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# Furrs.org

Carole and Jay Furr

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://furrs.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Fly Like An Eagle](https://furrs.org/2026/05/18/fly-like-an-eagle/) - Today is the 28th anniversary of my starting at IDX Systems Corporation. It was a Monday as well. I am technically speaking still in the same position but it bears absolutely no resemblance to what I was doing when I started. GE Healthcare bought IDX in 2005 and then spun most of IDX back off
- [The quest for the One Ring](https://furrs.org/2026/04/07/the-quest-for-the-one-ring/) - Going berserk looking for a lost wedding ring, only to find it in a very unlikely place
- [Passport Weirdness](https://furrs.org/2026/03/25/passport-weirdness/) - I am genuinely surprised and a little bewildered. I filed for renewal for my passport and passport card one week ago today. Today I was informed that everything was approved and the passport and the passport card are being printed and should be here by Tuesday. I am bewildered because I can't imagine any part
- [Nostra maxima culpa](https://furrs.org/2018/07/05/nostra-maxima-culpa/) - [spacer height="20px"]We want to apologize to our fellow Vermont residents for the extremely hot and sunny weather we've been experiencing this past few weeks. [spacer height="20px"] Um, see ... we had solar panels put on the roof in mid-June. And, er, apparently the folks at SunCommon (our solar installer) took us seriously when I said "now, make
- [Ick](https://furrs.org/2018/07/21/ick/) - There is nothing -- and I mean NOTHING -- more pleasant than stumbling across a bag of old this-and-that (miscellaneous camera gear, and suchlike) which cats have taken to peeing on. For months, as far as one can tell. Our cats have been sabotaging us by going in places we really would rather they not
- [Pickles and Wines, and That](https://furrs.org/2018/09/26/pickles-and-wines-and-that/) - For the first time in my entire life, I'm running for public office. Namely, for the not-terribly-impressive position of "Justice of the Peace" in my little 4,000-person town of Richmond, Vermont. "Justice of the Peace" (the Vermont version, anyway) isn't exactly what you may recall from old Westerns. Richmond and other towns our size get
- [Credit Where It's Due](https://furrs.org/2018/10/04/credit-where-its-due/) - I've spent more time than I really should've bitching about how much I hate birthdays. (Correction: how much I hate my birthday. Others' are fine.) Well, it's time to give credit where it's due. This year, for my 51st birthday, Carole really stepped up, and I want to thank her for that. (Thanks, honey!) I was
- [No, I Didn't Actually Change Jobs](https://furrs.org/2018/10/31/no-i-didnt-actually-change-jobs/) - A few days ago I got around to updating my profile on various social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook with my current employment information... and thanks to the wonders of modern algorithms, dozens of people I'm connected to on those sites promptly started congratulating me on my "new job". Thing is, I didn't actually
- [Woo-Hoo!](https://furrs.org/2018/11/08/woo-hoo/) - I finally got to see the vote totals for the Justice of the Peace race here in Richmond, VT (population, a bit over 4,000). Long story short: I won. Slightly longer version of the story: so did 11 out of the 12 other candidates on the ballot. "Woo-hoo!", anyway. I was one of seven Democrats
- [What We Did On Our 2018 Summer Vacation, Day 2 (Arrival)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/21/what-we-did-on-our-2018-summer-vacation-day-2-arrival/) - [spacer height="20px"]Day 2 of our Baltic Sea vacation was our first day in Denmark. Our red-eye flight from Chicago got us to Copenhagen at 1 pm local time, which actually worked out well. By the time we got our bags (all four made it! yeah!) and caught a train from the airport to Copenhagen's central
- [What We Did On Our 2018 Summer Vacation, Day 4 (All Aboard)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/22/what-we-did-on-our-2018-summer-vacation-day-4-all-aboard/) - [spacer height="20px"]Saturday, August 18 was the first day of our nine-day Baltic Sea cruise aboard the "Norwegian Breakaway", a big-ass cruise ship decorated from end to end in New York-oriented stuff. Most of the year it serves the New York market, but for some reason did a series of back to back summer 2018 cruises
- [What We Did On Our 2018 Summer Vacation, Day 5 (Fear and Loathing in Berlin)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/23/what-we-did-on-our-2018-summer-vacation-day-5-fear-and-loathing-in-berlin/) - Sunday, August 19 was the first full day of our nine-day Baltic cruise, and when I say "fulI" mean full. It was one hell of a long day. We docked in Warnemunde (the port of the city of Rostock), on the coast, and took a train three hours south to Berlin. We were driven all over
- [What We Did On Our 2018 Summer Vacation, Day 6 (At Sea)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/23/what-we-did-on-our-2018-summer-vacation-day-6-at-sea/) - Monday, August 20 was the sixth day of our vacation, and the third day of our nine-day Baltic Sea cruise. It was one of our two "sea days" -- days without a port call -- and we spent it transiting the eastern Baltic Sea, having left Rostock, Germany around midnight the night before and not
- [The Wienermobile](https://furrs.org/2019/01/11/the-weinermobile/) - There are people in this country who do not own a large stuffed Wienermobile. I am not one of those people. (For what it's worth, I've had this thing for years and years. Bought it off eBay. It came with strings attached to hang it from the ceiling of a store or business, but mostly
- [Jury Duty](https://furrs.org/2019/02/15/jury-duty/) - [spacer height="20px"]Our local independent weekly newspaper has a column called "WTF" that attempts to answer questions about local weirdness (e.g. "what the heck is that weird building down on the southern end of Dorset Street?"). This week's WTF question was "WTF: Why Are Some People Called for Jury Duty While Others Never Are?" I'm 51
- [Anyone looking for a wedding officiant?](https://furrs.org/2019/04/02/anyone-looking-for-a-wedding-officiant/) - [spacer height="20px"]For what it's worth, if anyone out there is looking to tie the knot this summer (and has a willing partner lined up) and wants to hold the ceremony in northern or central Vermont, I'm a legally elected Justice of the Peace (which you can check here) and am empowered to conduct weddings. I'll
- [What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 8 (St Petersburg)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/24/what-we-did-on-our-summer-vacation-day-8-st-petersburg/) - On Wednesday, August 22, the Furrs sailed into the grips of what had once been known as the Evil Empire: Russia. St Petersburg, Russia, to be exact. And I remember the first words I uttered as opened the stateroom curtains and looked blankly toward the shore: "That's one tall building." The Russian need to overcompensate
- [What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 9 (St Petersburg)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/25/what-we-did-on-our-summer-vacation-day-9-st-petersburg/) - Thursday, August 23 saw us still in St Petersburg -- Day 9 of our vacation and day 5 of our cruise. We spent the day back onshore, dragging around St Petersburg and environs looking at gilt. The Russians of the Russian Empire period never saw anything they didn't want to cover in gold leaf. We spent
- [Town Meeting Day 2019](https://furrs.org/2019/03/19/town-meeting-day-2019/) - You may recall that I've been working on my plans for brutal world domination in my spare time, and lately, those plans took another step forward! I got to exercise my status as member of the Richmond, Vermont "Board of Civil Authority" and help run Town Meeting! Next stop, THE WORLD! Okay, I guess I
- [Jay's Latest Venture Into Attention-Grabbing Idiocy](https://furrs.org/2019/05/13/jays-latest-venture-into-attention-grabbing-idiocy/) - Back in the day, Carole and I loved the Discovery channel show Mythbusters, the show dedicated to testing the veracity and/or plausibility of various urban myths. We found that the show got old as the years went by and the producers spent more and more time milking the humor value and trying to fit as
- [Continued Dumbassery, Duke Chapel Edition](https://furrs.org/2019/06/02/continued-dumbassery-duke-chapel-edition/) - Friends, consider the video embedded below. If I've done things right, clicking it should cause it to start playing at the 13 minute and 50 second mark. When the video cuts away from the the Rev. Dr. Carol Gregg encouraging us to share the peace of Christ with one another, look to the front row
- [Pumpkin Spice Spam](https://furrs.org/2019/09/29/pumpkin-spice-spam/) - Pumpkin Spice Spam was a thing -- for about four hours on September 23, 2019. Then it was sold out, gone, possibly never to reappear on the national scene. Hormel made Pumpkin Spice Spam available in two-packs from their own website -- with a limit on one two-pack per customer -- but also sold it
- [Back from Europe](https://furrs.org/2023/10/10/back-from-europe/) - We just got back from a two and a half week trip to Europe. We flew to Bilbao, Spain (in the Basque country) and hung out there for two days, then boarded the Norwegian Gem for an 11-stop cruise that began in Bilbao and ended in Rome. After three days in Rome we flew home.
