Weekly Ephemera #93

• I had my post-surgery check with my doctor.  Everything is going well.  There is evidence of another kidney stone and I will be getting a CT scan in October to see if it is staying put.
• The Wife and I went to Minneapolis at the end of the week.  We visited with the MoH and the BM  and attended a charity gala for the Godson's school.
  
  We arrived and in Minneapolis Thursday evening and, like we always do, we talked until 2:00am Friday morning.  We slept in a bit, went out for a very good brunch, before we napped before the gala.  We got all dressed up and attended the school gala and had a fun time.  The exceeded their fund raising goals and, I believe, broke a new record.  After the gala we stayed up talking until 3:15am.
  
  We stopped by the Godson's to see his family, new house, and new puppy.  The puppy is a rascal.
• I walked 11 miles (18 km) last week.  Not sure if I will be walking or not this week.
• This week is a busy one.  We got the air conditioner checked out and serviced last week.  This week we are getting our bathroom remodeled starting Monday (it will take seven business days to finish).  On Tuesday we are having the sprinkler guys showing up to run some new pipe to bypass a suspected leak/blockage in our backyard sprinkler system.

Weekly Ephemera #92

• Travel season is approaching and we started money in motion in preparation for two adventures later this year.
  
  The first is a return to Spain for the second part of the Wife's Camino.  I purchased tickets to Madrid, train tickets from Madrid to Burgos (where we ended the first part of her Camino), and reserved a room near the Cathedral.  We will be flying the middle of June and returning sometime the first week of July.
  
  The second is a trip to the United Kingdom between mid September and early October.  We met with our travel agent and she made most of the flight, train, and hotel reservations.  The ones she couldn't do the Wife did.  During this trip we will be meeting with our friends we met on the Amazon - they visited us last year for the crane migration - and we will see the sights in England, Wales, and the southern part of Scotland.  (The Northern parts will have to be done on another trip due to time and money constraints.)  If the the gods of luck and fortune smile on us we will be attending a Wrexham game but it's a long shot now that they moved up a league and are more popular than ever.
• On Thursday and Saturday the sprinkler people came to fix some issues in our aging inground sprinkler system.  A third visit will be needed to bypass a suspected blockage in one of the sprinkler zones.  We turned on the sprinklers this weekend due the hot weather - twenty-some degrees Fahrenheit above normal for three days - we are having at the moment.  We even turned on the air conditioner though the temperatures are going back down to normal which means switching back to heat.  Both of these things are a few weeks earlier than 'normal'.
• I finished "True Detective" this week.  Liked all four seasons though seasons one and four are the best I think.  Now to look for something else to watch.

Color or Black & White - Seen on one of my walks.

• I walked twice this week.  My hardest hurdle to jump is my laziness.  The two hikes I did totaled 13 miles (21 km).
• Next week we are going to Minneapolis for the Godson's schools charity gala.  The ol' suit will have to be dusted off.

Weekly Ephemera #91

• The Wife got me on April Fools day.  She said she was having second thoughts about redoing the bathroom and she wanted me to cancel the job with the contractor.  I totally fell for it as you could tell by the hybrid confused and panicked face I made.
• We went to our local home improvement store and bought the tile, toilet mechanisms, lights, and mirrors for our bathroom remodel - the one we are not canceling.
• Mom had several doctors appointments ... most of them not really necessary but required by a doctor or insurance company policy.
• We went to see Peter Frampton on Wednesday as I posted about here.
• On Thursday night we went to see the Omaha Supernovas, our local women's pro volleyball team.  We got tickets from one of the Wife's friends and we had a good time seeing them win against the Columbus, OH Fury three sets to one.  A few crappy pictures can be seen in my 2024-04-04 Supernovas Volleyball Google Photos album.
  
  

  

  The Supernovas are in white and blue.

• I did not walk this week due to all the appointments this week.  I had an opportunity to walk on Wednesday but instead I went down to the she-shed and took a nap.  I expected it to last an hour but I woke up nearly three hours later.  I guess I was tired.

