Thursday, September 30, 2010

Home!

Sorry for the absence but I've been long gone.  We headed off to San Diego to visit our son last Wednesday.  It was a too-quick trip; leaving on the Saturday.  We drove to Las Vegas on Sunday; then spend Monday and Tuesday in the city; to come home on Wednesday.  In retrospect it was way too short a time but what do I know! 

Got to visit Point Loma; the site of a famous lighthouse and hear a lot of Navy activity.  My wife's family has been in the Navy for generations so she's loving that.  My dad was in the Navy in WWII that's my only connection.  It was fun looking at the lighthouse though and thinking of those poor people who were at that time a day's travel from San Diego. We did get to take our son & his SO out to dinner; they chose a steakhouse that's been around for a while  Perhaps, too long.  Anyway, everyone else had a good experience and my steak was at least ok. 

The approximately 350 mile trip there and back would take 70 gallons of diesel at $3 a gallon.  The campground was $27 a night so the whole thing was in the $300 range.  My wife will have exact figures later but that's pretty close.

The reason for returning to Las Vegas rather than here was twofold:  my wife needed shopping time for the cruise she is taking with our daughter and I had an appointment for my colonoscopy.  The wife managed to do great with shopping; unusual for her as I have mentioned before, and the doctor was ok except for the amount of laxative he prescribed for me to have before my procedure.  Yeah, I know; it's gotta be drunk but it is still a real experience.

Went to dinner with our daughter to a fish place:  King's Fish House.  It's a small chain that is mostly in California.  Wife had swordfish, daughter a blackened salmon and I had salmon cakes:  it was pretty good but no dish really called out to us.  The swordfish was rather small; the blackened salmon wasn't all that blackened and the salmon cakes were thin on the promised mustard sauce.  I'll go back but will try to look for just plain fish. The fish WAS nice, fresh and well cooked.

Anyway, now we are back in Pahrump and, wonder of wonders, there isn't any news about the DA drinking,  Maybe tomorrow.  So, until tomorrow, have a great day/week.''

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Better!

My back has finally gotten tired of making my life miserable and is pretty much 'back to normal'.  Sorry, I couldn't stop myself.

Went into Vegas yesterday to do some shopping.  My wife has this odd idea that all her clothes shouldn't come from Walmart!  She is a most unusual woman.  Not only does she put up with me but she hates shopping.  Honestly.  I do almost all the everyday shopping and the only reason I don't buy her clothes is because the sizes are all different.  If she could she'd order stuff via the internet and never go into a store.  However, she desperately needs some clothing for a cruise she and our daughter are taking in October so we decided to look.  MUCH to my surprise, we scored 4 pieces of clothing.  This is a woman who wears things for years.  We were talking about buying her a new belt; she has 2 and they are at least 20 years old.  Weird gal but I love her.

Saw a story today about Jimmy Carter; he's got a new book out and is mouthing off trying to make it interesting.  I kind of liked him but never thought too much of his Presidency.  One thing I have heard that I expect is true (because of the source) but haven't verified is that he set the rules for the use of uranium so that once it is used it must be discarded.  Other countries allow the re-use thereby reducing the amount of waste that they create.  Odd if he did that since he was a naval officer and took part in the nuclear submarine program and should have known more about the technology than almost any President.  Who knows!  I was looking him up in Wikipedia and it reminded me that when he ran for re-election one of his opponents was John Anderson.  Hell, I voted for John Anderson!  How's that for a historical fact that no one cares about?

As you can tell, I don't have much to say today.  Have a good one anyway!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Oh my aching back

Friday morning I woke feeling fine.  Went out to the garage to add a little paint to a shelf I've been working on.  That done I came back in and somehow my back started bothering me.  By noon I could barely walk and by 14:00 I was helping myself to some prescription pain killers I got about nine months ago.  Not a good day.

