When Enough Is Enough

About two years ago, I began using Facebook regularly.  A couple of months after that I noticed folks were posting about a couple of “word” games they were playing:  Wordle and Quordle.
I didn’t know anything about these games, so I looked up Wordle and started playing.  At first I wasn’t very good.  It wasn’t a big deal…  Then I began getting a couple of correct answers.  Slowly but surely I kept bumping my “wins” up until I got to thirty (30) – which I classed as one straight month of answers.
After a bit more time I got the score up to 56.  I’m not sure why, but I didn’t realize why I kept getting reset to “0”.  Some days I was playing on my PC;  some days on my cell phone and most days on my tablet.  It turned out that even though you are you, they are not you.  …Meaning, when I switched to between formats, it was not counting my score for that day on the other formats.  Eventually, the light bulb went on (“Duh!”) and I then began playing ONLY on my bedside tablet.
Sometime during the last year, I also started playing Quordle.  This is a more complicated (difficult) game…  Instead of six(6) tries to get a single five(5) letter word, you get nine(9) tries to get four(4) five letter words.
Of course, being on the Obsessive / Compulsive Disorder (OCD) spectrum, I quickly became addicted to both…  Part of it (the “jazz” feeling) is the desire to surpass a prior score, but mostly it is a need to continue a repetitive (daily) activity.  (A bit like a daily posting to this blog…)
Then, at some point, the object stops being getting a daily “win” and becomes increasing your win percentage.  That’s where I’ve been for some time…
Anyway, I’ve recently passed 96% on Wordle and I’ve decided I’m bored with both games.  I won’t be stopping play entirely.  I’m just not that interested in making a point of doing them EVERY day.  Such is life…
Two last points:  1.)  I play “easy” mode.  That is, I’m not required to use “found” letters in my next choice.  I didn’t know this was an option for some time, and then never bothered to keep it switched to “on” after a few tries.  And, 2.)  Quordle has an achievements tracker.  One of the things it tracks is your individual words tried.  The problem with this “achievement” is there is a big (HUGH) jump from 1,000 words attempted to 10,000 words.  I’m currently a bit over 2,500 individual words and I’m not that interested in failing enough times to reach the 10K word achievement.  (LoL!)  I’m not entirely convinced they even have 10K words in their database reference / answer table.
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On This Day In:
2022	Only More Democracy & Honest Elections Can Keep America “Great”
2021	Of Course The Term “Value” Is Undefined
	Waiting (Sweet Love Of Mine)
2020	I Hadn’t Thought Of That
	Keep Looking! (Look On The Bright Side)
2019	Knocking On Impeachment’s Door
2018	Do You Remember?
2017	Choose Life
	My Response To President Trump’s Threat To NBC
2016	We, Us, All
2015	No Less
2014	Life Advice (50)
	Orange October (IV) – Giants Win Game 1 Of NLCS!
2013	Running To
2012	Suddenly
2011	Liberal Washington
2010	Giants Advance To NLCS!!

