Day Two! (Walking, Walking, Walking, With Some History Thrown In)

Rise and shine the following day after about five hours of sleep. May not sound like myuch however I'll take five hours versus zero hours from the night before.

And since there's no airport or airline stuff to deal with today guess what? I can have as much coffee in the hotel lobby as I care to.  Since I was up early getting breakfast was no problem.  I ate about as soon as the staff set up the buffet.  

Agenda for today?  Jamestown followed by Colonial Williamsburg.

Before the trip I was busting my brain as to whether I have been to either of these places when I lived in Northern Virginia as a child. Since nothing about these places jogs my memory I figure I have not been here. Mom and Dad—feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

While on the way to Jamestown we do pass by a jewel of Williamsburg Virginia, that would be the college of William and Mary. Our guide mentions it's the second oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, just behind Harvard. In looking at the buildings of this institution only one thing comes to my mind: the lyrics of a steely Dan song. From “My Old School:”

“I was smoking with the boys upstairs

when I heard about the whole affair

I said oh, no

William and Mary won’t do

Well I did not think the girl

could be so cruel

And I’m never going back

to my old school”

(Written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen)

By the time we get to Jamestown Settlement the song is gone from my brain.  We disembark and split up into two different groups and are warned that the tour runs about two hours. Hey no problem for me. After all the sitting I did yesterday I'm more than happy to walk. 

Interesting to learn about colonial life and to realize that we have it extremely easy compared to what those folks had to deal with. That last part really hit home to me when we tour the ships. No Love Boat cruise here! Unless you’re a member of the crew you spent a good deal of the voyage below decks amongst a whole lot of things that truly didn't smell very good (animals, animal waste, human waste) and since there was no showering or laundering of clothes guess what?  You don’t smell too good either…

Time for lunch! More Italian food.

After lunch it's time to do Colonial Williamsburg. The best part of this segment is we get to split up and go where we want, do what we want provided we stay within the confines of the Colonial Williamsburg Park. The head teacher does give us some pointers of interesting places to visit and very strict instructions to meet back at specific place at specific time.

There's plenty of staff dressed up as historical figures and even more staff dressed in period costumes. Encountered fife and drum and a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Our afternoon closed out with a celebration of the surrender at Yorktown.

It's back on the bus and we head to our hotel in Falls Church Virginia. This evening I'm not nearly as exhausted as the prior one however I still fall asleep mighty quick.

Day One! (Drive, Fly, Then Walk A Lot)

Last week Geoana and I joined a group of 27 junior high students and 10 parents on the annual 8th graders trip to Washington, D.C.  Since we’re traveling out of a small town on the Kansas prairie the journey is rather involved.  We began the excursion late Sunday night.  And by late I mean leaving town on the high school bus (the nicer of the two owned by the district) at 11:30.  Not a.m.  

Adult leadership anticipated the ride out of town with a destination of the Omaha airport would be a quiet one.  Not so.  The young people engaged in various types of conversation well into the wee morning hours.  Overall us adults weren’t quite so talkative.  However because I find it difficult to sleep in an upright position I was awake for just about all of the ground journey which means when we all arrived at the Omaha airport I was dead tired.

What about a morning dose of coffee? I’d rather not drink a diuretic right before I get on an airplane if you know what I mean…

Then it's time to get on the Southwest Airlines flight and as Southwest is well known to do (my family calls it cattle car airlines) every single seat was sold.  Since I had a group C boarding pass I wound up in a middle seat.  Turned out OK, still could relax just a bit.  Still, no sleep.  My cup of hot bean juice during the flight would’ve prevented that anyway…

After a short flight we land in Chicago, get off the plane, and I go in search of breakfast.

Then it's time to board the plane again, this time we're headed for Reagan National Airport.  After having my second cup of coffee on board the plane I normally would look out the window to enjoy the view but due to the clouds I just couldn't see much.  Pretty uneventful flight overall, then land, get off the plane, get the baggage and then it's time for us to truly have some fun.  Let the sightseeing begin!

First we are welcomed by the coach driver who establishes the rules right up front: he runs a clean coach and we are to keep it that way.  Then we meet our guide— a knowledgeable woman who has lived in the DC area for 28 years and loves it.

They didn't waste any time as right away we were over the Potomac River into the District of Columbia and right to the Jefferson Memorial.

After that it was to the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial then we had to rush back on the bus and head over to Ford's Theatre. 

Standing in line for Ford's theater we noticed that DC is quite hot and humid however once we got inside it was good to learn the powers that be didn’t adhere to pure historical aesthetic in that air conditioning was present and strong.  Our group viewed a lot of the exhibits and then it was time to get seated in the actual theater itself.  Shortly afterward a park ranger came and gave about a 30 minute talk on the events of Lincoln's assassination. Nothing against the Ranger, but I nearly dropped off a few times during his talk and in talking to students and parents afterward I wasn't the only one. Keep this in mind: we were seated, it was air-conditioned, the lighting was subdued and we were all sleep-deprived by that point.

