viewpost 100 of 100
As one challenge ends, others remain.
me: [groaning as I slowly stand erect after loading fresh grapefruit into the refrigerator's crisper drawers]
she: Are you okay, honey?
me: Oh my! Just standing up after kneeling down...
she: [laughing] Your exercise for the day.
me: [walking slowly back to my room] yeah
Contemplating then on the challenge of my creeping decrepitude as I walk through the dining room that candy bowl on the table challenges me, too. “Come on,” it says to me. “Take another piece. You know you want to.”
Though some challenges will always be with me, one does come to an end. Publication of this blog post marks my one-hundredth of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge. I admit, this does give me a certain sense of satisfaction.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 31 October 2020, ~13:10 CDT, this is my post number 100/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Saturday #challenges
by Roscoe
viewPost 99 of 100
Happy Halloween everyone!
I'm hoping for another peaceful Saturday with an afternoon full of college football on the radio and Svengoolie's Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman tonight.
It would be nice if some little trick-or-treaters could come by tonight to grab some of the candy from that big bowl that tempts me every time I walk by. But if past performance is any guide, none will show up. And it will be up to me deal with all the chocolate bars, etc.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 31 October 2020, ~11:00 CDT, this is my post number 99/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Saturday #Halloween
by Roscoe
viewQueen-Rook Checkmate
It took me 73 moves to checkmate the White King yesterday in a Correspondence Chess game that started over a month ago and involved my opponent and me wiping out almost our entire armies. Finally my Queen and Rook trapped his King in a checkmate against an edge of the board.
The position of pieces at game's end is above, at the top of this post, and our full move record is below.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. b3 g6 4. Be3 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 Re8 8. Nxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxd5 Nb4 10. Be4 e5 11. d5 c6 12. a3 Na6 13. Nf3 b5 14. cxb5 Nc7 15. bxc6 Nb5 16. Rc1 Qd6 17. b4 Nxa3 18. c7 Qxb4+ 19. Nd2 Bf8 20. d6 Bd7 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 22. O-O Rc8 23. Ne4 Qxe4 24. Qd3 Qxd3 25. exd3 Bxd6 26. Bxa7 Bxc7 27. Rc3 Nb5 28. Rb3 Nxa7 29. Rb4 Bf5 30. Kg2 Bxd3 31. Rd1 Nc6 32. Rh4 Nb4 33. Rxb4 Rd8 34. Rb7 Ba5 35. Re7 e4 36. h4 Kf8 37. Kh2 Kxe7 38. Kg2 Kf8 39. Ra1 Bc3 40. Rd1 Kg7 41. Kh2 h5 42. Rc1 Bb2 43. Rc7 Bd4 44. Kh3 e3 45. fxe3 Bf5+ 46. Kh2 Bxe3 47. Re7 Rd2+ 48. Kh1 Bc5 49. Re5 Bb6 50. Re7 Bh3 51. g4 Bxg4 52. Re1 Bh3 53. Re2 Rd1+ 54. Kh2 Bg4 55. Kg3 Bc7+ 56. Kf2 Bxe2 57. Kxe2 Rh1 58. Kf2 Rxh4 59. Kg2 f5 60. Kf3 g5 61. Ke3 f4+ 62. Ke4 Kf6 63. Kd5 f3 64. Kc6 f2 65. Kxc7 f1=Q 66. Kd6 Qe1 67. Kd5 Qe6+ 68. Kc5 Rh1 69. Kd4 Rd1+ 70. Kc3 Qc6+ 71. Kb2 Rd8 72. Kb3 Rb8+ 73. Ka3 Qa6#
0-1
And the adventure continues.
Published on 29 October 2020, ~10:15 CDT, this is my post number 98/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Thursday #chess
by Roscoe
viewA Halloween Week Massacre
That's what this Correspondence Chess game looks like. The board at game's end when my opponent playing Black resigned yesterday, giving me the win with White, is shown in the graphic at the top of this post.
Our game's full record is below.
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. a3 c6 4. Nbd2 Nd7 5. e4 Ndf6 6. exd5 cxd5 7. Bb5+ Bd7 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. O-O O-O-O 10. c4 Qd6 11. c5 Qc6 12. Ne5 Qc7 13. b4 b6 14. cxb6 Qc3 15. Nxf7 Qxa1 16. Nxd8 Kxd8 17. bxa7 Qxa3 18. Bxa3 Ne4 19. a8=Q+ Ke7 20. b5+ Nd6 21. Bxd6+ Kxd6 22. Qxf8+
1-0
And the adventure continues.
