Wednesday Weigh-In 20211229

It seems to me that the COVID-19 vaccines are not effective. Even folks who are fully vaccinated and boosted can catch the virus and pass it on to others. Therefore, masks and social distancing are still necessary. I wear a mask not to protect myself but to protect others. I hope you will, too.

Waist = 42.75"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20211222

Happy Palindrome Day! I usually write my dates in YYYY-MM-DD form. But today I'm writing MM/DD/YY, or 12/22/21.

Waist = 42.75"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Dream: Debate at the Camp

I'm at a camp in a large cabin. One of the camp counselors, from behind the counter, shouts "who wants to do a debate?" I've got nothing much to do, so I say "I'll do it" and go over to the table where the debate will take place.

The place is just a table that seats four and there are six of us. So we start walking around the table widdershins. I'm carrying a shovel, a spade. The number of people around the table has lessened gradually and now there's just me and another guy. But I've lost interest, so I tell him so and I walk away.

Another activity is starting outside on the deck. I walk to the exit, but it is just a narrow seam between a wall on the left and a huge flat screen TV on the right. Somehow I'm supposed to pry it open.  I still have the spade, so I consider using this, but it's curved, whereas the seam is straight. Besides, with the flat screen TV so close, one slip of the spade could destroy it. So I hesitate, and I hesitate...

Wednesday Weigh-In 20211215

Just another weigh-in, and no time to think of anything to write.

Waist = 43.0"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Dream: Auditorium Christmas Party

I'm at the place where the company Christmas party will take place. I have a plant stand made of heavy wire that's painted white. There are folks still setting up the venue, bustling about, and I'm in the way. So I put down the plant stand in an out-of-the-way place so that no one will trip on it. Perhaps it will be used as a decoration.

There's a fragile-looking glass sphere, multicolored, the size of a volleyball, next to the place where I set down down the stand. It has holes in it and rods stick out of some of the holes like a Fancy Pencil Holder. Perhaps it can go on the plant stand, but I dare not do that lest I break it.

I move away from all the activity and look around to see what's in the many rooms at this place. They all have tables in them; most have white tablecloths but few have place settings, and no food has been set out. There are no people in those rooms.

I'm sitting in a chair that I brought and I have a stainless steel fork that I also brought. I decide to sit and relax. A young slender woman is nearby wearing black tights. I like that she's nearby. I decide to stay here for a while. Then when I get to the room that has the food, I'll take the last remaining spot so I don't have to decide where to sit.

I'm in the party room. I'm seated with people I don't know. We're all in Auditorium seating. As the food comes out, I'm dismayed -- how can anyone eat in these chairs? There's not even a table to place our meals on! Folks nearby have their plates of food. But someone directly in front of me gets up to walk to a place to get food, and folks in my row do too,  including another young woman that's next to me.

As we stand in line in the aisle of the auditorium, I wonder if we will eat somewhere else or bring the food back here.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20211208

I've signed up for my COVID-19 booster shot. The earliest Appointments are two weeks out. Also, COVID home test kits sell out within the first half hour of their arrival.

Waist = 43.0"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Dream: Clumsy at the Convention

I’m in a convention center, making my way from a reception area to where the main event will take place. I realize that I need to put my mask¹ on, so I slow my pace while I pull the mask out of my right front pants pocket. I get the feeling that some other stuff fell out of the pocket, so I stop and turn to look on the floor behind me. And while I do so, someone who was walking behind me tells me that I’ve dropped something and stoops to pick it up. Seeing that it’s one of my used hankies, I tell the person that I’ll get it and thank him.

So, I’ve picked up the hanky and put it back in my pocket. And now I’m standing while trying to hold all kinds of stuff, which includes my mask, a small notebook and pen, another hanky and perhaps a pamphlet about the event. It’s really hard for me to put the mask on without both my hands being free.

---

¹ Face covering to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Wednesday Weigh-In 20211201

My senses of smell and taste are starting to return. The first thing I was able to taste was the Celestial Seasonings tea flavor "Bengal Spice".

Waist = 43.0"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Dream: Yellow Legged Bugs

I’m outside at a lakeside picnic area.  There are people, picnic tables & benches and flora.

