Two In One Week...

 

Yesterday, the local guys - I'm going to call them Allan's Group - played out.  This is more work, because there is more gear to be hauled.  But, it was for a good cause: Allan works with people who feed the homeless and those who are food insecure.  This gig was for the volunteers, then continued when the facility opened for the homeless.

Volunteers had brought clothing items, which were dumped out on several long banquet tables.  Joan came along with me to this (her photos coming up); while the band was setting up, Joan helped fold clothes.  She can't just sit around while there is work to be done.  Even if it isn't her work.

Speaking of setting up: this is the first time I've played out with these guys.  (I've jammed with them for months.)  There were issues: pieces for mounting the PA speakers onto the stands didn't come along with us.  I borrowed a rolling kitchen cart from the staff there, to give the speaker some height; and we put the other speaker on a chair; not ideal, but you work with what you have.  The small mixer that one of the guys brought didn't use the same cable connection as the powered speakers.  I brought other 1/4" cables, and we made that work.  Allan's bass amp wasn't producing sound; I brought along my Bose S1 Pro PA/amp as a back-up, or to use as a monitor (since this group does play loud).  It isn't meant to be a bass amp, but it's what we had.

The new situation with using that S1 as a bass amp: there is a limit to how much bass sound it can put out.  My solution: "Guys, we are going to have to bring the overall volume down with the guitar and keyboard amps to the level of what the S1 can put out.  From my perspective, this was actually a good thing... the room wasn't small, but we didn't need to be playing at ear-splitting volumes.

And, speaking of the room: the area we had to set up was behind a couple large pillars.  There was no way to arrange positions so that someone wasn't directly behind one of those pillars from the audience perspective...

 It was a different situation for us, since we generally play in a semi-circle at Allan's house, so we can each see all the other players.  Again, you deal.

We ran a quick sound check, since people were already there.  I balanced the PA with the volume of the amps.  A quick break, and then we started playing for real.

 From behind the pillars.  ;-)

The audience was good - nice applause and cheering.  When they opened it up for the crowd that had gathered outside, it was even better: more bodies to absorb sound, and more people clapping.  We were minus one guitar player, but Tony (the guy to the left, wearing a hat) picked up the slack nicely.

During a break, I got to visit with Joan for a bit; I asked her if the sound was balanced.  She said, "I recorded some audio for you - it's hard to get video because of all the people and you guys being behind those pillars.  But, the sound is good.  And you guys sound good!"  Kind of her to say. 

 

 

Gig done, we packed up and headed for home.  Joan and I had supper out before stopping at Allan's house to drop off the PA speakers that we hauled there and back.  Unloaded my gear into the house in the dark.  That was a lot of work.  Joan was a real champ in helping.

 

Playing out with Hip Replacements last Tuesday, and Allan's Group (I call it the Allan Lindsay Project) on Sunday.  In the same week.  I told Mark I had "one gig out per month in me," and this was now two in one week.  Two different groups.  Two different repertoires.  Same aching back.  Sliding into the hot tub last night was a relief.

 

 

Fall Fest...

 

Yesterday was our community Fall Fest.  The Social Director on our HOA board put a lot of work into this event: costume contests for kids and pets (Dicha won first place with her bee costume).  There was a clown/magician/balloon artist for the kids; live music for the grown-ups, a food truck, and an ice cream truck.  

 3 of the 5 HOA board members were there... that's all I'm going to say about that.

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Updates...

Since getting the HoverAir X1 Pro, there have been updates to the drone and/or beacon controller every couple weeks.  I got it out yesterday to download and install the updates.  And then, a bit of flying...

 Using the controller, I flew it around like a more typical drone, as opposed to using the automated flight modes built into it.  I tested that out by following Murphy around...

The furry boy wasn't frightened by the noise of the drone, but he did keep an eye on it...

 Look under the chair on the image above to find him.

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This afternoon, we are playing out with the group I call "the local guys."  The band doesn't have an official name, yet.  I have told Mark and the guys that I have "maybe one gig per month in me"... I didn't really expect any playing out at all with these local guys.  We'll see how this one goes.   This will be two gigs in less than a week.

