Translations

Sunday, August 23, 2020

SUNDAY, 8/23/2020, SUMMARY

Well, I see a blank canvas. Shall I paint on it? I shall!

 The Mundane

Mrs. Appalachian Irishman is “enjoying” working again. My, former, “favorite sister-in-law” and she had been working at the same school, for years. They had car pooled, by each driving 2.5 days weekly, on average. My ex-“favorite sister-in-law” has decided to enjoy a new cold virus, by, possibly temporary, retirement. Well, at least she’s cooking dinner for Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, who doesn’t concern herself with the need to cook, after a work-a-day. Will an every-other-weekend fill up of our car be next?

On 8/17/2020, Monday, we finalized the firing of our former, Texas, mortgage company, and we replaced it with our local bank mortgage, as a lower-interest-rate refinance. Let’s just get this house paid off, dear! We’re working on it. It won’t be too much longer now.

Last week, 8/17-21/2020, I did the same job by working at home, on Monday and Tuesday. I then did the same job by driving to and from the office, on Wednesday thru Friday. This week, 8/24-28/2020, I work at home, on Monday thru Wednesday and work at the office, on Thursday and Friday. On Monday, 8/31/2020, however, I am, supposedly, to endure my last work at office day. From 9/1/2020 until the “cows come home,” I go live in my work-at-home-fulltime routine. Well, I’ll see. The bureaucratic insanity of my “govrmint” employer has no limits, especially in the context of this new cold virus. I am still, however, a working man. (I hope you enjoy the song.)

Yesterday, Saturday, 8/22/2020, was entertaining! I did my chores, which included a new-cold-virus-compliant haircut! Mrs. Appalachian Irishman did her chores. Our, or her, car got an oil change, at 12:16 PM. Our, or my, new ‘ol truck got an oil change, at the same location, at 12:44 PM. She beat me by 28 minutes! Neither one of us had conversed beforehand, regarding the oil changes. We each had happened to figure it out, after we had started our separate, usual, errands and chores. Don’t worry! I beat Mrs. Appalachian Irishman! I checked out at the Tractor Supply, for Molly doggies, at 1:03 PM. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman checked out at CVS, at 1:05 PM. I beat her by two minutes! By the way, the Tractor Supply provided free masks. The oil change location was a free American and mask free zone! I garnered a free mask, which they offered, at Tractor Supply. As I entered, I stated, loudly, “mask off; mask on!” As I left, I stated, loudly, “mask on; mask off! I am now a free man, in a once free nation!” The sheep around me did not comment. I STOOD and still STAND! By the way, you’d better start learning Mandarin. I am. I will not get into the poly-tic (many ticks) conversation with you now. That will wait until a future article! I have far more everlasting thoughts now!

The Everlasting

From 1994 to 1999, as you know, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I did mission work in Russia. We got to know a fine man. He and I are still friends and brothers in Christ. (Oh, we are “Farcebook” friends also.) Via “Farcebook,” recently, he informed me of Warren Christian Apologetics Center. I am glad to know that Dr. Thomas B. Warren’s heritage is continued! Decades ago, in my early study of apologetics, Dr. Thomas B. Warren’s debates, and victories, against atheists were formative. Dr. and brother in Christ Warren has been Home a while now. His legacy continues. I recommend you to the website.

Brother Warren, I will enjoy letting you know that your ground-breaking work assisted me greatly, in the conversion to Christ of several atheists, in Russia. I helped other atheists move closer to theism. I hope someone followed the ground that I broke, to convert them to Christ. We will enjoy a fine theological conversation, once I join you at Home, my brother!


Tuesday, August 18, 2020

HOUSE “DOCTOR:” from 5/30/2020 START to 8/18/2020 FINISH (published 8-18-2020)

Introduction

Y’all have some fun with this one! It should be entertaining. Seriously, the work is done, by a good contractor and his good sub-contracted employees!

Four Rejected

On 5/30/2020, a Saturday, I started the process. The work needed was: pressure wash house and driveway, restore our seventeen-year-old back deck, and do a bit of touch up exterior paint.

I offered the work to five, count ‘em five, contractors. I fired the first young man, by mutual agreement. Why he didn’t want to visit, inspect, look a man in the eye, and then estimate is beyond me. His “new school” way of doing business did not fit my “way-it-should-be-done” business style!

I fired the other three, for various reasons that I know. One of these three actually came, inspected, looked Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and me in the eye, and then promised his estimate. We never received his estimate. I hope he’s okay.

New Look Home Improvements LLC

Today, Tuesday, 8/18/2020, I made the second and final payment, to the fine owner, Steve, of New Look Home Improvements LLC! Click the link, if you need his services! I recommend his company!

On 7/27/2020, a Monday, his crew had started the work. As of this entry, the work, as agreed, is done well enough!

