In Other News ...

OAFS Photo

There are days I feel like writing ...

This is not one of those days.

I was looking out into the backyard (which I mowed on Monday, proud of myself I am) and saw the way the branches looked on our dwarf Japanese maples. The Missus Herself has been trimming and training these little trees for over twenty years. I think she's done a wonderful job.

Below is a close in view of the branches, I love the way they twist and turn. Funny how the things you see everyday will suddenly jump into focus and it feels like you're seeing it for the first time.

OAFS Photo

Like Not Your Uncle Skip Says ...

When in doubt about what to write, you can always talk about the weather.

It's spring in New England which means the weather is anything but boring. Hot one day, jacket weather the next.

After our first 80° day back in April we turned off our mini-splits (the things we use to heat/cool the house, some folks call those "heat pumps"). So of course the next day it struggled to get to the upper 60s.

I guess that's why they invented sweaters.

Last week we finally changed the bed linen from flannel sheets to cotton. (For the record, I love my flannel sheets. In the winter. Warm weather, not so much.)

The first night was awesome, even slept with the windows open.

So of course the next morning was in the 40s.

Ah, New England, gotta love it.

Word on the street is that a nor'easter is headed this way. Lovely. High winds and torrential rains. The only two places I've ever seen it rain heavier was the Philippines and Florida. But those downpours would last thirty minutes or so. In Little Rhody they last all day.

But at least it ain't Texas where you get six inches in a day and the spiders want to kill you.

Juvat knows.

Screw This ...

I noticed a week or so ago that my left rear tire had developed a slow leak. It would lose five pounds of pressure over a week. As we're headed south in early June for vacation, I thought, "Hhmm, maybe I should get this fixed."

So I did. Turns out that there was a wee sma' screw stuck in the middle of the tire. Just enough to let the air leak out but slowly. The guy at the shop told me that "It was just a bit right of center."

Kinda like me.

I said, "Better a screw than a nail, the nail would've probably just let all the air out."

So the guy at the shop said, "Did you try tightening the screw to see if that kept the air in?"

I thought it was funny.

They patched the tire, no out of pocket to me. Seems that I had purchased some insurance for just this sort of thing when I bought the car. Oddly prescient of me, I usually forego the extras and the bells and whistles. But with the condition of the roads in Little Rhody, I must have realized that that was a good idea.

Yup, did the same for The Missus Herself's car as well.

The War Between Ad Blocker and YouTube ...

I remember when YouTube didn't preface (and interrupt) every GD video on their site. Then they started bombarding us with ads, everywhere, all the time. Then someone invented Ad Blocker, which is free and the ads went away, or flashed (as if coming to the surface one more time before drowning) then went away.

Now it depends on which day it is as to whether YouTube bitches about me using Ad Blocker or Ad Blocker blocks that crap.

It's a back and forth struggle, I'm rooting for Ad Blocker.

Firetruck Gargle and YouTube.

Speaking of YouTube, so many sites are now using AI that it's becoming a real puke fest. Robot-voices which mispronounce half the script and bogus artwork that is far from reality. Future generations will be dumber than rocks if this continues.

A pox on AI. A pox on SkyNet.

Lawn Mower Man ...

While I'm still not a big fan of cutting grass, I'm used to it once more. At any rate it gets me off my butt and out into the fresh air. As my dermatologist reminded me though, the sun wants to kill me, real slow-like. So I make sure to apply sunblock with an SPF of 10⁶ (or higher) so that I don't get skin cancer.

At least it's not like the old days where sunblock with that high of an SPF was rather like bear grease, or lard, you slather it on, go out and cut the grass, then spend an hour in the shower trying to get it off.

Loads of fun, but at least when I'm done for the day I can sit in The Missus Herself's lovely garden and have a beer.

Or two.

Stay Tuned ...

We'll get back to the First World War, I know Beans loves to read about the trenches. But I decided to give the Muse some time to herself. This current tale feels heavier than most. I feel something coming on, something dark.

And I ain't quite ready for that just yet.

Be seeing you.