Florida
17:51 Monday, 18 July 2022
Current Wx: Temp: 73.58°F Pressure: 1013hPa Humidity: 95% Wind: 3.44mph
Words: 1037
Well, we're back.
In Florida, I mean.
My daughter arrived on Wednesday and the next few days flew by. We had a family get-together in Clifton Park on Thursday at my sister's, with Mom and half of my siblings. Mom enjoyed it. Caitie got to see her Gramma, some of her aunts and uncles and one of her cousins. I'm so glad she made the trip.
I took Caitie to the train station in Rhinecliff on Saturday morning and came back to finish packing the car. We left shortly before 9:00 a.m.
We hadn't gone far, we were in downtown Kingston, when I realized I hadn't packed my camera bag. Startled Mitzi when, seemingly out of the blue, I shouted "Fuck!"
It wasn't that big of a deal, we just turned around and went back to the house. Everything was right where I'd stashed it, in a dark corner between the dresser and the wall where it wouldn't draw anyone's eye should someone be in the house who shouldn't be.
It worked too. Didn't draw Mitzi's eye who'd been through the house to make sure we hadn't left anything while I was dropping Caitie off. We'd already packed most of the car, and everything else we thought we'd brought was staged by the door to finish loading when I returned.
All week, one of my iPads had been reporting it had been left behind. It's a new feature of some iOS devices, and I don't know how I turned it on, or how to turn it off. There's an option to "trust this location" or something, but I didn't select that, just in case I left my iPad behind! Of course, I packed the iPad.
Makes a good case for AirTags though.
The drive was okay. 87 South is in rough shape, though in a way I don't really understand. I'm accustomed to rough roads being like 81 back in the 70s and 80s, with potholes and failing asphalt randomly distributed on the roadway, mostly in the right lane where the trucks are the most. On 87, and another road I don't recall on the trip north, it seemed like there was a seam or something, almost like it was concrete pavement, regularly spaced across the whole asphalt road.
And it was a bad seam. *thud-thud* *thud-thud* *thud-thud*, for hours. There's a loose piece of interior plastic somewhere in the dash on the passenger's side, and it squeaked into my right ear every time. Mitzi claimed she couldn't hear it, and I only hear it when the car goes over a big pothole. You never hear it on any decent road, so forget about identifying it for service.
And wow, is the northeast corridor crowded?
Yes. Yes it is.
I've never seen so many cars on the road. Sheltered life, I know.
It wasn't a pleasant drive.
The Delaware Memorial Bridge between NJ and Delaware (I think) overcharged our EZ Pass. Should have been $5.00, they hit Mitzi's credit card for $14.21! A bit of googling by Mitzi on the phone showed they've been having problems since 2012. The sensors don't just scan the transponder, there are cameras and other sensors to make sure you aren't scamming the bridge authority with a passenger car transponder in a truck or towing a trailer. It's possible someone followed us too closely, and we were detected as a much larger vehicle. Anyway, she's going to have to request a refund.
Spent the night just a little south of Richmond, and got back on the road at 0600. There are few things I've learned in travel.
One is, never have a flight, original or connecting, anytime after noon in the summer on the east coast. Thunderstorms will delay you. (Also, never have less than an hour layover in Atlanta between flights. You'll spend much of that hour taxiing or waiting for a gate.)
The other is, if you're headed south on 95 on Sunday, plan to get through South Carolina before 1400.
South Carolina is the sphincter of I-95. Traffic builds as the day goes on, and South Carolina is only two lanes either way. As traffic builds, these compression waves of rolling clots of traffic form, with people occupying the passing lane at speeds barely above the posted limit.
This seems to bring out the worst in aggressive drivers, as they weave in and out between lanes, trying to get clear of the clot. Eventually and inevitably, there is an accident. And it won't be the only one. The attendant delay will make aggressive drivers more aggressive.
