Very early here....

Good morning:

This picture was found in a digital camera during the clean up in Japan.  Obviously taken just before the big wave hit this area of Japan.

I finished Bottom of the 33rd last night. Such a great baseball book.  The first 32 innings took eight hours until it was suspended to a later date.  The games was between Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings on April 1981.  This is Triple-A game.  It start at 8:00 pm and suspended at 4:09 am on Easter Sunday.  It was cold there.  In June the game resumed, but I will not tell what happened. Read this book. This game is the longest game of baseball.  

I hope no rain today. 

Steve

H today

Hi:

I got this cartoon from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.  It tells the story every time we go the gas station to fill up the gas tank in our cars.

The higher gas prices will bring out the electric cars.

I am still reading Bottom of the 33rd, a great book on baseball. Once I finish it I am going to read the second volume the autobiography of William O. Douglas.  I had this book for years but never read it.  This volume is called The Court Years.

Not much else happening here today.

Steven

Mid-week today...

Hello:

This picture shows the Northern Lights.  I do not know where this picture was taken.

I went on a long bike ride today since it has stopped raining.  I went shopping at four different stores today including a trip to the library.

Pope John Paul II is ready to be a saint?????  I do not believe anyone deserves sainthood these days. 

But again, I have no faith in the Catholic Church, as you know as you have been reading this blog. 

I am much more discreet in getting free Kindle books.  When free Kindle books started coming out, I go every one, but now I rarely get a free book on my Kindle.  It has to be an interesting book if it is free and goes to my Kindle.

I am enjoying reading Bottom of the 33rd, a book on baseball and its longest game in 1981.  Such a good book.

I do hope your week is going well.

Steven

U today...

Hi:

This picture is a pear tree in full bloom this early spring.

The pear tree is across the street from our house in Stayton.

I am ready to go to China now.  I have my visa and almost everything is packed.  I am having trouble packing any books. I have about 12 books I want to take with me but I have no room for them.  I am taking both of my Kindles with me and that should be enough reading for years and years. 

I am reading a book called Bottom of the 33rd, a book on a 1981 baseball game that lasted 33 innings, the longest baseball game ever. The game was on the Saturday before Easter and ended in early hours of Easter.  It was called after 32 innings with the game to start again two months later.  By the end of 32 innings only two local citizens were in audience, even though there were over 6,000 at the start of the game.

I want this rain to end soon. I am getting tired of all this rain this winter and spring. 

Steve

No easter bunny today either...

Hello:

The only part of this picture I would eat is the dark shell.  No peeps for me. 

No easter bunny today either.  Maybe on U. 

I am reading a second novel by Tess Gerritsen. 

Last night was not a good sleep night for me.  I got up three hours after going to bed, was up for about an hour, long enough to watch 1/3 of 60 Minutes.  I went back to bed to sleep for another three hours.  I hate when this happens and I know why it happened.  I was drinking my coffee well into the p.m yesterday, something I must never do.  So no coffee for me today or for the next few days.

Time for some lunch here.

Steven

Is is easter bunny day...

Hi:

It is the day for the bunny.  He ignored my place this morning but may be back tomorrow morning.  I am sure he hit your house if you have young children.

As I told you before I believe in the easter bunny as much as I believe in what did not happen over 2,000 years ago.  No resurrection and nothing happened after he was buried.  You believe in what is in the gospels?  If I asked you to tell me everything about Prohibition and not leave anything out, how much could you tell me?  That was the task of the gospel writers, trying to remember what happened 60 to 100 years before.  Plus that was a time when there no libraries and most people could not read or write back then.  Plus no Internet.  This is why I believe there was no resurrection and we know nothing of what happened after the burial.  I sure miss the easter bunny today....

I finished a book on my Kindle DX today.  I am on to a second book. I am reading Tess Geritsen books on it.

The last of the painted trucks.  This one looks like a bookstore. 

Have a good time with your family.

