Saturday, November 30, 2019

Another good reason...


Like I need a reason.

It is Small Business Saturday.  We have a plan to walk around the Lighthouse Square and see what the local shops are offering.  We always find something we didn't know we needed.

No, this post isn't about a reason to shop.  As has become part of my daily routine, I was out riding my e-bike this morning.  In the gusty wind (south at 27 mph, gusting into the 30s).  I admit I did dial in a bit more pedal assist when going into the worst of the wind.  But, the real advantage for that "e-power" came early in my ride.

I was riding in the Sea Cottage row when I saw a woman ahead in her bathrobe.  Not far from her was a medium size dog.  My "Spidey-sense" tingled.  The dog wasn't on a leash.  The woman was occupied trying to keep her robe closed in the wind.  When the dog saw me coming, he made a bee-line for me.  I haven't had much of a problem with rogue dogs in my rides/walks... this felt different.

The woman didn't say a word or make any attempt to call her dog.  As the dog got close, I could see he had his fangs bared.  My first thought was to kick it in the head... but, that would make me that bad guy.  As the dog was about to intersect my vector, I raised my leg (self-defense to keep from getting bit, but ready to kick)... and at the same time twisted the throttle for the electric motor.  The dog snapped at me, missing.

I almost immediately went from 10 mph to 20.  The dog was just behind me... but I was pulling away.  I like my e-bike.  I didn't have to kick him or risk getting bit or knocked down.  And, still, the woman didn't say anything to the dog.

That street stops at the end of the block, so I had to come past that house again.  No sign of the dog, but the woman was walking back up her steps.  I kept my guard up, but it wasn't necessary.

Three and a half years with this e-bike, and that is the first time I have used the throttle to avoid a dog attack.  Nice to have that as an option.  The dog probably thought I was "cheating"... I thought the dog and its owner were assholes.

I get to go Small Business shopping instead of getting treated for a dog bite.


Friday, November 29, 2019

Seems anticlimactic...


Black Friday is finally here.  After a month of "Black Friday Sales" in my e-mail and on TV.  No, we didn't get up early to go stand in line to buy something.  Nothing we need.  I remember seeing people camped out to be the first in the door for hot deals.  Do people still do that?

Amazon.  Put in cart.  Check out.  Done.


Thursday, November 28, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving!


Much to be thankful for: right at the top of the list would be family.  Steph and Dan are in Wisconsin, doing Thanksgiving with Dan's family; with the tough winter weather that is affecting much of the country, I am glad there are there and safe.  We got to talk with her this morning... almost as good as a hug.

We decided on a departure from the Friendsgiving we've done the last few years: Joan and I are going out for our Thanksgiving meal.  No cooking, no clean-up.  And no having to eat leftovers for the next week.  I am OK with one turkey sandwich the evening after the big meal... with white bread, butter, and Velveeta... but, I'm fine without that, if it means I don't have to "finish up" the pumpkin pie.  Perhaps it is unAmerican, but it takes a LOT of whipped cream for me to get down a piece of pumpkin pie.

A cool start to the day - I had to wear a sweatshirt during my morning bike ride.  What is considered "cool"?  It was 63º this morning when I got up.  I will wear long pants and dress like a grown up when we go out.

Sending out warm wishes for a joyous Thanksgiving!

--------------

On edit:

Yep, long pants and a shirt with a collar.  Hard to tell in this photo, though...


Joan always looks classy.

We had a reservation for 1:30 at Padreritagrill.  As usual, we were there a few minutes early; good thing, because I had to drive around the block to find a place to park.  When we got to the front door, the place was packed,,, as in: the party in front of us had to squeeze together a bit so we could get in the door.

Padreritegrill is pretty casual.  Ivy, the woman doing hostess duties was on it - when I asked if she need our name for the reservation, she said, "Oh, that reservation stuff went by the wayside hours ago."  No doubt she saw the look of dismay on my face, then added, "I got ya - I'll have a table for you right away."

She wasn't kidding.  Within 5 minutes (after finding a place for a party of 6, party of 4, and 3 couples - who got in the door ahead of us), she was showing us to a table.  Unless you wanted to sit outside, I didn't see any other empty tables.  As soon as a table cleared, staff was on it, and more people seated.

They had typical Thanksgiving fare: salad, deviled eggs, green beans, yams, peas, mashed potatoes, light and dark meat turkey, thick gravy, and ham.  And, dessert pies with whipped cream you added yourself.  We left with full bellies, and didn't have to cook a thing or wash a dish.  Nice way to do it.


Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Opposites...


Yesterday was unpleasantly windy.  Today when I got up, it was still, humid, and a bit of fog.  73º (at 7:00 am) and humid.  No, this isn't about weather forecasts.  Well, not entirely.

I enjoy spending some time on internet forums that cover the things that interest me: boating, guitars, scooting... you know: the important stuff.  I enjoy reading about that stuff.  There is generally a good exchange of ideas, and like-minded people who also have an interest in the same things.

Of course, as any site gets enough participation, a contrarian will emerge.  A couple weeks ago, it was an idiot on my favorite scooter forum who signed on just to bad-mouth a brand and model of scooter that he use to have... in his words: he was "saving" others from making the same mistake he had... and in the process became quite vile.  Fortunately, the moderators on that site gave him a "short break" (also know as: a temporary banning).  He immediately signed back on under another name, proclaiming that "You can't stop me from speaking the truth!"  Well, apparently, the moderators could, because he got himself booted off that forum.  Who knows if it will be permanent, but more than likely, he will move on to some other forum to annoy.  It seems to be what that type does.

The Vespa forum where I participate allows discussion on more than Vespa scooters.  One thread turned to electric vehicles - scooters, motorcycles, cars, even the recent Tesla announcement of their "unusual" e-truck...


I was being kind with "unusual."  Everyone has opinions, mine is that is fugly.  With a capital FUG.  Interestingly enough, the discussion of that truck didn't turn argumentative.  Something closer to our scoots was a discussion about e-bikes (bicycles).  I mentioned that we've had a pair of them for over 3 years, and enjoy them.  One guy came back with "Don't you think those are... um, cheating?"

Not the first time I have heard that comment, and always by someone who has never tried an e-bike; and more likely: someone who doesn't currently ride any kind of bicycle.  They don't know what they don't know.

My first thought after a comment like "cheating" is: cheating at what?  It isn't like I'm racing against traditional bikes.  (One person called them (traditional bikes) "acoustic bikes"... like electric guitars and acoustic guitars... get it?)  To a person, everyone on that forum who has an e-bike thinks they are a good way to go.  Personally, I get better exercise using my e-bike than my traditional bike.  Certainly, you can dial in as much pedal assist as you want - or even use the twist throttle and not pedal at all, essentially, making it an electric scooter.

We have used ours to take on trails and hills that would have us walking a traditional bike.  For my daily exercise, I dial in the smallest amount of of pedal assist, put the bike in third gear and get a good resistance workout while averaging 10 mph.  Put some music on my earbuds and enjoy pedaling.  The pedal assist keeps the effort consistent.

This particular guy has been on the Vespa forum a long time and comes across to me as a contrarian.  He happens to be from England - the Vespa forum has an international feel to it.  This guy ran off a guy from Italy who doesn't speak English and relies on a translation site to read and post... the contrarian made the Italian guy not feel welcome, even though quite a few of came to the Italian guy's defense.  The English translation wasn't always perfect, but you could get the gist of it.  Kinda like a playground bully.  It didn't take long to find out that he had never ridden an e-bike... "I don't have to try it to know I won't like it." 

In the world of internet forums, everybody gets to have an opinion.  You have to be able to separate the grain (valuable) from the chaff (worthless).  Having some perspective on who is doing the writing helps.  I try not to opine about things about which I have no experience.  Yeah, kind of the opposite of some of these forum "experts."

Our world has changed a lot since the internet became a part of most people's lives.  You can find out information with a couple clicks.  Often times, accurate information.  ;-)  Living at "the edge of the country," we have shopping opportunities similar to those in any big city... with the 2-day Amazon Prime shipping helping.  I can converse with other Vespa owners, even though there aren't many in this part of the country.  Of course, some of those owners bemoan the fact that they are "a half hour away from a decent Vespa dealer."  300 miles for us.

I think I'll go for an e-bike ride.  :-)


Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Blowing like stink...


It was blowing in the 20s when I went for a bicycle ride this morning.  Continuing to build by the time I got back (gusts above 30), so I wrestled the cover back on the boat again.  That is a chore when it isn't windy, even more work when the wind is howling.

Joan asked if I wanted to get out of the house for lunch... "Well, sure."  I think everyone knows that BBQ is good on windy days.  Or, non-windy days.  ;-)  We were about 2/3 of the way through our meal when the power went out.  That doesn't surprise me - it seems to happen on occasion when the wind is blowing strong.  Fortunately, I had cash to pay for our meals.

