AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:

On Sat, 19 Oct 2019 00:27:55 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Oct 2019 11:41:43 +0700, John B.
wrote:

I didn't know what a "french knot" is so I looked it up on the Web.
and found a site labeled "How to Make French Knot Easy Way Hair
Style", in 11 steps :-)

I make it in three steps: twist hair into rope, fold rope, let it ply
itself while pinning to head. My hair was long enough that I usually
had to tuck some extra under the knot.

"French knot" in embroidery is an entirely different critter.

A Gibson is pretty much the same thing, except the hair is combed to
the crown instead of the nape, and the rope is wrapped around the
base. And I use hair pins instead of bobby pins. It took me decades
to learn how to use hair pins because nobody I knew had long hair, so
I had nobody to tell me that you stick them in pointing out, then turn
them to point in.

I suspect that there are still trails of hairpins on the University of
Indianapolis campus. (Which I never attended; there was a small
religious college on the site at the time.)

I think I've found the same website: "You can mimic second day hair
with product, which will be discussed later." doesn't save much space
over "pour a little olive oil into your palm and rub it into your
hair."

I use castor oil, which was left over from my spouse's soap-making
hobby.

"it’s important to work out all the tangles and knots". I usually do,
if I have time, but tangled hair holds longer. I wouldn't go so far
at to "tease" it. This section seems to have been written for people
who got long hair overnight somehow and don't know how to comb it.

But you should *never* assume that an instructee knows anything unless
you are standing right there to watch him.


Unmarried women here in Thailand and in other parts of Asia wear their
hair long in a single "pony tail". My wife, when I met her, could
literally sit on her hair, although she didn't as that "was not the
thing to do". When they marry they change to a shorter style and yes
after we were married she did cut her hair although it was sort of "in
stages". Some this month and a little shorter next month, etc.

On topic story!

Once I was stopped at a light waiting to cross Railroad Avenue in
Albany, New York. I think I was in a car. The road slopes sharply
down from there -- I hated going the other way on a bike -- so I had a
good view. I saw a guy who was coming toward me on a bike negotiating
his way across the lanes, and thought "Yea rah! Somebody has been
told that you move left before turning left, instead of riding in the
gutter to the intersection, then making a mad diagonal dash across six
lanes and a railroad!" But when he reached the left-turn side of the
inner lane, he kept on negotiating across the oncoming lanes, went
around the corner in the left gutter, then had to cross two lanes and
a railroad to get back into the right-hand gutter.

I try not to have to cross six or eight lanes of traffic and my
"Bangkok Rides" were all mapped out to avoid it. Over here we drive on
the left side of the road and my bike routes were so I only turned
left.
--
cheers,

John B.

I went to a church craft sale on my way back from the farmers' markets
today. The crafts were all jewlery, which I though odd in a place
named "Pathway Church", but it proved to be a good place to have
lunch. All I remember from the menu is hot dogs, sloppy joes, and
baked potatoes. Ah, there was a "walking taco", and several other
things in that column.

I had a baked potato with sloppy-joe meat on it. The meat had
obviously been made from a recipe, not glommed up with the canned
syrup called "sloppy-joe sauce", and I could have all I wanted in the
way of sour cream, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped onion,
tomatoes, and so forth.

The hot chocolate, on the other hand, was made from a packet and there
was no hot water ready, so I had to wait for it to boil. The church
ladies were very apologetic and brought it to my table when it was
ready.

Potato three dollars, no extra charge for the meat, cocoa fifty cents.

There's another craft sale next Saturday, but alas it's in the
opposite direction. The markets end at noon and one, and the bazaar
ends at two. I don't see any way to visit all three.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to reprint it in a Web
forum.

On Sat, 19 Oct 2019 22:35:00 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:


I went to a church craft sale on my way back from the farmers' markets
today. The crafts were all jewlery, which I though odd in a place
named "Pathway Church", but it proved to be a good place to have
lunch. All I remember from the menu is hot dogs, sloppy joes, and
baked potatoes. Ah, there was a "walking taco", and several other
things in that column.

What in the world is a "walking taco".

I had a baked potato with sloppy-joe meat on it. The meat had
obviously been made from a recipe, not glommed up with the canned
syrup called "sloppy-joe sauce", and I could have all I wanted in the
way of sour cream, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped onion,
tomatoes, and so forth.

