Not posting is fun!

I find I haven't posted since last Saturday.  Bad Don!  But I've been distracted.  I've been worrying about the President's birth certificate and it's just had me all tied up.  Finally the White House has released it so now I guess I can get on with blogging.  Jeez!  What a pile of crap! 

I'm sitting here watching a couple of quail walking around across the road.  I'm not sure if it's old man quail looking for a little nookie or if they are just looking for a snack.  It's much more interesting than the two 'newspapers' we received this a.m. 

The local paper is covered in grief because a year ago a local deputy sheriff was killed and they had a memorial for the guy.  It is sad certainly.  He seems to have been a nice guy and he had just returned from a tour in Afghanistan.  But being a cop is hazardous; is that news to anyone? 

The Las Vegas paper is all tied up in cuts being made to school funding.  I'm sorry folks but kids who want to learn will do so if there are 5 kids in their class or 50.  Kids who don't give a damn won't.  They are your kids, YOU make the difference not the teachers not the class size not even the curriculum.  Granted we would all like everything to be wonderful for our kids but if we aren't willing to pay for it, it's gotta change. 

My wife and I were talking about money the other night and we were wondering what our net worth was in 1990.  She was 40 and I was 42 at the time.  Our records are not up to the task of pinpointing our net worth but we can make some guesses.  We were living in Seattle in a house we bought for about $180K - putting 20% down would be $36K equity.  We had the duplex in Florida; equity in that would have been around $15K.  We had two cars; both paid for; an 83 Mazda and an 88 Bronco II.  I've always thought that a company matching 401k was like free money so we would have had at least $50-60K in our 401k accounts.  So I guess our net worth would have been in the $120K range.  Does that sound reasonable?  Doesn't sound like a lot in these days when advisers are saying you need a million to retire but 1990 WAS a long time ago.

1990 was the year I talked my wife into going to Europe.  She had never been so I figured a trip to England would be an easy introduction to another land.  It was a great choice!  Just having to deal with pounds and shillings challenged her.  Not to mention that American English isn't exactly what they speak over there, especially in Scotland and Wales.  We got one of those train tickets that lets you travel on any train to any place you wanted for a week.  We took a train from London up to Edinburgh then came back down through Carlyle into Wales and to Land's End and back to London.  We mostly stayed in hotels near the station; she didn't want to get too far from the train.  She had read the Poldark series of stories and knew a lot more about Cornwall than I did.  It was a great trip.

Please excuse the excursion into the past.  It's much more fun than talking about the deficits, illegal wars, illegal immigrants and all the rest of the wonderful world we have made.  Try to have a good one!

Oops!

Woke up this morning about 06:00 by the light of our emergency lights.  They only come on when the electricity is off so something was up.  Ok, it's my job to crawl into my clothes and go outside to check the fuse.  So I go out there and there is our neighbor walking out into the middle of the road to see if he is the only one without power.  Hmmm.  I gave him a shout to let him know he's not alone and went inside to call the electric utility.

About an hour later we headed off to the casino for breakfast.  What should we see but an electric utility truck wandering around the neighborhood.  I was tempted to follow them because they went right past our street but figured maybe they know what they are doing.  I'm not too sure but at least when we returned home from breakfast (and me losing my $5 at video poker) the electricity was back.

We are pretty dependent on the power company - heating, cooling, cooking, pumping water - yep, all electric.  Solar and wind power are each possible alternatives but would be really expensive if sized large enough to run a house.  Running the a/c, electric stove and electric water heater would be out of the question.  The pump might be possible simply because it isn't used a lot but it would really pull power as it is 240V.  Our actual alternatives are go out to eat or buy a really big generator.  Having a generator like that would bring a whole new set of problems so it's out to eat we go.

Here's to investing a bit into the electric grid infrastructure.  Have a good one!

Quiet - Not Quiet

Today started pretty quietly.  Yesterday we talked about trying to 'boondock' in our trailer.  Boondocking, if you don't know, is parking somewhere that has no electricity or water.  There are a lot of places in national parks and such that have no utilities.  Our trailer has two small 12V batteries to provide electricity for lights and such if you are boondocked.  They won't run a tv or anything but lights & the radio will work fine.  Long and short of it is that we decided to spend the night in the back yard but unhooked from water and power.  It worked quite well; to the point that I couldn't figure out where I was when I woke! 

Anyway, we started on our usual chores and things were going very well.  We rented "The King's Speech" yesterday and didn't get around to viewing it until today.  It was really very good; a fine cast and an interesting piece of history.  About half way through, my wife excused herself and went to the bathroom.  When she came back it was to announce that a part of one tooth had broken off.  She kind of bit down on it and it was still in place but obviously needed professional attention.  We've been to one of the dentists here in town and didn't care much for him or his assistant so returning there was not an option.  We watched the rest of the movie then like good little consumers, we let our fingers do the walking in the Yellow Pages and found another dentist.  The woman said 'come down immediately' so that's pretty much what we did. 

By 15:15 I was being told that the tooth required a crown and they were going to do the procedure right now.  About 25 years ago I my wife had a really bad experience with a dentist.  She hasn't liked dental procedures ever since.  A crown takes a lot of drilling and cutting and I knew she would not be enjoying the rest of the afternoon.  However, by 17:00 we were on the way home.  About $1000 poorer but with a fine new temporary crown and probably a new family dentist.  Apparently the dentist was a very nice lady and her staff were all very professional.  A great result to a lousy occurrence.   We'll go back in a couple weeks to get the permanent crown installed.

Happily we had quiche the other night and half is still in the fridge.  Sounds like a nice soft dinner for someone with a sore mouth.  Hope you had a good one!

Spring or summer?

We are finally warming up in the valley getting our first 80+ F days (27-30C).  Soon we'll be whining about the heat but right now it feels pretty good.  It feels like it's been a long winter.  Mt. Charleston still has a bit of snow but that will be gone soon.  Before long we'll be looking at nothing but rock

This morning I went out and fought another round in the war against weeds in our yard.  I've used 5 or 6 gallons (25l) of spray already; I don't know if we are done for the year or not.  At some point it will become dry and hot enough that the weeds will just die out.  Or at least I'm hoping so! 

Last fall we planted four cacti in our front yard.  It looks like one was killed by the cold but the other three seem to be growing.  I'll get some pictures one of these days.  During the winter, our wet season, you aren't supposed to water them but in summer they need water every month or so.  We don't want anything that requires irrigation.  In our experience, whenever you look away something goes wrong with a sprinkler system.  The ones we had while living in Florida were a constant maintenance headache whether I was doing the work or having a professional work on them.

This should be a quiet week.  We are both looking forward to having our quiet lives back.  Have a good one!

Sunset oddity

There is a piece in our local paper today telling us that the military will be conducting some exercises in our valley the last few days of April and the first of May.  Apparently it's a lot like Afghanistan!  I think it's great; they need someplace to practice and this is both close to the base (Nellis AFB) and lightly populated.  The Air Force guy said they wouldn't do anything crazy but there will be more aircraft in the region than usual. 

There is quite a military presence within say 300 miles (500km) - Nellis AFB, Area 51 and The Nevada Test Site are all just over on the Las Vegas side of the Spring Mountains.  A little farther up the road near Reno is the Hawthorne Army Depot where lots and lots of munitions are stored and Fallon Naval Air Station.  In California there is Edwards AFB, China Lake Naval Weapons Center and Fort Irwin National Training Center. 

