Posted inEntertainment Home life

Our new LG TV has artificial intelligence. But I hold the remote.

Jim Ramsey, a long-time friend, deserves a commission from Salem's Video Only store.  When I told Jim that I'd just bought the newly released Apple TV device that streams Netflix, Amazon Prime, and a whole lot more in 4K, he said, "But now you need a 4K television." Well, damn. I hadn't thought of that.  We had a Samsung television that was working fine, though it had started to seem a bit dated. But until we ditched our crappy CenturyLink DSL, the only so-called "broadband" option out here in rural south Salem, for the hugely faster Starlink satellite internet (thank…
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Posted inCoronavirus Tai Chi

Maskless indoor Tai Chi class today after long Covid layoff

Last week Warren Allen, my Tai Chi instructor, said that today he was going to start having indoor classes again at his Pacific Martial Arts studio on Court Street in downtown Salem. I was worried, happy, reluctant, and eager. Which is fitting I guess, since Tai Chi is all about blending yin and yang in a harmonious combination of seeming opposites.  My feelings were natural given how long it had been since I'd been maskless indoors with people other than my wife. About fifteen months, I guess.  A Voice of America story, "Many Americans Anxious About Returning to 'Normal' After…
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Posted inHome life

DirecTV wireless setup on Genie DVR overly confusing

It's been a while since I've bashed AT&T's DirecTV. This doesn't mean that I like the crappy satellite television service any more than I did before, just that nothing additional that I detest about DirecTV has come to mind. My previous frustrations still hold true. Local channels disappear regularly. The user interface sucks. DirecTV still doesn't carry the PAC-12 Networks.  Today I was able to add a fresh irritation: how astoundingly difficult it was to get back the internet connection on our Genie HR44 receiver.  I don't even know why we need an internet connection, since so far as I…
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Posted inCoronavirus

To mask or not to mask is a big Salem question

We're in an awkward stage of the Covid pandemic. Things are getting better fast, yet Covid cases, deaths, and hospitalizations are still quite high in Oregon.  This is part of the Oregon Health Authority report that was emailed to me today. Oregon Health Authority’s  COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, shows decreases in daily cases and increases in hospitalizations and deaths from the previous week.  -- OHA reported 4,108 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, May 10, through Sunday, May 16. That represents a 16% decrease from the previous week.  -- New COVID-19 related hospitalizations rose to…
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Posted inGrowing older Home life

Memo to future self: Why our ten acres captures me

I'm 72. For thirty-one years, since 1990, my wife and I have lived on ten non-easy-care acres in rural south Salem, Oregon. Well, for the first few years we had five acres. But when the lot next to us became available, we bought it -- not wanting to run the risk of someone cutting down beautiful large firs and building a house there. I've been the one in our marriage who has been more eager to move to a house in town as we've gotten older and our property feels increasingly like a pain to maintain. However... that one word…
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Posted inCoronavirus Salem

No mask, no problem — only if you’re vaccinated

Obviously there's a lot to like in today's CDC guidance that fully vaccinated people don't have to wear a mask or socially distance both indoors and outdoors, with some exceptions. We're tired of Covid restrictions. We want life to get back to normal. We're weary of being afraid of coming down with COVID-19 just because of breathing some infected air. Governor Kate Brown wasted no time in saying that Oregon will follow the CDC recommendations.  Today the CDC issued new guidance for lifting mask and social distancing requirements for fully-vaccinated individuals. It is yet another sign that, if we all…
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Posted inBooks Family

My mother lives on in the back of my books

OK, let me make this clear right off the bat. Notwithstanding the title of this blog post, I don't believe my mother exists as an ethereal presence in my books -- even though she also was a huge book lover, so if she had a choice of an afterlife, this notion would have appealed to her. My mother has been dead and gone since 1985. However, in a very real sense she does indeed live on in the back of my books. I'll explain. Carolyn Lewis Hines My mother was fond of writing notes in the back of books. After…
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Posted inHealth Home life

My robotic hernia surgery goes well. Behold one incision.

At the age of 72, I'm no longer an adult surgery virgin.  Up until today my only surgery was a tonsillectomy that was so long ago, I had to say "I don't know" when asked about the date of previous surgeries. Probably I was four or five. All I remember about it was ether being poured on some sort of cloth, then put over my nose and mouth.  But now I have a blog! (three, in fact) So I can go beyond the usual verbal "let me tell you about my surgery" -- a sure-fire conversation stopper, especially if an…
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