Zoom - Zoom...

 

If you said, " 'Zoom Zoom' refers to both a popular video conferencing platform and a brand message ('the love of motion experienced as a child') used by Mazda, starting in 2000," you get 30 bonus points.  No, we are not getting a Mazda, although the Miata is a good looking 2-seater... so, that leaves the whole Zoom Meeting thing.

Two Zoom meetings today, then the Architectural Committee should be up and running.  There are 14 projects waiting for votes from the rest of the committee; I will be glad when we can move through these requests, so homeowners can get on with their projects.  I remember when we first moved into this house and went through submitting requests for things we were doing to finish off our yards, like the pergola and the Tuff Shed.  We had a Building Committee that we had to go through when we lived in Texas, but our builder dealt with all of that.  I can appreciate the angst while a homeowner waits to see if their project is approved.

It isn't like my approach is to green-light all projects, but as long as the projects follow the Design Guidelines, they should quickly move through the process.  I am sure, looking at submission dates for requests, that some of these were held, waiting for this committee to get formed.

 --------

In between Zoom meetings, some time outside with the furry boy, seeing how the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 does in slow motion...

  Any other time, he would be looking all around, which would be good in slow motion... "Come on, Murph - do something."  ;-)

 

A Photo Session...

 

Your music buds got a new promo photo?  No, but thanks for asking.  And, no, I haven't gotten back into the photography biz.  A few days ago, Steph asked if I'd take a photo for her and Dan with Rubina.  Rubina's time with them is growing short - she has progressed in her training and is ready to go back to the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus for more specific training.

Rubina is very much a good girl; smart, well-tempered, and adaptable.  She is going to make a great Guide Dog companion that will change someone's life for the better.  It is not easy for Steph and Dan to give her back - she has been a part of their everyday life for months.

Hopefully, it won't be long and they will be welcoming a 3rd Guide Dog puppy into their home.

In the meantime, I got out my Sony mirrorless camera to take some photos.  Steph assured me, "This isn't a big deal - you can just use a phone if you want."  I have not been out of the business so long that I don't appreciate the value of an image as "memory insurance."

We took the photos in their yard.  Low key in the set up and flow of the shoot.

 Rubina is a good girl.  Steph and Dan are good people.

 

Like the second day of school...

 

I am getting together with my new music friends, less than 5 minutes from our house.  I wrote about this a couple weeks ago - not planning to change anything with Mark and the guys, this is in addition to that music group.

I may have mentioned that these guys play loud... I'll be bringing some molded ear plugs today.  And an electric guitar rather than one of my acoustic/electrics.  I am the oldest one of this bunch, where I am the youngest with Mark and the guys.  The song choices are very different - these guys are more about jamming and a harder sound.  I was a bit out of my element two weeks ago, but I'll be better prepared today.

Joan said to me, "You should probably wear one of your guitar shirts today."

"What?"

"Well, you want to fit in."  I don't give much thought to fitting in.  "How about your Tommy Emmanual shirt?"

"I'm not sure these guys would know who that is."  (TE is an absolute kick-ass acoustic/electric player, btw)  I pulled a Gruen Guitars t-shirt out of the drawer.  Gruen is one of the premier guitar shops in the United States.  And, if they don't know, I'll tell 'em.  ;-)

 Look at me, trying to fit in... I may get to sit at the cool kids' table.

 --------

Today is Friday.  I get my Architectural Committee requests reminder on Fridays.  One new request came in, I got that approved, and all the rest of the requests are done for me, just waiting on the other committee members to get trained.  That will happen on Monday.  We should be ready to roll.

I got an e-mail yesterday from one of the other HOA board members - a neighbor had contacted her to ask why her Architectural Committee submission was taking so long... I just got it a few days ago, and voted on it right away.  Unfortunately, the people hadn't looked at the Design Guidelines, so the request was going to be denied.  The committee has 45 days to complete a review and vote - I hope to get that down to a week or less, but this particular request was submitted about 2 weeks ago, and this committee was just formed; so it had been waiting for that to happen.  Timing.  I wrote to the homeowners, explained the timing and suggested they resubmit after making a couple changes.  Everybody happy.  For now.

 

Work Schedule...

 

You went back to work, Jim??

