This just in: The latest study confirms, coffee drinkers are a little more likely to live a little longer. So what does that mean for me? I guess I'll make it to, what, 91 instead of 90. Hmmm... what to do with the extra time.

We see more about people living in their cars these days, having lost the home. One news story was about a woman who earned a 2-year degree while living in her car and doing odd jobs.

Sometimes I think about things too much, like how do people sleep when most vehicles are not designed for one to stretch out comfortably. Shouldn't someone design a new breed of car intended to be livable if all else fails?

Well, let's ask google. I found the following about existing vehicles.
http://jalopnik.com/5066062/ten-cars-you-can-live-in-after-your-home-is-repossessed

I now have new respect for the Dodge Caravan. And, hey, I did own an econoline in my youth and did use it as sleeping space for some weeks when between homes.

I actually bought eggs, only the second time in about 15 years. As an egg farmer, I've no need of them. But, they were bundled with a store special of things I needed anyway, so why not, do a little extra baking. They were Eggland's Best. How bad could it be?

Oh.... very bad. First, I had forgotten how small commercial "large" eggs are. And, the yolks! Such a pitiful, pale yellow. I am used to the deep orange yolks from chickens getting a balanced diet including fruits and veggies, grass and clover.

How many people out there pay extra for these things and think they are getting the "best"?

As an unappologetic news junky, I pick up some useful nuggets from the sea of trash. Here's one that everyone should know: A good defense against keystroke reading viruses. These are used to read the passwords you type in, especially when accessing banking or credit card sites.

Simple solution: put your passwords in a document. Copy and paste when logging in.

There was a lull after the morning rain storms. Then the sky began to darken and rumble again. I went outside to check on things in the dark wind. I heard a strange thing, a roaring coming from the west, sort of like a distant river in full spate. Okay... back inside.

After a while, I heard a thump outside, then another, and another. At last I saw the cause, big balls of ice cast down from the heavens. Then the cause of the roaring noise was upon us, hail and lots of it of all sizes. At one point, the giant hunks increased and were bouncing off the netting over the chicken pasture. Amid the torrents of blowing hail, torrents of blowing rain, and more thunder. I wanted to crawl under my bed with the dog to escape the noise.

During a short break in the rain, I hustled out to re-dig the front ditch to redirect the flooding coming off the road. The temp dropped, but only to about 50, and yet.... what's that? A snow plow. Yeah, the hail was that deep on the road, along with washed out rock, branches, who knows what all.

I thought about the angry gods throughout human mythology. As a species, humans have been pretty bad. Is someone up there contemplating snuffing us out? Sure felt like it today.

What's with the recent deluge of males wanting to limit women's reproductive health care? There is even a state legislature that wants it to be law that a woman has to prove to her employer that she is taking birth control for medical reasons and not contraception. Wow, I feel barefoot and pregnant already.

There are alternatives to stopping women from trying not to have babies. The men can step up. I see a universal requirement for men to have a vasectomy or risk being slapped in jail for engaging in sex, even with their wives. It would certainly help politicians avoid getting their mistresses pregnant without adopting some policy that would piss off all women voters.

MKay, I've been away a while, having wandered off to FaceBook. But really, who cares what I'm doing at the moment. The most captivating post I read was simply "I don't want to talk about it." It's been a good place to find things that make me laugh out loud (totally different from LOL). My circle of acquaintance is pretty out of the loop on the social issues and absurdities that feed my little brain, which lies at the center of my little universe.

Speaking of which, I often rely on TV for browsing the tidbits that keep me smiling, occasionally fuming, strangely enlightened, or just saying, "What the wha....?" (again, totally different from WTF).

I have lately noticed that when TV characters are portayed watching TV, they often have a big bowl of popcorn from which to nibble. Mind you, these characters are the slothful types who appear uninclined to schlep to the kitchen and pop up a giant batch of corn let alone find the giant bowl. It is a puzzle. Still, as I watch the fictitious people watching fictitious TV, I start craving popcorn. Right then and there. Hence the stash of microwavable popcorn-for-one in my cupboard. It prevents personal meltdown.

On the more serious side, the Nightly News people informed me that fish oil eaters/users had denser brain tissue, indicating a possible hedge against age-related dementias. I may be there already, but.... popping the fish oil!

It was a typical November afternoon on the mountain, low 40's, windy, overcast. Not the kind of day that motivates one to go outside and work on needed things. I was looking toward a couple of falling down fence sections by the front spring, thinking how little I wanted to go out there and do repairs.

My future self dropped in add her thoughts. She was many months away, well into winter. There had been some snow and sleet and the ground was long past frozen. The offending fence was in worse shape for the weather. Future Self thought back to my time. How she wished I had gone out into the tolerable conditions and fixed things up. "Why didn't you take care of this while you could?"

She had a point. I collected tools and put a couple of solid hours into clearing off the bad parts and nailing up better. After all the tools were put away, Future Self smiled. She felt proud of me, and could settle back with her coffee and knitting and let it snow, with no guilt over what should have been done.

Talking to Past Self, who also goes by the name Regret, can be discouraging. But Future Self can really bring out the best in a person. I'm glad she dropped in today.

I was hanging out in the church parking lot enjoying the book mobile Halloween party. Talk about a movable feast. Around a mouthful of homemade fudge, I complained to a friend, wise and educated, about how the new bypass had cut in two the little gravel road that winds through the woods all the way to Mabry Mill. Another of life's sweet spots plowed under in the name of progress.

My friend chided me that change would always happen. I've slept on it and concluded that the offending 4-lane is not actually change. It is merely increase. It's just more paved roadway to accommodate an old concept of transportation. Same old, same old. Now, real change I could embrace.

If you've never watched CBS Sunday Morning, go there, Sundays, 9-10:30 AM eastern. This week featured stories on Steam Punk, candy corn, pet costumes, invasive species, jousting.

Speaking of the tube, ever buy anything you've recently seen in a commercial? Last year, Rachel, gave me, among other holiday treats, some gummy vitamins for grown ups from.... Target or Trader Joe's. Loved them, Don't have such stores around here. Enter the TV commercial. One-A-Day now makes grown up gummy vitamins. Yahoo! I copped some on my next trip to Mt. Airy. Yummy gummies!

Still, I can do without the 4,000 insurance commercials every day.