Computer problems

Finally got the new motherboard yesterday. Installed it last night. It doesn't work. Checked the connections and configuration multiple times. No good. 

So this morning I put the old one back in. Now the computer starts, then shuts down. I'll have to figure out what is going on with that, since the old board worked just fine yesterday.

Really not very happy right now.

I was trying to get it running so daughter could play the computer game she was asking about last time she was here. However, she also started writing something on the computer yesterday and that is now not accessible until I get it running. She can write on the tablet or on paper. Going to suggest she save things to email or cloud account so it can be accessed multiple ways. Unless she uses paper, of course.

She's still sleeping right now. That's a surprise since she went to bed at a fairly reasonable time. 

I went out and checked the soil pH. It's alkaline again. Ran some acid and fertilizer through the line. Hopefully that will bring it back up. If necessary, I'll do that on a daily basis until the soil becomes more acidic.

7 PM- So, even better. The old motherboard will not boot up now. Apparently the new motherboard burned out the processor. I'll have to order a new motherboard and processor and return this board. I'll keep this processor just in case it's still good. If it's good, one of them will serve as a backup in the future.

Once again, daughter didn't want to do anything this weekend. Not sure what is going on with that.

Short entry

I finally ordered something which will help me with all the dust in the house. A portable hand held vacuum. Corded. All the battery operated ones had very short operating and long charging times. This one does have a hose and attachments, so it's not just a "dust buster" type. That will make a big difference in how well I keep the house.

Still progressing slowly on getting the house in order. I made some forward progress this week, since my energy is returning. Though right now I am dealing with the rebound effect of taking iron, which I won't go into. The good part is that the more I get the house in order the easier it gets to get it even more so and keep it that way. Just have to finally bring it to a point that it will stay in order. Then I can focus more energy on just keeping it clean. 

I am still waiting for my new motherboard to arrive and not happy. I ordered it on 5/19/15. If I had ordered from Amazon it would be here already. I will not be ordering anything from Tiger Direct again. They have seriously gone downhill. It was not even shipped until 5/25/15. 

I am still having crappy luck with growing cannabis. One of the new seeds is doing well so far. Another one sprouted and then died. I think because white flies got to it. The last of the first set of seeds has grown taller but still only one set of leaves. And I'm not completely sure it's cannabis rather than some weed seed that blew into the pot. Time will tell. 

Okay, I need to give the house a quick sweep before I go pick daughter up.

Maybe I did..

Maybe I partially tore something in my shoulder, after all. Was trying to scratch my back again and wound up with my arm going slightly limp for just a minute and intense pain for a few seconds. Oh, well. Nothing severe. I still have function and the pain is not constant. Guess it could just be a spasm with that movement. 

Obviously the dog doesn't like the medication. Too bad. He didn't eat his food, so I slipped his medication into a piece of sausage which I gave him. I refuse to take him for a walk until he is calm enough to behave. Waiting for it to take effect now.

I am so glad this week is over. First two work days were okay. Last two days made up for it. 

It really seems like our society is moving backward. I understand why. It's the most ignorant segments of our society who are breeding like cockroaches while the people of higher intelligence have slowed their reproduction rates. 

As a result, we increasingly see negatives rising. Violence, aggression, superstition, voluntary segregation, racism, bigotry over reason, science, education, equality, inclusion.

The most amazing thing is that people actually seem to think this is not going to blow up in their faces. I'm not buying it. I would rather go to hell for standing up for the right reasons, rather than getting into heaven for all the wrong reasons.

Odd event

Odd event last night. I was getting ready for bed and reached around to scratch my back. I got a sudden, sharp, tearing pain in my shoulder. It was so bad I laid on my side on the bed and could barely move for a few seconds. When I could move, I checked my shoulder function and it was fine.

Then a few seconds later I got a sudden whole body chill. In less than three seconds I was shivering violently from head to toe. Covered up with blankets. 

I was afraid I had torn a major blood vessel in my shoulder. However, no swelling, no discoloration. If that happens it is a major medical emergency which could kill you in minutes. It's good to know what to look for. 

The chills and shivering passed after about 10 minutes. So, what I suspect is that I had some kind of cyst in/on my shoulder joint which ruptured. No residual effects this morning of any kind. Just strange.

For a while, I have had a huge craving for dill flavored potato chips. I have been eating them frequently. I think it's just like the pickle juice thing the other day. Means I need more acidity in my diet. The flavoring contains dehydrated vinegar in powder form. Meanwhile I'm also taking vinegar pills daily. 

Pay went in the bank and my account looks awesome..for the moment. Until I pay the bills. However, even once the bills are all paid I'll be further ahead. My next check will take me up to my next savings goal. I had a goal set for the end of this year. If I keep going at the same rate, I will well surpass that goal. For now I want the money where I can access it but in a few months I need to look into investing it, at least in a savings account or something like that.

Time for work.

Procrastination

I've been pretty bad about procrastinating some things for a while now. Part health issues (now slowly fading after a long escalation), part really busy, part lazy I guess.

Promised my boss some seeds about three weeks ago. I finally packed them for shipping this evening. 

Been meaning to get watermelon seeds started for about three weeks, also. Did that this evening, too. 

Yes, the pattern shows how long my health problems escalated. Not too painful, the absolute worst part is fatigue. I've always had a good amount of energy, being tired is so not me.

I suspect I had dropped back into anemia. I had not been taking iron on a regular basis so that came back to haunt me. For about the last week, been taking it daily. (Lots of people may do that but they really do not need that much iron. In fact, it can place them at risk of blood clots, heart attack, pulmonary embolism and stroke.) Not feeling anemic any more. Guess iron needs to be an absolute daily routine. My diet used to supply iron from fortified wheat flour and red meat. Gluten free flours don't have iron added. Red meat is bad for U.C. and very expensive now. 

Tomorrow morning is payday and I have managed to save more than $200 over my goal. I do still owe on a bill or two. I have changed my approach slightly, trying to maintain the highest average bank balance possible. 

Time to get to bed.

More control

Obviously the dog needs more control than I have been exerting. Last night he did not eat the food with the medication in it. Meanwhile the battery in his collar died. Then he managed to knock over the small gate and get out one side of the fence. He was gone this morning when I woke up. He came back and is okay, so I'm glad of that. However, I quickly replaced his battery and put the gate back in place. I'm going to have to wire the gate in place. 

So, that's what I will be doing this evening instead of taking him for a walk. 

I don;t see a lot of other options here and I'm not going to outright punish him but also not going to reward him for bad behavior. 

It would seem my daughter no longer enjoys spending much time with me. Maybe it's about time I start packing my shit and look at getting the hell out of this damn state. She's the only reason I have remained here. If she doesn't want to be around me I'm not seeing the point of being here.

