So Who is Going to Win This One?

 There are all sorts of polls and predictions as to what the outcome of Tuesday's election will be.  I will make no prediction, but I will make observations, and my primary observation is that this one has, for me, that same eerie feeling that the 2016 election did.   Organized Media is reporting record turnout for the early voting.  That in and of itself doesn't tell you who is going to win.  What that tells you is that a lot more people are voting earlier than ever before.

What does that mean, anyway?  Why is that happening?

No one knows what it will be like out there on Election Day.  No one.  People might be fearing social unrest.  They might be fearing the Wuhan Virus.  They might be fearing the long lines they might encounter if they wait.

Why did I vote early?

In my case it was for a different set of reasons.  I have been working a lot of overtime lately, and I mean a lot.  I am being compensated for it, which is great, because that doesn't always happen when you're salaried.  We had a major deadline of today to get a lot of things done, and I didn't know if I would be working another crisis on Tuesday.  I voted last Friday when a rare opening on my calendar emerged and took advantage of that opportunity.

It was extremely tempting to wait until this coming Tuesday.  I'll tell you why.

I very much wanted to lie to an exit pollster on my way out, though I'm also going to have to admit here that the Good Lord wouldn't exactly have smiled down on me for doing that.  Yea verily, I will admit that I get tempted to do things like that.  I'm not going to hide that.  If you're looking for an example to follow, on some days (if not most) it might be to your benefit to look to someone else besides me.

Regardless of the outcome:  get ready for riots Tuesday night, which will continue for several days.

No, you didn't hear it here first.

Eddie Van Halen is Gone

 At work today I checked a website that I've been known to frequently visit, and I learned of the passing of guitarist Eddie Van Halen.  It hit me like something of a sucker punch because I had no idea he was on his way out.  I knew that he had part of his tongue removed for cancer, and that was some years back, but not being a Van Halen fan I wasn't really keeping up what was going on with him or his bandmates.

Yes, I am very familiar with Van Halen.  They broke in early 1978 and they broke big.  One memory is driving up to Mt Hamilton in San Jose with Hal and KOME played "Jamie's Crying".  I didn't know at the time it was Van Halen and I heard from both Mark and Hal about this new killer song called "Runnin' With the Devil" by Van Halen, and I thought OK, there's this guy with the first name Van and the last name Halen who is breaking national.  I figured out soon it was a band named Van Halen after the two brothers who were in it.

There is no doubt that if you're going to sit down and compile a list of great guitarists, you're going to have to put Eddie Van Halen on that list.  The man no doubt had a talent that wasn't readily resident in most other guitarists.  He had his own style.  That's the mark of a great guitarist.  

I stated more than once, in another forum where Van Halen came up for discussion, that Eddie Van Halen was simultaneously their greatest asset and their greatest liability.  He was an integral part of the soap opera that came with that band.  I'm referring, of course, to his working relationship with David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, and Michael Anthony.  One manager of another well-known rock group once stated that success changes bands.  They (the members) start fighting.  And it all goes downhill from there.

All of that said, I can't describe myself as a Van Halen fan.  I never saw them.  I liked some of their songs.  I didn't like some of their other songs.  I got a kick out of "Take Your Whiskey Home" and I thought their cover of "You're No Good" was the best ever done of that song.

Eddie Van Halen played hard.  Eddie Van Halen partied hard.  And Eddie Van Halen died hard.

The shame in all of this is that he didn't (to my knowledge) patch things up with Diamond Dave, Michael Anthony, and the Red Rocker.

It's Been a While Since I Had One of These

Yesterday afternoon my cellphone went off.  Caller ID showed it be originating in New York.  I have relatives in that state (until they move out), but I didn't think it was one of them.  I thought it was a technical recruiter, and I answered since I wanted an opportunity to troll for some information.

Well, it wasn't a recruiter.  It was "Best Buy".  Or so he claimed.  He (I forgot what he called himself) wanted to know if I had made any changes to my computer recently.  A light went on in my head, as that I hadn't had one of these calls for the past five years, and I wanted to have some fun with this one, like I did with the last one who called.

I said that yes, I had made some changes.

I was then told that my computer had been sending out "security alerts".  Security alerts?  That caller five years ago said my computer was sending out viruses "all over the Internet".  Security alerts.  Well good.  I told the caller that I didn't think that was a problem, as that I installed some new software onto my computer so that I could send out these "security alerts", and I was glad to know that it was working.

Well he wasn't expecting that.  He asked me if I was near my computer, and that he could show me these alerts.  I responded with "you don't have to show me.  I want my computer to do this.  If you don't want to see them then you need to install blocking software."

"There's no blocking software.  Look, we're trying to help!"

"Well I don't want your help.  I don't see why we need to fix this.  My computer is doing exactly what I want it to do."

