Drinking from a firehose

If you like real life mysteries with astonishing twists & turns and you have the chance, catch the episode Dead Man Talking. I normally crochet during these things but this one took far too much attention to follow and it was a truly fascinating story.

When I left off last week in our automotive saga, we had retrieved the van from our mechanic's only to have it die less than two miles from the repair shop. We had called AAA and had it towed back and exchanged the van for our still misbehaving Park Avenue. The reason the car stalled was that whatever connector joins the fuel line to the engine failed. As it turned out, refusing to restart was a good thing as the breakage allowed gasoline to spray all over the engine and we very likely would have had an engine fire if the engine started. The fix was relatively easy (a new connector) and we had the car returned to us after work the next day. We took it to work in the morning, began the drive home after work and about half way home the van began to overheat. At this point we were about four miles from the repair shop and jebra didn't want to call for another tow as AAA isn't as generous as they used to be and he felt we should not use up all of our free tows in one week. We debated what to do (pay for a tow out-of-pocket, arrange for a rental car for the Friday and the weekend, call the repair shop and see if our other car was still drivable). Two of those weren't possible, as Enterprise was closed for the night, and everyone had already gone home from Master auto. During our debate (and while jebra peered under the hood and under the engine compartment), the van cooled off enough that it would start without beeping at us. We made it almost another two miles before the engine temperature again climbed into the danger zone. We pulled in at the Troy Fitness Center, let it cool again, and since I'm a good little recycler and had been bringing home an empty milk jug to add to our recycling bin, had a container that allowed us to add water to the cooling system. (The reservoir, btw, was completely empty at the time). With the added water we were able to get to Master Auto before the engine completely overheated and left it with the keys and a note. We then walked the four miles home, stopping to have dinner along the way. This was not a pleasant walk as it was getting cold and I was worn out to begin with. It was going on 11 pm when we finally reached the house. The food was great (Moose Winooski's makes an excellent jalapeno burger and their pickles are also wonderful) but I was disappointed in that I knew it was national eat outdoors day and it was too cold to eat on their patio as I had been hoping to do ever since I saw the graphic for the day. Maybe I'll show you that later.

Anyway, we called in to Master Auto Friday morning where the head mechanic made a comment about our van being like trying to throw away a boomerang. He thinks they're done with it and back it comes. This time it was the radiator. Apparently the bottom was cracked; we now have a brand new radiator and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing else goes wrong. We didn't get the van back until Tuesday, which meant I didn't have wheels from Friday through Monday. Fortunately the boss said I could work from home on Friday.

So I stayed home during the long weekend, while jebra and a bunch of other folks headed north to camp and walk the bridge on Labor Day. My weekend was very laid back and I slept and slept and slept. I'd get up for a few hours and then find myself nodding off. So naps were had in between bouts of knitting, crochet, and daily walks to either of the nearest-to-the-house Ingress portals. I'm on my 820th consecutive day of play so I sure don't want to break my hacking streak. I played Ingress just once per day and other than the people and dogs I encountered in the 45 minutes I was out of the house (and our own two indoor cats), I didn't see or talk to anyone while jebra was gone. I did, however, finish knitting one charity hat and crocheting four cat beds (two are kitten sized so I'm not sure they should count as two beds, and they pissed me off as I could not get them to grow in diameter without curving into a bowl. I'd taken a couple months off from cat beds and worried that my ability to make them without counting or referencing the pattern had vanished. I'm still not sure what's going on, but I finished a big one after I stopped using a particular chunky weight and very wavy yarn, so perhaps that's what was throwing me off. I was working on another big one last night, again using many strands of worsted weight, and it is also behaving).

As you might guess, I was very happy to go to work after the van got out of the shop yesterday. It was very nice to be around people and not to be sitting on our couch. By the time the long weekend was over I was actually getting sick of crime TV. Although I do want to put in a plug for BD Wong's Something's Killing Me. So far it's been half (crime) mystery and half medical mystery and altogether fascinating.

Scrapbook papers & elements from the kit Bohemian Breeze
For more information about the designers and their work, see
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I was just scrolling through the online tv guide and took a look at viceland just in case one of the shows I was curious about is on at this ungodly hour. None are, but I did discover that movie I mentioned the other day. It's called The House I Live in" and the online listing reads "Eugene Jarecki, David Simon (2012) The death of his housekeeper's son inspires filmmaker Eugene Jarecki to add up the true cost of America's losing was on drugs." It's an extremely interesting film and I recommend seeing it.

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I've been recording Bull since it first aired but until today had only seen the first episode. That first one confused me but I wasn't quite willing to write the show off. Since I'm crocheting another cat bed I wanted the tv on and I wanted to watch something that wouldn't required too much concentration and fired up the second episode. Which I really enjoyed because it addressed bias (particularly bias against women on an unconscious level) and made me think. I'm now watching the third episode and so far I'm not hating it. Yes, that sounds like faint praise, but I'm favorable enough that I wanted to take a bit from crochet and type this out right now.

