Patio Warmth In Winter

The heat focusing reflector adjusts easily to direct warmth. This patio heater truly kicks. We had a family BBQ last Saturday. As dusk approached the patio area was quite chill. The decision to get the heater came easily afterwards. We tested the heater last evening. There will be no more family gatherings on the patio in winter with uncomfortable chill to deal with.

The heater cost was $179 with another $42 going for a filled propane tank. Refilling the tank will cost only $24. We will keep a back-up tank for when the grill or heater runs out of fuel. Next day refill will be easy.

Tonight we plan to grill steaks and enjoy our patio in the early evening. Color us spoiled.

Go to YouTube and check out our patio video.

Keeping Girl Scouts "Safe"

Girl Scouts accepts transgender kid, provokes cookie boycott… 
When fear spotlights ignorance we can only shake our heads about people who are unable to apply critical thinking.  Their false, slippery slope, arguments reveal this ignorance.

One individual is referred to in the news report: "I ask all fellow Girl Scouts who want a true, all-girl experience not to sell any Girl Scouts cookies until GSUSA (Girl Scouts of the USA) addresses our concerns," says the girl, identified as a teen named Taylor, a troop member from California, in some news reports. "I ask all parents who want their girls to be in a safe environment [emphasis mine] to tell their leaders why you will not allow your girls to make any more money for GSUSA."

I believe that Taylor's parents have transferred their "adolescent penis phobia" to their daughter. And how will allowing the transgender child into the troop create an unsafe environment? When parents wish to marginalize children who are different within the scout subculture they teach non-acceptance and intolerance among their offspring.

How sad for those girls in scouting and for those children who are honest about their emotions and feelings. Hopefully, the transgender child in question will receive appropriate support from all directions so that her self-esteem will not suffer.


As for me, I generally do not buy Girl Scout Cookies because I am diabetic. However, I liked how one person was quoted about the issue. She said that she would buy the cookies and give them away to others. That is a plan worth following. Let's offset the boycott of the ignorant.

Sounds For Sleep

Sound Oasis S-550-05 Sound Therapy System

Ocean Surf, Summer Night, White Noise, Wind, Rain, and Stream are the choices. The sounds of ocean surf and summer night are my top two favorites. Volume adjustment permits the drowning out of street noise for day sleepers; yet, helps to set the mood according to personal preference when listening to nature's sounds.

The model pictured above accommodates sound cards for additional sleep therapy choices. These include Rhythms of the Sea, Wilderness Journey, and Tropical Rain Forest. I sampled the tracks for the expansion cards and found nothing I just had to have.

One of the testimonials on Sound Oasis' site was given by an individual who had had chronic insomnia that was not related to depression. After many years of seeing various medical specialists for management of her condition she finally, out of absolute desperation and personal researching, got the Sound Oasis Sleep Therapy System. (Not one specialist ever recommended this.) Her sleep patterns and periods returned to normal rather quickly, ending years of pure hell with her sleep efforts.

I generally have no problem sleeping. Nonetheless, I truly liked listening to ocean surf when I went down for a nap today. The time setting allows for continuous sound. Three other choices are for 30, 60, and 90 minute periods. The final several minutes play out as the volume lowers slowly. Hopefully any sleeper never is aware of this volume attenuation.

Tonight I will have ninety minutes of ocean surf when I turn in for the night.

Alarm Clock Radio With Atomic Clock Technology

All that I wanted was an alarm clock radio with Atomic Clock technology. A search on Amazon.com yielded the very item I wanted. Or so I thought. Not until its arrival and during set-up was it apparent there was no accommodation for Daylight Saving Time (DST). Yes, my Honeywell atomic clock kept accurate time (never losing, never gaining); yet, that was the extent of using the Ft. Collins, Colorado standard time server.


The company that sold the Honeywell clock through Amazon has agreed to reverse the debit on my credit card. Further searching on the Internet was fruitless. Suddenly I decided to call my local Radio Shack to explain my dilemma. To my amazement the lady I spoke to stated that they carried the very item I wanted.


Jolene explained she owns the Timex Redi Set, and that it does indeed adjust at beginning and end of DST.


Years ago Shirley got the Sony Dream Machine. Every spring she had to manually forward the time by one hour and set it back in the fall.  When I upgraded our analog kitchen clock it was time to order a clock radio with Atomic Clock technology as well.


The clock on our microwave oven is now the only timekeeper that requires manual assist for semi-annual changes.
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Eastern Classic Thai Restaurant

[CLICK ON VIDEO TO SEE LARGER VIEW]

Eastern Classic Thai Restaurant serves award winning Thai cuisine at reasonable prices. The above video was put together and links to its YouTube home were e-mailed to people Shirley and I know in the Redlands area. Additionally, we asked that they forward the presentation to people on their e-mail lists. This has resulted in first-time patrons for the restaurant. The service is great and the food is tasty, so return patronage is a given.

This was my first venture into producing this type of video. Fun!

Phishing Alert

The above video presents information about protecting

your personal and financial information. Please view it.

I received a recorded message via telephone from someone identifying herself as being with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Her message is that I may have been recently contacted by an entity that claims to be a company with whom I have recently done business. The warning is to never give up personal and financial information, no matter how urgent the matter may seem.


The practice of getting people to give up their personal and financial information is called "Phishing."


Our government provides considerable consumer protection information at OnguardOnline.Gov that is easy to access.
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