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Three Hours And Fifteen Minutes . . .

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Three Hours And Fifteen Minutes
That We’ll Never Get Back.

Starting off, I want to wish my beautiful wife of 57+ years a Happy, Happy Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentines Day GIFs | Tenor

* * * * *

Jan and I were on our way up to Conroe back about 9:45 to meet up with Debi and Ed Hurlburt at the Golden Corral there. This location is very well done and we always enjoy it.

We got there a little before 11:30, and after good food and a lot of great conversation, we got our hugs and said our goodbyes, we were on our way home by about 2pm. Normally this would result in us getting back to the rig about 3:30. But it was not to be.

Coming down around on the 610 Loop, we were about 3 miles from turning south onto I-45 when all 4 lanes ground to a halt, leaving us creeping up and down the Ship Channel Bridge for the next 45 minutes.

I did check the Houston Transtar app on my phone and found there was a Big Truck wreck this morning at 11:53am. So it had been like this for almost 4 hours.

Finally at the point of the wreck, which was right under the 225 overpass, the 4 lanes of traffic merged down to 1 lane, and a couple of minutes later, we were free.

So we lost another 45 minutes today, coupled with the 2-1/2 hours we lost coming home from Galveston this past Saturday, means that’s Three Hours And Fifteen Minutes we’ll never get back.

Of course it’s kind of par for the course with Houston Traffic.

* * * * *

Paleontology Shaken: Organic Molecules Found in 66-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Bones

or

Is Jurassic Park Far Behind?

For years, scientists widely believed that the fossilization process destroyed all original organic molecules, leaving fossils devoid of their original biological material.

However, a groundbreaking study led by the University of Liverpool has provided strong evidence that Mesozoic fossils, including dinosaur bones and teeth, still contain preserved organic materials.

“This research shows beyond doubt that organic biomolecules, such as proteins like collagen, appear to be present in some fossils.

“Our results have far-reaching implications. Firstly, it refutes the hypothesis that any organics found in fossils must result from contamination.

FWIW As I’ve posted before, most of the dinosaurs shown in the Jurassic Park movie actually lived in the Cretaceous Era, not the Jurassic.

But I guess Cretaceous Park just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

* * * * *

Tomorrow Jan and I are having our Valentine’s Day dinner at the Saltgrass Steakhouse up in Webster.

Ummmm! Steak!


Thought for the Day:

I’m not sure that we all have an inner child, but some out there definitely have an inner-idiot they have no control over, whatsoever.

And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™


February 13, 2011

Back in the Texas Hill Country . . .

Today started with Jan finding out that the Buc-ee’s pastries she bought yesterday had been sampled by her cat. Not eaten, just ‘sampled’, enough so that we didn’t want them anymore.

//?!*&^ cat!

Our trip yesterday happily turned out to be uneventful, something that you always worry about after being parked for 5 months. Although I filled up with diesel right before we parked, I always wonder how full the tank really is, considering how much diesel can foam up. And with all the rain and cold weather we had, I was a little concerned about getting water from condensation in the fuel.

So I gave my diesel tank a shock treatment of Racor Biocide several days before we left. I don’t know it was needed or not, but for whatever reason, I didn’t have any problems.

We’re parked at the Lake Pointe RV Resort, a Passport American park here in Canyon Lake, in the middle of the beautiful Texas Hill Country.

Texas Hill Country

This is the 5th time we’ve stayed here while visiting our friend Gina, and it’s one of our favorite spots to park, especially due to all the deer in the area.

About 12:30, after picking up a Subway sandwich for her, we headed over to spend some time with Gina. We haven’t seen her since our daughter Brandi’s wedding this past June, so it was good to get together again.

After a couple of hours catching up, we said goodbye and headed out to run some errands over in nearby Sattler. Our first stop was at Granny D’s, a great little Texas café that we’ve eaten at a number of times.

And it’s always good. Jan had a Reuben sandwich, and I had a great fried chicken breast sandwich with waffle fries. YUM!

Granny D

There were also some Girl Scouts out front selling cookies so we just had to get a box of Jan’s favorite Tagalongs.

Leaving Granny D’s, and after a quick letter drop at the PO, we stopped off at the local ACE Hardware & Feed Store. I was looking for a 7/16” drill bit and some #12 x 3” wood screws.

And Jan was looking for a 50# bag of deer corn. Luckily I didn’t have to carry it to the truck. Some nice young man took care of that.

Coming back to the rig, we made two sight-seeing stops. The first was the Guadalupe River crossing carved out by a flash flood a number of years ago.

Guadalupe River 1

Guadalupe River 2

Before the flood, this was a normal stream bed, but afterward, this was carved out almost overnight, due to runoff from the Canyon Lake Dam

And here’s Canyon Lake and the Canyon Lake Dam that forms it.

Canyon Lake 4

Canyon Lake 1

Canyon Lake 2

Really spectacular scenery. And you can walk across the dam for an even better view.

Canyon Lake 3

Getting back to the rig about 4:30, you can see the reason for the 50# bag of deer corn.

Lots and lots of deer. Everywhere.

Lake Pointe Deer 1

Lake Pointe Deer 2

Lake Pointe Deer 3

Last year when we were here, Jan had them coming up and eating out of her hand. I suspect she will this year, too.

I finished up the day with some chores around the rig. First, using the drill bit and the wood screws that I got at the hardware store, I remounted the grab bar just inside the front door. It came off the other day because the smaller screws had pulled out of the backing plate.

Then I drained our freshwater tank and refilled it with the water here. The tap water here tastes much better than the water at Galveston Bay RV Park so I wanted to flush out the tank and replace it.

That was about it for today.


February 13, 2012

Changas and Charro Beans . . .

Once again, with Jan staying over at Brandi’s Landon-Sitting for the weekend, I didn’t sleep very well and was up at about 8 am.

I spent the morning finishing up this laptop I’ve been upgrading for a client, and then about 11:30 I headed over to Brandi’s to pick up Jan. She had called earlier to say she wasn’t really hungry, so we didn’t go out for breakfast.

But by the time I picked her up about noon, Brandi and Lowell were back from their weekend, and so we handed off Landon, and headed over to McDonald’s for a fish sandwich lunch, and then it was home for the afternoon.

Jan napped, as she was pooped chasing after a very active 17-month-old, and I finished up the laptop, and then I got in a short nap too.

Then about 5:15 Jan and I headed up to Pasadena to meet our friend Barbara at a new-to-us restaurant called Jimmy Changas. We had heard it was good, and the crowd waiting for tables was proof of it. We had a 20 minute wait, but believe me, it was worth it.

