As The Hermit sees it

This fall weather

2005-09-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of my more favorite times of the year in Oregon. The mornings are cooler and fresh smelling. The day may warm a little but it quickly cools off at night. We are going over to stay at a resort right on Gleneden Beach this next week. The weather is often beautiful this time of the year and there is a great beach to walk on just below the resort. We will be there for a week and I will take some good reading along for sure.

Also will be taking our bicycles over as there are some neat places to bicycle in that area. It is about equal distance to Moe's in Lincoln City and the Spouting Horn and whales in Depoe Bay. Really enjoyable to just peddle the day away nosing around the various attractions. I'm ready to go now!!

Contagion by Robin Cook

2005-09-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

Just finished this medical mystery about an outbreak of several potential epidemics. A usual Robin Cook book that was hard to put down.

But I had to put it down for a while. Had to send my laptop to the hospital (hard drive I think and that means many more hours restoring programs and data when I get it back). I have an extended warranty on it so it shouldn't cost me anything for the repair.

In the meantime, I have been thinking of buying my wife a laptop so I decided now was a good time. I have spent a ot of hours loading software and data onto it so my reading suffered some. However, the new laptop is what I am posting this on tonight. Now to another book.....

Are laptops as reliable as they should be?

2005-09-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

The night before last, my Toshiba laptop hard drive bit the dust. I do backups every month and now I know that's not often enuf because it went out on Aug. 31st and I do my backups on the 1st of each month. I will be backing up key data at least every week from now on and maybe a couple of them even daily.

Well, at least Oregon is winning tonight as I continue to search for and load my backups onto my other computer.......

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and Biloxi today with a rating of 4. The fourth most powerful hurricane in US history. Initial reports are very significant damage from wind and water. I wonder if Ron Harp will be called up by FEMA. It would be his first callup. They just moved to Phoenix two days ago and are living out of their motor home until they can find a mobile home to buy.

Retta came home this morning with a really sore back. She said she was lifting a patient properly but as she was finishing the lift and was turning away is when she hurt it. I wish she would get clear away from lifting patients. Get in an area of patient care that doesn’t involve lifting.

PREY by Michael Crichton

2005-08-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

PREY – by Michael Crichton

About the development of and accidental release of programmed nano-particles that operate under the concept of distributed processing. They are programmed to learn from their environment with no controls on the outcome. They are individually dumb but know how to meld in with large groups of particles. As a result, they give the appearance of being intelligent. It is a thriller that kept me entertained.

I finished the book today after going to the Urgent Care Clinic to have my left ear checked out. It feels plugged and gives that echoing sensation. Eating my cereal this morning was a noisy affair. What brought me to the clinic today though was a stiff neck and my concern that an infection may be spreading. The doc says there is no infection and no wax buildup in my ear. He says it is an inner ear disfunction having to do with the air or mucous buildup in the inner ear and that it will probably go away on its own but it might be wise to make an appt. with Dr. Donovan in case it doesn’t go away in the next week or so.

Charlie and Vee

2005-08-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today I was totally surprised as I was sitting in the swing reading. Into the yard rode Charlie and Vee on his 3 wheeler pulling a trailer. They had left Phoenix on July 9th and had been to a World 3-wheeler rally in Missouri, the annual bikers rallye in Black Hills of South Dakota, into Montana, Idaho and now here. They were still to visit their kids in California before returning to Phoenix. He had designed and constructed his three wheeler using a 250 ci chevy 6 cylinder with dual one barrel carbs and a 4 speed tranny. The rear axle was from a corvair and had been reversed in some fashion to work on his trike. Of course he had all the gauges one would want plus customized seats. He said he had been working on it off and on for five years. He had just retired and they had decided to treat themselves to a long road trip. We hadn’t seen him since he moved to Phoenix in 1998 and we had no idea he was in our area. He could only stay a couple of hours but we sure enjoyed his visit.

The truck and camping

2005-08-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

The big event for the day is getting my Dodge truck serviced. In addition to the normal servicing, the transmission fluid, rear differential fluid and the fuel filter were also serviced at 31000 miles ($380). Since this is my first diesel, I am trying to be more on the preventative side on servicing hoping that I can avoid the bigger problems as I am keeping this rig much longer than I used to. They also took a look at the A/C as it was occasionally reducing the air flow from the dash vents w/o cause on my part. They said they couldn’t see a problem but it was a ½ pound low on refrigerant and they put some dye in it so they will be able to more easily spot leaks if the problem continues.

I may take off camping over at the Metolius this Sunday for a few days. The weather is supposed to be cooler and I haven’t camped or fished at all during this hot weather. I really have missed communing with nature.

