The dog days of summer....except it's not even summer yet.

 I keep hearing Colorado calling my name.

I'm NOT ready for this.  It's barely mid-June and the temps here in Dallas are already nipping at 100 degrees.  And worse, the humidity is awful, too.  Some say it's too hot too soon, before people have become "acclimatized".  I think that's just some flowery BS to make us think it won't be that bad this summer.  OK, I was born at night, but not last night.  I don't buy this "varying degrees of misery" theory.  

Is the weather in our part of the planet just off-the-scale screwy or is it a case of everyone having a camera phone and access to You Tube?  The lead story on the news every day is tornadoes in the mid-west, mudslides, with droughts and floods at the same time.  Are we just hearing more about something that's been going on forever?

All I know is if I want to do anything outside I have to be out at first light, even though you can already cut the humid air with a knife.  Every afternoon this week we've had a 20% chance of rain.  So far we've only been sprinkled on.  Grrr!  Mother Nature's a bitch, you know that?  I'd rather be wet with fresh rain than sweat.  Come on, rain already!

Which leads to my next dilemma.  Bro will be back from vacation any day now so I can again return to "semi" retirement.  Except sitting at home in my humble abode (kept so cool my nose hairs freeze) is bo-ring.  What I'd give to live somewhere the daytime temps plateau at around 72.  With a low cost of living (which sorta eliminates Colorado).  And good Mexican food.  Is that asking too much?

Maybe it's time to buy a couple of lottery tickets.  If I win we're going straight from the lottery office to the airport, where we're boarding a plane for....?  Help me out here.  Where?
 
Have a great weekend.  Stay cool.  :)

S

Wonder if it's too late for reservations to "Ski Lubbock" over the Christmas holidays?

Major change in plans:  I had hoped to take K and Luke the Wonderdog on a week-long vacation over the Christmas holidays to a new ski resort I recently heard of.  Unfortunately I couldn't afford Aspen or Telluride or Steamboat during the high season, so I got a package deal to the new Masik Resort in beautiful North Korea.

This is a pet project of North Korean (Dear) Leader Kim Jong-un, who reportedly skied when he attended secondary school in Bern under an assumed name.  Western experts also think the project is a response to South Korea hosting the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Plans were to have the resort open by the end of the year, but are now behind schedule because of heavy rains and mudslides.  Now, to add insult to injury, the Swiss have decided to NOT sell ski lift equipment to the North Koreans.  Prior to this, both the Austrians and French had also refused to sell them lift equipment.

The North Korean Skiers' Association, shown here at their annual general membership meeting, said such equipment should not have been included in the UN sanctions.  They point out that "cableway equipment for the ski resort do not produce any rocket or nuclear weapon."  

They went on to say the sole purpose of the resort was to give the North Korean people "highly civilized and happy living conditions and make them enjoy all blessings."  (It was either this or some food.)

I'm sure K will be disappointed to miss out on this unique opportunity, but I'm thinking Luke might be rather relieved on account of his status as a delicacy in North Korea.

To read more about this for yourself, here is the link to the BBC story.

Happy (?) Monday everyone.  :)

S

Thinking outside the box

Want to put your town on the map?  Don't have the funds to build a new Disney theme park or a NASCAR race track?  Not to worry.  Just follow the lead of Deer Trail, Colorado.  This small town (550 ppl) east of Denver will vote October 8 on whether to issue permits to hunt drones.

The idea started out as one man's symbolic protest against a "surveillance society", but quickly morphed into a plan (?) for the town to pull in tourism....and revenue.

"What do you want to do for a summer vacation this year, dear?  Take the kids to Disney World again?  Maybe the beach?  Or how about we leave the little urchins with your mom and just the two of us take a cruise?"

"Oh, I dunno, Earl.  I'm tired of the 'same 'ol thing'.  I was kinda thinking we could go to Deer Trail, CO, just east of Denver, and plink us some drones."

If the voters approve, the town would issue drone hunting licenses for $25, good for one year.  "They'll sell like hot-cakes.  It could be a huge moneymaker for the town", according to resident Phillip Steel who drafted the ordinance.  

The town would also offer a $100 bounty for shooters who brought in downed-drone debris.  Never mind that the only guns "hunters" would be allowed to use would be shotguns, making hitting the high-flying drones (30,000') a "long shot".  *Pardon the pun.*

And just FYI....gubment drones can be fitted out with ordinance that enables them to shoot back.  That ought to add to the "thrill of the hunt".  ;)

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Big changes for fans who attend NFL games this year....they will no longer be able to bring into the stadiums backpacks, fanny packs, small coolers, seat cushions, even women's purses will be banned, all in the name of security.  

