1,000 Foot Ore Freighter, Soo Locks, MI

1,000 Foot Ore Freighter, Soo Locks, MI

Near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia

Near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia

Colorful Truck Sales, Weed, CA

Colorful Truck Sales, Weed, CA

Hollywood Sign

Hollywood Sign

Mackinac Bridge, MI

Mackinac Bridge, MI

Pelicans, Grays Harbor, WA

Pelicans, Grays Harbor, WA

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Now That’s More Like It . . .


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Our drive over to Sugarland was, as I hoped, about 30 minutes shorter, even though it was actually about 5 miles further. But it was a rainy mess the entire way.

And of course. our first stop was the Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in First Colony Mall where we started with our usual small Apple Walnut Salad. And unlike the skimpy version on a plate we got for our last visit at the Baybrook location,

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

We were back to our full bowl as we’ve had in the past. So we get two servings each, and still have some to bring home.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

And our 18†Don pizza was also a big improvement from the one we had last time, which looked like this.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

In fact it was so disappointing that we complained and got a discount on it.

But this is what we got today.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Now that’s more like it.

And as I’ve said before, we always get the 18†so we have half to take home for tomorrow night.

Though it was raining hard while we ate, it had cleared by the time we were back out at the Jeep and on our way over to Trader Joe’s, the real reason we were here.

Jan finishing up, we were back on our way home,with the same rainy mess we had on the way over.

* * * * *

Though tomorrow is another nice stay-at-the-rig-day, the weekend is shaping upto be a full one.

Saturday we’re going to check out a Gourmet Hot Dog Food Truck over in Bacliff. Called Doggone Crazy,their menu is really unique.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

With Sourdough buns, Pretzel Buns, and Poppy Seed Buns, along with premium All Beef Franks, Beer Brats, and Jalapeno Cheddar links, and every topping you can think of, you’ve pretty much got the gambit of hot dog goodness.

Can’t wait.

* * * * *

Then on Sunday, we’re meeting Brandi, et al. up at the Monument Inn on the Houston Ship Channel. Though we ate therea lot back in the 80’s, the last time we were here was back in 2012 when we met Rudy and Caroline Legett there. Don’t know how itfell off our radar, because it was always good.

And not only is the food delicious, but the views of the Ship Channel are neat too.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Looking forward to seeing the kids too.


Thought For The Day:

I really do try to see the best in people. But seriously, some of you are making it really,really hard.

And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™


January 30, 2011

Croissants and Armadillo Eggs . . .

10 Days and Counting . . .

Hot coffee and warm, flakey croissants started off this morning.

The croissants were from the gift we got from Brandi and Lowell at Christmas, a box of Williams-Sonoma Croissants.

These croissants are fantastic, so good, in fact, that they’re on the list of Oprah’s Favorites.

WSCroissants

They come out looking like this, but they start as little frozen logs. There were two types in our box, plain and chocolate-filled. And both are delicious.

They’re shipped overnight, frozen in a Styrofoam container. You let them thaw out and rise for 9 hours and then pop them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or 13 minutes in our convection oven. They come out crispy, flakey, and fantastic.

After finally getting moving, we left the rig about noon heading back to the storeroom we’re trying to empty out.

BudgetTruck

We spent the afternoon going through the last of my mother’s boxes of papers and photos, bringing back a lot of memories at the same time. As we sorted through things, we placed the stuff we wanted to save in plastic tubs for storage.

Between the consignment shop and Goodwill, we got rid of the last of the furniture yesterday. Then tomorrow we’ll take the washer and dryer to a used appliance store to get rid of them, and we’ll be finished, except for putting the plastic storage tubs in our other storeroom.

Finishing up about 3:30 pm we headed back to the rig, stopping off at Wal-Mart for supplies.

We got home a little before 5, just in time to get ready to go out for dinner with Eldy Tompkins and Jeannie Sparks. They’re parked two spaces down from us, and ended up here at Galveston Bay RV Park after reading about the park on our blog. We first met them last September when they were vendors ata rallyin Elkhart, IN, where they were selling the line of Tastefully Simple products. We bought several of the dip mixes, and really liked them.

We had decided on T-Bone Tom’s, a local steakhouse restaurant that has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. We ate there several times years ago and never really cared for their BBQ. But after watching Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, we found out they’re really known for their steaks, homemade sausage, and their Armadillo Eggs.

Armadillo Eggs

Armadillo Eggs are about the size of a tennis ball, and are made by hollowing out a jalapeno, stuffing it full of sliced BBQ brisket, rolling it in two kinds of flour, and then breading it in panko crumbs. They are then deep-fried to order, and they are delicious!

For our entrée, we all had steaks. I had the rib-eye, Jan had the sirloin, Eldy had the T-Bone, and I’m not sure what Jeannie had. But we all thought they were great. Then even though we were all stuffed, we couldn’t resist their desserts. Jeannie and Eldy split the Strawberry Daiquiri Cheesecake, and Jan and I split the Homemade Bread Pudding. But by the time the dessert came, Jan decided she was just too full, so I had some and then we brought the rest home.

We had a great time talking and getting to know each other. We sat there talking for about two hours, and hope to be able to do it again before we leave. If not, we’ll be seeing them at the rally in Yuma, AZ starting the 7th of March.

On another note, we’ve got some really cold temperatures coming in the next several days. Just more Texas weather.

Tonight and tomorrow night the temperature is in the high 50’s / low 60’s. Then Tuesday night the low is supposed to be 27 degrees. And the next 3 nights are supposed to be in the high 20’s too.


January 30, 2012

Hats and Hooter’s . . .

The Latest Landon Pics!

Handsome Landon 2

He’s really proud of his new hat.

Handsome Landon 1

This morning started early. Instead of just getting up about 10, I was up, coffeed, and out the door by then.

I had spent the weekend cleaning up a mailing list and printing out thousandsof labels so my client could get them on the flyers and out the door by this coming Wednesday

I also wanted to get back on updating and moving his UPS shipping program to a new computer.

But this was not to be. Exporting the database out to a file was no problem, but when I went to install the new 2012 version of the UPS Shipping program, I found out the 450 MB file I had spent an hour downloading a week ago, was glitched and would not execute. Bummer!

Don’t know what the problem was, because it seemed to download OK.

I think I’ll go over to another client’s office tomorrow and re-download it there. They’ve got a 6 Mbps line while this client only has a 1.5 Mbps one.

I’ve also got a new computer to install in the graphics department where they do the paper catalogs. But I have to wait for the lady to pull everything she wants to keep off the old one.

During this time I was also on the phone with RV Mobile Lube setting up an appointment for a tech to come out next Wednesday and service our rig. They were last here two years ago, and it’s about that time again.

They handle rigs in the Houston, Dallas, and Texas Hill Country area, and come to your site in a big step van and change your engine oil, transmission oil, and all filters, and hit any chassis lube points. And they do the same for your Onan generator.

I had them use the Transynd synthetic transmission fluid last time and will do it again. Although it adds about $170 to the cost, after it’s done twice, it reinstates some of Allison’s warranty coverage, and I won’t have to have it serviced again for 75,000 miles, about 8 years for us.

