NOW IT’S US!? Study Says Human Breathing ‘Contributes To Global Warming’
A recent study, funded by the UK government and conducted by scientists at the Center for Ecology and Hydrology, has claimed that human breathing is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Published in PLOS One, the peer-reviewed study talks about greenhouse gas emissions of methane and nitrous oxide released through human breath, which it states are harmful to the environment and contribute to global warming.
While some individuals may find the study’s findings amusing, with conspiracy theories suggesting that depopulationists may seize on the report to advocate for mass suicide, others feel the findings are alarming. Although the human race may not regard breathing as an enemy, it is critical to be mindful of their impact on the environment and develop ways to minimize it.
So how long can you hold your breath?
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore took about 5 years and $200 million in today’s dollars to build. But now they’re saying it could take more than 10 years and cost 2 to 4 times as much.
By comparison, the Apollo program that put a man on the moon required seven years, eight months, and 23 days. And — this is the really exciting part — everything about Apollo, from the massive Saturn V rocket to the “tiny” flight computer, had to be created from scratch. Those seven-and-a-half years included a monthslong delay following the tragic loss of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee during an Apollo 1 dress rehearsal that ended in a deadly crew capsule fire.
Construction began on the Hoover Dam on July 7, 1930, and five years later, it was complete. It started generating electrical power on Sept. 11, 1936 — exactly six years, two months, and four days after the first shovelful of dirt was moved.
The Empire State Building was erected after just one year and 45 days of construction.
But those were all 20th Century projects, back when we used to get things done. Welcome to 21st Century America, where everything is needlessly time-consuming, expensive, stupid, or (most likely) all three.
This is why we can’t have nice things anymore!
Brandi, Lowell, and Landon are up in Pauls Valley, OK visiting Lowell’s parents for Easter, and it seems they came across this place.
Lowell said it’s now a furniture store, but they kept all the RS names and logos. Brings back a lot of memories.
When Jan and I were living in Tuscaloosa, AL while I was attending the University of Alabama, I managed an RS for a while. And I certainly spent a lot of bucks there over the years, as recently as 2016 or so.
Normally we do our Wal-Mart shopping on Saturday and HEB on Sunday, but we’re going to flip-flop this weekend since HEB is closed on Sunday.
Since Jan wants to get her toeies done, tomorrow will be at the King’s Bierhaus German Restaurant right next door, and then on to HEB. Then after dropping Jan off at the rig, I’ll head over to a friend’s place to fix a computer problem.
For Sunday we’re thinking BBQ, either Spring Creek or Rudy’s. We’ll see. Then it’s over to Wal-Mart for more stuff.
Thought For The Day:
Take That, Paula Dean!
And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™
March 29, 2009
Gulf Shores – Home to the World’s Tiniest Hooters!
Get your mind out of the gutter!
Not those kind of hooters. This kind of Hooters!
Well, on second thought, maybe we are talking about the same kind.
Anyway, Jan and I went to the Gulf Shores Hooters for dinner tonight. And as the sign says it is the world’s tiniest Hooters!
It’s actually built on a double-wide trailer. In fact, when we were here back in November, one of the waitresses said that if you looked underneath, you could still see the wheels.
Jan and I have always called this place ‘Hoots’ because it was too small to be a real Hooters.
We started going to Hooter’s about 9 years ago and it quickly grew to be one of our favorite places
We were eating out with our son Chris, his wife, Linda, and our then 7-year-old granddaughter, Piper. We also had Trudy, Jan’s mother, with us.
We were eating something, onion rings, or fried cheese, I believe, and Piper looks at us and says,” This is good, but the ones at Hooters are better”.
I looked at her and said, “How would you know?” And she said, “Daddy and I go there all the time!”
Ah Ha! Busted!
We went to the NASA Hooters with the family a week or so later and were pleasantly surprised. They don’t serve hard liquor, just beer and wine. And we really liked the chicken wings.
Almost every table in the non-smoking area had a family with kids sitting at it. And they regularly have kid’s birthday parties there.
I mean, I would have liked to have my 12th birthday party at a Hooters!