I'm not sure how much longer I can be nice

2005-08-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

So now Retta "claims" the whole swing right after dinner about dusk and promptly goes to sleep. It would make me feel awful to wake her up but, she's "pushin" her luck!I spose since tonight was bbq'd halibut, steamed rice with a vegetable and a salad, I'll let it go. I know that the next four nights will be hamburgers and frozen chicken strips since I'm cookin'...... Can't wait til she retires!!Went for a bike ride again today. Stopped by and looked at a really nice Komfort trailer. Also a Cougar.

OH MY GOD

2005-08-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOD!

What a treat. Steamed vegetables over steamed rice. BBQ’d wild chinook salmon from the Columbia River basted several times with garlic butter with oregano (or is that Oregon –O?). It was mandatory to use your fork to gently separate a flake of salmon, run it gently thru the homemade tartar sauce and carefully into your mouth insuring that not even one molecule fell off.

All this after a wonderful bike ride into downtown Salem for a frapuccino while visiting with friends at Wednesday’s Market.

Need I say more?

The Oregon Gardens

2005-08-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

We went to the Oregon Gardens today. We had last visited in 2000. We were curious to see the differences (maturity) of the gardens since we last seen them after they first opened. There was no disappointment on our part. They were such a treat to the tender, relaxing part of our mindset. We paid the extra two dollars each for the "tram" ride and took it soon after we arrived so we could get refreshed on the layout and beauty of the gardens. After that, we wandered thru the gardens for an hour and a half enjoying the individual features of the gardens. The visit was ended with a second ride around the gardens to both cool down from our walk and to gain a final view of the garden. Both of us vowed to visit again next year. We found it such a peaceful, fulfilling activity that we should treat ourselves to it every year. It would truly be a shame if it should cease to operate. We encourage everyone to experience the gardens and give your support.

After our visit, we went up to Johnson Point for a glass of wine out on their deck.

Post Mortem

2005-08-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

By Patricia Cornwell. Another of her great books about the life of a Medical Examiner. This one entails the hunt for a serial killer that seems to have no pattern or reasoning that they can pursue. Finally, they realize there is an odor that ultimately leads to his demise. Dr. Scarpetta can not get comfortable with the fat detective she has had to work with latley.

How life should be

2005-08-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

After fly fishing for several hours, I decided it was time to rest my arms and legs. This was taken over on the Crooked River in Central Oregon.

I just started fly fishing last fall and am now just starting to realize how much there is to learn about the sport. It is one of the more challenging things I have done in many years. I have already read numerous books on the subject and have made it out fishing quite a few times. However, my success rate is not something I care to discuss in detail.

I did catch a couple of nice redsides in the Deschutes river at Mecca Flats just outside of Warm Springs. Another beautiful stretch of river running thru the desert. The solitude the first visit there was outstanding. Pretty much to myself most of the time for four days. It really gives one a chance to enjoy true quiet time. Really enjoyed the camping and reading books as well as the fishing.

My second visit was the week prior to Memorial Day weekend. Well, I didn't know that Mecca Flats is a traditional party time on Memorial Day weekend and some folks started showing up on the Tuesday prior. Well, it wasn't exactly quiet solitude that trip. I did manage to mix in with the folks while I was there and even did a little partying. Oh yeah, I did some fishing, too.

Picture Perfect

2005-08-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

by Fern Michaels. Just finished this really good book about a young boy that witnesses a murder and is pursued by the killer. Lots of interesting twists as is usually the case in these books. The little boy's mother raised my dander while an extremely loving, caring aunt gave the boy and me the warmth that we need in life.

PERS Ruling

2005-08-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

The recent PERS ruling that is causing recent state retirees to cough up money for overpayment of benefits is quite interesting. If a bank makes a business decision that turns out to be a bad one (let's say it decided it paid too much interest on a savings account), it can't ask it's customers to "pay back" some of the interest paid to them. I can understand the judge determining that they misapplied the rules. It's the remedy that bothers me. Let's go after the "CEO" rather than the retirees. They made life-long decisions based on the earnings number provided to them by PERS itself.

State of Fear

2005-08-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

By Michael Crichton. I just finished reading this book. I have to go along with his thoughts at the end of the book. Both sides of the environmental issue need to stop the rhetoric and start working toward common definition of terms, evaluating facts for what they represent without their own twist applied to them. I realize that it is very difficult to do. It's really difficult to take a position on environmental issues because it seems impossible to find unbiased reporting from anyone including the scientists. A very frustrating issue.