More catching up....

So we made it back from the latest Pacific Northwest trip on July 14th.  On the 15th I had a meeting of that advisory board  of the old Test Site.  These days it is called the Nevada National Security Site but all but a few sticklers call it the Test Site.  (Please note that the famous Area 51 is NOT part of the site so don't expect to see any little green men if you choose to visit!)  Like any governmental unit they love acromyms which drive the rest of us crazy but we all try to get along.  The meetings are in the late afternoon-evening starting about 4 p.m. and ending around 9 p.m.  This one was mostly about transportation of contaminated waste.  I got to learn all kinds of wonderfulness about the required signage and good stuff like that.  Of course I already knew that this stuff is radioactive but that the packaging is sufficient to make it safe to handle.

On the 19th we celebrated Number One Daughter's birthday.  I won't offer the number but it's getting up there!  Then on the 20th-22nd my wife and I attended a three day class driving to and from Las Vegas every day to learn about the Community Monitoring program.  This is a bunch of volunteers who oversee weather stations planted around the Test Site.  I wanted to learn more about them and the Desert Research Institute which oversees the program and does a lot of the physical work at the Test Site - taking measurements and that sort of thing.  When we hear that radioactivity in the groundwater is nearing the edge of the Test Site; they are the ones making the measurements.    It turns out they do a lot of environmental research and are part of the state higher education system. 

That gets me to the last week of July and by this time I was ready for some time off!  Of course that means I have time for stuff like smoking some pork, making a couple more trips to Las Vegas for normal 'shopping' and the like.  In addition, in August my wife will turn 65.  This means she is eligible for Medicare; there are quite a few hoops you need to jump through especially if you aren't taking Social Security and she isn't.  I'm wanting to spend some time at home!  We'll see how that works out.  Don't hold your breath!  In fact we are off to Vegas yet again today. 

I can't make this post a total whine so I'll include a photo I took back in June.  When you go to Las Vegas from Pahrump you leave our valley and go up over a 5400 foot pass (1,650 m for the rest of the world).  Then you come back down into the Las Vegas valley.  If the weather is nice and it isn't too windy you can get a balloon ride across the valley.  Here the balloons are coming back to earth just before the mountain gets pretty steep.  This was taken about 07:00 on one of my commutes into the city.

Take care.

Another interesting day...

And you know about the ancient curse of 'May you live in interesting times'. 

The day started with a grumble when I went out and tried to start the truck.  No go.  That truck has so much crap stuffed under the hood that I really try NOT to look under there.  Apparently that isn't such a good idea.  Because it is a diesel it needs lots of starting power but for some reason Ford didn't want to put a regular extra large battery under there so they put in two regular sized batteries.  You've gotta wonder where they get these ideas.  Anyway the negative posts on each battery was extremely corroded.  That was bad but the connector on the battery cable is the dumbest thing I've ever seen.  It is part steel with maybe a copper coating and has all kinds of nooks and crannies for corrosion to hide.  Cleaning the (*%%$( things took me at least an hour.  An hour we didn't have because we had stuff to do. 

My wife had her mamogram this morning and I drove her because we wanted to squeeze in some breakfast before a meeting with the Senior Dimensions people scheduled for 10:00.  They managed to convince me that I ought to sign with them so I'm looking into all kinds of fun with them.  So we made it home in time for lunch.  After lunch I got the charger out and charged the batteries for a while.  I ASSUMED that if I unhooked the negative lead from the battery it would be isolated and could be charged.  Turns out that was wrong; when I hooked the charged to the second battery it was already fully charged.  Grrrr!  I'm an idiot.  I managed to start the truck though and apparently no harm was done.  All the same, I should have checked either in the owner's manual or online or somewhere!  It was a fine case of idiocy.

Happily I've sat in my chair and fooled with the computer the rest of the day so I have been saved from further embarrassment.  We keep talking about travelling in our trailer and one of the things I do not like is some of the high passes and narrow roads you find in the mountains.  We saw a mention of a book that specifies several hundred passes:  how high they are, how steep the grades are, etc.  They have one version for the eastern states & one for the west.  It sounded like something we would really like as a reference.  It is called the Mountain Directory and that link will take you to their site.  It is $17 for the paper version and $18 for the Windows version - no version for mobile devices, iPads, Kindles, etc.  I downloaded the electronic version and I think it's pretty neat.  Not perfect but pretty good.  The big problem is that it was published in 2006 so it's slightly out of date.  The funny thing is that I went out to Amazon looking for it and they want $250 for it!!!!  I've no idea what the deal is but they were even offering used versions for $40?  Weird!  Heck, the electronic version will be more convenient for most people anyway. 

