32 GB memory stick

On 21/11/2011 02:32, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:42:11 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 00:27, Mack A. Damia wrote:
choro wrote:

On 20/11/2011 18:04, Mack A. Damia wrote:

You don't get out much, do you?

How can I go out if I am out already? Right now I am in a pub garden,
sitting with my pint with half a dozen friends. In the meantime, I do my
thing on NGs too. Anything wrong with that?

Not if you're a groupie

There are lots of pubs around with wi-fi facility, you know.

I moved beyond the "pub" stage of life about twenty years ago.

Ah, but I live in a posh part of town where the local pubs, or at least
some of them, are really posh with nice gardens patronized by a
"sophisicat" clientèle. Definitely not your standard ran down "working
class" pub, I can assure you.

I've been to both. Stanley's Tavern on Laurel Street was workingman's
depression-era bar that Stanley opened up in the 1930s.

When I lived near the bar in the 1980's, you could get a meal for
less than $1.00 and get change to boot. Porter on tap, too.

Across the street in the working class neighborhood was "Joe's" - one
of the most exclusive restaurants in the nation. A la carte meals
started at $100.00 - he specialized in mushrooms that he picked
himself and a Beef Wellington.


"I'm really sorry to see that close," said McMahon, Reading mayor.
"It's an institution. It's a great piece of Reading history. You had
Stanley's (a working man's tavern) down the street and Joe's (a famous
restaurant); what a juxtaposition."

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=345121

I've haunted the fancy joints , too. My late friend, the cocaine
dealer, would drive in his new BMW, and we'd hit all the fancy hot
spots in the area - southeastern Pennsylvania. This was in the late
1970s - early 1980s. He owned a condo in Ocean City, NJ and died of
an overdose while speedballing. His identical twin brother had died
just about a year earlier doing the same thing.

Made the rounds at both types of places in the Pittsburgh area about
ten years later. Got bored with the scene after a while, so I gave it
up for TV, a book and maybe a beer or two.

It's much safer, too.

I tend to like quiet pubs where one can sit down and relax with a drink
or two, or maybe socialize over a steak dinner or steak and kidney pie
or something like that. Don't like noisy places.

One of my favorite places is the garden restaurant at Kenwood House in
North London at the top of Hampstead Heath which is not far from where I
live. It is always civilized there for some reason. Other similar places
not all that distant from Kenwood House just seem to attract the wrong
crowds who thankfully tend to shy away from Kenwood House. They must be
put off by the genteel atmosphere of the place.

I even listened to a whole symphony orchestra rehearsing there for the
evening concert. Nothing special really as I prefer to listen to music
either at home on my hi-fi or live in the concert hall. Definitely not
in the open air on loudspeakers with the orchestra sitting on the podium
across the lake. Stupid if you ask me, at least from a musical and
acoustical point of view.

In winter you can sit inside in the restaurant in a large room more like
a huge barn with very tall ceilings which I just love. That place has
got a life of its own. It seems alive almost. I just love it.
-- choro

On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:37:36 +0000, choro wrote:

This I copied from Stumbling Block's posting and it shows up properly on
MY screen...
"BTW, it's Dvoøák"

There are no k's in Stumbling Bloch :-)

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:51:54 +0000, choro wrote:

On 21/11/2011 02:32, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:42:11 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 00:27, Mack A. Damia wrote:
choro wrote:

On 20/11/2011 18:04, Mack A. Damia wrote:

You don't get out much, do you?

How can I go out if I am out already? Right now I am in a pub garden,
sitting with my pint with half a dozen friends. In the meantime, I do my
thing on NGs too. Anything wrong with that?

Not if you're a groupie

There are lots of pubs around with wi-fi facility, you know.

I moved beyond the "pub" stage of life about twenty years ago.

Ah, but I live in a posh part of town where the local pubs, or at least
some of them, are really posh with nice gardens patronized by a
"sophisicat" clientèle. Definitely not your standard ran down "working
class" pub, I can assure you.

I've been to both. Stanley's Tavern on Laurel Street was workingman's
depression-era bar that Stanley opened up in the 1930s.

When I lived near the bar in the 1980's, you could get a meal for
less than $1.00 and get change to boot. Porter on tap, too.

Across the street in the working class neighborhood was "Joe's" - one
of the most exclusive restaurants in the nation. A la carte meals
started at $100.00 - he specialized in mushrooms that he picked
himself and a Beef Wellington.


