Let it Snow
Sunday, 20 November 2016

I am sitting here in the Blue Room, my study in the first floor bedroom, smoking an Arturo Fuenté Curly Head cigar, and sipping some cool decaf iced tea as I write this.

Much has happened since my last post, and I will try to keep things in order.

First off, I will start with the bad news.

I am saddened to report that James Lewis, my landlord, passed away quietly on Monday evening, the 7th of November at Akron General Hospital in his hospital room on the cancer ward.

I attended his funeral this past Tuesday, and had the opportunity to meet some more of his friends.

Lisa, his widow, is taking this very hard, but has a good attititude and a positive outlook.

I would ask that those of you who pray, offer up some good ones for her to help cope with her loss, and of course some prayers for Jim. He was not a man of faith, but is still deserving of our prayers. Lisa is a person of faith, and would appreciate your prayers, too!

And for those of you who do not pray, if you could offer positive thoughts and whatever you do extend to those who are hurting and need comfort.

Thank you. I will keep you posted about Lisa.

Now on to the obvious.

Yes, it was a thrilling victory on Wednesday morning the 9th when Donald Trump made 270 electoral votes (290 to Hillary's 232)!

Though the totals for the popular vote vary by what source you check, even if Hillary has the majority of the popular vote, and if some of the electoral college delegates change their votes as some have promised, The Donald will still be declared the winner on 19 December after the college meets, as Hillary has conceded, and is indeed making herself quite scarce these days.

Though angry Millenials, social welfare parasites, and paid Soros professional protesters are rioting violently in the streets against Trump's win, and assaulting Trump supporters, the election outcome will not be changed, and on 20 January 2017, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

And, at least to my delight, if not yours, the new 115th CONgress will be seated with the Republicans having the majority of both houses.

Why am I happy? Because now we can weed out the remaining RINOs who were spineless along with the Democrats in opposing Obama and his anti-American agendas.

We are in charge folks, not the CONgressmen and Women. We elected them, and we can fire them too, as many learned last week.

We have much to do to get America back on track, restore jobs, improve the economy, restore respect for America around the world, and bind the wounds that have divided Americans the last decade or so.

What is amazing, is that on the announcement of Trump getting 270 electoral votes and being declared the winner, the NYSE rose to an all time high, and has remained there all week!

And within 48 hours, Russia, Egypt, Red China, and many other world leaders promised to work with him to prevent any conflict and help to improve foreign relations around the world!

In other words, fix what Obama and Hillary, as well as all of the Democrats have ruined around the world the last 9 years!

Not even sworn in as POTUS, and Trump is already making the world safer!

Well, my spirits are lifted.

Been busy around the house, doing some minor repairs and cleaning up some the debris from the prior tenants.

On that note, Danny, the brother of the twins that had last resided here, still has much of his stuff here, and he has failed in the last attempts to recover these items when he asked to schedule time to get them from the basement and second floor.

He has Lisa afraid of him now, and she has agreed that if he doesn't make good to come get his stuff with me here to supervise within a suitable time frame, that I just trash everything at my leisure.

Danny is a known convicted felon, heroin addict, and has abused the good nature of Lisa and her late husband, Jim, for many years now, taking money from them under false pretenses and stealing from them.

Kitties are all doing fine, but we still need to secure loving home(s) for the 2 boys, Milo (10) and Fluffy (6). Both are fixed and declawed, and their shots are up to date.

Little Pippy is actually putting on some weight, and looking very healthy for a 1 year old black kitty!

Again, feel free to email me at <davidwhull@gmail.com> if you or someone you know in NE Ohio might be interested in adopting one or both of the bonded males.

Thanks!

The first snow fell here last night, and the ground has a nice white carpet of snow. This hides the fact that all of the leaves from the maple on my tree lawn have thoroughly coated my front lawn and the tree lawn! City leaf collection in my neighborhood is scheduled for 6 December.

I have a lot of work yet to do!

The house is toasty, as I have the furnace set for 65º. There is a draft on the second floor, and I still need to replace a couple of window screens and the storm door with storm windows.

Thanksgiving is this week, and I would like to wish all of you a happy holiday with your loved ones!

I will end here, and say thank you again for your good wishes and prayers.

'Til next time sportsfans, peace and goodwill to all!

Committing Violence w/o Weapons
Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Yes, I committed an act of violence today.

I pulled no trigger, wielded no knife nor club, merely a ball point pen and a ballot.

 I rode the .7 miles from my home to Forest Hills CSC School across Route 8, and cast my ballot in the 2016 Election.

Akron Ward 2, Precinct D. A solidly Democratic Ward.

But surprisingly, I have seen no Hillary signs in yards, yet many signs for the local Democratic Judges and County people. There was one Hillary bumper sticker in the parking lot.

But then I have only seen 2 Trump signs in yards.

Hmm, should be interesting to see the returns tonight!

I am bushed from my hill climb ride, and I think that when I get this post published, I will take a nap and get up later to watch election returns, and see if the MSM final returns match the ones they prepared on 1 November, declaring Hillary the winner!

http://theunhivedmind.com/wordpress4/busted-here-are-the-complete-rigged-election-results-trump-loses/

But I do want to monitor the returns real time, to see exactly how much hanky panky is being committed!

My ballot was the computerized form where you completely darken the oval next to the candidate with the ball point pen on the chain supplied.

http://www.summitcountyboe.com/WebApps/getballot.aspx?elect=20161108G&prsid=0170%20%201&style=X

No punching holes or hanging chads, no confusion, just complete your ballot and insert it into the automated tally machine (no, I could not bend down to see if it was one of the Smartronics machines provided by the Clinton Foundation to register all Republican ballots as Democrat) and the volunteer gives you your


"I  VOTING" sticker.

I kinda miss the old mechanical machines with the levers, as they had a feel of the solid "I DID SOMETHING PRETTY IMPORTANT" to them! And they were harder to rig to miscount votes.

Now with computers, any skilled hacker can plant viruses and undetectable software to change voting results on electronic ballot counters.

