Message 1168

Yesterday I read some more on my Kindle. In the evening I watched some shows on PBS about the Aztecs and Incas and what their cultures were like. Just like everyone else, they were a bloodthirsty bunch. I just took my blood pressure and it was 148/75 with a heart rate of 66. It is a little high this morning. I wonder why. I feel good, so I am not worried. The next time I take it it will probably be back to better numbers.

Message 1167

Yesterday I read some more on my Kindle and watched the first disk of the series The Big C. It is a comedy about a woman played by Laura Linney who has terminal skin cancer. It sounds like an improbable concept for a comedy, but it is well done. I finished reading The Economist and had a good night’s sleep. Julian is in New York this week and Reggie is still on jury duty so we missed going to Heidi’s Pies again, but we should be back in business next week. I feel good today.

Message 1166

I had a good sleep last night, and I have a load working in the washing machine now. Yesterday I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning. He said I had a cracked filling that might give me trouble, but I said I would think about it until my next visit because it was not giving me any pain. Last night I watched a couple of PBS shows. One was about Churchill’s decision to sink the French ships to keep them out of the hands of the Germans at the beginning of the war. The French were too proud and stubborn to cooperate, so Churchill ordered them sunk. I also read some more on my Kindle, and I read about half of The Economist. I feel good today.

Message 1165

Yesterday I watched the Cowboys luck into a two point win over the Redskins on Monday Night Football. I am sure Andrine and Marty were both unhappy. Last Friday’s issue of The Economist finally arrived yesterday. I suppose the issue from the week before is lost forever. After football last night I watched a Netflix DVD of Transcendent Man, a documentary about Ray Kurzweil, who wrote the book The Singularity is Near that Ethan gave me and that I much admired. I had never seen Ray Kurzweil before, but he is a very effective speaker. I give it 5 stars. I feel good today.

Message 1164

I watched three NFL Games yesterday. Joshua brought in Subway sandwiches and watched the 49ers and Raiders both win their games against the Bengals and the Jets respectively. For the Sunday night game I watched the Steelers beat the Colts, who even without Payton Manning almost won the game. In the evening I watched another episode of Inspector Lewis on PBS. I also read some more on my Kindle. I feel good today.

Message 1163

This is two weeks in a row that I have not received The Economist. I have heard on the news that the post office is in financial trouble, but I do not understand why it could cause a delay of over two weeks. Yesterday I drove down to Los Gatos in the afternoon and Jason took ten pictures of my Sienna with his digital camera so I could send them to GEICO. A couple of weeks ago I got a letter addressed to Diane Baslersally saying that a client of their insurance company had filed a claim against the Sienna for damaging their client’s car on 10 August. I called them and was told that a witness had seen me run into a Land Rover in the Sharon Heights Shopping Center parking lot and left a note giving my license number. They sent me pictures but they were of such poor quality I could not make much out from them. Anyway they said the claim was over $2000 in damages. I was unaware of the accident at the time it happened, so I thought the claim was absurd and turned it over to GEICO who requested I send them pictures of my car. I also explained that Sally had been dead for nearly eight years and that the can is now in the family trust of which I am the trustee. It took me a long time last night getting these pictures to go through my email because the files were so big. I eventually had to send them as ten separate messages. Anyway, I also read more on my Kindle. I feel good today.

Message 1162

Yesterday after the usual Friday night PBS shows I watched the second Netflix DVD of the movie Lady Chatterly. I was impressed by the quality of the production, but the movie was more about the British class system than it was about sex. In fact it was often boring. I give it 3.5 stars. I feel good today. I just measured my blood pressure. It is 123/76, heart rate 67, which are fairly good numbers.

Message 1161

Yesterday I read some more on my Kindle and watched the first Netflix disk of Lady Chatterly. I had seen another film version of this book before, but this one has a different cast and director and is better. In the evening I watched a KQED production of the San Francisco Opera’s The Elixir of Love. It has been re-set in the Napa Valley instead of a small town in Italy. I had never heard of it before, but it was pleasant to watch. I feel good today.

Message 1160

Reggie called me last night and told me he has been called for jury duty, and Vanessa has to take Beech to the dentist this morning, so I did not go to Heidi’s Pies today. If Reggie is actually selected for the jury, we will have to cancel for next week too. He will let me know later today if he is selected. Last night I watched the baseball game. The Giants were in LA and they beat the Dodgers even though they blew a 5-0 lead and had to rely on Brian Wilson to save them in the bottom of the ninth. I am heading up to Safeway now to do my weekly shopping. I feel good today.