"I'm really sorry to see that close," said McMahon, Reading mayor.
"It's an institution. It's a great piece of Reading history. You had
Stanley's (a working man's tavern) down the street and Joe's (a famous
restaurant); what a juxtaposition."

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=345121

I've haunted the fancy joints , too. My late friend, the cocaine
dealer, would drive in his new BMW, and we'd hit all the fancy hot
spots in the area - southeastern Pennsylvania. This was in the late
1970s - early 1980s. He owned a condo in Ocean City, NJ and died of
an overdose while speedballing. His identical twin brother had died
just about a year earlier doing the same thing.

Made the rounds at both types of places in the Pittsburgh area about
ten years later. Got bored with the scene after a while, so I gave it
up for TV, a book and maybe a beer or two.

It's much safer, too.

I tend to like quiet pubs where one can sit down and relax with a drink
or two, or maybe socialize over a steak dinner or steak and kidney pie
or something like that. Don't like noisy places.

One of my favorite places is the garden restaurant at Kenwood House in
North London at the top of Hampstead Heath which is not far from where I
live. It is always civilized there for some reason. Other similar places
not all that distant from Kenwood House just seem to attract the wrong
crowds who thankfully tend to shy away from Kenwood House. They must be
put off by the genteel atmosphere of the place.

I even listened to a whole symphony orchestra rehearsing there for the
evening concert. Nothing special really as I prefer to listen to music
either at home on my hi-fi or live in the concert hall. Definitely not
in the open air on loudspeakers with the orchestra sitting on the podium
across the lake. Stupid if you ask me, at least from a musical and
acoustical point of view.

In winter you can sit inside in the restaurant in a large room more like
a huge barn with very tall ceilings which I just love. That place has
got a life of its own. It seems alive almost. I just love it.
-- choro

There are some very fancy restaurants in Ensenada; it being a resort
town. I've eaten in a few but don't like spending a lot of money for
food that I can cook just as well myself. On Christmas and sometimes
New Year's Eve, I'll go to the fish market (called the "Black Market")
and get myself a big lobster tail - maybe some shrimp and raw oysters
which I love. A nice fillet from Costco -which is U.S. beef rather
than Mexican. Mexician beef tends to be flavorful but tough and
stringy. I don't enjoy drinking that much anymore; my desire just
faded away, and since I have been diagnosed with gout, beer is bad
because of the yeast, and shellfish and red meat are among the worst
foods I could eat.

What's a body to do?

On 21/11/2011 02:08, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:21:27 -0800, Gene E. Bloch wrote:

Here's another 9:8, but this time it's Q-S-Q-Q, accented on the S; it's
Macedonian, IIRC (and it sounds Macedonian). It's called Shto mi e milo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsnVgdIWQSw

I love this type of Balkan/Macedonian music. I think this can be
described as fusion music. But what is the Imam doing in the shop?


Here's a fragment of the same melody with a different title and lyrics,
showing the dance as well (it's the only one I could find under the
alternate name):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjY7L...eature=related

No, I don't dig this version. Too much like shows laid on for tourists.
Technically a good recording though!


I had forgotten about this guy, Simon Trpèeski[1], a Macedonian
classical pianist and composer, who incorporated the above tune in this
piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE5Kw...eature=related

Nice piece actually, but the actual recording is not a very
professional. Pity! He is obviously a fine musician but not such a fine
pianist which is not unusual. I am sure this piece would sound a lot
more polished in the hands of a top notch concert pianist but as a
composition it has a lot of going for it.
-- choro

The melody appears clearly at around 30 seconds into the clip.

[1] Seeing that character codes are varied, let me point out that Simon
Trpèeski = Simon Trpcheski, where ch means the c with a hachek.

On 21/11/2011 00:32, Peter Jason wrote:
On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:09:44 +0000, wrote:

On 20/11/2011 20:21, Robin Bignall wrote:
On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:38:11 +0000, wrote:

On 19/11/2011 18:59, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
wrote
[]
But still, I am what I am and cannot go back.

Ah, that song about the giant vegetable, of which I think Shirley Bassey
gives the best performance.

I like(d) Shirley Bassey especially when she was younger and used to
appear in that low cut dress at the back; cut down to her you know what!
But can't recollect the song that is on your mind.

"Hey, Big Spender" was one of the songs where she wore such a dress.

Hey, of course I remember that one! Who doesn't?
You could see her "cheeks" in that dress! And what "cheeks"!
-- choro


These days I love listening to Edith Piaf. Incredible chanteuse of
French chanson! But if you like singing you should also listen to
Cantaloupe, Songs of the Auvergne, sung by Vittorio de Los Angeles. I've
got two other versions on CD but her version is best.