The compression waves increase in frequency and amplitude, as you'll find yourself just clearing a wave and getting up to speed, only to have to slam on the brakes as you encounter the next one. The accidents compound.
If it rains, it's worse.
We only encountered one accident, and the slowdown wasn't too bad. We saw two on the northbound side, and the backups were miles long. Bad wrecks too.
We were out of South Carolina at 13:43. Cutting it too close for me, but Mitzi wanted to stop for pralines and she had the wheel.
I never, never, want to be in South Carolina headed south on I-95 after 1400 on a Sunday.
I don't know what the deal is with South Carolina and I-95, why it isn't wider. Virginia is only two lanes for much of the way south of Richmond, which I suppose contributes to the problem in South Carolina. But I've very seldom encountered a problem heading south on I-95 in Virginia. North, is another matter. Especially as you approach Richmond. I try not to do it at all.
Georgia, by way of comparison, is paradise.
Encountered one of those climate change torrential downpours in Florida, where the rain falls in giant blobs in staggering quantity and the wipers can't keep up with it. Fortunately, it was brief and everyone acted sanely, with nobody trying to barrel through at 75 miles an hour.
Got home by 1630, after stopping for groceries at Publix. Happy to be home, our own place.
Can't say I'm as happy I'm in Florida.
✍️ Reply by emailThis Morning's Moon
Current Wx: Temp: 85.68°F Pressure: 1014hPa Humidity: 78% Wind: 9.22mphWords: 66
In New York, it's light at 0530 and the birds are singing. In Florida, it's dark and the frogs are chirping because it rained last night.
And the air was clear and the moon was bright, so I figured I'd give a little love to the E-M1 Mk3, since I'd been shooting with the E-M1x and the OM-1 for the last four weeks.
✍️ Reply by emailEastern Pondhawk
Current Wx: Temp: 88.34°F Pressure: 1008hPa Humidity: 67% Wind: 11.5mphWords: 47
Kind of a test post to see what happens with the title. Went out with the E-M1x to try and shoot some dragonflies in flight behind the house, but the background is much too busy to reliably grab focus. Need to do this near a pond.
✍️ Reply by emailSunset 7-17-24
Current Wx: Temp: 74.39°F Pressure: 1017hPa Humidity: 93% Wind: 0mphWords: 525
Decent sunset last night. Supposed to be sunny all day today. We toured the Smith Opera House in Geneva yesterday morning. The guide was a drama professor from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and she was very good. The exterior facade is as the theater was constructed in 1894, the interior is as it was remodeled in the 1920s. It's a treasure, and we really enjoyed the tour.
Been watching a juvenile bald eagle fly by several times this morning. I should be out there with a camera.
Today we're going to spend some time this morning over at Seneca Falls, then we have an afternoon boat tour, just as an excuse to get some time on the water. Tomorrow we're doing an evening tour of a former ammunition facility, which has some interesting history and wildlife.
We've had some good luck with rentals up here in the past. I can't say I've been as pleased on this trip. The previous house was comfortable, although it offered little in the way of a view. This cottage has a decent, not spectacular, view of the lake, which is its most appealing feature.
I pulled the filters out of the mini-split and they hadn't been cleaned in some time, so I washed those and reinstalled them. Place smells a little less funky. It does have a bigger TV than the previous place, and we've been able to watch Netflix before going to bed, which isn't very comfortable either. Both have had better internet service than previous places we've stayed at here that had better amenities and spectacular views.
These places all have a little guest book where people write about their experiences, and they're all laudatory to an almost absurd degree. Likewise, the online reviews omit all the annoyances, like a tiny bathroom, funky smells and a three-quarter mile dirt road to get there. I guess they want to get good reviews as renters.
Places have gotten more expensive each year, and the experience hasn't been as good. We looked at the place we rented a few years ago and it's way out of our price range now.
