Picking up Where We Left Off

Tonight, being Friday night, means once again, it's Quantum Leap Night. After we were rudely interrupted by the failure of our new-ish Samsung Blu-ray player last week, this week, we're back in business. This is not thanks to Samsung (more on that below), but is due to the fact that I put no faith in the fact that there would be a fix for this problem - quick or otherwise.

Instead, I ordered a new player last weekend, which has since arrived - and so far, at least, it seems to be working. (We'll see what happens, as we are fast approaching Zero Hour.)

There aren't a whole lot of choices out there for Blu-ray players - not unless I want to get into the Home Theater end of things - which I do not.I ended up buying a Sony, not because I have any particular love of Sony, but because it, a) appeared to be the closest thing to what we had and b) it was cheap.

I have since found out that Samsung, perhaps wisely, no longer produces Blu-Ray players for the good ol' U.S. of A. Maybe this is because they're just not any good at producing Blu-Ray players, or maybe they just view the good ol' U.S. of A. as a sinking ship - and they didn't want the be the last rat overboard. Either way, it's hard to fault them for their logic.

If I've gotten any pleasure from this adventure at all, it's in the excitement of logging on everyday to the Samsung "Community" Support page(s). I'm not sure what the purpose of this site is supposed to be - unless it's just a place for people to go and complain (which I have nothing against). If that's what it's for, it's working admirably. Comments range from threats of lawsuits (likely hollow - but, what the hey), all the way to one lonely guy who suggested that everyone chill-out and go spend some time with their wives and kids while the problem is being resolved. Yeah, right.

I've read some of the latest comments and it seems that some people are getting shipping labels to send their machines back to the factory while other malcontents are saying, no, Samsung is supposed to be posting a "fix" and won't be sending any labels. Like usual, I have no idea. I'm just waiting for the storm to settle a bit - which I don't think will be anytime soon. The amount of postings seem to be growing faster than asparagus. As of right now, there are One Hundred and Ninety Eight PAGES of complaints on this "Support" page. Go back in another ten minutes and it will likely be up from there.

And if you do go on their site, don't be fooled by the flagged, "Solved" at the top of the first page. This has been up there since Monday and has only served to get people's hopes up (including at one point, mine). All it says is:

We are aware of customers who have reported an issue with boot loops on some Blu-Ray players and we are looking into this further. We will post an update here on this thread when we have more information.

This so-called solution (posted, as I mentioned, back on Monday) only serves to piss people off even more.

Anyway, we'll see where this goes (maybe).  For now though, I've got more important things to do, things like going for a quick walk, taking a shower, popping popcorn, then arranging the pillows for Sam to lean against me as we watch Quantum Leap together.

Hopefully.

Bad Equation

Walking the very dusty farm fields. We need rain!

Nothing but walking, walking and more walking this week (surprise!).

I've been fortunate to be around as Sam has returned to work (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-12:00). As I think I mentioned, he's working out of the Middle School this summer - not out of the usual High School. The Middle School is about three quarters of a mile away from home and every day, with one exception, I've been able to walk him there - and then walk back again to meet him and walk him home.

The one exception was at the end of his shift Tuesday. Tuesday was, as it turned out, the tail-end of a high heat (and humidity) wave - and neither one of us were up to the task of trying to walk home. As it was, we barely made it there in the morning - and I struggled to return home after getting him there (more than usual, I mean).

We managed to attempt a walk Tuesday evening - a brief one to the rail yard. We made it as far as getting across the Bridge of Death, right about up to where a road crosses the rail yard path. At about that point, we were slammed (literally) with the unseen, but definitely felt, cloud of semi-toxic out-gassing which was rolling out from the very nearby sewage treatment plant.

This is often bad but on Tuesday afternoon, it was especially awful: High Heat + High Humidity + Sam/Sewage Treatment Plant  = :(

Looks like the rail path option may have to wait until fall. Or at least until the wind blows in the opposite direction.

Father's Day

I was lucky to have a dad who was loving, a dad who was interested and involved, a dad who had compassion and empathy for others - and someone who always managed to have time for me.

I don't know how many times I've posted this video before. At least half a dozen times, I'm sure. Here it is, one more time.

Thanks for everything, Dad.

Hmm...

Last night, as Sam was getting ready for bed, I stumbled across this article. Apparently, I'm not alone in the broken DVD player department. Like many others, our player is/was a Samsung Blu-ray and just as the article mentions, ours died out on June 19th - with the same symptoms as described by others.