I was outside yesterday near sunset and spotted an unusual contrail. 

All the straight contrails seem normal enough; though this is a large number to see at once.  It's the one that curves around that got my attention.  It makes me think that the fun and games we are told will be in 10 days have already started.  Well, anyway, it was a nice sunset!

Have a good one.

Not Daily; not Dead!

Ok, so I fell off the wagon a bit and haven't blogged for a couple days.  So sue me!  We are recovering from the house full of people and haven't been doing much.  My wife managed to catch a cold from someone; we just hope we didn't pass it on.  She has been drinking Theraflu two or three times a day since Saturday.  She's sounding better today though so hopefully she'll get back on her feet soon.

I did get out to go visit Croft for a couple hours.  In person he's much like his blog so I wasn't surprised to like him.  I was surprised about his wife Norma.  He doesn't talk a lot about her in the blog but in life she is bubbly, interesting and talkative; always in movement.  Croft came off as the quiet one which kind of surprised me.  Another couple came along and we had fun hearing about their adventures.  Both couples were asked by the management of Terrible's Lakeside to move their rig part way through their stay.  Neither was particularly complimentary about the management of the park as you might imagine.  I can't say I would be either!

Croft did turn me on to another blog (like I need another one to read); based in Mexico it is written by an ex-copy editor and reflects his retired life in a relatively small Mexican city.  Felipe Zapata is his pen name and Zapata Tales is the blog.  It is beautifully written and I'm really enjoying it.  He managed to turn his hammock into a character in the blog.  Very nice.

Now that I've had my vacation, it's time to get to work cleaning up after a week's worth of visitors.  Gotta go work.  Have a good one!

Not a Daily; not yet!

I'm sure not doing daily blog these days but I must say they are busy days.  In-laws and son and his girlfriend are our guests now; they are pretty easy to deal with but having six people in the house rather than two does up the stress level.  We are eating out more than usual because it's easy and it gets us all out of the house.  The animals are pretty weird-ed out too.  Of course, they have no idea why they have all this extra excitement but they are putting up with it pretty well. 

The young people like gambling so they have something to do while we older folk sit around watching the Master's Golf Tournament.  They have been here two days and have as many 'points' from gambling as my wife and I have accumulated in the two years we've been here!  Normally we wouldn't watch the golf but it's something we can all do and the in-laws really enjoy it.  I understand they aren't bad golfers for folks around eighty years of age.  Augusta is such a beautiful course too.   

Tomorrow we take the in-laws to Vegas and put them on the plane for home.  Then we will be down to just the kids who are staying until Saturday.  This hosting thing is getting easier and easier.  Started at eight visitors, then six, then two; pretty soon we'll be back to our quiet home in the desert.  Yep, I'm looking forward to it even though I do love all these people.

Today we are getting one of our wind storms.  From reading blogs I get the idea it's covering almost the entire Southwest.  It makes me want to check out the weatherstripping on the windows and doors before summer really hits.  I can feel a breeze when I'm near the window and it is definitely noisy.  There is quite a bit of dust in the air as well; we are all complaining of a dry feeling in the throat. 

I've left this post late so need to quit.  Time to run off and feed our faces.  Here's hoping I haven't gained too much weight this week!  Have a good one.

Just Doing It

I read a post a few days ago urging people to 'just do it'.  Now I've come across another person who writes:  "Amazing what you can accomplish once you stop making rich, fat, white guys even richer by buying junk."  Greg has traveled all over and just wants to keep on going.  You get the idea he's going to successful in his quest. 

We are just running around feeding people then cleaning up after the meals then start all over again.  Makes me certain I never want to have a guest house!  But then again I knew that already.  LOL  Tonight we are taking the easy way out and taking the whole group to our favorite (and only) Italian restaurant.  It's to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my wife's aunt and uncle.  Then they are leaving tomorrow; just before our son & his girlfriend show up.  Life in the family lane.

Gotta go.  Have a good one. 

Visitors - part 1

I'd forgotten that my  in-laws are crazy for watching golf on tv.  Happily there is an LPGA tourney going on now.  It takes a lot of time to watch golf and makes it easier to spend hours and hours together.  Tonight more family will show up.  We are just watching golf and waiting. 

I did take a photo of the cat.  It's nice and warm and the cat loves rolling around on his back in the sun.  Have a good one!

Busy busy

I'm probably going to be bad about blogging for the next week or so.  We managed to get the kid moved into her new house yesterday without any major catastrophes.  Today we are doing the final prep for a visit from much of my wife's family.  Parents, aunt & uncle, kids, friends - all are descending upon us.  It will be a busy time in the old town for the next week. 

Google gave me a pop-up this morning with information about making the blog accessible to various readers.  I'll look into it after all the visitors leave.

For some people having visitors is a way of life.  For us, not so much!  We lived in the Netherlands for two years and had a total of three nights of visitors.  We'd average a week or so a year for the eight years we lived in Florida.  So anyway, when we are expecting visitors, there's a lot of unusual prep to be done.  I think I'll go mop the tile.

Have a good one!

Loading....

We are headed to Vegas on Thursday to help our daughter move to her new place.  There are some things we promised to bring over so I spent an hour or two loading the truck.  The hardest part is tying everything so it won't get bounced around.  The second hardest part is crawling around in the back of the truck on my hands and knees!  Let me tell you, knees aren't made for crawling after sixty. 

President Obama finally came out and talked about Libya.  He is being criticized for it being an incomplete plan and I'm reasonably certain he'd rather have a better plan as well.  He is certainly painstakingly thorough when he has the time.  I've read that the Brits helped make up his mind to participate in the no-fly attacks.  In this case I guess I'm ok with the attack.  Having a U.N. resolution behind the action makes me a LOT happier than going off on our own as we did under GWB. 

Politico.com had this to say:  (His careful response)" is part of his DNA — a response to the grand strategic hopes that accompanied the Iraq invasion and, indeed, a return to his first foray into foreign policy: his little-noticed, later crucial, 2002 opposition to the Iraq war. “I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars,” he said at the time, and he and his aides Monday sought to make the case that in a careful analysis, the war over Libya is worth it."

“I’ve made it clear that I will never hesitate to use our military swiftly, decisively, and unilaterally when necessary to defend our people, our homeland, our allies and our core interests,” he said. If there is any semblance of an Obama doctrine, it is that a president who clearly sees force as a last resort will nonetheless use it, but only after deep reflection and only under circumstances that he feels give him no other choice; it is a doctrine that makes sure above all that one size never fits all.

One of the things that isn't being emphasized enough in the press is that the Arab League supported intervention in Libya.  I cannot tell you how important that is to me and I hope to the world.  As an atheist I dislike and fear all religions.  Magnificent things have been done in the name of religion but so have awful things.  There are plenty of examples in the past but you hardly have to go there.  Just look in your newspaper; if Israel or Palestine is mentioned there is probably a death or deaths being reported.  What do you think the war in Iraq is all about?  (Aside from greed and stupidity!)

If I believed in anything or anyone, I'd be praying for a swift end to all this; including Iraq and Afghanistan(!) but I've no one to turn to except my fellow human beings.  But I think we are unpredictable and unreliable, especially when money ("oil that is, Texas Tea") in involved. 

Here's to peace; it's not just for holidays.

Just Doing....

On our last trip to California, I misjudged a service station entrance and bent the rear stabilizing jacks on the trailer.  Bought new ones about two weeks ago but it wasn't until this morning I installed them.  I just used the original self-tapping screws so it wasn't too tough. 