Music: Peter Frampton at the Orpheum Theater

On Wednesday the Wife and I went to our second concert of the year.  Like our first (The Eagles) this one was also someone we'd seen before, Peter Frampton.   We saw him perform back in 2013 at the Stir Cove.

There was no warmup and the show started with Peter Frampton coming on stage with a cane.  He sat done on a swivel chair and started an awesome show.  As a matter of fact everyone in the band were sitting down during the performance.  A couple times he mentioned he would be playing as long as it would let him.  It turns out he has Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) a form of non-fatal ALS.  Over time IBM suffered lose control of their legs, Arma, and hands.  It turns out Frampton is a special case because he still has control of his fingers.

Peter Frampton and his band.

The show was nearly three hours long and he covered a lot of his music.  He stopped a few times to talk to the audience and to give out signed copies of records (including an IBM sufferer in a wheelchair in the audience).  He was in good spirits and in good form.  His guitar skills have not diminished as far as I could tell.

His cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun", which he performed both this and the other time we saw him, was amazing.

It was a great time, we had great seats, and I'm glad we went.

Photos can be found in my "2024-04-03 Peter Frampton, Orpheum Theater, Omaha, NE" Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #90

 Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates!

• 

  A cute minion seen during
  one of my walks.

  We celebrated Easter first at the Niece's house near Sioux City and second at my Mom's house.  It was a nice time at both dinners and we now have full bellies.
• We had a lawn service over to fix a leaking backflow valve.  Unfortunately this small repair is going to turn into a large replacement of valves and manifolds next month.  When it rains it pours being a homeowner.
• I started watching "True Detective" this week.  The first season was interesting in a strange way.  The second season (each season is an independent storyline) is not as weird but still interesting.  There are four seasons.
• I hiked three times this week and pushed my distance to the longest since the Wife's Camino last May,  I walked 29.4 miles (47.3 km) over the three walks.  My legs felt the extra distance but it felt good getting out and pushing it.

Weekly Ephemera #89

• On Tuesday the Wife and I met with our travel agent to go over our fall trip to England and Wales.  Originally we were going to include Scotland but after going over the transportation options our agent pointed out Scotland could be three to four weeks on its own.  Since we wanted to limit it to only three to four weeks for the whole trip we decided to postpone Scotland, possibly combining it with Ireland.
  
  For those who are curious, the only thing we are interested in doing in Wales is going to see a Wrexham Match.  If you are asking why take some time to watch "Welcome to Wrexham".
• I walked three times this week which was what I was hoping to do.  I managed a respectable 20.3 miles (32.7 km).  My individual hikes are still too short and increasing the distance is my new goal.
• I watched "Harley Quinn" this week.  It's a raunchy, irreverent, and very funny animated series centered on a Batman Villain. Not recommended for young children.  I'm enjoying it.  I have one more season to go.
• The Wife, after returning from the Big East basketball tournament on Sunday has been submerged fully in the Madness of March.  It's been quiet upstairs ... and intermittently noisy in the She-Shed.

Astronomical Spring!

 I hope everyone is celebrating the Spring Equinox.  Nothing like the first day of Spring to lift one's mood.  To make it better it's a little earlier than normal since it's a Leap Year.

🌼Happy First Day of Spring Everyone!🌷

Weekly Ephemera #88

I hope you all had an irrational 𝝅 day and an inebriated, but safe, Saint Patrick's Day!

• Another ordinary week for me and an exciting one for the Wife.  The only thing I did was take my Mom to, what both my Mom and I agree was, a totally worthless and a bit weird appointment with a neurologist.  It was an appointment that could easily have been an email or phone call.
• While Mom and I were wasting time the Wife was going to the airport to fly to New York.  She is there until later tonight.  She is there to attend the Big East basketball tournament.  Unfortunately the Wife's team, the Creighton Bluejays, got knocked out in their first game.  But there was more basketball to watch and a bit of New York sightseeing along the way.
• I finished the Doom Patrol.  It was a well written series finale. You were both happy and sad for the characters and the ending scene and music was near perfect.  I will now move on to something else once I figure out what that thing is.
• I only walked once this week.  No reason I didn't do more.  I have just have a massive deficit of motivation.  I only walked 6.6 miles (10.65 km).  So far I'm walking less than any of the eighteen years I've been keeping track.  Not good.

