Citizen Grouch

Crosswalk boulevardiers

2012-01-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

So, for those who don't reside in California and aren't familiar with our traffic laws, and those who live in California who aren't familiar with our traffic laws, pedestrians in a cross walk have the right of way to everything else. Interestingly bicyclists who are walking their bike in the cross walk are pedestrians and are protected game. If the cyclist is on the bike in a crosswalk and gets hit by a car; it is no longer fault of the driver but the cyclist. I know two cyclists this has happened to, so you can take my word on this. of course the Missus and I have had to run for our lives multiple times when in a cross walk and the oncoming driver who is texting and flossing his teeth simultaneously doesn't see us and barrels through the cross walk. The Missus was even bumped once in a crosswalk by a car.

The point of this essay is to pose a question: is there an obligation on the part of a pedestrian, when in the crosswalk, to step out smartly (if they are completely ambulatory of course), head up, shoulders back, legs moving briskly to propel the pedestrian to the far side, thus preserving his/her own body intact and to minimize the delay for the always impatient motorists or once in the crosswalk, do you own that piece of roadway and treat it as such, to be enjoyed at your leisure? I see many wannbe boulevardiers in our crosswalks. The sophisticated boulevardier of Paris strolled the sidewalks, taking in the scenery, seeing and being seen. An accomplished boulevardier was well dressed and had a certain casual stroll that didn't cover much ground but caused him to look elegant and to draw attention. Our boulevardiers have mostly skipped the well dressed part. In some cases they are hardly dressed as their trousers seem to have trouble staying around their waist and are slipping down their buttocks. Sometimes the nouveau boulevardier is listing to music, texting, checking an iPad, or yakking on a phone. The one thing they have in common is the casual, sometimes defiant stroll through the cross walk as traffic piles up and the crosswalk signal counts down to 1.

I think I'll post a poll to get the measure of the readers of the blog. In the meantime, if you feel that you are a nouveau boulevardier and have the duty to stroll through the crosswalk like Maurice Chevalier walking down the sidewalk of Paris signing 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls" (which has always seemed pedophilic to me- the song that is) can you at least wear a top hat and a nice walking out suit? Singing in a French accent while doing so will help to keep us waiting motorists entertained.

May I join the 1%?

2012-01-28T09:28:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of talk recently about the lowly 99% and the Scrooge McDuck top 1% most evil of all of our society. Apparently if you have buckets of money you are a parasite on the body of society and you should be, if not eliminated, at least have your assets and property confiscated. At least that is what I'm getting out of the protesters. I wonder why if you are at the 99th percentile a person may be 'well off' or 'comfortable' but if someone steps across the line to the magic 1% of the population (which let's be real honest here - anyone of the Occupy crowd - given the chance to join the fabled 1% wouldn't give the rest of their smelly brethren a second glance as they walked towards the light of plutocracy) they are now a cancer on the body of society?

All of this is leading up to an article I read recently that ranks the college majors of those McDucks who are in the secret 1% club. To read the article in its entirety go here:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-1-earners-majored-163026283.html

I am a proud holder of a B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis in international relations and a minor in History. There, I've let the secret out. I've worked in fields that utilize these disciplines....never. But, I see that 6.2% of the plutocrat crowd were PoliSci grads! There are more successful folks with my degree than those with financial and hard science degree's. Whoot! In fact, here is the chart with all of the rankings:

Undergraduate Degree / Total / % Who Are 1 Percenters / Share of All 1 Percenters

Health and Medical Preparatory Programs	142,345	11.8%	0.9%
Economics	1,237,863	8.2%	5.4%
Biochemical Sciences	193,769	7.2%	0.7%
Zoology	159,935	6.9%	0.6%
Biology	1,864,666	6.7%	6.6%
International Relations	146,781	6.7%	0.5%
Political Science and Government	1,427,224	6.2%	4.7%
Physiology	98,181	6.0%	0.3%
Art History and Criticism	137,357	5.9%	0.4%
Chemistry	780,783	5.7%	2.4%
Molecular Biology	64,951	5.6%	0.2%
Area, Ethnic and Civilization Studies	184,906	5.2%	0.5%
Finance	1,071,812	4.8%	2.7%
History	1,351,368	4.7%	3.3%
Business Economics	108,146	4.6%	0.3%
Miscellaneous Psychology	61,257	4.3%	0.1%
Philosophy and Religious Studies	448,095	4.3%	1.0%
Microbiology	147,954	4.2%	0.3%
Chemical Engineering	347,959	4.1%	0.8%
Physics	346,455	4.1%	0.7%
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration	334,016	3.9%	0.7%
Accounting	2,296,601	3.9%	4.7%
Mathematics	840,137	3.9%	1.7%
English Language and Literature	1,938,988	3.8%	3.8%
Miscellaneous Biology	52,895	3.7%	0.1%