Still Ford's theatre was fun. Then of course we go across the street to Peterson House.  Just prior to our going into Ford’s Theatre our guide mentioned one thing we need to see at Peterson in addition to the room in which Lincoln died.  This is a stack of books that reaches four stories high.  In total about 7000 books.  All devoted to Lincoln in one way or another.  Our guide pointed out Lincoln has had more books written about him than any other historical figure save for Jesus Christ. I tried my photographic best in the rotating staircase but these pictures just don't do the stack justice.

And then after a respite at a souvenir shop it's back on the bus and we're headed down towards the Lincoln Memorial and west end of the National Mall. The weather also decided to do its normal late afternoon DC rainshower so break out the rain ponchos!  (You did bring them, right?)  Next up is Lincoln Memorial which was wall-to-wall people. You always want to take good pictures in a place like this however due to the crowd there's no way you could either take a good shot without somebody walking into it or you yourself walking into someone else's picture. I finally decided to stop trying to get that elusive wonderful photo and just take pictures wherever I could.

Staying on foot, and still raining by the way, we then headed to the Korean War Veterans Memorial. This, the King Memorial, the WW2 Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial all were very meaningful for me because they didn't exist back when I lived around here.  The Korean War Memorial just like all of them is a wonderful work of art unfortunately because of the rain pouring and still a whole lotta people I didn’t get a great picture. 

After that we all walk across to the other side of the mall to the Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial.  It's not just the wall by the way, it includes two statues—one near each end.  One statue commemorating the soldiers and one commemorating the nurses.

Time to get back on the bus, take off those rain ponchos, try to shake out the water then we head over the Potomac to Virginia.  We dropped off our tour guide then stopped for supper at an Italian buffet (could it be that teenagers like to eat pizza?  A lot?)  Afterward we're on Interstate 95 headed down towards the Williamsburg area.  By the time we got to our destination for the night all of us were so exhausted we probably couldn't even have told you what day it was.  It didn't take me long get to sleep.  

Good To Be Back

Geoana and I visited Washington D.C. and northern Virginia this week, we returned to town a little after 6 this morning.  

Even though I had my Air with me I decided not to do any postings until the return home.  Certainly don't want to advertise I'm out of town.  Recall Allstate's boffo Sugar Bowl commercials from a few months ago?

Since I'm still sleep-deprived and trying to regain my bearings I won't write a lengthy entry today.  However a photo from one of our destinations required posting here as soon as possible so the entire Geofamily can have a laugh.  

For the readers not related to me:  I lived in the D.C. area as a youngster, this was over 40 years ago.  Given my age at the time I remember some sights more than others.  One that sticks in my mind well is the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.  Or as I referred to it at the time:  "Those guys messing with the flag."  

Unfortunately our group had to rush through this site so the picture was taken from the north and somewhat into the sun.  Plus the friend who snapped the pic of Geoana and I wanted to be sure to get the flag in the shot as well.  Still, enjoy:  

Thoughts on Fort Worth

What prompted the title of today's entry was the news of the death of Jim Wright.  

I never lived in that area of Texas and hadn't even heard of the man until he became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.  

After Wright resigned I recall my dad saying things that weren't complimentary of the former congressman.  He seemed to be one of only a few Democrats  Geodad really disliked (I imagine LBJ would be at the top of that list).  

And during lunch today when Geogal shared Jim Wright had passed my reaction was one of surprise. I thought the guy had died several years ago.  

Reaction from north Texas is very likely mixed.  His detractors possibly include those that were opposed to the Wright Amendment.  

However if one looks into the aviation history of the area it seems reasonable that the Wright Amendment was written and enacted.  While DFW Airport is now one of the largest and busiest it wasn't always that way.  

For more background look at this page I found some time ago.  

The story of GSW Airport is certainly a sad one.  One passage near the bottom of the page states it well:

It was truly as if they built this beautiful airport & nobody ever came...

After reading all that material now I understand why Fort Worth residents of so long ago had such enmity toward Dallas.  

Only In Texas

The picture isn't the best but I think it still captures the spirit pretty well.  (And no, I'm not the photographer.)

https://twitter.com/sh130toll/status/588462691741618177/photo/1

Telling on myself...

Sometimes the material for this blog can come from the most unlikely, and most unsuspecting places.  

For example, I was looking for a particular key for at least three weeks.  