Happy Birthday!
Anyway, we hadn’t been there more than about 10 minutes when I heard someone yell “Greg!” Suddenly someone was hugging me from behind and kissing me on the top of the head.
Without even looking, I knew Jan was giving me “The Look”. You remember “The Look” don’t you?
It took me a few seconds to realize this was a student I knew from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. Well, I mean, she wasn’t dressed like that the last time I saw her!
A few weeks before, she had come to my office at the university almost in tears. The ZIP disk that held her only full copy of her Master’s Thesis had become corrupted and she was afraid she had lost all her work.
It took a little work, but I was able to recover the entire document, and she was apparently very grateful.
After the explanation, Jan was somewhat mollified, but she still wasn’t too happy about the big lipstick kiss that remained on the top of my bald head.
Oh well…
Besides this young lady who was finishing up her MBA, we later ran into another one who was just about ready to take her CPA exam.
She said she made enough working at Hooters for just 2 – 3 days a week to pay her way through college.
Anyway, as I said, Hooter’s became one of our favorite places.
I used to tell people that my wife and my mother-in-law insist I take them to Hooter’s at least once a week.
Am I a lucky guy, or what?
March 29, 2010
The Fremont Street Experience…
About 5 pm Jan and I drove back over to supper at Claim Jumper. But it was not to be. When we got there the parking lot was almost empty and a young lady was telling everyone that they were closed until Wednesday for some remodeling.
When we asked about another good place to eat, she suggested Cheesecake Factory across the street. So off we went.
Over the years, Jan and I have been to several other locations, but not this one.
We just had appetizers so we would have room for cheesecake. I mean, why go to the Cheesecake Factory if you don’t have cheesecake?
And as with our previous visits, everything was really good.
Then it was over to the north end of the Strip to Fremont Street for The Fremont Street Experience.
Fremont Street is really what’s left of Old Vegas, before casinos started expanding down the Strip. In the mid 90’s the local merchants and casinos looked for a way to revitalize the area and bring the tourists back.
What they came up with, was a canopy 90 feet high and 1500 feet long, spanning 4 city blocks, Fremont Street became a pedestrian mall with a movie screen / light show overhead.
The canopy/screen is what you see held up by the tree-looking supports.
And this is what it looks like in action.
Along with the video show is a sound system pumping out 550,000 watts of music.
Although the original version used colored incandescent light bulbs, in 2004 the system was upgraded to a display consisting of 12.5 million LED’s.
They have a different show every hour for about 10 minutes. Right now they are running shows with tributes to Don McLean, the Doors, Queen, KISS, and others.
We all agreed that this was the best thing we’d seen in Vegas so far.
March 29, 2011
Interstates and Ferry Hawks . . .
Jan and I both slept late this morning so no time for coffee before we had to be ready at 10:30 to head out to Camping World.
I wanted to pick up a grey water valve to complete my set, and while there the new issue of “The Next Exit” caught my eye. In case you’re not familiar with it, “The Next Exit” lists every exit on every Interstate in every state in the US.
It also tells you what stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc. are located there, and whether or not, diesel is available and if you can get a big RV in the station. It also shows rest areas and pullovers. All in all, very useful.
But last year, after I had already bought the 2010 “Next Exit”, I came across a new one from Good Sam’s and Camping World called “Exit Now”.
Although it’s more expensive ($16 vs. $10 on Amazon), “Exit Now” is spiral-bound and uses much better quality paper. And the brighter-white paper should be easier to read compared to the newsprint-type paper used in “The Next Exit”. So it looks like in 2011 we’ll be giving “Exit Now” a try. We’ll see how it goes.
Leaving Camping World, Jan and I headed toward Corona de Tucson, a small town south of the Pima County Fairground on S. Houghton Rd. We were meeting Al & Adrienne at Argenziano’s, an Italian restaurant they like.
Getting there about 10 minutes early we stopped at the Ace Hardware next door, but ran out of time before I found what I wanted.
