I make about as much sense as beer-soaked trout roe in spinachless dip

(Found an unposted web log entry from 2018 and kinda enjoyed reading it, so here it is.)

This is quite bizarre. I took off a handful of days – no, not even – I took off Friday, first of all.... OK wait, let’s go back even further. Let's go back to last Friday. And then, let’s also talk about how there is no place to share all of this information due to the fact that... well... there just isn't.

But we'll get to that.

Anyway, ok. Back to last Friday and trying to take some time off. Sort of. I'm bad at that. I'm also bad at leisuring. But I think probably a lot of people are, or at least they are bad at leaisuring in the way that most people expect or anticipate or believe or assume they should be leasuring. You look at pictures in magazines, ones that really pull you in and put you in a place. Say, a beach.

Imagine… a Corona ad.

There's a beautiful beach, a blue ocean, a chair with a few beers in a bucket. Someone in a hat sitting in the chair, pops the cap off the beer and leans back... now what. You sit and stare at the ocean while drinking the beer.

Ah.

And what? What else? I drink beer very quickly so now what? Listen to music? Think? Rest? Start worrying that you didn't hydrate enough and so probably shouldn't drink that other beer in the bucket but really, it’s so light, it’s almost like drinking water, right?

I mean, most people would be bored sitting in that chair. Or they would sit there and maybe drink half the beer before they start looking at their phone and at the in-flight magazine that they stashed in their backpack, or around for someone to visit with....

Ah, now there is a thought. 

Visiting. Is visiting considered leisure? It's not always relaxing. I think of leisure time as being spent relaxing, but maybe not necessarily? Some people use leisure time to exercise, which is like the opposite of relaxing. So ok; maybe I don't relax very well.

I don't relax very well.

I need to talk about control. And about having no oars.

At some point - but not now.

I also need a massage.

I also digress...

So. Back to taking off today. 

[insert photo from a magazine article showing a rainbow-hued collection of botanicals on a dinner plate in which one of the captions states "Bright green herb oil replaces spinach leave you find in traditional artichoke dips"]

No place on line, save possibly my blog, makes as little sense as my life does. I have curated my life in such a way for it not to make sense. If other people can say herb oil replaces spinach leaves in some flower-filled bowl of, supposedly (‽), spinach and artichoke dip, or that having a climbing wall across from a big glass window in a hotel room was not a weird idea, I can fly in a day early and stay at a rooming house in Portland Oregon to have a “me” day. 

I can say here that I am possibly one daybook and a pair of pajamas overpacked. And that yes, my bag is an homage to Babou from Archer. Because, no one cares, except me. I understand that. I live with me, though, and I feel I should get some place to document this stuff. 

 

Canning Tomatoes – a Tutorial

(Crosspost from For Health's Sake!)
Prerequisite background story and lead in photo:

I grew up in a hippy household. It wasn’t a love-beads-and-drugs-on-the-porch type of hippy house (I don’t think), it was a back-to-the-land-don’t-accidentally-get-caught-up-in-a-cult-commune type of household, where my parents, especially my mom, relished making bread, having a big garden, and doing as much as they could with what we lovingly called a two-acre “hobby farm”. That included things like raising and butchering chickens, foraging for mushrooms, and canning.

I, as a free range child at the time, don’t remember much about the process of taking tomatoes and cucumbers (which, aside from some applesauce, was the extent of what I recall Mom putting up) and sealing them up in jars, except that it was one of those activities that took over the kitchen and made the non-air conditioned house even hotter. Still, as I left home and became my own sort of back-to-the-lander (more a conservationist who wants to use all consumables to their most waste-free extent), I started toying with the idea of canning on my own. I wasn’t really an applesauce eater, and though I like pickles, I know what a badly-canned pickle tastes like (like a soft soggy pickle juice flavored sponge). Tomatoes, on the other hand, I use in an almost unimaginable amount of ways.  