Improving

I'm feeling better this morning than the last few days. Still have some inflammation in the pelvic/intestinal area but decreasing and less painful. Joint aches are much lower. My mind is clear. 

I can theorize all I want. In the end, I'm still not sure what brought this on. I hit it with a shotgun approach, using everything that has worked in the past at once.

The dog is still much better behaved. So, I'm just going to have to keep medicating him for at least a few weeks. Anxiety is an emotional pattern, a habit or cycle which must be broken. It's not possible to reason with a dog, so the options to break that cycle are limited. I'm going to have to keep medicating him until the pattern of calm behavior takes hold and becomes his norm. I realize that may take years. I will try removing the medication once every few weeks to see if the pattern holds. If he goes back to the anxious pattern, he goes back on it the same day. 

6PM- Work was seriously busy today. I had over 90 cases in 8 hours and it was only that low because it finally slowed down slightly near the end of the day. For the first few hours, I was averaging 13 cases an hour. If it had remained at that pace, I would have had 104 cases. As it was, I had 92 or 93. 

The dog is back to his anxious self again. His medication wore off before the end of my work day. So, I am feeding him before we go for a walk (and his medication is mixed in his food). Give that a chance to take effect before we go anywhere. If he doesn't eat, we don't go. I'm not having him break a leash again or pull my arm out of the socket because he will not calm down. 

I didn't get much done this evening. Somehow time just sped away from me and next I knew it was 8:30. 

Tomorrow I need to get under the car and work on a few small things. I have a very slow transmission fluid leak. I think it's either a pinhole leak in a cooling line or just a loose connection. (I am hoping just a loose connection.

Savings

Okay, too many complications getting the second seed order through. So, I'm just letting it go. Instead, save the money and go with the seeds I have for the time being. I've read different reviews which vary widely on this strain, some of which are great and others not so much. The one thing they all agree on is that it is a prolific producer. 

So, instead just going to lay the money aside, limit my spending this week and try to advance my savings by that amount and more. 

I have managed to pull ahead on savings. Of course, major tasks set me back a bit but as I get those all out of the way and tasks get progressively smaller, I'm able to set more aside. 

One big thing is that income drops during the winter. This past winter, I had decreased income but still had major expenses in the form of dentures and insulation plus covering the solarium. I probably can't advance savings during winter but I would like to have things set aside enough so I don't experience a setback then. 

Lunch break almost over. Back to work.

8:45 PM- Dosing the dog did quite a bit of good. He had worked himself up to the point before this that he was having almost daily diarrhea. Two days of medication to calm him down and it's gone. Not improving, not better, gone. Whining is minimal. Took him for a walk this evening and we took the longest walk ever because he was not pulling at the leash over and over. He had previously broken two leashes in three weeks, once trying to chase a cat and once trying to get into someone else's yard. He had been whining for attention, even when I was actively petting him. That ceased. And the smell is considerably improved. I can walk out the back door and not gag any more. Not even as bad standing right over his crap today as it was from 20 ft away a couple days ago. 

I got out this evening, installed more Velcro straps for the solarium sides. Looks a lot better! 

Then got the last five potted tomato plants in the ground. Those were all started from cuttings and had roots which reached the bottom of the pots. They are smaller pots than the earlier ones, 1 gal pots this time. Oh, my mistake. There is one more tomato plant in a larger pot. I actually thought it was dead, then it revived slightly. I moved it back in the solarium, watered and fertilized it. The plants which were in the ground are looking better and better. Greener, bushier, leafier but still short. Probably just because the temperatures have still been dropping pretty low until recently. Tomatoes love heat to a certain degree. If they get too hot, they stop flowering or producing fruit. 

The first of the newer cannabis seeds sprouted out of three planted. I think (not sure yet) a second one is about to show by tomorrow. Meanwhile, the one remaining of the first set of seeds from the dispensary is looking sickly and has not even developed a second set of leaves yet. Possibly also due to temperatures but not sure. I have much higher hopes for the second set of seeds. 

By the way, under current rules the max I'm allowed is 12 seedlings and 4 mature plants. I definitely do not need that amount. Though if things continue at this rate, I may start that many. Just to have something reach maturity and hopefully produce seeds for future years. 

Garden fence is done!

Finally! I got the garden fence completed! I will have to keep a small piece of wire fence attached at one end because I could not set the post close enough to the chain link fence. Tree roots and multiple other problems. That will barely be noticeable unless you're really looking for it, though. And it could be hidden even more with foliage. 

One way I could easily hide it is a grape vine if I set it to grow over the wire and onto the wood fence. 

That will be easier than expected because of what I learned today. The red grape vine has propagated itself. I no longer have one red grape vine but four of them! The way this apparently happened was that vines from the "mother" grew along the ground, then became buried. After that, those sections formed their own root systems and became separate vines. 

Too bad that hasn't happened with the seedless green grape vine but it gives me an idea for this year on how to finally successfully expand the number of seedless grape vines, using the same approach. Once they form roots, I can cut their connection to the "mother", dig them up and plant them wherever I want them. 

I can probably use the same approach with the wisteria and the blueberries. All are bushes or vines which would propagate in that manner. This is how I plan on decorating the arbor I plan on building down the center of the garden. 

Yes, some of my plans are ambitious and will take years to complete. But they will be worth it in the long term. 

By the way, I only learned about the four vines when I got deep into the vine and tree branches to trim extensively. That was when I found a vine growing up and around the trees. I knew I had trimmed all the lateral vines coming from the main grape vine a few days ago, so started looking closer. That was when I found one. Then was trimming more from the main vine (I thought) and cut away over 20 lbs of growth. That was when I found a second new vine. The last one I did find the other day because it is out, away from the fence. So, the mother and three descendants. 

Took a break, got the extension for the last solarium support post up and secured. I should add some cross beams in the center sometime to decrease lateral movement in strong winds. 

Picked up the dog mess. His stench keeps getting worse because the more time I spend with him, the more attention he wants. The absolute fact is that dogs want so much attention that it is not possible within the realm of physics to satisfy their need. I finally got sick enough of it that I dosed the dog to calm him down. It worked for the time being. He's quite conscious and functioning but calmer. No whining. I'm sure that's temporary. Now to wait and see if it decreases his odor. That's one of the problems when dogs get anxious for attention. The smell keeps getting worse. It's really bad when you cannot walk out in your back yard without gagging. (I've been a nurse for over 20 years. Nothing should make me gag like that!)

Paranoia

I keep looking/listening to other people and realizing just how paranoid people really are. And I don't get it.

If a person's life is perfect, what are they afraid of? 

Just because your life is perfect today does not mean it will stay that way. We all get older. Natural and man-made disasters and events happen. 

