What are you doing today?

[Oldspartan]

Yesterday was the most beautiful day so far this spring, 84F with a pure blue sky. Finished the last of the roto tilling and Linda used her one good wing to plant her started plants. Very small garden this year though with no volume for preserving in the fall. Will use the farmers market for that this year.

Today I go for an MRI with and without contrast on my back. Also, a follow up lung scan to further investigate a spot they "found" on my lung. Not concerned with that because it was also there about 20 years ago and is just one of those things. New doctor though and they want to be thorough.

I hate mid-morning appointments because they effectively limit the whole day activities. Tomorrow my annual prostrate check-in and Friday Linda's follow up on her shoulder. The rest of week is in ruins. This seems to be The Year of Medical in this household.

 

[GaryE]

When I was younger, doing jobs I didn't like (but needed money from) limited my time to do better things. Now, I see medical weeks as the equivalent. To my knowledge, I have no major issues, but every once in a while my wife and I get a 2 week period where appointments dominate our short term. I have a young doctor who is very thorough, and tests she's ordered have been productive.
But they eat up a day.

I do "No Mow May", an initiative to let grass grow in Spring to let the creatures that have sheltered in it get on their feet after a long winter. For the past couple of days, I've been fighting a battle with an invasive ornamental grass the previous owner planted in a small area, and that I let get a little out of control. Today, I have to cut the edges of what's now stubble, so it will grow back in a form you couldn't hide lions in. The rest of the acre out back can be a meadow.

We plant a lot of things because we like the look of them without considering what happens if they escape the limits we set for them in our minds.

I've always been a weird Canadian male because I am not especially interested in cars, trucks or motorized things with wheels. My neighbour has snowmobiles, All Terrain Vehicles, a motorcycle and a ride on mower for a tiny plot of land. Yesterday, I put on a plaid shirt, popped on a baseball cap and worked on the machinery of living on a large plot of land.

 

[Back in the fold]

It’s almost borderline cold today and raining . That means fish room day ! Water changes and close observations . It will be nice .

 

[jaylach]

I am also a SCI FI fan but find the more recent efforts lacking. I miss Asimov. I read the four volumes of Lord of the Rings annually and also read Beren and Lúthien and the Fall of Gondolin as well as The Silmarillon. I have a couple of his other books on the bookshelf but have yet to read them, will have to fix that.

I read pretty widely though and am currently reading The American by Henry James. Finished a book on Farm Poultry Sunday to refresh my memory, what with Linda's new endeavor.

I also miss Asimov along with Heinlein. There are a LOT of authors I miss.

 

[anewbie]

Tad williams has a fantastic new book but before reading it yu would wnat to read the previous 6 books (about 3500 pages).

 

[MaloK]

One of the best novel I read is...

Jurassic Park...

I know it sounds lame, but if you haven't. Try just the 15 first pages and tell me you could put it aside.

 

[Back in the fold]

Books ? I’ve been reading the Patrick O’Brian Aubrey / Maturin series . You’ve seen the Russell Crowe movie “ Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World “ . These are twenty novels about Captain Jack Aubrey and his surgeon friend Stephen Maturin . They’re great .

 

[gwand]

In the modern era post Asimov and such I like the sci fi of Dan Simmons, especially his Hyperion trilogy. My favorite Sci Fi author is Ian Banks. If you haven’t read him I highly recommend reading his books. Unfortunately he died several years ago.

 

[jaylach]

In the modern era post Asimov and such I like the sci fi of Dan Simmons, especially his Hyperion trilogy. My favorite Sci Fi author is Ian Banks. If you haven’t read him I highly recommend reading his books. Unfortunately he died several years ago.

Shoot, some of my old time authors are:

• Right now I've been on a fantasy spin reading a lot of the Dragonlance books (and there are a lot) by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis.
• Edgar Rice Burroughs. -- well known for the John Carter of Mars books.
• Andre Norton -- Actually born Alice Mary Norton, used the Andre pen name due it not being considered proper for a woman to write such books.
• Anne McCaffrey -- Most known for her Dragon Riders of Pern books.
• Larry Niven --One of my more recent favorites but still back there was Larry Niven's Ringworld books along with the offshoots.
• Frank Herbert -- The Dune books... no more needs said.

