The Weather Outside Is [Insert Adjective Here]

    Last weekend marked the first major winter storm of the season.  I first heard inklings about this storm a week before it happened.  My mother heard about it from one of her contacts in the highway department, whom she first called years ago about one project or another that she was complaining about.  Anyway, she phoned him about another road work incident when he informed her about the upcoming storm.  The highway department gets direct information from the Jackson weather service, and they had just issued the first alert about the upcoming storm.  One early model had a foot of snow forecast for the area.  When I got home that night, the local television station's weather forecaster suggested not to take too much credence about this early model, as it was the US one which is frequently imprecise about long-range snow accumulation.  The European model had less than an inch of snow forecast for the area.  (I saw this model on The Weather Channel.). This model is usually better at predicting snow over a longer period of time. Regardless, I started to make preparations for the storm.  I usually make plans for Christmas well ahead of schedule anyway, but the forecast for snow and very low temperatures put a new wrinkle on the planning.  I made sure there was enough food to last through that Saturday, or even through Monday morning if alterations had to be made.  Two problems came up at the last minute though.  First, a part on my car started to act up.  It would not be a problem, yet, but an appointment was made for last Thursday to get it fixed, once a part came in.  Second, a final, emergency delivery of chocolate-covered cherries was being sent down from Barboursville.  They came in well before the store closed Thursday.  Too bad the part for my car didn't.  The dealership said to check Friday, and if the part and mechanics came in, they would try to get the car repaired.  That night, I was watching the weather almost non-stop.  By then, the forecast had removed almost all of the snow, leaving mostly a dusting less than an inch, but there would still be very strong gusty winds before the temps tumbled down into the single digits.  I left the heat on high until just before going to bed, in case the power went off in the night.  That was a mistake.  Even with just a single blanket on, I was burning up.  I was even sweating.  That, paired up with a neighbor who had kept their lights on and had a child yelling for awhile, prevented me from going to sleep for over thirty minutes.  When I did fall asleep, to the sound of light rain, it wasn't for long.  I woke up around 2:30 still slightly sweaty, but it had snowed some.  I woke up again about two hours later.  I was no longer sweaty, and the snow seemed to have covered the ground.  It was noticeably colder, so that was when I started to let the water run in my interior half bath.  I got up at my usual time Friday morning.  The temps had already plunged to the low teens, and the wind was gusty fierce.  However, the power was still on and people were still occasionally on the road.  I hadn't heard any scrappers go by, but there was barely a thin layer of ice under the dusting of snow.  I saw reports of road conditions online, with most suggesting it was possible to go out, but to be extra careful.  I started my regular morning routine to get to work, but stopped just short until I could contact the car dealership.  Turns out, not only was the part still not in, probably due to shipping problems and the icy conditions, but that the place would be closed until Monday for the holidays.  The earliest I could take the car in would be Tuesday.   So, I decided not to open the store Friday.  I just watched the weather, played a few computer games, and cocooned in a blanket to rest for the day.  I still had to go in Saturday though.  I had to check up on the store and, hopefully, have a few last-second shoppers for Christmas.  It took me twice as long as normal to clear the snow and ice off my car.  Including warming breaks.  I should have took more, as my face got very cold.  (I might need a balaclava one of these days.) I took the long way to the store, avoiding the most treacherous roads if they were still ice-covered, and left late to get the maximum road clearing and traffic flow.  Turns out, I probably could have taken my usual route, albeit slightly later than normal, but I still opened the store.  We did have two customers that morning, including one box of cherries, but no one that afternoon.  We closed early and went home.  No other problems the entire weekend, save that the air-conditioner cover had been blown off and lost, but someone found it and brought it back a few days later.  Just yesterday, multiple leaks erupted in the water lines, but none directly near me.  Still, the water pressure went down.  All-in-all, this first storm of the season was cold, but not really that bad for me. 

This Is the Winter of My Discord

     I was late in the whole email address thing, not getting my first one until 2016 or so.  I know, that seems unbelievable, but it is true.  That first email address wasn't even mine.  Technically, it was my store's, but I used it as my own for various purposes.  I have my own personal email address now, but I still have my store's email for the business uses.  One of the first things I used this address for was to sign up for a forum on a gaming website I liked.  I liked reading many of the ideas that were expressed on it, even though I couldn't comment or respond to anything I saw there.  Over the years, I have since commented on many topics devoted to the specific games I liked.  However, I only started a thread for the first time a few weeks ago.  I was kind of scared finally starting a thread, since I was still unsure about all of the features and rules of the forum, but I felt that the information I had needed to be brought up immediately, since it was time-sensitive.  Because of that forum, I started exploring other forms of social media.  For instance, this very blog was started about the same time as my joining the forum.  Well, that forum is slated to be taken down later this week, as a part of a much-needed update.  Certain game forums, other than my favorites, were not working correctly.  New sub-forums couldn't be added, as the basic structure wouldn't allow it.  There are other minor ticks as well, but you can see my point.  Hopefully, the forums will only be down a short time before they can be brought back better than ever.  However, there is the possibility that they cannot be updated.  In this case, the original forums might have to be returned, if able.  There is also no timetable for how long the forums will be down.  I'm worried that the forums might not return.  I admit that the chance for this is small, but it is there.  This possibility has got me thinking about looking into the company's Discord account.  Now, I have heard some bad press about Discord, but I'm not sure what to believe.  As the discussions on the site are private, I have never been able to look into them.  I've been studying the site for months, even before the news about my forums came out.  One the one hand, I like being connected and in the loop.  I love the process of finding out new information even better than learning what the new info is sometimes.  On the other hand, there is something about the private nature of the site that scares me.  I am also afraid about the high learning curve on the site.  As I mentioned, I still don't have a full working knowledge of many of the social media sites I'm on.  I worry that I'm doing something wrong or missing out, because I don't have the working knowledge.  I'll probably try joining Discord in the next few days.  I'm still unsure if joining one discussion panel will allow me full access to other panel, or if I have to join each one separately.  I'll do more studying before this happens, of course, but I'm not sure if where I'll find the exact answers I need. Wish me luck on my latest assault in my takeover of social media.

Have Yourself a Cherry Little Christmas

    My mother became somewhat obsessed with a gift she got a few years ago.  It was a chocolate-covered cherry from one of the other business owners here ate the shopping center where I have my store, BookNotes.   In the years since that first gift, the number of cherries have increased to three or four.  My mother became so infatuated with them that she started looking for the confectioner who made them so that she could get some on her own.  She started her search last year, but it wasn't until this fall that she was able to find the store in Barboursville, West Virginia.  She asked others for help, but not me for some reason.  I mean, it only took me a few seconds to pinpoint the store's location on my Mac's Maps app.  We could actually drive there if we ever go to the city again.  Well, my mother made BookNotes the confectioner's only Kentucky outlet.  Two weeks ago, the huge shipment arrived.  My mother had most of the boxes sold within the week, save one box that was held back and has yet to be picked up.  This has been followed by an even larger second shipment this Monday.  A customer from Pikeville had visited the main location and brought down the cherries to save on shipping costs.  This second shipment included boxes of cherries flavored with Crown Royal Canadian whisky.  I had trouble finding available space for all of these boxes.  I was sticking them in empty spots that didn't interfere with anything else.  Mostly, I stuck them around the decorations, although I unfortunately had to stick a few by the 'Clearance' sign for heavily discounted books.  As they sold, I have had to rearrange the boxes.  They no longer overwhelm the available sale space, but the reserved boxes are hogging up room until they can be picked up.  I can't even access the spot for book orders because of all of the boxes.  Now, my mother claims that people who hate chocolate-covered cherries, as evidenced by someone who picked up a few boxes for relatives and wound up almost eating a box by themselves.  On the other hand, someone else all but spit out the bite they took of a sample cherry my mother handed out to one of her friends.  I too don't like them.  I like chocolate.  I like cherries, although the preserved maraschino ones are a little much for me.  I like the two flavors when combined, as in Black Forest cake.  However, when mixed with a syrupy filling, I hate them. I have tried various other chocolate-covered cherries over the decades, and I haven't really liked any of them, mostly due to the filling.  Then again, I also don't like chocolate milk or chocolate ice cream either, so there is a precedent for hating them.  The closest I have ever gotten to liking such things is when I tried chocolate-covered blueberries.  Yes, they do exist, or they did at one time.  I haven't really seen them in awhile.  There were ten, maybe twelve, in a standard size box.  They could have put all of them in a much smaller box, but I guess the company felt they could charge more with the bigger box.  I ate the blueberries, but the filling still wasn't exactly to my liking.  I think I got a second box, either later that same year or maybe the next Christmas, but I'm not sure.  As I just mentioned, I haven't been looking for them, so they might not be a thing any more.  About half of this second shipment has been sold, and I am surrounded by twenty red boxes all around my store in two sizes, two gold boxes of the alcohol filled ones, and seven more big red boxes waiting to be picked up as I finish writing this post.  Two smaller boxes were sold just as I was beginning to write.  As a sideline, I'm glad the store is selling so much.  As a treat, I just can't wait until they are gone so I don't have to be reminded of how much I dislike eating them.