So many people hit a point in their lives where they don't want anything to change. Yet change had to happen for them to reach that point. The right pieces had to fall into place. They had to learn the right subjects. They had to be in the right place at the right time, under the right circumstances. 

One of the greatest abilities humans have is the ability to adapt to change. Changing weather, changing social structures, changing living conditions, changing politics, changing financial conditions. 

History proves clearly that groups of people who fail to adapt to change are doomed to extinction for that group. The world continues to change around them. Eventually that group gets smaller and smaller until they no longer exist. 

One of our abilities to change comes from our ability to learn. Any living organism which fails or refuses to learn becomes static. A living organism must continually learn, grow and adapt. If it remains static, it begins to decay and will die. 

I also find paranoia to be a drug in and of itself. We all have certain fears but that does not equate to paranoia. With paranoia, a person actually gets a mental rush from their fear, whether they are aware of it or not. Like any other addiction, the rush from one fear declines over time. So they must develop a different fear. Like a drug addict going up on their dose or trying a new drug. They are always trying to capture the initial rush. Yet they will only manage to do this when they are so afraid of everything in existence that they are too afraid to function and are trapped within their own mind. In which case, they will not live long because they will be too afriad to eat, drink or breathe. 

Still nothing

Almost 11 AM- I still haven't gotten moving. I am rather enjoying just relaxing but the main reason is that it's rather cool for this time of year. A bit cool inside and the weather reports says it's 58 degrees outside. (I haven't ventured out to check yet. It probably is warmer in the sun.) Still a Texan by nature. 58 degrees is kind of cold to me.

No matter what, I know me. Once I get moving, I tend to get a lot done in a short time. Never as much as I plan, so it seems like less. Long as I take time to prioritize things, I'm pretty efficient. 

As of right now, things are looking like this is going to be a rather cool summer across the US. Can't wait to hear the climate change deniers talk about that. They never grasp the global concept or understand the changes here are the result of warming ocean temperatures. Oceans are the greatest heat reservoirs on the earth's surface. Something else they don't grasp because they don't understand heat as being comparative. 

For the most part, I'm not going to complain if this also means an increase in rainfall concurrently here. I'm sure Texas is not happy because there is a lot of flooding going on there recently. Though it is funny how the reactions have changed over the years. Flooding was of course not a good thing years ago but Texans accepted it as a normal course of nature which happens sometimes. You adjust, do what you can and change your normal schedule to go along with it. 

2:45 PM- got out, moved a bunch of scrap wood around, got some more organized and started burning a lot of it (not stable enough to use for much). Now it started drizzling. Waiting to see if it's going to continue.

Also trimmed the grass in the garden. Looks a lot better now. I still need to trim the grass in the front yard if it stops raining. 

Still dragging butt. Feel like my entire intestinal tract is inflamed and bloated. Still better than yesterday. It may not have been the root cause but I'm sure the stress of work this past week did not help the condition in the least. 

6:30 PM- Trimmed the grass in the front yard and finished burning all the unwanted wood..for now. Tacked down black plastic over the clear plastic in much of the garden, since the weeds were just growing underneath the clear plastic. 

So, the whole back and front yard look much better.

Slept late

I slept a little late this morning. That's one of the benefits of long weekends, right?

Feeling better than yesterday, still. However, I am still going to drink more pickle juice. 

I had pretty much stopped taking apple cider vinegar tablets. Apparently they were helping more in the long term than I had thought. Doesn't matter whether it's Candidiasis or an electrolyte imbalance, it's readily evident I need some acidic supplementation for my gut. Finding out why would be expensive and probably useless if control is the same. Though doctors would commonly propose something more expensive and more toxic than vinegar. I'm not all into organic and against standard medicine but prefer that route as last resort. 

This probably also explains the weight loss. If Candidiasis overgrows or the intestine becomes to inflamed (either one) it blocks the absorption of nutrients. So no matter how much I eat, only a fraction actually goes beyond the intestinal tract. That's why I have been eating candy and chips by entire bags and haven't increased my weight by a single ounce which remains for more than a few hours. Plus increased anxiety in spite of being on cannabis.

Of course, the strange part is that the acidity makes it past the stomach. Kind of challenges the traditional wisdom that acidity would be neutralized in the stomach. Oh, well. Next step is to figure out the best schedule for this.

Here's something cool- I must have a lot of hummingbirds visiting the feeder which I haven't seen. Only seen one or two. Yet one of the feeders was empty yesterday evening. I was afraid it sprung a leak but looked around for signs of that and did not see any. Took it down to refill, filled it with water, shook it and tilted it, no leaks. Filled it with nectar and hung it back out. 

I'm still not seeing any life from the milkweed seeds. WTH? 

Okay, a lot of things to do today and make up for being a sloth yesterday.

Dragging butt

Got to the dispensary, Home Depot, Harbor Freight and stopped for cigarettes. By the time I got home, I was wiped out. Can't believe that little wears me down. 

I did set the cross beams for the fence. Didn't even think about it but I have to let the slats dry at least until tomorrow, maybe Monday. I have a few I can set that I had previously but most are pretty damp. 

I spent the extra money for a decent cordless drill. The best I've had so far. One reason I spent the extra money is that it has a quick charge battery, only one hour. The other model they had takes 2-3 hours to charge. So if the charge runs down, it will be just long enough for a break and then can get back to work on whatever. It also has a slow enough speed that I can use it as an electric screwdriver. 

Got another free LED flashlight. They keep sending coupons for them, so I have several of them now. I think this is the third I've gotten for free, plus two I bought. Slightly OCD but I have a thing for flashlights. LED lights are great because these have 27 LED bulbs. Very bright, have a hook and a magnet, so I keep them on the fridge, easy to find plus batteries last a long time. And they don't use some weird batteries that have to be special ordered. 

6:15 PM- I may not have the energy to do major tasks but I forced myself to get up and so some minor stuff. 

Got what dry slats I have set. So I only have like 6-8 ft of fence to finish. I'll probably have some slats left over. Do the rest tomorrow or Monday.

Trimmed off all the dead roses. The phosphorous I used last year has done amazing things. Last year I had more roses than ever before. So far this year they have seriously surpassed anything from last year. I was considering adding more triple phosphate this year but probably not a good idea. It's not very mobile in soil like Nitrogen. It doesn't deplete except by what plants use up or with runoff, which I don't because it doesn't rain enough and the land is flat. So, the fertilizer has Phosphates in it, which is good enough for maintenance. 

So, aside from that, maybe dishes, cooking and laundry, I'm going to take it easy today. Then get into things more aggressively tomorrow. 

I see in the news that Ireland chose by popular vote to legalize same sex marriage. Ireland is very conservative Catholic for the most part. Conservative Protestant almost the rest. Yet they have proven themselves to be more progressive and open minded that America. How terribly sad.