We surmised our power would be out at home, too.  A quick check of our on-line devices showed that to be the case.  Joan pulled up AEP (our power provider) on her cell phone to check outages.  Yep, it looks to be the whole town.

Back home, we can still have internet thanks to the hot spot on my phone.  No TV or music, though.  We are forced to converse to pass the time.  She seems nice.  Yeah, it's an old joke, but I'm an old guy.

When I went outside to check the boat (which I do more frequently when the wind is howling like it is, currently: 29 gusting to 40), our next door neighbor came out and asked if our power was out, too.

"Yep.  Looks like the whole town."  We talked about generators; they just bought the house next door last year... he asked if we have a generator.  "Yep.  Shouldn't need it today, but it is there, just in case."  He bought a used generator when they bought the house, so he should be good, too.  He asked about food in the refrigerator... "You should be just fine, since they are anticipating having the power back on by 5:00.  Just don't open the refrigerator door to check on your stuff."  ;-)

I took Ruf out for a bit... it is kinda protected between the houses, but he was ready to come back inside after a few minutes.  "Can you do something about this wind, Pops?"

"Yes - go back inside."

On the bright side: the high today is only supposed to be 79 or 80º, and it is mostly overcast... so, not blisteringly hot and sunny.  I believe it might be a good day for an afternoon nap.  'Cause it won't be any fun to take out the boat or the scoots.

What happens when your phone battery gets low?  Thanks for asking - we have a small aux device that will handle the charging for a while.  Now, if the power were to be out for several days, the generator would keep us from plunging into total anarchy.

So, the only thing I am missing right now is the lights on the Christmas tree.  Fa la la la la.

Joan has music playing on her iPad.  I'm typing this on my MacBook.  I've joked about this area being "the edge of the country."  We aren't exactly a 3rd world existence... more like 2nd world.

Joan just said, "You can still rock out with your music if you want - your small Bose (S1 Pro) has a battery, right?"  I already played for a while today.  It's all good.

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On edit: we were without power for about an hour and a half; it came back on just before 3:00.  In a 1st world kinda problem, it will take a half hour or so for our cable TV and home internet to boot itself back up.  The wind is still blowing like stink; we'll see how long the power hangs in there.


Monday, November 25, 2019

Dolphin spit...


It is a breezy day in the Tropical Tip.  No, that isn't unusual.  Upper teens, gusting to the mid-20s.  Temp is in the upper 70s.  It has been a few days since we went out on the boat... yeah, it's time.


We didn't bring the DSLR along today, assuming that it might be a short outing.  We barely got out of the turning basin when we saw dolphins heading towards the boat...



Joan shot those two above with an iPhone, so you know those dolphins were close.  And, some underwater belly...


I had my pocket camera along, and got what I could while driving the boat...




This Homeland Security boat slowed as it got close...


Not sure if they were watching us, watching us watch dolphins, or wanted to see some dolphins themselves.  I mentioned "dolphin spit" in the title - one came up close, and when he exhaled upwind of us , Joan got a bit of the spray.




There were a few other small fishing boats out today...


Some feathered friends...


Joan captured this double tail wave good-bye...



Sunday, November 24, 2019

In between...


Seems that Mother Nature has settled into sending us some kind of a front once a week.  Early on, it was just one day of cool wind, then back to normal.  Right now, we are "in between"... and this weather is glorious.  Low 70s, sunshine, very light breeze.  SO nice!

It is cool enough that we can wear our armor jackets (mesh, so they allow cool air to flow through).  As usual here, no destination; riding just for the fun of riding.  I could tell I hadn't used the GoPro camera since we left the Black Hills... there were still photos on the card from our last ride there.  Since I knew I'd be messing with the camera, I asked Joan to take the lead.

Leaving our village...



Out on the highway...


Through Laguna Vista...


One of those "you are going this fast" signs...


I think I got the "high score" on that one.  ;-


Back through Port Isabel (above) and across the causeway...



The water was a lovely blue-green and just a hit of a wind ripple on the surface.  Going up South Padre Island...


Lunch at Padre Island Brewing Co because... cheese curds.  Then, heading for home...


Very little traffic, beautiful weather, nice company, and... cheese curds.  Nice way to wrap up the weekend.

:-)


Saturday, November 23, 2019

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



Well, you know.  I think Walmart has had Christmas stuff on display since the end of August.  City workers here have been putting up Christmas decorations on the light poles.  Stores have been advertising their "Black Friday Sales" since before Veteran's Day.

