Cyber 'Hood

At the risk of sounding like someone with no life I have to admit to a 14 year association with a chat room on the internet. I only know these people by their screen names and what information they choose to reveal. I try to keep in mind that one can say anything in the cybercloak of anonymity but generally, after such a long time, one learns who is on the level and who is a genuine nut case. It might surprise some of you to know that during this time there have been marriages between chatters, a few chat room memorials for those who have died, births, divorces, tragedies and moments of hilarity. In other words, some of us have come to "know" each other and enjoy the company.

This chat room is labeled as a chat forum for Catholics but we get a bit of everything coming through it. I have noticed over the years that many of us are introverts or have some type of health problems that limit our ITRW(In The Real World) activities. So, when I relate the last chat room incident perhaps this will give you a window into the relationships that have developed over more than a decade.

Last night some sick idjit (alternative spellings are often used so the spies on offensive language' who reside in India can't match the word we use against the "bad lingo list" they are given to monitor free speech) came into our chat room and announced the death of a well-liked, long-time chatter. There was some reason to believe the person since the name of the chatter's wife was used and they had information about the chatter--for instance, the dog had recently died. Many of us were quite upset just thinking this could be true. We KNOW not to believe junk like this and of course we all say now that we didn't really believe it--but in fact, it was quite a blow to even consider that a cyberfriend had actually met with a sudden end. Don't bother me with facts--I know I've never met this person or seen him. To me, when I am in the chat room , he is as real as anyone.

Needless to say, the phony post and resulting shock have consumed the chat room for the last 24 hours. The news this morning is that the person was contacted at his work and he is not dead--hallelujah!!! But oh what cybervengence has been riled up. How does one get back at the perp? A cyber hit? A cyber shun? A cyber lawsuit for pain and suffering? We haven't had this before. Well, of course we had one famous member who faked his own death and went so far as to post an obituary for us to read. But hey--that was different. Somehow, that incident fit in. But this seemed real and the worry was real.

I think what I'm trying to say is if our cyber friends can affect us this much, how much more we should treasure our flesh and blood friends. And for those of you who read this and can't even begin to empathize, meet me in cyberspace and let me introduce you to my friends!

My Lord, What a Morning!

The mourning dove I'd been watching on her nest finally revealed a baby bird. These birds never made one sound while using our atrium as a nursery. One morning I heard a little stir out in the camelias and there were the birds learning to fly. By the evening the nest had been abandonned and I haven't seen them since. I'm surprised at how lonely the atrium seems without the birds.



I spent some time taking pictures of ice cubes. I'd forgotten how much fun that is! If you use tap water--not bottled--there will be plenty of air bubbles and lines. No two ice cubes will be exactly alike. Here's an ice cube I particularly liked.

We took advantage of what would probably be the last 'warm but not boiling hot' week-end left of the Spring and headed out to the desert to some four-wheeling. As much as I loved the Minnie, being able to head off-road or just take off on a dirt road that looked good was very freeing! There was no worrying about dead-ends, being able to turn the vehicle around or an impassable road. On the other hand, there was no refrigerator with ice and cold beer and an indoor toilet!


We did our exploring in the Newberry and Roman mountains south of Newberry Springs. These are lava mountains and a beautiful shade of deep red and purple. Of course both dogs went along to look for rabbits and anything else they could chase. Our first sign of life was a Coach snake sunning itself in the road. Immediate 360 in the Jeep--JR to get the snake off the road and me to run it over. He prevailed and with a little tail-kicking got the snake to slowly move off the pavement. Then, for no apparent reason, the snake turned and came towards me very deliberately. That snake did not have all his shields up! I got some good pictures before kicking if off the road. I just wish I had thought to put the camera down on the road and catch the snake at eye level.

We took a dirt road up a hill that took us over a mile high. What a view!!! We could see a hundred miles in all directions. There were cell towers on the top and the wind was howling. After seeing no one the entire day, on the way down three vehicles converged--all of them Jeep Grand Cherokees and all with the women driving. I'd never seen that before.

Back in Bako I've seen the weather turn from nice to very hot. This is usually my favorite time of year here because it means days of swimming and floating in the pool with the pool bar attached to the float. This year I just don't have the spare energy to do much but get dressed and move from bed to couch. It is an eerie feeling to feel not really here--almost transparent. I assume it's because I'm not getting enough oxygen right now but will see doc in San Diego next week. A couple of days in La Jolla should fix just about anything!



For now, I'll just post some pictures and leave it at that. For anyone who wants to leave comments, all you need to do for the account is give your email address and a password. I've not been bothered by any spam or hassles. It's done to keep rude comments from being posted and then not being able to find the perp.