It's beginning to look a lot like...

What?  Christmas, of course.  We have more days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, but there have been displays in the stores and ads on TV since way before Halloween.  This season is going to go on and on.

I know Christmas is coming because I have been playing the occasional holiday tune on my guitar.  Well, that and we got out Christmas lights today to decorate the deck overlooking the canal.  A few days ago, we picked up a couple decorations - the main one is a wreath to hang on the deck.  In years past, we have had a star (that's a Texas star, y'all) or two, even a snowflake... but we decided to have some greenery on there this year...

Blue and white lights on the railings, the wreath hanging in the middle.  Yes, I checked all the lights before we put them up - I'll have to take a little walk this evening to see how they look in the dark.

It was in the upper 70s, sunny, and breezy while getting the lights hung.  Sweating while decorating for Christmas - that's my idea of getting in the holiday spirit.  Plenty warm with that west exposure on the deck.

After lunch, Joan rolled the bikes (bicycles) out of our storage area, and I aired up tires and lubed all the moving parts...

Doing that while standing on the lower part of our dock was almost as good as having a bike work-bench: it put everything at a decent height without having to be on my hands and knees.  The e-bikes, another small folder, and Joan's beach bike...

After finishing them, I took each for a ride, while Joan wiped them down.  Everything is functioning like it should.  My small folder felt really small - it hasn't seen much use since we got the e-bikes.  The beach bike was the last one I rode; I haven't been on a non-geared bike since I was a kid... there are no brake levers on that damn thing!!  I had to really think about how I was going to stop and hop off the seat without breaking something vital.

The only damage was to my thumb, and that occurred after getting off the bikes - pulling the battery out of Joan's e-bike.

A neighbor said to me, "You have a lot of toys!"  Probably because I was riding one bike after another.

"Yeah, and each of them takes some work to keep up."  You can be darn sure I won't be asking for a bike for Christmas.  ;-)

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Early evening, checking the lights...

Porn Star...

Some times a guy needs a change of pace.  What?  No, I'm not looking for another "fun summer job."  😏

This is before...

And after...

OK, against that blank wall, it looks more like a mug shot than a head shot for a porn star.  Porn star?  That was Joan's description of the look with the mustache.  Pretty sure it wasn't meant as a compliment.  I don't know, the whole mustache thing seems to work for Tom Selleck.  No, I don't look anything like Tom Selleck.  Thanks for noticing.

I knew it was a concern when Rufus eyed me with a questioning look on his face.

I told Joan I was considering leaving just a jazz dot.  What's a jazz dot?  Thanks for asking - it is that little tuft of hair, in the middle, right under your lower lip.  I figured she be relieved that I didn't go with a jazz dot... "Well, that would be better than... no, nevermind.  You like fine.  Really."

I may try this for a day, then scrape it off.  Rufus is laying right behind me on the top of my chair as I write this, so I guess he's OK with it.

Hair is a funny thing.  It comes and goes.  On most of us guys of a certain age, it just goes.  Or, moves to different areas.  What if I told you it wasn't a mustache, but a "comb over" of my nose hair?  That doesn't make it better?  OK, nevermind.


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Out for a late lunch.  Yes, another gray, drizzly day.  We were both feeling like pizza... which, in keeping with this thread reminds me of an old Cheech and Chong routine... "Here's the pizza, and here's..."

When we got back, I took Rufus outside while I checked on the boat.  He came down the stairs on our deck, just to look around.  I scooted him back up the stairs.  When I looked away, he ran back down the stairs.  I don't think he'd run off, but he has gotten braver about looking around here.  Yep, back up the stairs.  I tried to herd him into the house, and he ducked under the patio table, which is covered, thanks to the weather...

"Where's Rufus?"  ;-)

"Here I am!"

Yes, he has a sense of humor.

Ruminating...

"Thinking deeply about something."  It's a good word; I don't get to use it all that often.

There have been discussions regarding electric motorcycles and scooters on the scooter forums where I participate.  Most people seem to think they are not quite ready for prime time: too expensive, not enough range.  A few people are predicting the end of internal combustion engines, one person saying, "Internal combustion is dead - it just doesn't know it, yet."

I'm somewhere in between.  For urban commuting, I think an e-scoot would be great.  Or, for local small town errand running.  But, if you live in a suburb where you have to drive at highway speeds for any significant distance - not so much.

At the recent Milan Motorcycle Show, most of the manufacturers were showing at least one electric model.  They are coming.  I presume things will shake out with some standardization of battery technology.

I really like our e-bikes (bicycles), where a 25 to 28 mile range is plenty.  In fact, I was way ahead of the curve with a folding e-scooter back in 1997...

Yeah, that was 21 years ago - I had a lot more hair back then.  But, the electric scooter was great in the RV parks and folded to fit in an underneath compartment in the motorhome.