I’m supposed to interact with the wildlife.  There is a bug that’s numerous.  It has four yellowish legs that stick out the front.  It’s about an inch long by ½ inch wide, mostly shiny brown wing covering.

I see one stuck somewhere in a web not of its own making, and sometimes it sticks to my shirt front.  So then I gently blow it off onto a bush.  I say “hi” to them.

Dream: Custom Calendar / Priest in the Pew

I’m looking for blank calendar paper that I can write the numbers into for a month of days, but all I find are calligraphy paper.  The calendar page that I find online on the computer doesn’t accept large numbers like 620.

I’m in a church.  The priest sits with us in the pews.  I have a drill bit.  When the priest is at my seat, he puts his white-gloved hand on it and then pulls back because of how sharp it is.

He goes to the last pew that’s against the brick wall.  Everyone’s sitting backwards facing the wall instead of facing the altar.  I’m worried about how disrespectful that appears.  But the priest doesn’t seem to mind.

Dream: Neighbor's Backyard Construction

I'm in the house. I hear an helicopter flying low and close by to the West, so I look out my window. I don't see the helicopter, but I do see lots of signs of change on the property of the neighbor and his neighbor, in their backyards.

Then I look out the living room window at our backyard. My attention is captured by a very large Hawk that flies East from the neighbor's backyard to ours and alights on a tree branch. It's missing feathers in a band around its entire midsection. Then I notice the beginnings of a driveway on our neighbor's back lawn.  The grass was removed and filled with a layer of sand or fine gravel ready for paving. It ends abruptly as it abuts our yard. My wife is going to freak.

Dream: Outpost

I'm viewing an Outpost in a wilderness. So I'm sort of there, but I'm really just watching as if separate from the place. Some dangerous, evil creatures have invaded. We don't see them, but we know they're there because they build structures on the land -- huge, skeletal pieces. Someone realized that the creatures could be defeated if the structures are toppled, and so that's what the men are doing. It starts slow with a girder coming down every so often. But then a huge structure is detonated and collapses, which turns the tide. The last structures to be removed are wooden scaffolding and shutters, like saloon doors, that are attached to the concrete Outpost building itself. These are easily removed, and all is back to normal.

Moon Matters

When you know it’s there, you have a better chance of finding it. That’s how it is with the moon.

For many years I thought that Sun ruled the day; Moon ruled the night. But there were times when I’d see the moon during the day. I’d just shrug it off and tell myself, “Huh, that’s odd.” And I’d wonder why it’s not in the news or at least on the weather.

Sometimes my wife and I would notice the moon phases that are printed on some of our calendars. So we’d look for the Full Moon after dark. And we’d put out our collection of crystals so they could soak up the moon energy and get recharged.

I learned the terminology “waxing” and “waning”. I came across the idea that you could ride the energy of the waxing moon; I would plan dinner meetings so they’d take place when the moon was nearly full. It seemed that folks were more likely to register for the event during the First Quarter Moon than at other times. Conversely, when the moon was waning you would withdraw, reflect and release.

I paid attention to the times of moonrise and moonset with the “Phases of the Moon” app. I made sure my bedroom shades were down during the waxing moon so as to avoid getting roused by the gibbous moon at two or three am. (As I write this, it’s 5:19am; the waxing gibbous moon is lighting up low in the western sky.) And I was richly rewarded one pre-dawn morning when I knew that the waning crescent had risen; sure enough I saw it in the East as I swayed my head back and forth to find a break through the trees.

It’s exciting to know that the New Moon rises at dawn and is in the sky during the day. Solar Eclipses occur during a New Moon, when the moon passes between Sun and Earth. And Lunar Eclipses occur during a Full Moon, when the moon and sun are on opposite sides of Earth.

The moon cycle lasts about 28.5 days. On day one, the New Moon rises at dawn (roughly) and sets at twilight. Each day it rises and sets about an hour later. So the next few nights afterward, look for the waxing crescent moon in the West just after sunset. Then, about one week after the New Moon, look for the First Quarter moon just before sunset to see the moon during the day.

I hope you’ll learn more and start to look for the moon at various times during its cycle. Enjoy!