No, but thanks for asking.  Between making music with my friends and dealing with Architectural Committee requests for our HOA, I have more schedule in my days.  One of the things I have enjoyed most about being retired is that lack of schedule.  I particularly enjoy having a leisurely lunch out with my Honey.

We did that today, but had to be back home for a Zoom meeting for me at 2:00 for training for the Architectural Committee.  Apparently, it is more than a quick look and vote yes or no.  ;-)

Since being named chairman of that committee, I have already dealt with a dozen or so project requests... it will be good to find out if I've been doing them correctly.

--------

That was a very worthwhile training: I was the one and only trainee.  I get that it is good for this company to put in the time to train the HOA board and committees: it lightens their load.  But, the lady doing the training showed me a feature on the portal that allows me to get through the Architectural Committee requests in a more efficient manner and eliminating the archiving I was doing on completed votes.

She was impressed that I had taken it on my own to go through the requests before the training; complimented me on how I handled the different project requests.  For the most part, it either meets the rules or it doesn't.  There is some discretion on the committee's part in specific cases.  For this week, with 13 requests, it came down to 5 yes votes, 5 yes conditional (if certain requirements are met), and 3 no votes where the homeowner didn't give enough information or was asking for something that didn't align with the Design Guidelines.

I was concerned that this committee chairman job would be the most time-consuming, but having specific guidelines to go by takes individual opinion out of the equation.  Interesting improvements: pergola with an outdoor kitchen under it, a swimming pool with a pergola, roof-mounted solar panels, and several for lights along the roof-lines of the home (this is a popular thing here).  The only "no" was for putting a lemon tree in the front yard: specifically prohibited in the CC&Rs due to the mess they make and the vermin they attract.  But, you can put a fruit tree in your back yard if you want.

The rest of the committee will get training next week.  The training lady asked if I would sit in on those to get some questions going.

 

 

 

I'm Pissed!

 

I had a doctor appointment this morning.  8:20, fasting, so they can do some blood work.  I got an automated call last Friday, confirming the appointment.  A text on Saturday, confirming the appointment.  An e-mail on Monday, confirming the appointment.  "Be there 15 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment time."

Yep.  I arrived at the doctor's office at 8:02, 18 minutes before the scheduled appointment.  My experience with this place (Center Well) has been: very few people in the waiting area, they take you in right at or even before your scheduled time.

It didn't go that way today.  My appointment time came, no call to come into an exam room.  15 minutes later, still no call to come into an exam room.  Finally, a young lady at the front desk said, "James, the staff is in an administration meeting.  We're going to have to reschedule your appointment for another time."

Wrong answer.  I told the young girl at the front desk, "You waste my time and think I will come back again?"  I walked out.

Joan and I were going go have breakfast out at a nearby I-Hop.  I was so pissed that I didn't feel like eating.  Joan said, "Let's just go home and I'll make you breakfast."  Instead, I went back into the doctor's office and ranted a bit.  The young girl at the appointment desk didn't know what to do; she said, "Would you like me get an administrator for you?"

"Absolutely! 

The administrator lady already knew what she was in for.  I suggested we take the discussion to someplace besides the waiting area.  We sat down in a nearby office and I unleashed.  The gist of the conversation: "Your time is NOT more valuable than mine."

There was a lot of apologizing on her part - she took full responsibility, not blaming the doctor or the office staff.  She said, "What can we do to make this right?"  I told her.  Eventually, I got around to saying, "I came in fasting so you could do blood work.  Draw the damn blood and let me get on with my day - I will NOT came back again for what you were supposed to do today."  There were other words, mostly unpleasant.  She arranged this meeting a couple weeks ago - I've had the appointment for 3 months.  She just assumed someone would let me know and reschedule my appointment.

She made an immediate arrangement to get the blood work order in place, then took me back to get poked.  "Why couldn't you have done this in the first place?"  Again, more apologizing.  Me: "I don't need to come back into this office again to get the results.  I will see them as soon as they are posted on your portal.  I need prescriptions renewed and I'd like them to be paper prescriptions rather than have you call them in.  Let me know when I can pick up the prescriptions, have them waiting for me at your front desk, and I will come back to pick those up."

She agreed.  The phlebotomist drew blood, I peed in a cup, and I left.