This was Barbara’s Shrimp and Mango Tostado Salad with Margarita Vinaigrette Dressing. And it tastes even better than it looks

Shrimp and Mango Salad

Jan had the Chile Relleno which she said was just about as good as Esther’s in Los Angeles, which is our benchmark for Chile Relleno. I had the Stacked Pork Enchiladas, which was pulled pork and grilled spinach, stacked in layers of tortillas with Monterey Jack cheese, and then topped with a Chipotle-Poblano cheese sauce. along with Mexican rice and Charro Beans.

Wow, that was good!

Leaving Jimmy’s we got a better look at the Fiery Waterfall out front.

Jimmy Changas Fire Fall

Our next stop was Barbara’s so we could talk some more and I could check out her computer and clean it up some.

Finally, getting our goodbye hugs, Jan and I headed back to the rig about 10:30.

Another nice day out of the few remaining we have here in Houston.


February 13, 2013

Almost Done . . .

Where does 3 months go? Seems like I’m trying to get everything done in the last week here.

I left the rig about 11am, with my first stop at the RV Park office to drop off a signed check that will be used to cover our electric usage after we leave, since the office doesn’t open until 9am and we’ll be leaving about 7:30. I also wanted to discuss where we’ll be parking when we get back here in November. I hope we can get back where we were last year, a little closer to the water.

My next stop was Taylor Automotive in Dickinson to firm up the details for my axle oil seal repair on Monday morning after we leave the park.

Heading into Clear Lake I made a quick look-see at Dues RV to see if they had any of our cabinet latches in stock.

Brass Cabinet Latch

I’ve got a couple of them that the little springs and balls have come out of and wanted to replace them, but Dues didn’t have any in stock so I’ll have to check online.

After a stop at Brandi’s to get our mail, I made another pass through Home Depot. Seems like I live here sometimes.

My first client stop was to help her set up a new home office, moving some of the equipment from the main office and setting it up in her home. Couldn’t get the big Xerox network printer working at first until I realized that the office network IP address was in the 192 series, and her home network was on the 10 series. Once I reset the printer’s IP address to the correct one, it all worked fine.

My last client stop was to tie up some last-minute loose-ends before we leave town, although I imagine I’ll get a lot of phone calls along the way.

By now it was time to head back to the rig to pick up Jan for dinner. We were meeting Brandi, Lowell, and Landon at Floyd’s Cajun Seafood, our favorite local Cajun place.

Landon and Lowell at Floyds 1

Landon Brandi and Lowell at Floyds 1

The food was delicious as usual, but the service was abysmal, which is very unusual. It took us forever to get our food. After Lowell complained to the manager, we were told that the order printer was relaying the orders to the kitchen incorrectly, and ours, and others, got lost. The manager did knock 20% off our bill, but still.

Jan and I ordered a dozen raw oysters when we sat down, and then got them 45 minutes later. Then my salad came another 20 minutes, with our meals finally showing up about 30 minutes after that. Bummer!

Last up, I want to wish my beautiful wife Jan a wonderful Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you so much.

valentine64


February 13, 2015

A Magnetic Personality . . .

I’ve liked the Magne Shade Solar Screens ever since I first saw them at a rally. They’re on the outside so less heat gets in, and they take just seconds to put up without a ladder. They use super strong Neodymium magnets glued inside the windshield corners and on the shades to hold them in place. So they’re great. But they’re also pretty expensive.

They run about $500.00 for the windshield, and if I want Mister’s picture on it like this,

Magne Shade Dog

it’s close to $1000 bucks.

And since I’m frugal (Jan says ‘cheap!’), I was looking for another way to go. But until recently I wasn’t able to find magnets that were strong enough and cheap enough to make it worthwhile.

But now I found these.

Magnets

10 Neodymium Magnets 1/2 x 1/4 inch

They have a pull of over 12 pounds, and it’s actually difficult to separate the stack. 10 of them are only about $7, and I figure I’ll need 5 sets, so $35.

As far as the screen material, I have a set of these RV Quick Shades that are held to the inside of the windshield with suction cups. They work pretty well, but are a pain to put up, especially on the driver’s side.

So I figure I will use my RV Quick Shades and place the magnets in the hem across the top and the bottom. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Since my Starlights RV Lights have died,

Smart Light 1000 Black

I want to at least have something working while I decide what I want to do long-term. So I came up with this. I took one of the LED strips that I used to replace my fluorescents in the rig,

LED Replacement Lights 1

and a 12v remote control switch, and after removing the LED bulb from the Smart Light, mounted the LED strip and the relay inside the light, and got this.

New Patio Light 1

And at night it looks like this.

New Patio Light 2

And it works great too. It’s brighter than the original LED bulb, and I can turn it on and off remotely when we come home at night. Now that I know it will work, I’ll go back in and tape the LED in place so it won’t move around. I’ve got another switch and another LED so I’ll probably do the other light soon.


February 13, 2016

Paint It Black . . .

Well, we were back to our standard 1.5 mile two-part walk this morning. But before we headed out I did another coat of paint on the screen door hinge that I picked up yesterday.

Hinge - Repaired 2_thumb[2]

Now it looks pretty good. Black paint can cover a lot of ugly.

Then as we were starting out, Allen, a blog reader, came by to say ‘Hi”. I didn’t get his last name, but he’s also friends with another friend of ours, Bill Joyce, who we last saw back in 2011 at Long Beach, WA

On the way back from our second loop we ran into our friend Randy who was out walking Sherlock. We mentioned we were meeting Jim and Perri Dean tomorrow morning for the breakfast buffet at Schobel’s Restaurant before we head out for Lake Conroe, and asked him to join us.

Later in the afternoon I started prepping for tomorrow’s trip, beginning by putting away the water and sewer hoses, and then stowing away the deck chairs in the toad. Then I started up the rig engine for a few minutes, just long enough to bring up the levelers, so I could go ahead and pack away the leveler pads as well.

Next up was to try out my new hinge. So after attaching the hinge to the door, with Jan’s help to hold it in place, I re-attached the door to the hinge points on the door frame. So after about a month sans screen door, we got it back.

Screen Door Re-installed_thumb[3]

At least now we don’t have to worry so much about Karma darting out.

But that hasn’t been the problem we thought it might be. Although she now sometimes sits on the dashboard and watches everyone go by, but she normally runs when she hears the door open

I was glad to see that she didn’t panic this afternoon when I started up the rig engine, but we’ll see how she does tomorrow when we actually travel.

Karma Update_thumb[1]

If you look carefully at the red tag on her collar, you’ll see it says “Emma’, our cat that died back in 2013 while we were on a gate. We had a couple of extra tags, so we put one on Karma, since it’s the phone number that’s important if she gets lost. We’ll get her her own tag soon.

One thing we’ve found is that Karma loves whipped cream. Whenever we have some in our coffee, she begs for some too. In fact she runs over when she hears the “Ssquack” sound of the can. Or also when I make the sound myself. And now she also wants some of the International Delight Hazelnut Coffee Creamer that we use. She watches me take the bottles out of the fridge and then runs over to her bowl and waits for me to pour out about a tablespoon for her.

