December 2019
Sunday, 2019.12.29
The Year in Review
I like to reflect at the end of each December.
It was a quiet year. Probably the most notable, and much to be celebrated, event of 2019 was the evil neighbor with the barking dogs moving away. I put it on my calendar, August 23rd. I happened to be outside that day. Hugs and handshakes with the few neighbors who liked them (or pretended to) and then they drove away with the last load of their junk in the truck.
While the weather was warm and dry I sat outside on my deck everyday, either reading, or using my laptop computer, or simply enjoying the fresh air and quiet. Oh what a joy!
Utopia doesn't last forever. The neighbors across the street turned sour. They became Jehovah Witness and, therefore, hypocrites. They used to be nice people. Now they're mean and antisocial. None of the neighbors like them anymore. It doesn't bother me. They don't have a dog and they keep to themselves.
Returning to the positive: My Mobile Home Gourmet channel on YouTube continues to do well. Every year it earns a little more revenue. It isn't enough to pay my bills, but I have a pension and Social Security benefits. It's enough. I'm not sure how much longer I'll do cooking videos. More and more I feel like I am nearing the time to retire from YouTube too. I probably won't stop all at once; it will be more of a tapering off, doing less and less until I do nothing at all.
The one video that went sort of viral toward the end of the year was my Copycat Bailey's Irish Cream video. There was a period before Christmas during which it was viewed more than 1,200 times each hour. The popularity has since diminished and I expect the video will recede into obscurity in January and not become popular again until next December. It's a seasonal favorite.
In fact, all my videos will now begin to fade during the next ten months. November, and especially December, are the two best months of the year for my channel.
As for friends, I still have the same ones, although I see them a little less often. Our favorite lunchtime restaurant, the one with the Chinese buffet, closed. So far, there has been no indication of a new restaurant moving into the building. Something will open eventually because it's a good location. It shares the parking lot with the new Target store. And I continue to meet with another set of friends every other Saturday to discuss the latest news.
It will come as no surprise that we mostly talk about Donald Trump. Not surprising, the impeachment proceedings have featured prominently this year. And in the coming year we'll be talking about the polls and primaries. I'm confident Trump will win the Republican nomination, but I doubt he'll be the president in 2021. I could be wrong. It's early, and I've certainly been wrong before. Like many, I was sure Hillary Clinton would win in 2016.
Another way of measuring the past year is to consider the addition of anything new in my life or home. One big ticket item I purchased this year is my pressure washer, which I'm glad I bought. The gutters on the awnings are working as they're supposed to. That is especially important because, so far, we've seen more rain than usual. The other item is my Bissell Big Green Machine carpet shampooer, which I used again this week because the humidity was down to 23%. Both items are part of my effort to keep my home looking cleaner, inside and outside.
The Year Ahead
Looking forward, I don't see any significant changes on the horizon. As I mentioned above, I do foresee some slowing down. One reason is that new videos, although they are popular for a day or two, don't attract much attention. My YouTube revenue, such as it is, comes from older videos. Fish & Chips, Ribs Cooked in an Air Fryer, and Salmon Jerky are the winners. Those are older videos. Of course, there is always the hope a new video will go viral someday.
I will continue to write these blogs. They don't require much effort, and I enjoy writing. Another reason for slowing down is that I am trying to keep my home neater, more welcoming and inviting for guests who might knock on my door. So I now keep all my video equipment — cameras, tripods, teleprompter — put away. To do a video, I usually start a day in advance, setting up all my stuff and covering my windows (to control lighting). However, with all that stuff stored away, it is a lot easier to clean my home.
Most likely, the one topic that will get the most attention this year will be the run-up to the election in November. I'll probably do Kitchen Vlogs occasionally to discuss the latest politics, especially when the numbers come in from the primaries and caucuses. Those vlogs are easier because they don't require any shopping and cooking, although there is still the time of setting up my home for a video.
