Random 5 for July 7 – Noise, Facebook, hearing, reading, books

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Did they stop? Are they gone?

Fireworks Armageddon – The new cat survived the fireworks on the 4th of July. She relocated herself to inside the house instead of the screened porch. Residential fireworks were legalized this year in my state (what were they thinking?). Last week a young girl lost the fingers on her hand. (They don’t grow back people!) A 10-week-old puppy went missing when he took off from fright. Despite the law requiring 150’ from a structure our neighbor set them off in his driveway less than 50’ from us. We have wonderful professional fireworks locally and I don’t understand why people aren’t satisfied with that.

Facebook has been wonky this week – It has since cleared up but for a couple of days I would get a blank where a picture should be and it noted “this may contain puppies or gardens.” Perhaps they were testing their new policy notifying offensive content. Puppies wouldn’t fit in that category.

Say what? – I finally got my hearing checked. Yikes! Where did it go? It’s official. I can’t hear the good gossip.

Still MIA from work – I’ve enjoyed reading so much that I have continued to boycott work and projects so I can read more books. Maybe when the heat is over. Maybe.

Speaking of books – I joined our local library about a year ago. Kindle prices are too expensive especially if you are going through a lot of books. I would search the library for books that I wanted to read and knew that they had, but couldn’t find them. I started to put a hold on books through the internet. Easy peasy. Park in front. Walk in to pick up. A lot like Starbucks order ahead. Very cool.

So how was your week?

90 thoughts on “Random 5 for July 7 – Noise, Facebook, hearing, reading, books”

  1. Sad about the girl who lost her fingers and the puppy who ran off. I am with you, why not be safe and enjoy the professional fireworks. Our dogs shook like a leaf while people were setting them off near us.

    I totally understand about you being MIA due to reading! Too many books, too little time! But I make the time whenever I can. 🙂

    I sympathize with the hearing loss too!

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  2. Our (stupid) former Governor decided maybe five years ago that why should Ohio get all the revenue from Michigan for the people who go there to buy all the big fireworks that they did not sell in the pop-up stands here in Michigan. So now people can buy bigger and more powerful fireworks at the grocery store. Not too smart and this year they (new governor) finally decided that there are only 12 days per year to shoot off the fireworks, mostly the day before, of , and after holidays. People shoot them off whenever they feel like it, and long after the noise ordinance law permits noise (11:00 p.m.). In the Facebook crime forum there were multiple dogs ran away, some found, some not. In one city, a guy (who turned out to have some mental issues) was angry because a woman and her niece were in HIS driveway with sparklers. I happen to agree that I would be worried that the sparks would cause a fire. We had rain days and days on end, but we’ve had the same heat as you so the grass is burning up and is dried out. So he shone a flashlight on them, told them to leave, they did not. He came out shooting – popped the 62-year old woman in the leg, the 12-year-old girl in the arm. Then went back in the house. The police were called and a standoff that lasted 30 hours ensued. Unbelievably, the police sent in robots (he shot at them), they flooded the house with tear gas, they ramrodded the house, knocking the front off and then they finally flooded the house with fire hoses. He persisted shooting from inside and in the process killed his girlfriend. Then he killed himself. His daughter said “ya, he had some mental issues” – no one said that in the entire 30-hour standoff. I have no words.

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      • I was surprised it didn’t make the national news! He first tried shooting at the police, so they sent in the robots. They’d call and he’d hang up. And, I don’t think I mentioned this … the entire neighborhood was on the lockdown the whole time. Most people were home as the standoff began on Fourth of July evening around 10:00 p.m. – so they could not leave their homes (even for work) and people who wanted to come home, could not do so, even with a police escort. They had to stay away. Pretty amazing. I was just reading the local police blotter and saw this story; I guess the guy could claim the firecracker damage on his homeowners insurance, but his rates would go up because of an errant firecracker:

        After Fourth of July fireworks lit up the sky in his neighborhood, a Southgate man said they also put holes in his retractable awning. According to the man, the pencil-sized holes weren’t there prior to Independence Day celebrations. A Southgate police officer went to the home in the 11000 block of Fordline Street around 10:45 a.m. July 5 to confirm and document the damage. The homeowner said the cost of replacing the awning would be around $2,500.

