Facebook Can Read Your Mind

Ever notice how if you look for anything on-line ads for similar products will appear on your Facebook page?

It's kind of spooky, but the simple explanation is that there are algorithms that track activity on Amazon, Google, etc. and suggest ads that might be of interest - nothing magic about it.

All that is fine, but... 

I mentioned to Honey last week that my old wallet is wearing out, and ever since I have had four or five separate ads for wallets on my Facebook page every time I log on.

The telepathy isn't perfect.  

All the ads are for wallets that range from $59.95 to over a hundred dollars.  I don't think I've ever paid more than $12.95 for a wallet in my life, and don't plan to start now.

If The Suit Doesn't Fit

It was supposed to be a big deal - the first ever all-female space walk - a major step forward for women everywhere, and a highlight of Women's History Month.  

American astronauts Ann McClain and Christina Koch were  scheduled to go out and perform repairs on the space station last week, but the space walk was cancelled at the last minute because the station only had one space suit on board that was small enough for a woman.  If you have ever tried to work wearing oversized gloves, then you can understand that this was a wise decision.

The question then becomes - if this mission was planned for months, why was there not a suit that was suitable for each of them? 

There are currently 12 active female astronauts, and the latest class (2013) was 50% female, but smaller suits were discontinued in the 1990s.  The space suits in use are old - of 18 original suits made in the 70s, 11 are still in use today.  As astronaut Bonnie Dunbar said back in 2003, “I do not want to turn to a young girl who has all the talent in the world, becomes an extraordinary engineer, but isn't the right size, to tell her, ‘I’m sorry but our nation can't build a suit for you.’”

Squirrel Update

It has been Three Weeks since I posted about installing a piece of stove pipe to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeder.
For all of you who said it wouldn't work, I am happy to report that you were wrong!  
It may not be the prettiest solution, but after 21 days without squirrels, I may have saved enough in bird seed to pay for it.

Sneak Preview

After posting that terrible cell phone shot of our new lily bed, I said I would break out the camera once the lilies started blooming.
Well, the first two buds opened this morning, so here's a sneak preview of what to expect in the next week or two...

The plants are Asian (Asiatic) Lilies.  There are a total of ten plants in five different colors.

Vince Gill

Our Latest

Okay, my cell phone takes lousy pictures.  At first, I thought it was me, but trust me, it's the phone.
Anyway, here's a pic of our latest flower bed.  The plants in pots are lilies that should begin blooming in a week or so.  Once they do, I'll break out my camera and try to get a good picture.

Spring

Yesterday was the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, and about as perfect as a day could get.
All of our trees are leafed out and their new leaves are an intense green that is almost painful in its intensity.  The day dawned clear with a sky that's bright blue rivaled the intensity of the leaves, and , although the temperature was 49 at sunrise it soon warmed to an afternoon in the mid-70s.
Later, while the western horizon still held a red-orange glow from a beautiful sunset, a huge, orange, full moon rose in the east. 
I know such perfection can't last forever, but today has started out just as nice.

Red Adair

It looks like the ITC tank farm fire is finally out, but it, and the huge plume of dense black smoke traveling over the city, was the big news in Houston since Sunday.

At the height of the fire, Honey remarked "Where's Red Adair now that we need him?"

It wasn't really his kind of fire - he specialized in oil well blowouts - but if he was still around, I know it would have been brought under control much sooner.

Great Pic

Cathy Couch Alba (no relation that I know of) posted this picture on Facebook, and I thought it was too good not to share.  She took it near Poteet, Texas.

All Electric?

St Paddy's Day

Pi Day

What A Load Of Crap

Here at the Boggy Thicket we have what is called a conventional septic system.  A month or so ago, due to all the rain we have had this year, the system became totally saturated and we had to have the tank pumped.  It was only the second time we've had it pumped out, and the first time was because somebody ran over the tank breaking the lid and it fell into the tank.

Now, just a few weeks later, the tank is full again.  Toilets are still flushing fine, but there is water leaking out around the tank lid.

We are being told that under current Texas Water Quality guidelines we can't have the old system repaired, but will have to install a whole new system.  

