counter near his tank) until the last year or so... when he's started doing weird things like "sleeping" (where he would just float there, right side up, and startle awake if we tapped the tank) or actively swimming upside down. Now, he's always done some creative swimming, but this started to get consistent. And then came the day I walked into the room and he was floating upside down, not moving. I was sure he was dead, but the moment I tapped the tank, he flipped over and started swimming quickly around.
I started trying to clean his tank a little more often, in case there was something going on there (we're on well water so the tank is very prone to algae), and he'd be extra lively for a little bit, but eventually the odd behaviors would start up again.
Yesterday, I cleaned his tank. Like, REALLY cleaned his tank... I took out three buckets of water and refilled things with water I had prepped. I scrubbed down all of his tank furniture and left it out to dry (to hopefully kill off any remaining algae). I vacuumed the crud out of the rocks at the bottom of the tank... and, throughout the day, actually replaced the filter twice in order to make sure things were really clean. And this morning I came out to him floating upside down again. I tapped him and he started swimming, but it got me thinking, so I hit the internet.
I feel like such a cruel idiot for not checking these things sooner. All those quirky behaviors he'd been developing? Were signs of hypoxia. I started delving a little deeper... because when we first set up the tank, everything I read at the time told me our setup was fine for a single goldfish and that our filter would do a perfectly fine job with aerating the water. Apparently, where the tank is wide and tall-ish, this is not necessarily the case. So, today while I was in town, I stopped by Wal-Mart and got an inexpensive pump and aerator, brought it home and hooked it up. Doof has been having a party in the tank ever since... and now I'm feeling both extremely happy that I seemed to have fixed the problem and pretty much devastated that we've been making him live in an oxygen poor environment for so long.
I really am hoping that this fixes the issue, but it'll probably be at least a few days before we know for sure. He's still occasionally "gulping" at the top of the water, but not constantly like he used (one of the symptoms of needing air), and he's doing a LOT more swimming in the rest of the tank than he's done in ages, which I'm hoping is good sign!
The Perils of a Full Tub Our water provider is doing some work on the system in our neighborhood today, so we got a notice that the water might be off sometime between 9:00am and 2:00pm today. We prepped for it, filling pitchers with water to leave by the various sinks for handwashing... and this morning, after my shower, I also filled the bathtub so that we'd have some water to use for flushing if we needed it (a trick I learned as a kid... because we'd do that whenever we were expecting a typhoon).
Once the tub was full enough, I headed into the next room and not three minutes later heard a flurry of furious splashing coming from the bathroom... before I could even rush back to make sure the cat was okay (because, yeah, it was definitely one of the cats and I was pretty certain I knew which one), a completely *drenched* Numfar came tearing out the door and ran down the hall.
I grabbed a towel and tried, fairly unsuccessfully, to keep from laughing... eventually finding her hiding underneath the dining room table, really spooked and also really pissed off. She was just absolutely soaked all through (apparently, her fur acts quite nicely as a sponge, because wow... was that a LOT of water). I managed to get her corralled, wrapped her in a towel and held her for a bit until she finally relaxed and started purring.
I have no idea if she just leaped into the bathtub without looking first or if she was trying to check the water out and slipped in... but now I'm mostly just hoping this hasn't scared her out of the bathroom permanently. I would really miss having her in there guarding me every morning while I take my shower (which she does, every day... sitting with her back to the shower, staring at the door. Unless there's something else she really wants to do, in which case she'll bring Mr. Mouse (the Beanie Baby mouse) in to stare at the door while I shower. Yes, really).
Masked Singer Again I know, it's all I'm updating about right now... but at least I'm updating? The final episode is tonight, so I'll have to start coming up with other topics before too long!
Anyway, I figured I'd better do another quick wrap up of last week's thoughts before they're no longer relevant.
Masked Singer Followup I have been horrible about updating, even though I promised myself I'd try to keep up. I figured I'd do a quick Masked Singer update before the new episode airs tonight... especially since I missed updating earlier with some of the changes in my guesses.