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  3. So how does that work with the library and kindle? I would like to use the library for the kindle, but feel a little clueless?
    Fireworks are the devil for poor animals–and people with PTSD.
    Sasha is doing well? What’s this with the screened porch? She’s living there?

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    • I haven’t done it yet so I don’t know specifics but a lot of people do it. You do it on-line and it goes onto your e-reader for an amount of time, then it disappears. Sasha loves the porch. There is a lot of stimulation out there watching chipmunks! The door is always open so they come and go out there as they please but they can’t get outside.

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  4. Our over the top fireworks neighbors have moved (whew, Don’t want to complain, but your rockets are on my roof….actually we never complain, just grind teeth and soothe animals) Locally, you can’t shoot fireworks here…but the cops can’t be everywhere and they gave up. Luckily we can see 3 professional firework displays from our back yard – and they considerately have staggered starts. This year it was pretty above our trees, but we were able to relax more.since everything is so foggy from all the rain. Boston pops was a delight as usual – I’d really like to see that in person. (Arlo? Wow. No Alice’s restaurant, though)

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  5. We kenpt our dog safe inside during the fireworks. And the earthquakes. Those were frightening, too.

    Another #metoo–my hearing is going! I first knew about it when I got tinnitus. That’s nasty.

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    • When I first started I enjoyed searching the racks. When I was looking for specific books, it wasn’t so easy. Some were in the regular section. Some were in new books. One was in the cellar (it’s a year old book not sure what that was about!). It’s easier to put a hold on them and just pick up especially with the lousy parking.

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  8. I love fireworks, but they can be a real problem outside of professional hands! I still miss the Emerald fireworks 🙂 Glad Sasha did OK with them, even if she’s not a fan. They were completely banned here this year – even the professional ones. Too much fire risk!

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    • I used to attend the professional ones and nothing beats those. Best displays and colors. The ones that people do at home are not all that great. As my neighbor was setting them off I realized that they may end up on my garage roof. They didn’t do too many so I was vigilant.

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  9. How long does it take for you to pick up a reserved book at your library? We live out from town, so if I did nothing else, it would take a full hour to drive to the library, pick up the book, and drive home. I wish I were more adept at getting e-books.

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    • Our library is a 10 minute drive. E-books is definitely the way to go for you although not all books are available that way. I was surprised that an author I follow didn’t have any available by e-book. She has a good following so I’m not sure how that works.

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      • E-books are not good for me, either. I wait until five minutes before I see a hole of time in which to read. Checking on line, I find nothing that is available that day. *sigh*

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  10. After telling everyone who calls to speak up it is finally apparent that it could be me with a hearing problem…Getting an exam later this month. One of those megaphone horns could help.

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  11. I love to read! I have a hold list at the library. So far I have read 36 books this year. Retirement is a joy. I
    Fireworks were pretty tame this year…cats were not bothered at all.

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  13. I love ordering books from the library! The only downside is when they happen to come in when we are traveling, or when I get several at once with a shortened due date. Small problems compared to the luxury of borrowing books for free!

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  14. I don’t know what I’d do without the library. I get books, cds, magazines, and dvds. If the county branches don’t have something, you can do a statewide search for an even bigger selection. FREE!

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  15. We were lucky this year re: fireworks in our neighborhood. It rained for the most part. I’ve never understood the appeal of loud bangs. Sure, as a kid I played with sparklers and that made sense. Running around the yard at night with a sparkler or two. No loud noises, just the sizzle of the sparkler. I like the bright colors of fireworks but not enough to sit with a crowd of people on a hot, humid night with thunderstorms looming nearby. Our cats were definitely spooked but at least they could run inside from the back porch. And we were home which they believe they find reassuring. I’m looking forward to using our library more when I’m retirement. The online system is great but, even with that, I’ve incurred late fees on books 😉

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  16. We had a good week here! I must talk to you about the hearing thing. See you Tuesday.
    I hate the residential fireworks. Anything for a buck in this state. Take care!

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  17. Residential fireworks don’t make much sense to me! Glad your cats survived. I need to use my library more often. I have downloaded some but there are not that many available that I would want to read. Have a good week.