It's the key to the local fitness center.  Here in our small town U.S.A. the city runs the fitness center and to rent a key costs only $5 a year.  While the equipment isn't exactly the best or newest (no surprise for that price) it still is a useful alternative particularly when the temp outside is near zero.  

For some time I kept the fitness center key on the kitchen counter, next to the TV and phone.  Until  one day when I couldn't find it.  Then I looked.  And looked.  And kept on looking.  

This past Saturday I tried experimenting with keys I found on a couple of key rings.  No go.  Or rather, no open.  However the lack of a key didn't keep me from exercise for the past few days as I could still go the hours the center was staffed.  

But I was determined to find our key.  

Then....

Early Saturday evening, after working out, I see my own keys on the table.  The top key glinted at me and I had to pause.  

There it was.  On my own keychain the whole time.  

I must have put it on there some weeks ago when I decided that the other household members weren't likely to go if I wasn't going.  (I tried to write that last sentence without sounding like I'm loaded with hubris but the bottom line, it's true.)  

Brings to mind an old saying:  Sometimes the answer to a problem is right in front of your face.  

Or right on your keychain alongside your house and truck keys.  

But despite the wisdom I still couldn't help feeling a bit foolish.  What is happening to my memory?

Bonddom, cont.

I left off with the novels.  Regarding the movies I still was limited to what ABC was showing on the occasional weekend.  

But then, home video finally made its way into the childhood house of Geoguy.  The addition of a VCR led to me finding a video store which carried most all of the Bond flicks.  

It began with "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," to be followed by "You Only Live Twice."  Then, slowly but surely I got familiar with the movies I never got to see at the cinema.  

By the time I left for college I was well-hooked.  However studies and other growing-up items eventually pushed the world Ian Fleming created aside.  

But only for a time.  

It probably wasn't coincidental that during this time the film series went into something of a hiatus.  I was married by the time "Goldeneye" hit the screens.  

By then I had relegated the Bond series to something I watched only every-now-and-then.  It usually was associated with a marathon courtesy of a cable channel.  

Until I decided to build up my DVD collection with you-know-who.  

Right now I have several DVD's plus a couple of Blu-Rays.  And who knows what else my collection will feature in the future?  Why?  

The answer is simple:  The movies (most of them, anyway) are fun to watch.  And given the quality of "Skyfall" I have plenty of hope for the future.  

My favorite Bond?  Tempted to say Connery but my answer is Daniel Craig.  The man truly looks like a secret agent and has the type of glare that can lead one to believe he will kill you in a heartbeat and not give it a second thought.  

My favorite movie?  Gotta be a tossup between "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "For Your Eyes Only," "From Russia With Love," and possibly "Skyfall."  The latter will need to pass the test of years.  

Favorite gadget?  The ejector seat in the Aston Martin DB 5, introduced in "Goldfinger."  Many times I wished I had one of those....

Happy Easter!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!!

Hope all of you have a blessed Easter.  I attended the early church service this morning, now I'm tending the ham currently sitting in the oven.  

Smoked ham.  Processed from half a hog we bought a couple of months ago.  Basement freezer is now full of meat from "the wonderful magical animal."  

We expect a nice day here weather-wise.  Right now we're in that odd season in which I can leave the house without a jacket one morning and have to scrape slushy snow off my truck the next.  

Which actually did happen last week.  

Speaking of Easter the celebration is an obvious reminder of my arrival here in Kansas, now seven years ago.  My, how time flies....

Bonddom

Just watched the trailer for “Spectre.”  I’ll be buying a ticket for this one.  

I really liked “Skyfall” so I likely would make the effort to see the latest Bond flick in a theater even without watching a preview.  

I think it’s time to share my overall Bond experience with the world.  

_____________________________

It began in 1982.  Summer.  

I didn’t see my first Bond flick at this time.  That happened the summer before.  “For Your Eyes Only.”  I remember seeing it but it didn’t have a huge impact on me save for a couple of parts.  One was about 2/3 through the film when Jimmy and the female lead were tied up on a boat, then dragged through water with the villains expecting them to wind up as shark food.  (At the time I didn’t know that the coral was supposed to make them good and bloody.)  The other memorable moment took place at the end, with the bad guys dispatched and the world again a safe place to be.  James and Melina Havelock (the same gal from the scenario just mentioned) are smooching, then go for a skinny dip while the end credits roll.  What adolescent guy wouldn’t recall that for a while??

