This little branch of the Shaffer family has a new Panama connection. Kimberly spent a week there last month with the Global Brgades and Doctors without Borders program(s). The place they worked is a remote region in the eastern part of the country. Way to go, Kimberly!
The Sebring is Gone
It was the 1st car I ever bought new, back in 2002. Made it to 195k miles including a tough last few years with the girls driving it. It was a fairly good car and I intended to keep it going for as long as possible, but finally got to the point of being plagued by too many issues to make further repairs palatable to me. So we donated it to the Colorado Make-A-Wish charity for children yesterday, with a cracked windshield, weeping water pump seal and the last straw appeared to be either a serious transmission issue or possibly a wheel bearing. They evaluate them for possible repair and then either re-distribute to a needy family, or sell them at auction donating the proceeds.
It took us to the Grand Canyon and many other places over the years. I felt like we should have had a retirement ceremony or something while I performed the annual ritual of swapping out wheels for the near-new Blizzak snows. Those American Racing wheels are for sale cheap, if anybody wants them:
Thunderbirds In Cheyenne
Drove up to Cheyenne this morning to see the Thunderbirds. They were performing for their annual visit to the Frontier Days rodeo. I missed 2 of the last 10 year’s shows, but it’s become sort of an annual “thing” for me, as well. I can really appreciate what it takes to operate those jets after spending 20 years in the Air Force. Look no further for the true definition of badass. You can have your fast cars, big trucks and UFC fighters, whatever. Nothing holds a candle to the moxey and skill our pilots demonstrate. They truly are the best of the best!
CTD Resurrection Complete
I still want a winch under the front bumper and there are a couple miscellaneous upgrades like a front diff locker and a new dual steering stabilizer I’ve had sitting in the corner of the garage for probably almost ten years now. The old “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra will start getting overruled if time ever gets on my side. But the console/cupholder was the last thing I think it really needed. It was put together with just metal scraps I had laying around (never throw anything out!). The lock and cupholders were the only parts purchased for the project:
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The lock-box is not exactly vault-grade high security, but definitely alot tougher to get into than the plastic junk adorning most vehicles. It was tricky getting things positioned to not interfere with the shifters. I was not even sure how the sub was going to be in that respect until I got it in there and started mocking things up. Good thing I did not get the 12″ model, because the 10″ only just barely fits.
2018 Heat Wave
Our location normally sees a degree or 2 more or less than the Denver Metro and surrounding areas. I imagine that is just something to do with this specific locality being on the edge of the the prairie in the arid steppe climate zone. We saw 102 yesterday and expect to be around the low triple digits for the week. We also saw the highest temperature ever recorded here (107) about 10 days ago, but that was only a 2-day period with the 1 really hot day.
It is making for a very bad fire season. Farmers and ranchers are hurting in one of the worst droughts ever. Some large percentage of southwest portions of the state have been in the exceptional drought category since the middle of last winter. It’s now a macro climate phenomenon being called the aridification of the Southwest. Climate change? Global Warming? Whatever you call it, I’m not enjoying it very much.
Francie Receives Another PSU Accolade
Looks like the scholarship is secure at this point. The Kid scored >3.8 GPA her Freshman year, landing on something called the Plymouth State President’s List.
Rocky Mountain Street Rod Nationals 2018
Took me a few days to get around to the pics I took at the RMSRN 2018 car show last Sunday. My favorite was the 1970 Charger. The interior in this car was the nicest I have ever seen. Pics from the day are in the 4th, 5th and 6th row of this page.
Cannabis Prohibition is Effectively Over
It was gonna happen sooner or later. And no, Herr Trump did not make another executive order and the Supreme Court hasn’t had anything to say about it either. But the wheels of government turn slowly – when they move at all. Anyone with their ear to ground on the Cannabis issue saw it coming years ago, and like the article says, June 2018 was a banner month.
I know it saved me. I have such an acute case of full-body arthritis and lesser neuropathy symptoms, doctors were prescribing a max dose of Tramadol for years, along with shot-in-the-dark attempts at things like anti-depressants and high-strength prescription anti-inflammatory drugs (one of which induced coronary symptoms). It continued being a downhill slide, health-wise during that time. I was just drugged out of my mind, not feeling it so much. Now after a couple years of learning how to use weed, I can say although not recovered by any means, I am myself again and can live a somewhat physically less un-comfortable life – without dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.
