As dad would say.. We off.. but of course you knew that already...
To CTA's summer institute on the UCLA campus. We will be there for a week. I am taking the advanced negotiation strand.
Dad says,"I hope they have scared up a bunch of fence posts!" (You have to argue until the fence post agrees) : )
We are meeting Heather and Lindsay and Sean down in LA on Friday at big D. They are flying home Sunday to work Monday. I have some round up screening to do all day Monday. So we will need to haul the tank out of the So Cal basin too.
Sue has her power wheelchair, and it is loading on the back of the expedition. She has been running it around the block and in the stores. She had to practice in a number of environments before she could begin to feel comfortable with it.
It has the ability to pivot from the rear as it turns just like the tractor where one side gets locked and the other side turns around it,
Amy is watching the cats. Georgie is all over the suitcases the AM. He is sure that he can convince me that he has to go! Fat chance.
Love
Pat
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Tales of a 99 warrior
Fresno was 102 yesterday, Merced was in the middle to high 90.
Against this backdrop I hit the 99 to get the lift mounted on the back of the expedition. Sue had been gifted a power Jazzy wheel chair for people up to 400 pounds. Sue is no where near that.. but to make the gift useful we spent 2900 to buy the lift to move it around the world.
While 99 is nowhere near as exciting as 101. It is a major North South route through the valley to the Sacramento or San Francisco,
The lift company needed the lift and the chair at the same time. This means that I had to go rent a bike trailer from Uhaul and pick up the chair. Take it first to Turlock (about 30miles a way) then go back, turn the trailer back in and then take the Expedition itself back to Turlock to have it modified. The appointment was at 9 AM.
At 8:15.
Three miles north of town on 99 headed North, I had a blowout on the back left tire of the expedition. 99 is too rough a place to change it. So I used my AAA card to have the Expedition towed to Costco. I only waited 20 minutes under the bridge.The tow truck came I was towed back to the Merced Costco. They didn't open until 10. When they opened they put the spare on and said that they did not have tires to fit it.. 17 inch rims. But Turlock had 14. This meant that I was 12 o'clock before I reached Turlock. They took the chair apart and realized that I had to have the batteries replaced in the chair and they had to fabricated a new "dog bone that would fit under the seat to secure it.
They had both the chair and the car at 2 pm. They worked three hours to get it all done. Their little shop was located way out off S. Tegner near a Kozy Shak factory. These are folks that bring you that pudding and tapioca in the tub.
There was no place of entertainment around.It was a bring your own literature spot with a couple of folding chairs in a 10x10 office that had the only air in the entire area. Luckily I was listening to the new Susan Brashears (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame) The Last Summer of You and Me Its a very interesting listen. All about a couple of sisters of very different personalities gown up to 21 years old on an island beach community of the Hamptons. My girls have always wanted to go to the Hamptons. All they got growing up to their chagrin was the cold water beaches of California.
They got it all done at 5 and I started thinking about heading to LA on Sunday with no spare tire. I headed over to the Costco and they said that they had some 17 tires but they did not come with the mileage warrenty that the ones I had on came with. I told the to saddle me up with 4 new ones. It would take about an hour and 45. Sure.. I would wonder around Costco. I called mom and dad on the cell. We had a nice conversation. The tire man hunted me down in Costco The High Cost of Free Parking and said that he really didn't think that I needed new tires after all. Their was 50 percent of the tread still on the tire (actually 60) and that he could replace the damaged tire at that proration and I would be good to go after the others were examined and rotated. I said sure. Upon examination of another tire, he noted there were 5 nails in it and 3 had worked all the way through. He said that it wasn't worth his time to repair all of those so he prorated that tire too to a new one. Two new Michelines for $145. Sweet.
They had a little trouble putting the spare tire up under the car with the lift there so I took the chair off and lowered the lift. I thought they may need to have the swing feature enacted, I started to swing the whole lift to the side. He said he could get to it without. I forgot to snap it back in place and and it was dragging ass to the side as I pulled out... so everything had to be unloaded and and reformed and then put back in place.. no damage done.
I was home at 8:30. Pretty exhausted.
Against this backdrop I hit the 99 to get the lift mounted on the back of the expedition. Sue had been gifted a power Jazzy wheel chair for people up to 400 pounds. Sue is no where near that.. but to make the gift useful we spent 2900 to buy the lift to move it around the world.