We also had the carpets in the house cleaned this morning.  Now that guy earns his money!  It's hard work bending over using that machine.  Moving all the furniture off the carpet is almost as tough though.  We'll probably spent part of tomorrow putting it all back.  (Oh my aching back also!) 

Finally we have an electrician coming in this afternoon to install a new switch for a light.  I guess I could do something that simple but we weren't sure what was wrong.  Sometimes the switch would almost work; other times nothing at all.  We had this guy out last week to replace a couple circuit breakers and he figured out that time what was wrong.  I figure it's only fair to let him replace it.  These days it's tougher than usual for these small business folks to make a dollar.

Gotta go.  I'm doing well working on the trailer.  There's always more!

Just Do It!

Wandering around other people's blogs is always interesting.  One of my favorites is Because We Can.  I started reading them because they were traveling around Europe; not exactly backpacking but pretty close.  Come to find out that they are full-time rv travelers when they are here in the U.S.  Then they traveled to Alaska which is one of my aspirations so I've just kept reading about their travels. The other day they linked to another site where the guy was exhorting people to 'just do it'.

It's a good philosophy.  Too often I get an idea for a great project then somehow it either never gets started or else it gets abandoned part way through.  For example, I want to redesign the way I store things in the back of our truck when we travel.  I've got half a dozen pencil sketches around but haven't completed the design; haven't bought any wood; haven't done anything.  Grrrr!  This is NOT the way to be a happy camper.  We've been talking about traveling in June; now my wife is suggesting maybe we should go earlier in May.  That is when I was going to be building this contraption; so I'm going to have to get with it soon!

So I'm going to just do it.  Tomorrow!  LOL  Have a good one.

Spring?

We are hoping that spring is finally here.  I've managed to run errands this afternoon with no coat; now if it will just keep being nice!  We have family from the Northwest visiting in a week so we need nice weather.  Being cooped up in the house for a week doesn't even sound like fun.

To make Spring official, we planted our garden last week.  It's not exactly a big deal:  the vegies are one jalapeno plant and one tomato plant.  That's one pot.  The other pot has basil, thyme and parsley.  The theory is that we'll be able to cart the plants along with us when we travel next summer.  That should be pretty funny!  I predict dirt all over the place.

One of the benefits of living here is that you get to see all kinds of individuals trying hard to be different.  Today I saw a nice normal, quite new, van with a homemade rack on the top.  The strange thing is that the rack was made of ordinary iron pipe bolted to the roof.  Can you spell 'ugly'?  Attached to one corner was a battery box with a wire led down into the vehicle.  Heaven only knows what that's all about.  There was no solar panel so that battery is going to get flat pretty quickly if there is a load on it.

One of our elected officials managed to get noticed again.  This time it's a woman who sent out a bunch of emails to various people including the Sheriff.  In the email she said she was frightened of the Latino men doing some construction next door to her office and asked that their immigration status be checked.  She had more of a racist rant but that was the basic deal.  Needless to say, people are ticked off.  Of course, the next day the construction companies posted memos on her door explaining that all of their workers are either US citizens or legal immigrants.  Our county, like the country as a whole, is about 16% Latino.  This woman was just elected in November so can't be recalled until next summer but someone is already starting a recall campaign.  I swear, these people are all crazy out here.  I'm just hoping that it's not catching.  Or at least that I have a good time & don't hurt anyone.

Have a good one!

Ah yes, local officials......

We now have proof that Pahrump doesn't have a lock on corrupt District Attorneys, Las Vegas managed to arrest one of their guys on cocaine possession.  Link here.  Make me feel much better knowing that the guy who takes care of all the high-profile drug cases knows exactly what is going on.

Now all I have to complain about is the weather.  It's below normal; it even froze the water in our new bird bath last night.  It was only a very thin layer but cold is cold!  High today should be around 60F (15C).  Even my wife is complaining that the winter has seemed longer this year.  The weather map is showing more storms coming in from the Pacific so we've got another week or more of overcast and the slight possibility of rain.

I've been wondering how the markets are treating Japanese companies & funds.  I used to own Mathews Japan Fund (MJFOX); I sold it because it was just gradually declining.  As it turns out , it is down about 10% from last January but I don't think that's bad considering!  Toyota is down from it's February highs but about the same as last January.  People and markets are being remarkably calm I think.  Good news!

Gotta go.  Have a good one.

Fits and Starts

I find I often work in fits and starts.  The garage will obsess me for a few days, then I won't go near the place for weeks.  I'll be reading nothing on the internet except investing information; then I'll stop completely.  I'll visit about a hundred blogs; then ignore them.  You get the idea.  Are other people like that?  Are you?  Or am I as strange in this as I am in various other things?

Does anyone do programming for pc's any more?  Back about a thousand years ago I had a Pascal compiler for my pc.  (Well, the late 80's anyway.)  I wrote some neat little programs for that thing.  I'm going to see if I can't find another one.  HTML is interesting but I'm not sure it will do the things I'm looking at doing.  I guess that shows the depth of my ignorance of newer languages.  Hell, I even gave away my HTML book when we left Florida.  Guess I'll be checking out the library.

We did finally get a bird bath to go with the feeder. It doesn't seem to popular at the moment but the birds seem to take a few days to get used to things.  We decided to go with a conventional bath rather than a solar powered job for two reasons:  money and weight.  This one was under $40 AND heavy.  Even so it wobbles a bit in the wind gusts.  If I get wild and crazy I'll add a pump-solar cell arrangement later.  So far I think it scares more birds off than it attracts.

Talked to some folks having a garage sale today.  Boy, were they depressing.  They are certain that the world is in the hands of some group who are trying to end the world as we know it.  People start off on a rant about President Obama; I'm just not going to argue with them.  I agree he's screwed up some things but he inherited a huge pile of shit from Presidents Bush, Clinton & the rest going back at least 40 years.  Anyway, living here it's easy to laugh off any criticism of  the national government; I just point out that our local government is so lousy that I don't have time to worry about the nation.  It's not true that I don't worry, of course, but almost everyone will agree about our local pols!

Guess I'll go watch the news and get completely depressed.  Hope you are having a good one.

Obsessed with Japan

The news is rightly obsessed with Japan these days.  The news is so terribly tragic and it just seems to get worse.  I can only watch a certain amount.  Then there is Libya; another disaster.   So... I'm just hanging around trying to avoid the news. 

This dove was just checking out the world from the top of the hummingbird feeder.  It's a warm, peaceful place for him right now.  Hope you are having a good one.

Fantastic morning here - tragic in Japan

We've got high little clouds yesterday morning and a lovely sunrise.  Had to share it!

But the news from Japan this morning is so horrific.  My heart goes out to all the people affected by the earthquake and the tsunami. 

Getting nice

We are gradually warming up around here; highs are in the low 70's F (22C).  Nice stuff.  Unfortunately the weed seeds that have been hanging around since last year are turning into growing plants!  Grrr!  Ordinarily I like having our acre lot (about .4 hectare) but about this time I'm hating it.  Last year we bought $100 worth of weedkiller so now I've got to apply the darned stuff!  I can only do about a third of the yard at a time.  Bending over with the sprayer and trying to walk a straight line and not get the gunk all over me is hard.  I wish there was some other answer but I haven't figured it out.


Other than the weeds, life is good.  Our bird feeder is doing it's job.