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Did you "fall back"?  Switch from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time at 2:00 am this morning?  Not me.  Arizona (and Hawaii) doesn't change.  Look at all the "time" we save by not messing with all the clocks in the house.  ;-)

 

Morning Routine...

 

Everyday is a new adventure with Murphy.  While he has his routines, he always comes up with something new... this morning, he is a brave hunter, stalking the Arizona cardinal...

 The cactus is real, but the bird is a metal sculpture.  Murph has it by the tail.  (Insert your own jokes here.)

 

The Tally...

 

Another Halloween behind us, and into a new month.  This time of year is pretty darn nice in the desert; we're looking forward to cooler days.

Joan decorated a table that we put out in the driveway.  Steph, Dan, and I manned the table, ready for trick or treaters.  "Business" was not brisk: an estimated 50 or so candy takers.  It was a lot of families.  Some kids not in costumes.  Some dressed elaborately.

We set "ground rules" ahead of time that we all agreed to: everybody gets candy; costume or not; doesn't matter the age.

We got to meet some new neighbors; had a nice conversation with a family of 3 from a couple blocks away.  Everyone who came by was nice.  Another good experience.

 Not easy to see, but Dicha is in the photo, between Steph and the table.  Dicha did pretty good with all the activity.  A lot of "Ohhh - can I pet your dog?"

One woman who asked Steph, "Which of these guys are you with?"

Steph pointed at Dan and said, "That is my husband."

"Who is this other guy?"

Steph said, "That's my Dad."

"He looks too young to be your Dad."

Steph said, "Let me get him into the light so you can see better."

She's sweet that way.

 

Got it!

 

Last week while playing with the local guys, my Emerald quit.  As in: no sound.  When I looked down at it, I could see the pickup closest to the neck had caved into the body... "Well, that isn't good."

I messed with it a bit a couple days ago, and got sound out of it.  Thought maybe I had it fixed.  I was wrong.  Today, armed with a bright light, some magnifying glasses, needlenose pliers, and three tiny screwdrivers I went after it...

 That is laying on my desk/guitar workbench.  The red aloha looking thing is a nicely padded quilt that I put on the desk, generally when changing strings.  Looking inside, I could see the issue: there was a spring missing from the mounting bracket on the pickup.  I shook the guitar, and other than the pickup rattling in there, I could hear something else... yep, I think that wayward spring is still inside the guitar.  More shaking and holding upside-down, and I got the spring out.

That was the easy part.  I tried reaching my hand in there to get the spring back in place, but my hand blocked my view (looking inside the soundhole).  The deck has an electric height adjustment - I moved it up, and lowered my chair, to get my head at the right height...

 A long handled needlenose pliers let me get the spring in without my hand in the way; the light and the magnifiers let me see how to get that spring back into that tight space.  Here it is, back in place (looking inside the soundhole...

 The rest was easy, and... the Virtuo is sounding good again.  I adjusted the height on both pickups to get the balance that sounded best to my ears.

I'll be playing out on Sunday with the local guys, and I would prefer to use this guitar.

 

Boo!

 

That probably didn't scare you, huh?  Today is Halloween - not news to most people.  There is a "Fall Festival" in our community tomorrow - kids can wear their Halloween costumes, there will be some live music for the grown-ups.  It's an opportunity for neighbors to come together.  The Social Director on our HOA board is putting this on, and she does a great job.

There is a contest for "Best Decorated House" - a lot of people get into this.  Halloween is second to Christmas in regards to home decorations.  The average consumer will spend around $114 for candy to hand out and decorations.  66% of consumers will hand out candy, 51% will decorate in some manner.  46% will carve a pumpkin... on a side note: putting pumpkins outside here in the desert is not recommended due to the pumpkins attracting javelinas and other desert critters...

 

Steph and Dan have stocked up on candy to hand out tonight.  Joan and I have been tasked with getting a table set up so we're ready to go when they get home from work.  Last year, we had somewhere between 50 and 75 "spooks" visit last year (depending on who was counting) - yeah, I had to look it up on last year's blog post.