He wouldn't budge.  He kept insisting that we needed to fix this.  I'm thinking, how much longer can I drag this out?  And do I really want to drag this out?  I was done with the work week, and I wanted to go on the air.  I was also thinking that I wouldn't be able to keep from laughing for very much longer.

I hung up on him, after which he called back.  I didn't pick up the call, and as I write this "Best Buy" hasn't called me up to try to convince me to fix the problem.

I've gotten calls from the IRS robot, telling me that four serious charges have been lodged against me and "local cops" will arrest me within 24 hours if I don't call them back.

I've heard from Social Security about my account being "frozen". 

And although it's been five years since it happened, "Microsoft Technical Support" has also called me about all those viruses my computer is sending all over the Internet. 

I know I've said in previous entries that I hate telephones, and my feeling is that the primary purpose of a telephone is to allow other people to interrupt you at their convenience.

That said, I get a kick out of these calls, and maybe next time I'll see if I can outlast "Best Buy".

Why I Don't Do Social Media

Every now and then the topic of social media will come up in my day to day life, and when it did over lunch a few days ago both of us stated that neither of us do it.  It also came up in a phone call last night.  I don't do Facebook or Twitter, I have no intention of doing either, and although I may have mentioned it here in this blog, I haven't said why.

The short answer is, I have better things to do.

The long answer follows.

I remember first hearing about Facebook back in 2008.  I got two invites, almost within one day of each other from people I knew well.  "You have to try this!  It's neat!"  I never bothered to check it out.  A large part of that was I was happy with how I was spending my time, and didn't want to take on any new endeavors.  As time went on, I kept hearing about it more and more, and now every business out there wants you to "like" them on Facebook.

We also have Twitter.  Again, I have better things to do.  I can't recall when I first heard about it though I'm going to say it was 2010.  Randy Bachman had a forum and he would send out tweets every now and then, which someone would repost.  Fred Turner was asked if he did social media, and he said no.  (He has better things to do with his time too).

Even then, what have I got to tweet about?  "I was on I-10 the other day and I saw some roadkill, and it was a deer!"?  On some days that's about as exciting as my life gets, and I don't complain about those days.

That said, both of those platforms have had some bad consequences for those who get involved in it.  A former employer of mine had someone over in a foreign country.  He posted some disparaging remarks about that country on his Facebook page.  To his surprise, that host country had their intelligence agency monitoring that, and they didn't like what they read.  He was forced out of that country in short order, and I'm not sure if he remained employed with us after that.

I have also read of longstanding friendships being destroyed.  I know of one of them personally, and I suspect that the person that caused that has turned some of his Facebook friends against others who would otherwise have been his friends.  With either that or Twitter, once you send something out, you can't take it back.  You cannot unring that bell.

Now are there positive uses of either of those platforms?  As big as they are, there would have to be.  I could have signed up for Facebook and continued my interaction with two of the April Wine band members.  As much as I love their music, there isn't much left I could ask either Myles Goodwyn or Brian Greenway.  I do have one question for Fred Turner which I'll have to remember to ask the next time I email him, but I don't need Facebook to do that.  Yes, it would have been nice to keep in touch with Myles and Brian, and to learn about their projects, but an internet search would turn that up anyway.

Then there's the privacy issue.  Is it really anybody's business who I'm friends with?  Most of my friends know who my other friends are and where I like to eat and what I like to do.  Yes, I write about these from time to time here, but it isn't that anyone reads this blog in the first place and to be honest I'm good with that (this blog is, these days, a platform for airing my opinions and random thoughts, and I have control over posted reactions).  I also maintain a ham radio blog, which might have even less of a following than this one, but if I'm on the air and I hear some rare DX I'll text my ham radio friends about it so that they too can get Assinassippia or Crapistan or whatever rare country I get.  So why do I need Twitter?

Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has said on several occasions that the Twitterverse is not representative of mainstream America.  Some of the tweets I've seen posted on news sites bear that out.  I don't really care to read reactions from Hollywood as to what President Trump tweeted, and I don't need to read the reactions that some folks have for those Hollywood reactions.  If I want to know what some people are thinking there are comments on news articles, and from what I read a lot of people are as much anti-media as I am.

Anyway, there's the long answer.  I don't do Facebook, I don't do Twitter.

I have better things to do with my time.

Sunday, 8/9/20: Tucson AZ

I am doing much better today than I have for these past few days.  I am getting used to not being followed upstairs by a black furball who demanded a lot of attention from me.  I'm still sad, but I am not second-guessing myself.  Cancer is a cruel disease.  It was going to take a loyal friend away from me if I didn't intervene.  Moe died with cancer, but not from it.

I am also getting back into doing what I normally do on a weekend.  I went on the air Friday night and worked several European stations.  A new country emerged from that:  Luxembourg.  That one took three different series of attempts.  I've heard that station on before but he only activates during a major contest.  It was a special contest call....LX7I.