Today I am considerably better but still at only about 75% effectiveness.  Odd stuff this getting older.  And not always fun.  Hope you are having a better day.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Exciting day yesterday

Yesterday was pretty exciting by my standards.  We started the morning with our usual 2+ mile walk (3.5km or so) then decided to try planting some of that cactus that we bought at the Springs.  Now that was life in the fast lane!  Too fast for me actually.  First we have to scrape the rocks away, then dig the hole, then make sure it 'perks' then put in the plant.  Sounds ok but the dirt we have here has a lot of clay in it.  Since it is dry, it is hard clay.  Very hard clay.  Digging four holes a foot deep was more than enough work for me. The plants are in very dry soil so, of course, the root ball on one just fell apart.  We finally managed to get it planted but we are only hoping that it will survive the rough handling.  By 09:30 we were both exhausted and even a shower didn't revive us.  I think I drank a gallon of water too.

As if that weren't enough excitement, I got to visit with another blogger.  Ed is a full time rv'er who has decided to make Pahrump his legal residence.  I've been reading his blog, Peregrinating Graybeard, for some time.  He's traveled widely and had some interesting experiences.  And, yes, he sure does have a gray beard.  We met at one of the casinos and talked for an hour and a half or so.  If I hadn't had some errands to do it would have been much longer.  I also got to see his rv; an absolutely immaculate class C.  Not that it was a surprise since I've read his blog but it was pleasure to meet such an articulate and thoughtful person.

Two posts in one day.  What's getting into me?  Have a good one.

OMG

This morning on Yahoo there is a story about Gov. Ed Rendel of Pennsylvania being embarrassed by some homeland security memos suggesting that there might be violence at all kinds of ordinary protest meetings.  I was so happy to hear an official saying this:

"I am deeply embarrassed and I apologize to any of the groups who had this information disseminated on their right to peacefully protest," Rendell said at an evening Capitol news conference.

Rendell called the practice "ludicrous" and said the fact that the state was paying for such rudimentary information was "stunning."
All too often our officials think they can run roughshod over basic human rights in the name of 'security'.  Thank goodness that there is at least one person in authority who remembers the constitution.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Vegas Baby!

We made the trip 'over the hump' to Las Vegas yesterday.  The occasion was the Springs Preserve fall plant sale. When we bought this house there were 20 or so dead trees planted around the yard.  The previous owners had purchased trees that need irrigation then hadn't provided any.  Duh!  We want plants that, after they get started, will not require watering.  Or at least not much!  Cacti!  This way we can still travel and not worry about the irrigation system dying.  In Florida it seemed that all we had to do was think about taking a trip and the sprinklers would start having problems.

I've not been to the Preserve before and we didn't visit it this time but now I am going to make it a priority.  It looks like a great place with lots of information about this area.  And they had some lovely plants for sale.  There were enough people for me but one of the guys working there said the spring sale is when they have many, many more people.  Ain't that great.  Anyway, now we have four different plants awaiting the big day when they taste the soil on this side of the mountain.

We also got in lunch and a little shopping.  I even got an early birthday present:  a micro hi-fi by Sony for my den.  Now I'm loving Bolero as I type.  The speakers on this laptop just are not the same and wearing earbuds all the time hurts my ears.

Gotta go.  It's my day to cook dinner - pork roast on the barbie, salad and a vegie.  Have a good one.

Friday, September 10, 2010

More quiet times....

It certainly doesn't surprise me that we are having some quiet times these days.  We seem to need quiet times more, the more we have them (if that makes any sense).  Besides the news gives us lots of excitement.

Our local District Attorney Bob Beckett was found "asleep behind the wheel" of his county vehicle.  Here's the local paper version.  When tested both at the scene and later at the station his blood alcohol was almost half again the legally drunk level of .08.  Where was he?  On one of the many streets that has been platted but is just a light coating of gravel going out into the desert.  There is nothing there folks and while I have no idea of where Mr. Beckett lives, you can bet it isn't out there!

In April 2009, he pleaded guilty in California to misdemeanor reckless driving in conjunction to two accidents in the same day; as part of his probation he is not to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in his bloodstream.  I'm waiting for the next episode of this farce. And just to add a certain touch, he was reported by Heidi Fleiss whom you may remember as a famous Hollywood madam. 

