Kinda Eerie...

 

Like the canal?  No, that's "Erie," and nothing like that.  I got out on the scoot this morning.  It has been a while... it felt great.  Life got in the way: the cold, the root canal, and (of course) the miserable heat.  Today, the high is supposed to be in the 90s.  Well, 99º, and that is mostly psychological.  It was 87º when I got into the hot tub last night at 9:30.  That's a major drop in temperature, as most evenings it has still been in triple digits.

I was expecting a cooler morning.  Even better than I expected: it was 76º when I got up about 6:15.  That is a bonus.

The Burgman 200 is the most accessible right now.  One of these days, we'll rearrange in the garage and get the bikes back into diagonal parking so they are all accessible.

The Burgman fired right up - I geared up and headed out.  Traffic was light on my way east on the surface road.  I was surprised when I got to South Mountain Park and Preserve that there weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot.  Even more surprising: no vehicle traffic.  Not all the way up the mountain.  Nor coming back down - not a single car or pickup.  I passed about a dozen people on bicycles either direction.  One small motorcycle heading out of the Preserve as I was heading in.  I have written about light traffic before, but this was nada.

Considering that this is the coolest morning in the past couple months, I expected more people out enjoying this brief break in the heat.

I was careful on my ride up the mountain.  OK, to be fair, I am always careful.  But, I was expecting sand and gravel washed onto the road with the monsoon storms we've had (we actually got some precipitation at our house last night).  My expectations were correct.  Nothing terrible, but some sand across the road right at a couple tight curves.

A good ride.  And it felt like I had the road pretty much to myself.

 

Cool Change...

 

If you said, "Little River Band, 1979," you get 10 bonus points.  If you said, "Another weather discussion?" you are correct, but no bonus points.

It was only 86º when I took Murphy outside at 6:30 this morning.  When we came in, Joan was up and said, "It is only supposed to be 99º today."  Only.  Another monsoon storm is supposed to roll in this evening.  These storms are not massive in size like the hurricanes we used to watch for when we lived on the Gulf Coast.  Parts of the Valley here get damaging winds, rain, and hail, and other areas in the Valley get a light breeze.  The last 5 mornings, there have been reports on the local NBC channel showing damage and power outages.

Then, see the national news and reports on violent weather all over the country.  Reports from the Sturgis Rally showing hail that piled up like snow.  Tornadoes across the Midwest.  Heat alerts in much of the country.

And, here in Phoenix, it is going to be "cooler than normal."  I have music with Mark and the guys today; I am hoping to get home before the storms hit... people here don't know how to drive when it rains. 

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A good time with the music at Mark's house today.  Mark, Danny, Gil, and Carl were there.  Making music for the fun of it.  Danny brought pizza; Cindy provided cookies.  What's not to like?  ;-)

As we were picking a last song, Mark picked Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison.  I feel compelled to put on some sunglasses when doing anything by Roy; the sunglasses today were my Oakley Meta Vanguards.  No one here knew they had a camera built into the glasses - I demonstrated...

 Mark above; Danny, Gil, and Carl below...

 Cindy (Mark's wife) and Pat (Carl's wife) provided the applause...

 Yes, the lens on the camera is pretty wide angle.  But, handy!

 

 

Luke, I Am Your Father...

 

Darth Vader never actually says, "Luke, I am your Father," in the Empire Strikes Back.  The real line is, "No, I am your Father,"but people add "Luke" when quoting it to make the reference clear out of context. 

I say this line when Joan puts a long black cape over me when she is about to cut my hair.  I'm guessing she doesn't know why I say this.  I am further guessing she doesn't care.

But, today was haircut day for me.  Outside.  In the breeze.  There is always the qualifier: "No guarantees about how this will turn out with this wind."  (7 mph)  It always turns out fine.  I was due for a haircut - I believe it has been 7 years.  Or, perhaps, a month.  It will look better with my new cap, without hair sticking out around my ears.

The cape...

 

 

No, it doesn't look quite like that, but that is how I image myself.  There is no hood, and it is open in the back.  That doesn't stop me from doing the Darth Vader voice.

Semantic distinction.  In fashion, the word "cape" usually refers to a shorter garment and "cloak" to a full-length version of the different types of garment, though the two terms are sometimes used synonymously for full-length coverings.  Cape sounds cooler than cloak.  Unless, of course, we are talking about the "cloak of invisibility."  But, that is a different movie.