When we were living in Texas, we had a grand total of... zero trick or treaters.  Mostly retired folks living on that island, so there was generally a party at the Activity Center.  So, it was a big deal for us last year to have actual trick or treaters coming to the house.  We set up in the driveway so the doorbells aren't going off, getting the animals riled.

It should be a beautiful evening: a high today of 87º, temperature at 7:00 pm is expected to be 78º.  Unlike when we lived in the frozen northland, no need to plan a kid's costume around fitting over a winter jacket.  ;-)

Happy Halloween!  Trick or Treat!

 

Only 3 houses on our street, so it isn't the "target rich" environment like other streets in our neighborhood.  We'll see how that goes this evening.

 

Man Date...

 

That's what Joan called it.  My friend Danny Elder sent a message to the guys in our music group that he had an extra ticket for the Elvin Bishop concert at MIM.  He bought tickets for him and his son, and his son wasn't able to go.  "My treat if anyone is interested in this last minute invite."

I took him up on it.  Partially because I thought it would be a good concert, but mostly because I wanted to spend some time with Danny one-on-one.  I've known him for 4 or 5 years now, since he plays bass in the big group with Mark.  He is kind and likeable.  I told him I was looking forward to it.

It's a long drive to MIM, and last night was longer than usual, due to the traffic; it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get to the restaurant where Danny and I agreed to meet - "Since you're providing the tickets, I'll buy supper," I told him.

The restaurant was close to MIM.  We went inside, met our mutual friend Carl (who is also in the big group with Mark) who was ushering, and took our seats...

 That's me on the left, Danny on the right, and I have no idea who the guy behind us is.  ;-)

Nice thing about MIM concerts: they start on time.  The guy who is in charge of their Concert Series (over 300 shows this year) always comes out, thanks the crowd, and talks for a very short time; then, on with the show.

 If you aren't into "rockin' style blues," you may not be familiar with Alvin Bishop.  He was in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.  He was in the group Mountain that played at Woodstock (song: Mississippi Queen).  His most famous song is Fooled Around And Fell In Love... which has a truly iconic guitar lead.

This concert was "Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio," and they looked like they were having fun up on the stage...

 It was a good concert; especially considering that Bishop celebrated his 83rd birthday last week.

Here's a listen to a bit of that lead from Fooled Around And Fell In Love...

 

 

A Day of Celebration...

 

It's that time again already?  If you said, "It's National Cat Day," you probably have one of those calendars that has notices like that on it.  Regardless, you still get 15 bonus points.

Yes, everyday in our household is National Cat Day...

 Murph has had a good morning: Joan was up before me (unusual), so she made his breakfast.  Then, she took him outside for a while.  When I got up and about, I took him out; and gave him a treat.  Then, Joan took him out again.  All before 9:30.

There's a couple toys in that photo above: the tunnel, which is his favorite; he lays in it, plays in it, and runs through it multiple times everyday.  The light blue thing is a kick toy, with a bit of cat nip in it.

In honor of this celebration, we will dote on him... so, yeah, like every other day in the Life of Murphy.

:-)

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Looking at Facebook this morning, the National Cat Day thing was prominent in my Facebook Memories, featuring Izzy and Rufus over the years...

 

Yep, everyday in our house.

 

The OTHER 12:00...

 

The Hip Replacements had a gig today: the Memory Cafe in Surprise.  We have played for these folks before, and they are an appreciative audience.

They held their get-together in a different room today: bigger, with much higher ceilings.  I didn't find out about the change until yesterday, so we brought additional gear to fill the room with sound (not knowing what the situation would be).  As it worked out, my Bose L1c and S1 Pro were enough to cover the gig.

While it is supposed to be for their listening enjoyment, quite a few in the crowd got up to dance.  Some photos that Joan took...

 This version of the Hip Replacements is: Ron, me, Mark, and Podge (left to right in the photos).  In the bottom two photos, the guy playing the bongos (second from the left) is not part of the group, but one of the "VIPs" who asked Ron if he could sit in with us on the last song.  We aim to please.