Yet after leaving the theater I didn’t pay much attention to this character until July of ’82.  My family was in the process of relocating from Houston to Albuquerque.  Dad and I, along with Fred the Good Dog drove across much of Texas, staying the night in Lubbock.  The Holiday Inn had HBO, which just happened to be showing “FYEO.”  Dad hadn’t seen it (I think it was Mom, me, my younger sister, and maybe a cousin or two who went to the movies the year before).  I recall Dad laughing at the part during the ski chase in which the guy at the rear of the bobsled does a double-take when he sees ol’ Jimmy on skis right behind them.  And then Dad laughing again at the ending, featuring a Margaret Thatcher look-alike on a congratulatory phone call with who she thinks is Bond, but is in reality just the Havelock’s parrot since the two protagonists have already departed for the nude nighttime swim.  

I wound up seeing this movie a few more times, all courtesy of HBO and the Holiday Inn chain of hotels since my family stayed there until closing on the house.  Then in ’83 I saw “Octopussy” but again it didn’t begin any major drift toward 007 fandom.  

I’m thinking it was for the Christmas of 1982 or perhaps ’83 that the next chapter begins.  From a distant relative I received a gift card for either of the big-chain bookstores at the time, B. Dalton & Waldenbooks.  Part of my haul upon leaving whichever one it was included two Ian Fleming J.B. novels:  Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me.  I brought the first one to school with the intent to read it during SSR (Sustained Silent Reading), a 15-minute timeframe in the mid-morning in which everyone in the building, principal included, was to sit and read.  

Fleming’s prose was enough to keep this 18-year-old’s attention.  Before long I was reading the other book, then slowly added to my collection.  Along the way I was lucky enough to get to a double-feature at one of the theaters near UNM, the flicks were “Thunderball” and “Goldfinger.”  Together with ABC’s Sunday Night Movie (or Saturday depending upon what the other networks scheduled) I began accumulating a fondness for both the books and the movies.  Then when summer hit I worked with a guy who was reading an older-print version of Goldfinger.  He told me about the used bookstores in town which led me to obtain all of the Fleming books not in print at the time.  

And more in the next installment…

Here's hoping...

The Big 12 conference had a bad day today.  

Real bad.  

Here's hoping the back luck continues into tomorrow.  My school, New Mexico State Cow College takes on Big 12 basketball mainstay Kansas.  

Right now that's about all I have regarding that matchup.  Maybe I should type "15 seed defeats 2 seed" into a search engine. 

Grateful

For this blog some posts are quick, natural.  Just let the words flow.

If a topic strikes me I usually don't have to labor long to get the prose out to the reading public.

It's been a while since I've done a longer flow post.  You might be seeing a couple in the coming days as I have topics itching to become words here.

And a few posts are more difficult.  Either I'm writing about something emotionally painful or it may be otherwise labor-intensive than most of my entries here.

Today is one of those posts.

Last Thursday I traveled to Manhattan (Kansas) with the plan to return on Saturday evening.  A professional venture in the loose sense of the term.  Actually that's my verbiage to describe a Rotary Club training event.  But anyhow, it wasn't like I just decided to go east on a lark.

Friday all-day stuff comes and goes.  So does the Friday evening tough pork chop meal but hey, it beats rubber chicken.

I'm back in the hotel room and enjoying a good read when the iPhone rings.  It's the wife.

And the tone of her voice, before she even gives me any details, tells me something's not right.

She and our child are on the floor of the master bedroom.  Staying away from the windows.

There was a shooting in the park just yards from our house.  The gunman is still on the loose and the reverse 911 system made a call out to alert the whole town.

Wife has her handgun within reach.  Clip is loaded.  Daughter has her Bible open, looking up the verses that deal with being afraid.

They're terrified.  And what good am I, some 200 miles away?

I did pray right then and there, over the phone.  I still felt very helpless.  

Understandably it took me a long time to get to sleep.  And the sleep I did have was fitful.

By the next morning I knew no news was good news.  I didn't call home or text them too early, figuring they had less sleep than I.  Later, during one of my breakout workshops, I got a text from wife indicating perp was caught around 1 a.m. near the town of Oberlin.

Things wrapped up and I was home just after dark on Saturday.  Thankful for safety and that my gals had the right tools in a crisis situation.

I write this to not only let family know what happened but also perhaps as some therapy for myself.  And I am very very grateful.

How difficult was this to write?  So challenging it took me more than one sitting to complete.

Post-Event Perceptions

As indicated in a previous entry Geoana and I watched the Apple special event this evening.  Fashion gal was favorable to  Watch but admitted she'd be really hard on the device if she owned one.  I understand, who wants to spend that much $$$ only to have the thing be scratched and dinged.  

Geogal, on the other hand, seemed distracted and didn't pay much attention to the TV.  She also shot down my suggestion that for her April birthday I give her an Edition since they only start at 10 grand.  (Yes, I was joking.)  

The new MacBook seems OK but I still am enamored with my Air.  

HBO Now?  Might be worth considering. 

Time To Stop The Whining

Last post seemed to have quite a bit of that.

