How's Murphy?

 

Thanks for asking.  He's fine.  As you'd expect from most kittens, there is the split-personality of zooming about for no particular reason, followed by down time.  Curiosity about everything.  He has found his voice, although I don't always know what he's talking about.  Tango still comes over to visit and those two seem to enjoy playing together... although we do have to intervene if/when they get overly rough.

Early last night while walking around the yard, I got this photo...

 "I don't think that's a real cat."  Very astute - that is one of the many yard ornaments.  And looking through the patio door...

"I know you're in there!"  He was outside with Joan, when he saw me getting ready to go out and join them.

He hasn't become a lap cat, yet, but he likes to be where we are.  He has advanced from sitting beside Joan to curling up while leaning against her.  No head-butts on his own yet, but he lets me get close to him now with my big ol' head.

Growing and learning.

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Geezers Making Music...

I mention here from time to time about getting together with my music buddies.  This is what that looks like...

That's Ron on the left, yours truly in the middle, Mark on the right.  And below, that's Danny on the left in The Beatles shirt, Gil in the middle, and new guy Carl (his first time playing with us) on the right.

That's in Mark's living room.  We have been a "garage band" at Mark's house the last few months, but it is now getting too hot for that (mid-90s today).  It's a laid-back get-together: one of us will propose a song, we work it up, and give it a go.  I brought a small set of electric drums today - Ron and I alternate on playing that or a cajon.  Ron also played mandolin today on a couple songs.  Danny plays bass, and all the rest of us are on acoustic or electric guitar.

I like these guys.  Setting up (and tearing down) equipment gets a bit tedious, but we generally have some lunch, talk a bunch, then go after some tunes.  Mark generally works up charts that we can each have on our iPads.  Song selection is open to whatever anyone suggests... our music tastes vary.  All of these guys, except me, are volunteer workers at MIM, so they are tuned into a lot of different music styles.

Insta360 X4

 

Here's a "movie trailer" with clips from today's ride on the CTX, using the new Insta360 X4.  Another one that will coming to no theater near you!

It may be hard to tell based on the compression that YouTube uses, but this camera has more resolution than the X2 I have been using for almost 3 years now (that is ancient in technology years).

I will be working on a video review for sometime in the future... these 8k files eat up a LOT of memory and take a while to wade through, especially considering I shot 25 files of varying length today.  An hour and a half for the ride; about 45 minutes of video (edited down to just over a minute for the "trailer" above); and 2 1/2 hours to reformat the video to make it "flat" and download.

And, some still photos...

Testing 1, 2, 3...

 

We spent most of the morning out on the patio.  I made breakfast on the griddle and we ate at the tall table under the shade of one of the umbrellas.  Murphy got to have a lot of outdoor time as well.

I spent some time with the new camera, testing out different settings.  The X4 comes with a set of lens guards, but I can definitely see a slight degradation of the video with those on.  Still, there will be times when it will be good to have those.  After 3 years with the X2, I did get one nick in a lens when out on the motorcycle; I polished it out as best as I could; these lens guards would prevent that.

I shot some video clips, including late afternoon, with the sun right into one of the lenses - worse case scenario; yep, there is some glare from those lens guards.  Here is a short clip of Murphy out walking around...

 Yes, the boy has a bushy tail.

Earlier this afternoon, Tango came over to visit while Joan and I were watching a movie - he and Murphy got some time on Joan's lap...

For full disclosure, Tango hopped up there first... Murph said, "Hey, that's my Momma."

Tango said, "Yeah, well she was my Grandma before she was your Momma."

Joan has two hands for petting and plenty of love to go around.

Busy Day...

 

We planned to go with Steph and Dan, and the Guide Dog for the Blind puppy Lonnie they are puppy sitting this week, to the big farmers market we went to a month or so ago.  Good training for the pup (who is 10 months old) and good bread and other stuff for the humans.

We left the house at 8:30 - it is about a half hour drive to the farmers market.  According to Steph, "Everything is about a half hour away."  Obviously, we go to different places, but I digress.  The market is held in the parking lot of a large church - and it attracts thousands of people; we had to drive to the far end of the parking lot to find a place.  Then, getting in some steps to get to the market and walk through the market.  Here's Steph and Dan with Lonnie...

 We filled that blue roller basket with stuff from the market, then went our separate ways... Steph and Dan heading for home, we were going north.