While 99 is nowhere near as exciting as 101. It is a major North South route through the valley to the Sacramento or San Francisco,
The lift company needed the lift and the chair at the same time. This means that I had to go rent a bike trailer from Uhaul and pick up the chair. Take it first to Turlock (about 30miles a way) then go back, turn the trailer back in and then take the Expedition itself back to Turlock to have it modified. The appointment was at 9 AM.
At 8:15.
Three miles north of town on 99 headed North, I had a blowout on the back left tire of the expedition. 99 is too rough a place to change it. So I used my AAA card to have the Expedition towed to Costco. I only waited 20 minutes under the bridge.The tow truck came I was towed back to the Merced Costco. They didn't open until 10. When they opened they put the spare on and said that they did not have tires to fit it.. 17 inch rims. But Turlock had 14. This meant that I was 12 o'clock before I reached Turlock. They took the chair apart and realized that I had to have the batteries replaced in the chair and they had to fabricated a new "dog bone that would fit under the seat to secure it.
They had both the chair and the car at 2 pm. They worked three hours to get it all done. Their little shop was located way out off S. Tegner near a Kozy Shak factory. These are folks that bring you that pudding and tapioca in the tub.
There was no place of entertainment around.It was a bring your own literature spot with a couple of folding chairs in a 10x10 office that had the only air in the entire area. Luckily I was listening to the new Susan Brashears (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame) The Last Summer of You and Me Its a very interesting listen. All about a couple of sisters of very different personalities gown up to 21 years old on an island beach community of the Hamptons. My girls have always wanted to go to the Hamptons. All they got growing up to their chagrin was the cold water beaches of California.
They got it all done at 5 and I started thinking about heading to LA on Sunday with no spare tire. I headed over to the Costco and they said that they had some 17 tires but they did not come with the mileage warrenty that the ones I had on came with. I told the to saddle me up with 4 new ones. It would take about an hour and 45. Sure.. I would wonder around Costco. I called mom and dad on the cell. We had a nice conversation. The tire man hunted me down in Costco The High Cost of Free Parking and said that he really didn't think that I needed new tires after all. Their was 50 percent of the tread still on the tire (actually 60) and that he could replace the damaged tire at that proration and I would be good to go after the others were examined and rotated. I said sure. Upon examination of another tire, he noted there were 5 nails in it and 3 had worked all the way through. He said that it wasn't worth his time to repair all of those so he prorated that tire too to a new one. Two new Michelines for $145. Sweet.
They had a little trouble putting the spare tire up under the car with the lift there so I took the chair off and lowered the lift. I thought they may need to have the swing feature enacted, I started to swing the whole lift to the side. He said he could get to it without. I forgot to snap it back in place and and it was dragging ass to the side as I pulled out... so everything had to be unloaded and and reformed and then put back in place.. no damage done.
I was home at 8:30. Pretty exhausted.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Clever Invention Buyers guide
I just bought something kind of cool. A USB powered LED table lamp for the keyboard. It was in the dollar bin (actually $2.50) at Target. With a skin over my keyboard to protect it, It is hard to see the letters.. more like the characters that we seldom use.
After extensive trial the best ear buds on the market for comfort and reliablity are the "thumps" ($39) from Griffin. They are superior to the bose ($99) more comfortable but always losing its silicon ear pieces. And the Radio Shack ($49) too clunky and the sponge rubber tips are nasty. The Xtreme earphones ($150) are great and fit well, but are pricey as are the sure ($219) and produce a little more bass lift. The Sure ($300) are wonderful and the range is something else.. but somehow I have difficulty spending more the earphones than the player. I really shouldn't because the philosophy of putting your money in the output rather than the input could be followed.
In the noise reduction category the JBL reference 510 is my choice ($99 at Costco) ($35 at Ebay package opened) These earphones are active noise reducers. A thriple A battery sends a competing wave to the low frequencies and some high ones to counter the sound wave of the bus or BART or airline sounds. The Sony ($50) ones are good but they take a passive role in sound reduction. Neither are significant in walking enviornmental noise.
Pat walked today and Sue exercised at Anberry today!
We had lunch at Jantz. The menninite bakery restaurant in Atwater. Wedneeday is free pie day. Order a lunch entree and get a free slice of pie... yum. I had Boysenberry and Sue had apple.
