DNA Testing

For Christmas I got one of those DNA testing kits for me and my wife.  It had always sounded interesting to me and seeing it on sale and needing gift ideas I finally got them, the two-three and me one for health and ancestry.  We submitted them several weeks ago and we both got our results recently.

While the results are an interesting read I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed.  There's a lot of fluff to go through to find results and numbers you want to see, but that's more of a website navigation issue, I think.  And no, I do not want to do a ton of surveys or pay $29 a year for more underwhelming reports and features, thank you.

I thought I'd find the health portion more interesting but thankfully I tested negative for all variants they look for, no predispositions and not a carrier.  The wellness and traits section where they give you a percentage of likeliness I do find interesting, and while many do reflect my actual traits some do not.  It correctly gives me a bigger chance of not being able to match a musical pitch or be bitten by mosquitoes, but also says I'm less likely to be afraid of heights or likely to have fair skin.  Almost all with varying percentages.  99% chance I don't have red hair, 1% I do; 58% chance I do not have cheek dimples, 42% I do.  Yes, interesting information upon first read but nothing that you can really do anything with our about.

The ancestry report was more interesting, but about what I would have expected.  Growing up, I was always told that I was 75% German and 25% Irish (a simplified guess, I'm sure, but easy to understand), and the results weren't that far off and had a few other odd finds, like I have more Neanderthal DNA than 64% of their other customers at less than 2%, whatever that really means.

98.8% Northwestern European.  Not surprising, I know I'm not Native American.  Of that:

44.2% British and Irish.  County Dublin and Greater London appear to be at the top, but it does list 18 other regions.

40.2% French & German.  Not sure why they lump these together.  A closer look shows all to be regions of Germany and Netherlands.  No berets for me.

8.9% Scandinavian.  I hadn't expected that, but it seems I have some roots in Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

5.2% Broadly Northwestern European.  Apparently all the above but unidentifiable.

0.3% Finnish.  This made me smile, but only because I'm a fan of Nightwish.

Then outside of Northwestern European it tells me I am 1.0% Ashkenazi Jewish and 0.2% of trace ancestry.  Go figure.

There's also a section where I can connect with family members and lists several of my actual relatives who must also have done the same test.  So it knows who I am and who I am related to now.  And the other day I received an invitation to share ancestry from someone I don't know.  You are given their name and after a quick google search I found she lives with her family in a town south of here.  Likely a second cousin, but I have not responded and not sure I will.

I don't think I want to dive into this that much and make connections and start a family tree or anything like that.  But I'm glad I finally did it and while interesting it does not change anything or is really of any help for anything.  Maybe I'll change my mind in the future, but for now I'll just let this simmer for a while.

RIP Jonco

Sadly, another that I've followed on the internet for years has passed, Jonco, of the sites Bits and Pieces and Naughty Bits, among others.  His kids left a message on his Bits and Pieces site this morning.  He schedules future posts to have them published at intervals throughout the day and they left them be, so there will still be posts for a short time it seems, but their message appears pinned at the top.

Bits and Pieces was one of the first sites that I followed regularly, so over 20 years now.  Both the sites above are in my Favorites list and have been, B&P since I started this blog and NB since it started shortly after.  B&P is not a blog, but he did write about himself there often enough you felt you knew him pretty well.  He grew a community over there of many different kinds of people, some I followed later or have seen in other circles.   While I haven't read every entry every day in some time, it was always there when I needed a distraction or laugh.  All my best goes out to his family.  RIP Jonco.

Another Big Tree Lost

Another large tree in the neighborhood is being taken down, this one two doors down in the back yard, center of the pictures.  I really do hate to see big trees go, but if it was getting dangerous then I can't blame them.  I didn't want to lose our big tree several years ago, but it was dangerous.  Workers spent two days getting it down to the trunk, and the trunk remains yet.  Then they took two days off for high winds, which probably was a relief to the owners if they had been worried about branches falling.  But no activity again today, so not sure if the trunk will remain for now.  And it just might as it is very expensive to have a tree removed.  This one had to easily cost several thousand dollars just to get it down to the trunk.

The tree just to the right of the one being taken down in the pictures, with multiple trunks, seems to be leaning over the neighbor behind them so I wonder if that will be taken down, too.  I guess we'll see if they resume work next week.  At least it's cold enough all the windows were closed, so the noise wasn't much of a bother.  More than once, though, I looked out the window and thought I saw snow but it was just wood chips from one of the two climber's chainsaws on my neighbor Dave's roof.