But I must say, that after listening to all of the rhetoric, and talking with Chris Long, President of the Cleveland/Akron Chapter of the Ohio Christian Coalition at local MCFaN Meetings, reading all of the Podesta emails Hillary deleted, and watching the Project Veritas Action videos about Democratic voter fraud, that I am anxious to see the actual extent of fraud this election!

Hopefully with so many more people being aware to watch out for irregularities, and the fact that not all MSM outlets are pooh, poohing, the idea of fraud anymore as anything but a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy against Hillary, I'd like to believe that more fraud will be detected and exposed, and that the perpetrators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law!

Too many people gave up too much so that we could enjoy free elections, and it is a true sign of disrespect and loathing when we let people manipulate elections illegally and take away our ability to decide who works for us in government!

Well, I hope everyone reading this has cast their ballot, as an election cycle such as this with the only choices being "Who sucks less than the others" (to quote Walter, one of Jeff Dunham's ventriloquist dummies) is to go vote, because if you don't vote, then the person you really didn't want, will win!

I really can't remember when the choices for the WH or Senate and House seats actually had candidates that were a really good choice!

I am pleased that here in Ohio, since both Metzenbaum and Glenn retired (Liberal Democrats, both), we have managed to keep a sensible Republican who listens to the constituents, in office to balance the uber Liberal in the other seat, for many years now.

Senator Rob Portman had me worried, by not endorsing Trump, but he redeemed himself by not offering support to Hillary to defeat Trump, like some other RINOs are doing.

But we still have an uphill battle, as even though we fired a lot of Democrats in 2014 and replaced them with Republicans, CONgress has been pretty ineffectual, and Obama and Hillary have been very pushy in their dealings with the DoJ and all of the ongoing investigations and Democrat Scandals!

Hopefully, if we keep the Republican controlled CONgress and get Trump in the WH, then the new AG and the intelligence services can get back to what they are supposed to do, and that is prosecute criminal acts, and protect the American Citizenry from foreign influence and attack!

You all do know that the same Saudis and Qataris that finance ISIS/ISIL, also donate heavily to the Clinton Foundation, and basically bought Hillary and Obama to manipulate and start the Arab Spring Uprising in December of 2010 to initiate Regime Change in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria?

And that Ambassador Stevens who was killed by rioters on 11 September 2012, was exposing the Obama Administration and Hillary as Sec'y of State for illegally running guns and stinger missiles to the rebels in Syria from the US Legation in Benghazi, Libya?

Seriously, both Obama and Hillary belong at Fort Leavenworth for Treason and multiple felonies! And that includes multiple murders!

Enough ranting. Kitties are doing well, Fluffy the 6 year old orange male tabby, is my best buddy and doesn't leave my side. Milo still keeps to himself, but lets me pick him up and pet him, and he purrs like a Mack truck. But both boys that I am fostering, are displaying signs of depression, as they miss their mommy.

The girls play tag and spend a lot of lot of face time with me, usually at the computer, and I see that Pippy is putting on a bit of weight, and is looking very fit!

I did finally manage to get her collar on her, and she resisted for about 2 minutes, but now parades around with her tag like it is kitty bling!

And please remember, the boys are in need of a new home, as I have my hands full with the 2 girls!

Fluffy (6) and Milo (10), are both fixed and declawed. Both have their boosters, but Kay does not have their Vet records.

They are a bonded pair, having grown up together. If you, or someone you know, might be interested in both or even just one, please let me know at <davidwhull@gmail.com>!
They need a loving home and lots of attention. Both are well behaved and very cuddly!

On a side note, Jim, my landlord, is having health issues and is in the cancer ward at Akron General. His prognosis is not good.

So I would ask please, for prayers for Jim and his wife Lisa in their trying situation!

Thank you!

And in conclusion, I would also ask all to pray for a positive outcome from this election cycle, and for the health and safety of all Americans and our American Way!

Until next time, sportsfans!

Health and happiness to all!

2 Weeks and Counting!

Monday, 24 October 2016

Indeed!

Yes, there are only 2 weeks left in this important election cycle, I hope you are all registered to vote, and have been doing your due diligence and researching the candidates and the issues, rather than falling for the media hype!



The outcome of Tuesday, 8 November affects us all, even if you have chosen not to participate.

I don't usually use this blog to spout political ideology, but everyone reading this already knows where my sentiments lie and my Conservative and pro Constitution values.

So, rather than lecture about how not voting for Trump is a vote to keep the Hillary and Democratic Party Crime Spree going, and will cost us what is left of our Liberties and will destroy our nation in totum!

And not just the national election is at stake! If we don't get the career deadbeats and ineffectual RINOs out of CONgress, even a Trump WH will not be able to prosecute Hillary and Billary for their Treason and other crimes, and Obama for High Treason! Nor will he be able to push any of his first 100 days agendas!

An Executive Order is not law. Even though Obama and all of the Democrats want people to believe it is.

We also need to ride herd on our local politicians! I am disappointed that after all of my years in Ohio Congressional District 11, and listening to Stephanie Tubbs Jones brag about her battle to protect me from conservative, white male, gun owning, NRA members, and people who refuse to worship Obama, as does her replacement Marcia L. Fudge, who has run unopposed for her seat since she was appointed to replace Stubbs after her death in a traffic accident in 2008; that finally now that there is actually someone running against her, Beverly Goldstein a Conservative Republican, I am no longer in district 11!

And I have had the pleasure to meet Bev on several different occasions at the bi-weekly MCFaN meetings! She has an “A” rating from the NRA in her support of the 2^nd Amendment, while Fudge has an “F-”! (And you know you uber fail when you get a minus on the non passing grade!)



My point here, is that you need to get involved with your Senator, your Congressional representative, your state senator, state house rep, and city and county officials!

Be heard! Show up to Town Hall meetings and city council sessions! Listen, ask questions! Are these people actually working for you? Or do they expect you to be working for them?