I understand why they schedule things the way they do: make an appointment for an office call and they'll draw blood.  Make another appointment to come back in for the results of the bloodwork.  This way, they get to charge for TWO office calls.  Not this time. 

It's a good thing I didn't hang around to get my blood pressure taken.  Assholes.

This visit was simply a follow-up to see how I would do, eliminating one of my prescriptions - 3 months ago.  This doctor will only write prescriptions for 6 months, so you have to come back twice a year for what I call "maintenance prescriptions."  Another way for them to bill your insurance for another office call.

I have worked within their way of doing things... up until today.

--------

I got together with some of my music buds today.  Good time, good music.  That's the way a day should go.  

Golden Hour Done Right...

 

More images of our furry boy, just before sunset again... but, this time with a real camera: my Sony a6700 with the 55-210mm zoom lens.  This lens is my "reach out" lens - it is reasonably sharp, but the light was going fast... even with the ISO bumped up to 1000, 1/80th of a second was as fast as I could get with the shutter speed.  I'm still pretty steady for hand-holding, but most of these images were taken with the focal length set around 135mm.  When possible, I like the shutter speed to be "twice" the focal length, so somewhere around 1/250th or 1/300 would be my preference.  With photography, there are always choices and compromises.  That said, I sure do like shooting with a camera instead of a phone.

Here's our Murphy...

No, that bird is not sitting on his head (above) - that's on one of Joan's yard ornaments behind Murphy.

 I see the difference.  And then a quick shot of the last rays of light on South Mountain, while standing in our courtyard...

 Not evening-looking enough for you?  How 'bout this...

Those are from the same image.  That is just scratching the surface of what can be done in seconds with Photoshop.  One of the more recent features in PS is "Generative Fill" - you select an area (in this case, the sky), select Generative Fill, and tell it what you want to use to fill that space.  In the photo immediately above, I typed in "evening sky"; in the photo above that, I used "sky/clouds."

With the extreme contrast between the sky and the last bit of light on the mountain, a choice has to be made: expose for the sky and the mountain will be too dark; expose for the mountain and the sky will have no detail.  Pretty cool to be able to use the Generative Fill, since this is what it looked like to the camera...

 No doubt there are some who will scream "That's cheating!"  Photoshop is a tool.  Mostly, I use it to improve the color, exposure, and contrast of almost every image you see on this blog; pretty much the same thing "the lab" did for you when you dropped off your film to be processed.  Remember film?  ;-)

The Generative Fill is an AI feature.  Who's to say what the sky actually looked like in that image above where it is blown away?  I don't use Photoshop to "cheat," I consider it more of an "enhancement."  Photographers have used custom printing, dodging and burning to bring out detail in an image, since the early days of photography.

The handsomeness on Murphy is all natural - I didn't have to do anything to enhance that.

 

Security Detail...

 

The Secret Service has nothing over my security detail.  Not once in the 15 months that Murphy has been a part of our family have I been attacked while in the bathroom.  I don't know if this sense of duty was handed down from Rufus, but Murphy is certainly carrying on that proud tradition.  Little Izzy, on the other hand, just wanted to play under the bathroom door.

 While he may not look particularly fierce, he is fast and stealthy - a real ninja cat.

A hot day in the Valley of the Sun today: the weasels are calling for "a high of 98º, but triple digits are not out of the question."  That's way to early for me.  Historically, the first day of 100º in this area happens around May 2nd.  I think this is just a "preview," as we're supposed to be back in the 80s for the weekend.  If you can believe the forecast, today will be the hottest day this week.

With the warm temps firing up early, I got out on the CTX this morning.  That is my "warm weather pattern": get out before it gets too hot.  Wearing a mesh jacket and riding pants, it felt pretty warm on the way home.  That said, it was a great ride: leaving at 9:15, the school and commuter traffic was nil.  No photos or video shot, but I did take this with my phone...

 This bike just suits me; big enough to feel solid and planted, but still sporty.  It carries its weight low, so it feels lighter that its 500 pounds.  Good low end torque; you get that satisfying pull when you crack open the throttle.  Comfortable.

Joan said, "When you get back from a ride, you always comment about how much you like that bike... on each bike you ride.  I guess that means you are happy with each of the bikes."

"Yeah, they are different enough from each other - and I'm putting your Xmax into this - that they each have a unique personality."  I'm guessing that is her way of subliminally suggesting that I don't need any more bikes?  I'm good with that. 