I had made arrangements with the guy who bought the stock seat for the Burgman to get it to him when we were done with the farmers market.  He is a nice guy, doesn't have a car, and no good way to carry that big seat on a scooter (that already has a big seat on it).  Yes, this is the guy who lives at the nudist resort.  Is "clothing optional" the more correct term?  Anyway, my new (nude? as Steph says) friend, Steven.  He met us at the gate to the resort, he paid me and I gave him the seat; we visited for a while.  He actually gave me more than what we agreed on, "to pay for the gas," but I gave the overage back to him.  I said I would get it to him, and I am just doing what I said.

I think Stephanie was disappointed that we didn't drive into the resort, get naked, and give him the seat.  She can be a weird kid sometimes.  I don't know where she gets that from.

This place is much further north, the east, then north some more from where I thought.  Definitely out in the boonies.  Or rather: the desert.  The real desert, not this in-town stuff that we landscape.

More running.  Joan has been encouraging me to get a new Apple Watch... I'm not saying mine is old, but it is no longer being updated by Apple... and, it uses a sun-dial to determine the time.  She and I both researched it.  Apple can no longer sell the Series 9 that has a blood-oxygen app on it (a patent infringement) and that is something I wanted.  But, you can find an "open box" at Best Buy that has the watch that was made before the patent infringement was settled.  And, she found one at the Best Buy in Goodyear.  We went there, the sales guy got the watch "out of the back," opened the box... and it wouldn't turn on.  "The battery just needs to be charged," he said.  Hopefully, that is all it is.

Lunch at the Snitch.  Joan's choice; yes, really.

I was anxious to get home and start getting the new Apple Watch set up.  But, truly, my current Series 3 has been a real champ.  But, it is important to keep up with the times (pun intended).  And when we got home, waiting for me is the new camera I ordered a few days ago: the Insta360 X4.

 

What a conundrum: which new technology do I start on first?  Well, both of them needed to have batteries charged.  As I started to set up the X4, I got a text from Mark - he has a question about his Emerald guitar... this trumps new technology.  I went to my music room to talk and have an Emerald in front of me.  I called, we discussed.  I think we came up with an answer.  We'll see.

Back to the technology: the first X4 battery showed a full charge.  I went to set it up with the Insta app on my phone, and... of course, the camera needed firmware updated before I could do anything.  I started that download, and spent some time looking over the camera: it is slightly bigger than the X2, I have.  Improved resolution - up to 8k from 5.7k on the previous versions.  About 70% more pixels.  A higher frames per second rate.  Improved contrast.  It comes with lens guards that screw and snap in place... and can be replaced if/when they get scratched... which is much better than getting a scratch on the lenses (yes, 2 lenses - that's how it shoots in 360).

While I will be using this mostly on the motorcycle and scooter, I (of course) wanted to test it out.  In the low light of the house interior (not this camera's strong suit), I shot a video and a couple stills of Murphy... in wide angle...

The wide angle perspective doesn't show off how handsome this boy is in real life.  I just wanted to make sure everything was working.  It is.  I think this camera is going to be a nice addition to the ride videos.  At some point.  It is, however, going to use up even more memory on the computer.  I off-loaded stuff yesterday when I did a back-up on the hard drive to free up some space.

On to the Apple Watch.  It is pretty...

A bit bigger than my "ancient" Series 3, a nice loop band (Joan says the bands from my Series 3 will fit), and the face/screen is significantly brighter, although I didn't think my old watch was too dim.  The newer technology means the "face" is on all the time, where it would go blank (black) on my old watch.

The transfer of info from the old watch to the new watch was reasonably fast and uneventful; the watch and the phone did most of the work... I just patiently watched and waited, giving my "go ahead" when asked.  I had been told that you had to "clear off" your old watch to get going with the new - that is not the case.  You can have more than one Apple Watch connected with your phone.

Joan asked if I had tried the blood oxygen app: not yet, but I'll give it a go (it's the reason I went for this particular watch - or, as Joan said, "Blood ox - an additional $100; cellular capable - an additional $100."

I do believe everything is working.  And the updated apps are nice!  And, it tells time!

Video - 3 cameras...

 

The video from yesterday's ride, shot with the Insta360 X2, Insta360 Go 3, and HoverAir X1.  No voice-over, no reviews, just enjoying the ride on the Burgman 200.  Come along for the ride...