We live in a world where all the pieces are in place for this country to advance peacefully to eliminate poverty, hunger, hatred and bigotry and provide medical care and social services for all of our residents. We have the resources, we have the social enlightenment for a select number. Yet we continue to be held back by bigots, religious zealots and the greed of a very small percentage. And those people defend their "right" to greed and hatred with a vengeance, supported by a brainwashed cohort that listen to their propaganda. 

The only thing some of us can do is keep pushing truth, science and peacefully publicly showing hate for exactly what it is.

9 PM- Now I know the problem. I was coming down with diarrhea. Well, maybe. I have it now. Earlier I had an unexplained compulsion to drink pickle juice. So I did. A few hours later, the diarrhea started. That means one of two things. Either an electrolyte imbalance or Candidiasis. In any case, I'm feeling better. Too late to get much more done today but I will drink more pickle juice and keep myself on track for tomorrow. All the aches, pains, fatigue and brain fog have lifted. 

Starvation mode..again

So, made it to the gym last night. Had to keep the workout rather light. For one, didn't want to make myself so sore I wouldn't feel like accomplishing things this weekend. 

For another, it is as I feared. Because I have gained muscle mass, that means the weight at which I reach starvation mode is higher. So, I'm pretty much there now at 160 lbs. I wasn't sure until I went to the gym but I'm remaining right on the edge lately. While working out, I started sweating and extraordinary amount, heart started racing (on the pec fly machine, not any aerobics, which I didn't do) and my recovery between sets was abnormally long. 

My temper also became very short. I didn't act on it in any way but was acutely aware that my emotional responses were very intensified internally. Very likely I would have acted on it if I were not ruled by reason and know myself well enough to know that just isn't me. 

I backed off using the protein powder while not working out. That's a mistake. No matter how expensive it is, I need to keep taking the protein powder on a daily basis. Even if it doesn't help increase my reserve, it prevents my body from raiding muscle mass for protein. 

Going to also eat a lot of ground meat and potted meat for snacks this week, see if that helps. 

If I thought it would help I would eat pure vegetable shortening but I can't digest that much fat at once. 

Try and force myself to eat many small meals and snacks through the day. 

Going to the dispensary today. The mixture of different kinds of cannabis helps me relax but does little for my appetite. Plus the strain from the pre-rolled thing they gave me (which I emptied and mixed in with the rest) makes me unmotivated and slightly paranoid. Yuck. I'll keep that as a backup but try not to use it. I really hope at least one seed matures into a full grown plant. Though if it does, it will take up to 10 weeks to mature and then has to be dried for at least 4 weeks, more is preferable. 

With my savings goals for right now, I have about $400 to spend this week. I have enough food. The cost at the dispensary does not come out of that amount. Keeping medical savings separate. I'll try to avoid spending all of the $40 but I do still need cigarettes and have one or two bills to pay which posted since I paid other bills. See what happens.

I also have to get to Harbor Freight. The charger for the cordless drill died. They all do eventually. If they have the same model I'll get that but it looks like they have done away with that model, battery and charger. Good timing for it. I have a coupon for 20 percent off. 

Have to get the slats to complete the fence today. Almost there but not quite.

Back to the cannabis issue. I am still trying to maximize the physical effects while mostly minimizing the mind effects. That may be where growing my own will come in handy. From what I've read, even non-THC hemp contains CBD in small amounts. It is also contained in the leaves of THC plants (some, not all) but the THC is much lower in leaves than buds. So the leaves may well prove more benefit than the buds, which is all you can buy at the dispensary. 

Okay, time to get moving.

Before leaving, I checked the website of the dispensary. Current news is proposed changes to the medical cannabis program. Changes which drastically increase costs for producers and patients. They increase (with massive license fee increases) the amount a non-profit grower can produce, while decreasing the amount by half which a patient can grow. Plus a patient must be re-certified (and of course pay fees, which are also increasing) every year, even for permanent conditions. The newspaper article quotes how much money the government would make from this. Yeah, and where does that money come from? 

Fine. I can have two mature plants? I checked the rules. It says two mature plants but does not state a limit on the size of the plants. Once a plant gets to a certain size, I know how to make it produce multiple stems, each of which produce more leaves and buds.

I'm not a criminal but if I have to go dark on this, I will. Not shooting for Walter White here, just personal use. However, I will not passively condone abuse by the state government. Some studies show as much as over 70 percent of Americans favor legalizing and taxing cannabis for recreational use. Long as the police have no reason to search my property, there would be no problem. I'll keep the plants in the solarium or the office and grow large amounts at once, then wait until supply gets low to grow any more. I still think one good plant would supply me for several years. 

No seeds

So, I tried making a few calls about the seeds today. The bank would not approve an out of country charge. That's on my medical savings account. Tried calling the customer service line twice but could not get through. So I emailed them, asked if they could use the same card I used for the earlier order. However, if the order would change to the current offer, just cancel it for now. 

Off for a 3 day weekend! Yay! Pretty sure I can get quite a bit done this weekend. 

Guess if I want to go to the gym, it has to be early this evening and on Sunday. On Monday they're only open until 1 PM. I'm not so hot on morning workouts. 

Okay, have to go walk the dog if I want to get to the gym tonight before they close.

Hole in my gut

Thanks to all the IT issues and in-house political BS, I don't feel much like working today. The stress is eating holes in my gut, literally.

Oh, well. At least I have a job which I usually like.

Here's a cool thing- Looked out this morning and saw a baby hummingbird at one of the feeders I hung on the solarium! I like seeing them so close to the house. If they keep feeding there, I'll try to get some pictures of them sometime. That will be a valid test for the new camera. 

Interesting. My first seed order from Amsterdam went through within a day. It's been at least two days now sine my second order, yet no charge has been applied to my account and no confirmation email yet. If no further word today I'll have to check into it more.

6:30 PM- I was going to go to the gym tonight. Changed my mind. Maybe tomorrow night. Just not in the mood. This weekend is a 3 day weekend, so maybe I can get there tomorrow and Sun or Mon. Overall, I feel okay except my gut, as mentioned above. 

Today was comparatively better than the first three days this week. Still kinda sucked, though. 

The fax queue is back up. Way, way up! I've been expressing the suggestion that the company open up positions for people work nothing but written. Not happening. They keep doing the same thing, have some people work written but then the call queue picks up and those people are pulled from written to phones. So, they keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Meanwhile, still nothing being done at the source for all the calls being routed to the wrong extensions. I probably had at least 15 calls which came to the wrong extension and another 15 for which I had to build cases, which the company has non-clinical positions to handle. Then they go spastic when calls back up. 

This has been one of those weeks all around. 