Good job, Steve (the owner)! I enjoyed meeting and getting to know you and your crew: Greg, “Vern,” and Eddie. I met a few of the other crew, or saw them, but I didn’t have the pleasure of catching their names.

Please give our greatest appreciation to all of your crew for a good job done well enough. You, as the owner, did a good job!

By the way, I look forward to your future work for us. The fake shutters, on the front windows, need fixing or replacing. After a few months of seasoning, the non-composite wood trim (only) -- on our new, 25-year, guaranteed, composite wood deck -- can be sealed.

After a few months, I’ll converse by email and phone with you. We can arrange the future details. May the Good Lord bless you and your family, your crew, and the family of your crew!

Conclusion

I’ll be 80, when the deck will need to be replaced again! Will I live to be 80? What will life be like then? Will we still be living in the same house?

The Good Lord knows. I trust in Him.


Sunday, August 16, 2020

LIFE IS CRAP, THEN YOU DIE (published 8-16-2020)

 My usual hiking ball cap -- which a sister-in-law gave me, for Christmas or birthday, some years ago – has a sown-on image of a hiker being struck by lightning, with the following sown-on words under the image: “Life is Crap.” You can see, in various previous articles, that ball cap, just above my canteen, as they are positioned on a tree, on the west bluff of House Mountain. I’ve taken many photos of my ball cap and canteen, sometimes with my outer layer in the photo!

My first article today was “8/16/20, SUNDAY, CORONA MYOPIA SIDETRACK.” Read it, if you want to take the time. Yes, this new cold virus is serious enough, especially for those who are more at risk. I predict, at this entry, that the once great USA will never be great again. The decades long, ongoing, decline (since about the 1930’s) -- which has had some improvements at times (e.g., World War II follow up, Ronald Regan, etc.) -- sped up significantly, by this new cold virus, the riots, etc. “This country is about gone, boys!” Corona Myopia is a gnat in my rear view mirror of life. I wish it were for this once great nation.

Now, let’s return to “life is crap then you die.”

What I Had Started to Write, on 8/9/2020

The following is what I had written, to myself, on 8/9/2020, Sunday. Y’all can read it now!

Howdy, y’all! My last, 7/26/20, Sunday, article was two weeks ago. I hope that you have been getting along well enough, for the last two weeks, in the midst of the new cold virus insanity, etc., which we endure.

7/27-31/20 & 8/3-7/20: 7/27-31/20 was my normal work-at-office rotation week, as usual lately. 8/3-7/20, I endured, however, my second week of work-at-office, which was not usual. My set pattern had been: work-at-home one week, work-at-office next week, and switch back and forth. Well, colleague, who had done the same pattern, had been exposed to someone who had tested positive for the new cold virus, with no symptoms. Colleague had herself tested. She had tested positive, with no symptoms. Her mistake was to have informed office manager, who had her hands tied, by the state (insanity) guidelines. So, colleague was in quarantine. That meant that I had to work-at-office two weeks in a row. I can’t make this stuff up! It happened, really!

7/27-29/20: our “mansion” received a much-needed “bath.” The three-day pressure-washing job was done!

8/1/20, Saturday: Mrs. Appalachian Irishman must have been feeling her oats! She not only used our shop vacuum to clean out our basement, but she also, with my help, cleaned the master bedroom windows, inside and out!

On that same date, I filed a FTC website complaint, again Bill Hagerty. On 7/24/20, 7/28/20, and 8/1/20, I received spam texts on my cell phone, from various invalid phone numbers, that wanted me to vote for Bill Hagerty for senate. (I tried to call each number. Each number reported invalid.) I had never given my cell phone number to Bill Hagerty or to his minions. I grew tired of the harassment. Bill Hagerty, the Republican Senate candidate, has a FTC complaint filed against him. I doubt anything will happen. Still yet, I STOOD MY GROUND!

8/2/20, Sunday: I had good phone conversations with my three younger brothers, in the context of my nieces' untimely passing. That day, I also sent postal letters to the husband of my niece and to their youngest daughter, who attained age 14 on 7/31/20.

Life is Crap

The following is “life is crap” by theme. Enjoy!

Deck: Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I had hired a contractor (with his sub-contractor, with the sub, sub-contractors) to do fix-up work on our “mansion.” On 8/4/20, the correct deck wood arrived (after the incorrect deck wood had arrived, on 7/31/20, due to 84 Lumber’s mistake). From 8/5/20 thru 8/14/20, our deck is much improved! Our old deck lasted from 2003 to early 2020 – an approximate 17-year deck. Our new deck is composite wood, which is guaranteed to last 25 years -- without the usual, annual touch up that I had been doing, until 3/29/2016 changed my plans. Hey! I’ll be age 80 in 25 years – if I’m not Home before then.