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Rosebud II

“The Aviator”  (2004)   —   movie review
Today’s review is for the biographical drama “The Aviator” about a part of the life of billionaire Howard Hughes.  The movie stars:  Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes (wealthy film maker / aircraft enthusiast / businessman), Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn (movie star and one of Hughes many female friends), John C. Reilly as Noah Dietrich (Hughes’ business manager), Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner (movie star and one of Hughes female friends), Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe (aviation business competitor / CEO of Pan-Am Airlines), and Alan Alda as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (a U.S. Senator who has loyalty to Trippe).
Basic plot:  After a brief introductory shot of Hughes’ mother giving him a bath and teaching him to spell “quarantine”, we move to the adult life of Hughes as a film maker.  He wastes a lot of money to make a lot of money.  We then see him with an interest in aircraft.  Interested in aircraft, Hughes buys a controlling interest in Trans World Airlines (TWA).  Hughes promotes streamlining aircraft and sets an air speed record.  Then he sets the record for around the world flying.  During WWII, Hughes makes a greater fortune from government contracts.  One contract calls for a troop transport.  The War ends and Hughes is left with no interest in his giant plane.  Hughes crashes one of his test planes and is burned badly.  He becomes addicted to drugs to control the long-term accident pain.  Hughes suffers multiple sessions of progressively worsening Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).  Hughes becomes increasingly reclusive due to his OCD.  In order to force Hughes out of the airlines business, Juan Trippe gets a Senator to accuse Hughes of war profiteering and calls Hughes in for a public hearing.  Hughes testifies, but turns the table on the Senator and the bill to grant Trippe’s company (Pan-Am) a monopoly on international routes fails.  Hughes promises that if his troop transport doesn’t fly, he will leave the country.  Hughes flies the plane.  Hughes continues his descent into madness and repeats the word his mother was teaching him to spell.  The end.
So, is this movie any good?  How’s the acting?  The special effects?  Do I recommend this film?  In order:  Yes;  good to great;  so-so;  yes.
Any good:  As a period piece drama, this movie is very good.  As a movie watcher, I found the historical aspects of film making to be really interesting.  Even though Hughes’ life extended thirty years beyond this film – and well into my own – I had no reason to be interested in him and I wasn’t.  He was just another really wealthy guy who was also crazy.  I had no idea Hughes was important in so many different industries (film, aircraft, oil, and real estate).  As such, it was even more interesting to learn about Hughes’ impact on the U.S. as a country and as a society.
Acting:  Okay.  I get it now.  DiCaprio is a great actor.  I’ve seen him in a range of roles and he’s been great to superb in most of them.  So, I’m almost all in.  My early dislike of him from “Titanic” and “The Quick and the Dead” seems in error.  I still don’t like him as much as Matt Damon, but it’s getting pretty close.  In fact, at this point I’d say DiCaprio’s a much better actor than Damon, but I still like Damon’s movies more.  I enjoyed both Blanchett and Beckinsale in their respective roles.  I am a big fan of Hepburn’s and I thought Blanchett did a very good impression of her.  I don’t know enough about Gardner to say the same for Beckinsale;  but, I liked the performance and it made me more interested in seeing some of Gardner’s other films.  My only real memory of Gardner was as the mistress in “Seven Days In May“.  I can’t say I’ve ever seen Reilly in a role I’ve been interested in seeing.  I was surprised to see him in a serious role.  I thought his “thing” was dumb comedies.  He wasn’t bad.  I don’t know anything about Pan-Am or Trippe, but Baldwin was unconvincing in the role.  Baldwin came across as a sleazeball, but not as a corporate executive – let alone a CEO.  On the other hand, I liked Alda as the “on-the-take” Senator.  Horses for courses I guess.
Special effects:  There were quite a number of aircraft flying scenes.  Some were much better than others.  I thought the crash / injury scene was very good.  I thought the “Spruce Goose” flying scene was particularly poor.  The computer generation wasn’t right for me.  Considering all the build up to the big flight, I’d have thought they might have invested more money or talent into getting that scene to a hire standard than I saw.  Of course, the movie is almost twenty years old, now, and technology has gotten a lot better since then.  Maybe, I’m spoiled.
Final recommendation:  Strong to Very Highly.  I’m not sure why, but I really enjoyed this film.  I guess DiCaprio, Blanchett and Beckinsale just impressed me.  A bit like how I felt after watching “Inception“.  I don’t know enough about OCD, mental illness, or the particulars of Howard Hughes’ condition to comment on those issues raised by the film – but they were interesting.  In a way, I’m glad we were spared the last thirty years of his life when he had the full descent into his mental condition.
Final comment:  The beginning and ending repetition of “quarantine” was very reminiscent of the the “Rosebud” repetition in “Citizen Kane“.  I don’t know if it was meant to be a nod to that movie, but it sure felt like it to me.
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On This Day In:
2022	Ever Feel Like You’re Spitting Into The Wind?
	The Valley Of Death
2021	On Learning To Play Guitar
	When You’re Feeling Small (Bridge Over Troubled Water)
2020	Remember Your Obligation
	Smile And Shuffle (I Wanna Dance With Somebody)
2019	If One Is Lucky Enough
	Basic Training (In Films)
2018	Being President Doesn’t Make You Presidential
	Day 27: 4 Weeks / 55lbs
2017	I’m Seeing It, Too
2016	Personal Decisions
2015	Verbal Fluency
2014	Familiar
2013	Unbending
2012	Simple Sayings
2011	Wupped Again?
2010	3 and 1…
	Musical Notes…
	Doubt Tries…
	Northwest Passages – Evening Two
	The Beierly’s Web Site

