A visit to an old friend

 

Now back from my cruise, I couldn't wait to again present as Marian.  So, the first thing I did was to go into my closet and pick out a dress to wear.  And with one or two minor exceptions, I've been doing that for the past week.  So, it was only natural for me to get myself made up to go with RQS and visit Pat.

But first....

RQS needed to buy a new refrigerator. This was a perfect excuse to go across the river to both see Pat and to buy her refrigerator.  But one thing had to be considered: Both RQS and I like to get moving late in the day, and we didn't know whether Pat would be up to seeing us.  (We should also have considered the weather, as the weatherman predicted heavy rain for late in the day, and it came as scheduled.)

Around 4:00 pm, we left the apartment, and it was off to Rockland county to buy the refrigerator.  After a quick search, RQS found a cheap ice box to replace the decade+ old one in her kitchen.  (Her landlord refuses to replace the old one that is about to die, and she doesn't want to antagonize him - she has a below market rate apartment and wants to keep it.)  Within 15 minutes of entering the store, she had purchased a refrigerator to be delivered next week.

Before I go on too long, I must note one of the more annoying things about Pat.  She is often a leech.  When on a previous visit, we suggested taking her out for pizza, and she wangled us into taking her "boyfriend" along.  She noted that she has found a few friends to take her out into the neighborhood to go to places such as Starbucks.  We knew that she'd try to wangle us into taking her out to dinner, so we decided to first go to dinner before going to see Pat.

After "Having it our way" (you can guess what and where we ate), we met pat at her care home, and we took her out to Starbucks - just not the one she's accustomed to going.  Instead of the one less than a mile away from home, I figured that we'd take a little drive and go to one 15 minutes away.  This was a mistake, as Pat got into her routine of being a perpetual victim, blaming others for her misfortunes.  She was deathly afraid of the results of the recent presidential debate, and we couldn't distract her from this topic no matter how much we tried.  And then, when we wanted to talk about our recent Norway cruise (where we were awestruck by the scenery), she got on her high horse by inferring that the only good tourism is to get to know the people as if one were being invited into their homes. She was on her self righteous horse, and there was no way she could see that other people have different (and correct to them) perspectives on the world.  Neither of us could wait until the rain broke a bit to take her home.  And that's what we did when the rain eased off.

On our way home, RQS and I ruminated about our visit.  We both were depressed following our visit, knowing that Pat's attitude is why we don't visit more often.  Being an erratic emotional blood sucker makes a visit with Pat a 50/50 bet.  When she's "up", the visit is enjoyable.  When she's "down", the visit is unbearable.  No wonder why RQS and I rarely see Pat - we don't want to risk ruining days that often....

A Cat's Health and seeing my Brother

 

I used to own too many cats.  4 cats in a 1-Br apartment are too many.  But what about 2 cats in the same space?  What happens when one of those cats die, and the older cat isn't feeling well?  That is what RQS was dealing with today.

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RQS had to put a cat to sleep last week, and now she's worried about the surviving cat.  Although the cat is showing its age, its health is on the decline. And today, she decided to call the vet and take the soonest appointment she can get.  Hopefully, this cat can be treated with affordable medicine, and that it will be healthy until its eventual passing away.

After RQS took care of the Vet appointment, it was off to lunch before heading out to my brother.  Traffic was still snarled due to yesterday's subway maintenance work, but we were able to avoid the worst of it to get to a diner.  It's hard for me to believe that there is a diner with a parking lot in Glendale, just 500 feet away from my favorite German restaurant, Zum Stammtisch.  But there it was, a small place with an unlit sign and a parking lot just big enough for 7 cars.  So we stopped in to eat.  Yum!  We'll keep this place in mind for Sunday mornings and afternoons.

