Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - October 29, 2017

Good afternoon! Since it's a Sunday afternoon, it's time for my off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Yeah, I know I usually post this in the morning. But I'm in a lackadaisical mood today. If you're not interested in this, please feel free to check out my previous and newer posts I will put up after this -- they will be television related! You can find my Survivor posts at this link.

We're under a flash flood watch here today with heavy rains and heavy winds expected as the day goes on. It's raining as I get this written, but it's not really stormy ... yet. I just hope it doesn't cancel or delay my expected Peapod grocery delivery order I expect between 4pm - 6pm. 

We've certainly had worse weather around here on this day in past years. Five years ago, Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy hit the area turning everything topsy-turvy in the area. While I'm not close enough to a shore point to worry about ocean storm surge, the wind damage in this area was bad. My power was out nearly two weeks. And, a few days after the storm, we had a three inch or so snowstorm. I had no power, no heat. I found out the meaning of not wasting daylight. We had received possible evacuation notices from the city of Plainfield before the storm -- I live near a stream called the Green Brook and it has necessitated some boat rescues across the street in the past. In a few other storms I've seen water come up about a foot or so around my building. But here with Sandy, the rains weren't the issue. It was the wind.

The year before Sandy on this date, we had a seven inch snowstorm ... with all of the trees still bearing leaves! The wet snow brought trees down throughout Plainfield which knocked out my power for three days. Gah! We need underground cables! While I remember an earthquake back around eight years ago, they would be more reliable in this area. 

So, Halloween was canceled here two years in a row -- 2011 and 2012. Looking at the forecast this upcoming week, Halloween is the only day with lots of sunshine expected. I never have trick-or-treaters here, but I always buy something (I like) just in case. But I do know they're out there. I'm glad they'll have a good day for it.

I really don't have much photo-wise this week. I worked a lot. I'm tired. But, then again, I always feel tired. Oh, well. Onto the photos I took -- clicking on an image will bring up a larger version.

Saturday night's moon

I tried taking a shot with my cell phone, which does have a quasi-decent camera. But it came out as a white blob in the sky no matter what I did. So, this is the real camera. Hmm ... all of these shots this week are the real camera. I didn't take much with the cell phone.

Birds on a wire

Probably planning on overtaking the world and destroying humanity. Yep, they do things like that. Or, at the very least, they think about it.

Color through the trees

While the trees lining my apartment building's parking lot are still either green or shedding brown dried leaves, the neighbor has color in his backyard.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - October 25 Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Levu Tribe
Ashley N. - Donna NY, MikesGirl, tbc. 
Desiree W. - Delee, Mario Lee, Skyriverblue, Buzzmaam 
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces 
Joe M. - Cheryl ICNY, Krysa Gibson, Sharon C.

Soko Tribe
Ali E. - Dr_Celine, Monnie8, Tennistoe 
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY 
JP H. - Cheryl in NC, Krisen from Ohio, Shannon 
Roark L. - Auntie Leigh, Indiana Jane, Pam 
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed

Yawa Tribe
Jessica J. - ChicMc, Silk, Sharon N. 
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny 
Cole M. - Dolores in Hollywood FL, Marthalight, Stormy 
Lauren R. - Brian, Jennasmom, Rochelle, Judi Sweeney 
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.

Flame Extinguished 
Katrina R. - Pool People moved to a different teams.
Simone N. - 4nancie, Nana in the NW, weenabe
Patrick B. - Beachbound Gmom, Jackie, Petals, Sara Welty
Alan B. - Ed in Ohio, monty 924, Terry is a Texan

Survivor fans ready?  

Fourteen are left, who will be voted out tonight?

Joe is in his glory. He's just so smart (and crazy). Just ask him. Although, that said, I think Alan was a good one to go last week.

On Yawa, they think that Ben might have a bit of PTSD because he jumped when some bamboo exploded in their fire. The show goes on to touch our heartstrings with Ben's story of his military service, how it affected him and his hopes for the future. 

Reward Challenge time. Feet tied together, arms tied, slither a ball through the sand, shoot basket. Iced coffee, pastries, coffee and tea for the first place. Second place iced coffee container. Chrissy and Lauren sit out. 

Dang. Ryan loses the ball for his tribe not once, but twice now! Eep. Third time.

Levu wins first place. Yawa takes second place.