- [Beer Poking](https://furrs.org/2025/01/20/beer-poking/) - Today was of course a day of somber regret and desperation, as the Orange Dickhead became President again. I did not watch one single moment of the inauguration and I am not hanging on tenterhooks doomscrolling through his "first day" actions on X (née Twitter). Instead, I focused on house tidying and other such things
- ["Take Steps In Their Shoes" 2018](https://furrs.org/2018/07/13/take-steps-in-their-shoes-2018/) - Hey, everyone! "Steps To End Domestic Violence" (our local Vermont non-profit supporting victims of domestic violence, as the name probably indicates) is holding its annual fundraising walk, "Take Steps In Their Shoes", on October 6. I'm registered to participate and I'd greatly appreciate your sponsorship. All funds raised go toward the fight against domestic violence
- [Another Year, Another Marauding Antediluvian Saurian Bearing Angiosperms](https://furrs.org/2019/02/14/another-year-another-marauding-antediluvian-saurian-bearing-angiosperms/) - I think Champ is really obsessed with me. He came by my office for the second year in a row to wish me Happy Valentine's Day! Doesn't he look bigger than last year? The handler who brought him in, said he'd been eating a lot of hot dogs. I dunno, I heard he's been eating
- [2019 ACDA "Gather at the River" Conference](https://furrs.org/2019/07/02/2019-acda-gather-at-the-river-conference/) - I took part in the 2019 "Gather at the River" choral conference hosted by the Vermont chapter of the ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) this past weekend at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury (quack) Vermont. I was part of the Hawaiian music "chamber choir" in addition to singing in the massed choir. I really
- [More on "Orchestrating Change"](https://furrs.org/2019/10/16/more-on-orchestrating-change/) - In re Hey, I Was In A Movie!, there was a nice story on Me2/Orchestra and the "Orchestrating Change" documentary on WGBH last night.
- [AI: Using ChatGPT For Fun and Profit](https://furrs.org/2026/01/05/ai/) - A skeptical but practical look at using ChatGPT AI for nutrition, travel, cooking, and self-reflection—its real strengths and real risks.
- [Gambling](https://furrs.org/2026/03/13/gambling/) - I have my share of vices. Gambling is not one of them. I think I've bought maybe five scratch-off tickets in my life, all before the age of 23 if I recall correctly. I used to play poker for fun, badly, back in college, but not since. I've been to Las Vegas multiple times for
- [Blueberry Buckle Recipe](https://furrs.org/2026/03/03/blueberry-buckle-recipe/) - Blueberry Buckle for a 9x13-ish Foil Pan From the kitchen of Jay Furr Coffee-cake style buckle made for a donor party, using frozen Wyman's wild Maine blueberries. Yield: One 9x13-ish disposable foil pan (about 20-24 squares, depending on how you cut it) Oven: 350 F Bake time: 60-75 minutes (start checking at 55) Cooling
- ["Mexican Chocolate" Brownies recipe](https://furrs.org/2026/03/03/mexican-chocolate-brownies-recipe/) - Mexican Chocolate Brownies with Spiced Chocolate Glaze From the kitchen of Jay Furr Dense, chewy brownies with a cinnamon-cayenne chocolate glaze and a crunch of red decorating sugar. Yield: Two 9×13-inch pans (about 48 large brownies, depending on how you cut them) Oven: 325°F Bake time: 40–50 minutes (start checking at 40) Cooling time:
- [Hamburguesas con mantequilla de cacahuete](https://furrs.org/2019/02/21/hamburguesas-con-mantequilla-de-cacahuete/) - So I saw an article on Atlas Obscura about a legendary Missouri restaurant and its "guberburgers" -- hamburgers topped with peanut butter. Talk about "bringing back old memories"... I spent eight months in a s___hole El Salvadoran jail between March and November of 2005. They fed us nothing but peanut butter slathered burgers, grilled medium well,
- [Flight Attendants](https://furrs.org/2026/02/03/flight-attendants/) - Thoughts about interacting with airline flight attendants and how a passenger can make the whole experience on a flight much more tolerable. Also: Cheez-Its.
- [Utterly Irrelevant Vacation Travelogues](https://furrs.org/2026/02/02/utterly-irrelevant-vacation-travelogues/) - Random babbling about how much we enjoy going on vacation and then never getting around to writing up our experiences afterwards.
- [Murder on the Orient Express at Vermont Stage](https://furrs.org/2026/02/02/murder-on-the-orient-express-at-vermont-stage/) - I’m on the board of Vermont Stage, so I get an early look at what goes into each production. What we've got for you this time is really good. Murder on the Orient Express, based on the legendary mystery novel by Agatha Christie featuring Hercule Poirot, is a Ken Ludwig-authored play that brings the suspense
- [Many are cold, but few are frozen](https://furrs.org/2025/01/09/5601/) - I am very stupid in certain ways. I live in a snowy northern clime (northern Vermont) but my Southern upbringing makes me want to get up in the morning, put on a t-shirt, underwear, and shorts and wander around the house barefoot all day. There typically comes a point where I realize that continual boosting
- [Donating blood](https://furrs.org/2026/01/03/donating-blood/) - Blog entry about donating blood despite thalassemia trait and low hemoglobin. The author shares what has worked for him.
- [Lemon Chess Pie recipe](https://furrs.org/2025/12/04/lemon-chess-pie-recipe/) - Recipe for lemon chess pie
- [Blood](https://furrs.org/2018/07/21/blood/) - As of today, I am a lifetime ten-gallon blood donor! (And our little Red Cross spokes-ape, Hemo, is very proud of me!)
- [You Can Love Whoever The Hell You Want](https://furrs.org/2018/09/08/you-can-love-whoever-the-hell-you-want/) - Carole and I marched in the 2018 Burlington, Vermont Pride parade today. We're allies of those in the LGBTQ movement and supporters of the fundamental right of all persons to love whomever the hell they want. We're happy and proud that droves of Vermonters came out to cheer and support and to march in the
- [Snoo](https://furrs.org/2018/11/27/snoo/) - Carole and I live in northern Vermont, in a little town called Richmond. Every year we wonder if any given snowfall will be "the" snowfall, the one that covers our grass until spring. Some years it's clear from the first eight-inch dumping. Other years we don't really ever get "that" snow, as we have freezes
- [What We Did On Our 2018 Summer Vacation, Day 1 (Across The Pond)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/21/what-we-did-on-our-2018-summer-vacation-day-1-across-the-pond/) - This past August we took what was probably our most ambitious vacation ever -- a nine day cruise around the Baltic Sea, stopping off in quite a few countries along the way. I say "ambitious" because frankly, we ran ourselves ragged in the course of things by trying to do as much as humanly possible
- [What We Did On Our 2018 Summer Vacation, Day 3 (Tivoli)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/22/what-we-did-on-our-2018-summer-vacation-day-3-tivoli/) - Friday, August 17 was our first full day in Copenhagen and the last day before we embarked on our nine-day Baltic Sea cruise. We kept things simple and didn't try to do too much; mostly we wandered around the legendary Tivoli Gardens amusement park and dodged a couple of showers. Tivoli Gardens is the second-oldest
- [What We Did On Our 2018 Summer Vacation, Day 7 (Estonia)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/24/what-we-did-on-our-2018-summer-vacation-day-7-estonia/) - Tuesday, August 21, was the seventh day of our vacation, and the fourth day of our nine-day Baltic Sea cruise. We would spend the next four days in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Finland, stopping off in Estonia's capital Tallin, then spending two days in St. Petersburg, Russia, and then finishing with a
- [What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 10 (Helsinki, Finland)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/25/what-we-did-on-our-summer-vacation-day-10-helsinki-finland/) - Friday, August 24 brought us to Helsinki, Finland. We had no issues whatsoever getting off the ship, unlike the Grand Guignol folly back in St Petersburg. Our Finland "exclusive tour" was another bus tour to see the sights... both in Helsinki, proper, and in the quaint little town of Porvoo a half hour away to