On our local (Dallas) news this morning they asked whether these new rules "would deter you from going to see a Cowboy's game?"  Responders to the poll said "yes" by a 71-19 margin, the other 10% asking "why would I want to go see the Cowboys?"

That personally wouldn't deter me.  The fact that Jerry Jones would also be "in the House"....THAT would deter me.

Three cheers for Friday!  :)

S

You've gotta stay on top of these things....

I see the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association met this weekend and approved several revisions to their diagnostic manual.  Beginning in May when the new manual is published people with "abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD."  

What was wrong with "PMS"?  How is going from a three-letter acronym to a four-letter acronym considered progress?

Which reminds me of a true story from back in my airshow marshalling days.  For about 20 years my hobby was volunteering at airshows across the country, working with a team of marshallers who were responsible for all the show aircraft moving in and out of the parking ramp.  It was somewhat similar to the tongue-in-cheek definition of combat:  "Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror."

At one event a few guys from Colorado approached us and asked if we would teach them how to marshall so they could go back and work at some of the smaller airshows in their area.  They were nice guys and we said we would be happy to.  They said they were going to call themselves the "Precision Marshalling Squadron".

In the course of conversation they mentioned they were going to put together some sort of uniform with their group name across the back and initials on their caps...."PMS".   Ummm....guys...

S

Rain, rain...NO! Please DON'T go away

I don't think I've ever seen such screwy weather.  Three-quarters of the country is experiencing drought conditions, while in parts of south/coastal Texas they've had flooding.  High winds are flattening the plains states, while much of Colorado and the southwest have burned up.  Ya think this is one of those "end of time" events?


For us in north Texas our weather has been pretty normal.  Of course it's miserably hot, but rains earlier in the year topped off our lakes, and I'm hopeful we can get through the rest of the year without any water shortages.  In fact, I looked out my apartment window a few minutes ago and saw this:

Normally we don't get these kinds of clouds build up until the heat of the afternoon.  Maybe the rains currently one county west will slide this way.  I'm ready for a rainy day.  I think much of the country is ready for a rainy day/week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I saw on the bidness news that Sandy Weill, the man who assembled all the parts that made Citi into the first megabank, now agrees with me that our big banks need to be broken up.  (He obviously reads my blog.  ;)  He says "our banking system has been hijacked", and that banks that take deposits should be separated from those that take huge speculative risks.  Amen Brother Sandy!  But since he probably doesn't have any Congressmen in his back pocket like the banks do, I don't think it will ever happen.  At least not until after the next worldwide economic catastrophe.  (Ahem....back to that "end of time" theme?)

S

Happy Valentine's Day

This is my Valentine, the lovely and talented "K"....

Fortunately she doesn't get spiffed up too often, as she, like me, is much too casual for that...

Ahh...better!

We have a pretty good GREAT life together!  Oh sure, we sling some arrows now and then, but we're both pretty bad shots.  She takes great care of me, and I try to do the same for her.

We've been to a few fun places....

With hopefully a lot more to come.

She's a real adventure junkie, too.  I like that!  (We're at the front, naturally.)

And she's not at all demanding.  Even a day at a local art show has her grinning ear-to-ear.

She loves my daughters, and they love "Miss Kelly", too.  So do all the young 'uns.

I love her much, and best of all, she loves me right back.  Sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day, my love.  :)

S

This could be reeeeeeeally BIG!

I love Aspen, Colorado.  It's a great place to visit but a lousy place for anyone but a billionaire to live.  My casual observation is that they seem to have an inordinate number of beautiful young women there accompanied by "more mature gentlemen".  Maybe that's why Aspen Sojourner magazine is suggesting the development of several Aspen-specific iPhone apps such as this:


"The Trophy Wife Locator app....After a few hours of drinking at the Caribou Club, picking out your recently acquired 35-year old blond wife from the others who look just like her can be tricky.  Especially since you're 70.  This app will ensure you head home with the right missus.  Pro Upgrade includes Alimony Calculator."

Isn't money wonderful?  ;)

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Looks like the Greeks are not too keen on a steady diet of dog food, which is what they'll all be eating once the latest austerity measures being imposed on them kick in.  They do, however, have a supply of matches which they're using to burn down their country in protest.  I've never understood that....you get mad, so you burn up your own stuff.  The logic escapes me.


