Hangin' with skeptics

I have been working on other things, but I do have a few more posts ready -- mostly photographs because I haven't been keeping the best written record. Sad, I know.
` In my last post, and in my next post after this, there's some nice photos from camping. In this post, I vaguely document my entry into the skeptical community -- that is, people who promote critical thinking and emphasize problem-solving as well as not being swindled.

July 19, 2011:

After a while of getting lost, I found the pub in which the skeptics are meeting. This week's guest is Ophelia Benson -- who has a website about various world issues, called Butterflies and Wheels.

I didn't pay much attention, mainly because I had ordered a delicious salad and it didn't come to the table. So, I was really hungry during her talk. Then again, she went on mostly about feminism (and of course someone else brought up Elevatorgate) more than anything, so for the most part I guess I didn't miss much.
` I also met some cool people, including Meg Winston, who was also a victim of abuse/brainwashing, and she says there's a kind of effective, evidence-based therapy that she's actually involved in assisting. Don't remember what it's called, though. I should ask her.

After the talk, I got a cool picture of train station clock tower.

In the following days, I got some other cool pictures, too. Here's the neighbors' roses:

It's amazing how well the flowers in our flowerbed look despite our not tending them much:

Vada seems to be a lot happier now that Rusty has stopped coming back to the house. My poor giant fluffy kitten! I wonder where he is?

July 21 or 22?

I'M TALKING TO EVAN BERNSTEIN OF SKEPTICS GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE ON SKYPE! W00T!!! I got a picture of Lucas getting in on the conversation.

I guess that's hard to see. Also, Evan looks kind of like Bruce Willis. Ha! I got another picture later, with the camera at the right angle to see my laptop screen.

Whatever did I do to earn this? Why, I only chatted with Evan on Facebook and have a hilarious sense of humor, which he likes a lot, and said he wanted help making a blog, which I helped him with indeed.
` He said, though, that he might not actually start a blog for a while because he's learning how to be an accountant, and accounting might take up a lot of his time. Exciting, I know.

Not too long after that night, Roommate Troy noticed that there was a leak coming from the water heater. I called Lucas about it and he freaked out and came home from work, saying that leaking water heaters can't be left unattended or they will flood your entire floor!
` So, off came the insulation and it turned out that this water heater was installed a month after I was born (May 1982!). That's a long-lived water heater, alright! I guess we got our money's worth.

Lucas hooked a hose up to its little spigot and slowly got the water drained out of it. Not only did I miss going to the gym at my regular Lull Time, but when I caught the next Lull Time, I also took a shower there because we don't have hot water.
` Unfortunately, all the gym showers in the womens' locker room have no COLD water! Lucas told me that I was wrong, because the men's showers have cold water, but I tested all the faucets and found that they have two settings; scalding and off.
` I also got a picture of the gym, along with the sign of the really crappy Tae Kwon Do place where everyone completely sucks and Lucas teaches us not to do the stupid things they do. The funny thing is, it's called Tae Kwon Do Way, and since 'Do' means 'Way', Lucas and I call these folks the 'Tae Kwon Do-Dos'!

Here's me the next day, missing my poor giant kitten Rusty:

I was also staring at the moon:

And poking Vada with a stick!

"Do not poke me!"

And I saw a NASA Plane!

Anyway, my next post will be of the Goat Lake Trail camping trip that Lucas and I did, complete with pictures of the really great scenery! To see just the photos, and a lot more photos, here's my July photos Flickr page!

Did I forget anything? Oh yes, the hot water heater. I found this guy from Ireland and England, on Crigslist, who had a big garage sale, and was selling stuff people gave him while remodeling their trailers, including a fairly new hot water heater, also an overhead fan, a garbage disposal, a toilet, and other things that we needed, including a scissoring lawnmower!
` Everything put together was only $100! How lucky was that! We just had to go there and get it! We got the hot water heater replaced within a few days (we needed some help for that), and now we're just waiting on getting the cash for help with getting the downstairs toilet uninstalled.
` I can't wait for that, considering that both my roommates have to share the same bathroom, and it's also right in front of my bedroom, and the fan is really loud, so it's waking me up all hours of the night.

Got to go -- am very busy all the time, but next post will be up soon!

Our unexpected campsite

Always in a game of catch-up with my photojournal...

July 17-18, 2011:

On Sunday, I was all ready to go camping, but Lucas wasn't feeling well. Still, I prodded him to, just to get out of the house and away from the humdrum everyday life.

Rusty sez: "Humdrum? I'm not humdrum!"

Lucas and I set out for Goat Lake Trail, although he wasn't feeling good at all, what with intestinal/ankle trouble. He got me to drive all the way up to Arlington before a woman at the Food Pavillion told us it was in Granite Falls.
` At about this time, I got a call from Anthony. Turns out, HE had just tried to call Lucas' phone, and it was at the Safeway we had just stopped at!
` It was a good thing, because Lucas had thought he'd left it at home!
` As the Safeway was along the way back, we went back there and then continued to the Mountain Loop Highway. Lucas begged me to take him back home, so we wound up compromising and just stopping at a car campsite. Boring!
` But, as it required no walking, and it had a regular bathroom, yet was far away from our house, I thought it was a good place to stop. So, in lieu of hiking, I put my boots on and then jogged around the place for a little while.

Our campsite was next to this river:

As usual, Wonkyfoot has followed me:

The trees around there were all so covered in moss:

Home is where you hang your sleeping bag:

The sun has finally come out!

This picture is up the river:

Another one several minutes later:

We only had enough wood for one small campfire, so we saved it for morning. In the meantime, we had an interesting night light:

By nightfall there was, as usual, Wonkyfoot-associated UFO activity. Yawn.

