   | | Discussion involving leisure activities: books, travel, hobbies, sports, Internet fun and more. Please read Msg #1 before posting. |
| Msg #37015
0 replies | More rants - SoCal Freeways | By Bear900/CA on 4/24/24 3:04pm
Wanted to visit a lifelong friend about an hour northeast of San Diego. I'm on the central coast, that means the center of CA. So, I knew it was going to a 5-hour drive, and at least a couple of heart attacks and near life and death misses.
So, I turned on my Google GPS....
Take the 101 south, the 154 north, reconnect to the 101 south towards Pasadena (don't stop for the Rose Bowl), keep straight on the 210 east, right on the CA 57, left on the CA 91 east (oh boy, all you folks down-under know what a stall that one is), right on the I-15 towards Barstow heading towards San Diego. Yakity-yak!
Somewhere along one of those interchanges was what appeared to be cars driving up from out of the ground. Dark green mountains on both sides were pretty, but you better not look! I had to keep my eyes on the horizon not to get vertigo looking over the guard rails and the spaghetti knots of interchanges far beneath us.
Except for the 101 parts of the drive, there is absolutely nowhere to exit without sling-shotting out of the solar system and never getting back on. Seriously, no gas stations, no service or food signs, no potty breaks! You better not drink coffee before taking this drive.
I told my life-long friend, "Nice knowing ya", then spent the first night dreaming and twitching about the return drive. Mrs. Bear navigated with her pad, I had my phone directing me, and absolutely no radio or conversation beyond "Stay in your left two lanes next two 2 miles ahead". Gotta cross over 5 lanes between relentless convoys of trucks. White-knuckling, heart-pounding, air-gasping hour upon hour of sheer near death.
My friend and I have known each other since HS. His wife and I since Jr High. They also knew Mrs. Bear when she was just a cubby. We spent three full days laughing it up and then preparing to die on our return trip. Ugh!
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| Msg #37010
6 replies | Rant rant rant | By Mike Goodey on 4/22/24 5:27pm
We had Terminex scheduled today to do our termite inspection between 8-10am. At 11:30am I called Terminex to find out where the tech was. The young lady tries to get in touch with Randy, the manager. She tells me she emailed him and sent him messages on his tablet.
At 1:30pm I called again and talked to Amy and told her that no one showed up to do the inspection and that it was scheduled today. I also told her that Terminex had scheduled service earlier in the month without letting us know! Thankfully the tech was ill and couldn't do the inspection. We only found out about it because they called us about it.
I was on the phone with Amy for an hour and a half waiting for her to get in contact with the branch manager and his superior. She was very accommodating knowing my frustration. Then the phone call drops and the survey comes on the line. You know darn well I gave Terminex failing grades.
So, I call again, get someone else who tells me someone will call me tomorrow to reschedule. I shouldn't have but I went off on her about why someone wouldn't call me today to reschedule. She gets Randy, branch manager, on the phone so I tell him everything that has gone wrong. He made the mistake of telling me that we weren't't scheduled! I ripped him a new one telling him that Amy confirmed our appointment when I talked to her. My BP is going through the roof!!!
I would not recommend Terminex to anyone but we have an original contract with them, that they no longer issue, that states that they have to fix anything that is destroyed by termites.
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| Msg #37002
7 replies | High potassium | By Mike Goodey on 4/20/24 8:36pm
I had blood drawn the other day and my dr. calls me to say my potassium is high...wanted to know if I had eaten avocados, tomatoes, potatoes etc. I told him I ate very little of them so he writes me a prescription of some powder I have to drink with water for 3 days.
I ask the pharmacist if there are any side affects, she replies 'Bloating and diarrhea." I'm like "Can I just keep the high potassium?"
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| Msg #36998
2 replies | Oh Kaiser | By Mike Goodey on 4/17/24 7:29pm
Last Wednesday night my wife became ill and she wanted to go to the emergency at Kaiser hospital.( she has to be awfully sick to go to the hospital). We arrived at 7:30 pm.