With those high winds of the last couple days came a brief change in weather.  We set a record high temperature on Wednesday at 68ºF (about 20ºC).  Winds were 20+ miles per hour sustained and up to 60 mph gusts, I believe.  Between neighbor Dave and I there is a pretty good stick pile out front now.  If it was warmer I would burn it all, but alas, we plunged back to about or below freezing for highs again since.  I still hold out hope for at least one more fire this year.  I may push the issue on Tuesday, for the winter solstice.

Otherwise, plans have been made for the upcoming holiday and all presents have been taken care of, just a little more wrapping to do.  My sister's kids got a big graduation gift as a send-off last year, so they might be surprised but will only get a small, token cash gift in a card to open.  We plan to do the same for my brother's kids when they graduate, but then they are adults and the gift gravy train will then leave that station, too.

I never made a conscious decision to grow a beard this year, but it happened.  Somewhere along the line I just stopped shaving.  It's a much larger percent gray than brown now, and I'm not happy with it so I think it will go very soon, before we get too deep into winter.  Same for the hair, my last haircut was in spring and the gray part is getting more and more, so I may get that cut shorter, too.  I do clean up well every few years, it seems.

Enough for now.  I want to write more later about health and lactose and other things, but all in due time.  Have a great weekend!

RIP Apetor and Booster

 Apetor is a Youtuber that I've followed for many years now, me and his other 1.27 million subscribers.  I really liked his quirky, entertaining videos.  Last night I learned that he died on November 27.  Apetor made many different videos but he had a penchant for skating on thin ice, and that seems to have been the end of him.  I won't say much more here, but this short article tells more about him and how he died.  Below is the last video he made, from November 22, link here for email readers.  RIP Tor Eckhoff.

I got my booster and flu shots yesterday.  I remember feeling a little unwell after my second Covid shot, and I do not feel well today.  I'm not sure if having both at the same time made it worse, but my shoulder that got both injections is also pretty sore today.  Small price to pay for peace of mind, I think.

Happy Thanksgiving Thoughts 2021

With what I've been going through with my health recently and work frustrations bubbling up again I've been pretty down and maybe even ornery lately.  As I sat out by the fire last night I thought it would be good to think of things I am actually thankful for, so I gave it some serious thought and started a list.  Let's see if I can expand on that this morning and maybe get to 10 good and meaningful things for which I am truly grateful.

1. My wife.  It's hasn't always been easy but I just can't imagine my life without her.  I don't know anyone stronger who could deal with me and everything else she's had to deal with the last several years and more.  I've been guilty of being self-centered, taking things for granted and not listening as I should, and improving myself will only help her, so I am determined to become a better person.
2. My health.  I've taken this for granted, too, for far too long and it seems to be catching up to me.  I need to eat better, drink less, exercise more and lose some weight.  Very much easier said than done, but increasing health issues is a good motivator.
3. Family.  My mother and sister, specifically.  I don't like my father and my brother has been pretty distant.  When my mother's husband passed and then the pandemic hit I started to get closer to my Mom and my sister is always there with a smile and encouraging words if I need her.  I love them both greatly.
4. Friends.  I don't have many left these days, more acquaintances than friends.  I want to continue to work on those relationships and in some cases not let the distance between us cause that friendship to wane.  It seems harder to make friends the older I get, but much of that may be me so I should work on that more.
5. Blogger friends.  Delcatto and Blue Witch have been friendly towards me for a long time now and I'm grateful they keep coming back.  I like to read their blogs about them and their lives, and have learned much along the way.  Knowing they are there has helped me try to write better and more interesting things here.  I've not reached out to other bloggers much in a long time now, but Nic has been a relatively recent breath of fresh air and as a bonus he creates music pretty consistently so I always look forward to his next song.
6. Our house.  When this blog started in 2009 we started looking, and originally didn't think we could afford a house right in Madison.  But the market was in our favor and we found a nice house with a nice yard close to whatever we could need or want, right here in the near east side of Madison.  Yes, it is very small, seemingly too small for us at times, but overall I think we found a good one and have improved it in many ways over the years.
7. Madison.  Related to the last one, we live in a good area and city with a majority of like-minded people as us.  That changes rather quickly and surprisingly when you get outside the county.  When we traveled to pick up our last quarter cow it was shocking the amount of pro-Trump flags and signs in the rural areas.  I don't remember such divisiveness before he came along and thankfully don't have to worry about that too much here in Madison.
8. Music.  Music continues to be a joy and an escape for me even as I get older.  I don't go to live shows as much as I used to and am pretty unwilling to travel longer distances for it anymore, but I still enjoy discovering new music and I'm always looking for my next 'latest-greatest,' even if at a lower volume these days. 