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  19. It amazes me how selfish people are! Truly, if they are not…then why would they continue to set off one firework after the next. A neighbor of mine was setting off fireworks to equal a professional show! But, they went on for almost 2 hours! Someone, (not me) called the police and they continued after they left. Gee if you have so much money to just “burn” donate it to a good cause. I think your neighbor with the cannon is a pure jerk! I would be more demonstrative, but we are among polite company on this format.
    Have you noticed how now everyday is a “national something” day! Well, I am officially declaring this a National I have No Patience Day!

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    • That is every day for me. My friend has the neighbor with the canon and her neighborhood has worked to get limits but they can’t ban. That’s when he moved it next to her bedroom to annoy her. It’s startling and she has a dog.

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  22. It’s either reading and commenting on blogs or reading books with how dry my eyes are right now. I picked reading and commenting on blogs. This is our second 4th here, first one was totally quiet. This 4th was crazy. It is illegal to use exploding and/or flying fireworks in Florida… but we all know there are loopholes. I think a whole hell of a lot people used those loopholes this year. My week was spent sitting on the lanai watching two frolicking otters!

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    • I love otters! Computers are bad for dry eye because we don’t blink often enough. We couldn’t believe the state legalized fireworks for residential use. Nuts. Every year our local hand doc does a lot of publicity (complete with x-rays) on hand injuries from fireworks. He is always on standby for the 4th. Yet most people think they are smart so it won’t happen to them. Unfortunately those injuries are forever.

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  23. Does your library have electronic books? Because that is even easier than holds. Though I do like being able to hold a book in my hands–it helps me remember the title and everything else!

    Fireworks should be outlawed. All of them. It’s wasteful, environmentally damaging,and has a terrible impact on animals, veterans, and refugees from war zones. I have officially become a fireworks scrooge. Fire a bloody cannon if you must. Or create a hologram. (I am officially the Scrooge of All Fireworks now.)

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  24. I love to request books on line.
    I also love being able to renew library books with the flick of a wrist! 😀

    Sue your neighbors for your hearing loss ~> it’s obviously due to their fireworks!

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  25. I’m a big fan of inter-library loan now when our local library doesn’t have what I’m looking for. You can rack up too much money on Kindle books so quickly, and I am discovering that I would really rather read a paper book most of the time.

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    • Kindle prices are outrageous. Sometimes higher than the paperback which is ridiculous since there is no paper or tangible product. Parking at my library is tough as it’s in the city but there is 30 minute parking in front if you are lucky.

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      • I’ve just ordered the paperback when the Kindle price is higher! I can always donate the book to the library sale,

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        • I don’t understand that. Perhaps the paper lobby is involved. I’m sure money is at the bottom of it. The cost of the Kindle should include the royalties for the author and handling fees but dang when you are paying more than for a tangible product.

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  26. Wow, kinda scary how much we think alike on your first and last paragraph! Unfortunately, our (close) neighbors do not limit their fireworks to the 4th. Facebook and Instagram both had glitches. I asked if anyone else was having issues with images and was told that the problem was on the news. Had I seen that obviously, I wouldn’t have asked. I went years w.o reading anything for fun. I’ve since been making up for it when I remembered how much I like to immerse myself in a good book. The chores will all still be there 🙂

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    • I consider myself lucky. One of my friends has a next door neighbor with a canon he shoots off. A full sized canon (which should be illegal in a town). He has been restricted on times but he has it next to her bedroom just to annoy her.

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  27. I love my library – both physical and digital. I have the Libby app on my phone and iPad and the books just magically show up there (and sync, so I’m on the page I left off of, no matter what device I use). My only problem: the pressure I feel when more than one of the books I have on hold becomes free at the same time and are automatically downloaded for me…and the countdown for the lending period begins! Oh no – I HAVE to spend even MORE time reading now! 😉

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  28. You have to watch out for those offensive garden photos.:-)

    Our library has e-books. How convenient is that? I do like to go there and get physical books, but I don’t HAVE to if it’s a rainy day.

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  29. I love ordering books from the library. Now I also have an app that I can download books to my tablet to read
    . Wonderful system!

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    • I haven’t done that yet although I could. The books I wanted to read weren’t available in that form. Maybe the next one I want to read will be though. That’s even cooler.

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