"Hey Nikos.  Whatcha eating?"  


"Dog food."  


"Why are you sitting on the floor?  Where's your stuff?"  


"I burned it up."  


Yeah, that'll show 'em!  Did you know that a third of all Greek workers are employed by the government?  What could they possibly do all day?  Process each other's paperwork?  Oh, wait....I'm beginning to understand.  Government workers....no logic....OK, I get it now.

All our TV stations are on "Storm Watch" mode, with reporters spread out all across 6 counties showing us the falling snow.  And it melting as soon as it hits the ground.  "Look....wet pavement!"  *big yawn*

Happy Valentine's eve, everyone.  Fair warning....  :)

S

  

So this one moron says to another moron....

...."hey Aoki, watch this"....then everything went black.  

It seems that yesterday a group of friends in their exotic cars were cruising down a freeway in Japan (at a reported 90+ mph) when one decided to change lanes, lost control, and started a chain-reaction wreck.  All total, 14 cars were involved, including 8 Ferrari's, 1 Lamborghini, and 2 Mercedes.  Fortunately no one was seriously hurt.  Talk about having a bad day!  The only one who had a worse day was probably their insurance agent.  I wonder if they all went out for lunch afterwards?

It's a cold, wet day in Dallas.  Lots of rain, 36 degrees, and just one county to our west...snow.  The Old Farmers Almanac has predicted a warmer, dryer winter than normal for north Texas, but I'm hoping they're wrong.  I'm one of those weirdo's who actually likes snow.   Texas snow.  You know, the kind that falls 5 or 6 inches deep, looks pretty for a couple of days, spawns more than a few snowmen, then melts.  Not sure what it's like to have snow fall 3 or 4 or more FEET deep and last for 5 months.  I guess if I ever make it to Colorado I'll find out.


Y'all have a good Monday, and drive carefully.


S

"It slices, it dices, it cuts Julienne fries....

....but you gotta hit that sumbitch juuuuust right!" 

                                                          

No, I haven't found a super new culinary tool, but I have found a good-for-what-ails-you diet supplement I can recommend, plus I just like that quote from one of my favorite comedians, Gallagher.  I walk a lot for exercise, leading up to being able to take some nice long hikes in the mountains when we visit Colorado again next summer.  Trouble is, my left knee hurts for the rest of the day after I put in a few miles.  At my age I guess that's to be expected.

I saw a commercial for Osteo Bi-Flex, a glucosamine supplement that promises to "show improvement in joint comfort within 7 days."  Well guess what?  It works!  I asked my SIL the anesthesiologist before I started taking it if it was just snake-oil and he said there wasn't any scientific evidence to prove it worked, but he personally had taken it and was pleased.  He said even if it was just a placebo effect, so what?  If you feel better you feel better.  Just go with it.

Ten days into taking it I can say my knee feels dramatically better, and an endorsement from the ultimate cynic (me) is saying something.  

S

Bazinga!

Craig's List came through for me again.  Yesterday evening I delivered to the new owner a beautiful framed signed/numbered print that used to hang over our fireplace, but for the past 2+ years has been leaning against the wall in our spare bedroom collecting dust.  We're slowly-but-surely disposing of stuff that we don't use so that when the day comes that we can move, hopefully to Colorado, moving will be a breeze and we can comfortably fit into a smaller, less expensive abode.  Read:  more money for fun activities/travels.  Fortunately I/we don't have much sentimental attachment to our "stuff", so letting it go isn't that difficult.


Speaking of Colorado, I see the first snow of the season has arrived in Denver.  That same storm will be arriving here in north Texas today, except in the form of 50 degree temps and rain.  I'm ready....let 'er rip.  Things here will be back to 70 and sunny by the weekend.  :)


In the news I see the too-big-to-fail European banks got a rude awakening.  They're being forced to write off half the value of the loans they made to Greece.  Looks like their greed bit 'em in the butt.  Whatever happened to prudent lending?  They should have known better.


Did you see where two members of the Italian Parliament got into a fistfight while "debating" the necessity of raising the retirement age to 67?  One accused the other's wife of retiring with a full pension at the ripe old age of 39, saying that's what's wrong with the system now.  Thirty nine?   Mama Mia!


S

"I have a dream!"

It's now official...sort of.  K and I will eventually be moving from Dallas to somewhere else, probably in Colorado.  I've been telling her for years how wonderful the mountains are but I don't think it soaked in.  Until now all she's known are the "flatlands" or the beach (California, Virginia, or Texas).  Last month when we went to Aspen she realized I was right. 