Book: Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Children Of Ruin"

The second book of 2024 - I can't believe I've only read two books in two and a half months - was the second book of the Children of Time series.  The book continues a few years after the events of "Children of Time".

In Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Children of Ruin" the Humans and their allies the spider-like Portiids set out to investigate a signal they were receiving from a distant star system.  The book flashes between two time periods, one when the Human terraformers first arrive into the system and the other when the Humans and the Portiids arrive.  They find two planets, one terraformed by the Humans and another hiding a terrible secret released centuries ago.

I liked the first book and I liked the second book too.  The life forms introduced in this series are interesting with varied societies and adaptations.

It took me a month and a half to read this book, not because it was long (it was) or uninteresting (it was interesting).  I read when I go to bed.  It's my unwinding time.  Unfortunately I have had the urge to stay up later lately and this means when I start reading I am already a bit tired.  The result is I only read a chapter or two (usually around one or two percent of the book) per day.  At this rate I will not get anywhere close to the twenty books I set as a goal for myself this year.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  I am looking forward to reading the third book in the series someday. 

Weekly Ephemera #87

• On Monday we met with our tile guy who took measurements and gave us an estimate.  It will be up to us to buy the tile.  This guy did the stone on our fireplace while I was hiking the Appalachian trail.  He did a great job then (even though I had reservations about doing this job but the Wife won that one) and I expect he will go another great job in our bathroom.
• I hiked twice this week.  I was hoping for three times but the will petered out by the end of the week.  In total I hiked 16 miles (25.9 km).  I think the brief snow we had overnight Friday just made me want to hunker down even though it was all gone by the end of the day.
• While I hunkered I decided to start watching stuff on HBO/MAX.  The Wife had been binging shows for a week or so already and I figured I needed to watch my stuff before the month ended.  I started with "The Last of Us".  I liked this post-apocalyptic series but I didn't like it as much as I expected.  I think this is because I watcher thirteen seasons of The Walking Dead (and several seasons of one of its spinoffs).  As I watched "The Last of Us" I couldn't help to notice the parallels between the two shows.  This made "The Last of Us" feel less original and more like a copy.
  
  Next I started on seasons three and four of "Doom Patrol".  I look forward to these.
  
  Now a minor rant.  I was going to watch "Titans", a live action version of the Teen Titans comics.  It is an HBO/MAX exclusive.  When I looked it up it said it had four seasons.  When I dug deeper I realized that only season one was available on HBO/MAX.  WTF?!?!  Either you show all four seasons of the show that you own and created or you do not show any of it.  I do not understand what HBO/MAX is thinking.  This continued with "Westworld".  I wanted to watch season four but the entire show was gone.  Another show, only available to HBO/MAX, taken away from us.  (Both of these series can be purchased on DVD or Digital but they really should be included in the relatively expense HBO/MAX subscription.)
• If you live in the United States (or other daylight saving time followers) I hope you've turned you clocks ahead an hour.  Can't wait when this crappy practice ends ... hopefully in my lifetime.
• This coming week is an exciting one for the Wife.  She is flying to New York with some of her ex-students' family to attend the Big East Men's basketball tournament.  She is soooo excited.  I am so happy for her.  She will have a fun time.  Having Saint Patrick's day happen when she's there is the cherry on the sundae.

Rome 2023 - Magnet Addition

This post is a bit late since our Rome trip was last September but I am a bit behind in scanning our travel magnets.  Hopefully I will catch up over the next few weeks.