The US Constitution exists to protect the American Citizens from corrupt governments, not the other way around!



Now imagine my current conundrum with Senator Rob Portman, whose office I have communicated with several times in the last few years, who is locked in a difficult struggle to defeat the former Liberal Democrat Ohio Governor, Ted Strickland, for the second Senate seat in Ohio! We already have uber Libera Sharrod Brown as the other Senator!

But the problem now, is that even though I was prepared to vote for Portman to keep Strickland out of office (he damn near destroyed Ohio during his tenure as Governor), I come to find out that Portman does not support Donald Trump, the Republican Nominee for President! And he actually endorsed Hillary Clinton!



I have met and debated the Independent candidate for Senate, Tom Conners, a former Republican Party County Chairman, who hasn't a snowball's chance in hell to beat Strickland and the Dems Warchest, and like him! (A bit slow to accept new things, like supporting an Article V Constitutional Convention, but still well informed and a Conservative Christian!)

But you see the problem. Right? Is my vote for Portman gonna help Hillary steal the WH with her voter fraud and avoid prosecution? Or is not voting for Portman gonna get Strickland in the Senate, and guarantee Hillary's immunity in her THEFT OF THE OVAL OFFICE?



My eyes are tired from reading so many recovered state department and Hillary Staff emails leaked by Wikileaks that Hillary allegedly destroyed when they were subpoenaed, and from ranting and typing long diatribes demanding for clarity and voter awareness of all of the irregularities that the DNC and the hillary Campaign have bragged about committing in private, but refuse to knowledge in public! Not to mention all of the online research and the meetings I have attended to listen to informed speakers who are onto the crimes of both our federal government and the DNC!



But I needed to get this off my chest!



Folks, you have heard how important both sides say the outcome of this is! Well from a non partisan standpoint, it is crucial! Will the Federal abuses of the Constitution continue? Will Socialist Billionaires like George Soros be able to keep manipulating the WH and CONgress? Will Hillary keep up her 30+ year crime spree? Will Obama and his Administration escape prosecution for their crimes?

And how will Trump handle the office if he wins, but the Dems retake the House and the Senate, and Nancy Pelosi becomes Speaker again?

Either way, there are dire consequences. Something most Liberals refuse to believe in. They want people to vote and act as though there are no consequences to their actions!

Well, this time there will be hell to pay, and we get the bill!

Taxes will be increased, the deficit will skyrocket!t That seems impossible given it's astronomic rate now! You can view federal spending real time at this site:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/



Individual Liberties will disappear, and more laws will be passed to restrict our freedoms, most of them being illegal too! And then the bench will be staked in the Supreme Court, and all of these illegal laws upheld by a Liberal court!

The FEMA Detention Camps were built for a reason! Obama pushed the NDAA Act of 2012 for our safety, by making it legal for the Feds to detain us indefinitely without being charged! A direct violation of our 4^th Amendment rights!

And the training of Federal Military Personnel for domestic urban Law Enforcement, a flagrant violation of Posse Comitatus (18 U.S. Code § 1385, passed in 1878 to prevent the abuses by the northern Carpetbaggers, who were raping and pillaging the Reconstruction South), that prohibits US Troops from Law Enforcement duties on US Soil, except when Federal Martial Law is declared.

The various possible scenarios are all very scary, and affect all of us!



So register if you aren't (too late to register in Ohio, BTW.) already, and be sure to vote at least for president if not also for all of your local races! Stand up and be counted! (I pray that the fraud is uncovered and / or prevented, making it possible to have a legal and fair election this time!)



Well, on to some quick updates.

As you read from the last post (sorry for the delay, again, I'm so caught up in current events and the election, that I have been wearing myself out every day!), I have adopted a new kitty, Nala. She is a 3 year old female long hair with orange fur ad white paws. She and Pippy are getting along and play, but she is still intact and went into heat last week for several days!

I am also temporarily housing her 2 male room mates, Fluffy (a friendly, 6 year old orange male tabby), and Milo (a very corpulent 10 year old white and brown male). Though both boys are fixed, Fluffy managed to spray a box of my mail and catalogs with his stile vile Tom scent, in response to Nala's Loud Love Songs! LOL!

Anyway, bit boys are sweet, and get along well with the girls (Fluffy is my best buddy right now), but I have discovered that in my reduced physical capacity and limited income, that 2 cats are the max I can keep up with!

If anyone would like to adopt the 2 bonded males, email me at <davidwhull@gmail.com>, they are free to a loving home, and will do best if kept together since they grew up together!



They are well behaved and very friendly! (Though Milo is a bit depressed from moving several times recently. He misses his hoomin mommy!)

Work on the house is progressing, I hope to post more pics after the election hype dies. I even got the lawn cut last week with a pathetic little 4.5 HP MTD mower that my landlord sold me. The first mower I have ever owned! But then I have cut a lot of yards as a landscaper using Lawn Boys and huge deck mowers!



I will eventually become the quintessential urban suburbanite!



That's all for this installment folks! Be well and I will leave you with a Latin quote that was on a plaque in my late daddy's study:

Translated, it means, “Don't let the bastards Get You Down!”



Take care!
Dave

♪It's a Beautiful Day

in the Neighborhood♫!

Monday, 3 October 2016

Yes indeed! It was a beautiful day today!

Temps were in the 70's, and though there were dark clouds about, it was still partly sunny and pleasant!



I went to bed late this morning, having been busy online after my pension refreshed for the month at 0114 hours, ordering some batteries from Sears.com, and getting some items from ebay that I have needed.



I was awakened at 1300, by Joe calling and saying he was free from work already, and would I like to go shopping! I did, and I showered and got ready, and he picked me up shortly afterwards, and we had a nice lunch at Applebee's in Brimfield, before hitting Super Walmart.



We had also stopped at Lowe's where I got some hardware, and we discussed some pending projects and the best way to attack them.

All I can say, is I really appreciate not only my own engineering background and love of building things, but also my association with folks like Joe and Kerry who are also building professionals, and very logical thinkers!