They go through about three-fourths of the feeder every day.  Good thing bird feed is reasonably priced!


Our daughter is buying her first new house so we are trying to help her make good decisions.  It's interesting all the homeowner things that are all new for her.  From buying dishes to buying a garage door opener, it's all new to her.  Happily we've done this lots of times so we can offer 'expert' opinion.  She bought a cute little house and will be closing at the end of the month.  Our housewarming presents are going to be things like fire extinguishers, alarm systems & stepladders.  Things that most apartment dwellers don't consider requirements.

I went to an old-fashioned estate auction earlier this a.m.  And I thought I had a lot of stuff!  LOL  This person had at least one of every size channel lock plier made; five or six sets of screwdrivers; air compressors; welding equipment; at least four tool chests; sets of wrenches that were still in their original packaging.  Jeez!  A mechanic/pack rat.  They also had three 1950's era cars in various states of repair.  Very interesting but after an hour or so I just had to leave.  My casual interest wasn't enough to keep me standing out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon.  I was kind of interested in an old riding lawn mower that they had but it was going to be way late in the afternoon before they got to it.  Nope, I had to just say 'no'.

Here's a site I really love.  http://www.vpike.com/  shows you Google maps and photos of almost any place you can imagine.  Try it, you might like it.  Take care!

Home work

I'm taking some time lately to get a few things done around the house.  We've lived here two years already and the garage is still a mess!  We have a three car garage and only two vehicles; you'd think there would be lots of room.  NOT!!  But I am slowly making progress.  Went to Home Depot the other day to pick up a couple of things.  I saw this guy just waiting patiently for his boss to return.

 

This guy finally got tired of standing and just lay down in the bed of the truck. 

It's still pretty chilly here; 28F (-2C) this a.m. and we may get to 60F (15C)today but I'm not really counting on it.  We had some rain the other day; it was snow just a bit above the valley floor.  These are part of the Nopah Range to the south and west of the valley.  It was obviously pretty gray as well.

More rain is expected next weekend.  Just like it used to be when I was working in Seattle; nice mid-week and lousy on the weekend.  It's good to know there are some things you can depend on.  We have visitors from the Pacific Northwest passing through Pahrump; they will be here Saturday & Sunday just in time for the rotten weather.  I'll have to remember to thank them for bringing it with them. 

Have a good one!

What can one say???

My heart goes out to the people of Christchurch, NZ who have been so devastated by the terrible earthquake.  How can it be understood to be riding along in a bus and have a building fall on it!  What can prepare one for that?

"How's your mum?"
"Oh, she's dead."
"Oh, I'm so sorry.  How did she die?"
"A building fell on the bus she was riding in last Tuesday."

What's with that!  Well, I guess it's better than what's happening in the Arab world.  In New Zealand we are talking 65 dead; in Libya it might be 500 or 5,000.

The changes we are seeing there; almost minute to minute are staggering.  What on earth can one say about the Egyptian leader leaving office after 30 years?   There are certain to be amazing changes in the direction of Egyptian politics.  Then there are the other Arab/Islamic nations who are feeling the desire for change - Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, who knows where?

I'm no foreign policy genius but any nitwit can see that when an autocratic regime suddenly disappears there is a power vacuum and there is no guessing what will happen.  All those boffins who advise the leaders of the world will be grasping at any straw to suggest the future direction of these countries.  I'm glad I'm not one of the boffins or the leaders!   Come on Obama, I supported you because I thought you were smart enough to lead us through mine-fields like this.  Go buddy, go!

All I know is that almost everyone prefers stability to disarray so I'm expecting some military take-overs in some Arab countries really soon.  The prince of Bahrain, in canceling the Bahrain Grand Prix, has signaled that he wants to talk with at least some of his people.

"Bahrain's priority is on overcoming tragedy, healing divisions and rediscovering the fabric that draws this country together to remind the world of the very best that Bahrain is capable of as a nation once again united. At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain."

At the very least, the Prince's words give one hope for this one nation.  Libya is certainly not so fortunate!  The death toll is still unknown; most likely will never be known.  Who knows about the other Arab nations?

 This is one of those times when I wish I believed in a God.  I would certainly be praying for peace!

Almost Seattle

We have a day today that reminds one of Seattle in the winter.  It's gray, I can't see the mountains even.  We used to see Mt. Rainier from our house; I remember one time our daughter visited for a whole month and she never got to see the mountain.  I don't think this is going to stick around that long but it does bring back memories!  Don't get me wrong, I love Seattle.  I lived in the Pacific Northwest for about 17 years.  I remember the billboard someone put up when Boeing was in a severe downturn:  "Will the last person leaving Seattle please put out the lights."  Today it's a beautiful and vibrant city; but it certainly has it's 'gray days' in winter.

This morning I opened the blinds that open onto the patio to find a group of doves.  Apparently they prefer cold concrete to being wet.  Of course having the bird buffet about ten feet away probably aided in their decision.  Here's a shot of some other guys waiting for the buffet.

It actually reminds me of people just waiting for an opening.  My wife won't go to Outback Steakhouse any more because we went there once and people were standing around in the parking lot waiting for a table.  I've heard more than one ex-GI refuse to stand in line because they did a lifetime's worth of that in the service.  I can't imagine waiting in line to get into a dance club or somewhere.  It's just not in my DNA!  Anyone else have that feeling?  Do you know the origin of your distaste for waiting in line?  How did it happen.  Inquiring minds want to know!

Quiet Day today

Hopped up this morning and went to the casino for breakfast.  It does us good to get out together.  Then we transfer from the restaurant to the video poker machines.  Our daughter calls them video crack machines; they seem to be that addictive!  We each put in our $5 and whoever loses first times our escape.  This morning I lost and my wife made a quarter.  How's that for wild living?  Yep, almost puts me to sleep as well. 

Happily the 'honey do' list is alive and well.  Currently I'm installing more shelving in the pantry.  This is the first time we've ever had a pantry worthy of the name and we love it.  Finding that can of chicken broth or the new can of peanuts has ever been so easy.  I'm also adding a rack for wine; it will only hold 10 or 15 bottles but it holds both the 750 ml and the 1.75l bottles.  It even has a shelf for extra scotch, vodka & stuff like that.  All that stuff has been sitting around on the floor of the garage so I'm getting some garage space back as well.  We have a three car garage and only two vehicles so there ought to be lots of room.  Don't know what I'm doing wrong but it's kind of crowded out there.

Our first attempt at feeding the birds is working out better than expected.  The little devils are going through at least half a feeder full every day.  Good thing they don't want steak!  Gotta go.  Have a good one.

I'm not happy but....

Here's the title of an email that I received today from someone trying to give me investment advice:

Demise of America: What income investors should do

Give me a break folks! Ok, I agree that the US isn't going to always be the be-all and end-all of the world.  But isn't that just reality?  Have you ever read any history at all?  Are you over 15?  THERE is an investment adviser that just got an un-subscribe message!

Granted we have a huge deficit that is going to be difficult to pay.  Granted we have some social problems that are tough to deal with.  Granted this isn't entirely heaven on earth.  Get over it!  This is still a wonderful country where people have more wealth and freedom than most places.  That isn't going to change for a very long time.  I read a blog by an investment adviser who advocates increasing investments in other countries because he believes their rate of growth will exceed that of the U.S.  Ok, I suspect he is probably right (and the headline I'm quoting is NOT his!).  But it doesn't mean that we are looking at the 'demise of America'.  There is a very rich Mexican by the name of Carlos Slim.  Who in the world would think that Mexico would be the basis for the world's richest man?  He's not rich because he is a dictator stealing from the people.  He's rich because he brought the Mexican people things they wanted to buy.  It doesn't matter if the U.S. is the richest country in the world or the poorest; you can still make good investments and make money. 