There are SO many others!

 

[Lanpenn]

Today marks two years that this Betta has been with me...

When he has arrived... on May 14th, 2023

Present (today, May 14th 2025)


However, he is still in recovery and I writing a detailed report. There are some "faded" regions around his head, possibly injuries.

I am trying to find out about living and studying in Vietnam... I found out that there's a graduate in Aquaculture at Can Tho University. It seems that this course has some partnership with Ghent University. I know that Ghent University is one of the best in the Aquaculture subject. From the institution that the graduates founded, the INVE Aquaculture. Still, no idea about. In Brazil, I know Unesp, but I know that graduates and doctoral's are in a difficult time here. It is common for laboratories to have a lack of equipment, late payment of scholarship, and burdensome bureaucracy (this includes when you must import lab equipment). Also, it is not uncommon to have corporatism, patrimonialism, and students who are almost forced to do things that are not their job. Recently, I finished an online and interesting course about environmental licensing, but I still have not received the certificate...

 

[fishorama]

@jaylach Andre Norton was a fav of my mother's. She introduced me to her at 11 or so. My father was a Rex Stout & other "hard boiled" mystery fan. I alternate between fantasy/sci-fi & mysteries. I've been catching up on Mercedes Lackey books, some Philip K. Dick (Bladerunner, Minority Report, etc,) & waiting for the new Sharon Lee/Steve Miller book. Terry Pratchett is fun, Discworld (light) & Long Earth series are interesting. I loved the "Master & Commander" books & the Bernard Cornwell "Sharpe's" series. So many good reads!

I'm a library user & can get old books from anywhere in my state. I don't have a tablet now anymore, but I'm liking having print books for a change.

 

[jaylach]

@jaylach Andre Norton was a fav of my mother's. She introduced me to her at 11 or so. My father was a Rex Stout & other "hard boiled" mystery fan. I alternate between fantasy/sci-fi & mysteries. I've been catching up on Mercedes Lackey books, some Philip K. Dick (Bladerunner, Minority Report, etc,) & waiting for the new Sharon Lee/Steve Miller book. Terry Pratchett is fun, Discworld (light) & Long Earth series are interesting. I loved the "Master & Commander" books & the Bernard Cornwell "Sharpe's" series. So many good reads!

I'm a library user & can get old books from anywhere in my state. I don't have a tablet now anymore, but I'm liking having print books for a change.

I don't have room for physical books in my place but have well over 500 eBooks on my Microsoft Surface that I use for reading.

 

[fishorama]

Librarys often have ebooks on a couple different systems, mine does. They get checked out for 3 weeks then disappear.

 

[Oldspartan]

WOW !! This has refreshed my little brain --- Mercedes Lackey (way under rated), McCaffrey, her Dragons of Pern were one of my favorite series, Niven was very good., Bradbury, Boland, (White August), Peter Phillips, and an endless list of good Sci Fy.

The two-standout series in my mind are Asimov's Foundation Series, and Tolkien's Middle Earth series.

My interest in a lot of the genre has waned because I think we are living a lot of the Science Fiction of my younger day.

Doctor called with my MRI results almost as soon as I got home. They were about as I expected, poor. My leg issues are directly related to my lower back and surgery will be in my more immediate future. Will be setting an appointment with Ortho people later today, same office that sliced and diced Linda's shoulder.

Today the 90 gallon gets a serious vacuuming and 50-gallon water change, and I will whack some weeds around the walkways and edges of flower beds, (traditionally Linda's chore but with one wing she cannot swing the whacker). Then off to the Prostrate doc for my annual poke and prod in dark spaces. I expect no issues there though as my PS something is very good.

 

[GaryE]

@Oldspartan Wouldn't it all be easier if there were some sort of API test kit for all these things?

I received my first package of killie eggs yesterday, Aphyosemion ogoense GHP 80/24, from France. Transit was fast, and everything looks good. The eggs are in water, and I now wait for hatching to see if appearances are deceiving or not. It's a fish I kept for a long time and really like. If all goes well, I'll see this again.

Two more to come - maybe today? Hope springs eternal.