Can't Recommend 7-Falls
7-Falls used to be one of my favorite day-trip outings in Colorado Springs, but not any more. We stopped by there with a little time to spend on our way back from the Rocky Mountain Street Rod Nationals in Pueblo last Sunday. The price is way up, and there is literally no parking. Even the pullouts nearby are sign-posted “Not for 7Falls (whatever that means?), but I parked at one anyway. I believe what it means is they have cornered the market on money-collecting opportunities for the attraction. Pay for parking, pay for entrance and even pay to ride the tram a half mile to-from the base of the falls. It’s a nice place to visit, but not worth the money any longer, IMHO.
Helluva Hailstorm
Mother nature gave us a good pounding yesterday. Trees and flowers were shredded and Michelle’s Jetta is dinged up pretty good. The scary part was a tornado that passed about 2 miles south of here while it was forming and touched down 20 miles further east a few minutes later. The hail at this location was up to maybe an inch in diameter. I’ll be on the roof inspecting and cleaning gutters today…
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CTD is Back on the Road
It’s been almost three years since my 1st Gen Dodge Cummins was victimized by car thieves. That was a real bad day, but every cloud has a silver-lining, as they say. Now the (C)ummins (T)urbo (D)eisel is rocking an upgraded interior like no other.
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Here’s a link to the CumminsForum post announcing the newly finished project, with all the details.
Plymouth Volleyball in the Rockies
Francie has a couple of her newest friends from Plymouth State here visiting on summer break. No Colorado tourist activities are complete without a tour of the park, so we got that done last Tuesday. Allie and Annie seemed to enjoy it like everyone always does.
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Mountain Climber
Jax got his mountaineering done with Michelle and the girls (Francie, Alli and Avery) on a little sightseeing tour near Boulder yesterday. He also got to go in a pizza shop and and a smoke shop on Pearl Street. Talk about your lucky dogs…
Your Own Personal Echo Chamber
Time for another FaceBook rant! An article published recently in Rolling Stone magazine does a good job of correlating the numerous issues begetting contemporary social media cyber culture.
Whether Facebook is just a reflection of modern society or a key driver of it, the picture isn’t pretty. The companies awesome data-mining tactics wedded to it’s relentless hyping of the culture of self has helped create a world where billions of people walk with bent heads, literally weighed down by their own bullshit, eyes glued to tele-screen style mobile devices that read us faster than we can read them.
As one of FB’s overtly public victims (including ALL traditional media and news sources), Rolling Stone may have an ax to grind. But as with all memes and stereotypes, regardless of their truth or relevance today, the sentiment (or thing) had to start somewhere.
In this case, Mr. Taibbi’s analysis appears to me to be spot on. That is an accolade journalists rarely get from me these days. I’m presently leaning towards agreement that a Ma-Bell-Style breakup might be the best course of action. I think that’s the least we could do for “a giant blood-engorged tick hanging off your frontal lobe.”
Springtime Wrap-Up
The seasonal-transition thunderstorms are coming fast and heavy now, with summer right around the corner. We’ve had small hail up to about nickle-sized twice in the past two weeks. The first forsythia pic was taken about three weeks ago before the leaves budded out. That is one of the only house pictures where you can actually see the solar panels on the roof. The last three pics were taken over a month later on June 11th, with everything in the front flower bed blooming nicely and the Roses of Texas still very “not” yellow. The rest were just this week. There are two new rose bushes under Phoebe’s window and 2 new upright yews along the north fence in back.
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The pond is running well with some new plumbing and the liner almost where it needs to be. The fountain has two pumps in tandem now to maximize flow when in use. A 3-way valve before the 2nd pump allows it to be turned off, maintaining internal circulation with just the one bottom pump. The bottom and filter pumps now both run 24/7, giving the entire habitat great circulation and maximum aeration with the fountain running.
We are close to making it a year-round feature at this point. As long as it can be cleaned out reasonably well, one small circulation pump running over the winter should keep it well maintained 365 days/yr. The design allows everything to settle into the low center spot, so cleaning should be just a matter of running a sump pump in there for a few minutes to clear out the sediment. It will take another annual cycle of liner treatment and testing the cleaning procedure before attempting a winter with dormant fish living in it.
Re-finishing the deck and fabricating a new railing for it is the only planned big project remaining for the year.
You saw it Here 1st
I lamented the passing of SBIRS, even as the next asset (GEO-4) was undergoing post-launch initial on-orbit testing. This should clear up any confusion or debate about the future of USAF’s missile warning system.