Our trip was a week long but we still managed to return with nineteen magnets.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Seen on many public infrastructure.

A nice stained glass like magnet.

Everyone needs a Pope magnet.

We have run out of space to display our magnets.  We are currently brainstorming ideas for expanding our display capacity.  If you have any ideas, please leave a comment.

You can check out the magnets I've posted either by clicking on the Travel Magnets tab at the top of the blog or by clicking on my 2006-2023 Travel Magnets Google Photos album link.

Weekly Ephemera #86

• I had a dentist appointment on Monday.  The pain I was experiencing turned out to be an infection caused by a bone fragment in my gum.  The antibiotics prescribed worked and I am pain free.
• We met with a bathroom remodeler three times this week.  The first was to find out what we wanted.  The second was a visit by their plumber to verify that there was nothing behind the wall that we wanted to take out so we could expand the shower.  The third was to pick out materials, colors, patterns, and other things to finalize the redesign.  We were also left with a firm price for the remodel.  It looks like next year our travels will have to be short and local as the price was the cost of a typical trip for us.  The bathroom will be really nice once the work is complete sometime in late April/early May.
• I took my car in for routine service on Thursday.  I came out of there paying five times what I usually pay.  And the extra cost was just routine maintenance.
• We received our IRS tax refund this week.  Not sure this means it's all done or if I will still be receiving an email in the future.
• The weather was really wacky this week.  On Monday it was 80℉ (27℃) - an all time high for a February in Nebraska.  By Wednesday morning it was 9℉ (-13℃).  This weekend it's back around 70℉ (21℃).  The variability is kind of normal for Nebraska this time of year but not by these magnitudes.
• With my appointments, and a couple of my Mom's, I ended up not walking this week.  Next week looks much more promising in the walking department.

Weekly Ephemera #85

• I called my investment company about my 1099-Rs (I mentioned them in my last Weekly Ephemera post).  Turns out they are not mislabeled or at least they label all Roth IRA withdrawals this way even if it causes problems for tax filers.  So I called a tax filing company (I use their software to file my taxes) and asked how to properly file.  I expected to be pointed to an IRS form I would have to file.  No.  This is how I need to fix it:

- First, I should edit the 1099-R to "correct" them.  
- Second, file my claim.
- Third, wait for the IRS to email about the edited 1099-R.
- Fourth, explain to the IRS why I did what I did and hope they agree.

I took a deep breath and did what they suggested.  This could go well or lead me into a deep dark hole.  Wish me luck. 

•  On Thursday the Wife and I went to our local home store and set up an appointment for a bathroom remodeler to come by the house.  We are planning to gut our master bathroom and we hope to get ideas and an estimate for what it will cost.  Expensive, I'm sure.
• Thursday afternoon I went to see the Oscar nominated animated and live action shorts.  This has become an annual ritual for me. Over the years I've noticed that the animation is becoming more serious and tackle hard subjects.  This year was no different.  The live action entries have always had a hard edge but this year there were a couple uplifting and/or humorous entries.  I enjoyed my little two movie marathon.
• I'd hoped I would walk farther this week and I managed to meet that goal.  I walked three times for a total of 21.9 miles (35.25 km).  Unfortunately this coming week is full of appointments and walking time may be limited.

Weekly Ephemera #84

• This week I went to the Oral Surgeon.  He suspects the pain in my gum is a bone fragment.  The fragment has irritated my gum and got infected.  I am on antibiotics and will go back to the surgeon to reevaluate.
• On Tuesday I went to get an ultrasound to check on my kidney.  Things are looking good though there is at least one stone that they missed.  It is non-obstructive and the Doctor wants to check it out in six to nine months.
• Met with our insurance guy on Thursday.  As usual we made a change in one place and saved $80 but made changes in another place that will cost us $80.  We do have better coverage so it's all ok.
• I started doing our taxes on Saturday.  For some reason our investment company marked some IRA withdrawals as taxable income.  I will have to contact them this coming week, clear up the errors, and get a new 1099-R issued.  I would have been done this weekend if they hadn't done that.  What a pain.
• I walked twice this week.  I started pushing slightly longer distances and ended up doing a total of 15.5 miles (24.9 km).  These hikes are still quite short compared to what I used to do but I will continue to push for longer and more frequent hikes.