Also Google for...

Schubert lieder Peter Schreier Hermann Prey Gerald Moore

Dietrich Fischer Diskau will also show up, of course. And Gerald Moore
is a superb accompanist of the highest calibre.
-- choro


However, there is one thing I can say and that is that being engaged
in this exchange of views on these two unlikely newsgroups has given
me a lot of pleasure.

Me too. Though I can't help wondering what the other denizens are
thinking, especially of the Windows one!
[]

Many of the classic performers are on uTube.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XP5RP6OEJI
This is of course a classic. Need to say any more?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmx4MN3xZpM
Ian Bostridge sings superbly but I have got just one niggle! His voice
lacks gravitas. But the pianist, the pianist!!! Who is that pianist? He
is superb! Incredible.

& look at this... (wait for the fugue.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-li9Rq-wTHE

Sorry. No. Not my cup of tea. Second rate piano. Too much sustain.
Second rate recording. You can't beat Glen Gould for this type of music...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3MVZ...eature=related

I know I am a hard taskmaster. But then that's me. But listen to Glen
Gould and how the notes come out nice and crisp and the melody sings
even when the melody line is in spaced out chords. You can discern the
melody in the chords whereas with a lesser pianist those chords would
lose their melodic line.

You know what the secret is? More than technique it is the player
singing the melody in his head as he plays. You can't play or rather
play well what you cannot hear and it is that ability of a player to
hear the melody before he actually strikes the notes that brings out the
melody. It's all in your mind's ear, is what I say. I know this is a bit
like the idea behind that book, Zen in the Art of Archery, but it is
true. It is the secret of the old cowboys shooting from the hit and
never missing. Yet someone who takes careful aid misses the target. It
is strange and difficult to understand but as the Zen Archery Master
said after reading a few books on Western philosophy, "Now I understand
why. But you've got everything wrong", or some such words to that effect.
-- choro

On 21/11/2011 02:35, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:03:57 +0000, wrote:

On 20/11/2011 14:05, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
wrote
On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote:
[]
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

To be honest with you I don't think it did. I was the coolest customer
in the hospital, so the nurses told me. They had never seen anybody as
cool as I was, waiting for a hear operation. So they told me anyway. But
I had the attack at a time when my whole life was in great turmoil and
may be being confined to a hospital bed was one solution for me. But
mine is a long story which I'd like not to divulge in an open arena like
the Usenet.

Anyway, you are a baby compared to me! ;-)
-- choro

On 21/11/2011 03:06, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:37:36 +0000, choro wrote:

This I copied from Stumbling Block's posting and it shows up properly on
MY screen...
"BTW, it's Dvoøák"

There are no k's in Stumbling Bloch :-)

I get it. No K. But the B is a V. No??!
-- choro

On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:08:58 +0000, choro wrote:

On 21/11/2011 02:35, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:03:57 +0000, wrote:

On 20/11/2011 14:05, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
wrote
On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote:
[]
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

To be honest with you I don't think it did. I was the coolest customer
in the hospital, so the nurses told me. They had never seen anybody as
cool as I was, waiting for a hear operation. So they told me anyway. But
I had the attack at a time when my whole life was in great turmoil and
may be being confined to a hospital bed was one solution for me. But
mine is a long story which I'd like not to divulge in an open arena like
the Usenet.

Anyway, you are a baby compared to me! ;-)

I assume you mean age-wise.

Me? I raised hell in the hospital. Had wonderful care in intensive
care with my own nurse, etc., but when I was moved to the general
area, I was put in room-after-room with noisy people. All I wanted to
do was rest in peace and quiet.

I got one guy who would tell everybody about his problems - including
his bowel functions whenever he could. He had a very loud voice, and
if there was nobody around, he would use the telephone.

On the second day, he started phoning at 5 am, and on the second call,
I got our of bed with all my tubes in and told him to "SHUT THE ****
UP". I grabbed the phone out of his hand, but by that time the nurses
had come in, and they quickly moved me to a private room. I was ready
to strangle the guy, I was so angry with him.

On 21/11/2011 03:37, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:51:54 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 02:32, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:42:11 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 00:27, Mack A. Damia wrote:
choro wrote:

On 20/11/2011 18:04, Mack A. Damia wrote:

You don't get out much, do you?

