All posts by djones

rain, weather

Rain, Rain, Go Away …

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… come again another day.

We have had rain nearly every day for the last week. More than 3 inches in the last two days alone. Given how little rain we normally get, this seems like a flood of biblical proportions.

Coupled with the rain has been lightning and thunder and wind – so Molly the wonder dog has been Molly the shaking dog hiding on my feet. It’s funny but Molly will hang with L as her best buddy until the thunder starts and then it is time to find me. She seems to think that I will save her. {*grin*}

The worst part about the rain is that it is keeping the area dry land wheat farmers from harvesting. Every day while it is too wet and muddy to harvest is yet another chance for hail and wind to destroy the crop. Not a good thing.

The answer to the falsehood in the list of woes and happenings from last time was the boredom of Netflix being down. Everything else was true.

(Does anyone else feel that the new beta blogger tool leaves a lot to be desired? I know that I do.)

happenings, quiz

Happenings

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All sorts of odd / tragic / funny things have been going on here. Interspersed in the litany of woes and good tidings below is one gaping falsehood – the rest are true. Which one is it?

  • Storms. Four storms in seven days; including hail and 70 mph winds and rain. This area is a semi-desert that normally gets less than 14 inches of precipitation a year, but in the first 6 days of July alone we have had close to 2 inches. Can you say damp? I knew that you could.
  • Humidity. (See above.) Normal relative humidity levels here seldom exceed 20%. But already this month there have been days with humidity levels close to 90%. Sort of like moving to New Orleans without Bourbon Street!
  • Heat. So far the hottest has been only 107 degrees. I just can’t wait for the dog days of August when it sometimes hits 115 or more.
  • Worry. My (younger) brother had a heart attack. Of course this was while he was recuperating from surgery to re-attach the tendons in his foot. Sometimes when it rains it pours. (He is out of the hospital now after some recovery time and getting stent(s) put in.) 
  • Stress. L is doing the prep work to paint the trim on the house. (Thank heavens the house is brick and doesn’t need painted.) The scraping and wire brushing and contemplating having to do a primer coat and a paint coat has left her a bit sore and grouchy. Nothing like heat and humidity and grouchiness to make all come to a boil. She especially didn’t appreciate my suggestion that she get up at 5am and work while it was still cool. Something about getting up early was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.
  • Cats. This month seems to be the grand prize of found cats that no one wants. Especially the feral ones. We must be getting 10 calls a day or more about found cats and kittens. Normally we could go months without that many found cat calls.
  • Fear. Molly the wonder dog gets extremely nervous when the thunder and lightning are around – to the point where she jumps in your lap and quivers. So for the hours while the storms move through, Molly gets no more than a few inches from me or L. Sort of like having a two year old around again. {*grin*}
  • Micro-bursts. Some friends own an amusement ride manufacturing business in the area. A micro-burst before one of the hail storms picked up a completed Ferris Wheel, moved it laterally about 15 feet, then toppled it and mashed it to pieces.  No one would have believed it except for the eye witness who was sure his pickup truck was next.
  • Toads. All the rain and water has led to a bumper crop of toads throughout the yard. Enough of them that even Molly the ever curious has reached the point where she simply stares at them and continues on her way. I don’t know whether to attribute this relaxed attitude towards toads to boredom, learning that they really don’t taste good when you lick them, or …
  • Pieces. My ancient lawn mower has finally gone to pieces. It survived the years of the Son abusing it mowing lawns (including this one), but old age has finally crept up on it. Guess it is time to look for a new one when I spend more time fixing it than mowing with it.
  • Boredom. Netflix was down for a whole day and I had no entertainment. {*grin*}

So which one is the figment of my fevered imagination?

Uncategorized

I’m Back, Yet Again

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After battling network issues and then some weather issues and spending some time in the mountains with L, I am once more sweating profusely at my keyboard. So what great oddity do I bring forth to celebrate my return? That was a tough question since I seem to have run amok amidst things that pique my interest and curiosity of late.

For example, I read that the recent quake in Japan is estimated to have moved the main island approximately 8 feet eastward. Interesting in and of itself, but that led my mind wondering how property surveyors handle the movement. Up til the introduction of GPS units it would not have make much difference since survey marks were based off the geologic survey markers embedded in the ground. Since the ground moved, the basis mark moved with it and all was fine. But now survey is based increasingly off of precision GPS readings. Those GPS readings are based on satellite positioning, not ground. So the ground moved but the satellite did not.

Picture now the poor Japanese property owner whose neighbor wants to build a fence at the edge of his lot. The deed marks the lot in terms of latitude and longitude. So a surveyor comes out and marks the corners of the neighbors lot from the latitude and longitude via satellite and now discovers the the lot sits 8 feet into our poor owners lot, right through his kitchen. So how is the subsequent slew of anomalies corrected/handled. Inquiring minds want to know!

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Gore Vidal quotes:

Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half have never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.

drain, humor

Oh My!

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I had a whole slew of semi-serious topics I planned to talk about, but then I took a left turn and all you get is this. {*grin*}

As I was taking my pills this morning, I was struck by the thought that the drain in my sink has to be the healthiest drain anywhere. For more than 20 years it has dutifully eaten every pill and drug to slip from my fingers in the morning with nary a burp or belch. It obviously has low cholesterol from the statins and niacin it has stolen. It is on a balanced diet supplemented with all the vitamins it has swallowed as they tumbled from my hand due to sleep blurred vision. It has every once in a while even taken a dose of insulin that would kill a cow when a vial was dropped. And yet it keeps right on waiting for the next tidbit to fall its way.

So far as I can tell, the only substance to ever cause it indigestion is the stubble from my beard mixed with shaving cream. Even then, adding a bit of Drano to the mix seems to set all to right once more.

I figure it will still be gobbling things up long after I am gone.

pictures, volunteer event

Event Pictures

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Here are a few pictures from the LCHS volunteer appreciation/recruitment and facility status update meeting.

First up, a picture of me talking to a couple of the volunteers and guests prior to the presentation. (And boy does this picture make me look BIG!)

(I am the gentleman in the suit coat and gray hair. {*grin*})

Next is yet another picture of me talking to a group prior to the presentation. This time you can at least see my smiling face!

(That’s me on the left.)

And finally here is a picture of me giving my presentation:

You can click on any of the pictures to get a much more detailed picture. Just hide the good glassware so it doesn’t crack upon sight of my beautiful mug. {*grin*}


Of course the real reason for attending is the layout of food, including pizza:



(We are very fortunate to be able to use the Tennant Art Gallery at the local college to meet. Nothing like fine art around the room to set off a meeting. One of the better things we accomplished during my terms on the college board was to set up the Tennant Collection of Western Art for perpetual display in a dedicated gallery that also serves as a meeting facility.)


Have a safe weekend!