Tomorrow we’ll leave for the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails about 10am, making the 120 mile trip where we’ll be for the next two weeks.


February 13, 2017

Last Shift . . .

Tonight is my last shift for this time down here in south Texas. As it stands right now, we’ll probably be back down in this area again in late August/early September for another round of gate guarding.

But we’ve already decided it will be guard shacks only from now on. It pays twice as much, and it’s much more comfortable.

Jan and I are going out for one last meal at La Bella Tavola tomorrow, with a side trip to Wal-Mart to look at a new phone, and maybe a new plan, for Jan.

Right now she has an LG Revere flip phone from around 2011 that’s showing its age. So I would like to get her something a little more modern. But pretty much everything else is considered a ‘smartphone’ by Verizon and automagically bumps our bill up $30 a month, no matter how little she uses it.

Jan only makes or gets maybe 15 or 20 calls a month, no email, and until our gate guarding this year, no texts either.

Right now we have 3 devices on our Verizon plan, my Galaxy S5, Jan’s LG Revere, and our ‘unlimited’ 3G AirCard. And I know that Verizon has come out with a bunch of new ‘unlimited’ data plans, but it may actually be cheaper to put Jan on a contract phone of some sort with monthly minutes, which is what we’re going to look for at Wal-Mart. There are a number of cell companies that also use the Verizon network so that shouldn’t change.

And that way she’ll be able to move up to a phone that has a screen larger than a postage stamp.

Another good thing about getting off a day early from gate guarding is that it will let us get an earlier start Wednesday morning when we head for Columbus and the Colorado River Thousand Trails. Our friend Barbara Spade who is a ranger there says the park is pretty full with only 10 of the 126 sites not reserved. So we want to get there early to try and have the best pick of what’s left.

Which could be a 30amp Water Only site.


February 13, 2018

A Busy Day . . .

Another overcast, cold, damp day here in Santa Fe, TX. And too overcast, cold, and damp to go outside and take down the last awning.

A little after 4pm Jan and I headed out for dinner, this time at our local favorite, Pho20 Vietnamese.

Lately we’ve kind of standardized our order with the House Crunch Salad with their home-made Miso Dressing and Tempura Crunchies.

Pho 20 Crunch Salad

Then Jan got a couple of their Shrimp Spring Rolls

Pho 20 Shrimp Spring Rolls

while I got one Shrimp Spring Roll and a small bowl of their very fragrant Won Ton Soup.

Pho 20 Won Ton Soup

Although it’s not my favorite soup, Hot & Sour is, I’ve had Won Ton a number of times over the years, and this is the best I’ve ever had. The flavor of this broth is just amazing.

One thing that makes Pho20 so special is everything is made and cooked to order. Even things like Fried Egg Rolls are rolled and fried when you order them, as well as the lettuce for the salads, is shredded right before it’s served.

All fresh, all delicious. If you’re in this area, check it out.

Before heading home we made a detour to the nearby Taco Cabana to pick up some tacos to go. One was for Jan’s late night snack.

Because of her procedure/anesthesia tomorrow afternoon, she can’t eat after midnight tonight. And then she won’t be able to eat again until late tomorrow afternoon. By that time her blood sugar will be very squirrelly. So a nurse suggested that she have a snack right before midnight.

Hence, the soft chicken fajita taco.

I also picked up some steak tacos for dinner tomorrow night if Jan doesn’t feel like going out. Although we may also pick something on the way home from the hospital. We’ll see.

Tomorrow morning we have to be at the hospital at 11am for Jan’s 1pm Laser Lithotripsy, luckily not as early as last Friday’s 8:30am Pre-Op appointment.

Tomorrow’s a busy day.


February 13, 2019

It Went Down!

It actually went down!

Work started off slow this morning, with me catching up on some long-term projects…UNTIL an email came in saying that one of our needle companies, who said back in January that they didn’t want to do their annual February sale, now said they wanted to do a March sale instead.

Now, right now we’re already running a sale on the website for the other needle company, which is normally a part of the February sale mail-out, but they’re a smaller company and it wasn’t cost-effective to send out a $3000+ postcard for just the one company.

So now it’s a scramble to get last year’s card updated, and off to the mail marketing firm to get it out on time for the March sale. Stay tuned.

Jan’s really looking forward to her ophthalmologist’s appointment tomorrow afternoon. It will be one month since her last cataract surgery, and after a final checkup, she’ll get a new prescription for her distance vision glasses. The doctor showed what her vision would be like with the new prescription and she was amazed.

Then we’ll drop her frames and her new prescription off at the Sam’s Club to get it sent off.

Jan and I are also going to have a Valentine’s dinner at our favorite Saltgrass Steakhouse later in the evening.

It actually went down:

Every February/March I always dread getting my new insurance policy for our rig and truck, which renews the 13th of March. But this year was different. For the first time in as long as I can remember, my rate went down.  Yeah, it was only a total of $92.00, but it was in the right direction. Sometimes that’s all you can ask for.

I mentioned this past Sunday that I gave Landon this Smithsonian Rocket Kit.

Smithsonian Rocket Book

He loves to put things together, so I knew he’d love this, and here’s the result.

Landon and Smithsonian Rocket

Knowing him, he’s working on a way to actually launch it.


February 13, 2021

First Off, To My Sweetie . . .

Happy Valentine's Day

Jan and I left the rig about 1pm with our first stop being the HEB over on the Interstate to stock up on stuff to last us through the freeze. We had worried about how busy the store would be with everyone stocking up, but it really wasn’t any busier than a normal Saturday.

Right now they’re showing a low of 25° Sunday night and then a high of 30 on Monday, with a low of 16° that night. And it’s all supposed to be combined with rain, sleet, ice, and snow. But then by Tuesday it’s supposed to be back up to the low 40’s and low 30’s. So a little better.

The office is not going to be open Monday, and since I don’t normally work Tuesdays, the earliest I’ll go back is Wednesday. A nice long weekend.

And I might even get to use the 4WD on our Jeep.

Jan got the ingredients to make a big batch of her world-famous chili, so we’ll be eating good too.

After HEB, we headed over to the Denny’s for a couple of their Ultimate Omelets, with 3 eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and onions, fruit instead of the hash browns, and an English Muffin.

Denny's Ultimate Omelet 20210213

Jan and I both agree that these are just about the best omelets we’ve eaten. They’re stuffed to the gills inside, with even more stuff layered on top. Delicious!

Finally coming home, we of course had to stop at Cowboy Coffee for a couple of their Ghirardelli Hot Chocolates with Whipped Cream. Perfect for a cold day.

I’m phone shopping for an upgrade to my Samsung S8+ that I’ve had since March 2017. Normally I only go about 3 years between upgrades, but last year nothing new caught my eye.