A rather mundane week.

Skydiving ... ✔

While we were in Tampa we did something we'd always wanted to do, Skydive.  I don't have a written bucket list or even one in my head but the idea of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane has been in the back of my head for a while.  Turns out the Wife has had the same desire.

We arrived at the airfield mid-morning and checked in.  We watched an orientation video about the safety, and lack of safety, of skydiving.  After the video we signed waivers, measured our weight, and were assigned instructors.

Our skydives would be tandem meaning we would be attached by harnesses to our instructor who would be in charge of deploying the chute and steering our descent.  While the instructor was in jumpsuits and helmets, the Wife and I were just in our normal clothes.  This felt ... odd ... but I figured they knew what they were doing.  As our instructors put on our harness they explained the basics like what position our body should be in when we are in freefall.  The instructors would also be the photographers.

We got on the airplane.  There were two benches parallel to the length of the plane.  We sat straddling the benches.  There were six or seven solo skydivers who would jump ahead of us.

The pilot took off and reached 13,500 ft (4,115 m).  At this point the solo skydivers opened the door on the side of the airplane (similar to a garage door) and jumped out.  Our instructors attached our harnesses, checked all the straps, then told me to just let him 'carry' me to the door. 

The Wife jumped first.  I followed soon after.  I was expecting the instructor to ask if I was ready but he just told me to put my head back and he jumped out of the airplane.  I guess they don't want you to think about it too much.

All strapped together ready to jump.

Falling out of the plane was an odd feeling.  I'd expected to feel my stomach coming up my throat like the feeling on a rollercoaster dropping down a steep hill but there was no discomfort at all.  All I felt was the rushing air.  The view was magnificent.

Free falling ...Yeah I'm Free falling ...

After falling for a minute or so the instructor deployed the chute.  The deployment was less violent than I'd expected.  The instructor explained how he could steer the parachute.  We floated down around the airport for about six minutes.  Before we landed the instructor explained what I needed to do when we landed.  I held my legs up until the instructor said stand.  He applied the brakes and the chute lifted us to our feet.  Easy Peesy.

Chute deployed ... just hanging around.

While there were several things I didn't expect, the biggest thing was how I felt.  I felt nothing.  Before the jump I was not nervous, scared, anticipatory, or excited.  During the fall I felt very detached.  I was there but it didn't feel out of the ordinary.  I had to remind myself to smile at the camera.  After landing it was "OK, we're done."   This made me feel weird.  I think I should have felt something but I didn't.  Last December I started taking anti-anxiety medication to control some heightened anxiety I've been experiencing since last summer.  I wonder if the medication is working too well.

Despite my lack of emotion I'm glad I did it and I did enjoy the experience.  Not sure I need to do it again but it is something everyone should do at least once in their lives.  ✔

Pictures can be found in my 2024 Tampa (Skydiving) Google Photos album.

Music: The Eagles With Steely Dan At The CHI Health Center

On Saturday night the Wife and I went to an Eagles concert.  It had been a year and a half since our last concert and it felt good to join the full venue to enjoy some great music.  We've been to an Eagles concert before and I have seen the warm up band, Steely Dan, before.  Repeat performances will be a mini trend this year.

As I said, the warm up was Steely Dan who I'd seen in August 2013.  Unlike most warm ups that are often limited to a few songs, Steely Dan did a fairly long set of their best music.  It's been a while since I've experienced such a long, and good, opening act.  They were as good as I remembered.

Near the end of the Eagles performance.

