Examining Excuses

The Cubs barely squeaked by the Nationals before going on to face the Dodgers, who have the best record in the majors this year, in the National League Championship series. I followed the Cubs this year but not as closely as last. It was too painful. They lost or traded some key players. David Ross retired. There was nothing that could be done about that, but I didn't like it when they traded Dexter Fowler away. Money decision? I don't know.

Before the championship series began, my first impression was the Cubs would be swept. Then I thought, no, they might win one game. Then I thought about the games against the Nationals and thought they would be swept. Then I thought, no, surely they'll win at least one. I finally decided they would either be swept or win one game. No other outcome. That was my final forecast. They lost three, won one and then lost the last one. Sad, but it's good to be right. At least I had that.

I got to that decision point by watching them during the year. The Cubs really struggled the first half. The excuse that kept being given was "World Series hangover". I didn't think so. The biggest problem I saw was the bullpen kept blowing the game, which is how they lost in the post-season. And the starting pitching wasn't as good as last year. But let's get back to the World Series hangover excuse. Think about that in other terms. "We're failing because of our success." "We're failing because we're the best." "Our success is the main reason for our failure."

When you hear people like politicians giving "reasons" for things along with elaborate explanations, it might be helpful to put what they're saying in other terms. The Cubs didn't lose because of their success last year. The lost because they didn't have the same caliber of players and not everyone on the team played as well as last year. It's okay to be honest. People can usually handle it.

Other Stuff
I've been waiting on some late feedback for AoE. I've considered asking for it, but it's hard to pressure someone for what at the end of the day is a favor. This week I continued forward with final corrections using the feedback I do have. I'm still considering what kind of cover to do that my painting skills would be adequate for.

I mentioned a surprise I wanted to do for someone I know who's having a hard time. It got delayed when the tropical storm passed through. I think I'm going to schedule that for December, assuming I can really pull it off.

I'm still weighing options on starting a business. It would be a major step. My tolerance for risk is very low, so I'm being very cautious.

Have a great weekend.

Negative People

There are a couple of people in my life who have a tendency to go immediately negative about things. If a topic comes up at random, they have a habit of become skeptical. I could cite a web site about whatever it was or various facts. It doesn't seem to matter. Their minds will close to the possibilities. Having a reasonable amount of skepticism in life is generally a good thing. I have a healthy skepticism myself but my goodness. Facts are facts. I may not always like them, but I don't close my mind down like these two people.

What do you do when people in your life have a toxic negativity? What do you do when it's continual about multiple areas and it's toxic? I keep having the urge to kick them both out of my life and to stop having anything to do with them. But I'm not sure that's the right thing to do, and it's not completely realistic. Everyone goes through seasons in life. This year, for instance, hasn't been that great for me. I've had some times when I was feeling really down. Regardless of how I felt, I tried to explore new possibilities. I wasn't always able to come up with answers, but I tried. Maybe they're in one of those seasons. Both of them? At the same time? It's possible.

I could keep being patient. I could point out the negativity and ask what the cause of it is. One of them would explode if I did that. I could see them as a test. I'm still trying to figure it out.

If that's too sad, I'll leave with some laughs.

Comedian Tim Vine.

Comedian Milton Jones.

Have a good weekend.

Tentative Plans

Can I be honest a minute? This has been a long year. I've been tired a lot. Things have not always worked out the way I wanted them to. I've had times of discouragement and times when I laughed better than I have in years. Let's hope this coming year is better.

I've been feeling somewhat burned out and like I need to get away and do something relaxing or maybe nothing to recharge my batteries. I've been thinking a lot about a real vacation. If you're a praying person, that's something to put on your list. At least once. It would be more expensive than I can afford at the moment for what I'd like to do. I would need a financial break in some area. And then there's the problem of who to ask to go with me. I have two candidates in mind, a first choice and a second choice if the first one said no. I don't know either of them very well at all. The plan would be to do stuff during the day and have separate rooms at night. I have no idea if I could get along with either of them for a whole week. They're acquaintances. That's something else for your prayer list. At least once.

So, it's time I got some real book covers. I've painted for years, but that's not the same as illustration. I'm not sure I have the technical skills to do a great cover, but I know I could do something. My plan is to create a cover for the YA book and the mystery/romance. The mystery/romance is something I'd throw out under a pen name and see what happened. I'm not sure it works. If it failed, it failed. If it worked, groovy. I'd probably do another one.