Another plan for the new year, maybe a New Year's Resolution, is to get back onto my keto diet. I did well for many months, then I hit a plateau and nothing I did seemed to work. I kept gaining. So I took some time off from keto. It's time to start reading books again and make another attempt.
And so, as another year comes to a close, I can look back with very few regrets. And when I do feel pangs of regret, I taught myself a little trick: I ask myself, "What lesson did I learn?" There is usually something positive to learn from a failure and that dispels my negative feelings, turning them positive.
Christmas Day, 2019.12.25
Happy Holidays
I planned another quiet holiday for myself this year. I received two invitations to dinner for Christmas eve, thankfully. I say "thankfully" because one of them would have involved cooking and/or baking. I know it isn't very charitable of me, especially at this time of year, but one of the disadvantages I feel of having a foodie web site and YouTube channel is that people expect me to want to cook for them. I think one of the best gifts I can give myself at Christmas is some time off to relax, put my feet up, be warm and dry indoors while it's raining outdoors, and enjoy reading a good book.
As for the second dinner invitation, a friend was supposed to call me to confirm, but that never happened. I'm actually pleased because he is alone with his girlfriend and Christmas eve seemed like a good time to be cozy with the one he loves most.
As for me, I looked up the blog I wrote about this time last year and remembered I made one of my homemade Pizzas for the holiday. It seemed logical to do it again this year because I already have most of what I need. A quick trip to the store yesterday filled it the rest — an onion and some mushrooms.
Yesterday I also set up my home to do another video, but this time it will be a Kitchen Vlog, not a cooking video. If everything goes according to plan, I'll shoot a Christmas Day Kitchen Vlog and upload it to YouTube later today.
Christmas Present
I received a nice gift from a fan of my web site and YouTube channel, a little hand-painted ceramic tray, made in Italy.
It's small, about 6x12 inches (15x30cm), the perfect size for serving chicken wings. I recently watched a video in which Jacques Pepin easily de-boned a chicken — at least he made it look easy. I want to try it with wings that I can then grill or cook in my air fryer. Imagine boneless wing pieces with frilled toothpicks on this dish. It would be perfect on a buffet.
A View From the Deck
Now that the rainy season has started (it's supposed to rain again today), we get to enjoy an occasional rainbow. I sat on my deck a few mintues to appreciate one. There's an awning; so I wasn't rained upon.
Sunday 2019.12.22
Welcome to Winter
Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Although the days will continue to become colder (because until spring, the heat is off more than it is on), the days will start to get longer again.
Southern California amuses me. Although it's winter, I grilled some ribs on the barbecue this week. It's weather like this that inspired me to move to California (from Connecticut). And now that I'm retired, I'm enjoying the weather more, even when it rains, which it's supposed to do later today.
News Discussion Group
Yesterday was our regular News Discussion Group. We meet every other Saturday. The conversation was, again, all about Trump. Being West Coast liberals, none of us were unhappy about the impeachment of Donald Trump. I'm not sure how I feel about Nancy Pelosi holding the articles of impeachment rather than turning them over to the Senate for the trial. I trust her sense of political advantage. She must know what she's doing.
I also have no hope the Senate will remove the president from office (unless, maybe, they vote on new rules that allow them to vote anonymously). I don't really care whether or not the president is removed, or steps down. I'm looking forward to November, 2020 to see what the vote might deliver to the people of the USA.
How I Got My Snake Dancer
As I mentioned in Sunday's blog, there was a time when I looked for sculptures for my former office.
Back around 1990 I went into an antique store and saw a sculpture I wanted. The dealer, who specialized in more expensive collectible pieces, knew very little about it. He thought it might be French. There is no marking to indicate an artist. The only oddity is the "washer" used in the base as part of the mounting. It's a Belgium coin dated 1928, which might specify when the sculpture was cast.
Although the sculpture was a few hundred dollars, I bought it. I tried several times down through the years to learn more about the sculpture and its artist, but I always came up empty. I eventually assumed it might be a piece of mass produced factory "art" — like something sold in department stores back in the 1950s.
