Good Morning!!!! 71F @ 4:45AM. Mostly cloudy early, then sunshine for the afternoon. Expect mist and reduced visibility at times. High 74F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Do you monitor the old place?
I get alerts from the camera up at the gate several times a day, as well as once a day check in type emails from various devices on the network. I also keep an eye on the local Facebook group, and Watch Duty alerts help me stay abreast of any nearby wildfires. There's also a security system that would have the cell phone screaming bloody murder if any of the security sensors were triggered. Unless the criminals wiped out the satellite dish, they they'd have their run of the place. Shhhh!
I see a strong parallel between the new driving aids and the advent of the first calculators. Back then, people were worried that kids would no longer be able to do math in their heads. Judging from the behavior of most store clerks these days, I think those concerns were justified. If the same happens with driving, we'll all someday just be passengers, and human guided vehicles will be an anachronism on our roads.
The Mini drone here is impossible to see once it gets up more than a hundred or so feet, Drew. Had a few heart stopping moments at first when I got disoriented using the camera to see my way back to the launch site. At that point I ran some drills to get familiar with the return to home routine and that somewhat relieved my anxiety. I still worry about losing such an expensive instrument, especially since I've let the replacement insurance lapse. Biggest threat is losing the drone to the wind, but the controller does a pretty good job of warning you when the winds get too strong. The Ian of London YouTube videos cover fly aways pretty well.
Sounds like you might be leaning toward retirement, at least from commercial aviation, Paul. Would that be so bad? Too much regulation has ruined many a career.
Good luck with those hornets, Billy. Nobody needs that kind of torment.
Most of yesterday was spent chasing paperwork to get the van registered in Kalifornia. First stop was a SMOG inspection, since Kalifornia doesn't trust a 50 state vehicle to not pollute its golden air. Then it was off to a scale for a weight verification, but it wasn't a certified scale. There was one a few miles away, but it wasn't free like the first one was. I guess you get what you pay for. Finally I found the DMV and the line was out the door and wrapped around the building. I decided to go first thing the next day and maybe beat the rush. Headed down the road to Harbor Freight to get another electric fly swatter for the new place; paid more for the batteries than the swatter. Then I remembered I could "get in line" at the DMV using their website, so did in the HF parking lot. By the time I got back to DMV, they were calling my number so I walked right up to the window, no waiting. Got a run around about registering, as the Oregon dealer had yet to send DMV the title paperwork. So I had to settle for a paper VIN verification, which I'll mail along with the weight check to the dealer, who will then presumably mail back to the DMV with the title. Mean time I guess I keep driving with the dealer's advertising where the license plate should be.
Stopped in to Walmart for a few household items. Forgot my phone in the van and had to remember what was on the list. Managed to get them all, plus a few other things. One was a long curtain rod I'll use to temporarily suspend a moving blanket behind the front seats of the van. Hopefully that'll help damp the noise from the back and maybe keep more A/C in the front. Also got two new plastic shower curtains for the new place. It came with only one, and it was opaque plastic, which made showering in the dark somewhat challenging. First one installed fine, but somehow the ends of the other curtain rod were missing the rubber pads, so it wouldn't stay in place when I put it back up. More slip shod workmanship from the "contractor".
When I drove up to the Walmart, I noticed there was a separate Walmart Home Store right next to it. I'd never been in one, so I stashed my purchases in the van and walked over to see it. Turned out it was mostly a grocery store, even though the Walmart next door also sold some groceries. But this one had more produce, and much more of everything else food wise. But the Home Store also had a bunch of stuff for the home, too. Sounds like an inventory nightmare, but whatever floats Sam's boat...
The hot tub had a floating chlorine dispenser in it, but of course it was empty and the test strips (expired, as expected) showed no trace of chlorination. So I put in a few chunks from the tub I found in the garage, along with a tablespoon or so of powder. When I tested again yesterday the chlorine level pegged the test strip, to I left the cover off last night with the jets running. Can't wait to see what the electric bill looks like this month!
Late in the day I got a call from an old neighbor, asking if I could dig a grave for one of his dogs. Buster was an ancient Boston Terrier that had been fading slowly for a long time. He passed in his masters arms, the best way to go. I had to pass on the digging, made me sad to not be able to help my friend. Gonna miss him after the move, which he, nor any of the neighbors, don't know about. I want to keep it that way for quite a while if I can.
Found a
new streaming service the other day that, among other things, features old TV shows. They do insert commercials, but they are short, much shorter than the national networks, and they show only one or two at a time. Binged a few Miami Vice episodes last night, bringing back memories from when I purchased my very first house, as the series had just started back then. The best part was not a bit of buffering to ruin the playback. Didn't hurt that the service is free, either.
Today I think I'll focus on changing the locks here. Near as I can tell, they're all KwikSet, the older style, and my old kit should work. It takes four keys to work all the locks now, and one of them doesn't even have a key. That one should be interesting.
Hang in there, gang, Friday's comin'!
agriculture.newholland.com