 

Live From Laurel Canyon...

 

We met friends Mark and Cindy at MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) last night for a concert.

 

"Live from Laurel Canyon - Songs and Stories of American Folk Rock" is an evening of live music and narrated stories of some of the most influential songwriters who lived in Laurel Canyon in the mid 1960's and 70's.   Similar to other legendary rock and roll neighborhoods of the same era like Haight Ashbury in San Fransisco or Greenwich Village in NYC, Laurel Canyon was a community of artists who would forge a new genre of music (Folk Rock) and forever change the look, sound and attitude of American pop music.   Live from Laurel Canyon celebrates The Mamas and The Papas, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Doors, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, America, and the Eagles with their own unique interpretations of some of the most iconic songs of the era. 

Yes, the above paragraph is from their website.  It is more than just the music - between the songs, they tell the stories of the performers and the music.  The musicianship was good: nice vocal harmonies; the lead guitar player was particularly good.  I think we all enjoyed it - Joan was particularly taken with the stories they told to go with the music.

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I just got photos from Steph - Wednesday night (when I was left unsupervised), she and Joan went to a lavender soap-making class (a Mom and daughter experience for them)...

The end result: each of them came home with a "brick" of soap...

The soap has to set-up for a couple days to get firm, then they can cut it to a more usable size.  They can get clean and smell like lavender!

All Hands On Deck...

 

That is a call for immediate assistance from everyone present and available.  No, it isn't an emergency... I took the Insta360 X2, the Go 3, and the HoverAir X1 with me on the ride today.  I don't know why - if I bring it along, I feel the need to use it.  The shooting happens rather seamlessly while I'm riding (except for the HoverAir X1 drone), but it takes a while to sort through all that video and come up with an end result.

I am running out of time today: we are going to a concert at MIM this evening, featuring the music of Laurel Canyon, a lot of music came out of that area, which became a celebrity enclave from the 60s on.  Should be an entertaining event.

In the meantime, I will get to the video at another time - here are some still photos of my time on the Burgman scoot today...

From the Insta360 Go 3 above; the Insta360 One X2 below...

A glorious day in the desert today: it was 72º when I left the house around 10:00.  The high was 83º.  Lots of sunshine.  Looks like we have a reprieve from the 90s (and higher) for a few days.  One must take advantage of that when it presents itself.

Unsupervised...

 

In my defense, I was left with no adult supervision.

Joan and Steph went out for supper and then to a class to learn to make lavender soap.  No, I don't think we're going into the soap-making business - it was an early Mothers Day present.  They left right after Steph got home from work.  I fed their kitties (and Murph) and gave Alfie his meds; Dan had to work late.

Joan told me to expect some Amazon packages.  That is a daily occurrence.  The first box I opened was quite large and had this in it...

 His and hers sombreros?  I had to look in our Vine history on the computer to figure out what they were.  In the meantime, I sent a text to Joan, letting her know I opened the sombreros.  "Try it on," she texted back...

I am not one to be easily swayed from getting a laugh.  My search on Vine showed me that you zip these together and they become a "cat tunnel... cat playhouse... cat donut."  I opened the next box; it was much smaller, but opened up to this...

Not much in the way of directions, but I thought some part of it might be an adult diaper...

Nope, just a pop-up cat toy...

Will Murphy play with any of this stuff?  Maybe...

He is a curious boy.  The real question is: will he get in it a second time?  By this point, the sun was down, and I had promised Murph that we'd go outside once it started cooling off...

The boy enjoys his outdoor time.  And, his lounging time...

Even though this latest batch of cat toys does collapse and fold down, I'm not sure where we're going to put all this stuff.  Vine can be dangerous: you start to feel like: it's there... I should order it.  Or, in my case: I should figure out what all this stuff is.

Selling my seat...

 

The new Corbin?  The one that makes your Burgman scoot so comfortable??  Not, just no, but absolutely not.  That seat is perfect for that bike.

I have posted some videos about the Burgman on YouTube.  I also posted a video there about the Corbin seat.  One viewer asked me if I'd be interested in selling the stock seat... really, I hadn't thought about it.  It is big and is taking up space in the overhead storage in our garage, but I figured I'd just hang onto it, in case there comes a time when I want to sell or trade the Burgman (yes, I am over saying, "This will be my last bike... blah, blah"), I can put the stock seat back on it.  For absolute certain, I won't use that stock seat again as long as I own the bike.