- [What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 11 (Stockholm)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/26/what-we-did-on-our-summer-vacation-day-11-stockholm/) - [spacer height="20px"]Saturday, August 25 was our last port stop on our 9-day Baltic Sea cruise, not counting our final stop at the end back in Copenhagen. We docked in Nynäshamn, a port some 40 miles outside Stockholm, for the simple reason that Stockholm doesn't have the capacity to dock every cruise ship that wants
- [What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 12 (At Sea Again)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/26/what-we-did-on-our-summer-vacation-day-12-at-sea-again/) - Sunday, August 26 -- Day 12 of our Baltic vacation and Day 8 of our nine-day Baltic cruise -- saw us back at sea, heading generally southwest toward Denmark and Copenhagen. And I think by this point of the cruise, we were about worn out. I know I was. Toward the end of the day
- [What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 13 (Back in Copenhagen)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/27/what-we-did-on-our-summer-vacation-day-13-back-in-copenhagen/) - [spacer height="20px"]We returned to Copenhagen, Denmark at the end of our nine-day Baltic Sea cruise on Monday, August 26. Debarkation from the ship was quick and painless. We'd paid for transfer from the port back to the central rail station in downtown Copenhagen and that was painless as well. The train station was two blocks
- [What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 14 (Homeward Bound)](https://furrs.org/2018/12/27/what-we-did-on-our-summer-vacation-day-14-homeward-bound/) - [spacer height="20px"]The 14th and final day of our Baltic Sea vacation was Tuesday, August 28. We had breakfast at the Axel Guldsmeden hotel, packed up, and took a taxi back to the Copenhagen airport. I was still not feeling super-awesome, but better than I had the prior day... but even so, I didn't want to
- [Game Camera: May 2019](https://furrs.org/2019/05/29/game-camera-may-2019/) - We've had a game camera for a year and a half now and it's been intermittently recording the back yard for about a year. I say "intermittently" because I turned it off this past December (or thereabouts) and only turned it back on again at the beginning of May. Last year we got a nice
- [Wienermobile!](https://furrs.org/2019/05/30/wienermobile/) - [spacer height="20px"]So Carole and I were down in central North Carolina over the weekend and while we certainly did lots of fun and interesting things in our old stomping grounds (we used to live in Durham in the mid-1990s), I'd have to say that one of the high points of our trip was our chance
- [Stonewall 50](https://furrs.org/2019/07/03/stonewall-50/) - We missed the official anniversary of the Stonewall Riots by five days, but better late than never. I'd like to keep this short and simple and just say two things: As far as I'm concerned, you can love whoever the hell you want. Anyone who says the battle for LGBTQ rights is all over and
- [Lemur Art](https://furrs.org/2019/07/15/lemur-art/) - Carole and I spent Memorial Day weekend down in Durham, NC, where we lived in the mid-1990s. (I lived there from the fall of 1993 to the spring of 1998; Carole was there from early 1996 to the spring of 1998.) Though we'd been back for a few weddings in the late 1990s, we
- [Baseball: "Before"](https://furrs.org/2019/07/22/vootie/) - Tonight will be a special night in the Furr household. Carole will be singing the national anthem at tonight's Vermont Lake Monsters minor league baseball game, which is cool, and ... I'll be throwing out the first pitch, which isn't actually all that cool. Or exciting. Or noteworthy. The Lake Monsters play in the short-season
- [The Boston "Sweep Van Experience"](https://furrs.org/2019/09/08/the-boston-sweep-van-experience/) - So, Carole and I spent the weekend in a 12-passenger van driving around Boston and environs; Carole was navigator and I was driver. We served as "Sweep Van B" for the 2019 New England Susan G Komen 3-Day. We had walked in the Twin Cities 3-Day a few weeks ago, and this was kind of
- [How You Know You've Spent Way Too Many Nights In Hotels](https://furrs.org/2019/10/18/how-you-know-youve-spent-way-too-many-nights-in-hotels-2/) - I've been in this job since May of 1998. A job that requires a lot of travel -- usually a couple of flights to get to some distant city in the USA on Sunday or Monday and a couple of flights to get back home that Friday or Saturday. And in between -- a lot
- [Salsa](https://furrs.org/2019/10/19/salsa/) - We planted lots of chile and bell peppers in every color and size and degree of hotness (well, just about) and chopped them all up into a container of, well, chile hash -- which we then used today to make 12 quarts of salsa. Ideally, we'd have used homegrown tomatoes as well, but we didn't focus
- [Heart attack](https://furrs.org/2021/09/18/heart-attack/) - So, I had a mild heart attack the other day. I woke up Monday morning with a sore left arm and a bad case of heartburn. I rationalized the sore left arm as having strained it carrying heavy scuba tanks and dive weights on Saturday. I don't know how I explained the heartburn, though, because
- [Feline progressive dendritic histiocytosis, follow-up](https://furrs.org/2022/04/28/feline-progressive-dendritic-histiocytosis-follow-up/) - In December of 2020 I posted about the aggressive skin cancer -- feline progressive dendritic histiocytosis -- which was afflicting our large bear-like black cat, Marie. You can read that post here. Progressive dendritic histiocytosis is unusual in cats. It is more commonly encountered in dogs. Consequently, there is very little material in the veterinary
- [Death of a kitty](https://furrs.org/2022/09/27/death-of-a-kitty/) - The post below is not 'new news' -- it's something I've been meaning to post since early July. It may be 'new to you' or it may be something you already know about via Facebook or elsewhere. Our cat, Marie, passed away on July 6, 2022 after a lengthy battle with cancer. If you have
- [Zara](https://furrs.org/2025/01/13/zara/) - I guess I'm not all bad if a kitty this nice is willing to hang out with me.
- [Key West Trip](https://furrs.org/2025/01/15/key-west-trip/) - We recently took a 7-night trip to Key West, Florida. We arrived the Friday before Christmas and flew back the Friday after. Highlights included: drinking, eating, bar crawling, more drinking, skydiving, boating (twice, on boats we drove ourselves), going to church on Christmas Eve, visiting Fred the Tree on the old Seven-Mile Bridge, miniature golfing,
- [Cutting-Edge Education](https://furrs.org/2025/01/01/cutting-edge-education/) - I am fifty-seven years old. I realize that I graduated high school FORTY YEARS AGO. I'm old, thankyouverymuch. I don't have children. I have, realistically, next to no idea what they teach kids in schools these days, nor how they go about teaching it. I assume computers and the Internet are involved. There are probably
- [A Different Kind of Valentine's Day](https://furrs.org/2018/02/14/a-different-kind-of-valentines-day/) - The lovely folks at the Vermont Lake Monsters minor league baseball team (short-season A, New York-Penn League) offered a special deal this year -- for a low, low price, their team mascot, Champ, would deliver flowers, chocolates, a special customized card, and vouchers for two game tickets to the special person of your choice. Needless to
- [Happy New Year 2026!](https://furrs.org/2025/12/31/happy-new-year-2026/)
- [Pumpkin pie recipe](https://furrs.org/2025/11/26/pumpkin-pie-recipe/) - I have been making the following pumpkin pie recipe for a very long time -- since the mid-1980s or thereabouts. It's not that fancy, but the extra molasses and cloves and such give it a taste that often gets positively commented on. Note: this recipe calls for you to use an actual pumpkin, not canned pie
- [Weight Loss Tracking News](https://furrs.org/2025/10/30/weight-loss-tracking-news/) - I am reasonably pleased that after being at 242 pounds at the beginning of May I have finally dipped under 200 pounds.[spacer height="20px"] My goal is 190 pounds. (N.b. I am approximately 6'1.5" tall, so if you go by the extremely invalid BMI measure, at 190 pounds I am no longer "overweight".)[spacer height="20px"]The orange colored
- [Almost out of time!  Please help!](https://furrs.org/2025/09/25/almost-out-of-time-please-help/) - Hi friends, The Susan G. Komen 3-Day is almost here, and I’m so close to reaching the fundraising minimum. I need to raise $2,300 by October 2nd to be able to walk, and thanks to your generosity I’m already at $1,786.97. That means I’ve got just $513 left to raise in the next few days.