Just Call Me a Sneakerhead

     I am not the type of person who likes the most popular things, usually.  Oh, sometimes I take into a trend or enjoy something that is overwhelmingly popular, but many times I don't.  That's just part of my unique style.  For instance, my favorite soft drink is Dr. Pepper.  My favorite flavor of ice cream is strawberry.  And, my favorite brand of sneakers is Reebok.  They have been my favorites since high school.  I just got a pair, and I have stunk with the brand ever since.  Typically, I have bought basic white or black.  Sure, I would choose a slightly different style, but for the most part, I stick with the basic classic model.  That changed about ten or so years ago, when I saw this black pair of shoes with prominent white stripes on the sides.  I technically wasn't looking that closely for a new pair of sneakers, but I got them anyway.  Maybe I did need a new pair.  Can't remember, but that part is not important.  What is important?  I had a pair of shoes that was more than one color.  That pair of shoes quickly became my favorite sneakers.  Since then, I had to buy other replacement Reeboks.  Still basic black or white.  I tried to find something different, but not many places sell Reebok sneakers.  The main stores that do that I frequent didn't have as wide a selection as they used to.  The store where I got my favorite pair closed.  Well, earlier this year, maybe last year, my favorites started to tear up.  The sole started to split away from the upper on both shoes.  The band connecting the two pieces on one simply broke in two.  I took the sneakers to a repair shop, but they shoes kept tearing apart.  Well, I started to do a greater search for a new pair of Reeboks that I would like just as much.  While I started online, I prefer to shop in a physical location.  See, I have some unusual body measurements, and I really need to try things on.  Pants especially.  I have short legs and very weak glutes.  I barely can wear jeans.  I didn't even try any until college.  Shirts are easier, but with somewhat short arms and broad shoulders, I still can have problems.  Back to the point, I found interesting possibilities online, and I began a search in earnest this past summer.  I mentioned in a post a few months ago where I had found an ivory pair of Reeboks that were just different enough to catch my eye.  Alas, they didn't have my size.  I went one another shopping trip a few weeks ago.  Couldn't find a single pair that I had found online that matched my style.  So, I finally caved in and ordered a pair online.  I went with the store as opposed to the Reebok website, because the style I wanted was only available there.  Why the style wasn't on the main Reebok site is beyond me.  Maybe it is an exclusive.  Anyway, I was confident enough with Reebok to order the right shoes in my size, 10.  I did this over the Thanksgiving holiday.  The shoes were on sale, and I saved even more on shipping by having the shoes sent to the local storefront instead of having them delivered.  In fact, I got the pickup confirmation email about a week earlier than expected.  And here are my new pair of shoes.   Yes, they are navy blue with a white stripe with a yellow highlight down the side.  The right shoe was ever so slightly narrower than the left, so it was a little tight the first time I wore them, but they fit better the second time around.  Sure, they might not go with much, but they are a new style for me, and I'm okay with that

School's Out Forever, Almost

    This past weekend, I finally got the results of my exit exam for graduate school.  Actually, I got the email last Monday, but I was so busy early last week that I kept forgetting to check.  When I did get the time to remember to check, I had problems connecting to my account.  So, that is why I didn't find out my results until Saturday.  Well, I passed.  I immediately posted the news on my Facebook page, although I now realize I maybe should have posted it elsewhere as well.  Like here, one my usual post day.  To be honest, I was seriously thinking about dropping out of grad school is I hadn't passed.  The odds of me being able to take the test a second time on my terms.  Now, I only have to take and pass two more classes to get my degree.  I have mentioned in previous posts about what my options are.  I have decided to not take the class being offered in the intersession.  I just don't think I would have the time to get everything done with all of the holiday planning going on, as well as other possible changes.  Therefore, I will probably take the two classes being offered in the spring.  One covers the works of Thomas Hardy, five novels and a selection of poetry.  Not my first choice, but I believe I can handle it.  The other class is something vague about something to do with American literature.  The course description doesn't go into much detail, and there are no books listed for the class.  At least not the times I have checked.  I really wanted to know more about the class before I enroll.  Yes, I was supposed to sign up for these classes a few weeks ago, but I wanted to know the results of my exam first.  There is still space available for both, but I still have those doubts about that second class.  I don't want to risk taking a summer class, only to not have an option that could work.  As to what I will do after getting my MA in English?  I have no idea.  I don't want to go into teaching one the grade or high school level.  I don't do well working with children.  I wanted the option of working on the collegiate level, but my degree wouldn't be enough.  I had wanted to get an MFA in creative writing, which would have given me the option for doing just that.  With just an MA, I would first have to get into a doctorate program.  At my age, that just isn't an optimum option.  Maybe if I hadn't taken those two years off trying to get into a creative writing program would have changed things.  I don't know what will happen next, and I really need to talk to someone to help me out.  So, does anyone have any suggestions for me?

What's Cooking with Toby

    I have never shied away from the fact that I consider myself a creative person.  While the majority of the creativity pours into writing, I do have other ways of expressing myself.  I make art.  I film videos, frequently of my making art.  I decorate. One thing that I don't always mention here is that I cook.  It's just about the only household chore I was allowed to do growing up.  I was more interested about helping around the house when I was very young, but my mother always felt I was too little to do much.  By the time she felt I was big and old enough to help out more, I had just about lost all interest by not being involved sooner.  The lone exception was cooking, which has the potential to be one of the most dangerous of chores.  The reason I got involved in cooking is actually a big secret.  See, my mother can't cook.  Seriously.  She has all of these foibles about eating that has left her with a very bland palette and a strange idea about how food should be cooked.  Her cooking style compounded my own special need.  I have a fairly delicate sense of taste.  While it is not always infallible, I can sometimes detect subtle nuances of flavor that others cannot sense.  In particular, I could tell when I was eating leftovers, even when I didn't know I was doing it.  When I finally caught my mother fixing leftovers one day, I finally understood why I didn't like certain meals sometimes, when I had no problems at other times.  This could even extend to just reheating takeout for a few minutes after getting it home.  Not as often and mostly with meat, but it has happened.  From that day on, I haven't eaten leftovers.  To insure of this, I starting getting more involved in the cooking process.  See, if I was doing the cooking, I could tell whether or not leftovers were involved.  On the one hand, it meant that I could make things that I liked in the way I liked them.  On the other hand, it meant that my mother would wind up eating more leftovers than she would have liked, but I have always tried to compensate by fixing smaller portion sizes.  However, my mother always seems to find a way to have leftovers, even when she barely has a single portion size left.  Yuck.  This has led my to come up with many recipes over the decades.  Many are just jazzing up kits and boxes rather than cooking from scratch.  I do have a few favorites though, with a quick and easy meat sauce based on a Bolognese.  I am having it tonight, in fact, over some rotini with some garlic bread.  I'm also planning a new take on chicken tomorrow for Thanksgiving.  I don't like turkey.  I also don't go too overboard for the holiday either, as both of my maternal grandparents died around this time of year and my mother doesn't like the associations this brings.  I know it is kind of foolhardy into planning something entirely new on such short notice, but I have a feeling I can handle it.  I've done similar takes before.  I just have to plan a little bit extra this year.  I mean, cooking is not rocket science.  It's chemistry.  And an art.