Riding on South Mountain this morning, you can see that the ground cover plants are getting green.  It isn't a flourish of green like it was last year, due to how little rain we got over what passes for winter around here.

 

Golden Hour...

 

If you ask any photographer, they will tell you: "Golden Hour is that time just after sunrise or just before sunset when the light is infused with red and gold tones, making the light softer and warmer.  A great time for creating photographic portraits."  What they won't tell you: that time isn't really "an hour" and the light and color temperature is constantly changing.  I got some of my favorite portraits back in the day during that time around sunset.

If you ask any medical professional, they will tell you: "The first hour after the occurrence of a traumatic injury, considered the most critical for successful emergency treatment."  Not my field of expertise.  Just trying to be thorough with these definitions.

Murphy and I were out in the courtyard during "Golden Hour" today.  I wasn't planning on shooting anything, so all I had with me was my iPhone.  The images would be better if using a longer lens and a shallower depth of field, but... ya use what ya got.

 

And, Murphy is not a patient poser like his predecessors.  He hopped up on the hot tub (yes, the lid is always closed when it isn't being used), and I couldn't resist shooting a bunch of images.  Here's a few...

 

 

A mostly back-lit profile...

 

 With South Mountain in the background.  I moved around to the other side to get this next shot - the background isn't as striking, but the light is a bit more open...

 He stayed up there for at least 10 minutes; not typical for this boy... unless he's napping.  He got a lot of outdoor time today.  Joan and I were out during the 12:00 to 2:30 time (lunch out, and some errands on the way home) - that meant Murphy got to go out other times during the day.

 

Makin' Music...

 

I could just sit around makin' music all day long...

If you said, "Mac Davis, 1971, and the song is: I Believe In Music," you get 20 bonus points.  (No partial credit - all or nothin')

No, I didn't sit around making music all day long.  Just a couple hours.  I had dropped off my gear in my music room after the last time I got together with the guys.  Finally time to get it put away.  Because one of us said, "It's time to get that stuff put away."

I had taken two guitars last time: my venerable X20 and the diminutive X7 that I had in Nashville Tuning.  The X7 sounded a bit shrill through the amp I was using that day, so I played the X20 for most of that practice.

I picked up the X7 today and gave it a strum... sweet, with a bit of zing.  Hmm, that sounds like some kind of food preparation.  That guitar wanted to be played... I complied.  I played a bunch of songs that would sound good with that kind of tone.  Then, I finished picking up gear and hung the two guitars on the wall.

Back to the living room.  I picked up the X10 that I keep on the wall there, and played for Joan and Murphy...

 Unlike Izzy or Rufus, Murphy doesn't come running when I pick up a guitar.  He seemed to enjoy the music and sat beside me.  Joan doesn't generally take just one photo of something, so I have many photo options...

 

Abstract...

 

My view this morning...

 

Any guesses?  No, I wasn't in jail.  Yes, that is blue sky peeking through on the right side.

A few muscle aches this morning; probably not from any unusual activity, more likely because I slept... wrong.  Before cleaning up for the day, I went out for a soak in the hot tub.  That's something I usually do at night, and sit so I can look to the western sky to watch planes setting up for approach or departure from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.  If the wind has any component of west in it, I see planes.

This morning, I sat in the hot tub so the sun was to my back, giving me a view of the pergola over our patio area...

 I find that play of light and shadow soothing as I look up from the hot tub.  It was a relaxing soak before coming inside and getting into the shower.  That's a lot of warm water... I may need a nap.  ;-)

 

The First Full Day Of Spring...

 

And what a gorgeous day!

 

After putting the van away and running some errands, I got out on the Burgman scoot.  Seems I have been paying more attention to the CTX lately - don't want the appearance of playing favorites.  Truth be told, they are each my favorite... at different times.

Sunny, high in the low 80s, low humidity, very little breeze: a perfect afternoon to get out and enjoy a ride.  I grabbed the Insta360 X4 today; shot a bunch of very short clips (faster to edit), added some music, then put a voice-over track on it.  Not as fast as working up regular (non-360) video with a mic in the helmet, but that is hard to do with a lot of short clips.

Here's a relatively short video of some time on the Burgman...