Ok, sorry about the rant.  When I took the dog out this a.m. we had mostly blue sky but the clouds are filling the valley and we may yet get rain.  Not lots but the odd .001 inch - it ain't much in centimeters either!  Loved the look of the clouds and the mountains though!  Have a good one!

Jeez!

My previous post about the tragic fire has taken yet another turn.  Apparently one of the children who died in the fire had already set several fires inside the house that were not reported to either the fire service or the sheriff.  The mother has been arrested for manslaughter, child abuse and neglect.  Her lighter was not found in her purse where it should have been.  What a total waste.

To turn to a more positive thought; here are a couple photos from the San Diego zoo.  It's an amazing place.  We've been three or four times and I still haven't seen more that about a third of it.  This first character was definitely interested is staying on the nest!

The second seemed like a lonely and bored character; a lone wombat having a nap.

I think I'll go for a hike.  Have a good one!

Tragedy in Pahrump

We had a true tragedy in our little town Wednesday morning, a young woman and three children (all under 6) perished in a fire.  The story is here.  Somehow the mother escaped the fire; the young woman was on the phone with the 911 operator when she died.  There are so many questions but I guess what I'm really left with is just how terrible it is that these young people lost their lives. 

In happier news, we had a bank robbery!  Want to see the suspect?  Here.  Will wonders never cease!  And, no, I was nowhere near that bank today.  LOL

Over in Vegas they had a bit of a scare when an aircraft leaving Nellis AFB had an engine problem and had to drop it's two 500lb bombs rather closer to the city than usual.  I'm glad they have a place designated to drop them and that the pilot was able to get there!  They have something else to celebrate:  no one has been killed in 20 days!  Darn, we might lose that 'sin city' tag. 

Gotta go.  Stay out of trouble!

Taking a drive

I like my little town and often take a ride around town in the afternoon.  There are all kinds of people living here; some very nice houses, lots of manufactured homes, plenty of mobile homes and lots of shacks.  A couple blocks from our home there is a nice house with an old mobile home in the back yard that is used as a stable for the people's horses!  Folks out here can be pretty creative. 

There are also a lot of empty homes; lots and lots of foreclosures.  There just isn't much work here so people have to travel to Las Vegas to earn their living.  It's tough.  We've lived here two years; this photo is of a house that has been just sitting all that time.  It is probably 75% finished; paint it and put some doors and carpet in and it would be complete.  Instead it just sits empty and unusable.  What a waste!

It's a big house with a carport and a two car garage.  The windows are in; the tile roof is almost finished.  Someone's dream died here.  It's just sad.  There isn't even a real estate sign; I suppose some bank owns it and just hasn't bothered to list it.  With all the other houses on the market, it wouldn't pay them to finish it. 

Sorry to be so negative today.  I'll find something good to cook tomorrow and that will put me in a better mood!  Take care.

Back at the ranch!

We got home yesterday from our little trip.  We had a good time and got home safely but it wasn't exactly without event.  The trip started badly when my wife looked into the shower compartment and found that one of the faucet handles had come off.  Hmmm, a little investigation and it became obvious that the faucet was dead.  So our first stop was at a local rv dealer where we bought a new faucet. 

The stop slowed us a bit and it was somewhat windy so we decided to stop at Kingman, AZ. for the night; we had wanted to continue on to Congress, AZ.  It was early enough so we could install the faucet in the daylight.  Tried it and it seemed to work though the hose leading to the showerhead was leaking.  It was cold though, down to about 26F (-3C).  The next morning we towed the rig down to the Escapee's park in Congress, AZ.  Again we were battling the wind but the rig handles wind reasonably well and it wasn't uncomfortable, just slow.  We left the rig there and drove down to Sun City, AZ to visit family.  We had a great visit and even got an invitation to their 60th wedding party to take place next June in western Nebraska.  Hmmmm.  Well, maybe.

Back to the rig; it was supposed to be 22F (-5.5C) this time so we tried something new and left the slide in.  With the slide out it's a lot more comfortable but with it in we reduce the area that is being heated by something close to 25%.  It worked and we spent a comfortable night in Congress.  Finally it was time to head for California. 

Grrrrrr!  More wind!  Plus going through the mountains means you get odd, unexpected bursts of wind as you round a corner or go down a grade.  We went to Blythe, CA on I-10 then took CA-78 down to Brawley and El Centro, CA.  There we met I-8 and took that in to San Diego.  Not long after getting on I-8 we saw a sign saying there was a wind advisory for 'high profile' vehicles.  Well, it was only an advisory so we went anyway.  Not a very smart idea but we managed to get through it ok. 

We stopped for gas before the last jump over the mountains to S.D. and I managed to snag both rear stabilizers on the concrete; bending both.  Looks like they will have to be replaced.  Grrr.  Anyway, we managed to find San Diego and landed at a park we've visited before.  I was hoping for warm weather but, you guessed it, it was chilly and nasty! 

We were planning on having a good time though so first thing Thursday morning I decided to try our shower.  Grrr, again!  The shower head was spraying water all over; mostly out the handle.  Happily we were close to the campground showers so used them for the duration of our stay.  After all that, we did manage to do a little shopping and see our son for a while that evening. 

Next day we toured two of the museums in Balboa Park; the automotive museum and the Timkin Museum.  Don't ask why we chose those two; there was no logic involved.  LOL  (Automotive is easy but Timkin has mostly medieval paintings.)  It was still chilly but we persevered and had fun.  It's a beautiful park with amazing buildings.  We will have to visit S.D. a hundred times to visit every place we want to see!  That evening we took our son & S.O. out to dinner at Prado, in the park.   They each have a birthday in the next couple of weeks and this was their present.  We had an excellent dinner for four with appetizers, drinks, wine, and desert for $250.  Not bad for the kind of place. 

On Saturday the kids took us to the zoo.  They have season passes and get a few tickets for friends (or relatives!).  The zoo cannot be covered in a day except by some maniac runner but we had a good time walking around enjoying what we could see.  It was a great day and we had fun looking at 1) the animals, 2) the people and 3) the plants.  (You may order the attractions as you wish.)

The trip home was pretty uneventful.  Windy, of course, but not bad.  I was getting sleepy so asked my wife to drive the last 50 or 60 miles.  I don't think she has driven this truck-trailer combination before but, of course, she had no problem with it.  She's an excellent driver and I got some relaxation but discovered that the truck seat isn't very comfortable for sleeping.  I'm buying a pillow before we go anywhere again! 

Started this post on Monday but got interrupted and didn't finish.  Tuesday has been pretty quiet.  I worked in the garage trying to organize things.  We've only lived here for two years; wouldn't you think the garage would have SOME organization?  Well, ours is coming close but.... 

Have a good one!

Getting a move on....

We've got this trailer and a nice big pickup for moving it around; we decided it's time to do so!  We are off for a week in California torturing number 1 son & his significant other.  Damn, I'm so politically correct it hurts!  Anyway we are going to be wandering around and may or may not have internet access.  I may even have to drink a Starbuck's just to get an internet fix.  Oh no!