But now I’m looking at the new Samsung S21 series. There’s the S21 and the S21 Plus, differing only in screen size, and the S21 Ultra, which is even bigger in screen size, and has more memory, a much better camera, and a bigger battery.

And of course, they’re all 5G.

But at $1300, it’s a big bite to swallow. But we’ll see.

If you’re interested, here’s a good article comparing the 3 models.

Samsung S21 Comparison

Friday I ordered a new Gigabit router and WiFi cards for the network at work. We’re moving a lot more large data files around, and our present 5G speeds are bottlenecking us. So now we’ll be looking at about 6 times more speed.

Looks like our Alaskan cruise is still up in the air for mid-May. Canada has said that no ‘entertainment’ ships with over 100 passengers can dock at any of their ports until Feb. 2022.

And U.S. maritime law says that they have to dock at at least one foreign port during the cruise. So maybe Holland American is hoping for a waiver on that rule, but people in the know don’t think that’s likely.

We’re supposed to make our final payment this coming Thursday, so we’ll see if HAL is going to finally bite the bullet and cancel the rest of the 2021 cruise year, as some people are predicting.

Tomorrow we’re having our Valentine’s Day dinner up in Webster about 4. I tried to get reservations at the one down in Galveston about 10 days ago, but they had no openings. So next year I’ll have to try earlier.

Really looking forward to dinner with my Sweetie!


February 13, 2022

What Happens In Sarasota, Stays In Sarasota . .

Jan and I were out for lunch a little before 1, on our way to local favorite Yummy Yummy Chinese Buffet. We thought we had lost them when they closed back in March 2020 in the depth of the WuFlu panic, but they reopened last year in September.

Yummy Yummy

What was kind of confusing was that the other local Chinese buffet, East Star up in Webster, never closed. They just ask us to wear disposable gloves while getting your food.

Next it was on up 45 to the HEB for some things. We were kind of surprised at how busy it was, and remembered it was Super Bowl Sunday. Which explained all the carts piled high with cases of beer.

Who knew there were Amish Snowbirds?

In Sarasota, Florida, Amish snowbirds.

Like other snowbirds, the Amish come from locales with cold winters. Think central Ohio, northern Indiana and, of course, the unofficial Amish capital of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania.

At the height of the season, about 5,000 winter-weary Amish and Mennonites call Pinecraft, an enclave about 20 minutes from Sarasota, home. In the summer, the population numbers just 50.

Most of the Amish arrive after taking a 22-hour ride on chartered buses that are collectively called the Amish Express. By contrast, Mennonites often drive themselves — an illustration of how the two Protestant traditions differ, despite a shared cultural and religious heritage.

Sarasota Amish

Over at my hotel, the Hyatt Regency, I did a double take at two bikini-clad girls talking in Pennsylvania Dutch and drinking what were presumably virgin cocktails. Then again, I suppose what happens in Sarasota stays in Sarasota.

Or then again, it could just be Rumspringa.

I mentioned the other day when I was talking about the coming problems with providing enough power to charge all the EV cars mandated by 2030, that the government was planning on installing 500,000 charging stations around the country. And part of this plan seems to be installing charging stations every 50 miles along every Interstate in the country.

Now I can see that happening with no problems in the urban/suburban areas, but what about places like out in west Texas where there are miles and miles of miles and miles, and no electrical power. Though I guess you could run an extension cord from one of those wind turbines on the mountain top 20 miles away.

But what’s probably going to happen is this.

Diesel Charging Station

Yes, that’s a diesel generator powering an EV charging station.

Kind of defeats the purpose, now doesn’t it?

Tomorrow morning I’ve got my 3 month checkup after my Spinal Fusion surgery back in November. Hopefully everything is still on track, so my P.A. Alexandria will lift my 20# lifting limit and also let me take Advil again. But we’ll see.

As of yesterday, I’m at 90 days on the use of my Bone Growth Stimulator, so halfway there.

Tomorrow evening we’re having a Valentine’s Day dinner at the Saltgrass Steakhouse down in Galveston. Then Thursday we’re having lunch with our Alvin Opry group, at Saltgrass Steakhouse once again, but this time at the one up in Webster.

Looking forward to it all.


February 13, 2023

Older Than The Pyramids . . .

Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetie!

Happy Valentine's Day Meow

My cousin Helen up in Athens sent over this article from a Miami TV station.

And why is this important?

Well, my cousin Stahlie is one of the archaeologists doing the dig.

‘Potential tragedy’: Major archaeological dig unearths history in Brickell, but will Miami save it?

Pestle said the site dates back to prehistoric times — as long as 7,000 years ago.

“(It’s) older than the pyramids. It is older than the Colosseum in Rome,” he said. “This is a site that has great antiquity.”

That shows that humans have lived in what is now Miami for much longer than previously thought.

Stahlie in Miami Dig

Of course Stahlie has always marched to a different drummer. Here she is, on the right, along with her sister Darby, on the Great Wall of China.

And she may be one of the only people to ever be photobombed by a Red Chinese soldier on the Great Wall.

Stahlie Photobombed on Great Wall

Stahlie and Darby, love you both.

Tomorrow Jan and I are celebrating Valentine’s Day with dinner at our local Saltgrass Steakhouse, just like we did last year.

It’s that good


February 13, 2024

It’s Gonna Be A Two’fer . . .

Happy Valentine’s Day To My Sweetie.

Love of My Life for 56+ Years.

Happy Valentines Day GIFs | Tenor

Tomorrow it’s gonna be a Galveston Two’fer.

I had already mentioned that Jan and I are having our Valentine’s Day dinner down at the Saltgrass in Galveston. But now we have breakfast get-together also.

Long-time friends Jim and Peri Dean are in town and wanted to get together to have breakfast tomorrow at our favorite Sunflower Cafe down in Galveston.

Looking forward to both.

Lunch today was at Dickinson Seafood once again.

Really delicious, and a great deal for only $13.99, complete with a really good salad and their made-in-house Bleu Cheese dressing

Then it was a quick Home Depot stop before heading over to friends Bob & Maria’s house to work on some computer stuff for her.

Came across this Survival Kit on Amazon yesterday. And since it looked neat, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Survival Kit

And it turns out to be pretty nice, with a better quality than I had expected for $35.

Check it out.

We’ve been making some headway on scheduling our yearly Alabama visit. It’s still tentative, but we plan on leaving here on Thursday, May 9th, and then get home Saturday, May 25th. Combined with the Memorial Day Holiday on Monday the 27th, I won’t have to go back to work until the following Wednesday. So plenty of time to rest up.l

Every now and then Karma becomes a box cat.

“If I fits, I sits.”

One thing funny is that she will usually only use a box once. She will sit in it for a while and then get out. Then she will never go back to it.

Strange cat.

 

 

 

 

In 1814 We Took A Little Trip . . .