The Masked Singer Earlier this week, the local morning news show that I watch had a segment on the new show "The Masked Singer" and I was... intrigued. So, I went looking online and found the first three episodes. Started watching, but after the first singer took the stage, I stopped, because I realized this was something rackham would probably enjoy as well. And I was right!
It is such a wacky and weird premise... I mean, it's not really a competition, only it sort of is. It's more like a really entertaining puzzle, I guess?
If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it on Fox's website (it looks like they're keeping all the episodes available there, so you can start from the beginning).
Microwave popcorn Until recently, Costco's Movie Theater Butter microwave popcorn didn't actually contain any butter (or, more importantly, milk), but when I went to buy more last year, I did what I always do and checked the label... only to see that they had changed the recipe to include real butter. I don't blame them, since I suspect it will probably sell better now that it's no longer artificially flavored, but it's left me a little bit adrift when it comes to microwave popcorn.
I've got a stovetop popper that I love (we picked up one of the heavy duty stainless steel "whirly-pop" style poppers from Back To Basics 13 years ago (I know the date because it was in the car when we got in our big accident on the way home from Christmas that year (it was a present)... it had some slight damage, but held up really well). The thing is that it's bulky and not particularly easy to clean... so if I just want some quick popcorn, it's not exactly the best option.
I've tried several different brands of popcorn, trying to find another good milk-free option and have had no luck (basically, the only stuff available is the plain popcorn, which is... okay, but not really want I'm looking for). So, I decided to see what sort of microwave popcorn devices they had on Amazon... and hit the jackpot with the first one. I picked up the HotPop Silicone Microwave Popper and it is fantastic! Add a few teaspoons of coconut oil, some popcorn salt and then the kernels... set the "lid" on it, stick in the microwave and hit the "Popcorn" button and that's it. I'm loving this thing!!! I hadn't realized how much I was missing quick popcorn until I got it.
The stovetop popper definitely makes superior popcorn, but I'm just so happy to have a nice, quick microwave alternative (that I can stick in the dishwasher when I'm done!).
Musical Chairs So, I know it's been... *checks last LJ entry* Eep! Um, almost a year and a half since I last updated... but rather than do the standard "Here's everything I've been up to!" entry, I'm just going to bring you a plain old regular update. With any luck, it will be the first of many more to come.
My office chair has been failing me lately, slowly sinking down no matter how many times I pull it up to the height I like. It's a bit difficult for me to find chairs I like, because of some of the lingering issues from the car accident (so I have certain requirements in back angles and heights), plus the fact that Numfar likes to sleep draped across the back of the chair while I'm on my computer... this means that the chair needs to be cloth and not leather (or it would be covered in tiny punctures very quickly), have a back that's tall enough that she's basically above my head when she's there and also be wide enough at the top that she can can curl up there without falling off (not that there haven't been times when she's rolled over in her sleep and fallen off... which is really funny, I've got to say).
I've just been putting up with constantly sinking, because chair shopping is a HUGE pain and takes forever... and then it occurred to me to try looking up my current chair online to see if it's still for sale. Bingo! They had it on Amazon... not Prime, but free shipping and I could certainly wait a week for it to get here. It's all assembled and I'm sitting on it now (with Numfar curled up on the back, right above my head) and wow, my old chair was much more worn out than I'd realized. It's going to take a bit to get used to having a chair that's this cushy!
The really funny thing though is that despite having an office chair of her own (yes, really... it sits between our two office chairs), Zoë has always had a bit of a thing for my chair. I'll get up to go grab something, come back and she'd be curled up there as if she'd been that way for hours, and would *very* reluctantly move over to her own chair if I insisted, muttering the entire time. So, you can imagine my amusement when I happened to glance down the hall where we had the old chair sitting out of the way to see her curled up asleep there!