I thought about it, and responded with a price... low enough to make it attractive, but not giving it away.  The guy said he wanted the seat and he lives just north of Phoenix.

I gave him a call last night - it was a pleasant conversation, we have decades of riding in common.  He recently bought a Burgman 200, but I think he keeps the scoot outside.  If that's the case, the seat will be the first thing that Mother Nature chews up and spits out.

The Burgman (and a Harley) are his conveyances - no car.  I offered to bring the seat to him when we are in north Phoenix for anything (rather than make a special trip)... and told him I won't be offering the seat to anyone else, so I consider it his, and we'll just work out the details on my getting it his direction.

He thanked me and told me he lives in Shangra La Ranch, a resort in New River.  And then told me he could get me a couple passes to use the resort.  I thanked him for the offer, but declined, not thinking much of it.  Later in the conversation, he told me, "Shangra La is a nudist resort, if you aren't familiar with it."

"No, can't say that I was aware of that.  I'm no prude, but I can tell you that you don't want to be putting your naked ass on this black vinyl seat if the bike has been sitting in the Arizona sun!"  He laughed and suggested I pull up the resort on the internet, just in case I want to check it out.

So much for "all the gear, all the time."  ;-)

You Can Tell It's A Full Moon...

 

"By that big round white thing in the night sky?"  Yeah, there is that.

The crazies come out.  Ask anyone who has worked with the public - it's a real thing.  And this morning, around our house, it is a real thing: Murphy Jones is a bundle of wild energy.

Joan was up around 5:00 this morning... I heard her.  Prior to that, I heard Murphy knocking around the shade on our patio door.  I rolled over, but sleep didn't really come back.  By the time I got up at 6:30, Joan had taken Murph outside to let him "blow some steam off", brought in one of his (many) toys on wire arms that he can bat around, fed him (that's usually my job), chased him off the counter (about 20 times) and told him, "No!" a time or twelve when he was clawing at the leather couch as he made laps through the house like a race car on a banked curve.  Joan was on her second cup of coffee.  It wore me out just hearing about it.

Murphy rarely has the "evening crazies"... he saves that for mornings.  And this morning, he was wilder than usual.

You can't tell what's going on there?  That's Murph moving between his many toys, mostly just a blur.

"Settle down, little man!" I tell him...

"I can't help it, Dad - the Devil made me do it!"

It has to be the full moon.

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The 4 of us...

"Um... 4?  Did you get another cat?"  OMG - did you read the above?  Music today with Mark and Ron... and Rosco, Ron's dog.  With the 3 of us (the humans) we can get down parts for any new songs before we get the bigger group together.  Part of our routine is a walk from Ron's place to lunch (usually a couple blocks); Rosco gets to go with us, because we intentionally go to a place that is dog friendly, with outside seating.

(photo courtesy of Ron)
 

We set up in Ron's living room, with mics, mixer, guitars, etc...

It's a nice atmosphere.

Only The Beginning...

 

If you said, "From the song by Chicago Transit Authority (later: Chicago), Beginning, 1969," you get 15 bonus points.

It got to 100º yesterday, will top that, since it is 100º at 2:30.  Yep, just the beginning of the summer heat.

I did get out for a ride this morning, before the heat really kicked in... didn't even need the cooling vest.  It is not a race or a timed event, but doing my "run" up the mountain, it generally takes me between and hour and 15 minutes to sometimes longer than an hour and a half.  This morning was a new world record: one hour and 5 minutes.  By leaving at 9:00, I missed all the school and work commuter traffic; didn't get stopped at any of the stoplights, and no traffic in front of me anywhere on the mountain.

And, yes, I did stop at the top parking lot to get a couple photos and re-hydrate.  Out on the Burgman today...

I have come to appreciate that backrest.  The seat is still comfortable without it, but it adds one more "support point" when I'm riding in a sporting manner.  ;-)  A "selfie" from the phone on the handlebars...

Wearing the new jacket, no cooling vest under it.  The white definitely makes a difference.  With the higher temperatures and no rain in a while, the desert landscape is changing - from green to brown...

Oh, there are still green plants out there, but the ground cover is rapidly changing.  Still, the ride is fun, and I am appreciating the views and the fun road.