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Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississipp’

* * * * *

I mentioned in last night’s blog that this Friday’s SpaceX StarShip #7 launch had been delayed. Now it looks like the new launch date is Monday, January 13th, starting at 16:00CST.

* * * * *

I got my first Social Security check for 2025 today, receiving a whole $35 extra.

Woo! Hoo!

* * * * *

Today is the 210th Anniversary of Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans.

Cue The Song.

Ironically the War of 1812 was ended about two weeks earlier with the Treaty of Ghent. So on one level, the battle wouldn’t seem to mean much.

But there’s a thought in military history circles that if the British had be able to defeat Jackson and capture New Orleans, the treaty might have been out the window and the war might have continued.

* * * * *

Finishing up, with my Lumbar Fusion 3-month follow-up tomorrow, I’m hoping I’ll be released from my restrictions as far as how much I can lift. I’ve got some things I wanted to do around the rig that will require me to lift more than 20#.

Here’s hoping.


Thought For The Day:

“No positive action occurs without an equal and opposite negative one.”
Newton’s little-known Law of Karma

And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™


January 8, 2011

Trojans and Tanks . . .

Today got off to a nice slow start for a change. I made coffee and we just sat around and enjoyed each other’s company, and life itself.

Our daughter Brandi called a little after 10:30 to let us know that Jan didn’t need to come and Landon-sit this afternoon. Bummer! But we’ll probably get together one way or the other tomorrow.

I left the rig about 12:45 headed over to Pearland to visit a client’s home and work on a couple of problems he’s having.

I got him straightened out on one thing but ended up bringing his wife’s computer home with me, since I wasn’t able to get it de-virifyed before I had to leave. It has a ‘susp_irp_mj_create’ trojan that I haven’t run into before so I need to do a little research.

I got back to the rig about 5pm after stopping at the Wendy’s in Dickinson for a supper of Spicy Chicken Sandwiches and Natural-Cut Fries. Hmm, hmm, good.

After that, I went out and dumped the waste tanks since Jan was worried that she wouldn’t have room to do another wash load unless I did. I had closed off the grey tank a couple of days ago because the black tank was getting full and I wanted to have plenty of flush water available

I talked to our son Chris a little after 6pm to set up everyone’s meeting for lunch tomorrow, at the Texas Tea Room again. We really like this place.

Then I made myself some coffee (Jan doesn’t usually like coffee at night) and we watched some “Two and a Half Men” reruns before it was time for “Primeval” on BBCA, one of our favorite shows. I mean time travel, dinosaurs, intrigue…what more could you ask for?

Of course, while we were watching TV I was also working on the computer I brought home. It took a couple of hours (mostly waiting for the virus programs to scan) but I finally got rid of that trojan (and several more). I’ve rescanned the machine 3 or 4 times with different programs and it keeps coming up clean, so I guess it’s fixed.


January 8, 2012

Bulbs and Buffets . . .

After our busy week, today was a take-it-easy, do-nothing day.

We did get up a little early to head out about 9:30 a few miles up TX146 to La Brisa for their great weekend breakfast buffet. They really make a mean omelet.

Then after a quick stop at Wal-Mart for a few things, including 4 F15T8 fluorescent bulbs to replace the ones in the kitchen, we were home for the day.

Getting home, I installed the 4 bulbs. These things have gotten expensive. Seems like the last time I bought some several years ago, they were around $4 a piece. Today they were $8.47 each.

$34 for light bulbs. Ouch.

Later, after Jan fell asleep on the sofa reading, I decided a nap sounded like a nice idea so I retired to the bedroom for a very pleasant two hours.

About 5pm Jan heated up our leftover King Food Chinese from the other night. Really good, as usual.

At 7pm we watched our friend Tony Booth on a Hee Haw rerun from 1973. Tony had a number of big hits in the 70’s, including “The Key’s in the Mailbox”, “Lonesome 7-7203”, and “Cinderella”, and he and his band won 4 ACM (Academy of Country Music) awards during that time period, including “Most Promising Male Vocalist” in 1971.

That was then.

Tony Booth 1973

This is now.

Tony Booth

Jan says he’s “aged very nicely”, and then just smiles. I’m not sure how to take that.

I’m gonna have to keep a closer eye on that girl.

We see Tony quite often at the Alvin Opry, when he’s not touring around the country with his band.

I know tomorrow will be busy. I’m just not sure with what yet.

I’ll let you know.


January 8, 2013

And The Rains Came . . .

or BUMMER!

The rain really hit about 6am this morning and it quickly became obvious that my caulking job yesterday didn’t fix the problem. It might have reduced it some but it’s hard to really tell.

I guess I’ll have to actually get up on the roof and see if it’s really leaking in up higher and running down under the roof. But I would think that I would see some indication of that inside the rig.

One thing that may complicate things is that our big awning is mounted along there and forms a trough that runs right below the roof seam. So the water may be backing up somewhere along there.

But it’s all got to wait until the rains pass on.

Yesterday, before the rains came, we had a large attendance at Jan’s feeders.

The many wild ducks, in this case male and female Mallards are new this year. Also new, although they don’t come to the feeder, are the White Ibis, Ibises, Ibi, whatever.

Anyway, there’s a lot of them and you can see them in the background in this photo.

Ducks and Ibisies

Here’s a closeup of one of the male Mallard ducks.

Green Headed Duck

Ibises

Ibis 1

While Jan got her veggie soup started I headed out for a few errands.

My first stop was at one client’s to do some work for another. I needed to make 36 copies of a catalog DVD, and one of my other clients has a 1 to 11 duplicator that looks like this.

Produplicator

You put in your master DVD in the top drive, put in up to 11 blanks, push the Start button, and off it goes. If you need more than 11 copies, you can put in the master, press the Load button, and it copies the master into RAM. Then you can place a blank disc in the top drive and make 12 copies at a time, as many as you need.

Then it was on to the next client to deliver his DVD’s. Done.

Finally heading home about 4pm, I stopped off at the feed store to pick up the deer corn which had come in.

Getting home, I opened the rig door to the wonderful smell of Jan’s delicious soup. YUMMM!


January 8, 2014

‘Raylan’ is Back . . .

One of our favorite shows is “Justified” on FX, and last night was the beginning of the 5th season. Raylan Givens, a Deputy US Marshall out of Eastern Kentucky, is a character created by famed writer Elmore Leonard, and brought to life by actor Timothy Olyphant. You’re never sure what will happen next,  but you can be sure the body count will be high,

With all the cold weather around the country, especially in areas that aren’t used to the low temps, I remember the time we spent in Fairbanks, AK in 2008 and how people reacted differently to the temps.