Given these statistics, PoliSci rules! And to think my parents said I'd never get anywhere with my degree. There is still hope for me to join the 1%. I just have to climb over the other 98% in my way.

The moment

2012-01-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

I believe that each of us are on this earth to face our moment - when we have the choice to act or not, to do or not do, and in doing what is required, to do the right thing. We don't know when the moment will arrive or what it will be, but when it happens it seems as if the universe is holding its breath for a moment to see what we will do. The Marine who threw himself on a live grenade in Iraq to save his fellow Marines instead of throwing himself backwards to safety faced the his moment. Rosa Parks faced her moment when she could have sat at the back of the bus again but instead felt the moment on her and made her choice. Charles Lightoller, second officer of the Titanic in a life of high adventure before and after the Titanic's sinking had his moment when he did what was required to get women and children into lifeboats and away from the sinking ship. Our moment can be as small as not letting the class outcast be bullied by a thug at school when it would be easier to turn away or standing up for someone at work who is helpless before an abusive superior. Frequently we may have our moment and do what is required and not even realize that we have met our moment and succeeded. But those who are positively effected by our meeting the moment and succeeding know that we did what was required.

I thought of this this week when I read of the captain of the cruise ship Concordia and his cowardliness on the night of his ship's distress. I am sure he is a competent ship's master, adroit at making the guests on the ship feel welcome, and insured a smooth running enterprise on each cruise. He started his last day as the captain of his ship not knowing what lay ahead and that his moment would come for him that day. But when his moment came and the universe held its breath for the captain to decide to stay or flee; he fled. His moment came and passed without doing what was required. He failed the moment that he was on earth to meet.

If I have yet to face my moment I pray that I will have the wisdom and courage to do what is required.

Gopher update

2012-01-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

Many days have passed since my intense assault on the marauding gophers and so far no further sign of them. I did notice today when walking through the neighborhood that a house several blocks over has suddenly sprouted a number of gopher mounds.

Coincidence, or did I make it so hot for the gang that they decamped for easier pickings?

Man v. Gopher

2012-01-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

Behind Grouch Estates is an open area, sandwiched between our older development and the newer more tony newcomer neighborhood. Various types of wildlife lives back there including ground squirrels, snakes, lizards, raccoons, the coyote gang and probably other creatures that I'm not aware of. We pretty much have an uneasy coexistence, like us and the Soviets during the cold war. As long as they stay on their side of the wall I leave them alone. The squirrels unsuccessfully try to break into the bird feeders and the raccoons dare us to mess with them as they are passing through the yard but otherwise it is fairly peaceful. Recently I realized that the animal planet version of the Hell's Angels had moved in, and of course, there went the neighborhood!   I had seen some suspicious mounds on the other side of our block wall that faces the open area but my policy being what goes on back there is like what happens in Vegas so I ignored the signs. One day I saw the dreaded mounds of dirt in the planter area next to the pool and I knew we were in trouble. Gophers!   I could just imagine them, the little gangsters with their miner's lamps and black leather jackets tunneling away under the yard and snickering as they worked to undermine the spa and pool.   The tiny tattoos on their arms: born to dig! marking them as the little vandals that they are.   These were accomplished sappers, probably having received their training in North Vietnam, and after they dug their tunnels to the surface they swiftly and competently plugged them back up so that tracing the back to their base was impossible. I didn't realize just who I was dealing with and thought that a gopher trap in one of the holes would clear up the problem. I set the trap, stuck it in a tunnel that I fortuitously uncovered and figured I would come back tomorrow to clean out the carcass of the little rodent. When I checked the next day not only was there not a dead Hell's gopher, the trap was gone! The little so and so and dragged it off!