Checked into the seed thing mentioned above. Today they changed their policy to 5 free seeds of one strain, rather than 20 free seeds of the same strain you purchase. However, I placed my order before that change took effect. The price remains the same for the primary order. If they make that change to my order, I'll just cancel because I'd be getting only 10 of the strain I want and 5 I don't know much about. As opposed to 30 of the seeds I want. It's probably a seasonal thing, so I may order all my seeds in the off season.

I also ordered a new motherboard on the 19th. Today is the 21st and it hasn't shipped yet. I emailed them and told them if it's not shipping this week to cancel the order. 

Dog walk

Taking a short break. Then maybe work on the fence. Want to do it now, so if I need any more supplies I can get them this weekend. 

This week for work is horrible. IT issues so frequently it feel like things messing up is more the norm than things working properly. Not quite true but happens many times a day. Yesterday they had me install new hardware, then made changes ("updates") to the entire system. Which have meant time to adapt to the changes. Plus the changes have caused a lot of problems.

Then there has been a problem with one health plan for the last couple of weeks having their own specially trained reviewers. That's fine in itself. However, the non-clinical people have continuously been transferring the calls to the wrong extension. So the callers get bounced from extension to extension over and over. Not bad enough yet? Few days ago we got an email, threatening the reviewers who are not trained for that health plan if they process one of the cases. No mention of reprisal for the people who keep transferring the calls improperly. (Which health plan is only one minor entry on a page full of information and usually one of the last things you look at. Not enough yet? They also posted a notice threatening reviewers for entering a note on cases we do not actively process. However, earlier training made it mandatory to make an entry for any case we open and what was done with it. Such as the cases mentioned above, I should note I received the call in error and transferred the call to the correct extension. In other instances, if I open an old case to obtain information for a new case (and the caller lacks information) I should make an entry in both cases and cross-reference the case numbers. The goal here is very apparent-to reduce the amount the company is paying for processing the cases. 

I understand the finance and business issues involved. However, I also understand accuracy and adequacy of documentation. Each entry is a chain of custody and responsibility. Plus there is the fact that if I am receiving calls which I cannot process, it takes time away from cases I can process. If they do not want to pay me for those cases, they need to take more serious steps to keep those cases from going to the wrong people in the first place. If I have to spend more time obtaining information from a different case, it slows me down and I have to accurately document where I gained my information. 

So, fine. If they are going to issue direct orders to leave documentation incomplete or inaccurate I am going to very extensively save every letter of those orders. I'm going to cover my ass. 

9:30- Got out and put up most of the rest of the fence. Only 1 1/2 sections left and the one post is set for that one. Probably take me an hour or less. However, I do need more slats. Plan the rest for Saturday.

I have a few errands to run on Sat, so that fits in. All of it on the other side of town, so do it all in one trip. 

Sadly, the dispensary is opening a new location in Los Lunas.. In June. I don't have enough left to last that long and I want to finish the fence before that.

Trimmed the red grape vine yesterday. It was stretching out with new extensions. Keeping it trimmed back better this year to increase the size of the grapes. It means fewer grapes but larger and hopefully better quality. 

I'm still not sure about the apples this year. Not seeing much fruit starting there. Or on other apple trees in the area (all crab apples except my own). Maybe later? Either that or there just won't really be an apple crop this year because of the late frost after the trees flowered. 

New motherboard

So, a couple of years ago when a power surge burned out my power supply it also slightly damaged one part of the motherboard. The video channel of the board. Haven't been able to play video games on the computer or transmit video from the computer to the TV. Plus rebooting takes nearly half an hour. Aside from that, the computer works okay. Some videos will make it overheat because it makes the processor work too hard. 

This weekend, daughter wanted to play a video game. Couldn't do it. So I ordered a new motherboard yesterday. Wanted to let the financial dust settle from paying the bills. All clear and enough left over to not be taking away from savings. 

Motherboard for this computer still isn't cheap but the price has come down since I last checked by $15-20. The one I ordered is factory refurbished but it is a gamer's card which cost nearly twice the price new. It will handle multiple video cards and monitors. Not sure I'll go that far but if I do I'll get a used monitor and see if both my video cards work. If I go that route, video cards have come down in price with the price of memory in recent years. Not sure of that one. Not seeing the benefit of multiple displays except bragging rights. I'm a geek but I'm a rational geek.

I may eventually get around to replacing the solid state drive, which allowed for a boot time of like 30 seconds or less. That also got burned out by the power surge. However, computer is working well on the 2 TB drive, so that's not a priority for now. Prices on those have come down but I'm sure they will continue to drop as those drives become more mainstream. Who knows? Maybe once I replace the motherboard the old one may work again. 

I had tried replacing the video card but that didn't do any good since the board isn't recognizing the card. Had to remove the driver for the card for the computer to work properly on the native Windows driver. 

Another chance of rain tomorrow. Probably work on more of the fence tonight and go to the gym tomorrow. For the moment, keeping trips to the gym to once a week. Until my weight comes back up a little. 

Seeds!

The cannabis seeds arrived this afternoon. Only 9 days since they shipped! Not bad, since they're coming from Amsterdam. 

I already planted 3 of them. 

Three of my four locally bought seeds died off. I may have over-fertilized or maybe the soil wasn't acidic enough. Turns out they grow best in slightly acidic soil. So, when I planted these I added a small amount of vinegar to the water. Only a few tablespoons. See if different seeds and more acidic conditions make a difference.

Seeing that the service was good, I ordered some more expensive seeds within a couple of hours, for a higher quality strain. This strain is called "Blueberry" and supposed to have a berry flavor to the finished product. 

You can buy auto-feminized or auto-flowering seeds but most of those do not produce seeds. Meaning future seeds will cost more money. And these are not cheap. So I fully intend to grow male and female plants. Some female plants I will keep separate for higher quality. I'm not worried about a lower THC level, though. I do plan on producing and saving seeds for the future. May not need them but if I find a strain I like I want to experiment as I have mentioned before. I'm also not against sharing seeds with other licensed patients. Maybe trade in some cases for decent strains. I may also try cross-pollinating and see if I can increase the yield of the Blueberry strain, just for kicks. Though it's supposed to grow as high as 87" (over 7 ft!) tall, so that may not be necessary. Never hurts to try just for fun. Goes right along with other things I grow for giants. Sunflowers, corn, pumpkins, tomatoes. It's a challenge to grow the largest crops possible for bragging rights and highest yield. 

I have no urge to breed for highest potency. I'm still a lightweight and one gram lasts me 3-4 weeks. Been at least a month since I went to the dispensary and I have a week's supply left, maybe two. (I combined everything in one bag, stuff I like more and stuff I don't like so much just to keep it from going to waste and costing more money.) 

