No Feet On The Bed

In an experiment to curb my presumed sleep apnea, I tried sleeping on my vintage chaise longue.
It's a handmade bed or couch that I bought from Mercer  Island Thrift Store, since Kris had always expressed a desire for one. She had the thrilling image of resting there sipping fine drinks and playing the lady. She left it behind in the divorce.
The person who donated it said that it had come from a grandparent who had said it came from a Colorado saloon in the late 1800s. I don't know, but the wood work definitely looks hand made. The upholstery is modern and aweful but it is understandable that it would have needed to be replaced. I fancy thinking that this had once graced a bawdy house. It sat unused for a year until I tried it last night.
I can rest comfortably on my side and I'd hoped that its narrowness would discourage me from lying on my back and snoring. This worked somewhat. At first I slept on my side and awoke little. But around three I awoke on my back with the dry mouth feeling and my feet hanging over the end. It's not going to work as intended but it was a worthwhile experiment.
The cats were puzzled by this. Imp settled for sleeping on a nearby shelve where I had deliberately set a towel. Arthur jumped on my and nuzzled as usual but declined to take the shelf near my head. He has his opinions, that's all. The other cats came and went, perhaps as interested in this new arrangement as concerned about the puppy. Life goes on, I'll find another way to deal with the apnea.

Now I Am A Dogfather. Or Doggrandfather.

Kiara and Nessa have talked about getting a dog some day, but not yet. I'm ok with that; they're great with animals. I really appreciate their care for the cats. Yesterday the dog appeared. Technically she is "only" being fostered, but there is about zero percent chance that she won't stay as a permanent member of the family. Nessa got her through some contact at the hospital that knew this puppy needed a home. My role was to give Nessa and the puppy a ride home from the hospital.
The pup is a Chihuahua Dauschund mix, about the size of a small meatball grinder. It'll be interesting to see how she gets along with the cats. I'm sure they'll adapt, although Arthus may spend even more time upstairs, which is fine with me.

Sleep Apnea Possibile?

A few weeks back I had a discussion with a doctor about the possibility of sleep apnea. I awaken frequently (3 or more times a night) usually feeling worried, often with racing pulse and dry mouth. This is consistent with low oxygen levels. I am generally tired during the day - I had attributed this to carbohydrate cycling my blood sugar and indeed that may also contribute. And there's the snoring. This is generally good news. It would be better not to have this problem but if it is the cause of the problem then I can do something about it. I discussed this with a cardiologist with group heath, who basically concurred with the possibility and wrote me a prescription for a sleep study. I am reluctant to go through with the study because it's a break in routine and I'll miss out on the valuable nothing that I have been accomplishing, and yet if I do solve this sleep problem I'll have so much more energy that it'll make up for the lost time. I just have to talk it over with myself and go through with it. I got the bill from Group Health and it was awful! Something like $280 for a half hour talk? I had just assumed this was covered by insurance, but perhaps that's what the HSA is for. The HSA money has to be used and if this is what it's for then, ok, but it seems crazy.

December 12: Webcast - Saleh v. Bush

On Monday December 12 at 9:00 am, the Ninth Circuit will hear oral argument in Saleh v. Bush et al.; the plaintiff, an Iraqi woman, is seeking a court order declaring the Iraq War illegal under domestic and international law. http://witnessiraq.com/2016/12/05/ninth-circuit-confirms-judges-who-will-hear-argument-on-legality-of-iraq-war/ Saleh alleges that former Bush Administration leaders committed the crime of aggression when they planned and executed the Iraq War, a war crime that was called the “supreme international crime” at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. A federal statute immunizes former federal officials in civil lawsuits if a court determines that the official was acting pursuant to the legitimate scope of his or her employment, and the district court dismissed on this basis. Saleh is disputing this immunity, arguing that the planning and waging of a war of aggression against Iraq fell outside the legitimate scope of employment of former President Bush and the other defendants. A summary of the case with links to pleadings is available in the About section of http://witnessiraq.com/ The oral argument will be livestreamed and then be available for later viewing at the Ninth Circuit's Youtube channel.

