5 In 6

About a month and a half ago I started playing a daily word / search / complete game:  “Wordle“.  It is a once a day game hosted on the New York Times news website.  Basically, you have six chances to figure out the five letter word of the day.  Incorrect letters appear as grey;  correct letters in the wrong location as yellow;  and, correct in the right location, as green.
As of today, I have only missed twice.  I have found it EXTREMELY addictive and also a great vocabulary refresher.  Highly recommended!
Here’s the link to the NYT site’s version:  Wordle – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
[Disclaimer:  I have nothing to do with the New York Times or the producers of the Wordle game.  I am merely offering this link / game as a suggestion of something I’ve enjoyed playing.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	The Principal Difference
	Picture Perfect
2020	So Sad, Faux Crowd
	The Spirit Is Willing
2019	And The Same For Blogs And Posts
2018	The End Of Asgard (For Now)
	I Learn The Hard Way Every Time
2017	For Some
2016	Fragile And Explosive, Provocation And Privacy
2015	Bound Up
2014	Economic Engines
2013	Weren’t You Supposed To Be Reading?
	Absent Friends
	Where I Stand
2012	Hangin’ With His P’s
	Help Save
2011	Six Facets Of Good Leadership

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Memorial Day 2022

Arlington National Cemetery The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
As we gather around our dinner and picnic tables enjoying the freedom you sacrificed your lives to provide for us, a grateful nation remembers and prays for you and your families…
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On This Day In:
2021	How Trump Won The Fringe Right
	Hold My Hand
2020	I’d Include Health Care
2019	Accustomed To It
2018	Booking My Trip Into The Expanding Universe
2017	Fear Instead Of Convictions
2016	Memorial Day – 2016
2015	A Handful Of Reviews
	And You Can Quote Me
2014	Get Wisdom
2013	Enjoying The View?
2012	Adam’s Rib
2011	I’m Sure I Remember That…
	Memorial Day, 2011

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Defeated: So Far (Anyway)

“The untold story of the election is the thousands of people of both parties who accomplished the triumph of American democracy at its very foundation,” says Norm Eisen, a prominent lawyer and former Obama Administration official who recruited Republicans and Democrats to the board of the Voter Protection Project.
…
“Every attempt to interfere with the proper outcome of the election was defeated,” says Ian Bassin, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan rule-of-law advocacy group.  “But it’s massively important for the country to understand that it didn’t happen accidentally.  The system didn’t work magically.  Democracy is not self-executing.”
From an article written by:  Molly Ball
The article is titled:  “How Close We Came:  The secret history of the shadow campaign that saved the election“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine
Dtd:  15 February 2021
[This story is not even close to being over.  Unless there is a massive turnout of Democrats this November, the Republicans will likely take both the House and the Senate.  If that happens, the treasonous insurrection of 6 January 2021 will be swept under the rug and the Republicans will use their dominance at the state level to guarantee the election of a Republican nominee, irrespective of the actual vote totals.  They will “find” the votes necessary to win.  Voter suppression and fake ballots?  You ain’t seen nothing yet…  After all, to Republicans it seems it is less important who wins the election at the ballot box than who actually gets to take office and rule.  (And, yes, I said “rule”.  Not “govern”; rule.)    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2021	Elections Have Consequences
	It’s Cold Way Down There
2020	Fearless Security
2019	I Prefer A Neat Single Malt
2018	Seeking Finer Fruits
2017	Something That Is Absolute
2016	Animate And Encourage
	Out Of Time
2015	In Time
2014	Robust Interconnectivity
2013	What Have We Here?
2012	Tributaries And Eddies
	An Honest Politician
2011	Penultimate