Another nice thing is that they keep your service records online so you can keep track of your service intervals. (You can click this shot to enlarge it.)

Click to Enlarge

They should be here about 8 am, and based on last time, it takes a couple of hours.

I got back to the rig about 5pm, and then Jan and I headed up to Seabrook to have dinner at the Hooter’s there. It was time for our hot wing fix and this is the place for it.

But, on a more disturbing note, I’m afraid Hooter’s may be going upscale. They now have a podium just inside the entrance, and one of the young ladies seats you at your table and gives you the menus. What are things coming to?

I don’t know about you, but upscale service is NOT what I come to Hooter’s for!

Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s the wings, of course.


January 30, 2013

Cartoons and Artwork . . .

We didn’t do much today. Just hunkered down and hoped we wouldn’t blow away.

Due to the cold front coming through, yesterday’s high was 74, today’s was 58, we had high winds most of the day. At one point, the Weather Channel said the wind was blowing at 25 mph, with gusts to 40. Talk about Rock N Roll. And it’s supposed to go down to the mid-30’s tonight.

Our friend Gina posted this cartoon on Facebook that tells the story about Weather in Texas.

Weather in Texas

Worked on a few projects, mostly today. Printed out 1200 address labels for a client, and decided that I want to redo the tie-downs for the strings at the bottom of the Day/Night Shades. This is because this is where at least two of my shade’s strings were broken. It looks like that over time the strings are rubbed in two.

But the good news is that it looks like I may not have to completely restring the last two shades because the strings just broke at the tie-downs. I’ll fool with it tomorrow.

The new Denso 26†wiper blades I ordered Monday from Amazon came in at Brandi’s today, so I’ll pick them up tomorrow and get them installed. I’ll probably use Rain-X wipers on the toad again. Those, along with using Rain-X Wiper Fluid, seem to do a good job of keeping the windshield clean and non-squeaky.

My very talented great-niece Stahlie posted some of her recent artwork today.

Stahlie's Art

Although it looks like it might be done in oils, it’s actually done on the computer using Autodesk Sketchbook.

A commenter asked if it was done in watercolors. Stahlie said “No, she doesn’t do watercolors because they don’t have an “Undo†button.â€

I like the way she thinks.

For dinner we finished off the homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup from a couple of days ago. Still very good.

Tomorrow night we’re getting together with Lillis and Dick Palmer again for dinner at King Food.

Then on Friday night, it’s probably our last visit to the Alvin Opry.

Busy, busy, busy!


January 30, 2014

Getting in on the ground floor . . .

Jan and I spent the morning going through stuff so we could get everything out of the front of the rig so Chris and I can start putting down the new flooring tomorrow morning. And as many readers have requested, I will be posting before, during, and after photos.

About 3 PM Jan and I headed out for our daughter Brandi’s up in Katy. Jan will be staying there for several days while our son Chris and I do the floor. On our way we stopped off at Sam’s Club to pick up a couple of prescriptions.

I was kind of worried about the traffic on the way, but it seemed we were able to stay just ahead of it all the way there. And we timed it perfectly, getting there just a minute before Lowell and Landon showed up.

Brandi showed up about 30 minutes later bearing dinner from a local Mexican grilled marinated chicken place. We’ve had this once before, and it’s really good, especially the spicy tomatillo sauce. Very good.

Landon has his own iPad and spends a lot of time learning and playing on it.

Landon and his iPad

I said my goodbyes a little before 7 finally getting back to the rig a little after 8 PM. I spend the rest of the evening getting things ready for tomorrow.

More from the floor tomorrow.


January 30, 2015

Under Pressure . . .

Jansetout some croissants last night to thaw and rise for this morning. So about 11had warm Williams-Sonoma Chocolate Croissants and hot coffee, and spent the next couple of hours catching up on things, along with a lot of laughing.

Later in the afternoon, I finally unboxed and assembled my new Karcher Pressure Washer that I bought myself right before Christmas.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

I really like the one Charles Yust has, and decided that I needed one too. Wal-Mart had this one on sale right before Christmas for $89.95, marked down from $129.95, a real deal.

It has a tank that can hold detergent or car wax, so I might try it with vinegar to get more of the drilling mud off the rig roof. I also want to see how it will work on the rig’s wheels. So depending on what the weather does tomorrow morning, I may give it a try on the rig or toad. It’s supposed to rain some tomorrow, so we’ll see how it goes.

About 4:15 we all headed down to Peter’s BBQ to check out their Friday Night BBQ Buffet. Although our friends had eaten there before, this was their first time for the buffet. As usual it was delicious. I mean, how can all the BBQ, sides, and desserts you can eat, be anything but?

There were also a number of other RV’ers there that we chatted with for a few minutes. We had invited our friend Randy to go with us, but he was already getting together with his family.

Tomorrow we’re going into the Houston area to stop off at Brandi’s before we all have dinner at Little V’s Vietnamese Bistro.


January 30, 2016

Do I Smell Brownies?

Although Jan was back to normal this morning, we decided no to walk today, and just start fresh Monday morning over at the Colorado River Thousand Trails in Columbus. And since we leave for Columbus tomorrow morning, Sunday’s out too.

In addition, we were also going over to Janice and Dave Evans about 1pm. Janice wanted me to take a look at some computer problems she was having. Things like, strange popups and messages, changing homepages, and slow-downs.

I started out by running the free version of SuperAntiSpyware which found a number of browser add-ons that were probably causing the ‘Search’ popups and other stuff. Then as a double-check, I also ran the free Malwarebytes AntiMalware to catch anything that the first one missed.

Then it was on to CCleaner and Glary Utilities to clean out the ‘gunk’ in the registry and other areas to speed things up. When that was all wrapped up, we all piled into Janice and Dave’s SUV and headed down to the Potatoe Patch restaurant in the FM-1960 area for linner.

Based on what we heard, and what we read on the Net, it’s kind of a Lambert’s Throwed Rolls clone.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

And it is, to a point. At least it’s kind of a mini, scaled-down version.

Rather than the four ‘endless’ pass-around’s at Lambert’s – onion fried potatoes, fried okra, macaroni & tomatoes, and black-eyed peas, here you get a single large serving of fried okra and fried green tomatoes.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

But these are both very, very good, especially the fried green tomatoes. Unlike any we’ve had before, these are very thinly sliced and almost crispy fried like potato chips, but not too crunchy. Really just perfect.

My Jan had the Chicken Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Mac N Cheese,

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

while I had the Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Corn on the Cob.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Dave’s Jan had the same Chicken Fried Chicken, but with Sweet Potatoes and Cole Slaw, while Dave went with the Beef Liver and Onions with Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach.

They did have ‘throwed rolls’, but following the scaled-down Lambert’s theme, they’re a little smaller, and they don’t throw them near as far.

Unlike Lambert’s large softball-sized ones, PP’s are about the size of a hardball. But they’re both soft and puffy yeast rolls, and taste pretty much the same, and that’s very good.

But they do kind of wimp out on the whole ‘roll throwing’ thing.

Rather than an overhand throw of 50 feet from one end of the dining room to the other like I’ve seen at Lambert’s, here it’s more of an underhand toss from 10 – 15 feet away.