The hot chocolate, on the other hand, was made from a packet and there
was no hot water ready, so I had to wait for it to boil. The church
ladies were very apologetic and brought it to my table when it was
ready.

Potato three dollars, no extra charge for the meat, cocoa fifty cents.

There's another craft sale next Saturday, but alas it's in the
opposite direction. The markets end at noon and one, and the bazaar
ends at two. I don't see any way to visit all three.
--
cheers,

John B.

On 10/19/2019 12:27 AM, Joy Beeson wrote:

On topic story!

Once I was stopped at a light waiting to cross Railroad Avenue in
Albany, New York. I think I was in a car. The road slopes sharply
down from there -- I hated going the other way on a bike -- so I had a
good view. I saw a guy who was coming toward me on a bike negotiating
his way across the lanes, and thought "Yea rah! Somebody has been
told that you move left before turning left, instead of riding in the
gutter to the intersection, then making a mad diagonal dash across six
lanes and a railroad!" But when he reached the left-turn side of the
inner lane, he kept on negotiating across the oncoming lanes, went
around the corner in the left gutter, then had to cross two lanes and
a railroad to get back into the right-hand gutter.

Yow!

I once worked on a local committee with a rather brilliant woman, an
architect with a powerful knowledge of history, very sought-after for
her expertise in many areas. She lives in my neighborhood.

She became enchanted with my bicycling and resurrected her 3-speed
ladies bike with upright handlebars. Soon afterward, as we rode toward
out neighborhood together, she made her left turn just as you described.
Of course I was terrified for her, and (diplomatically) corrected her
immediately afterwards.

My main point is this: Mistakes like this are not due to stupidity, but
due to ignorance. Very intelligent people can simply not know how to
ride a bike properly. And our society needs to do a much better job
regarding bicycling education.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Sat, 19 Oct 2019 11:45:23 +0700, John B.
wrote:

I try not to have to cross six or eight lanes of traffic and my
"Bangkok Rides" were all mapped out to avoid it. Over here we drive on
the left side of the road and my bike routes were so I only turned
left.

I have some right-turn only loops.

US 30 is the only multi-lane road around here, and it's much easier to
cross out in the country where one *doesn't* have the help of a light.

Out in the country, I wait for a gap in the traffic, then ride across
two lanes to the median. More often than not, there is also nobody
coming in the other direction, but if there is, I can wait comfortably
in the median until the way is clear.

In town, I must, from a standing start, sprint across four traffic
lanes, two right-turn lanes, and a median wide enough to hold a car
lengthwise. And the stop line may be well back from the edge of the
highway to allow room for left-turning semis.

Needless to say, I often consider something on the other side of 30 to
be out of reach. But the plan to make it absolutely uncrossable
probably won't mature until I'm too crippled up to ride. Making 30
"controlled access" is going to be very, very expensive.

Meanwhile, the town is building walkways everywhere and calling them
bike trails. Two of the three currently in the planning stages don't
look too bad. One is a loop of boardwalk through a privately-owned
swamp, and one is a continuation of the Heritage Trail from Miller
Field to Christ Covenant Church. Heritage Trail doesn't cross any
road or street except Pierceton Road (Or King's Highway; I'm not sure
where the city limits are), and that is marked with blind-man dots and
gates you have to ride around. There's also a stop light, if I recall
correctly, for times when there's a large group on the walkway. I've
never pushed the button, because traffic on Pierceton/King's is very
light most of the time, and it's easy to wait my turn.

Come to think of it, when I come back from Pierceton, I cross 30
twice, because Van Ness Road is much more pleasant than Pierceton
Road.

Where it's Detroit Street, State Road 15 is four lanes, no median, no
shoulder. I get off and use the sidewalk. Where it's Buffalo Street,
it's the same traffic that crowds Detroit Street squished into two
lanes. I don't go.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

On Sun, 20 Oct 2019 10:11:12 +0700, John B.
wrote:

What in the world is a "walking taco".

If anybody bought one while I was there, I was looking the other way.

I bought one from a street vendor during a festival once, and he
opened a single-serve bag of Fritos Corn Chips and dropped in taco
toppings. One could, indeed, eat it while walking around.