Finally, last Sunday I was able to find more information about it on the internet. The title is "The Snake Dancer" (Google it) and was created by Claire Jeanne Roberte Colinet (1880-1950), circa 1925. She was a French sculptor of Belgian birth, which fits with the coin inside the base. The estimated value I found went as high as $5,000 to $8,000.
As one more bit of possible provenance, the marble in the base is the same marble she used for many of her sculptures.
The figurine stands 16½ inches high and occupies a corner of my living room.
Wednesday 2019.12.18
Up On the Roof
As I said on Sunday, I wanted a friend here while I climbed my ladder to go up on the roof and clean out a rain gutter. I'm 68 years old. Although I feel sufficiently spry, it's that kind of confidence that can get an old guy like me in trouble.
I knew things wouldn't go quite as I hoped. We planned for noon. My friend slept late, so noon was changed to 12:15, which was fine. At 12:20 he called to say he was going to be late because he couldn't find his wallet (he's not organized). Thankfully he has a girlfriend; he blamed her instead. "She moved my stuff."
I decided to throw caution to the wind and go it alone. So, on my own, I climbed the ladder with a length of rope, one end of which I lowered down to where I keep my garden hose. Back down the ladder, tie the rope to the hose, turn on the water, then back up on the roof again to haul up the hose. It took only a few minutes to flush out that gutter (making a mess of the siding I had washed weeks ago) — I didn't need the pressure washer — but the down spout was clogged. So I pushed the hose down the spout (like I used to do when I unblocked the drains at a car wash where I worked many years ago) and within seconds the clog let loose and lots of black filthy water poured down the spout. "Drain the swamp." Job done.
And something I remember from my days in wood shop in junior high school: "No task is complete until everything is put away." Ladder, hose, rope, all put back where they belong, after rinsing my siding clean, of course.
While I was up on the roof my friend called to say he found his wallet and he was on his way. No problem. Everything was "done and dusted." I even had time to take a shower.
Lunch, which became dinner, was excellent.
About That Dinner
I sealed three-bone sections of pork ribs in vacuum bags along with some easy marinade I made. It was simple: Mix equal parts of teriyaki sauce with bourbon. The liquor tempers the sweetness with a little woody flavor. It works well.
I sous vide the ribs at 150°F for 20 hours. When I opened the bags I captured the marinade in a sauce pan to thicken for a barbecue sauce. The ribs went onto the grill to brown while the rice and Mini Quiches cooked. The sauce was mopped onto the ribs in the last stage of grilling, and then used to dress the ribs for serving.
The food was so good, I want to do ribs again the same way for a video. I even split more oak into small pieces for use in my grill next time. And I bought another side of ribs yesterday afternoon.
I can make a more complicated Barbecue Sauce. I'm known for my homemade BBQ sauce, but I wanted something simple. My friend, who is probably the nearest thing to a grill master I know, said the ribs and sauce were the best he ever tasted.
Did You Read It? I did.
Yesterday Donald Trump sent a letter of protest to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. I've heard it described as a six page screed and a six page Twitter rant. It's available for download as a PDF. If you haven't read it, you might want to. It's very amusing. I should also add: It was reported on the news that the president also wanted his lawyers to sign the letter, but they all refused. Not even Giuliani added his signature.
One TV news contributor stated his comment: He said he saw many of these letters when he was a prosecuting attorney. "This is the kind of letter people write when they know they are guilty and likely to do badly in court. People who are confident of their innocence never write such letters."
Sunday 2019.12.15
Homework
One "project" I am devoting more attention to while I slow down a little with the cooking videos is my home. I recently told a friend I want to be proud of my home, not ashamed of it. Purchasing a pressure washer and cleaning the exterior helped a lot. Now I want to concentrate on the inside (but not with the pressure washer).
I'm not a messy person, but neither am I an immaculate housekeeper either. I want to be better. I like my home, but sometimes I feel like it is too neglected because I get too busy doing other things.