It occurred to me then that we could just use that chair out by the computers for her instead of the one we'd been using, since she seemed to like it so much. And oh yeah... she's been a very happy cat all evening! We'll see how long this lasts.
40 Bags in 40 Days Last week, just before it started, I stumbled across 40 Bags in 40 Days. The basic idea is to remove one bag of stuff from your life every day for 40 days... it doesn't have to be a big bag and you don't have to just toss it in the trash, but can donate it or recycle it if you can.
Since I hadn't had a chance to do any planning at all (I found this challenge the day before it started), my first day I headed to the garage and found the stash of shipping "air pillows" we had saved. We'd accrued quite a few before Christmas to use for mailing out presents... and they were very handy to have around for that, but at this point, we really don't need to be keeping them. So, I popped them all and ended up filling a plastic grocery bag with the remains. Day One down and it felt good!
Once I get started, I have to work really hard not to expand my efforts well beyond my original daily goal. I'm working on pacing (this has been my downfall in the past when it comes to decluttering).
I hadn't realized that I'd have an emotional attachment to shoes (see above re: previous lack of interest in shoes). It wasn't like I had to force myself to toss those Vibrams, but I did find myself hesitating... for no other reason than that they were my first. I suspect there are going to be other things I come across where I have the same problem.
I already knew this, but it's nice to have the reminder... I really do feel better and I'm more productive when I'm not surrounded by too much clutter. Hopefully this whole challenge will get me on the right track with it. If not, well there's always next year!
More Joy Day For those who aren't familiar with it... this is a holiday of sorts, created by the wonderful sdwolfpup about ten years ago (here's her post about it this year). The gist of it is that world could use more joy... and we should make an effort to do something, however small, to bring more joy into the lives of other people.
In the past, I've had a lot of fun with it... doing little things like leaving quarters in random gumball machines or getting a gift card for a local fast food chain, going through the drive-thru to just purchase a drink and then telling them to use the rest of the gift card for the people behind me in line, that sort of thing.
This year, I planned ahead and arranged to have flowers delivered to a few of my friends who live far away but I thought could use a bit of joy... and I'm really glad I did or More Joy Day would have been a complete bust for me this year. I haven't been sleeping well lately and I was just too wiped out to do much... so I didn't get any further from the house than the mailbox. I really did miss getting the chance to go out and do something random to hopefully bring joy to a stranger, so I may have to do something this weekend to make up for it.
Hungry Hummingbird I completely forgot to bring in the hummingbird feeders last night, which is a bit of a problem with our temperatures dropping down to 20°F overnight. So, this morning I stumbled into the kitchen, glanced out the window and saw a feeder-cicle... with one poor little hummingbird hopping from perch to perch, hoping to find an unfrozen "flower."
I went out and grabbed the feeder, brought it in, wrapped it in a dishtowel and started pouring boiling water on it to get it to thaw quickly. I happened to glance up and spotted that same hummingbird, now perched on the little hummingbird swing we have hanging nearby... staring at me. Seriously, staring right at me through the window (the hummingbirds often come stare at me through the window when the come to the feeder, but not quite like this). So, I didn't thaw it completely like I usually do when this happens, but just enough so that nectar would flow out if needed and stuck the feeder back outside... and that little hummingbird was already there and eating before I even got back in the house (while I was still only a few feet away).
I suppose if nothing else happens today, I'll know I made a difference in at least one bird's life! :-p
Happy New Year, Everyone! We did the introvert thing and stayed home this year... spending the evening playing computer games, then went down to the theater in the basement to watch the Space Needle go *FOOM* on the big screen at midnight, with accompanying chips, salsa, bean dip and guacamole... and sparkling apple cider. We'd considered getting tickets to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra downtown, but really didn't want to deal with the crowds afterward and it turned out to be a good thing, since we've had snow this evening. Just as nice to stay home in our warm house in our pajamas.
Merry Christmas!!! Hope everyone has been having a wonderful day! We're visiting my in-laws and have had a fantastic Christmas filled with lots of family and friends.