Now, about the title of this post: this situation is from 10:30 'til just before noon.  We did our sound check around 10:00 - people were getting seats and applauding.  "Thanks, folks - we'll be playing for real in a half hour or so." 

We got started about 10 minutes late - not because of us: they were making announcements.  The room is tall (kind of an atrium(ish) thing) and a lot of hard surfaces.  We got the sound set, then kicked back until it was our time.  Ron on percussion, mandolin, guitar and vocals, Mark on guitar and vocals, Podge on bass and vocals, and me on guitar and vocals.  We planned a mix of easy listening rock - the crowd seemed to be enjoying the more rocking songs, so that's the direction we went.  More than enough songs on the set list (a bunch we didn't get to).

Afterwards, we met Mark and Cindy at BJ's (on the way home for all of us).  I joked with Joan as we discussed how it went, then "Let's get something to eat).  Back in the good ol' days when playing out, the meal afterwards was sometime after midnight... with this gig, we were on our way to the restaurant shortly after noon.  ;-)

 

An early start...

 

Last night, well before going to bed, one of us (not saying who) was already racked out...

 "Aw, he looks so peaceful," you're thinking.  I was thinking: If he sleeps now, he's going to be awake during the middle of the night.

Yep.  Somebody walked on me real early this morning - not saying who, but it wasn't Joan.  The furry boy was ready to be up and about before 5:00.  I laid there until 5:30 or so; until it was obvious I wasn't going to get back to sleep.

I got up and started my morning routine.  Murph really wanted to go outside; wasn't interested in his breakfast.  It was still dark, so I turned on the patio light and took him out.  He wandered about a bit.  I enjoyed the first light of the day, before sunrise...

 Back inside after 6:30, he was finally ready to settle down and have a bite to eat.  And now, he's settling in for a nap.  Yeah, I really want to scream and dance around him... but, I won't... because I am a good cat Dad.

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To the tune of Rawhide...

Shopping, shopping, shopping

Feel my arches dropping

Still we keep on shopping

Costco

Yeah, off to Costco today.  Joan wanted to get some vitamin stuff, and food.  I was along because I knew we'd be going to lunch afterwards.  There were quite a few food items that one or the other of us nixed due to the huge size of the package, and the finite room in our freezer.  They had some good-looking BBQ ribs that all you'd have to do is re-heat, but my plan was Famous Dave's for lunch.  

In the end, we pretty much filled a shopping cart.  It's a good thing we made the lunch out plan before we left the house, because I was told, "This is a lot of food - plan on eating in for a while."  Yep.

Famous Dave's was good.  I blame the need for BBQ on friends Denny and Debbie Stuck posted a video of Denny awash in smoke from one of his smokers, and some fine looking BBQ.  They do this competitively; we have tasted their results: blows away Famous Dave's, but this is what we have. 

Back home, I checked music gear off on the list Joan made and started the loading process.  The Hip Replacements are playing out tomorrow.  There is a reason I'm not keen on playing out too often... the equipment is lighter than the olden days, but my back is ricketier.  I enjoy the crowd and the playing, but carting that gear around... whew!

 

How did I not know about this??

 

On Facebook, there was an ad for an accessory by D'addario.  I clicked on it.  "Ohhh - that would be handy!"  The power of advertising.

"What is D'addario, Jim?"  Thanks for asking.  D'addario is a company that makes guitar stuff.  Guitar strings, tuners, all kinds of accessories, pics, drum sticks,  drum heads, winders for changing guitar strings, violin strings... lots of things.

This particular thing that caught my eye: a mic stand "stuff holder"...

 Joan ordered one (at my request).  It came in, and...

 It holds all the little odds and ends that you like to have right at hand (like a capo, a tuner, pics, etc); even has a cup holder attachment and separate pic holders (above).  For the right gig - a tip "jar"...

 And if you are playing someplace that doesn't want you to utilize a tip jar, you can remove it (snaps off) or, my solution...