Well, 10 was an arbitrary number anyway and I don't want to add something lesser just to get to 10.  I may remember something good that I missed later, but I think I have 8 very good things to be thankful for here and it was good for me to consider and reflect upon these.  Now it's time for me to do some cleanup for Kate's family coming over to celebrate the holiday.  It's currently snowing big white flakes outside, and my wife has been busy cooking up the cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and other goodies while the turkey is already in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving and a great long weekend to all!

Health Update and Lactose Intolerance

My wife discovered her lactose intolerance about 7 years ago and has been taking lactaid when she eats dairy ever since.  There had been times when I would complain about something and she would tell me it's possible that I'm becoming lactose intolerant, too.  I'd always just brush it off and never had any real bad problems.  After all, we live Wisconsin, known as the Dairy State, and I really love cheese and ice cream lots and just can't imagine a diet restricted or without dairy.

Yesterday morning I still felt poorly, I had a bit more strength and stamina but not much.  I had arranged to borrow my neighbor Jane's handyman to help me clean out my gutters and rake and mulch my leaves before it gets too cold and/or snowy out, probably doing a little too much myself but it's hard to stand by and watch someone else do your work.  Once done, about 1:00 in the afternoon, I sat down and had some leftover cheese and sausage crackers.  Three of them, to be exact.  That's only 3/4 of a sandwich slice of swiss cheese.  It didn't take long and I was bloated again, feeling as inflated as a Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.  I was so uncomfortable a cough made my sides hurt.  I had been bloated quite often recently and it was happening again.

Once my wife got home I was discussing it with her and she looked it up, and sure enough the antibiotics can make you temporarily lactose intolerant.  A fact the doctor or anyone else failed to mention when putting me back on a regular diet on Wednesday, still with an IV pumping antibiotics into me.  Hell, I even had pie and small cup of ice cream that day and later complained about being bloated before finally being discharged.  Here at home and as my appetite increased I just ate as normal, bloating on and off and wondering why my movements weren't normalizing.  She convinced me easily and now I'm swearing off dairy at least until I'm off the antibiotics, but this could turn out to be permanent and I'll have to take lactaid when I want dairy forever.

It took 16 hours since that bit of cheese, but this morning I've had so much more 'relief' than I had all week and I'm starting to feel more like myself.  I'm still rather perturbed that I wasn't warned, and I'll be sure to bring it up at my follow-up appointment in a couple days.  I'm sure it tells you this can be a side effect on that full page of small print that comes with the prescription I got after I was discharged, but who reads all that stuff?  I still feel the doctor should have mentioned it when he put me on a regular diet while I was still in the hospital.

So, while that part should be getting better for me now I again woke up with a headache.  I failed to mention this in my last post, but I've had the same migraine on and off since I was in the emergency room last Sunday.  I'd be given different medicines for it in the hospital every day but it would always come back, and it's been a similar pattern since I've been home.  Maybe it's related, not sure, but I really hope it ends soon.  I've also had pretty wacky dreams all week, sometimes waking up panting with my heart beating fast several times a night.  Last night was better so perhaps this is related, too.  But again, I'm not sure.  

I guess all I can hope for is to avoid dairy for the time being and I should continue to improve and these things will work themselves out.  I just want to feel normal again.

Peace

 

Back Doubt

I've been struggling with doubt recently.  Doubt as to whether I deserve or require the upcoming shot in my back.  Over time the pain has gotten better since the last shot, and my pain varies throughout the day and depending on my activities.  One morning I can be hoping the date comes quickly, and that evening I can be filled with self doubt about even needing a shot.  This is different than in the past.  This is the least pain I've had before a shot, compared to the several other shots I've had, which has been different for me, and sometimes troubling in this way.  But I've also had the good pain pills all this time, as I have in the past, as well.

This weekend I've been doing a little experiment, I've done everything as I would have normally but without the pain medication.  Now, I've tried to not take them much anyway, but usually end up taking at least one and, more often than not, two a day.  An opioid called Percocet, Vicodin, or just Oxycodone.  It's been super hot lately, yesterday was over 90ºF but feeling like 100ºF with high humidity, but slightly better today so I was determined to walk to go out for lunch.  It's a little less than a mile to the Harmony Bar and Grill, one way.  A good walk, almost all bike path, and only takes about 15-18 minutes, depending, but the walk back was quite a bit more painful and slow than the walk there.