After extensive trial the best ear buds on the market for comfort and reliablity are the "thumps" ($39) from Griffin. They are superior to the bose ($99) more comfortable but always losing its silicon ear pieces. And the Radio Shack ($49) too clunky and the sponge rubber tips are nasty. The Xtreme earphones ($150) are great and fit well, but are pricey as are the sure ($219) and produce a little more bass lift. The Sure ($300) are wonderful and the range is something else.. but somehow I have difficulty spending more the earphones than the player. I really shouldn't because the philosophy of putting your money in the output rather than the input could be followed.
In the noise reduction category the JBL reference 510 is my choice ($99 at Costco) ($35 at Ebay package opened) These earphones are active noise reducers. A thriple A battery sends a competing wave to the low frequencies and some high ones to counter the sound wave of the bus or BART or airline sounds. The Sony ($50) ones are good but they take a passive role in sound reduction. Neither are significant in walking enviornmental noise.
Pat walked today and Sue exercised at Anberry today!
We had lunch at Jantz. The menninite bakery restaurant in Atwater. Wedneeday is free pie day. Order a lunch entree and get a free slice of pie... yum. I had Boysenberry and Sue had apple.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Male 3rd grade speak
In the optometrist office I ran into a going into third grader as he was killing time in the lobby waiting for his grandfather to get his eyes examined.
So what topics of conversation do you have with a 3rd grade boy?
School
He liked to read. He was number 2 in his class in AR. (This is a program in the schools that codifies the check out a book and an adult asks you comprehension questions regarding.) He had read 32 books on his level last year. Number one had read 84 books. He was excited about getting into chapter books. One book he read had 12 chapters in it.
He likes math.
He couldn't play talk or consider a narrative plot that would take off on its own. He could recount several and naturally remembered the gory spots.
Video Games and Card Games
He was a game player and had a deck of YuGeeOu. My work with several of my game playing students left me in good stead for this conversation. He had collected a couple of "God" cards that could beat a myrid of other cards in play. He was not at the point where he had specific decks that were themed. No water monster decks etc.
He enjoyed racing games and was quick to describe how to avoid common pitfalls with video racing games. He is always hoping that he could race with the white mustang. It shows up randomly as a race car.
Home and Leisure
He is a raider fan.
He likes to go to Pismo Beach and they haul a toy trailer that has some beds in it.
He was proud of the fact that he was very large for his age.
Overall he was very verbal for his age. Its kind of nice to relate to a student that does not have a language disabilty.
So what topics of conversation do you have with a 3rd grade boy?
School
He liked to read. He was number 2 in his class in AR. (This is a program in the schools that codifies the check out a book and an adult asks you comprehension questions regarding.) He had read 32 books on his level last year. Number one had read 84 books. He was excited about getting into chapter books. One book he read had 12 chapters in it.
He likes math.
He couldn't play talk or consider a narrative plot that would take off on its own. He could recount several and naturally remembered the gory spots.
Video Games and Card Games
He was a game player and had a deck of YuGeeOu. My work with several of my game playing students left me in good stead for this conversation. He had collected a couple of "God" cards that could beat a myrid of other cards in play. He was not at the point where he had specific decks that were themed. No water monster decks etc.
He enjoyed racing games and was quick to describe how to avoid common pitfalls with video racing games. He is always hoping that he could race with the white mustang. It shows up randomly as a race car.
Home and Leisure
He is a raider fan.
He likes to go to Pismo Beach and they haul a toy trailer that has some beds in it.
He was proud of the fact that he was very large for his age.
Overall he was very verbal for his age. Its kind of nice to relate to a student that does not have a language disabilty.
Prune for Peach tree size!
The crop is off so now is the time for the peach trees to get pruned for height. The idea is that if the trees are pruned this time of the year then you can control the size of the tree as it continues to grow though the rest of the summer and into the fall. It also means less pruning when the trees ares are dormant, and the weather is not fun. It means less spraying and perserves the function of the tree.. fruit production but not so that you end up with too much at one time. It is also essential if you have many trees in one area and you need to give light to the other trees.
My goal is to make all my front yard trees less than 8feet tall. This is a challenge in California as the climate wants them to be 20-25 feet tall. So get out those pruners and chop that peach tree now to save you some serious branch removal in the winter! Also make your crops more conducive to your appetite!