But I guess if you call yourself the ‘Home of the throw’d rolls’ as PP does, you’ve gotta get’em at least a little airborne to use the phrase.

One thing that might be influencing the whole underhand, overhand thing is the fact that the ceilings at Lambert’s are more than twice as high as the ones at PP’s, so it’s hard to get a good high arc on the long-distance ones here.

I did try to get the roll guy to throw me one from about 30 feet away, but he wimped out and walked a lot closer before he would toss me one.

But all in all, it was very good food, and we’ll definitely go back, hopefully soon.

Friend and blog reader Jim Hamm sent over this article about medical marijuana being a big help in treating migraines, in some cases dropping the frequency from more than 10 per month to less than 5 a month.

http://www.livescience.com/53461-medical-marijuana-reduces-migraine-frequency.html?cmpid=NL_Health_weekly_2016-01-24

Do I smell brownies in my future?

Tomorrow we’ll head for Columbus and the Colorado River TT about 10am for the next two weeks. And as has been our routine lately, we’ll have breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Conroe before we leave here. We’ll be ready to roll before we go eat, and only have to bring in the slide, unhook shore power, and then crank up and go when we get back.


January 30, 2017

The Vicissitudes . . .

Of Texas weather.

Two nights ago it got down to 31 degrees here at the gate. There was enough moisture in the air that the shack railings were covered in a thin layer of ice. And when I went to leave for home about 5:15am I found a heavy layer of hard ice on the truck windshield. Heavy enough that I actually had to scrape it off with an ice scraper.

And why do I have an ice scraper? Well, our late friend Gina Ellis gave me one years ago. After being a paramedic, an EMT, and a police sergeant, she ended up as a Fraud Investigator for American National Insurance, headquartered in Galveston, TX.

Now why an insurance company in Galveston would be giving out logo-branded ice scrapers, I don’t know. But it’s certainly come in handy over the years.

But never in south Texas before.

Then yesterday and today it hit 80 degrees.

For lunch today we had our leftovers from our visit to Maya Mexican Restaurant a few days ago. Jan had the Chicken Poblano and I had the Verde Chicken Enchiladas. Still delicious.

Then for dessert, we sampled some of Jan’s latest batch of chili. She did it a little differently this time so we were both anxious to try some.

Normally she’ll get 5 pounds of ground beef and cook it up with some onions in the electric skillet outside on the picnic table so it doesn’t smell up and grease up the rig. Then we vacuum-seal it and freeze it until it’s needed.

But this time we got a pound of extra-lean ground beef (only 7% fat) and put it straight in the crockpot with some fresh chopped onions. After letting it cook and brown some, she then added her regular chili ingredients. And it turned out to be a really great batch, very hot and spicy.

Jan brought me into work this afternoon, so she can come back in tomorrow morning to work the day shift here at the gate. Then I’ll go home and come back at 5:30 to let her go home. Then we’ll do the same thing on Wednesday.

Karma was really enjoying the warm sun this afternoon. She spent most of the time sound asleep in the living room window.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Catnapping, I guess.


January 30, 2018

Big Winner . . .

First thing this morning I went outside to take a look at a truck problem For the last few weeks, my oil pressure gauge has been going wacky.

At least I assume it’s the gauge/oil pressure sender unit since I can drive for long distances with the gauge setting on zero. So unless I have a ‘magic’ engine that can run for hours with no oil pressure, then it’s either the sensor or the wiring.

I’m eliminating the gauge itself since when it drops to zero, I also get a CHECK GAGE light, which means the light is also getting bad info.

But today I was trying to check the easiest possible problem – a dirty/intermittent wiring harness connector. The sensor/connector is located on the lower driver’s side of the engine right about the oil filter. I don’t have any ramps or jacks, but I was hoping I could get under the truck to unplug the connector and spray it with Strike-Hold.

But I couldn’t get far enough underneath to reach the plug. In the past, I’ve driven the truck up on a curb to raise one side enough to get underneath. But no curbs here at the park. I’ll have to check with our son Chris to see if I can run by and have him take a shot at it. Plus he has jacks and ramps.

If I have to replace the sensor it gets a little more complicated. Since the sensor is sticking into the oil itself, you’ve got to be REALLY fast removing the old one and replacing it with the new one.

Otherwise you need to drain the oil first. So it would be nice to have cleaning the connector fix the problem.

After calling to be sure she was working today, about 12:30 we headed up to Pasadena to see our friend Julie and have lunch at the Monterey’s Little Mexico where she works.

We’ve known Julie for years, when she worked at the Monterey’s down here in Dickinson. But that location was taken out by Hurricane Harvey, and won’t reopen until sometime in March. Hopefully.

Right before we got on I-45 we made a stop at the HEB to get gas. I’m not sure what’s going on in the oil market, but gas had jumped another 10 cents a gallon since yesterday.

And to think it was just $1.93 right before Christmas.

Of course I never go to Monterey’s that I don’t get their fantastic Chicken Tortilla Soup, and so I did this time. Jan however went a little different, getting their Chicken Ixtapa, a grilled chicken breast with sautéed veggies and charro beans.

Saying our goodbyes and coming back home we made a stop at the HEB again, this time for a few things, and to check my lottery ticket. But as I looked around I didn’t see the Lotto machine. Turns out that HEB is out of the lottery business, and has removed the machines.

So where was I supposed to cash in my Big Winner $2 ticket?


January 30, 2019

This All You Get Tonight . . .

Pretty much all my workday was consumed with trying to get the website configured for our upcoming February sale.

Hopefully the ad banners and all the sale item’s prices will magically change over on the website at midnight on 1 February and then go away at midnight on 1 March. I hope.

For some reason every time I try to post this blog, it gets truncated to only about 10 lines. So this is all you get tonight, I guess.


January 30, 2020

If Goofy Is A Dog, What Is Pluto?

I’m sure most of you heard about the big explosion at the factory here in Houston last Friday morning. Occurring at about 4:15am, it unfortunately killed two employees who had come in early to use the exercise facilities. It was very lucky that the blast didn’t happen a couple of hours later, because then the entire workforce would have been on site.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

The strength of the blast totaled almost 50 homes, and damaged almost 300 more, with debris found over a mile away. And the sound of the explosion was heard much further away.

Our daughter Brandi was awake at the time and heard the blast. And she lives almost 15 miles from the site. She said all the dogs even started barking at the same time too.

But wait, there’s more.

Brandi works as an Inside Broker for CRC Insurance, the largest commercial insurance and reinsurance company in the country. And as it turns out, her company is the brokerage for both Watson Grinding and Manufacturing and Watson Valve Services. The two companies are (or were) located side by side, and are under the same corporation, but are actually separate companies with separate insurance policies.

At this time authorities are still not sure which company’s building caused the blast.

And on another strange coincidence, Brandi’s husband Lowell, who is a Shipping Booker for AAACooper Transportation, said that both these two companies are customers and he calls on them regularly.

I mentioned the other day about a free streaming service called Pluto TV. There are native apps for it both on our Samsung TV and my new Amazon Firestick 4K unit, or you can just go to PlutoTV.com on your computer.