- [Jay’s 25th Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk: San Diego, November 14–16, 2025](https://furrs.org/2025/09/08/jays-25th-susan-g-komen-3-day-walk-san-diego-november-14-16-2025/) - This fall I’ll be lacing up for my 25th Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk, taking place in San Diego, November 14–16, 2025. Over three days, I’ll cover 60 miles on foot alongside thousands of other participants, each step dedicated to raising funds and awareness in the fight against breast cancer. If you’ve never heard of
- [Less Salt, Less Caffeine, Less Me](https://furrs.org/2025/07/29/less-salt-less-caffeine-less-me/) - My history of weight loss and gain tracks very closely with how bad my depression has gotten. When I am really suffering from depression, my weight soars -- I do not watch what I eat and predictably I do not move around a lot. I got down to 190 in the winter of 2022 after
- [A modest proposal](https://furrs.org/2025/04/01/a-modest-proposal/) - So here's my plan. I take some of my hypothetical millions and open a store selling the kinds of things that difficult "I-want-to-talk-to-the-manager" types go for. Could be crafts, could be food, could be baked goods. However, I build the store with a certain extra feature: a room off to the side of the checkouts
- [So long, Mark](https://furrs.org/2025/01/16/so-long-mark/) - I am not going to be deleting my Facebook account, Instagram account, and Threads account just yet, but after the absolutely reprehensible things Meta and Zuckerberg did over the past few days, such as eliminating all transgender accomodations at Meta offices, discontinuing fact-checking, allowing users to refer to GLBTQ individuals as "mentally ill" and "freaks"
- [Spontaneous Pain, Leg Edition](https://furrs.org/2025/01/14/spontaneous-pain-leg-edition/) - I have had a throbbing, occasional pain just above my right ankle, on the outside of the leg, for a couple of years now. Probably screwed it up somehow doing a Susan G. Komen 3-Day or training for one or something. The pain comes and goes and can be pretty intense at times. I finally
- [Snow](https://furrs.org/2025/01/10/snow/) - Since I've posted about cold and snow recently, I thought I had better show you the end result of the most recent winter storm that came through northern Vermont. We got about a foot, or perhaps a little more as the snow had had a little time to compress by the time I took the
- [The "Vermont" Zap On Your Brain](https://furrs.org/2025/01/09/the-vermont-zap-on-your-brain/) - How you know that you've got the "Vermont" zap on your brain: you look out the window and see this much snow and go "eh, we didn't get very much."
- [Existential Dread -- Malört Edition](https://furrs.org/2025/01/02/existential-dread-malort-edition/) - So obviously tonight's a Jeppson's Malort kind of night (my team, the Georgia Bulldogs, having pooched it in the Sugar Bowl), and when I went to find the four minibottles remaining in my pack of six, I COULDN'T FIND THEM.[spacer height="20px"] I was left with several alternatives, all worrisome or outright frightening:[spacer height="20px"] some thief
- [Y2K, 25 Years Later](https://furrs.org/2024/12/31/y2k-25-years-later/) - Twenty-five years ago tonight. Y2K. In late 1999 I was working as a technical trainer at a software company (the same one I'm working for today, in fact, just under another name). Our workforce had been divided into four groups -- people who would work 8 pm to 8 am Tuesday through Thursday, people who would
- [Frontiers of Medicine, Part 728](https://furrs.org/2024/05/15/frontiers-of-medicine-part-728/) - I'm 56 -- but yesterday a dental technician from Russia told me I looked MUCH younger and didn't believe me until I showed her my drivers license. I took that with a massive grain of salt inasmuch as she also shared with me that two standard Russian cures for anemia are:[spacer height="20px"] drive a rusty nail into
- [Conventioneering](https://furrs.org/2024/05/10/5512/) - I'm a town delegate to the Vermont Democratic Convention next weekend. We will be, among other things, electing our delegates to the national convention. People have to file to be state delegate candidates and we vote next weekend. (Regardless of how the votes come out, the slate must be gender-balanced and so on, so it's
- [The Sorry State of Sex Education in the USA](https://furrs.org/2024/04/22/the-sorry-state-of-sex-education-in-the-usa/) - When I was 22 or so, my mother noted reddened areas on the backs of my arms which I hesitantly explained were rug burns (the result of extensive fooling around in my girlfriend's individual office) and looked at me and said "Joel, do you know how to get a girl pregnant?" I said "Yes." She
- [Hot Tubbing With The Russians](https://furrs.org/2024/04/17/hot-tubbing-with-the-russians/) - Little things that pop into one's head unbidden department: the heavyset Russian guy with the diamond pinky rings who wound up sharing a hot tub with us on our first (Western Caribbean) cruise in 2004. He did not appear to speak any English and we certainly didn't speak Russian and we didn't know him from
- [17 years.  I remember.](https://furrs.org/2024/04/16/17-years-i-remember/) - Feeling rather somber today. 17 years ago today a severely mentally ill Virginia Tech student murdered 28 students and four instructors, to say nothing of wounding many more. At the time, this captured the nation's attention and indeed the attention of the world. All the major networks sent their anchors to Blacksburg to report. Universities
- [Major depression update, March 2024](https://furrs.org/2024/03/25/major-depression-update-march-2024/) - Random thoughts about depression: I suffer from major depression. I have for most of my life, dating back to middle school at the very least. Depression causes me to have difficulty doing things I need to do. I procrastinate significantly more and I don't have the energy to do things I enjoy. Something a lot
- [STOP](https://furrs.org/2024/03/04/stop/) - At some point, in a bout of what turned out to be utter foolishness, I gave my cell phone number to ActBlue, which promptly resold it or shared it with every Democratic candidate from the candidate for the Billings, Montana dog-catcher race to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. I get at least one text every
- ["The Frosted Pop-Tarts of Credit Unions"](https://furrs.org/2019/04/21/frosted-pop-tarts/) - Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a tale of silliness. Whereas: Carole hates processing her personal email. A lot of it is stuff that's only somewhat important, if that, and she finds it frustrating to have to sort through it all. I read incredibly fast. I can't sing worth a damn and I'm overweight
- [Rampaging Packs of Wiener Dogs](https://furrs.org/2018/05/31/rampaging-packs-of-wiener-dogs/) - Does anyone besides me remember the old Alpo commercials starring Lorne Greene? Greene tended to say things like "Beef: a dog's natural food." Every time I saw one of those commercials, I couldn't help visualizing a rampaging pack of Dachshunds trying to bring down a bored, cud-chewing longhorn steer and... failing utterly.
- [Orchestrating Change Phase 3 Post Production | Indiegogo](https://furrs.org/2018/05/31/orchestrating-change-phase-3-post-production-indiegogo/) - The Indiegogo fundraising campaign to raise the necessary money to complete post-production on the "Orchestrating Change" documentary is about 58% of the way to its goal. Please help with a donation and help make this documentary on the legendary Me2/Orchestra a reality. Me2/Orchestra includes many musicians with mental illnesses and yet creates incredible music. The
- [Bearly There](https://furrs.org/2018/06/19/bearly-there/) - I finally set up the game camera Carole bought me last September. We put it out back near the back porch, at a spot where we occasionally toss out food scraps, bread that's gone stale, stuff we've stared at in the refrigerator off and on for days and finally given up on, and so forth.