Wednesday Weigh-In 20211117

I've heard of various beauty products that are made from such things as jelly fish or snail slime. These are just biological manufacturers of mucous. If you want mucous, I've got plenty, and I'll let you have it at a reasonable cost from my Mucous Farm.

Waist = 43.00"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20211110

I've had a sinus infection during all of October. I totally lost my sense of smell. I couldn't even detect peppermint oil. Finally it seems to be coming back.

Waist = 43.0"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20211103

I thought about doing NaBloPoMo this month, but I'm too exhausted to try.

Waist = 43.0"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210818

Just working on breathing and praying...

Waist = 43.0"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210805

I've been taking Rosuvastatin 10mg for a couple of years to lower cholesterol. But recently I added Irbesartan 75mg for high blood pressure, although the doctor wanted to start me on 150mg dose.

Waist = 43.0"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Virtual Visit Back Home

I’d been reminiscing about my childhood – the neighborhood, the house I grew up in, and especially the backyard. So I took a virtual trip “back home” using Google Maps.

Google Maps starts out in Map View. I switched first from Map View to Satellite. The image seemed to have enhanced perspective, so the house seemed taller. It looked as if a second story was added to the 1-level ranch I grew up in. Then I switched to Street View and saw the property as if standing in front of it.

The house itself looked the same. There was no alteration. Because it’s brick, it was the same color. However, the landscape had been redesigned recently. The strip of grass next to the driveway was paved over (I used to park on it anyway). The huge azaleas were replaced with weird-looking topiary plants. The wood fencing that was silvered with decades of sun exposure was replaced with shiny white vinyl fencing. But the most devastating change was this: all the trees were gone. We had four oak trees in a row that we’d hide behind or zig-zag through on our bikes. In fact many trees around the neighborhood were gone. It made me sad.

Adding to the sadness is the fact that the street view images were taken in November, so the few trees that were there were already bare. The photos were taken on a brilliantly sunny day, so the shadows were long, and the images were bleached from over exposure. And no people were about, as if the population was wiped out by a plague – quite a contrast to my memory of how we used to play in the street or stand around and socialize with the neighbors.

You can visit many places with Google Maps, but you can’t go back in time.

Google Maps

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210609

I had to replace the batteries again in the scale. It takes four AAA batteries. For something that requires programming, it would be better if it were designed with AA batteries. ¹

Waist = 43.25"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. AA batteries have about three times the capacity of AAA batteries.
2. Wikipedia BMI page
3. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
4. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210513

I'd heard that the third book in the The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss might be released soon. So I decided to re-read "The Name of the Wind" and "The Wise Man's Fear." But I when I saw how huge the first book was, I got very depressed because it seemed like such a burden in my spare-time-limited life. I got a few pages into it and almost gave up. But I kept at it, and then I couldn't stop reading it. It's such an amazing book.

Waist = 42.25"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210505

Yesterday was Star Wars Day, as in "May the Fourth (be with you)." I still chuckle at the thought of a Jedi Knight with a lisp. And in less than three weeks we'll have Towel Day.

Waist = 42.75"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210429

I've heard that new guidance from the CDC says that vaccinated folks do not need to wear masks outdoors unless they are in a crowded venue.

But recall that when the vaccination effort first started, the CDC said that vaccinated folks could still transmit the virus, so we had to keep wearing masks. At first I thought the two positions were contradictary. But both could be true if you consider that unvaccinated folks can also go without masks outdoors.

Here's a link to the CDC website that offers guidance.

Waist = 42.75"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210421

The latest thing is that I've been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I've been told that if you have to have cancer, this is the best one to have. I'm on the "active surveillance" plan.

Waist = 42.75"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210414

I'm eligible to get the vaccine, but I haven't bothered. The vaccine doesn't protect against any variants, and right now the rate of infection from the variants is higher than that of the "original" virus.

Waist = 42.75"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20210407

My first weigh-in of 2021!

Quick update is that I'm healthy, and I never had CoVid-19 or any symptoms. However, my wife was in hospice in December and got released back into the land of the living a couple of months ago.

It's comforting to know that something like hospice exists. It almost makes up for the lack of support for euthanasia.

Waist = 42.75"
Height = 5' 7"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Balance Body Composition Bath Scale
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.