Steven

Nicest day of the year today...

Hello:

Tulips in a field.   This is what I see when I go out.

I am reading a novel on my Kindle DX now.  Much bigger than my Kindle 3 but it too heavy to hold up.  I must rest on my armrest or on me.

MLB has taken over my Dodgers.  About time to get it away from the owners, who have been using the team as their personal ATM.  I hope MLB forces them to sell the team. 

Easter is tomorrow and I need to get some candy to eat in the morning.  I believe in the Easter Bunny as much as I believe what happened during this week over 2,000 years ago. 

I made apple pancakes this morning.  I used apples in the pancakes instead of water.  So very good that I put nothing on the pancakes as they were so so good to eat just like that.

Listening to podcasts this morning, one on the Kindle Chronicles and the other called Only a Game, a sports podcast.  I am about a year behind now on my podcast of Car Talk.  The other Saturday podcast is Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me. 

I will mow the lawn later this afternoon.

Steven

F now....

Hello:

Pictures of two painted trucks in Germany.

I finally figured out how to use my Kindle DX.  A little different from using my Kindle 3.

Easter is Sunday. What are your plans?  Me? I don't know yet. I will go to Safeway tomorrow to get some Easter candy.  Since I don't believe in Good Friday or Easter or any part of holy week.  What is said in the bible is pure fiction as no one knows what happened during this week in the year 30 C.E.  (no more B.C or A.D for me; it is B.C.E and C.E. only,  Before the Common Era and Common Era.).

I have no faith as faith requires belief without proof.  My beliefs come with proof only.  That is what a humanist is called and that is what I am.  No faith in anything, except maybe my Dodgers getting to the World Series this year. 

Enough of this rant.

Mostly packed for my trip to China, coming in June.  I have my visa and my international driver's license. 

Hope your holiday goes well.

Steven

Not sleeping well...

Good morning:

Yet another picture of a painted truck that looks so real in 3D.

I am not sleeping well.  I got up at 1:00 am this morning, went back to bed around 2:00 am and slept until 6:00 am.  I hate when this happens. I will NOT take a nap today.  I have not taken a nap in months. 

My new Kindle will come today or tomorrow. If it comes to the post office today, I will go there later today to pick it up if I see the tracking later today.

I am mostly all packed for my trip. I have two suitcases packed, with just very personal items going in when I am ready to leave.

Hope you week is going well.  Nice weather for a change.

Steven

U Morning

Hi again:

This picture is a painted truck in Europe.  Looks like a beer bottle coming out of the side of a truck.

I took some pictures outside today of the flowers that are blooming.  But the next few pictures will be painted trucks.

I am still reading Vertical.  It is good book, and I will finish it in a day or two.

Another good day outside.

I found another Steven Schwindt in Argentina.  I found him on Facebook and we are now friends there.  I have quite a few Schwindt family members in Argentina. 

Hope your week is going well.

Steve

Sunday evening now...

Hi again:

It is Sunday evening now.

I am now reading Vertical, the sequel to Sideways.  Miles and Jack in this novel too.  Miles wrote a history of their previous trip in Sideways, which got made into a movie, called in this book, Shameless.   I read Sideways after seeing the movie. Once again the book is much better than the movie.  The author is Rex Pickett.   Vertical is a good book. 

I watched to move Se7en today. I had not seen this movie before.  A good movie that failed in the end.

The picture here show shows a light streaking above an island.

I am listening now to Weekend Edition Sunday and ATC on my computer. 

Nice today again.

Steven

Early Saturday now...

Good morning:

Fog and light among the trees. A very nice picture.

I am up early this Saturday morning for whatever reason. 

Not much happening here today. I am heading to the library around 10:00 am. 

I need to check The Stayton Mail to see if there are any garage sales today, which I doubt due to the rain we have been having.

I am reading on my Kindle some long stories I added there from longforms.org.  This site is wonderful for long stories. I copy each story to Word, save it and then send it to my Kindle by email. 