How can I go out if I am out already? Right now I am in a pub garden,
sitting with my pint with half a dozen friends. In the meantime, I do my
thing on NGs too. Anything wrong with that?

Not if you're a groupie

There are lots of pubs around with wi-fi facility, you know.

I moved beyond the "pub" stage of life about twenty years ago.

Ah, but I live in a posh part of town where the local pubs, or at least
some of them, are really posh with nice gardens patronized by a
"sophisicat" clientèle. Definitely not your standard ran down "working
class" pub, I can assure you.

I've been to both. Stanley's Tavern on Laurel Street was workingman's
depression-era bar that Stanley opened up in the 1930s.

When I lived near the bar in the 1980's, you could get a meal for
less than $1.00 and get change to boot. Porter on tap, too.

Across the street in the working class neighborhood was "Joe's" - one
of the most exclusive restaurants in the nation. A la carte meals
started at $100.00 - he specialized in mushrooms that he picked
himself and a Beef Wellington.


"I'm really sorry to see that close," said McMahon, Reading mayor.
"It's an institution. It's a great piece of Reading history. You had
Stanley's (a working man's tavern) down the street and Joe's (a famous
restaurant); what a juxtaposition."

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=345121

I've haunted the fancy joints , too. My late friend, the cocaine
dealer, would drive in his new BMW, and we'd hit all the fancy hot
spots in the area - southeastern Pennsylvania. This was in the late
1970s - early 1980s. He owned a condo in Ocean City, NJ and died of
an overdose while speedballing. His identical twin brother had died
just about a year earlier doing the same thing.

Made the rounds at both types of places in the Pittsburgh area about
ten years later. Got bored with the scene after a while, so I gave it
up for TV, a book and maybe a beer or two.

It's much safer, too.

I tend to like quiet pubs where one can sit down and relax with a drink
or two, or maybe socialize over a steak dinner or steak and kidney pie
or something like that. Don't like noisy places.

One of my favorite places is the garden restaurant at Kenwood House in
North London at the top of Hampstead Heath which is not far from where I
live. It is always civilized there for some reason. Other similar places
not all that distant from Kenwood House just seem to attract the wrong
crowds who thankfully tend to shy away from Kenwood House. They must be
put off by the genteel atmosphere of the place.

I even listened to a whole symphony orchestra rehearsing there for the
evening concert. Nothing special really as I prefer to listen to music
either at home on my hi-fi or live in the concert hall. Definitely not
in the open air on loudspeakers with the orchestra sitting on the podium
across the lake. Stupid if you ask me, at least from a musical and
acoustical point of view.

In winter you can sit inside in the restaurant in a large room more like
a huge barn with very tall ceilings which I just love. That place has
got a life of its own. It seems alive almost. I just love it.
-- choro

There are some very fancy restaurants in Ensenada; it being a resort
town. I've eaten in a few but don't like spending a lot of money for
food that I can cook just as well myself. On Christmas and sometimes
New Year's Eve, I'll go to the fish market (called the "Black Market")
and get myself a big lobster tail - maybe some shrimp and raw oysters
which I love. A nice fillet from Costco -which is U.S. beef rather
than Mexican. Mexician beef tends to be flavorful but tough and
stringy. I don't enjoy drinking that much anymore; my desire just
faded away, and since I have been diagnosed with gout, beer is bad
because of the yeast, and shellfish and red meat are among the worst
foods I could eat.

What's a body to do?

Eat plenty of oily fish like herring, mackerel, anchovies etc. Not only
cheap but also very tasty and damn your gout! Me got gout too. Me royal
too! So, I got gout, as Zorba would have said. When the boss aske him:
Are you married? Zorba says: Am I not a man? And is not a man stupid? Of
course I married. Wife, children, house... the full catastrophe! And
then he does the Zorba dance!

Read the book in translation after seeing the film but that was in the
mid 60s. The book is superb actually. And one can learn a lot about life
reading that book.

I am good cook too and I actually enjoy cooking as well as -- but wait
for it --- I love doing the washing up as well. The sound of water
soothes my soul. Psychologically the sound of water has the greatest
calming effect on me. The sound of water flowing in a stream... Nothing
can beat it. My father had a pool with water jetting up and cascading
into the pool with goldfish in it which he had built under the pergola
behind the house.

Actually the back of the house was also the front, if you see what I
mean because it was built on top of a couple of shops and a small
village bakery on a sloping hillside with access from the road going up
the hill so there was no front access but an access from the side with
the front of the house actually at the back!