I used to entertain more. There was a time in the trailer park when people were more sociable. The people across the street stopped speaking to me (and others) when they became Jehovah Witness. Another neighbor is struggling with his health. Other neighbors have either moved away or passed away. On the positive side, things are more peaceful now, especially with the former dogs gone from next door. However, without a regular flow of visitors, there seemed to be less motivation to keep my home looking pleasant and inviting.
So I decided I would do more cleaning and less cooking. I have a checklist of everything I need to do in each room to keep my place looking organized and clean. At the worst of times it takes an hour or two to thoroughly clean each room. When I keep my place organized, it takes only minutes, mostly to dust and vacuum.
One advantage of cleaning is regaining my appreciation for some of the objects I love.
How I Got My Lion
My stone lion is a fairly large and heavy sculpture, about 21 inches tall and 22 inches from tail to toes. Like most things, it has a story.
Many years ago I had my own office where I worked. Having seen the film Laurence of Arabia several times, I thought about one office (Mr. Dryden's (Claude Raines)) in which there were some beautiful sculptures. So I looked for some art pieces for my own office. The lion was one of them.
It was made by a local artist who, at the time (I'm not sure he is still living), did more naturalistic rather than stylistic sculptures. This piece was originally marked $800, then cut to $500, then $300, then cut in half to $150. That's when I bought it. That would have been about 1991. An art dealer recommended I clean it often and wax it occasionally with paste wax, buffing it to an attractive shine.
One oddity about the sculpture was how it attracted people who came into my office. Most of them could not resist putting a hand on it. Some of them would do it without thinking. It was natural to want to pet my lion.
I might photograph and show some other pieces I have. Meanwhile, I continued with my house cleaning, finishing yesterday morning. I did a deep clean because I expect a guest for lunch later today, which leads to…
Some Sous Vide
I need to go up on the roof and do an inspection as well as clean out some rain gutters. I want someone here, just in case. The best way to get one friend to help me is to offer to feed him, especially meat. So I followed his instructions to sous vide some marinated ribs 20 hours before finishing them later on the grill. For sides I'll make rice with peas and some Mini Spinach Quiches.
Wednesday 2019.12.11
Why So Difficult?
Why do easy things need to be so difficult? It's not because of technology. It's not about the red tape. It's age — getting older.
In a recent blog I wrote about the new Target store that opened down the street. I like the store. It's bright, open, and they have half-and-half dairy creamer in the dairy case. I like shopping there. I even signed up for a Target Red Card so that I could take advantage of some of their discounts and free shipping to the local store (if the store doesn't stock a product I want).
However, my Red Card wouldn't work. The self-checkout screen said the card could not be authorized. I tried different PINs. No luck. Frustrated, I went home and changed the PIN to one I was sure to remember. I even wrote a hint on my card — something no one would guess because it's a number from my childhood. Still, the card wouldn't work.
I was ready to shred the furshlugginer thing. Enough already. But I sent a text message to Target customer service. They responded the next day. I hadn't activated the card yet. Now don't I feel stupid! It's age. It gets us all, eventually.
Maybe Something About the Impeachment
As usual, I've been following the news closely. Nothing about the impeachment of Donald Trump surprises me. It might anger some people, but I doubt any of those people would be surprised either. The writing has been on the wall for weeks. (Some cartoonist should draw a panel depicting Trump's border wall, his name on it, and spray painted above the name the message: "Impeach". The caption should be: "The writing on the wall.")
It's simple. The House of Representatives will vote on the articles of impeachment (so far, two of them — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress) and send those to the Senate for a trial. The Senate, dominated by Republicans, will decide the president is innocent and Trump will go on TV and crow like a rooster, saying he was 100% exonerated of all charges of wrongdoing — the most perfect president in US history.
I was amused my Lindsey Graham's comment. "The abuse of power is by the Democrats." No. The US Constitution gives oversight of the executive branch to the House. That includes the responsibility of impeachment. Faithfully honoring and defending the Constitution is not abuse of power.