I visited my mom in 2016 and documented her step-by-step instructions. Then, in 2018, I picked about 20 pounds of tomatoes as part of the now-defunct Vermont Valley CSA and tried very successfully on my own to replicate the process. Therefore, I would like to put forth my own how-to below.

Before I start, a few notes. The images show us using QUART Mason jars (32 oz.). When I did my own canning, I used WIDE-MOUTH PINT JARS (16 oz.) which were a much more convenient size for me.  For reference, the “big” cans from the grocery store are 28 oz., and the small are usually 14.5.

ALSO – SAFETY. If you are looking to can, most likely you already know that CANNING GONE WRONG = DEATH. There is a lot of info on the US Center for Disease control website. https://www.cdc.gov/features/homecanning/index.html My own story of caution comes from a recollection which may or may not be accurate of my mother telling me about someone who canned carrots and, when they opened them, they thought they might have not been sealed right, so they touched one to their tongue and then decided to throw them out. They ended up in the hospital with botulism poisoning, caused by the horrifying clostridium botulinum bacteria which produces botulinum toxin - THE MOST POTENT NEUROTOXIN YET KNOWN https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/11/1/34/htm   

HOWEVER – botulism is rare. Also remember, even if you fail to seal one or more of your jars (i.e. if they don't 'ping), you have every right and ability to just store the unsealed jars in the fridge and use them in a few days without a problem. I will have a note about acidity later (too little = bad, too much = bad ☹ ). So take precautions, but don’t get too wacked out about it.   

So YEAH! LET’S PLAY WITH DEATH!

YOU WILL NEED (for 12 pints):

• 20 pounds of tomatoes -1.5 lbs. tomatoes per pint jar – try to get ones not overripe, and not too green (you can apparently can green tomatoes, but that is not what this post is about)
• Lemon juice

-

• 12 Pint jars, lids and collars
• Your favorite knife
• Three big bowls
• One big pot to boil water to dip tomatoes into
• Big soup pot or canner to fit at least a couple jars in for a water bath
• A cutting board
• Plastic scraper (small)
• A set of tongs – possibly a couple, possibly a set of jar tongs

WHAT TO DO:

In the canner, heat jars fully covered in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil (just ‘cuz you’ll run out of water).  Wash lids in warm soapy water and set bands aside.

In the big pot (not the one you are using for a canner) start some water boiling

Wash off your raw tomatoes      

Cut out the stem top

(Some people swear by cutting an “X” in the bottom, but I don’t find it necessary)

You need two bowls, one to dunk the boiled tomatoes in filled with cold water (I don’t find it needs to be ice) to SHOCK them that will help sluice their skin off (you may need to refresh the water). 

Another to pile the skinned tomatoes into.

In the boiling water, dip the raw tomatoes (maybe 3-4 at a time) for a 10-20 second bath to help loosen their skin for peeling. Don’t try to leave the skin on for more fiber – it ends up turning into leather and floating around in the tomato juice inside the jar and tastes like your eating preserved human skin with no flavor. Just don’t.  

After you have a bowl full of naked skinless tomatoes, chunk them up. If possible, cut them in quarters or eighths. Smaller ones can be cut in half. Some biggies may need to be cut even more fractionally. Also – a tip. If there are any white areas where the tomato is not yet ripe, do yourself a favor and cut them off. They won’t taste like anything and will add a weird texture to your finished product.

Also – SADLY – you should really scoop out the guts: the seeds and juice. Seed and juice just add more water to an already really watery vegetable

If you can, find a wide-mouth funnel and a scoop and start filling the jars.       

You will want to fill them 7/8 full (Leave ½ inch of head space in each jar.)

With your plastic scraper, poke down the tomatoes in the jar, trying to get all the air out. (Air bubbles are bad because they can let bacteria get into the jars.)