I mentioned in the comments for the last post how if you view it as 3 levels - surgery, shot, and live with it - that I would be toward the bottom of the shot level, and I still think that's true.  But my little experiment this weekend has given me the confidence that I am not doing this frivolously, it just happens to be the lowest level I've been at before undergoing this procedure.  For some reason I just feel a little guilty that I'm not in more pain, or as much as I have been in before.

This is good for me to realize and I'm glad I did this.  Now I'm going to take that damn pill.

Latest Listening Pleasure 38 - Wargasm UK

Shortly after finding and really liking their music I wrote an LLP Bonus post about them.  At the time, they only had 7 songs out and I felt they needed to do more to merit a full LLP post.  That was in February, and now, after several months of their music being at the top of my mental playlist, I just can't deny how much I've been enjoying their music ever since - and they have two new songs out since then, so they have been active.  Ladies and gentlemen, number 38, Wargasm UK!

Wargasm UK - Pyro Pyro

There's not a whole lot more I can say about them than what I did before.  But live shows have started up again, so they're getting their chops by playing out more, at least one festival from what I've seen with more dates scheduled soon.  And this make me happy because more live shows means more live concert videos to watch.  Always my preference.

Wargasm UK, Live at Download Festival Pilot 2021 - Backyard Bastards

Watching this live video reminds me how content I am these days to watch from afar, but they sure bring the energy and the crowd gives it right back.  I may be too old to be right down front anymore, but I still enjoy it lots.  Keep it coming, Sam and Milkie!

Previous LLP Posts:

LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll
LLP 26 - Dementia
LLP 27 - Rammstein
LLP 28 - Marilyn Manson LIVE
LLP 29 - The Harp Twins LIVE
LLP 30 - Diamante
LLP 31 - Steel Panther LIVE
LLP 32 - Scum Of The Earth

LLP 33 - Marty Friedman LIVE
LLP 34 - Buckethead LIVE
LLP 35 - Alice Cooper LIVE
LLP 36 - Poppy

LLP 37 - Code Orange

LLP 38 - Wargasm UK

Updates For Dog Days

We seem to be entering the dog days of summer now, and if I'm not mistaken the constellations agree.  When I posted recently and said it seemed like peak summer perfection at that time, I was correct.  The signs of a waning summer are visible now, but it's way too early to dwell on them.  Lots of good outdoor time yet to be had, thankfully.

The last several weeks have been pretty mundane around here.  We had quite the hot spell so spent most of our time indoors for a while, but have had lots of open window time, too.  Otherwise, it's been pretty routine; work all day and house chores and relaxing at night, not much socializing at all.  Where we live in Dane County we're sitting pretty good compared to other places.  We have a very high vaccination rate and things have been pretty relaxed for awhile here, but with the new variant we've started wearing our masks everywhere again and purposely not going out when we don't need, just to be safe.  We'll get there eventually, it'll just take more time - and vaccinations.

I know I've not written a whole lot the last several weeks, and my last couple posts have been mostly pictures, which actually prompted me to write more about them.  This may be like that, too, so sorry if you weren't a fan!  I just thought maybe I'd do a few updates on some varied things.

To start off, back in January I was considering whether getting the local newspaper delivered was still worth it to me.  Well, I kept getting the paper for a few months after, but canceled it at the beginning of May and I haven't looked back since.  I still get most of my news online, as well as sports updates.  The biggest change, really, is I saved one more daily cartoon to read online.  Money well saved, I think.

Update number two: Squirrels are still bastards.  This little bastard was just so picturesque this morning as he worked his way into a black walnut on our back railing.  I ran him off right after as I don't want any of that black walnut litter staining the wood, if I can help it.

All these pictures are from today, but most have a connection to past happenings.  See the rest after the break!

Literally Back. And Back.

I've not posted in a few weeks as I just haven't had much good to say.  I'd written about my latest with my back, so it made no sense to keep complaining until there was something new.  Well, I guess there was something new, I was just too upset about it to write about it at the time.

I spoke to my doctors office on Tuesday, June 15, and they said they couldn't schedule the shot in my back (a CT-guided left S1 selective nerve root injection) until it was preauthorized by my insurance and they would submit it that day.  By Tuesday, June 23, I had not heard anything back so sent a message to my doctor's office to inquire.  I waited the next day, but received no response.  So early on Thursday I contacted my insurance and they said they just  received the request the day before - 8 days after my doctor's office said they would submit it.  I told the story to that insurance agent, and she seemed sympathetic.  The preauthorization was approved the very next day, so either she expedited it for me or my doctor's office got it expedited somehow.  Probably the former, not the latter, but I'm still bitter.