Argenziano’s was really good, with Al & Adrienne splitting a pizza, while Jan had ravioli stuffed with roasted garlic and shrimp, and I had spaghetti and meatballs. We had our usual good time with them and made plans to have dinner tomorrow night, our last night in Tucson, hopefully.
I say ‘hopefully’, because it depends on our getting our Thousand Trails membership number tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.
Leaving the restaurant and Al & Adrienne, we went back next door to Ace Hardware to finish up our shopping. Heading back to the fairgrounds, we detoured to get gas and stop off at Fry’s to pick up a few groceries, and while we were there, I talked to Thousand Trails to see how our membership processing was going. Again, ‘hopefully’, we’ll have our number tomorrow.
Later, we left the rig about 5 to have dinner at Chuy’s – Tucson. It turned out to be more bar & grill than a restaurant, and you had to order at the counter, but the food was good, even though the service was spotty because they were so busy.
Hopefully, there’s that word again, ‘hopefully’, we’ll traveling up to Verde Valley Thousand Trails RV park near Camp Verde, AZ. on Thursday . . . or Friday . . . or when we get our TT membership number. Hopefully.
We got home a little before 7 and were down for the night.
March 29, 2012
A Little Bad News . . .
This morning we had a late breakfast and called it lunch.
It’s Thursday and it’s Turkey and Dressing Day at Cracker Barrel and Jan needed her cornbread dressing fix. Remember, If it ain’t cornbread, it ain’t dressing.
Our cats, Mister and Emma have really taken to hotel life. They normally avoid each other, but they’re OK sharing the king-size bed. Don’t know what they’re going to think going back to the rig tomorrow.
Later I went by Rush Truck Service to check in on the rig. They still found no coolant in the oil after yesterday’s test drive and still have no idea how it got there in the first place. They also did another pressure test on the engine while it was hot and found no further coolant leakage anywhere.
The system stayed pressurized without losing any coolant. So we’re back to square one on this problem. I’ll just have to keep a close eye on it for a while. They were working on getting the exhaust manifold gasket replaced, and said they still expected to have the rig ready to go by 4:30 this afternoon.
But then about 3pm Clayton called with a little bit of bad news. The exhaust manifold is cracked and will need to be replaced. They will have the new manifold in tomorrow morning and expect to be done about noon. We’ll see.
About 4:30 we headed back to Chachi’s for a repeat of last night’s delicious meal. I again had a 3 item combo plate, but this time substituted a chicken flauta for the tamale. Just as good as last night. Even the rice and beans are good. Especially the beans. They’re the lumpy kind of refried beans, with whole beans mixed in.
Jan had a repeat of last night’s plate with a Chile Relleno and a soft beef taco.
Chachi’s is definitely on our list when we come back to Las Cruces next year.
Heading home, we stopped off at the Wal-Mart right next door to the hotel for a few things before getting back to the room for the night.
Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be on the road to Balmorhea, TX.
March 29, 2013
Not Much . . .
happened today.
I kept telling myself I was going to get back on my taillight or my dash light/headlights-on alarm projects, but somehow it just never happened.
I ended up spending most of the day doing a map overlay for all the Thousand Trails parks we can access. I recently found out that a number of the parks we can visit are not on the standard Thousand Trails list.
I found that I can access a park in the Florida Keys, and two more in Florida, one near Daytona Beach.
Also parks in Bar Harbor, ME, the Wisconsin Dells, and additional parks in California, Washington and Oregon. Of course, some of these are Encore parks and cost us a whole $3 a day, but according to the Thousand Trails office, staying at those parks doesn’t count against our 50 free days each year, and it appears that we can stay at one of these parks for longer than our normal two weeks. Neat!
At about 5pm we headed out to meet our friends Al and Adrienne for dinner one last time before we leave Tucson on Sunday. And as usual, we spent more time talking than eating since we didn’t say our goodbyes until after 8:30.
And with any luck, we’ll be able to catch up with them again later this summer when they’ll be in Cody, WY. Hope it works out.
That’s about it for today. As I said, ‘Not Much . . .”
March 29, 2014
All Landon, all the time . . .
Or so we wish.