Where Will All the Elk Herds Go

     I've posted about the elk many times before on this blog.  While I might go months without seeing one, a field I drive by everyday is a frequent location to spot them.  However, it might not be for much longer.  A few months ago, over the summer, I noticed that a few posts with flags on them had been planted into a roughly square shape near the road.  One or two more had been planted further back.  They seemed to be planted in the wrong place to indicate a future building project.  In didn't really matter much anyway, for they are displaced in the downpour that inundated the area a week after the devastating late-July floods.  A mudslide had come down the hollow at the rear of the field and covered a large swath of the field in mud, right up to the road.  The other end of the field, near a drainage ditch, got covered in water for weeks.  Even after regular rain, that end of the field could get flooded, due to a large bowl that was there.  Then, just a few weeks ago, heavy equipment came in and started rearranging the entire field.  Dirt from the end near the hillside was dug up and used to fill in the bowl by the ditch.  The entire field got leveled.  More posts and flags were placed.  Last week, gravel was placed along a a makeshift path to the former bowl.  Gossip suggests that a discount store will be coming in, but no one seems to be sure which one.  There is a Family Dollar less than a mile down the road.  While it was slightly damaged during the flood, this project seemed to start well before the floods.  There is already a Dollar General barely five miles away in one direction, and another one twelve miles or so in another direction, and a third about the same distance away in a third direction.  Now, the closest store is a little cramp with a smallish parking lot, the elk field isn't too much larger.  Maybe that one will close and be replaced by this new one.  This could even be in response to the frequent wrecks delivery trucks have been wrecking on their way to one of the other stores.  On the day of the July floods, one got stuck for about four hours.  Now, this may have lasted so long due to the fact that flooding had shut down one road for the wrecker to arrive and a downed tree blocked the other access road.  I even passed by the delivery truck as it was led by a state trooper to its destination later that afternoon once it was cleared.  Still, there is no clear answer to what is going to be put in.  What is even stranger is that it is the wrong time of year to start erecting a building.  It is mid/late November when I write this. The weather is too cold now to lay a foundation easily.  The flooding could have delayed the schedule.  This still doesn't take the poor drainage into consideration.  The ditch still overflows during most rains, even after the bowl has been filled.  Whatever store goes in, the building could be prone to have multiple problems.  The one problem that the owners might not have considered is the elk herd.  While the animals might be scared off during the initial building, the herd might return in their usual wanderings.  Even if their usual access was blocked off, I've seen them scale the nearby hillside.  The elk, as well as deer, might congregate wherever they can looking for fodder.  This could lead to major problems for whoever is between the elk and where they want to go.  Some might even try to cross the road if the former field gets completely paved over.  This could lead to many traffic problems, as I've seen elk get awfully close to the road before.  If this project had been more in the open, people could have been more output for this project. This is only my opinion, but I do believe more people would have wanted a place for elk to show up than the fourth (or possibly the fifth) outlet for a discount store chain in a twelve-mile radius.

Yep, Another Post about the Music Charts This Year

     Last week, Taylor Swift made history on Billboard's 'Hot 100' chart.  Swift had all of the top ten songs on that chart.  This concurrently made it the first time in the chart's history that there were no male artists in the top ten.  There had been multiple instances where there were no female artists in the top ten.  These are just two of the records that had been broken this year.  In fact, there were quite a few records that were broken this year.  Here are just two noteworthy example, before I get into the really big ones.  Disney's "We Don't Talk about Bruno" from the Encanto soundtrack became the first song from one of their animated films to hit number one.  It is also the number one song with the most credited performers.  (Other songs, most notably "We Are the World," have more performers, but not all of the artist's names were featured.) "Keep Running up That Hill (A Deal with God)" by Kate Bush made it to the top three, about forty years after it first debuted.  The breaks a record for the longest period a song has ever taken to reach a peak position after its original debut, at least for a non-holiday recording.  Some Christmas songs could break that record, particularly Brenda Lee and "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree," which could happen as soon as this year if it reaches number one past Mariah Carey.  However, two of the biggest singles of the year, which I feel are the only songs vying for Billboard's number song of the year, have some of the biggest records themselves.  First, there is "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals.  It holds the record for the longest time to reach number one during its original charting period, fifty-nine weeks.  Some Christmas songs, such as "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey, have taken longer, but took multiple charting periods to do so.  "Heat Waves" also now holds the record for most consecutive weeks on the chart, with over ninety.  This occurred just a year after The Weeknd achieved the record with "Blinding Lights."  In fact, the two songs were on the chart at the same time for many weeks.  Another minor achievement by "Heat Waves" is that it went to number one after debuting at number one hundred on the chart.  Not that rare, as another song just this year, "Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy, also achieved this milestone.  On the other hand, "As It Was" by Harry Styles, achieved its own record by going to the number one spot five times in one year.  Whenever a new song debuted at the top or passed Styles, "As It Was" would only drop a spot or two, and then climb back up to the top.  It was only Taylor Swift who would end the yo-yoing.  For now, at least.  With only a few weeks left in the charting year, I doubt the song could do much more climbing, not with holiday music starting up.  One of these two songs will probably be the number one song of the year, depending on which criteria is weighed more heavily.  "Heat Waves" has quantity on its side.  It has been on the chart the entire year, giving it multiple points week after week.  "As It Was" has quality, though.  After it bumped "Heat Waves" out of the top spot, it stayed in the top three, giving it higher point totals per week.  Until I start doing my won calculations next month, I wouldn't fathom a guess at which one will be the overall winner.  Last year, I guessed rightly the "Levitating" by Dua Lipa would be number one, before I started tallying.  My other guesses were way off, though.  This year, I'm pretty sure I've got the right final two.  What I won't be trying to guess is next week's Grammy nominations.  Those are going to be crazy again, and only one of my final two is fully eligible for awards. 

Exit Exam Strategies

     As I mentioned a few weeks/posts past, I had been contemplating my options for taking the exit exam for graduate school.  In case the point wasn't clear, I did sign up to take the test.  It's this Friday, in fact.  For the last few weeks, I had been studying for the test.  The test is in the form of three essays, with a choice of three prompts, one each from three different categories (American literature, British literature, and a general literature catch-all category). The works used for the test are from a list of twelve writers, with a supplement listing of three more works that changes every few cycles of years.  I initially read two of the works (The Scarlet Letter and "Macbeth") back in my college days.  I am fairly certain I had read selections form some writers back in college as well (poetry from Donne and Coleridge, selections from The Canterbury Tales).  I read two more (Moby-Dick and "The Waste-Land") in graduate school.  I also read some poetry from Dickenson in graduate school as well, but maybe not the exact same poems as those highlighted for the test.  I had to read the supplemental work Mrs. Dalloway in both college and graduate school.  (Hated it both times.  I feel that it is a little overrated.) I probably read some portions of Paradise Lost back in college, but that escapes me, for the moment.  I thought I had read "Waiting for Godot" in college as well, but when I looked back over it, I couldn't place it.  I had never read the remaining two main works, Middlemarch and Beloved, or the two other supplemental works, The Women of Brewster Place and The Penelopiad.  I'm not sure I had even heard of the last one, as it is the only work that came out this century.  Still, for the last few weeks, I have been reading these works, as well as going over some of the major critical analysis for them.  I have been hating it.  Sure, such analysis is the foundation of my degree, but it is not something I like.  As I keep mentioning, I consider myself a writer foremost.  While literary criticism is somewhat helpful in that regard, it is the part of this degree that I like the least.  I prefer creative writing most of all.  That is why I should have tried harder to get into a Creative Writing program, instead of sticking it out with the standard MA in English.  I still feel like this degree is going to be a mistake.  Regardless of the outcome of this test, I still have to take two more courses to finish my degree.  I have a choice of three over the Winter and Spring semesters, none of which are screaming out at me.  If I don't pass the test this first time, I have one more chance to take it, either late this coming April or next November, after I will have finished up my course work.  If I don't pass the test on the second try, that's it.  I don't get my degree.  I'm not sure what I would do then.  Even if I do pass my test and get my MA, I'm not sure what I would do then.  I feel that I'm too old to try out for a doctorate degree, but I wouldn't be able to work soon the collegiate level without it.  I have huge doubts about getting into the Creative Writing programs that I would prefer that would get me working immediately.  I definitely don't want to teach on the grade or high school level.  I'm in a 'catch-22' situation.  I have to continue what I'm doing, even though there is no plan afterwards.  If I don't continue, there is no plan to move onto.  Not sure what will happen this Friday, but at least I didn't have to go somewhere to take it.  That wouldn't have been the case if I had taken my courses and test without interruption, and it might not be that way if I need a second chance.  I'm not sure what would happen then.

Does This Avatar Make Me Look Fat?

    Whenever I get a new "toy," I just like to play around with it as much as possible.  Such is true with my new iPhone.  Sure, I am already familiar with most of the apps due to my MacBook.  Many are similar, not exactly the same.  I also know about many of the secondary functions, due to the phone my mother gets to use because of her government association.  However, I'm still getting used to the wonderful world of mobile apps.  One of the delays is the bad data coverage on my plan.  I mean, 3G isn't that useful for quick downloading, if I can get anything at all.  Therefore, I mostly have to use my home's wifi to download and work with anything beyond the typical call.  That's alright with me, as I'm just learning the basics.  So far, I have only installed Facebook and Messenger.  I find it strange that they are combined on the regular site, but I expect that is because of the additional features the dedicated app has. One of those features is avatar stickers.  On the app, one can create a virtual version of themselves and use those avatars as the basis of a sticker one can use in comments and other post functions.  I can't be sure if that feature had migrated to the main site before is downloaded the app or not, but I definitely noticed the feature on the site soon after I installed the app.  Now, I was already familiar with Apple's version of this, the Memoji.  I even previewed that image in a previous post.  The process was similar, but there were major differences.  The Memoji only has the top portion of the body visible, so nothing below the thorax can be seen.  Also, the body type is slightly more cartoonish.  In some graphics, the bare arms are so thin, they remind me of Kermit the Frog's arms whenever he would wave them around inn an hysterical manner.  On the plus side, clothing options could be in a wide range of colors.  Also, one could adapt them with features outside of the regular building process using the Markup app.  I put a white "UK" on the shirt I was wearing in mine.  Facebook's avatar is full-body, so the legs and feet matter.  They can't always be seen, but they are there.  The avatar has a much wider range of clothing.  However, each style is only available in one color scheme.  If it can be changed, I haven't found a way to do it yet.  Facebook even provides a 'closet' to store extra clothing styles.  Although, I received an update notification saying that my base style may have been discontinued, or something.  I still have it locked away, I think.  Some of these styles are for sale, which seems a little odd to me.  At least there is a wider range of poses/stickers than Apple has.  Here is my avatar.

