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 A blog of no uncertain musings. What goes on in my mind is often a source of wonder to me. |
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My mind and my life are wondrous things ... as are yours, I'm sure. I have more slips of paper and pages of notebooks with musings and thoughts than I really know what to do with. Someone, actually several someones, have suggested I start a blog ... or a journal as a means of focusing some of this mental energy. To be honest, I don't even know what the difference between a 'journal' and 'blog' is--or if there even is a difference. Read on, my friends, and you can judge for yourself whether it even matters. And so ....  I'm JACE. Yep ... that's me! And somewhere in all my writings my last name may be posted. But I'll just leave it at Jace for right now. I'm 71 years old and heading full tilt to 72. It's strange that while I'm going through some rather serious medical issues, I still consider myself to be in the prime of my life--pretty good shape physically AND mentally, though I don't run for competition anymore  . I love to ... dang, if I put this stuff here, I won't have anything for my blog.Guess you just have to be patient until such stuff leaks out.  Perhaps 2025, having embraced my retirement, will see more participation in my journaling efforts. Well, one can hope.... |
| Today, I'm just not feeling it. It's that feeling you don't want to do anything. I'm not sure from where such feelings spring. We're no longer snowed in, so I can get out. I have plenty of topics to work on. And I'm not sick ... in the traditional sense. Just writing these few words is a chore. I keep putting off getting my "Dear Me" letter typed in. Perhaps it's just procrastination taking over. |
| I'm actually proud of myself (as I write this yawning). I woke up at 2:22 am with some thoughts rumbling in my head. I got up (quietly), went to my office and wrote down those thoughts as they came to me. I didn't edit; I just wrote as fast as I could. I haven't read the several pages I filled and I hope I can read my scribbling. I used abbreviations rather liberally so my pen could keep up with my mind. I hope they are apparent to me as I type them into MS-Word. Truth be told, I got back up two more times within minutes of returning to bed as several additional points occurred to me. But I did get everything on paper ... I think. At least I was able to get back to sleep with my mind at ease. I can't tell you how many times I've awoken with some idea or thought in my head, and I didn't get up believing I'd remember it in the morning. I KNOW many of you have done this. Maybe the urge was greater this early morning; maybe I've gotten wiser at recognizing my weak memory. Maybe a bit of both. The sad part is now I have a third major idea penned on paper that needs to be typed in, edited and posted. And with a deadline only three days away, my "Dear Me" letter is one of those ideas. Priorities! They can be such a b***h. |
| Well, though not receiving the full measure the weather folk promised, we did get about six inches of snow. That will suffice my needs for the moment. Those who may not know me, know I complain about the lack of snow here in Missouri. I miss the snow we used to get in Maine. South-central Missouri just doesn't get much snow; but we often get ice. At least this storm, the ice was way south. My daughter lives just south of Dallas and she sent pics of the sleet and ice they receive. Sorry, Val, but you can keep it. That said, now a whine. It's too dang cold to be outside shoveling snow. Usually when we get any snow, the temps are in the teens and 20's. I can bundle up for that. But right now the temp is minus 12 wind chill. And it's supposed to get colder tomorrow. I did try out our leaf-blower on the snow last night. It works great on powder up to about two inches. Beyond that, it tends to blow the top layer which just blows back into my face. Even the path I shoveled to the mailbox is all covered over. It's a good day to get some writing done. |
| Today marks the 40th consecutive day of my reviewing quest to review all 96 genres as recognized by WDC. That also marks 40 different members reviewed. It isn't as hard to find members I've not reviewed on this journey as I thought. I've run the gamut in the cross-section of members from Registered Authors to Senior Moderators. As for the genres, I'm using the list under Browse By Genre. I've had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of where I've been and who I've reviewed. Turns out I shouldn't rely on my memory, even from one day to the next, to remember what I've done. As an update of the most and least used genres to date, I offer the following: Most: Emotional (64,050 items), Experience (36,900), and Fantasy (36,672) I was very surprised at the low number of Genealogy choices. I thought that topic carried broad interest.Least: Genealogy (279 items), Finance (333), and Fashion (427) Today will be one of my favorite genres--History. So, I better get to it. |
| It's been four days since my last entry here. Man, a lot can happen, even overnight, in just one day. (No, I'm not going to list all the headlines. They're probably just depress you. But we did watch the national news last night, particularly the weather report. Apparently, there's some major snow heading across Chicago heading toward the northeast and the Atlantic coast. Some places, like New York, already had major traffic issues, including serious crashes with injuries. What I noticed was the wispy snow-laden clouds that passed quickly across Missouri on the national map. This morning I got up just as some snow started falling here. We don't expect much ... but it sure looks peaceful as the big flakes fall. Our cat doesn't like snow and was waiting by the door to come in. I read just the other day that cats sleep 13-16 hours per day to store energy for prowling. Guess that's what he'll be doing today. He's eaten breakfast, drank some water and is now curled up in a corner. And I've got some writing to do--my daily review (under the Food/Cooking genre), Task 2 for "26 Paychecks "  , and my "Dear Me: Official WDC Contest" letter. Busy day ahead. |