However checking the weather websites it seems I will get my wish.  Temps next week will be in the 60's and 70's with overnight lows not much below freezing.  Will feel much better than the 4 degrees outside temp this a.m.

And for other things...

Watched "Clueless" two Saturday nights ago.  We sometimes have difficulty with finding movies all three of us will enjoy.  Plus I haven't seen this flick since about 1995 or 96 so I didn't remember much of it.

I will, now, remember this line (spoken by the main character's father):  "If anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and a shovel.  I doubt anyone would miss you."

Highly likely some teenage boys in town will hear the same from my mouth.

Will It Ever Get Here?

Warmer weather?

Yes, I know we were spoiled a few weekends ago but that now seems like ancient history.  

Even the crocuses in the front flowerbed are starting to poke their sprouts up.  As if it's their own way of saying the seasons must now change.  

Snow is predicted for overnight tonight but less than an inch is expected in our burg.  Hopefully that will be it for the season (but I don't know if I will take that bet).  

And if it ain't the white stuff it's the wind.  I know the wind around here is the stuff of legend but several months of wind chill take their toll.  

Remember when I lived in Arizona and thought a place with real winter would be fun?  

I take it back.  

Watching

A week from today Apple has an event.

We all know what it's about:   Watch.

Even though I'm not a potential buyer (not now, anyway, since I said the same thing about the iPad and MacBook Air when they debuted) I am still curious about the models and pricing.  And about 50 other details.

I might need to take our household fashionista (Geoana) and watch the keynote together.  Given Apple is doing print advertising in Vogue that says a lot for their target market.  My child should have a great take on how the device actually looks.

I'm also wondering how a product that might cost several thousand $$$ for its high-end version will still be usable many years from now.  Timepieces are meant to last quite a while.  I still have a watch from my college days (that was a long time ago, folks).  And Apple is known for not supporting its first version of products for very long.  Reference:  iPod Touch first generation and iPad first generation.

But like so many others I enjoy watching (pun intended) these products be introduced and the overall reaction, first from the pundits then from the buying public.

In Honor Of Leonard Nimoy

Given the news of his passing on Friday I began thinking of what to watch that evening.  We have the movies and Star Trek TOS is easily available through Netflix streaming.  

However I decided to take a less-obvious episode.  Star Trek TNG also is offered via Netflix streaming and I remembered a two-parter.  Took a quick look through the season list and found it in Season 5 (some might call this season the zenith of the series).  

Unification, parts 1 and 2.  

I recalled only bits and pieces of this story since so much time has passed since I viewed it.  No matter, good storytelling doesn't age and these episodes were a pleasant way to spend a Friday evening with the family.  

To no one's surprise, Me-TV network chose to air "Amok Time" as their Saturday evening Star Trek: TOS episode.  However I want to take my blog space and recommend a few other eps where Nimoy really shined:  

Season 1:  This Side of Paradise

Season 2:  Return to Tomorrow

Season 3:  All Our Yesterdays

First choice?  Spock is freed of his Vulcan stoicism, has an affair of the heart and almost pummels Kirk to death.  Second one?  Nimoy gets to play a character other than "ol' pointy-ears."  Third one?  Spock almost gives McCoy an a__-kicking.  

And while I was going through the episode list for the hyperlinks I noticed "This Side of Paradise" follows "A Taste of Armageddon," which was the Me-TV Saturday evening Star Trek show from two weeks ago.  If proceeding logically (sorry, couldn't resist), then my choice from Season One will be the episode for this coming Saturday evening.  Keep an eye on the TV listings.  

And rest in peace, Leonard Nimoy.

Update

After seven or so weeks since last blogging I would love to give you a lengthy rehash of the first weeks of 2015.  

Except nothing significant happened.  

This is the first time in a little over three weeks that I’ve felt back-to-normal.  Late in January I had oral surgery (upper wisdom teeth needed removal) and about a week after the procedure I got a cold.  One of those typical wintery nasty ones.  Starts with the sore throat and then gets into the perpetual cough.  So long-lasting was the latter that today I have sore ribs from the hacking.  

Still, feels better than having the whole cold.  And now that my jaw is almost back to normal I should’t take eating whatever I want for granted.  

Nothing much to report from the travel category.  Wife and child ventured to Denver last month (part of a 4H function) but I stayed behind.  However I didn’t vegetate at home.  When Saturday morning arrived I threw the Air, some coffee, and an overnight bag into my truck and headed to Nebraska.  The purpose?  To look at and test-drive a truck, located way out in the town of York.  Turns out the vehicle didn’t impress me but the venture was not without loss.  I spent my lunch at Iron Skillet (great chicken-fried steak!!) then plugged the DTV stick into the Air and tuned away.  I wasn’t disappointed.  I wound up watching most of the stations licensed to Lincoln along with one unique to York.  (See this entry regarding the old KSNB.)  The newfangled KSNB has a tower just southeast of York and I had no difficulty pulling in the station even if it is on the lower VHF band (channel 4).  I ended up heading back home rather than continue to head eastward that day.  Still, good to get out of the normal routine of things.  