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New Year Changes To My Blog

For the last 10 years, I’ve been posting personal health / fitness updates on pages under my menu topic “Sweat Equity“.  I was doing this to create an open site for me to refer to if I ever needed to, while not having access to my home computer.  I have used the pages very rarely – no more than 2 or 3 times per year and I’m fully settled into retirement now so I don’t really have the need for this type of access.
As such, I will no longer be updating or adding to these pages.  If anything of note happens, I will simply publish a “normal” post.  Typically, it will be as an additional post for a given day.
I will be updating my “Tributaries and Eddies” section (on my sidebar).  Two of the blogs there have (more or less) stopped updating, so I’ll be removing them.  One has changed location, so I’m just updating the address.  I used to do this updating (removing and adding) every six months, but I’ve kind of let it slide, so this will be a bit of New Year’s housekeeping.
Third, for now at least, I will no longer be posting music videos every day.  I’ve been doing it for almost a two years and it started off as a “lark” – just to share music (lyrics) I’ve enjoyed.  Once I got past a month, I thought, I’ll just do it for year (365 days straight).  Then I thought, well, just do it for a full calendar year.  Now, that’s done, too…  I will post a music / song video every now and then, I just won’t be doing it every day.
Finally, I’m going to try to write more posts of my own.  I started this blog to practice my writing and to vent at the universe.  When I began to run out of bile I began using quotes and book / movie reviews more and more and using the post titles as my “creative” tool.  My intent was to express a view / twist of the quote / review with a pun or hi-lite of a few words from the quote(s).  This was my way of pretending to be a newspaper headline writer.  I feel this was mostly unsuccessful, but I’ve enjoyed trying, so I will keep at it (on post titles anyway).
I hope everyone reading this has a prosperous year and that you keep on blogging!  Excelsior!!
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On This Day In:
2021	Happy New Year — 2021!
	Facing The New Year
2020	Happy New Year — 2020!
2019	Happy New Year — 2019!
2018	Happy New Year — 2018!
2017	Happy New Year — 2017!
2016	Happy New Year — 2016!
	Remembering My Brother
2015	Happy New Year — 2015!
2014	Happy New Year – 2014!
2013	Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains)
	Happy New Year – 2013!
2012	Best Wishes For 2012!
	Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve?
2011	Happy New Year (2011)!!

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Happy New Year — 2022!

If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived 2021 and last night’s New Year’s Eve party…  Congratulations!
A new year full of opportunities awaits us.  Let’s all make healthy choices as we try to survive politics, climate change(s) and a dicey economy.
Happy 2022, everyone!!    —   KMAB
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On This Day In:
2021	Happy New Year — 2021!
	Facing The New Year
2020	Happy New Year — 2020!
2019	Happy New Year — 2019!
2018	Happy New Year — 2018!
2017	Happy New Year — 2017!
2016	Happy New Year — 2016!
	Remembering My Brother
2015	Happy New Year — 2015!
2014	Happy New Year – 2014!
2013	Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains)
	Happy New Year – 2013!
2012	Best Wishes For 2012!
	Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve?
2011	Happy New Year (2011)!!

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Boosted

Today my wife and I both got our COVID booster shots!!  We got same day scheduling at the pharmacy in our local supermarket.
Six(6) months and two days after receiving our second original vaccination.
No ill effects to speak of other than a slight soreness at the shot location which passed after a couple of hours.  (That was me.  Hil had NO effects.)
If everything works out, we should be good to go until next year when they’ll probably have an annual regime in place.  Time will tell…
If you have not received your vaccinations yet…  Get on it!  Protect your health and let’s get living our lives back to normal.  If you have received your initial vaccinations, but not your booster shot – get it scheduled as soon as you are eligible.  Life (and health) is too precious to risk losing it over politics.
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On This Day In:
2020	Three Down, Four To Go
	Twenty-Four ‘Til You
2019	Two Down, Five To Go
2018	Year One, Done!
2017	First Day Of Retirement!
2016	Revere And Criticize
2015	Global Climate Change May Test This Statement
2014	Adaptability Won
2013	Disappeared
2012	Fuller
	Life On The Range
	More Classics
2011	Stoned Again?
2010	Insubordination… And That’s Why I Love Her!
	Losing – Week One

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Four Down, Three To Go

I sent the club a wire stating:  “PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION.  I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER.“
―     Groucho Marx
I, on the other hand, will make a few exceptions to my own “no joining” policy…
It normally takes seven to seven and a half years of retirement for the average American to “recover” all of the funds paid into their Social Security retirement funds during their forty odd years of work.  I’m over half-way there!    —    KMAB
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On This Day In:
2020	Three Down, Four To Go
	Twenty-Four ‘Til You
2019	Two Down, Five To Go
2018	Year One, Done!
2017	First Day Of Retirement!
2016	Revere And Criticize
2015	Global Climate Change May Test This Statement
2014	Adaptability Won
2013	Disappeared
2012	Fuller
	Life On The Range
	More Classics
2011	Stoned Again?
2010	Insubordination… And That’s Why I Love Her!
	Losing – Week One