My goal is to make all my front yard trees less than 8feet tall. This is a challenge in California as the climate wants them to be 20-25 feet tall. So get out those pruners and chop that peach tree now to save you some serious branch removal in the winter! Also make your crops more conducive to your appetite!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Playoff and Sunday
Sergio Garcia, from Spain almost won the British Open from start to finish. In the end he tied with at Irishman Padraig Harrington. Harrington won in the playoff. He danced around the 18th green with an Irish flag in his hands.
For those of you that don't follow sports I thoought I would keep you up to date. The tournament was held in Scotland this week. Along with the US Open, the Master's tournament and the Player's the British Open repesents the biggest tournaments of the year,
I have covered two of the US open tournaments when we had press passes and photographic passes to the tournaments at the Olympic club and Pebble Beach. What an experience!
Heather was home this weekend to earn some money helping us clean up our house.. We made some wonderful progress.
I replaced toliet seats.. what a job. Those pesky bolts just don't want to come off. The replacement seat bolts I wound with teflon tape. Hopefully they will be easier to remove. I also recalked around the base. You have to do this periodically.
Today i mowed and trimmed the lawn. It was only 97 today.
We are gearing up for our week in So Cal. Hopefully the chair lift will come in soon so that it can be installed.
We are hoping to meet Heather and Sean and Lindsay for a couple of days of big D before we head back home to screening and the start of school.. August 13 with kids.. August 9th report.
The last white peach was picked today. July 22,2007. We still have a dozen pluots left on the little tree. the last of the fruit this year.
For those of you that don't follow sports I thoought I would keep you up to date. The tournament was held in Scotland this week. Along with the US Open, the Master's tournament and the Player's the British Open repesents the biggest tournaments of the year,
I have covered two of the US open tournaments when we had press passes and photographic passes to the tournaments at the Olympic club and Pebble Beach. What an experience!
Heather was home this weekend to earn some money helping us clean up our house.. We made some wonderful progress.
I replaced toliet seats.. what a job. Those pesky bolts just don't want to come off. The replacement seat bolts I wound with teflon tape. Hopefully they will be easier to remove. I also recalked around the base. You have to do this periodically.
Today i mowed and trimmed the lawn. It was only 97 today.
We are gearing up for our week in So Cal. Hopefully the chair lift will come in soon so that it can be installed.
We are hoping to meet Heather and Sean and Lindsay for a couple of days of big D before we head back home to screening and the start of school.. August 13 with kids.. August 9th report.
The last white peach was picked today. July 22,2007. We still have a dozen pluots left on the little tree. the last of the fruit this year.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
2nd Gen Shuffle
Boy Boy arrived last night. He is a 2nd generation shuffle refurb. (blue) Looks in perfect condition.
35 dollars +17 shipping from Texas ebay auction IVEX is the company.. have to have a paypal account
Holds 250 songs.
Forget playlists however you can play in order and scoot by the songs you dont want
Ditch the earphones.. get some Griffin Thumps. They fit your ear better and are sturdy unlike the bose.
Get some exercise music on it and get going!
I found some music that is rated by the beat.. not by the original group and it is dyno.. mite on this little device.. also had to put on 120 Neil Diamond songs... will edit later.
Of course Apple wanted me to register on line.. did it. And there is an option to have it pick randomly form your ITunes library... mine is up to 45 gigs.. so who knows what it would pick.. too risky.
Enjoying Heather home today. She is a Iron and Wine fan too. She says he may be a bit too folksy for her however.
Got to mix up some spray and get the weeds under the trees this AM. Round up.
Have a great Saturday.
Pat
35 dollars +17 shipping from Texas ebay auction IVEX is the company.. have to have a paypal account
Holds 250 songs.
Forget playlists however you can play in order and scoot by the songs you dont want
Ditch the earphones.. get some Griffin Thumps. They fit your ear better and are sturdy unlike the bose.
Get some exercise music on it and get going!
I found some music that is rated by the beat.. not by the original group and it is dyno.. mite on this little device.. also had to put on 120 Neil Diamond songs... will edit later.
Of course Apple wanted me to register on line.. did it. And there is an option to have it pick randomly form your ITunes library... mine is up to 45 gigs.. so who knows what it would pick.. too risky.
Enjoying Heather home today. She is a Iron and Wine fan too. She says he may be a bit too folksy for her however.
Got to mix up some spray and get the weeds under the trees this AM. Round up.
Have a great Saturday.
Pat
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