- [Yahrzeit](https://furrs.org/2018/06/21/yahrzeit/) - Today is the one year anniversary of my mother's death. My mother died on the day of the summer solstice, a month and a half after her 75th birthday. I wouldn't remember the date so well if it weren't for those memory joggers. Her death did not come as a shock. She'd had a stroke
- [Ruined Songs](https://furrs.org/2018/07/07/ruined-songs/) - Ever had a favorite song get ruined by its getting played at a really inappropriate/bad/awkward time and ever afterwards, finding yourself thinking of said tragedy whenever you hear the song? Like, oh, having your favorite Muddy Waters song playing at the exact moment a huge tree branch falls on your garage and wrecks it ... and
- [Attack of the Wild Turkeys](https://furrs.org/2018/07/11/attack-of-the-wild-turkeys/) - We get wild turkeys around our house in Vermont all the time. Sometimes we see whole mobs of 'em sprinting to and fro. But lately we've been seeing a few adults shepherding some chicks around. Very cute! I can't help thinking this video needs the Imperial March (the "Darth Vader Theme") synched to it. (If
- [They're heeeeere!](https://furrs.org/2018/07/14/theyre-heeeeere/)
- [Unread Email](https://furrs.org/2018/08/10/unread-email/) - I work for a software company. I travel all over the USA consulting with and training our customers. As a consequence of this, it's not uncommon that I get a glimpse of someone's email -- usually because they're connected to the projector and happened to need to go into their email to look something
- [Bah.  Bots.](https://furrs.org/2018/08/11/bah-bots/) - Am I the only person who hangs up on an incoming phone call the moment you hear that pause at the start that means that a predictive dialer is looking for a human to take over? You'd think they'd game it to make the system make a little noise during that pause, like a cough
- [Travel and appetite](https://furrs.org/2018/08/17/travel-and-appetite/) - Some days when I'm traveling, my appetite gets extremely erratic. I'm not sure why...my current theory is that my digestion slows to almost nothing when I have to sit for like twelve hours without moving, and it may take several days to get moving again. Anyway, we're in Copenhagen, and I'm having one of those
- [Random Memories: Getting Married](https://furrs.org/2018/08/30/random-memories-getting-married/) - When Carole and I got married back in 1997, we started getting tons of phone spam from people wanting to sell us stuff. Apparently Durham County, NC routinely sold a list of newlywed couples to marketers (some of them referenced this fact) and we were the unwitting beneficiaries. So we changed our phone number to
- [The Most Russian Thing Ever](https://furrs.org/2018/08/31/the-most-russian-thing-ever/) - Carole and I went on a cruise of Baltic countries between August 18 and August 27, starting in Copenhagen, Denmark and stopping off in Berlin, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm. We took lots of photos, which we shall in due course inflict on you. But I wanted to share a quick little anecdote while
- [21st Wedding Anniversary](https://furrs.org/2018/09/11/21st-wedding-anniversary/) - Carole and I tied the knot on Saturday, September 13, 1997. Thursday of this week is the 21st anniversary of that date. We are still married despite being two of the most contrary, argumentative jackasses who ever fell off the turnip truck. Marriage has not worked out the way I thought it would. I imagine
- [Birthday Blues](https://furrs.org/2018/09/19/birthday-blues/) - Thursday, September 20, 2018 is my 51st birthday. I mention this not because I want you to post a semi-automatic "Happy Birthday' message to me on Facebook or Twitter. In actual point of fact, I've marked my birthdate "hidden" on Facebook and on Twitter... because I'm a total grouch about my birthday. I have a
- [Adventures on the Baltic Sea](https://furrs.org/2018/09/24/adventures-on-the-baltic-sea/) - Warning: the following blog entry will contain details and photos of someone else's vacation, which in all honesty is like saying "we're going to bore you stupid and make you envious at the same time." I don't know for a fact that sharing photos of us spending a lot of money touring some far-off land
- [Marching Toward Oblivion, Part 1](https://furrs.org/2018/10/02/marching-toward-oblivion-part-1/) - In a few short years I won't exist anymore. That's true of everyone, obviously. To the best of my knowledge, everyone dies in the end. Some of us are fortunate enough to die happy, surrounded by family, secure in the knowledge that those they love are provided for and that all will be well. Lots
- [Marching Into Oblivion, Part 2](https://furrs.org/2018/10/05/marching-into-oblivion-part-2/) - A few days ago I wrote about how depressed I am about: not having had kids realizing that when I die I have no one to stick with getting rid of all my junk, and realizing that my life is pretty much just "blah" at this point and will likely stay so for the next
- [I Hate My Brain](https://furrs.org/2018/10/10/i-hate-my-brain/) - My brain lies to me all the time. Right now there is nothing wrong with my life. Everything's okay. Work is fine. I'm not over my head in debt. The weather's fine. I need to lose about 40 pounds (okay, that's one major dissatisfier), but otherwise I'm not in desperately poor health or anything. To the
- [Greetings from Abilene](https://furrs.org/2018/10/16/greetings-from-abilene/) - Behold, common, everyday hotel laundry room equipment. On the left, the humble dryer. On the right, the serviceable but modest washer. Guess which one I happily loaded clothes into, added detergent to, dumped coins in, and then sat and watched for a good fifteen minutes before finally thinking "... wait a minute". Bingo. (In my defense,
- [Holding Back The Years](https://furrs.org/2018/10/20/holding-back-the-years/) - I have been feeling pathetically old lately. I'm actually only 51, but the gray-haired stranger that stares out of the mirror at me is someone who (to me) looks far closer to joining Marley (who was dead, make no mistake about that) than I'd like. I need to arrest my slow decline by becoming much
- [Veterans Day 2018](https://furrs.org/2018/11/11/veterans-day-2018/) - My thanks to my sister Julie Furr Youngman and my brother in law Paul A. Youngman for their US Army service, and to all my friends and acquaintances who served and to strangers everywhere as well, for the work they did, the risks they faced, and the sacrifices they made. On this, the 100th anniversary
- [Happy Thanksgiving from Jay](https://furrs.org/2018/11/22/happy-thanksgiving-from-jay/) - At times, when I stop and attempt to be "thankful", I realize that I have life so absurdly good that it's almost embarrassing. And I don't mean in terms of the amount of money I bring home on my paycheck or the amount of luxury stuff I have sitting around the house (we have one
- [Happy Thanksgiving from Carole](https://furrs.org/2018/11/22/happy-thanksgiving-from-carole/) - Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. As usual, we spent a quiet Thanksgiving. No family visits. Just us and kitties. But I'm thankful that Jay was home. He's been traveling an awful lot. Last weekend, he walked yet another 3-Day (Susan G. Komen event) in San Diego. Came home with horribly blistered feet and he's been experiencing some
- [Ahem](https://furrs.org/2018/12/01/ahem/) - I would like to take this moment to say to the world: I am in a depressed, pathetic state of mind.[spacer height="20px"] No, that has nothing to do with the Georgia/Alabama game.[spacer height="20px"] I am incredibly grateful that no one invited me to a Secret Santa gift exchange this year.[spacer height="20px"] Peculiarly, I have very
- [Apropos of nothing...](https://furrs.org/2018/12/03/apropos-of-nothing/) - Carole really likes her tortoiseshell kitties. This one is Maggie. We adopted her in 2017.
- [Global Alert For All: Jesus Is Coming Soon](https://furrs.org/2018/12/08/global-alert-for-all-jesus-is-coming-soon/) - On January 18, 1994 someone posting as "Clarence Thomas IV" posted a message titled "Global Alert for All: Jesus Is Coming Soon" to basically every Usenet newsgroup ((text-based discussion forums, kind of like chat rooms but dating well back before the World Wide Web and dwindling in importance as the Web became the prevailing interface to
- [Pig On A Park Bench](https://furrs.org/2018/12/09/pig-on-a-park-bench/) - Remember that line from "Eleanor Rigby" -- "Father McKenzie, writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear"? I've been spending my free time the last few days writing up our August 2018 cruise to the Baltic Sea, curating photos, and so on, all with an aim to posting it all to our
- [Messiah Sing](https://furrs.org/2018/12/12/__trashed-2/) - The Burlington Choral Society (Carole Furr, member, usually) held an open-to-all Messiah Sing last night at the North Avenue Alliance Church. I'm sure ours was much like any other: we did about a third of the full work in about 90 minutes' time. The soloists and accompanying pianist were first-rate. Jay, who sings so badly
- [Happy New Year!](https://furrs.org/2019/01/01/happy-new-year/) - Happy New Year, y'all. Why the above picture? When I was a kid, Mom was a dedicated subscriber to the New Yorker. As far as I know, she subscribed right up until the day she died, and for that matter, quite some time after. Dad never got around to cancelling subscriptions to Mom's magazines; when
- [Thought For The Day: Cat Upchuck Edition](https://furrs.org/2019/01/04/thought-for-the-day-cat-upchuck-edition/) - There are few experiences in life that provide the same je ne sais quoi as hearing one of your cats slowly and methodically working up to a full-bore upchuck on the carpet twenty feet behind you while you're taking part in a work-related conference call. You know how it goes. At first there's a soft
- [Photo Follies](https://furrs.org/2019/01/18/photo-follies/) - I travel a lot for work. I have a smartphone. It has a camera. I'm often pretty bored. The end result of all that is that I take and upload a lot of photos from my travels to the Google Maps photo repository. Google then uses them in location listings. No one has to upload their
- [Snowpocalypse 2019 (January 20th edition)](https://furrs.org/2019/01/20/snowpocalypse-2019-january-20th-edition/) - So there was a big snowstorm overnight, with 18" or more of snow falling here in Richmond, VT. Okay, it wasn't really a "snowpocalypse" in the sense of power going out and roads being impassable ... mainly because it just never got windy. A quick check of the Green Mountain Power outage map just now
- [RIP Russell Baker (1925-1919)](https://furrs.org/2019/01/23/rip-russell-baker-1925-1919/) - I hardly ever post regarding the death of a celebrity; I reason that sufficient other people will take care of the public fawning over the dear departed's legacy. (And that, in any event, it bothers me that we seem to care more about the lives of famous people who we have no actual connection with
- [Green Mountain Horn Club concert](https://furrs.org/2019/02/07/green-mountain-horn-club-concert/) - The Green Mountain Horn Club -- an all French horn ensemble founded in 1984 by Alan Parshley -- holds concerts now and then when we can get people together. Recently we played in Lincoln, Vermont as part of their "Hill Country Holiday" celebration. The concert was held at the United Church of Lincoln and we
- [Te Deum](https://furrs.org/2019/02/07/te-deum/) - Hey, all. I'm going to be singing in concert with the Green Mountain Mahler Festival this Saturday at St Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont. The Green Mountain Mahler Festival doesn't just do Mahler works -- they do various readings of orchestral and choral works by all manner of composers. Sometimes we just come together and
- [Update From The Front Lines](https://furrs.org/2019/02/11/update-from-the-front-lines/) - I spend almost all my time traveling for work -- until this week I've been on the road every week so far this year: Texas, Texas, Texas, Arkansas, Texas. It gets lonely on the road sometimes, especially when I'm one or more time zones away from home and when Carole doesn't get home until late due
- [Wide Net](https://furrs.org/2019/02/13/wide-net/) - [spacer height="20px"]I'm like many of my peers in having a "wide net" that sweeps in all manner of trivia, facts, obscure details, and what-have-you and stores it away against a time when said knowledge will randomly come in handy. If you're reading this and you know me, you probably have a pretty wide net as well.