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Think Global – Act Local

So, this was our house last year after the new paint job…
And here it is after updating our front garden to help conserve water…
As you can see, we’ve removed the front grass and replaced it with (mostly) white stone.  We’ve circled the two trees with larger riverbed stones and red pumice (like) stones.  We’ve high-lighted the roses on either side of the brick path and added river stone edging on the sides.  We added a “fake” stream bed curving from near the top of the path, around our big tree, down to the sidewalk.  And, finally, we sprinkled various plants in the white stone areas.  We hope they will fill out and add a bit of color to the otherwise plain white space.
Many (not quite most) of the houses in our neighborhood have already done the same to their front gardens.  I don’t know how much money we’ll save, but every drop of water counts in this age of climate change.  Over 25 of the last 30 years have been drought years here in California, so our action is long past due.  Hopefully, better late than never…
And, of course, the best news is:  NO more mowing the lawn, while reducing the expense of our water bill.
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On This Day In:
2020	Was #IncompenentDonald Born To Be A Diplomat?
2019	Have You Planted Lately?
2018	Something / Nothing
2017	Kindness
2016	Dealing With It
2015	Too Many Choices!
2014	Vini, Vidi, Vici
2013	Heroes
	Education, n.
2012	Who I Want To Be
2011	Mythic Forgetfulness

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I Ask For Two Minutes…

Memorial Day
Monday 31 May 2021
Thank You, Veterans! Some give more than others… Some give all…
[This weekend, when you are celebrating with your family, please take a minute to think about these soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who throughout our nation’s history have made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.  Please try to think of them, not as warriors, but as sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters… as part of a “greater” American family – which all (they and us) surely are.
I know that Memorial Day is specifically set aside to honor these brave souls in uniform, but please also take an extra minute or two to remember and be thankful for the over 3,600 medical and health care staff around the country who also fought the good fight – just doing their jobs – and who gave their lives in the last year defending us from COVID.   They too have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
All five images were found on the web.  No claim of ownership is intended or implied.
—    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	At Least A Lot More Gray
2019	Walking The Lonely Path
2018	The Ultimate Trial
2017	Vain Expectations
2016	Or Of One Thought
2015	What’s In Your Future?
2014	Light In Darkness
2013	How ‘Bout Just Obeying The Law?
2012	Or Maybe Not
2011	My Interval Is Too Short!

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Just Like You

Cat’s In The Cradle
Comment(s):
Every father’s prayer:  “Dear Lord, Help my children be better than me.“
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On This Day In:
2019	None Absolutely Certain
	Destroying The Republic
2018	Maps For Those Difficult Times
2017	A True American Hero
	Or Desserts
2016	What #AmnestyDon Is Really Afraid Of
2015	What Are You Doing?
2014	The Ideal Man
2013	Daring Ripples
2012	Evermore
2011	Unpredictable Opportunity
2010	Giants Fall In Game 2 (1 to 6) – Leave PA With 1-1 Split !!

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Thumpin’ Bass

Get The Funk Out Ma Face
Comment(s):
Did I ever tell you I luv me some thumpin’ bass?  (Sly and the Family Stone, the Brothers’ J, Parliament / Funkadelic – and the list goes on and on…)
I can’t say much for the rather repetitive lyrics, but I’m not on my feet dancin’ to the lyrics…  (Well, actually I am.  LoL!)
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On This Day In:
2019	30 Day Health / Weight Update (Oct 2019)
	When Reason Comes
2018	One Of The Great Ones
2017	Mirror In The Oval Office
	True Courage
2016	What’s Your Excuse?
2015	Some Meaningful Resemblance
2014	Bloom
	Orange October (VII) – The Giants Win The Pennant!!
2013	Walking The Walk
2012	Legacy Of Star Trek (TOS)
2011	Tolerating The Intolerant
	Passionate Germs
2010	Giants Win Game 1 In Philly (4 to 3)!!

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Pure Flavor Vis-à-vis Enthusiasm

Oye Como Va
Above is the way I remember listening to this song (over and over again)…  Below is one of the many live versions…
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On This Day In:
2019	Bigger Hearts
2018	Signaled Progress
2017	No Progress, But Still Unreasonable
2016	Notes Unsaid
2015	Still Seeking (Believe It Or Not)
2014	Guidelines For Bureaucrats
2013	Failing At Normalization
2012	Are You An Expert?
2011	Joy!