I believe the word you are now looking for is: nerd.

 

Singing In The Rain...

 

If you said, "The film from 1952, starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds - and the title song from that movie," you get 30 bonus points.  Mostly for being more of a geezer than I am.  ;-)

 

This particular post has nothing to do with me.  Steph and Dan went to see John Mellencamp in concert last night.  At an outdoor concert venue.  In August.  During monsoon season.

We got a text from her, saying "Lightning all around them."  I let her know that, checking radar, rain was coming their way.  A few minutes later: "We are soaked to the skin!"

The concert was stopped and attendees were told to "Shelter in place or go to your cars for safety."  There is a cover over the main seating, but a lot of open "in the grass" seating.  When the storm passed, Mellencamp came back on again.

I asked them this morning how the concert went.  "We felt like youngsters - most of the crowd was older than us."  They have seen Mellencamp in concert quite a few times in the past - he is one of Steph's favorites.

I did mention to her that "Mellencamp is older than me."  She had to look it up: yep, he is a year older than I am.

They both said that he was showing his age during the concert.  "Ahem - only a year older than I am."

Dan said, "You are a young 73; he is an old 74."  A life of rock 'n roll will do that to you.

 

Well, it's about time...

 

You got a new watch, Jim?  No, but thanks for asking.

The last few weeks have been less than productive.  First a cold, then a root canal, then two monsoon storms blew in and made for "hazardous" air quality.  Yeah, that's a thing.  The last several days have been 114º +/- with higher than normal humidity.  Swamp-Ass Season.

We haven't gotten out much.  This morning, I was determined to get out on two wheels... the choice today was the Lectric ebike.  I was feeling the need to move.

It was 94º when I left the house at 7:30.  The humidity was only around 20%.  So, hot and sweaty, but a good ride.  Photos, or it didn't happen...

 It was a good ride.  And then a soak in the hot tub to ease the aches.  ;-)

 

 

More Music...

 

... And Les(s) Nessman. 

If you said, "From the sit-com WKRP In Cinncinnati: what Johnny Fever would say when introducing reporter Les Nessman," you get 30 bonus points.

No reporters on this one - today was music day with Allan and his bunch.  I didn't get any photos, but all 6 of us were there.  Allan's "wee little sister" (that's how he described her.  Good description - I'm guessing she was about 4'10"... she looked up at me when I met her and said, "Goodness, you're really tall."

"I'm guessing from your perspective, most people are... tall is not a descriptor used with me.  But, thanks."

I had a good time making music with these guys today.  A completely different experience from the Brothers MIM or the Hip Replacements.

 

Another Day, Another Monsoon Storm...

 

Well, overnight.  Before going to bed, we checked the hourly forecasts: nothing of any significance.  Not the way it played out.  A dust storm overnight woke Joan up and she went out to take down the cover over the hot tub.  I didn't hear any of this until she came back into the bedroom.

Yesterday late afternoon, Joan hosed off the furniture and patio while I added some water to the hot tub.  Everything was covered with dust again this morning.  'Tis that time of year.  Fa-la-freakin'-la.

I did take Murphy outside this morning.  The dust doesn't seem to bother him.

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Hello, my friend...

Yes, I have friends here.  Many of them are music related.  Some are neighbors or HOA related.  But this friend is one who hasn't received much attention lately...

 

Yes, I am talking about the RoadTrek.  It has been weeks since we've even visited it.  With the monsoon storms we've had lately, I felt the need to go check on my friend.  As you can see from that windshield cover, that's the direction the wind has generally been coming from.  The covered storage keeps it out of the sun here, but there is no stopping the blowing dirt with these storms.

The RoadTrek could use a bath, but it has been hot and humid.  And, with no plan to go anywhere anytime soon, it doesn't make sense to clean it up, just so it can get dirty again.  The interior is nice and clean; batteries are in storage mode and are strong.  The tires have the right amount of air in them.  It is ready to go when we can come up with a place within a day's drive that isn't on fire, smokey, getting localized flooding, or is just too dang hot.  Seems the higher elevation places in the state have been getting rain.  Fun places like Laughlin or Palm Springs are even hotter than here.