Mother Nature continues to be cruel.  A couple of Saturdays ago temps were high enough that we were outside in shirtsleeves cleaning out the old garden/flowerbed area out back.  But that was just a tease.  Last night some white stuff fell and this morning we were treated to a snowy vista.  Gray skies and cold blowing wind continue to be notorious for lowering one’s mood.  

More so the reason for the lack of entries lately is that I’m struggling.  Wondering what things I do share here in this very public forum and what to keep private.  The older I get the more reticent I become.  I want my entries here to be meaningful and something of which I can be proud.  As I think through these things I will continue to write entries.  

Plus later this year will mark 10 years of this blog.  I haven’t forgotten.

Bowling

Writing this as I’m watching the Rose Bowl.  

First, I will be public and say here that the selection committee got it right.  I can understand TCU’s frustration that given the rankings released before the last week of the regular season indicated all they had to do was to take care of business against Iowa State and they would be in.  That was before Ohio State whomped Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.  Selection committee members were in one accord that they looked at the teams’ full “body of work,” not just where things stood in the last week.  Ohio State deserves the #4 seed.  

I was disappointed that the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl didn’t feature Texas versus Texas A&M.  Never mind that the matchup between the Longhorns and Arkansas Razorbacks was a sellout, nothing would have been as good as the ‘Horns and Aggies going at it on the football field once again.  In Houston, no less.  

_____________________________

It’s January 1st and we’ve (so far) survived the cold snap.  Right now the in-town driving is mainly on packed-down snow however the U.S. and state highways are clear (thanks, KDOT).  Both of our vehicles started up on these last few very cold mornings, something for which I am very thankful.  And since we had the house windows replaced a little less than a year ago the furnace doesn’t have to work quite so hard.  

And it is January 1st and the posole is simmering on the stove.  I have red chile pods boiling as well (they will wind up as the main ingredient of red chile sauce for the posole), nice to keep a tradition going.  

Air temp of zero, wind chill of brrrrrr

Mother Nature loves to jerk us around up here.  

Early November was true indian summer, even to the point that I was cleaning out gutters at midday wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  That happened on a Saturday.  The following Monday we were hit with well-below-freezing temperatures.  And to add insult to injury there was precip that Sunday evening which froze over followed by a dusting of snow.  So Monday morning was even more cruel as we had to endure the slippy-slide anywhere sand or salt wasn’t scattered.  

Then we have this holiday season.  Christmas Day was sunny with temps in the 40’s.  Nice enough that I could go walking with a medium-sized jacket.  No wind, either.  

That changed.  

Began snowing on Friday afternoon.  Wound up with between one and two inches.  All things considered, not too bad.  

But now we are in today.  Snowed yesterday.  Snow and wind overnight.  Snow drifts this morning necessitating the snow boots and uber-cold weather gear.  Walk out the front door early and sweep off the white stuff.  In a steady wind.  Official temperature was 1 degree with a wind chill of 18 below.  

And tomorrow morning will be even more rough.  Overnight low projected to be 12 below.  That’s before any wind chill.  

However I am thankful we have actual seasons here.  Not just all-hot or all-cold.  And only 16 or so more weeks of cool temps!!

Retirement??

As you gleaned from yesterday’s post I have a new MacBook.  

Which means my venerable 2006-purchased black MacBook is headed for the pasture.  

Actually the latter machine has been in semi-retired status for some time now.  Most of my computing for the past two (if not three) years was in front of the iMac down in the study.  If I wanted portability at home I grabbed Geoana’s iPad.  Don’t give me that dirty look.  Ever since last Christmas when she gained ownership of her iPhone 5C and its capacity to play Netflix and YouTube videos on demand anywhere and anytime she’s made little use of her Apple tablet.  So usually the only time I used the older MacBook was when I took a trip that required at least one overnight stay.  Nothing like an actual computer to connect to the hotel’s wi-fi and keep me abreast with the outside world.  And my own world back in NW Kansas.  

That older Mac still does plenty considering it’s 8 years old.  I can still surf the Net on Safari and use the Eye TV for watching over-the-air idiot box.  iTunes still has my music and Pages will still create a beautiful document.  Yet the machine’s battery has been nonexistent for about four years now and I just had a hard time coughing up cash for a replacement battery.  Plus when I upgraded the Mac to Snow Leopard it seemed to run just a little more slow than when it operated under good old plain Leopard.  Also the internal Superdrive (CD/DVD burner combo) has since died.  And time marches on.  Operating systems become less supported.  New technology emerges.  Having mini-Displayport and Firewire no longer is important.  Time to move into the age of Thunderbolt and USB-3.  