We go in and the place is packed, SRO, luckily we were able to find two chairs together. About and hour and a half later she is called in to get her vitals checked.
They are pretty consistently calling names for vitals checking of newer patients and you could see a lot of elderly and very young children waiting. Once in a while someone would be called into the ER. So we wait, and wait, and wait. Remember it started at 7:30 pm and now it's just before midnight. We can hear the receptionist telling newly arrived patients that there are some who have waited 10 hours to be seen. I tell my wife, as she is bent over, cramping, that we could go home for awhile and get a little sleep and then come back. But she tells me that she may lose her turn so she wants to stay. Of course we see patients that came after us get called in before us. Guessing those are more urgent. All the time my wife has abdomen pain.
Well soon it's 2 am and the waiting area is thinning out a little because people are getting upset for having to wait so long. Some are going home for a bit, then coming back. hmmmmm.
Now it's 4:30 am and I can feel my head bobbing as I'm drifting off. My wife has her head on my shoulder then wakes up again and repositions herself. Yes it's 4:30 in the morning! But wait! There's more! I begin to see the sunrise at 6 am and go up to the receptionist to ask how much longer. Her reply is "Some patients have been here 12 hours." We're getting close. She then tells me the shift change is at 7 am and hopefully there are more dr.'s coming on . then my wife gets called...for vitals again!!!!!! We are both thinking this is just ridiculous!!
So 7 am rolls around and other patients come in and sit down and this guy tells his wife "The receptionist said there are people who have been here 12 hours!" He tells her that they will wait until 7:30 am and then decide to go or not if she isn't called.
At 7:30 am my wife is finally called into the ER, exactly 12 hours of waiting in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting area. She was admitted , tested scanned and released on Monday morning. Luckily she is felling better and told me "Next time we are calling 911!" I'll pay the $300.
I do have to say that my wife has taken me to the ER before and I have never waited anything like that before...maybe because I am a type 1 diabetic.
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| | | Msg #36990
2 replies | OJ passes at 76 | By  Cheryl Elliott on 4/11/24 10:10am
What a sad life. He once lifted himself out of poverty with his football career, but then fell all the way to the bottom in such darkness. He would never recover from the fateful events he set in motion.
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| Msg #36982
4 replies | My first (& last) eclipse. 20 years to next time. | By Lee/AR on 4/8/24 2:49pm
It is quite an experience. What surprised me is how quick it got dark and you could see stars...only during totality...and how little sunshine it takes to cast shadows. Weather was perfect; not a cloud in the sky. Temps did drop gradually and, while there was less light from start to finish, it was more like a cloudy day and less like twilight arriving every night that I thought it would be.
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| | | | Msg #36961
15 replies | Fun time with the CA DMV | By Bear900/CA on 4/5/24 11:06am
Not!
Good thing I have a sense of humor with these characters although I did write them a scathing letter and copied the Office of the Director of Motor Vehicles and the CA State Attorney General. I got a response yesterday. In short it threatened, and I will explain in a minute the scenario, that they intend to do all sorts of mean and nasty things to me including:
- Revocation of my truck registration and subject to citation if driving the vehicle (phhtt!)
- Attachment of any income tax refunds
- Seizure and sale of the vehicle
- Civil action to obtain a judgement
They'll probably put up a Wanted Poster at the post office. What really bad thing did I do???
I always pay my DMV registrations online but this time I sent a check about a month in advance. I received no renewal. I kept checking with my bank and my check never cleared. I would be penalized if my payment wasn't on time. I called the DMV and was put on circle hold for over an hour and finally talked to a manager who said the amount was still due. The DMV has an online site I also checked, and it showed due.
I checked again on the last day before penalties would be assessed and no payment had been made to my account. So, I went online and paid a SECOND time by credit card. Knowing they are screw-ups and would someday find my check and try cashing it, I put a stop-payment on the check. They did find it and did try cashing it, and now I'm a criminal for writing a dishonest check. So, I'm in losing battle with their Dishonored Check Unit. It gets better.
They sent me a refund for the full amount. You can see where this was going. So, I waited for them to catch up with themselves. A month later I received a threatening letter and said I must now pay the amount, with penalties in the form of a cashier's check.