Yesterday afternoon I went back on.  Conditions weren't great here.  I could hear the east coast guys working Europe, but I couldn't hear the Europeans.  I took a break, returned later on, and got Europe a few more times.  And another new country:  Estonia.  That makes 94 countries I have worked from here and that magic number of 100 is closer yet.

Also last night, I cooked an Indian dish.  I love Indian cuisine and I'm thinking that I will soon make an attempt at making butter chicken from scratch.  The Patak brand of butter chicken sauce is delicious and you can find it at the Evil Walmart Neighborhood Market store.  Sheila tried to find it again yesterday at the Evil Walmart big box store down the road, but couldn't, so she brought back a different brand.  We didn't like it as much.  Yet this morning I finished the leftovers and it tasted great!  Chili will do that too.  So is the secret to make it the night before, and then wait until the next day?

The afternoon is still young here, so the next thing I will do is go out on the back patio with a good book and a cold brew.

I will miss Moe terribly for some time.

It's not easy losing a loyal friend.  Even if he was a Lieutenant Demander.

It's Getting Easier, but it Still Hurts

Yesterday I went in to work to take care of some things, came home for lunch, and worked from home the rest of the day.  I needed to do that because there were several instances of uncontrollable sobbing throughout the afternoon.  I did the WFH thing today, more sobbing, not as deep, not as frequent, and I'm still sad.  I keep thinking of that mental image of Moe lying on that table, the life gone out of him, and that look on his face.  And I tell myself that that one precious little kitten life that began 13 years ago has now returned to where it came from, and that Moe's suffering was cut short.

I have thought a lot about why this hurts so much, and I have an answer.  Moe was able to reach deep inside of my heart, more so than any other cat I've known before.  The way he curled up with me on his first night.  The way he consoled me when I broke up with Kathleen.  Aside from that one year in Vegas, Moe was with me every night I came home to cuddle.  And several was the time when Moe went to console a family member.

And yes, Larry cuddles too.  He instantly purred the very first time I picked him up.  Moe didn't purr instantly.  He had to be settled down.  He purred.  Then he wanted back inside that cage so he could play with Larry.

Larry is taking this very well.  I worry about him.  He has lost a lot of weight and is being successfully treated for a kidney issue.  Before that treatment, I was worried that we were going to lose him.  I had to fight back tears on that one.  His rebound is nothing short of miraculous.  He solicits pets and attention just like he used to.  He will cuddle, but he won't stay long.  He's got to run off and find a piece of cardboard to chew.  For him it's all about the simple pleasures.

Although the sadness still lingers, and although he won't jump in my lap any more to interrupt a blog entry, Moe is still in my heart.  He, along with Larry, brought me a lot of joy that had been missing since I had to take my sweet girl Sylvia in for her last vet visit.

Tomorrow I will be doing the WFH thing.  That's mainly because I have at least three meetings to do via Zoom, and I prefer to do them from here.  I'm going to try to get on 40 meters tomorrow afternoon as that 40 will open to Europe as sunset approaches, and Europe is having a contest.  I might also try after I post this, though sunset is still two hours away.  For all I know South America might be rolling in too.

Some advice that I got when I lost Sylvia:  find something fun to do when you're done sobbing.  Keep busy.  I have to follow that, because depression has hit some family members here on both sides, and I've had situational depression before.  I haven't needed a prescribed anti-depressant since 2014 and I have to be careful about not getting to needing one now.

Moe, the Lieutenant Demander: 3/23/2007 - 8/4/2020

Moe was taken to the vet this afternoon and from there was returned to his Creator.  He had good days over the weekend and a good day yesterday.  This morning he enthusiastically ate.

After that, he made five attempts at the litter box, and couldn't get anything out.  Confused and frustrated, he left the litterbox, made a few more attempts elsewhere, and failed.  He let out two painful meows, then threw up his breakfast.  At that point I knew it was time.

He was taken to the pet clinic where he met a peaceful end.  I watched the anesthesia take hold and knock him out, but wasn't sure I could watch him die.  I left the room, Sheila remained, and then the next injection came.  I went back in, he looked the same as when he was when I last saw him alive.  His eyes were wide open, staring into space, with a somewhat defiant look, yet peaceful at the same time.

I am convinced that his spirit remained above us for a while as he watched Shiela and I both cry.  We petted him some more, cried, and then left.  At that point he then finished his ascent, likely wondering why we were crying because that cruel disease no longer had hold of him.  I was not going to allow him to suffer.

I am at peace knowing that I did the right thing at the right time for the right reason.  Yet it's going to be hard this evening, going upstairs, and this time he's not going to follow me so that he can cuddle.  He did cuddle this morning but I knew he was in pain, and he didn't stay very long.  He wanted to go back to the front windowsill and sleep it off. 

I had thirteen years of memories with him.  All were wonderful, though he managed to vex me a few times.  He was a great cat.  He had attitude, spirit, he was sweet, he would hiss at the vet, and boss me around.  

My last words to him were:  Moe, your daddy loves you.

I said those more times than I can remember.