Life – Page 3 – Tao and Zen

Tuesday, August 13th 2024… I don’t ever remember feeling this bad…

I went bike riding with the guys yesterday. To be fair, it was only my second time out this year. But by the time I hit 15 miles, I felt like crap, and I was going to bonk. It took everything I had to get back to the beginning of the trail where we parked. “Old Plank Trail” lived up to its billing. The initial 5 miles were smooth, and the rest was like riding on a metal washboard or wood planks. This trail is in Frankfort IL and runs for about 25mi but we only ride 20mi – Strating at the grain silo – riding West until the end, and then back to the beginning.

A couple of things – first, the cicada mites weren’t that bad for me, (I only got 5 bites) not so for the others. Second, my ass hurt like hell due to a slight seat movement and no amount of padding was gonna change that. Third, the planking was only adding to the hurt. Fourth, my aerobic fitness was sorely lacking (this was the worst part). Usually, I prepare a couple of months before I attempt this. It didn’t help that the second half of the journey was all uphill. I guess I did pretty good compared to the others, I only have 5 bites, some of the other guys have chest welts.

The “Motley Crew”…

You can see the “Grain Silo” behind Rey. Which is where the trail actually is.

-Rat

Monday, July 29th 2024 … just another manic Monday… I wish it was Sunday…

Work, ugh. Some days, I’m really glad I’m not in management. Today is one of those days.

I had purchased some old Carver audio equipment. Carver always impressed me when I was younger, it was some no bullshit audio gear. So now, I have 2 PT-1250’s, 3 – TFM-25’s and a 4000t. I have one of the 1250 driving my Energy Pro-22 speakers – no wonder I blew 2 tweeters! I like listening to my music loud, but I couldn’t understand why I was blowing the tweeters. Looking at the 1250 stats, now I know why – 465 watts/channel RMS, which means almost 800 watts/channel peak. Yeah, I think that those speakers are rated 25o/channel. I feel like they are kind of getting a rough signal from the amp perspective. I called the audio guys to get a price to do a classic refresh or something similar. So, hopefully my amps will last another 30 years if I can have them restored. In the meantime, I think I’ll stick them on one of the TFM-25s.

-Rat

Thursday, June 13th 2024…”the pipes are callin’, from glen-to-glen…

Happy June everyone! Last week was kinda sad, since we laid my mother-in-law to rest. She was the last of my parent-in-laws and was a very spirited Irish woman. She was a hoot! We had the family over on Saturday including one of my wife’s cousins from England. He was wonderful to speak with and get to know a bit, albeit it was a short stay. Love the fam time too. Kevin helped me put up the awnings on Sunday. Thank God for that. It helps keep the temperature down on the west side of the house. Usually, it gets done earlier in the year, but due to the early vacation this year and my mother-in-law on the ropes, it just never happened.

-Rat

Wednesday, May 15th 2024… dodged the COVID bullet but was hit in the shoulder by the Ortho…

My shoulder has been bothering me since last year. I have been sleeping with a pillow wedged in my armpit (thanks YouTube). Figuring a rotator cuff issue, I begrudgingly went to see an orthopedic guy. He said that I currently have 2 choices – 1st, is get a cortisone shot and in 6 weeks, either get an MRI or be satisfied with the progress if it doesn’t hurt. Or 2nd, go to P.T. and take NSAIDs for 6 weeks and make a judgement call if it still hurts, do an MRI and go from there. Either way, it’s MRI if pain after approximately 6 weeks. I chose P.T. So, that is the direction I am heading.

The kids are in town this weekend and its farty’s (I lovingly call Leo that…) baptism. Hopefully Anne Marie will be good from a COVID perspective.

-Rat

Monday, April 4th 2024… Well, at least it was interesting…

Today, we busted out the telescope for the Eclipse. I couldn’t see shit with the solar filter and any of the lens on. Only when I took the lens off, I could at least see the sun and the moon (what the eclipse looked like). I don’t know if it was a cheap (functionally shitty) filter because it certainly wasn’t cheap from a $$ perspective. The inexpensive cardboard sunglasses worked better that the telescope. Who’d a thunk? It was another experience under my belt with the scope. Each time, I learn something else. I was able to figure out how to use the app to control the scope via Wi-Fi and that in and of itself was a good experience.

A sliver of the sun during the 2024 eclipse!

-Rat

Monday, March 18th 2024… Happy Belated St. Patrick’s day!…

So Saturday at noon, Vikash and I went to do the “Old Plank Trail” in Frankfort. It was windy as hell and we only got 2.5mi in and Vikash got a slow leak and we had to turn around and head back to the car. Which was fortuitous, because by the time we made it back to town, his tire was completely flat. We drove to Rick’s and he got his tube replaced and we went our separate ways. Anne Marie and I later went to the hospital to visit her mom. We stopped by “Doughs Guys” bakery to pick up some cookies on the way. Kevin was at the hospital and she was in and out of consciousness.

On Sunday, I did some needed cleaning and then we went to “Ashford House” and had a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner with potatoes and carrots. Yummy, with a cup of rice pudding for dessert. We stopped in at Winstons and grabbed some traditional brown bread for this morning’s breakfast.

-Rat