10 Signs Of The Economy

From an email I received:

10 Signs Of The Economy

1. CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

2. You get a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

3. You go to buy a toaster oven and they give you a bank.

4. Hot wheels and Matchbox stocks are now trading higher than GM.

5. McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

6. People in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and are learning their children's names.

7. The most highly-paid job is now jury duty.

8. Motel Six won't leave the lights on.

9. The Mafia is laying off judges.

10. If the bank returns your check marked as "insufficient funds", you have to call them and ask if they meant you or them

Summer At The Coast

Paddlers on the bay. They paddled back and forth in the late afternoon yesterday. They were out again today in two canoes.

Toward sunset, the birds seem to be enjoying the colorful evening skies reflected in the bay as much as I did. Now the sunsets are moving south again, I am hopeful they will soon no longer be hidden by the trees.

Today was a fog free day without a cloud in the sky. Got up to 84 today but was very comfy. Moved the rest of the plants onto the deck today. Yes, my back is now telling me I should have waited for help but the good feeling that comes from looking out the window and seeing them makes it all worthwhile (that and a well placed ice pack).

1,571

Back from the meetup. Whew, 1,571 miles in 4 days has me plum tuckered out. Had a great time - saw some familiar faces as well as new ones. Here are a few of the photos from the meetup.

The food was fantastic. Yummy yummy and the best dayam peach pie I've ever tasted was made by Nahant (our host).


Singing Happy Birthday to Jane with the birthday pie (with lit candle).

Checking out Nahant's garden. Great tomatoes (especially those little orange ones).

Folks eating and talking in the kitchen.

Teddy, who gave me my new Moderator sign, and our gracious host, Nahant.


The plants are out of the car - will get them up onto the deck slowly. My downstairs neighbor brought up the big heavy orchid pot. Everything else is still downstairs but doing well. Crossing fingers and toes the 100 degree plus heat we traveled through doesn't cause them too much harm. Kept giving them drinks of water at each stop to try to mitigate the temps - hopefully it helped.

Boy was I happy to see fog as I came into Tillamook - foggy the rest of the way home - it was wonderful! Supposed to be over 100 in Portland (and most of Oregon) for several more days but after the fog burned off, it is a very pleasant 79 outside, with a gentle breeze. Weather dood says no fog tomorrow and we will be well into the 80's - hope it is a comfy 80's.

Road Trip

Gonna miss the fog. Gonna be a lot hotter in CA than it is here at the coast. Right now, it is 62 outside and it only got up to 68 today.


Hope I don't miss any new flowers blooming in the garden. Seems like yesterday this was green stalks with buds and now it is in full bloom. The rose that tries to eat the front stairs is starting to bloom. The recent haircut it got appears to have encouraged it to bloom. Was at the tail end of its bloom when I moved in last October.

A road trip is not complete without Roadhouse Blues. This is the version from the Doors' tribute album Stoned Immaculate. Trivia note: this was the last song recorded by John Lee Hooker before he passed away in 2001 (per the utube page of the creator of this video).



Jim Morrison - vocals
John Lee Hooker - vocals
Ray Manzarek - piano, backing vocals
Robbie Krieger - guitar, backing vocals
John Densmore - backing vocals
Flea - bass
DJ Bonebrake - drums
Juke Logan - harmonica
Ralph Sall - backing vocals
Gregg Arreguin - rhythm guitar

Am packing my camera -- hopefully I don't forget that I have it and remember to take photos of the FDL Meetup I am attending Sat in Redwood City.

Headache

Good thing there is not much sun today - have a headache that sunshine would make worse. Tis a still day on Netarts Bay - at least still at this end. I'm sure the north end is busy - the water is deeper at the entrance to the bay and there are usually crab boats going from crab pot to crab pot. But here on the south end of the bay, tis a quiet peaceful day.

No Fog

A soft sunny day today. Birds in the air, small birds at the birdfeeder, hummingbirds at the blooming fuchsia, windy elsewhere but only a soft breeze here at the peaceful retreat on the bay. Got into the mid-70's today and supposed to be a wee bit warmer here tomorrow.


Been getting ready for my trip down to the SF Bay Area. Nahant is hosting an FDL Meetup in Redwood City Saturday afternoon. I'm going to start driving down Thursday. Stephanie will be here taking care of Token and Bailey until my return Monday.