The win seems to be bringing Levu together. Devon is onto Joe, though. He wants to work with Ashley still. They think that Joe thinks he's in control. He kind of is, I'd say.

On Yawa, Ryan is apologetic. He tells us he needs to concentrate on his strength -- his social game. Roark wants to work her way in with the others. Ali seems receptive. Ryan is stuck in the middle between his allies -- Chrissy and Ali. Neither of the women will work together.

Lauren, and Ben to a lesser extent, notice that Cole is a slob. While manners aren't a big thing on the island, he's worse than most. Mike is digging for an idol. And, he has it! He found it in front of Jessica. 

Immunity Challenge time. Swim out to bats, get bags of rice, get bags through obstacle, maneuver balls through a maze with ropes -- much like the ones we've seen lately on BB. 

Yawa wins Immunity! Uh-oh, Chrissy is holding back her tribe. Levu wins Immunity. Gah. I like both Chrissy and Ryan. I want them to stay in this for a while longer! 

Chrissy tries to ally with Roark. But Roark isn't all that keen on the idea. Chrissy thinks she'll have to create an imaginary girls alliance that is targeting JP so that Roark (strongest female) would get targeted. Ryan and JP seem to be in on the blindside. But we'll see. Meanwhile, Ali and Roark want Chrissy to go home. Ryan is ending up in the swing vote position. 

Time for the Tribal Council. Ali is already throwing Chrissy under the bus. 

Chrissy and Roark vote for each other. We'll see how it goes.

The tally:
Chrissy, Roark, Chrissy, Roark, Roark.

Roark is gone!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - October 22, 2017

Good morning! Since it's a Sunday morning, it's time for my off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. If you're not interested in either, please feel free to check out my previous and newer posts I will put up after this -- they will be television related! You can find my Survivor posts at this link.

My apologies for not posting last week. I'm still tired and not feeling all that great this week. But at least I took some photos! I'm still working on improving my photo-taking with the new cell phone. Most of the shots here are from my actual camera unless I note cell phone. 

Nothing much is happening here -- the weather has been incredibly nice, temperatures in the 70s most days and chilly evenings. We're now at the point that we need rain, though. I'm sure it will decide to rain as I'm out and about heading to work and have to be caught in it.

Last night seemed to be party night in my apartment building. No, not for me! After I got home from work, I had my own party of one with a cat companion. (Someone may have imbibed too much catnip.) On the first floor in the front of the building, it was incredibly loud as I got home. Today when I went down to the front door of the building to get my Sunday newspaper, I saw busted balloons -- dozens of them -- all over the corridor floor, stairs and in the elevator. I know they were popping some in the front wing of my floor last night, too. I wasn't really sure WHAT the noise was, but I knew it was NOT gunfire. Now I know. The guy upstairs also had a party. Since he's been quite amazingly quiet for months, I tolerated it even though the noise went beyond 11pm. It wasn't as loud as he's cranked it in the past. But he definitely invited some real clodhoppers up there. Thank goodness he has carpeting in that apartment.  

I'm hoping for a quiet peaceful Sunday.

Here are the photos for the week -- clicking on an image will open a larger version.

De train! De train!

Oh, wait. That was Tattoo yelling, "De plane! De plane!" on Fantasy Island. I'm certainly aging myself with the memory of that television show, eh? The sun was almost set to the left just out of this photo shot as my train home from work arrived at the Bridgewater Train Station one day this week. A more colorful sunset would have been nice, but ...!

If the NJ Transit bus breaks down ...

... he has wheels of his own. I've noticed more skateboarders on the trains and buses since the Skate Park opened in Plainfield. I keep telling myself I need to get over to the park with my camera. Unfortunately, I haven't really felt well enough to be out and about more than I have to be lately. I took this photo with my cell phone, making it accidentally a video. So I edited a still from said video.

White and Yellow Lamps

Well, I will say that keeping the eastbound side of the train station so brightly lighted at night seems to have cut down some of the ne'er'do-wells who spend the evenings/nights there. As it was just after sunset when I took this shot, you can't really see the white brightness. NJ Transit Police and the Plainfield Police still need to move along the non-passengers during the daytime hours. Now they tend to hang out right on the platforms taking up benches for people who want to take the trains. Plainfield Train Station.

Let me pose for you

A posing squirrel on a fence post on the west side of my apartment building. My windows look out on the east side and only have a chain-link fence.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - October 18 Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion!