After yesterday’s thunderstorms and hail, today was just perfect, with a high of 75 and a nice breeze all day. Mister spent most of the day outside on his leash, curled up in one of our chairs, basking in the sun, and coming in only when the guy mowing the grass came onto our site.
When Mister’s outside on his leash, we leave the screen door open so he can come in whenever he wants. He won’t go to the bathroom outside, so he comes in for that, or to eat or get a drink of water. He just comes up the steps and into the rig as far as his leash will reach, and then waits for one of us to unhook him, and then comes back to the door when he’s ready to be hooked back up again and go back out. He just runs to the door and waits for me to put his leash back on. Smart Cat.
Brandi and Lowell had talked about coming out to visit today, but we didn’t know if that was still on since Brandi’s been sick. But she felt well enough, and said they’d be out about 3:30 or so. So I headed down to the office to get them signed in as a guest.
They did show up about 3:30 and Landon had a blast, checking out the river and trees behind the coach, and was even pretty good about letting us take his picture.
Landon was really fascinated with Mister. He wasn’t used to being around a ‘nice’ cat. They have a cat at home named Mooshe, otherwise known as ‘The Cat From Hell’. Mooshe would just as soon scratch your eyes out as hiss at you. She only just tolerates Brandi, and hates everyone else.
So Landon at first was scared to even pet Mister, much less play with him. But after a while they were running around the rig, chasing the ball Landon was throwing. But after a while, Mister got tired and just laid down and went to sleep on the floor at the front of the coach. Landon would kind of poke at him, but Mister wouldn’t move. He was done.
About 5pm we all headed back into Columbus to have dinner at Los Cabos Mexican Grill, a place we ate at a couple of weeks ago when we were here. And once again we all really enjoyed it.
Jan had a chicken breast stuffed with shrimp, tomatoes, cilantro, and onions, topped with butter wine sauce made of mushrooms, tomatoes, jalapeños, and onions. Said was one of the best things she’s ever eaten.
One thing we both enjoy is their specially-made extra-spicy salsa. Not only is it very hot, but it has a really smoky chipotle taste. And this time they gave us a big enough bowl to have some to take home.
Tomorrow we’re heading down to Clear Lake to visit Chris and his family, and also make a quick client visit. Then on the way home, we’ll stop off to have dinner with a former coworker of Jan’s.
March 29, 2015
A Name Change . . .
One of our blog readers, Jim Hamm, commented that with all the restaurant reviews and pictures we do, that maybe we ought to rename the blog, “Our Dining and Gourmet Adventures, With RVing as a Sideline.”
Figuring he was probably right, I met him halfway. While the blog name is still Our RV Adventures, we have a new subhead underneath. Instead of the old one, “I Wish You Could See What We See”, the new one is “Eating Our Way Across The USA”.
Pretty apropos, actually. Thanks, Jim.
I mentioned a while back about the dashcam I bought. But our trip up from Tucson to here in Apache Junction a week ago was the first time I had a chance to set it up here in the rig.
The movies, at 600 megabytes per 5 minute segment, are too big to post here, but here are some stills of our trip up here.
This first one was before we pulled out of our site at Voyager RV Resort.
This one is from right after we pulled out of the Flying J after fueling up.
Here we’re turning onto SR 77 that will take us to Apache Junction.
And this is our rest stop at the Tom Mix Memorial.
With the wide-angle lens, and recording at 1080p HD, the videos are really stunning.
A118 Full HD 1080P Car DVR Dash Camera
The camera is only about 2” x 3” and comes with a windshield mounting kit. A great deal for only $80. Check it out.
Around 1:30 Jan and I made a Wal-Mart run to the store up on Apache Trail. Jan was looking for a few things, as was I. But the thing we were both looking for was a new foam mattress topper. We’ve had a 2” one on our bed since right after we bought the rig, and it’s always been very comfortable. Except for one thing. It’s hot.
I’d heard that the newer gel-infused ones are much cooler, so I wanted to see what Wal-Mart had. Turns out that they have a queen size 2” Memory Foam, Gel-Infused topper for $100, but I wanted to check Amazon also.
