Monthly Archives: February 2015

Rut Roh . . .

Jan and I left the rig about 10am, but hindered by the high winds. So high in fact, that it was a real struggle that get the rig door open, and keep it open, while we were trying to get out. The winds today, as the next front comes through, are really something fierce.


We were heading up to the Clear Lake area for Jan’s oncologist’s appointment. This was just a routine one, for a checkup and prescription refill. Waiting for Jan, I did enjoy the fact that the clinic had superfast Wi-Fi, about 60 Mbps. Makes the waiting a little easier.

Leaving the clinic a little before noon, we drove over to the Jason’s Deli in Webster for lunch. Jan usually goes for their Broccoli and Cheese Soup, and I always have the Southwest Chicken Chili, and then we’ll try one of their many sandwiches. Always good.

Coming home I made a stop at Lowe’s for a few things and then we fought the winds back to the rig. When we got here, the winds were gusting to over 50 mph. In fact we found our satellite had blown over and rolled down the driveway.

The last time our satellite was knocked over was on our gate last year, and cows were involved.

I tried to work outside, but the wind was so high it was difficult to stand up, much less get anything done. So I took a nap.

Getting up and finding wind had slackened off some what, I went outside to check out the installation of the new headlights on our truck. My shop manual said four screws should do it.

Truck Old Headlight

One Torx head bolt removes the amber lens set at the bottom and then three bolts hold the headlight unit itself. But sometimes the manual lies, so I wanted to check it out. But as I got the bottom lens off, it started to rain, so I stopped there. I was able to confirm that the top unit is held on by the three bolts. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.

New Headlights 2

The new unit is only one piece, and held on by just the three bolts, so it should be an easy change-out.

On another note, I ordered something from Amazon this evening and found that Amazon Prime just got better. They now offer Free Two Day Shipping with SUNDAY delivery. At least here in the Houston area. Prime just keeps getting better.

Finally, under the ‘Rut Roh’ heading, the weather forecast says that it’s supposed to be windy, cold, and rainy from now until we leave here March 1st.

Just great.


Thought for the Day:

A helpful tip: Always proofread to make sure you haven’t words out.

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Blades and Bistros . . .

First thing this morning I got back on rig work. Yesterday I had started to install these new wipers on the rig, Denso Wiper Blade, 26″ (Pack of 1) , but ran into a problem.

The new ones, although the same model that I bought before, were slightly different. They only had one mounting hole, not the two on the previous ones. And the metal frame was a little bit wider. I was able to drill a second hole with no problems, but when I made the blade holder wider, I found the mounting screws were now too short. So coming home from our friend Bonne’s last night, I made a Home Depot stop to pick up some longer ones.

Once I had those, it didn’t take long for me to install the new blades. The only problem was that the wind coming off Dickinson Bayou was so strong that I had to be careful that the gusts didn’t blow me off the ladder..

Later,  about 3:45pm, Jan and I headed up to Katy to meet Brandi, Lowell, and Landon at our favorite Little V’s Vietnamese Bistro, probably our last visit until we’re back here in August.

Landon at Little V's

As usual the food was delicious. I don’t know what they do to the beef chunks in the Shaking Beef Bowl, but they’re so flavorful and tender they just melt in your mouth.

Little V's Shaking Beef Bowl A

And of course, you can’t forget the Crème Brule Spoons for the perfect light dessert.

Little V's Creme Brulee

* * * * *

After trying to clean the haze off the truck headlights, I finally took the advice of my son Chris, and son-in-law Lowell, and just ordered new headlights off of eBay for $85. I ordered them Monday and they came in today. Very fast service.

New Headlights

According to the shop manual I have, it looks like only 3 or 4 screws to change them out. But you never know.

* * * * *

We haven’t seen as many birds here this year as usual, probably because of the construction going on nearby. But I did get this long-range shot of a bunch of them on a small island about two hundred yards out, at the limit of my zoom.

GBRV Island Birds2

Looks like a real family get-together, with egrets, ibises, pelicans, and ‘Pinky’, our Roseate Spoonbill.

Tomorrow Jan has her oncologist appointment to get some blood work done, and her Anastrozole prescription renewed. Should be just routine since her mammogram / ultrasound was clean.

Then it’s back on rig stuff.

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Thought for the Day:  Funny How This Still Applies Today

“Real science is all about trying to prove your theory wrong. You do everything you can to prove it wrong, then have other people do what they can to prove it wrong. When all of you fail at doing that, when the theory has been refined such that it fits all the evidence and you can’t figure out how else to test it, then it is most likely the truth. That is what scientific rigor is about. It isn’t about coming up with a theory, ignoring data you don’t like, showing it to a few people who agree with you, and saying ‘Ok, we proved this true and nobody else can look at it.’“  – Richard P. Feynman (1918 – 1988), Physicist

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