HERE IS THAT NOTE ABOUT ACIDITY – I usually think of tomatoes as incredibly acidic. Eating too many  can cause heart burn or acid reflex due to the malic acid and citric acid inherent in the fruit (oh yeah, tomatoes are fruits – botanically they are berries because they have no stone and are produced from a single flower. So, in fact, are cucumbers.) However, because of the need to be as careful as possible to avoid as much DEATH RISK as possible, we add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the top of each jar. The juice helps to prevent the tomatoes from spoiling while they are in the jars, and also helps to retain their color and flavor..

With a dry paper towel, dry the edge of the jar to insure a good connection for the seal 

Pick up a heated lid with tongs

Gently place the lid on the jar. Finger-tighten (just lightly) the rings around the neck of the jar.

Water bath – in the images, we had a rack, but on my own, I put a flame spreader under the canner to make sure the glass jars don’t get hot spots https://www.ebay.com/bhp/heat-diffuser

SUBMERGE the jars (as many as fit w/o touching) in the simmering water bath with 1 to 2 inches of water covering them. Leave them for 40 minutes (making sure they are continually submerged).

  

           

VERY CAREFULLY remove the jar from the bath – if at all possible, using the jar tongs. Have a calm, gentle towel set on the counter, and set each jar onto that.

CONGRATULATIONS! Crack a beer pour the wine and listen for the “ping” of the seals! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfIEZziOI4k  You are done. You have canned!! As stated before, if any jars DON’T seal, please, just put the puppies in the fridge and eat them like any already-opened tomatoes. Enjoy!!  

OK jerk, what did it cost?

Hullo - I have been back from Japan for about 3 months now, and just getting around to sharing this post so sorry for the wait.

So, what did it cost to go to Japan? Is it as expensive as everyone says it is? Of course it depends on what you are interested in and where you want to splurge. I found this other person's blog about her experience which was good to hear before I left, so I thought it would be helpful to give my full breakdown. 

NOTE: I went with one other person, so we split costs on everything. 

Our itinerary was:

Day 0 - stay overnight in Chicago

Day 1 - leave car in Chicago, fly to Tokyo, Japan (Narita Airport)

- Take train to Shinjuku in Tokyo

- Check into Hotel in Shinjuku (Kabukicho) (click here to see a video tour)

Day 2 - Tokyo

Day 3 - Tokyo

Day 4 - Train to Nartia Airport

Fly to Hokkaido

Rental car - drive to Sapporo

Check into hotel in Sapporo

(Because of the deal we got for the package of hotel+flight in Tokyo, it was cheaper to keep the hotel in Shinjuku as opposed to checking out for two days and checking back in - go figure! Plus, we could leave most of our stuff there.) 

Day 5 - Drive to Ski Hill

Rent snowboard and get lift tickets

Back to Sapporo hotel at night

Day 6 - Check out of hotel

Drive to airport - return car

Fly to Haneda airport

Train to Shinjuku

Day 7 - Tokyo

Day 8 - Tokyo

Day 9 - Check out of hotel

Train to Narita

Fly back to Chicago

Pick up car

Drive home!

We took our trip in March of 2019.

High level = 

Chicago portion (overnight+parking*) = $203.36

Expedia Tokyo portion (flight+hotel, 2ppl.) = $3675.01

Expedia Sapporo portion (flight+hotel)- $659.30+ $130.62(car) = $789.92

TOT. = $4,668.29 ($2,334.15 per person)

*Parking alone would have cost $90-153 and the timing would have sucked so doing the park and stay and fly thing was perfect. 

Since we had been planning for this trip for a number of years (5-10 depending on how you look at it), we were able to bank miles on two different credit cards. We used Visa miles on the Sapporo portion, so we ended up just paying for the car. We used Discover card miles on the Tokyo portion so it ended up reducing down to $2747. 

(I just checked Expedia and the hotel right now (July) is booking for $79 / night for 2 ppl. ANA flight is $1477 per person.)                

N'EX (high speed rail from Narita to Shinjuku) $40 per person round trip – totally worth it. Portal wi-fi for the whole trip = $116. Again - completely worth it.  