Letters: on 8/8/2020, I place in flagged up mailbox four postal letters. Three were negative. One was positive.

The negative were to:

(1) the monopoly water provider. By Interweb mistake, on 7/6/20, I had paid our monopoly electric provider, instead of the water provider. The water provider sent the next bill. I realized my error. I paid the full payment, correctly, on the Interweb – including the past due. The water shut off date was later this month. I paid the past due and the current due, for full payment, well before the shut off date. Water provider shut off our water, on 8/5/20, with NO NOTICE or warning! I had the full payment set to issue on 8/7/20. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, who was at home, also paid the full payment, on 8/5/20, to get our water back on. We have a credit balance now. My letter to water provider indicated: our excellent payment record, from initial connection, in 2003, my profound displeasure, and my option to fire them! We could have a water-well drilled! Of course, I referenced Ferrell’s Well Drilling, which Papaw Ferrell had started in 1901 and which Dad had continued! I don’t have the reply yet. If I don’t get one, I plan to drop by to pay them a face-to-face visit, to educate them.

(2) Melania Trump. It seems as if her husband and she do not have enough money to spend on his re-election campaign. She begged me for a donation. I had to have a little fun!

(3) Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, in July, had one of her annual check ups. The provider never did send an initial bill. She never did receive an EOB from her health insurance. The provider demanded $10.16 NOW, or she would be turned over to a collection agency. My pithy letter included a $20 bill, with provider required to send my wife $9.84 – or I’d turn over provider to a collection agency! The saga ended well, however. On 8/11/20, a fine man, 15 years younger than me, called me. He had never seen a letter like mine in his several years of doing his job. We talked for 45 minutes. He understood the point in my letter. He might be able to have those automated letters corrected, eventually. The main point was that he is a fine Christian man and a hiker. Who knows? We might hike House Mountain together!

The one positive letter was to (4) our automobile and homeowners’ insurance provider that we’ve had almost two decades now. The owner always sends handwritten birthday cards every year. I wrote him, to express my appreciation for his fine, as folks call it now-a-days, “business model,” which is the old-school way of doing business correctly!

Tooth: on 8/10/20, during my work-at-home lunch, I chipped my next-to-upper-left-wisdom-tooth molar. Don’t bite into the seed of a peach then chew. On 8/13/20, our dentist patched that tooth. Next month, I should have a nice, new crown on that tooth. The only other crown that I have is on same tooth, but upper right side molar. Over 20 years ago, I’d bitten into a fast food burger, with a bit of bone in it, to chip that tooth. Well, two crowns in 20 plus years ain’t too bad!

By the way, 8/10-12/20 was supposed to be my work-at-home days, followed by 8/13-14/20 work-at-office, for some strange reason. My chipped tooth granted my 8/13/20 work-at-home!

School’s NOT Out: Mrs. Appalachian Irishman’s last workday, at the school where she works, was on Friday, 3/13/20. From 3/16/20 to 6/1/20, for her “work days,” she worked from home, as best as she could, for a couple of hours or so daily. On 8/11/20, she had to start “hitting a lick” at work again. Of course, she endures all the new cold virus regulations and stipulations, which are insane.

Then You Die

8/12/20, Wednesday, marked the passing of Lula Frank Amos Wood (1901 – 1991). She was my mother’s mother. I had the honor of performing Granny Wood’s funeral service and graveside.

Granny Wood died and went Home, on 8/12/1991. She enjoyed life. She endured “crap” in life. (I’m sorry, Granny, for my choice of words!)

We each have joy and “crap” in life. Life has quite a bit of “crap” in it now. If, however, we each have taken up the Good Lord’s free gift offer, then, when we die, we go Home!

Granny, I’ll see you at Home! I love and miss you! I’m still your “little Indian chief!” I remember!


8/16/2020, SUNDAY, CORONA MYOPIA SIDETRACK

The following are my “Corona Myopia Checks,” based on the dates indicated. The information is in a rough draft form that I, usually, fit into a better written form. Corona Myopia is still a gnat in my rear view mirror. I am trying to move on, but the gnat keeps pestering me.

7/14/2020, Tue.

I just wrote down numbers from the usual websites. 2020 TN total deaths, to 7/14/2020, had been 37,391 (36,624 other causes + 767 COVID-19). 2020 TN deaths, by COVID-19 percentage, as of 7/14/2020, were 2.05%.

7/30/2020, Thu.

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Unified CommandTennessee State Government: 1,020 is the 2020 TN COVID-19 total deaths to 7/29/2020.