2008 was a cold summer in Fairbanks. We had 1 day in the 80’s – 81 on the 4th of July, 12 days in the 70’s, and the rest in the 50 and 60’s. When the temps were in the 50’s, you would have some people in parkas, and some people in shorts and T-shirts. Our granddaughter Piper who visited us in July couldn’t understand why she was bundled up in a heavy coat, and people were jet-skiing on the Chena River in their bathing suits.

I told her it’s all what you’re used to. This was summer to the Alaskans and they weren’t going to miss out. Jan was an Air Force brat living in both Fairbanks and Anchorage. She said in school that they used to play outside until it got cooler than 20 below zero. It’s all what you’re used to.

As a follow-up on that idea, here’s a chart to compare people’s reaction to low temps around the country.

60° F: Arizonans shiver uncontrollably;
People in Buffalo, NY are still sunbathing.

50° F: Californians try to turn on the heat;
People in Buffalo plant gardens.

40° F: Californian’s Italian sports cars won’t start;
People in Buffalo drive with the windows down.

32° F: Distilled water freezes;
Lake Erie water gets thicker.

20° F: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats;
People in Buffalo throw on a light jacket.

15° F: People in Buffalo have the last cookout before it gets cold.

0° F: All the people in Phoenix die.
Buffalonians close the windows.

10° below: Californians fly away to Mexico .
zero             The Girl Scouts in Buffalo are selling cookies door to door.

25° below: Hollywood disintegrates;
zero            People in Buffalo get out their winter coats.

40° below: Washington, DC runs out of hot air;
zero            People in Buffalo let the dogs sleep indoors.

100° below: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
zero              Buffalonians get frustrated because they can’t start the car.

460° below: All atomic motion stops (absolute zero);
zero               People in Buffalo start saying, “Cold enough for ya?”

500° below: Hell freezes over.
zero               The Bills win the Super Bowl.


January 8, 2015

Gone, Gone, Gone . . .

Well, it made it down to 25 degrees this morning, and didn’t get back above freezing until almost 11am. Since this was expected, I didn’t even hook up water when we got here yesterday. But since it’s supposed to stay in the mid-30’s at night for the next week or so, I did connect us up this afternoon

I’ve got a lot of stuff I want to do outside around the rig, but the weather is either cold or rainy, or cold AND rainy, so that’s kind of on hold. I want to get up on the roof again and get the rest of the drilling mud off, now that I know that vinegar will cut it.

And I also want to try out the new toy that I bought myself for Christmas. When we stayed with Chris and Charles Yust for a few days on their lot at the Livingston Escapees Park, I borrowed Charles’ pressure washer trying to get drill mud off. And although it didn’t help with that, I really liked the unit for washing and waxing the rig. So I bought me one.

Karcher Pressure Washer2

It’s a Karcher K2.360, 1600 psi, with a built-in detergent tank and a lot of accessories. And even better it was really marked down at Wal-Mart right before Christmas

One of the other things I want to do outside is repair the AC in our truck, now that I know what’s wrong with it. It’s not like we need it right now, but with Texas weather you never can tell. I’ve seen it in the 20’s one day and in the 80’s a few days later.

Last up, thanks to our son Chris, and all his hard work, we are finally storeroomless, or the first time in 20 years. As I mentioned before, we rented a 10’ x 25’ storeroom in August of 1994 to store household furniture for a few months while we remodeled the house. And it just never went away, because it was just too convenient to stick stuff out of the way there.

But finally it’s gone,  gone, gone.

Thanks again, Chis.


January 8, 2016

A Walk in Two Parts . . .

Jan and I headed out for our walkabout 11:30, but after the top loop, about 3/4 of a mile, Jan wanted to stop for a while. Her back was bothering her from all her cleaning yesterday, so we stopped and sat outside with our coffee and breakfast bread for about 30 minutes. Then we did the bottom loop for an additional 1/2 mile for our usual total of about 1.25 miles.

So I guess tomorrow or Sunday we’ll make the jump to 1.5 miles

Later in the afternoon I took a look at my door problem. While we were on the gate, one of the wind gusts caught the door and slammed it back. After that it was much more difficult to close and lock the door.

At the time I figured that the main door hinges had been torqued or bent, but when I really got into it, I discovered that the real problem was with the screen door and its hinges, and not the main door.

When I got a closer look, I found that the top hinge was cracked and this was throwing the door out of whack.

Cracked Screen Door Hinge_thumb[2]

So it looks like I’ll need to order new hinges for the screen door, since I don’t think this one can be repaired. Even though only the top one appears to be cracked, I’ll replace them both so they’ll match.

Shouldn’t be too difficult to remove the door and replace the hinges, but like a car door, it may take a little fiddling to get it aligned.

A little before 4pm, Jan and I headed up to Ellinger to meet up with a bunch of RV’ers for the Friday night BBQ Buffet. This place is a must-eat at least once during every stay here at Colorado River Thousand Trails. And this time we had 14 RV’ers, including a newbie couple that just bought their camper a week or so ago.

Peter's BBQ Dinner Group_thumb[1]

Starting at the back left, it’s Roy and Nancy (didn’t get their last name) Dennis and Rita Spriggs , Janice and Dave Evans, Jim & Claudia Horak, Rick & Janice Binns, my Jan, and Ed and Debi Hurlburt.

As usual when you get a bunch of RV’ers together, we did about as much talking as we did eating.  Well, maybe almost as much. Everyone talks about where they’ve been, what they’ve done, and where they’re going next. We had a great time with these old and new friends, and are looking forward to doing it again.

Getting back home, Jan and I got back into binge-watching our DVR’d TV shows, all from the time while we were on the gate. We only lack a couple of episodes of Once Upon  A Time, and then next will probably be Marvel: Agents of Shield.

Tomorrow’s up in the air, but will hopefully include celebrating our winning the $800+ Million PowerBall Lottery.


January 8, 2017

21°

Well, last night was even colder than the night before. The forecast was for 25° but here at the rig it got down to 21°

In fact when I went out to hook us back up to shore water this afternoon, I still had a couple of big chunks of ice from where the rig end of the hose had drained.

Ice in Water Bay

But by Tuesday the high’s supposed to by 81°. A 60 degree swing in two days, so just a typical Texas winter.

When we left for lunch about 1pm we noticed that our neighbors on the left of us were gone. They were here last night so I guess they left sometime this morning. Certainly were quiet about it, anyway.

Don’t know if they moved on, or got a gate somewhere else. The first part of December we were offered a 3 week gate in West, Texas paying $160 a day with $100 in travel money.

Only problem was that it was a 24/7 gate without a shack. Since we had dropped off all of our outside stuff, canopy, tarps, etc. at Brandi’s at Thanksgiving, so we’re really not set up for a gate like that anymore. But if it had had a shack we might have been tempted.

Since Sunday is Barth’s Turkey & Dressing/Fried Chicken Day, that was lunch for today.

Barth's Turkey & Dressing 3

Then it was on down to the HEB for gas and a car wash. But the car wash was still shut down after last night’s freeze so we’ll try again another day, probably tomorrow.