I estimate total, for souvenirs, food, and other train rides, we probably spent less than $2000 total. Granted, we mostly ate out of 7-11s and we walked most places (very easy and safe), and we shopped at the 100 yen store, but it didn’t detract from our overall experience, at least not on this first trip (I could have spent the whole time visiting shrines which costs next to nothing). The ski hill we went to in Sapporo was only like $70 for the both of us. 

Grand total per person works out to $2700. Without our credit card discounts, it would have been closer to $3500.

I can't wait to go back!

ア, イ, オ of Nihongo (the A,B, Cs of Japanese)

So. I am entranced by the fact that there are three main alphabets at use in Japan. Hiragana, Katakana (sometimes collectively referred to as "kana"), and the Chinese character system Kanji. The first two are syllablistic - where the character represents a sound, and the latter is logographic - characters represent a word. Although there are rules as to when to use one versus the other, you will often see all three used in words and on signs.

This word contains katakana, kanji and hiragana symbols.
Some of the hard-to-translate puns in Japanese come from the fact that certain definitions are given different meanings depending on what system is used. The title of this post, for example, says literally "the A, I, O of Japanese" but I took some liberties and wrote out the katakana for the vowels, and then the "Romanization" (using Latin characters to phonetically spell a Japanese word) of Japanese to get a rhyming phrase much comparable to "the A,B, Cs of Japanese."

You can see how things get complicated quickly. However, there are many games and puzzles that are JUST as complicated, and it is my opinion that, if I am going to struggle to find a solution to some sticky brainteaser, the prize at the end better be me ecstatically reading a "do not litter" sign.


Hm. Maybe it's just me...


The first thing to wrap your brain around is that two of the alphabets are phonic based, that is, sounds - not letters. Instead of learning the letters h-o-t-e and l, and how to pronounce them, and then putting them together to spell "hotel" you learn the phonics "ho" "te" and "ru" (ホテル).

Much of the information in this post starts from Japanese Hiragana & Katakana for Beginners by Timothy G. Stout. It's a book I bought ages ago that came with a CD Rom that contained flash cards to print off and practice with. Once I figured out that many "loan words" (words like "hotel" that are technically English words adopted into Japanese) were written in the katakana alphabet, and once I sounded them out I could reasonably understand them, I decided to learn that system first. Many suggest learning hiragana first, and I don't really think it matters much - once you learn one, there are a number of characters that overlap and look similar (eg. "ya" = や, in hiragana, or ヤ in katakana) so you can pretty much learn the second alphabet (OK so it's technically not an alphabet but whatever) pretty easily.

The book uses a tried-and-true learning system where a new symbol (for example, ホ) is compared with a mnemonic device to connect it with the sound and the shape (this looks like a "HOly cross" and is pronounced HO). It was great for quick lookups, but I wanted something more streamlined than a book or a bunch of flashcards as I continued to learn.

Enter the apps.

I downloaded three free apps on my phone, and they all work offline:

- Kana Mind, a quiz game which filled the role of the flashcards
- Memory Hint Katakana
and
- Memory Hint Hiragana, which both had very nice mnemonic charts that were easy to open and flip back and forth while one was doing the quizzes with Kana Mind. 

Whenever I had a moment, I was flipping around between the quiz to the memory hints, and once my phone died, I tried to write out kana charts (vowels across the top, consonants down the side, with the phonics filling in the center), annoying everyone around me as I filled napkins full of Japanese characters. 

Another set of apps I found particularity useful, especially as I was on say, and exercise bike and couldn't flip back and forth between my apps but could watch videos, is the 2 Hour series. Granted, it takes WAY longer than "two hours" but the hints, although somewhat stupid ("imagine し is a hook hooking a sheep and is pronounced "shi"), really do work.


As I mentioned in my previous post, I really know nothing, but with practice I think I can improve. When I booked a hotel in Sapporo, where the sign looked like this, I was able to sound out the kana at the very top - RO - TO I-N, which when pronounced out loud, sound like "Route Inn" -- the name of the hotel. Looking at the menu for our flight, I saw a word that, when sounded out, said "coffee". Granted, both of these had English translations right next to them, and there is always Google Translate to fall back on, but I'm still pleased with myself.