 

Not much of a trip...

 

We had a free day today.  What's that?  Yeah, we're retired, so every day is a free day, right?  I don't know how we had time to work - seems there is always stuff to keep us busy.

Joan suggested we go out to the driveway to "try some things" in the RoadTrek.  Being a guy, I was all for "trying things."  Apparently, that meant: setting up the Lagun table in the cab and rear seating positions.  This table moves in a bunch of different rotations, and we've never tried it in the forward position with the driver and passenger seats rotated.  It works.

We then moved it to the aft position, where we have used it on the only multi-day trip we've taken in the past 6 months (Is that right?  No wonder I have itchy feet!).  It works there, too.

 We were ready to put it back in storage, when Joan said to me, "Did you see these orange wires hanging out from the top of the door (the large sliding door on the side)?"  I went to look.  It's the wiring for the FireFly System, the touch screen panel that controls almost everything in the van.

"Well, that's not good."

A short discussion about dealing with it now or putting it off for another day.  A unanimous decision to address it now.

Turns out the problem isn't the wiring - there is a molded vinyl piece that goes above that sliding door on the inside of the van; the touch screen for the FireFly is mounted into that 5' long trim piece.  Under that is the roll-up screen that drops down to cover that large opening.  There are 10 screws holding that large roll up screen (and privacy screen) under the trim piece, along with some adhesive.  Not one single screw was into the metal frame of the van - it is amazing to me that the whole screen, trim piece, and the FireFly screen and wiring didn't come crashing down!

I'm guessing RoadTrek spent about 20 minutes doing that job incorrectly.  With the two of us working together, we put another hour and a half into securing it properly (not including the discussion of the best way to approach this mini-project).  The toughest part was pushing that roll-up screen into place and holding it and the trim piece while drilling pilot holes to secure it all with stainless steel screws.  There were a couple "scratch marks" where the short screws RoadTrek used touched the metal frame on the van, but none of them were into the metal.

As I worked my way from the rear side of the door opening to the front, being careful of the FireFly wiring, it became clear that the trim piece wasn't into anything solid on the forward side.  There is a decorative cover over a square bit screw that should attach to something.  It didn't.  Didn't attach to anything, that is.  There is a piece of textured wood across the cab section that this screw should have gone into.  I changed the angle of the screw so it could get a bite into that wood.  I was hoping the angle didn't prevent that decorative cover from fitting on the trim around the head of the screw... it snapped into place nicely when I was done with it...

 You can see that little trim cap on the far left of the photo about 2/3 of the way up.  That screen is the FireFly system.  If that whole section had come down, it would have likely taken out the FireFly controller, which would have made every system in the van non-functional.  If you think I am a bit miffed about this, you would be right.

Moving on, RoadTrek isn't the only van maker that uses this FireFly system - other van and motorhome makers use it, too.  It controls all lighting (or each individual light), the air conditioning, the heat, the water heater, the water pump, extending and retracting the awning the lithium batteries, the 3000w inverter, and lets you know levels on holding tanks and propane.  So, yeah, literally everything in the van.  From what I read online, the FireFly system has been reliable.  One of the things I liked about the Chase 50 model when we were looking is the fact that it has a second FireFly touch screen controller in the rear of the van (yes, that panel feels solid and secure).  Also, it comes with an app that you can put on your iPhone that duplicates all those controls on your phone. 

In the grand scheme of things, this RoadTrek hasn't seen a lot of use.  I hope to change that.  I would consider this situation still part of the "shake down" that every owner of a new RV has to deal with.  I'm glad that we were able to fix this ourselves - we know it is a solid solution.  And the dealer where we bought this is no longer a RoadTrek dealer.  There is now another RoadTrek dealer in the far east side of Phoenix, but we have no relationship with them.  One day we'll get over that way, just to visit with them.  For about 3 1/2 months of the 6 we've owned the van, the closest dealer was in Las Vegas.  There are a lot of interconnected systems in this van (and most others).

I still think RoadTrek makes a good Class B.  I'm guessing the install of the roll-up screen and window shade is one of the last things to be done in the build process... "Let the new guy do that - it's no big deal."  ;-) 

You know what I mean, Vern(al)?

 

If you said, "The catch phrase of Ernest P. Worrell, a character played by Jim Varney," you get 15 bonus points.  But, what's the "(al)" at the end of that?