It's a shame, because I really love it up here. I can't imagine how I'd be feeling if I'd have been in Florida during this summer of insanity. I've been making more of an effort to be less online. I've been reading books when we're in the house. The Operation Paperclip book is fascinating, and it prompted me to read portions of another ebook I have on the Nuremberg interviews.
In any event, although I do love the region, I'll be happy to be in our own space once again next week. Get back into a regular exercise routine and a more sensible diet.
We're still committed to coming up here each summer, but we're starting to explore other options for accommodations. We may have ten years of relatively decent mobility left, if we're careful and lucky. The Finger Lakes affords a wide range of attractions, history, wildlife, local food, water, beautiful scenery. It's no mystery why it's getting more expensive.
Perhaps a different approach is appropriate.
✍️ Reply by emailJust Passing the Time
08:21 Thursday, 18 July 2024
Current Wx: Temp: 77.29°F Pressure: 1018hPa Humidity: 92% Wind: 1.99mph
Words: 399
Still have some time before we have to head out. Figured I'd noodle around here a bit.
Houston is struggling with the aftermath of a Category 1 Hurricane Beryl. Thousands of people still without power, more than a week after the hurricane in the middle of a heatwave. People are threatening line crews with AK-47s.
Awesome.
But it does make me feel better about having the rooftop solar array and battery storage. We wouldn't be able to necessarily run 100% of the normal household loads, but I'm fairly confident we'd be able to keep the house comfortable and refrigerator running.
That said, I do think FPL, as shitty a corporate citizen as it may be, has done a better job with its grid infrastructure, burying much of it underground. I don't know how JEA would fare, as much of their system remains above ground, and older neighborhoods have a lot of old trees.
I think I've written before that, "We're all preppers now." If you haven't made a sincere effort to evaluate your readiness for an extreme weather event or some other unexpected disruption, you should probably do so. I haven't gone so far as to stockpile food, but I'm thinking about it. I'll probably get some pushback on that, but I'll figure something out.
Frankly, the thing that troubles me the most is sanitation, specifically human waste. If the power is on, and fuel is flowing, I'm not too worried. But if the disruption is significant enough with regard to fuel deliveries, the emergency generators that keep the sewage lift stations running are going to be useless. Florida is flat, there is not "downhill" for shit to flow.
Apparently, one of the home solutions is a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and sawdust. How to ultimately dispose of that is another question.
I guess some Republican senators harassed and bullied the director of the Secret Service at the Republican Convention. That's awesome. I thought that was what the House of Representatives was for. But the Republican Party is little more than a mob these days, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Sad and frightening at the same time. To me, anyway. I suppose the MAGA crowd love that.
Well, time to get ready to go I guess. It is a lovely day out there. I'd have taken a walk if this place made that worthwhile.
✍️ Reply by emailLast Night's Sky
Current Wx: Temp: 57.36°F Pressure: 1020hPa Humidity: 93% Wind: 9.06mphWords: 424
Finally got the Hulu log-in squared away last night, so I was watching The Amateur. It was pretty much daylight when it started at 8:00 pm, so I wasn't paying attention to the sky. Paused the movie to make a head call and saw this out the front window. Pretty cool.
Well, I didn't post yesterday because I didn't feel like going to the gym and I didn't want to write about another excuse.
So this morning I went to the gym. My back is still complaining from the fence effort, but not enough to keep me from going. I just got out of bed and put my gym stuff on. Then I had to wake up enough to remember to bring a cloth to wipe the sweat from my face, and a bottle of water since there's no drinking fountain there.
Got there and there were three other guys there. Two my age or older, and one fading gym rat in his 50s. I wanted to warm up on the elliptical, but they only have one and one of the old guys was on it doing his full cardio workout. The gym rat was on the stationary bike, so I used the recumbent. Normally warm up for six minutes, but I went for 10 because I haven't made an effort like this in over a month and I wanted to see how I felt.
Felt fine.