This seems a little strange. I feel like my DVD player was in some way reporting back to it's Alien Master.

Untimely Demise

It couldn't have happened at a worse time.

While Sam was upstairs taking his shower, I poured his glass of ice water and arranged the pillows on the couch. The popcorn was popped and ready to go. I went to put the disk in the DVD player, and that's when I discovered the DVD player, the NEW DVD player (relatively speaking), was broken.

Even though the player willingly sucked in the disk, the magic wasn't happening. You could hear the disk chugging away inside the DVD machine, but nothing appeared on the TV screen. Nothing, other than a random, tantalizingly legible flicker which faded and reappeared over and over again. It was as if the disk was struggling to come up for air.

I tried several times to get the player to work, but even utilizing the full extent of my expertise in electronics (i.e., opening and closing the little drawer several times), I couldn't get it to work. So much for our highly anticipated, weekly Quantum Leap Night  (formerly known as McGyver Night, formerly known as Monk Night). A bitter disappointment for both of us.

We ate the popcorn anyway.

Today's Extended Complaint

Years ago, I was stupid enough to switch phone companies - or rather, carriers. I don't remember the exact reason for the switch. I'm sure it was to save all sorts of money. But one of the selling points (though not for me) was that this now long-since defunct carrier gave you a better, more detailed breakout of your monthly bill, compared to most other (still in business) carriers.

Well, when my first bill came, there was definitely more information - much, much more. This bill came in a 9x12 envelope, I think this was because there were so many papers, they couldn't fold them all and then stuff them in a regular sized envelope.

I quickly learned that much, much more information didn't mean better information. Much of the information was meaningless to me. And of the information that was semi-useful, well, it was so spread out, and then enlarged in scale, that it meant flipping through several pages to find what had previously been on one or two pages.

I'm reminded of this because Blogger is insisting on switching over to a new setup - one that, so far, I don't like.

Here's a picture of the old main page...

And here's a picture of the new main page...

No big deal, but why is everything so large? I had more information per page the way it was laid-out before. Maybe this will be more helpful as my eyesight inevitably gets worse. But like I said though, no big deal.

But now we move onto the stats page. This is where it begins to remind me of my old (meaning, "new") phone carrier.

Here's what the main stats page looked like before...

Nice and concise. All the "important" information (as these things go) is up front (assuming we care). See that little "More" link, just above the map and to the right of "Audience"? Click it and it brings you to this page...

Again, nice and concise. This tells me more than what I need to know - like, among other things, for this week, my biggest fan base (i.e. spammers) are centered in good ol' Turkmenistan - as opposed to some weeks, when they're from Belarus, or other weeks, when they've moved to Montenegro, etc, etc, etc. (I consider this a global following) - but if I were interested, at least it's all right there.

Anyway, now let's go to the new and improved Stats Page(s). It starts with this...

First of all, I don't need to know that the views for my latest post flat-lined up until June 17th - because I didn't even post it until June 18th. And secondly, I fully expect my post - any post - will flat-line immediately after I post it, and likely will remain that way- at least until Rachael or Ben happen by (Hi guys!). So thanks, but I  don't need the reminder of how (un)popular I am (which, I think, is my preferred status anyway) - let alone seeing my unpopularity in a handy, much-too-enlarged graph. 

But that's not all. Scroll down some more and you get this...

Scroll down a little more and you get a view of stats for "Pages" (which I don't use -therefore, no screenshot).

Now, on that last screenshot, see where it says, "More About This Blog"? Click on that link and you get this page...

I could have taken FOUR MORE screen shots of what's on this page (but I didn't). Near as I can tell, these, along with the previous screenshots, are not telling me anything that the original TWO pages were telling me in the old Blogger.

And that's just the start if it. What really sets me off is trying to embed a video.

Here's a short clip of a cute little girl seeing snow for the first time. I embedded this the old way...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yv-bTovwYFI" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Do you like it? Of course you don't! It's only code!

I can't embed a video from YouTube in the same way I could before! Not only was it quick and easy before, but I could easily and consistently modify the size of the video to fit the ancient, obsolete layout of my blog. Now, with this new and improved version, I have to go up and click the "Insert Video" button, choose "YouTube" and then run a search for the video. Once I find it, assuming I find it, I can paste it in. How is this easier?

I realize that I'm complaining about something that's free. And maybe there are a lot of new features stuffed in here that I'll use and enjoy - someday. Maybe. And Maybe (probably) this is just me complaining about something just because it's new. We'll see.