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Musical Notes

Today’s post is just an update on my “learning” guitar progress…  Two years and counting…
I’m continuing to practice most every day for at least an hour.  There have been quite a few more days in the last six weeks when it’s only been 30-45 minutes, but that’s life.  Most of those times, I’ve been playing until fatigue / sleepiness and stopping when I start nodding out.  LoL!  I do most of my practicing between 11:30pm and 1am.  I can sit out in the front room and not disturb anyone (our bedrooms are on the other side of the house).
I’m still alternating between my various guitars.  I’m now up to 11, split mostly in favor of electric (7 to 4).  I’ve had them in a rotation schedule of a couple of acoustics laying in the living room and bedroom (for quick access) and then the rest in a monthly rota, but I’ve recently shifted to a three week rota as I don’t feel like I’m actually touching each enough with now having so many.  The perils of G.A.S. (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome)…   If you’ve been counting, or reviewing my “Learning Guitar” page, you’ll see I don’t have all of my guitars accounted for (only eight reviews).  My original intent was to do initial impression reviews and then subsequent updates as and when I “modded” them.  “Life” and my procrastinating nature have more or less shot that plan down.  It’s too late to do the initial impressions and I haven’t done very many mods, but I still plan to do reviews at some point.
I am still planning to get two more guitars to round out my collection – a full size nylon-string classical / acoustic and a single neck-humbucker telecaster style electric.  After that, any additional purchases (quality upgrade) will necessitate a charitable donation to make room for the new toy.)  The “Happy Wife” policy…
As far as “playing” goes, I’ve already forgotten more than I’ve learned.  I’ve been skimming the odd book and watching a lot of guitar videos, but while they “teach” you a lot – it’s really more a case of “informing” you about motivation, techniques and concepts.  The more I’m practicing, the more I’m realizing that if “it” (a given action) isn’t under your finger tips as muscle memory, you really haven’t learned it…  And all of that muscle memory takes time and (more) practice – not more awareness / understanding.
Fortunately, for me (and not so fortunate for my family), my OCD allows me to be fairly content with just practicing things (scales, chords, spider walks, children’s songs) over and over and over again.  I enjoy the repetitive action(s) and I feel like I’m finally starting to hear the notes.  I mentioned in a prior post that I am “kind of” able to hear myself hum an “F#” and then tune the guitar from there.  I’m continuing to get better at this.  I’m also a little better at using a A400 tuning fork to tune the guitar.  This is as opposed to using an electric tuner as a default tuner.  I still (also) use the electric tuners, but I’m gaining confidence in my ear for relative pitch.  Starting out, if ANYONE had said I’d be able to do this AT ALL, I’d have told them they were crazy and it’ll NEVER happen.  LoL.  The old dog is learning new tricks!
Most of the relatives feel I’m going about this “learning guitar” all wrong and that I should be learning songs.  While I appreciate their viewpoint, I don’t find learning “songs” to be that interesting.  I have two “songs” memorized (finger-style): “Taps” and “God Save the Queen“.  I also have a couple more close to memory: “Ode to Joy” and “Drummer Boy”.  On “Ode“…, no, not the full version – get serious…  But enough so you can tell what the song is.  Random people I discuss “learning guitar” with generally say: “As long as you’re having fun, who cares what you’re playing.”  But I have a feeling they’re thinking, “TWO YEARS(!!!), and that’s all he can play?”  (LoL)
So, I still haven’t settled on a single guitar I want to specialize with.  I still haven’t decided if I want to concentrate on finger-style or plectrum-style.  I still have very poor (almost none) rhythm – which makes leaning to strum problematic.  I’m still SLOW at changing chords – even the few I know.  And, I still haven’t decided what kind of music (rock, country, jazz, classical, blues, Spanish, folk, pop) I want to play.  Slowly, slowly.
And, finally, other hardware…  I’ve added a second “amp” and a “looper pedal” to my collection of kit.  The second amp is a portable, super-mini (3 watt) battery operated job.  It sounds slightly better than my original amp, but I don’t know enough about either to have the faintest idea of why – or if I should care.  The looper allows me to record a few seconds of playing chord changes and then play it back in a loop to play lead over.  The problem (of course) is my chord transitions are soooo bad, there is little point in trying to record / loop them – particularly when there are already hundreds of good background loops available on YouTube.  Oh, well, another toy to play with…  Slowly, slowly.
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On This Day In:
2023	Musical Notes
	It Was A Very Good Year
2022	A Murmuring Note
2021	Satisfied If Not Fulfilled
	You Don’t Know (Whatcha Gonna Do)
	Urban Ballroom
2020	R.I.P. Kobe
2019	Looks A Lot Like #45
2018	Trying To Stay Young
2017	Seems Reasonable To Me
2016	We Can Get Through This Together (In Time)
2015	How Long Is A Piece Of String?
2014	Heathen, n.
2013	Wisdom’s Folly
2012	When The Student Is Ready
	Disconnected Leadership
2011	The Complex Richness Of Life