The dishes I didn't remember were no doubt less odd.

I presume all the offerings were made with sloppy-joe meat. It was a
thrill to eat the "sloppy joe" of my childhood, where it just meant
crumble-fried hamburger in a sauce, and didn't imply tons of sugar and
particular sharp seasonings.

We had tacos for lunch after church today. I stopped by the kitchen
to change the ice trays (which I do every Sunday) and ended up serving
instead of going upstairs. (Just as well; Missions Sunday is boring
to me.) I didn't take my apron off until I got home! It needed
washing, tomorrow is washday, and wearing was the easiest way to carry
it. I found what looked like an old stain on it, but it was damp. I
hadn't been near tea or anything that color. I suppose I could have
dampened an old stain while drying dishes. It's in a bucket now with
a whole load of detergent -- and it's about time I added my own white
stuff to the bucket.

There weren't many speckles on the apron, but I was glad I'd worn it.
Had I known I was going to spend the service in the kitchen, I'd have
worn slacks instead of a long-sleeved dress with a very full skirt.
The sleeves are designed to be pushed up, and I confined the skirt
with an apron more serious than those I bought from Indiana Restaurant
Supply. I should ask Bill where it came from.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/`

On Sun, 20 Oct 2019 23:51:30 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Sun, 20 Oct 2019 10:11:12 +0700, John B.
wrote:

What in the world is a "walking taco".

If anybody bought one while I was there, I was looking the other way.

I bought one from a street vendor during a festival once, and he
opened a single-serve bag of Fritos Corn Chips and dropped in taco
toppings. One could, indeed, eat it while walking around.

The dishes I didn't remember were no doubt less odd.

I presume all the offerings were made with sloppy-joe meat. It was a
thrill to eat the "sloppy joe" of my childhood, where it just meant
crumble-fried hamburger in a sauce, and didn't imply tons of sugar and
particular sharp seasonings.

We had tacos for lunch after church today. I stopped by the kitchen
to change the ice trays (which I do every Sunday)

Why does one change ice trays on Sunday?
Good Lord! We've got ice trays that have been in the fridge for 15
years or more :-)

and ended up serving
instead of going upstairs. (Just as well; Missions Sunday is boring
to me.) I didn't take my apron off until I got home! It needed
washing, tomorrow is washday, and wearing was the easiest way to carry
it. I found what looked like an old stain on it, but it was damp. I
hadn't been near tea or anything that color. I suppose I could have
dampened an old stain while drying dishes. It's in a bucket now with
a whole load of detergent -- and it's about time I added my own white
stuff to the bucket.

There weren't many speckles on the apron, but I was glad I'd worn it.
Had I known I was going to spend the service in the kitchen, I'd have
worn slacks instead of a long-sleeved dress with a very full skirt.
The sleeves are designed to be pushed up, and I confined the skirt
with an apron more serious than those I bought from Indiana Restaurant
Supply. I should ask Bill where it came from.
--
cheers,

John B.

On Sun, 20 Oct 2019 23:48:20 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Oct 2019 11:45:23 +0700, John B.
wrote:

I try not to have to cross six or eight lanes of traffic and my
"Bangkok Rides" were all mapped out to avoid it. Over here we drive on
the left side of the road and my bike routes were so I only turned
left.

I have some right-turn only loops.


Loops are easy in the city but since we've moved "out in the country"
there is only one road, so to speak. A nice 4 - 6 lane highway with a
few easy hills. You can ride N.E. toward a city called Korat or S.W.
toward Bangkok.

I don't ride much during the week now but on a Sunday morning traffic
on "the big road" is largely commercial stuff, big trucks, and they
drive at a fairly constant speed and stay in the outside lane. It is
actually quite relaxing to ride then.

The village streets here are narrow "two" lanes, crooked with no
shoulders. I say "two lane" and I guess that technical they are. The
sort of two lane where when you meet anyone you both slow down to a
walking speed and inch by, being careful to make sure that your side
mirrors are folded in first :-)

US 30 is the only multi-lane road around here, and it's much easier to
cross out in the country where one *doesn't* have the help of a light.

Out in the country, I wait for a gap in the traffic, then ride across
two lanes to the median. More often than not, there is also nobody
coming in the other direction, but if there is, I can wait comfortably
in the median until the way is clear.