- [WE JUST LIKE SIGNS](https://furrs.org/2019/02/20/we-just-like-signs/) - Vermont's not doing much, election-wise, in 2019. We've got select board and school board voting and we've got to vote on town and school budgets, but this isn't really a "wallpaper the area with campaign signs" year. That said, there're a few signs still up from last fall's election cycle here and there around town,
- [Athens in the 1980s](https://furrs.org/2019/03/10/athens-in-the-1980s/) - Athens, Georgia in the 1980s was known for being a hotbed of alternative music. The B-52s hailed from Athens. REM was from Athens. A host of other, lesser-known but well respected bands came from Athens. You could go to your choice of clubs around town, the best-known being the 40 Watt, and hear up and
- [Notary Public](https://furrs.org/2019/03/15/notary-public/) - My term as a Justice of the Peace began officially on February 1. (I'm one of twelve JPs for the town of Richmond, Vermont.) As I've detailed before, in Vermont the office of Justice of the Peace means: you serve on the town elections staff you can preside at weddings you serve on the board
- [Car Wash Psychedelia](https://furrs.org/2019/03/17/car-wash-psychedelia/) - You have to take your hat off to the American entrepreneurial spirit. Posed the question, "how can we make more money running a car wash?" America has answered "Appeal to the stoners". I give you the Eco Car Wash of Williston, Vermont: This particular car wash is the first in our area to offer a subscription-based
- [I Am Easily Amused, Part 763](https://furrs.org/2019/03/18/i-am-easily-amused-part-763/)
- [Springtime In Vermont](https://furrs.org/2019/03/22/springtime-in-vermont/) - [spacer height="20px"]Springtime in Vermont, ladies and gentlemen. (We're looking at a possible six to twelve inches today, with likely high winds and power outages. Fortunately, the whole house is backed up by a pair of Tesla Powerwall 2 batteries.)
- [Break Out The Yeti Chow, Hilda](https://furrs.org/2019/03/23/break-out-the-yeti-chow-hilda/) - Yeah, we got a ... bit of snow. This isn't that unusual for Vermont, but still. We're really ready for warmer weather. [spacer height="20px"]
- [Aurora Chamber Singers Babylon](https://furrs.org/2019/05/01/aurora-chamber-singers-babylon/) - Hi, everyone! I'm a member of the Aurora Chamber Singers and our spring concert is coming up on May 11! If you live within two days' drive of Burlington, Vermont I hope you'll mark your calendar and plan to attend. This will probably be the single greatest, most exciting concert any of us will ever take
- [Arachnids](https://furrs.org/2019/05/04/arachnids/) - Being me means things like finding a bag of plastic tarantulas in your bongo drum bag and going "oh that's where I put those."((I posted this to Instagram the other day and Carole thought it was really funny. So, I'm resharing it here to immortalize it, so to speak.))
- [Critters](https://furrs.org/2019/05/10/critters/) - I grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside Blacksburg, Virginia, the son of a Virginia Tech physics professor and a librarian. Our house was outside town on a 23-acre hilly piece of land that had started out as pasture and that we'd allowed to grow up into woods. We didn't really have neighbors
- [Earworms](https://furrs.org/2019/05/15/earworms/) - It's bad enough when you find yourself afflicted by an earworm, but you know what really sucks? Having a song stuck in your head that you're not actually very fond of and that you haven't actually heard played in years -- but somehow, nonetheless, which has swum up out of your unconsciousness and has taken
- [Sometimes I say silly things...](https://furrs.org/2019/06/01/sometimes-i-say-silly-things/) - Answer to Are people friendly in Blacksburg, VA? by Jay Furr https://www.quora.com/Are-people-friendly-in-Blacksburg-VA/answer/Jay-Furr?ch=99&share=9ec0e47c&srid=kBcg
- [Battles With Depression](https://furrs.org/2019/06/05/battles-with-depression/) - [spacer height="20px"]The last seven years have been very bad ones for me, mentally speaking. I've been so depressed for much of that time that I've done a lot of stupid things, from procrastinating on things that matter, to putting on weight and not getting enough exercise, to spending money unwisely, to taking people for granted,
- [In memory of their sacrifice: June 6, 1944](https://furrs.org/2019/06/06/in-memory-of-their-sacrifice-june-6-1944/)
- [Duluth](https://furrs.org/2019/07/02/duluth/) - When I was 14 my father paid a doctor $250 to sedate me heavily and then had me shipped via air freight to a museum in Duluth, MN. The awkward part was, of course, that the shipping company disregarded the "THIS END UP" on the box and transported me with my head down and my
- [Bear](https://furrs.org/2019/07/09/bear/) - Bear on my front porch this morning. [spacer height="20px"]Yes, you're supposed to take your bird feeders in during the spring so as not to attract bears coming out of hibernation. We've actually only had ours out for the last month or so. Our reaction to the bear coming onto our porch today was "Hey, dammit,
- [Baseball: "After"](https://furrs.org/2019/07/24/baseball-after/) - So now it can be told: Carole did a splendid job on the Star-Spangled Banner at the July 22 Vermont Lake Monsters game, and I suck at throwing out first pitches. As I said, throwing out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game ain't no thing. No one gives a damn how spectacularly well,
- [The Unbearable Lightness of Being... Light](https://furrs.org/2019/07/30/the-unbearable-lightness-of-being-light/) - My diet and weight loss efforts are paying off. I started off at 255 lbs and I am now somewhere below 209 lbs. My goal is to get back down to 180 pounds, which is where I was last time I went on a big diet and got myself back in good shape ... almost
- [Green Mountain Horn Club performance in North Hero](https://furrs.org/2019/08/10/green-mountain-horn-club-performance-in-north-hero/) - The Green Mountain Horn Club has been a thing here in Vermont for several decades, changing in membership over the years but always managing to come together every few months to put on fun French Horn-only performances for our legions of admiring fans. We did a performance recently in North Hero, Vermont at a little
- [Song Suggestions Needed](https://furrs.org/2019/08/24/song-suggestions-needed/) - Carole and I are signed up to be "sweep" crew for the 2019 New England Susan G Komen 3-Day (September 6-7-8). You probably know what that means -- we'll be driving a van along the route each day, picking up walkers who are too tired/blistered/sore/etcetera to continue on. Sometimes people just need a lift for
- ["Michael" from "Google"](https://furrs.org/2019/09/03/michael-from-google/) - Today I got a call from "Google" letting me know that my Google Business account might not be Verified. Gasp! Carole had mentioned having gotten quite a few answering machine messages from someone at Google about our "Google Business" account. I had no idea what Google wanted, but supposed it might be an annual re-verification
- [September 13, 1997](https://furrs.org/2019/09/10/september-13-1997/) - Carole and I tied the knot on a sultry North Carolina afternoon just shy of 22 years ago -- September 13, 1997. That date was picked because: it was the night of a full moon and we thought that was romantic in some strange way it was a week before my 30th birthday and I
- [Wafflemania](https://furrs.org/2019/09/11/wafflemania/) - I don't do Facebook much -- that's why I tend to be ignorant of news like "oh, alligators ate my left leg a month ago" until everyone else on the planet, up to and including the pool guys in cities a thousand miles north of the alligator line, knows the story. But I do find
- [Seize the day](https://furrs.org/2019/10/02/seize-the-day/)
- [Hey, I Was In A Movie!](https://furrs.org/2019/10/15/hey-i-was-in-a-movie/) - So: I'm a featured subject in a just-released documentary film. For reals. The documentary is titled "Orchestrating Change" and is all about Me2/Orchestra, the orchestra I've been playing French horn in since 2011. Me2/Orchestra was founded to raise awareness and fight stigma about the realities of mental illness. The members of the orchestra run the
- [Sadfishing](https://furrs.org/2019/12/04/sadfishing/) - Photo by Patrice Alsteen I learned a new term today: "sadfishing". To quote Urban Dictionary, sadfishing is "The practice of writing about one’s unhappiness or emotional problems on social media, especially in a vague way, in order to attract attention and sympathetic response." In other words, posting a lot of moody, sad pictures, woe-is-me out
- [Changes in Latitude](https://furrs.org/2019/12/17/changes-in-latitude/) - I enjoy travel. I mean, I'd pretty much have to, or it wouldn't make much sense for me to work as a trainer who travels all over the USA two thirds (if not more) of each year, right? But even though I take pleasure in memories of places I've been, I spend as least as
- [Misophonia](https://furrs.org/2020/01/30/misophonia/) - After all these years, I have an explanation for why I absolutely can't stand listening to someone eat an apple. It's misophonia -- and apparently the loathing of hearing someone eat an apple is one of the most common expressions of the syndrome. Not all crunching sounds drive me up a wall. There's just something
- [Orchestrating Change: Tonight!](https://furrs.org/2020/09/05/orchestrating-change-tonight/) - The documentary, "Orchestrating Change", that I'm a featured subject in airs nationwide on PBS Plus/PBS World tonight at 8 pm EDT and again at midnight. I created a Facebook event for people to help people remember to tune in: Facebook event The documentary is about Me2/Orchestra, the world's only orchestra dedicated to people with mental
- [Feline progressive dendritic cell histiocytosis](https://furrs.org/2020/12/11/feline-progressive-dendritic-cell-histiocytosis/) - Ever heard of feline progressive dendritic cell histiocytosis? We hadn't either until recently. One day, when I was grooming our oldest cat, Marie, I noticed that she had a strange raised lumpiness on her skin about halfway down one side. I thought at first it might be scar tissue from the time Carole cut
- [Vaccination](https://furrs.org/2021/04/08/vaccination/) - Covid-19 vaccine update: Carole has had both her shots -- several weeks ago, in fact, through her employer. She works for Burlington Housing Authority and they have a population of elderly residents in some of their buildings, so as it happened, the state went ahead and offered all BHA staff shots at the same time
- [The Mysteries of YouTube](https://furrs.org/2021/04/19/the-mysteries-of-youtube/) - So some of you may be active enough on YouTube to know that you can't "monetize" your "channel" unless you have over 1000 subscribers and over 4000 hours of viewers watching your videos in the last 12 months. Monetization means you can add advertisements and such to your videos and get revenue from them.