I will showcase these activities as they unfold, and at least show finished pics if I can't document the process as well! For instance, I rehung the 2 meter antenna cable where it comes in the back room, and strung it up along the wall near the ceiling to keep it out of the way and still reach the Blue Room where I am erecting my HAM Shack!



And the icing on today's cake, was that Kerry stopped by while Joe and I were returning from Brimfield, and left me a box of incandescent light bulbs, and some tools to help me in my work repairing things around this wonderful 1919 home!

And I call it “home” now, because I now have 2 kitties! On Saturday, I adopted, Nala, a 3 year old orange domestic long hair!

She and Pippy are still at odds, and Nala has taken up residence in the basement for now. I will provide pics as they become available!



Nala was part of a home in Cuyahoga Falls, that had to be broken up when her humans moved here to North Hill. She had 2 boy cats and 2 schnauzers as roommates.

I found out through my friend Sheryl, who belongs to a page that the girl who owned all the animals belongs to.

So we chatted on FB Friday night, and she brought Nala over on Saturday night. Nala is pretty, very small, and was very affectionate. But later that night, I was awakened by hissing and found the 2 at odds in the back room. I separated them and went back to bed. At 3 am it sounded like someone was being murdered downstairs!

I found Nala cowering in the corner, and Pippy just watching her from across the room. Well, I sent them to neutral corners, and Pippy later came up to join me.

But in the morning on Sunday, Nala was MIA!



Sheryl and her daughter Maggie came by after a Sunday hike to meet the new kitty, but even with their help, we could not find Nala's hiding spot.



But, as I said, she is eating the food and drinking the water I put on the steps for her, and using the box there. I'll just give her her sweet time.



Also, I got a desperate message from Kay, her human, that stated that the boy kitties needed temporary housing, and asked if my offer to foster them for a short time was still valid.

I said yes, and she will bring the 2 boys over probably on Friday, and will let me know when she finds a new arrangement for them.

My plan is to board them (she will provide the food and litter) in my front room and erect a barrier there to keep them isolated from Pippy and the rest of the house.

Hopefully, Nala will come out of her shell before then, and having her 2 bonded roommates might help calm her down. I hope!



But all of this remains to be seen!

This is why Kerry's timely delivery of much needed tools is so much appreciated! There is lumber and rolls of chicken wire in the garage, so I just need to build a satisfactory barrier that will keep the boys one one side, and the girls on the other. But I can still see all of them having free run of the first and second floors!



So, the first attempt at a ¾ French Door will be in #2 pine with some furring strips and chicken wire.

But I hope to upgrade with either some poplar or red oak (the interior trim and door frames are all red oak), and some plastic coated carpenter's cloth!



Wish I still had my table saw, wood lathe, drill press, and all of my ancient hand tools!

I could knock out a production line of fine interior joinery work! But in the meantime, I have some handsaws, a couple of drills, some hammers, and 50+ years of woodworking skills at my command!

Let the project commence!

Well, I want to keep this short so that I can share it (Pippy has been next to me during the creation of tonight's Blog, and has been trying to add her own commentary via the keyboard). She is sleeping now on the other chair, so I will end it here so I can publish it and get it uploaded quickly. (I hope!)



Take care and see you all next time around!

Pippy Invades

Pippy Invades

Thursday, 22 September 2016

Well, I suppose that this post should have preceded the last one, as Pippy arrived here on 9 September, and I realize now that I only posted her arrival on FB, and did not blog about her.

So, to explain for those who aren't FB adherents who spend all of their waking moments on that Social Media Site, Pippy is the one year old adult female kitty I adopted from the One of a Kind Pet Rescue @ 1929 W Market St, Akron, OH 44313, earlier this month.

I had hoped to adopt a bonded pair of kitties, but the Kittens were expensive, and some of the adult pairs were already adopted. So I decided on 2 kitties from the same room that I visited with my friend Sheryl and her teenaged daughter, Maggie, a week prior.

There was a shy little black kitty who ventured out to let me pet her, while most of the others in the room just slept or ignored me. She was very friendly, but also somewhat skittish.

There was also a tiger striped Siamese Male there named Smudge, who stayed under cover, but watched me closely while I played with Pippy.

When I returned on the following Friday with my friend Sheryl, I was disappointed to find that Smudge had already been adopted. But Pippy was still there. So I filled out the paperwork, and paid the adoption fee. I had brought a carrier with us that was in the basement of the house, and lined it with pillow cases, and she rode to her new home in that.

I bought a bag of the food that she and her roommates (well, cellmates) ate, and we stopped at the Family Dollar near my home for some food bowls, kitty litter, ping pong balls, and a couple of Super Balls out of the vending machine.

I turned her loose in the front room, and she took refuge in the front closet. We left her be. And Sheryl headed home to take care of her own menagerie at her house.

I set up a box of kitty litter, and her bowls on a tray next to the carrier, but Pippy opted for the closet. She did come out to play with the balls and a catnip mouse, and explore. So I just sat and watched her for awhile while talking to her so that she would get used to my voice.

I eventually moved the food and water bowls to the floor in the dining area, and put her box next to the recyclables and broom at the kitchen cabinets.

It has been two weeks now since she arrived, and she has progressed from spying on me and hiding, but coming out to play in the open, to letting me pet her (but not pick her up) and playing, to her finally joining me in bed at night and letting me pet her while she purrs.

She does have the very annoying habit of attacking my toes under the covers, and sometimes awakening me with her attacks! Those teeth and claws are sharp!

Now she follows me around the house and sits with me sometimes, but still won't let me pick her up. So I will have to wait to trim her claws!

Sheryl has sent me a coupon for Vet Services at Pet Smart, as Pippy is due for a booster shot at the end of the month, but I think I might take her to the North Hills Vet Clinic on East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue. That is if I can get her to ride on the trike with me! LOL! I don't know which will be less traumatic, a long bus ride, or a trike ride!

