Surfin' USA

Long but fruitful week.  I should be glad to get out of the office, but inevitably, while I am out, s#%& happens and I wind up with a whole new list of chores when I get back.  Seems that on Tuesday the building alarm system went ga-ga and reset the maglocks (magnetic door locking system).  So, Wednesday, when everybody shows up to work, the building was basically unlocked.  Of course everybody had a hissy fit over it and made it sound like somebody broke in and stole a nuclear weapon or the crown jewels.  Of course, I am reading all this in southern California (translation:  it's my fault) and now I have a new task to audit/write up the building management.  Life's never boring around here.

Trip went well.  Got to briefly visit southern California in the Santa Ana area.  John Wayne Airport is a very nice regional airport - small and easy to get around.  Definitely way better than LAX.  I've been to southern Cal twice before and the freeway system is not for the faint of heart but, surprisingly, the freeways were fairly nice.  Not as much traffic as I had anticipated.  Of course, it may have to do with my planning to stay in a hotel that was close to airport and the company we were auditing.  Regardless, traffic was ok.  Site visit went well and we had time to drive west to the ocean in Huntington Beach (Surf City USA).  8+ miles of beaches on the Pacific Ocean.  Would have been nicer if the temps were warmer (60 degrees).  There were a few die hards out trying to catch a late wave, but most were in in wetsuits and looked cold.  Nice views but woulda preferred it a wee bit warmer.  Kinda interesting to note that the temps were in the low 60s while the east coast was baking. 

Flight home was long and a pain in the ass.  One leg I was seated next to the princess who figured the rules about talking on a cell phone or using an iPod while the plane was backing away from the gate did not apply to her. The second leg had all sorts of chaos (two screaming kids, one arrogant business a/h, a drunk stripper and her seatmates getting into a brawl).  Thanks to my iPod, I was able to tune out most of the flight and not hear the ruckus.  Made it back to Houston without too much fanfare. 

The weekend was fairly unproductive.  Trying to relax/unwind/catch up.  Took the dogs to a new park today just to give them a break.  Nicer park than we have been to in the past.  I like the Millie Bush part west of town due to its size and facilities, but this one (Archer park) was bigger and had more trees.  I think I like this one better.  Typical dog park down here - a lake for the dogs to swim/wade in.  Lots of room to run/poop.  Trails.  Shelters.  There was a obstacle course for the active dogs. 

Grayson/Claire behaved were in heaven.  Grayson ran around like a kid on a playground.  Claire hung close to me except when she was mooching attention off of other people.  She is definitely an attention hound.  What made this one a hit (at least for Grayson) is that the park is in the northwestern part of the city where they have had a lot of rain lately.  So there are parts of the part that are still flooded/holding water.  That translates into several spots of muddy bogs/water.  Given a nice, clean pond to swim/play in, where do you think Grayson likes to hang out?   

Tour de Dog

Trying something different. Trying to update my ramblings from the road.  Now this would be easy if I had one of those iPhones or iPads but I am running off of a blackberry and sitting on the runway in Phoenix waiting for a gate.

Since we had a 4 day weekend, wound up watching the Tour de France Sunday & Monday. Normally I don't pay attention to the race until the latter half. I am amazed that Armstrong is still a major contender after so many wins (7).  I've met him once a few years back and that is one focused guy.

What sparked my attention this year was all of the crashes in the first two days/stages. One of the crashes was due to a dog running out in front of the pack. Not just any mutt but a Golden Retriever. Had to scour the net but I found the footage on Belgiun TV showing a big auburn colored dog running out into the street right in front of the pack of riders. Dog was not hurt but a lot of riders hit the pavement hard. Typical Golden maneuver - wander out in front of everybody looking for attention/petting and then get that panic/hunker down stance when it realized it was in the line of fire. Both of the two current mutts have the same trait - lying in the middle of the floor or hallway requiring you to step over them. About 6 years ago, I broke a toe trying to to step over Shadow.

