Turn Down Day...

 

If you said, "The Cyrkle, 1966," you get 100 bonus points.

If you said, "What'd ya get turned down for?" you are misunderstanding my meaning.  This is the day after getting our second shots... it's the time when people who are going to get a reaction to the vaccination generally start feeling it.  Listless feeling, slight fever, headache, muscle aches, general malaise.  Lasts 24 to 36 hours.  So, just in case... we're taking a day off.

"From what?"  You're asking a lot of questions again.  It's a lounge day.  Well, I did get my miles in on the bicycle this morning.  Took Rufus for a walk.  Joan made breakfast.  Smoothies.  Chocolate chip cookies.  OK, not that much of a lounge day.  But no outing planned.

So far, everyone in the household is feeling fine. 

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OK, I did go outside for a bit.  The Mardi Gras Golf Cart Parade was rescheduled from Fat Tuesday to today.  Due to some unseasonable winter weather... you may have heard about that.  ;-)  72º and breezy today, so definitely more parade-ish weather...

Any reason for a parade.  Of course, I felt silly when they didn't throw any beads after I raised my shirt.  I don't get it... I did my part.  I'm thinking they don't really understand the premise of a Mardi Gras parade.  :-)

 

Early morning line-up...

 

No, I haven’t been arrested again; we are up and out early to get our second vaccine shots.  The line out on the road was just a bit less than where we were last time.  Instead of two hours and 15 minutes (last time), it was an hour and 10 minutes this time...

We’re parked in a line where we can see the traffic going into the fire station - it is moving right along.  Conditions here are dusty and windy, but we’re in our car, not exposed to anyone... except for the line for the ports-potties.  I am surprised that there are people who seem confused on how these work: open door, go inside, close door, pee.

We were almost six hours in the queue last time; hoping for less this time... but we have food to eat, internet (thanks to my iPhone), The Today Show on satellite radio, and the entertainment of watching cars in line and people at the ports-potties.

Looking ahead.

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Done!  About an hour less time overall than the first shots, and we didn't have to get there while it was still dark outside.  The time seemed to pass easier this time - perhaps because we knew what to expect and there was less concern about them running out of the vaccine; today's mass vaccination was only for people who had received the first vaccine on January 29th.

I appreciate the fact that we didn't have to get out of the vehicle, thus allowing for easy distancing.  When it was time for our line of vehicles to move, it all happened pretty quick...

The people giving the shots were fast and efficient.  It didn't matter to them which arm we preferred (we had read that you should do the other arm this time) - clean, poke, move on.  Wait for a few minutes to make sure neither of had a reaction... and, head for home.  Glad to have this done; one more step in protecting ourselves and moving forward.

I think Rufus and I are going to need a nap this afternoon; Joan may want one, too.  :-)

Something you rarely hear a guitar player say...

 

"I think it would be fun to look for a 9 to 5 regular job."

"Did you see that cool Barbie Dream Guitar?" 

"Do you think we're playing too loud?"

While all of the above fit the title, mine is: "I have too much equipment."  My music room is starting to look like an episode of Hoarders.  OK, not really.  But, I have equipment for playing out, equipment for playing in, and equipment for recording.  I would consider moving some of it along, but... I really like it all.  All.  Today was "Re-do the Music Room Day."  I unplugged everything, with the intent of running different guitars and mics through the 12-channel mixer, into some PA equipment, and easy access for recording.

I spent about 6 hours in there working on that project.  To the untrained eye, it looks pretty similar to the way it looked before I started.  The big difference is how I ran and re-routed chords and cables.  There was a lot of playing, testing, listening, and EQ adjusting that got done in the process.  The goal is flexibility and handy access to different mics; controlling each with the mixer.

I called it a day when my fingers and voice felt worn out.  I tried to do as much as possible through headphones so Joan wouldn't have to listen to "Mic check, one, two," a couple thousand times.  Rufus did come and lay by my feet while I was playing parts of songs, making adjustments.  Some of this I have had for years; some is new this year.  All of it bought for a purpose, and now to make it all work together... as much as possible.

Bustin' my buttons...

 

Gained a little weight, didja, Jim?

Thanks for asking, but... no.  We got a text from our sweet girl today, asking if this was a good time to talk; she said she had "news" for us.  Being a glass-half-full kinda guy, I assumed it would be good news.  Nope, it was delightful news: Stephanie received the Teacher of the Year Award for her school!  We could not be more proud... but, we always knew what a great teacher she is.