IndexMundi United States Deaths Clock and IndexMundi Coronavirus Cases - United States of America, as of 10:10 AM. Note: getting the count at 11:59 PM 7/29/2020 would give the exact percent:

40,395 2020 TN total deaths:
39,375 + 1,020 COVID-19 (7/29/2020)
= 2.525064983% by COVID-19
Again, as of 11:45 AM:
40,408 2020 TN total deaths:
39,388 + 1,020 COVID-19 (7/29/2020)
= 2.5224252623% by COVID-19

Conclusions: approximately 2.52% of 2020 total TN deaths are by COVID-19. Why all the insanity? Why is it so hard to find total TN 2020 deaths by other causes?

I can find on the “Interweb” some details on “2020 USA death statistics by cause:”

2020 current data (as best that I could find) is as follows.

“Top causes of death in the United States: Heart disease, cancer and COVID-19: Up-to-date numbers on how coronavirus is overtaking common causes of death for Americans,” on USA Facts, published 1/20/2022

USA Facts website may be the best source! Note: 7/14/2020 updated. There are various details and stipulations. Hovering over a state, however, shows the percent of COVID-19 deaths to total deaths, by state. TN is 1.9%.

USA rank by highest to lowest cause of death: heart disease, cancer, COVID-19 (3rd of 9), chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer's, diabetes, influenza/pneumonia, septicemia. Note: hover over each, to get the number totals.

2017 with some 2018 details: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)2017 Stats of the State of Tennessee, with various links to click.

2018: TN Department of Health, General Health Data: Death Statistics.

2017: BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Top 10 Causes of Death in Tennessee.

8/14/2020, about 3:50-55P, CORONA MYOPIA CHECK

TN

IndexMundi, United States Deaths Clock: as of 8/14/2020, at about 3:50P, 42,212 TN 2020 TOTAL deaths.

IndexMundi, Coronavirus Cases - United States of America: Total number of reported cases of COVID-19 and Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Unified CommandTennessee State Government: as of 8/13/2020, 1,313 TN 2020 COVID-19 total deaths.

Thus, as of 8/13 - 14/2020, the 2020 TN COVID-19 death percentage of total 2020 TN deaths, so far, is approx. 3.11048%.

USA

IndexMundi United States Deaths Clock

2020 TOTAL USA Deaths by State, as of 8/14/2020, at about 3:55P.

The total is 1,778,484 2020 TOTAL USA DEATHS, so far, by my calculation.

State

Deaths per year

Deaths per day

Deaths in 2020 so far

Alabama

53,879

148

33,459

Alaska

4,819

13

2,993

Arizona

60,523

166

37,585

Arkansas

31,322

86

19,451

California

282,520

774

175,448

Colorado

39,116

107

24,291

Connecticut

31,149

85

19,344

Delaware

9,454

26

5,871

District of Columbia

5,677

16

3,525

Florida

211,692

580

131,463

Georgia

86,319

236

53,605

Hawaii

12,748

35

7,917

Idaho

13,308

36

8,264

Illinois

110,004

301

68,314

Indiana

62,175

170

38,611

Iowa

28,809

79

17,891

Kansas

25,230

69

15,668

Kentucky

46,074

126

28,612

Louisiana

46,343

127

28,780

Maine

14,335

39

8,902

Maryland

51,453

141

31,953

Massachusetts

58,564

160

36,369

Michigan

95,983

263

59,606

Minnesota

43,200

118

26,828

Mississippi

31,536

86

19,584

Missouri

60,141

165

37,348

Montana

9,870

27

6,129

Nebraska

15,582

43

9,677

Nevada

25,610

70

15,904

New Hampshire

12,125

33

7,530

New Jersey

75,723

207

47,025

New Mexico

18,388

50

11,419

New York

164,817

452

102,353

North Carolina

94,312

258

58,569

North Dakota

6,250

17

3,881

Ohio

117,750

323

73,124

Oklahoma

40,266

110

25,006

Oregon

36,563

100

22,706

Pennsylvania

133,439

366

82,867

Rhode Island

9,802

27

6,087

South Carolina

50,744

139

31,513

South Dakota

7,337

20

4,556

Tennessee

67,977

186

42,2141

Texas

202,786

556

125,932

Utah

17,443

48

10,832

Vermont

5,634

15

3,499

Virginia

69,729

191

43,302

Washington

58,587

161

36,383

West Virginia

22,567

62

14,014

Wisconsin

50,393

138

31,295

Wyoming

4,971

14

3,087

Puerto Rico

28,821

79

17,898

1 NOTE: two more deaths, from about 3:50 PM at 42,212, to about 3:55 PM at 42,214.

IndexMundi: Coronavirus Cases - United States of America: Total number of reported cases of COVID-19:

Coronavirus 2020 - United States of America.
Total number of reported deaths: 167,110.
Date of report: Friday, August 14, 2020.

As of 8/14/2020, the 2020 USA COVID-19 death percentage of total 2020 USA deaths is 9.3962%.