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Strumming And Changing Chords

Talent is a pursued interest.  Anything that you’re willing to practice, you can do.
—     Bob Ross
[Maybe Bob is right, but it sure would be nice if this effortless guitar playing came faster…   Good thing I’m one of those OCD folks who actually enjoys practicing without seeing much improvement.  LoL.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	You Choose To Be One
2022	Strumming And Changing Chords
2021	B U
	Blueprint Blue (Peg)
2019	I Struggle With One At A Time
2018	An Infectious Political Cancer
	Site Update / Poems Page Evolution
2017	Our Thirst
2016	History Favors The Victor
2015	This We’ll Leave Them
2014	Sounds Like Faux News To Me
2013	Reasons
2012	American Libertarianism
2011	The Goal

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Day 5: Getting Easier

The end of day five and the start of day six…  Two more days to complete the first week of blend fasting.
Morning weight:  364lbs.  (on Day 6)
I am down / down “1/9”.  As in, 1lbs down from yesterday and 9lbs down from my fasting start weight:  373lbs (morning of Day 1).
I feel like I’m starting to get my second wind.  I am feeling great in the mornings and try to do things and then get tired easily.  All of this is normal until the fat burning really kicks in.  I do feel like I’m already getting thinner and (like I said) feeling better / healthier.  Part of it is purely psychological as I can see the goal – of completing week one – now clearly in sight.  I will wait until I see how I feel on day seven to decide if I’m going to the modified alternate day fast (MADF) or if I stick to the juice blend for some additional time.  Last year, I did my week and then kept going for almost seven weeks (41 days).  I pretty much said:  “Let’s go for two weeks and then day to day.”  Which is what I ended up doing…
I was planning to go for a swim in the evening, but when we drove by around 6pm, the pool was still packed with families.  My local homeowners association has two BBQ’s a year:  one for Memorial Day and one for Labor Day.  The are used to mark the “official” open and closing of the pool season.  At the discretion of the association board the pool can be opened earlier and stay open longer.  Last year (2018), we opened at the start of May.  This year, almost at the start of April.  Last year, we closed after Halloween.  This year it looks like the end of September.  We are hoping to resurface the pool (after 20 years), and the Board wants the pool closed as soon as our permit clears to make sure we are able to open on time next year / season.
My point about the families being I don’t like to swim laps when it’s crowed because folks want to have fun with their kids and I’d be tying up a whole lane just for my laps.  So, no swim, but I did get in my 30 minute dog walk.  C’est la vie…
My hands, wrists, feet and ankles are consistently not bloated and my Blood Pressure is starting to consistently drop into the “good” range.  I had my first 118 / 81 in quite a while.  Not perfect, but much better than the 135+ / 85+ I’ve been registering lately.  When I’m getting 115 / 75 in my morning reading, I’ll be happy.  That’s a great number for any age, let alone 64, pushing 65 years old.  My average resting Heart Rate is now down in the 50 / 51 per minute range.  That’s down from the 55 / 65 is was for most of last month.  I’m not a fully convinced believer in the maximum heart beats in a lifetime theory, but it seems oddly consistent across species, and I think it deserves more research.  And, yes, I’m fairly OCD and measure my BP/HR two to three times a day.  I was doing it religiously for several years (and charting them over time).  I showed my Excel file and charts to my cardiologist and he said I need to chill out as this kind of compulsive behavior can result in increases to both BP and HR.  That was a couple of years ago, now.  I no longer chart the results and I mostly just do morning and before bed – and, maybe once or twice a week during the afternoon.
In some future post, I’ll try to explain what I mean by “eat less”, “move more” and “eat healthier”.  For now, I’ll just say “eat less” doesn’t necessarily mean eating fewer calories…  (more later!)
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On This Day In:
2022	True For All Arts
2021	Driving To Your Destiny
	Angels (Angel Of The Morning)
2020	It Almost Certainly Will If #45 Is Re-elected
	Sssshhhh (The Sound Of Silence)
2019	Deciding, Doing, Done
	Day 5: Getting Easier
2018	Thought Experiments
	Day 38: Going Crazy
2017	Which Did You Learn?
2016	Shape And Limit
2015	Me Either
2014	Just Business
2013	Beautiful Adventure
2012	Precedence
2011	Ya Think?