I never had any hope the Senate would remove Trump from office. I don't know that I'd care whether or not they did. It might make for some interesting news if they did, but so what? It takes a two thirds majority in the Senate to remove a president. I would be happy to see anything more than 50%. 51 votes against Trump would suite me just fine. I'm far more interested in what happens in 2020.
So far, Joe Biden is still the front runner to get the Democratic nomination. Yes, he's old. Yes, he's way behind the times. I wouldn't be surprised if he announced in his campaign something like: "Every family should have a Model T in their garage, or at least a Rambler Nash." However, in my mind, the only ability he needs is the capacity to beat Donald Trump in the election. After that, let Congress run the country for a while.
Trump will certainly fight hard, and cheat wherever he can. He needs to win — not only for his ego but to remain in office because of the Department of Justice policy of not indicting a sitting president. He needs those extra four years to outlast the statute of limitations. I also have no doubt the Southern District of New York already has their indictments written, just waiting for the opportunity to cuff Trump and haul him away.
From the books I've read, the charges could be lying under oath, tax evasion, tax fraud, money laundering, bribery, blackmail and probably many others I haven't thought about. What has Putin got on him? It must be something really bad. Why else would Trump work so hard for Vlad? Why the latest scheme to take the election meddling charges away from Moscow and place them Ukraine?
2020 is the year to watch. I'll be paying attention to the primaries, starting in early February. I know Republicans will cast their vote for Trump and Democrats will vote, probably, for Biden. No surprise there. However, I'm curious to see the turnout. If fewer Republicans vote in the primaries and there is large turnout among Democrats, that could be an important indicator for November. Remember, the 2018 success that resulted in the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives was a vote against Trump. I don't see any evidence the voters approve Trump more now. His low approval rating hasn't changed.
Sunday 2019.12.8
No Feature Recipe This Week
I didn't plan anything and I didn't have any videos in the vault. I do have one Instant Pot recipe in the works — Chicken Ragu, which I made one time to test it. However, I didn't video it. Not yet. Maybe this week. Chicken is on sale at 79¢/pound at a local grocery store.
An alternative someone mentioned is to re-edit an old video no one is watching anymore. That's a possibility. I have plenty of those. Another alternaive is to create a new video from an old idea. This being the holiday season, I expect some people to have leftover turkey and maybe they're getting tired of turkey sandwiches. (My mom would sometimes grind up the meat, mix it with mayonnaise and other ingredients like chopped celery, then make chicken salad sandwiches. It works well with ham too.) I have a simple idea for those leftovers.
However, I mentioned in past blogs that I feel I am nearing a time in my life when I would like to slow down even further. I am retired from the work force, "gainfully unemployed" I like to say. I planned cooking for this web site and my Mobile Home Gourmet channel on YouTube as a pastime to give me something to do in retirement. I've written more than 350 recipes and I have nearly 400 videos on YouTube. It has been nine years. Slowing down now feels right.
I won't stop altogether. There is always some new idea worth testing. I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen. And I certainly have enough kitchen toys to play with. But I don't feel I need a pastime anymore, not while there are books to read.
The Ant Situation
This was the strangest ant colony I ever saw. I mentioned in Wednesday's blog that the ants moved their eggs into the bait jar; so I dusted the inside of the jar with diatomaceous earth. Within a few hours, the ants moved their eggs again, stacking them outside the jar. I dusted the eggs with the same glass powder. I also noticed a little gap up near the ceiling where the ants were coming in. So I inserted that needle thing I showed in the earlier blog and dusted inside the gap.
By late in the day the ants had abandoned their piles of eggs and the number of ants was nearly zero. I vacuumed up the eggs and washed the surface. That was Wednesday. I also emptied the bait jar down the sink's garbage disposal and gave the jar and lid a good scrubbing with soap and water.
On Thursday there wasn't a single ant anywhere in my kitchen. I checked closely, and often. Nothing. As I've said before, you never win the war with ants. At best, you win a battle here and there. So I checked another favorite destination — the bathroom. Yep. The ants were moving in there as well. Thankfully, it's not a food location; so I don't need to be as careful.