Sitting or dining under the grapevine and listening to the sound of the
water cascading into the pool was next best thing to being in heaven.
-- choro

On 21/11/2011 04:21, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:08:58 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 02:35, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:03:57 +0000, wrote:

On 20/11/2011 14:05, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
wrote
On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote:
[]
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

To be honest with you I don't think it did. I was the coolest customer
in the hospital, so the nurses told me. They had never seen anybody as
cool as I was, waiting for a hear operation. So they told me anyway. But
I had the attack at a time when my whole life was in great turmoil and
may be being confined to a hospital bed was one solution for me. But
mine is a long story which I'd like not to divulge in an open arena like
the Usenet.

Anyway, you are a baby compared to me! ;-)

I assume you mean age-wise.

Me? I raised hell in the hospital. Had wonderful care in intensive
care with my own nurse, etc., but when I was moved to the general
area, I was put in room-after-room with noisy people. All I wanted to
do was rest in peace and quiet.

I got one guy who would tell everybody about his problems - including
his bowel functions whenever he could. He had a very loud voice, and
if there was nobody around, he would use the telephone.

On the second day, he started phoning at 5 am, and on the second call,
I got our of bed with all my tubes in and told him to "SHUT THE ****
UP". I grabbed the phone out of his hand, but by that time the nurses
had come in, and they quickly moved me to a private room. I was ready
to strangle the guy, I was so angry with him.

Hope you are OK now. You should be if your heart op was successful. I
had a triple bypass and two heart attacks though nobody seems to know
exactly when I had the second one: whether it was before or after the
main one when I was taken to hospital by ambulance. They can only see
that I had two heart attacks from the graph. I had my op over 15 years
ago now. Touch wood, I seem to be doing well. But I care **** 'bout
nothing now. And that's the attitude to take if you've had a heart attack.
-- choro

On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:44:56 +0000, choro wrote:

On 21/11/2011 04:21, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:08:58 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 02:35, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:03:57 +0000, wrote:

On 20/11/2011 14:05, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
wrote
On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote:
[]
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

To be honest with you I don't think it did. I was the coolest customer
in the hospital, so the nurses told me. They had never seen anybody as
cool as I was, waiting for a hear operation. So they told me anyway. But
I had the attack at a time when my whole life was in great turmoil and
may be being confined to a hospital bed was one solution for me. But
mine is a long story which I'd like not to divulge in an open arena like
the Usenet.

Anyway, you are a baby compared to me! ;-)

I assume you mean age-wise.

Me? I raised hell in the hospital. Had wonderful care in intensive
care with my own nurse, etc., but when I was moved to the general
area, I was put in room-after-room with noisy people. All I wanted to
do was rest in peace and quiet.

I got one guy who would tell everybody about his problems - including
his bowel functions whenever he could. He had a very loud voice, and
if there was nobody around, he would use the telephone.

On the second day, he started phoning at 5 am, and on the second call,
I got our of bed with all my tubes in and told him to "SHUT THE ****
UP". I grabbed the phone out of his hand, but by that time the nurses
had come in, and they quickly moved me to a private room. I was ready
to strangle the guy, I was so angry with him.

Hope you are OK now. You should be if your heart op was successful. I
had a triple bypass and two heart attacks though nobody seems to know
exactly when I had the second one: whether it was before or after the
main one when I was taken to hospital by ambulance. They can only see
that I had two heart attacks from the graph. I had my op over 15 years
ago now. Touch wood, I seem to be doing well. But I care **** 'bout
nothing now. And that's the attitude to take if you've had a heart attack.
-- choro

It was June of last year, and I have been unable to get back into a
decent exercise program. I used to be quite active - was a runner and
lifted weights. Now I can't motivate myself, although if I want to
live a long life, I realize that I must do so. Oh, my aching bones!

Thanks for your kind thoughts. Same to you!

On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:38:10 +0000, choro wrote:

On 21/11/2011 03:37, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:51:54 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 02:32, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:42:11 +0000, wrote:

On 21/11/2011 00:27, Mack A. Damia wrote:
choro wrote:

On 20/11/2011 18:04, Mack A. Damia wrote:

You don't get out much, do you?

How can I go out if I am out already? Right now I am in a pub garden,
sitting with my pint with half a dozen friends. In the meantime, I do my
thing on NGs too. Anything wrong with that?

Not if you're a groupie

There are lots of pubs around with wi-fi facility, you know.

I moved beyond the "pub" stage of life about twenty years ago.