Used the plan our trainer gave me, but shuffled the sequence so I was doing the knee-tucks at the end. I suppose I could have done them at the beginning, but I did my usual three sets of 25 and I was struggling a bit at the end of the third set. That would have been discouraging at the beginning of the workout.
Anyway, I've kind of gotten off of bottom dead center. I'll recover tomorrow and head back in on Sunday. Try every other day for a while and see how that works. I got in there a little after 0600, I'll try to get in there a little earlier and see what it's like.
But first, I've got to jump in the shower and then head into town and see if I can overnight Mitzi's last four pills to her. I figured she'd run out before she got back here on Tuesday, but she thought she had enough. Nope.
Then I'll try and get some breakfast somewhere in Watkins, maybe that little bagel shop I went to before.
The beat goes on...
✍️ Reply by emailNot According to Plan
13:25 Friday, 18 July 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 66.18°F Pressure: 1021hPa Humidity: 66% Wind: 7.43mph
Words: 698
Oh well...
I went down to CVS where there's a UPS drop-off, but before I spoke to the front desk, I went back to the pharmacy to see if they could simply transfer the prescription to the CVS down there in Nocatee and Mitzi could pick it up on her way home from her conference today.
No. Because I already picked it up.
I asked Mitzi if she had enough pill to last her until she got home on Tuesday and she said yes. I recall being somewhat skeptical, but she asked me to pick it up here because if she waited until she got home, they might put it back on the shelf. I don't know for certain that I would have thought about asking to transfer it to her local CVS, but it certainly occurred to me this morning.
They couldn't fill the prescription when the hospital updated it, because reasons. They said Medicare wouldn't allow them to. But I think Tricare is our drug benefit plan, and I'm not sure that they would have objected. But whatever, we had wait until she left New York before they refilled it.
So, up to the counter at the front, and as I suspected, they don't actually ship anything. They're just a pickup point for UPS.
Out to the Mav to spend some time with Maps. Since I was already basically between Watkins Glen and Montour Falls, it was almost a coin toss between going to the FedEx shipping center near the airport in Elmira, or going to one in Ithaca.
I went toward Elmira.
Got there and had to wait twenty minutes until they opened at 1000.
First in line when the nice lady opened the door. Everything clicking along until she asked if I had an account with FedEx.
I do not.
"Then I need to see your driver's license."
Which is when I discovered my wallet was in my waist pack that I use when I'm going to the gym to carry my wallet, my keys, and my phone. 🤬
Now it's 23 miles back to the house to collect my wallet. I get home, get the wallet and look at Maps again and it's 5 minutes faster to go to Ithaca, and a lot fewer turns. Basically, get on 79 and go until you get to Ithaca.
So off I go to Ithaca.
Saturday is not a "normal" FedEx delivery day. So for delivery by 1100, it's $170! By 1300 or so, it's about $130. By 1700 it's $85.
1700 it is.
I hadn't had breakfast yet, and it was now 1130. Not that I was especially hungry, just frustrated. I checked maps for someplace for lunch nearby and there was this local sub place DiBella's. Been in business for decades, good reviews, so I walked there.
Meh. I had the 7" Uncle Louie on multigrain bread. I asked for spicy brown mustard, but I guess that means different things in different places. There it seemed to mean mustard with horseradish in it. Now, I like spicy things, but I don't care for horseradish. And I didn't care for the way they sliced the roll. I expect it was just carelessness, because I can't see them doing all their subs this way. Big slab of bread on the bottom, little patch of crust on top. And very salty ham.
Disappointing. I kept half for dinner, but I'm not looking forward to it.
On the drive back home I was in train with a number of other vehicles stuck behind a loaded semi that struggled to make it up the hills.
But it is a gloriously beautiful day! 70°F and sunny. Wow. I just enjoyed the scenery. Got home, let Mitzi know her meds were on the way and took a nap. Well, I started this post first. Then I took a nap. And then I watched a Shih Tzu get groomed and missed Schatzi. And now I'm finishing this. (And it's 70°F - it was 66° when I started this.)