The river the next morning:

Evidently, there was some sort of scuffle during the night:

Lovely morning:

The river again:

The shiny water:

Me on a big rock:

Looking up the river again:

Looking back toward the shore:

The trees:

Our tent:

It's not very far from our car!

Trees, trees, everywhere!

More trees:

Bye, river!

Back to my plane-makin' civilization:

And when we got home... no comment, LOL!

It was not long until we realized that Rusty had been missing since the night before, and I got worried about him. Even so, I stopped to pick the raspberries.

Here's the large variety:

Have some, Vada!

Come on, now! Let's go find Rusty!

But then, some barking poodles scared her away, all the way from up here!

Then, hours later, who should show up at the door? Rusty! He gave a meow and did a little dance, jumping by lifting his paws off the ground one at a time. Very strange! Wherever he's been, he's glad to be back!
` Then he went to join Vada in staring down our neighbor's cat Mr Yoboshi:

He doesn't know why she stares at him with such hostility, as you can probably tell.

She must have the loudest stare of any cat I know!

Boring!

Rusty was like, "Hey!! But I like him!"

After this, however, Rusty disappeared again and hasn't come back. I suspect that Vada has chased him off, perhaps with that very stare!
` Poor Rusty. I love the fuzzball. And his piles of debris.

Also, I realize this post has very little substance -- I mostly just crammed in as many photos as probably would not crash the average browser. For the rest of my July photos, click here!

There'll be a lot more next time!

July fireworks and other cool photos!

Catching up with my photo journaly-life. Poor Rusty is still gone. I miss the poor baby! Myerrrr!

I suspect Vada had something to do with it. Just look at her expression when she's around my precious Giant Kitten!

I don't have any text entries just yet, but there are some stunning photos. For example, this is a view from one of my neighbor's yards:

A little farther back...

Sunset through our window:

July 3, 2011:

I hate being sick, and have even gone back to being unable to get out of bed for a while. In other news, at the job I just had to quit, there's been a new Joel, bigger than the former Joel, but not fatter, and considerably darker -- asphalt-like instead of pasty.
` He's a really good canvasser, except now he's been accidentally fired and re-hired through a series of coincidences, which I may not be able to explain clearly.

Try to bear with me: It looked like his fiance had signed up from him, but it was actually because Miguel had signed her the day before Joel had gotten hired, and she'd forgotten to cancel.
` Lucas thought he would have to fire Miguel, but it turns out that even though Miguel had since been to her house, he didn't recognize her from when he'd signed her up, that's why he didn't know about it, and OMG it's so confusing! I'm'a throw up!
` Or is that the vodka?

This is just the weirdest story of the past few weeks that I can think of. There are other, similar things that have been going on, but I don't remember because I've been extremely sick and on some days, bedridden. Now it seems I'm slowly recovering.

BEE! In male kiwi blossom:

I went to the bank and then Value Village yesterday morning and got some shorts for Lucas and a toaster... and got pulled over on the way back for having tabs 2 days expired.
` I went home and purchased them, having just deposited a bunch of money in the account, but won't have a chance to pick them up until Tuesday because Fireworks Crazy Day is on Monday.

I need something to counteract this impaired state of mind. And I hear meat-pounding. For barbecue, that is, LOL! I sure would like to help Lucas with his meat-pounding. Sigh. But Bob is also here -- he supplied the meat!

Our garden supplied the veggies!

It's after dinner -- THIS! (That's Bob's crotch, BTW.)

And now, they're blues jammin'. Here's the moon at this time:

Also, just over to my right was some Pre-Crazy Day fireworks:

July 4, 2011:

Fireworks Crazy Day, down by the ferry terminal!

Lucas and I started out sitting by the floaty dock, which was bucking on the waves, and people were having fun riding it. Whee!

Most of the fireworks are hard to see in my pictures unless you look at the original version on my Flickr site, but here's a flare that's easy to see at blogging scale:

Also, you can see some larger fireworks on the land here:

I zoomed in on them:

It was around that time that the park ranger kicked us out, so we stopped by Ivar's checked out the fireworks from there, and went back up the hill. Oddly, we could hear them on our way up the hill, but not at our house.

I don't have any more text entries until July 17th, when I went camping, but I do have PLENTY MOAR PICTUREZ!

Male kiwi blossoms:

Neighbors' cat Mr. Yoboshi:

Vada, attacking the fierce grass:

Here she is near the RoofGarden, saying, "Where won't hoomans bring their leaf blowers?"

Rusty playing with me, on a chair:

All stretched out!

Crow chasing a golden eagle:

Get out, vile raptor!

Female kiwi blossoms:

Have you noticed? Rusty just loves to bend over backwards:

The Abraham Lincoln passing through our neighborhood:



An extremely low-light photo of Rusty on the RoofGarden with the moon in the background:

It was so dark I actually used my flash for once. Does that look better, or worse?

Best giant kitten ever!

The plum tree: Rusty's secret ladder to the RoofGarden!

My hand is so tasty!

Not that I didn't get any pictures of Vada during this time -- it's just that Rusty is cuter! Here he's drinking out of the gutter:

Vada on the fence and Rusty on the roof:

Rusty says, "Let's play!" and jumps onto the fence:

Vada says, "NO!"

Vada escapes from Rusty:

Can I watch sunset with you, Vada?

Rusty about to pounce on Vada:

Where did she go? (Her ear is visible...)

"O hai, Vada! Wat you doin' up here?"

Vada gets ready to push Rusty off:

"Why she do dat to me?"

Vada sez: "Rusty, you fail!"

These RoofCat pictures took place just before my camping trip -- that will be in the next post!

To see moar of these photos, ones I didn't have room for, go here! It's neat-o.