 How did I go this long and not know something like this was a thing?  I have seen other mic stand trays, but nothing this handy.  You attach the base of this thing to the mic stand, and everything else snaps on/off.  Pretty cool.  They call it a mic stand accessory; I would call it a mic stand caddy.

Another thing that we searched out: good guitar cables.  I have had 3 of the cheaper ones crap out on me in the last couple weeks.  Turns out, these CableWorks instrument cables (Composer Series) are more than good - these are the nicest guitar cables I've seen.  They feel good in your hand, nice rubber shielding, and they click in and out of the guitar and amp like... buttah.  Very nice.

 

All guitar cables are not created equal.  Joan said, "Pick out some good ones and you won't be replacing them all the time."  We'll see how these hold up, but I am impressed.

Yeah, some would consider these "little things"... but they are accessories that will make the playing experience more pleasant.  I tried them out in my music room today, and they'll get used on our next gig on Tuesday. 

 

One Dog Night...

 

Saturday was eventful - it started with a visit from Joan's sister Beth and her husband Rob.  It's been several years since we've seen them, and it was great to get together again.  While we were all visiting with fun-filled chatter, Murphy was "establishing territory" with their dog Sky.

Sky is a herding dog and what I would call energetic.  Certainly not aggressive.  Murphy on the other hand was the aggressor.  He has had his moments with the various Guide Dog puppies that Steph and Dan have had through their house, but this was a guttural growl that was intimidating.  The 6 of us (Steph and Dan were there, too) - we sat out on patio, along with Sky, and Joan took Murphy inside... growling all the way (Murphy, not Joan).

I got so wrapped up in the conversation that I forgot to take a photo.

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Saturday evening, we went to the Wild Horse Pass Casino: supper, some gaming, and a concert with Three Dog Night.  How'd the gambling go?  Thanks for asking.  Joan doubled her initial "investment."  I came out with the same amount I started with.  So, pretty good.

But, more importantly: how was the concert?

Joan was the one who encouraged this concert.  I first saw Three Dog Night in concert at a big venue in Dallas when I was 16 years old.  They were on their rapid rise to fame and popularity.  With their 3 strong lead singers, they were a unique rock band...and were one of the biggest selling acts in the late 60s and into the 70s.  And then drugs and bad management (another story) tanked them.

Over the years, we have seen them several times in concert... and I have enjoyed playing some of their songs.  Three Dog Night, in spite of their many hit songs, didn't get the respect of the music press - because (my opinion) they didn't write their own music.  They did release songs that were written by some of the best song writers of the era.

The 3 lead singers were Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton.  Each a great singer on their own, but combined, they brought power and harmony like I've never seen in a rock band.  And backed by 4 players who were outstanding on guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums.  They truly rocked.

We saw them several times in the late 70s and early 80s, where there were kind of a small version of what they had been: small equipment and in a theater instead of the arena.  Chuck Negron, who was arguably the strongest of the 3 singers had been kicked out because he was a total druggie.  I remember calling them "Two Dog Night," because they had 2 of the 3 singers.  Still, they were very good.

Joan and I saw Chuck Negron in a casino in Palm Springs about 8 years ago - his voice was shot; if not for the good players and singers who backed him, it would have been a major disappointment.  By comparison, also at that concert was Mark Farner of Grand Funk - same era as Three Dog Night - and Farner was as good as ever, both vocally and on guitar and keyboards.

In the last few years, I have watched some YouTube videos of Three Dog Night.  Danny Hutton was the only original left (Cory Wells died in 2015), there was another lead singer of (in my opinion) OK talent.  So, when Joan wanted to get tickets for this concert, I was luke warm about it.  I jokingly called them "One Dog Night."  And in the videos I saw, Danny Hutton wasn't carrying most of the vocals.

But, last night... I was impressed.  83 year old Danny Hutton did most of the vocals, and was strong, beyond what you'd expect by an 83 year old.  The other singer was OK.  The band was strong and tight.  We found out the drummer and bass player were Hutton's sons (the crowd really enjoyed hearing that).  Was it the power of the original Three Dog Night?  No, but it was good... and it didn't feel like a cover band doing Three Dog Night songs.  Nostalgic, but fun.