Generally, there is a staff breakfast and a district dinner to honor the recipient; not sure how that will be done in this time of Covid.

This has been quite a school year for Steph: helping her school sort out how on-line, hybrid, and in-class teaching would go this year; receiving the National Award for Science Teachers from the Society of Automotive Engineers for the work she has done with the Gravity Cruisers/World In Motion projects.  And now, Teacher of the Year.  Good job, kid - sorry we couldn't be volunteering in your classroom this year, because it is always a delight to see you in action.  In the middle of a challenging school year, you continue to be positive and care to give your best.

I need to rant...

 

First, the good news: our water was out this morning.  No, that's not the good news.  The resort office gave us a day's notice, so we knew the outage was coming (another broken water line).  No, that's also not the good news.  We had to run to Harlingen to get a few things.  Still not the good news.  When we got back from Harlingen, we had our Jimmy John's sandwiches that we got and had lunch out on the deck.  Nice, but not the good news.  Afterwards, Joan wanted to kick back and read, I was in dire need of some scooter time.  Even more fun, but still not the good news.  I took some 4K still photos with the Insta camera on the bike, and that module is kinda sucky.  Mostly, I just wanted to try the camera with that module; haven't done that since last summer.  I had forgotten what a painful delay there is between pressing the button on the phone to take the photo and actually getting the image.  Not bad news, just something I had farted off.  The 360 module on the camera works great, but nothing much of interest for shooting video.  Some of the stills...

 

 

Are you ever going to get on with the good news and the rant?  Thanks for asking.  This afternoon, we got notice that we no longer have to boil water - the testing showed the water district is good to go, all the racks are functioning.  That IS good news!

The rant: There is a movement to get Jeep to stop using the Cherokee name for a couple of its models.  That request came from the Cherokee Tribe.  Jeep has been using some form of that name for 45 years.  And now it is an issue?  There has been no use of any native American image in Jeep's use of the name.  For the record, there is a National Forest with that same name... should that be changed, as well?  Who could be offended by Jeep's use of the name Cherokee in models that have been widely praised?  We had a Grand Cherokee years ago, and it was a very nice, upscale crossover SUV.

My alma mater is Morningside College.  Their sports teams were known as The Chiefs for nearly 100 years... and then they were pressured into a name change.  The Morningside Mustangs.  I haven't bought a Morningside sweatshirt or donated a dime since that change.

We picked up a box of chicken bites at Chick-fil-A today.  "Chick"??  As in the use of the word to describe a female?  (For the record, I still think of my wife as a hot chick, but I digress.)  In checking with several groups of chickens, I have learned that they wish to be known from this point on as Poultry Americans.

And don't get me started with our stop at the Texas grocery chain HEB today.  As a proud Father to an amazing woman, I am offended by the use of the name "Papa" in Papa John's... or even worse: Papa Murphy's Pizza.  Are they even Fathers?  I know they aren't MY Father.

My ancestry is English and Irish.  Should the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame change their logo?  Frankly, not all of us of Irish descent look like leprechauns.  Nor do we all like a good fight.  I am deeply offended by that depiction.  Nah, I'm just messing with ya - we're Irish, we don't give a shit what someone thinks.  In fact, on March 17th each year, everybody wants to think they're Irish.  Read your history books: plenty of Irish people were brought to this country as indentured servants; my people worked in mines and built railroads.  And we don't give a furry rat's rear that all you people who aren't Irish pretend like you are on St. Patrick's Day.

It's time to stop all this fuss about something good (like a sports team or a vehicle) being denigrated that has proudly worn a name for decades.  And in the words of Forrest Gump: "That's all I got to say about that."

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Before we went to Harlingen this morning, Rufus wanted to go outside.  I figured he'd step out, sniff some grass, then want to go back inside - late afternoon is his best outdoor time.  I was wrong.  He walked along the sidewalk, out to the street, and... a couple went by, walking two dogs.  That was all he needed... even though he wasn't on his leash (really, I didn't think he'd stay out very long), he went right up to the dogs.  One was his friend, Tessa (being puppy sitted by a couple I didn't know), and the couple's small dog.  The small dog's eyes got big as this cat bigger than him got nose-to-nose with him.  Sniffing ensued.  Another guy walking his French bulldog came by.  Then, another couple walking their Yorkie.  And another neighbor walking her poodle-mix.  Yes, it was Grand Central Dog Station... and the only time he's been out not on a leash where anyone saw him.  I had to use the "treat" word to get him to head for home.