Another One Rides The Bus

I finished my 2nd week back at Treasury and feel good about it. It's not as remunerative as I would like, and perhaps as I need, but it's solid work that I have mastered. That feels good.
The bus pass situation is more complex since they switched over to a two-part system of funding the pass and then having us buy the pass monthly, but I suppose it saves money, so whatever. I am using the morning time to do the breathing exercises prescribed to lower my blood pressure, and the evening time either to catch up on reading to, when I'm lucky, to chat up one of my neighbors who often takes the same route.
Time goes by very quickly this way, so I have to be very organized!

The internet is everywhere and forever

The internet is everywhere and forever. When racists tell the world and eternity that that they are racist, they are killing your future opportunities. Be as racist as you want in the privacy of your thoughts, but when you act and speak, remember that expressing racism brands you as a fool.

Happy Thanksgiving Mushroom Green Bean Casserole!

For Thanksgiving, I made this casserole to take to Steve's house:

It started with mushrooms from Eric at Pegasus Book Exchange. I'd stayed away from mushrooms for a decade or two, after a very sad bout of sickness at a singles mixer that my former-WSBA pal Eric Schwab had invited me to. I'm just not good at mixing, ate too many mushrooms that disagreed with me, and ended up with a very unfortunate result (...and was never invited back lol).

But after about a year of hearing Eric (bookstore Eric) talk about mushrooms, I decided to give his a try. And wow! they were great.

So when my brother Steve invited me to his place for the holiday and asked me to bring a side, mushrooms seemed idea - I didn't realize he doesn't eat them either. The green bean casserole with onions that so many insist is traditional seemed like a good way to present the mushrooms. I googled some recipes and got nice beans from Costco.

However when I set to work, it was time for substitutions. I steamed the beans - that kept their flavor and texture fine. I didn't have cream for the sauce but half-and-half worked fine with a little cornstarch. I didn't have flour for the roue (or whatever the mushroom equivalent was) but again cornstarch came through, with a little ground flax for consistency. I don't really like the crunchy onions on top - the flavor is nice but the texture seems like plastic. So I made a separate creamy onion sauce and then layered the casserole like bean dip - first panko crumbs, then beans, then the onion layer, then more beans, then the mushroom cream on top. But it looked incomplete.

That's when the inspiration hit me. I steamed more beans and spelled out a message. 

The result was tasty - I'm sure I'll make it again - and it didn't really take all that long to prepare - using good ingredients was probably helpful - but it was the presentation that made it memorable.

Furlough's End

A week or two ago I got the call back to work starting Monday.
There is roughly zero chance I'd get a better job before then, although I'll keep looking. Now that I've gotten past the barrier of getting started, I'm enjoying the networking and application process. It's been impossible, since no-one really wants to hire a guy who is over 60, but hope springs eternally and all that. I'm required to do it as a condition of  getting unemployment compensation (...and unlike a certain mother-in-law I could name, I don't believe in faking it...). Plus the networking is fun. I've met some interesting people!
Now the day before Thanksgiving is not going to be one on which anyone is doing anything related to hiring, and the rest of the week is not going to be any better. I'm concentrating on cleaning up stuff that got past me and preparing the house for perhaps renting a room or two come next year. I'm really not badly off but need to keep my options open. Clearing out and cleaning up is satisfying!

And Sometimes You Win

Somewhat to my surprise, my writing seems to have helped the local chapter of Veterans' Service Organization I'm with to achieve its immediate goal of getting out of suspension.
 The story is long and complicated and not over yet (...nothing is ever really over...), but basically there was a dispute among the membership, which the losers escalated to the National level, which responded by suspending the Chapter. This struck many as unfair. However, my friends in the organization are not writers; they are talented and accomplished, having done many things far beyond my abilities, but they are not writers and had difficulty putting their story into order, along with the relevant rules, and supporting the conclusion that the Chapter should come out of suspension.
That's where my legal education paid off. The relevant rules were private, not public law, but the mechanics of making an argument were the same. I wrote a couple of letters that were essentially appeals supported by briefs; the first failed, but the most recent - filed only two weeks ago - succeed. I had actually expected this month's meeting to be more of the same denial and delay over the suspension. I certainly did not expect a formal reply to the letter. Instead, we got something better: a letter read at the meeting ending the suspension as of the new Chapter as of interim elections to be held next month.
This was a better answer than we had anticipated.