So in referencing the picture above the one on the left now will give way to the aluminum-bodied Mac on the right.  

You had a good run, black MacBook.  Just consider all of the TV markets where you gave Geoguy a look at the local digital over-the-air offerings: 

Lincoln/Kearney/Hastings

NW Kansas (in the Wichita market yet served by full-power satellites in places such as Colby-Goodland and Hays-Great Bend)

Denver

Albuquerque

Phoenix

Colorado Springs

Wichita proper

Rapid City

Omaha

Dallas-Fort Worth

Kansas City

North Platte (one of the smallest DMA’s you will find)

Oklahoma City

San Antonio

Austin

Cheyenne

Los Angeles (at least what I could receive at the Ontario airport)

Palm Springs

Topeka

Minneapolis-St. Paul

Wow.  I dragged that Mac a lot of places.  

A few days ago Geogal asked me what I would do with that older MacBook.  I answered that I didn’t quite know but I was not going to throw the thing onto the scrap heap.  

It still might have some use.  Heck just yesterday morning I set it up to play streaming audio to my older stereo system in the living room.  Christmas music, courtesy of KLUX in Corpus Christi TX.  Their normal format is beautiful music and they are owned by the Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi so I didn’t have to worry about them playing “A Miley Cyrus Christmas.”  

The Mac performed admirably.  I don’t want that to be its swan song.  

The Christmas post, 2014 version

Merry Christmas, everyone!

It’s evening now.  The dishes are washed and the kitchen is now clean.  In keeping with our recent-created tradition we had prime rib for the Christmas meal.  Due to beef prices being what they are currently we wound up paying more than we budgeted.  Rest assured the rib roast was VERY tender and had a great flavor.  

We had a low-key Christmas.  I only got one pricey gift, a MacBook Air.  No surprise for me since I ordered and paid for it myself.  I also sprung for the extra charge to upgrade the memory to 8 GB.  So far I’m impressed with this machine.  “This” meaning I’m typing this blog entry on my new Mac, using the Pages word processor.  As such you can expect an increase in my blogging since I am no longer limited to the iMac down in the study.  I’ve also decreed Geoana will not be permitted to access her school account on this machine (I still can’t get the Google school account to log out on the Blogger website.)  

Now it’s time for some dessert….

Literary

Book I just finished reading:   Catch–22

Lengthy but well worth the effort.  I can’t remember when I laughed so much reading a book--probably not ever since the The Milagro Beanfield War.   Yossarian lives!!

Book I am currently reading (fiction):  Illusion by Frank Peretti

This one’s on the Kindle.  I’m enjoying the journey since I am apparently very discerning when it comes to fiction.  Novels are easy to find.  Good novels are difficult to locate.  Since everyone’s definition of quality varies I sometimes have trouble locating a tome that is worth my time.  However since Illusion had overall positive reviews on Amazon I decided to go for it.  I’ve read several of Peretti’s novels and like most every writer he puts out the occasional clunker.  Glad my current read doesn’t fall into that category. 

Book I am currently reading (nonfiction):  The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee by Marja Mills. 

Geogal found this one at the local library (which has both fiction and nonfiction books, much to the surprise of our city-dwelling kinfolk).  A fairly easy read, this one does well at holding my interest.  I’ve never been to small-town Alabama but Mills’ prose easily puts the picture in one’s mind. 

By the next literary update I’m sure I will be on some different ones. 

Not An Aggie Joke

On October 20 I posted an entry dealing with a Texas A&M University issue and likened it to an Aggie joke.

This Thanksgiving morning, over my second (and third) cup of coffee I read this feature-length story. 

Interesting, yet I still believe there's a subtle attempt to portray most Texans as unsophisticated country-folk.  Never mind that A&M is a renowned and respected institution of higher learning (no Aggie joke here, folks) and produces a whole lot of engineers and veterinarians not to mention several other science-centered disciplines. 

I also fume when the writer clearly doesn't make an effort to even look at a map of the Lone Star State: 

JAMES FUQUA, TEXAS A&M class of 1983, lives and works at the end of a 12-mile driveway. The Lazy U ranch, halfway between Amarillo and Wichita Falls in the middle of the Texas Panhandle, has been in his family since 1894.

Halfway between Amarillo and Wichita Falls is NOT the middle of the Texas Panhandle.  If I were to argue geography the middle of the Panhandle would be located between Amarillo and Borger.  