One thing I noticed on Pluto TV is how sharp the old programs are. We were watching one of the classic TV channels that was showing Dennis The Menace. It was crystal-clear sharp, like it had been filmed yesterday, but in B&W.

And the other thing was that it was still funny. Probably a lot funnier than today’s shows will be in 60 years.

Finally, another good source for streaming cable channels is USGOTV. Pretty much everything is available on here, from A&E to WeTV. And more.

Check it out.


January 30, 2021

Squirting The Cat. . .

This afternoon Jan and I decided to check out the latest Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch place here in our area – Eggcellence.

The one we went to is across from Baybrook Mall and has been there for a while. But there’s another one coming in right down the Interstate in the old Steak and Shake location. And when I asked if this one was going to close when the other one opened, they said No.

The main reason we came today is because Jan saw they had a Greek Omelet, one of Jan’s favorites. And she said it was delicious.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Jan said we’re coming back just for this alone.

I had the Texas Sampler with two eggs, bacon, ham, and sausage, with fruit instead of hash browns. Also really, really good.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

And we both had a large glass of their Squeezed To Order Orange Juice. Really good, and really expensive, at $6 a glass. So probably a one-time thing.

We decided that Eggcellence will replace the Toasted Yolk Café in our dining repertoire. We’ve triedthe Yolka couple of times without being especially impressed.

Long live the new King.

After our meal we headed over to the nearby UPS store to drop off our DirecTV DVR to be returned. And it went just as they said.

I gave them the unit, my DTV account number, and my last name, they printed me out a receipt, and I was done.

Nice.

Looks like we’re getting an Amazon Delivery Station right down the Interstate from us. Delivery stations are different from warehouses, in that orders are sent from the big warehouses to local stations where they’re then put on the delivery vans for the ‘last mile’ delivery as they call it.

One thing this means is that we should be able to get more ‘order by 9am’, same day deliveries. Neat!

Miss Karma is just about back to normal but she’s still not very happy about the ‘whole syringe squirting antibiotic in her mouth’ thing. I told her it’s for her own good, but I don’t think she’s buying it.


January 30, 2022

A New Game In Town . . .

Today was an easy one, with lunch at Pho Barr up in Webster and then a quick HEB stop on the way home.

We did find out that their new location down in our area is supposed to open ‘next month’. What we didn’t find out is if ‘next month’ was 2 days from now, in February. Or if they were actually talking about March.

I guess we’ll see.

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog about our Kroger’s Prescription Plan which has saved us a lot of money over our previous plans with WalMart/Sam’s. It costs us $72 per year, and covers Jan, myself, and Karma the Cat. Besides human prescriptions, we can also get discounts on vet drugs too.

Though Kroger’s works through GoodRX, the discounts are much better than you can get through the free Standard GoodRX app, or even their $20 per month Gold family plan. And as I said, Kroger’s version is only $6 per month, or $72 a year.

But now there’s a new game in town in the drug business. Cost Plus Drugs, a new online drug supplier, started by Mark Cuban of Shark Tank/Dallas Mavericks fame, promises to shake up the prescription drug market. And this includes possibly building their own factories to keep the costs down.

I did compare a couple of their prices against our Kroger’s prices, and Kroger’s came out a little ahead. The Metformin that Jan takes is $5.90 on Cost Plus, but free under Kroger’s plan. And my high blood pressure meds are $7.50 under Cost Plus, and $6 from Kroger’s.

I’ll keep checking back and let you know.


January 30, 2023

He’s Gone Electric . . .

I was on my way up to the Webster area by 10:30 this morning for my 11:20 appointment with my dermatologist, Dr. Joe. As it turns out, Dr. Joe, is his ‘official’ nickname, because his real one is Dr. Narin Apisarnthanarax.

Hence, Dr. Joe.

And after liquid nitrogen freezing a number of spots on my head, he said that he thought I should have the dreaded Photo Dynamic Therapy again, and reminded me it had been 5 years since my last treatment.

So 3 weeks from today, I’ll have my head grilled to Extra Crispy once again.

Ouch!

Before I left I did circle around back again to see what Dr. Joe’s driving this time. And it looks like he’s gone Electric.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

That’s a Tesla Model X SUV that has 1020 Peak Horsepower, will do the 1/4 mile in 9.9 seconds, and 0-60 in 2.5.

Wow!

Dermatology and Plastic Surgery pays really well.

One thing new I noticed on my way up to Dr. Joe’s was this full-blown drill rig just about 1/2 mile off I-45.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

And they’ve even got 4 crew trailers around back.

Wonder if they need gate guards? Sure would be a short commute.

Tomorrow I’m dropping Jan off at Brandi’s for the next 5 days so she can Landon-sit until Brandi gets back from her business trip on Saturday.

Just me and Karma now.


January 30, 2024

Stendhal Syndrome . . .

Since the weather was nice fora changetoday, I went out about 12:30 to replace my wonky RV Water Pump.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

It was actually pretty easy, just two wire nuts and the in and out pipes.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

The wire between the two connectors covered in black tape is the ‘hot wire’ I hooked up to get my old pump working temporarily during the recent freeze.

And here is the new pump installed.

Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

Doesn’t look a lot different, does it?

Interestingly, the pump is actually installed upside down. It has to be because that’s the only way the IN/OUT pipes will connect up correctly. And the pump is not really fastened down. It just lieson the pipes underneath it, held in place by the IN/OUT pipes.

One thing new is that I read in the instructions to not use Teflon tape on the water connections. Which is strange since the original water pump came with the tape on it to start with.

Stendhal Syndrome

Jan and I knew the feeling, we just didn’t know there was a name for it.

It’s an actual Syndrome with symptoms that may include dizziness, elevated heart rate, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, fainting, confusion, and even hallucinations after exposure to impressively beautiful art or architecture as a tourist.

First observed amidthe many‘embarrassment of artistic riches’ inFlorence, Italy,

We first commented on this when we were traveling through Canada on our way to Alaska in 2008. Everyturn brought an even more amazing view, that happened over and over, until it was actually tiring in a way.

You began to look forward to a junkyard, a strip mine, or even an ugly billboard. Anything to break up the monotony of endless overwhelming beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temu And AliExpress . . .


Remember, to access our blog links,
Right-Click on The Link and Select ‘Open in New Tab’

Over the last year or so, I’ve given you a number of warnings about Temu.

See below:

By now probably most of you have seen the myriad of ads/commercials for Temu, showing all the cheap stuff they have.

I didn’t install the app just on general principles, like it’s pretty much owned by the Communist Chinese government.

And it seems to be a big security risk as well.

Check out what Tech Guru Kim Komando has to say about it.

Kim Komando On Temu

From the article:

What you need to know before using Temu

First, you’re buying goods directly from manufacturers in China and other parts of the world. That’s why shipping times are often much longer than on sites like Amazon. You might get your stuff in a week, but it could be more like 12 days.

For the most part, the prices are low because the goods are cheap. The pictures of what you see advertised may not be what you actually get.