Here's something else for the prayer list. :) A while back I started an Amazon store but didn't have enough cash for the right kind of inventory I needed. I sold a few things but ended up shutting it down from lack of inventory. I've been saving a little every month and have started thinking about starting a business, especially if book covers don't improve sales. Amazon is an option, but I'm thinking of other things such as a retail location or a restaurant. Initial funding would be problematic. I'm pretty limited in what I could do. I've mentioned Uber and Lyft recently. Those might be something to try short-term. I have other ideas, too.

Right now I'm trying to collect ideas for perhaps getting something started after the first of the year or possibly later, depending on what startup costs would be and what it is. Amazon would be faster, but it's not the best thing. Where I live is experiencing a lot of growth. A physical store might work very well at this time. I'm trying to think outside the box. I'll let you know more as things develop, if they do.

Have a great weekend.

Old House Finishes

I follow Circa on Facebook. They post links to old houses like this one. Isn't that dramatic curb appeal? Beside the house information is a menu that lets you look at old houses that are or have been for sale. Some are nice. Some are in bad shape. I've perused some of the ones in my and neighboring states to see what's out there.

Circa stuff shows up in my feed a lot, but I generally focus on Victorians and ignore the rest unless something reminds me of the houses I used to see when I was a kid. Times were simpler back then. I also watch some of the house hunting shows on television. I've noticed a very disturbing trend: people painting wood white. In the old days people stained wood. Painting it is a little like blasphemy. If the wood is on the outside where it rains, it's okay to paint it. If it's interior trim, it's most likely blasphemous to do anything but stain it.

If you have to shop for a replacement for a piece trim or a window, something consistent appears. Look at the sample pictures for these windows and doors, building supplies and moulding buying guide. Nearly all of the samples are white. When you go to the store, it's the same way.

In a previous post I mentioned that after looking at a lot of Victorians modern houses feel sterile. Here's another observation. White is not a color. It's a neutral default manufacturers use as a primer so they won't have to carry so much inventory by having multiple colors. People are supposed to paint the primer an actual, real color. It's not supposed to stay that dead white.

A lot of times I'll look at a Circa house or see one on television that has all the door frames and trim work painted white. A house built in the 1800s will have all that beautiful woodwork painted. People made that by hand and carved it by hand and took pride in their work. Painting it steals the house's soul! I'll see white cabinets. I'll hear people casually say they can paint wooden cabinets. No. It's probably blasphemy.

People, show some taste and refinement. White is a default. It's not a color. If wood is painted, the grain can't show. Its soul has been stolen. Would elves paint the wood in their houses? Of course not. They would enjoy the natural beauty of the wood. You should, too. Staining is permitted. It lets the grain show through and can even enhance it. Painting is an act of blasphemy.

In all of Middle Earth Bilbo and Frodo never saw a single piece of painted trim in any elven dwelling. It's a lesson for all of us.

Have a good weekend.

Is Your Deodorant. . .Killing You?

I was picking at the label on my deodorant, when I noticed a health warning: Ask a doctor before use if you have kidney disease. They put the first part in bold type for emphasis. Finding a warning for a daily-use product is disturbing. What is this stuff doing to people's kidneys? Forget kidney disease. What is it doing to healthy kidneys? Is it causing damage? Is it making them work too hard to clear out chemicals? Does it depress kidney function in some other way? I can't help but wonder if this deodorant is doing fractional damage that accumulates over the years to contribute to kidney disease and failure. Who would notice? Maybe people who already have kidney disease. Maybe that warning label means healthy people should stop using that product. Is anything we use safe?

I did a little research and found this link that kind of makes it sound like the warning is nanny-state nonsense to healthy people. This link seems to think deodorant is safe. The whole thing makes me want to switch deodorant. I can't help but wonder about the alternatives. Is there some ingredient in them that hasn't been tested the way the scary warning label deodorant has? What if I switch to something that has no warning label only to find out later it was the scariest one of all? Is anything we use safe?

So, the other day I mentioned a stray cat that comes around that I named Nelson. When my mom found out I had named a cat Nelson, she was scandalized, because a woman she used to go to church with lives across from a widow whose deceased husband was named that, and I simply could not use that name in case she ever found out. I had to rename the cat Patrick. We don't know any Patricks. Here's a picture of Patrick:

Isn't he cute?

So, the local paper had a story about the Hurricane Irma, which was a tropical storm by the time it hit us, damage. Remember a while back I mentioned I was supposed to get fiber internet, but the company doing it changed its mind, and I ended up with nothing from them? The paper said the fiber was out for 5 days. Isn't that something? My 1.5Mbps el cheapo copper line was back in less than a day. Just something I noticed.