10th Commandment

I'll admit it.  I'm guilty. 
Last weekend was the wife's birthday.  Always have tried to get her something different, something she will actually use/appreciate.  After 30 years, I've not always been successful, but my batting average is better than most.  Jewelry is usually safe territory.  Appliances are way out of bounds.  I'm not up with the latest fashions, so clothing is not an option.  Electronics are not typically well received unless it is a new laptop or iPhone (potential Xmas gift).   

This year I tried a different approach.  About a year & half ago when I was prepping for my first half marathon, I got several gift certificates from well meaning in-laws.  I finally broke down and got myself an iPod.  Actually, it was an iPod Nano (3rd gen).  Sought advice from my technical advisor (son) who gave me all sorts of options.  I could have gone for the iPod, but it seemed like overkill (to me).  From consulting several running groups, the Nano seemed to be a good selection as it was smaller, lighter and was more of a "flash drive" and did not have as many working parts that would be susceptible to damage from running.  Got one for my first 1/2 marathon and have been happy with the selection.  It's a smaller, thinner device and holds about 2 gazillion songs, more than I have in my tape and CD library.  Been a good choice for me and I run with it every other day.  Did not want a iPod shuffle as it did not hold as many songs and you don't have the video screen (2 inches is not massive).  Fast forward to last weekend and my wife's pending birthday.  She had mentioned she would like an iPod like mine and I set off in search for one.  Now, I'll admit she is not a technophile and a lot of the newer trinkets are over the top so I considered an iPod Classic as a bit of overkill.  I got her a new iPod Nano (5th Gen).  A bit narrower and taller than mine, but I thought it was a good start for her.  Been playing with it to set it up for her and it has a bunch of neat features that my old Nano lacks.  It has the same amount of memory but hers has a video camera ability, will allow you to watch videos/movies (screen rotates), has an external speaker, and even has an FM radio.  I felt mine was perfect and just what I needed to run with but but now I am jealous.  Is it wrong to covet your spouses gift?

I am on the road again to southern California for a few days.  Long flight out to the west coast.  Hope we have nice weather.  At least it gets me out of the office for most of the week.   

Six and a half decades

Happy Anniversary to the parental units!

The old folks got hitched back in 1945.  A young couple starting out in life right after the war.  He a former B17 pilot getting his Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering.  Her a young woman working for the government.  Long time couple from high school.  Both were in the band (Its just like this one time at band camp?).  He joined the Army Air corps.  She followed him out to Arizona while in training.  Starting out young and in love, with a endless future in front of them.  65 years later, 3 sons, 3 daughter-in-laws, 5 grandsons, 2 granddaughter-in-laws, 1 great grand-daugher.  Life's been pretty interesting for them. 

They joined the Airstream club about the time I graduated from college and have been highly active in it for decades. Even now, they are off for the summer at a rally in Wyoming. That's pretty much been their pattern for years and (head north during the summer) and, given the fact the temps are in the mid 90s down here for a while, I wish I could head north for the summer as well.

Happy Anniversary from your yougest child down in Texas!

Long weekend

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend.  Extended weekend for a lot of folk.  The PTB (powers-that-be) gave us both Friday and Monday off so it's been a 4 day weekend.  Been goofing around the house mostly.  Friday was a washout with the rain, but Saturday was 50/50 for the weather.  Was going to mow the yard but it is still saturated with rain and it would be like mowing a swamp.  Today it has dried out a bit and I hope to be able to cut it back before grass overgrows the house.  Pretty laid back weekend.  My son came back home on Saturday late and will be here through today. 

I took him and his roommates to the range yesterday (their request) to blow off some steam and throw lead downrange.  One kid was from LA and had never shot a handgun before, so he wanted to try it out (while he was in Texas).  Everybody had a blast.  Wound up spending the rest of the afternoon cleaning up and helping the guys build a Beirut table.  Ah, to be young and in college.   