There is nothing quite as fun and gratifying as realizing that, in the fourth decade of your existence, and after feeling you were bad at language all your life, that you are actually teaching yourself something useful.

DISCLAIMER I don't know what I'm doing

To steal from one of my favorite podcasts: "WARNING: the following web log may contain material that is inappropriate for viewers that are under the age of 18, are easily offended, or get annoyed by holier-than-thou know-it-alls that are... anything but." 

Side note - Anime World Order podcast, that has been going since 2005 and so has been around almost as long as I've had this blogspot account (heh. back when it was blogspot), and therefore nearly predates the phrase "podcast", is a great way to listen to people who are absolutely obsessed and enamored with anime rattle off Japanese names (people and shows) with wild abandoned and talk (from an older, US fandom based perspective) on the history, culture, and intricacies of the genere. The episodes are almost always 2 hours +  and I cannot fully express the depth of knowledge and passion that they exude -- and I like it even IF it is from know-it-alls who are... anything but. 

Back to me...(/◕ヮ◕)/

I am going to make a post about learning kana - that is, katakana and hiragana, two of the written Japanese languages. 

I do not actually know kana. 

I want to make that very clear. I have never taken a class, I have not signed up for any online tutoring, I haven't even read the Manga Guide to Learning Japanese. 

I'm still going to write about it. In part, yes, I acknowledge I am a lousy gaijin ( 外人 ) and there is a lot of historical baggage that comes from me being a privileged, white, US citizen that affects my belief in myself.

But... in the same breath... I am having SO MUCH GODDAMN FUN learning kana I HAVE to share it! I have ALWAYS been bad at memorization, but I held out that maybe some day, I could attempt to "learn Japanese" and it would be like a game or like learning the list of Pokemons, and it WOULDN'T be hard, or at least if it was it would be fun AND IT IS AND I AM VERY JAZZED WHEN I LOOK AT A WORD LIKE ファンシー and realize that I can sound it out (hu-ah-n-shi --- fhuan-shi --faancy-- OMG IT SAYS FANCY!)!!!

I just think that if there are other people out there who are hesitant but passionate about at least trying to learn something as overwhelming as a foreign language that has a totally different sentence structure than English and three main alphabets, I want to say GO FOR IT because I did and I want to explain what worked for me.

Oh sure why not? Packing list.

I am packed already. There are a number of things I still need to get, but for the most part I'm all set. Here is a run down:

Backpack -
- Microsoft Surface Pro3
- Charger
- Magic envelope with itinerary
- International Driving Permit
-  20000 yen
- Phrase book
- 2 magazines (Bon Appetite & Country Living) that I already subscribe to but am saving
- Steno pad + Uni-ball Vision Elite pen 
- Tiny umbrella (like, not a cocktail umbrella but small!)
- Inflatable neck pillow for plane
- Hairbrush
- Makeup kit (Mary Kay foundation, brown and black eye shadow, mascara, eyelash curler, lip gloss and stick, blush and brush, tattoo concealer)
- Some medication and vitamins
- Bandaids
- Quart liquid bag (serum, SPF moisturizer, hairspray, toothpaste, eyeglass cleaner)
- Hair tie bag (plus tweezers, mirror, bobby pins, and earplugs for sleeping)
- Toothbrush
- Cell charger
- Fitbit charger
- Snacks
- Collapsible duffel bag (to bring back souvenirs)
- Water bottle, travel mug  

Rolly bag -
Only clothes. I laid out for each day, theming the first part of my trip around baseball and the color blue, the mid-part on the fact that I'll be in the snow, and the final portion with red and the sakura. I'm bringing 3 pairs of shoes - black, red and some grey walking shoes.

Both of our hotels have onsens (not swimming pools) so I am not packing any swim suits or goggles etc.