Ah, but I live in a posh part of town where the local pubs, or at least
some of them, are really posh with nice gardens patronized by a
"sophisicat" clientèle. Definitely not your standard ran down "working
class" pub, I can assure you.

I've been to both. Stanley's Tavern on Laurel Street was workingman's
depression-era bar that Stanley opened up in the 1930s.

When I lived near the bar in the 1980's, you could get a meal for
less than $1.00 and get change to boot. Porter on tap, too.

Across the street in the working class neighborhood was "Joe's" - one
of the most exclusive restaurants in the nation. A la carte meals
started at $100.00 - he specialized in mushrooms that he picked
himself and a Beef Wellington.


"I'm really sorry to see that close," said McMahon, Reading mayor.
"It's an institution. It's a great piece of Reading history. You had
Stanley's (a working man's tavern) down the street and Joe's (a famous
restaurant); what a juxtaposition."

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=345121

I've haunted the fancy joints , too. My late friend, the cocaine
dealer, would drive in his new BMW, and we'd hit all the fancy hot
spots in the area - southeastern Pennsylvania. This was in the late
1970s - early 1980s. He owned a condo in Ocean City, NJ and died of
an overdose while speedballing. His identical twin brother had died
just about a year earlier doing the same thing.

Made the rounds at both types of places in the Pittsburgh area about
ten years later. Got bored with the scene after a while, so I gave it
up for TV, a book and maybe a beer or two.

It's much safer, too.

I tend to like quiet pubs where one can sit down and relax with a drink
or two, or maybe socialize over a steak dinner or steak and kidney pie
or something like that. Don't like noisy places.

One of my favorite places is the garden restaurant at Kenwood House in
North London at the top of Hampstead Heath which is not far from where I
live. It is always civilized there for some reason. Other similar places
not all that distant from Kenwood House just seem to attract the wrong
crowds who thankfully tend to shy away from Kenwood House. They must be
put off by the genteel atmosphere of the place.

I even listened to a whole symphony orchestra rehearsing there for the
evening concert. Nothing special really as I prefer to listen to music
either at home on my hi-fi or live in the concert hall. Definitely not
in the open air on loudspeakers with the orchestra sitting on the podium
across the lake. Stupid if you ask me, at least from a musical and
acoustical point of view.

In winter you can sit inside in the restaurant in a large room more like
a huge barn with very tall ceilings which I just love. That place has
got a life of its own. It seems alive almost. I just love it.
-- choro

There are some very fancy restaurants in Ensenada; it being a resort
town. I've eaten in a few but don't like spending a lot of money for
food that I can cook just as well myself. On Christmas and sometimes
New Year's Eve, I'll go to the fish market (called the "Black Market")
and get myself a big lobster tail - maybe some shrimp and raw oysters
which I love. A nice fillet from Costco -which is U.S. beef rather
than Mexican. Mexician beef tends to be flavorful but tough and
stringy. I don't enjoy drinking that much anymore; my desire just
faded away, and since I have been diagnosed with gout, beer is bad
because of the yeast, and shellfish and red meat are among the worst
foods I could eat.

What's a body to do?

Eat plenty of oily fish like herring, mackerel, anchovies etc. Not only
cheap but also very tasty and damn your gout! Me got gout too. Me royal
too! So, I got gout, as Zorba would have said. When the boss aske him:
Are you married? Zorba says: Am I not a man? And is not a man stupid? Of
course I married. Wife, children, house... the full catastrophe! And
then he does the Zorba dance!

Read the book in translation after seeing the film but that was in the
mid 60s. The book is superb actually. And one can learn a lot about life
reading that book.

I am good cook too and I actually enjoy cooking as well as -- but wait
for it --- I love doing the washing up as well. The sound of water
soothes my soul. Psychologically the sound of water has the greatest
calming effect on me. The sound of water flowing in a stream... Nothing
can beat it. My father had a pool with water jetting up and cascading
into the pool with goldfish in it which he had built under the pergola
behind the house.

Actually the back of the house was also the front, if you see what I
mean because it was built on top of a couple of shops and a small
village bakery on a sloping hillside with access from the road going up
the hill so there was no front access but an access from the side with
the front of the house actually at the back!

Sitting or dining under the grapevine and listening to the sound of the
water cascading into the pool was next best thing to being in heaven.
-- choro

I used to tell an old girlfriend that there was something embryonic
about doing the dishes.

