Ramblin' with Roger

Sunday Stealing Asks Your Name

What’s your name? Who’s your daddy?

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Impetua loved a good meme and enjoyed playing this one. Let’s see if you feel the same.

Sunday Stealing Asks Your Name. What Is Your …

1. ROCK STAR NAME (current pet and first car)? Example: If you have a dog named Max and your first car was a Chevy Malibu, your rock star name would be Max Malibu.

This is incredibly difficult in that I have never owned a car. Moreover, I don’t remember makes or models of cars, including when I was growing up. Likewise, I know the make of our current auto, but not the model. (There was a recent NYT Connections; the only Pontiac I could name was the Firebird.) My ex, when I was in college, had a Volvo 140 series, I think? So I’m going with Stormy Amazon, because the previous line of Volvos included the Amazon.

2. RACECAR DRIVER NAME (the first names of your grandfathers)?

I had three of them, so Clarence McKinley Raymond. McKinley was interested in racecars.

The Guiding Light

3. SOAP OPERA NAME (your middle name, town you were born in)?

Owen Binghamton, which is a REALLY good soap name! I used to watch the soaps with my maternal grandmother and her sister after school (Edge of Night, Secret Storm) after elementary school.

4. WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM NAME (your parents’ middle names)?

Elizabeth Harold? Harold Elizabeth?

Actually, long ago, certainly by high school, I developed my spy name, which was George N. Rowen. It contains most of the letters of Roger Owen Green. Also, the name I was most likely mistakenly called was George. There’s some visual similarity between George and Roger, which made me think that when trying to remember someone’s name, certain people go through a mental Rolodex.

5. ROMANCE AUTHOR NAME (favorite flower, favorite season/holiday)?

Lilac Thanksgiving. OBVIOUSLY, I need to start writing romance novels.

Also, I need some name songs:

Time Of The Season – The Zombies

The Name Game – Shirley Ellis

I Got A Name – Jim Croce

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Top-Selling R&B Singles for 1966

Everything’s Alright

These are the top-selling R&B singles for 1966. It’s heavy on Motown, Atlantic, and Stax, to no one’s surprise.

*This song reached #1 on the pop charts, so I linked to it a few days ago already

Ain’t Too Proud To Beg – the Temptations (Gordy), 8 weeks at #1; also #13 pop. I LOVED the Tempts!

634-5789 (Soulsville USA) – Wilson Pickett (Atlantic), 7 weeks at #1; also #13

Uptight (Everything’s Alright) – Stevie Wonder (Tamla), 5 weeks at #1; also #3 pop for two weeks. My favorite Stevie song of the 1960s.

Beauty’s Only Skin Deep – the Temptations (Gordy), 5 weeks at #1; also #3 pop

*When A Man Loves a Woman – Percy Sledge (Atlantic), 4 weeks at #1; also #1 pop for two weeks

*You Keep Me Hangin’ On – the Supremes (Motown), 4 weeks at #1; also #1 pop for two weeks

Baby Scratch My Back– Slim Harpo (Excello), 2 weeks at #1; also #16 pop

It’s A Man’s, Man’s World – James Brown (King), 2 weeks at #1; also #8 pop

*You Can’t Hurry Love – the Supremes (Motown), 2 weeks at #1; also #1 pop for two weeks

*Reach Out, I’ll Be There – the Four Tops (Motown), 2 weeks at #1; also #1 pop for two weeks

(I Know) I’m Losing You – the Temptations (Gordy), 2 weeks at #1; also #8 pop

#1 RB for 1 week

A Sweet Woman Like You – Joe Tex (Dial); also #29 pop

Get Ready – the Temptations (Gordy); also #29 pop

Hold On! I’m A Comin’ – Sam & Dave (Stax); also #21 pop

Let’s Go Get Stoned – Ray Charles (ABC); also #31 pop

Blowin’ In The Wind – Stevie Wonder (Tamla); also #9 pop

Land Of 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett (Atlantic); also #6 pop

Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing – Lou Rawls (Capitoll); also #13 pop

Knock On Wood – Eddie Floyd (Stax); also #28 pop

Workin’ in a Coal Mine

20 years ago

I wrote a blog post in late spring 2006, titled Workin’ In A Coal Mine, about the NY Small Business Development Center’s move from 41 State Street in downtown Albany to Corporate (frickin’) Woods. But I never seemed to have published it, as it was still in the draft folder. The next paragraph is the wording of one of those damn self-evaluation forms we were supposed to have filled out in the midst of this chaos.

JOB-RELATED FACTORS: Outline factors affecting the employee’s performance, such as technical and human relations skills, problem-solving and decision-making skills, work commitment, and time management, which need to be strengthened during this performance period.