Full disclosure, I'm not as buff as depicted.  Theoretically, I could one day get this swole, if I had intensive training and a strict diet within three to six months.  I do believe I have mesomorph metabolism.  Too bad I didn't discover that until I was almost thirty, when the best years to gain mass were just behind me. I just don't have the time in my schedule to work out enough.  The hair is about right.  I could've added some highlights, but they just didn't look right.  I have since added a different pair of glasses that look better on me.  I do look a bit thick, though, around the middle, which might be a little heavier than I actually am.  Of course, many men would say about the same things.  I am trying not to overdo the look, although I have added this as my profile pic, but with a darker background.  Apart from all of this avatar creation, the only other app I have added is SongPop Classic.  Actually, I just had it transfer from my MacBook account, so it is double installed.  I haven't played on my phone yet, due to the data coverage, but I am looking for other apps and games that I could include.  I don't want to add any other games that I currently have on Facebook, but I am not limiting myself on that if I so choose.  I had lists of helpful apps to download to my phone from over the years, but I don't think I kept every one of them.   Any suggestions would be appreciated.  

Werewolf, That's Neither Here Nor There Wolf

    It's almost Halloween, and this means that it is time for decorations.  I know that I reuse many of the same things year after year at my store.  Many people do the same.  However, I have been noticing some trends.  I have seen plenty of scarecrows, pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts, zombies, witches, vampires, and various other monsters of note.  Plenty of animals too, ranging from cats to giant spiders, with teeny bats in between.  There is one monster/animal trope that is missing, werewolves/wolfmen.  Over the years, I have only seen two or three werewolf representations, and no wolves whatsoever.  For goodness sakes, I've seen more representations of Frankenstein's monster than I have of werewolves.  I've even seen a dragon skeleton that was later repurposed for Christmas by donning a Santa hat!  Now, I get that both werewolves and wolfmen are hard to present, as it is the transformation part that is both the best to enjoy but the hardest to duplicate.  Yet, this year, I've seen an inflatable vulture roosting on a tombstone that can move its head from left to right and maybe even flap its wings.  There's even a tiny light at the tip of its beak.  Surely there is someway to make something that would have a lupine creature seem to move.  Now, I get that there are actual wolves in some parts of the country, or at least coyotes.  (They are really everywhere now.). So, some people might not want to have a similar type of decoration that could attract the real thing.  The wolfman could be a bridge for such people, but I think I've only ever seen one small figurine or banner with one in the past two decades.  Werewolves should not be ignored for Halloween decor like this.  On a similar point, a werewolf-based game I like is coming back with a new edition. Unfortunately, the current holder of the intellectual property (IP) has decided that the new edition will not be a direct continuation of the older editions.  Instead, it will use many of the same themes and terms, but it will almost be an entirely new game.  Now, there were parts of the old game that were problematic, mostly on a cultural level.  Many of those parts needed to be changed.  However, many fans, me included, feel that the IP could have been salvaged without having to start over from scratch.  Some of the changes that were just announced a few weeks ago don't even make sense.  While some fans are optimistic and whole-heartily accept these changes, there is a strong undercurrent of distrust about how changed the new edition will be.  These fans have already said that they will stay with previous editions, instead of working with the new.  For my part, I am still undecided.  Within an hour or two of the latest announcement, I was able to work out many of the changes into the story of older editions that would make sense while still keeping the old game alive.  If I could do something like that without having access to almost thirty years of products, then a development team (the second one hired, if not third) with almost two years of lead time could do the same.  I will probably get the first book when it comes out in the next year or so, but I don't know how much more of the new line I will get.  The weird thing though is I don't really like werewolf movies/shows or books that much.  I just like the folklore and legends part.  Especially the ones with other animals.

Midnight Blue

     Last week, I finally broke down and got my first ever smartphone.  Yes, I have finally joined the twenty-first century fully.  Okay, so smartphones haven't been around all that time, but long enough to become ubiquitous.   As I have mentioned previously, the university that I am technically taking graduate school courses online (just not this current semester) is transitioning to multi-factor identification to access sensitive sites.  This would involve getting a message on a second device, like a smartphone, before being allowed further access.  While online graduate students don't have to follow this protocol, yet, my mother was getting extremely anxious about it.  Too much if you ask me.  She almost forced me to be one immediately after I told her about the situation, even though we really couldn't afford it.  Still, we started researching the possibilities.  Because I already have a MacBook, I would have an easier time to connect everything if I got an iPhone.  Apple connectivity and all.  Well, Apple debuts new models this time of year, with the previous models usually getting discounted.  My mother wasn't satisfied with some plans she was finding, although I kept telling her that the plan she was most enthusiastic about wasn't as good as it looked.  Last week, she all but forced me to look for myself at this one location of a supplier, because she liked the response she got there compared to another location.  As soon as she started the conversation, I knew she would be going all ahead with this that day if at all possible.  Well, the employee, who had just transferred to that location, suggested that the store was having problems getting the older models in, and that they were going to have even more problems with getting and using the new model, as it was using technology that they weren't really equipped for.  However, that location had accidentally gotten in an iPhone 13 that was originally tagged for a different outlet.  My mother all but forced me to get it, since she was so afraid I would be in trouble with the university without it.  This was only supposed to be a research visit.  However, once I realized that the phone would be in the color I would most want (Midnight Blue, 😉), I felt that it was destiny that I would get a new phone that day.  The next fifteen minutes or more would be dealt with choosing the best plan and setting it up.  After some awkwardness in getting things squared away, including me forgetting a few ID numbers along the way, the SIM card was installed, and I walked out with my new phone in its box.  Because I already have a MacBook, I didn't need another charger.  My current one will work for both, or I can just link my phone to my laptop and charge while using it.  The phone was so old that it had barely 14% charge when I started it up.  I waited until it was fully charged before completing the setup.  I don't know why, but I was having a problem synching up my Apple account with my new phone.  I basically had to come up with a new password to get things settled.  Once that was done, I tried to download an app, just for a test and not the one I would need for school. I couldn't get it to download, as the business I went through to get the phone didn't seem to have a great data service at the store.  I had to wait until I got home, and the following morning, to try it out.  Somehow, my router wasn't able to connect with my computer that morning.  The internet wasn't out, as I still had cable and that was coming over the same line now.  I had to unplug the router, wait, and plug it back in for it to restart. After that, I keyed my phone to use the very strong signal from it, and the download proceeded perfectly.  Now, I have Facebook on my phone, but I haven't used it yet as I don't have the phone connected to my primary account yet. Yeah, I now have to connect the phone to each of my online accounts where necessary.  Big hassle there, especially when I forget where I put the new phone number.  I'm not a big phone guy after all.  Of course, there are some benefits.  Since I have purchased a new Apple device, I have free trials to various Apple services just begging to begin.  This includes the free Apple News newsletter that mysteriously stopped a few months ago for no reason that had been around for a few years.  The one downside so far is that I don't have a strong enough wifi signal at work to use my device fully.  At home, I'll be forced to use the router for all of the extra features and apps.  At least the phone portion seems to be working the way it should, but that is the one feature of my new phone that I might be using the least.