We are planning going by way of Sun City, AZ where I have some relatives.  Haven't seen them in a while and they are really nice people.  I don't want my relatives to think I'm trying to avoid them even though there is sometimes a bit of truth in the thought.  Doesn't everyone have relatives they would rather not see?  Happily these are the good kind and we are looking forward to a visit.

After Sun City we'll be headed towards Quartzsite where there should be tons of other rv'ers.  Happily we'll be on the Interstate headed west so, enjoy your quiet time in the desert folks.  We won't be bothering you; we'll just continue west to sunny San Diego.

Put some new shelves in the pantry the other day and the next day every bone I have was creaking!  This aging does have a few disadvantages.  But when I think about the alternative; well, I guess it's ok. 

Gotta go.  Have a good one!

Waiting......

Blogging from Gaudin Ford in Las Vegas.  We bought out truck from these folks and I like returning to the selling dealer for service.  Besides, it's the closest Ford dealer.  It's time for an oil change so here I sit.  Later I'll get to do a few errands.  Life in the fast lane!

It's really kind of fun; this is my first laptop (no bleeding edge for me!) so sitting here sucking on their wifi is new for me.  This Toshiba is certainly a lap-full though.  Heavy too, I see why notebooks are popular.  Yes, maybe someday I'll learn about smartphones; or maybe not. 

I asked Lee, who was a food chemist, about an email I got claiming the onions were bacteria magnets.  His answer was pretty funny.  I knew the idea was silly but he really went into detail pointing out HOW silly.  Smart guy!  I've always liked associating with smart people; I figure that maybe I'll be mistaken for one.

Have a good one.

Walking

We took a walk yesterday - first one in a long time unfortunately.  We only went about a mile and a half (2.4km) but it was good to get out.  Took the dog, of course.  She heels while we are on the road but is given 'Free Dog' when we are out in the desert.  Here's a happy dog off sniffing everything.

As we walked along I noticed something that is thankfully unusual.

It's a live 9mm round.  Heaven knows how it would end up out there; it looks like it's been bashed around a bit as well.   I suppose it just fell out of someone's pocket.  Cars drive up and down that trail quite often. You wouldn't think it would be dangerous to run over but I wouldn't want to put that theory to the test.  Amazing what you can find if you are looking.

Have a good one.

Not-a-lot!

Some days I can hardly keep my fingers off the keyboard; others I can't think of a thing to blog.  Weird stuff.  Anyway, it's my first day off the meds given me by the ER and I'm doing fine, just rather mentally dull.  (No comments needed, thank you!)

I did find a new ride for Wombat.

Wouldn't that be great for a biker's wedding?  Wonder if Jesse James will rent it for his new honey. 

My only real problem with motorcycles is that you usually have to drive 50 miles either in lousy traffic or in boring/uncomfortable conditions to get to 2 miles of great motorcycle road.  I used to have one and I think driving in traffic just sucks.  Likewise doing 30 miles in a straight line just sucks.  Some folks think it's worth it but give me my air conditioned, cruise controlled car anyday.

Have a good one.

Food!

Someone sent me this link.  This girl has talent!  I don't usually care for songs that contain bad language but this is special; partially it's the audience reaction, partially her abilities and I've got to admit there are people that just deserve to be told this.  Language of the song is x-rated but the vid is not.
http://punchbaby.com/2011/01/ceelos-fck-you-in-sign-language/  Just excellent!

The medication given me at the ER is doing a great job so I had to cook something!  Hmmm, is that normal?  BTW, I'm not really a cook so I don't do recipes.  For example, a pound of beef could be anything from .75 to 1.25 pounds.  For this recipe, today, the cup of barley was more like 1.3 cup,  I used 2 bay leaves because the first seemed small, the vegies were just what were on hand, the mushrooms were sliced because they are large but I almost diced them.  It's not rocket science for me!

Well, anyway, I made beef-barley soup.  I look at most recipes and say, 'where's the barley?'.  You don't say that with this one, it's got 4 times the barley you find in some recipes.  So it's not a thin soup, it's close to soft cement in thickness, especially after it has been in the fridge for a day.  But it sure tastes good to my wife and I.  You've got to understand, we like barley! 

Have a good one.

Beef-n-Barley  Soup  

Ingredients:

1 lb beef cut into small cubes

1 cup red wine

1 t rosemary

1 bay leaf

salt, pepper, garlic to taste

  (4 small cloves smashed and chopped)

2 cans beef broth

1 can Rotel (tomatoes with peppers added)

1 cup barley

2 cups water

1 cup carrot small dice

1 cup celery small dice

1 med. onion, small dice

1.25 cup mushrooms sliced

Brown the beef in oil.  Add wine, broth, tomatoes & spices.  Cook for an hour.  I only salt & peppered the beef while it was being browned. 

Add barley, cook for 10 minutes.

 Added  2 cups of water this time.  Sometimes I add more if I want it thinner.

Add carrot, celery & onion; cook for 20 minutes.

Add mushrooms; cook for 10 minutes.  Ended up cooking it for another 5 because the barley was still a bit tough.

Had to add at least a teaspoon of salt but that's for our taste, your taste might be different or you might have salted the beef more when you browned it.  Serve. 

Full Moon

Last night was either the Full Moon or awfully close.  I had to take a couple photos just before sunset.  Hope you didn't get too loonie!

A Strange Thing

Yesterday started out totally normal; until I spent most of the afternoon in the ER.  NOT a fun day but it was basically nothing. 

We started out for lunch and a bit of shopping.  Went into the restaurant feeling just fine; by the time the server brought our cokes I was so dizzy I couldn't stand.  I swear, I looked like every drunk you've ever seen on 'reality tv'.  We had the sandwiches packed to go and headed for the ER.  A few tests and the answer 'vertigo' came back though the doctor did mention labyrinthitis.  Well, hell, I knew that!  It's what to do about it.  Happily they handed over a prescription for Meclizine and that plus about 18 hours flat on my back seems to have done the trick.  At least labyrinthitis sounds like it would be a terrible title for a movie.

Aside from my personal problems, it wasn't a great day in the news.  People are arguing that unemployment here may be 18% rather than only 14%.  Requests for food stamps are up 250% over 2008.  Just sunshine where ever you look. 

Speaking of sunshine, it was 74F (23.3C) yesterday breaking the previous record and 17F (8C) above normal.  Nice afternoon.  Wish I'd been spending it on the patio with a glass of wine.  Have a good one.

For Wombat

Found this photo and just had to post it for Wombat.  Wombat is the nom-de-blog of a young gentleman who drives various limos down in Florida.  I'm sorry I didn't get to meet him when I was living there.  He writes a great blog.  Wombat, please don't try this!

I don't know where this came from so if I've stolen your photo, sorry! 

Exciting Stuff!

We finally went out and bought a bird feeder.  We've been feeding the local hummingbirds for a while and decided it was time to be nice to the other guys.  It's working!

Table for two?

Change....

I had my little rant the other day about not really 'getting' Facebook.  It got me thinking about the changes going on in the world.  It's really rather amazing when you think about it.  Now I'm ancient,  born in the first half of the 20th century if that means anything to you, but it's not just me who is noticing these changes.  A professor at Beloit College (a small mid-western US school) has been making a list every year for the last twelve years of what sets his incoming students apart from us older folks.  Here's the article.

A few of the items surprised me (well, most did but....)