Thanks for asking.  Of course, I am referring to the Vernal Equinox (nothing to do with a Chevy crossover SUV).  This is the day we "officially" welcome spring - when the Earth is not tilted away or towards the sun.  And, depending where you are in latitude, when some will see 12 hours each of daylight and darkness for the day.  And, from now to the Summer Solstice, the hours/minutes of daylight will be more than the dark.

 

 

A Hot Tub Morning...

 

Joan asked if I wanted to soak in the hot tub this morning.  I use it almost every night, but I am happy to be a two-soak-a-day kinda guy.

Before we were ready to go out to the tub, I got a text from my cousin Gary, with a photo showing the winter conditions where he lives, in Sioux City, Iowa...

 In the message, he said, "If you ever lose your sanity and decide to come back to the midwest..."

That's a big Nope for me.

When we were done soaking, Joan said, "Let me get your phone and take a photo you can send to Gary"...

 I agree with you: "I'd rather see Joan in the hot tub than you, Jim."  It was a lovely, relaxing soak.

I decided this was a good time to clean the filters and top off the water in the tub.  While I was working at that, Murphy wanted to look around...

 No, we aren't worried about him falling in - the boy is very exacting in his movements.  And curious.  This is not his first time hopping up there.

After we soaked, we took time to take in the pretty morning: it will be in the mid-70s today, plenty of sunshine.

Would I rather be in the frozen northland?  You don't really need an answer, do you?  I don't think it is a coincidence that the airport identifier for Sioux City is: SUX.

 

Thoughts While Driving...

 

Driving to Mark's yesterday to get together with my music buds, I put on a microphone (DJI Mic2) and clipped an action camera (DJI Action 4) to the sun visor; then occasionally pointed a DJI Pocket 3 video camera through the windshield.

Random thoughts, starting off with getting elected president of the HOA board, then talking about driving the van.  I really like driving the van.  I would use it as a daily driver if we had a garage big enough for it.

I also like videoing these random thoughts.  Not so fond of the editing, but this was pretty straight forward - drop some footage of looking out the windshield over the footage from the camera pointing at me.

And, here it is...

 This is another one of those "unlisted" videos - the only place you'll see it is here on the blog.  It won't be public on YouTube.  Just taking the opportunity to "play" with the camera gear.

 

You Won't See Me...

 

If you said, "The Beatles, 1965," you get 15 bonus points.  If you ask, "Did you perfect the Cloak of Invisibility?"... no, but that would be interesting.

I took Murphy outside for a couple walks this morning, before heading to Mark's house to make some music with the guys.  With the van parked in the driveway, I thought it might be a good time to expose him to some outdoor time that isn't in our back yards.  He approached the van very cautiously - I thought he might remember it from our trip to the Grand Canyon.  Nope.  We walked around in the driveway and along the sidewalk in front of the house.  Murph did fine on the leash.

Later, it was back into our courtyard for some off-leash time.  He behaves differently depending on whether it is Joan or me that is taking him out: he tends to lay nicely when Joan is keeping an eye on him.  He likes to run around with me - I'm guessing he thinks I need the exercise more than Joan.

Often times, Murph will wander along the wall where Joan has a lot of plants and metal yard ornaments...

 "You can't see me, can ya?"  The boy makes me chuckle.  Frequently.

I don't know if this thing just sprouted, but I don't remember seeing it before...

 It's something coming out of that cactus; looks like little bananas.  Since it's a desert plant, probably something that will try to kill you.

That's it for the morning walk-abouts.  Time to head off to make some music.

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The music was good today - there were 7 of us; 6 playing guitars, 1 playing bass.  Do you need 6 guitar players?  No.  But, they are all friends of Mark's; and good guys.  As you might expect, it takes more time to get everyone going in the same direction.

We have something to work towards with the "big group": we're playing for a party at Ron's house in early April.  Apparently, we'll do a set with the big group, do a set with The Hip Replacements; a friend of Ron's will do a couple songs, then we'll wrap it up with the big group.  We made it through two sets of songs for the big group today.  That's an achievement with 7 people. 

No Good Deed...

 

... goes unpunished.

Of course, the original saying is "No good deed goes unnoticed"... meaning: even small acts of kindness are noticed and appreciated, even if that isn't immediately apparent.