Have a good weekend.

Tropical Storm Irma

Hurricane Irma. My area wasn't in the direct path of what by then was Tropical Storm Irma, but that didn't seem to matter. Sustained high winds still knocked down trees and damaged buildings and knocked the power out. Not everyone has power yet. Across one of the roads was a power line people had to drive over until yesterday. I think it was a power line. It could have been an internet or phone line. A traffic light outside of Cleveland, GA was still out then, too. It's taking a while to clean up and get things repaired, even traffic lights. The state has to inspect bridges to make sure they're safe before some of the power lines can be fixed. Is that a dumb rule when society has no electricity? Something to ponder.

I lost all the food in the freezer and refrigerator. It was peanut butter for breakfast. The way I do food is to cook meals ahead of time and divide it into portions and freeze it. Also, I'll cook something like chicken and freeze it and then use it to make something later. It's a lot faster and easier to warm something up than to make each meal. So, I lost a month's worth of eggs, the rest of the month's lunches and maybe a week of dinners plus things like mayonnaise and mustard. Before the storm, the bread aisle at Walmart looked like this:

The cheese section was hard hit, too. After the storm, when the power was back on, I expected the worst. I figured there would be people like me out buying new food to replace the lost. It turned out to be a normal day at the store. Despite having to go to two grocery stores, I was able to find everything on my list.

On the whole I found Irma to be much more stressful than anticipated. Blowing debris striking the side of the house in the dark while waiting to see if a tree will hit the house is no fun. I heard two trees fall in the woods and something big crack. Leaves are everywhere.

On a different note I've been looking at Lyft. I was thinking maybe it would be something to do to get by on for moving somewhere else. From what I've seen so far, after expenses it pays about minimum wage or a little better. It depends on location, and it's extremely unstable. It seems to be good as part-time work or during the holidays. That's a shame. If it paid a decent wage, I was kind of thinking about moving to Savannah or back near where I grew up. Apparently, to make it work requires 50 or 60(or 100 depending on location) hours a week at odd, non-consecutive hours of the day and night. I might still try it and see how it is. I'm going to have to do more research finding driver reviews. What I've seen so far is not encouraging.

Have a good weekend.

Pricing on the River Cruises vs Other Options

A quick update on last week's blog about European river cruises to include more pricing numbers. A 15-day cruise like this would cost $15,798. That's one cabin with a balcony for two people. It's very possible to get a half-price deal that would make it $7,899. I saw quite a few of those while researching it. The prices include air fare. Tipping the staff and so forth would be extra. So, half price for 15 days would make it $526.60 per day.

A rental of a house or apartment such as listed on https://www.vacationrentals.com/ could start in the $35ish per night range, but realistically it's closer to $50 a night and up. So, 15 days would cost at least $750 plus air fare, making it $1,500 a month. A car rental would add to that, although France has an extensive train system. A car might not be necessary.

Last week I mentioned a rental for maybe half a year would be the cost-equivalent of a river cruise. Here's the math on that. A full-price $15,798 cruise divided by $1,500 for a rental is about 10.5 months. With the half-price deals, it comes out to 5.26 months. When you include the tips, it's closer to six months. It's kind of crazy how expensive some of the cruises are. It makes a lot more economic sense to rent an apartment or a house for a couple of weeks.

On to other things.

This woman I know has been going through some difficulties lately. I want to help, but other than feel bad for her, we're not close enough that I can do anything without intruding. However, an idea came to me for something that wouldn't be sticking my nose into someone else's business. Remember how fun it was to get a surprise when you were a kid? I can give her a surprise. It wouldn't help the situation, but it would express sympathy. Sometimes that's all that's needed. And it would be fun for me. It wouldn't be as fun as The Mysterious Package Company, which you should totally check out because it's awesome, but nevertheless fun.

The best part is that she would never suspect a surprise was coming. I don't know her very well. It would be a complete and total shock. The idea is that she would be going through her normal day, and then, something completely unexpected. So, to make it happen I'm going to have to do some planning and figuring out of things. I have an idea in mind for something that would be meaningful to her personally, but she might read the blog. I don't think she does but still. Mentioning it might ruin the surprise. This may takes at least a few weeks to develop and even longer to arrange. There would be pictures later of the surprise. Hopefully, it will be a lot of fun.

Have a good weekend.