I'm Not Saying it is Hot...

I'm not saying it is hot around here but Guy's birthday cake melted between the store and his house. He turned "the double nickel," got his free Senior lunch at the Casino, and irrigated like a trouper. His party which was unannounced even to me, took place in two stages. The "starvin' Marvins" ate on time: Janet and her folks and me. Hollis and Guy came in for the second shift. Not knowing the occasion I had to rely on the phone camera for some crappy pictures. Nice people and good food, good conversation, cool beverages, make for a good time. We had one. Janet had been to Rapid City with her mom for her checkup and to see her brother. Janet's mom is a cancer survivor and is doing well. They had a good time and had tales to tell. I showed them my Motorola Q and Guy showed me his Radiation Meter. I tested the phone. Pretty interesting stuff.

They took their cows to a summer pasture above Lysite and Guy is hoping to cash in on the biofuel/corn demand and planted NEW fields in corn. As they haven't been used for this before, it has been grueling getting the plowing, planting, watering, and so forth done. Hollis ate well but the boy is slender and suntanned. Their new home is certainly liveable-very,very, nice, but progress on that has taken a back seat to the income producing
labor. I am glad they are so young and tough. (a co-worker at Janet's office told her she was "tougher than woodpecker lips.") They spent the last winter in a travel trailer, with an outhouse, while they and their contractor worked on their log house. They spent select nights with Janet's folks to shower, and do laundry-mom loved it. Time to feed and see her kids. I really respect these people (in addition to liking them a whole bunch). They have patience and perseverance and good humor. Guy says, "I'll tell ya' this farming is not for sissies."

Techno-Geek

A Motorola Q has come to live with me. It is a PDA "smartphone" and it has lots of features to play with. I have loaded: tunes (it plays stereo) 1001 books ( I tire of looking for something to read when dining, and this has its own light when I am camping), thousands of my pictures AND it has a Windows web browser and can send text messages, picture messages and take pictures, and, yes, it is a cell phone. In a pinch I can connect it via cord or Bluetooth to be a modem for my laptop. It cost me $29.00 after my hard earned rebates and the industry panic over the Apple iPhone. My original Verizon phone had died. (set on high ringer and vibrate it somehow found itself in the dog's water dish!) I got another fancy phone about a year ago- an LG-9800 with stereo, limited web browser, camera, etc. but it is in a "candy bar" form-think "Idaho Spud" which, in my pocket seemed a lump and gave the impression that "I had a rise in my Levis." I did not want to get arrested....for false advertising. I have kept my LG 6100 tri-mode activated, which in this neck of the woods is necessary because it is not entirely digital in this and other desert places I travel. I'm not talking about my Union account. Those phones are old but they work well in western Wyoming and the free bag phone I got years ago is a three-watt gem. The digitals have .6 watts of power. I don't get or make very many calls but at this point in this crazy world, a cell phone is security. The landline went away a year ago. Staying connected Web-wise is important to me.

In Florida, I decided to try to get along with over-the-air television and my Dish Network expired while I was down there. I decided to see if I could survive without it here. I get PBS clearly, ABC somedays, CBS most days, and FOX on "good" days. TV has mostly been "background noise" in my multitasking life. While I miss some aspects of 180 channels, I think I have to conclude that I am happier, healthier, and more active without them. Network News, even PBS, is not always accurate, upsets me, tries to scare me, and is generally toxic. The Internet in its wide scope gives me all the news I need. The TV entertainment programming is, likewise mostly toxic. If I had a friend who brought me down as much as TV does, I wouldn't answer the door. If there is to be a background to my life, PBS is least toxic. Voting with my feet on television.