My latest YouTube video features me reviewing the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Camera while exploring southeast Arizona over the past couple of weekends. I really like this camera and I’m excited about taking it on our upcoming adventures.
J.P.
CDs.
When Madonna released “The Immaculate Conception”, her first collection of greatest hits, it was wonderful. The CD sounded beautifully, the addition of QSound added sonic depth to the music, and the remixes were brilliantly crafted. When played on CD it sounds wonderful.
When “Celebration”, another greatest hits album, was released in 2009, I first heard it via download. The music sounded red-lined to me, as if remixed to flatten the levels throughout the entire track, all cranked up to nearly a 10.
I knew this flattening of levels to basically a wall of a sound was a growing trend. Pop music lost its nuances in many ways years ago. The streaming services have just reinforced these poor decisions.
Something else I’m noticing with the streaming services: they’re starting to replace classic tracks with re-recordings but not indicating it’s re-recorded on the listing. A popular dance song from 1989, “Ride On Time” by Black Box, has been replaced in all the streaming services with different vocals. Another track, “Love Takes Time” by Orleans, has a different lead vocal.
I stumbled upon this video a couple of days ago. A bit of a nostalgic trip, it talks about why CDs are back in 2025. If anything, they’re a testament to the original tracks.
Mustaches!
OK, after posting the previous entry, I decided we have to give the two fan dancers their own entry. How I enjoyed the mustaches of the 1980s (and I still do to this day). Small wonder I was always going over to Grandpa and Grandma Country’s house to watch music videos from the U.K. off the satellite dish the size of a barn.
Here’s the two hot men with hot mustaches. And bonus points for the one with the sideburns.
Top Of The Pops?
One of my favorite songs from the 1980s is “Automatic” by The Pointer Sisters. While I suck at singing this at karaoke (my husband told me so in New Orleans), Ruth, Anita, and June grabbed this song from a pile of rejects at the studio and made it one of the most memorable tracks of the decade.
Apparently this video is from when the song was featured on “Top Of The Pops” in the U.K. I’m assuming this video is authentic. The fan twirling by the two mustached men (yum yum yum) and the Breakdancing from the muscle boy and the robot make for an ’80s Extravaganza.
The bits actually showing The Pointer Sisters is from their official video. I’ve never understood why the production was so cheaped out back in the day, but it’s fun to watch.
30 Day Countdown.
My next storm chasing trip is 30 days from today. The weather in the central part of the United States has been rather feisty for the past week and I’m wondering if Mother Nature is doing all her showing off in the earlier parts of spring this year. I’m sure there will be some opportunity to chase storms when I’m out there in the mid part of May, but I do have a plan B if things don’t come together. There’s always hiking and exploring places I’ve never visited on the agenda.
I’m starting to watch the 30 day weather models. While they just show trends with a whole bunch of uncertainty. The little green blob in Colorado, Kansas, and the Texas panhandle gives me just a touch of hope. There are plenty of other factors to consider when it comes to storm formation, but this is a promising start.
Endless Scrolling.
I’m a big fan of Jared Henderson’s YouTube channel. His thought provoking content often strikes a chord when I need to hear a tune, and today’s release is no different. In this video, Jared talks about why we “scroll” so much and some of the science around the habit.
I sometimes wonder if Steve Jobs knew in the back of his head as to what he was unleashing on the masses when Apple released the original iPhone. While a reliance on scrolling was possible with the devices that preceded the iPhone, it didn’t really hit the mainstream until the very early 2010s.
Please enjoy Jared’s video. Then put your phone away.
Lifeless.
Yesterday we went for a longer-than-anticipated road trip. It’d been a while since we had been on one of our long rides and I thought we’d head up into the area where the Storm Prediction Center said there was a slim chance of thunderstorms.
We didn’t see any thunderstorms.
However, I did take a bunch of photos and video along the way, as I’m putting together a video review of my latest camera, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. I’ll be sharing a link to that episode when it is available on my YouTube channel.
During our travels we passed through the town of Morenci, which is situated along US Route 191. While seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, Morenci has a population of around 2000 people. The biggest employer, by far, is the Morenci Mine. US Route 191 passes right through the middle of this mining operation. It was our first time in the area.
The speed limit along the roadway through the mine varies between 15 and 25 MPH. In many places, one can see nothing but the mine. It is a huge.
As we were making our way through the mine, we could see large trucks passing designated roadways, moving the results of the mining operation of where they needed to be.
I kept looking around and saw nothing but a mine. There were no trees, no birds, not even a scrub brush or anything resembling a living plant. I doubt any wildlife lived in the area.
While the area was bustling with activity, I couldn’t help but notice how incredibly lifeless the area seemed to be.
I know Morenci and nearby Clifton are nearly completely dependent on the economy generated by this mine. And I know there wouldn’t be a mine if there wasn’t a need for the copper coming from the mine. After all, it is one of the largest copper reserves in the United States.
It just makes me sad that the landscape has to be so drastically changed, and seemingly made lifeless, to accomplish this task.
Flying Geek.
Most general aviation flying in the desert happens in the early morning. The flight schools are busy this morning. This data is coming in from an ADS-B receiver I have mounted on our roof. Being a geek is awesome and aviation is always awesome.
The bigger airplanes along the northern edge of the map are inbound to Sky Harbor, the grey airplanes in the lower right area are parked at Tucson, and all the yellow airplanes are most likely students and other General Aviation aircraft.
Perspective.
As a result of Trump’s latest round of tariffs, the U.S. stock market became very volatile. When I was watching the DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average) lose over 1000 points throughout yesterday, complete with photos of traders making gasping and other contorted faces on the CNBC news spread, I began to panic. I’m starting to close in on my retirement plans and those plans are hinging on two things: 1. the continuation of my marriage (though that’s not the reason I’m married) and 2. my 401K and other investments remaining solid.
My husband told me not to panic and he calming explained to me that we should be able to ride this out and let’s just stay put for the long haul. While I can’t find sense in the tariffs, his reaction makes sense. After all, he’s the smartest of the two of us so I calmed down and just vented on social media a bit.
Today it turns out that yesterday’s 1000+ point drop was just an appetizer. The DJIA closed down another 2200+ points today. Oof. My husband is out running errands, so I’m writing this blog entry to keep this all in perspective.
So, let’s recap with graphs: the DJIA is down 2231 points today.
And it’s down 2977 points over the last week.
And, the DJIA is down just over 4000 points since the beginning of the year.
However, when compared year over year, the DJIA is down only 589 points. Not great, but not horrid.
And when compared to two years ago, the DJIA is actually still up 4832 points.
Now, being up 4832 is not as good as being up 7063 points when compared to two years ago. I totally get that and I understand that our investments are riding on a downward trend with the economy and the stock market. This is all a result of the whims of a maniac that too many people have some weird fetish for. But as my husband and I discussed today at lunch, the market is not in ominous territory… yet. Who knows what TFG will do from the high chair before he leaves for another golf outing. That’s the lynchpin of this nutty Jenga game. I hate the uncertainty, I’m really sick of tolerating the rampant stupidity that has gripped this country, and I’m just flat out tired of the constant chaos.
Now, I’m not purposely looking for bright sides. I’m seeking and trying to keep things in perspective. As I continue my stoic studies (which I seemingly can’t consume fast enough these days), I’m reminded to keep things in perspective the best we can, for it could all end for me in the next moment (Memento Mori), and honestly, the world keeps turning.
Let’s not worry about what hasn’t happened yet. Why fear that which is not a certainty? Just be prepared to check receipts at the Walmart exit door until you can no longer stand up.