• few can write in cursive 
• 
  
• a quarter of young people under 18 have at least 1 immigrant parent
• 
  
• DNA fingerprinting has always existed
• 
  
• phones have never had cords
• 
  
• Russians and Americans have always lived together in the space station
• 
  
• US companies have always done business in Vietnam
•  
•  they never worried about a missile strike.

What amazing changes these are.  Some are societal, a few technological, economics certainly plays a huge part.  I certainly wasn't smart enough to buy Microsoft stock when it first came out; nor Amazon; nor Google!  I guess that as a futurist I make a great rear-view mirror.  

No, it's not the end of the world, it is only change.  Maybe some of us older folks ought to relax and accept that change will happen.   We can just try to keep up with the parts we really need and forget the rest.  Guess I ought to go fool around with Facebook some more.  Either that or go hire a 10 year old to help me!

Have a good one!

A Quiet Day

Today has been a pretty quiet day.  We did get out for a walk but had to stick to the streets, the desert is still muddy from the snow.  The ground here has a layer of clay and just does not allow water to drain away. 

I did make the ham & bean soup on Friday; it was good too!  I have a nice immersion blender to use to thicken it but I almost always forget to blend it before adding the ham.  Using the blender on the ham shreds it and I don't like that so I end up not blending the soup.  It's still ok.  Today I made beef jerky.  All you do is cut the meat up, marinate it over night then put it on the dehydrator for a few hours.  Having it around cuts down on the amount of sweets that we eat.  It's not as healthy as eating a carrot but you do what you can do.

Earlier I went out and updated my Facebook page.  I just really don't understand Facebook.  I've made contact with a few people from my school days but otherwise I don't use it much.  Maybe I'm just not much of a networking kind of guy.  Or maybe I'm just an old goat!  It's kind of interesting, when I was working I was using all the new technologies that were available.  Now that I'm retired and have less need for technology, I have a voice-only cell phone, no iPad, no iPod, no Kindle, no text plan, no Twitter, no computer games; I'm practically a Luddite.  I'm not even sure I got the RSS feed to work for this blog.  My wife and I are talking about getting smartphones when our current cell plan runs out but it's just a reaction to feeling left behind by the world.  It's not a 'need'.  What about you?  What kind of phone do you have?  Do you like it?  Use it?

Nopah

Ordinarily I post photos of the mountains to the east of our house.  That's where Mt. Charleston, the local big guy, is located.  However we have mountains on the west as well.  These are called the Nopah Range.  'Pah' is supposed to be a word meaning water and it certainly seems as though the range is well named.  If you kind of skirt around the mountains you soon find yourself in Death Valley.  We all know it's pretty dry there!  The recent snow did manage to hit the Nopah Range though making them beautiful as well as dramatic.  This photo was taken just before the sun came up.

Guess I'm as fascinated by the snow as anyone!

Today is ham and bean soup day.  I froze the bone from the Christmas ham and today it will fulfill it's destiny and add it's flavor to some yummy soup.  The recipe is basically the one in "The Joy of Cooking" that my mom and dad gave me for my 21st birthday.  The only real change is that I use a whole pound of beans; the recipe only calls for a cup or so.  At Christmas I never work too hard at getting the ham off the bone so there is plenty of meat too.  Hmmm, I'm making myself hungry!  It must be time to quit fooling around on the computer and get to work.

Have a good one!

Snow's gone of course

It was sure popular with the media.  Front page pictures on the papers and all the talking heads could talk about on tv.  It's better then hearing about a new war we've started though.  It's still cold; only getting up to 50F or so (10C) during the day so the snow on the north side of things is still lingering.  You would have laughed if you'd been in the car with me the first time I backed out of the garage and the tires hit the frozen snow.  I jammed on the brakes thinking I'd hit something.  What an idiot!  Guess that's what I get for living in warm climates for so long.

I occasionally visit Braja at Lost & Found in India.  Usually she is pretty solemn about things but her last couple of posts have been just funny.  First I read about New Years and Cow's Bums which wasn't all that funny until you get to the actual photo of the cow's bum!  Then she told the really sad story of a guy who was doing some plastering work who literally drank himself to death; the funny part was where she pointed out that the plasterer got plastered.  LOL  Sorry but I still think it's clever writing.

Off to the hardware store to buy some shelving.  We want to update the pantry a bit.  Life in the fast lane!  Take care.

Woke early...

Woke up early this a.m. - about 05:00.  Had to go outside in my robe and take this photo.

We ended up with 2-3 inches (maybe 12-15cm) of quite wet snow.  It's above freezing though so shouldn't last too long.  School is out here but not in Vegas.  The road to Vegas is closed; partially snow but there are at least 2 accidents as well.  Brrrr.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Just a quick wish to all for a happy, healthy and successful new year.  2010 has been a tough year; let's hope 2011 is much nicer to us all.  Happy holiday!

Rant

'After welcoming Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John on Dec. 25 via a surrogate, Sir Elton John, 62, and partner David Furnish, 48, shared the joyous news with UsMagazine.com"

I wish the best of wishes to both parents and the baby.  Actually, what else can you do?  Are you going to start a rant about being gay?  Or gay guys with a baby?  Bah humbug!  Get over it.

There are millions of 'normal' folks reproducing and most of the fodder for COPS and all the other 'reality' tv shows are their children.  Don't even try to tell me that a child brought up by gay guys is going to have problems just because of his/her parents sexual orientation.  It just doesn't fly.  If there are so many screwed up kids in the world whose parents are 'straight'; gay parents cannot be any worse!  Shit oh dear, maybe they will be better!  Go watch 'La Cage aux Folles' - or 'The Birdcage' if you can't stand the French. 


Happy New Year to all if I am absent!

Spectacular Sunset

Somewhere I got the idea that looking AWAY from the sunset can give you some spectacular photos.  Here's one I took tonight.  These are the mountains to the northeast of our house.

The weather forecast is that a front is coming down on Southern Nevada from the Pacific Northwest.  We are supposed to be getting rain and snow above 5000 ft (1500m).  So far we've had an overcast day and nothing much else.  Maybe tomorrow will be rain but this is certainly a lovely sunset.

Nice for a moment

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were beautiful here.  I got a new camera so I should be taking more photos.  Here's one of the mountain in the sunset; taken with the new camera.

And what is my new toy?  It is a Canon SX210 IS - much like my old camera but it is smaller, more pixels, and still a great optical zoom.  It also has a built in battery and no viewfinder both of which I dislike.  I keep running out of battery power when I am out shooting something.  It's nice to be able to plug in a new set of AA's and keep going.  I also have trouble seeing view screens in the sunlight so I like using a viewfinder.  BUT both cameras using AA's and viewfinders are really scarce.  I wanted a shirt pocket size camera; this was just so close to what I wanted I had to do it.  My wife got one too.  She has no more excuses for not getting out and taking pictures.

We also got our bikes fixed up.  They have been through a lot of traveling and not much care since we bought them in the Netherlands over 10 years ago.  Now everything is lubed up and working so we can actually use them.  I've got a long term goal of weighing 200 lb (90kg) when I turn 65 in three years.  I want to make some lifestyle changes that enable me to lose that 35 lb (15kg).  Regular exercise is one of the changes.  Recently we've been walking about 40 minutes out in the desert.  When it rains the desert turns to mud and we can't walk.  But now we can ride! 

Hope your Boxing Day was great and the rest of the week as well.