Some Brief Notes about BookNotes

     This Friday, October 7, will mark the twenty-second anniversary of the opening of my book store, BookNotes.  It has been a very long ride, but I feel that it will soon be ending.  To be honest, my store should have closed a long time ago.  It just the past few years, I've had to rearrange bookcases to hide the fact that many of shelves would be empty because we can't afford to keep a wide selection of stock anymore.  Admittedly, I never could get as wide or deep a selection as I would've liked.  Sure, there have been a few great highlights, but the store just never could get a big enough break.  I've been trying to keep the place open mostly as a means so that I could be doing something, almost anything, while trying to get some plan together.  After the 2003 flood took out my old home, my store was just about the only thing that was giving me a sense of consistency.  I've brought up many of the problems that I have faced over the years on this very blog, so I feel that I don't need to bring the details back up.  However, I would like to talk about some of the things I still like about my store.  I love making out the various displays and decorations.  Every season and holiday, I change the decor with subtle differences from year to year, even when using just about the same things.  Every two weeks, I switch out the books in the displays.  I choose a different theme each time, with a different theme for the books on the tops of the bookcases. I love creating the 'Upcoming Releases' board that highlights some of the notable books coming out each month. Like the displays, I choose an appropriate theme, or one I just feel like using if I can't come up with an original one.  I used to use a regularly updated list that I would print out from an old distributor of ours.  They no longer allow non-customers access to the list, so I now have to go over the current major distributor's catalog, which we have only been getting online the last few months due to our lower ordering lately.  I then have to check out each book's on sale date online to make sure that the book is still coming out that month.  I connect each listing with the book's cover, in color and design, somehow.  Another thing I do is create a logo for the store's sign that customers see when they come in.  Every few weeks, I create something new, similar to what Google sometimes does with their logo.  Of course, I was doing my thing without knowing about what Google did.  For the last four years, I've even recorded myself making these logos and posting them on YouTube and Facebook.  The thing I've liked the most, though, was choosing books for the store.  I have poured over each and every catalog our three major distributors have used over the years, as well as online only listings, to choose merchandise for the store.  Sometimes, I would make a mistake, choosing a book that I would later have to return.  Other times, I would wind up taking the book for myself, because it was just too good not to keep. Now, I still look for new books, but I now longer get to order anywhere near what I used to.  This last order I made was mostly made up of books chosen at the last moment to reach a minimum order.  I miss those days where I could do what I liked.  With luck, I should last out the year.  Maybe a bit more, but I do feel that the last note will soon be played for the store.

Spree To Be You and Me

    I own a book store, so I am a big proponent of shopping local. However, there are some things that I like and need that can't find locally and aren't really practical to try and order online.  Furthermore, I get bored really easily with having to go in six days a week, with lengthy stretches of no one coming in.  Therefore, I go on a few shopping trips through out the year.  I have to go with my mother because she doesn't trust me going on long trips on my own.  Seriously, this is a big downer.  Anyway, I went on a spree recently.  I planned everything to a greater detail than I normally do, as there were quite a few more things that I was looking for.  I had multiple crib sheet shopping lists, one for each major destination.  I even checked out a few stores online to see if they had any sales or product lines I would be interested in.  I even eliminated one store because its selection didn't seem to be quite what I was looking for, nothing that I didn't think I could find elsewhere at least.  The morning of the trip, I had a small problem, so that we left over fifteen minutes late.  Fortunately, there weren't any problems along the two hour plus drive, although my mother's stop for coffee did take a few minutes longer than I felt was adequate.  The typical roadwork over the last stretch meant slower driving, but nothing too special, even with a few extra-narrow lanes.  Finally, we got to the mall and the first outlier, a drug store my mother likes to go to for its deal on a perfume she loves.  I basically just wandered around, checking on some Halloween candy and some shaving products.  I thought I finally found a pre-treatment lotion that I hadn't seen in awhile, but it was an aftershave instead.  The product I wanted wasn't there; just an empty space on the shelf.  When my mother checked out, I noticed that she only bought the candy, not the perfume.  At the counter, she decided that she would get a bottle locally instead, even though it could be a hassle getting a clerk to open up the display and it might not be the same price.  We skipped the store I checked online, and we made it to the mall soon after the main doors and most of the stores opened.  A few stores had closed and a few had gone it, but the mall was mostly the same as it was the last time.  Still not as great as it was when I started going there around forty years ago.  Anyway, my mother looked a one of her favorite stores before we went down to one of the mall to the book store.  Yes, I own one, but I don't carry magazines like this one does.  I also like to look at some books that I am not sure about whether I should order them or not.  Also, music and games.  Well, the store was starting a remodel.  One whole rack of magazines was gone, with the rest shoved into the remaining ones.  I passed through the racks at least twice, only to find one that I was looking for.  I don't know if they stopped carrying the others, if they weren't out with a new issue yet, or if they had been cancelled.  I couldn't even find a puzzle magazine I was looking for, one I was sure should have been out for at least a week.  I then tried to look through the rest of the store.  Everything had been rearranged so much, I wasn't sure what I was looking for anymore. The one section I was most interested in was in the last corner of the store I looked in, but I had become so flushed by then, I barely looked at it.  Next, we went down to the middle of the mall for my mother to check a gift store for an interesting card for a friend the regularly exchanges with.  She found nothing, but I am never sure if it is due to her pickiness or her cheapness.  Next, an anchor department store.  My mother looked around first, mostly for shoes or discounts.  She wasn't looking that hard, but she looked around a lot while I just waited.  She rarely tries on anything anymore, and that day wasn't an exception.  When she was finally done, we went upstairs so I could look for my stuff.  However, the upstairs was undergoing a minor update for Christmas.  This meant the men's department was squished into a smaller space.  I really wasn't looking for much, besides staples and bargains.  There was a great sale on jeans, but they didn't have any colors or styles that I was needing.   I tried to look for a few other things, but nothing was exactly what I was looking for.  We then went down the unmoving escalator, which my mother was fearful of.  She looked a little more downstairs before we went down to the northern end of the mall and the remaining anchor.  My mother kind of looked at some stores on the way, but I decided to wait to check in on any of them until the way back, because I didn't like them too much.  At the department store, my mother barely looked at anything on the way to the men's department.  She just isn't into shopping anymore.  I found some jeans on sale, in a color and style I didn't have, but my mother complained that I have too many pants in that color range.  Maybe, but I don't have khaki jeans.  Yeah, they would've been perfect, before she complained and all but forbid me to get them.  Instead, I found a pair of shorts for over fifty percent off, but she then complained that I should look for something even cheaper.  To spite her, I didn't even try them on since they were in my exact waist size.  I then found the perfect pair of sneakers I was needing, except they didn't have my size.  I knew the were the right pair, since I saw them on the website of the store I decided to skip to save time.  And it would be too hard to try and backtrack.  I thought I could get a few staples there too, but she complained again that I could get those locally, even though I never do because it is too hard to make my way out to that store and I wanted to try something different.  We looked around a bit more for her, but she decided the we shouldn't go upstairs as that store's down escalator was malfunctioning too, even though the things she was needing most were upstairs.  Anyway,  I would look for more sneakers on the way back down, but not a single store carried that brand, even though some had carried them just last year when I was looking for shoes, again.  We looked around a discount outlet store on the way out, but nothing.  We ended up leaving the mall about an hour earlier than we usually do.  We went to a fast food restaurant for lunch.  It was mostly empty, with the only customers in front of us in line were two men taking an older woman out for lunch.  The burgers were fairly good, although my mother thought the onion rings were salty.  At least they hadn't started remodeling the place in the horrid style the local place had.  I hate the new style.  We stopped at a craft store on the way out of the mall space.  We were mostly looking for Halloween (or Christmas) villages. The store used to have a whole display of the year's collection, but not this year.  In fact, I barely was able to find the few pieces left in my third look through the section.  There wasn't even a brochure. We had been looking for a bookshop for either holiday.  (An online search a few days later suggest that there will be one at Christmas.  Here's hoping.)  No decorations were bought.  On the way back, we made two more stops.  First, a big box department store.  I was looking for a few things such as office supplies as the only local outlet was forced to close after a certain medical facility bought out their space's lease and they had nowhere else to move.  Unfortunately, the store didn't carry a single product I was looking for, including a CD from an artist I love and didn't hear about until recently.  All anyone carries now is vinyl, and I don't own a record player. The last stop was a large supermarket from a chain that is no longer a local business.  This store feels larger than anything local.  There is even another grocery store just across the street, but we didn't feel like going there this trip as we rarely seem to buy anything there.  At the store we did go into, I was forced to take a giant cart as all of the smaller carts and baskets were missing.  We only got one small snack for me to eat on the way back (I try to eat every two-to-four hours).  There weren't too many newer products that seemed interesting, the main reason we were stopping there, save for a few frozen foods.  Even with the freezer bag in the car, the products didn't seem worth it.  There were hardly anything different this trip.  Even the bakery was mostly sold out.  Their small magazine section didn't have my missing issue either [Turns out, the publisher seems to have delayed it from its original publishing date.] And that was that.  All I got was a computer magazine that didn't have too much that was pertinent to me, a very loose pair of shorts that I barely were before the cold snap started [I didn't realize that they had a stretch waistband until I tried them on.  I don't have the body for stretch.  While not super-fit, I am good until that I need something more snug and fitted.], a survey receipt for a free item at a restaurant if I use it within a month which I might not get to do, a small snack that practically fell apart in the car, and an extra day's worth in gas.  To be honest, this wasn't even the worst trip made to that mall.  During a gap between book stores going in, I actually didn't buy a single thing one trip.  We keep saying we won't go back, but after so many decades, it is hard to change.  Especially since it is so much closer than other options.  Maybe after this time, the decision will stick.