We had planned to head down to Beeville this afternoon for the 4pm showing of Passengers, but the tryptophan intervened and naps ensued. So maybe tomorrow.

In fact we’ve got Amazon orders coming in tomorrow, and we need to make a Wal-Mart run so we may lump it all together with the trip to Beeville for the movie and then dinner.

When we were at Wal-Mart a few days ago we picked up a new bed/scratching pad for Karma.

Petstages Perch

We had the original one since the Mister days, so it lasted 3 or 4 years. But it finally broke in two, cracked at the joint. It’s made from corrugated cardboard and comes with a packet of catnip to sprinkle in the little pockets.

Karma really likes it and spends a lot of time either scratching on it or just lying on it.


January 8, 2018

Pet Parade . . .

After being out all last week due to Jan’s illness it was actually good to be back at work today.

Of course I had a lot of stuff to catch up on, but the big problem was that right after I got in we found that the webserver email system had crashed completely. This means that no one gets a confirmation email for their order. Nor can we send out any emails on the company account.

I did finally get it limping back to life, but this problem has just reinforced my determination to get the Zen Cart shopping cart off this server and up on Godaddy. That way I can also set up the email there too and not have to worry about all this again.

It didn’t help things that workers were in and out of my office replacing the sheetrock ceiling that was damaged during Harvey, either.

Over the years we’ve come across a lot of RV’ers who travel with unusual pats – Ferrets, Nubian Pygmy Goats, Monkeys, Iguanas, large tortoises, a pot-belly pig, parrots and cockatoos, and even six large St. Bernard show dogs in a small camper. Watching them all come out was like watching a clown car.

And the Full-Time RV-traveling nurse I met at the hospital fits right into this. She and her husband travel with TWO ferrets and a Sugar Glider.

Sugar Glider 1

A Sugar Glider, like a flying squirrel, can glide from one side of the room (or coach) to the other.

Sugar Glider 2

But while flying squirrels are rodents, sugar gliders are actually marsupials like a kangaroo.

When I was a kid I had a pet flying squirrel that I raised from a baby. it was perfectly tame, and whenever I would walk out on the large screen-in porch where he usually stayed, he would swoop down and land on my shoulder waiting for a peanut or a piece of carrot. I could even take him outside and he never tried to get away. He would just ride around in my shirt pocket with his head poking up looking around.
I had him for 5 or 6 years until I gave him to a friend when we moved to South America.

And what was the name of my pet flying squirrel, you might ask?

Well, Rocky, of course.


January 8, 2020

Still Not Impressed . . .

We made another run at making chicken drumettes in our new Ninja Foodie Grill, and they were just as delicious as before. We really like this unit, and going to be trying some new recipes, including doing entire meals in the tray.

As I mentioned Jan had kept her old toaster oven in case she didn’t like the Ninja, or didn’t think that it would replace the oven, but I think she’s about decided it can go.

Once again, I’m not impressed.

Jan was prescribed an ointment by her dermatologist, so I thought I’d again compare GoodRx, SingleCare, and WalMart’s regular price, which in this case was $65.26.

SingleCare at WalMart was a little cheaper, at $60.97, with Kroger cheaper still, at $54.14.

Screenshot_SingleCare

But once again, GoodRx was the runaway winner, at $31.55 for WalMart, and $32.16 at Kroger.

Screenshot_GoodRx

As I said, I guess that’s what happens when you have to pay Martin Sheen and Charlie Sheen to be your spokesmen.

Earlier I had thought I might be able to crawl under the rig tomorrow and take another shot at fixing my oil leak by pulling the filter and adapter head and replacing the gasket once again. But it’s looking like a 50% chance of rain. so I’ll hold off for now. But the Saturday/Sunday timeframe looks good so far.

We’ll see.

As far as the rest of tomorrow, we plan on brunch at Snooze and then some shopping, and a trip by the storage room to drop off the Christmas decorations. And there’ll probably be a stop by the office as well.


January 8, 2022

Bigfoot Lives . . .

Jan and I had lunch at Spring Creek BBQ, our first visit in a while. Ribs and Brisket as delicious as always. Then it was next door to WalMart for a few things, though we were dodging the incoming thunderstorms during our in and out.

Amazon continues to amaze me, in both good and bad ways.

Since they opened their new warehouse right down the road in La Marque, more and more of our orders come the same day, between 5pm and 10pm, or the next morning, between 4am and 8am. But then sometimes they go off the rails.

On Thursday I ordered a new coffee bean grinder for us. We had a small one a few years back, but finally it burned out. We didn’t replace it since we were getting our beans ground at HEB where we bought them, specifically the Lola Savannah Texas Pecan with real pecan pieces.

HEB Lola Savannah Texas Pecan Coffee

But then early last year the pecan pieces disappeared from the HEB clear bags. At first I thought it might be CoVid-related, but when I called the company, which is here in Houston, they said that HEB had requested the removal.

Turns that HEB was worried about the pecans going through their grinders might affect people with nut allergies who use them afterward.

But the coffee was still good.

We did find that we could get the beans with the pecan pieces from Amazon, or directly from the company, but it was more expensive, and still needed to be ground. But recently our hand was forced.

It seems that HEB has stopped carrying Lola Savannah, or at least none of our 4 local HEB’s have it in stock any longer. So I decided to check Amazon again and found they had 2# bags for $27.50, only a couple of dollars a bag more than HEB’s price.

So Thursday I ordered us a new coffee grinder, a heavy-duty Cuisinart that will do half a pound of beans at a time,

Cuisinart Coffee Bean Grinder

Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill

and a 2# bag of the coffee, both of which were supposed to be here today.

But then yesterday the delivery date on the coffee changed from Saturday to January 15 – March 1. Not what I wanted to hear.

This morning our Cuisinart was delivered, as well as two packages for the people in Site #13. So what, the Prime driver couldn’t drive 6 more spaces? So when we left for lunch we dropped them off.

This is the 2nd time this has happened, though this is the first time with Amazon.

Then still wondering about the coffee delivery date change, I went back to the original order listing and found that if I ordered right now, it would now come between 5pm and 10pm tonight.

So I ordered it again, and then canceled the first order. And about 8pm tonight it showed up at our door. But I still don’t know what happened to the original order.

I also recently ordered some new Skechers shoes that were delivered yesterday, but will have to be returned since they’re too small.

The problem is that I inherited my father’s feet.

Nominally I wear an 8-3/4 EEEE. Yes, that’s 4 E’s in a row.

Or as my father described them, “Snowshoe Feet”. However they’re also really good for barefoot waterskiing too.

Obviously, shoes that actually fit are few and far between. I can sometimes find something close at the Red Wing shoe stores, though there’s not a lot of choice in styles, pretty much ‘ugly’ and ‘more ugly’.