Since the above paragraph, I went out and dug holes and set posts. One for the last fence post needed. Another post for the final solarium supporting post. That last is way overdue. The beam has held together well but when the wind gets strong enough, that beam bounces a lot. The supporting post also anchors the beam. 

I have had people lately tell me I am negative. For a while I was seeing that in myself. However, I am seeing it differently now. There are several key subjects I have been focusing on. 

One is religion. Right wing Christians have been excessively aggressive politically and socially. I'm fine with them having their own religion and beliefs. When I stand up is when they try to force their beliefs on others, depleting or destroying the rights of others. It is no secret young people are leaving the Christian church en masse for years now. Listen to Christian fanatics and they claim it is because of the evil ways of young people or they have been brainwashed. I see it differently. I think they are leaving the church because they are not sold on a religion which propagates hatred, lack of acceptance and so much judgement. Basically they are leaving the church to be able to keep the very values the church lays claim to and yet their actions and behavior goes completely against it. I have no desire to attack or destroy the religion. Only the false prophets.

Another issue is anti-GMO movement. Some people see this as nothing but a preference. However, there is so much false information being propagated that I can't stand it. If the Organic lobby has their way, they will force suppression of GMO crops. This is of concern because of many reasons. For one, GMO's produce up to 4 times as much food in the same space as non-GMO crops. So, to produce the same amount of food as currently produced, remove GMO's from the picture and we would have to farm 4 times as much land. Meaning deforestation. It would take more time, money, labor, equipment and fuel to farm the additional land. Then those crops would be much more prone to failure for the very things GMO's are bred against. Insects, crop disease, weeds, drought.. The organic lobby promotes non-GMO's as safer and healthier. Nutritionally scientific studies have shown no difference. The safety claims relate to the use of pesticides but they focus almost exclusively on one pesticide. Glyphosate. However, real studies have shown that "organic" crops use many times the amount of pesticides and sometimes herbicides than GMO's. At the same time they skip right over the risk of various infections which have been widespread over the last few years. E Coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Mad Cow, CJD and more. I don't have any problem with people who make the choice to buy and eat organics. That's fine, it's their right and I would not wish to take it away. However, too many people (and the organic industry) cannot just accept that right and leave it at that. Instead, they want to destroy the GMO industry. If they were to succeed, prices on everything would increase, putting people already in poverty at risk. Some prices could increase as much as quadruple. At the same time, I detest being lied to and their entire industry is building itself very much on lies. So many people are brainwashed but they consciously refuse to read actual scientific studies on the matter. 

So, it's not a matter of anger. Anxiety, yes. Standing up for people to keep them from being negatively affected by what amounts to nothing but superstition, yes. Keeping poor people and children from starving, yes. Holding back religious fanatics from destroying the rights and lives of others, yes. Some of this can come across as anger. Simply because I refuse to stand down when certain groups of people intentionally, maliciously or blindly attack the rights of others. In the end, it's not anger. It's just not backing down or turning my back while there is a clear and present danger to so many lives. 

More rain

Forecast calls for more rain tonight and maybe tomorrow. Not going to get much done with the fence for a few days. Again, have to let the wood sit out and dry before I can install fence slats. Can't set concrete in the rain. Oh, well. 

My cannabis plants all died off. Except maybe one but I'm not completely sure that's cannabis and not an invasive seed which blew in from the yard. Glad I have more seeds on the way. I guess I will order additional seeds if these arrive safely. Maybe I over-fertilized these. Not sure. The ones I have on order are basically for size, output and ease of growing. They're also "old school" and not recognized for high quality or THC level. The more expensive seeds I'm considering are better known for better taste and slightly higher THC levels. Still considering it. 

Not feeling horrible but not great. I've had fairly mild intestinal pain for a few days. Ever since I ate some jalapeno chicken and rice. Have to leave jalapenos behind, for the most part. Dang it. 

On top of that, today seriously sucked at work. Phone problems laid me to the side, so I wound up having to do fax cases all day. I hate doing fax cases. Looks like people have gotten even more idiotic than before. Nearly every case had multiple faxes attached. In many cases, it was the exact same information over and over again, the same pages. Can't just close any of them until I compare page by page to make sure. Then most of them still went to review by a medical director. Meanwhile, the company IT department denied that it was an in-company problem, so I had to spend more time calling my ISP just for them to confirm there was no problem with my connection. 

Still trying to pack on a few more lbs and not succeeding very well. Cannabis is helping in that respect. Makes me get hungry and eat late, just before sleep. Plus sleep and muscle spasms. Too bad I can't use it much while I'm awake. I do not like the way it affects my mental acuity. That's the biggest reason I want to grow a significant amount- to experiment with different mixtures and preparations which have less mental effects while maximizing the physical benefits. That may mean trying different varieties of varying strength and balances between Indica and Sativa. I'll get there, just a matter of time. I suspect oral ingestion may have better effects for me but it does take longer for those effects. 

Big error

Few nights ago, I found I had missed my daughter's last choir performance. It was my own fault. The ex had texted me about it a month before the performance. Somehow, the message got misplaced, both in my head and in my phone. I asked my daughter about her last performance the weekend before and she didn't know when it was. Plus my phone was acting up.

Most of all, my crappy memory, which is legendary. Anyone who has ever known me knows how bad my memory has been my whole life.

When I found out, I almost cried. I apologized sincerely to my daughter this weekend.

The ex made a copy of her recording of the performance on disk. The audio was good. The video was choppy, like a late 90's digital recording. Nothing I can do to improve it. I transferred it to the hard drive and it made little difference. 

Daughter said she will be in choir again next year. I'll have to keep things more organized next year. There is really nothing I would put ahead of seeing her perform, save emergency surgery or something like that. 

Daughter didn't feel so good this weekend. Summer cold or something like that. Offered many times to go out and do something but she didn't feel like it.

This does become a concern for me. She isn't being very active. She used to love to take walks with me or do things like go to the zoo. Lately, she just wants to stay home. 

I have tried taking daughter shopping for clothes a few times. She never wants to go clothes shopping with me. So, I wrote a check for a little extra money to the ex for clothes for daughter. I understand. Daughter is a girl, mother is a girl and I have made a few bad choices in the clothing department in the past. Guess I've always been fairly fashion challenged. It wasn't a lot of money but I'll try to give more now and then. 

I got out and sprayed weeds to day. After all the rain they started coming up in droves. Made some heavy wire hangers, wrapped them with fly paper and hung the hummingbird feeders outside. Close to the house this year. One on the tree and two right on the outer edge of the solarium. 

I picked up more lumber for the rest of the fence. Hopefully enough slats to complete it. 

The dog did not get a walk today. He is ever increasingly whiny. The more attention he gets, the more attention he wants. So maybe it's better if I back off until he calms down. 

