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Post by Phalon on Mar 17, 2014 6:58:35 GMT -6
Yesterday, we drove LX back to college after springbreak, and it seemed to be the day for viewing wildlife.
Not too far out of town, a bald eagle circled over the highway, its white head and tail clearly visible as it glided overhead. It was close enough to actually see the "fingers" on its spread wings. I've only seen a bald eagle one other time in my life - last fall at the nursery one glided across the sky.
Farther up north, on the second to last leg of the trip, LX, always sensitive about this kind of thing, said, "If I see one more dead deer, I'm going to burst into tears." No wonder - there seemed to be a deer laying on the side of the road every 100 yards or so; the number was noticeably excessive. I started looking into the woods and fields, and sure enough, there were deer EVERYWHERE. One here, three or four there, 20 of them standing in a field. For about a five mile stretch of road through woods and farmland, we saw more deer than I've ever seen. And it was in the middle of the afternoon! You don't normally see deer in large numbers here until dusk.
We started home close to 6pm...still sunny, but approaching dusk. Unbelievable! Large herds, numbering close to, if not more than, one hundred deer, were gathered in fields, feeding. The fields weren't bare, but the snow had melted enough so that the stubble was visible. Cars were lined up alongside the road, the people inside just watching them graze. And just not in one or two places, but for the entire first hour of the ride people were pulled off the road, watching deer. We saw more deer than normal once we got closer to home - between here and the nursery, I counted close to thirty, but nothing like up north. I am probably underestimating when I say we probably saw 500-600 deer yesterday.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 19, 2014 6:12:22 GMT -6
Sunny and clear yesterday - nearly 50 degrees! This morning is colder - in the high 30 thirties, and raining.
Could it be that spring has finally decided to come?!!
Shhh....I don't want to scare it away.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 20, 2014 0:39:50 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Mar 21, 2014 5:52:12 GMT -6
Thanks for the link, Joxie. Blah!!!
Well, that just burst my spring-like bubble all to hell!
Better get into the spring thread while there's still the chance.
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Post by stepper on Mar 21, 2014 18:06:42 GMT -6
And this is why you should always have a camera with you! Memory can be a wonderful thing - but pictures help as the synapses fail.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 23, 2014 8:14:10 GMT -6
I thought about using my phone to take pictures (not of the eagle, because that surely would have caused an accident), but truthfully, I never really learned how to use it...I mean, I can take pictures with it, but they are cr@ppy as hell because long ago, I messed with the settings and now everything is blue, and I can't figure out exactly what I did and how to change it.
Some people should not try to use technology.
Then again, even if I did have a camera, how to choose which herd - each one seemed bigger than the last. I could see myself stopping so often along the way, the 2 1/2 hour trip home would have taken 4 hours.
Speaking of herds, wanna hear the worst pun ever? Actually, I'm not even sure it qualifies as a pun, but it is most definitely bad.
So...I do this thing with the girls; I purposefully try to annoy them in any way I can, which typically involves things like using slang of the day in the wrong context, singing the wrong lyrics to their songs, or dancing to those songs in Mom-like fashion. It is especially annoying to BP when I sing and seat-dance while driving with her friends in the back seat; even more so when I add in hand-motions. With LX at college, it's mostly sending her strange off-the-wall texts. It's "our thing" as LX puts it - a kind of schtick we do.
Last night, BP was sleeping over a friend's house, after going to the movies with their family. She texted me after the movie to tell me how good it was.
"Cool beans." I replied, just to start the annoyance process.
"O" (translation: don't ever say "cool beans" again.)
"X"
"Why?"
"Leave Y out of it. O and X are a perfectly matched pair all by themselves...Hugs & Kisses (OXOXOXO)...tick-tack-toe....
...and if you gather a bunch of 'o's and 'x's together, you've got a whole herd of oxen. Bwha-ha-ha-ha!"
What? None of you thought that was funny either?
Pretty annoying though.
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Post by stepper on Mar 23, 2014 18:18:07 GMT -6
There's a really good chance the camera came with instructions on getting back to original settings. (Push button A and count to three.) Or you could use Google to see if instructions are on-line some place.
BOLL! I'm laughing that you are entertained by annoying your daughters. I imagine there's a certain amount of joy in that.
