h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It wasn't just Covid-19 that made 2020 a problem for me.

Anxiety was building up in me from the start. Even with better meds.

It took a lot of extra work to find behavioral health clinicians to help me, because my HMOP as booked solid, and still seems to be.

In early October, my computer was hacked. I'm not certain that it is free of hacking now, though some of the initial problems seem to go into remission form time to time. I bought a new computer. The shop I bought it from won't give it a test for viruses/malware, because hey think it's extremely unlikely that any are there.

I thought that an intruder was getting into my house and rearranging ym stuff, or making strange (but harmless) substitutions. I had the locks changed. Nothing is guaranteed, but *some* of the things that I thought were done by an intruder were probably done by me, and I forgot.

I am still here, still have electricity and a working phone and an Internet service provider. My bank accounts and investments are, as far as I can tell, still intact.

I wake up every morning, am able to handle basic daily chores, and have not gotten the fever/cough/sore throat/breathing problems that would indicate the virus.

My car still works, and I drive it just enough to keep the battery charged.

Except for high blood pressure, my doctor says that I am healthy. I am taking a new blood pressure med. I hope it is working. I bought a blood pressure monitor, but can't figure out how to make it work.

Today heating oil was delivered to my tank, so I can hopefully have another six to eight weeks of heat.

There may be many people who would read this journal and think that I am doing well. In many ways they would be right.

Happy New Year, everyone!

(Did my heart just skip a beat? Well, it resumed beating, so maybe I will be all right....)

H2G2 seems quiet lately.

Maybe some of my friends will participate in this thread. Or maybe not.

What do I want to say about the year ahead?

It's hard to know. I'd like a mild January. February is likely to be somewhat mild anyway, and March rarely turns out to be worse than the early part of the Winter.

When I say "rarely," I can remember years that were exceptions. Beastly times! But April came soon enough.

What about the vaccine for the virus? Yeah, how about that?

I've just had a tasty snack of cherries and crackers with peanut butter on them.

Here are some things I hope for from the new year:

That my guide entries on Echinacea, Dwarf Alberta Spruces, and Common Juniper will take their places in the Edited Guide.

That I will write and send many more entries to Peer Review.
here are some ideas that are in their early stages:

--George Burns and Gracie Allen. I know that some people didn't like the idea that Gracie was portrayed as, well, ditzy. The word "dumb Dora" is a catch-all for this type of humor. I can see why this view exists. I think Gracie's brilliance as a comedienne is too important to be minimized, though. Here is a woman who was emphatically *not* a door mat. 40,000 people thought she would make a good president of the U.S. in 1940. Countless characters in the 8-year TV series she starred in had their hats handed to them after trying to straighten her out. George Burns lived to be 100 years old, but he still regularly visited her grave to talk to her. "I love her, that's why" was the title of a book he wrote about hi9s life with her. 65 years after its first publication, that book has been reissued, and can be purchased. Some people have a love that is so ardent that reports of it have come down through the centuries to us -- Abelard and Eloise, Thomas and Martha Jefferson, etc. George and Gracie belong on that select list, I think.

Here is what George had to say about Gracie when she retired from their TV series in 1958, so she could devote herself to gardening and her relationship with George:

"She deserved a rest. She had been working all her life, and her lines were the toughest in the world to do. They didn't make sense, so she had to memorize every word. It took a real actress. Every spare moment—in bed, under the hair dryer—had to be spent in learning lines. Do you wonder that she's happy to be rid of it?"

This entry would be a labor of love for me.

I'm also thinking of doing entries on irises and daylilies. There's no need to worry that my work would duplicate what's already in the edited guide.

[Sits back to see if there is any feedback on this post]

[Every night I watch three or four more episodes of the Burns and Allen TV show on Youtube. I've seen forty or fifty so far, and have a list of ight more yet to be seen. This is research that I am glad to do. ]

Have a happy and healthy new year.

Don't forget January's Create theme.

I might be umpteen thousands miles away Paul!
BUT! While I draw breathI'll never let a friend be down at heart if I can help it, no matter what I have to do

Life might be SHat times! But still make fun of it
Co's it don't half bug the moaners in life

Relax, prof.

Even on the worst of days I still have some up moments.

[Don't forget January's Create theme.]

Thanks for reminding me.

We need hope like never before. My best chance for hope is in thinking of new projects.

Here's hoping you will have a very new year, friend. Vaccine and all

Happy new year, Paul. I hope 2021 is a vast improvement!

My personal 2020 was nowhere near as bad as it was for some others. Working from home was a joy and I actually felt rested and time-rich from not having to get up at 5.30am and drive 25 miles to the office. Plus spending a lot more time with my dog, Harry...which in hindsight was a huge blessing as he took ill in early December. The vet said he needed an operation for a blockage but as he was a month away from 16 I decided that would be too much for his old body to take, so I had to say goodbye I'm so grateful I got to be there for fusses on tap whenever he wanted

You're right, this place is quiet at the moment. Funnily enough, before I read this journal entry I was thinking it seems like you have taken over from 2legs as most of the new journals I see are yours when they used to be his. Will we have to start blaming you?

I don't often have anything to contribute to your journal entries but I am certainly reading them. In fact in one recently you mentioned Dirk Gently and I was reminded of a story, but then it was posted a week previously and there were plenty of comments following, so it felt a bit too late. But...

I once followed the Dirk Gently method of navigation. The motorway was closed unexpectedly and we were all shunted off with no detour. This was before I had a sat nav so I just followed the car in front of me - he looked like he knew where he was going Luckily before too long I saw roadsigns which allowed me to navigate to an area I knew - but following that car had definitely helped.

Deb

Thanks, Deb

I feel wonderful about the thought that people are reading my journals, whteher they comment or not.

Hello Paulh! Happy New Year!

I'm still around and read your journals any time I can. Had a very, very busy time the past several weeks ... heavy-duty outings and a project illustrating prehistoric animals for an American museum. My 2020 wasn't that bad either ... got lots of positive things done, and this museum project might be the key to getting more work of the nature, as it's something I totally love doing ...

I'm really hoping indeed 2021 could be a fine year for everybody!

Hope is the topic for the January Create project.

I hope for lots of things.

Whether I can tie all of them into something cohesive for an entry of some sort remain to be seen.