Thursday, April 24, 2014

Going Through the Interference

We’re a little late for Earth Day, which was Tuesday.  I did not type Tuesday or Wednesday and today is Thursday April 24, 2014, which is Armenian genocide day, as I reminded my listeners on a tape several years back on this date.  As you may know the internet went out a couple of days ago.  It first manifested itself in fact Monday afternoon during the Norman Goldman show, which I rarely tune in anyway.  But yesterday during the Stephanie Miller show about eight fifteen this internet suddenly quit working.  For much of that day the internet slowed to a crawl but was still working a little.  They say it’s “take your daughter to work day” and I thought yesterday was national Secretaries Day, or it used to be thirty years ago.  It used to be the Wednesday last week of Standard Time back in the dark ages where DLST didn’t start till April.  Anyhow I went to call Judy to relate my complaint to her and ask for her advice what to do about it when the phone had this horrible hum- - either like a transformer hum like magnetic interference- - like when you get a microphone a little too close to a de-guiser, or else it’s a failure to ground the wires perhaps having them plugged in backwards- and it’s the noise it makes when you hold a guitar or a microphone with the thing plugged in backwards.
The phone company came over here about a quarter to three and the office was paging Augustine because the phone guy wanted to talk to him.  By the way Mal Evans informed me this morning that Augustine’s name is officially taken off the “classified name” list- - so this can show up in blogger unedited.  The phone guy said there was no problem with the wiring outside the building, which is a hell of a surprise to me because I’ve looked at the wires out there and it’s a mess- - droopy in places, and almost going around in circles.  Augustine later told me a wire was broken outside and he fixed it.  If so it’s something the phone company missed.  It was just after that he said “try the internet’ and to my astonishment it was working perfectly.  It was the funeral of some dignitary- - and the Video was playing.  The effect was only temporarily, and the internet has been very sporadic.  Later in the evening it was working again after Not working right after Augustine left.  Rosemary oil is good for awareness.  I was playing an old Stephanie Miller program in Free Speech TV.  I also had some documentary on live Free Speech.  This morning I had the Bill Press show on and also Drive radio listening to “Urgent” and “FM” that rare Steely Dan song, and ‘Peaceful, Easy Feeling”.   But just after six our time- - the internet cut off completely.  I played “Highway Blues” from my personal files and Whitmark CD One tracks 9 and 10.  I haven’t tried the internet after breakfast.  Augustine said he’d be by with another phone to test out and perhaps let me use for a while.  I am one day into my five day grace period of being overdrawn by a figure less than a dollar.  One dollar deposit is all I need.  The pay phone had a dial tone yesterday so I didn’t use any money.  The numbers beeped normally but then I got a message from the operator “error 56” or something.  Then Lishia needed someone to install her Modemn from Time-Warner.  But once in her room- - the first time she was on the phone and Silva was watching television.  I remarked that this screen made people look fat.  It was kind of a mini big screen.  Then I got a call back from Judy.  My phone will make and receive calls.  You just can’t hear the conversation during the call.  Judy said the phone people would be out after two thirty, and that proved correct.  They wanted sixty dollars for every fifteen minutes of work INSIDE the building, and naturally I balked at that.  Nobody would let me use their phone.  Nobody would let me try my phone on their land line to confirm it worked.  In fact sometimes people with a real problem around here can run into an amazingly apathetic reception.  I did get off a letter to Judy last night- - but I don’t think she was at home because I got no response- - even though I wanted around maybe twenty minutes for one.
Right now Thom Hartman is coming in during a commercial break.  The jobs bill the Republicans blocked contained certain rights provisions like “You are free to discuss your salaries among your fellow work mates”.  There is no reason in God’s green earth why anybody would be opposed to this unless it were an entrenched fact there was institutional gender bias in people’s wages and salaries.  Stephanie is coming in- - but now it stopped again.  I have no subsequent confirmation about Randy Rhodes’ leaving radio after over twenty years.  I have not had confirmation on that from any other source.  Augustine said he’d be by with a new phone so I don’t have to use the pay phone to call Terry- but Augustine didn’t even show up at all today.

Yesterday morning I woke at 4:05 and was restless and went out and smoked my final cigarette of the pack.  Therefore I had to borrow a cigarette from Richard when I went out after six.  I went to the store for a dollar coffee there along with Steve.  I drank the cup in my room and smoked the first cigarette of the new pack and then went down.  We had Raison Bran for breakfast and also a fried egg and toast and butter and jelly.  For lunch we had tomato soup with kind of a Picante sauce taste to it, and a cheeseburger and French fries, and a banana for desert.  I already told you how Ricardo let me field the call from Judy in the med room with Lisha outside, and also I was away from the vacuum cleaner noise.  That guy on KEIB is named Buck Sexton, but for a long time I thought it was “Butt” Sexton.  But he screwed up in saying that the whole green movement was inspired by the communist party.  He said Earth Day came out because it was Vladimir Lenin’s birthday.  Sean Hannity was going on and on about eminent domain and some of the numerous apparent abuses by the government.  He claims the government will just take your little hideaway cabin or house if “They want your place because they have re-zoned this area for more wilderness when there is nothing but wilderness all around you anyhow.  And invariably the beauro of land management comes after the most minor violators with long guns and heavy weaponry.   But for all the hysterics of the right over this Bundy fellow I have not heard one person yet even try to say there is any justification for his extreme position. Now there is a new tape where Cliven Bundy went on a racist rant about how the Negroes would be happier back in the old days raising turnups and picking cotton instead of standing on a cold hard sidewalk outside their "government house" where the kids have nothing to do except they abort their babies.  This guy says to bring your guns and make sure it's in working order. 