Published on 27 October 2020, ~10:15 CDT, this is my post number 97/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #chess #Tuesday
by Roscoe
viewDispelling the Gloom
A grim and gloomy start to this morning, and I'm not sure why. Last night's sleep was about average: 3 ½ hr. 1st sleep segment, followed by 45 min. insomnia break, then another sleep segment of a little more than three hours, finally waking ½ hour before my first alarm. That should be enough to see me through the day.
Local and National news is all pretty depressing, that's probably a source of the grimness I sense.
The morning's health metrics were surprisingly good, though, and the financials checked out okay. There is that to dispel the gloom. Yeah. Think I'll focus on that. And my prayers, of course.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 26 October 2020, ~07:40 CDT, this is my post number 96/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Monday
by Roscoe
viewFull-Radio Saturday
It's good to hear The National Anthem played by a college band before a football game. Of course it was done virtually, and I'm following the game over the radio so I don't have to see anyone disrespecting. Still, it's nice to hear.
Ohio State kicks off, Nebraska has the ball, and the game is underway.
This will be a full-radio Saturday for me. I'll be following college football games on the radio all day long, purposefully avoiding those obnoxious political ads that are EVERYWHERE on TV.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 24 October 2020, ~11:15 CDT, this is my post number 95/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Saturday
by Roscoe
viewNow... and Then
NOW: This morning I registered for the Catholic Identity Conference 2020 which is taking place this weekend. The event is being live-streamed and I'll be watching many of the speakers as they give their presentations. The whole thing is being recorded so those parts I miss live I'll be able to catch later.
THEN: Several decades ago when I was younger, when I drove (I no longer drive – eyesight is shot, you know), and when I had the time and health to do such things, I attended many conferences similar to this in person. I found them in Chicago, in Louisville, different venues in Ohio, all Midwestern cities to which I could easily drive, check into a hotel and spend the weekend. Great experiences I remember fondly.
Times have changed now and so have I. And I find myself looking forward to this weekend's Conference enthusiastically.
The adventure continues.
Published on 23 October 2020, ~11:15 CDT, this is my post number 94/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving
by Roscoe
viewMystery solved!
When I took my morning health metrics today, as I do every day, I was curious about my blood pressure reading. It was higher than normal. Not scary high, mind you, but significantly up from my norm. And I couldn't understand why that should be. Now I wonder no longer.
When I took my Thursday morning meds a few minutes ago I noticed that there were still two tablets remaining in the Wednesday morning pill box. And one of those is prescribed primarily to keep my blood pressure down. Doh! Apparently I failed to unload them yesterday.
I'll have to watch that, won't I? Yes. Yes I will.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 22 October 2020, ~10:45 CDT, this is my post number 93/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog
by Roscoe
viewOMG! Where did my morning go?
This is what happens when you take a really good mid-morning nap. You fix a good breakfast, see the wife off to work, sit back in the recliner to catch some favorite news broadcasts, and... you open your eyes to discover it's almost Noon already!
There's not as much day ahead of me now as there was when I fixed the morning coffee and started making plans. Guess some of the chores will just have to wait until tomorrow.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 19 October 2020, ~11:40 CDT, this is my post number 92/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog
by Roscoe
viewOnce an expensive frustration, now...
—– a value, all things considered. So this weekend I bit the bullet and signed up for a subscription to Sirius XM Radio.
Many years ago I had a SiriusXM subscription for several months. If memory serves me right, the service was more expensive then. And I didn't have the tools to make best use of it. I was carless then (as I am now and always will be – eyes are too bad to drive safely) and I could only listen to it over my computer or with a special SiriusXM radio. And the radio proved to be pretty quirky. So I dropped it after a few months.
Recent frustrations with TuneIn Radio and a conversation with my sister prompted me to look at Sirius again. I found it to be less expensive than I remember. And now with apps to work on my smartphone (didn't have a smartphone back then) and on my tablet (ditto the tablet) and good Bose speakers on the main computer now, it's a pleasure to use SiriusXM.
Long story short, now I can cancel my Premium TuneIn account, use SiriusXM, and get more of what I want while saving money.
And the adventure continues.
Published on 18 October 2020, ~16:00 CDT, this is my post number 91/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
#100DaysToOffload #RoscoeEllis #microblog
by Roscoe