Thought Patterns

wet slime brick pit
vertical walls with no handholds
gotta room at the
don't give a shit hotel

bum f-ed shit head
i don't care don't hear what you say
i'm too broke to fix
apathetic stoned court

cry scream yell punch
the pit is full of anger rage
with nowhere to go
spiritless motor lodge

crossways sideways
upways and downways it's the same
it won't ever change
down at the slime pit inn

Can you tell I'm in a funk?

Sisters Mary Catherine, Maria Theresa, Katherine Marie, Rose Frances, & Mary Kathleen left the Convent on a trip to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and were sight-seeing on a Tuesday in July. It was hot and humid in town and their traditional garb was making them so uncomfortable, they decided to stop in at Patty McGuire's Pub for a cold soft drink.

Patty had recently added special legs to his barstools, which were the talk of the fashionable eastside neighborhood. All 5 Nuns sat up at the bar and were enjoying their Cokes when Monsignor Riley and Father McGinty entered the bar through the front door.

They, too, came for a cold drink when they were shocked and almost fainted at what they saw.

I was checking the area webcams and came across this lovely view:

It is from Cold Springs Ranch near Max Patch.

webcam | weather station

This is what the clouds look like from downtown Asheville, looking north.

downtown webcam, north

Boy, what a trip the past 48 hours have been.

I've not been doing well on the mega antibiotic and have been feeling nauseous. I've not been taking the drug as often as I should be because of the nasty side effects.

Then Friday I start getting a headache. I do the normal stuff to try and make it go away.

Saturday, it is worse. And so is the nausea.

Saturday night, I have to wake Lorna up to help me do some things. I can't lay down so we sit in bed together. When I finally am able to lay down, she rubs my head for me. The sensation of touch is a faster nerve message than pain. Which is why rubbing a boo-boo helps the pain.

I get up the morning, head still roaring, and feeling sick. I eat a simple bowl of cereal, thinking it is because I've had so little to eat. It stayed down only a short while.

I sipped Coke for a while and napped in Lorna's recliner. Or was that yesterday? Both, I think.

At any rate, the headache is still there, but controllable. The nausea is still there but not so bad I don't even want to think about food. This morning we were considering taking me to the ER where they can treat the migraine quickly and effectively. I updated my medication list and rested in my chair some. That's when I noticed the headache was markedly less.

Ah.

Tomorrow I call the doc to see if I can be on another antibiotic.

At 12:01 am EST, an important part of radio communications came to a close. The FCC decided earlier to eliminate the Morse Code requirement for higher levels of licensing. The test was already so low as to be ridiculous - 5WPM. In 2000, the FCC did away with the other Morse code tests which were 13wpm for General and 20wpm for Extra.

The prevailing argument was that the vast majority of people didn't bother to further their license abilities because of the Morse code requirement. Technician class license, the first one, allows limited use of the HF bands. General and Extra class access could only be gained after passing the Morse code test. Now with the requirement no longer there, "they" expect a deluge of people taking the tests for General.

I believe that if there is an increase, it will be short lived. The increase will be more due to the publicity than to the actual hindrance being removed. And while there may be a lot of people upgrading to General, I doubt the rush to upgrade to Extra after that will not happen. The General test is difficult, much harder than the very simple Technician test. The Extra test is a LOT of math and a LOT of theory.

It is sad that Morse code is no longer a vital part of becoming a ham. It was an initiation rite, one that was such a part of history that the pain, what little there was, was worth it.

I hold a General ticket which means I took the Tech test and then the Morse code test. A month later, I took and passed the General test. I feel proud of the fact that I know Morse code (aka CW). When I get my HF rig some day, I hope to do a lot of CW communication.

ARRL article
ARRL information page on the FCC ruling

As I (once again) write BG2, I find that I am having to consult the BG1 manuscript quite often.

Ellen isn't mentioned in BG1. And Nikki comes alone to the bonfire near the end of the book.

Which means Ellen doesn't appear until after the bonfire. Which puts it…when?

I seemed to have shot myself in the foot when I wrote BG1. I tried to not have too many time-related references in order to give the book a "timeless" feel. Most of the book takes place in winter. And they go to a ball game in early April. Kelly has to wait until "true thaw" to dig a hole. So…when?

I also mention the Gay Pride Parade in the beginning of BG1. Several people have told me they want to know what happens to/with everyone during the parade. Crap. That means June, right?

Ouch. Just burned out another brain cell cluster.

Some author-y stuff:

My bio over at Regal Crest has been updated. I like this version better.

Butch Girls Can Fix Anything (BGCFA) is on Regal Crest's best seller's list. (I heard a rumor it is the best seller for Jan. and Feb.) BGCFA has gotten two reviews, one thumbs-down and one thumbs-up, over at Amazon.

My publisher is chomping at the bit (better a bit than my ass!) for another book.

Irony lives: I had changed and hated the plot (of BG2) a year ago and I still hate it.

Some Real Life stuff:

We have three goldfish now - Sumo, Kiko, and Sake. They are in a 25 gallon tank and loving the space.

My friend Lew isn't doing so well with chemo.

All our critters (6 dogs, 3 cats, 3 fish, umpteen snails) are doing well. No more fights.

My voice is back; my cough is still around; my nose is clear; my ears still hurt; the nausea has decreased; and I am still on those horse choking anti-biotics.

Lorna had an MRI done to see what was causing the pain and tingling in her neck and hands. Arthritis in her lower neck, the nurse said. PT to start soon. We were sure it was going to be worse.