So I usually make do with the widest width I can get, in something like a 9-1/2 to 10-1/2. Now the ones I just ordered were a 9-1/2 in an Extra Wide. But in this case a 9-1/2 wasn’t long enough and an Extra Wide wasn’t wide enough. So back they go to Amazon.

And Amazon made it really easy this time. I don’t even have to box them up. Just dropped them off at a UPS store, show them the QR code Amazon gave me, and I’m done.

Nice.

And I’ve got a new larger, wider pair on the way.


January 8, 2023

They’re Dead To Her . . .

First off, the Jeep’s engine has been repaired and is running fine.

But . . .   (Somehow you just knew there was a ‘But’ coming, didn’t you?)

there’s a wiring problem, probably a bad ground, that’s causing a Check Engine light due to wildly fluctuating oil pressure, going from 0 to 120 psi and then back to 0. However the actual pressure measured at the engine is fine, and pressure reading coming out of the oil pressure sensor is also fine, though they replaced the sensor just to be sure.

The problem seems to be between the sensor and the computer. Hopefully they’ll track it down soon. But our Old Faithful Dodge Dakota is still working fine.

Tomorrow I’ve got my possible Lumbar Fusion evaluation to see what’s what with my lower back, comparing my recent MRI/X-Rays with the ones taken a year ago. So I’ll know more tomorrow.

Lunch today was to assuage Jan’s hunger for Turkey & Dressing, but of course, not at Cracker Barrel.

As Jan says, they’re dead to her.

So today’s lunch was at Kelley’s Country Cooking, the one over in Alvin. Because unlike CB, Sunday is a Turkey & Dressing day at Kelley’s, just one of the Daily Specials.

Kelley's Alvin Menu

As planned, Jan got the Turkey & Cornbread Dressing, along with more Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans,

Kelley's Turkey and Dressing

while I got their enormous Country Fried Chicken Breast,

Kelley's Country Fried Chicken Bresst

along with Cornbread Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans.

Note that Chicken Breast actually hangs over the edge of the plate.

And everything was delicious.

Jan’s found her CB replacement.

Jumping back to yesterday . . .

We got to Brandi’s about 11 so I could do some updates on Landon’s Ender 3 Pro 3D printer. While for lunch Brandi set out a Charcuterie Board with some delicious tidbits.

Brandi Charcuterie Board

Of course, according to Facebook, Charcuterie is French for ‘I just touched all your food’. But I noticed that Brandi was wearing gloves as she laid it out.

And it was fantastic!

Then it was back to work.

First I installed a new glass print bed, which took only a couple of minutes since I just had to remove the old one and clip the new one into place.

Next up I replaced the filament stepper motor, the filament drive, and installed a knob to make it easier to load in new filament, giving me this.

Ender 3 Pro New Filament Stepper Motor

So first up was to print Jan a Flamingo.

It started out like this, laying out the base pattern.

Ender 3 Pro Flamingo Beginning Print

Which when done, and cut apart, looked like this.

Ender 3 Pro Flamingo End Print

And when snapped together, came out looking like this.

Ender 3 Pro Flamingo Final

And as you can see the neck is flexible.

We’ll probably do this again next Saturday since I’ve got some upgrades in mind.


January 8, 2024

They’re Coming For Your Cars, And Your Owls . . .

It seems that the government now wants to install speed limiters on all new cars.

National Transportation Safety Board Calls For Speed-Limiting Tech in Cars

Intelligent speed assistance technology, or ISA, uses a car’s GPS location compared with a database of posted speed limits and its onboard cameras to help ensure safe and legal speeds.

My Garmin GPS has a speed limit display on the screen from this database, and it’s often inaccurate, both showing a speed limit both above and before the actual limit shown on the street signs. So if you’re stopped for speeding, will the cop believe you when you tell him your car said it was OK?

Active systems include mechanisms that make it more difficult, but not impossible, to increase the speed of a vehicle above the posted speed limit and those that electronically limit the speed of the vehicle to fully prevent drivers from exceeding the speed limit.

And what about the speed differential between old cars with no limiter and new cars with one. Can you imagine how the owner of a brand-new Corvette feels tooling along at 65mph, while all the old cars are bombing past him at 80+ mph, like they do every day on I-45?

As the NTSB notes, some 12,330 people died in speeding-related crashes in 2021 alone, roughly a third of all traffic deaths in the U.S.

So maybe it might be worthwhile to see what causes the other 2/3 of the traffic deaths.

But wait, there’s more!

If you can’t speed limit older cars, just take them away from the owners and junk them.

The EU Wants to SEIZE Your Old Car to Meet Climate Goals

Coming soon to the US?

The EU has something called End-of-life vehicles directive, and they are looking to expand this to become so draconian that it reminds of something that would have happened in the Communist Soviet Union.

A new set of criteria will be established that will decide whether you will be allowed to keep your car. If your car does not meet the criteria, the EU will seize your car and scrap it.

One of the criteria is that if your car has missed it’s regular EU checkup for two years, then it is considered to be “waste” and they will scrap it.

If the cost of repairing your car exceeds the value of your car, then the EU will seize it and scrap it for you. Very nice of them…

There is an exception however for cars that are more than 30 years old. But they have to be original. Meaning that if you put a different engine in it than original and your car hasn’t been through an EU control check within the last two years, then they will scrap it!

Meaning that many older cars will be considered “waste” by the EU and they will SEIZE your car and scrap it for you – All under the excuse of recycling and meeting climate goals.

Again, coming soon to the US?

And now they want to kill owls to save owls.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Killing One Type Of Owl To Save Another In Northern California

Killing one species to save another sounds like a drastic solution, but that’s exactly what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is doing in California to protect the Spotted Owl from a predator that happens to be its distant cousin, the Barred Owl.

On the Hoopa Indian Reservation near the Oregon border, it’s owl country, but not the kind Mark Higley wants to see.

The tribe’s resident biologist is tracking an invasive species from the east called the barred owl. “Up to the ridge line we have been getting barred owl responses,” he said.

At first the birds were a novelty, but now they’re a huge problem because they are taking over the nesting territory of the native spotted owl, a threatened species. Spotted owl numbers have dropped as much as 80-percent in just the last 20 years.

It’s all part of an experiment recently approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The plan is to kill 3,600 barred owls over the next four years in California, Oregon, and Washington.

Mark admits it’s not easy. “Oh it’s awful, I mean I am a biologist, the barred owl is a wonderful species, it’s a spectacular bird. The only reason I am doing this is that I feel it’s an invasive species,” he said.

So this fall he plans to be on the front lines again, killing one bird to save another.

So how many spotted owls are going to be killed by accident, mistaken for barred owls up the trees?

Just remember –

It’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature.

OR

Some animals are more equal than others.

OR

“We had to kill the owls to save them”