Is It Tuesday Yet?

I can't tell if I'm hearing thunder or airliners or just what, but it DID just rain for a few minutes.

And here is a pic to memorialize it:

This morning I went geocaching over in some canyon (I don't think they even have names)  in Del Cerro and saw this penguin. 

That is about all I've done today, except for taking out the trash.  At least I know what day it is!

That is all for today!  Thanks for reading!

Friday

I woke up this morning with the lyrics to Oino, by LA Priest, running through my head.  I can't remember ANY of them now, but I do like that song!  Really, I LOVE that song!  But not the video.

Another favorite is Goodbye Barcelona, by Pokey LaFarge.  Makes me wanna have a beer.

Wolf Alice is still a favorite though, with their rendition of Giant Peach.  I saw it live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic  and was entranced.  Here is another live performance on KEXP Seattle.

I also listen to KRNN in Juneau, Alaska, for their eclectic mix of music, but maybe not quite as eclectic as KCRW, but maybe so in a different direction?

I finally got up and eventually got enough energy together to haul the bike up to the Descanso area and, taking my life in my hands, biked done the Wildwood Glen/Olde Highway 80) road of broken concrete, looking for three geocaches I didn't find before.  Well, I found one of them, but of course it wasn't the one at the END of the road.  I ended up biking about three miles.  I also hiked way down about fifteen hundert feet into a valley for a couple more caches, both which I nearly didn't find, but then did.  It was very warm and I was wondering what the signs of heatstroke are.  Confusion?  I'm always confused.  Clumsiness? Well...  At least I was wearing a hat, had water, food, and stopped in the shade as needed.

I saw this on the side of the road (dirt), across said road from where I parked/stashed the bike.  I sure didn't notice it on the way down, but I'm sure it didn't fall from the sky.  Could I fashion that into a geocache container?  Uh....maybe not.

After I got back to the vehicle I drove back across the bridge to park and hit a couple of more caches on/near a segment of olde Highway 80.  Here's a pic:

The last cache of the day had a view of some casino.  This isn't that view.  It's IS a view of the hills behind the casino valley.  And a view of the vehicle, see it down there?  And the cache I walked past four times is in there, too, can you see IT?  Don't forget you can click on the image to ENLARGE it.

So I drove about fifty miles walked about one miles, and biked about three miles, and found seven caches.

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday

We planned an expedition to the zoo this morning, but first we went to Hash House A Go Go in Hillcrest for breakfast. It wasn't crowded, which I understand is unusual, and we were seated immediately. I got coffee and we ordered. I ordered a "scramble", 'cause you KNOW I have issues with making decisions about how to cook eggs. Or any decisions, really... The first warning was when the people at the next table got their food. The plates and portions were HUGE! So when our food came I was staggered. I really couldn't eat it all, at all, and we each got a container for take home. They really should have smaller portions for old people with surgically smaller stomachs! It was pretty delicious, though, and the sprig of rosemary in the biscuit was an interesting touch. It was pretty noisy, the place filled up and the people were talking way loud. I really couldn't hear much. It got a bit disturbing at the end. As far as cost, I think you get your money's worth, but it's not low price for cheapskates like me. It turned out that I DID eat too much, I got a VERY tiresome pain in the lower back while we were geocaching at the zoo, and it was only relieved after much crepitation.

So, like I said, we went to zoo, arriving there before it actually opened, but they let you through to the holding pens where you are entertained by a trainer and an animal, in this case a stork that flew in over our heads.  Very nice!  And at nine the trainer announces, "Pull back the ropes, release the humans!"  I loved it!

We found all the caches we were looking for, all five of them, and looked at some animals, too.  There seem to be more, or maybe different, animals active in the morning than in the afternoon. My lower back pain started up on the way back up the hill from the polar bear exhibit.  It was very tiresome, I may have mentioned!  I finally said I don't think I feel up to anymore, plus I was tired.

Here is a picture from the orangutan exhibit.

Which one is which?  What a brave front I am putting up!

After the zoo we went to Ace Hardware in Hillcrest where I purchase a Hotshot. The Hotshot in the video is an older model like the one I have at work.  The newer ones have the "On" button behind the lid so you won't accidentally turn it on when try to dispense your hot water.  And more importantly, to me, the lid doesn't fall down all the time on the new ones.  I like to keep the lid open to dry it out.

After leaving the hardware store we got confused trying to find the ramp to the 15.  We ended up in a parking lot at the The Hub-Hillcrest Market so we could consult the GPS.  We found there were at least five SDPD cars there, some with their lights flashing, and we observed two more enter the parking lot against the red light with their lights flashing.  It seemed to have something to do with an armored car, but everyone was kinda just standing around.  Nothing on the intertubes about it, though.

After finding our way to the freeway we made record time getting home where we both promptly fell asleep with the door wide open.

Thanks for reading!

Monday In Spring Valley

Monday Afternoon in Spring Valley, as I didn't bestir myself for a goodly part of the day!

A dry fountain was seen, Mt. Miguel is in the background, way background!

I did not find the nearby cache.