No one steals my gopher trap! I had visions of them in their underground club house, leather jackets on, swigging bear out of tiny little cans and toasting the trophy trap that they mounted on the wall. This meant war!

I went to the hardware store and got three more traps. I also broke out the can of gopher poison that I bought almost twenty years ago when they first tried to move in on me. You can't find this stuff for sale anymore. Probably threatens the wild condors or something. I wasn't going to threaten anything. I was going to eradicate some gophers.

I dug and I probed and I uncovered some more entrance holes. I laid the traps, baited them with a touch of birdseed and mixed the poison in with the seed. All of this was pushed way down into the tunnels. Then I waited.

The next day another trap was gone. A second trap was sprung but no dead gangster. The third trap was immobilized in dirt packed around it by the wily tunnelers. I dug it out, reset the other trap and placed some more poison in. I noticed that I hadn't uncovered any poison when I dug out the trap. Maybe the knuckleheads fell for the poison!

Another day passed. The traps remained untripped. No more holes. Yet another day and still no evidence of activity. Are they dead? Two more days. Still no activity.   I may have won!   Or, are they laying low with my traps, just waiting to place them, fully armed and ready in my path as I stumble through the yard in my slippers and 5 a.m. to let the dogs out before going to work.

Did I win the war or only the first battle of the war? Stay tuned!

Petersen Auto Museum

2012-01-04T23:12:00.000-08:00

Young Son and I took in the Petersen Auto Museum today for some father-son togetherness.

http://petersen.org/

The Grouch and kids visited the museum way, way back in the 90s when the Senior Grouch was in town for a visit. Young Son wasn't around then so he didn't have the chance to see it so off we went. We traveled through busy Hollyweird - I mean Hollywood - to get to the place which is always an interesting adventure. Leaving the museum we headed home via Beverley Hills which was an experience for car crazed Young Son. The number of very high end performance cars that we saw motoring along Wilshire blvd in our mundane Dodge Stratus was eye opening for him. He even got to see one of his new favorites, the Ford GT. At the museum there was a temporary exhibit of motor scooters which I found very interesting, antique vehicles, movie vehicles, hand built cars, one-offs....just about anything you could ask for. Young Son took the photos but since this is my blog I'm posting what I found interesting!

The museum first floor features a Los Angeles street from the 30s complete with a Cadillac dealership. It is nicely done. There is even the sound of a stolen car being stripped in ramshackle warehouse down a side alley!

This car was owned by legendary auto racer Phil Hill. The car appealed to me because it resembles the cars used by the globe trotting explorers of the 30s. It would look at home racing across the Gobi desert with a cloud of dust raised behind it.

Young Son signals his approval of the Bugatti W16 powered by two V8 engines. He really likes the modern ultra high performance cars.

This contraption is from the movie "The Great Race'" staring Toy Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Jack Lemmon as Prof. Fate. A really great move and it was fun for me to see this since I am a fan of the movie from way back.

The first land speed competition car to be powered by a jet engine! It is the Green Monster (but no longer green) and held the land speed record several times. It was sitting in the parking garage. No room inside for it?

Certainly no room inside for this contraption! It was used by Forest Lawn for VIP trips up to the early 90s. By that time it was about 50 years old. Pretty darn impressive!

New Year's range trip

2012-01-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

Young Son and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to make a trip to the range today. We figured it was a good precedent to set for 2012!

Young Son demonstrating his wild west shootin' iron skills

The Grouch still has the touch with the 1911 .45

Grouch and Young Son shooting at and sometimes even hitting clay birds

Happy New Year and a roller coaster ride

2012-01-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to family and friends who may be reading this blog. Young son recently took a ride on Riddler's Revenge at the local amusement park and recorded it with his Christmas camera. You'd never catch me on this ride! It is a stand up roller coaster that several times has you upside down. Good thing he kept a tight grip on the new camera!

The internet black hole

2012-01-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Another journey down the Internet black hole led me to this website:

http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/

This site chronicles abandoned...everything! Buildings, planes, ships, tanks, you name it. For some reason I have always had a fascination for abandoned buildings, bunkers, and the like. I wonder what it looked like when the place was in use and alive. Who was there, what was their life like, what happened to cause it to be abandoned? And even better, is there any treasure left behind?

I hope you don't spend too much time on this website. It is addictive for me!