Some days you're the windshield and other days you're the bug.
Not going to let it bug me.
The beat goes on.
✍️ Reply by emailI Love New York
16:54 Friday, 18 July 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 71.4°F Pressure: 1020hPa Humidity: 57% Wind: 5.23mph
Words: 118
This is a really well done documentary from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about invasive species.
It's about an hour out of your life, but I'd say it's worth it. It's interesting, informative and important. The subject doesn't just affect New York, as I know only too well from Florida.
There are a few invasive plants on our property and I'll be addressing those. It's an interesting point made near the end of the video, that 86% of the land east of the Mississippi is privately owned. If each of those owners took some measure of responsibility for the ecosystems on their property, we'd be 86% of the way toward a much more manageable problem.
✍️ Reply by emailAround the 'Verse
18:56 Saturday, 18 July 2026
Current Wx: Temp: 66.54°F Pressure: 1013hPa Humidity: 75% Wind: 7.36mph
Words: 514
I think "blogoverse" is a better neologism than "blogosphere," though I suppose blogosphere has been around long enough that it's no longer a neologism.
Anyway, Loren is feeling uninspired. This too shall pass.
Other Loren is sharing photos from his trip back home.
Both Lorens inspire me for their longevity. Not only in blogging but in breathing. How many octogenarian feeds do you follow?
Speaking of longevity, my appointment got moved up to the 23rd of this month. That's a welcome improvement. I'm anxious to know how my kidney is doing and to start this GLP-1 thing. I also scheduled my first appointment for getting my cataracts removed. As I thought about that this morning, I worried about my habit of rubbing my eyes.
I worry about a lot of things.
Rob is on the road to the West Coast with his daughter. Drive safely, Rob. Best wishes for a safe trip.
AKMA is breathing and blogging and reading and praying and running. Sounds like a full life!
Jack is trying to stick with Linux.
Bicycle for Your Mind is waxing rhapsodic over MojoPad. Not my jam, but interesting to see a new player in the note-taking space.
Tao of Mac is on a bit of a tear of late.
Smoke is back. Had a fairly clear day yesterday. Found the outdoor air quality sensor. It was in the closet, not the garage. But I wasn't able to get it to pair with the base station, so I ordered another one. I don't think the smoke is as bad as it was on Thursday, but I can't see the far side of the lake again.
I think the word "fools" doesn't get enough use. At least, I find I default to "idiots," and that's not accurate. "Stupid" and "idiots" refer to levels of intelligence. Intelligent people are often foolish. Some foolish things are harmless, others are fatal. Being foolish about climate change is fatal, and it's hard to convey the severity of this form of intellectual irresponsibility with the simple word "fool."
"Fucking fools," comes close, but still lacks the acutance that "stupid" or "idiot" seem to capture.
Whatever, these fools are responsible for the deaths of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people by now. And the number will grow exponentially over time.
We're going to go Rootsfest today. It's supposed to rain, maybe even thunderstorms. One of Mitzi's second-cousins is performing there. My optometrist is in Trumansburg, and when I went to pick up my new glasses yesterday (modest improvement) I asked if they were looking forward to it. Evidently not. One woman said she stays out of T-burg that weekend.
I recall driving through it one day a few years ago when we were heading back to Florida. A lot of cars and tents and people. I guess I'll bring a weather-sealed camera. Tickets weren't cheap, so I hope the weather cooperates a little.
Of course, rain might clear the air of some of this smoke too.
And the beat, and the blogs, go on...
✍️ Reply by emailOkay, What Time Is It?
19:32 Saturday, 18 July 2026
Current Wx: Temp: 67.62°F Pressure: 1012hPa Humidity: 73% Wind: 7.36mph
Words: 9
Apparently it's 7:32PM.
But it's really 7:32AM.
✍️ Reply by email