Holiday, and I Feel So Meh

    Lately, I have been noticing an abundance of so-called "holidays" that have been springing up.  Many of them involve food.  For instance, this past Sunday, September 18, was National Cheeseburger Day.  This was a few days after National Double Cheeseburger Day.  Many fast food restaurants had special deals for cheeseburgers not only for Sunday, but also for the day before and a few days after as well.  Of course, not all of these holidays involve food.  There's just so much to go around.  This past Monday, September 19, was National Talk Like a Pirate Day.  People are encouraged to speak the way pirates would speak, or at least the traditional pop culture references of how pirates would speak.   Actual pirates probably wouldn't have used such inflections or so many obscure nautical references, but I could be wrong.  The same way Vikings are portrayed with horned helmets wrong. Anyway, today, Wednesday, September 21, has many such holidays associated with it.  Some of them include International Day of Peace, International Banana Festival, World Gratitude Day, World Alzheimer's Day,  National Chai Day, National Pecan Cookie Day,  Miniature Golf Day, and Escapology Day.  The last one is about magicians who get themselves out of seemingly impossible situations.  Also, Oktoberfest started this past Saturday, September 17, and will continue until October 3.  That's right, most of the festival takes place in September and not October.  Be careful with your beer and sausage intake. One last 'holiday' associated with today happens to be Earth, Wind and Fire Day.  The R & B group, not the classical elements.  I believe Los Angeles issued this date a few years ago, but I might be mistaken on that too.  Today's date was chosen because of a lyric in their classic hit "September."  The strange thing about this is that one of the songwriters for "September" only chose this date because the rhythm fit the song better than any of the other possibilities. The songwriter had absolutely nothing about their life otherwise associated with the date.  The song has even been adapted into a sort of Christmas tune, "December," with just a minor change in lyrics about the month, and changing the day to the twenty-fourth or fifth, sometimes.  I haven't listened to the song in a while, so I don't remember it exactly.  I happen to know someone whose birthday is on today.  I've Rick-rolled him with a video of the song, and a few others, in messages to him.  He probably gets them from a few others as well, as long as it is a good version of the song, and not a weird cover of it.  I remember one cover by Taylor Swift from a few years ago.  Very weird interpretation.  Kind of slow, and slightly down-tempo.  My mother hated it, and the song, at least the original, is one of my mother's absolute favorites.  Not that cover though.  Frankly, most of these so-called holidays leave me a little underwhelmed, as the riff on Madonna in the post's title hinted at.  Most of the date's holidays don't work well together, and they feel like the dates were randomly chosen, just like in "September."  I mean, what does today's date have to do with pecan cookies.  The nut harvest is still a little while off.  I mean, the chestnuts are just starting to fall.  You wouldn't be able to get that many fresh pecans this soon.  Well, maybe enough for a few cookies, but not enough for more than a small pie.  And, who has ever heard of pecan cookies?  That is not one of the more popular flavors.  Personally, I don't like pecans (haven't had them in decades, and I don't like nuts in general anyways), and I don't eat cookies that often. Aye, but it makes more sense than talking like a fake pirate, ye landlubbers. 

Orange You Glad, Oh, You're Not

     I don't eat that much candy any more, a combination of cavity prevention and calorie consumption.  I might try something new when it comes out or have a bite around the holidays, but I do try to limit myself whenever possible.  That doesn't mean I eat completely clean, just not the worst offenders.  My mother also tries to limit her candy eating, but for a different reason.  She is prone to cholesterol problems, and too much candy can aggravate them.  As such, she limits herself to her absolute favorites.  One of those has been a chocolate-covered orange marshmallow pumpkin that is a seasonal treat for fall/Halloween.  When the seasonal deliveries for fall started to roll out, there were no orange pumpkins to be found.  Admittedly, the first shipments at one location had to be sent back because they had melted, even after being packed with dry ice.  Probably shipping them in early-August during a heat wave was the reason.  Seriously, you shouldn't be shipping Halloween-themed chocolate candy in August anyway.  Well, even after those shipments were replaced, that store didn't have that flavor.  Now, the owners have been known to pick some of their favorites over having a wider variety, but this year that didn't seem to be the case.  Other locations also didn't have orange pumpkins, either.  After a few weeks of futile searching, the manufacturer's website finally updated for fall, and the was horrible news.  While many of the usual flavors were present, including new (for the seasonal selection if not for the company) chocolate marshmallow and chocolate truffle varieties, there was no orange.  There was even a raspberry version, even though neither the flavor nor the color is that associated with Halloween.   The company, which I will not be naming, sometimes holds a flavor back for awhile into a season.  At least once, they didn't really publicize a variety, a lemon flavor egg for Easter/spring.  However, this doesn't appear to the case this time.  Neither my mother nor I could figure out why they would discontinue a flavor that had been around well over thirty years.  Too be honest, the company has been cutting back in the overall number of varieties and new flavors recently.  Just a few years ago, the company had brought out orange creme, cranberry (maybe with almond), and even pumpkin spice flavors.  My mother tried all three, and she kind of like all of them.  None of them lasted long.  Now, the company does produce an orange creme variety of candy year-round, but that wouldn't be exactly the same.  This past weekend, my mother contacted the company to ask why the orange variety had been discontinues.  While she got an offer for a discount on ordering candy, she has yet had a direct response to her email.  Usually, I have been the one to suffer over the years as my favorite foods have been discontinued, time and time again.  My mother has rarely had to go through the same difficulties, and I don't like that fact that she has to go through this.  One of the few true joys she has is eating her last pumpkin of the season on her birthday, weeks after Halloween.  This year, I don't know what she will do.  None of the other flavors are another favorite of hers.  Vanilla or coconut would be closest.  Orange marshmallow was only produced for Halloween, none of the other holiday seasons--Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter.  I know of no other candy maker that has orange marshmallow, at least that sells locally.  I really wish that I could do more, but I don't see what that could be.  To be honest, I don't feel that orange flavors work with chocolate too well, nor is there that much a connection with the flavor with Halloween beyond the color, but I still want to do more.

The Game of the Name is Games

     I mentioned in a post from earlier this year about my problems with receiving my issues of Games World of Puzzles magazine.  Actually, the problems started last year when I accidentally sent out my renewal slip just after the deadline, and I had to order the missing back issue directly from the publisher.  Then, starting this January, my issues kept getting late due to a new fulfillment department for subscriptions.  I bought issues on newsstands, purchased digital copies that I couldn't print, and downloaded pages for free.  Things reached a head this past June when the publisher announced that subscriptions were going to be sent out in late June for the August issue, which was supposed to have been mailed out in early June.  I bought the June issue on at the newsstand while on a trip on the absolute last day it was supposed to be out.  If I had been later, maybe even by a few hours, I might have missed out on that issue.  As it was, the fulfillment center messed up, and the August issue was not mailed out at that time.  The September issue also wasn't mailed out on time either, although newsstands still got their copies.  The magazine wasn't even updated their website or social media pages to promote the September issue.  The editor wasn't even mentioning the ongoing problems in her message in the magazine for those who pick it off the newsstand.  Subscribers were complaining every few days about the missing issues.  Finally, the problems got resolved and the missing issues were finally being mailed out.  I got my August issue by the twenty-fourth or so.  I don't always pick up the mail every day, so I could be a little off.  I was supposed to get the August issue in early June.  On the thirtieth, I got the September issue, which was supposed to have been delivered in mid July.  This past Friday, I picked up the October issue, about a week or two later than expected.  Now, I am working through three issues of a magazine at the same time.  I've already read all of the article, and I have started working the puzzles in the August issue.  I don't do every puzzle, just the ones that I find interesting and not overly complex.  There's also the contests.  I got the August issue just in time to still enter that contest, but I couldn't work out the final answer in time to enter.  I have a month to work out the September contest, and two months for the October one.  This is the two, soon to be three, other puzzle magazines that I frequently get. I usually try to work only one page in Games per day, although I've been trying to do two per day so I get through them faster.  This is being hampered by the inclusion of special puzzle section based either of a certain type or a shared theme.  The magazine used to do this monthly in one of their spin-off magazines, but they just started back with doing them on a regular basis this year.  The September issue  also added another wrinkle in the form of the return of puzzles on the front cover.  This had been a hallmark of the magazine for decades, only to be retired a few years ago.  The October cover featured the latest variant of their emoji puzzles, this time focusing on television programs.  Huh. Well, I did my own version of that theme and puzzles in this very blog a while back.  Here's the link for it.  One show is even repeated between the two.  Now, if you please excuse me.  I have dozens of puzzles to do, and I have very little time to do them before I get even more.