New Year's Eve hike

2012-01-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Another great Grouch family tradition: The New Year's eve hike! Well, actually this is a somewhat intermittent tradition as the ability to do the hike depends on whether the Grouch and Young Daughter are both off of work for the day and can go. But this time all of the planets aligned, we were free from work, so off we went! The weather was gorgeous, sunny and breezy and a fantastic 71F, perfect for a stroll. We went up San Fransquito canyon road, up a fire road to a ridge and drove 'till we found a likely place to park and start our walk. What we didn't expect were the number of pesky off road bicyclists. They were swarming like bees after spilled Pepsi. We must've encountered 8 or more on the hike. Since we had 5 dogs with us we frequently had to call the dogs to heel to let the bikers pass. Most were pretty gracious about the whole dog thing and were good with sharing the trail. We also encountered a woman leading a horse with two dogs following along behind. Her dogs weren't under any control at all and Young Daughter had to grab one by the collar and lead it back to the horse woman.

We started up by the power line and headed downhill. Here is a view back up the hill at our starting point. I believe our trusty Jeep is a dot at the foot of the tower.

The Grouch likes to survey the ground ahead to check for Comanche ambushes.

Starting down into the shaded canyon and more encounters with bicyclists

More shady, narrower, and green. A nice change from the dried brush and chaparral we usually have around for a hike.

The dogs like it too!

We stopped to chat with one of the really nice bicyclists. I thought his bike bell was a great idea and should be adopted by all considerate bikers. We could hear him coming and called the dogs to heel. While we were talking with him a woman came up the hill on her bike and took the opportunity to take a break and compliment us on our nice pooches.

An artifact! A perfect excuse for a picture. Young daughter and friends.

Out of the green and into the brown, on the way back to the Jeep. The dogs still have endless energy!

Still looking for the Comanches...

Almost back to the Jeep. I think the dogs were starting to tire out a bit but still going strong.

Can you believe there are 5 dogs and a large toolbox back there? Who says a Jeep doesn't have room!

Christmas 2011 at the Grouch's

2012-01-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

Like all families, the Grouch family has our own holiday traditions and rituals that we have made our own over the years. This year we were sad that Oldest Daughter wasn't able to travel to Grouch Estates to celebrate Christmas with us; however she did the next best thing and sent our granddaughter to us! We had little ladybug with us for several days to help keep our Christmas young.

Without further preamble, let the Christmas tradition photos begin!

Young son and the Grouch went to the local 'you cut it' Christmas tree lot and selected a tree almost 10 feet tall! Unfortunately the available space was a little over 8 feet so some of the tree was sacrificed to fit. This is Young Son demonstrating his approval of the tree we bagged. This reminds me of the deer hunters that I saw back in Pa. as a youth with their buck tied to the roof of the family station wagon after a successful hunt.

The Grouch family always goes to midnight mass on Christmas eve - except this year. This time we went to the chapel at a local Catholic high school for afternoon mass on Christmas eve. It was a nice change of pace plus the whole mass was finished in just over an hour! Perfect for a little girl with too much energy who finds it difficult to sit still for over an hour. The Grouch and she kill some time before the start of mass.

Older Son and his lady friend at the chapel.

The ladies: little Ladybug, the Missus, Young Daughter, and the Lady friend

The whole Grouch gang minus Older Daughter :(

Next, the traditional Christmas eve dinner at Pizza Hut! How this got started I have no idea but it is a lot of fun. We've been going to the same place for years and though it has changed the pizza and bread sticks are still just what we need to get our strength up for the next morning. The blue box contains Christmas cookies baked by hand by the Lady fried for the Grouch family. Yumm!

Some of the Christmas gifts, the grill is for Older Son who now has his own place. In the past a homesteader needed a mule, a rifle, and a plow. Today's young man needs a grill when he starts on his own. The large box is the vanity to be installed in the upstairs bathroom which is under renovation and has been for two months. It made a dandy Crhistmas gift spot.

The tree is not really leaning to the right like the picture implies. The Missus and Young Son did a great decorating job. When the holiday is over and the tree is taken outside it will be rendered into firewood and dried for a year to be burned next Christmas in the fireplace.

Another Grouch family tradition: the Grouch makes scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon for the hungry family. Oh, did I mention that the Grouch also makes a mess? Everyone gets their strength up for further present opening.