Temu collects, among other things:

  • The info you provide, like your name, address, and phone number.
  • Details you enter, like your birthday, photo, and social media profiles.
  • Your phone or computer’s operating system and version, IP address, GPS location (if you allowed it), and browsing data.
  • They also gather more about you from third party sources, including Temu sellers, public records, social media, data brokers, credit bureaus, and marketing partners.Let’s be safe out there.

  • But now there’s more. And this time it’s from Time, magazine, that is.

    The Truth About Temu, the Most Downloaded New App in America

    One of the comments on Lukey’s post, however, was significantly less positive than the rest. Julie Roper Malloy wrote that the package she ordered from Temu containing Christmas gifts never arrived, despite the company’s pledge it would be delivered Dec. 19 at the latest. “Still waiting for my order from November! Thanks Temu, you’ve ruined Christmas!†she wrote.

    In a series of Facebook messages with TIME, Roper Malloy says she spent $178 on gifts from Temu for her family, including two drones and some makeup for her daughter. But the items never arrived. Roper Malloy says she has contacted the company several times for a refund, which has also yet to arrive. “I will definitely be more diligent in the future when ordering online,†she wrote. [Update: After this article’s publication, Roper Malloy received her Temu orders and a refund from the company.]

    Roper Malloy is not the only one to encounter problems with a Temu order. Temu itself acknowledges that its orders take longer to arrive than those from Amazon—typically 7-15 business days—as they come from “overseas warehouses.†But it appears that Temu also has had trouble delivering inside that larger time window. In October, the Boston branch of the Better Business Bureau opened up a file on Temu and has received 31 complaints about the website.

    Temu currently has a C rating on the BBB, and an average customer rating of 1.4 stars out of 5, albeit from only 20 reviews. (Complaints are separate from reviews, which do not factor into BBB’s official rating.) McGovern at the BBB says it’s unusual for such a new company to receive so many complaints in such a short amount of time. She notes that Temu has acknowledged and responded to every complaint posted to the BBB website, but many of those complaints remain unresolved.

    Caveat Emptor!

    And now there’s AliExpress.

    Here’s a guy who ordered a new drill for $40 from them, and instead of a drill, he got a picture of one.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Sylvester Franklin felt it was time for some new equipment in November, so he ordered a drill from AliExpress. The Savannah resident was shocked by what he received.

    He told WTOC, “They sent me this. A picture is what they sent me.†He added, “I paid $22.47 for a pressure washer, and this is what I get. It’s a screw.â€

    * * * * *

    The recent heavy snowstorm across the South caught a lot of people by surprise, especially mechanical engineers and construction engineers.

    Gulf Shores High School practice facility collapses during $131 million construction project

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Inspectors are investigating a collapse at the construction site of a new south Alabama high school campus, according to pictures of the incident on social media.

    The collapse occurred specifically at the practice facility area of a $131 million campus that is currently being constructed.

    Mobile Civic Center’s roof collapses after a historic snowfall

    After a historic snowfall in south Alabama, the Mobile Civic Center’s roof on Wednesday collapsed from the weight of snow, the city of announced.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    “Earlier this morning, the roof of the Mobile Civic Center collapsed under the weight of excessive snow,†the city stated in a Facebook post.

    I told Jan that figuring the snow load on new buildings being constructed in south Alabama probably wasn’t real high on their to-do list.

    * * * * *

    As far as tomorrow, Jan’s been jonsin’ for a Trader Joe’s visit, so we’re heading to Sugarland for lunch at Grimaldi’s and then on to TJ’s.

    The most direct way is straight up Hwy 6 until we hit US59/I-69, but there’s a lot of traffic and a lot of stop and go stop lights. So we’ll try going up I-45 to the Tollway, and then over to US59/I-69.

    It’s a little longer, and will cost a couple of bucks, but it looks to be much faster.

    We’ll see.


    Thought For The Day:

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™


    January 29, 2012

    Fun time’s over. Now it’s back to work . . .

    I was up about 8:45 this morning and back to work.

    No excuses left to goof off.

    I spent the rest of the morning working on a couple of laptops, one of which I’ll deliver this afternoon. Both had severe virus infections and took a while to get straighten out.

    For lunch Jan made cheese toast, along with chips, and a cranberry muffin for dessert.

    I headed out about 2pm, first to Fry’s for some RAM, and then O’Reilly’s Auto Parts to return a relay. Then it was on to my client to deliver the laptop.

    Coming home about 4:30, I stopped off at Wal-Mart to make a return and then headed down to Dickinson to pick up some Tortilla Soup, Queso, and chips at Monterey’s to take home.

    Put together with some leftover Nachos, it was a great meal.

    Tomorrow looks to be a pretty full day of client stuff, hopefully enough to keep me busy, off the streets, and out of trouble.

    But, as I always say, “One out of Three ain’t badâ€.


    January 29, 2013

    Blindsided . . .

    I finally got a chance to call Fan-tastic Vent and they pointed me in the direction of the wiring going to the reversing switch, which makes sense since I was using the reversing switch when the fan motor quit.

    So I took out the screws and dropped the bottom of the fan so I could get to the switch contacts. My first thought was to unplug and replug the wires on the switch several times to clean the contacts. After this I tried the fan once more and, it now worked. Another thing fixed.

    One down, a bunch still to go.

    Jan spent the morning and afternoon catching up on “Downton Abbeyâ€, the PBS series about the lives of the residents and the staff of Downton Abbey, a large manor house in England. Kind of an updated “Upstairs, Downstairsâ€. The story starts in April 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic, and the loss of the family heir.

    After hearing a lot about the show Jan started watching the other day. PBS has already shown the first 4 episodes of this, the third season. But we found out that PBS is streaming the past episodes on their website, so she spent part of yesterday and today catching up on those 4 episodes. Then, looking on Amazon to see about buying the first two seasons on DVD, we were happy to discover that for Amazon Prime members, we can stream all the episodes of the first two seasons for FREE. And even better, it’s available in HD.

    So Jan watched episode 1 of season 1 this afternoon and will continue watching them until she’s caught up.

    For my part this afternoon, I finally got a chance to rehang my restrung day/shade that I had finished last week.

    Here’s what it looked like after I removed the valance.

    Blind Reinstall 1

    I laid the valance down on the bed and then screwed the shade to it. And here’s what it looked like with the valance and shade reinstalled.

    Blind Reinstall 2

    I did have to fiddle with the string tension a bit where it ties off at the bottom of the valance. Too tight and the added effort to lower the shade may wear and break the strings. Too loose and the shade may not stay up.

    And here’s how it looked after I was done.

    Blind Reinstall 3

    One down, 2 to go.

    Later, Jan and I headed out about 5:15 for errands and dinner. Our first stop was at the Dickinson Police Department to get Jan’s fingerprint cards redone. Hopefully this set will take, and she’ll be ready to go if we gate guard again later this year.

    Then heading up to the Baybrook Mall area, we made a stop at Charming Charlie, a place that sells beautiful costume jewelry on the cheap. Most bracelets are $10, with some a little more, but all very nice quality.

    Jan’s first visit to Charming Charlie was when we were up at The Woodlands with Brandi and Lowell this past Saturday, but it didn’t end well.