Small handbag -
- headphones
- chapstick
- a pen
- business card holder with credit cards and driver's license
- calling cards
- passport
- cellphone
 
I'll do a separate post of the apps I have on my phone, and possibly the apps I have used (along with some books) to at least partially learn Japanese.

LOL This is the first time I saw the curvature of the globe on Google Maps

Was trying to search for a train from my hotel to Capcom Cafe, and accidentally did "home" to Capcom Cafe. Whoops haha!

Preparing for Japan - lesson 2

3. Transport - so transport from home to Chicago (drive), place to park car (got a package through drive and park and ride and fly and sleep or something like that - my parents do it all the time), then shuttle to airport. ANA to Narita (which is about an hour from downtown Tokyo) -- oh and by the way, the in-flight food looks like a lot of fun!

So then we're there -- in a Japanese airport -- midday on a weekend. There are a multitude of transport options to get to Tokyo. We will probably choose to go with the least complicated, yet most expensive, train option, which appears to be the Narita Express.

The touchiest transport is going to be getting from our hotel in Shinjuku BACK to Narita in order to fly to Sapporo fairly early in the morning during a weekday (rush hour at the busiest train station in the world anyone?). I'm just hoping someone gives us some tips.

From the airport in Hokkaido we are renting a car. I have it reserved but have not yet paid, so hoping the Seinfeld car rental scenario doesn't happen. We did get a hotel in Sapporo that includes parking, so hopefully it all works out.

We therefore can drive to Kokusai Ski Resort, where DMV plans to rent a snowboard, and I plan on sledding and taking the gondola up to the summit and having tea at the café.

After we drive back to the airport and return the car the next day, we'll actually be flying into a different Tokyo airport - Haneda. We then need to get back to our original hotel - again - hoping for help here.

After that, pretty comfortable with the rest of the transport issues. At the airport when we first arrive, it appears that we purchase a card that then let's us pass through train gates and deducts payment. We've watched a few videos on it and it looks like the machines are in English. So we'll do that once we get there.

BONUS More than you ever were curious about the two Tokyo airports: 

Haneda is the older airport, built in the 30s. Before that, people landed planes on the beach at Tokyo Bay. The airport was taken over by the USA after WWII and returned to Japan in the 1950s. As the airport grew, noise from increasing jet traffic lead to the creation of Narita airport. Haneda is still the busier of the two, and slightly closer to Tokyo.

In 1966, a strange string of air accidents ended with the destruction of (British) BOAC Flight 911 which crashed into Mt. Fuji after a wind gust in excess of what the plane was designed to withstand took it down, leaving a 10 mile debris trail and killing all aboard. A 8mm video was found in the wreckage and helped determine what had happened. A group of people who had decided not to board the plane, and there for lived to see another day, included a group of film scouts for the James Bond movie "You only live twice", one of who's names was Cubby Broccoli.

Narita airport was built in the 60s and 70s amid turmoil. A strong resistance group including local residents, unions, and political groups objected to the building of a second airport and the eminent domain rules used to size land to build it. Through many years, building was slowed due to this, and a police presence persisted through the airports eventual opening. At points, both police and protesters were killed in violent incidents. At one point, two towers  of 100-200 feet tall were built by protesters to impede the landing of planes. Eventually, judicial decisions intervened and  allowed for the destruction of the towers without compensation.

In a more modern incident, Sir Paul McCartney was caught with over 200 grams (almost 1/2 a pound) of marijuana when trying to enter Japan in 1980, and was subsequently arrested and jailed for 10 days. “When the fellow pulled it out of the suitcase, he looked more embarrassed than me,” he said in 2004. “I think he just wanted to put it back in and forget the whole thing, you know, but there it was.” His explanation as to why he had so much pot "for personal use": “We were about to fly to Japan and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get anything to smoke over there, this stuff was too good to flush down the toilet, so I thought I’d take it with me.”