Tonight we will see a shake-up with the tribes. I suppose I'm evil because I'd rather the possible showmance to be split. Heh.  My own pool person got the boot last week, so I'm a free agent. I'm entertained by fellow Jersey boy Ryan. Hmm ...

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Levu Tribe (Heroes)
JP H. - Cheryl in NC, Kristen from Ohio, Shannon 
Alan B. - Ed in Ohio, monty 924, Terry is a Texan 
Ashley N. - Donna NY, MikesGirl, tbc. 
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy. 
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY 

Soko Tribe (Healers) 
Cole M. - Dolores in Hollywood FL, Marthalight, Stormy 
Desiree W. - Delee, Mario Lee, Skyriverblue, Buzzmaam 
Jessica J. - ChicMc, Silk, Sharon N. 
Joe M. - Cheryl ICNY, Krysa Gibson, Sharon C. 
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny 
Roark L. - Auntie Leigh, Indiana Jane, Pam 

Yawa Tribe (Hustlers) 
Ali E. - Dr_Celine, Monnie8, Tennistoe 
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces 
Lauren R. - Brian, Jennasmom, Rochelle, Judi Sweeney
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed 

Flame Extinguished 
Katrina R. - Pool People moved to a different teams.
Simone N. - 4nancie, Nana in the NW, weenabe
Patrick B. - Beachbound Gmom, Jackie, Petals, Sara Welty

Survivor fans ready?  

Fifteen are left, who will be voted out tonight?

It's right to "drop your buffs" time. Jeff passes out new buffs. It's a brand new game.

Ashley, Alan, Desi, Joe and Devon -- Levu
Ryan, Ali, Chrissy, JP and Roark -- Soko
Jessica, Mike, Cole, Lauren, Ben -- Yawa

Reward challenge has them playing for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips. No second place. They have to untangle a rope using teamwork, hook a sled, pull sled, solve puzzle.

The yellow tribe (Jessica, Mike and all) -- I'll eventually get the tribe names -- wins the challenge, followed by orange -- Ryan and company. The blue tribe was sunk from the beginning and Alan only made things worse by not being able to hook the sled and not letting anyone else try. 

Whoa! Jessica got a secret advantage in her bag of chips. She can block one person from voting at the next tribal council. Like Ryan, if her tribe wins immunity, she has to send it to someone who is going. So she tells Mike and Cole. Cole tells Ben. Why don't they just write it in sand? Then he tells Lauren. 

Chrissy, of course, was the recipient of Ryan's advantage. They're both from New Jersey and now they're both on the same tribe. He tells her it was him giving her the super idol.  A bond is forming.

Ashley isn't too thrilled that Alan is still on her tribe. They attempt amends. Joe isn't as confident because he's used to winning. At least he has an idol. He tells Devon the two heroes want him out.

Lauren told Mike about the advantage. Since it was only Mike, Jessica and Cole who initially knew, it's obvious Cole told the others. He apologizes to Jessica, but she's not happy.

Time for the Immunity Challenge! Race out to crate of puzzle pieces, bring it through obstacles, solve puzzle. The first two tribes are safe.  

Yawa wins first, then Soko. Levu will go to Tribal.

Devon confronts Ashley telling her that Joe said she was going to vote him out. She denies it and thinks they need to target Joe. Joe thinks he's going to have to use his idol, but they might vote Desi out. Joe tells them all he's voting Ashley and they need to keep a strong tribe. I don't know -- I keep seeing Alan perform poorly in challenges and Joe irks them all. Then Desi's name gets thrown in there. Joe tells her he has the idol. She wants him to use it on her.

Aha! Devon got the secret advantage from Jessica! 

Time for Tribal Council. Jeff needs to ask his Probsting questions of them all. 

No wonder they don't work together as a team. They certainly aren't one. 

Devon opens his advantage -- it's being used against you by another player to block him (Devon) from voting. GAH! That's no advantage! He can't vote!

Joe plays his idol. For himself.

The tally:
 Joe, Joe, Alan, Alan ...

Alan is voted out. A wise choice methinks.

Nothing Here to See This Sunday - October 15, 2017

I think I need to nap with Vincent

I didn't take many photos this past week and I'm exhausted. Not sick per se, but I just feel so tired. It's been a long week.

I'll be back for the Survivor post on Wednesday and I will post my usual off television topic photo post next Sunday.