Also in local news one of our County Commissioners, Butch Borasky, is having trouble with the Ethics Commission.  Seems he may not have been as out of the construction business as he claimed.  He is awaiting a hearing. 

With all of this you would think I couldn't get past the local news but.....   Well, there is that idiot in Florida who wants to burn a Quran.  Jeez, I know Muslims attacked us on 9/11 but that is no reason to shit all over their entire religion.  I'm an atheist; I think all religions are wrong in their beliefs about God/Allah or whoever.  But that doesn't mean I'm going to go burn Qurans or bibles or any other religious tract.  I believe in live and let live.  Disrespecting another's beliefs IS something I'm against.  And I don't care what weird thing you believe.  It's the American way!

I did manage to read one national headline:  "Obama:  Voter anger could hurt Dems in elections".  OMG, imagine that!  By God (the one I don't believe in), you just can't keep things from that man. 


Have a good one.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

OMG!

Rain!  First in a long while though Vegas did get some a few weeks ago.  This was the view on our morning walk before the rain.

And here is the water gushing off our roof.


It's not exactly like the water coming off the roof when we lived in Florida but it works for us.  The air is filled with the smell of rain.  I guess the smell was there in Florida as well but it seems much more intense here.

Have a good one.

Monday, September 06, 2010

Whining

Here's what our local Fox affiliate thinks the weather is going to be like in Vegas for the next week:

I'm loving it!  There is a pawn shop in Vegas that contributed $100 to a charity every day it was over 100F (38C) - I think they are right at $6,000 now.  It's a bit cooler here but not much!

I heard some woman on the radio this a.m. suggest that we should fly the flag on 11 September to remember the 'heros' who died that day.  I think that is so stupid!  Those people are victims, not heros.  People who can't tell the difference need to spend some serious time learning what a real hero is.  It's not someone who is killed at work; it might apply to the firefighters and cops who lost their lives but it sure doesn't apply to the guy sitting at his desk playing a video game  rather than working.

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Just for fun....

The sun is pretty strong around here. Here is a sign that's just around the corner from our house. Thankfully it's not much of a turn.


This poor sign has clearly seen better days.  Maybe that's why the county put another below it.

That Dead End is clearly dying. 

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Hot again

First a dog update.  She came through the surgery just fine and seems to be back to her happy self even though she has a six inch scar on her chest and a fair sized hole on her right rear leg.  She's been throwing up though so we aren't totally happy.  The vet thinks it may be a delayed reaction to the drugs she's been given so we are giving her chicken broth & keeping her on the tile!

I've talked of the Senate race here in Nevada.  The Republican candidate is fairly popular out here in the sticks; I saw this sign on the lawn of one of her supporters.  The funny thing I see here is that like her politics, her sign leans to the right.  Honest, this is straight on; I didn't tilt the camera at all!


Her web site here has some interesting stuff on it. Statements like:

On Energy: America must build upon her vast coal and natural gas resources to expand our domestic oil resources.

Now just how does using coal and natural gas resources expand our domestic oil resources? Doesn't make sense to me but it was only a bullet point so maybe she has an idea here that the website didn't make plain.

On Taxation: She sponsored the Angle Property Tax Restraint Initiative (aka Nevada's Prop 13) which placed a hard cap on property tax increases that future Legislatures could not repeal.

I am just basically against laws that 'cannot be repealed'. I prefer more flexibility rather than less in almost everything. We have to pay for all the wonderful government we are getting somehow.

National Security: She supports strong sanctions against rogue nations that export, support or harbor terrorism and believes that we must do whatever necessary to protect America from terrorism.

I'm actually ok with sanctions against nations that harbor terrorists; and I much prefer sanctions to going to war. It is that phrase 'whatever is necessary' that bothers me. Already this anti-terrorist terror has resulted in phone taps that are not approved by a court; incredible bureaucracy; travel restrictions and I don't know what else. Anyone expect these rules to go away soon? I sure don't.

Family Values: Sharron worked to pass the Constitutional Protection of Marriage Act in Nevada, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

I'm just against this. If a religion wants to mandate marriage as between male and female; fine. I don't think it is the business of the U.S. government.

Gotta go. Have a good one!