It isn't just the e-scooter market that hasn't caught on with the general public: electric cars haven't been selling significantly, either.  In fact, the Chevy Volt (an electric car with an internal combustion generator for added range) is one of the models that GM just announced it is discontinuing.

I remember the days when "as goes GM, so goes the nation"... it was a quote from the then CEO of General Motors back in 1953.  His viewpoint was that GM was so big, and so important, that the country's economic fortunes were inherently dependent on a robust General Motors.  Yesterday, General Motors announced it was closing 5 plants and laying off 15,000 employees... and today, the stock market was up over 600 points.

Vehicles in general just aren't the big driver (see what I did there?) of the economy that they used to be.  Digressing Notice: the public, especially the younger segment doesn't seem to be as excited by vehicles of any sort; at least not the way that folks of my generation felt about it.  When I got my first motorcycle, it was freedom!  I still feel the same way about our scoots.  And the motorhome.  When I was 16, everyone I knew took drivers' ed so you could get your license at 16... plenty of younger people now that aren't concerned about driving or owning a car - they'd rather call for an Uber.

There was some media buzz with Tesla and their electric car offerings, but that seems to have cooled off, too.  So, to round back: I don't think it is just the e-vehicle market that is languishing.

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Thanks for hanging in there for the ruminating.  Here's why you check in to this blog...

Rufus being his regal self...

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And, a movie review:

Another gray day in the Tropical Tip, so we took in an afternoon movie.  When I paid for our tickets, it was less than we usually pay - I questioned it, not wanting to take advantage.  "It is $5.00 Wednesday - all afternoon movies are $5."  What a deal!

Apparently, word of this hasn't gotten around - we arrived 15 minutes before the movie started, and we were the only car in the parking lot.  By the time the movie started, there were two other couples in there... pretty much a private screening.

The Movie?  "Instant Family," starring Mark Walberg and Rose Byrne; a story about them adopting 3 siblings that had been removed from their Mother, who was an addict and in jail.  Sounds depressing, but it was a heart-warming movie.  Predictable, but really well-done.  Isabela Moner plays the 15 year-old and is the most interesting part of the fostering situation.  Octavia Spencer and Tig Notaro are great as the social workers who teach the foster parenting class.

The other couples in the foster parenting class (and then in a support group) may be the funniest part of the movie.  It is billed as a "dramedy" - some humor and some tear-inducing drama.

The story line borrows heavily from the real-life experience of director Sean Anders' adoption of 3 siblings.  He also directed the "Daddy's Home" movies (also starring Walberg) and the Adam Sandler movie "That's My Boy."

As of right now (a couple weeks since its release), the movie hasn't broken even.  I hope it does better with time - the movie is definitely entertaining.  We both give it a thumbs up.  Go see it.

Rufus - you need to relax!

Kidding.  This boy has relaxing down.  Proof...

The pillow rolled on top of him - you can see how upset he is by this...

That is some serious relaxing.  Plus, great restraint... no, not on his part, on mine: looking at that gloriously furry belly, I just want to rub it.  But, being the thoughtful kinda Cat-Daddy that I am, I don't want to disturb his rest.

Let's call it Le Pew...

We let it warm up ('till about noon) before messing with the scoots.  We ordered a new battery for the red PCX - the other battery is hanging in there, but it is closing in on 6 years old... no point in pushing it any further.

Normally, changing out the battery in a PCX is a 5 minute job - I managed to knock this one out in about an hour.  I had the old battery out in a couple minutes.  The new battery (same size) didn't want to go into that tight space.  I pushed it - that was a smart move because then it wouldn't go all the way in and it took about a half hour of tugging, pulling, prying, and swearing to get it back out... so I could try again to shove it in there.  Adding to the fun: there is a nut that goes inside each terminal for the battery (so you can bolt the cables on), and it kept falling out or turning sideways, making it impossible to connect the screw.  That was fun.

With that little task done, I worked on a good connector for the GoPro camera on the Vespa.  I gave up on that and put it in my helmet mount so we could just get some riding in.  Finally, ready to roll...

That lasted almost all the way to our bridge... where we had to wait for a bridge opening.

We stopped to top off fuel before we left town.  On the bright side: gas is down to $2.06 per gallon.  Well, not for the Vespa - it uses premium ($2.56); 77mpg for the Vespa, around 100 for the red PCX.

The plan was to see if there is any kind of decent road that gets us to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge - heading for some back roads.  It's a 4-lane to get out of town...

Off Highway 100, through Laguna Vista, and back roads; past the windmill farm...

A line of palm trees...

Sugar cane on the left...

If you look to the horizon in that photo above, what looks like an anvil cloud is actually smoke - they burn sugar cane to harvest it.  Another look at that smoke cloud and the first view of the road construction signs...

The plan was now to go west of the wildlife refuge, go north far enough to circumnavigate closed roads, and see how close we could get.  The fences on either side of the road in the photo below help keep wildlife off the road in a migration corridor...