Still raining

It finally stopped raining here in the desert; it is very unusual of course to get this much rain.  The cloudy days are reminding me of Seattle; I thought those days were behind me.  Today is a beautiful day; hopefully people will be able to get out and get some things done that they have been putting off.  More rain is forecast for next week though.

Yesterday was 'go get the food day' for Christmas.  The only problem is that everyone else is on the same trajectory.  I was coming out of Wal-Mart and some old guy almost reversed his car into the building through the door I was trying to use to leave.  That's too exciting for this old guy!  Menu is standard for us:  ham, mac-n-cheese (my wife isn't a potato person), asparagus (probably), salad.  No desert because everyone is trying to lose an ounce.  Simple, traditional and easy; can't beat the combination for a kind of stress heavy day.  Plus there aren't any ingredients we can't find here in Pahrump!  In some ways living here reminds me of living in Iowa as a kid; exotic things just aren't available. 

I bought some wood and I'm planning on making a rifle rack.  I've got a few old .22 rifles that I had when I was a kid.  My mom kept them and now I've got them.  They are probably worth $10 each but they have a sentimental meaning.  They have been standing up against the wall in the closet long enough.  My adventure in woodworking will hopefully begin before Christmas.  I'm planning a simple rack where the rifle is stored vertically.  It shouldn't take me more than a month to build.

One of my excuses for not posting is that I've been doing stuff around the house.  Simple stuff:  my wife finished a board for a new shelf about 3 months ago.  We finally put it up two weeks ago.  But that isn't the top of our procrastination list.  We bought a new kitchen faucet about eighteen months ago.  We just installed it last week!  Installing it nearly killed both of us.  I'm too big to fit under the sink comfortably and my wife isn't strong enough to do some of the job.  We had lots of fun.

Gotta go.  I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season regardless of what you celebrate. 

I've been AWOL

No excuses, Sir! 

We are in the middle of a storm here in the desert.  It's coming in over California then coming to see us.  Most of the precipitation is already out of the clouds but we have these marvelous streams of clouds rolling overhead with cloud and fog up in the mountains.  The sight is fantastic but the photographic opportunities are beyond me.  I need a 120 degree wide angle lens with the ability to distinguish about 50 levels of gray and another 50 levels of beautiful sunlight on the mountain sides.  Hmmm, guess I need a camera with a human eye for a lens!

We did make another trip to Las Vegas; it's almost Christmas so I'm not saying what we bought but we helped the local economy with another grand or so.  I would like to buy things here in Pahrump but if it's not here, it's not here.  Bought a bunch of scotch though so I can last through the holiday.  The lines for checkout at Wal-Mart were exceptional today so I'm hoping the local economy will be ok.  There was no local collection for the food bank; I've no idea why but apparently no one set one up.  Here's hoping that those folks who needed help on Thanksgiving will be getting it again for this holiday.

We were watching 'The Thin Man' the other day; I love those old films.  Someone was asking Nora Charles if her husband, the detective Nick Charles, was working on a case.  She replied "Yes, a case of scotch!"  (My kind of guy!)  Boy, we just don't get lines like that any more.  And you have to remember that there wasn't a knee-cap in the movie much less a crotch or breast!  I appreciate the freedom we have today but I must admit I miss the way we've replaced a rules based society with one which sees no value in rules.  (Getting old, huh?)

In another sign of incipient old age, I'm moving more of our portfolio into dividend paying stocks.  I'm not abandoning 'growth' entirely but we need some income in the mix.  I bought some Cisco (CSCO) the other day; it just isn't a p/e 15 stock.  On the other hand, Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) isn't a p/e 13 stock.  The thought that they are in the same p/e area is fantastic to me.  Doesn't it bother anyone else?  Oh, and my old employer Paccar (PCAR) is at a p/e of 63!  Please let me disclose that I own all three of these stocks!

We are talking about our next phone plan.  It won't be for a while but are talking about smartphones.  Today I found this article about traditional cell phones:  http://www.appolicious.com/finance/articles/4344-which-dumbphones-are-still-worth-buying  - I have to recommend watching at least part of the vid about the Motorola Tundra; it's got guts!

I'm going to try to post more but if I don't - Happy Holidays! 

Valley of Fire

Yesterday we took a day off from doing whatever it is we usually do and piled into the car (with the dog) and visited Valley of Fire State Park.  It was really cool.

As you can see, it was a rather gray sort of day but it was comfortably cool and we got to see some really interesting rock formations.  It was Red Rock Canyon on steroids.  Really I think Red Rock has taller formations but Valley of Fire has a lot more of that startling red rock.  There was a small visitor center where you could learn a few things about the geology of the place, some of the plants and animals common to the desert, and a tiny bit of the history of people in this area.  It's about 35 miles (55km) north of Las Vegas if you hop on I-15 Northbound.  Highly recommended.

Coming home we drove on a couple back roads that were almost completely without traffic.  It was really odd to come down this road that was empty except for us down into North Las Vegas.  We struggled through traffic for quite a while finding our way out of town.  We had almost made it when we heard on the radio that there were two accidents currently being worked:  we had passed both of them!  It just wasn't a day for speed.

I've been reading a site about self-defense called No Nonsense Self Defense.  I like the site.  The people seem to know what they are talking about.  They are NOT about judo or carrying a knife or gun; they are trying to teach the reader about using his/her head to recognize and avoid dangerous situations.  Give it a shot.

Have a good one.

What a difference a day makes

This morning I was singing.... (well, thinking about singing!)

A foggy day in a Pahrump town
Had me low and had me down
I viewed the morning with alarm
The county museum has lost its charm

Whereas yesterday was slightly different:

Thanks to Joe in Vegas for reminding me to look up!  It's a beautiful world if we only look for it.  You might check this out:  http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/  - It's a guy who got a ride in a U2 spy plane.  It's a different world at 70,000 ft (21,000+ meters).

Have a good one!

Going to Vegas

For most folks 'going to Vegas' is a big deal.  For us 'over the hump'; not so much!  I went in alone on Wednesday and we are planning on returning later today.  It's all about shopping, gift giving and all that jazz.  You know the drill.  On Wednesday I got to go via Red Rock Canyon.  It's a lovely place!

My wife and I have been talking about electric vehicles.  We'd love to have one but it's got to have a lot more range than they have today and be a lot cheaper.  It wouldn't surprise me if the RAV4 we have now will be our last gasoline car.  (Of course we usually keep a car for about 10 years so there's no need for the dealer to call us quite yet.)  Still, the range would have to be over 150 miles (say 250 km).  The electric grid would probably need some beefing up too if we were all recharging cars every night.  Right now we'd be buying a 'coal fired' car since that's where our power originates.  There is a huge solar project planned for just north of us but we put so many roadblocks in front of progress that in the two years we've lived here they haven't put up one panel.  I have trouble understanding why it's so difficult but you can be sure there are a bunch of lawyers living well over the discussions.  Looking at the area you'd expect to have solar everything but it's just not reasonable at this point.  As an investor I know it's the next great disruptive technology but we've been looking for it to come into it's own for at least thirty years.

What I don't know is if electric trucks will ever be a force.  There are plenty of people towing 5 ton loads; the truckers are towing 40 tons or even more.  That's going to be a heck of a battery!  But look at cell phones; they have changed!

Thanks to Wikipedia for the trip down memory lane!  Speaking of Wikipedia; they are having a fund raising event.  If you use the site as much as I do, you really ought to donate.  I'm off to do so now. 

Have a good one!