I promised a couple photos of the sunrise we enjoy while walking early in the morning.  So here we go:  The first one is looking towards the east; just before the sun climbs over the mountain.

 The second is the mountains in the west that are gradually being lit up by the sun.  You will notice that the valley floor is pretty flat and uninteresting.  Even the houses aren't always too cool looking but the mountains fill your soul.  Or at least my soul.

So that was my interesting day.  Hope you had a good one too.  Thanks for looking in.

Medicare???

Yep, it is almost time for me to make all those Medicare decisions.  Ugh!  Oddly thinking of Medicare is making me feel older than thinking about the actual birthday.  Maybe it is because I've had so much experience having birthdays!  To be truthful, the Medicare part isn't so bad but figuring out the add-ons is a giant pain in the you know where.  Of course it is made worse by the fact that we live 'over the hump'.  In a city like Las Vegas there are lots of choices.  Here, not so much. 

Here we get to choose between Humana and something called Senior Dimensions.  (Why they would name their company something so close to Senior Dementia is beyond me!)  Humana is called a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO); Senior Dimensions (SD) calls itself an HMO-POS.  In the HMO you go to doctors in their company; the POS is supposed to let you visit doctors outside the plan at additional cost.

Humana is a bit more expensive than SD but they are accepted by the doctors I've been seeing for the five years we've lived here.  With SD I'd be saving some money but would be seeing new people.  I seldom visit the doctor so maybe it's no big deal.  We also need to figure out what goes on when we travel; either in the U.S. or overseas.  Reading all the fine print is just else something to get aggravated about.  Glad I don't have blood pressure problems!

Aside from all that, we are continuing on our nice warm summer.  Most days it is around 105F (40C) and doesn't cool off enough to open the house at night.  We take our daily walk at 06:00 to avoid most of the heat.  The mountains are pretty then; all gold from the rising sun.  I thought I'd taken photos of the sunrise but apparently not!  Maybe tomorrow. 

I signed up for this free site, Duolingo, which attempts to teach English speakers various European languages and vice versa.  It was invented by the guy who came up with those little squiggly words you have to type for leaving comments, etc.  The site is kind of fun but between my atrocious typing and my spelling (which isn't good in English!) it's going to be slow going!  I'd love to be able to speak and understand a couple other languages even at the level of a three year old. 

That's all the whining you'll hear from me today.  Thanks for checking in.  Hope you have a good one.

Update, nah! Why bother....

My life has been really dull lately so updating the blog is an exercise in 'what did I do'?  We did go into Las Vegas last week but it was just an errand run.  Didn't do anything exciting at all. 

My wife did cook a lovely chicken with garlic recipe.  It was one where you saute the chicken then add whole, unpeeled garlic cloves then put the whole thing into the oven for 15 or 20 minutes.  When it comes out you add a little flour and make a sort of gravy.  It turned out really well and I'm sure we'll be making it again; served it with whole wheat noodles.  It was the first time we'd tried whole wheat noodles and they were just fine; another thing we will use in the future.  I went into the kitchen just before the pan was to come out of the oven and saw that metal handle in the oven so grabbed a mitt and put it on the door of the oven to remind my wife that it would be hot.  She just laughed at my over-cautious nature.  She got it out ok and started in on the gravy.  Sure as the devil, she forgot about the handle and burned herself.  Grrr!  Idiot!  Happily soaking her hand in lots of ice water for the rest of the evening took care of her burn. 

We are getting into triple digits these days (38C) so we walk early; we were out by 06:30 this a.m.  After our walk we get to spend some quality time pulling weeds in the yard.  We each do a trash bag full then declare the work day over; at least the yard work portion!  Retiring to the porch to drink coffee and watch the birds fight at the feeder is lots more fun when you are feeling virtuous from the work and the exercise. 

For some excitement, we stopped by the local office for Humana Health Care.  Our health insurance has always been part of my wife's retirement benefit.  We pay for the insurance but supposedly it is at a cheaper group rate.  Anyway, I'm turning 65 later this year and will be Medicare eligible.  That should be interesting.  The Medicare will be handled by the government but then you have to figure out what additional coverage you want.  That is where the fun part begins.  There is an Advantage program that you can buy that has increased benefits and a drug plan; there are suppliments that offer different options; and there is a stand-alone drug plan.  Oh boy, it makes your head hurt just reading all this BS.  These plans are all just a bit different and, of course, Humana is only one of the companies you can do business with so each company will have it's own little twists.  What the hell, it's only money.  Once you sign up, you are stuck for a year.  You can change things around only in the fall of the year.  Who knows how they come up with these things.  I was afraid to ask if Obamacare was going to impact any of this; I kind of doubt it but I know nothing!

Anyway, there you go, life in the fast lane.  Thanks for visiting.  Have a good one.