I'd never had a reason to not trust my doctor's office before, but I won't make that mistake in the future.  They'd been bought out several years ago now by a larger company so I'm sure expenses had to be trimmed and the quality soon follows (duh!).  But I had to spend 8 extra days in pain, 8 extra days on opioids, and 8 extra days limited for work.  Eventually I got a cursory apology from the guilty staff, and a more in-depth apology from the head of the department, but I was definitely not happy.  I considered my options; talking to a lawyer, taking them to small claims court, even calling and yelling until I was blue in the face.  But in the end, nothing would come of it and I would just be more miserable.  Best to get on with it and go through with it.  Just get it done.

Eventually I got my injection two days ago, Wednesday, July 7.  It was certainly the most painful of these injections I had, I think this is the 4th, and not the most or least effective I've had, either.  I still have pain in my butt and groin, sometimes extending down the back of my thigh or to the back of my knee, all left side, and my left heel has been tingling ever since.  I no longer get pain all the way to my foot, or the very sharp pain from internal pressure, such as a cough.  

Overall, it's just taken the edge off and I think this is something I'll just have to live with.  Until I can't anymore.  Then I get to go through this whole process yet again.  Next time maybe ending up in front of a neurosurgeon.

So, that's that, I'll try not to complain about it here anymore.  I do have some things I'd like to catch up on so I'll try to write more this weekend.  Stay healthy, everyone.

May This-And-Thats

I have a few things on my mind, and it's too small to hold them for long, so it must be time to get them out.  Nothing very major, just some updates, thoughts, and an announcement to my email readers, so it's time once again to just start typing and see what happens.

• Blog emails are going away in July, they will no longer be supported.  I've been looking for another widget or service to do this, but I'm not going to pay for it so it may not happen.  I have over a dozen friends and family currently signed up and I'm afraid I will lose those readers when this convenience goes away.  If you are one, click the link to the site at the bottom of your email and save it as a favorite now!  I'll provide more updates when I have them.
• 
  Remember when I wrote about my site being probed?  Well, it's happened each month since.  739 hits on March 24 and 760 hits on April 26.  I have no idea why, who or what it is, but it doesn't appear to be doing any real harm, either.  We'll see how many hits I get for May in a couple weeks, I guess.
• The extra dirt and old grill are gone.  My wife put the dirt on the neighborhood farcebook page and in a day one neighbor picked up a couple big buckets and a day or two later another took almost all the rest.  The little that remained I found places for in the yard and gardens.  Also, the rotting wood that was the old gardens I cut up and took to the dump last weekend, so now I have my garage back.  And that old grill I put out to the curb a day early and it didn't take long for it to disappear, no sticker required.  Maybe someone will try to clean it up and get another year or two out of it, but more likely it will be sold as scrap metal.  But now I have a 35 dollar sticker that I don't need.  Maybe I'll pay it forward and have my wife put it on farcebook and give it away to someone with an appliance they need to get rid of.
• I mowed the lawn for the first time this year on Wednesday.  The front needed it more and the back just in places, typical for the first mow.  Thus begins a (mostly) weekly ritual that will last until late fall.  Thankfully, it's a small lawn.  It's also showing wear in areas that I'll need to get grass to grow again.  This is likely due to me spraying the weeds instead of getting down and digging them out.  Trouble is, my back is no longer built for all that low work.  The good news is last summer I got a tool that I can get the weeds out while standing up, but it does leave a divot.  I'll just call that aerating the lawn.
• 
  Remember the drawer that I built downstairs for the cat's litter box?  I still look at it and think of how nifty it is.  After using it now for quite some time, I really like how it contains the mess a whole lot better than when the litter box was on the floor.  Oh, litter still gets dragged out, but mostly only onto the walkway and a bit on the stairs, and I just sweep it into the drawer.  If anyone figures out how to get a cat to wipe their paws, please let me know.
• BW left a comment over at Nic's recently that got me thinking.  It's about getting used to music that's not on CDs or records.  To a certain extent, I have the same issue.  I do have many releases on digital only by now, but I also have YouTube Music as a premium member, so have been trying to use that more.  The issue I'm finding is it's geared more towards individual songs, not whole albums, and I am very album-oriented.  Are all music streaming services like that?
• I have my spring vacation in a couple weeks, and I expect it will be better than last year's.  I don't have any big projects in mind, but I'm sure I'll think of something.  Or maybe I'll just sleep until noon every day and have a fire every night.  It will be different because my wife will be here working from home all week, but I'll hit two weeks after being fully vaccinated so I do plan on going out and about.  We also want to start inviting friends over for firepits and outside socializing soon.  I know vaccination is no guarantee, but I feel the benefits will outweigh the risk, at this point.