Our goal now is to work here a while longer, pay off everything we owe, I'll retire and she'll pursue an advanced certification in her HR field, which should open many doors for her and increase her professional portability.  Then we're outta here.  When we get "there" I'll work a bit to keep busy and for a few extra bucks, and we can live modestly but quite comfortably.  We want off the rat-race treadmill.  


On our next vacation we'll go back there and do some earnest scouting for places to live, site-specific cost-of-living numbers, employment opportunities, etc.  I honestly think it's do-able.


Meanwhile work is waiting.  Gotta go chase that dream.  :)


S

Our Colorado whitewater rafting trip

Yesterday we received in the mail the photo CD from our Colorado whitewater trip.  It was by far the most fun thing we did (with our clothes on at least) on our recent too-short vacation.  Our guide explained that they had a later-than-normal spring snowfall, which meant a later-than-normal snowmelt.  The river was running at 2200 cubic feet per second, much higher than usual.  


On this fairly narrow stretch of the Upper Roaring Fork that translated to Class 4 rapids.  (Class 4 means a strong swimmer should be able to swim out if he's thrown overboard.  Class 5 means he couldn't, and MUST be rescued.  Class 6, the highest, means if you fall overboard they hope they can some day find your body.)


Our group met on Sunday early afternoon and were given instructions by the Head Dude on how to stay alive if you fall out (obviously a CYA exercise):

We split up into 3 groups of 6 and headed out.  The water was a frigid 38 degrees.  The first few minutes were rather calm, giving us time to contemplate what it would be like to get dunked in 38 degree water:

Kelly and I took the front, most vulnerable positions...."If you're gonna be a bear, be a Grizzly!"  We shortly hit a churning section and found our wet suits helped...until  a wave went right down the front of my "splash jacket" and got me wet inside my suit.  O...M...G!  Note K was playing Wonder Woman and refused a splash jacket:

There was some spectacular scenery along the way and some absolutely gorgeous homes on the riverbank and on the overlooking cliffs....I'm talking $10-$20M "cabins"....but without our own cameras (no time) we didn't get any shots.  The rafting company guy took these from the bank along the way:

When it was all over and we had warmed up some K and I compared notes and we confessed that I almost went overboard twice and she three times.  There was a pocket sewn into the bottom of the raft at each position for us to tuck one foot in, the other foot free to provide balance.  (I found I have very little balance when I'm gasping for air!)  

K said once she saw a big wall of water coming so she ducked her head and closed her eyes and mouth, then after it hit she opened them up and got hit by an immediate second wave, which left her half blind and spitting water for a few seconds.

It was an absolute blast, and if you ever have the opportunity I suggest you jump at it.  It's hard to be scared when you're grinning ear-to-ear.  I...we...look forward to our next trip.  Thanks Aspen Whitewater Rafting Company.  :)

S

Fireworks? We don't need no stinkin' fireworks...

...I'll be the entertainment this 4th of July.


Here's something I'm expecting to see any time now:  I'll be walking around outside and just explode...BOOM!!...like a kernel of corn explodes suddenly to make popcorn.  I wonder at what temperature that might happen?  We're probably pretty close right now.


Seems momentum is building to cancel several large fireworks shows around here due to the drought and extreme fire danger.  Most of Texas' 254 counties have fireworks bans already in place, with exceptions for controlled municipal shows.   Now those are in jeopardy, too.


I was offered tickets to a Sunday baseball game with fireworks afterwards, but turned them down because of the heat.  I love fireworks, but I hate to sweat.  In this case fireworks lost.


I really need a summer home elsewhere.  Maybe back in Colorado, or Chile.  I've seen pics of Chile in July.  It looks refreshing.


Stay cool...


S

Colorado High

We're back from Colorado, and I still can't wipe this silly grin off my face.  It was SO cool, both literally and figuratively.  We flew from Dallas to Aspen via Denver with no hitches (United), arriving there about 1 pm.  Since our hotel check-in wasn't until 4, we decided to make the drive to Independence Pass, along the way passing snowdrifts on the side of the road still 12' high:

There was a photo spot a few hundred yards from the parking lot and I made a beeline for it....and discovered the thin mountain air.  Within 50 yards I began to feel dizzy, and recognizing what it was, stopped in my tracks and regained my balance, then slowed my pace.  I (K too) had a mild headache the rest of the day, but after that we were sufficiently acclimated.  Isn't this view breathtaking?....