After a short switch over the Eagles took the stage.  The band has changed a lot since we last saw them in October 2007.  Glenn Frey passed away and has been replaced by Deacon Frey (Glenn Frey's son) and Vince Gill.  The original members have all aged seventeen years and, frankly, it is starting to affect their music.  While I liked the performances, it was not up to what I heard in 2007.  The fact that this is their farewell tour is probably a good thing.  I mean, the Wife and I both thought Joe Walsh was singing without his teeth (he had his teeth) and it was hard to understand when he sang.  We are all getting older.

The last time we saw the Eagles they were promoting a new album.  This time they were saying thank you and goodbye to their fans.  Both Steely Dan and the Eagles had lost founding members over the past few years and now they were leaving the touring life.  You could sense the feelings coming off the band members and there was an amount of sadness behind all the great music filling the CHI Health center. 

It was an incredible evening.  The long Steely Dan opener followed by two full hours of Eagles hits was an incredible way to spend a Saturday evening.

A few photos can be found in my 2024-02-10 Eagles w/ Steely Dan, CHI Health Center, Omaha, NE Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #83

• The highlight of last week was a concert at the CHI Health Center.  It was an awesome performance of two great bands.  I will be posting about this tomorrow.

The John Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge from the CHI Health Center parking lot.
The bridge crosses the Missouri River.

• I walked twice this week. I ended up doing 11.4 miles (18.3 km) which is less than I want but I am having a hard time getting started this year.
• We are watching the Super Bowl tonight.  The Wife will watch the game and I will watch the commercials ... And the Taylor Swift sightings.  This assumes that I pay attention.
• In health news, next week I will be going to the oral surgeon to see if they can remove this unwanted tooth.  Not sure they will do it during this visit or if the procedure will be scheduled for later.  We shall see.
  
  I will also have an ultrasound follow up of my kidney stone situation.  Hopefully they will say that there is no longer a kidney stone situation.

Happy Lunar New Year!!!

 

Happy Year of the Dragon!

Book: Mustafa Suleyman's "The Coming Wave"

I set a goal of twenty books in 2024.  It's February and I am only on my second book.  I am not optimistic about meeting my goal.

My first book of 2024 - started in 2023 actually - is Mustafa Suleyman's "The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma".  The book describes the coming technological wave centering around artificial intelligence (AI) and synthetic biology.  He compares this wave with past waves and tries to explain how this wave will be different.

The author is worried about the coming wave.  He suggests that the technology must be contained while he goes on to explain that containment of technology has never been successfully contained.

I am not sure I agree with the doom and gloom about AI.  When talking about AI the author, and most people today, are talking about large language models and machine learning.  I do not consider these things AI.  I would consider it AI if someone can tell me what the LLM/Machine Learning system is thinking when it is not answering a query.  The current answer, based on what has been publicly announced, is nothing.  They do not think independently.  When they do ... then I would be concerned.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  It was an interesting view of bleeding edge technology even if a bit over-hyped.

Tampa 2024: In Search Of Sunshine

Last year we took a two week driving vacation to Florida (Key West specifically).  While there we visited the Wifes Aunt and Cousin.  This year the Wife's cousin offered her condo and car while she and her husband went on an awesome sounding New Zealand adventure.  We took her up on the offer last week and had a relaxing and interesting time in Tampa, Florida.

Day One

We left early Sunday morning.  We parked our car in long term parking and caught our plane to Chicago.  We had a tight connection in Chicago and we arrived at our Tampa flight when they were boarding.

At the Tampa airport we had some difficulty finding where the Lyft would pick us up and he was waiting on us when we figured it out.  On the way to the cousin's condo we asked the driver to stop at a grocery store.  There are proper protocols for adding stops to Lyft rides but we, with the driver's consent, broke all the rules.  Not sure if it would have cost us more but I did give the driver a big tip.

We arrived at the condo and got the keys from the guard at the gate.  The cousin has a very nice place with views of the bay.  The rest of the day was relaxing, eating the food we bought at the grocery store, and watching sports on the TV.