Well, that was fun.  The weather has been seasonable and we're still getting overnight frost now and again, at least for this next week, it appears.  Might be a good night for a fire, tonight.  Have a great weekend, everyone.

Blogday This and Thats

I started this blog 12 years ago today, shortly before we bought our house.  It's kind of funny how I use this site to refer back to when we want to know when something happened.  Usually, if it's worth writing about, then I wrote about it here.  Of course, I've written a whole lot of nonsense, too!  Speaking of nonsense, time to type again and see what happens.

• I'm ready for spring, now.  I shaved for the first time since last October and got a haircut for the first time also since October - but 2019!  It was just time to shave off the winter face coat, and of course it was cool for a few days so my face got a bit cold, but I'm used to it now.  I'll probably grow my little chin beard again like I usually do.  And I remember starting to think about a haircut in March last year, but then everything got locked down.  Once I shaved, I knew I had to finally get that haircut.  It's as short as it's been in a very, very long time now, but it'll grow out.
• We got some rain last night and today, and there's some more in the forecast, so hopefully they will lift the local burn ban and I can have a fire this weekend.  As long as it's not raining.  That might also throw a wrench in proceeding with the gardens this weekend.
• I've been enjoying the concert livestreams since all this started.  No, it's not the same as going to a show, but for live music lovers it's at least something.  I've lost count of how many I've seen now; a few from Code Orange, Xordia, Richie Scarlet, Stephen Pearcy, Pain, Diamante a couple times, Steel Panther, Wednesday 13, and many others I'm forgetting now, both ticketed and free shows.  There's a couple more on my radar soon, Bruce Kulick on the 16th and Poppy on the 24th.  Rock on!
• Aside from the new car, we made another big financial decision recently and refinanced the house.  We've been paying off extra for some time now, but now we knocked off a third of the years left on the mortgage and have a much lower interest rate, which feels pretty damn good.  It was a good time to buy the house back when we did, and now it just keeps going up in value. So again, good for us!
• I get my first shot two weeks from today, the Pfizer vaccine.  I'm very much looking forward to it, actually.  Fully vaccinated, I will have much more confidence going out and about and getting some semblance of 'normal' back.  Live music, dining out, gathering with friends and family, shopping and even just stopping off for a drink somewhere has been missed greatly, but I'm hoping it all gets better as we go this summer.

Well, I thought I might have more but that's all I can think of at the moment.  The cat's have been well, and have been loving the few times we've been able to open the windows so far.  Here's a recent video of them and, if you couldn't tell by the coloring, they sure act like brothers here!

LLP Bonus - Wargasm UK

Less than two weeks ago I came across the young duo Wargasm UK on Youtube.  I'm constantly looking out for new shows, concerts and livestreams, so it was probably in my recommendations.  They had a short set on video, filmed during lockdown for the Download Festival channel.  I found the video to be heavy and fun and new and, well, I found it interesting enough to dive head first down that rabbit hole immediately after enjoying the show.

They are Sam Matlock and Milkie Way, from London, and while they call themselves Wargasm I see them referred to as Wargasm UK in several places.  I'm pretty sure that's because there's already been a band named Wargasm for a few decades now, but they're kids so I'm sure they didn't know.  If you're into genres they call themselves Nu-Metal, but call it what you will, I only know that I like what I like and that's as it should be.  While I've not been able to get their music out of my head recently, they need to do a bit more over longer to justify me writing a full LLP post, I think.  Wargasm UK has no albums and only 7 singles released since they started a couple years ago.  That's all I found of them, aside from remixes, and I bought them all digitally the only place I could find them - Amazon.  I thought it was well worth it to encourage their behavior and I hope I hear much more of them, and sooner than later.  (I also hope it's even better!)

I'm not sure I have a favorite song they do, but this one is real good.  And while they have some good live videos out there, here's the official video for their song Spit.  Enjoy!   

January This-and-Thats

We're well into the new year now and other than for a little insurrection review I've not posted in 2021.  We are entering the doldrums of winter here, and during a pandemic still, so there's not a whole lot going on for us lately.  Despite that, there must be a few things I could say so time to start typing and see what happens.

