June 2021

Float.

As a road geek I’ve noticed ADOT has installed these reminder signs advising motorists not to drive into flooded washes, gullies, and other low lying areas of the desert. Apparently they’re a reminder of the “Arizona Stupid Driver Law” or something of that nature. I guess there’s video of a Volkswagen being swept away as the driver tried to navigate through six feet of water or something.

It would never occur to me to drive through water rushing across a roadway. The road approaching our house has some pretty impressive dips passing through washes. I can’t wait to see what this year’s Monsoon brings.

12 June 2021 by Desert Life. 0

No Fear.

Truman has decided he’s a big fan of the bannister. He enjoys looking down on the dining room. I have concerns about him falling but he’s insistent on enjoying his new perch.

10 June 2021 by He's A Feline. 2

Warm.

The weather is suppose to reach 110ºF and higher starting Saturday. When telling folks about our move to Arizona we’re often warmed that it’s going to be hot. Then someone in the conversation says, “But it’s a dry heat”.

It IS a dry heat.

I try to get my morning walk in before 8:00 a.m. Sometimes my work schedule does not allow this but I won’t go for my walk of the neighborhood after 9:00 a.m., the sun is just too intense and uncomfortable for me.

Earl bought me a hat more suited for the desert sun and I’m finding it enjoyable. The walks are pleasant, but when I get back to the house the first thing I do is wipe the collected sweat off the top of my bald head.

Neighbors are friendly when our paths cross in the neighborhood; everyone says “good morning” and folks driving by all wave. I wave back. I’m happy to be in our little development here. We’re a few degrees cooler than the more urban areas of Tucson. It’s still very hot but I find it enjoyable. I’ve just had to adjust my schedule to enjoy the sunny weather accordingly.

After all, it is a dry heat.

9 June 2021 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Serenade.

My husband and I were out for a short ride tonight and this song came on Sirius/XM 80s on 8. I sang the entire track for him in full voice. He’d never heard it. Now he has.

From 1987, here’s The Other Ones with “Holiday”.

8 June 2021 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Lunch.

I’m sitting in the gazebo today for lunch. It’s 93ºF at the moment and while it’s hot, it’s not entirely unpleasant. I’m happy to be out of the sun. My Irish skin is just not built for a lot of sun exposure.

I just finished watching the Apple Keynote event at WWDC21 (their annual Developer’s conference) and I have to admit that while it was interesting, my eyes glazed over a couple of times. I don’t know what any technology company could do for “revolutionary” impact in the space these days, but like previous years, today’s announcements seem more evolutionary than revolutionary. I really like Apple’s leaning on privacy and the importance of not sharing your data with every tech company that comes along. That is really important to me and the primary driver for my using Apple products. It used to be I enjoyed the “fit and finish” of Apple devices, and while I believe they’re still the best the space has to offer, I don’t believe they’re the premium experience they once were. The privacy angle is still quite premium though, and that’s good enough for me.

I was hoping for more in the way of the iPadOS 15 developments; Apple is now selling their iPad Pro with the same processor as their latest Macs, the Apple M1 chip. With the iPad Pro running with a lot of horsepower under the hood I was hoping we would see some of the Mac-only “Pro” apps like Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro (video editing, audio creation, respectively) come to the iPad Pro. But apparently not yet.

All in all I was interested in the offerings but not blown away. I don’t know what “the next big thing” could be, outside of an Apple Car or some Apple Glasses or something, but I feel like as a world in the midst of the 21st century we’re do for “the next big thing”.

We didn’t hear about that today.

I’ll just enjoy the dry heat and catch up on some reading.

7 June 2021 by Apple. Ponderings and Musings 0

Perky.

Lauren Tewes was very perky in her credits shot in the third “Love Boat” movie, the first to feature her character, as well as Gavin McLeod playing Captain Stubing.

6 June 2021 by Geek 0

Enjoy The Silence.

As I get older I’ve noticed that I’m more sensitive to background noise and music. I don’t know if it’s from a decade of working alone in a home office or because I’ve always had focusing issues and I don’t have the tolerance I used to have or what, but I find it increasingly difficult to get things done with music playing in the background. I can’t watch TV while writing a blog entry, I can’t listen to music with lyrics while writing code, and I’m thankful that I no longer have to listen to the Samsung top-loading HE washer back in Chicago that made cricket noises when it was going through a wash cycle.

I’ve noticed that others in the house revel in music. We have speakers everywhere; no only do we have various HomePods and Sonos speakers, the house has a speaker system wired into most rooms and outside. We’ve begun hooking up these hard-wired speakers with a magic little device from Ayrlic. The magic little devices allow us to stream music from our favorite music apps and the like through these little amps that power the speakers in the designated room.

I drive in relative silence. If I do listen to the radio in the car these days, it’s Yacht Rock radio, which is way outside of anything anyone else in the house wants to listen to. I work in relative silence. I moved the little file servers into a separate room so I don’t hear the whine of the fan. I specifically use Macs and iPads because they don’t make any noise. When I’m folding laundry or cleaning out the dishwasher or something, I do it in silence.

It’s just my jam.

With all of the tech and associated companies pushing consumers to buy headphones and speakers and earbuds and overpowered devices to drive these accessories, it seems like the new habit is to have music going all the time. Good for the people that enjoy the music. I hope it fills their soul.

I’m not one of those people. Enjoy the silence.

5 June 2021 by Ponderings and Musings 1

High Society.

After watching a couple episodes of the new series “Hacks” on HBO Max, I was reminded of a mid 1990s sitcom starring Mary McDonnell and Jean Smart. More of a response instead of a take-off of the U.K.’s “Absolutely Fabulous”, the two ladies starred in a short-lived CBS sitcom called “High Society”.

Mary McDonnell played Dott, a wealthy socialite that inherited her husband’s book publishing company. Jean Smart played Elle, her best friend and one of the leading authors in the company; her specialty is trashy romance novels. Hilarity ensues as the two trade quips about fashion, high brow living, and the like. It really pushed the envelope for the time; Jean Smart had works with CBS executives over how many times she would say “bitch” per episode. CBS eventually caved in confidence and despite decent ratings for the show, cancelled the series after 13 episodes.

The jokes push the limits of 1995-1996 television. This was a couple of years before TV episode ratings were introduced to the masses. There ranks everywhere from “Michael Jackson and George Hamilton passing each other on the color wheel” to “She died when a masseuse dislodged a blood clot in that poor old woman’s stovepipe legs and killed her” to Jean Smart’s Elle coming onto Dott’s 17-year old Young Republicans (and very hot) son.

There are VHS copies of copies quality episodes (usually hacked into three pieces) on YouTube, but the Internet Archive has all 13 episodes in decent quality. It’s high camp and the series becomes a little uneven as the episodes go on as CBS tweaked and tried to “soften” the series a little bit. Things to look for: Mary McDonnell occasionally turning away from the camera laughing, Doris Roberts playing a mom in a later episode, and Jean Smart camping it up to 500%.

A fun little escape, sweetie.

4 June 2021 by Fun and Games Dept Gayish. 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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