In a fit of manic exuberance (Hey, apparently I spelled correctly!) I decided to hike a trail that runs along the north of Sweetwater Lake to get at a cache that was isolated in a field of ones I had already found.  Saw these purple plants.  There was a bee in this one, but he flew away.

After finding the cache I strolled, STROLLED, mind you, to the BMX area and took a bunch of pictures.  These, believe it or don't, are the only two worth saving!  This one is looking towards Sweetwater Lake.

This one is looking towards Mt. Miguel, with a BMX ramp to the right.  And on the right middle is a piece of the good road that is fence off and you better not get caught on it, the rangers are VERY crabby, I have heard.  I didn't get caught when I biked on it for a short distance several years ago, thank goodness.

After finishing up I headed to Walmart to look for a Hotshot, but they didn't have one in the store.  Apparently once has to order it online for pickup in the store.  How does this stuff work?

Then I went to the grocery store to pick up my meds, then I went home, which is where I am now.

Thanks for reading!

P.S.  I increased the thumbnail size, back to three inches.  But don't forget to click on them to see the Big Picture!

Of Saturday AND Sunday

SATURDAY

Most of Saturday I did NOTHING, nothing at all, but in the late afternoon I finally got dressed and went for a geocache so I could get the Fun With Favorites souvenir badge.  I needed to find a cache with ten favorite points, and the closest one to me, not counting my own (with nineteen points, I am so proud!), was the Madra Dog, with ten points.  There is a Little Free Library there, too!

And why, you ask, is the image so blurry?  Because it is a thumbnail, and it is enlarged too much.  I made the thumbnails smaller, for reasons I can't explain.  Just click the image and see the Relatively Big Picture!

Madra is in Del Cerro, and is a relatively steep hill.  The vehicle was behaving slightly oddly, I couldn't figure out why until I noticed the Pernandel was in 2 instead of D.

I drove over to the Harry Griffin to do a little kite flying.

First problem was I had no spreader stick.  I had two sticks, but neither was the correct length.  So out with the handy Leatherman to cut one too short, and one just right.

There wasn't much of a breeze, but I was able to get it up into the sky for a few minutes.  Curious dogs wandered by.  It was rather pleasant. 

I was gonna bring my kite line messenger, but the sail seems to have rotted away.

So that was fun!

On the FB last night there was some discussion of old Taco Bell restaurants. I posted this picture of a re-purposed one on El Cajon Blvd.

Image from Google Streetview

On to...

SUNDAY

I got up early and went down town to get me some caches.  I found all three of them.  Then I went over to the Pt. Loma area to look for three caches.  Didn't find one, did find the others.

Then I went over to Mission Bay to look for a puzzle cache I had searched for several times before.  It had been replaced, but I still couldn't find it.

I noticed it was low tide so I went over to a cache that is normally water-protected.  I took along my brand new unused water socks but it turned out they were not necessary.

I took pity on the folks on Facebook and didn't post THIS selfie.

Still in Mission Bay, I took a look at this one, but what ever that is in there, it ain't coming out that hole.

On my second visit to this one I managed to spot it in the same place I looked last time.  Funny how often that happens!

Next I went over to Morena Blvd. and found two more caches, and didn't find two.  That ought to add up to ten found today.

Here are my geocaching statistics, for your enjoyment.






Thanks for reading!

As Promised

So here are the Power Supply/Charges (PS/C) I was talking about yesterday. I removed the shelf segment from the charging cart for clarity.  The two on the left are mounted my way, the one on the right is mounted "their" way.    You will notice that with "their way" the AC power cord (carrying the BIG (relatively) juicies ) is on the bottom.

In this closeup you may see that the AC cord is touching the metal "shelf", and in fact the cord plug is supporting the PS/C (in tension with the strap) as the body of the unit is not touching. I do not care for AC cords touching a thin metal piece.  What if the insulation wore through? Shocking! In my experience the AC cord connector can easily come loose and it is difficult to plug back in, too.

With my technique only the low voltage cord is touching metal, and there is no strain on the AC cord or its connector.

It is STILL a tremendous pain to strap in thirty-six of these suckers on each cart.  Takes nearly five minutes each to do a "good enough for the likes of YOU" job.

EDIT:  To sum it up, none of this is going to make r/cableporn on reddit.

Happy weekend!

Of Green Lizards & Power Supplies

I guess I posted this on the FB but not here!  We went to the zoo last Sunday and I saw this lizard while going down the rain forest path.  We sat on a bench a few feet away from this little green fellow and he did not run away. 

Today, at work, I made a panorama of the library, in two parts.

The first part:

Remember, these are thumbnails.  You gotta click on 'em to see the BIG picture!

The second part:

My task these last four days of work is to load the LOGO netbooks back into the charging carts.  Not a big deal, but all the power supply/chargers (PS/C) have to be put in, too.  Or they won't charge, you see.

This is the PS/C side of the charging carts.  It is supposed to be all tidy-ish and neat, like the top row (more or less).  Most of the carts are missing most of those black straps that hold the PS/Cs neatly.