• First, let's get this out of the way:  I hope he gets the book thrown at him and dies alone in jail.  I don't care if it's from taxes to insurrection as long as he gets locked up.  He went from sideshow to embarrassment to disturbing to criminal psychopath and wanna-be dictator.  Enough said.
• That reminds me of a saying I heard recently.  "It's easier to fool someone than it is to convince them they are being fooled."  I thought that made a lot of sense, from what I've been seeing.
• Now, for a totally different thought, why does this rug seem so much harder to keep clean back here rather than when it was in the living room?
• I may have said this before, but I don't read books anymore.  Not really a conscious choice as I used to read every day on my breaks at work, now I don't go to work and I have different habits at home.  Probably just as well, I read mostly 'rock star' autobiographies and while some are very good some are very not.  I'm thinking of this because I was excited to see another one the other day and almost bought it - until I read the very unflattering reviews.
• I splurged on my computer setup.  I returned a 24 inch monitor to work and bought a computer stand with 2 heavy duty arms and a 32 inch monitor to match the one I already have.  It certainly helps for work having two same-size monitors, but my desk looks like a gamer station now.  I don't play a lot of games but I do watch a lot of videos, concerts and even sports on the computer.  Maybe concerts not so much anymore, but there hasn't been many new concerts now in a long time.
• And my 'good back' chair gave up the ghost recently, so now I work in lowrider style in my 'relaxing' chair to save my back until the new chair arrives in about a week.  Had to spend more this time for quality to support my back while I work and I want just one good chair that meets all my needs.
• Does it seem like I use too many commas and also not enough contractions when I write?  I think so.  I've been a little hyper-conscious of these things lately, for some reason.
• We've not gotten much snow since the last storm I wrote about, just a few overnight dustings, some of which was rime frost from the 10 straight days of fog and freezing fog we had.  Anytime now, though, it will start snowing and we're expected to get 2-4 inches through tomorrow.  We are fully in winter now, and this is what winter does.  On the bright side I got my vacation weeks for the year approved today, in May and September.
• While the Badgers football team had a disappointing and disjointed season during this pandemic, the Packers are the number one seed in the NFC for the NFL playoffs.  Hopefully two wins in Lambeau Field so they can go win the Super Bowl, starting Saturday afternoon.  Go Pack Go!

Well, only one workday left until the weekend.  With our new work contract we no longer get the christian holiday Good Friday off but we do get Martin Luther King Jr Day off now.  About time.  There might have been a few other changes, I can't remember, but this one just makes sense.  That means a long weekend this weekend so, for Monday, happy MLK Day!

What Happened...?

What happened to respect?

What happened to decency?

What happened to honor?

What happened to tolerance? 

What happened to democracy, and the office of the President?

What the hell has happened to us?

Happy New Year 2021

The consensus seems to be good riddance to 2020 and that 2021 will be much better.  It's a nice thought, but I think it will be more of the same until we can get a majority of people vaccinated and work through the details of getting back to some sort of normality.  Going back to the office, dining out, having drinks at the bar and gathering with friends and family will likely not return to any semblance of normal until late in the year, or possibly 2022, I fear.

More important is that there is now actual hope for a vaccinated end to this pandemic.  Hang on to that, encourage it, do your part when called upon and let's work toward that future and it will come to be.  I believe that because I have to.  How about you? 

Happy New Year to you all.  The ones I read, the ones I love, all my friends and all of you who take the time to read me.  Whether you comment or not, I can see you're there.  Thank you.

Back is Back

 I have two sayings when someone expresses sympathy for my back not being good; it's just part of the joy of being me, and, everyone has something, this is mine.  And I thank them for their expression.

Everyone knows I have a bad back.  I've had one neck surgery, two back surgeries and came close to having another one a couple years back ago.  I've been through this so many times, but this last episode has been a bad one.  Maybe a month or so ago I was having issues on my lower right side.  That lasted about two weeks, then moved to my left side.  I believe my left side was trying to compensate for the right side, which is why it moved over and has gotten worse since.  No sense going to the doctor yet, he would only give me muscle relaxers which I already have, and maybe some pain pills that I don't want and they don't really help the issue by just numbing it.  If I miss another day of work, though, I will have to contact my doctor for a note.