- [Caffeine](https://furrs.org/2021/09/09/caffeine/) - Parenthetically, I'm on a caffeine fast. I started on Sunday and am most of the way through a week and am doing pretty well. This will be the second time I've tried weaning myself completely off caffeine. The last time I tried was a decade or more ago when I tried going cold turkey at
- [My Completely Mystifying Heart Attack Recovery](https://furrs.org/2021/09/27/my-completely-mystifying-heart-attack-recovery/) - As I mentioned in this blog post on September 18, I had a mild heart attack sometime in the wee hours of September 13. I went in to the ER the following day (d'oh) and was promptly admitted, poked, prodded, and eventually catheterized before being discharged with three new prescriptions and a whole lot of
- [Well, There's A Cheerful Note](https://furrs.org/2021/10/01/well-theres-a-cheerful-note/) - I was a little disconcerted when I found out from a cardiologist today how utterly blocked some of the arteries that wrap around my heart are. Not talking about the aorta here -- I'm talking about the arteries that supply the heart itself with oxygen. One of them is completely, 100% blocked. One is 80%
- [Six Months Ago I Had A Heart Attack, and Other Worries](https://furrs.org/2022/03/13/six-months-ago-i-had-a-heart-attack-and-other-worries/) - Whoops! Six months ago to the day (Sunday, 9/13/2021 -- my 24th wedding anniversary, actually, and a week before my 54th birthday), I had a heart attack. I probably had it while diving in Lake Champlain, after overexerting myself lugging all our tanks and gear down to the lake. I know I felt my heart
- [Unpleasant Flashbacks: Bad Employers Edition](https://furrs.org/2022/05/06/unpleasant-flashbacks-bad-employers-edition/) - I had a random flashback just now to an unpleasant memory. From late 1995 to May of 1998, I worked for a franchised computer software training firm in the Triangle region of North Carolina (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill). We offered the kind of instructor-led classroom instruction that you sent your office staff to in order to
- ["I Could Feel His Hand On My Shoulder..." and All That](https://furrs.org/2022/05/18/i-could-feel-his-hand-on-my-shoulder-and-all-that/) - I had a thought this morning: Let's say that I happened to wind up in an active shooter/hostage situation of some kind and somehow managed to tackle and disarm the gunman. Unfortunately, in this hypothetical scenario, I do get shot multiple times and wind up clinging to life in the ICU. I am a white
- [Green Black Walnuts](https://furrs.org/2022/10/05/green-black-walnuts/) - When I was a kid growing up in the mountains of Virginia, there was a large black walnut tree directly behind our house, close enough that on windy days you would hear thump! thump! thump! as green walnuts dropped from the tree and onto the flat roof of our house, especially over the room I
- [Farewell and goodbye, sister](https://furrs.org/2022/10/15/farewell-and-goodbye-sister/) - I always feel as though I should start every blog entry with "I know hardly anyone will read this and it'll probably come across as self-indulgent navel-lint-picking, but I'm posting it ANYWAY." So, that said, if you're still reading this, I apologize in advance for what will probably be a real downer of an entry.
- [Lived Experience](https://furrs.org/2022/12/18/lived-experience/) - Two random thoughts that popped into my head today at almost the same time: 1) I have never had to sleep in a bathtub. In movies and sitcoms this sort of thing seems to happen all the time; you have one more person than you have beds and couches and next thing you know the
- [RIP Mojo Nixon](https://furrs.org/2024/02/08/rip-mojo-nixon/) - From today's "I Has A Sad" Department: Mojo Nixon has passed away at the age of 66. Mojo, real name Neill Kirby McMillan Jr., died of a cardiac event on February 7 while on an Outlaw Country cruise where he was a featured performer and entertainer. Mojo is survived by his wife Adaire and their
- [Glenn Stoops, 1941-2023](https://furrs.org/2023/10/12/glenn-stoops-1941-2023/) - My father, Glenn Stoops, passed away on September 7, 2023. I thought I would share the obituary that ran on the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News website and on sites such as legacy.com. We will be holding a memorial service in Dayton on October 21. All who knew him are welcome to attend. Glenn Allen Stoops,

## Pages

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- [About us](https://furrs.org/about-us/) - Hi! You've reached the site of Carole and Jay Furr. We're residents of Richmond, Vermont. Carole's an accountant for the Burlington, Vermont housing authority. Jay works for athenahealth as a trainer. We have four cats and no kids. We're generic Protestants. We suffer from depression and have been active in the National Alliance on
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## Galleries

- [Private: Our Four-Ca-246-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:51](https://furrs.org/gallery/private-our-four-ca-246-converted-2026-01-03-175951/)
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- [Private: It’s -506-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:47](https://furrs.org/gallery/private-its-506-converted-2026-01-03-175947/)
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- [Private: The really -542-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:44](https://furrs.org/gallery/private-the-really-542-converted-2026-01-03-175944/)
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- [What We Did On Our 2-2544-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:27](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-2-2544-converted-2026-01-03-175927/)
- [What We Did On Our 2-2573-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:25](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-2-2573-converted-2026-01-03-175925/)
- [What We Did On Our 2-2612-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:24](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-2-2612-converted-2026-01-03-175924/)
- [What We Did On Our 2-2634-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:23](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-2-2634-converted-2026-01-03-175923/)
- [What We Did On Our 2-2765-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:21](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-2-2765-converted-2026-01-03-175921/)
- [What We Did On Our 2-2765-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:20](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-2-2765-converted-2026-01-03-175920/)
- [What We Did On Our 2-2739-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:17](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-2-2739-converted-2026-01-03-175917/)
- [What We Did On Our S-2844-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:14](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-s-2844-converted-2026-01-03-175914/)
- [What We Did On Our S-2885-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:12](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-s-2885-converted-2026-01-03-175912/)
- [What We Did On Our S-2911-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:10](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-s-2911-converted-2026-01-03-175910/)
- [What We Did On Our S-2920-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:08](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-s-2920-converted-2026-01-03-175908/)
- [What We Did On Our S-3135-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:06](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-s-3135-converted-2026-01-03-175906/)
- [What We Did On Our S-3145-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:03](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-s-3145-converted-2026-01-03-175903/)
- [What We Did On Our S-3149-Converted-2026-01-03 17:59:01](https://furrs.org/gallery/what-we-did-on-our-s-3149-converted-2026-01-03-175901/)
- [Another Year, Anothe-3366-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:59](https://furrs.org/gallery/another-year-anothe-3366-converted-2026-01-03-175859/)