I, too, enjoy cooking, although I find it difficult to cook for just
one - myself. I live alone, which I prefer. I am the master of my
domain, and I don't want anybody telling me what to do. I usually buy
quick meals to prepare. I'm up at 3:30 am most days, feed the cat and
myself, watch a little early morning news and go back to bed for a
couple of hours. Seems to work for me.

On 21/11/2011 02:35, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:03:57 +0000, wrote:

On 20/11/2011 14:05, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
wrote
On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote:
[]
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

Different perspective on life? I guess it must have done though as I
told you I had just been through the greatest upheaval in my life just
before I had the heart attack so I can't really tell.

But I can tell you that from what I heard from someone who also had a
heart operation with our group who had been referred to another hospital
in London, nearly all had been through a depression. So I wouldn't be
surprised if you also have just been or are even now going through a
depression. It is normal, I believe to suffer depression after open
heart surgery.

But do try not be be a couch potato if you can help it. They say that
some exercise is good for you as well as for your heart. But nothing too
strenuous.

You say you have got a cat. That is good. A cat is good company. A dog
would be better still and it would take you walkies. ;-) I am more of a
dog person but as I live on my own I decided not to have a dog. Dogs are
very social animals and they don't like to be left on their own. Dogs
are OK in big households when there is always somebody at home.
Otherwise they become nervous wrecks. You just cannot leave dogs alone
for hours on end. They don't take kindly to it. As for having a cat, the
idea that it can be run over or be involved in an accident just puts me
off.

In recent weeks I have been going out almost every day meeting some
friends but it got too much in the end as I had projects and things to
do piling up. So I have decided not to go out every day now which gives
me plenty of time to get things done.

As for girl friends, I haven't had one for three four years now ever
since I broke off with my previous girl friend. She tried to get back
but I just could not go back to where we had left off. I've met one or
two other women since but I just can't seem to make the effort to go
into a relationship yet again. For a while I went out with a very young
girl and was the envy of everyone who saw us together but she has gone
back to her country and that was the end of that. I was old enough to be
her grandfather and she was incredibly beautiful too. Nice girl though.
But I fell for her and the parting was extremely painful. I wouldn't
like to go through another episode like that but I seem to go for
younger women and they seem to find me interesting. Why on earth, I
don't know.

If you think I write too long, you are of course right. I did a lot of
writing in my time. Some 8 to 10 thousand words per day for long years
in the sort of job that I did. When I am in the mood, I can churn out
quite a lot of rubbish! But I don't get paid for it now. :-(
-- choro

On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:18:52 +0000, choro wrote:

On 21/11/2011 02:35, Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:03:57 +0000, wrote:

On 20/11/2011 14:05, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
wrote
On 19/11/2011 23:25, Mack A. Damia wrote:
[]
Lard is still the favorite choice of cooking oil/fat in Mexico; yet,
Mexicans have one of the longest lifespans among all the peoples of
the world.

Go figure.

Southern Europeans use a lot more oil in cooking than we do (and yet
live longer). Some nation (I forget which) smokes a lot more than we do,
and yet live longer. Etcetera, etcetera - I forget the other examples.

The conclusion is that it's speaking English (of the rightpondian or
leftpondian variety) that dooms us (-:!

It's the lifestyle and the pressures of life. Had a serious heart
operation years ago, and was chatting with one of the doctors and he
said that heart problems are hardly known in the Far East, yet when Far
Easterners come to the UK they become susceptible to heart problems.

You and me both. I'm 64 and last year in March and April I guess I
had a couple of heart attacks. Walked into the hospital on May 30
and had a triple bypass open heart procedure done on June 3.

Did your operation give you a different perspective on life?

Different perspective on life? I guess it must have done though as I
told you I had just been through the greatest upheaval in my life just
before I had the heart attack so I can't really tell.

I came face-to-face with my mortality. I realized how fleeting life
is - something I had not thought about previously.

But I can tell you that from what I heard from someone who also had a
heart operation with our group who had been referred to another hospital
in London, nearly all had been through a depression. So I wouldn't be
surprised if you also have just been or are even now going through a
depression. It is normal, I believe to suffer depression after open
heart surgery.

I'm a Vietnam veteran and served in Saigon in 1968. I received a
serious head injury as a result, and I have suffered from dysthemia
(chronic depression) for all of my adult life. I get all my medical
care through the Veterans' Health Care Service in San Diego.

But do try not be be a couch potato if you can help it. They say that
some exercise is good for you as well as for your heart. But nothing too
strenuous.

I realize I have to get out there and start walking. Maybe I'm at a
point in my life where I just don't give a damn.