Anyway, that's all I have to say... for now. If you made it this far, thank you for listening.

Oh... here's the video of the little girl in the snow. Pretty cute...

Shifting into a Lower Gear

How do you wind up a day after spending three hours cupping garbanzo AND black beans*?

* I'm not sure if that's a promotion, but I'll take it as such.

Well, first you walk home, get some lunch, then sit on the front porch and read comic books for a while...

After you've recharged, you go on a two mile walk through the humid, but shaded, woods...

After which, you home again, have some dinner, take an early shower, then watch an old Columbo before going to bed....

The End

Mixed Emotions

This morning, I walked Sam down to the Middle School to begin his first day back at work. Using our past walks as a guide, I had planned on leaving the house a half hour before we needed to be there. This, in theory, meant that we should arrive about ten minutes before he was due to start work - enough time for hellos and to catch up with his coworkers.

As it turned out, Sam was ready to get going well before then, so rather than leave at 8:30 - as planned, or at 8:15 - when he was ready, I stalled him for a bit and we left at 8:25. This, plus the fact that Sam walked even faster than his usual supersonic speed, got us to the school over twenty minutes too early.

We killed a few minutes sitting on the front steps of the building, where we spent time checking the local news and the local weather, and then we walked around to the back and we went inside.

On the plus side, Sam was thrilled to see everyone - and near as I could tell, they were all happy to see him, as well - so, that was exciting and gratifying.

On the (potential) downside, when we went in, I (and no doubt, Sam) noticed the "delicate aroma" of sulfur wafting through the cafeteria air. I looked over and noticed that one of the things they were busy preparing for today’s meal was hard boiled eggs. If Sam, with his sensitivity to odors, has a nemesis in the food world, it would be, without a doubt, hard boiled eggs.

This should be interesting.

LATE UPDATE:

I just got back from walking to get Sam. All is well. He had a good time and "everyone was glad to see me." I asked him if he noticed the egg smell, which of course he did, but, "I just dealt with it." - which is unusual because, from what I saw, there must have been a couple hundred eggs there. If I hard boil a couple dozen at Easter, we pretty much need to be ready with an oxygen tank.

I asked him what he did all day and he said, "I cupped garbanzo beans all day" - which sounds like a euphemism for something, but I'll leave that for cleverer minds than mine.

Chatted with his supervisor for awhile and she confirmed everything Sam said, including that he did great and, (maybe) best of all, that everyone was indeed glad to see him.

I could tell Sam was tired, though. No complaints, but for the first time in I don't know how long, he was walking behind me the entire walk home - and I wasn't even approaching his usual supersonic speed.

I'm very proud of him (like usual).

Beginning Again

Sam goes back to work tomorrow. This will be for the first time in exactly three months. I have very mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, I’m thrilled he still has a job. I’m especially thrilled he still has this job. His co-workers - and his supervisor in particular, have always treated him very thoughtfully.

But since Sam is a town employee, and with things being as they are, I figured (feared) budget cuts were on the horizon - which will eventually translate into layoffs. So far, Sam seems to have escaped unscathed. We’ll see how it is when fall approaches but for now, “one day at a time” … and all that. (This obviously goes entirely against my nature, but it sounds pretty good.)

When he goes back, Sam will be working in the school's Summer Meals Program. In the last couple of years (meaning, the entire time Sam has had a job), this transition to the Summer Meals Program has presented some challenges for Sam. In the summer, the job requirements change and are quite a bit different than what they are during the regular school year. Making this transition is not something Sam excels at. Add to this that, in years past, it sounds as if making this transition isn’t something his coworkers are particularly good at, either.

Because of this, in those past years, they’ve delayed Sam's summer start date by a week. This was done so everyone could get their act together - thus making it slightly less traumatic for Sam (ref: the "thoughtfully" remark above). This year, there’s no real transition to make - at least, not in that regard. With the school closures, this program has been up and running for the last three months, starting when the pandemic was being taken seriously and carrying through to the now-ending regular school year.

In theory, all the kinks have been worked out. For Sam, the only major difference will then be (along with going back to work) that the program will not be run out of the usual (for him) High School, but rather, an entirely different school in town. Not sure why this is, but it is (what it is).

Also on the plus side, Sam’s hours will be summer hours - which is considerably less than his regular school year hours. This means less time to freak-out at work and more time to unwind at home. Hopefully, this will help in smoothing over any bumps on the road back to a routine.

