I am now a frequent user of hearing aids.
Since 2008 I have been having tests (free) from Beltone. I had begun to lose hearing (up to 40 decibels) in the high frequency (4000 hertz) a few years ago but now the loss is getting into the not as high frequency (2000 hertz).
Given the strong interaction between hearing perception and cognition, during the time I am wearing the hearing aids I am a man-machine mix.
This is, apparently, the way Jewish law reads the issue because it does not violate rules to wear the hearing aids during sabbath.
On the top left is Jean Luc Picard when he was partially assimilated by the Borg. Under Picard is Darth Vader who became 'more machine than man' according to Obi Wan.
BTW, I got a good deal on the hearing aids. I joined the National Rifle Association a year or so ago and this got me about a $3000 discount on a top of the line product. My blue cross insurance reimburses me about $2500, so the net cost of a pair of hearing aids is about $2500.
Ann was placing a tablecloth in the washing machine when she felt something like a bee sting. She came upstairs and took some pain killer and got some calamine lotion on the sting area.
There was no stinger so I said it might be a wasp or hornet.
I went downstairs to inspect and, sure enough, there was a hornet or wasp on one of the table clothes. It was pretty easy to kill it and place it outside.
Anyway, I never expected hornets to hide in a table cloth.
We were in the process of disposing of our trash compactor and putting in a regular cabinet in the space.
Step one was removal of the trash compactor.
We placed it on the curb and scheduled a pick up by the County bulk trash service (each house gets up to 6 of these per year; after that, there is a fee). The service was scheduled for May 21.
I woke up today (May 18) and the compactor was gone.
I called the county and said we didn't need the pickup. The county employee said that she has heard that scrap metal collectors are scouting neighborhoods for stuff like this (there is a lot of metal in one of these).
and so the disappearance.
Ann and I were at the Embassy of Israel this evening (top image is at the entrance).
We were invited to an event sponsored by Mogen David Adom (see booth in top image). We were invited because we were substantial donors in 2011.
They had a big shot speaker who talked about the security and diplomatic situation.
However, I had an interesting discussion with some of the Mogen David Adom people about another charitable organization called Hatzalah. I had recently asked that organization to take me off their solicitation list after they called me about a dozen times in two months (I had given them a donation in the past).
They had some stories of apparent fraud by that organization.
The second image is of us in front of a large picture (about 8' by 6' and taken from some aircraft) of Jerusalem that was inside the embassy (we only went into one room).
After the event we visited with Stanley Cohen. His condo is only a few blocks from the Israeli Embassy.
We just got a picture from Beth.
She and Zvika went to a Purim party dressed a a chicken and egg.
This was so the host could ask, "which of you was first?"
The other picture shows a bigger group with Beth dressed more completely chicken.
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We received some images from Irwin Schreiner in Minnesota.
Irwin's father, Oscar, who is 101, married a woman, named Lola.
Lola was the sister of a woman named Herta.
Herta married a man named Fritz.
Fritz was a cousin of my father.
So Oscar and Irwin Schreiner and we are sort of related.
Anyway, they were nice images.
Irwin Schreiner has done considerable photo journalism so he knows a few things about pictures (the picture with the fish was in an external MN publication).
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Beth and George sent Ann some flowers (a tulip arrangement) for a pre Mother's Day, post Birthday gift.
The tulips were droopy when we first put them in a bowl Friday May 4. They then straightened out by May 5 and by May 6, they were starting to outbloom.
I then took Ann's picture with the rose bush I planted in 2010 which is now about 5 feet high and has lots of blooms (as seen in the image).
In back of the rose bush are some lilies that are actually going to be higher than the rose bush (note the image from July 6, 2011 with the height of the lilies dwarfing the rose bush - the rose bush is higher in 2012 then it was in 2011 but so will be the lilies I think).
I had a stain on a velour sports coat.
I think I got it when Ann and I went to the new South American buffet at Moti's Grill on Ann's birthday (April 30).
The coat used to be owned by Ann's brother, John. Its a nice coat. Similar products seem to be available on the internet for about $100 to $500 depending on style and color.
It took about 4 applications of soda water (ShopRite was the brand we used but I'm pretty sure all soda water is the same). Stain was gone.