I set up another bait jar and dusted several trails with diatomaceous earth. And I also went outside and dusted the trails out there too.
There is a silver lining to this dark cloud. In the past, I've noted that when the ants move indoors, it's a fairly reliable indicator that the winter rains will be more abundant than normal. During the spring the county declared the drought to be over, but the reservoir isn't full yet.
According to this morning's Rainfall and Reservoir Summary, published daily, we are at 105% of our normal-to-date rainfall, and the season has only just begun.
And, Finally, a Little Politics
We held our news discussion group yesterday afternoon. As usual, it was animated and entertaining. One point discussed: The number of presidential candidates going into the Democratic race. My point: How many Republican candidates did we have in the 2016 race? And what did we end up with? Trump!
Wednesday 2019.12.4
Christmas Movies
As planned, I started watching the Christmas movies I have on DVD or as MKV files (which play on my Blu-ray player). I started with Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), then continued with How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Just Friends (2005), A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), and The Night Before (2015).
Okay, some of those movies are not exactly classic Christmas entertainment like Scrooge, White Christmas, and It's a Wonderful Life (all of which will be watched later). Maybe they're better described and crude. I organize my movies by how they are rated on IMDb.com, starting with the lowest rated. However, despite the crudeness, they make me laugh, and that's a good thing.
Instant Pot Ribs?
Hmm. What can't you do in an Instant Pot? Maybe laundry. One excellent advantage of having a cooking channel on YouTube is that I occasionally hear from people who cook foods in ways I never thought possible. A woman wrote to say she cooks ribs in her Instant Pot. She says the meat comes out tender and moist, falling off the bone. I had to give it a try. Thankfully I still had some ribs in the freezer, bought on sale during the summer and packed with marinade.
I added a little water and placed the ribs, still frozen, in the IP. Set the pressure to high and the time to 30 minutes. The ribs were indeed tender and moist, falling off the bone. They had more of a steamed flavor rather than a roasted or grilled flavor. They lacked the maillard reaction, that browning you get on the surface of foods when cooked with dry heat or in hot oil. For a quick meal, it's okay, but I wouldn't serve it to guests. I'd rather use the grill or, if it's raining, my air fryer.
Someone suggested using the Instant Pot, but browning the ribs a little under the broiler or on the grill before and after cooking them, giving them more of a roasted flavor. Good idea.
Ants
One side-effect of the rain is the ants. They move indoors for the winter. I saw them in my kitchen on Sunday afternoon. Thankfully, I now know what to do. These are protein ants; so cook up a small amount of scrambled eggs, mix it with some boric acid powder, put it in a small jar with holes in the lid, and place the jar where the ants can easily find it. By yesterday morning the ants were gone.
However, a strange thing happened this morning. I checked the ant situation and they were swarming to the jar again. I looked closely and they were moving their eggs into the bait jar. I'd never seen that before. It was time to try something else.
I made a simple device as an experiment to see if I might be able to vacuum seal some foods in plastic pouches without using my FoodSaver sealer. It's a small plastic hose with a needle valve (for inflating sport balls) attached to one end. It works, but I rarely use it. So I temporarily adapted it. I fitted a squeeze bulb to the other end.
I used a small funnel to put some diatomaceous earth in the plastic tube. Then I attached the bulb, poked the needle end through one of the holes in the lid of the bait jar, and then dusted the inside of the jar with the powder.
If you're not familiar with diatomaceous earth, it's a very fine glass powder, mostly silica, the remains of diatoms, which are single-cell algae. Diatoms have the unique quality of building their cell walls with silica, a glass-like mineral. Diatomaceous earth is not poison, but it can irritate the nose, lungs and eyes and should therefore be handled carefully.
Diatomaceous earth is commonly use to control insects. By dusting an ant trail with the powder, the ants get it on their shells and feet. They carry it to the nest where they infect other ants. The glass eventually cuts through their shell, or exoskeleton, killing the ants.
I'll know in the next few days how well my evil plan worked. If I remember, I'll report in Sunday's blog.