We have a family tradition of sorts: I generally put up our outdoor lights the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We decorate in the house on December 2nd (our anniversary).  There have been some variations of those times over the years, but it depends on where we are - we have spent Christmas in our different RVs over the years, as well.

Since we moved away from the frozen northland, and into our little cottage home, we have set up a small Christmas tree.  It has been good in the RVs, but seemed a bit small in the house.  Last year, after Christmas, Joan found a good buy on a tall, slender Christmas tree - a good fit for our house.  We did pull it out and partially set it up when we got it, but we haven't seen it in all its glory.  Since Thanksgiving is late this year, we decided to get into the Christmas spirit right now.

Joan got the bins of Christmas stuff out of our storage area, and I tested lights to confirm that they are working... only one set that went to the garbage.  So far.  We did pick up a couple sets of white and blue lights last year, as well.



The process on our deck took a couple hours, but the railing is decorated with the blue and white lights, set of icicle lights, and white rope light at the floor.  A green wreath with lights is the centerpiece.

Nothing says "decorating for Christmas" light pizza.  Joan mentioned going out for pizza for lunch, and that became a firm plan.  Russo's, and it was great.

When we got back, she pulled the new Christmas tree out and started getting it set up...


She is behind there, somewhere.  We have plenty of ornaments for it, and that will be my job when Joan is done with the assembly.  I'll be anxious to see what Rufus does with a tree in the house.  He didn't bother the small one at all last year, but it did sit on an end table.

The tree is pre-lit; gotta like that.  The lights can be all white, multi-color, or morphing between those.  I got to put on a bunch of ornaments that haven't been on display in a while.  I like how it looks...


After dark...


Fa la la la la, la la la la.  ;-)


Friday, November 22, 2019

A bit of history...


"Are you going to tell us about when you rode dinosaurs to school, Jim?"  No.

It is time to move some guitars around and get another one ready to sell.  Before doing that, we made a trip to Brownsville to look at some electric guitars at Guitar Center.  I had a particular model in mind and they have several variations of that.

I too the Yamaha SLG200n along, in case there was a possibility of a trade.  I dealt with a couple guys there, both very helpful.  I tried the SG model I was thinking of, along with a couple Les Pauls (heavy beast), and some Fender Strats.  I asked their guitar tech what else in that range of guitars he'd suggest: he pulled down a couple Paul Reed Smith guitars for me to try.

No, I didn't come back with a new guitar.  Once home, we started "the shuffle": besides getting the Taylor GSmini photographed for a for sale ad, I wanted to play my Taylor T5 and Gibson ES335 (both semi-hollow body electrics).  Neither has been out of the case in over a year.  After playing some solid body guitars today, this will be an interesting comparison.

The "history" mentioned above: the ES335 that I got on my 13th birthday...



No, this isn't for sale.  I have an emotional attachment to this guitar.  Besides my family helping me pay for it, this guitar fed me (and us) for a bunch of years.  It still plays and sounds great.  Giving it a go...


It is a beast - weighs about 300 pounds.  No, not really; but it is a heavyweight compared to my other guitars.

The other contender for "who stays out of the case": a Taylor T5...


If you say, "They look similar," you aren't looking close enough.  I have an emotional attachment to the T5 as well... it appeared as an incredible deal, just after I bought a Taylor 814ce (more on that).  Joan encouraged the purchase, I was feeling like I had spent my wad.  She bought it and declared it her guitar.  No, she doesn't play guitar.  She does let me play her guitar, and it is an outstanding guitar.  In fact, it has moved the 335 out of first place for "favorite electric guitar," something no other guitar I've played over the decades has been able to do.  I wanted to see if that was still the case... yes, it is.  The T5 stays out.  It also made me forget about getting a solid body electric.  Unlike the crappy guitar I had before the 335, I did not play the T5 "until my fingers bled."  But, they were tuckered out by the time I quit playing and started photographing the GSmini for another ad.


The rest of the story: some swapping around... the Taylor 814ce is getting its turn on the wall, the 522ce 12-fret is back in the case.

Yeah, it is time to "thin the herd."


Thursday, November 21, 2019

One out, one in...


No, as of now, Joan hasn't traded me on a younger, better looking, richer guy.  She told me, "I don't want some sexy guy, Honey, I want you."

Yeah, that's an old joke - I'm an old guy.  ;-)

I listed the Yamaha Nylon Silent Guitar in the Classifieds section on the Acoustic Guitar Forum.  I was "nylon curious" - this guitar brought home the adage "old dog, new tricks."  It showed me that I am a steel string strumming kinda guy, not a nylon finger picking kinda guy.  It's a nice guitar, just not for me.