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Day 2: All Things Considered

The end of day two and the middle of day three…   End of week 1 already looks to be in sight!
Morning weight: 365lbs. (on Day 3)
I am down “6/8”.  As in, 6lbs down from yesterday and 8lbs down from my fasting start weight:  373lbs (morning of Day 1).  Obviously, a 6lbs weight loss in a single day and 8lbs over two days is not sustainable.  It was mostly stomach content (digesting solid foods) and some water weight.  Most adults hold between 7lbs and 15lbs of stomach content, so the first few days of any “cleansing” diet will be mostly the elimination of that content.  Most fruit juice and veggie juice diets tend to be “cleansing” diets by default.  So, the loss was expected and no big deal.  Losses of 1/2lb to 1-1/2 lbs per day tend to be more realistic (from my experience).  Managing the fasting to stay near the bottom end of that range (.5lb / day) is where the “art” of fasting comes into play.  Most of that “art” is listening to your body tell you what it wants / needs.
Yesterday I walked the dog (30 minutes) and went for a swim (60 minutes, Breast Stroke.  44 lengths X 25 yards == 1,100 yards.  18 laps == 1/2 mile. 1 lap == 2 lengths.)  The swim felt much more difficult than normal because I felt like I ran out of energy about 45 minutes through.  After that it (swimming) was just a gut check to finish the time.  Anyway, I got it done.
I was very tired for most of yesterday, but the flip side of that was I felt I got a good night’s sleep.  My FitBit (FB) doesn’t really agree with that assessment, but whatever.
I have a FitBit Blaze.  It’s my second FitBit.  The first was a hand-me-down belt attachment, which I only used for a couple of months.  I didn’t feel it was accurate and it was difficult to remember to keep moving it between clothes.  My latest (the Blaze) is a wrist-watch style and was a present from my daughter (Rebecca) for Christmas 2017.  So, I’m about halfway through my second year of wearing it.  I got it more as a Heart Rate (HR) tracker, but it is only of limited use in that regard.
My Blaze is VERY accurate on providing my current heart rate.  Since I suffer from Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), this is important for me to marry up with my sensations of palpitations.  This allows me to exercise cautiously.  The problem I have with the Blaze is it actually doesn’t record your heart rate by the minute.  I downloaded and reviewed my HR for the first couple of months and found the information was recorded at set intervals which have nothing to do with AFib or exercise.  I don’t remember (this was Jan / Feb of 2018) anymore what the interval (5m, 10m or 15m) was, but I remember being dissatisfied enough to stop downloading the tracking.  I don’t expect 60 second per minute tracking, but this seems to me to be periodic “snapshotting”, not tracking.  As a person who also suffers (a bit) from Obsessive / Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and from years of practicing “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”, you can kind of guess at my initial level of frustration.  LoL.
My second “issue” with the Blaze is that it doesn’t “stay” on what it’s set to do.  I swim.  The Blaze doesn’t “track” swimming.  This means I have to tell it I’m “working out” to get it to track my HR an calorie effort while swimming.  Fair enough.  The Blaze doesn’t support swimming and it says so in the documentation and on the company web site.  The site says the Blaze is “water resistant”, which means okay for heavy sweat and a quick shower, but not bathing or swimming.  In fact, over this last 20 months I’ve used it while swimming for over 150 hours and never had a single problem.  Well, almost none.  Remember the “staying” mentioned above?  Randomly, when water brushes against the Blaze it turns off or pauses the tracking.  The result is I am forced to pause between pool lengths to check if it is still tracking.  Yeah, that’s annoying.  I guess that’s what you have to live with to enjoy touchscreen activation.
This is my first wrist-based HR monitor and other than the two bits mentioned above I REALLY like my Blaze and I would definitely recommend anyone looking into buying a HR monitor consider FitBit’s line of products.  Having said that, I don’t think I will replace it when it finally dies.  One, the Blaze is no longer offered by FitBit.  Two, I feel their products are inordinately expensive.  The regular cost was $150.  My daughter got it as at a closeout price of $99.  Maybe it’s just the dinosaur in me, but I can’t see paying $100-$150 for a watch with a pedometer and a HR tracker – particularly if the tracker doesn’t really “track”.   In fairness to FitBit, their newer models DO “track” swimming as an exercise, but since I don’t own one of the newer models, I can’t speak to how they do it or how functional it is when doing the tracking.  But, if you are in the market for a good Heart Rate monitor, I guess you’ll get what you pay for.
Well, those are my thoughts about Day 2…  I hope I haven’t bored you all too much and you’ll come back for (and enjoy) some of these longer posts.
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On This Day In:
2022	…The More Things Stay The Same
2021	To Trust Providence
	Exactly (What’s Exactly The Matter With Me?)
2020	I Am Learning
	Plus Plus (Counting Your Blessings)
2019	Day 2: All Things Considered
	The Path To Reward
2018	Ryan, McConnell & The Republican Controlled Congress
	The Proud Dad
	Day 35: Five(5) Weeks Completed!
2017	Serving Is Proving Harder Than Winning For #DumbDonald
2016	Come Again…
2015	At Five
2014	Touching The Past
	The Supreme Question
2013	Children Will Judge
2012	Liar, n.
2011	Freedom To Doubt