But she has very much made herself at home. She chases the bugs that penetrate my mostly secure perimeter, and chases her balls all over until they roll under the couch or get trapped in a corner she can't reach.

She spends a lot of time watching the world go by while sitting one of many windows, or sleeping in that light predator mode, with her aerial radar ears twitching in passive mode while monitoring her environs.

I don't know how soon I should try to introduce a house/play mate for her, but I think I will wait until I have constructed a more permanent litter box set up with ventilation, and build some elevated kitty runways and furniture, so that she can establish her realm to rule over!

Pippy in Room #108 of the shelter.

When the camera is in flash mode, she manages to always look away when the shutter clicks. So I am sorry I don't have any better pics of her yet, but I will keep trying.

For the record, she is a Domestic Short Hair feline female, all black coat (no white tufts as many black cats have), she was rescued in an abandoned home when she was pregnant with a litter of kittens. They let her deliver and nurse her kittens until they could be adopted, then had her “fixed” and got her all of her shots and put her up for adoption a few weeks back.

She has green eyes and is very compact and solidly built. Very soft fur, and a short tail. And such a loud motor! She purrs like an out of tune diesel!

But we have become well acquainted, and are getting along fine now.
Maybe sometime soon, she will actually let me pick her up!

So until next time, keep on purring!

Google Earth Lies!

Google Earth Lies!

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

Well, out of necessity, I made a trek up to the Post Office today on the trike. The first of many bad decisions today. As if the heat and humidity weren't bad enough, the pressing need to get a change of address form because the Post Office no longer is permitted to put them out in the lobby, and the fact that their website refuses to accept my debit card for the $1 transaction to change my address online, and the added impetus of a parcel awaiting my signature at the north Hills branch, prompted my trip.


My additional mistake was following the recommended Google Earth route for bicycle that was listed as “mostly flat”.



GOOGLE EARTH LIES!


The so called “mostly flat” route from E. Glenwood to Patterson, and then E. Cuyahoga Falls Avenue, is far from “flat”! That is like describing Dolly Parton as a AA Cup! I mean 50-100' inclines in less than 500' is by definition, a steep hill! And if they extended more than 1/8th of a mile, would have to be signed as a “Steep Incline, Trucks Use Lower Gears”!


So I finally made the post office after stopping 6 or 8 times to rest and hydrate, even resorting to walking my 80# trike up some of the “hills”! And then when I did hit mostly level ground, I had to deal with the narrow and uneven sidewalks!


But by faith and determination, I arrived intact, signed for my parcel (some lightweight running shorts from India, leading me to wonder why I had to sign for this “Foreign Parcel”, but yet every other package I have received from another country sent USPS did not require a signature?? So don't get me started on the USPS again!), and obtained the elusive “change of address packet”. Another slug of water, then a return trip. This time after stopping 6 times before I was even halfway, and eliciting concern from motorists that I might be in distress. (My fair complexion has always labeled me as a “heat susceptible person”, and as a cadet in South Carolina some 40 years ago, I had to be watched closely by the training cadre to be sure I remained well hydrated in the SC heat and humidity! I turn very red and look scary when I overheat!)






At East Tallmadge Avenue, I turned west and headed against the after school pedestrian traffic to avoid any further extreme inclines. Having to share the narrow sidewalk with large groups of middle schoolers on a busy street is a challenge. I did elicit some strange stares and some even stranger commentary! (Dadburn kids ain't got no respect for their elders!)






I then made the turn south on Dayton, and with less traffic, was able to take to the street and leave the uneven sidewalk for a few blocks. I did wind up having to stop another 5 times to rest and hydrate, and even found that I did not have the energy to make the last few hundred yards home by pedaling, and walked the trike the rest of the way, including that last steep incline that is the front ¼ of my concrete driveway. I felt like puking all the way back from the post office (and bypassed a planned stop at Family Dollar), and almost collapsed on my back stoop.






It took a major effort to get back up and open the garage to put the trike away. I then let myself in the side door, and collapsed on the front room recliner after turning on the A/C. I was awakened some time later by the annoying electronic sound of “Turkey in the Straw” by the ice cream truck as it parked opposite my residence.






I was tempted, but managed to keep from indulging in a sweet treat that my overweight carcass really doesn't need. I made a fresh pitcher of sweet tea, and retired to the Blue Room to start this segment of the blog since I have not been very timely with it.






I fed the cat, refreshed her water, and have been sitting here ever since. So I will no longer trust Google Earth, and I will stick to my known routes with fewer “undulations”!


Speaking of Pippy, she has become much braver, and sleeps in my bedroom with me, though it wasn't until last night that she actually got up on the bed with me. (She bathed while she laid on top of the covers between my legs while I watched an Anime episode.)






I can't wait to start on building some cat furniture for her, a large condo, some elevated runways, and some perches in the various windows, since she so enjoys watching the world go by!






I did find some interesting designs, and hope to exceed what I designed and built for my other kitties in my Bedford apartment many years ago.

And of course, I need to consider finding a suitable playmate for her, so that she won't have to rely exclusively on me for tossing her ping pong balls and super balls about!





I did find an automatic ping pong ball launcher, but $350 is a bit steep for a fixed income pensioner! So I have been browsing engineering school competitions for ideas. (Apparently ping pong balls rate very highly in college life nowadays… ) LOL!






Here is my little black kitty, doing her spying routine from the second floor landing:

Kinda creepy, but also very cute!






While I certainly hope it was her, someone joined me in bed the other night, but didn't stay long. However, I woke up to find my right leg all torn up! (My right side and the left side of my face are still numb, as I have no distinction of hot/cold, nor dull/sharp!)

No real damage, other than surface scratches, and of course no sensation. But they are healing well. So one of my missions once she trusts me enough to actually pick her up, is to trim her claws! (Again, I sure hope that was her handiwork, and not someone else!)



She does play hard, and uses her claws a lot. But I don't think she means any real harm. I do need to make some scratching posts for her. Right now she is using the ratty old floor rugs and carpeting that need replacement. But she is leaving the curtains and my clothes alone. So far.