On the downside of all of this is that COVID-19 has yet to be history (if indeed it ever will be). I’m not thrilled with Sam being out in this, but if he has to out there, I guess this is about as safe an environment for him that it can be.

This summer meals program pre-bags meals for kids (I'm told as many as eight thousand meals per day) which then get distributed to different drop-points around town. Sam and several "lunch ladies" will be working on the bagging of the lunches- not on any drop-offs.

He and his Lunch Ladies are all in a self-contained room - unlike his/their so-called "normal" cafeteria setup. There won't be people coming and going all day long. There are no long lines of teachers or students. No vendors are coming in and out. And there's no handling of used food trays or utensils, etc.

It all sounds pretty safe. Not as safe as being at home - but pretty safe. I guess.

Still, after three months, getting back into a routine, getting out of the house for a bit - and being with someone other than me, will be good for him. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself.

It should all be very interesting.

If history is any example, I suspect Sam will make the transition better than I will. We’ll find out soon enough

More Changes of Scenery

If nothing else, Sam and I continue to walk and walk ... and walk. You would think I would be losing some weight after all of this, but no. I think any weight I might have lost is offset by the added weight of the blisters on my feet.

Anyway, if nothing else, I'm getting a lot of pictures out of this - not to mention the time I get to spend with Sam - which is a pretty big deal (for me, at least).

This picture of the river along the bike path, by the swimming area, was taken back on April 23rd.

 Here it is as of our walk on Monday.

It was back to the farm fields for us today. To shake things up, Sam and I walked the same path we always walk - but today, we walked it in the opposite direction. I know. Wild, right?

 Here's a photo of the mystery crops, taken on May 5th.

Here's the same field today. Any guesses on the crop? Sam thinks maybe cucumbers. I think maybe squash - or pumpkins - or zucchini ... or maybe cucumbers (just in case Sam's right - so I can be right too).

Not much to say on these next ones but I'll include them anyway. In each  case, the earlier one was taken on May 5th, at the same walk-a-thon as the one of the field above, and the latter was also taken today...

So, there you go. Thanks for joining us. More later, I'm sure.

Today's Re-Post

In the ten years or so of doing this blog, I think I may have re-posted an item once before. Let's call it twice - just to cover myself. In light of my preoccupation with other issues, I'm re-posting this from close to five years ago.

With my annual physical coming up, along with the requisite semi-annual blood work, it seems appropriate. But even without these impending events on the near horizon, this is something that has stayed with me. I think about it often.

And further, I think about how we can be touched, and maybe even connected in some way, to people we've never met and will never know, all because of a chance, momentary overlapping of our lives at an otherwise insignificant moment in time.

Anyway, I hope the girl and her dad are doing ok.

From August 14, 2015:

I had to go in for a blood lab this morning. In the year and a half or so that I’ve been going to my new doctor, this is maybe the second time that I’ve had to go into this lab - maybe the third time, if I count the time I brought Sam.

The one good thing about my old doctor’s office- maybe the only good thing - was that their lab opened at 6:00 am. This meant that I could actually schedule an appointment early and then be off to work. And I guess that makes two good things, because the old lab would actually schedule appointments.

This new lab doesn’t schedule appointments. It’s a “walk-in” lab. “Walk-in” doesn’t mean “first come, first served”, it means “every man for himself” - at least that's the way it is when it comes to getting into the lab, when you happen to arrive before its open.

This time though, I remembered the new lab opened later than what I was used to. But in my mind, I thought “later” meant 7 AM. It doesn’t. It means 8 AM. So, I got to the new lab, not my usual fifteen minutes too early but rather, an abnormal hour and fifteen minutes too early.

With all of this time to kill, I went back outside, sat in the car, waited and returned when it got closer to my more normal fifteen minutes too early.

When I came back in, there was a father sitting on a bench with his obviously mentally challenged daughter. He looked to be about my age and I’m guessing she was in her late teens. She sat there stoically, showing no emotion, and the dad had his arm around her shoulder. I walked past them, just around the corner, where I leaned against the wall, and waited for the lab to open.

As I stood there in the quiet hallway, I could hear the daughter occasionally talking to her dad, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. It was the kind of speaking where you really have to live with someone, and love someone, to understand what they’re trying to tell you. It was clear that the father understood. You could hear it in the tone of her dad’s voice, if not the words, that he was trying to comfort her and reassure her. I figured they were there for lab work, as well.