Message 1159

Yesterday I got the following message from the dermatologist who did my hand surgery:
“The excision shows some residual actinic keratosis (no cancer) which is fully excised. No further treatment is needed.”
Kirsten Vin-Christian, MD
This is good news. However, I still have to see her again in about ten days to have the stiches removed. I guess my regular doctor got all the cancer when she carved off the original part for the biopsy.

Yesterday I did not have a Netflix disk, so I watched a PBS show about the history of mazes which was kind of interesting. I also read a lot more on my Kindle. I feel good today.

Message 1158

Yesterday I read some more on my Kindle and worked a little on my memoirs. I have now finished Quicksilver and have started on The Confusion, the next volume in the series by Neal Stephenson. In the evening Joshua brought in burgers, cheese-fries, and a salad and watched Monday Night Football with me. The Giants beat St. Louis by a lot. Sorry Ethan, but after the 49ers blew their game on Sunday, we will need all the help we can get to win our division. I feel good today.

Message 1157

Yesterday I went to San Jose with Helen and Jim to pay our respects to Joan who is sitting Shiva for David who died on Thursday. Helen and Jim had just returned from Chicago where they had been on vacation for six days. It was nice to see Joan and her family but too bad it had to be on such a sad occasion. In the evening I watched 60 Minutes on CBS and then Nature (about big crocodiles) and Inspector Lewis on PBS. I feel good today.

Message 1156

Yesterday I had lunch in San Mateo and went with Julian, Vanessa, Beech and Annie to watch Beech’s soccer game. Beech scored the first goal and his team won 5-4. In the evening I watched the first Netflix disk of Anna Karenina. Afterward I switched to PBS and watched the second half if Thelma and Louise, which I had seen before. My hand does not hurt anymore, but I have to change the bandage twice a day. It is almost time for a change now. I feel good today.

Message 1155

Somehow I seem to have failed to send out a message yesterday, which was the day I had the surgery on my hand and had a new catheter put in. Vanessa gave me a ride to and from PAMF. It is just about time for me to change the bandage on my hand. Last night I went to dinner and a movie with the Morrills and the Ariagnos. We saw Drive with Ryan Gosling and Kerry Mulligan. It was a strange film with lots of violence and no sex. It is hard to figure out what the motivations of the main characters are, but I still give it three stars.

Message 1152

I just got back from having breakfast at Heidi’s Pies with Reggie and Vanessa. I got a message from Helen yesterday that my friend David died yesterday from pancreatic cancer. The service is tomorrow, but I have my hand surgery scheduled for tomorrow, so I am going to ride with Helen and Jim to visit with Joan on Sunday. I realize that in one of my previous message I said a movie title was Bad Company but it was actually Bad Timing. Last night I watched a Netflix DVD of the movie The Bostonians. It is an early Henry James novel made into a film by Merchant/Ivory. It had a very good cast, especially Vanessa Redgrave. I give it four stars. I feel good today.

Message 11153

Josh has informed me what happened to the MNF-Raiders game. They started to air the Raiders / Broncos game on ESPN2 (channel 39) because the Miami / New England game was still finishing up on ESPN (channel 38). After the Miami / New England game ended they switched the coverage of the Raiders game to ESPN (channel 38). The game was also broadcast on CBS (channel 5). I can’t understand how I could have missed this. I searched both of those channels several times and the game was not on whenever I looked. I must have always been looking during the ads. Anyway It is no big deal. Last night I watched a Netflix DVD of the movie Bad Company. It was made it 1980, but I had never heard of it. It had a good, well known cast, but they all looked so young. I did not find it fun to watch because it dealt with an unstable girl and a jealous obsessive/compulsive man. The sex scenes were good, but I only give the movie three stars. I feel good today.

Message 1151

I watched three NFL games yesterday, and they were all good games. I saw the Eagles beat the Rams, the 49ers beat the Seahawks, and the Jets beat the Cowboys. Tonight I will watch the Raiders play Denver. It is good to have the season underway at last. Joshua brought in Chinese food and watched the 49er game with me. The 49ers were ahead the whole game, but it was not until they ran a kickoff and then a punt back for touchdowns within a couple of minutes of each other in the fourth quarter that we were able to relax. In the evening I read some more on my Kindle. I am getting near the end now. I feel good today.

Message 1150

Yesterday I went to the Dutch Goose for lunch with Julian, Annie, Beech, and Beech’s cousin (Vanessa’ brother’s son) Jessie. The kids had a ball playing the machines for junk with the quarters Julian gave them. I never saw such a crowd at the Goose. There were a lot of kids with their parents wearing their soccer uniforms. It reminded me of the old days when Sally and I used to take the three Js to the Oasis. In the evening I watched The Madness of King George on PBS. I had not seen it before even though it was about thirty years old. I give it three stars. I am now watching the Eagles and Rams on the morning NFL game on TV. The score is now 7-7 in the first quarter. I feel good today.