So, I paid them a THIRD time and sent the letters out. I also sent all my documents and asked for a refund of my penalties. I mailed by certified letter and have my receipt from the post office that they received it a month ago.
I got a follow-up letter yesterday with all the threats listed above and demanding a FOURTH payment. At this point I actually started searching the internet for DMV scams, but this is legitimate. Sadly.
This morning, I will go to my bank to see if the money order has been cashed. My guess is that it hasn't, much like the very first time.
I will need to send them a letter with all my documentation and tell them to FIND THE CHECK!
I may need to contact Mr. Hanky to post bond to get me out of jail soon. 
Rehearing the Jail House Rock....
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| Msg #36950
11 replies | People are starting to talk more about the eclipse on 4/8. | By SC/CA on 4/2/24 12:58pm
Here’s a link to see what percentage of totality you’ll see in your area.
http://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when
Enter your zip code into the chart and it pulls up the data. Remember, never look directly into the sun. Even during a partial eclipse, where the sun’s not fully covered by the moon, eclipse glasses are quite necessary, as retina damage can still occur. Beware of bogus glasses too.
We’ve seen a partial and a total, and they were completely different experiences. I highly recommend both. The partial was cool. But the total was a different animal altogether and was mind-blowing. Unfortunately, we’re unable to travel to see the totality and will only get a slight partial in our area. I wish everyone excellent viewing! Keep looking up! :-)
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| Msg #36947
5 replies | Once Upon a Time in the West | By Bear900/CA on 4/1/24 12:38am
Movie came out 55 years ago starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, and Claudette Cardinale. If you just watch it as a western you may get bored trying to patchwork some of it's 2 hrs and 45 minutes together.
It's actually a sphegetti western and the Italian director focused on subtle visuals and sounds with very little talking at the beginning. But there's something extraordinary about it. It's music is written by a famous Italian composer responsible for music in some of Clint Eastwoods westerns.
Next time, listen to it. It's almost an operatic musical. Charles Bronson, Jason Robards and Claudette Cardinale have independent musical scores that follow them throughout the movie. When you're aware of that it changes the whole experience.
Here's each theme for the actors in the order listed. Haunting, fun, and beautiful.
http://youtu.be/i8BfrrOuEEs?si=cFOwlQcEUM3uoFB1
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| Msg #36946
0 replies | RIP Lou Gossett Jr. | By Cheryl Elliott on 3/31/24 12:19am
Thank you for all your art, contributions to the arts and humanity. You have been a great advocate for fellow artists. You have left an indelible mark on society. At a time when we need people with your passion, you have gone to rest. You will never be forgotten for all you have done.
Thank you, Lou Gossett, Jr. Blessings and peace be with you.
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| Msg #36945
0 replies | #9 Dream | By Bear900/CA on 3/30/24 10:15pm
John Lennon -
"This was one of John’s favorite songs, because it literally came to him in a dream. He woke up and wrote down those words along with the melody. He had no idea what it meant, but he thought it sounded beautiful. John arranged the strings in such a way that the song really does sound like a dream. It was the last song written for the album and went thru a couple of title changes: ‘So Long Ago’, and ‘Walls & Bridges’.
The album Walls And Bridges was recorded in July and August 1974. By that time Lennon had settled on the title ‘#9 Dream’, and had a chorus refrain – “Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé” – which he claimed had come to him in a dream.
The words had no meaning but summed up the ethereal atmosphere Lennon conjured up in the lyrics and production. Coincidentally, the phrase had nine syllables."
http://youtu.be/7zZsKOvXiFo?si=Id7HepQTMmeNv7H3
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| Msg #36943
1 replies | Some birds aren't meant to be caged | By Bear900/CA on 3/30/24 4:47am
Morgan Freeman as 'Red' -
"I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free."
http://youtu.be/d4s5VHlAwDw?si=o7PsKW1JVKNijl76
Patricia Janeckova was just 15 years old when she sang this 10 years ago.
She passed 6 months ago...
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