You say you have got a cat. That is good. A cat is good company. A dog
would be better still and it would take you walkies. ;-) I am more of a
dog person but as I live on my own I decided not to have a dog. Dogs are
very social animals and they don't like to be left on their own. Dogs
are OK in big households when there is always somebody at home.
Otherwise they become nervous wrecks. You just cannot leave dogs alone
for hours on end. They don't take kindly to it. As for having a cat, the
idea that it can be run over or be involved in an accident just puts me
off.

Dogs need too much care; cats fend for themselves. We had a dog while
I was growing up, but I've always had cats - usually abandoned
long-hairs - all of my adult life. I had a Silver Persian that I
found abandoned about thirty years ago. Since I'm David, he became
"David's Lloyd George". Found an abandoned Himmilayan in the early
1990s who turned out to have a pedigree. Sir Percy Cat - original
name, "Berryhill's Dewey Morn" Used for breeding. Entered him in a
cat show, and he won first prize. This latest one adopted me this
past January 5. It was a kitten that just appeared on my porch -
can't figure out how she got their. Named her "Pookie".

In recent weeks I have been going out almost every day meeting some
friends but it got too much in the end as I had projects and things to
do piling up. So I have decided not to go out every day now which gives
me plenty of time to get things done.

I live in a deserted community - don't have many friends at all. I'm
on the beach and own a gorgeous home overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Hate to give it up, but there's nothing going on down here. Trouble
is, I could move somewhere and experience the same thing. I'm not
much of a social animal, and that's what is good about the Internet
and Usenet.

As for girl friends, I haven't had one for three four years now ever
since I broke off with my previous girl friend. She tried to get back
but I just could not go back to where we had left off. I've met one or
two other women since but I just can't seem to make the effort to go
into a relationship yet again. For a while I went out with a very young
girl and was the envy of everyone who saw us together but she has gone
back to her country and that was the end of that. I was old enough to be
her grandfather and she was incredibly beautiful too. Nice girl though.
But I fell for her and the parting was extremely painful. I wouldn't
like to go through another episode like that but I seem to go for
younger women and they seem to find me interesting. Why on earth, I
don't know.

I was married twice. Once in my 20s but we were too young - lasted
eight years without children. Split was uneventful. Married an
American gal down here in 2002. She turned out to be an alcoholic
with a serious bi-polar disorder. Much trouble including the cops. I
left her and filed for separation. While I was visiting my family in
Pennsylvania in November, 2002, I got an email from neighbors telling
me that she had been killed in an automobile accident while driving
drunk. So that was that. Haven't ventured back into the dating scene
again, but I go out woth my housekeeper several times a week for a
nice meal. I've had a pretty interesting and eventful life. Hope
there's more to come.

If you think I write too long, you are of course right. I did a lot of
writing in my time. Some 8 to 10 thousand words per day for long years
in the sort of job that I did. When I am in the mood, I can churn out
quite a lot of rubbish! But I don't get paid for it now. :-(

If I get on topic I know about, I can write a lot, too. I am
published in several academic journals and wrote a doctoral
disseration. Topic was the analysis of school-based community service
programs as an example of political participation. Closest I could
get to advocating violent revolution.

On 21/11/2011 01:48, Gene E. Bloch wrote:
On Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:44:48 +0000, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

In , on Sat, 19 Nov 2011,
Gene E. wrote
[]
BTW, it's Dvoøák.

In my newsreader, both in the original post and as I see it above as I'm
typing this followup, I see Dvo, then a lower case o with a slash
through it, then a acute, then k. In a followup from one of the other
conspirators, the a acute remains, but the o slash is replaced by a
question mark. (I know it's really Dvo r-inverted-circumflex ak, at
least I don't know if there is an accent on the a. Dvo?ak in other words
- though as I pasted that in, it changed to a question mark in this
software, so I don't know if it's going or not.)

It is Dvo, then r with a ha�ek (hachek), followed by an a with an accent
(which in Czech is a long mark), and then a k.

Given the variability of character set support here, I'll have to give
up on using the correct characters :-)

A few American dictionaries have an entry for hacek, with or without the
eponymous hacek :-) The a in hacek is long also, há�ek in Czech. The
word looked OK as I typed it, sorry about the variable character sets...


You're playing the very devil with character-encoding, Gene.
You started with Central European (ISO-8859-2) but this latest is in
Baltic (ISO-8859-4). And, of course, the usual mix-ups have ensued in
the dilemma of those who reply using sender's format, and those who don't.

Ed