Was pretty laid back for fireworks.  In the past, we would head to the neighborhood park and set out lawn chairs and could watch 3 different fireworks displays.  Depending upon where you set up, you could see the local city fireworks and then turn west and watch the adjacent city's displays.  Occasionally, we could see the downtown display from afar.  And of course, we would watch the local neighborhood kids try to kill each others with bottle rockets and star clusters.  The old dog would have a conniption fit over any fireworks so we would leave him home.  The two new dogs seem to be a little less freaked but I was not going to test their resolve.  This year we did not venture out to brave the traffic.  My son went to watch fireworks with girlfriend and I walked the dogs and heard the commotion.   All in all, a pretty lazy weekend.  Now I am off to mow the yard and wait for the a/c guy to show up. 

Chicken dance

Spiders.  I hate 'em.

Devious little bastards who just look evil to me.  I know.  They are supposed to be beneficial and eat many other insects (mosquitoes, ants, etc.) but I am no fan of spiders.  If I encounter one in the house - Live and let die is my motto.  Most are small don't pose a threat but we have a few down in this region that look like something out of a Wes Craven movie.  A few of the trails I run during lunch are along the bayou and chock full of all sorts of critters.  I have run across two giant wood spider webs that just scared the shit out of me.

I try to keep the homestead free of insects, but this is south Texas and bugs are fact of life down on the coast.  Roaches, fireants, spiders, termites, ticks, cinch bugs, mosquitoes, wasps, scorpions, asps are part of the landscape.  I will try to nuke the yard every year to drive out most of the hoard, but it is only a temporary solution.   What really irks me is how fast they can set up shop.  I walk the dogs twice a day (3 times on weekends) and from the time I walk them at night until the next morning, one devious little bastard will set up house right between the two bushes on either side of my back door.  I mean these bushes are at least 5-6 feet apart but sometime between 2100 and 0500 the following morning, there will be a large number of INVISIBLE strands crossing my path.  Nothing like stepping out of the back door at 0500 with two highly energetic dogs dragging you forward and you walk through a barrage of webs.  Now, I am not Fred Astaire.  I have never claimed to be a skilled dancer.  You'll never see my face on Dancing With the Stars.  But step into a spider's web that early and I can do a great chicken dance routine. 

Walking on water

Hurricane Alex.  First named storm of the season.  Was only a Cat 2 (Category 2) Hurricane when it ran ashore in Mexico.  Not really a major storm and it hit ground about 8 hours down the coast from here.  You figure something that far away would not really have any impact on our area.  Wrong.  Hurricanes north of the equator rotate in a counterclockwise fashion with most of the rain/water surge is on the eastern side of the storm (the dirty side).  That means if any storms hit the coast south/west of Houston we typically get a boat load of rain.  It's been crappy all week but the bottom fell out Thursday night.  Yesterday was a solid day of heavy rain/downpours.  Many local spots got 8-10 inches of rain.  Street flooding, overflowing bayous, underpasses flooded, stalled cars, flooded homes, beaucoup traffic accidents.  I had the day off yesterday and went into town in the morning.  Figured I could take care of some business in between the deluges.  I had a front row seat to a nasty wreck at a stop light were a Jeep Cherokee and Toyota Tundra tried to occupy the same time & space unsuccessfully.  Nothing gets the adrenalin flowing like watching an explosion of plastic & steel about 20 feet in front of your hood.  Drivers were ok (pissed but ok).  Trucks were not.  BTW - if you have to have a wreck, having it right in front of the local firestation really helps.  After that show, I figured I would probably be able to take care of business from the house.  Lots of flooded streets, but that's one reason I have the landbarge with high ground clearance.

I mentionned before, the dogs don't like rain.  Claire is pretty good and will go off and hides in the closet or under the bed.  Grayson is the wimp.  He paces to and fro and would try to dig a hole in the den carpet.  During a lull in the rain, I tried to walk them to prevent "accidents".  Even with the streets flooded, Claire still prefers to stick to the streets while Gray likes to cruise through the yards.  He still has a thing for water and will walk through every puddle he can find.  Of course, walking a Golden Retriever in the rain (even a mist) is like walking a sponge.  And nothing is more aluring than that wet dog smell.