    She bought a couple of bracelets, including a red beaded one she really liked. However the next morning when she was cutting the price tags off, she accidentally cut the elastic cord that the large beads were strung on, and suddenly, no bracelet. Just a lot of beads bouncing around the rig.

    So tonight she wanted to get a replacement, and wouldn’t you know it, she found another one she liked too, and just had to have.

    Funny how that worked out, isn’t it.

    We met Chris, Linda, and Piper at Chili’s about 6:45pm for dinner, and had our usual great time, and a good meal.

    It was really windy on the way home, and we got back just ahead of the rain. There’s a cold front coming through and it’s supposed to be down the low 50’s tonight. Much better than the recent nighttime temps of high 60’s, low 70’s.


    January 29, 2014

    Hitting the Road and Flooring it . . .

    Today was another day filled with client stuff so I headed out about 10 AM, finally getting back to the rig about 3:30. I did stop off at our storeroom to pick up our big 10’ x 20’ tarp and our chop saw. I also got Powerball tickets on the way home.

    Shortly after I got home Jan and I headed back out to have dinner at Hooter’s since we both needed a hot wing fix, and their new ‘Triple Dog Dare†sauce, their hottest, really hits the spot.

    After that it was a quick stop at Wal-Mart so Jan could pick up the ingredients for her world-famous spaghetti sauce. Then it was home just in time for another great Galveston Bay RV Resort sunset.

    Galveston Bay Sunset 4

    Later, about 8 PM I fixed us K-Cup Hazelnut Cappuccino which we had along with some of the Nestles’ Toll House cookies Jan made this weekend, as we caught up on ‘Person of Interest’ episodes on the DVR.


    Now, as far as ‘hitting the road’, Jan is. Tomorrow afternoon I’m taking her up to Brandi and Lowell’s to spend the weekend. While she’s there, she’s going to make her spaghetti, which is why the Wal-Mart stop.

    As for why she’s going up there, it’s to get her out of my hair. Well, maybe a hair reference is not the best one in my case, so let’s just say it’s to get her out of the rig for a few days.

    And that brings us to the ‘flooring it’ part of the title. Friday morning my son Chris is coming over and we’re finally going to install the Allure vinyl laminate flooring in the rig. Yes, the same flooring I’ve been threatening to install for about 3 years now.

    Allure Flooring

    Allure seems to be perfect for RV’s. It’s actually a rubber-based product that looks and feels like wood laminate. But because it’s rubber, it’s completely waterproof. Great for when your slide seal springs a leak. And also, the planks are very flexible, at least compared to wood laminate. Again perfect for driving your floor down the road at 60 mph.

    We chose a lighter color, Oak, because our cabinetry is also light, and a dark color would tend to make the space seem smaller.

    With Chris here, and Jan gone, we’ll be able to pull all three Captain’s chairs out and then pull the base mounts up which will make it much easier to lay the flooring with less measuring and cutting. We are only replacing the carpet in the front of the rig, leaving the tile flooring in the rest of the rig, as it is.

    Hopefully we can finish it off Friday and Saturday because Chris doesn’t want the project to cut into his Super Bowl time on Sunday. To me that just gives him more incentive to work faster.

    It’s a win-win.


    January 29, 2015

    Finally. It’s About Time . . .

    Jan and I really like being back at Colorado River. Although we like Lake Conroe for all the shopping and places to eat, we like the park itself better here. It’s not as busy, the sites are bigger and there’s not as much traffic.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Well, it finally happened today. The new sites are open at Galveston Bay RV Resort, and we will be heading down there on Wednesday, the 4th of February. Since we plan on heading for Tucson and the Escapade on March 1st, we’ll have not quite a month there. But it will make things more convenient for our doctor’s appointments next month, instead of having to drive down from Conroe or Columbus.

    Several people asked me about my air compressor after I mentioned replacing the hose the other day. Mine came from Sears, but they no longer sell it. But apparently it was made by Porter-Cable and it’s still sold on Amazon for about $105.

    I bought mine in 2010 and, except for the hose, it’s still going strong. And it has no problem taking rig tires up to 120psi in just a few minutes.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    PORTER-CABLE 150 PSI Air Compressor

    For dinner tonight, Jan used the convection oven to heat our leftover Grimaldi’s Pizza from the other night. We always get the Large (18â€) one, and take home half of it for later. And it’s still delicious heated up.


    January 29, 2016

    Potatoes and Mushrooms . . .

    This morning started off with short quarter mile walk . . . just over to Janice and Dave Evans for delicious cinnamon rolls. So that kind of canceled out the walk.

    We sat around for a while, talking and then made plans to get together tomorrow afternoon to have lunch at the Potatoe Patch. Supposedly it’s a lot like Lambert’s, at least they throw rolls at you like Lambert’s does. The menu doesn’t look as extensive, but it does look good. So we’ll see. (And yes, that’s the way they spell Potato.)

    After we made the quarter mile walk back to the rig, (still probably not far enough to walk off the cinnamon rolls though) we left the rig about 12:30 heading for the Escapees Park over in Livingston. We were going over to see Ben and June Tyer. I’ve known Ben since the 1990’s since he was my Air Conditioning instructor at San Jacinto Community College.

    You all know how much I like to work on stuff. Well, I knew electrical and electronic stuff, carpentry and construction stuff, and a bunch of other things. But I didn’t know much about the compressor side of AC stuff. The electrical side, yes, but not the Freon side.

    So I started taking night classes working toward an Associate Degree in Air Conditioning Technology, and Ben was one of my main instructors.

    Ben had been having trouble setting up his email under Windows 10 on his new laptop, and though I had tried to help him out over the phone, he still couldn’t get it working. So I thought we’d drive over there today before we head back to the Colorado River TT on Sunday.

    Getting to Ben and June’s about 2pm, it only took me about 30 minutes to get his computer straightened out and then I ran a couple of ‘cleaner’ programs, CCleaner and Glary Utilities, on his laptop to speed things up. We then spent the rest of the time talking about RV’ing and traveling, pretty much what all RV’ers talk about when they get together. Finally, a little after 4pm we said our goodbyes and headed out to visit some more nearby friends.

    Back in 2014, when we were staying at the Wilmington OH Thousand Trails, we met up with the Boggs Family, Davy, Kelly, and their daughter, Odie, of the Boggs Family Ministries. We got together at a good Mexican restaurant in Lebanon, OH and had a really fun time getting to know one another.

    https://ourrvadventures.com/2014/07/two-sets-of-new-friends/

    The Boggs travel around the country in their beautiful Prevost Bus holding revivals at local churches. They even have their own tent if need be.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    And this is Davy, Kelly, and Odie.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

  • Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.
  • Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    We had a great time catching up on the last couple of years, but finally had to part company a little after 5pm so they could get ready for tonight’s service. Then on Sunday they’re heading down to Sweeney, TX for another revival there.

    Really nice people doing great things. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon.

    For dinner, we decided to head over the Florida’s Kitchen, a downhome, catfish and BBQ type place that Chris and Charles Yust of C and C RV Insurance fame, had introduced us to a couple of years ago.

