Genetic Lottery

"All men are created equal" is a very nice thought, but sometimes someone just wins the genetic lottery.  As proof, here is a picture of 63 year old Christie Brinkley from this year's upcoming Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.  She is flanked in the photo by her daughters, Alexa Joel,31, and Sailor Cook, 18.

Oh, and she doesn't walk on water - she's standing on a submerged crate.

The Loom

On Life’s tapestry my loom
Has no room for gloom and doom
If something doesn’t bring joy I say
Leave it alone or throw it away
Choose love and happiness - womb to tomb

Chamber of Commerce Weather

In case there is anyone out there who doesn't know, today is the Superbowl and this year it's being played in Houston.

In the week leading up to the big event, the weather in southeast Texas has been fabulous - partly cloudy, a light breeze and temperatures in the 70s.  Local weathermen have been beside themselves extolling the marvelous weather provided for our visitors.

That all came to a screeching halt yesterday.  Saturday was gray and dreary with a high in the 50s.  Anyone who flew in for the game Friday night or Saturday was surely not impressed.

Today's high is back in the 70s, but the day dawned with fog and drizzle and a forecast 30% probability of showers. 

Oh well, we only wanted visitors to enjoy Houston and have a good time while they were here.  If today was as beautiful as last week, they might have decided to stay.

Happy Wrist

I finally got my wristwatch back yesterday.  The repair facility had warned that it might take as much as four weeks to get it back to me, but in my case - due to time off for Christmas, and difficulty getting spare parts shipped during the holidays - it was more like six.

Even considering how long it's been without it, my wrist feels right now that the watch is back.

They were thorough, after the watch was repaired they ran it through a series of tests - including assuring that it was waterproof to a couple of atmospheres.  The printout of test results were included with the watch.

What was most amazing was that the watch was running and showed the correct time when I removed it from the box they mailed it in.  I'd guess that was to be expected, but what impressed me was that, although the repair facility is in the Atlanta area, my watch was set to Central Time!

Balanced Reporting

A week or so ago, I shared this picture from my niece's Facebook page:

It was quickly pointed out that her post was Left of Center.
Today, and old friend and former co-worker posted:

Aside from the obvious difference in political position, Dave's picture hints at his love of the ocean.  He is a sailor and kite-surfer who I suspect would rather be on water than land any day of the week.

There may be some significance in the fact that her post is rectangular and his is cylindrical, but I'm not sure what it might be.

An "IDEAL" Solution

We have been having some minor problems with our cell phones lately.  Nothing too serious, but the battery in Honey's phone required recharging in less than 24 hours.  

We had been notified by AT&T that we were eligible for free upgrades, so yesterday we stopped in at their phone store in Kingwood to see what was available.  They were busy, and it took so long to actually get served that we almost left.  I'm glad we stayed.

They fixed us up with Alcatel IDEAL 4060 phones - Android type smart phones with a huge array of whistles and bells, including lots of stuff we may never use.  You may remember that our previous phones were just that - phones.  Honey did text occasionally, but I never did.

These phones aren't exactly in the same category as I-Phone 7s, but they were almost free.  In addition, the AT&T rep changed our plan to include a lot more data for no additional charge, and he was able to get our DirecTV bill reduced by about $25 a month!

Weather Prediction

It was 60° at 7 a.m. this morning, with highs in the 70s predicted for the rest of the week.  

February is off to a great start.

The folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania will be dragging out their groundhog tomorrow to see if we'll have six more weeks of winter, but Southeast Texas old-timers know that ragged rodent doesn't know a thing about weather down here.  

Our real predictor is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that begins on March 7th.  

We know that the week leading up to the Rodeo - the week of the trail rides - will be miserable.  It just ain't a trail ride if the weather isn't cold and wet.