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So Near And Yet So Far

Is this a metaphor for life?
At the end of March, my daughter gave me a puzzle for my birthday…  (see image below)  She knows:  I like puzzles;  I like trains.
So, after much diligent effort, I got it assembled!  (see image below)  Well, almost…  If you double click on the image to see the large version, you’ll notice one(1) piece is missing.
Now, because I am OCD, you have to understand, to solve a puzzle, I do the following:
1) separate out all the edge pieces;
2) assemble all the edge pieces;
3) if not complete, return to (1);
4) separate out and assemble (in order) all the pieces of the largest or most visually obvious items;  trains, tracks, bright leaves, bridge structures, the rest;
5) Hmmm…  separate train pieces – check.  Assemble train pieces – check.  Ooops!  Piece missing.  Back to 4)…
Now, understand.  1,000 pieces total.  Edges and corners:  approximately 100 pieces.  Two trains:  let’s be generous and say 300 pieces.  That leaves me 600 pieces to search through looking for one specific piece.  Okay…  We do it the old fashioned way:  pour them out and go through them one at a time.  Did I mention I’m kind of OCD?  No luck…  Search floor.  Search under couch and other near by furniture.  No joy…  Look at dog with accusatory glare.  She licks her lips nervously and slinks away.  Pour out pieces and try again.  No joy…  Pour out pieces and try again!
So, after three full piece searches (what I call “positive visual confirmation”) over two days (this is in my “spare” time), and did I mention about five(5) hours(!), still no joy.  I come to accept conclusion that either my wife or daughter are playing an evil trick on me (saving the final piece for themselves), or the piece was never in the box.  I ask casually and they both proclaim their innocence.  Ow, well…  Complete the puzzle anyway.  Maybe it will turn up…
Upon completion, my daughter comments that her friends have this happen to them frequently(!).  What????  Yes.  Several times her friends have bought puzzles and then had them miss a piece.
I am stunned, but unappeased.  I jump online and go to the web site (www.sunsout.com) for the manufacturer.  I email them with the information they request and ask for the piece.  I receive a response the next day.  (Great customer service!)  They respond they will send me a new puzzle in 2 to 3 weeks.  They include the message they are not able to send individual pieces and do not guarantee the puzzle will be from the same die-cut.
A little over a week later, I get my replacement puzzle.  (Again, great customer service!)  I tear it open and the pieces are shaped completely differently.  Arggghhh!!  I don’t even have to open the plastic see-through bag to tell the pieces are cut differently.
Now I have to consult with my wife.  Should I complete the replacement puzzle?  I have no guarantee this version won’t have the same issue:  missing piece(s).  Should I toss them both?  Should I search out the missing piece and its neighbors and then cut them to fit my puzzle?  Should I use a close up of the box cover to overlay the missing piece by getting a physical picture and backing it with cardboard?  She says email them back and request a different puzzle.  Then, if it’s missing a piece (too), at least you didn’t solve the same puzzle twice.
In the end, I trash the (almost) completed puzzle and put the unopened bag back into its box to re-gift to someone else…
Somewhere, deep inside…  a frustrated little OCD train loving child is crying.
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On This Day In:
2022	It Worked For Me
2021	It Doesn’t Stop
	I Feel Like I’m Winning
2020	#45: 14.81 Lies Per Day
2019	Less Miserable Now
	So Near And Yet So Far
2018	I Doubt #45 Is Listening?
2017	Life’s Oddity
2016	Just Asking…
2015	Two Thoughts On Thinking
2014	From The Top, Please…
2013	You Are The Stars
2012	Just One??
2011	Anything But

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