But I still love her anyway!


In other news, Joe came by last Friday and he and his nephew, Mike, delivered my Liberty Gun Safe, and I hooked it up in the Blue Room. So now the weapons I have on hand are secure, and once I have the rest of my weapons back, I can secure them too.






I can't express how grateful I am to my friend Joe, as he has really gone the distance (literally!) to help me out. He stored all my stuff in his basement to save me the $100/month I was paying for a storage unit, fronted the money to order my custom 3 wheel pedal tricycle, and helped me move on very short notice!






But then I also have to be thankful for all of my other friends who have reached out and done things for me that I know I can never repay. I hope that they can realize how appreciative I really am! I am truly blessed in the friend department!






I have so much to be thankful for.






In other news, my group, the OVC, has an invite for October to an interstate CPX here in Ohio, but due to other commitments, I had to decline the invite for us. Much as I would enjoy getting back out in the field with the many other units from several neighboring states, we really need to complete our reorganization and get a core team together to attend such events in the future.






I do have my gear ready, and am really rarin' to go, but without a vehicle, I have to ride with others, and the person who sent the invite, is based in Dayton, a bit far for him to come get me in Akron, for an exercise that will take place in southern Ohio.






Oh well. There will be other events, and other opportunities.


I know everyone is getting tense about the election in just over a month, and I too hope that there will be no sudden or extreme shifts in the .gov too soon. (That is the purpose of this Command Post Exercise, to coordinate activities should the election results cause civil disturbances or other problems.)






In response, rather than discuss the candidates, platforms, issues, and other concerns, I will merely share this meme and a Dylan Thomas Poem:

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is RIGHT,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Dylan Thomas

"Don't mess with us Old Farts, we have nothing left to lose!"

Dave Hull

Until next time folks, peace!

Home, Sweet, Home

Saturday, 3 September 2016

Well, I had a most interesting evening Friday night. After spending the day with my friend Matt yesterday, before picking up our friend Sheryl (whom I shared a house with in Canton) for dinner last night, Matt came back Friday evening before he left on his solo road trip west to a new job and a new future.

He and I headed out for a late dinner, making tracks for the local Denny's. We arrived by 2330, and were seated immediately, though no one took drink orders or even paid us any attention for 20 minutes or so!
We finally got one of the servers to take our drink and meal orders, and then sat again for almost another 20 minutes with lots of activity around us, but being totally ignored by the staff.

Several parties (large and small) that arrived after us were served drinks and food, and so at 0010, we stood and left, heading across the parking lot to the 24 hour Eat'n Park, where Nicole gave us the royal treatment and flooded our bladders with constant drink refills and excellent service!



Now I have been patronizing Denny's across the country since I was a kid out west in the early 1960's, and even spent many productive hours after my stroke, working on a couple of my books at the Independence Denny's, sometimes for 12-24 hours at a time.

I always had great service, and even when they were busy on a weekend night, the staff always reserved booth #1 for me (right next to the men's room, and in direct view of both the front door and the kitchen door).

But this was the second time I ever had poor/no service at a Denny's. And the last time was at this same location for breakfast last week. 1681 Howe Avenue, Akron.

I have written a negative review on Google Maps where I read other reviews after our visit tonight, and found many other negative comments about this store.

I also checked out Denny's website, and left a complaint on their complaint template.

Somehow, this whole Denny's thing has triggered a flashback to how I was treated by the staff at the Cuyahoga County Social Services Center at Southgate while applying for food stamps and to get my Medicaid card. I was both ignored, and forced to leave several times when I failed to accept the fact that they refused to serve me as a white male with a work history, no criminal record, or alcohol or substance abuse.

And now that I think about, I also received the same treatment at 3 McDonald's locations, Broadway at about E65^th, the E82nd & Euclid, and the E30^th & Carnegie stores, all in Cleveland. Now I am not bringing race into this at all, but whenever my orders were screwed up at any of these locations, I was basically told to “take a hike” as they weren't gonna do anything for me. I haven't returned to any one of those locations in years, even though they were the most convenient for projects I was working nearby. (The CSU Dorms, New Cleveland Convention Center, NCB Bank Building HQ Renovations, and other high profile, high $$$ projects in town!)



Enough bitching for now, as my friend Joe is now headed over with a load of my stuff he has had stored in his basement, and Sheryl's sister might be available this afternoon to deliver the couch with her truck.

Boy I sure miss having my own pickup truck and not having to rely on someone else to move stuff around! But I don't miss the crazy Ohio drivers and the gas and other expenses related to vehicle ownership.

I have been scoping out bicycle trailer designs, and have encountered some industrial cargo trailers that can be used to move furniture with just pedal power, but I don't think that I am quite ready for a physical challenge like that yet! (Besides, I could buy a used Chevy Pickup for what one of those trailers costs!)

Good news continues, as I did set up the mattress last night and moved the bed after installing the mattress cover and making the bed with the new sheets and a blanket, and I slept very well from about 0900-1400 today, only interrupted by steady text messages from Matt, who was giving a travelogue (Yay, he just announced he has crossed the Mighty Mississippi!), and Sheryl, who is trying to coordinate with her sister to deliver the couch!



My back is not hurting, my neck isn't stiff, and I actually have some energy! I am liking this! I moved the bed so that the head is against the back wall of the bedroom, and I pushed one of the bureaus against the foot of the bed to act as a media console to hold my little 24” flat screen at a good angle and height for viewing TV in bed.



I have the game console next to it, and am using that to access the Internet for my Amazon Prime and Funimation accounts. Not a bad experience! (I fell asleep watching “Desert Punk”, a Japanese anime series in 24 episodes released in 2004 on my Funimation. I was out like a light before one episode was even complete!)

'Tis a shame that I am not in a relationship, so that I would have someone to share this with! (I hope to set up another TV in the Blue Room for Movie Nights with friends, and save the bedroom just for sleeping.)