(P.S. as of this writing, it is illegal to bring any stimulant medication into Japan, including some sold over the counter in the USA. Some notable mentions are:
・Viagra and other sexual enhancers.
・Adderall
・Dexedrine
・Prozac
・some inhalers and some allergy and sinus medications. Specifically, products that contain stimulants (medicines that contain Pseudoephedrine, such as Actifed, Sudafed, and Vicks inhalers), or Codeine are prohibited if it contains more than allowed quantity of stimulant raw materials.

And um yeah, still illegal to bring in marijuana.)

Preparing for Japan - lesson 1

Here is some stuff I have learned so far, in no particular order:

1. The household power outlets in Japan are close-to, but not exactly the same as, power in the USA. After some research, and reading a comment on I believe TripAdvisor where someone said they have never had any problems except for hair dryers and curling irons (neither of which I am traveling with), I have decided I will be OK. The only things we will be bringing to charge would be two-prong (non grounded) plugs like for cellular phones, so I am not going to worry about it.

2. Money belt, fanny pack, small purse, etc. - general luggage. A short time ago, I purchased a three piece luggage set since I'd been using the same luggage from Target since I became a "grown up", and after taking the backpack and the rolly-bag for a few spins around the country, I decided it was best to leave the biggie at home and just go with those two, along with a small purse to carry around when I get there. The rolly-bag in fact is pretty large for a roller - close to 24" with the wheels vs. 22" which is standard for airlines to allow as carry on. I haven't had much of a problem up until now, so I think I'm going to hope for the best.  

I have a small purse, but it's mostly brown, and I'm planning to go with a mostly black color scheme, so I'm hoping to get two that I ordered online delivered before I leave. We'll see.

Is it too early to start packing?

GOING TO JAPAN

After a valliant search (again... when will my nearly-middleaged self learn?) I've decided to create my travelogue here on my weblogue. It's the closest, most accessible online thing I have to creating a zine on the go, which is teally what i want to do.

SO...without further adieu, I'm going to Japan! I can't tell you how long I've seriously wanted to go, but DMV and I have been planning nearly as long as we've been looking for a new house, so like 3 years. Still havent found a house so decided we had to do something we felt in control of, so over the New Year, I found a pretty good package deal on Expedia so I snagged it.

Well, back to the blog.

Social media has not filled the void of being able to get my work and thoughts out of my head and into the world very well, so I'm back to this blog. Because I'm too passive to continually engage, all alerts are turned off on my phone, and because I'm paranoid about the fairies using my real name, I also mainly keep my identity to myself. Plus, no matter what platform I end up using - Instagram for pictures, Twitter for politics  - I mainly get the echo chamber of individuals I already know. Facebook came the closest, with a mix of words and images: with the ability to post links and connect thoughts, but it had become less of that in recent times and more of a relay through bad memes, unchecked articles, and a mire of sad copyright and privacy confusion. I predict it will end up an event app and business card site.

Instead I choose sitting alone on my blog.

 

Is the world still here when you die - and what about my passwords?

08:14AM

Tum-te-tum. Here we are again. Back to the unedited ramblings of serial misspeller, wanting to capture fleeting thoughts like a kid collecting candy at a parade, and instead of gorging on the empty calories myself, trying to find a way to share the momentary bit-o-honeys with the masses.

"Not back on it, Joe, still on it." - TMBG

This brief interlude is to present a window into the grey October morning the cover photo was taken, and the newspaper my laptop is resting on. The image replaces the former name of this web blog: "Adventures of a Rural Explorer," as I am reverting back to simply "Belle the Cat". It better reflects what I am trying to do and gives me more mental freedom to explore the varied topics I always have.

And yes, I do love absinthe. 

Don't ask me why I get the newspaper. Everyone should. We also get the "big city" paper, but the paper in question is lovingly referred to as "the local rag" in this household, a fairly new conglomeration of tiny local papers bought up by a slightly larger tiny local paper. Within you will get a mighty lick of local meeting notes, musings, and high school sports updates.

