Update on Mom 12/23/2020

My 90 year old mom has been staying with me for the last few weeks as she is unable to live alone anymore. She was doing quite well last week but this week she has slipped into a situation where she can’t even stand up and support her own weight anymore. When you get to that point, going to the bathroom becomes a major ordeal.

I don’t know what is causing her sudden loss of strength. She seems fine otherwise. She pretty much sleeps all day and calls me to take her to pee every single hour. Sleeping is difficult enough for me without being interrupted every hour. Still, the alternative so far is going into a nursing home which costs $3,500 a month and is NOT, for some reason, covered by medicare. It’s all out of pocket. Anyone else think there’s something wrong with that?

She’s not hungry so she doesn’t eat anything except some candy. She drinks a lot hence all the bathroom trips. She was diagnosed with kidney failure but her kidneys seem to be perfectly functional to me. Her arms and legs were all swollen at first but a diuretic seems to have gotten rid of that. She looks fine but seems to be fading away. I hope that is the case and we are not in for long-term immobility. For her sake, I only hope her suffering ends soon and quickly. Nobody wants to live like that. She is ready to go.

At the same time, my cat is soon to die from cancer. How is it that I can take my cat to the vet for euthanasia but human beings can’t end their own suffering and go out with some dignity. Anyone see something with with that too?

I’m going to need a whole lot of therapy when this is over.

Converting my garden into a naked volleyball court

My attempt at gardening here in Central Texas has been an unpleasant flop. Due to virtually NO rain all last year and myself not wanting to go out and water EVERY day has turned me against standard gardening. It’s FAR easier to just go buy it at the store.

I’m not giving up completely, I plan to convert to a smaller garden patch closer to the house and will also attempt hydroponic gardening. One day. It’s hard to get motivated to do all that work lately.

I was looking at my dried out garden patch the other day and remembered my volleyball net that has been sitting in storage for 20 years because I have nobody to play with. It would work perfectly on this VB court sized garden patch. I cleared it out with the disk harrow on my tractor for the garden so I’ll just smooth out the rows and put the net across the middle. Done and done.

Me at Star Ranch

Sand would be nice but when you can only play one-man-naked-volleyball, it’s not really worth spending a lot of money on sand. Nobody will see it except me unless you want to come play.

It’s still a nice opportunity to get naked and frolic in the sun for a bit while getting a little exercise in.

What do you think?

Generator Test – Be Prepared!

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A month or so ago, I installed a 240V generator input socket on my breaker box but haven’t gotten around to testing it yet. As news of Russian hackers hits the media, it would be wise to be prepared in case hackers manage to shut down our electrical grid. It seems unlikely but in today’s unprecedented times, it might be wise to be prepared just in case.

I pulled my 4000W generator out of the storage building and parked it near my breaker box. I had installed the power input socket directly into the side of the breaker box as shown in the picture above. The four wires L1,L2,N and Ground are wired in through a two-pole 30 amp breaker. I first turned off the Main Breaker which isolates the house from the grid. I turned off all 240v circuit breakers.

I started up the generator and let it warm up while I connected the 30 foot 30amp cable first to the generator then to the power inlet socket. I flipped the power inlet breaker. Nothing happened. Good!!

Time for throttle up!! I flipped the breaker that feeds the subpanel in the house. I heard the generator speed dip a little then settle down. Good!! I walked into the house and saw the lights were on! YAY! I tested multiple circuits around the house and everything operated properly. TEST SUCCESSFUL!

I’m ready for the Russian hackers, EMP or Solar Flare. I’ll just need to make sure I keep a good amount of gasoline on hand. My future plan is to build a 2000 watt portable solar generator which will always be available and will not need any fuel. Perhaps sometime next year. For now, I’ll use what I already have.

Electricians may be screaming right now that I don’t have an interlock kit installed. You are correct to be concerned. I’ve decided not to use one since I am of intelligent mind and know how to properly operate the system. If it was to be operated by a regular person then I would HIGHLY recommend that you install one.

Are you prepared? Why not?

Empty House

During the last week I had my 90 year old mom staying at my house. She can no longer live alone so we are alternating weekly between my house and my sister’s house for the foreseeable future.