I believe they are all going to be taken out again in the Fall, so I just piled them on the cart top.  The doors won't lock on the PS/C side, but who is gonna steal a bunch of chargers?  You can believe the netbook side is locked!

Another cart, an example of what I started with on most of the carts.

Tomorrow I may complain about just HOW those relatively neat ones were improperly oriented, in my opinion, and why.  Possibly with pictures!

Saturday Afterafternoon

I forget what I did this morning, except that I went downtown to look for some caches & to check on one of my own.  I didn't find any of the ones I was looking for, but mine was in its place, so that was good.

After waking up, eating, and talking to Matt I headed off to the event.  I planned to get to the area early so I could look for a couple of caches.  I passed a gold vase in the road on the way to the parking spot.  It was gone when I got back from the hike to a cache, which I found.

I went looking for another cache a couple of miles away, it was missing, sadly.  That make three DNFs today, and two Finds, including the event "cache".

I went, to the event, and received my certificate. The event has a MASH theme, to recognize cachers who have sustained injuries caching, or even non-caching related illnesses and injuries.  About a quarter of the attendees had some sort of military garb on.  I wore my field jacket and some other clothing that looked military, in an eclectic sort of way.

I also ate pizza.

I am so tired now that I can't remember all the stuff that happened.

That certificate is SO well done, and I'm going to frame it.  I got some other swag, too.  Several people came up to talk to me.  One person told me they liked my log entries a lot.  Another like the photo I posted on the log entry for her Cat Lady cache.  I believe I posted that picture here, too, back in January.  I got to meet some other people.  One guy was much taller than I had pictured, and younger, too. 

That's about all I got for now!

Tomorrow Is Garbage Day. Again

First I went out to El Cajon on Sunday morning and found a couple of caches I wasn't able to  look for on Saturday afternoon.  Then I went out to someplace in Chula Vista, southwest of Eastlake.  Not all that far from Olympian High School.

These flowers were in a patch pretty much just there, I thought that was remarkable, so I took a picture.

Trudging up a hill I was raising a lot of dust.  Dust is hard to photography, I find. I was so focused on trying to get a good pic that I walked 110 feet past the geocache.  So I had to got back DOWN the hill, make the find, then back UP the hill.

At the top of the hill I took the selfie, trying desperately for a different facial expression.  That may be Otay Mountain in the background.

This isn't a spoiler, 'cause this is pretty much the only cover around.  A Suspicious Pile of Rocks, as we say. I didn't spot it.  The hint said, "Under a rock".  Huh.  Yes, I finally found it!

Dirt bike riders, and there were a few out today, get their choice of hill climbs.  I was up there, too.  I came down the little one to the right.

I posted this pic on a forum in answer to the query: What Is Your Favorite Shirt?

Who ARE those guys?

Just before I left work today we had a visitors to the library.  He is still there.  You may want to wear long pants tied at the ankles if you are coming in tomorrow!

This evening I learned that one must put water into the Sunbeam Hot Shot BEFORE turning it on and ignoring it.  What's that smell?  So much for that, now I gotta buy a new one.

Wednesday Passing By

Here are two more pictures of the pretty blue projector lubricating oil bottle.

It still has some oil in it!  I saw one of these bottle on eBay for forty bucks!  I also saw one for five bucks...

My, and by "my" I mean not mine, Triplett multimeter. Needs a new battery.

File size 462K You have been warned!

I'm trying to get rid of this chair at work.

I can't think of anything else to say, except I started reading "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?", which I may have read before, but I don't remember it.

Oh, I just thought of something!  I had severely dismantled the fake pendulum clock that I have so MANY emotional issues with, and I was going to order a new mechanism, but I fooled with it for a quite a bit and it magically started working!  Then I found I had to pry the hands off again so I could put it back in the wood case.  And it stopped working gain.  So I did some judicious whacking with a hammer, and a bit of prying with a screwdriver, and now it works again!  So I went to screw the back of the plastic mechanism case on and found that I would have to take the whole thing apart again to get the screws in.  So, duct tape.  Camo duct tape.

NOW we're done here!

Truly It's Tuesday (Garbage Day)

sfssfs

Monday before work I went looking for a geocache that had been published the night before, one of two, actually.  I didn't find it.

Yesterday the principal was in the place and said she was tire of looking at one of my two bulletin boards.  Well, it's only been up two years, I said not all the kids who made it have graduated yet, ha ha!  Anyway, I took it down today and put up a new one.  Here it is:

And that is how it is gonna stay, at least until I am inspired.

I was in a tossing out mood, and so out goes all the 16mm projector repair stuff.  I just love that Victor lubricating oil, it is in SUCH a pretty blue glass bottle, I am keeping it for nostagia's sake.  But the projector belts just have to GO!  I wonder if there is some craft one can make with them?

I will try to take a better picture of just the pretty blue bottle tomorrow with the REAL camera.

Same with this big projector lamp, I will take another picture of it, sans thumb with the chewed-off nails.

After work today I went for the second of those two newly-publised geocaches.  I find it, either.