Westerns

I love the westerns that dominated television when I was a boy.  Lately, I've taken to watching episodes online.  Westerns have a bit of a tag as simplistic and violent, but some of the best ones tell solid stories and keep violence in check.  They can be taken as a window on the society that created and watched them-- a society perhaps more confident about itself and what it believed to be important than American society is today.

Anyway, watching them now relaxes me and makes me happy.  Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old.

Getting Close

We are getting close to my move now.  Final preparations are being made, and my apartment is crowded with boxes full of my stuff.

I'm looking forward to having things get back to normal.

Rough Weekend

The company that provides my aides during the daytime again largely failed to do so this weekend.  It managed to have somebody here for only two of the six shifts.  Luckily, my brother Jeff and sister Kim came over Saturday morning or the weekend would have been an even bigger pain.

I thought we had worked through and gotten beyond such breaches, but obviously not.

I'm Back

The exterminators did their thing yesterday, treating my apartment for bed bugs.  They also took the place apart.

It was a long, difficult day for me.

Getting Rid Of Bed Bugs

The exterminators will be here tomorrow afternoon to treat my apartment for bed bugs.

Likely, then, there will be no blog entry tomorrow, as I have to stay away for four hours.  I'll be glad when this is over.

Four Hours

We're getting my apartment de-bugged this week, and I'll have to be away four hours when they do it.

I'm dreading it.  There may be no problem, but if I can't get back in before I need the bathroom I could be in for a painful period.

Colts On Their Way

The Colts beat the previously undefeated Denver Broncos in Peyron Manning's return to Indy last night, 39-33.

The Colts have now beaten the Seahawks, 49ers, and Broncos.  Halfway through the season they've established themselves as legitimate, if early, Super Bowl contenders.

Baseball Playoffs

The major league baseball playoffs have been particularly good this year, featuring many tough, tight games and sterling individual performances.

I think the 2013 World Series will be a rematch of 1967 with the Red Sox and the Cardinals.  Neither team seems to know when it's beaten.

Bed Bugs

Janeka's boss Michelle brought an exterminator by yesterday, and he found bed bug skeletons plus one live bug in my couch.  Just now, the building maintenance guy had his own exterminator in here, and they found dead bugs, but no live ones, and none in my bed.  If they fumigate this apartment before I move out, I'll have to be away a whole day.

Ain't nothing easy.

Moving

The move to my new apartment is less than a month away now, and preparations have begun.  Insights is looking for movers to hire, and Janeka has started bringing boxes over for some of my stuff.

Hopefully, we'll have good weather that weekend.  November can have some dark, nasty days in these parts.

Bugging Me

Yodit told me last week that she'd found a bug in my couch, so I passed that information along to Janeka, mentioning that some of my aides sleep on the couch.

That was probably a mistake.  The rules say aides are not supposed to sleep while at work.  It's a good rule-- a no-brainer-- but it's probably one of those rules that need to be viewed within the context of a human situation.  People up all night with nothing particular to do for hours will likely doze, especially if they're too busy at another job to nap before starting the overnight.  The question should be whether they do their jobs to the satisfaction of the client.

I was looking forward to some calm stability with the new schedule, but that might have to wait.

Sunday Morning

There was another mixup yesterday, and no aide came at 11.  I finally called Janeka, and she came.

That was the first such problem in a while, though.  We're down to using a small number of aides regularly, and it's working well.

My Bio

One of the fellows leading the Hawaii conference project asked my friend Vid and me to send him our bios yesterday.  Vid-- he's Latvian-- has an extremely impressive biography, spanning over 25 years of teaching and working on technology and economic development, as well as being active in the space advocacy movement.  Coincidentally, much of that time was spent in Indiana.  Currently, he runs his own consulting firm in Riga, Latvia.

Mine is sparse by comparison   I wrote it honestly and sent it in, but Vid kindly rewrote it for me, making it look better than I had.  My friend Chrissy tells me I have no talent for self-promotion, and I guess Vid agrees..

Pirates Out

My Pirates lost their playoff series to the Cardinals last night, so their season is over.

It was a good year, though.  They won 94 games in the regular season and played well in the post-season.  They should be early contenders next year.

They're At It Again

Congress and the President are once again at loggerheads over the federal budget and the federal debt ceiling.  Writing a budget is perhaps the most fundamental act of governance.  The fact that Congress hasn't passed a budget in years says the people there are not serious about doing the hard work necessary to govern a huge, complex, democratic society. The President, too, has allowed things to drift to this point of real economic danger.

Hopefully, our leaders will lead at the last minute and avert disaster.  Even if they do, however, it might be well that the voters in 2014, 2016, and beyond remember the sorry displays in Washington over the past few years.  This is no way to govern a great nation.  The American people must demand better or accept a weaker, poorer, less free country.

Hawaii Conference Again

What started as my idea for a lunar settlement conference continues to blossom.  Now, we are looking at a series of conferences to look at various aspects of enlarging the human economy by creating a sustainable move into space.  We're also planning establishing a foundation to run those conferences and otherwise promote our ideas.

I'm really pleased.

Go Colts!!!!

The Colts prevailed in a spectacular game against the previously undefeated Seattle Seahawks yesterday.  Both teams are now 4-1.

By beating Seattle a couple weeks after soundly defeating the 49ers in San Francisco, the Colts have established themselves early on as a Super Bowl contender.  The rest of the season should be a lot of fun.

Aargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my 59th birthday, and my Pirates have a playoff game with the Cardinals, but I can't watch it because it's on the MLB Network, which I don't get.

Such is life.

New Schedule

A new aide schedule incorporating the added hours assigned to me recently seems to be rounding into shape.  It would feature one 12-hour shift at night instead of one dinner shift and a separate overnight shift.

Hopefully, we can get to the new schedule soon.

Pirates 6, Reds 2

My Pirates advanced in the major league baseball playoffs last night, beating Cincinnati in a single game showdown.

Now, they take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Divisional Series.  The Cards will be favored, but I think my Pirates have a good shot.

The Monon

Yodit and I took my power chair onto the Monon Trail again last evening.  That may be the last time I go there before my move.

My first time on the Monon was in the spring.  Green lined both sides in bushes and trees, and the sun was still high.  Now, the sun is setting by the time we get back there, and those trees and bushes make it even darker.  Yellow leaves were also fairly numerous on the ground already.  It's an interesting contrast.