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Post by Mini Mia on Mar 24, 2014 5:28:09 GMT -6
There's usually a 'reset' option in there somewheres.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 24, 2014 7:49:47 GMT -6
I don't know what's wrong with the camera, and honestly since I don't feel the need to use it, I really don't care. I did check though...there's no reset option, and everything is set to "auto" anyway. Weird thing is, even without taking a picture, the viewfinder shows everything with a blue tint.
Oh, yes. I always say that my greatest joys in life are my children and the pleasure I get from annoying them.
And just look at the lessons I'm teaching - patience, tolerance, and restraint in resisting the urge to strangle somebody.
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Post by stepper on Mar 25, 2014 17:16:21 GMT -6
Okay - what kind of camera and what model?
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Post by katina2nd on Mar 26, 2014 0:28:44 GMT -6
What? None of you thought that was funny either? I did, but maybe I'm just as strange as you Gams. Don't you have a camera shop in town, that would be a good place to go to find out what's wrong with your camera doncha reckon. Seeing as how you don't really care if it works or not I guess it's immaterial though, so just ignore my sage advice.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 26, 2014 17:28:25 GMT -6
Heck, I don't know. Remember, it's just the camera on my phone, which is some kind of android Motorola model from about 3 years ago that in today's world of new phone models coming out every 5 seconds, is worth about $25, if that. I do have a really nice camera of my brother's, that he used for some of his amateur photography...I actually know how to use it, believe it or not. Whether I have it with me when a photo-worthy occasion arises is a completely different story.
HA! Yes, I knew that about you years ago, from the moment you understood me when I said "Off to the Horaces!" One of the many, many reasons I like you so much, Katina!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 11, 2014 18:01:22 GMT -6
I was going to let Phalon bump this thread, but then Lesa shared this video over at Runboards and I thought I'd share it here:
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Post by Phalon on Dec 12, 2014 7:25:26 GMT -6
Thanks for bringing up the thread, Joxie, and definitely not in a quiet, demure way.
The creator of the display, "Slayer Bob", has gained Internet fame with his Christmas light shows. The Metallica tribute you posted wasn't his first, or last - I think he's been doing it for about 5 years; there's been a couple of Slayer tributes (hence his YouTube name, Slayer Bob), Pantera, and MachineHead. It takes him months to do; not only to put up the display, but to program the choreography. Whether you enjoy the music or not, it's amazing the way it all works. I can't imagine the traffic jams the shows cause in his neighborhood.
Obviously, the guy can't blare metal or any other type of music during the Christmas season; there's got to be a city ordinance against that type of thing. I wonder if he buys or is donated time on a local radio station, on which during certain times the "show" is aired so drive-by viewers can watch the display and tune in to listen at the same time? I've read of whole neighborhoods doing that type of thing. Otherwise the choreography part of it is wasted.
Alas, there will be no Christmas light display from Slayer Bob this year. Apparently, his displays have become so famous, he's spent most of the year helping others across the U.S. do the same, and didn't have time to work on his own. At least he'll save on his electricity bill!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 12, 2014 17:22:30 GMT -6
You're very welcome, Phalon. I hope he gets paid well for his help. He deserves compensation.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 14, 2014 9:50:41 GMT -6
It'd be nice, wouldn't it, if we got compensated for what all that unpaid work we do; you'd be well paid for keeping this board up and running.....and I'd have an exorbitant salary (most of it hazard pay) for being Mom to my kids, with big fat quarterly bonuses for being Wife to Hubs.
Just kidding, of course....mostly; it'd be nice, though.
Went to a Christmas party yesterday; lots of fun, and way, way too much food.
We put up the tree; had to send the girls out on a last minute mission to buy lights. Strange - they were working when we put them away last year, but none of them lit this year except the strands I use on the porch...
...which I'm putting up today! Because the roofers are done, the roofers are done!
They finished Friday actually, but had to come back yesterday to put the gutters back on.
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Post by stepper on Dec 14, 2014 19:53:59 GMT -6
So instead of checking for fuses or loose bulbs you just bought new ones? Did you get the LED ones? I like the color in those better than the older bulbs.