- [Town Meeting Day 201-3522-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:58](https://furrs.org/gallery/town-meeting-day-201-3522-converted-2026-01-03-175858/)
- [Jay’s Latest V-3749-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:57](https://furrs.org/gallery/jays-latest-v-3749-converted-2026-01-03-175857/)
- [Game Camera: May 201-3796-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:55](https://furrs.org/gallery/game-camera-may-201-3796-converted-2026-01-03-175855/)
- [Wienermobile!-3837-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:54](https://furrs.org/gallery/wienermobile-3837-converted-2026-01-03-175854/)
- [Wienermobile!-3837-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:53](https://furrs.org/gallery/wienermobile-3837-converted-2026-01-03-175853/)
- [Continued Dumbassery-3883-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:51](https://furrs.org/gallery/continued-dumbassery-3883-converted-2026-01-03-175851/)
- [Stonewall 50-3964-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:49](https://furrs.org/gallery/stonewall-50-3964-converted-2026-01-03-175849/)
- [Lemur Art-4003-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:48](https://furrs.org/gallery/lemur-art-4003-converted-2026-01-03-175848/)
- [Baseball: “Bef-4047-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:47](https://furrs.org/gallery/baseball-bef-4047-converted-2026-01-03-175847/)
- [The Boston “Sw-4200-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:44](https://furrs.org/gallery/the-boston-sw-4200-converted-2026-01-03-175844/)
- [The Boston “Sw-4200-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:44](https://furrs.org/gallery/the-boston-sw-4200-converted-2026-01-03-175844-2/)
- [Pumpkin Spice Spam-4287-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:42](https://furrs.org/gallery/pumpkin-spice-spam-4287-converted-2026-01-03-175842/)
- [Pumpkin Spice Spam-4287-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:41](https://furrs.org/gallery/pumpkin-spice-spam-4287-converted-2026-01-03-175841/)
- [How You Know You&#82-4403-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:39](https://furrs.org/gallery/how-you-know-you82-4403-converted-2026-01-03-175839/)
- [Salsa-4431-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:38](https://furrs.org/gallery/salsa-4431-converted-2026-01-03-175838/)
- [Heart attack-4978-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:36](https://furrs.org/gallery/heart-attack-4978-converted-2026-01-03-175836/)
- [Feline progressive d-5126-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:35](https://furrs.org/gallery/feline-progressive-d-5126-converted-2026-01-03-175835/)
- [Death of a kitty-5224-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:33](https://furrs.org/gallery/death-of-a-kitty-5224-converted-2026-01-03-175833/)
- [Zara-5622-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:31](https://furrs.org/gallery/zara-5622-converted-2026-01-03-175831/)
- [Key West Trip-5646-Converted-2026-01-03 17:58:25](https://furrs.org/gallery/key-west-trip-5646-converted-2026-01-03-175825/)

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://furrs.org/category/uncategorized/)
- [Carole](https://furrs.org/category/carole/)
- [Jay](https://furrs.org/category/jay/)

## Tags

- [health](https://furrs.org/grundoon/health/)
- [maudlin woolgathering](https://furrs.org/grundoon/maudlin-woolgathering/)
- [music](https://furrs.org/grundoon/music/)
- [photos](https://furrs.org/grundoon/photos/)
- [pointless blathering](https://furrs.org/grundoon/pointless-blathering/)
- [silliness](https://furrs.org/grundoon/silliness/)
- [cats](https://furrs.org/grundoon/cats/)
- [depression](https://furrs.org/grundoon/depression/)
- [cooking](https://furrs.org/grundoon/cooking/)
- [writing](https://furrs.org/grundoon/writing/)
- [work](https://furrs.org/grundoon/work/)
- [food](https://furrs.org/grundoon/food/)
- [weather](https://furrs.org/grundoon/weather/)
- [holiday](https://furrs.org/grundoon/holiday/)
- [weird](https://furrs.org/grundoon/weird/)
- [mental health](https://furrs.org/grundoon/mental-health/)
- [slice of life](https://furrs.org/grundoon/slice-of-life/)
- [stupidity](https://furrs.org/grundoon/stupidity/)
- [look -- aren't I lame?](https://furrs.org/grundoon/look-arent-i-lame/)
- [dieting](https://furrs.org/grundoon/dieting/)
- [animals](https://furrs.org/grundoon/animals/)
- [cancer](https://furrs.org/grundoon/cancer/)
- [sports](https://furrs.org/grundoon/sports/)
- [breast cancer](https://furrs.org/grundoon/breast-cancer/)
- [death and dying](https://furrs.org/grundoon/death-and-dying/)
- [charity](https://furrs.org/grundoon/charity/)
- [Political pontificating](https://furrs.org/grundoon/political-pontificating/)
- [Stupid Things That Will Probably Amuse Only Me](https://furrs.org/grundoon/stupid-things-that-will-probably-amuse-only-me/)
- [gardening](https://furrs.org/grundoon/gardening/)
- [travel](https://furrs.org/grundoon/travel/)
- [recipes](https://furrs.org/grundoon/recipes/)
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- [domestic violence](https://furrs.org/grundoon/domestic-violence/)
- [3-Day](https://furrs.org/grundoon/3-day/)
- [komen](https://furrs.org/grundoon/komen/)
- [attention whoring](https://furrs.org/grundoon/attention-whoring/)
- [vermont](https://furrs.org/grundoon/vermont/)
- [solar](https://furrs.org/grundoon/solar/)
- [game camera](https://furrs.org/grundoon/game-camera/)
- [pride](https://furrs.org/grundoon/pride/)
- [marriage](https://furrs.org/grundoon/marriage/)
- [birthdays](https://furrs.org/grundoon/birthdays/)
- [elections](https://furrs.org/grundoon/elections/)
- [politics](https://furrs.org/grundoon/politics/)
- [baltic vacation](https://furrs.org/grundoon/baltic-vacation/)
- [usenet](https://furrs.org/grundoon/usenet/)
- [pathetic](https://furrs.org/grundoon/pathetic/)
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- [holidays](https://furrs.org/grundoon/holidays/)
- [justice of the peace](https://furrs.org/grundoon/justice-of-the-peace/)
- [short cuts](https://furrs.org/grundoon/short-cuts/)
- [weight loss](https://furrs.org/grundoon/weight-loss/)
- [me2/orchestra](https://furrs.org/grundoon/me2-orchestra/)
- [Covid-19](https://furrs.org/grundoon/covid-19/)
- [heart attack](https://furrs.org/grundoon/heart-attack/)
- [angst](https://furrs.org/grundoon/angst/)
- [alcohol](https://furrs.org/grundoon/alcohol/)
- [blood](https://furrs.org/grundoon/blood/)
- [AI](https://furrs.org/grundoon/ai/)
- [artificial intelligence](https://furrs.org/grundoon/artificial-intelligence/)
- [theater](https://furrs.org/grundoon/theater/)
- [recipe](https://furrs.org/grundoon/recipe/)

## Manufacturers

- [Google](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/google/)
- [Pixel 3 XL](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/pixel-3-xl/)
- [Zecre](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/zecre/)
- [PH730](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/ph730/)
- [NIKON CORPORATION](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/nikon-corporation/)
- [NIKON D3300](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/nikon-d3300/)
- [samsung](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/samsung/)
- [Galaxy S23 Ultra](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/galaxy-s23-ultra/)
- [Pixel XL](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/pixel-xl/)
- [SM-G950U](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/sm-g950u/)
- [Pixel 5a](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/pixel-5a/)
- [SM-G935V](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/sm-g935v/)
- [SONY](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/sony/)
- [DSC-HX400V](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/dsc-hx400v/)
- [Canon](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/canon/)
- [Canon PowerShot SX710 HS](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/canon-powershot-sx710-hs/)
- [Canon PowerShot SX260 HS](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/canon-powershot-sx260-hs/)
- [Canon PowerShot ELPH 110 HS](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/canon-powershot-elph-110-hs/)
- [CanoScan LiDE 700F](https://furrs.org/envira-exif-manufacturer/canoscan-lide-700f/)