They only played for an hour and 10 minutes; mostly their greatest hits, with two new originals performed (which received polite applause from the audience).  And speaking of the audience: seemed to be of the same age range as Hutton, and enthusiastically appreciative of the performance.  I'm glad we went!

 I found myself shooting a lot of video with my phone - I'll see what I can put together from that.

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Here's a look at the video from my iPhone...

 

It's a new world record...

 

About 25 minutes for the HOA board meeting last night.  The storm a couple weeks ago caused some localized flooding, which caused erosion in our community park.  The cost to repair is not insignificant, so we called for a board meeting to discuss this in front of homeowners.  Being a single issue meeting, I wasn't expecting a lot of attendance... it was even less than I anticipated.  Beyond board members, a couple spouses, the management company rep, and two people from the landscape company, there were 13 other people.

Of the 4 board members there, the decision to move forward with the repairs was unanimous - the 8 acre park is the biggest community-owned asset; it needs to be maintained.  And in a timely manner.  The management company had a contract for me to sign immediately after the meeting.

On a different topic: more music for me today.  It's time for the every-other-Friday jam with my local guys.  Some good ol' rock & roll is good for the spirit.

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I had the opportunity to try my wireless in-ears monitors with the guys today - it worked great.  For me.  I could hear myself (vocals) really well for the first time with these guys.  Unfortunately, the wireless frequency messed with the wireless transmitters the other guitar players were using.  I turned my in-ears off.  :-(  It wasn't the only thing that went south today.  One of the other guys broke a string.  Another had an issue with his wireless guitar stuff.  And not to be outdone: my Emerald Virtuo just quit.  I unplugged my wireless stuff and tried a regular guitar cord... nothing.  Looking closer, I saw that one of the Fishman Fluence pickups had come undone from the mount and caving into the guitar body.

Well, that's not good.  We took a break while I worked on it.  With no tools and crappy light.  Allan's place is less than 2 miles from our house.  I called Joan and asked, "If you aren't in the middle of something, could you bring me another guitar?"  She asked, "Which one?"  I selected the easiest for her to grab, no case for it.  Not the best one to play with a loud rock band, but the easiest.

Joan was there in about 10 minutes, and brought my Emerald X7.  I asked if she'd want to take a couple minutes and listen to us play something (she hasn't heard us before).  We went inside, she met Allan at the door, and as I was about to introduce her to the guys, she said, "Let's see... you are Tony, you're Roland, you're Joe, and you're Bob."  She got them all right.  I was impressed. 

We played a couple songs for her, then she took off; and we finished our jam.  As always, Joan saved my butt, bringing that guitar so I could keep playing.

Back home, and I'll be messing with that Virtuo.  And probably bring a second guitar for any practices.

 

Mind in the Gutter...

 

No, not mine - Joan's.  Not what you are thinking: Joan wants to have rain gutters installed on the south side of the house... something to keep the water, when it rains heavy - and it will do that again some time, to keep it from pooling around the air conditioners.  She scheduled a guy to come out and give us a price.

Her new friend, Tony, called to confirm and was 5 minutes early in getting here.  Well, that is certainly a good start; none of this "between 8:00 am and midnight" kinda wait things.  He was here about 30 minutes, sketched up what Joan wants, had her pick a color (to match what we have for rain gutters in the front of the house), and gave us a tentative price, with the firm price coming after he checks for one unique piece we'll need around the pergola.

I would call that a positive first meeting.

For the record, the rain that hit here while we were in California were heavier than the area has had in over 7 years.  Also, the first time in over 100 years that there was 5 consecutive days of rain in Arizona.  No, not solid rain that whole time - heavy rain on one day, much lighter on the other 4.

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To go along with that whole rain situation, there is a board meeting for our HOA this evening - yeah, one week after the last meeting.  The bid came in for repairs to fix the erosion in our park thanks to that unprecedented rain.  It's a pretty sizeable number, so we need to discuss it with the homeowners present.  Well, those that want to know.  We'll see how many show up this evening.  