Enjoy turkey day everyone!  Go Cowboys!  Go Aggies!  Go.....hmm.  Longhorns or Horned Frogs?

Revisiting an old interest

Couple of weeks ago the Geofamily made another trip to Mayo Clinic.  Third one this year. 

Plus side:  Caribou Coffee, better selection of eateries than what's available in our small town, Leininkugel's beer, having been to Rochester before so we know what to expect, having been to Mayo before so we know what to expect, K-cup brewer in the hotel room (brought our own varieties!), being prepared. 

Minus side:  Disrupts school and work, 10 hours there, 10 hours back. 

One morning I decided to rise early (before dawn) and walk outside with my tried-and-true radio receiver, which is still functioning well for being almost 19 years old.  The purpose?  AM radio DXing. 

That means picking up signals from faraway stations. 

I tried it when we visited Rochester previously but due to the time of year (solar interference) the results were a bit disappointing.  I figured now, since we were past the equinox my chances of hearing more places would be better. 

Were they ever. 

Trudged outside in the near-freezing temps. 

Why outside?  With today's electronics such as wi-fi having an AM radio indoors in a hotel is nearly pointless.  Generally all you will get is hum on all but the local station frequencies.  However if I walked to the car just getting away from the building makes a significant difference. 

Picked up 990 in Winnipeg, Manitoba (CBW).  A CBC broadcast devoting a whole half-hour to the subject of hot dogs.  I'm not kidding.  One more reason I'm glad I don't live in Hoserland. 

That wasn't the only Canuck station I heard.  On 900 was CMHL which originates from Hamilton, Ontario.  And then a station which I've been trying to get ever since I moved from Arizona.  800 AM, CKLW from Windsor, Ontario.  It's been many many years since the station's heyday as Detroit's Top 40 station of choice but I still desire to add it to my log of catches.  I never have been able to get this one in Kansas due to interference from XEROK in Juarez. 

Picked up another station with a lot of history.  KDKA in Pittsburgh.  (They claim to be the first commercial radio station in the world, first hitting the air in 1920.)  I also heard several of the Chicago blowtorches but that wasn't real significant to me at this time since I can get many of them at my home in the Sunflower State. 

I should mention here that Chicago's WLS (890) was one of the very first AM stations I DX'd.  Would have been around 1978 or 79.  Picked it up on my AM/FM clock radio one night in my Houston, Texas bedroom.  Whetted my appetite for hearing distant stations, an interest that continues to the present.  (Why else would I write an entry on this subject?) 

Many others.  Cleveland.  Milwaukee, Twin Cities (OK, that was a gimmee).  Several from Iowa. 

And then my Holy Grail of cities. 

New York, NY

Given my travels have never taken me very far east I have not had the chance to catch any of the Big Apple's powerful AM stations.  A few years ago I thought I had heard WFAN which broadcasts sports talk on 660 (the former WNBC-AM).   You can imagine my disappointment when I finally learned it was not WFAN but rather WBHR from further north in Minnesota. 

With anticipation I tuned the radio to 770.  Fuzzy talking, fading in and out but I finally discerned it was the Don Imus show.  It wasn't until I went back to the hotel room and got on the 'Net that I confirmed it was the one I hoped for--WABC.  I can't hear this one where I live as Albuquerque's KKOB is on the same frequency and also uses 50,000 watts of power. 

But I had another surprise in store. 

I tuned up to 880 on the dial, expecting to hear KRVN which broadcasts from very close to my place of residence.  Nope. 

Very strong, very clear signal of WCBS, also from NYC. 

Finally! 

I walked back into the hotel lobby, a bit chilly (even though I dressed warm) and ready for another cup of coffee. 

An Aggie Joke?

And no, I am not referring to their loss at Alabama two days ago.

It's been over 30 years since I've lived in Texas.  I haven't told an Aggie joke in probably more than 20 years.

I did catch one not long ago and figured this is as good a forum as any to share it.

I read an article on ESPN.com about the turf at Kyle Field being replaced completely due to damage from torrential storms and subsequent games making the bad situation worse.  As A&M would not be playing at home again until October 11 it gave the school time to do the needed work.

One commenter wrote:  "Remember Aggies, it's green side up!"

That Texas A&M is a land-grant school only adds to the humor.

___________________________________

I've been trying to do some posts but two things got in the way.  Geoana constantly needing the computer to do her schoolwork and my inability to log in to Blogger due to Geoana's schoolwork. She logs in to Google Docs via her school account.  However when I try to log her out so I can log in under my own username and password Google still doesn't let me log in.

Granted I haven't officially complained (except for right here, right now) and I have not yet looked on the 'Net for a possible solution.  I guess that will give me something to do tomorrow.