I'm really hoping this will be the original saying and not the unpunished one.  I mentioned a week or so ago that I was elected to the HOA board of directors in our community.  This evening I was elected the president of the HOA.  It is not a position I was looking for or campaigned for.  It was the first topic of discussion in our Zoom Board Meeting, and my name was put forth, seconded, and unanimously voted for (well, I abstained).  It may have been self-preservation thinking from the other board members.

I am also now the official chairman of the Architectural Committee.  Yeah, two positions that seem to be universally disliked by the general public.  But, they will look good on a resume'... if I decide to run for any other public office... which I won't.  Ever.

I have already done some things in the community, which were highlighted by the builder's HOA rep and our Phoenix Police Resource Officer.  Apparently, that was the "not unnoticed" thing.

We'll see what all is truly involved with this position.  The next step is individual one-on-one training with the management company that has been doing the work of the board positions previously.

People always complain about their HOA dues and rarely feel they are getting their money's worth for that monthly expense.  I have looked at the operating statements... this is a substantial budget the board is working with.  Not surprising, landscaping is a major expense.  It costs a lot of money to keep up this "desert landscape" in all the common areas; including a decent size green-space park.  If anyone has a concern about how their HOA dues are being used, the operating statements are right there for any homeowner to review.  Yes, there are people in our community group on Facebook who were screaming about "the developer keeping those HOA dues" prior to the turnover.  Definitely not the case.

More on this as my responsibilities are explained.

 

 

Happy St Patrick's Day...

 

From a Facebook Memory a few years ago.  It brings out my Irish side.  "Are you really of Irish descent, Jim?"  Thanks for asking, and, yes, I am.  I spent a lot of years favoring my English side, because... The Beatles.  My last name is a good old English name.  Apparently, my Irish side comes out, though.

Today is one of those days where everyone is Irish.  Some of us celebrate it the other 364 days of the year, too.

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After getting some running around done today, we went to storage to bring the van home.  We're playing some "car roulette" tomorrow: Steph has lent her Lexus to their niece to drive to her last day of work/interning... Steph will borrow our Lexus to get to/from work... I need wheels to get to music with the guys tomorrow, thus the reason we brought the van home.

 You're probably thinking: "Wow!  That van looks really clean!"  And you'd be right.  Now.  It was pretty dusty when I brought it back.  A hose, a brush, the soap foamer Joan got me, and some drying cloths got it looking good in a fairly short bit of time.  Still, that is a lot of real estate to wash down (certainly less than the Aspect, though).

"Ah, the Aspect - do you miss it?"  Thanks for asking.  We haven't done an extended trip in the RoadTrek, and I know I will miss the massive storage we had in the Aspect.  But, to take this around town as a daily driver (like I'll be doing tomorrow), this van is hard to beat.  And, as pretty as the full body paint was on the Aspect, I like the sleek limo-like exterior treatment on the RoadTrek - it is less "obvious."  Not exactly stealth, but certainly less RV-looking.

Plus, I like driving the RoadTrek better - way more safety and creature comforts in the cab of the Roadtrek compared to the Aspect. 

I can wash the RoadTrek in less than half the time compared to the Aspect.  And, it fits in the driveway.  :-)

 

 

Twice as Nice?

 

I sometimes find working on a guitar to be relaxing, usually when changing strings.  That's on my 6-string guitars.  I am way behind schedule in changing the strings on my Taylor 652 12-string.  Today is the day.

This guitar is special: It is a Builder's Edition in a satin Wild Honey Burst finish...

 It has a built-in arm bevel.  The strings are arranged differently from other Taylor 12-strings, with the principal string above the octave string.  I think that gives it a richer tone, but still plenty of that 12-string "jangle."  The cutaway has a comfort bevel.  Torrefied Sitka spruce top, maple tiger-striped back and sides.  The edges are all rolled for comfort, as well as on the fretboard.  12-fret neck on the Grand Concert size body make for a very comfortable playing experience.  And I am all about the comfort these days.