Yesterday it was linen changing time for our side of the hall, and the male housekeeper was pretty quick about it.  He just inverted the blanket and the bedspread, and that was pretty easy to remedy.  In the soap opera Daniel apparently made it through his drug hearing with his employment intact starting “tomorrow’ and he can do surgery after thirty days.  So it’s kind of a victory of sorts provided there are no other incidents.  Kate and Elvis are getting into it.  I am wondering whether Elvis is accusing Kate is trying to sabotage his relation with Sammy by delivering those photos of Elvis and Abigail.  E J is furious at Stephano over this for sure.  Sean Hannity in the post two o clock hour had Rich Perry and it seems that this whole “Texas miracle” thing dates back to 2004 job statistics- - and ‘The first figure used to be forty percent of all jobs created, but now it had sunk to thirty percent of all jobs created”.    Perrh though talked about this “Miracle” manifesting itself as early as 2004.  So what I’d like to see are the job numbers for the state of Texas in the past two years- - like from mid 2012 to present.  Because Sean keeps saying there are salaries in the oil business “Starting at $75,000 per year”.  You know- if these right wingers are lying – they’ll be accountable for it on Judgment Day.
This morning I got up at a quarter to five and showered and I successfully had Bill Press on, as I stated.  We had oatmeal for breakfast, followed by an extra blueberry muffin from  Laurie, the new lady, and also Delores came through with more coffee.  I also got seconds on coffee from Delores yesterday, but this morning’s cup was far more needful, because I needed something to lift me out of my blue funk.  I have had the regular TV on since before breakfast.

Tuesday evening – April 22nd I did five two-D renditions of Sketch drawings, and two of them were from the same “Skyscrapers” file- - done from the side, and also the top, with that wood base transparency from Word.  If “Creation” were a structure that was actually physically built- - whoever designed and engineered it would be considered creative geniouses.  This night it was NCIS and NCIS LA.  Glen came in as I was sorting my laundry and expressed curiousity of where my CARS shirt was.  I made sure I had it.  It took me a while but I finally located that white T shirt - - buried in the covers.  I went out and Glen and I talked together at length.  Then I came back in and made out a fresh list for the laundry for Denise to pick up in the night.  The basket was returned after breakfast but I did not actually put the clothes away until Augustine was through, which was after dinner.   Last night for dinner we had ham, with lots of pineapple pieces on my slice.  We also had yams, and cauliflour and - - banana cake in a bowl for desert, and from across the room Glen and I thought it was an extra fancy serving of ice cream.  It was a departure from the ordinary, though.   It’s now after nine and I never turned off the sound- - which means that we have not had the internet in the past hour or so, which is not good.
Several days ago this fifteen year old African teenager with “problems at home” jumped the fence of an airport and boarded- - climbed up in the wheel well of the aircraft which subsequently took off and flew nonstop from San Jose to Honolulu.  It was a five hour ride at sub zero temperatures at 38,000 feet where there is very little oxygen, and somehow the kid survived.  He climbed down out of the wheel well an hour after landing and is receiving medical attention.  Experts in the know claim he went into some medical state of hibernation, and thus was able to survive- - beating the odds for such a trek.  He had hoped to see his grandparents in Solomalia.  His Dad talked to the news media yesterday a little- - and he’s a taxi driver.


Somebody by the phone by the west door slid a piece of paper with a phone number to Federico who dialed it and he took the call on the lobby phone.  I kind of glanced Federico’s way and then put in my fifty cents- - after noting all of the numbers you could dial for “Free Calls” such as prayer-lines and free credit and financial help.  Terry’s voice came in loud and clear and I told him I needed to go to the bank as soon as possible and he said ‘I’ll be right there”.  I was looking for him in that humungus Tahoe thing and he came in the smaller tan car.  Terry added his name to the growing list of people who say I should ditch A T & T so the bill won’t break me every month.  Strangely, I found another fifty cents in my pocket, so I was able to pay Terry Hill for the trip after all.  I thought one of the quarters looked strange and told Roxanne it had a strange sheen to it, and I let her see.  Terry said “Whenever you make a major financial decision – don’t do it alone because people like us (on (SSI) need the help of our family members at times like this, and he had me write a bold face ink note.  I went into Chase bank BP branch, and got a really nice and cooporative teller who made out the deposit slip for me and understood the tight financial straits I was in then.  I now have fourteen cents to my name but I’m out of the red.  Terry said that he doesn’t own his house but only rents.  He said “I’ve thought about doing that - - (getting a housemate renter) but I’ll have to consult with my family first.  Terry got through this whole trip without one reference to any of his pet “far out” topics.  I returned - -  and Judy was on the office line and I talked to her.  She got my two E mails last night.  We had a talk and I think we mutually resolved issues for each other.  I’ll have to try my phone on Marsha’s land line.  I saw Augustine around, but he didn’t speak to me or talk about getting me a phone.

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