All along the drive up we kept passing snow runoff headed towards the Roaring Fork River:

We eventually found a turnoff where we could check out a small tributary up close and personal.  That's where K dipped her foot in the river and pronounced it freezing cold.  Umm....Lover....it's snowmelt!  This was of interest to us as 2 days later we had reservations on a whitewater rafting trip down the Upper Roaring Fork.

Yes Sweetie, you...in there!

Later that day we checked in to our room at the Viceroy at Snowmass (more on that in another post), then went out for a nice meal and at 9 pm, a walking Ghost Tour of Aspen.  It was fun, and the only time all weekend that we had to wear our jackets.  The rest of the time it was cool, but sunny and calm.  (Pixel Peeper...nightimes, low 50's; daytime, upper 70's.)

The next day we drove to Aspen Highlands, then took the shuttle to Maroon Bells, probably the single most-photographed mountain(s) in all of Colorado:

We hiked around the lake towards the mountain, seeing deer and a beaver dam along the way, finally turning back as the last bus of the day left at 5 pm and we didn't dare miss it.

That's enough for now.  I'll share more later.  :)

S

Countin' down the days....

....until vacation.  What it lacks in quantity (4 days, just 3 nights) it more than makes up for in quality (Colorado).  I am SO ready for some cooler weather, even if it's just for a few days.


Today I went with K to her yearly oncology follow-up exam, which turned out to be an all-day affair.  She received an "all clear" which I know is a load off her mind, so now we (she) can go on vacation without any worries.


K is washing our travel clothes tonight and I'm...umm...letting her.  :)


Camera batteries are charged, loose ends at work have been tended to, and the dog sitter is standing by.  Get a few bucks tomorrow from "the machine what spits out the cash", and I'm outta here.


Later everyone.  


S

Colorado bound

I'm sitting here at the computer this morning eating my breakfast (a croissant, 2 small link sausages, and a glass of grape juice) just giddy with excitement and anticipation.  Last night in a totally spontaneous move K and I booked our reservations for a long weekend (next week) in Aspen.  WooHoo!!


Now is a good time for us to sneak away for a short refresher.  The parts that I'm responsible for (structural) on the 2 homes we have under construction right now are wrapping up.  My brother will soon be taking the lead with our customers in choosing paint colors, tile, countertops, etc, and I can coast for a while. And K is setting the world on fire at her new position, even being called out by the boss at a meeting earlier this week, but at a price.  She's tired.


Isn't this exactly why God made mountains, and Colorado?  Two facts are stuck in my mind:  At 6 AM this morning it was 41 degrees in Aspen, with a high expected to be 73 later on.  Sweeeeeeet!  I know this won't impress you "the hotter the better" types, but to this Texas boy "hotter" is not "better".  Maybe this will get me through until autumn.


We have reservations on a puddle-jumper jet to Aspen, a room at a swanky hotel/resort/spa, and even a tiny tin-can rent car.  Now I just have to get through one more sweltering week in Dallas.  *I can do this...I can do this...*


S

I'm 1 in 300,000,000

I think I'm the only person in America, maybe the entire free world, who doesn't love summer.  Right now everyone is just giddy that warm weather has arrived.  Fijufic wrote an entire post about it yesterday.  Not me.  I absolutely HATE walking out the door in the morning, for I know summer will be staring me in the face.  I live for autumn.....cool, dry, and coincidentally, it's football season, too. :)


"Sticky" is one of those touch sensations that drives me nuts.  Is there a name for "sticky phobia"?  If there is then I'm their poster child.  When I eat something sticky I save it for last, eat it, then go wash up.  A simple wipe on a napkin won't work.  


Except for west Texas, this is a humid, sticky state.  That could be our state motto:  "Welcome to Texas, the humid, sticky state."  


I feel so good after I shower, shave, and dress for the day.  Then I open the door and walk out, and before I can get to my car I'm sticky.  I feel like I just jumped into a huge vat of sticky.  I crank up the car A/C as high as it will go and about the time I get to work, I'm fairly comfortable again.  Then I step out of my car and it's sticky time all over again.  Some days, like yesterday and today, I have to spend the majority of my time outdoors.  Homes under construction need supervision, and that's me.  Sure, there are a few good things about summer, like swimming, but I don't swim nearly enough to offset the misery of my daily sticky dip.


For me, summer is a season to be endured, not enjoyed.  I need to find me somewhere to live that's not sticky, someplace high and dry like Colorado.  I'm just sayin'.


S