Little Ladybug opening some of the gifts from the family.

One last family tradition: the silly gift, usually one shared by all of the Grouch offspring. In this case it was Perry the Platypus caps for three. If you don't know Perry you are really missing out on something!

I'm famous!

2011-12-24T00:25:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of desert trip taken by young daughter and myself about 20 years ago are now on a blog for your viewing pleasure. Take a peek and see....

http://mojaveroad.blogspot.com/

Christmas lights

2011-12-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

The Missus is nuts for Christmas lights on houses. When we are taking our evening walks she gives awards to the deserving houses in the neighborhood as we pass them. "Best use of traditional lighting"; "Most Christmas themed yard ornaments"; Best Hanukkah display", "Newest technology in a Christmas light display" and so on. Of course I am the only one aware of the awards as she tells me as we walk along. The lucky homeowners who win the awards are unaware because we do not carry certificates on the walk to hand out.

Our community newspaper also give out awards but they actually present the homeowner with a prize and write them up in the paper. The Missus read about a display nearby that was worth driving to, so she rounded us up and had us set off to find the house.

It is difficult to imagine that there are rural areas close to the megalopolis of Los Angeles but our happy little city (which was a ranching and farming community up to the early 70s) is on the edge of development for the L.A. octopus and there are some open areas not yet swallowed up by development. It turned out we were headed for one of these places.

The missus had the directions and we set off up the freeway a few minutes, off at a traffic roundabout which the locals can absolutely not handle. They stop when coming to it, circle at about 1.3 MPH and hesitantly feel for their road. I think one lady in a Lexus SUV is still going in circles. The Grouch expedition having driven in these things in Germany 3 decades ago are old hands at this and handled it with aplomb. We proceeded along the well lit 4 lane road that then turned into a two lane road that then looked like tobacco road. I didn't realize that we were supposed to be headed into the wilds and turned back thinking we missed our turn off. The Missus set me straight, got us turned around again, and we went deeper into the country. Fortunately the Jeep has enough lighting on it to duplicate the rising sun so we were able to see in the very dark night. After many twists and turns we came to semi civilization, and ended up in an area of mini ranches and the home we were seeking. The display was amazing! It is one of those that you may see on You tube in which the lights are coordinated to music. It was well worth the drive.

Part of the very large display

Little Ladybug was not used to the late hour (8 p.m. our time but 11 p.m. for her). She was also cold so I did my best to warm her up. She isn't as small and light as he used to be!

Young son in full holiday mode (notice the scarf?) Don't ask me about the Brony T-shirt. It is a teenage thing.

Part of the display before it kicks into action.

Starting up!

Of course the flash takes the impact of the lights away but we do what we can with what we have!

Catch up time

2011-12-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pictures from events going back a couple of months. Since they are all associated with the Grouch family the pictures are most certainly worth viewing!

Young Son's marching band competition. He's play the trombone. Can you pick him out?

Young daughter and son after the competition. He's wearing one of my old field jackets from 35 years ago. It fits him perfectly. Does that mean I used to be his size?

Random picture of two cute dogs, Molly and Roscoe. They are starting to feel their age and are no longer enthusiastic 10 mile walkers; 3 is more their cup of tea.

Older son's 28th birthday in his new home.

Little Ladybug visiting all the way from North Carolina! I am sure we'll see more of her in this blog before the year is out!

Your private sidekick

2011-12-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

I think most of us wishes that they had a loyal sidekick to go through life with them, someone to be their wing man, to laugh at their jokes, to confide in, to guard their back when the action gets hot. Batman had Robin, Roy Rogers had Andy Devine, The Lone Ranger had Tonto and the Cisco Kid had Pancho.

I ride a commuter train to work just about every day. There is a fellow who is on the car with me who has his own private sidekick. I noticed that he seemed to be talking to himself when he is reading the paper but I realized that it is actually his sidekick speaking. The fellow on the train has his internal sidekick. I realized this when I heard the comments uttered while he reads the paper. "Is that so?" "Who knew?" "Good job!" and so on. I realized that his sidekick is talking, the fellow isn't talking to himself. I was relieved to realize this because talking to ones self is usually seen as a bit odd. I never have had a sidekick in my life so I am a bit envious. Maybe if I get my nerve up someday I'll ask him how he got introduced to his private sidekick.

