THE WEISS CHRONICLES

Friday, March 29, 2024

Still lots of Cherry Blossom Trees 

After getting haircuts today, we went on a brief drive through a neighborhood just north of Montrose and about a half mile west of Rockville Pike. We have done this in the past. The neighborhood has hundreds and hundreds of cherry blossom trees. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ I think our drive was about a mile long with cherry blossom trees on both sides.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 2:59 PM

Thursday, March 28, 2024

I cuss, you cuss, we all cuss for Asparagus 

It must be the end of the asparagus growing season in Mexico (where these grow per the tag on the bunch) to get this 80% discount. It's nice that the vegetables come with office supplies (the rubber bands) too. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ The under caption on the cartoon is (my recollection) "suddenly Bill realized there might be a flaw in his business plan".

posted by Martin Weiss  # 6:54 PM

Blood Pressure and Que hora es 

I went to the Red Cross Blood Center on Monday March 4. They had called me when I was on the way to tell me that there was a big delay but I didn't answer and when I got to the Blood Center I played the voice mail and the receptionist said that she was the one who called me but a few minutes later they fixed the problem. Anyway, I went to the administrative room with the phlebotomist. He measured by pulse which was elevated but not awful (84). Then he measured my blood pressure. It was 162/104 which was too high to be allowed to give blood. On March 5, I got a package at the door. It was a new watch (the wristband on my old watch broke about a week ago). I was at physical therapy later that day and they measured my blood pressure. It was 118/74. So I think the blood pressure was high because I was stressed out about not knowing the correct time. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ My scheduled blood donation on March 20 was postponed by the Blood Center. However, on March 27 I was there and my pulse was a bit lower, at 80 but the big change was that my blood pressure was now only 120/78. So as it turns out I really need to know what hora it is (unless it was a problem with the blood pressure measurement equipment). I used 'Que hora es' because I remember once when I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, several people asked me this while I was walking from the hotel to somewhere close by.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 10:40 AM

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Implenting an anti Israel Act 

The caterer got a box of wine. The bottles of wine were labeled with a 2022 date. This is an issue because 2022 was a shimitah year and the wine was made from grapes grown in Israel in 2022. The kashrut authority for the wine said it was OK. The supervisor kashrut authority of the caterer said it was not OK. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Furthermore the supervisory kashrut authority of the caterer said that we shouldn't ever use any product made with the hechsher of the kashrut authority of this wine.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 8:25 AM

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

A Mashgiach Task that Simon and Garfunkle would like 

In 1965 Simon and Garfunkle released "Scarborough Fair". It was part of album called, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme". It is a song with a long history with the theme going back to the 17th century and the music going back to the 19th century. Part of the Simon and Garfunkle lyrics goes, " Are you going to Scarborough Fair/ Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme/ Remember me to one who lives there/ She once was a true love of mine" There was also a TV show called "Rosemary and Thyme". It was about two gardeners (one with a first name of Rosemary, the other with a last name of Thyme who become detectives. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The first image shows the packages. The second shows the vessel with my notes after washing and checking for insects.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 11:01 AM

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Nice Drive to Clopper Lake 

A nice afternoon today with very few clouds. Ann and I took a drive. The top picture is where we started, that is, at our house. There is a nice pear blossom tree (my neighbor's) in front of a pair of cherry blossom trees, one of which, the one on the right, is a weeping cherry blossom which is one of favorite trees. We drove through a number of neighborhoods with lots of cherry blossom, pear blossom and northern magnolia trees (I didn't take a picture of this last one - the tree is nice looking while blooming but the blossoms are dense and become slimy when they decay on grass or, worse, sidewalks). We go to Cloppper lake a lot. It is in Seneca Creek State Park not too far from us. .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. This is the first time I can remember that the lake was nice a blue (because of the sky I think). Usually it is a greyish or grey-blue color.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 6:42 PM

Friday, March 15, 2024

Trees Begin to Blossom 

Once upon a time the only extensive area of blooming trees in the DC metro were the cherry blossom trees at the tidal basin. Of course that has changed. Now various sub species of cherry blossom trees are all over the place. The image of the cherry blossom trees is at the entrance to a mixed use area called Park Potomac (I go there frequently to use the grocery store but we have friends who live in the residential part and I've used one of the medical buildings there also). The other images are of a bunch of pear blossom trees at an intersection in an industrial area (a lot of auto repair places, storage unit business, etc.). ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The cherry blossoms now in bloom are an early blooming species. A lot of the cherry blossom trees don't even have any buds showing yet. The cherry blossoms at the tidal basin are currently projected to be in full bloom in about 10 days. Also, the trees at the tidal basin are going to be thinned out this year. About a hundred trees will be removed as I understand it.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 9:35 AM

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Another Roof Inspection 

In 2010 after some hail damage from a May storm, we had an inspection that showed damage. We ended up with new roof tiles (paid by homeowner's insurance). In 2020 there was another hail storm and we had an inspection (I can't remember a hail storm but the inspectors said there was one) that showed no damage. We had another inspection yesterday. Still no damage. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Yay.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 9:22 AM

Friday, March 08, 2024

Timing the Megillah Reading 

One of the caterers I work with asked me if I could light the ovens on Saturday night 23 March. It is the time of the reading of the Megillah this year. Since the Megillah reading is after we switch to daylight saving time, I wasn't sure if there would be a late reading given that the regular reading would be at 830pm or so. If there was no late reading I would only have the one chance to hear the Megillah and I wouldn't be able to come by to light the ovens. I called our synagogue. I explained the situation. The director of events said they had a meeting yesterday on this and decided against a late reading. I got an email just 30 minutes later saying they had cnanged their mind and they scheduled a late Megillah reading at 10pm. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. I don't know if they did it just for me or if they had other requests.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 11:34 AM

Thursday, March 07, 2024

Another New Coke Product Tasted 

I bought a single bottle of the newest Coke product. It doesn't taste spicy despite the name. It does have a little berry taste to it. I found it wasn't bad but not as good as Cherry Coke. Also not as good as Diet Coke or Coke Zero. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... On the good side, there wasn't as much after taste as a previous product, namely, Coke Showtime. Also on the good side, I found that when I drink more than two gulps, it depresses my appetite.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 8:16 AM

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