At work I have a stand up desk and a very good chair with good lower back support.  I was reminded of this when I went in on Saturday for a couple hours.  A poor decision on my part as I was so tight I couldn't even straighten my legs all the way, but I managed to get the needed work done in a couple hours.  At home I have two chairs, one with a more upright, adjustable back that I use for work and one with a fixed back that leans back and I have a lumbar roll on it that I use for relaxing.  Once it's more safe to go out and shop, I'll be trying out new chairs that will combine all these features.  No cheapie this time, it will have to be a high end, more expensive chair but it will be well worth it.

What I've been avoiding saying so far is that it's much of my own fault.  I've fallen out of the habit of doing my daily exercises and with the colder weather our neighborhood walks have ground to a halt.  Today I will start trying to change that.  I just made it around the block on a walk, though it was slow and I got slower as I went.  I have an icy/hot patch on my lower back now and will attempt my exercises when there is not a cat napping on the bed.  Exercises are basically planking and holding, and I do them on the bed because it is the most comfortable for me and getting up off the floor just ain't what it used to be.

Back problems are very common, I am not unique, and I know several others with issues and I'm sure you do, too, if you don't have back issues yourself.  Exercise is the true key, keeping those muscles in my lower back in shape while not hurting myself in the process.  Now I just have to do it and keep up with it or this will happen more often.

The picture is from a firepit last Friday afternoon.  (If you look just above the peak of the porch you can see where the branch broke off that blocked the road, from a few posts ago.)  I was trying to be careful then as I already ached, but firepits do usually end in at least a small backache for me.  The forecast does not look good for this weekend, so perhaps the last fire of the year, but not if I can help it.  Now I have to get up and move as I just can't sit here any longer.  Take care of your backs, people, you only have one and it affects everything you do.

New Fence

Yesterday we had our back fence replaced, and wow!  A side by side comparison really shows just how old, rotten and beat up the old fence was.  There were no real issues installing it, thankfully, and we gained a bit of our property back.

Neighbor Jane, on the right in the above picture has her back fence on the property line.  Neighbor Dave, on the left, has told me that his fence is a foot or two this side of the property line because when he installed it he didn't want to put it up a little hill he has at the back.  What they ended up doing is moving the fence line closer to the actual property line by several inches by the compost bin and the other side maybe just an inch or so, basically splitting the difference again.  So, no, it's not perfectly straight across the yard but you can't tell by looking at it.

Also, I wanted it straight across on top and there is a slight dip in the ground in the middle so while it is at ground level on the ends the middle is about 2 inches or so above the ground.  I can easily fill that in come spring, then the hostas will cover it all.  

Overall, I'm very pleased.  And after seeing it without a fence I am so very glad we have it.  It gives us so much more privacy back there and we don't have to look at the neighbor's odd junk behind and alongside their garage. I should have done it last year as the cedar would have been a bit cheaper but the miser in me wanted to get every last bit of use out of the old fence.  Oh well, it is done now and looks pretty good, I think.

If you're interested, pictures of the process will be after the break.

Snow and Fence Weather

Last year by this time we had gotten about 15 inches of snow, this year only .1 inches so far - until today.  Neither is unusual for us, and today it started snowing before light and continued until around midday.  Currently it is raining, so most of this snow won't make it until tomorrow.  And if it does it will not make it much longer as through the weekend high temperatures in the 40's (ºF, 5-10ºC) are expected.  Which means I should be able to get at least one evening by the fire. 

Speaking of fires, I thought my last firepit of 2019 was between Christmas and New Year but I might have been mistaken.  According to my pictures - and I usually but not always take some pictures - the last fire was on the winter solstice, December 21.  I can only hope to have another for this year's winter solstice, but every fire now could be the last of the season.  

I think I mentioned here that our rotting back fence was going to be replaced.  That was supposed to happen on November 10, but they called that a rain day.  The next day I got a call that they only had the 4 inch boards and wanted to be sure I was okay with that rather than the 5 1/2" I ordered.  No, I was not.  See, there has been a shortage of cedar this year, so they can order all they want but they'll only receive a portion at best.  I only need 40 feet of fence replaced and I want the same as I have but new.  I don't think I'd like the look of 4" boards on the 6' dog-eared back fence.  Yesterday they finally called to reschedule my fence replacement for this Monday, after the holiday weekend.  It's forecast to be cold that day with a high temperature just under freezing, but I'll be out there keeping an eye on them often.  My main concern is that they do not attempt to move the compost bin, they'll have to pre-build that panel before installing.  Cross your fingers they set aside the 90 or so boards needed for me.

I'll put some recent, somewhat interesting pictures after the break.