Happy Birthday Son!

2011-12-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

Happy 28th birthday son! Older son is now out on his own and is a homeowner and man of the house but I will always think of him as my little boy even though he is 6'2" and a war vet. It was a snowy day in Grand Rapids MI in 1983 when I took the Missus to the hospital to have him. It was an even snowier day when we came home to Conlen Av S.E. and he was introduced to his sisters.

Happy birthday son, and many more to come. I hope some day you will be able to take your son shooting out in the country and see him grow to be a strong and kind man as you have become.

Citizen Grouch introduces older son (who was the only son at the time) to firearms at an early age. His sister looks skeptical.

Mail from Afghanistan

2011-12-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

Regular readers of Citizen Grouch know that Young Son recently completed his Boy Scout Eagle project and was awarded the rank of Eagle for creating and shipping 220 zip lock bag comfort kits for Marines in Afghanistan. The idea was to make the bag a size that would fit into the cargo pocket on the field uniform worn by a Marine. Young Son included a letter from himself in each kit plus those from local grade school children. About a month after shipping the kits he got several nice letters from Marines who received the kits. We all thought that was the end of it.

Today a letter arrived from a Marine gunnery sergeant who is part of a scout sniper group serving in Afghanistan. He called Young Son 'sir' and wrote about a member of his team who loved beef jerky (which the kits contained) but who was killed in action before he could receive his package from Young Son. His letter was blunt as would be expected from a gunnery sergeant and sincere. He even said Young Son was 'freaken amazing' for providing the kits to his Marines. He included a picture of most of his team with their weapons and the colors. When Young Son read the letter aloud to me we were both blown away by the impact of it. His Eagle project mattered to the men serving in the war zone enough that these young and tough warfighters took the time to assemble for a picture for him to include in the thank you note. I was choked up when Young Son finished reading it to me. We looked at each other temporarily unable to speak. He understood that he received a great honor from the Gunny.

Sarah's Key

2011-12-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty much a guy's guy; I like manly things and when I'm reading a book it sure isn't going to be about a middle-aged American woman married to a French guy and living in Paris writing about her marital woes. I surprised myself with this book: "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. It is a novel based on a real event: the French handled round up of Jews in Paris in 1942 and the subsequent murder of them, parents and children. The story cuts back and forth between Sarah, a 10 year old girl caught in the round up and suffering under horrific conditions, and the before-mentioned woman who in the early part of the 00s takes an assignment to write about the round up for a Paris based magazine. I found the story impossible to put down, extremely sad, and very compelling. Not a feel-good book at all but well worth reading and should be required reading with a mandatory essay for any Holocaust denier.

A Citizen Grouch must-read.

Old Jeep

2011-11-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things are old Jeeps. Much to my amazement and pleasure, when I hired on at my current job I found an old Jeep there for me to admire. It is a Willys MB made in June 1945. I don't know when the city obtained it but it was used for many years in the parks that are located in the foothills on the edge of town. I am told that some teenage workers rolled it down a hill once (end over end) and demolished it but the city mechanics managed to put it back together. These days it is used only for parades and displays and doesn't get much use. I haven't taken it for a drive yet but I will soon!

1945 Willys MB Jeep - one of three weapons allegedly credited by General Dwight Eisenhower as the reason for winning the war (the other two are the C-47 airplane and the bazooka)

The Willys in all its glory - sitting on Chinese made tires!

Man vs. Washing Machine

2011-11-27T19:04:00.000-08:00

So, the other night I was sitting at the reloading bench in the garage happily cranking out .30-06 rounds and listening to Loreena McKinnett when the Missus came in to check on the wash in the machine and exclaimed in dismay that the machine wasn't working. I peered into the open tub and saw it full of wet clothes and soapy water.   The machine wasn't running obviously. Being the man in the relationship I stepped forward to resolve the problem. "Step aside" I said to the Missus so she went back into house and left me to fix the machine. I pushed the knob in to 'stop'. Then back to 'on'. Nothing. I did it twice. No luck. I unplugged the machine and plugged it back in, turned the wash selector around a couple times and pushed it in and out. Nada.   I opened and closed the lid a couple times. Suddenly it started! I went in and told the Missus that it was fixed. She came out and opened the lid and closed it. It didn't start. I opened the lid and banged it closed. It started. I knew we were living on borrowed time.