Slow week, still

There's another reason beyond my arm I am not getting too much done this week. The arm and the weather are big parts. However, to be honest there are several TV shows I am a fan of. Almost all of them have their season finales this week. 

It's good timing. Just as days are getting longer and weather is warming up. 

Even though I am sitting all day for work, even in the same chair I use in the evening, I can't relax while working. After work, I typically walk the dog, maybe do a couple of other things and then need a break. By then, it's 7 PM and often one of the shows I like is on. I could record them but then watch them when? 

So, starting next week most of the shows are on off season. So I can kick things into high gear. 

I have also been toning things down because of my weight. I was dropping too much off between working out and doing things in the house and yard. Had to put a few lbs back on before pressing on. 

The wisteria came today, alive, green and healthy! It was a little dry but should perk up now that I put it in a larger pot and gave it water. They even shipped it in a small pot! First plant I've ever received that way. 

Tomato plants seem to be picking up speed. Except one of them. Not sure what's wrong with that one, maybe wind damage. 

The new phone has been unplugged for around 30 hours now. Battery charge is still at 45 percent. In that time, I've downloaded or updated programs and sent a number of text messages last night. So, I'm very happy about that. Though I think I may check to see how much it costs for an external power supply or extra battery and charger. 

Gym vacation

Looks like I have to take an unscheduled vacation from working out. Aside from not wanting to drive my weight down lower, another issue. Somehow, I managed to strain my entire left arm, from shoulder to thumb. That takes talent!

I need to get an EMF meter. I was sitting in my usual spot last night and a shadow passed across the living room ceiling in the shape of a person. This was at night and the only light source was the lamp, which is 4 ft tall. So what cast the shadow had to pretty much go over the lamp. It did not appear or feel threatening, though.

Checked the tomato cuttings. They looked slightly weak for a while but gaining strength now. That's normal for cuttings. May even look dead until they form roots. It's obvious these are forming roots. Going to move them out and get them used to full sun again. Maybe just to the window at first.

9:45 PM- Sitting tonight out, for the most part. Because of the arm thing above. Plus a couple of favorite shows have season finales tonight. 

The new phone came tonight. It's really nice. Still learning how to use it and set it up.

I did get outside, walked the dog and set the gladiolus in the ground. Good timing because they were about to become root-bound.

Had to turn the irrigation system back. It was drowning the tomatoes because of the plastic sheeting. However, I'm pretty sure it helped reduce the sodium in the soil. Seems to be doing a good job on the grass and weeds. 

Going to finish setting up the phone and get to bed.

Nothing much

Not a bad day at work. Not terribly busy, not too slow. Actually had some fairly nice people calling. That was a shock!

The weather is about to change again. Strange week. Cold on Sat, nice Sun and Mon, now getting ready to rain and/or hail next 2-3 days.

Took my last chance to do some work outside before the flood. Turned out I didn't have to sharpen the chipper blades. They're reversible and I had sharpened them last year, so I just turned them around. Chipped as much wood as possible before dark. I need to cut a lot of it down to smaller sizes before I can run it through the machine. 

I've been meditating a lot lately, even when physically active. I tend to be good at that, with so many years of meditation behind me. Going through another forward spiritual evolution. Putting combat behind me for the time being. The world is so full of people who are set in one direction. Most of the time, the only way to get through to them is direct confrontation. I just need to find ways to get through in a way that's effective..and doesn't seem weak or get me killed. So many men of peace have been slaughtered in the past. Anyone that teaches peace makes themselves a target from the people who are completely set on hate. Above all else, that one thing makes me believe in the existence of evil.

Not much else to write about today. Kind of a boring day. Not a bad thing.

Some progress

Yes, I'm moving slightly slow today. I have gotten three posts in the ground. Three bottom cross beams set, also. Have to wait a bit before installing the top beams and then the slats. Some of the concrete isn't hardened enough yet. If I install the top beams it will drag the alignment off. Besides, the cordless drill and screwdriver need to charge up. 

Funny, too cold yesterday and now rather hot in the sun today. Have to stop once in a while to cool down. 

I need to go to Home Depot for more slats for the final sections but can't do that until I close off the current sections. Too much risk the dog will invade and destroy things. Kind of the main purpose of the fence. No urge to go to the store and come back to find the garden in ruins. If it comes down to it, I can staple the poultry netting on the frame temporarily. 

With my expenditures, I did start eating into prior savings a little. Not badly. Part of it is because I paid for the cannabis seeds with my regular account instead of the medical savings. Medical savings has a connection to my job. Just not taking a risk of any problems that may occur there. But it's a trade. Just means more money remains in that account. 

Besides, I am finishing the fence before the growing season gets in full swing. I should be able to finish it this week. I still have to let the slats sit in the sun and dry before installing them. So, I may get the frame done but not the whole fence today. 

The dog is getting on my nerves. True to dog form, the more attention he gets, the more attention he wants. If I don't pay attention to him he either whines, stays under my feet, looks depressed or chews on things while watching me. Kind of reminds me of some women I've dated in the past. 

5:30 PM- Okay, going to put off the rest of the lumber until after next payday. I need roughly 35-40 slats for the last few sections. Not terribly expensive, at $1.33 each but I want to keep my finances somewhere close to my savings goals. As I mentioned, I'll staple the poultry netting to the frame for now. Got 2 sections almost fully completed out of 4 1/4 sections which had remained. One more post to set. Can do that after I get the slats and a couple more 2x4's. Then the concrete and the slats can sit and dry before I complete the fence. 

Taking a break, letting the sprinklers run in the front yard while I cool down. Then go run some wood through the chipper. 

Okay, ran some wood through the chipper but I need to sharpen the blades before doing any more. They're dull and ripping the wood rather than cutting it. Clogs easily and puts a lot more strain on the motor. 

So, nothing close to all the tings I wanted to get done this weekend but not bad. I don;t feel as worn out as I sometimes do but still tired. Not unhappy with what I got done, since I felt really bad yesterday. 

Better weather

The weather today already appears better than yesterday. I'm sure it was mostly gastric but I felt like garbage all day yesterday, no energy at all. Never got anything else done besides the haircut and shopping.

That's okay. I can get much of those things done today and/or during the week. Hoping I can find a tire shop that can replace the valve stems after 5 PM during the week. It was somewhat pointless yesterday, since it was too cold, windy and possibly wet to take a ride and actually enjoy it. 

Most of my goals for today have to do with the back yard. The garden fence, shredding wood, cutting back the remaining trees and treating them to keep them from growing more. 

I have enough supplies to finish at least two 8 ft sections of fence. Maybe three but think I need more slats for a third section. 