The Down Low on the Upload

    In case you haven't been keeping up with my attempts at social media dominance, I have a YouTube channel.  I just posted my latest video in the series I call "Making the Logo." Now, I usually try and post a video every three weeks.  I was a little late with my latest one, as I had to wait until I had a window of opportunity to film it-- an empty store, no urgent business, at least ten minutes of free time.  I also try and post these videos the day I make them.  Well, last Friday, I was so busy with other things, that I forgot to post my video until it was all but time to go to bed.  I didn't want to waste any sleep time, so I decided to wake up a little early and upload the video Saturday morning, after I finished up my regular morning computer time.  That morning, I went to the site and started uploading my video.  After I finished up with the basic information, I left my computer and did another morning chore.  Now, it usually only takes about ten to fifteen minutes for even the longest of my videos to upload, including the time it takes to place the links onto Facebook and LinkedIn.  Well, to my surprise, barely 5% of the video had uploaded in almost ten minutes.  This was confounding me.  I was wondering if I did something wrong, so I cancelled the initial upload and started over.  This time, I got up to 10% before I had to stop and finish getting ready for work.  I had no choice but to try uploading it from my store.  The problem with that was that not only did this mean I had to forego some other tasks, but I have bad internet service there.  While faster than what it was taking me at home, the initial estimate was going to be over an hour to post a video under four minutes long.  Fortunately, the estimate was wrong.  It only took about thirty minutes to upload the video, with a few more to cross-post the links onto my other sites.  I rushed through the YouTube process, and I missed the part where I could save time by posting on multiple sites at once.  Still, everything worked out, except for one thing.  I couldn't post a link to the video on my store's Facebook page.  That part, I would have to do separately.  I kept forgetting to do that all through the weekend.  I finally remembered, and I found the time one morning, before work.  Strangely enough, I had no problems posting my video onto Facebook.  I barely took any time at all.  Now, I must admit that I used the basic uploading process and not the more elaborate and detailed one the business sites can use.  The post was less flashy, but was up in under ten minutes.  Maybe much less.  The only difference with this time and the original tries was that I didn't use YouTube.  This led me to believe that I experienced problems Saturday morning because of the new cable service.  Instead of getting programming through a cable antenna source, everything was coming in through an app tied to Google and YouTube.  The plus side to this is well over two hundred channels to watch, including some pay services as a regular part of the deal.  The downside is that which watching programming on the stream, I really can't upload anything directly without the slowdown.  I have watched YouTube content on my computer at the same time as watching the television, without any problems with either.  I'm guessing that uploading and watching YouTube at the same time will now cause problems to the former while doing the latter.  I'll now more the next time I post a video, so I'll be on the lookout for problems.  And allotting at least a half an hour for the task.

School's Out Forever, Like Forever Ever

    First off, I think I might deserve some props for combining Alice Cooper and OutKast in the title of today's post.  I works, just read the post to find out.  Now, the main topic.  The university that I take graduate school classes at has started a multiple factor authentication protocol to allow access to various web resources that contain sensitive information, for both staff and students.  Basically, if one wants to access the already password protected site, such as their school account that includes their email and online courses, they will be sent a notification to a secondary device.  Once that notification has been accepted, then they will be allowed to continue onto their own personal account.  My problem is that I don't own a smartphone or other device that will allow me to do this.  I have never owned a smartphone, although I have looked into it and know the basics of how it works, because I haven't had the need for one.  I don't have any friends to call or text.  I am not allowed to go long distances on my own, so I don't need to check in about my whereabouts.  Most emergencies would occur in areas that would be in fairly public spaces, so I wouldn't have a huge need to notify anyone.  Anything else, I could just use my computer when I get elsewhere.  However, without a phone to download the app that will handle this new rigamarole, I won't be able to access my account.  Now, I wasn't planning on taking any classes this semester anyway, but I would still need to access my university email for a few things, as well as schedule any classes for after this fall.  I have already asked the IT desk about possible workarounds, but none of them are guaranteed to work, as this whole process is not Apple friendly.  In fact, I'm not too sure about any of their advice, as their emails have a few too many errors to give me confidence and the online instructions were cut off at the end.  These facts are triggering warnings that I might be falling for a scam, even though everything seems to be legit.  That being said, I've been looking into iPhones, even though I am not really in the best financial position to buy one, and it will be easier to connecting with my MacBook if I had an iPhone.  My mother checked on a local place, with mixed results.  Their least expensive offer involves the model that will soon be discontinued, and the salesperson didn't even seem to know the latest rumors about the new models coming out.  The clerk was either inexperienced or told not to give the best information.  Neither possibility is good.  Because of this,  there is a strong possibility that I will lose access to my account for a few weeks.  The stupid thing is that I could have already finished my degree a long time ago if I only stayed the course.  I took some time off to look into other programs at other places, but I was never accepted.  I almost took my final courses this past spring or summer, but I wasn't too interested in any of them.  I was planning on taking my exit exam this past spring, but I missed the deadline to apply because the email about the test was sent to my junk folder by mistake.  Just another reason to hate anything that is not Apple.  In fact, I've been thinking seriously about just dropping out entirely.  I originally, and technically still do, wanted a residency MFA creative writing program, not an online basic MA English degree.  I barely have enough technical knowhow to do my work.  I don't have the interaction I need to give or receive feedback.  For instance, last fall, I wrote a sonnet with what I felt was deep philosophical meaning.  The first piece of feedback I got thought it was a nice poem to read to children before they went to bed.  Now, while the two goals aren't mutually exclusive, that was not where my poem was going.  I didn't read any other responses.  In fact, I rarely gave any online responses to my work anything more that a casual glance.  It was just too much of a hassle trying to convert formats or figure out the correct way to look at them in a timely manner.  I wanted an MFA as it would allow me more flexibility in work and sooner than an MA, especially since I'm not interested in going after a doctorate.  Not at my age.  It took me around half my life to find a career path that would work for me.  I put off getting a life and family, just so that I could find a way to make money.  I though I finally found a way, but I just can't catch a break.  I had a plan in college to find that path, but I was never able to carry it out.  I was aimless for so many years, without anyone to help me along the way to find my path.  Now that I finally found a way to combine my creative instincts with my limited life experiences outside of the academic setting, that goal just seems more out of reach.  I mean, a major reason for going back to school was to interact with others in the only way I felt comfortable and knowledgable in.  Instead, I'm stuck in an online world where I don't know what I'm doing, and I can't explain myself properly.  I need people to talk to, not by email, message, or phone call.  I need to physically talk to someone to see if I'm doing the right thing the right way.  Maybe then I can start expanding my life beyond the sheltered existence I've been living, something beyond shopping and into actual interaction.  Yes, it would mean that I would've wasted a lot of money and time for something that I would just give up on.  Yes, it would look bad on any sort of resumé or personal history.  I am at the point where I almost don't care anymore.  I had been waiting for decades for the right idea and the best time, but I blew it.  I'm too old know to start living my life.  I wasted the best years of my life but something that never happened.  I never knew what I wanted.  Now that I have an idea, the barest glimmer of one anyway, I know that it will never happen.  I had so much I wanted to explore, so many possibilities.  All wasted.  It's pathetic.  I'm pathetic.  If I any had that one person in my life at the right time that I could've have trusted and talked to.  Instead, I heeded the wrong advice and never contacted anyone who might've been the one person I needed.  I like schoolwork, but not the way I've been doing it.  I just want what I want.  I want a life, my life.

Those Were the Days of My Life

    A few weeks ago, amidst a flurry of shocking entertainment news stories, NBC quietly tried to promote its new afternoon news hour, seemingly unconnected to the four-hour juggernaut that is The Today Show.  Buried in the item was the fact NBC would be making room for the new show by moving its long-running daytime serial, Days of Our Lives, over to its streaming service, Peacock.  Apparently, NBC hadn't told the cast and crew of this fact until the news broke.  Now, the show was readying its new season, so this would be a very important thing to know before too many episodes were recorded. [Unlike most other serials, Days is known for recording an entire season in one complete block of dates.  The more common practice is to record for a few weeks, take some weeks off, and repeat.  Supposedly, Days can save time and money doing it this way, but it also can cause problems it there are scheduling changes well down the line.] This part of the item made major headlines throughout the entertainment industry as Days was the last serial NBC was still airing.  Over the past thirty years, the six or seven others were cancelled.  Two, or three, of them, I watched.  I only watched one, Passions, from its debut until the time it was cancelled. [Technically, it did continue for awhile, but on a service I didn't have, and I don't think I even have now.]. I started watching Days one summer in high school.  Maybe the year after I graduated.  It's been over thirty years, so the exact time is lost to me.  Anyway, I was bored that summer, in the middle of the afternoon, so I decided to watch another serial on the same channel as another one I started watching a few years earlier to fight boredom, Santa Barbara.  I think one of the first scenes on that first day involved someone stopping a wedding because the bride was a gold digger who was only going through with the marriage to somehow make money.  I can't be sure, but I think in involved Victor Kiriakis, Justin Kiriakis, and John Black (back when he still thought he was Roman Brady) in some fashion.  Since that first day, I've tried to catch every episode, recording it on one of my trusty VCRs (see last week's post for more on that).  I've missed a few episodes of the years, due to preemptions, power failures, and relocation for a month-and-a-half due to a flood, but I tried to get recaps whenever I couldn't watch.  First from magazines, more lately online synopses.  I should have seen this coming when Peacock aired its second Beyond Salem series with very little lead in, and as a premium show instead of the basic tier like last year. This is what angers me.  See, Peacock has multiple subscription levels.  Basic allows a subscriber to watch a wide variety of older programming, with ads.  That is the level I subscribed to when I signed up to watch the first Beyond Salem series.  However, it looks like Days will be on the Premium level.  No ads, but you have to pay, about five or six dollars per month, possibly less if you encounter a special promotion.  I don't really have the extra money per month right now to be able to do that, especially since I would have to use a credit card as the basis.  Such deals are usually set up to renew automatically.  I am not the one to try and remember to keep checking such services to make sure the money is available.  Now, there might be some benefits for Days by moving to streaming (saucier language, more skin, no preemptions), but the money issue is the big downside for me.  In a few weeks time, I will be forced to survive on recaps and synopses, of rat least another year.  [Days was renewed for two years, but with the move, the contract might be changed.  So, only one year should be guaranteed, not the second one.].  I hate this, especially with the major murder mystery plot going on.  Hopefully, it will be resolved in the next three weeks.  If not, I will say goodbye, incomplete.  "Like sands through the hourglass,..."