Day Two

On our first full day in Tampa we walked along the bayshore to a breakfast place.  When we arrived I realized I left my wallet in the condo.  Fortunately I had my phone and could pay with that.  This would be the first of two times that I forgot my wallet.  This is not normal for me.

One of the Ybor City chickens.

In the afternoon we drove to Ybor City, a Cuban enclave in Tampa.  The city is kinda famous for its free range chickens wandering around the city.  We walked around, bought some souvenirs, and bought some cigars for the Brother-in-Law.  We visited Jose Marti park which for sixty years has been owned by the Cuban people and is considered Cuban territory.

That night we walked to a Spanish Tapas restaurant for dinner.

The guard at the cousin's condo complex almost saluted us as we were in the cousin's husband's car.  He was a colonel and she always salutes him when he comes and goes.  The joke continued the whole week as she would salute us as we went through the gates.

Day Three

Today was the highlight of the trip.  The aunt joined us as a spectator as we went skydiving.  It was an interesting experience that I will write more about in a later post.

Me coming back to earth.

After coming back to earth we returned to Ybor City and had lunch at the Columbia restaurant, the oldest restaurant in Florida  The food was very good.

Day Four

Dalí Jesus.

After a slow morning we visited the Salvidor Dalí museum.  We ate a pre-Dalí Alive 360° show snack of very good Tarta de Santiago.  The show was inside a dome with images of Dalí works projected on the inside.

We then met up with a docent who walked us through the permanent collection highlighting several works and explaining the interpretations of the surreal images.

After the guided tour we ate a delicious Spanish inspired meal (our third Spanish inspired meal in three days).  While we ate we decided not to go to see the impressionist exhibit.  We felt museumed out.

We returned to the Condo for a relaxing evening.

Day Five

Our beach day.

Today was our beach day.  I'm not much of a beach guy.  I was when I was a kid but as I grew up the idea of sitting on a beach became less and less appealing.  Having said this, the beach we went to, Archibald Beach, was nice.  We ate lunch at the snack bar, listened to some live music, and laid in the sun (I sat in the shade of an umbrella).  It was nice at the start but the breeze picked up and it got a bit chilly so we went back to the condo.  We had plans to go to the Tampa Riverwalk but we decided to do it the next day and we just chilled.

Day Six

On our last full day in Tampa we bought some wine and flowers (I forgot my wallet again ... saved by my phone again) and visited the Wife's aunt, took a tour of where she lives, and had lunch.  It was a nice lazy last day.

When we left we planned to go to the Tampa Riverwalk but, once again, we decided we would save it for some other visit.

Day Seven

Today we cleaned up our mess at the condo, did laundry, and threw out the garbage before catching a Lyft to the airport and headed home.

Overall we had a very laid back week in Tampa and we both enjoyed it immensely.  It was nice to take a break from the Omaha gloom.

I didn't take too many photos but the ones I have, including some of those taken by my skydiver instructor, can be found in my 2024 Tampa (Skydiving) Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #82

Another early Weekly Ephemera post and for a good reason.

• Tomorrow the Wife and I are flying to Tampa (It's been ages since I've flown domestic - all our flights have been international).  The Wife's cousin, who we visited last year, will be on vacation and they offered us the use of their condominium and car.  We will be spending the week exploring Tampa and the warmer weather.  The highlight of the week will be Tuesday when we scratch an item off my unwritten bucket list and go skydiving.  My stomach does flippity flops when I think of it.  It will be fun.
• I walked two times this week for a total of 12.7 miles (20.4 km).  The last few days in Omaha have been foggy and blucky and it has been hard to get motivated to get out and move.
• Speaking of walking, my GPS took a dump after I downloaded the last track so I had to buy a new one.  The old one was around ten to twelve years old and served me well on the Camino and the Appalachian Trail.  The new one, a Garmin eTrex 32X, is smaller and has a different interface that will need some getting used to but it seems to do what I need it to do so I'm happy.  The carabiner/belt clip from my old GPS unit fits the new one so a piece of old faithful persists. 