Last night I read the story of tax prep businesses that provide advance loans based on the refund.  These loans are a rip-off of poor people.  The up-front fees and interest rate make the real interest rate these guys get over 180%.  The lies these tax prep people are great, from not telling them the interest and not telling them the refund will come to the tax payer in about two weeks if the return was filed electronically. 

I am now reading about the air traffic controllers from The Atlantic. 

Last night I searched for friends on Facebook and found yet another Steve Schwindt in Argentina.  I earlier found a Steve Schwindt in Colorado. 

Hope your weekend is going well.

Steven

H today

Hello:

It is now dinner time and my work day has ended. 

The picture here shows sheep on a road on an island. 

Last night I read on my Kindle.  I have one book waiting for me at the library and another one in transit.  I am waiting until the second book gets there before going there. 

I am going to China in mid-June so this blog will continue from there once again.  This time I will be there for about five years, with some trips back to the U.S. about once a year.  My Chinese tourist visa is for 365 days now because I had previous visas for China. Once I get my job there I will convert the visa to a work visa instead of a tourist visa. 

I plan on posting here until I leave. After a few days there to recover from jet lag I will post again from there, with pictures from China. 

I am watching How Its Made, and the story that is of interest to me is plantain chips. It looks like a banana but it called a plantain. It looks like chips made from bananas.

The weekend approaches.  What are your plans?

Steven  

W in the a.m.

Hi:

It is mid-day on Wednesday here.

The top picture shows either LA or Beijing China.  Both have bad traffic jams.  In Beijing recently, there was a traffic jam that lasted four days.  In China, too many cars for too few roads. 

The bottom picture shows a more peaceful picture, a camera on the top beam of a sail boat.

I finished Gideon's Sword last night, taking just two days to read this novel.  Now that I am back to reading a lot.  

I will be making chili later today.  I need to go to Safeway to get some pinto beans. 

Hope your week is going well.

Steve

Late M afternoon here...

Hi again:

A rain drop on a leaf.  Nice picture.

It is just past 4:30 pm here now.  I am listening to All Things Considered on my computer. 

I am cleaning my oven now.  It was smoking earlier today when I tried to heat some food up in the oven.  Time to clean it out.  It has another two hours to go before it is done.  This time I will vacuum it out once it cools.

Good thing I mowed the lawn two days ago as it rained for the past two days. 

I tried hanging some towels on my line outside yesterday but the rain drove the clothes inside. 

My rhubarb and peas are growing.  I did fertilize them three days ago, they are getting bigger.

Hope you week is going well.

Steven

Saturday today

Hi:

Saturday today. I will mow the lawn later this afternoon. 

Did my laundry today and I did hang some clothes outside.  This is causing the delay in mowing the lawn. 

The picture shows an older house in the mountains. 

I will start adding pictures to my main post instead of putting the pictures in a separate post.  Tomorrow I will try to put two pictures here to see how that works.

Still reading the same book I have been reading all week. It is a short book and I am surprised it takes so long for me to read this. I should have read this book in two days. 

My stomach is upset today, so I will be careful to what I eat today.

Have a good weekend.

Steven

F eve now

Hi:

It is Friday evening here now.  I went to Costco today to do some grocery shopping.  Got just what I needed here for spaghetti and chili. 

Still reading A Downhill Lie, a book that is very funny.  I have been to busy to read much. I will try to finish it tomorrow. 

I am listening to ATC on my computer.  Like I told  you I like to listen on the computer rather than the radio.  I can select the stories I want to hear from a list of stories.

I am trying to add a picture to this new post since I am using the new editor to post things here. I wonder if the paragraph separation stays the way I want.  This is another test.

Hope your weekend goes well. I plan on mowing the lawn here tomorrow.

Steven

My broken pen

Here is my broken Parker 51 fountain pen.  You can see how I broke off the top part of it. 