Actually, I will probably set up the sewing machine from the basement in the bedroom, once I get it cleaned up and running. There is plenty of room for a work table and maybe that sewing machine table that is also still in the basement! (Now I just need to learn how to sew with a machine!)

And I titled this Home, Sweet, Home, because I finally do feel at home, as I had a nice lunch, have all of the doors and windows open, and am watching the countdown on a vintage Penn casting rod on ebay!


If I didn't have people headed over with stuff to unload here, I would be taking the trike out for a spin to enjoy this fine Fall Ohio weather today!

So until the next installment: Keep the faith; find humor in your everyday life; and be nice to all you meet!

New Digs, Odd Rigs

Friday, 26 August 2016

Well, 9 days now in the new house, and still waiting on the handyman/squatter to remove his stuff from the master bedroom, 2^nd floor bathroom, kitchen, and basement. He has thankfully, turned in his key to Jim. (Hopefully, he made no copies... )

The queen sized mattress on the upstairs bed is pretty well trashed, very dirty and who knows what resides inside it. Danny, the part time handyman that Jim, my landlord has used to do work on the place (and brother of the last non rent paying tenant), has told Jim that he would be by today or Saturday to pickup his stuff. He also told him he wants to take the mattress with him. He is welcome to it. Saves me from having to haul it to the curb.

So now I need to find a queen size mattress to sleep on (been sleeping in my high backed upholstered desk chair in my study/den that we have dubbed the “Blue Room”, and my back is killing me!)
If Danny doesn't show by Saturday night (with advance warning) I will pack up what I believe to be his stuff including the mattress, and will put it in the garage.

If I can find room for it, that is! I put my trike away in the garage tonight after returning from CVS and the Post Office, and there was barely enough floor space to park the Worksman 3 wheeler and still shut the door on the one car garage!

Spent the last couple of days doing many loads of dishes in the dishwasher and putting them away in cupboards (hmm, they will all need some new contact paper); doing endless loads of laundry in the washer and dryer, but only folding the clothes and leaving them in laundry baskets, as I need to move the bureau that John gave me upstairs after I clean out the master bedroom and then empty & clean the chest of drawers located there.

Thank goodness that Joe was nice enough to wash, fold, and store all of my clothes in plastic tubs that were in his basement that I had in my Puerto Rican matched luggage! (Yes, I know, that it's not a Politically Correct term, but I also know that most if not all of my readers are hip to what it means and are not offended! And since when did anyone think I was ever PC to begin with?)

I am typing this on the nice Computer Desk that John gave me, and I have been busy the last few days, as my Internet only just got connected on Tuesday! (TWC was supposed to turn it on and plug me in last Friday, but the subcontractor that took the work order, never even climbed the pole. At least that I what the subcontractor tech said on Tuesday who made the service call to see why I was not Online yet.)

I now have a 1 GBPS connection, though I still get service interruptions. But it is a far sight better connection than the weak Windstream service I had at the long term motel in Bath Township!



Now I can watch movies, anime, and YouTube videos without them constantly having to rebuffer! Unfortunately, I failed to remove the brand new Wireless Antenna USB plug that I got for my desktop PC, and it was damaged in transit. So I have no wireless capability with the Hewlett Packard at this time. I am using the RJ45 cable that TWC provided with the Modem/Router unit I am renting from them.
I have tried unsuccessfully to log onto my wi/fi with both my 24” Smart TV and Sony Playstation 3 Game Console. There are 4 RJ45 jacks on the modem, so I will just hardwire those 2 units for now, until I can find a teenager to be my IT/IS geek! (I have an opening Maggie!)

Meanwhile, I am watching DVDs on my little LG DVD player, and movies on YouTube on the computer.

This house is filled with retro and old school electronics, and I am checking out 2 1970-80's Integrated Stereo Receivers that were in the basement. But I will need to clean them up first.

Even if the tuners aren't working, I hope to employ one in the front room for an audio system with a digital HD tuner (if I can find a good one for home component use) and a CD player with some good speakers. Again, there are a variety of loud speakers/sound monitors in the basement, but so far, no matched pairs. This sounds like a good project, building some nice cabinet speakers from older high end audio parts!

The other amp will either go with the flat screen TV in the Blue Room for TV/Radio listening, or in the master bedroom for same. I have a tiny 40W (X2) stereo power/pre amp that I have a pair of 4 ohm marine speakers for, and that will be built into a headboard for a bed, or possibly for a couch or Futon in the Blue Room for movie nights.
My friend Sheryl whom I shared a house with in Canton, is selling me the couch that was in my room there, and the brown recliner from the living room. She is also throwing in a couple of CRT TVs that she doesn't want anymore.

I have many months of work ahead of me here, cleaning and sorting, painting, and fixing. As well as outfitting 2 bedrooms, the front room, and the back room, with furniture and new curtains.

My current long term plan is to sleep in the master bedroom after obtaining a new queen sized mattress and sheet sets, building a nice headboard and shelves/bookcases, and putting my clothes in the closets and bureaus; keeping my stuff in the 2^nd floor bathroom and using the 1^st floor bathroom for company (it does have a very nice stall shower, but is very cramped); turn the smaller upstairs bedroom (after replacing the torn carpet and damaged ceiling tiles) into a guest room/sewing room, with a bed, bureau, TV, nightstand, et al, and a small work table for the Brother sewing machine that is in the basement.

There is also a sewing table, probably a Singer, sans machine, too. But the small bedroom has four dormer windows with lots of daylight, making it a fine hobby/sewing room.

The assorted closets and cubby holes of this 1919 two story wood frame house will be cleaned out of the empty boxes and obsolescent electronics as time permits, with the one of them being large enough off of the small bedroom, to be used for another bedroom! (And there are closets off of that one, too!)

The Blue Room on the first floor will be my Man Cave, housing my computer, gun safe, and HAM Radio Gear. (Did I mention that Jim, my landlord, is also a HAM and that he installed a 35' Antenna Mast in the side yard with a plethora of HAM antennas in every band?) I also hope to fit a couch in there, to make it a cozy place to watch movies.