It was the musings that pulled me in today. One, which last week featured the writer's dog, this week sported a photo of a goat that lives on his property. The other one is the Geiger Counter column by local writer and pontificator Matt Geiger. I don't always read his column, but I will never forget the "I tried to buy a monkey when I was 8 years old" one from a few years ago, so I skimmed the current one, called "One form among many..."

Perhaps it was the initial paragraph relating the trials and tribulations of coming up with a new password, only to realize the password I just tried to change to is my current password. Also, with recent Facebook breeches, I've had "reset passwords" on my to do list for a few weeks. But as I read on, imagine my surprise to find that the column was actually about existentialism and the fleetingness of existence?

"There is such peace in that idea - that our individual lives are fleeting, and insignificant," the author relates.

And I connect to that. Who cares if we redo our kitchen, buy a new house, loose everything in the stock market, write a blog post? Our life, the memories and goods we leave behind, the candy-wrappers of our existence are really nothing... really... This is not an excuse to do nothing, to hurt people, or to undermine your beliefs. It is a reset of the mind that honestly probably saves a lot of people from loosing it.

Anyways, you can read it here.  

09:04AM

(Written on Notepad)

PUPPYBOWL 14! 2018 - Fantasy football draft open now

Welcome both new and returning GMs to the 2nd annual Unofficial Puppy Bowl Fantasy Football league!

To add enjoyment to the (already highly enjoyable) Puppy Bowl event, I once again constructed a free game for participants of all ages. No money, no prizes, no pressure - just puppies!

No cable tv needed.

Here is how it works:

1. Go to https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/puppy-bowl/ and read up on the players.

   a. I very much suggest checking out some tips from past years on how to draft, or YouTubing “Puppy Bowl Highlights” to see some trick plays and get a feel of what types of dogs typically score.

   b. Realize none of this will matter. They're puppies.

2. Are you TEAM RUFF or TEAM FLUFF? Choose one.

    a. Wikipedia’s Puppy Bowl entry states that Ruff won 2015 (first year Teams were assigned) and 2016. 2017 saw a stunning upset by Team Fluff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy_Bowl

3. Alright – are you ready? Pick 3 PUPPIES to be on your team. They can be from EITHER Fluff or Ruff, regardless of what team you chose to win it all.

4. Points will be awarded thusly:

- Touchdown = 7 pt.

- NEW FOR 2018 Field goal = 3 pt.

- Penalty = -2 pt.

- Winning team = 5 pt.

- MVP (most valuable puppy) = 10 pt.

5. *MOST IMPORTANT STEP!* Post your TEAM and your THREE PUPPIES on Facebook or in the comments of this blog. Also, choose your Most Valuable Puppy and post them as well!

    a. I will also have non FB players - all are welcome! I'll be in charge of posting those.

    b. You can enter your picks at any time -- up until kickoff!

6. Watch the game! Keep track of your puppy stats using this handy sheet:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hiOwaA9JGW7mYFjqVI2LN0YDCKM5wsFR/view

    a. If you don't/ can't watch, DON'T WORRY - I will score all puppies to the best of my ability and post them after. You can then add up your points. Disclaimer: no guarantees I catch everything. (The penalties are esp. hard.)

7. Afterwards, I will post results. *Note: I am going to try to do my best to report out on the details of each puppy, but no promises on my ability to actually no this, nor my accuracy :-P Feel free to keep track of the game and post yours as well!

Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl XIV (14) airs on Super Bowl Sunday, February 4, at 3 p.m. ET, just before the real game gets going.

Here is the official PB-FB = https://www.facebook.com/PuppyBowl/

(Note that this game is in no way shape or form endorsed by Animal Planet and no goods, services, or money will be exchanged - you win bragging rights only!)

Special note:

Puppybowl is filmed in October. If it comes to my attention that the winner/s have been leaked, I will need to shut down the game and declare a winner from those who have posted. Not that I want to, but it’s incentive to get your pics posted early!