And checking Amazon, they have a similar one for the same price, so I’ll probably pick up the one from Wal-Mart in the next day or so.
While I was there I also checked out the paint department to see if they could mix or tint the Rust oleum Protective Enamel that I used on the rig bumper since I want a lighter shade of gray. Finding they couldn’t, I bought a small can of white to see if I can mix something up that I like. We’ll see.
As usual when I’m in Wal-Mart, I wondered through the RV section, checking things out. And this time I came across a pretty good deal.
This Camco EVO Premium Water Filter was close-out priced at $15 (normally $49 or so, even on Amazon, and uses the standard filter inserts. The reviews are pretty good, except for those people who ignored the instructions and over-tightened and broke the connectors.
I’ll let you know how it works.
About 4:30 Jan and I headed out to the #1 Eastern Super Buffet, our go-to buffet place here in Apache Junction. The place stays busy enough that the food turns over quickly, so it’s always fresh and hot.
March 29, 2016
Another Day of the Blahs . . .
I woke up this morning, again kind of ‘blah’. I think it’s from the doctor changing one of my prescriptions, and if it’s like in the past, it’ll take a while to adjust to it. Blah!
After getting some coffee in me, I started to dig into the rig AC. But before I get up on the roof I wanted to take a look up at the inside part. After taking the cover off, I realized I needed the stepstool to get up in the unit, while I was out at the truck for the stepstool, I went ahead and got the ladder out, since I knew I’m going to need it eventually.
About this time, Jim Dean dropped by to see if there was any progress on Barbara Spade’s refrigerator problem. Told him she was looking for a residential replacement, but not having a lot of luck due to the size constraints.
Then, as if my day wasn’t screwed up enough, a client down in Clear Lake called with a request, so about 1:45 I headed down that way, sans Jan, who just wanted to stay at the rig.
So much for AC repair.
Along the way, our friend Chris Yust, of C and C RV Insurance fame, called with some questions about a Thousand Trails membership she and Charles are thinking about buying. It sounds like she looking at one just about identical to ours, 63 parks, 14 days in, and park to park. I assume she would also have 210 days in advance reservations, but I didn’t ask.
Chris, check this too.
Of course, when I got down to Clear Lake about 3:30, the client had decided he didn’t want to do what he thought he wanted to do. So, after getting gas, I headed back for Columbus a little after 4pm, not getting to the rig until about 6:45, due to having to come home through Houston Rush Hour Traffic (pat. pending).
After a delicious dinner of Dennis Hill Smoked Pork BBQ sandwiches on King Hawaiian Bread, Jan’s Funeral Potatoes, and Kroger’s Cranberry Nut Salad, I called Jim Dean to help him set up his new Silverleaf VMSpc computer virtual dashboard.
Mine looks like this, running on a laptop along with my Delorme Street Atlas GPS program. It sits on a shelf to the right of my chair, making it easy to keep an eye on things.
![Silverleaf 2_thumb[1]](https://ourrvadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Silverleaf-2_thumb1.png "Silverleaf 2_thumb[1]")
Looking at this graphic, it’s been a while since I screenshotted (screenshat?) this. The number under the yellow header that says Miles Since 1/6/08 and reads 44118.2, now reads over 71,000. And 1/6/08 is the day we picked up the rig at the dealers in New Braunfels and drove it back to La Marque, TX. And a month later, on 2/6/08, we headed for Alaska.
Of course that was via Yuma, San Diego, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Colorado Springs, Billings, Cle Elum, Coeur d’Alene, and Bellingham, finally ending up in Fairbanks, AK on April 26, 2008.
Getting back to Jim Dean, we discovered that the Serial to USB converter cable he had does not like Win10. So he’ll have to pick up another one tomorrow before we can proceed.
Later I did some inside checks on the AC hoping it would be something simple like a bad freeze-up sensor. This is a thermistor that sits on the evaporator coil and if it detects that the coil is icing over, it turns the compressor off for a while, leaving the fan running until the ice is gone. Then it turns the compressor back on. So if this is bad, it won’t cool at all.
But unfortunately, it wasn’t the sensor. But it’s only the simple thing when you don’t check that first.