I'm thinking that if we could just get a few weeks without rain to allow the ground to dry out we would be okay, but hoping for dry weather may be too much to ask for.

Why Cuba?

I do not remember it, but I must have had a dream last night because I awoke this morning convinced that we (the USA) had invaded Cuba.

I know it doesn't make sense.  

If there is any country in the hemisphere we might invade, the most likely target today would be Venezuela, and even that stretches the imagination.

Nobody Goes There

For the last couple of years, we have been searching for a good Tex-Mex restaurant in the area.  There were several that were OK, one that was good until they changed chefs, but nothing to write home about.  

So we were very excited when a new Gringo's opened in the Valley Ranch Shopping Center.

I can report that the food is excellent, and their tres leches cake is the best I've ever tasted.  It is a great place to eat if you don't starve waiting for a table.

They don't take reservations, but you can call ahead to be placed on a waiting list.  On a Saturday a few weeks ago, I did just that.  We arrived at the restaurant a half hour later and still had to wait almost an hour to get seated.

Like I said, the food was superb, but the whole experience reminded me of the old Yogi Berra quote - "Nobody goes there.  It's too crowded."

Squirrel Confounder

Squirrels have been emptying our bird feeder in less than three hours.
At the suggestion of a Facebook friend, I installed a piece of 5 inch diameter galvanized sheet metal stove pipe on the post that supports our bird feeder.
So far, so good.
No squirrels have made it to the feeder since I installed it yesterday, but to be fair, I should mention that I haven't seen any birds in the feeder either.

Obituary

After posting a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, I came across an obituary that said that she died yesterday of a possible heart attack.
My first thought was, "Damn, that's spooky.  I love Carpenter, but hadn't thought of her in a couple years.  Then I post one of her songs on the day she dies?"
Turns out it was a false alarm. 
Carpenter is alive and well and has a concert planned for Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheater in July.
The obituary was on a link called https://www.wikiobits.com/ where you are invited to write obits for famous people, or you can write one for yourself.

No Particular Reason

Needed a little pick-me-up this morning, and settled on this...

Sort of a country music salute to Zydeco.  Hard to stay grouchy with that going on.

I ain't that bad

My yard is looking pretty bad, with down limbs and twigs everywhere, but in my defense,  it has been too wet to get out and pick them up.  On my last attempt at mowing I got the mower stuck and left some ruts that still need to be filled in.
Even so, I never let my lawn get this bad...

Nasty

What's the worst tasting thing you ever put in your mouth - something that ought to have been good, but wasn't?
My list includes -

• Milk from cows that had been eating bitterweed.
• Sour milk.
• Sour Chocolate milk - even worse!

But my all-time champ may surprise you - its orange juice!

I had stopped at an Exxon station to fill up on the way to work, and picked up a small bottle of orange juice. 

I left the station and pulled into the rush-hour traffic on loop 610. I opened the bottle and took a big slug - the O J had spoiled !  I somehow got off the freeway without causing an accident, but you can only spit so many times, and I didn't have anything to wash the taste away.

I survived the experience, but from then on, if I bought anything to drink on the road, it was bottled water.

Breaker Conclusion

Our electrical problem that started Tuesday morning was finally fixed late yesterday afternoon.  

The electrician we hired to find the problem worked much of Thursday, then brought a helper and they worked all day Friday and most of Saturday before he declared everything fixed.  

Most of that time was spent crawling around the attic looking for a bad connection.  They finally found it, and I can only say that it's one of God's minor miracles that our house hasn't burned down sometime in the last 20 years!

They found a splice with wires twisted together and wrapped with green electrical tape.  3M makes a green electrical tape for color coded installations, but I have never owned any.  The splice had been arcing and the tape was charred, almost burned through.

The electrician took a picture with his phone, and I would have liked to post it here, but he forgot to send it to me.  Just believe me when I say it was scary.

I've been trying to figure out who would have done that and why.  I can only guess that when the contractors installed the microwave they did a temporary connection, then forgot to come back and do it right.

T & A

It's a long, complicated story, but our electrical problem I mentioned yesterday hasn't been fixed yet - there has been some progress, and it should be fixed later today.

While we're waiting, here's Honey's favorite song from  Chorus Line...