Roscoe's Story

SeniorLiving

Yes, I have.

Voted

Earlier this afternoon she and I walked over to our polling place, the neighborhood Elementary School, and we voted.

Whatever happens next as a result of these elections, I can watch with a certain sense of calm, knowing I've done all I can do to bring about the best outcome possible.

And the adventure continues.


Published on 03 November 2020, ~15:30 Central Time.

#RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Tuesday #voting


by Roscoe

Prelude to Election Day

That's what this Monday has felt like all day long.

She and I WERE planning to show up at our polling place early tomorrow morning. But when she returned home from work this afternoon she told me she'd have to work tomorrow morning. Drat! Usually she's off all day Tuesday. Now our plan is to head over to the Elementary School in the neighborhood to vote as soon as gets home tomorrow afternoon.

I'm confident our man will win, but I'll feel much better about things after I've cast my vote.

And the adventure continues.


Published on 02 November 2020, ~19:45 Central Time.

#RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Monday #voting


by Roscoe

A Halloween Surprise

Halloween win

Earlier this afternoon I logged onto the website of a chess club to which I belong, and I was surprised to find that I'd won this game yesterday when my opponent playing White ran out of time on his clock.

We were playing with a very relaxed time control of 5 days per move, and timeouts are allowed in this club if requested. There was no indication that he'd asked for one; he just stopped playing. That's considered very bad form in Correspondence Chess circles. We call it a silent resignation. If our developing middlegame made him too uncomfortable to play on he could have done the honorable thing and simply announced his resignation.

At any rate this counts as a loss for him and a win for me. And I'll gladly take the win.

The position of pieces at game's end is shown on the graphic that leads this post, and our complete move record is below.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bf4 Bd6 5. Bxd6 cxd6 6. e3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 g6 9. Nf3 Re8 10. O-O Nc6 11. Re1 a6 12. Qc2 Ne7 13. Rac1 b5 14. b4 Bf5 0-1

And the adventure continues.


Published on 01 November 2020, ~15:00 Central Time.

#RoscoeEllis #microblog #SeniorLiving #Sunday #chess


by Roscoe

post 100 of 100

Halloween Candy

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

Post 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

Queen-Rook Checkmate

Q-R Mate

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

A Halloween Week Massacre

CC Win 26/Oct

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

Dispelling 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

Full-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

Now... and Then

CIC2020

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