    Jan loves mushrooms, so we started off with a small basket of their fried ones.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    That’s Small?

    Then we both got the Small Catfish Dinner.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    I’m starting to detect a pattern here. I’m sorry, but four big pieces of catfish does not a small dinner make.

    In fact, because I was getting the SMALL dinner, I also ordered BBQ sausage link so I wouldn’t be hungry.

    So, how big is the BIG catfish dinner?

    But after the Fried Mushrooms, (and the salad that came with the dinner) I only ate 1 piece of fish, about half the fries, and 1 piece of sausage. And with Jan about the same, we had three take-home boxes to go with us.

    But boy, was it good!

    Heading back through Livingston on the way home, I stopped at the RaceWay and got gas at $1.469 a gallon, the cheapest I’ve seen so far without some sort of discount.

    We got back to the rig about 8pm after a fun day. Then tomorrow it’s more fun all over again.

    Isn’t RV’ing the life!


    January 29, 2017

    Sheer Perfection!

    Today was grocery shopping day, and our first chance to check out what turned out to be a very nice HEB.

    But our first stop was Whataburger of course, for lunch.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Sheer Perfection!

    A #6 Double Meat Whataburger Jr. with cheese, bacon, tomato, mayo, mustard, pickles, and onions.

    Jan’s #6 is a little different, with cheese, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and grilled onions.

    Note: No ketchup on mine. I’m a purist. Ketchup belongs on French Fries or maybe Grandma’s Meatloaf, not on hamburgers or hotdogs.

    After leaving Whataburger our next stop was the Donut Palace for a couple of their Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Croissants. These make a perfect meal for dinner on the gate.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    And their Twists and other donuts are delicious too.

    I got to the gate about 5:15 expecting to find it very busy, but found that it had been pretty dead all day. Apparently they broke the frack.

    Or at least they broke something on the frack. We’ve seen it take hours or sometimes even days to get running again so we’ll see how it goes.

    Yesterday we had asked a company man to bring us a light tower down here to this gate. The actual gate entrance isn’t really wide and a lot of the big trucks were worried about coming through at night since it was so dark in that area.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    But the lights really brighten up the gate entrance now.

    I’m still having weird problems with the phone service here. It varies all over the place, but no matter what I still can’t make or receive phone calls. However I can get the Voice Mail for a call I never received.

    Plus I can usually send email and text, but not always. Sometimes I have absolutely no service whatsoever, sometimes I have 1x, sometimes 3G, and sometimes 4G.

    And sometimes it says “Emergency Calls Onlyâ€. So who knows?


    January 29, 2018

    Soup and Soup . . .

    Back at work today, I spent the first part updating the paper catalogs with all of last week’s many changes. Then I spent pretty much the rest of the afternoon setting up the website so that at 12:01 am Thursday morning the sales banner and all the sale prices will become active on the site. At least I hope so.

    If not, I’ll still be up so I can do it manually if need be.

    Right before I headed home we got the proofs from the mailing list company for me to approve. I double-checked everything and then sent back the approval. Still don’t know yet exactly when they’ll go out though. Hopefully soon.

    On the way home I stopped off at the Jason’s Deli on Bay Area Blvd to pick up Jan one of their Nutty Mixed-Up Salads. With chicken breast, organic field greens, grapes, feta, nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, and organic apples, we both have had this salad in the past, and it’s really delicious.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    But this time I still had a bowl of El Pollo Loco’s Chicken Tortilla Soup left from our last visit so that was my dinner tonight.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    It’s amazing how loaded with chicken this is. And really good, too.

    As it stands right now, tomorrow we’ll head up to Pasadena to have lunch with our friend Julie at the Monterey’s Little Mexico there. Can’t wait to have some of their great Chicken Tortilla Soup.

    Yep. That’s Chicken Tortilla Soup two days in a row. What’s your point?


    January 29, 2019

    That’s Going The Wrong Way . . .

    Jan and I headed out for lunch et al. about 1:30, with our first stop at the Cheddar’s up in Clear Lake. Cheddar’s is one of our go-to places, no matter where we are in the country, and we’ve eaten at them all over too. And as usual at places we frequent, we both have our favorites.

    Jan got her usual Key West Chicken and Shrimp with Green Beans and Carrots as well as some of their Bourbon Sauce.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    My fav is their Vegetable Plate, which comes with a Bowl of the Chicken Tortilla Soup,

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    as well as 4 veggies and a croissant. All for $7.99. Obviously, I like the Green Beans and Carrots, just like Jan.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    A really great deal.

    Finishing up, we stopped off at my client’s to pick up my saline eye drops that I left there yesterday. While I was there I noticed that the ‘95 Mustang Front Passenger Window glass I had ordered off eBay for my client, had arrived. My client wasn’t there, but when I mentioned it to Jennifer, the office manager, she said, “But isn’t that a Thunderbird, and not a Mustang?†And when I walked over to the corner of the parking lot, she was right.

    In my defense, I didn’t know what vehicle he was ordering the window for. And in his defense, he owns over 20 vehicles, including two Studebaker Avanti’s. I guess it’s easy to lose track.

    Our next stop was at the El Dorado WalMart for a few things, including 3 gallons of Shell Rotella 15W-40 oil for the rig. I’ll need two gallons to top off my oil level, and then one gallon to fill the new LF9009 filter after I drop the old one to get a better look at the problem area.

    Then it was on toward home, with a stop at the Costco on the way to fill up the truck.

    When I last got gas a week or so ago, the price was at a low point of $1.67. But as I mentioned in the blog a couple of days ago, when I saw the increases at HEB and WalMart, I checked Costco’s price in GasBuddy and found it had jumped 2¢ to $1.69. But by today, it had jumped another 5¢ up to $1.74. This is going in the wrong direction.

    Don’t know if this is due to the turmoil in Venezuela, or what. But I have a bad feeling about this.

    Then after a stop for lottery tickets, and then the PO, we got home a little after 5pm.

    As I mentioned yesterday, the oil filter and wrench I ordered from Amazon, was delivered via Amazon themselves. And the order that came in today was also via Amazon.

    And according to the tracking, the hard drive coming into tomorrow is also coming by them.

    I don’t know yet if this constitutes a long-term pattern, but I do like the Real Time Tracking that Amazon gives you.

    Anybody want to buy a used 1995 Mustang Front Passenger Window?


    January 29, 2020

    DUNS . . .

    Yesterday it was eBay. Today it was Dun & Bradstreet.

    We’re in the process of having some topical anesthetic solutions made up by a chemical company that we haven’t dealt with before, and they want a Dun & Bradstreet DUNS number to check us out.

    So we gave them our DUNS number to check us and the company came back with a lot of questions, because the information they were seeing did not match what we had told them.

    And when I went online to the Dun & Bradstreet website and entered our DUNS number, I immediately saw what they were talking about. Much of our info looked to be mixed in with another company’s, and what there was of ours was corrupted, with typos and misspellings.

    In fact it was so screwed up that when I tried to get authenticated so I could log in and correct the info, we couldn’t answer their questions because we didn’t know the ‘correct’ incorrect answers.