Early in May 2006, (library dDarrin Conroy and I stood in front of a group of SBDC advisors at the annual conference and told them how much better we at the Research Network would be at responding to their needs. The vacancy caused by Mary Beth Bobish’s departure would be filled by Amelia Birdsall. We were going to send information electronically.

Then we moved to 22 Corporate Woods Blvd.

The whole first week we were without e-mail, largely without phone. I wish I had kept track of the different messages we’ve sent to the advisors. Send requests by RN e-mail. No, we can’t access our own RN e-mail. Oh, now we can. Call our personal numbers. Oh, finally our RN number is working. Voice mail messages with requests sent on May 19 were accessible three or four weeks later. I hope we don’t lose some of our advisors who use our services amid this flurry of constantly changing directions.

Ugh

The technology in other aspects, from LAN access to the availability of copiers and printers, was also suspect. The promise of “white noise” to block conversation was laughable; while it tended to put me to sleep in the afternoon – thus the NEED for music and the headphones – I hear LOTS of talk not directed to me.

So, I’m in this soulless, boring venue. Isolated, too – you’d think so if you walked home, as I did on day two. The techno-foibles were just an added bonus.

I’m hoping our new location will not negatively affect our ability to get interns from SUNY here. And I hope the constant snafus they’ve had to endure do not translate into bad word of mouth.

On the other hand, I thought the survey we put out was useful not only for ascertaining the direction of the Research Network, but also for providing the advisors with a sense that their needs are being considered.

Working In The Coal Mine – Lee Dorsey

See the CD rainbow

Duane Allman, (Nov 20, 1946 – Oct 29, 1971)

rainbow CD printer

I wanted you to see the CD rainbow.

While writing a blog post, I placed a live Allman Brothers compact disc I had played—the case was temporarily misplaced, as is often the situation —on top of the Bonnie Raitt album I was listening to. A former work colleague had burned the Allman album for me, which I played in honor of Duane’s birthday later in November. BTW, Bonnie’s birthday is also in November.

Then I saw the rainbow image on my printer. Where did THAT come from? The ceiling light hit the CD and reflected – or more correctly, refracted – onto the printer. See the color streaks on the CD? I cannot see them with the naked eye.

I tried replicating the shot with a blank silver disc, but the resultant colors were too muted. Have I mentioned that I love accidental rainbows? There was no intentionality, which creates the joy.

I suppose I should have some music:

Mountain Jam (Live At Fillmore East, March 13, 1971 – Second Show) – The Allman Brothers Band

There Is A Mountain – Donovan

Mississippi Queen – Mountain

Give It Up or Let Me Go – Bonnie Raitt

Operating on low energy

Not Detected

I’ve been operating on low energy.

After I went to the urgent care place on Sunday, June 14, and it appeared to be just allergies, it seemed to abate. But it, or something, came back with a near-constant variation.

And THEN, I got what I suspect was food poisoning; my wife, eating at the same venue, had some symptoms as well. (For a time, I thought I might have the parasite Cyclospora, except I never had a fever. When you are unwell, you look at all sorts of reasons.)

So I went back to the urgent care place on Wednesday, July 1, and got my nose swabbed. The next day, I got the results:

Streptococcus pyogenes – Not Detected

Mycoplasma pneumoniae – Not Detected

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) – Not Detected

Influenza A – Not Detected

Influenza B – Not Detected

RSV A/B – Not Detected

Rhinovirus – Not Detected

Enterovirus – Not Detected

Still, everything was an effort. We had severe weather that Wednesday night: driving rain and lightning so severe that I unplugged my laptop.

The next day, my wife was going to drive me to my podiatrist; usually, I would have just taken the bus, but it was 96F (35.5C), with a heat index of 107F (41.7C). According to the WRGB meteorologist Steve LaPointe, “the peak heat index matched yesterday’s peak, but the duration of heat indices in the 100s was twice as long.”

Power line?

We had left the house to get to the doctor’s office when we found a power line draped over not only our car but our daughter’s. It didn’t SEEM to be live, but we don’t trust our “expertise.” We gingerly got in the car. After my wife drove off, I called National Grid; of course I have their emergency number programmed on my cellphone.

When we got back, we found the loose wire rolled up in a tree. The message on my landline – my account is tied to that phone – indicated it wasn’t their wire, but Spectrum, the cable company.

This mean I needed to call Spectrum. Since their default menu is to try to fix a problem that I don’t have, I yell (or squawk) “Representative” so I can get a Real Person.

All of this is not really onerous, but in low energy mode, meh. I’ve been doing a BRAT diet, expanding it of late because it’s so damn boring.

I can’t sing more than an octave. Someone asked if I would participate in a brief 4th of July musical bit. I would have loved to, but I simply could not, which made me sad.

Okay, I’m done whining for now, mostly because I’m too tired to zzzz…