I don't watch much in the way of shows with actors, true crime being my thing. If it's a forensic show, I'm probably watching. I have been recording NCIS, L&O:SVU, and Bull but I haven't actually been watching them which explains why I have shows dating back to March & April still on the DVR.

I'm not sure Bull is an accurate portrayal of what goes on in trials (it reminds me a lot of Perry Mason with the the many "Objection Your Honor!" and the asking of questions that the lawyer *knows* he will be retracting moments after he or she asked them). I have noticed a few lines that I'm 99% certain I've heard used by Dr. Phil on his show (if not exact, then a very close rephrase). But it's lines like that that make me question why I'm reacting on an emotional level and whether my reaction is trustworthy or rational. Although I have a compulsion to remind myself that emotions aren't rational. Thoughts can be rational but emotions just are.

I've also been watching Lee Remini's show on Scientology, which I have found extremely interesting. I minored in Religion in college (double major; Psychology and Human Sexuality), so I've been interested in Scientology since it first entered my awareness. Much of what the show reveals was not new to me but a few things did surprise me. Like the fact that the average parishioners contribute a quarter of a million dollars to the church. That's the average person, not the wealthy. And I really hate how capricious and greedy the church seems, for example claiming a more accurate church teaching has been discovered and necessitating a new version of a book which then members are then required to purchase even if the changed version is 98% identical to the previous one, or changing the rules as to how a test is administered and/or scored and requiring everyone who passed the previous one to retake the new one (at cost, of course). What I found most interesting, however, is the way tech is used to teach people to examine and control their thoughts and emotions. In theory this should be a good thing but it seems to me the lesson that believers take away is that it is a mistake to put your trust in people, even family members. All you can rely on is yourself and the teachings of the church (and not even in that order). I think taking that skill as far as it can go will inevitably lead to sociopathy.

I set the recording for Bull after seeing the commercial announcing the new show (and recognizing the title character about half way through ("Hey! That's Michael Weatherly!). Last night I was in the mood to try the series and fired up the first episode. Which was good but which also confused me. I mean, the entire thing made sense up until the mom is arrested at the end of the episode. I went back to the beginning and fast-forwarded to the parts I thought were significant and re-watched them, but I'm still confused. I get that the necklace she took out of her jewelry box was the one the mom's grandmother gave to her (the mom), and that the murdered girl borrowed it, but how on earth did Dr. Bull know she was the killer or know she'd have possession of the necklace? Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm also not sure why she killed the girl in the first place. Because she wanted her daughter to marry the boy on trial for the killing and she thought the girl was interfering with that? Also, who was the guy in the mom's bedroom just before the cops arrived? The boy's father or her own husband?

Last night I was watching my recording of First 48 and heard the expression Graveyard Love for the first time. Today I'm watching another recording, this time Handsome Devils, and within the first few minutes I hear someone else using that same phrase.

Weird.

...American Strays?

Lots of stuff on my mind, but now that I've sat down to type, I can't list them. Figures.

I did call my sleep doctor for an appointment. Eight hours of sleep seems an unreasonable total for three nights. *sigh* First available appointment is on August 2nd. I'm overdue for the appointment. I thought I was supposed to show up every two years. Nope, once a year, and I haven't been in since February 2010. And the practice moved to a new location. Good thing they told me or I would have gone to the old place.

Last night Jean taught Nia and OMG it rocked. She's taught a mashup of Sanjana, which she's calling Sanjanarama. It seriously kicked my ass but it was lots of fun. And I'm still grinning that I got to dance to Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax. I *love* that song -- it's track one of the wakeup music Jebra plays for us when we're on vacation.

I've stolen the Sanjamarama playlist from Jean's fb page and reproduced it below:

1. Earth Song (remastered)- Michael Jackson
2. Aftermath-Adam Lambert
3. Stay Human (All the Freaky People)-Michael Franti
4. Relax (New York Mix)-Frankie Goes to Hollywood
5. Aya Benzer-Mustafa Sandal
6. Say it Right-Nelly Furtado
7. Hips Don't Lie-Shakira
8. Am I the One?-Solovox (Just love it too much)
9. Minimba (ditto)
10. On the Couch- Prince

Last Saturday (that seems so long ago already), I had Nia in the morning, met with my knitting group in the afternoon, and toured i3 Detroit in the evening. Very cool place and if I can figure out how to squeeze hanging out there into my schedule, I'm going to join.

Lastly, I've been mainlining episodes of Midsomer Murders. Not only do I enjoy the series, but with our neighbor's tree in full leaf, the only channels I get (and unreliably at that) are the local ones. No Closer for me. *sigh* On the other hand, I managed to watch 32 out of the 33 episodes comprising Series Four through Nine in the past two and a half week -- plus two Special Features about the series. In that time I've also finished and sent off ten scarves to the National World War II Museum and seven Jayne Hats to the Austin Browncoats.

