Cat, eh, Koi, eh, Angelfish feeder carries ABC luggage
Extreme to Severe Drought
Severe Drought to Moderate Drought
Moderate Drought to Abnormally Dry
Abnormally Dry to
It amazes me to see that when the rains (finally) arrived, it took only one season to reverse a drought that lasted for 8 years. And, I’ve seen this happen in multiple places at multiple times.
Nazy and I are, of course, preparing for our trip Down Under. Accordingly we are aware that the tropical fish must be fed while we are away — a situation that led to a couple of abortive attempts to solve the problem with flimsy and complex automatic fish feeders. Giving in, I decided to resolve the issue by following Nazy’s normal shopping procedure (find the most expensive option). I acquired an industrial-strength device promising fail-safe, robust, solid, resilient capability. And, when it arrived, I talked Nazy into helping with the setup. She was astonished:
“This, Dan, is an automatic feeder for cats.”
“Cats?” I replied, as I looked at the instructions. “Cats and other small animals.. as well as Koi in outdoor ponds,” I read.
“Well?” Nazy asked.
“No problem,” I replied smugly. “I’ve found the addendum that shows configuration instructions for aquarium operation.”
I also extracted a hand-written note that was critical of Amazon and a set of instructions written by a (seemingly) talented engineer who was devoid of knowledge or expertise in dealing with the written word — especially as it pertained to English. The addendum referenced subtle adjustments in random, never clearly identified, sections of the 24 page installation manual for rabbit feeding. Calling on my Georgia Tech engineering background, I assembled the feeder. The timing program was supported by a rotating analog device that I had last used to turn lights on an off before I met Nazy. In short: “This thing uses proven technology. It will not fail,” I explained to Nazy. I’m pleased to report that it is (still) working a week later. However, it sounds something like a cement mixer when it stumbles into action, but it will survive anything except an aquarium-breaking earthquake, in which case we will have more problems. I hope the noise doesn’t annoy the neighbors or ..
“You know, Nazy, perhaps the low frequency sounds of that feeder may adversely impact the seasonal whale migration along the coast.”
“Dan, that is..”
“Let’s not answer the door if someone with an animal rights hat..”
Young Arrow is completely enamored by the alphabet. He likes his ABC blocks, he arranges his ABC magnets on the refrigerator, he sits on my lap and pounds out ABCs on my computer. He watches ABCs on Sesame Street, he is thrilled by ‘the letter of the day’. He knows the ABCs in Spanish. He likes Baskin and Robbins ice cream because the shop wall is covered in ABCs. (He also likes rainbow sherbet with M&Ms) The lad is an abecedarian. The point was proved on a drive from school to our home…
“.. and that is Mommy’s office.” I said, pointing.
“Mommy is working.” Arrow replied.
“Really? What she do in that office?” I asked.
“Mommy plays ABCs with computer.”
“You’ve summed up 21st century work,” I thought.
As usual, Nazy is in complete charge of packing for our forthcoming holiday. She’s made a list (and checked it thrice). She’s considered logistics. She’s issued instructions…
“We have to go to Melika’s house. She is storing stuff for us in her attic.”
“Really?” I replied. “There’s no need. Our garage is clear. We have space. There is no need to use Melika’s attic.”
“Most of the stuff in Melika’s attic is Darius’.”
“So why..”
“…. but I want to use our red suitcases.”
“You gave those to Mitra.”
“Then we can use the blue suitcases.”
“You gave those to Darius.”
“Dan..”
“But we do have a set of black ones.”
“The handle is falling off…”
“I see an internet visit to Amazon in our future,” I replied. “I wonder if we can find some orange suitcases,” I thought, “It’s fun to see orange things dropped on the tarmac.”
In on-going preparations for our trip, Nazy and I have been walking along the Pacific Ocean — building leg muscles and meeting Fitbit goals.
Politically speaking, it was another great week for the family business that turned a PR stunt into executive suite occupancy — because of a constitutional flaw involving an electoral college, eh, kindergarden. To make it clear: I am against coddling dictators, there were not ‘good people on both sides’, I cannot support (and don’t see how anyone can support) separating children from their parents, I’m not afraid of immigrants, we used family reunification, called chain migration by cowering, fearful people, to get Nazy’s parents both residency and citizenship. The same thing was used to get my Mother’s Mother into the USA. People in New Jersey were not cheering when the twin towers came down, any fool can create an economic boom by pumping up the deficit, the planet is warming, pollution is not a good thing, there is no reason to return to coal-based electricity generation, the caravans are myths and the wall is a stupendously stupid idea. Truth depends on objective factual reality — it is not determined by the passion and emotion with which a position is articulated. It’s not a Witch Hunt and if they didn’t do anything wrong, then why are so many people lying about so much? Can someone tell me where to find a Republican member of Congress that is not a supine invertebrate?
On a happier note, we watched the local grandchildren while Tom and Melika celebrated her birthday in Ojai. Later that weekend, we drove down with the kids to see them. Somehow the boys found an ice cream shop — and even Azelle found the ice cream delightful. It was decidedly better, in her opinion, then the romaine lettuce she grabbed from my Caesar’s Salad.
More on our Australia trip in the coming weeks.
For last week's letter, please click here
(Almost) Everyone in Ojai