When we got back from Harlingen, he sat out on the deck with us...

We went out again this evening.  Ruf was a bit disappointed that none of his dog buddies were out.  We walked to the corner and he looked both ways; not to cross the street, but to look for dogs.  Really, usually there are dogs.  I said, "Treat?" again, and he forgot all about no dogs.  ;-)

Burger Interruptus...

 

We seem to be past the awful winter-like weather... but the aftermath lingers.

Joan went to the grocery store today (HEB) - she said the store wasn't packed, but neither were the shelves.  She found most of what she was looking for.

I had a plan for today: pick up lunch at Burger Fi.  Joan tried to order on-line through their app, but got the notice: On-line ordering is not available at this location currently.  Not the first time we've seen that.

Plenty of traffic as we headed towards the island.  We decided to stop at Isla Blanca (the county park on the southern tip of South Padre Island) to renew our annual pass.  No other cars in the parking lot, so we assumed it wouldn't take long; we have stopped a couple times before this, and there have been people waiting at the door and lots of cars in the parking lot.  We were hopeful.

Joan went to the door and found out that she had to step inside to sign up to get waiting on - there was one person ahead of her.  It was almost 20 minutes before they called her inside.  She made their job easy: she was ready with the tag number for the electronic tag, our license plate number, and the $100 in cash.  It still took another 10 minutes.  On the bright side: we are good for another year for park entrance.

We had both worked up an appetite for Burger Fi.  The traffic on the island was heavy for a Monday in February.  When we got to Burger Fi, there wasn't a single car in the lot... not a good sign.  Speaking of signs, the hand written sign on the door said, "Closed due to power outage."

Can't argue with that.  We decided to go to the Texas favorite: Whataburger; a mile down the road.  Not a car in the lot.  A sign on the door read: "Closed due to power outage."  Well, that is not good.  Wanting to do take out, we went to our burger of last resort... McDonalds.  We were the only car in the drive-up, but to be fair, it was mid-afternoon.  We decided to head to the beach at Isla Blanca Park.  Long before Covid-19, we would pick up burgers and to go the park to have lunch with a Gulf view...

The burger was typical MickeyD's so-so, but the French fries were tasty.  And a lovely beach and Gulf view.

Back home, Rufus was ready for a walk (his second walk of the day).  Then, out on the deck for the three of us, to enjoy the beautiful day.  And some Monopoly cards.  I won't mention who won 3 out of 5, but it was me.  It was t-shirt weather on the deck...

You can't see, but that's a short-sleeve t-shirt.  It got up to about 68º today, but sunny on the deck, where it blocked the light NE breeze.  Felt great.  A welcome change.  The smile is partially because of the weather, but an equal amount from winning at cards.

We put some stuff back in our storage area that had been brought out to help weather the storm(s).  Looking off our dock, another sign of the aftermath...

Dead fish in the canal.  On the bright side, about half the cold-stunned sea turtles that were rescued have been released.  The bay and surf water temperature is up to 54º... still cold, but not certainly warmer than the 38º it had gotten down to.  The turtles were taken off-shore, where the water is warmer; a ship with a ramp that allowed the turtles to slide down into the water.  Part release, part waterslide.  Certainly beats death by cold water...

(Screen capture from news release.)
 

After his supper, I took Rufus out for another walk.  At the corner of our street, a pickup stopped and a lady got out... "Can I take a photo of your cat on a leash?"

"Sure - his name is Rufus."  Ruf was doing his Hollywood bad boy routine, and wouldn't look directly into the camera.  Still, he's a good boy.  The woman wanted to visit, but her husband finally said, "Come on, leave them alone - I'm parked in the middle of the street here - let's go!"  When she got back in the truck with her phone put away, Rufus gave her a great view of his 3/4 profile.  It's a handsome angle.

All in all, except for not getting Burger Fi, a lovely day in the Tropical Tip.  And Rufus is settled in for the evening...

Weasels...

 

This will be a short post today.  I got out on my bicycle for the first time in about 10 days.  It was in the low 60s to start the day, with a building SE breeze.  Weather comes into play on a lot of my posts.  We moved to the Tropical Tip for the weather.  We go somewhere cooler in the summer for the weather.  Texas has been in the news the last week or so... because of the weather.

I grilled steaks this afternoon, Joan made some tasty sides and rolls to go with them.  The local news was on; the weather weasel said, "It is only 100 days until hurricane season."  He said it like it was something to look forward to.

Weasel-ly son of a bitch.