    So I spent most of the day on and off the phone with the D&B people trying to get this straightened out. And with no luck so far.

    A couple of days ago I saw that Amazon was having a nice sale on their Amazon Firesticks, both the regular and the 4K versions. And since we’re doing more and more streaming of TV and movies, I thought I’d take advantage of the sale.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Amazon Firestick 4K

    The regular version, normally $40 is now going for $25. But I went with the 4K version, which is usually $50, but was on sale for $35, a $15 savings. And even better for my renowned cheapness, this is one of those Amazon products that allows you to pay for it with no-interest payments, so $7 a month for 5 months in this case.

    No, I don’t really save any money, but the longer I can delay giving people my money, the better I like it.

    Although the Firestick duplicates many services that we already have on the SmartHub on our Samsung 43†TV, we do get some extra stuff, the thing I’m most interested in is the voice remote feature.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Rather than click a lot of keypresses using the TV remote on the SmartHub, Jan can just say, “Show me CuriosityStreamâ€, and it will go straight to it.

    Neat.

    I also signed us up for the free Pluto TV streaming service. And although it also duplicates a lot of the SmartHub and Firestick channels, what I’m interested in are the many dedicated channels, especially long-running TV shows. There is a Leverage channel, a This Old House channel, a Dog The Bounty Hunter channel, and what will probably be our favorite, a Classic Dr. Who channel.

    And it all free!


    January 29, 2021

    Miss Karma Update . . .

    Miss Karma seems to be doing pretty well. She’s eating some and not throwing up, so that’s a big improvement. But right now the only thing she seems to like is some of the shredded chicken that Jan gets from HEB. But it’s a start, I guess.

    The only real problem is that twice a day I have to give her an antibiotic by squirting it in her mouth with a syringe. She does not like that.

    But she’s only gotten one claw in me so far.

    Jan and I watched the pilot episode of Resident Alien last night and really liked it.

    Dark in some places, and hilariously funny in others. Think Robin Williams’s Mork, if Mork came to Earth to wipe out mankind.

    Or think ‘Fish Out Of Water’ if the fish is the shark from ‘Jaws’. Check it out.

    We’re still waiting to see what Holland American is going to do about our Alaskan Cruise that’s supposed to start May 18. Right now all of their Alaskan cruises are canceled through ‘mid-May’. So we’re checking every day to see about any changes.

    We’re supposed to make the final payment by Feb. 17th, so we’re just holding our breath.


    January 29, 2022

    Mission Accomplished . . .

    Today was finally my chance to check out Arby’s new Diablo Dare Brisket Sandwich, and we had to travel all the way over to the Arby’s in Pearland to try it. Turns out that our Clear Lake location wasn’t serving either of the Dare sandwiches, the chicken version, or the brisket one.

    The sandwich comes with a small snack-sized shake, Jamocha for me, supposedly to cool off your mouth from the heat. But in my case it wasn’t really needed.

    They say the limited-time sandwiches, on sale until Feb. 6th come with five sources of heat: ghost pepper jack cheese, fiery hot seasoning, fire-roasted jalapenos and Diablo BBQ sauce, served on a red chipotle bun.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Since their dining room wasn’t open, we had to eat in the Jeep, which meant I had to hold the sandwich in one hand and photograph it with the other.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    My first thought was that the brisket really looked good. And it was.

    In fact it was very, very good. And like the ads, it was the hottest sandwich I’ve ever had from a restaurant.

    Hotter in fact than the ‘spicy’ sandwiches from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Popeye’s.

    But relatively speaking, it didn’t rank very high on my heat meter. More like somewhere around the middle, maybe.

    For example it wasn’t as hot as the Texas Hot Chicken Tenders I had last Tuesday at The Cookshack in Webster. And of course nowhere their AMF Level I and Level II I had there back in September. Those you have to sign a waiver for.

    But in Arby’s case, I wish that the Dare sandwiches were on their standard menu. If they were, we might go back more often.

    In fact, we still might, just to have their brisket again, which IS on their standard menu, and was really good all by itself.

    Give it a try, but don’t dawdle. They go away a week from tomorrow.

    Coming back over to Clear Lake, we stopped off at Kroger’s to pick up a couple of prescriptions. I mentioned that last June we had moved all of our prescriptions over to Kroger’s Prescription Plan from WalMart and Sam’s. And it’s saved us a lot of money.

    According to their website, my Kroger’s plan, which works through GoodRX has saved us over $3400 based on the regular drug price. And according to my records, they’ve saved us over $600 from our WalMart/Sam’s costs.

    Nice.


    January 29, 2023

    Things You Never Seem To Have Enough Of

    Lunch today was our favorite Chinese Buffet, Yummy Yummy. Always delicious.

    Then it was on to HEB, and then a stop at the Santa Fe PO and our park mailbox before getting home.

    Nice!

    One thing interesting about Yummy Yummy is what they have on the buffet and the price, in our case the Senior price of $13.49 each.

    Pook’s Crawfish Hole right up the road from us charges $8.99/pound for Boiled Crawfish, and $16.99/pound for Boiled Shrimp. But for your $13.49 at Yummy’s you can have all the Boiled Crawfish and Boiled Shrimp you can eat. And some people get plates piled up so high with Crawfish that it’s a balancing act getting their plate back to the table.

    And then they go back and do it again.

    And again.

    All for $13.49.

    Tomorrow I’ve got my yearly head freezing at my dermatologist. He goes over my head with a squirt bottle of liquid nitrogen, freezing off anything that looks suspicious. And he must be very well paid for it too.

    A couple of years ago when I was trying to park before my visit, and got turned around, I ended up in a little dead-end alcove all the way around in the back. And parked in said alcove was a shiny red Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.

    A Porsche that starts at over $140,000.

    And when I asked him later if that was his Porsche 911 around back, he sheepishly said, “Yesâ€, and quickly changed the subject.

    Like I said, very well paid.


    Things you never seem to have enough of:

  • Sleep
  • Money
  • USB Ports
  • And not necessarily in that order, either.

    Hooter’s has calendars, and firemen have calendars. But the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers?

    And apparently whoever put it together really likes cats.

    U.S. Army Corp of Engineers 2023 Calendar

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Who knew?


    January 29, 2024

    Pick One. . .

    Spent most of today updating price changes that start this Thursday. For some reason, a lot of our suppliers do their yearly price changes starting on Feb 1st. Guess they don’t want to hit you with it right after Christmas.

    Jan is always hard to buy gifts for, but I’ve got it nailed for this upcoming Valentine’s Day.

    She has her pick of this Octopus,

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    or this Flamingo.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Both are favorite animals of hers, so it might be hard to pickjust one.

    Since the weather has been in the 30’s/40’s at night recently, we’ve been using our Heated Mattress pad every night. And I’ve noticed that I’m not near as stiff and sore in the mornings as I am with no heat.

    So I thought I’d try one of these Heated Chair Pads for my recliner chair.

    Police vehicles tow a detached car axle on a highway.

    Should be here tomorrow so I’ll let you know.

    Assuming the weather tomorrow afternoon is as nice as is forecast, I will finally be able to install my new rig Water Pump.

    Hopefully it won’t take too long.