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R.I.P.: Eddie Van Halen

Dance The Night Away
Comment(s):
To be honest, I was not a “big” Van Halen (group) fan.  I do own their “Greatest Hits” CD and “1984” album and I did really like a number of their songs (particularly this one and “Jump“).  Having said that, I was a fan of Eddie Van Halen.  I thought he had some great riffs and he always seemed to bring a sense of joy to their videos.
I heard (today) Eddie passed away after a multi-year struggle with throat cancer.  The world is better for his having been a part of it.  The music world is a little less tonight for his loss.
Hendrix, Prince and (now) Eddie Van Halen…  Heaven must be jammin’ & screamin’ tonight!  I bet Glen Campbell and Roy Clark are fingerin’ in a few licks with them, too!
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On This Day In:
2019	Two Peace
2018	The Sensation Of Human Intimacy
2017	One Night In A Thousand Years
2016	A Considerable Amount Of Work
2015	Panzer Soldier
2014	Babies (I)
2013	Patriotic == Tell The Truth
2012	30 Days To Go
2011	Altering The Course

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ITF (365) – Update

So, today I am completing my 365th day of Intermediate Time Fasting (ITF), which has “really” been a mix of ITF and One-Meal-A-Day (OMAD) mixed eating and it’s time for an update:
My weight is down from 364lbs to 345lbs.
19lbs in 12 months or “roughly” 1.5lbs per month.
Had I been on a “strict” ITF – or my modified three(3) day cycle) (MITF), today would have been day:3 of cycle:119
As it was, this was day:267 of ITF / MITF and day 98 of OMAD.  Now, of course, there were multiple “normal” days mixed in during the year, but by and large I tried to stick to the time guidelines / eating periods.  Surprisingly, (to me) there was very little exercise done other than my daily walking of our pet dog.  This would be between 15 minutes / .4 miles; 30 minutes / 1 mile; and, 45minutes / 1.3 miles.  There would be some minor deviations in time or distance, but these were the overwhelmingly most common times and distances.
I would amend I was doing some body-weight exercises for about 45 to 60 minutes each day, but they did not result in significant weight loss or gain.  Although I felt much better at the end of the 60 day period.  At the start of August, I began suffering from vertigo and lower back pain, so I curtailed the exercises.  The main accomplishment was going from zero(“0”) pushups (from the floor) to 15 pushups.  I was pushing myself through a 30 day / 100 pushups a day challenge.  I started with 20 sets of five(5) inclined pushups and worked from 10 X 10 to 5 sets of 20 (inclined), with mixing in one or two sets from the floor on alternating days.
I am still dealing with the vertigo (off and on, mostly off), but my back issues seems to have cleared up.
An observant reader might ask about my food plan…  The reality is / was there was virtually NONE.  Every third day was ALL YOU CAN EAT / anything you want, within the eating 2Hr window and I did just that.  I started off with pizzas and cakes, fried chicken, chow mein and ice cream, and…  Well, you get the idea.  Almost nothing healthy every third day for almost three months.  I did tone it back after that, but I “just” toned it down to “crazy” every 6th day.  I did not stop.  My test was to see if controlling the time windows (6Hr, 4Hr and 2Hr) would work as a diet / lifestyle variable.  I would say, it does seem to have worked.  Relatively little exercise for most (10 months) of the year and a gross amount of unhealthy food every third (6th) day (but only within 2Hrs) and I still lost weight.  I can only imagine how much I would have lost had I adopted a healthier food program (at least on the third / 6th day) and added a modest exercise program to go with it.  Or alternatively, if I had just done the every other day eat / fast regime which seems to be more commonly recommended.
And that’s where I stand moving forward…  I am hoping to continue both the OMAD and a workout routine to continue to lose weight and get healthier.
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On This Day In:
2019	Reality And Imperfection
	Day 8: One Stone
2018	Pity The Nation (Part 1)
	Day 41: Hiccup Or End Of Days?
2017	Sharp-Edged Beauty
2016	Start, Keep, Finish
2015	Lifetime Friends
2014	Acknowledgement
2013	Longevity, Tenacity and Diversity
2012	What Reagan Really Cared About
2011	Seeming Sane (Or Not)

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But I Won’t Do That

I Would Do Anything For Love
Favorite Line(s):
Some days I pray for silence
Some days I pray for soul
Some days I just pray to the god of sex and drums and rock ‘n’ roll
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On This Day In:
2019	Seeking Nobility
2018	My Family Calls It Hoarding
	Day 30: Done & Dusted
2017	Rogers’ Rules (Hexadecimal)
2016	But, It’s Such A Simple Mistake
2015	Crawl Towards The Light
2014	Sweet Songs
2013	The Wife Of An Ordinary Man
2012	Three Words
2011	Know Anyone Like This?
2010	Apoplexy??
	When Breaking Up Is Hard To Do…
	Sibling Awareness

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