I consulted the Internet. The problem was the lid switch. I found instructions on how to replace the switch so I ordered the part and crossed my fingers that the washer would continue to work until I could get to it. Surprisingly it kept working until this past Saturday when I decided to replace the switch.

The directions described two different models which had different steps to get the washer apart to access the switch. I had to get the control console off but couldn't accomplish it so I pried the back of it open and peered in. I saw the release clips but didn't have the right tool to reach them. A quick trip to the kitchen and I found a camping knife that was just the right thickness. I bent it 90 degrees and success!   The console was off and the clips exposed that had to be removed in order to loosen the washer casing. Off came the clips and I yanked the casing off. Except I didn't need to do that. The switch was in plain sight and popped right off and the new one popped on. There was no need to remove the casing of the washer. Now I had to put the washer back together. Note to self: memorize how everything fit together before taking it apart. I must have put that washer back together 5 times before suddenly realizing that this part fit behind that part and the spring clips went under the notches and over to fit into the slots. A fair amount of muttered profanity helped. I held it all together with 100 mile an hour tape while I fit everything together so it wouldn't all flop around while I tried this and that.

Interestingly once it was back together and slid back into place the machine actually worked. I think it vibrates less now. I had fun opening and closing the lid and watching the machine stop and start. Now I feel ready to fix anything on the washer.   The Missus says that if it breaks again we're getting a new one. Wonder why?

Fall in Grouchland and a Thanksgiving hike

2011-11-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

So, it is often said that southern California does not have any real seasons outside of the four SoCal seasons: riots, earthquakes, fires, and mudslides. But I am here to set the record straight. We do have seasons and right now we are in fall like the rest of the country. Just to prove this, I took a picture after I worked very hard raking the leaves in the front yard! You can see the evidence below. Yesterday the Grouch family that is in SoCal assembled for dinner at Grouch estates. the Missus did a great job as always with the wonderful dinner and Older Son brought his lady friend who baked a pumpkin roll for desert to share. Yum!

Today Young Daughter and I went on a hike in the mountains to an abandoned campground. The last time I did this hike in December of 2010 the creek was running high and after crossing the stream several time there and back my boots were full of water and sand. This time I wore some GI boots with drain holes in them in case we encountered the same conditions. The stream was just about a trickle which was good. The bad part was I hadn't broken in the boots so by the time we got to the campground I had a blister on my right heel so we had to turn around and go back. Next time we'll go further! It was a beautiful day and a better way to spend the day than fighting shoppers at 'black Friday'. Click on the pictures for a larger view!

The evidence of fall in Southern California.

The entrance to Fish canyon and the campground. It looks hot and desolate but once we were in the canyon it was shady and
cool.

The Grouch sets off on the hike

Younger Daughter with Dottie the wonder dog

The trail was paved where the stream would overflow the road; the Forest Service has barricaded the road so only 'official' traffic can motor along, the hoi polloi must move by foot or horse which isn't a bad thing but why can only officialdom drive?

Young daughter and Dottie on the way back. Citizen Grouch is limping behind somewhere

Older son's condo

2011-11-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

Older son picked up the keys for his new condo today. Welcome to being a home owner! He is learning about setting up accounts for electricity and water and the like. He owns a bed and a TV right now and just got a refrigerator. What else does a young man need? It will be sad for the Missus and me to have him gone but he is very happy to have his own place now. Young son is tape measuring O.S.'s room (the largest bedroom if you don't count our closet and half bath) in anticipation of moving in as his brother moves out. The good news for us is that older son is only going to be 3-4 miles away. That may be bad news for him.

The Jelly Bean Music Video

2011-11-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

Anything that employs 288,000 jelly beans is worth watching!

Happy Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Veteran's day to all the vets in the Grouch family on both sides! We are citizen soldiers and airmen from the Civil war to today. A special thanks to the Missus who supported me and the Grouch kids over the decades as we did our duty.

Dad and Mom - he was eventually promoted to civilian, the rank he most wanted to achieve!

Older son and young daughter; he is now a vet, she is serving still!

Welcome to the newest Eagle Boy Scout!