 

 My "system" for string changes has to be different with this guitar: it puts both string ends in a single bridge pin hole.  That takes a bit more maneuvering to feed both ends in the hole and get them each into a different tuning machine.  Then, making sure each string is fed to the right notch in the nut and saddle.  While this takes longer than working on a typical 6-string, the tuning is the real time suck.  Then, "playing in" the strings to get them to settle.  Contrary to what you hear about "strings stretching," there is little of that, but it takes time to get the strings to snug-up in the tuning machines and in the bridge pin holes.

I make it a point to remove the strings from one half of a guitar, clean the fretboard and places the string covered, then turn the guitar 180º and do the same thing on the other side.

 It sounds and plays better.  And that's the point of putting new strings on.

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A typical sunset this evening.  Some are more striking than others, but I try to take them in and appreciate the play of light...

 

I'm your Vehicle, baby...

 

"I'll take you anywhere you wanna go..."

If you said, "The Ides of March, 1970," you get 15 bonus points.  If you asked, "What is that 'Ides of March' thing all about?" allow me to explain: it was a band, back in the 70s.  But, before that, it was a famous line from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, referring to a warning given to Caesar by a soothsayer about the danger he faces on March 15th, the day he was assassinated.

Ides of March - that's how they talked back then, I guess.  The ides means the middle.  So: beware the middle of March.  But, "ides" sounds cooler... and Billy the Shake was all about writing cool stuff.  Back in his day.

Which brings me to this blast from the past meme photo...

 

The Eclipse...

 

Starting with the full moon...

 About 10:20, partial coverage...

 About half...

 Three fourths of the way into the eclipse...

 Just a sliver left...

 And the Blood Moon: this exposure required me to up the ISO to 5000, dropping the shutter speed to 1/300 and opening up the aperture - all resulting in a lot of "noise" in the image...

 Some Photoshop...

 Joan joined me out there, taking it all in.  I asked her, "Does this feel like New Years Eve, and we're just trying to stay up long enough to see it?"

"Pretty much."

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It's Still Rock 'n Roll To Me...

If you said, "Billy Joel, 1980, from the album Glass Houses," you get 20 bonus points.

I made some music today, but not with my regular music buddies.  I somehow became Facebook Friends with a guy that lives about a mile and a half from us.  We seem to have a lot in common - I generally don't accept friend requests on FB if I don't actually know the person, but here we are.  Turns out, he is also a musician.

I asked him what kind of stuff he is playing, and I got an invite from him to spend an afternoon playing with him and 4 of his friends.  That happened today.  They are good players and Allan (my new friend's name) hosts things at his house.  He said he has plenty of gear, if I didn't want to bring anything.  That was an understatement...

I should have taken photos.  Guitars, amps, 8 basses, a drum set that would be right at home with a band playing arenas.  A full PA.  Congas and other percussion gear.  Three keyboards.  Stage lighting.  I didn't look close, but I think we were using a 16 channel mixing board.  Our styles aren't too similar - they are a jam band with 10 minute guitar solos, but Allan sent me a list of some of their songs, so I could be somewhat ready.  The volume level was close to arena rock, too.  

They appreciated my vocals... on songs I haven't played since the 70s.  Yes, we played Freebird.  My Emerald X20 felt a bit out of place with all that hard-rockin' gear.  I was invited to join them again... if I do, I'll take one of my electric guitars (yes, my X20 is an electric/acoustic, but it is all about the acoustic sound).  Their drummer invited me to play drums on a few songs... it has been decades since I sat behind a drum set like this.  Fun, but I think I will need a soak in the hot tub tonight (I used some muscles that haven't been exercised in a long time); on the bright side: no set up or tear down.  And a really short commute.  ;-)

 

And so it begins (Full Moon content)

 

The cloud cover disspated - as of 8:30 pm, it is a nearly clear sky.  Cold and windy, though.  If it hangs in like this, I should be able to get photos of the lunar eclipse.  In the meantime, as I have done in the past, here is a photo of the full moon (prior to the eclipse - not taking any chances)...

 This is with my Sony a6700 camera and the 50-210mm lens.  Shooting in manual mode: ISO 400, shutter speed 1/2500, aperture f14 (for anyone who wants specifics).

If you look close at that lower left side, you can just start to see a bit of reddish color on the moon - the start of the eclipse.  The Earth will come between the Sun and the Moon, resulting in a Blood Moon.

Tonight's Moon is called the Full Worm Moon, for the month when the earth "softens" and earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of the robins.