Observations

[larryJ]

Continuation of the cat saga......

Yesterday, heeding my instructions not to feed the cat, food was only put in the trap.  I observed the momma cat enter the cage three times to eat, but did not step on the trigger plate.  My son, laughing at all this, said we would never catch the momma cat.  In 35 years you would think he has learned his old man is way smarter than he gives him credit for.  After watching the momma cat not get caught, I devised a new plan.  The cousin had been giving her hot dogs and she would take them back up the street to her kittens.  So I got a hotdog and some string.  I poked three holes in the hot dog and threaded the string through to insure that it would not come off easily.  I then tied the string up and over the cage and tied the other in to the trigger hook.  The hotdog was hanging about five inches from the top of the cage which was cause momma to reach and pull to get it down.  Everyone was skeptical.  The cousin said it was not going to work.  The wife said nothing because she is aware that my "MacGyver(?)" tactics usually do work.  Last night momma took the bait and was caught in the trap and transported to the shelter where her babies are. 

Case closed.

Now today.........Granddaughters #1 and #2 are sick so no school today.  The wife has a doctor's appointment which will take up most of her afternoon what with all the driving and waiting.  So old Papa will be just sitting here doling out cough medicine and checking temperatures and giving tylenol when necessary and trying to make two miserably sick girls comfortable.  I have to take precautions that I don't get too close to them.  I can't afford to get sick.  It's going to be a long day.............

Sigh.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Okay......I know............I know.....I've said it many times..............

Having lived here in SoCal most of my life, I have seen just about everything.  Then something new comes along.

There is a house across from us and a few doors down that is owned by a friend.  He is a music composer, mostly for movies, but does write music for just about anybody else.  She is East Indian and a professional singer with a huge following in India.  They have a son who is the same age as my son.  Some years ago, they moved to a nicer house a few miles to the east of us, but they kept their old house and rent it out.  The renters are always nice people and cause no problems. 

Living in this area, people usually keep to themselves talking to each other in case you should see them outside.  This does not mean it is an unfriendly area, just quiet and everybody keeps to themselves.  Not nosy.............

So, the current tenants across the street have been there for a while.  There has never been a need to "force" ourselves on them and they are content to fit in.  We sometimes sit in the front yard in the late afternoon and evening to enjoy the sunset and watch the people coming and going.  Lately, the tenant across the street has been walking an English Bulldog which is something new.  Today, he was out and stopped to talk.  It turns out he rescues abused animals, brings them back to health, trains them and then resells them to good homes.  He is very careful about who he sells them to, usually asking to visit the animal's proposed new home on occasion.  He told us the history of the English Bulldog.  He keeps the dogs for about six months and then sells them. 

So what is it that I have never seen?  He also walks a three foot long monitor lizard on occasion.  I had never seen this until today.  So he went back to across the street and brought out the lizard..............on a leash.  He described in detail what is involved in caring for this lizard including a heat lamp at night to keep him warm...........cold blooded animal you know.

So I have observed a guy walking a lizard on a leash.....

Wonder what's next?

Larryj

[larryJ]

Here in SoCal, the seasonal rainfall is measured yearly starting on July 1 and ending on June 30.  Of course, it rarely rains in the summer months.  Usually, we don't see rain of any significant amount until the last of October or the first weeks of November.  Then the heaviest months are January, February, March and April.  SoCal's average annual rainfall is about 15".

My 8-year-old granddaughter is the proud owner of an IPod.  With it she can watch movies, play games and if need be, send a text to her mom and dad.  There are parental restrictions in place, naturally.  What she really likes is that it gives her the weather forecast.  My wife likes to ask her every day what the weather is going to be like and she is happy to look it up for her.  Yesterday, she informed us that it was going to rain starting any time after 7 PM and through the night and into today.  Sure enough, this morning it is raining along with a few and rare claps of thunder.  When I say rare, I mean that most of our storms come ashore quietly and rain and move on.  Once or twice a year we may get some lightning with the thunder, but not always.

