How is your day Today? Chat about your plans and achievements 2025....

Just another morning walk admiring the mountains and breathing fresh air. Top right: it looks like a hippie guy is camping here.

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Mt. Wilson on the left, 60 miles away, with an observatory and TV towers above Pasadena; Los Angeles lies further to the left.
5 year old Heidi is sitting, while 13 months old Rex is protecting her. Both are sweethearts who are spoiling (licking/washing) me.

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Puppy Rex is digging out a gopher ... To cheer me up, my wife bought my favorite Blueberry Sour Cream Pie, and I gained a pound.

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Met with surgeon today. I have a bunch of gallstones, and wanted to know whether I should get my gallbladder removed.

She said no, because no symptoms. I brought up the pancreas problems that gallstones that are otherwise lazy can cause. She said that is very rare, but if I have any of the symptoms which happen when a gallbladder needs to come out, to let her know ASAP - before the symptoms worsen.

I see her again in 6 months. She is the nicest surgeon I have ever met. Actually, she may be the only nice, friendly, and warm surgeon I've ever met!

Nope, my perinatologists (high risk Ob/Gyn) were great. I was the problem - can't you push the baby back in? They won't be born for another month. (Answer: NO). I can't give birth today, I don't know how and I haven't had Lamaze classes, so just push it back in. (Answer: none... they quit responding to me, can you believe it?)

Talked to my daughter. I really don't think that France has much in common with the US, based on what she says. She was beside herself with laughter over what a ruckus I would cause if I went over there.

Now I'm thinking it would be a fun experiment to move there for however long, and just be myself, like I do here. Let's say that the French people are taken aback, but since I am dealing with the same neighborhood all the time, they get used to me. And now that we are a friendly and established group we get together to do some good thing. Then I'd write a novel about it. Trouble is, I do not speak French. I'm currently learning German because I have to go there and set up the citizenship I'm entitled to.
 
Mid day Wednesday October 29, 2025 and am I glad the hated Daylight Savings Time will change this Sunday back to Standard Time that is based on sane, balanced astronomical, sun time. So we will soon be waking up at 6am+, not 7am+. Last few weeks have been rather busy with photography. Currently am about half complete manually HTML coding those changes for my website.

Enjoyed last Saturday at a mall with a huge FANCOM event with anime stuff that had many people wearing elaborate, artful Halloween customs. Then enjoyed Monday evening at a rowdy club with a live Dead jam band and much freestyle dancing. Now somewhat recovered, on Halloween Friday ought be ready, so plan to go to the same club that has a long list of live bands from 3pm to midnight plus crazy Halloween stuff. (But no costume for mr dave, as he is already scary as is, haha)
 
I hope Rex doesn't fart.

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Mom, what's cooking? Because my wife's pantry is overflowing, I keep some "delecacies" in my own walk-in closet.
In case of the exspected 8 point earthquake, we have more canned supplies in the shed.

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My experience with dental insurances.

For almost 50 years, I was covered by Delta Dental PPO: www1.deltadentalins.com (for California.) Since my retirement from work in 2007, my wife’s employer covered dental insurance for both of us for about $1,600 a year.

Just one example: a Porcelain/Ceramic Crown for my tooth #24 last December:
The dentist billed Delta $2,366
Delta approved $976 which the dentist accepted, and for which I had a co-pay of $195 (20%.)

Since my wife retired from work last summer, we had to switch to Medicare. It pays for my Kaiser Permanente healthcare; and on its own, kp.org includes a DeltaCare discount dental plan for free: www1.deltadentalins.com/kaiser-ca.

Last year I had a $195 co-pay for a crown, but now my dentist wants a $920 co-payment. Ouch. I may drive 2 hours to Tijuana/Mexico where I have to pay only a fraction of it (unless things have changed.) Their dentists are as good as ours although their offices are certainly not as lavishly decorated as ours.

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I communicate with my Kaiser PCP much more by email than by telephone, video, or office visit. For example:

Dear Dr. [skip]

It bothers me that my blood oxygen level is a shaky 95. -- Background:

My wife and I sleep in different rooms because my wife cannot take my snoring.

Well over ten years ago, I had an overnight sleep study at Kaiser. I was told I could benefit from using a cpap machine, but not required.

What Happens When Oxygen Drops Too Low? gives reasons for hypoxemia. The only reason it could affect me is sleep apnea.

Would you recommend that I check for sleep apnea at home with an appropriate machine? It could be the reason for my low blood oxygen.

Thank you,

[yes, I have a dangerous obstructive sleep apnea and am waiting now for a gadget to use at night. It could save my life.]

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@WheatenLover says, “I'm currently learning German.” My response, “Wir koennen uns private auch gern auf deutsch unterhalten.”
 
Up way to early, perhaps the sign of a cold coming on. Did some things around the house waiting for it to warm up a bit so I could ride a motorcycle. Getting ready was a chore, just a bit disorganized after leaving the bikes virtually untouched for 6 weeks, got mostly dressed and tried to turn the airbag vest on and the battery was dead. All the issues combined was a sign not to ride so I didn't.

Eventually I got my chit together around 3pm as it hit 50°F and went out on the 900. Had a 90 min round trip ride up 'narth to shake off the rust. Got up to the Boulder Mtns before it got too shady on the road and my fear of ice and animals moving in the shadows had me turned around quickly.

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Yesterday I drove out looking for pheasants and quail but was not successful in finding a route through a wilderness study area to the back side of the corn fields where the pheasants live. Of course @Pepper was top of mind being in the lava flows from COM. The road meanders around and up over lava flows. Sometimes the flow is the road:

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I did find some Hungarian Partridge, a non-native game bird, however. I didn't want to get distracted w them so I kept on. Eventually btwn the quality of the road and being uncertain of the legality of driving in the wilderness study area so I gave up before reaching the promised land:

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Neat old lava stone house, which was a common building material back in the day. The houses are surprisingly comfortable year round through brutal cold and wind to desert heat in the summer.

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It's not every day one finds themselves on The Burmah Road. Typically the stop sign has been shot w bird shot at least once. One has to wonder about their upbringing and their aim. Hunters like the one(s) that shot that sign have made it very difficult to get permission to hunt private ground, because their disrespect treatment of other's people's land and property.

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I did see a couple Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels, but no big game.
 

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