March 29, 2017
Chili Delayed . . .
After our morning coffee, and while Jan read, I spent the morning working on a new website proposal for a customer. Hopefully, he’ll like it.
Then about 1:30 we headed out for some errands and then later an early dinner. Our first stop was a nearby O’Reilly’s for another jug of AW32 Hydraulic Fluid to keep on hand for when I need to top off the rig’s reservoir next time.
Then it was off to the car wash next to Countryside RV Park where we’ve stayed several times before. It did a pretty good job, but not as good as the ones at HEB or Ocean’s back in the Houston area. This one didn’t have the separate rotary brush on an arm that comes down and scrubs your wheels.
Next, it was on to Wal-Mart so Jan could get her hair cut while I picked up our prescriptions and then shopped for a few things while I waited for her to be finished.
Since Jan’s Chili got put on hold until tomorrow, leaving Wal-Mart, we made the 20-minute run over to Gilbert to have an early dinner at Joe’s Farm Grill, another of our favorite places here in the Apache Junction area, and also featured on Triple D with Guy Fieri.
We’ve eaten here a number of times, and it’s always been great.
And today was certainly no exception.
We each got our favorites, with Jan’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Cheese, Grilled Onions, and Avocado, along with a side of their Asian Slaw on the right, while I got the Sonoran Dog with a side of their Fried Green Beans with Pesto on the left. The green beans are fantastic and big enough to share.
And of course, we couldn’t leave out a big glass of their homemade Strawberry Lemonade, made from strawberries and lemons grown right here on the property.
In fact, much of the fruits and vegetables used in the restaurant are grown right here on the adjacent farm. And actually, the restaurant itself was built around the family home built in the 1960’s.
All of the brown and green areas are the farmland next to the restaurant.
I still haven’t heard back from the glass people yet, so hopefully soon. And based on suggestions from several blog readers, I’m casting a wider net looking for new window awnings for our rig.
So thanks for everyone’s suggestions and ideas.
March 29, 2018
Peaks and Wings . . .
Unlike last week’s doctor appointment, today’s lab work appointment wasn’t scheduled until 1pm, so we had a quiet morning, finally leaving the rig around 12:15.
The actual blood draw only took a couple of minutes, but why did they have to do over all the same stuff they just did a little over a week ago. Stuff like blood pressure, pulse rate, weight, temp, etc., and then there’s all the medical history that I just gave them last time. Don’t they write this stuff down?
But by 1:30 we were on our way back over to Webster and the Twin Peaks there to have lunch. Although it’s one of our favorite places, it’s been a while since we’ve been here. In fact the last time we were at a Twin Peaks, it was the one up in the Woodlands.
One thing about TW is that they regularly change their menu. You won’t get bored, but you will lose some favorites now and then. In our case, we lost their Creamy Tomato Basil Soup. But we gained their Green Chile Chicken Soup. Delicious!
Jan had the Greek Salad along with six Spicy Thai Chili wings.
I again went the soup and veggies route, with a bowl of the aforementioned Green Chili Chicken Soup, as well as the Sautéed Broccoli, the Sautéed Green Beans, and the Grilled Asparagus.
All done perfectly, and delicious.
After finishing up we headed up the Interstate a piece to do the Sam’s Club/WalMart thing for prescriptions and groceries. And then it was back to the rig.
Our Dodge Dakota ran perfectly with absolutely no problems. It’s good to have it back. And being able to borrow our son Chris’ truck for the interim was a big help.
Thanks, Chris.
March 29, 2019
Four Weeks And Counting . . .
As I’m posting this blog, four weeks from today we will be about 6 hours into our flight from Houston to Frankfurt, Germany, on our way to Budapest, Hungry, and the beginning of our European vacation.
That flight is about 9 hours 45 minutes, and then after a 3-hour 35-minute layover, we’ve got a 90-minute flight on to Budapest, arriving on April 27th at about 1:45 in the afternoon. So a total journey of almost 15 hours.
Then, counting our two pre-cruise days, we’ll spend four days in the Budapest area before heading on to Vienna.