I say all this because when we have the first real rain of the year, it brings the oil up to the surface of the streets and freeways causing them to be really slick.  After the first few storms, all that is washed away. 

Unhappily, my wife has a doctor's appointment some distance away and will have to be really careful.  Her cousin is going with her and I get to stay home.

Side note:  (observation, memory recall).........when I first moved to California I did not drive on the freeways in the rain.  I was totally scared of it.  Which is stupid because I came from states such as Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas where I was comfortable driving on the snow and ice.  Not so stupid though because I knew I could handle it.  I just didn't know if the other 10,000 people out there with me could handle it!

Larryj

[larryJ]

The upcoming elections are very important, mainly because of it is a presidential election.  Here in SoCal, we usually have a number of Propostions for various changes or additions to the current state law.  One can always count on a Proposition to raise taxes or sell bonds to better support our schools.  There seems to be one of these every time there is an election.  Voting against these types of propositions, according to the proponents, makes you a bad person for not supporting our schools. 

This year there are actually two.  One is called the "Temporary Taxes To Fund Education....." which would end in 2018.  The other is called "Tax To Fund Education And Early Childhood Programs" which is another tax on income.  What is particularly weird about these two props is that whichever one receives the most "yes" votes will win and the other is moot.  So do I want to pay taxes for six years or more income tax?  The latter is guaranteed to restrict the state from using the funds for any other purpose other than education while the first one does not.  Why do they have to make things so complicated?

Another one to "Abolish the Death Penalty."  Many years ago, Chief Justice Rose Bird managed to do just that and a few years later, it took a proposition to re-instate the death penalty.  What was the consequence of this action by Justice Bird?  Killers like Charles Manson to, with his gang of murderers, killed Actress Sharon Tate among others, and was given the death sentence, now sits in prison for the rest of his life when he should have have fried.  Another, Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy, also was reprieved of being executed and his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.  Why would anyone in government want to bring this up again?

The observation here is that every election we go through the same motions, slightly reworded, but having the same effect.  Do our legislatures feel that opinions will change over the years?

Okay, enough about that.

The other thing that bothers me concerns the use of the carpool lanes on our freeways.  Many, many years ago, our State Transportation Department decided that there should be carpool lanes on the freeways which allow cars with two or more passengers to use.  (Californians, especially large city Californians, tend to be sole occupants of their cars while driving on the freeway.)  Over the years most of the freeways developed carpool lanes and the fine for driving solo is currently $371.  All of the costs came from taxes, both personal and gasoline.  Now comes along the idea that those using these lanes will have to pay a toll or a monthly fee for a transponder in order to use the lanes.  So now the state wants us to pay for using these lanes that we already paid for with our taxes and continue to pay for, maintenance and such, with taxes on gasoline.  What?

Sorry, felt like ranting this morning!

Observation:  It is such ideas that makes it difficult to drag my weary butt down to the polls because of the ludricous ideas that come out of Sacramento.  AND SADLY SACRAMENTO COUNTS OF LOW VOTER TURNOUT WHICH USUALLY MEANS THE PROPS HAVING A HIGHER CHANCE OF PASSING!

Wrong side of the bed today, I guess.

Larryj

[Wilma]

Larry, maybe we should revive the "Soapbox Day Today" thread.  I have thought about it when having a day like yours.

[larryJ]

Yeah, Wilma, you're right.  I guess I have turned Observations into a soap box on occasions.  Oh well, it is just merely observations.

Speaking of which...............some time back I mentioned that the cousin had seen a man walking a parrot on a perch down the street.  Yesterday my wife and I had appointments with our Primary Care Doctor at Kaiser.  When we arrived we saw the gentleman walking his parrot......on a perch........on a skateboard.  I should have taken a picture.  When the cousin was there the other day, she saw a sparrow flying around inside the three story tall atrium where you enter the building.  The atrium is a large round area culminating in a beautiful dome of glass at the top.  There is a circular planter box in the middle with a water sculpture.  Attached to the planter is a sitting area.  I was first to see the doctor and when I left I went downstairs to the lab for my monthly bloodwork.  Having done that I went back to the atrium to wait for my wife.  While I was gir.......people watching, the sparrow made an appearance on the planter just to the left of me.  I guess people leave little bits of food for it and there is plenty of water there.  The bird is protected from outside elements.  Why would it want to leave?