I know when I first got this pen years ago from my mother I sent it off to Parker to get it fixed as it would not accept ink. They wrote back telling me this is an old Parker 51 pen, with a gold-filled top. 

I am sure my mother got this in high school probably from her mother. 

Steven

W eve now...

Hi:

I made chili again today.  Had  a bowl for lunch and another bowl for dinner, both small bowls though.  It is a good chili recipe I got online. 

I am now reading a Carl Hiassen book, The Downhill Lie.  It is a funny book about him getting back into golf after laying off of it for over 40 years.  Reminds me of my golfing days so many years ago.  Once I finish this book tomorrow, I will read a new book by Douglas Preston and Lee Childs called Gideon's Sword, a new novel with new characters. I read one review of it in a newspaper online and the review did not like the new book. Instead the reviewer liked the characters from prior books. We shall see how I like this one...

I read my Kindle as the food cooks. I sit in the living room so I can hear when the buzzer goes off for the stove or oven.  Good time to read newspaper articles I saved to my Kindle then. 

Parker Pen sent back my Parker 51 pen un-repaired.  It is leaking inside and I could not get the blind cap off to add more ink to the pen.  So I tried using a pliers on it, covering it first with a wash cloth.  No matter, I proceed to break part of the cap off. I love this pen. It belonged to my late mother. She got while in high school  in 1947.  It even has her name on the side of the pen, Dorothy Branch, her maiden name. 

Parker Pen sent me a list of companies that repair old pens.  I wrote to one and got referred to another company.  I got a long email back from the second company.  But I could not get a price to fix it.  I sent along a picture of the pen, the same picture I will attach to a post here. 

Hope your week is going well.

Steven

Another post for M

Hi again: 

I changed some of the settings on this blog. Now I want to see they work.

I plan on reading my book tonight, instead of watching any TV.

I had bowl of my chili for dinner tonight.  It is so good I will probably make it again.  It has hamburger, beans, an onion, some of my canned tomatoes, and some spices. It cooks in one hour and then when it cools it thickens. 

I am listening to NPR on my computer as I write this. I would rather listen to NPR ATC on my computer.  I can pick the stories I want to hear from the list instead of listening to the show on the radio. 

Steven

M pictures

In the top picture that guy next to the car, bought this car new.

The bottom picture shows a car made of wood.

Steven

Monday eve now...

Hello: My chili sure is good. I added only one tablespoon of chili powder. Just the right amount rather than 2 of them. I am still reading In a Heartbeat, the third book I have read about The Blind Side. It will be my last book on this movie. Not much happening here. I was going to mow the lawn yesterday but got too busy. Today it has been spitting rain so no lawn mowing today. I need to see how this ends up. I sure hope it shows paragraph separation. Have a good week. Steven

Sunday pictures

The contrasts in China. The top picture is a high speed train; the bottom picture shows a rickshaw in China.

Steven

Sunday now..

Good morning: It is mid-morning on Sunday. Yet another bifurcated night. Up at 4:00 and back to bed at 6:15. I don't know why I wake up so early. I am now reading In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving. This is the third book I have read on The Blind Side. I read The Blind Side first, then I read Beating the Odds by Michael Oher. Now I am reading the book by the actual stars of the movie, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy. The movie of The Blind Side left me with too many questions. So the books came next. I plan to make chili today. I usually don't like beans but I will give it a try. Have a good day, as the weather seems to be getting better. Steven

Picture for today...

Look carefully. The alphabet...on each pencil.

I do not know what is happening to my posts. No paragraph separation at all.

I better check the settings on this blog.

Steve

Weekend is here...

Hi again: I am going to the book sale again today. $5.00 per bag of books today. I have been busy this past week. But now the weekend is here. It has been raining today, after two days of warm weather. I have been reading my Kindle as I finished The Futures. I have one book awaiting for at the library so I will pick that up today. For some reason the type face on my computer is now larger. I cannot figure out why as I did nothing on it. Off to the book sale now. Steven