The dining room table needs some work as it wobbles. But it has an iron frame and a nice wood 4' round tabletop. Joe has equipped me with some wood chairs for it, but I will make it a quest to find/build matching chairs for 6. The overhead lamp needs new bulbs, and I can foresee building/finding a nice hutch to finish the dining room. It also has the only curtains in the house that I will not replace!

The front room will need a lot of attention. There is a big screen projection TV there with a cracked screen, and as I really don't want to use the front room for TV watching, I think I will dispose of it rather than try to fix it. (There you go, free to a good home! Just come and haul it away!)

There are some built in shelves, but I see books, and not DVDs or games there. And maybe a media center with CDs. But those curtains and the rods need to be replaced, probably even before I put furniture in there. Right now I have a nice recliner that Joe gave me, and the revolving fan, a coffee table that was here, and an end table that John brought over.

The back room is going to become my “Mud Room”, with a boot bench, coat rack, and lots of wall shelves. This was Jim's “Radio Shack”, and all of the antenna leads terminate here from the through the wall plate. I will need his and John's help to route the 2 meter cable to the Blue Room for my rig. I now have real incentive to study for and pass the General Class FCC Amateur License Exam! Then I can rig up 6 & 10 meter Base Radios!

I am currently using the side door to come and go, as that is the only key I have until Jim changes all of the locks (we will key them alike this time around). Then I will use the back door instead of the side door. This will save stepping into the narrow driveway and dealing with the uneven concrete steps and unusual concrete driveway construction that poses some tripping hazards.

Speaking of which. There are some soil issues in the area, with sidewalk slabs heaving and tree roots moving slabs and cracking driveways. This includes a concrete slab in front of my garage. It is a full 3” above the neighboring slabs, making it a tire hazard for both cars and my trike! “Can you say, 'Grout Stabilization?' Good! I knew you could.”

But that is expensive, and my landlord has enough on his plate with cancer and other health issues. So I foresee some serious digging by hand, and some sand leveling after removing the dead root section from the Silver Maple that was recently taken down.

Otherwise, I think the drive is safe for vehicles. But it is a challenge for folks like me with balance issues! LOL!

And speaking of that downed tree, it is in pieces resting against the back porch, and needs to be split and stacked in the back of the yard to season as firewood! (Putting out a call for any idle teens looking for some $$! And if you are a computer geek, so much the better!) 

The awning over the back porch was damaged either by the tree before it was felled, or during the felling process, and needs to be repaired. It is aluminum, and the columns are sound, so it looks like some re-engineering is in order before the snow starts falling!

I won't go into the basement issues in this installment, as that is a 5 year project with lots of potential. Suffice it to say, there are 3 workbenches already in place, in 3 different areas, a 12”x36” engine lathe, and lots of steel shelving units. There are 2 stationary tubs, and a shower stall. Use your imagination…

I will save the garage for spring, so long as I have room to store the trike inside.

But the back yard is begging for a picnic table and some Adirondack chairs! And a firepit/grill. I'd love to design and build a brick BBQ, and am not beyond considering a deck and maybe a tiny pool for soaking in! (I know, $$$ and lots of time! But time I do have! And money apparently grows on trees according to the current Administration! LOL!)

Well, I am whooped after a trike ride to the CVS and the Post Office on E. Cuyahoga Falls Road and back (4 miles round trip, and some inclines… ), So I will start winding this down.

But since I am still on the subject of uneven and damaged concrete, and being a certified concrete field and lab technician, I feel I must comment on the condition of the city sidewalks and the tree lawns!

As I mentioned earlier, there are soil issues that have caused movement of slabs, both the older stone pieces and the newer concrete slab replacements are all out of alignment, making for a very bumpy and in some cases, a scary ride!

The streets (even the side streets) are busy with traffic, and the motorists seem very impatient with an old fart riding a 3 wheeler with a 7' bike flag and flashing LED head and tail lights in the street, so I stayed on the sidewalks as much as possible.

I also see the immediate need for an audible warning device (I think dual Marine Air Horns would be appropriate considering the traffic around here), but a bell or a squeeze bulb horn would work. I also need to up my search for an appropriate bike helmet, as I nearly spilled several times where the pavement was uneven, there were heaved slabs, where the utility poles and other “planted” item impeded my progress, but mostly from the trees on the tree lawn, which originally had decorative iron grates surrounding them, but most are MIA leaving openings in the sidewalk that swallow up my back wheels!

I also am acutely aware of the newer concrete sidewalks having been cast in place at an angle towards the street, forcing me to correct my ballast to the lawn side at an uncomfortable angle, and putting me in a precarious state of balance whenever I crossed the driveway aprons that were cast monolithic-ally with the sidewalks with a steeper angle that starts mid sidewalk!



I'm thinking MotoSports CE armor might also be in order, even though I am only averaging 10 MPH! Road rash is road rash! Wish I still had my fabric Fieldsheer Motorcycle Jacket with the CE armor and removable lining, and multiple adjustable vents! It was bright yellow to match my Arai Quantuim full face helmet (I was buying a new YELLOW 2004 Ducati Monster M600 at the time, before I decided on the dark gray 1994 M900 Monster!), with reflective stripes.

Although maybe BMX or Moto Crass chest armor, knee & shin guards, and gauntlets might be better suited to sidewalk riding!
On a side note, some 20 years ago while racing sailboats on Lake Erie, I proposed that competitive sailors should wear lightweight climbing/skateboard helmets, plastic chest armor, knee and shin guards (I was one of the few sailors who wore knee pads, though many more used them in subsequent seasons), and eye protection! Everyone laughed and thought I was being funny. But I recently Googled the America's Cup crews, and see that they are all now bedecked with helmets and custom armor!!! 

So who is having the last laugh?

Well, I will design a specialty urban protective trike riding ensemble, and model it here on these posts!




So until next time, sportsfans, “Love rules, Hate drools!”