December 7th, 2024
“ Dobroho ranku”, or “Good Morning!” in Ukrainian, is an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Ukraine. I have decided that the UJT will remain focused on Ukraine until we can all rejoice at the end of hostilities. It has been 1033 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
This week I learned some stuff:
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- Today is Pearl Harbor Day. Eighty-three years ago today the Imperial Japanese government launched an ill-advised attack on the US state of Hawaii. I have only met one veteran of that attack- my friend, Larry Clayton’s Dad was stationed on a Tugboat that morning. He never mentioned it to his son’s hippy friend. Before 9/11 took the record, Pearl Harbor was the largest loss of American lives in a single day. The US part of!WWII began that day.
- Apple’s “automatic” operating system updates are not tenacious. That is to say, they try once and if anything goes wrong with the install, “Oh Well”. This feature will not try again. About 4 years ago there was a major update to my operating system that I found out about yesterday. My suggestion, especially those using older apple devices, is to turn off automatic updates and update when you see one waiting. That way you know.
- I managed to pick up 3 more lbs over the Thanksgiving weekend!! I find it is much easier to pick up weed these days then put it down. So it’s back to the gym and intermittent fasting. I hope by the end of the year I will be back to my girlish figure but I’m not taking any bets and so it goes…..
- There is only one thing worse than losing an old friend and that is never having had one. I am so glad to have known John Patching, but I miss him sorely.
- Perhaps I should take a poll – How many UJTers are Apple folks and how many are still using Brand X ? Anyway, I learned a feature in Pages (word processing software) this week. Have you ever been typing along only to look up and find that 2 paragraphs before some Yahoo, had switched to ALL CAPS?? I found out that this must have happened to other Pages users because their is a nifty feature under their EDIT menu called, “Transformation” that allows you to convert to lower or upper case with one click!! WhooHoo ! Idiot Foiled!
- You can find out all about today’s history here.
This week’s Website Update: I
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- After the holiday, I smoked a pork shoulder and decided to have some Potatoes All Rotten as a side dish. This has been known to happen in the past I found many typos and mistakes in the recipe so I redid it and then re-publishing it now. I apologize to anyone who attempted to use the old one. This week I also added a new vocabulary quiz and I hope you enjoy it.
- This week, the Home Page will be Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Homes. Jr.: “It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen”.
Bonsai Tree and Stained Glass, Update:
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- Started cutting glass this week and found out that it is a perishable skill. It had been quite a while since my last stained glass work, and it shows.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
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- I keep a daily (or semi-daily) Gratitude Journal. I try to start my day by capturing what I am grateful for each day. I also capture and maintain my personal “To Do” List. I have been doing this for a long time. While My journalling has changed a lot over the years. While I was working, I kept a rather handsome bound journal with me almost all the time. I would use it to capture my thoughts about a wide spectrum of topics but rarely about my feelings. For the past 4-5 years, I have focused on the positive things that I am fortunate enough to have experienced and to be grateful for. I also have these UJT Updates that I send out almost every week. In the Kitchen Drawer Under the Jacaranda Tree site, you will find all of the Updates since 2016. I might have captured some of my thoughts and feelings in them. To be honest, I have no idea why I started all this. Perhaps these things are just crumbs left in my wake across the universe. Perhaps not. I do hope that someday, someone might find value in my remainders. All I know for sure is that I have enjoyed every second of it.
Music Update:
Again this week, I am featuring songs from my top 50 list on iTunes. This is another big brother feature from Apple. Itunes keeps track of what you play the most. Oh boy! The funny thing though, when I looked at it, I liked all the songs 🙂 This a random sample in no particular order.
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
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- Bruce Springsteen — Grown Up — From the Vinyl !!!! This album is one of a few that I listened to every song over and over. Most albums, I would put the tone arm down on one or three of the “ worthy” songs. But “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” released in 1973 was one I just flipped over when the side ran out.
- Jackson Brown — Doctor My Eyes — I knew that Jackson had been writing songs for many great bands such as the Eagles but I think this self-titled album was released in 1973 that opened my eyes to his giant singer/songwriter talent.
- Tom Petty — Free Fallin’ — From the Vinyl !!!! I always had a special spot in my heart for Tom’s music. He always struck me as this kind of accidental star who loved the gig he had fallen into. Tjhis song he co-wrote with another favorite of mine, Jeff Lynn. It was released in 1989on his first solo album, “Full Moon Fever”.
- The Kinks — Celluloid Heroes — This was actually a big hit for the boys and captured me right away. Something is haunting about Ray Davies’ vocals and John Gosling’s magical piano work. This song was released on their “Everybody is in Show-Bbiz” in 1972.
- John Mayer — I’m on Fire — This is a fantastic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s hit. It was released on one of John’s ,most interesting records, “Battle Studies” in 2009.
- Eric Johnson — Trademark — This is a deeper cut from his “Ah VIa Musicom” album released in 1990. Many years ago I got to see this superb guitar player covering “All Along The Watchtower” as part of a Rock & Roll revival.
- The Grateful Dead — I Need a Mricle Everyday— From the Vinyl !!!! This one came out on one of my all-time favorite records, “Shakedown Street” released in 1978.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; Always remember… The best is yet to come! As always, thank you for being my friend!