I'm watching Third Reich on the History channel. I came in at what I think was the midway point of the first episode ("The Rise;" this one is called "The Fall.") The visuals were primarily filmed by amateurs with their personal film equipment. I find that aspect the most interesting, that and how much of the film was shot in color. Although I do wonder if some of what I'm seeing was colorized.

The propaganda films are stunning. I can tell they were filmed by professionals well versed in choreography and scripting.

My doctor's appointment the other day was boring. No changes in my meds, routine bloodwork scheduled for today (and taken care of before work this morning). And the news that now that I'm in my 50s, I should have a baseline colonoscopy sometime soon.

In shocking developments I was stunned to see NBC is canceling Law & Order. Wolfe wants to take it to TNT and I think he should. If anything, the show has gotten better this season (and it never fell to the writers-on-crack depths of its sister show SVU).

No one ever followed up to Maddie's post about Happy Town and I see today it's been axed. Or will be, after the summer's over.

Source: http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/05/abc-pulls-happy-town-will-burn-off-in-summer-.html

Quoted:

May 11, 2010
ABC pulls 'Happy Town,' will burn off in summer

Despite an aggressive ad campaign, ABC viewers let the name fool them.

After this week, ABC is pulling "Happy Town" from its schedule for the rest of the month/season.

The decision comes after two episodes have aired of the Wednesday night show, which dropped 29% for its second week to a decidedly unhappy 1.2 adult demo rating. ABC will air another episode Wednesday night, then burn off the remaining five episodes starting June 2.

Not that I've even seen an episode, but I'm still disappointed.

I'm watching Pit Bulls and Parolees," and the woman who runs the rescue keeps reminding me of you. She's such a strong woman and she loves her doggies.

This show (it's on Animal Planet) is going to be tough to watch without increasing my desire for a pit bull of my own. I know I can't adopt one now, not if I'm working and have kitties who are terrified of dogs, but someday...

I'm watching House live. First the screen went blank (well, turned a really nice pinkish-purple), then, when the sound came back, it was out of sync. So far out of sync even *I* can tell. Now the screens purple again. *sigh*

the first three episodes of the current season of Supernatural. Including the episode with Mitch Pileggi. And all I can say about him is *wow*. And, bloggingchick it was *way* fun to recognize the screen shots you used in my birthday post.

I also watched the newest ep of Dollhouse this afternoon. I'm not sure, but I think the episodes are getting better. From the previews, next week's ep looks promising.

I think what I'm watching now may be the premier episode. It's better than I expected. When I saw the commercials and discovered the surgical practice was located in Trinidad, Colorado, I wondered if it had anything to do with Dr. Biber. It turns out I was right; Dr. Marci Bowers took over his practice when he retired. And I learned something new about Dr. Biber. I didn't know he had been in Korea as a MASH surgeon. Or that his first genital reassignment surgery was based on a set of diagrams sent to him from Johns Hopkins.

I think what I'm watching now may be the premier episode. It's better than I expected. When I saw the commercials and discovered the surgical practice was located in Trinidad, Colorado, I wondered if it had anything to do with Dr. Biber. It turns out I was right; Dr. Marci Bowers took over his practice when he retired. And I learned something new about Dr. Biber. I didn't know he had been in Korea as a MASH surgeon. Or that his first genital reassignment surgery was based on a set of diagrams sent to him from Johns Hopkins.

Secret Lives of Women is one of my favorite shows. Usually the women highlighted lead interesting lives and are, for the most part, shown in a positive light. This week's show was different. The topic was 'shopaholics' and I just don't understand the things that energize these women. They squee over clothes that I think look hideous. I can almost understand the woman who goes nuts over pretty dishes and cookware, but not to the point where it results in being unable to pay the phone bill.

I've heard numerous times how toxic cooking meth is, but it's way worse than I thought. I'm watching Crank: Darkness of the Edge of Town on PBS and it's horrifying.

I've heard numerous times how toxic cooking meth is, but it's way worse than I thought. I'm watching Crank: Darkness of the Edge of Town on PBS and it's horrifying.

My memory is shot to hell. I know I'm missing at least a year thanks to sleep apnea, but there are days things still don't register. Or things register for a while, then they drift off to who-knows-where. The missing memory currently vexing me is concerns a tv detective who recently (i.e., earlier this season) adopted a dog from the SPCA or Humane Society. I remember the dog is mostly white and looks to be at least part pit bull, but that's *all* I can remember. I can't tell you what show this was on, which detective adopted him, I can't even tell you if the detective was black or white. He was male though -- I remember that much. I think I've narrowed the show down to Law & Order or L&O:SVU. Does anybody out there know who adopted the dog? I'm hoping it was one of the guys on L&O not SVU. If was SVU, I fear it was Chester Lake. If it was Lake, it just makes me all the more pissed about the season finale.