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Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Things which are Needful

  • New Glasses
The right lens dropped out of my glasses repeatedly over the past two days.  I've just done a partial reassembly and re-wrapped the wire as tight as it will go.  That should cut down on lens drops, but it's still long passed time that I got an eye exam and new glasses based on the updated prescription.

These aren't even my most recent glasses.  They're the emergency back up glasses that I had to switch to when my normal glasses fell into a Massachusetts toilet years ago.  The glasses were eventually re-discovered after years of being in the toilet, but I never got a chance to gaze upon the filthy monstrosity they had become.

Kind of disappointed at not being able to see the wreckage that once was my glasses because talking about things ravaged beyond repair has worked well for me in the past.

Anyway: Eye Exam; Glasses.  These things cost money.
  • Cordless phone
I have two phones.  The cordless one has a battery that can barely hold a charge.  I have free range, but not necessarily full conversations.

If I unplug that I can plug in a corded phone which keeps me on a short leash and I basically end up stuck in a doorway in a place cool air cannot reach.

The good news: I think I'll be able to get a used one that isn't quite so bad for free.
  • Potting soil
The life expectancy of my plants changes with my moods.  I had a lot of depressed time since I took pictures.  Almost, but not quite, every single plant pictured here has died.  That makes me sad.

That's just a question of keeping them watered, though.  However I have other plants as well.  Ones in soil.  Ones that need to be re-potted, ones that could survive if they had soil.  So on, so forth.
  • Energy
No idea where the fuck you get that, but I have so many plans, and so little ability to do even the smallest follow-through.
  • Chemical weapons for use in my war against the fleas
The fleas seemed to have gained an immunity to the flea-stuff I was putting on the cat.  That's bad.  I managed to get different flea stuff.  That's good.  The fleas rule the floor and the cat won't go near it, and we're back to the bad.

What this means is that to make a dent in the flea legions sent forth by the flea confederacy ensconced in blood-sucker central I need to take the fight to them.  Bombing the house doesn't work and is an incredible hassel.

Getting "Don't inhale lest you die" stuff sprayed on the floor, on the other hand, is a proven method of beating back the flea hordes.
  • Always money.
The SSA seems to have ignored the information that I've sent them about my (lack of) significant income.  I'm going to have to get said information from my bank again, send it in again, and hope that they alter my SSI.

If they don't then every month I'll continue to fall further behind.  This makes the future a string of unending catastrophes with the only variation being how bad it is this time.

It is my hope that this time they'll listen, because then it's just a question of paying off the (considerable) debt I've accrued in this time of hardship.
  • Sandals
I don't know exactly how to describe them, they're not Teva-type but they are serious about having your foot solidly strapped in with strap across the heel to make sure they don't come off unless you really want them to.

They have served me well, but the foot-meeting part of the sole is starting to deteriorate and I don't know how long before that spreads to structural collapse.

In part this is because my experience has generally been that structural collapse comes well before the sole deteriorates.
  • All purpose shoes
The type of shoe I usually go for is one that is rugged but not specialized.  Something I can wear to walk four hours a day three days a week for two semesters worth of weeks in a year, but also can wear climbing a mountain, or running for my life from zombies while trapped in 2052, or something like that.

Traditionally this has meant these nice looking dark brown shoes from LL Bean that occupied a slot somewhere between a hiking shoe and a boot of some kind, but the fuckers stopped carrying them so now I have these sort of mutant sneaker things.  They're getting old.

Not sure how I'll replace them, it's not like I have the money for good shoes.
  • Insoles
My feet do not fit shoes.  Part of this is that they're not a standard size (an ordinary shoe that is wide enough is too long, an ordinary shoe that is the right length crushes my foot sideways), part of it is that the arch of my foot results in . . . people who specialize in feet call other people over so they can look, together, at the way my foot goes from arched to flat while standing and marvel at the "huge pronation."

Part of it is that if my heel isn't elevated the back of the shoe will bite into the back of my ankle and any extended walking will prove that "Bite" was indeed the right word to use there.

Thus, insoles.
  • An LED bulb
Exactly what it says.  One CFL in particular desperately needs to be changed to something else and incandescent would be a step back.
  • Doubtless many more things that I'm not thinking about at the moment.
- - -

I'll see if I can get a more interesting post up today, since this probably isn't of interest.

1 comment:

  1. What have you been using on the fleas, and have considered insect growth regulators? Those work by disrupting flea larval development and is thus useful for breaking the reproductive cycle, but you still need something to take out the adults. Of course, that might be the stuff you're putting on the cat since I believe that both Advantage and Revolution include the stuff along with some kind of adulticide.

    I can suggest some mechanical interventions. 1) A good vacuum cleaner, with a bag. You don't want one of the bagless jobs because you're going to fill it with fleas and their various immature phases, notably the eggs. You need to be able to empty the vacuum with a minimum of fuss and not worry about the little buggers escaping, hence bags. You will need a lot of bags because you aren't going to use them more than once and you're going have to put them in a can outside as soon as you're done vacuuming.

    2) Diatomaceous earth. This needs to be food grade because the stuff for pools is not safe to inhale. This works by abrading the insect's exoskeletons so they dry out, and it also screws up their joints something fierce. It's harmless to mammals, so you can dust the cat's and your bedding among other things. I've been known to use it on my clothing, underwear especially. You can get it on Amazon, if you can't find it locally.

    Hope these ideas help.

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