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

Speaking of observations..as beautiful as it is,does that opulent and extremely expensive atrium contribute in any way to affordable health care? We have the same thing here. New facilities are huge and very opulent.They must be very expensive, but do they make my health care any better?

[larryJ]

Perhaps such opulence makes people feel better.  I know when I go there I feel more relaxed.  The large pond outside with the ducks and the smaller fountain next to it which has a concrete edge wide enough to sit on is relaxing.  Once inside the atrium, there are three hallways.  One leads to the cafeteria and elevators to the operating rooms, etc.  One leads to the elevators that take you to the patient's rooms and the other leads to services such as the lab, radiology and at the end, the emergency room which has its own entrance and parking lot.  Around the inside of the circular atrium there is are windows for insurance services, a gift shop, the pharmacy (one of three at this site) and a department for healthy living guides.  There is a small grand piano which is a player piano constantly playing elevator type music.  Outside by the smaller pond are the hematology/infusion department and the Urgent Care Office. 

How does that affect health care?  I don't know that it does.  Perhaps the show of opulence makes people feel that they are getting the best care possible because of all the beauty.  In the years that I have had Kaiser insurance and have used this facility, I have never had any problems or complaints.  That's not to say that it wasn't always like that.  When my father-in-law moved in with us, he had his medicare changed to Kaiser and I was the one who took him to his appointments.  I didn't like the way he was treated on occasion and I thought that this facility was one step above the ugly Veteran's Hospital in Long Beach.  When I retired, I stayed with my regular insurance until my brother-in-law insisted I go with Kaiser.  I wasn't happy about that, but I was out-numbered with the wife and kids taking his side.  I changed and was amazed at the complete turnaround.  Patient care had become priority.  Medical equipment was brought up to "cutting edge technology" and of course the opulence.  Preventive health care is now the number one thing with this system.  They even have signs outside with arrows showing the path to take when you are walking for exercise.  The walk goes around the building and parking lots. 

As I said, I waited there the other day for my wife and noticed the bird.  It occurred to me that maybe they caught the bird and brought it inside to make the place seem more naturalistic.  Who knows?

Larryj

[larryJ]

It seems like I have been going to the hospital a lot lately.  Today was the monthly visit with the oncologist and the monthly injection into the rearend.  I had another errand to run so I left early to do that before my appointment.  When I make these appointments I try to get a morning slot, but the last time I had to settle for an afternoon appointment.  I hate that because all the delays during the day stack up towards the afternoon and make things run really late.  As it turns out, my errand did not take as long as I thought it would and so I was at the hospital way early.  It was a pleasant day and I sat on the concrete edge of the small fountain and played games on my phone.  I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye and looked down to see a duck about to step on my feet.  I could have had duck for dinner.  He eventually jumped up on the concrete wall and settled into the pond. 

At this point, I noticed a blue sign over by the larger pond.  It read:

"For infection control purposes, floating alligator head decoys have been place in the lagoon/fountain in an effort to deter ducks and other water fowl."

So I walked over to the hedge surrounding the lagoon (they call it that) and sure enough there was an alligator head floating on the surface.  No ducks around him/her/it. 
Oh wait.................while I am looking at this decoy, a flock of about 15 ducks landed on the lagoon and swam all the way around the edge past the decoy and then scattered in different directions.  Some swam directly past the decoy.  Just then I thought one was going to jump up on the decoy, but he passed.

Only in LA.

Larryj

[Judy Harder]

That was funny. I would have enjoyed watching them.