 

Together again...

 

If you said, "Buck Owens, 1964," you get 20 bonus points.  If you said, "Janet Jackson, 1997," you get 20 bonus points.  If you said both of those, you get an additional 50 bonus points for having eclectic musical trivia knowledge.

I got together with Mark, Podge, and Ron today, to rehearse for a gig we have next week.  It's been quite a while since Mark and I got together - he and Cindy have been off gallivanting around the Northeast, from Maine to New York City for the last month or so.  And, good for them!

I had to leave a bit earlier than usual to get home in time to have supper and then get to a community meeting being held by our District 7 and 8 City Council members at the library near us.  That ran a couple hours.  Hoping to see if there was any funding from the City (of Phoenix) to help pay for the damage in our community caused by the lack of drainage maintenance by the City.  Nope... but, "We'll check into that maintenance situation."  The two Council members, and representatives from the Police, Parks, Commercial Development Department, an agency representing homeless concerns, and others, were there to say what they've been doing and answer questions.  Our community was well represented by the questions submitted.

Not sure anything definitive was answered, but it was interesting to find out that this part of town is soon going to "break ground" on a new Fire Station and Police Sub-station.  There is a LOT of home development happening here, and it will be nice to have those services right in our community.  And, some upcoming retail proposals.

 

Go soak your...

 

... head.  If you said, "It's an informal and dismissive way to tell someone to leave," you get 5 bonus points.  If you said, "This probably has something to do with a hot tub, huh?" you get 15 bonus points.

We are coming up on two years in this house.  Well, one year, 11 1/2 months to be more precise.  The manufacturer of our hot tub recommends changing the water every "6 to 12 months."  Time to get on it.  Again.

I started at 6:45 this morning, gathering stuff (hoses, pump, filters, rags); the emptying process got underway at 7:15, using a sump pump.  I was remembering that it took about an hour and a half last time, to empty the water with that pump.  Apparently, I was mis-remembering: it took almost 3 hours.

No big deal, it is my time and I spent it cleaning filters and wiping down as necessary while the pump was emptying.  Fortunately, I had good help in getting this part done...

  At the start and towards the end...

 The filling process went faster than the emptying; less than an hour to fill.  And then the "hold your breath" moment: turning on the jets and hoping you don't have an air lock - it all went well.  The guy who delivered the tub showed me where to put the special "filling filter" to eliminate the air lock issue.  And, I remembered.

So, now, it just has to heat up before I can use it.  And after all the bending and stretching to clean it, I could use a therapeutic soak right about now.  ;-)

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I think we're all aware of the "glitch" with Amazon Web Services overnight Sunday to Monday.  They said everything was "back to normal" by the time we heard of it here on West Coast time (Mountain Standard Time to be more accurate, since Arizona doesn't change).  That turned out to be incorrect (you expected me to say "Bullshit," didn't ya?).

Joan had an Amazon Fresh order in.  Amazon cancelled it.  She reordered it on Monday evening.  No acknowledgement of order from Amazon.  Nothing in process as of noon today.  They didn't cancel the order, but Joan rescheduled the delivery time.  We have gotten used to ordering Amazon Fresh and receiving the order the same day.  Yes, I know this wasn't a "hack," and there are a lot of businesses that use AWS to host their sites, and they have all been in limbo.

I was pissed when Congress couldn't get their act together to pass funding to keep the country running.  While that is a shit show, and something I will remember when it comes time to vote for any incumbent, I feel the Government and anything they get involved with is generally a mess... but don't screw around with my Amazon!

You've probably heard me say that we moved to Arizona to be close to Steph and Dan.  I've also jokingly said that we moved here because this state stays on Mountain Standard Time year 'round - none of that "springing forward and falling back."  But, the real reason is because of Amazon: we can get almost anything the next day; frequently, same-day delivery is available.  Unlike on our island in Texas, where Amazon's 2-day delivery would generally take 4 to 5 days.  At first, it was almost always 3 days, and then Amazon put a fulfillment center in McAllen, TX... and decided to use the Post Office for deliveries to the island, which took even longer.  

