Friday. Lights out last night just after ten, awakening again but once briefly before getting up at six, listening, as I always do as a good progressive, to Democracy Now on the radio as I was preparing to walk to breakfast. Decided I'd carry a camera over the arm this time, the paranoia continuing to diminish. Still have the heightened street awareness, that's not going away (he said), but fewer wide eyed “what's that!” episodes when walking. Fewer is still fewer. Must remember that.

One hundred and fifty-three on the scale when I got up, we continue to slowly lose weight. It feels OK, the ribs aren't showing through or anything, but not sure what this continued weight loss is about. Had French toast with butter and syrup for breakfast, thinking best not to overdo the low calorie bit. They were good. No need for excuses.

The last pandorea blossom was gone when I left and so their season seems to have ended. They're saying some hope for cooler temperatures today, the morning has started well, but we'll see. The Oakland Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, finally an opportunity for photographs. The Solano Stroll on Sunday, as well. Would have preferred they'd chosen different weekends, but we'll go with the pride parade and hope for better scheduling next year.

Later. Finally got it together to head over to Broadway to the ATM and then had that tuna fish sandwich I was hankering after yesterday at the Subway on Grand before taking the bus back to the apartment house construction site stop, thinking I'd take care of today's pictures. Which I didn't. Just walked right on by. The temperature was good, there was a nice light breeze, comfortable in a t-shirt where it hasn't been for this last week, but still paranoid and still had to spend close to an hour talking myself into going out.

Once out, no problem or, more accurately, much less a problem. Still jittery on the street. I want to say “less so” except I'm not sure it was true this particular time out. Might be, but marginally. To be honest.

I hate to think what spending a year driving on roads with I.E.D.'s might be like in the army, particularly if you experience one up close. Doesn't matter if you yourself is harmed, I suspect the brain is designed in a way to hold images like these very close. Survival, you understand. Makes you more or less crazy (but alive) for the while.

Are we more or less crazy for this while right now?

No, just a little off, nothing to really complain about other than we don't have anything else to write about so we're, well, babbling. Happy to have not experienced any of this when I was in my early twenties if they'd followed through and sent me to Vietnam. Went out into the DMZ in Korea once, but that was about it for any of my own exposure to trouble.

Still need to come up with some pictures. It's early afternoon, but that tends to whittle itself into evening before you know it.

Later still. The temperature is now up high enough to require the fan after the cooler morning. Still, no complaints, they're saying it will get better over the weekend. It is September and life does go on.

Spent most of the time on the tablet starting a new season (just released) of a series I've watched from its first initial season. Realized first thing I didn't remember how that last season had left off and went back to watch the end of the last season's episode that preceded this new one. Another glimpse into these memory lapses. Still not too common, things I've forgotten do fairly quickly return, I'd gone back to the last episode after memories of what happened and why coming back. But still, more data on this getting older crap.

I'm not going to photograph the apartment house construction site today. Obviously. Just don't care. Maybe we're in the middle of a turning over a new leaf process and so we're not experiencing failure, we're merely shifting of gears and taking another step on the ladder to excellence competence.

Evening. More time on the tablet. Enough time on the tablet. You can only spend so much time watching crap stuff on a tablet.

A New Tricks I've seen before at seven, but long enough before I didn't quite remember much about it. Skipped Charlie Rose, skipped the Midsomer Murders, but appreciated the fact that at least Midsomer was something worth checking before turning it down.

My sister has been keeping us current on my brother-in-law's condition and reports all “seems” to be progressing well, but we won't know more for another day or two. There are follow ups with the doctors required. Not sure how to interpret this yet, but there's not much to do other than wait until.