Several reasons I am building the fence by hand instead of pre-made panels. Most importantly the fact that the materials will fit in my car (a little at a time). However, the cost winds up being lower and the way I am doing this is less environmentally destructive. Maybe not a lot but somewhat. To use pre-made panels would mean I would have to install 4x4 posts. For each post, that's double the wood and adds about $9 to each section, above the cost of the panel. Basically, I am building each section for less than $30 for each 8 ft section. Pre-made panels would cost more than $50 for all materials for each 8 ft section. Besides, I am also leaving space between slats. It's a garden fence, not a privacy fence. The spaces reduce wind drag and increase sunlight near the fence, aside from increased visibility. I can also plant climbing plants next to the fence and they will wrap around the fence. Most wood fences here seem to be set directly in soil, which reduces their lifespan. I'm setting the posts in concrete. 

Some down sides. More labor, obviously, which means more time. The 2x4's are not pressure treated. Though that does make them less toxic. But I don't mind the work and there are worse things I could be doing with my time. A good up side is that I don't have to buy all the supplies at once, as I would if I rented a truck and bought all the supplies at once. An unexpected down side is that the wood slats are very wet, so I have to leave them in the sun for a day or two to dry out before installing them. Learned the hard way because some of the first sections have slats which must be reset or replaced because of warping and even breakage. I can salvage those slats for other uses. 

So, right now I'm waiting for the temperature to rise. Having my coffee. Think I'll try sticking to water and avoid coffee most of the day and see if that helps my energy level. Though I realized late in the day yesterday one reason for my lack of energy was sore muscles. I went all out on my last workout and paid the price for it, especially my calves. 

Made the decision last night that I am taking a break from some forms of activism. My whole life I have been battling the forces of hate. I am losing that battle. That doesn't mean I am giving up but there are times I get tired. I am also removing people from my circle who are deeply set in their hate and absolutely no amount of reasoning, writing, talking or anything else will deter them. 

That upcoming US civil war I predicted gets closer and closer. Recent events have included gay marriage reaching the Supreme Court. Looks like they will decide in favor of gay marriage. However, for Conservative extremists that will not be the end. Riots in various cities, especially Baltimore because of racism in the last few weeks. Two Muslims attacked a cartoon contest (which ran a contest for the best cartoon depicting Mohammed, which is completely against Muslim beliefs). They attacked with guns, managed to shoot one security officer who then shot both of them to death. So, what? They could not have gathered people with picket signs?! Mexicans more and more aggressive about their "right" to speak Spanish in school and on the job...

I admit the 1960's had more turbulence and more social protests than today. However, people were different. Way too many radicals stuck in their own warped minds and willing to engage in violence instead of social organization. How the hell does that happen, when it is so much easier for people to coordinate and organize a group now? There are lots of anti-bullying movements but only at childhood levels. In adulthood bullying is accepted as a norm and even often rewarded! WTF?! 

The civil war I predicted is coming and it is going to be really ugly. 

Slow start

Off to a slow start today. Woke in the middle of the night with raging intestinal pain. It went away, slowly. Woke late this morning with some discomfort but not overt pain. I think I need to slow down on jalapenos. They do not sit well with ulcerative colitis. That sucks. I love my jalapenos.

Like I've said, ton of stuff to do this weekend. Have to get going soon. 

3 PM- 

Guess I won't get a whole lot done today outside. Too cold, windy and intermittent rain and hail. Currently 56 degrees and not supposed to get much warmer today. Supposed to be close to 70 and less windy tomorrow.

Went and got my hair cut, bought lumber for the fence and some groceries. Plus a few more dish tubs for plants. Already have all the ones I had in use. 

At least I have supplies for planting which should all last for some time. The dish tubs wouldn't last long left in direct sun but that's not typically what I use them for. 

I'm tired. Think I'll eat something, take a short nap and then get some stuff done in the house.

Darn!

Darn! I was rather hoping the new cell phone would get here today. Not gonna happen. Maybe Monday. Oh, well. Not like I use my cell that much. But the old phone is fading even faster than I thought. Battery charge dropped by 23 percent within like 10 minutes off the charger, just checking voice mail and a few phone settings. It will hold a charge for a few hours..if I do absolutely nothing on the phone. 

Today was oddly slow much of the day for a Friday. Luckily I made 70+ cases. So I ended the week earning about an extra $150 above base pay for the week. 

I may go to karaoke tonight or tomorrow. Still considering going tonight. 

However, I have a ton of things to get done this weekend and most of it has to be done tomorrow because of limits on business schedules. Getting tires fixed, haircut, going to the dispensary. Long as I'm on that side of town I'll go ahead and pick up more concrete and lumber for the fence. Maybe tune up the bike. 

Of course, once the bike is fixed I may nix karaoke in favor of a long ride. I hate the bike being on mothballs for the winter! lol! Depends mostly on the weather, since there's a chance of rain.

Little behind but I started the lavender seeds today. That's okay, gave them a longer chance to stratify. 

Cucumber vines and cannabis are looking pretty good. Was surprised to see some of the Nasturtium pretty much jumped right out of the soil and are already 3-4" tall! Asters and carnations are coming up, as are the Gladiolus. 

Think I'll do some house cleaning and laundry tonight, get my stuff done tomorrow and either go for a ride or to karaoke tomorrow night. 

Trying something slightly risky. Financially, that is. I ordered some cannabis seeds from a company in the Netherlands. I have seen the company mentioned in a positive manner on a couple of sites that offer growing advice. Of course, that could be paid endorsement. It could wind up paying and getting nothing. However, it's a huge website that is very professionally built for a scam. Never seen a scam site that well built. Plus it's the only company that offers guaranteed delivery. (Funny thing, it's legal to sell or possess seeds but not plants except in dispensaries. But customs doesn't normally bother with seeds, any way.) Assuming all works as planned, it's a bargain. 30 seeds for the highest producing type of plant for $56 (including shipping and guaranteed delivery) versus $4 per seed at the local dispensary, which would come out to $120 plus tax. The plants are supposed to be fast growing and produce up to 1.5 lbs per plant. 

If this purchase works out well, I may buy a different strain from them in the future. If I'm not completely sold on this strain, which is supposed to have a decent CBD and comparatively low THC level. This one sounds like it may work well for me. Even if it goes stale, I would have to successfully grow like one plant a year. Hmm. If they stay viable and assuming (not realistically) 100 percent germination, the one order would keep me supplied for 30 years. Not bad for the price! 

So, being honest on my original goals on this, it has not made me gain weight, as I had hoped. However, my weight is remaining more stable than it was. Plus I have less anorexia and somewhat better appetite, less general anxiety and aches and pains are highly improved. Exercise plays no small part in this. On the other hand, my exercise program may be better from this because I have a lot less muscle spasms. I cannot say it helps my insomnia. I may feel tired but I'm still awake much longer than I'd like to be. That's one reason I keep trying different strains.