Back home and breakfast on the griddle.  By the time we were done eating and I had the griddle cleaned, it was time to retreat indoors to the air conditioning.  It's a dry heat... 100º, but it only feels like 99º.  ;-)

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Happy Earth Day!  Let's take care of this planet of ours - it's the only one we have.  It does make me wonder: Do the other planets have their own celebration day?  Or, are we Earthlings just being egocentric, like us holding the Miss Universe Pageant? 

In The Shed...

 

Not the same as being taken behind the wood shed.  I'm guessing, since we've never had a wood shed.

Joan and Murphy were out enjoying the patio this morning.  When I joined them, I asked, "Where's Murphy?"

"He's in the shed... in his catio."

 We move his catio into the shed each evening, to keep it out of any overnight weather.  Then, bring it out onto the patio during the day.  The boy likes his catio - he went into it on his own while it was in the shed.

We have been letting Murphy have the run of the yard while we're out there to keep an eye on him.  Other times, we'll put him in his catio.  The photo above shes that he likes the catio, no matter where it is.  When it is out on the patio, we keep it under one of the umbrellas, to keep him out of the hot sun.

This morning, it is a glorious 67º, sunny, no breeze.  Feels pretty good; especially in the shade.

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It's official...

The temperature in Phoenix reached 100º today; first time this year.  That's not a record for the earliest day it has reached 100º - that happened in March in 2022 (according to the local weather).  I know this is just a preview for what is to come in the months ahead.

In the words of the philosopher Paris Hilton: "That's hot."

 

X Marks The Spot...

 

A treasure map?  No.  But we got a text yesterday that the storage facility is done with their work over our spot and they want us to move back.

We got out reasonably early this morning and got the coach and cargo trailer back into our site...

 Between that first and second shot, we put tire covers on.  Joan got those snazzy silver and blue covers from Vine... the price was right.  We closed up and locked everything and headed back home.

Joan has work to do with her new part-time "job": Vine reviewer... it takes time to "shop" on there, get stuff ordered, then photographed for a review.  Fortunately, she can do it at her own pace and sit out on the patio with the furry boy while she posts.

In the meantime, I'm taking her Xmax for a ride.  Yeah, that's the "X" for the title.  It was already into the 80s when I started gearing up around 10:30.  A good time for the cooling vest and the white mesh jacket (really, kind of a light silvery gray).

The Xmax is between my CTX and the B200 in most stats: size, weight, horsepower, acceleration, top speed.  But, it isn't an "in between" kinda ride.  The Yamaha engineers did a great job with this bike - I am impressed with it every time I ride it.  For the longest time, I felt the riding position wasn't a good fit for me, but I think I was basing that on having a couple Vespas.  After riding the Burgman with the stock seat, the riding position on this Xmax is a big step up in comfort and room... probably a closer match now that the Burgman is sporting the Corbin seat.

The Xmax feels narrower and sportier than the Burgman.  It handles urban riding as well as cruising through the twisties.  For comparison sake, the Burgman is lighter and that is noticeable going through the tight curves... but the Xmax has 50% more horsepower and only weighs 50 pounds more, so it comes out of the corners faster and with more authority.  The brakes take a bit more grip on the Xmax, but they slow that bike right down.  The stock seat is comfortable and gives you room to move around a bit, but it is comfortable when you push back and "lock" your hind end in for some fun maneuvering.  I have room for my feet on the flat and inclined parts of the floorboards.

It has a sporty, aggressive look to it...

I read one reviewer's description as "an angry Centurion."  Another view...

It has bigger wheels and a bit more wheelbase than the Burgman (15" front, 14" rear vs the B200's 13" and 12").  That means it needs a bit more effort to run it through the curves, but I would still classify it as fun, light, and agile.  It's a good combination of performance and handling, and inspires confidence.  It is easy to see why Joan likes this bike so much.

I've said I find myself "giggling in my helmet" when riding the Burgman; on the Xmax, I find myself smiling through the ride.  Nice bike!

 

When I got back from the ride, Murphy had had lunch, and Joan and I had a light snack to hold us 'till supper.  She decided to finish up her Vine reviews in air conditioned comfort.  When Murphy was done playing with his favorite toys, he joined her in his favorite relaxing spot...

 And, nap time...

The boy plays enthusiastically, then needs his rest.  Me, too.