Dymondia
Earlier this week I planted the other two flats of Dymondia I was rooting on my deck. More than half the clippings had survived and rooted. They were in the ground in time for the next rain, which started last night and is continuing today. Meanwhile, I started rooting another four flats of clippings, and this time I tried dipping each cutting in rooting hormone.
And, Finally Something to Appreciate
For several years I've been buying half-and-half dairy creamer at the local Albertsons supermarket. For those who might not know: Half-and-half is half milk and half cream. It's richer. We like it in our coffee. I prefer the ultra-pasteurized version because it lasts a lot longer — fewer trips to the store.
However, Albertsons changed their cooler case and now the dairy product is not easy to find. It sells out quickly because they stock only a small amount. The local Target store that opened recently has a grocery section and they stock ultra-pasteurized half-and-half. And better yet is the price — a dollar less than I was paying at Albertsons.
Sunday 2019.12.1
Post-Thanksgiving Chore
I decided to give myself a three-day task: clean up a hard disk drive (HDD) on one of my computers. I started on Friday (a good way not to be lured into some of the Black Friday sales). However, I suspect this project will turn into an early New Year's Resolution taking a few weeks.
The HDD is something I use to store my downloads, like movies. It came into more notice when I decided to organize my Christmas movies for watching in December. The HDD is nearly 90% full. I don't like to exceed 75%. I am finding things I forgot I downloaded. On Friday I burned a DVD of a movie, The Holly and the Ivy, that I must have downloaded late last year. The date on the folder was 12/25/2018. So, besides creating the DVD and adding it to my list of movies to watch in December, I cleared it off the HDD.
There is a lot more to do. After that first DVD, I burned another six. And those are just the DVDs. I have dozens of movies in MKV format to back up and store.
I'm an Old Dog
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I wonder how true that is for us humans.
Case in point: What is the best format for a flash drive to store files larger than 4GB? I didn't know and I have a drive I formatted wrong. I used "exFAT" because I wanted big files, but the drive wasn't recognized by my Blue-ray player.
Just to explain: I have a Yamaha Blue-ray player with a USB port in the front. I can copy movie files onto a flash drive and watch them on my TV via that USP port.
I had to do some research on the Internet. It turns out the drive should have been formatted as "NTSC". Who knew? Did that, then I watched Just Friends (a Ryan Reynolds movie), which isn't exactly a Christmas movie like Scrooge or The Polar Express, but the action takes place at Christmastime.
'Tis the Season, I Know
I should be nicer. There are some things I can't abide. One of them is a feigned helplessness by people who don't want to deal with their issues and so try to get others to do things for them. Case in point: A neighbor knocks on my door and asks for the phone number of the gas company. I don't know their number. I don't even know the name. We don't receive invoices from them. The billing is all done through the park management, all on one statement.
She has a phone book. We all do. So what's the problem? She doesn't want to be bothered looking it up — and, what's worse, if I find the phone number for her she'll ask me to call them to come out and inspect her furnace and, in the meantime, could I look at it to see if it's working okay? That's how she works.
I've been suckered into this sort of thing several times by her. It was very irritating trying to deal with the bank when she lost her checkbook. There was a DVD player she wanted me to connect to the TV and then figure out how to get it working. There was a clog in her sewer line that she wanted me to do something about. It goes on and on.
I'm not dumb. I'm useful for a few things. I make an excellent Tuscan Meatloaf, and my Custard Pie ain't bad either. But I'm not good at plumbing or wiring. Leave those things to the licensed professionals.
Dymondia
The much-anticipated rains are here. It rained on and off most of the past week and the same is predicted for the coming week. Thankfully, there was no heavy rain, which might cause mud slides in the burn areas of the mountains. Instead, we've seen light to moderate rain, steady at times, but mostly showers.
This is the time I've been waiting for. Today and tomorrow, while there is a break in the weather, I'll plant the Dymondia I've been rooting in trays on my back deck. Then I'll cut more pieces and start them rooting for later.