When I dropped RQS off, it was time to visit my brother.  I figured that he wanted to show me some work to be done for the house.  Instead, he gave me some of the money he owed me.  Now, I have some play money for my upcoming cruise and for further car maintenance.  And then, we were off to dinner at Benihana. As much as Hibachi can be a fun meal, this restaurant left a bit to be desired.  First, it was over priced. And then, the confusing orders given by one party of 8 regarding food allergies and food preferences caused problems with the cooking of the food, resulting in my brother and I getting our meal 10 minutes before the rest of the table received their meals.  At least, we were able to get back to my brother's place in time for me to take care of a GI Tract issue.

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I may have mentioned the Dunning-Kruger effect before.  But I am surprised to find out how little my sister in law understands about how our government works, and how she blames the federal government (i.e. the President) for the organized criminals wreaking havoc in stores in our nation's large cities.  It is not the federal government's responsibility to stop crime in these cities, it is the state and local governments that are responsible.  She thinks she knows much more than she does, and blames the Democrats at the federal level for the problem. What happened to teaching how our government is supposed to work in our schools? But then, she watches Fox "News".  Need I say more?

All too soon, it was time for me to leave my brother's place and go home for the night.  My brother and sister in law hate night time driving.  As for me, I find it restful, as there are few traffic jams at this time of night, and I can get home quicker than had I left a few hours earlier.

It feels like summer already, and that won't officially be here for two months.

 

It's April, and I've already have had to turn on my air conditioner twice. As I write this, it hit 90° today, and it will be the same tomorrow. Although this is only anecdotal evidence of global warning, I can't help but believe that global warming is real and taking place right now.

But why do I mention this?

I live in an apartment that gets very warm.  During the winter, I've often have had to open windows to make this place comfortable.  During the summer, the air conditioner is on 24x7.  And it's been this way since I bought this place.  As the nation shifts to greater use of electricity for cooking, heating, and transportation, I see major problems with the transformation to a future with reduced dependency on fossil fuels.

The first problem I see is the generation of enough electricity to meet increased demand.  We have seen the water level behind many dams used for energy generation at risk of being too low to generate clean electricity.  We have seen the decommissioning of nuclear plants that generate clean energy.  (I'm not going to get into the important negatives of this energy source here.)  We have seen communities resisting the development and use of wind power. And we have yet to see wide scale deployment of solar power grids. Where are we going to get the additional energy we need when we have barriers to the generation of clean energy?

Next, we have to deal with our electric grid.  Out west, California's electric company has to deal with obsolete transmission systems that puts the state at risk of major forest fires every year.  (Power lines, transformers, etc. are all above ground where they are at most risk of causing problems.  Yet, it is uneconomical to bury the system underground as it is done in the big city.)  Can any of the smaller grids handle the extra demand for electricity?  I'm very doubtful that we can upgrade these systems within 12 years as many in the "blue states" believe can be done.

Then, we have the problem of upgrading wiring in both commercial and residential properties.  For example, how many homes' fossil fuel heating and cooking systems can be converted to electric powered systems at a reasonable cost?  Who will pay for the transition?  And we haven't even started to talk about transportation related issues. There may be only 30 charging stations within a 15 minute drive of where I live.  But I figure that we have over 500 gas pumps (or more) within the same area.  I can not justify installing 120 individually metered charging stations in my apartment complex to allow overnight charging.  Can I justify buying an electric car if I can't charge it at home?  Not with today's technology.  I can fill up a car with gas in 5 minutes and get a 300 mile driving range.  But, with today's electric cars, I might get 150 miles with a 30 minute charge.  Our politicians are placing a big bet on having all the technologies and systems in place within 12 years to justify a mandated end to the use of fossil fuels.

Years ago, T. Boone Pickens proposed a transition strategy to move the United States from a fossil fuel economy to a green energy economy.  It was not pie in the sty dreaming.  It was a pragmatic strategy developed by an oil man to address the problems related with global warming.  We have not implemented a pragmatic plan.  Instead, we are letting our ideals get in the way of seeing reality.  

I know one thing.  Due to global warming and government policy, I expect that I will see even higher energy bills to keep this apartment livable in both summer and winter.  This may be the one thing that gets me to leave the Hudson Valley for more hospitable climes....