In town, I must, from a standing start, sprint across four traffic
lanes, two right-turn lanes, and a median wide enough to hold a car
lengthwise. And the stop line may be well back from the edge of the
highway to allow room for left-turning semis.

Needless to say, I often consider something on the other side of 30 to
be out of reach. But the plan to make it absolutely uncrossable
probably won't mature until I'm too crippled up to ride. Making 30
"controlled access" is going to be very, very expensive.

Meanwhile, the town is building walkways everywhere and calling them
bike trails. Two of the three currently in the planning stages don't
look too bad. One is a loop of boardwalk through a privately-owned
swamp, and one is a continuation of the Heritage Trail from Miller
Field to Christ Covenant Church. Heritage Trail doesn't cross any
road or street except Pierceton Road (Or King's Highway; I'm not sure
where the city limits are), and that is marked with blind-man dots and
gates you have to ride around. There's also a stop light, if I recall
correctly, for times when there's a large group on the walkway. I've
never pushed the button, because traffic on Pierceton/King's is very
light most of the time, and it's easy to wait my turn.

Come to think of it, when I come back from Pierceton, I cross 30
twice, because Van Ness Road is much more pleasant than Pierceton
Road.

Where it's Detroit Street, State Road 15 is four lanes, no median, no
shoulder. I get off and use the sidewalk. Where it's Buffalo Street,
it's the same traffic that crowds Detroit Street squished into two
lanes. I don't go.
--
cheers,

John B.

On Mon, 21 Oct 2019 12:21:16 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Why does one change ice trays on Sunday?

Cuz that's the day that I'm in the church.

I empty them into the ice bin, then refill them at the drinking
fountain. I don't trust one-handle faucets to deliver cold water that
isn't contaminated with water from the filthy hot-water tank.

I've explained to my husband several times that I've *seen* the inside
of a hot-water tank, but he knows that the only possible reason for
objecting to hot water in the cold water is that it raises the
temperature and the rise is much too small to measure, therefore I
have no reason not to want a one-handle faucet in the kitchen, where I
always want either hot or cold, and two-handle faucets in the
bathrooms, where I always want warm water. So my house is no
exception to the general insanity.

Ah, well, it's *sterile" filth.

One of the teachers at the pre-school told me that she's grateful that
I keep the ice bin full -- she makes at least one ice pack every day.

Which is good news. Kids are *supposed* to collect minor wounds. How
else are they going to learn how to avoid major wounds?

Too often we hear "Newly-licensed sixteen-year olds kill themselves!
We must raise the driving age and be careful that they don't mature or
gain experience during the delay!"

Twelve is the latest possible age to start teaching children the rules
of the road.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

On Mon, 21 Oct 2019 23:49:04 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2019 12:21:16 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Why does one change ice trays on Sunday?

Cuz that's the day that I'm in the church.

I empty them into the ice bin, then refill them at the drinking
fountain. I don't trust one-handle faucets to deliver cold water that
isn't contaminated with water from the filthy hot-water tank.

By "change ice trays" I had assumed that you meant physically changing
them for others... for some reason :-)

Re rust in tank? I thought that now days all hot water heaters had
either glass lined or stainless tanks?

Re drinking rusty water... Don't people take "iron pills"?

I've explained to my husband several times that I've *seen* the inside
of a hot-water tank, but he knows that the only possible reason for
objecting to hot water in the cold water is that it raises the
temperature and the rise is much too small to measure, therefore I
have no reason not to want a one-handle faucet in the kitchen, where I
always want either hot or cold, and two-handle faucets in the
bathrooms, where I always want warm water. So my house is no
exception to the general insanity.

Ah, well, it's *sterile" filth.

One of the teachers at the pre-school told me that she's grateful that
I keep the ice bin full -- she makes at least one ice pack every day.

Which is good news. Kids are *supposed* to collect minor wounds. How
else are they going to learn how to avoid major wounds?

Too often we hear "Newly-licensed sixteen-year olds kill themselves!
We must raise the driving age and be careful that they don't mature or
gain experience during the delay!"

Twelve is the latest possible age to start teaching children the rules
of the road.
--
cheers,

John B.