Category: Holidays

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A rainy start to the Labor Day weekend

I don’t really mind. But the dog is bored!

We got sprinkled on yesterday evening on our walk. Then the rain actually started right around sundown. It came in waves throughout the night. Sometime around 2am I remember hearing the wash starting to flow again. I thought about the Flood Control guys who’d spent so much time clearing the mud and rocks out of the wash over the past week.

OOOopps! I guess they’re going to be busy for a while longer. The guys themselves are actually nice. They’re just having to deal with a really shitty design and cleaning up after some morons who obviously were only interested in creating a “Make Work” project. I laugh because the wash project was supposed to prevent erosion, and yet, it seems to have done the exact opposite.

Again, not the fault of the guys tasked with cleaning up the mess.

It’s been raining off & on all morning. The clouds look like they’re breaking up I don’t know if it’s going to clear up today.

There is something weird going on in the atmosphere. (Aside from the rain) I’m picking up a Las Vegas, FM radio station. I’m not sure how that’s happening but it is… The antenna on my HAM rig isn’t that good! Especially since the antenna is built & tuned for completely different frequencies.

I’m not complaining, It’s an alternative rock station that I always look forward to listening to when I’m in Las Vegas. I’m just surprised that I’m hearing them here at home. I may upgrade with the antenna on the sound system in the living room to see if I can get this station all the time. Generally speaking I don’t like the LA / Inland Empire radio stations. On this side of the mountain about all I’ve been able to hear for years was Religious (Hellfire and damnation radio), or Spanish stations. Neither of which are particularly entertaining to me.

Since both cars were equipped with Satellite radios, the other half and I tended to listen only to Sat channels. Come to think of it, I haven’t even sampled local radio for decades, (except for the lone country station I could reliably receive).

Maybe it’s time to revisit over the air stations. There wasn’t much point in Southern California, for me at least. Even my old favorite stations from the 70’s & 80’s moved to Rap, or were purchased by Spanish Broadcasters and catered to that audience.

I remember a time driving through LA and not being able to find a single Radio station that was playing American Rock. I think that was 2005 – 2006. When I ordered my Mini Cooper, I made sure that the sound system had Satellite Radio, a CD Player, and an interface for my iPod.

Whenever I visited other states I’d spend time with the rental car radio to see what the locals were listening to. NV, AZ, OR, WA, KY, TX, LA, NC, SC, FL, GA, MS all had a healthy mix of musical types, talk radio, and languages represented. It was only in Los Angeles that I couldn’t find entertainment in my language.

This suggested to me that Los Angeles was no longer welcoming to folks like me, and I suggested to the other half it was time for us to leave.

The other half and I actually fought about it. He said I was being racist.

We were going somewhere, I was driving and told him, “Find a station that we can understand.” After tuning through the the AM and FM bands several times, he finally put a CD in the slot. He sat silently fuming for about 5 minutes. Then said, “Alright let’s look into satellite.”

He didn’t listen to the radio or music much when he was driving around, so he hadn’t noticed. Me, on the other hand… I spent 4 hours a day in the car going to and from work. So I WON! Well, I won half the battle, a complete win would have been us moving out of California. The compromise was, when we replaced our vehicles, we had satellite. First in my Mini Cooper, then in his vehicle. If I were to move out of California satellite radio is likely to be to first thing I disconnect especially if I go someplace with a healthy mix of stations.

I could add that to the “Reasons to Leave California list” right under cost cutting…

Hmmm. I looks like the clouds are thickening up again. Eh, I’m good with it. The mountains need the rain and I can save the water because I don’t have to water the plants in the yard.

There’s a ton of stuff I should be doing, but I’m feeling lazy. I think I’m going blow it off and find a book to read.

Have a great Labor Day weekend.

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Well I forgot to post anything on the 4th…

In truth I was a little “off”.

The 4th is one of those holidays the other half and I had a tradition about.

We’d stay home because of the dogs so we could protect them from the “evil” noises and flashes.

Typically we’d make dinner late then head out to the deck with dinner and drinks and enjoy the shows.

From our vantage point we could take in 2 or 3 fireworks shows happening in towns across the desert floor.

In recent years those shows had gotten smaller, or stopped altogether. This was in part due to city budgets, the drought here in California, and most recently COVID.

We were hoping that they’d be starting the Fireworks shows again this year. We have plenty to celebrate. We’re still here, Our Republic hasn’t fallen yet, and COVID is supposedly behind us.

I decided to continue the tradition, even though the other half is no longer here. I made dinner, made a drink, when out onto the deck and waited. I enjoyed a beautiful clear night, but alas, no fireworks.

After an hour or so, I came in, cleaned up the kitchen and went to bed.

There were a couple of positive things.

I caught up with the other half’s niece via phone, and had a short visit from a very old friend who’d lost his other half approximately a year ago.

Both events were nice in that I didn’t feel quite so alone.

I hope every one had a great 4th.

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Happy New Years Eve

I think I speak for everyone when I say, “I hope 2023 is a better year!”

Given the performance of the past few years… I’m not holding my breath!

Hope springs eternal.

I’m not going to bother with a recap of the year. I think it’s probably sufficient to say if 2023 is anything like 2022 or 2021 or 2020 then I’m gong to invest in some Wellingtons. I may have to walk through shit, but I don’ have to have it on my shoes. The question is, do Wellingtons come in thigh high sizes or only up to the knees? Maybe a good set of wading boots/pants would be a better option.

I’ll leave the recaps to CNN or Tucker Carlson. They do a better job of it anyway.

2022 is closing out with a bang for me and my extended family. Hospitalizations, Trips to ER, Dementia, Funerals, and Stitches. 

For me it’s nightmares every night. I’m not talking about minor stuff, I’m talking full on sweats and waking up panicked unsure of where I am. It takes me an hour or so to calm down enough to go back to sleep and the hell of it is that when I wake up, I don’t remember anything about the nightmare.

I’m hoping that turning the page on a new year, will also turn the page on the nightmares and I’ll have a decent night’s sleep. You’ll pardon me if I don’t ring in the New Year by staying up until midnight. I’ll be content falling asleep at the usual time and sleeping through the night, The Rapture, or Armageddon, whichever comes first.

If I sleep through The Rapture, at least there’ll be no traffic although the freeways may be blocked. I probably wouldn’t notice, screwed up freeways are just another day in Southern California!

That’s actually a darkly funny plot line. Imagine a story where The Rapture happened, and some poor schmo slept through it, missing the bus so to speak, and didn’t really notice. What would that look like? The guy gets up, keeps going to work, and takes years to figure out that he’s missed the bus. If he’s in a city like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, or Los Angeles it’s possible. Maybe he keeps getting hints from his guardian angel but he’s so used to things being weird he doesn’t notice them. Maybe the hints are appointments in his calendar that he keeps missing because oddball events delay him on the way. I wonder if you could have fun with his guardian angel being pissed off about it?

It might be fun to try writing something like that. 

Have a good and safe night. I promise I won’t call anyone before noon out of courtesy to your hangovers.

Happy New Year everyone.