| Well, the first round of NFL playoffs are in the books. As a Kansas City Chief's fan, it was a particularly difficult year, especially seeing Mahomes going out with a serious injury in the last weeks of the season. But our demise was foreseen, like small cracks in a dam that eventually give way. Our O-line (offensive line) has been hit or miss for some time. With a no. 9 pick in the Draft this April, it will be our first single-digit pick since a no. 1 pick in 2013 after a 2-14 season. Fact, we've been riding high winning the AFC West Division for the past nine seasons. In fact, since 2010, the Chief's have won ten division titles with the Broncos winning the remaining five. Time to re-build--that's the word teams use after having a down season. Whatever one uses, some changes must be made. With the exception of the Los Angeles Chargers losing to the New England Patriots, every game went the way I hoped. The Chicago Bears, making their first playoffs since 2010, beat the Green Bay Packers. (My daughter loves the Bears, so I have to root for them ... a little); the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the San Francisco 49'ers (had to root against them for that little rout in last year's Super Bowl); and the Houston Texans whipped up on Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburg Steelers. I guess it was nice to see Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills finally pull off a playoff game win on the road. But then Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrows, and Patrick Mahomes were not in the playoffs this year. Allen always plays well in playoff games ... he just can't get that W. With the Chief's out of the picture, it's a toss-up who to root for. My wife is going for the Denver Broncos (that traitor). She says it's to keep the Super Bowl in our division and for her good friend who was a Broncos fan even when we beat them up badly over the years (Shari passed last year). Honestly, I like the Bears (for my daughter), though I think they'll have to bring their defense with them to the game--they gave up the most points of any team in the playoffs and were eighth of 14 teams in offensive scoring. So, Broncos vs Bears in the Super Bowl. Any thoughts? |
| Yesterday I completed my 28th review in pursuit of doing a review for each of the 96 genres as recognized by Writing.Com and listed in the Browse By Genre feature. I’m doing them in the order listed. For an item to chosen by me, the author must fill in at least one of the three genre spots when creating or editing their offering. I’m almost one month in, and would like to offer a few insights into this journey. First, you probably know that selecting the Browse By Genre link in the Navigation Menu (on the left side of your page), you will see a list of 96 genres in alphabetical order. You’ll have to scroll down to see them all. Clicking on any one genre will open a page that lists items containing that specific genre. There may be many pages of items from which to choose. For example, of the 28 genres I have reviewed, the most often used genre is Emotional, with more than 64,000 items listed. Rounding out the top spots are Experience with 37,000 and both Dark and Drama (tied) with 26,000 items listed. Featured on the other end of the spectrum are Computers with 750, Business with 1550, and Career with 1750 items listed. Of course, I still have a long way to go. And consider that since up to three genres may be listed for each item, there are significant duplicates among these numbers given that authors may choose up to three genres. Second, I’ve tried to avoid reviewing the same author in my quest. This allows me to read a good cross-section of stories, essays and poems, as well as authors I may have missed before. I’ve discovered a few gems to read, and I don’t pick the first item on each list. I shy away from chapters, interactives, and book entries, as well as longer items exceeding 25K. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of the genres I would normally pass by, such as Arts, Computers, and yes, Dark. All in all, selecting a genre each day to review has made my daily reviewing more fun. I wonder where subsequent genres will take me. |
| Jeanette and I did, in fact, arrive home last night at 11:35 pm, well after the daily deadline for the my Reviewing achievement. The sad part is that when I was preparing to travel TO Colorado, I did a couple reviews before leaving, and saved them in my Review Tool for when I would have Wi-Fi access, but little time. Unfortunately, we decided rather quickly to pack up and leave for home because of an incoming snowstorm. I didn't have the opportunity to bank a couple reviews. Watching everyone in and around Crested Butte zipping along on snow-covered roads in their four-wheel drive vehicles--emphasis on zipping--was a bit daunting with me and my front-wheel drive Toyota. We had tried going into town (about four miles away) after an inch and a half snowfall the first night we were there. The town and state does a great job of clearing the roads. But, a plow will not completely clean the rode; some snow (and ice) remains until the combination of sun and the work crews use of magnesium-chloride and sand puts the roads in the condition my humble Toyota can appreciate. We made that first trip about from the house to the main road with a bit of sliding along the way. After seeing the main road was not much better, we turned around. The little ice we already experienced was not worth the piece of mind we would lose trying to drive to town. Four hours made all the difference, and we made it to town for some well deserved sight-seeing. Coming home we made ... well, I made two tactical decisions. The first was to leave at 3:30 pm, which allowed us to drive only 180 miles before the dark forced me to stop for the night. Night driving is much harder for me these days. While we didn't get out of Colorado, we did make it over the Monarch Mtn. pass (more than 11,000 ft) to the considerably flatter plains of eastern Colorado. The second decision was to drive the rest of the way home without stopping again for the night. That was more than 770 miles over a 15-hour period. Numerous stops were required, including a stop along side of the Arkansas River, from which Jeanette wanted a rock to bring home to her rock garden. Though we tried several places, we couldn't get close enough to the river through the snowy fields and steep banks. Sorry, Jeanette. We stopped at Dodge City to check out the attractions. After getting a brochure of the layout of the attractions and seeing how much walking and time would be needed to "do the place right," we decided to make this a long weekend trip some time in June. The 42 deg temp and 24 mph winds helped make that decision an easy one. Several hours of night driving in Kansas to reach I-44 at the Missouri line really upped my driving stress level and tightened my grip on the steering wheel. Much of the latter Kansas driving was two-lane with a few passing lanes sprinkled in. The four-lane, 70 mph I-44 was a welcome relief for the final two and a half hour drive. I'm flying to my next vacation destination. |
| We left Crested Butte early as they were expecting a significant snow storm and my Corolla would be little better than a sled. So sorry we missed it. Not! But our traveling today with trying to make it home will mean my daily reviews will come to an end. We won't arrive home until after 11pm (CST) tonight. Starting back tomorrow. I'm finishing this little manifesto while eating at a great local spot in a small Kansas town on my phone. I have a new-found appreciation for those members who navigate WDC on their phones. You go, guys! |
| I do not understand! The average snowfall in Crested Butte, CO for January over the past 10 years is 37.7 inches. And our host for the Air B&B we're staying in left us NO snow shovel. Good thing it only snowed 2-3 inches last night. At least the powers that plow the driveways are on the ball. And the forecast today is for sunny skies and no snow. Yesterday morning while Jeanette and I were in town taking in the sights, it snowed as we arrived, turned sunny as we walked from store to store, turned cloudy and snowed heavily while we ate lunch. I thought we were back in Missouri with the changes happening so often. Then I found out the local brewery doesn't open until 3pm. Bummer. Rather than wait another three hours, we headed home to rest. It turns out the 8900 ft. elevation can really take the wind out of two old folks walking around town. We'll go back later this afternoon to check out the brewery. For now, we'll enjoy the fabulous sights of the sun on the snow-covered mountains. |
| We arrived at our vacation destination yesterday afternoon--Crested Butte, CO. Both travel days were sunny and in the 60's for most of the trip. As we started gaining altitude, the temp started dropping. This morning, we awoke to 26 degrees and a light dusting of snow. The ski slopes rise up to 12,000 ft. The youngsters will be hitting the slopes shortly. I, on the other hand, will be searching the town for a brewery and some find local brews, and a good coffee shop, not necessarily in that order. I did find that the 8900 ft elevation for Crested Butte made a difference for my breathing. Yep, the more sedate life is for me the rest of the week here. What a difference a day makes in the mountains. |
| Tomorrow we set out for Crested Butte, CO, for a week-long family ski outing. They will be doing the skiing; I will be sitting in a coffee shop enjoying the warmth and an iced mocha (my tribute to the cold weather). My days of skiing ended when I left college for a couple reasons. One, I spent so much time working, I rarely had time for a skiing vacation. My family didn't embrace the skiing mentality. That worked out well for our pocketbook, and left time for other vacations we enjoyed. And two, my college days of skiing included lots of alcohol and a feeling of invincibility that often manifested in ways I felt that God does indeed lookout for fools. I survived those wonderful times, that I'm not certain I completely remember. Anyway, getting ready for the drive, I got the car washed and filled up with gas. One of the features on my 2022 Toyota Corolla displays how many miles I can go on a tank of gas. Today upon filling up, the car declared I could travel 445 miles on my full tank. Of course, I don't completely believe it and would never test that limit (on purpose). During the summer, a fill up allows me to drive up to 516 miles on a full tank. That difference is due to using winterized gasoline. Either summer gas compacts better in my tank allowing me two more gallons of gas (at 35 mpg)--which is not true, of course--or the winterized gas is not as efficient as summer gas. Doing, ding, ding! Neither is actually correct. Winterized gasoline is chemically distinct from its summer counterpart adding chemicals that increase volatility for starting and operating in colder temperatures. They prevent fuel lines from freezing and improve engine performance in lower temps. In the summertime, such additional chemicals are not needed. Interestingly, the winter blends cost less to refine resulting in lower costs in the winter, generally. Lower prices also factor in reduced driving because of the colder weather. Also, in the bummer category, the state gas tax in MO, KS and CO is 29.5 cents/gal, 24 cents/gal, and 22 cents/gal, respectively, and yet, the cost of fuel rises as we head west--less in MO, more in CO. Suck it up, Jace; you're going on this trip. Did you know the EPA allows the sale of winter blends on 16 Sep? Though the actual date you may see the blend depends on the region and climate conditions. As for the trip, I worry about one thing--weather. I'm sure my Corolla isn't the best on wet, snowy roads. Snow showers are not what I want to see in my future. I know my limitations; I don't know what that other guy is thinking. |
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Stay warm! Sounds like a soup day! 
