We went out to dinner last night to celebrate the end of the work week. I love the smiles on everyone in these two photos. I love my family back east very much and feel very blessed to have all their support. I also love my chosen family very, very much. To be honest, living together is turning out better than I expected. I probably shouldn’t be too cynical in my older age.
I am a very lucky man. There’s plenty of reasons to smile.
Now that summer heat is winding down a bit and Monsoon Season is coming to end, I took the opportunity to jump onto my bicycle for the first time in too many months. I initially thought I’d ride five miles or so and then continue the trend tomorrow, slowly building back up to my usual 25 miles and the like.
We live off one of the main roads between Tucson city proper and Saguaro National Park East. The road is clearly marked with cycling lanes and this makes riding along the road enjoyable. Heading west toward the city, there’s signs leading one from the National Park to The Loop, a 130+ mile multi-use trail through and around the greater Tucson area. I decided to follow the signs and connect to The Loop. This would be my first time on the pathway.
The markings between home and The Loop are clear, but the marked pathway through a small housing development is in really bad shape. Roads in Arizona in general seem to struggle in the desert, so it’s a bit understandable, but I was concerned my bike tires would not survive the two miles or so through this little development. Once I got to the actual Loop, the pathway was as smooth as can be. In the future I’ll be taking the car to one of the parking areas near an entrance to the Loop and jumping on that way. I don’t want to bang up my 20+ year old bike anymore than I need to. We have a history together.
Once on The Loop the ride was a joy. The section of the pathway I traveled today went along Pantano Wash, so there weren’t many road crossings, instead, The Loop travels under bridges from crossing roadways, much like the Erie Canal Trail in Upstate New York or one of the North Side cycling trails in Chicago. The signs directing traffic and amenities on The Loop are the best I’ve ever seen on a cycling facility. There were plenty of places to stop and rest, a good assortment of rest rooms and the like, and I found the entire experience very enjoyable. The Loop is similar in construction to the Lakefront Trail in Chicago but not nearly as crowded. I ended up riding 15 or so miles before calling it a day and asking my husband to come pick me up.
I look forward to another ride tomorrow morning. As the weather cools down I’ll probably be able to get some rides in after work during the week before the days get too short to see where I’m going.
More about The Loop here on Wikipedia.
I’m lying in bed as I type this. It’s Saturday so I allow myself to do this. I’m fiddling with the camera again, this time playing with the zoom.
All of these photos were taken from the same position on my side of the bed. I’m particularly impressed by the zoom in on the clock, and that wasn’t using the full zoom capabilities
Some photos around the Desert Compound, testing out various settings on my iPhone 13 Pro.
My new iPhone 13 Pro arrived this morning. This in itself is amazing to me, because Wednesday evening it was still sitting in Korea, so the fact that it’s here in Tucson, Arizona less than 48 hours later, by way of Kentucky, no less, is incredible. I also used a lot of commas in that last sentence.
I decided to step away from the gray for the first time in multi-decade Apple purchasing frenzy and I went with the Sierra Blue, 256GB model of the iPhone 13 Pro. It is noticeably but not terribly heavier than my iPhone X, even without the new clear case. The display is gorgeous and I like the way the phone feels in my hand. Even though I’m only 100 minutes into ownership of this phone, it’s already setup, everything has transferred over, I’ve done all the updates, and the entire process went flawlessly. For the first time in a few months around all things Apple, I am without complaint.
A comparison of the color on the box and the color of the actual phone. Photos taken with my old iPhone X.
The accessories in the box. Note, no power brick. I have plenty of those.
Size comparison, both in cases. iPhone X on the left, iPhone 13 Pro on the right. Photo taken with my 2018 iPad Pro 12.9″.
Comparison of camera quality. Both photos taken out my office window by holding the phones up to the glass. First photo, iPhone X. Second photo, iPhone 13 Pro. I had to reduce the size of the second photo by 6% to meet the upload requirements of my hosting provider.
The second photo shows much more detail and color depth at full size.
And of course, Truman is thrilled that I have a new camera. I’m sure we’ll be seeing slow motion video of play time. He’d now like to get back to his nap.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a new fan of actor Shohreh Aghdashloo. As Chrisjen Avasarala on ”The Expanse”, she commands a presence that I find most compelling.
Once in a while YouTube will suggest one of her speeches, presentations, or talks she’s given over the years. I took the time to watch this 10 minute clip from a few years ago. I love the way she expresses herself, and more importantly, her words of wisdom.
Celebrate your rejections. They make us who we are.
I miss flying. I haven’t flown an airplane since our move to Tucson. Part of this absence from the sky has been due to trying to find a flying club that I’m comfortable with. Another part is the fact that I don’t know these parts too well, and more specifically, flying over the American desert. It’s going to be different, and I’m going to need to quite a bit of flying with an instructor to get familiar with these parts. We are situated near three airports; one of them is an Air Force Base. I’m sure I can navigate these parts just fine, it’s just the nuances of flying in the desert that I need to learn.
Back in our Upstate New York days I loved flying as much as I can. I flew with a great group of pilots. I completely trusted the airplanes I flew, mostly because I had an ownership stake in the airplanes and I knew them inside and out. When we moved to Chicago, I enjoyed flying, and I met some really nice folks in the aviation community, but I was never 100% comfortable with the airplanes. I had a few maintenance issues in the air. None of these issues with dangerous, they were just uncomfortable. I have to hand it to my airline and other commercial pilot counterparts: they fly airplanes they don’t know at all on a daily basis and they don’t think twice about it. Maybe they do. I really don’t know.
I shared my thoughts around flying again with my husband today and he is as encouraging as always. I’ll be in the air soon. With monsoon season winding down, I feel like the weather will be much more cooperative. After all, Southern Arizona has around 350 sunny days a year, and that means lots of flying opportunities.
There’s always a risk when soaring above the airplane in a man-made craft. I know too well what can happen when things go wrong. I’ve known too many pilots that have met their end doing what we love. It’s all about controlling the risks, being confident in our skills, and knowing our craft.
I’ll get this figured out. I have to. I’m excited to. I look forward to flying again. I’ll be learning lots of new things.
Never stop learning.
I can’t believe the movie “Inception” is ten years old. It’s one of my favorite movies of the 21st century. We need to sit down and watch this again, maybe this coming weekend.
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!
