Thursday, June 28, 2012

 

MORE WET


I also finally got in a wonderful visit to the Homosassa Butterfly Museum yesterday, and look for a report and pictures and video of that soon!



Tuesday, June 26, 2012

 

WET


Yard across the street from me.

Well, a long useless day yesterday as the Brighthouse-promised "one hour" internet repair never happened and I lay around waiting for contact that never became possible. It rains, I loose net- Brighthouse "has a crew working on it"... again. Same story every time it rains- for years now. I will be following up this time at higher levels. No excuse for this. And funny thing is, I still had TV (on the same cable.) Don't really understand that.
Lovely rain for all the night and most of the day, firm, but not overwhelming, continuous. In mid afternoon it did suddenly go to heavy, and added some gusts of brief duration. And sometime in the overnight, it must have become more so, for this morning's quick reconnoiter around the property perimeter showed several small trees or large bushes that had been snapped most egregiously.

We have Tornado watch and Trop Storm watch for the next three days and a tornado did touch down right here in Homosassa. Took out a mobile home about 5 miles from me... maybe a few other roofs and trees. Surprising- the big reports live were all about just north of Tampa, with the signs of such activity fading away well south of me- this must have been one of the things that happened in the overnight.

I headed up to Gainesville at 10:45, planning to hit the Botanical Garden across the street before and after the appointment and though I arrived through only occasional sprinkles a bit later than I had intended, I still started there and spent 45 minutes quickly touring the now flowering rose and bulb gardens. I then made quick travel over to the eye clinic well in time to check in for my 1:30 appointment, which didn't come to pass until nearly 3. And my doctor had left and I was deposited in the hands of a new examiner. At first I refused but then consented after believing that she had come to gain some understanding of the special quirks of my particular situation and we proceeded through the exam to what appears to be a satisfactory result- though only when the new glass is laid before my eyes in three or four weeks will I really know. As I left, it started to sprinkle, taking little time to go to full on rain and the darkness of a cloud cover that means to do business, and my return to the botanical garden, already handicapped by the long delay in my appointment, was completely overruled. I drove home, stopping for gasoline in Ocala at 310.9 per gallon.

:)

Jud

Monday, June 25, 2012

 

PBS

When you get a chance, watch this.

Paris the Luminous Years: Toward the Making of the Modern
(First Aired: Dec. 15, 2010)
Key figures in the art world, including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Igor Stravinsky, Ernest Hemingway, and Aaron Copland, were influenced by Paris.

Friday, June 15, 2012

 

TRULY INCREDIBLE LIGHTENING IMAGERY


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

 

NEW BATTERY CASE FOR ECV

Having never made it through a day at Disney without my Mobility scooter batteries going flat, I decided to go to a pair of larger batteries, and finally got around to building a new box for them. They are significantly larger, but of course, heavier, than the batteries that came with it, and hopefully will get me through a full day's run.


The old box with batteries weighs about 21 pounds and is about 13L x 4 1/2W x 5H: the new box with batteries weighs about 48 pounds and is about 16L x 7W x 8H, but will fit on my #2 ECV in the area reserved for the battery pack.


It is a bit wide for the #1 ECV, the Pride Go-Go, but could sit on the cowling behind the seat if I so needed. But the intent is to make further modifications to the #2 ECV and make that my primary scooter for major outings. The Go-Go is easier to deal with for quick hits like to the store for food- smaller, can fit in the trunk, but the #2 has a much smoother ride and is a bit faster so it better for a day's outing.

You may note I made some changes in the new box. In the old box, the circuit breaker and wire connection are run through the cover, which means they stay with the cover when I open it, while still being attached to the batteries sitting heavily in the box.

In the new case, I ran these through holes in the box itself, cutting a clearance in the cover to accommodate them. The new cover is also held securely with only two screws at one end, the other end held by fitted pins into matching holes in the box. Both these changes make removing the cover much easier.

:)

Jud

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

 

JOURNEY TO GAINESVILLE


Had to head up to a very early (for me) appointment at the Gainseville VA Hospital this morning. My appointment was at 8:30, which meant I had to be in the car by 6, which meant up by 5:30... these are not normal times in my universe... and lo and behold- I saw the sunrise as I drove through Ocala!



When I got to the parking lot, in good time, very little traffic on the way, I saw a space, pulled in and look what sat in front of me!



The procedure required about two minutes of my time, every hour for four hours, so I had to kill time between each imaging session, and I wandered the parking lot.

This is a tower that contains something- saw a hint that it was chlorine, but might have been something else... in any case, I liked the imagery and took several shots of it.



I was mainly out on the back side of the facility, and this conglomeration of "mechanical plant" items looked good to me.



There is a seperate building on the grounds called the "Nursing Home Building" and at the front entrance to it- currently undergoing some repair work to the sidewalks- is this pair of sculptures.



Back at the smoking area, I grabbed this detail shot where two different building finishes meet.



And on the way back in, my attention was grabbed by the newspaper machine and a front page headline in USA Today.



:)

Jud

Friday, June 08, 2012

 

OUTDOOR SHOW AT THE MALL


Went up to the Crystal River Mall to look for some things, and found that there is a Outdoor show there tomorrow and Sunday sponsered by the Citrus County Chronicle.

Note the RV's reflected in the window.



Chatted for a bit with Deb, Marketing and Community Outreach, and hoping to have a good turn out for the show!



RV's are being gathered in the front parking lot! Drop on by!



:)

Jud

Monday, June 04, 2012

 

PIPE AND PIER


Got a little bit of work done today. Installed a vacumn break in the water line to keep it from vibrating when the filter cleaning cycle runs in the wee hours of the morn.

[8 June 2012: I was awake this morning when the water filter refresh cycle ran: My vacuum break did the job! :)]

Then I crawled under the mobile to cut and cap the no longer needed 3" PVC that runs the length of the mobile- used to feed, or un-feed, the second bathroom, but not needed at all now that I am not putting the kitchen at that end... and it is in the way of the ductwork from the (now dead and hopefully soon to be replaced) HVAC, so I want to cut it out- but it turns out I capped it with a plastic bag and duct tape and now that I am going to cut it off near the in-use main drain, I need a better seal...



Sooooo... I headed up to Home Depot and returned some pipe I had under the house that I no longer need (was for feed to the new kitchen that isn't now happening) and bought a bunch of stuff including the cap. Have a couple of people up there who are familiar with me and are always very helpful for my often very bizarre requests for things that don't really exist.

As I got back to my car, I saw it 6:30, and figured I would head on up the few extra miles to Crystal River and get some hard taco supremes, did so, and took them over to Kings Bay and sat out on the pier while I ate them.


As I headed for the pier, I saw a bird and nest way on high... well, heard first- there was a lot of very distinct squawking going on. And no, I have no idea what kind of birds they were!


And over to the side, there was this little fellow looking for something...



But mainly, it was the Bay.



:)

Jud

Friday, June 01, 2012

 

Given just how many days I have spent in the Walt Disney World Parks, I have wondered from time to time if I would ever find myself in another's photo or video.

Well, not me, but this is my scooter! Which means I was in one of the following ride vehicles- shooting pictures! LOL!



See the whole ride through video at: http://youtu.be/yDX7denhxuQ

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?