Digital Killed the VCR Star

     I wasn't able to update my literary blog last week, as I had an appointment with my cable/internet provider to get set onto a new contract.  This also meant that I had to schedule an appointment to get new tech this morning.  The time was initially somewhere between eight and noon.  However, the cable guy arrived around 7:30  (What!?!?  I know.  They never arrive early.). Anyway, it took two tries to find a new 'Google assistant' that would connect the television to the new cable service.  I personally think that someone inserted an extra letter into the contact email, and that mistake led to the difficulties, but who knows what could've really happened.  Anyway, I now will be getting cable service over the internet, linked by the assistant.  Among the many new features provided by the updated service is DVR storage up to 100 hours per month free.  This also means that I no longer need to use my VCR.  In fact, I can't see any way I could connect the two together.  I have been using VCRs ever since I got my first one in ninth or eighth grade for Christmas.  I was actually with my mother when we picked it up.  She gave a cover story that it was a gift for a relative, when it was actually going to be my gift.  I don't know if the original story was true or not, all I know is that I ultimately got the VCR. (My mother has done this to me before.  One Christmas, I got a pair of pajamas that I know were originally for a male relative who died a few weeks before Christmas.  They were too big for me, and I never really grew into them.) At first, I barely used the VCR, until I discovered that it had an adjustable tuner.  Now, my television back then only could pick up channels two through thirteen.  It was an older model.  However, with the help of my VCR, I. could now pick up all of the other channels beyond thirteen, as long as I watched them over the VCR.  Sure, there weren't that many back then, but I could place them in any order I wanted, making watching faster.  This was especially useful when the cable lineup was expanded when I was in college.  I could even get the scrambled channels, although I couldn't see much. The television lasted longer than that first VCR, and my second one still had a tuner, just not one I could adjust to the way I wanted it.  The old television would finally give out, and the new one could get all the cable channels without using a VCR, but I was still recording through newer models until I got my current one in 2003 after the last big flood.  This one wasn't as flashy as the older models, but it has been working fairly okay with only a few hiccups.  First, there was the switchover to the new digital cable system.  While the VCR worked the first few days afterwards, I found out that it no longer had a directed tuner that could work with the new signal.  This meant that if I wanted to record multiple shows on different channels, I would be forced to pick just one to record on the channel I left the cable box on.  That sucked, as I was forced to forego many programs during the day just to get to see the one I wanted most.  Then, I was forced to purchase off-brand cassettes as stores stopped carrying and manufacturers stopped making the ones I liked.  I was thinking about changing to a disk DVR while I was out of town, but I was still unsure.  By the next time I looked for one there, they were no longer carried.  Only the hard drive models with monthly fee were available.  I didn't want to pay for such a service, so I stuck with my VCR.  I had to find a repairman to fix a problem with the power connections.  It wasn't easy, and the man was kind of sketchy and out-of-the-way, but it worked again.  Finally, I had to buy a new set in 2020.  This model didn't need to use the cable converter box, the second iteration of it, but that meant I couldn't use the VCR.  I found a workaround, but it meant using the cable box remote exclusively.  Speaking of remotes, I had to buy a replacement remote for the VCR (and the old television) a few years ago, and that remote started to have buttons that didn't always work, such as "Power," "Stop," and "2."  That last one was hard to deal with, as it made programming new shows to record tricky and changing the time and date after a power failure next to impossible.  That's a minimum of three 2s.  I was lucky I could get that button to work well enough to keep things working.  For the last few months, the cable box remote was also not working right, with at least seven buttons not working at all.  Just last night, while looking for all of the equipment to return, I found the second box and remote.  This second remote worked fine, and I used it for the last day of the old cable box.  Turns out that they only wanted the convertor boxes.  The remotes, cables, and packaging, we could throw away.  Anyway, just before I left, I programmed the assistant to record a show.  This evening, I will know if it worked and watch the show.  If/when it works, I will rewind my last cassette and finally disconnect my VCR.  Even at my most, I was only recording fifty to sixty hours per month.  For the past few year, this has gone down to about twenty-five to twenty-six hours, well under the 100 hour limit.  In another month, this total will go down by twenty hours, as the program I was watching the most ofter, Days of Our Lives, will be leaving network television to stream exclusively on Peacock.  As of now, I don't think I'll be able to watch it, but that is the topic for another post.

TO BE CONTINUED

I Can't See What You See

     A little over two weeks ago, I had an eye exam.  I had to get new glasses that day as well.  Although I was told that it would only take a week for the lenses to be made and installed, the process took about two weeks instead.  That is why I couldn't write this post last week.  My new glasses weren't in.  I'm not sure why it took so long.  Maybe I had a difficult prescription or there were supply problems or whatever.  By contrast, I was able to get not one pair, but two pairs of glasses one of the last times I needed new frames when I went to a mall on a day trip in about an hour.  Now, neither of those pairs were too complicated.   In fact, I still have the prescription sunglasses that I got that day.  Alas, the other pair broke about four years ago while I was cleaning them.  I had to make an emergency trip to a local optician to get a replacement pair that would work with my lenses.  Fortunately, I was able to find a pair I liked that worked with my current frames.  Unfortunately, the job was slightly rushed and adhesive traces were left on the lenses that couldn't be removed.  Considering how long it took me to find that original pair (months), I was lucky to find anything.  A little later after that fiasco, I had an eye exam.  Although I had an early appointment, I had to wait over two hours, maybe close to three, before I was even called back for prep.  Since I had already passed the time I had said I would open the store, I had to reschedule.  It just wasn't fair to me to wait any longer, especially the thirty plus minutes for my eyes to get dilated. Fortunately, that second time, I didn't have to wait as long.  However, the doctor hinted that I might be needing bifocals soon.  Well, my vision problems started immediately after that visit, beginning with the fact that my eyes took over a day to get back from getting dilated.  Now, it usually took my eyes awhile to get back to normal, that time was well longer than that.  Sometime later, I noticed that I would need to take my glasses off to read sometimes.  This became more frequent, but not too bad, up to the point of my most recent eye exam.  It was with a new doctor, so I had hopes that things would be better.  Most of my waiting time was taken up by filling out my electronic forms on a tablet.  I actually had to ask for some assistance, even though I had read up on how some of those devices work.  The actual exam was fairly routine.  I asked not to have the dilation drops put in.  The staff offered up an alternative, a machine that I could stick my head in to get a better view of my inner eye without having to have drops.  I opted not to go with that either, as it was about thirty dollars that wouldn't be covered by insurance.  At least the other digitized tests had enough information to show that I had a low risk for any problems.  I would be needing bifocals though.  I went with the progressive lenses, thinking that the line in regular bifocal lenses would be off-putting.  That might be the reason for the delay.  It took me longer than normal to find a pair of new frames that I liked as well as afford.  My new frames are in a different style, partially made of metal, so they are slightly heavier than I am used to.  They will probably need to be adjusted so they will sit right.  Getting used to the new lenses is taking awhile.  Everything outside my center of vision tends to move as I do.  Blurring occurs at the edges of the lenses.  This wouldn't be too much of a problem, except I tend to check my peripheral vision constantly and look down frequently when I walk.  The blurring is making hard for me to clean my glasses, as I'm unsure what is a smudge and what is just the natural distortion.  I have had a slight headache, but I am not sure if it due to the weight of my new glasses or if it is my eyes getting used to the new perspectives.  I no longer need to remove my frames to read, but I find myself still wanting to do so.  I've even switched back to my old glasses once for a few hours so that I could work at the computer more comfortably.  I technically can see clearer now, but I still think I might not have made the best choice for the new glasses.