It was kind of nice having her here with me even though it was a bit of a cramp on my style. She mostly sleeps during the day so I get on with my own stuff. I just can’t run around naked which isn’t as much fun in the winter anyway so not a big deal.

Today, after a week, I dropped her off at my sister’s house. Now my house seems empty without her. It’s just a matter of time before I feel normal again being alone. It’s good to be 100% free again though. At least for a week. It’s good for all of us to have some time with and without her. She’s a good person. Good thing I’m a mensch.

Dear Santa,

I’ve been a very good boy this year.

I really don’t need any physical items. I only ask for a few basic things that maybe you can pass along to whomever is in charge of them.

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1. I would like a friend. Been wanting one of those for 50 years now. Please hurry. My time is getting short.
2. I would like it to snow this winter.
3. I would like it to rain often next summer. (2021)
4. I would like the pandemic to be over.

I know you can’t deliver any of the above items. Maybe you know someone who can help me out a little. I’m so tired of doing without a friend, snow and rain. It amazes me that other people have these basic things in abundance while am forced to live in a lonely, desert. Surely there is something you can do. I don’t know who else to turn to. Help me Santa. You’re my only hope.

Update on Mom 12/1/2020

My 90 year old mom has been staying with my brother and his wife for the last two or three weeks. Her health has been improving since they are both nurses and know what to do. Today my brother called me feeling a bit frustrated. It seems the time together is wearing on them all and is to be expected.

On top of that, she has been dealing with a bedsore on her tailbone area that seems to be getting worse considering she doesn’t move hardly at all during the day except to go to the bathroom. She sits in a recliner day and night.

I’m going to visit tomorrow and stay a night or two to see if I can help out and give them a break. I’m sure they already have but I’ll try to explain to her about the bedsore and how serious they can become. She’ll need to try to lay on her side for a lot of her time to allow it to heal. She really likes her chair and nothing else is really comfortable for her. I hope she will be open to working on it. She usually understands but being uncomfortable always sucks.

Her kidneys have been functioning well enough that her hospice may continue on for months where we expected only a few weeks. That is bad for everyone. She was ready for the end and now is frustrated because it is dragging out for way too long. We are in for some unpleasant time coming up unless the end comes quickly.

There needs to be an option for self-euthanasia for people who are ready go do and are doing nothing but suffering. We do it for animals to end their suffering so why do we not have this option for humans who suffer far more than animals do. I’m sure mom would opt for that and I know I would if I was in her place. There’s a time to live and a time to die. Let’s not prolong the inevitable for those who are suffering.

How to fix the educational system

We all know that the educational system of today is broken. Children are not learning what they need. The cost of education (taxes) is outrageously high, yet the schools have no money. Teachers are numerous and poorly paid. New, expensive, schools are being built all the time to keep up with the influx of children. It’s an old-fashioned system that doesn’t work anymore in today’s society. Time to let it go and move on.

The fix is obvious yet overlooked. Let me lay it out for those of you who can’t see it. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Teachers are unnecessary. With the exception of History, all the subjects remain the same with little updating over time. Math, Reading, Writing, Science. All the same. Millions of teachers can be replaced by a single teacher who makes a video lesson. Everyone watches the same lesson. They all learn the same thing. Easy and inexpensive. These lessons can be transmitted by Educational TV channels or on-demand on the internet so children can learn at their own pace. Having a million teachers all doing the same thing over and over is inefficient. The whole expensive educational system can be replaced by a collection of videos and online tests. Sure there will be cheating but the only one who gets hurt is the cheater. Let them cheat. We will always need people to flip burgers and do manual labor. It all works out.
   
2. Physical school buildings will no longer be necessary. Since children will learn at home, there is no need for them to go anywhere. This will save so much time and gasoline as well as solve the traffic problem plaguing most cities. “But my children will be at home all the time. How am I supposed to go to work?” Well, school is not daycare. One parent should stay home and nurture the children. This will also solve the problem of improperly parented kids. If you want to work then you shouldn’t have children. Having children is a privilege, not a right. Also, children can stay home by themselves after reaching a certain age.
   
3. Since there are no physical schools and no teachers, we will not be stuck teaching to a test which is all about school funding and not education anyway. Children will learn proper lessons and be ready for their long, long lives of labor.

So there you go. I give this idea freely to the world in order to make it a better place. You may thank me by naming it after me or something.

You’re welcome.