Time Travel and Connectivity*

 "Time is Relative" ** is something I never really believed until lately.  In my day to day world, days pass like molasses up in Sarge's neck of the woods...in January.  However, weeks/months/years seem to fly by at nearly light speed.  In my most recent example, MBD announced she was pregnant with Grandchild #1 (GC#1) just last week, I think.  However, her due date, officially, is Oct 28th AKA less than 3 weeks from now.  She may have a different interpretation of how fast that time passed, but, as I said, seems like last week to me.

So, earlier this week, she asked if Mrs J and I could come to College Station and help her set up GC#1's room.  "Get out of the house, take a road trip and see you? Let me think about it for a nanosecond. Why yes, yes we will!"

At that point, the dormant fighter pilot personality took over.  We've been making fairly regular trips to College Station (C-Stat in Fighter Pilot vernacular, or at least mine), since Little Juvat started there in 2003.  

The "usual" route

While that routing hasn't changed, there are several things different about it.  First, on the good side, it's Freeway now, virtually the whole way. Second, on the not good side, Austin has spread out and Austin Traffic now starts at Dripping Springs/Bastrop and ends at Bastrop/Dripping Springs (depending on direction of travel).  Third thing is a combination of the two, Austin traffic has never been sane and with Freeways and larger population, the traffic is much more dense, lasts longer and is populated by several vehicles per mile who think that number on the sign is a minimum speed, that the dashed lines in the middle are extra lanes and blinkers are for sissies.

But...I digress.  Where was I? ...Oh yeah, dormant fighter pilot personality...

I think to myself.  "High Threat environment?  Why not avoid it?  Might take a bit longer, but your cardiologist will thank you."

Based on that logic, I decide to try to sneak around enemy defenses to the north.  The distance is about the same, although the road is a bit more twisty turny.  It'll take a bit longer, and I like my cardiologist, but not enough to visit him more than necessary.

So.

Why not try something new, juvat?

What's 26 minutes in the grand scheme of things?

Well....There's another old Fighter Pilot adage, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy."  We leave on time, The drive north to Marble Falls is uneventful although quite a bit of highway construction is going on.  Get onto the east bound Farm to Market road and enjoy the swoops, climbs and high g-turns, pass two farm trucks, get passed by one Porsche (of course) enroute to Cedar Park.

You know that part where I said Austin had spread out? Well, since my last visit 20 years ago, Cedar Park has been swallowed by Austin and traffic was bumper to bumper from there to Taylor. But, at least the race car drivers were not around...so...We got that going for us!

Once we got past Taylor, everything started running "Hot, straight and Normal" which is a phrase used by Fighter Pilots since time immemorial to describe a missile shot.  Don't let Navy sub drivers try and tell you different.

Yes, it took 4+30, and yes, my heart rate monitor beeped a few times and yes, any Navy sub drivers in the back seat would have learned some new swear words, but we arrived.

MBD promptly took charge.  She and Mrs J quickly filled out my "To Do" List.  Fortunately, it was mostly things I had done before, so I actually knew what I was doing.  Got the Mesh Wireless network up and running in about an hour.  Theoretically, the house can now sustain up to 100 wireless devices simultaneously.  I was a little nervous about that as our system (the same make and model) starts to really slow down with about 5 devices on it.

But when I ran Speed Check on their network, they were getting 85MBPS from their home network.  I ran it on ours when I got home.  3.5MBPS. Oh the joys of country living.

As to that 100 wireless devices limit? The next phase of the operation was to attach all the wireless baby monitoring devices MBD had received at her Baby Shower.

Things sure have changed in the Blink of an Eye time wise since my kids were born (37 and 30 years ago respectively),  Back then, the primary baby monitoring device was one or the other parent waking up at every noise in the night and checking. 

Now, there's a listening device, which if it hears the baby cry, starts gently rocking the bed and only sounds the alarm if that doesn't settle her down after a short period of time.  

At which point, the parent(s) can activate the app on their phone which controls the wireless camera above the crib to check on her. If nothing serious appears, the parent can then, again using their phone, turn on the wireless white noise generator to lull her back to sleep.  

Modernity!

After a bit of trial and error, all monitoring equipment is up and running.  So, we got THAT going for us.  At about this time, MBD informs Mrs J that her OB doctor said she "might" be a little early and it's time for more frequent appointments. Mrs J and her counterpart went into a huddle and created a scramble roster. Seems my counterpart and myself were not needed for labor hand holding.

I think I'm ok with that.  Twice was quite enough, thank you. That having been said, I may experience a bit of Bachelor-ship in the near future.

But now, it's Friday afternoon and time to be headed home.  Fortunately, the Aggies are playing 'Bama in C-Stat, so traffic is coming INTO town as we're leaving. (Just in case you didn't hear, the unranked Aggies beat #1 Bama. WHOOP!!!!)

Yes, Beans we took the southern route home, we left early enough to avoid most of the evening traffic at the "Y".  (The commonly used base name for an enormously outdated highway junction in Southwest Austin, extra expletives are usually added.)

Arrived home to the joyful howls of our pups, the expressions of disdain from our cats and the whinnying of the horses. (Yes, Beans, my Sister filled in and fed them while we were away)

It's nice to be needed and loved. Grandpa...I like the sound of that!

*I'm horrible with commas, or forgetting them ;-)

**An interesting article on this statement is here