Mama barn swallow got upset at my taking pictures of the nest at the peak above the desk.

Not Hot

I do love living at the coast. Inland temps are in the 90's and could hit triple digits. Here it is a pleasant 71 outside. Yesterday's fog came in around this same time - so far no fog today. The picture is what that fog coming in looked like. The spit was invisible most of the day as was the far point. The fog cleared out just before sunset yesterday.

Update 2:30pm- fog is coming back in - woohoo!

Bohemian Whapsody

Thanks to E the E for finding this and sending it to me.

If I Had A Nickel

Tommy Castro Band - If I Had A Nickle (live at the Filmore)

Teeth

I went to the dentist today. Got whole mouth xrays and an examination. When I was retired from the pd, I lost access to dental insurance. Needless to say, not having dental care these past 5 years has had a negative impact on my teeth.

Dr. Ahn said my upper teeth are the worst with only one good tooth up top. He recommends upper dentures and said that I have several teeth that need to be pulled immediately. He said that he would be able to do several of the extractions but that some would have to be done by an oral surgeon. His preliminary estimate to get my mouth healthy again is around $5,000.00 and said that he will mail me the treatment recommendation report and the estimated costs next week.

He said it is around $150.00 for each extraction and another $1,200 or so for the upper plate. He said my lower teeth are in better shape but that there will be at least one root canal in my immediate future.

He also cautioned that once he starts working on my mouth that my dental nerves, which have been fairly non-reactive so far, are going to fire off. A lot. Said that I have several abcesses and will need to be on antibiotics for treatments. Since I have a fake knee, I have to have pre-dental antibiotics but he said this will be beyond that.

Since I am going to be in the Bay Area the weekend of the 25th, I will schedule the "must be done now" stuff for when I return. Not good to go to an event where there is gonna be lotsa food and talking with a mouth that can not do either.

Oy.

Bounty

Tis a fine day for enjoying nature's bounty. Was up on the Cape earlier trying to spot oyster catcher nests. The nest on the north toe has disappeared - no one has any idea what happened to the eggs and/or chicks. The nest on the south toe has two eggs in it. Hopefully, this nest will be successful. The falcon babies are flying now.

Weather dood said we would have sun today. Not seeing any here dood. But - who needs sun when sights like this abound?

Time Machine

I look out the window for what I swear must be only a minute or two - and when I gaze at the clock on the desk - I learn that I have traveled in time into the future by a good 10 minutes or more.

Everything But Rain

Storm clouds keep threatening to rain but don't deliver. Could use a good rain - the wind is fast drying out any moisture brought by sprinkles. Tis a comfy 63 outside (other than that cold brisk wind) - the winter-like clouds are deceptive.

Was a busy holiday weekend. Had a friend come down from Seattle Friday and stay until Sunday early afternoon. We had fun - went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, ate good food and laughed all weekend long. Stephanie was here Sunday late afternoon until Monday afternoon. Twas a good feeling to fall sleep that night knowing she was in her room doing the same.

Spent yesterday doing all the kitchen cleanup that I put off and did a wee bit of grocery shopping. Today is my 'be a slug' day - a day best spent lounging around inside, listening to the wind, watching the birds at the bird feeder and those flying overhead.

Beatles - Shea Stadium

The Beatles - Shea Stadium (with intro). From the utube page:

The US tour really opened on August 15th with a concert scheduled in New York at the Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets baseball team. This was the first time in the history of music that a stadium was used for a rock concert ! Seen by 55,600 fans, it created a new world record for a pop concert in terms of attendance and gross revenue. The Beatles' share of the $304,000 box-office takings was also a record - $160,000.

I remember seeing them at Candlestick - my first concert.

My Kind of Day

Regular low tide. Overcast today with high clouds. No wind, no sun, and no hot! My friend Meredith is coming down from Seattle to escape the heat - looks like she picked a great weekend to do so.

Sarah Palin in resigning as Alaska's govenor. Wonder what scandal is about to hit her fan?

Hope everyone has a safe Fourth.

Hold On, I'm Coming

Sam & Dave - Hold On, I'm Coming - live in Offenbach, Germany, 1967.