X Marks the Spot...

 

"You're looking for buried treasure, Jim?"  No, but October in the desert can be a bit of a treasure.

Maybe the title should have been "X Max the Spot"?  I took Joan's Xmax out this morning.  It was 60º and sunny when I got up at 6:30 this morning.  I put on a sweatshirt to take Murphy outside.  Pretty darn nice.

I decided it would be a good morning for a ride... and Joan's Xmax hasn't been ridden in over a month.  I held my breath when I hit the start button.  It popped right off and purred like a kitten.  A sporty 300cc kitten.

The Xmax is right in the middle, size-wise, between my CTX and the Burgman 200.  Well, closer to the Burgman than the CTX, but you get what I'm saying.  And, I've said it before, but the Xmax is a fun scoot: enough power to entertain you, and flickable for fun in the twisties.  I think "sporty" is a good description.

Not much traffic on the mountain today - I did go by 3 other bikes going up as I was going down.  The first was a powerful sport bike and the rider was hauling ass.  Tough to estimate his speed, but I would guess it at well over twice the speed limit.  He didn't wave back.  The second was a young guy on a non-Harley cruiser.  No helmet, that laid-back cruiser posture.  Too cool to wave back.  The third guy was on a smaller motorcycle and seemed to be enjoying the ride as much as I was.  We waved at the same time.

No, a wave is not mandatory.  I consider it a "Are you having as much fun as I am?" kinda gesture.  A good time for a ride.  It really "hit the spot."  :-)

 

 

Belated...

 

Joan's birthday was Thursday; the reason for our get-away to California.  I had a board meeting (via Zoom) on Thursday evening, so it wasn't much of a celebration that evening.  We made up for it last night...

With my phone (above) - with Dan's new iPhone (below)...

 

Instead of a cake, Steph and Dan went to a French bakery and got us fancy croissants (our new favorites, after my first chocolate croissant on this trip) and individual cake slices for them.  A nice evening.

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Ceramics...

"You going to start making mugs, Jim?" 

No, but thanks for asking.  We drove through rain on the way to California, and got rained on one day while we were there... the van was in need of a clean-up.  While I worked on the outside, Joan went after getting the interior spic & span.  Yes, that's an old person term.  "Spic & Span" is a cleaning product by Proctor & Gamble, but it is also an idiom meaning perfectly clean.

We were both very thorough in our cleaning today; and once done with all washing and drying, I decided to apply a ceramic coating to all the black panels on the van.  There are plenty.  This one is RoadTrek's "Blackout Edition."  Besides the cladding around the wheel wells and on the sides, the van has a blacked out grille (most have chrome grille trim).

Rather than applying Armor-All to all that black trim, I researched and ordered a ceramic coating product made for the job.  It is supposed to "withstand 200 washes."  We'll see how it does with the Arizona sun.

Knowing that my aging back would be feeling it, Joan brought me out a rolling stool.  The right tool for the job.  This product comes in sealed pouches, each one holding a treated cloth - you wipe it on.  Sounds easy enough.  It is - on the side panels.  The grill has a bunch of detail, and you have to get that cloth in between all of that...

 My aging hands are hurting as much as my aging back.  I told Joan she may not get any guitar entertainment for a couple days.  She told me there might not be any cooking for that same time period.  Touche'.

The company that makes this ceramic coating product gives detailed instructions on how to apply it.  They also recommend that you get a "before" photo of the wheel well cladding before you start.  No doubt, that is good for their reviews when people post "before and after" images.  I didn't do that, but here is a photo showing one section done (on the right) and the before (on the left)...

 I can see the difference.  Not including the washing and wiping, that ceramic coating application took about an hour.  It needs to dry/set for a couple hours.

There is enough of the ceramic coating stuff to do the Equinox... which has the "Midnight Edition," which also has a blacked out grille.  I guess we have a type.  ;-)  I'll think about that another day.