Quite normal really

A CAPTCHA panel has appeared underneath my comments panel. Steph says it is a glitch – which at the moment cannot be undone. But I and others have noticed that you can comment without filling in the CAPTCHA block.

In any event – I refuse to comment on any blogs which have a CAPTCHA panel – and you should too. I will let you know when the problem is fixed. This will happen when Google gets around to it.

Meanwhile

HBOGO has locked me out – again. This is a regular occurrence which my TV provider cannot fix. However I will waste an hour talking to them again and eventually they will put in a work order and one day in the future I will get HBOGO again. This is important because I need to see the last series of Atlantic City.

My health insurer is not paying some claims because the person who performed the work has not filled out the correct forms. I have written to the health service provider pleading with them to fill out the forms. My guess they will not be bothered and will eventually take me to court for non payment of the bills.

My six fire extinguishers have been recalled by the manufacturer. They won’t tell me why – which adds a frisson of excitement to the whole procedure.

I have discovered that if I use the gas fire in  my study it sets off the smoke alarms. Why did it not do this last year? Because last year the smoke alarms were not actually connected. It was not until my electrician mate Javier came one day earlier this year that this was noticed.

Things are quite normal really.

They hate the new seed

So Cate registered for the Jordan walk today - and paid money - and is now committed to it. On the weekend she walked 12 miles on Saturday and 12 miles on Sunday around Indianapolis.

She spends a lot of time pounding along on the treadmill at home and can program where she wants to walk and watch the streets of London or Paris go by.

Now we have to book flights and I have to be in Petra to meet her – or what is left of here – when she arrives. We watched a DVD about this walk recently and it does not look like something I want to do – even in a car.

However – only one person died on the walk so that is not bad odds. Some people run – at least they start off running but after 20 miles it is sort of a staggering stumble – punctuated by short stops to vomit.

She has start drinking protein smoothies so yesterday we went to Costco and bought a Vitamix. This cost about as much as a small car but the man demonstrated that you can blend a whole pineapple – skin and all - so it is very powerful. It also makes soup and pancakes and will probably mulch the leaves if I take it outside.

The birds hate the new seed and stay away in droves. Even the squirrel only picks at it without much enthusiasm so I will probably have to go back to the one they love.

It is safer than being black

In a sinister development here – Cate has been checking the kitty litter to make sure I do it properly. She accused me the other day of not cleaning it. I explained that this is a matter of timing and I had no authority to prevent the cats from using the litter whenever they wanted to – even just after I had cleaned it.  

I am nor sure I convinced her so expect my work to be scrutinized closely in future.

In the meantime my head doctors said that one of the few possibilities for my abscess was that it came from a tooth infection. So yesterday I went to have an examination and my dentist found almost as many problems as I have teeth.

She said one extraction was urgent and said she would refer me to an oral surgeon. An oral surgeon? Apparently dentists don’t do extractions – this requires special skills. Last time I had an extraction – about 40 years ago – my dentist used a pair of pliers and ear plugs. The ear plugs for him.

But I got in to see the oral surgeon on the same day and the extraction was a doddle.

My dentist has prepared an action plan for me for the next few months as I need fillings and crowns. I am not surprised because my teeth are almost as l as I am – which is very old indeed.

She made a long list of what she needed to do and what it will cost me. Fortunately we have a very good dental health insurance plan.  I cannot do anything else until January because this is the busiest time of the year. I have thought about it but don’t know why. I had the same problem with shoe repairers a few weeks ago.

Last night on TV there was a story about how the federal Department of Justice has conducted a review of the Cleveland Police Department. This was prompted by many things but the one that takes the cake for me was that the police started pursuing a speeding car in which there were two young black people.

At the end of the chase there were 62 – yes 62  - police cars in the chase. When the speeding car stopped the police opened fire. The occupants were unarmed. 11 police fired 137 – yes 137 -  bullets into the car. Each occupant was hit at least 20 times.

A smaller version of this type of horrendous activity is an almost daily occurrence here. Being a policeman in the USA would be a terrifying activity – but is still safer than being black.