One of the neighbors got his mobility back and decided to celebrate by mowing - the fink. Now my yard looks like a hippie next to a military formation. I'm gonna have to mow too. That same neighbor told me if I only saw the four point buck I saw the small one. There's also a doe and an six point buck, but the six pointer is clearly the adult of the group. What I don't understand is how they managed to choose my yard - except that I'm directy across from the drainage culvert - nor do I understand why they chose my yard.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 14, 2014 22:48:58 GMT -6
I would LOVE to get paid for being an Admin.
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Post by stepper on Dec 15, 2014 18:04:21 GMT -6
It only seems fair that there would be some sort of compensation.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 15, 2014 19:11:51 GMT -6
Well, I knew there was no money in it when I accepted the position. Maybe I'll get something from it through other means.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 16, 2014 7:35:09 GMT -6
Yep, that's pretty much how it worked - revival efforts lasted a minute or so before they were declared dead. The girls came home with "soft warm white" LEDs, we strung them on the tree, plugged it in, and LX said, "Daaaang! I'm glad we didn't get the "bright white" ones!" It looked like a damn spaceship landed in our living room - it was shockingly bright. Not so bad once the tree was decorated though - or maybe our eyes have adjusted to the brightness.
I've still got to rake the ravine!
That's very, very cool! Uhm...as long as they don't eat all your roses; the deer around here love rose bushes. Maybe that's what is attracting them to your yard?
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Post by stepper on Dec 16, 2014 18:58:55 GMT -6
Just white? I'm one of those people who think it's hard to have too many lights on a tree, but I've never done one strictly in white. I prefer colors - and non twinkling - but of course that's "my" preference. I've seen plain white trees advertised on the shopping channel, etc., but they just don't interest me.
There's been no munching so far as I can tell. Two of the roses sprouted below the knot and no longer bloom - they put out long shoots without thorns - and the shoots are still attached. The neighbor said he thinks they're after the acorns from the live oak, but they're not going to eat very well if he's right because the drought means the tree isn't producing all that many acorns this year.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 18, 2014 8:03:27 GMT -6
We are talking lights, yes? Not those artificial white trees (seems strange to me that you'd only have seen white-lighted trees advertised and not in person). But yes - only white lights, though I suppose technically they should be called clear, on green trees; the little tree I have decorated with Mom's ornaments has white(clear) lights also. So are the lights on the front porch. White lights I always think of as being more traditional, or maybe old-fashioned - like way back when candles were used on Christmas trees. We've always had white lights; they are both the girls' and my preference, and oddly (because we have very different tastes in decorating except when it comes to Christmas), also Hubs' choice. Always non-blinking.
Growing up, the outside of the house was decorated with those big bulbs slightly smaller than an egg that I don't think you can find anymore. We also had a big metal star outline that Dad used to put on the chimney that had blue lights on it. The tree inside always had white lights, though. I remember one year, they were blinking. It didn't last long though - the flashing gave Dad a headache. I'm not sure if it was because it irritated his eyes, or if it irritated him that the different strands were out of sync and didn't blink simultaneously.
Whether it's all white or colored lights, it seems like many people have a strong preference one way or the other - maybe it's based on what a person grew up with; a nostalgia type thing, since Christmas is very nostalgic. LX's friend from high school, also home from college for break, burst through our front door the other evening, b!tching about the lights the new owners of her old house put up, "Have you seen what they did?! They used colored lights!! It's hideously ugly." We all went out for coffee later, and had to drive by the house, a huge old Victorian that her mother always went all out decorating for Christmas with live garland and white lights all around the wrap-around porch. I have to admit, it was kind of ugly - not that the new owners used colored lights (though I agree with her that a Victorian should have white lights; it just seems to fit with the style of the house better), but that they mixed blue icicle lights, with runner lights (I think that's what they're called), and regular twinkling colored lights. Just way too much going on there for it to be pretty.
I have been infected with BP's flu germs; it was inevitable I suppose, but I was keeping my fingers crossed it wouldn't happen. One of the reasons for that deserved hazard pay I mention earlier. Blah. I'm going back to bed.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 18, 2014 19:33:11 GMT -6
Phalon: Hope you, and anyone else in the family who is/gets ill, feel better soon.