Weekly Ephemera #81

I haven't been writing much besides these Weekly Ephemera posts.  I just haven't been in the mood to write.  I sincerely hope that will change soon.

• I didn't walk at all this week.  I wasn't a fan of life threatening wind chills.  I did shovel some snow though.
• The Wife had a minor accident that resulted in a dent in her rear passenger side door.  It was totally the other driver's fault.  He was even cited by the police officer who responded to the accident.  We took her car to an insurance company recommended body shop.  It turns out it will take a week and a half to get repaired.  The mechanic said that they were getting nearly sixty jobs per day during this snowy cold week.
• I've been having some mouth pain for the last week or so.  Turns out I am experiencing teething pain.  My new dentist said there is either a tooth fragment or a "fourth molar" erupting where my wisdom tooth had been.  He referred me to an oral surgeon for an extraction and I have an appointment for the twelfth of February.  Until then, acetaminophen and ibuprofen are my friends.
• On the boob tube I've continued my "One Piece" watch along with the new Marvel series "Echo".  I liked "Echo".  Marvel has been a bit weak lately so it was nice to see them put out a good show.  The main character, Maya Lopez, checks a lot of boxes: female, deaf, native-american, and physically disabled.

This morning I woke up to this sight out our back window.  It was a nice way to wake up.

Winter sunrise and clouds.
(with weather station photo bombing)

Weekly Ephemera #80

• I took my Mom to a neurologist this week.  It just took five months to get the appointment.  We finally received a diagnosis other than 'she is old' and it is a condition that can be treated.  I'm usually not optimistic but I think I'll make an exception this time.
• Speaking of health issues I restarted the medication which I suspected made me sick last Thanksgiving.  I restarted the day after Christmas.  The symptoms I experience then have not reappeared.  Unfortunately another side effect, dry mouth, has appeared over the last week.
• While my mouth dried out, something started getting really sore.  It appears to be in my gum.  Fortunately I have a dentist appointment this coming week with my new dentist.
• This week was dominated by the weather.  We had two rounds of snow which required me going out three times to clean off the sidewalks and driveways.  The wind didn't help and on Friday we had blizzard conditions.  Neither did the sub-zero temperatures (this morning's temperature was -16℉, -27℃ with wind chills near 40℉/40℃).
• With multiple doctor appointments and snow removals I had little time to go walking this week.  I did manage one walk at the beginning of the week of 5 miles (8 km)

Weekly Ephemera #79

• I managed to continue walking this week.  I walked three times totaling 17.6 miles (28.4 km).  Next week will be a bit touch and go as snow is coming and I have a few doctor's appointments to attend to.  Hopefully I'll still manage a couple walks at the end of the week when the temps will be in the single digits.
• I started watching an anime show called "One Piece".    I like the story but I'm not fond of the anime style.  I'm on episode 110ish out of ... 1,088.  I have a ways to go.
• While I watch One Piece I am playing Raid: Shadow Legends.  It's an interesting game though it's a grinder, especially if you play F2P (Free to Play) like I'm trying to do.

Best Photo Of 2024

All the pictures I took that I really liked were taken on our travels.  We drove to florida and took interesting pictures along the way.  We walked the Camino which is always photogenic.  The history of Rome filled my camera card.  Southeast Asia was a month full of exotic scenery and cityscapes.

In total, I marked forty-five photos as my favorites for the year, over twice the number I did in 2022.  While I took my camera(s) I often found it more convenient to pull out my phone to take the picture.  My favorite was a picture taken with my phone,  We were on the Camino, leaving the town of Torres del Rio.  As I hiked up the hill I turned and snapped a picture of the morning golden hour.  The town on the left of the picture is the town of Sansol, Spain.

"Sansol - Shades of Gold"
by Bruce H.
(Taken the 22nd of May, 2023)

I hope you had a happy and safe New Year's Eve.  I hope you all see photo worthy views in 2024.