As I waited in the hall, more and more people showed up and waited along with me. Finally, when there were about a dozen of us, the lab door opened and we all filed in, gave our information at the window and found a seat in the small waiting room.

I sat along one wall, directly across from the door-less doorway that leads into the lab. The father and his daughter sat across from me. She still had the same stoic, emotionless expression on her face. He still had his arm around her, still rubbing her shoulder the entire time.

Eventually, when they finally started calling names, it was the girl and her dad who were called in first.

So the girl gets up and goes around the corner into the lab with her dad, and I can hear the hushed tones of the nurse talking to her and I can feel myself getting tense because I know what’s coming. Sure enough, seconds later, the girl starts crying, suddenly and loudly - and even though she appeared to be in her late teens, her cry sounds as if it's coming from someone much, much younger.

And her cry is a little bit like her speech - and a little bit not like her speech. Mostly it’s like the cry of any kid where, yeah, it hurts a little, but they’re scared a lot, and all of the fear that's been building up, all of the fear they've holding onto, for however long they’ve known about this, comes out with the prick of the needle.

She cried a good bit and over her cries, I could hear the nurse and her dad trying to encourage her and I could hear them trying to comfort her with words like, ”Almost done” and “Good job” and “It’s almost over”.

And while all of this is going on, some of the people in the waiting room start saying things like, “Wow, must be taking her whole arm off!” and “Sounds like she’s not going to have any blood left!”. And it gets louder and louder as each person tries to outdo the other.

And I’m looking at these people, some of which look like they could be grandparents - and they're all smiling -and it’s like it’s a big joke to them. And I’m just glaring at them.

Finally, almost as suddenly as it began, the crying stops. And then, the clever remarks in the waiting room stop as the girl and her dad come out of the lab and walk through the waiting room, and head to the exit.

The girl's face is back to her stoic expression and her dad, acting like he didn't hear a word of this, walks alongside his daughter - his arm still around her, still patting her shoulder. And as they leave, he offers the same comforting words of “good job” and “it’s all over”.

And I’m left thinking, My God, what is the matter with these people? How can you find any humor in this?

Every kid deserves to have their fears respected. And this poor girl - and even this dad, face more challenges than anyone in this room could ever dream of. And if you can’t muster even the smallest bit of respect - or what used to be called “common” decency - or, God forbid, have some small scrap of empathy for her, then at least have the good sense to shut the hell up.

This has been bothering me all day. I feel bad for that girl. And I feel bad for that dad. But I’m glad they have each other, and I'm glad she has someone who comforts her and understands her.

And I find myself hoping that she sleeps well tonight. I hope that when her dad tucks her in and kisses her goodnight, I hope she goes to bed feeling safe, and feeling loved.

And I hope that after she falls asleep - I hope that her dad doesn’t go downstairs and begin to cry.

Down Time

Dealing with a few household issues. Be back soon-ish.

Probably

Losing It

On today's walk, I almost lost my glasses again. It happened when Sam warned me that there were people up ahead, coming in our direction. I slid my mask on but then realized that after I did, my glasses were no longer sitting on top of my head. I tapped my shirt pocket - nothing. They weren't there either.

"Oh no," I said. Sam asked what was wrong and I told him. He just groaned.

We paced back and forth, a few steps in either direction, searching along the weeds at the edge of the path. After a few minutes of looking, I suddenly realized... I was still wearing them.

I blame Sam for not noticing I had them on the entire time.

Onward

Last week, Sam and I walked a career high total of just over twenty-five miles for the entire week. I'm not expecting us to beat that high score any time soon - or to even come close - but we continue to walk everyday, if possible.

Today, after not going there for over a week(!), we went out again to the rail yard. We started to go there at one point last week, but most days were too hot and humid and we didn't feel like the already heavy and oppressive air would be a good mix with the nearby sewage treatment plant.

I will assume it was a wise move on our part.

Here are today's photos...

The ducks may be gone from the pond at the college and the geese may be gone from the other pond nearby, but for the last few walks, at least we've been lucky enough to see this new family of geese living along the banks of the canal. The trade off being that we have to dodge all the goose poop as we walk along the bike path.

 

 

As I mentioned, I think somewhere back here, you've only seen these views a million times before. Consider these the first of the second million.

With the news being all that it is, we still work at keeping things normal (whatever that means nowadays). And if nothing else, at least Sam and I still get out on our walks and at least the flowers still bloom.