Yeah, I am considering something else.  More in my lane.

These sell for $649, you could have this one delivered to your door, shipping, Paypal, and insurance included for the low, low price of only $450.


Wednesday, November 20, 2019

A commitment...


I thought I might take the boat out early this morning.  The weather weasels were calling for increasing winds, so I was thinking there might be time before the southeast winds build.  Nope.  Instead, I wrestled with the boat cover...


It takes about 20 minutes to get that put on... a bit like trying to put a sport coat on a bobcat.  Now, for full disclosure, I have never tried to put a sport coat on a bobcat, but it is something we can all imagine.  I have put a sweater on Rufus, but he is a pretty easy going boy... and, I am digressing again.

The cover process goes like this: bend over the front of the boat and clip straps to a beam under the deck.  Lift the cover so I can close the front gate.  Start inserting the tabs on the cover on the starboard side of the boat, working from front to back.  Come around the corner and work my way across from starboard to port.  Then, up the port side.  Leave the tabs at the side gate off, put on knee pads, and slide under the cover to insert the poles (4 of them).  Slither back out and put that last 3 tabs in the gate.  Take off the knee pads and catch your breath.

It is more work than I care to deal with on a daily basis, so when the cover goes on, it is a commitment.  The forecast is for windy (mid-20s gusting to 40 mph) today and tomorrow.  But, unlike that last cold front, this is a warm wind.  So, warm, humid, and tropical feeling.  High today predicted to be 80º.

The boat would be OK without the cover, but putting it on keeps the sun off the seats and any grub blowing in the air out of the boat.  Joan got me a small tarp that I use as a half cover (with the bimini covering the back half of the boat) when I choose to not have the cover on.  It takes a minute or two to put that on.  Ir serves a similar protective job (including keeping bird crap off the seats) with a lot less work; flaps in the wind, though.

So, no boating today and tomorrow.  It's OK - I have a date today.  I know I have joked about Joan not letting me date, but it is not an issue as long as she is the date.  Knowing that this wind was coming, I asked her for today's movie date two days ago.  I think I read somewhere that girls don't appreciate a last minute invite for a date.  I guess they don't want it to look like they have nothing else going on?  Guys aren't like that.  If she says, "Do you want to...", I will generally say "Yes"... hoping that it isn't an invite to work on some household project.  ;-)

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The date.  I'm talking boy-girl outing, not the number on the calendar.  None of your business about the boy-girl stuff, but the movie was outstanding.  Ford vs Farrari.  Two big thumbs from us.  It's a buddy movie, it has car stuff, suspense, intrique.  And, a bit of humor.  Fine acting; great cinemaphotography - the race scenes kept you glued to the screen. 



Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Do it again - we like it!


I think that might have been something the cheerleaders said when we were in high school.  It was a good cheer for today, with a reversal on the emphasis... yesterday was more about the boating, today it was more about the scooting.

I started my day off with a good workout on the e-bike.  Joan was (as usual) a whirling dervish of household chores, getting laundry, cooking, and shopping done.  We took the scoots out to enjoy another beautiful day (73º for a high today, sunshine, a light southeast breeze).  I left the cameras behind, but did take a Quad Lock tripod mount - hooking the phone into that and using my Apple Watch to fire off the shutter release...



A close-up...


The riding was good.  The helmet headsets made conversation easy.  One of us, and I won't mention his name, left his headset on when he went for a ride on Sunday... I expected the battery to be dead, but it still had 60% power left.  New stuff, new stuff to learn.

After we got home, there was still plenty of daylight left, so I got the boat ready while Joan poured sodas.  I only took one camera, the plan for this outing is just enjoying some time on the water.


A boat selfie to go with the scooter selfies...


When the dolphins come right to your boat, you have to stop and enjoy the views...



Sometimes the photographer in me still comes out: look at the rim-lighting along those dorsal fins (thanks to the sun getting low)...


We saw one other boat the whole time we were out - a small fishing boat in the ship channel, in silhouette...


Speaking of silhouettes...



Joan's silhouette from my view, left sun on my face from her view...


We looked at a couple other small pods as we motored by...


Oh, look - it's a tail waving good-bye to us.  A bit further, with the light behind us, a nice jump and another tail wave...


Looking down the ICW on the way to our canal, can you see a bit of the Queen Isabela Memorial Causeway..


By the time I rinsed off the boat and put it away, Joan was setting the table for supper.  Nice day.