We can’t wait.
Glad We Didn’t Go
Over the years Jan and I talked about visiting the Grand Canyon Skywalk on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, located between Las Vegas and Kingman, AZ.
But we didn’t, for two reasons. There was no way Jan was getting out on a piece of glass dangling over a 1000-foot drop. Even if’s supposed to safely hold over 800 people, and they only allow 120 on it at a time.
And at the time, the way the tickets worked, she had to buy a full ticket, even if she didn’t go out on it. However I think that’s changed now.
For my part, I would have no problem going out on it, but there’s apparently one more catch. You’re not allowed to take a camera, phone, or anything else out with you. So no pictures of your own. Just high-priced ‘professional’ photos of your visit.
But maybe Jan had the right idea, since yesterday, Thursday, a tourist from Hong Kong was taking photos along the unfenced edge of the canyon, stumbled, and fell 1000 ft. to the bottom of the canyon.
Yikes!
Tomorrow we’ll do some prep work for our Sunday rig test drive. Things like checking that the slide will come in without problems, and that the refrigerator will switch over to propane. Luckily the last couple of days the rain chances have dropped from 60% to 20%.
So hopefully it will stay somewhat dry.
March 29, 2021
Wrong Line Of Work?
We’re getting an early start tomorrow because Jan has her yearly mammogram tomorrow afternoon, something that she’s very careful not to skip each year since she was diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2014.
Luckily back then, she only needed a lumpectomy, with no radiation or chemo involved. But it was a big enough scare that she never misses one now. Especially since she almost skipped the one in 2014 when they found the lump.
So she wants to remind everyone to get this done every year.
Anyway, we’ll be leaving the rig about 12:30 so we’ll have time to eat lunch first, and then after I drop her off, I’ll probably go by work for a while and catch up on some things.
Then this Thursday, we’ve both got our big annual physicals starting at 8am, that way we’re the first appointments of the day, and don’t have to wait.
Then we’ve got lunch all planned, at a new place called Texas Huddle Grille, located on NASA Rd 1. And I already know what I’m having.
The PB&J Bacon Cheeseburger.
It’s harder to imagine two greater sandwiches combined into one.
Looks like we’re all getting together up at Brandi’s this Sunday for Easter. She doing a Prime Rib Roast, Potatoes, and a dessert, with everyone else bringing side dishes.
And the pool will be open, and heated if necessary.
Sounds like a lot of fun. And delicious food too.
Well, it’s obvious I went into the wrong line of work. Back in high school, I was a lifeguard with Red Cross certifications. I had both Basic and Advanced Certs, and was also certified as an instructor, though I never ran a class.
But if I’d known it could have turned out like this, I might very well have stuck with it.
Top paid LA lifeguards earn up $392,000 annually
Life’s a beach for these California lifeguards.
The highest-paid Los Angeles lifeguards earn up to $392,000 annually — and dozens of others rake in more than $200,000 a year, according to an investigation by Forbes.
Seven LA County lifeguards earned more than $300,000 in taxpayer dough by tapping into overtime pay in 2019, the latest year available, Forbes found.
Maybe I could have been on Baywatch too.
March 29, 2023
Bluebonnets and Firepits . . .
Getting back to our Texas Hill Country visit last week, we’re always amazed at the new projects Chris has added to their home.
In the past, we have seen the large Wind Chimes he built.
Over 20 feet high, they gently ‘gong’ at the slightest breeze.
And then there’s his Firepit that he cut out and welded up by hand.
He even cut out the patterns by hand using his plasma torch. He said he tried to use templates, but ended up doing them completely by hand.
And this time we found that he had completely fenced in the yard so the dogs can’t roam too far.
But the most impressive addition was actually an art project that he calls his ‘Door Wall’.
And once again he did it all by hand, from the tree mural
to cutting out each petal on the daisies and the intricate random pattern in the center.
Later we took a drive out in the countryside checking out all the Bluebonnets along the backroads, including this one long stretch with a solid border on both sides of the road.
And large areas off to each side.
But I think my favorite is still this shot I got over in Marble Falls.