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Post by stepper on Dec 19, 2014 1:09:17 GMT -6
Yes. I was about to say that I had not seen one in person, but then I realized that's not true. The thirty foot pre-lit imitation base Christmas tree in front of the Taj Mahal is all white. It's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. Not necessarily because it's devoid of color, but the idiots who put the d@mn thing together did it wrong - obviously wrong - laughably wrong - and it is destined to stay that way for the season. If I had a decent camera I'd take a picture for posterity. The tree looks something like this.. .........* ........./\ ......./....\ ......../...\ ....../.......\ ...../'''''''''\ ..../'''''''''''\ Thank heaven for professional low bidders, you know? A HA!! I found a picture that actually shows it well enough that you can see what I'm talking about. The things that look like other colors are actually large reflective decorations made by children in the base grade school. The bad construction is more evident in person. I think you're right about that Phalon - like music tastes, what we like and don't like is really a personal choice and at the very least was strongly influenced by our experiences when we were young. Sorry to hear that - hopefully it doesn't interfere with your Christmas celebrations too much.
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Post by stepper on Dec 19, 2014 11:37:26 GMT -6
I saw a weather forecast - chance of snow for Christmas around the Great Lakes - pretty good. Chance of snow in southern Texas - 0%. Chance that we'll be in the 80's - there's a near 100% chance of that. It's never ever ever snowed for Christmas here. The last non-flurry snow event was in January of 1985. Sixteen inches of snow - shut the city down as completely as 70-80 inches of snow shut down cities in NY. I found out about it when news papers started arriving at the post office; I happened to see the headlines when someone picked up their mail. I was in Turkey and had left my four wheel drive truck with mom in NJ. She kept telling my how great it was 'cause it never got stuck and kept going right up the ice covered hills that other people couldn't negotiate. By the time we came back she was suggesting that maybe I should purchase a new vehicle and leave that 'older' one with her. I kept the truck - had it for twenty years - and never had a reason to shift into four wheel drive.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 21, 2014 9:24:40 GMT -6
Flu is done (I think). Thank goodness it was a short one...and that BP's bout and my bout didn't overlap...and that no one else seems to have caught it. Keeping fingers crossed anyway.
The tree doesn't look so crooked in the photo, Stepper. A little skinny in the middle perhaps, but not so bad.
A friend of LX's from somewhere on the other side of the state, sent her a video she took of her hometown lights, and it was amazing. LX didn't know the name of the town, or I would have drilled, because I'm sure there have to be pictures of it on the Internet somewhere. Every building, top to bottom, is completely covered in lights. Completely. It's dazzling.
My neighbor - the eccentric old lady - has completely covered the stripper pole in the middle of her dining room with lights.
Somehow, it's not quite as dazzling to behold.
We got a dusting of snow Thursday night; even though it was sunny on Friday, the ground is frozen enough, and the air is cold enough, that it hasn't melted, so it sort of looks more Christmasy than if the ground was bare.
When I was in San Antonio for AIT in '82, it snowed right before our cycle ended, which would have been right before Christmas. It was maybe only about an inch - if that, but one of my friends (also from a northern state) and I were so excited to do our Christmas shopping with snow on the ground! After being away from home for so long (first time for both of us), it made it seem as if we weren't so far away from home.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 21, 2014 9:33:49 GMT -6
It was easy enough to find by drilling "Michigan town completely covered in lights" and OMG!!! this is about 2-3 miles from where I grew up!
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Post by stepper on Dec 21, 2014 18:14:00 GMT -6
Glad to hear the flu is gone.
In person the tree gets skinny, fat, & skinnier – and the change is obvious enough that you can see it while driving up the main road.
I was here then – but on Randolph. In the timeframe you are talking about, I was working in the Taj – the building in the background. I was a Personnel Systems Manager which meant I was running the base level personnel system.
And cool light show!
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Post by Phalon on Dec 23, 2014 10:16:15 GMT -6
I think we may have talked about this before....I was going out with a guy who lived on Randolph, so it's possible our paths may have crossed. I don't remember seeing that building, though.
Doesn't look like it'll be a white Christmas here. It was cold and rainy all day yesterday, so what very little snow we had is gone. It's quite warm today too - 45 degrees this morning! A muddy Christmas just doesn't have quite the same appeal as a white one.
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