Message 1149

Yesterday I read some more on my Kindle and watched the Friday night shows on PBS. The news seems to be mostly about the 9/11 10-year anniversary. I had a good sleep last night, and I have already done a load of laundry and put it on the balcony to dry in the sun this morning. I was surprised by thunder and lightning last night. It has been a long time since we had any of that around here. I feel good today.

Message 1148

I watched Annie yesterday afternoon while Vanessa took Beech to one of his doctor’s appointments. While she was here I watched Obama’s speech while she watched her Sesame Street video. In the evening I watched part of the Green Bay game with New Orleans for the first game of the regular season. Then on PBS I watched the opera Lucia di Lammermoor. I had never heard of it, but I was curious. It was bizarre with lots of emotion and betrayals and blood. It did not have a happy ending with both Lucia and her lover committing suicide at the end, so I do not recommend it. I feel good today.

Message 1147

I just got back from having breakfast at Heidi’s Pies with Reggie and Vanessa. Annie is back in school now, so Vanessa does not have to worry about how she is going to behave. We are all looking forward to hearing Obama’s speech this afternoon. Last night I read some more on my Kindle and watched a PBS program about construction for rebuilding the World Trade Center. I feel good today.

Message 1146

I decided to change my sheets this morning, so the washing machine is now running with them and my other my accumulated laundry. Yesterday I read more on my Kindle. Last night I watched a Netflix DVD of the movie The Black Swan. The music was great , but I do not enjoy watching a woman succumb to mental illness, even though I do not disagree that Natalie Portman deserved the Oscar for her performance. I give it only three stars because for me it was not pleasant to watch. I feel good today.

Message 1145

Today is Annie’s birthday. She is 4 years old today, but we had her family party yesterday for dinner. She will have other parties this week with all of her friends from school. Beech was as excited as she was, and he had trouble not being the one in the spotlight. After the party I came home and read some more on my Kindle. I feel good today. I just took my blood pressure and got 123/70 with a heart rate of 61, which are good numbers. I had to change the batteries before the device would work.

Message 1144

I read The Economist yesterday, and in the evening I watched 60 Minutes and PBS (a Nature show about leopards and Masterpiece Mystery). The Inspector Lewis show on Masterpiece Mystery was a little difficult to follow, but I stuck with it. I also read some more on my Kindle. I feel good today.

Message 1143

Yesterday afternoon I watched a Netflix DVD of the movie The Fighter. As you may know it is based on a true story of a family in the blue collar suburb of Boston, Lowell, MA. There were nine children in the family two boys and seven girls. The two boys had different fathers, but they were both boxers. The older brother had a shot a greatness, but he was kind of flakey and went to prison Their mother was their manager, but she was manipulative and favored the older brother. The younger brother eventually breaks away from the control of the mother and wins the title fight, but he eventually reconciles with the family. Mark Wahlberg plays the younger brother and is the force behind the movie. Christian Bale plays the older brother and won the Oscar for best actor. Amy Adams plays the love interest. Some of the parts in the movie were played by the real people, and all the real people were interviewed

Message 1142

Yesterday I met my Mohs dermatologist. She said she did not think the thing on my hand was suitable for Mohs surgery. Instead she advised cutting it all out at once, which she would have done yesterday except that I had taken a couple of Ibuprpphin the night before, so I have another appointment with her on 16 September at 9 AM. In the evening after the PBS shows I watched the Raiders play the Seahawks in their last preseason game. The Raiders lost, but I still have some hope for them in the regular season. I also did some more work on my memoirs yesterday, and read some more on my Kindle. I feel good today.

Message 1141

Josh came over last night and brought Cooks Fish and Chips for us to eat. The 49ers looked good for a change and in particular Alex Smith looked good at quarterback. The 49er went ahead 14-0 in the first quarter. The won the game and ended up with a 2-2 record in the preseason. Next week the regular season starts. Josh is going mountain biking with his friends at Tahoe for the Labor Day weekend. I have an appointment this afternoon with a dermatologist to start the mose treatments on my hand. I feel good today.

Message 1140

I just put a load of laundry on the deck to dry in the sun. I picked up Vanessa and Annie this morning and we had breakfast at Heidi’s pies with Reggie. Annie was very well behaved and everyone was glad to have Vanessa back in the Thursday routine. Annie will turn four next week and she is learning to be cooperative. Beech started school yesterday. He and Vanessa had a good time in England. They got home Monday evening. Yesterday I watched Annie for a couple of hours around noon while Vanessa got her hair done. Annie and I had a great time. We mostly watched her Sesame Street sin-along video. Last night I read some more Neal Stephenson on my Kindle. I feel good today.