The sign for the refuge...

And, yes, an actual curve; flat enough that it isn't much of a thrill - but, we are riding!  We made the turn towards the refuge and...

Yep, more construction and the end of the paved road.  Only a mile of that, so we are hoping it won't be long before there is an actual road to get us there.  We turned around.  Another time we'll go look for wildlife, today was about riding.

Back to the main road, heading east this time.  Yep - the sign said "Road Closed" but we knew we could get to another road going west just a short ways ahead.  Nice road surface here...

It is going to be nice when all the road construction is done.  We decided to ride to Los Fresnos for a late lunch.  Look - another curve!!

Well, that was 2.5 seconds of... no, I'm kidding; barely a curve.  I mentioned "back roads" - a tractor hauling a hay bale...

Up north, these water features would be called stock ponds; down here, they are resacas; and they build houses around them...

We had lunch, then took Highway 100 back to the coast.  While eating, Joan mentioned that the red PCX is "peppier" than her black one.  Thus, the title to this post... Peppy Le Pew.  Get it?  She asked if I would be riding the red one anymore or if I planned to stay with the Vespa.  "Yeah, I like my Vespa," I said.

She said, "I'll take this one - I think it has more pep."  So, she has two PCXes, and I have a Vespa.  I think there may be a black PCX for sale in the not too distant future.

On the way home, I suggested that we swap bikes for a bit, so she could try the Vespa.  That didn't last long - she definitely likes the PCX better.  I get it: they are very different executions of what a scooter should be, and they both do what they do very well.  Just different.

Sunny and cool today - nice day for some scooting!

Solo...

Not Han (Star Wars).  The next front is supposed to blow in overnight - Joan asked if I wanted to go to the store with her... speaking honestly: "I'd rather run some gas through the boat, if that works for you, and you don't need me to push the cart around."

Deal.

The fog was even thicker this morning than yesterday.  Unlike the forecast, the sun pulled the same routine as yesterday: a peek here and there.

I took the Nikon DSLR and the GoPro - heading out...

Out of the canal, you can see some of the excursion boats hunkered down on the wall at South Point Marina (a sign that they are expecting ugly north wind)...

My goal today was to run the engine at speed before the boat gets "a rest" for a few days again.  I saw a dolphin, but barely slowed down...

Down to the ship channel, once around the island at the "Y" and then slowed down for a look around...

A couple more dolphins...

Nothing like yesterday's viewing, but one of them paced me the rest of the way back to our turn into the canal.

The GoPro point of view: coming back to our side of the island...

That "pacing" dolphin on the GoPro...

Back to the dock, I cleaned up the boat and put it away for a few days...

Looking at the sky, the clouds were getting lower.  Yeah, I better take the scoot for a short run before supper.  ;-)  And, before the weather turns.  Again.

Measuring...

I should have measured before to get an idea of the growth.

What is the matter with you people?  I am talking about Rufus.  The boy keeps growing.  We know Steph and Dan have two big cats, and one small one; one of us thinks Rufus is bigger than their cats.  The other, and I'm not mentioning any names, but I'm the other, doesn't think so.  So, it is time to measure the cats.

Not as easy as you might think.  You can't just say, "Rufus, stand by the door jam so we can mark a line to see how tall you are."  Well, you can say that, but Rufus is a cat, so he isn't going to do that.  Yes, he is a very cool cat, but when you get close to him with a soft tape measure, it looks like the ribbon he plays with... so, now we have wound-up Rufus who wants to play, which makes the process even more challenging.

But, with two intelligent humans, using their superior intellect, it only took us a half hour or so to get some measurements to use as a starting point.

Drawing is not my strong suit.  Here's what we came up with (all measurements approximate):

Height at shoulder: 13"
Body length (from shoulder to tail): 15"
Length overall (nose to tip of tail): 33"
Girth (at widest point of body): 20"
Weight: 15 pounds

We put him on the scale - well, we put me on the scale, then me holding him: 15 pounds difference.  On the bright side, I weighed less than I thought I was going to (I haven't been on a scale in months).  Yes, I am aware that fat weights less than muscle.  Bite me.

Sorry if I seem agitated.  When Joan picked Rufus up to put him on my lap so I could measure his overall length, he struggled.  Someone generally gets sliced when he flails.  I am that someone...

No, it was not intentional.  There goes my career as a leg model.

Digressing.  The bigger of Steph's two big cats (Siberian Forest Cats) is pretty close in dimension and weight to Rufus.  He was noticeably smaller when we got him in February.  I never thought to measure, but he weighed around 11 pounds at that first day at his vet exam.  Of course, his fur was short and thin at that exam, but I'm guessing it isn't 4 pounds of fur.  ;-)

This is his agitated look...

He looks mean; he isn't.  Such a sweet boy!