2011-11-09T22:01:00.000-08:00

Like a song says "It's been a long road, get'n from there to here, it's been a long time but my time is finally near..."

Young son started as a Tiger Cub, then a Cub Scout, A Boy Scout and finally....

Young Son, Eagle Scout! November 8th, 2011

Young son hears from the Marines

2011-11-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Young son received some letters yesterday from Marines who got the comfort kits that he shipped to Afghanistan last month for his Eagle project. One letter was to him personally and the rest to the school kids who wrote letters and drew pictures to be included in the packages. The letters were sweet and genuinely appreciative to receive the kits and even more so, the letters from the kids. It brought a tear to the eye for both the Missus and I when we read them. Now we have to match up the letters to the children who wrote them and since they came from several classes at two schools this may be a job, but worth it.

Bodfish and Lake Isabella off road trip

2011-11-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago Young son and I went with some frieds for a jaunt to Bodfish and Lake Isabella via Jawbone rec area. Our little group had three vehicles and the off roading was not anticipated to be heavy duty. Several years ago we took about this same trip in the winter and could only get so high before the road was impassable due to snow. No snow this time, just lots of dust! It was so dusty that the air filter on the Jeep became clogged and the engine power dropped off noticeably. When I got home and removed the filter to install a new one the dust that came off of it was incredible. We traveled up through Jawbone rec area to the Sequoia NF, then down to Bodfish, through the town of Lake Isabella, then back to highway 14 and home. Total distance was about 200 miles. Lots of driving! On the way back I happened to stumble on 'story telling radio' on Sirius which had a couple hours of people telling stories at the 39th annual story festival somewhere in Tennessee. Some of the stories were very funny. It made the ride home go quickly.

Click on the pics for a larger view!

On highway 14 out of Mojave approaching the turn off for Jawbone recreation area and the road through Kelso valley to the Sequoia national forest

On the road to Kelso valley

In the Sequoia NF, climbing in altitude and in the forest

Stopping for lunch, the next to most favorite part of any trip for the Grouch, dinner being #1

A view from the trail as we start down towards Bodfish

A machinery shed for mining containing a gas engine powered air compressor

The engine - anyone identify what it is? The data plate was worn smooth and was unreadable

The mine that goes with the air compressor - someone plugged it up so we couldn't go inside and get hurt and trapped, what were they thinking?

Young son takes in the view outside the mine

The Forest service is harvesting burned timber from this area and the machine that they are doing it with. By this time Young son was wondering when dinner was going to be.

Some of the burned area.

Pictures from the past

2011-10-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

The other day I entered '66th Maintenance Company' into Google search. The 66th was my first active duty Army assignment in 1978. I have been curious to learn what happened to the unit over the years in the great reorganization and draw down of the Army in Europe. I haven't been able to learn the unit's fate but I did find some pictures from that era on the web. What a surprise when I found a picture of the unit's sign located in front of the company area and then of a formation which seems to have yours truly in it!! The pictures are from the photo album of the company commander and the change of command that took place when she (the most senior of us group of 2LTs) was tapped for command. She did a great job as company commander in a very visible and demanding position. Through her sister who posted her and other family photo albums on line I was able to email my former commander and exchange some information about each other. What a great surprise to find the photos and to hear from someone from what is now over three decades past. Where has the time gone?

The unit sign on the lawn in front of the company area at picturesque Harvey Barracks. Harvey Barracks was once a WW2 German airfield and was taken over by the U.S. after the war. The first morning that I was in Germany and was to report for duty there was a command-wide readiness alert test conducted. My sponsor never showed up to get me at my billet that morning and I ended up walking to the unit to find it like a disturbed bee hive with soldiers running in all directions. I wondered if WW3 had been declared and someone forgot to tell me. This was my 'office' for three years.

The change of command ceremony for my new company commander. You see that guy in front of the platoon that is closest to the camera? Yep, that is a very young Citizen Grouch back when my waist was narrow, my back was straight, and my hair was dark brown. How the time has flown!

There goes the President!

2011-10-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

So for the second time in four months I got to see President Obama airborne overhead. The first time was when we were both in Pittsburgh in June. The Missus and I saw Air Force 1 take off and pass fairly low overhead as we were walking on a path near the airport. Today at work I heard the sound of a group of helicopters passing overhead. I looked up and saw Marine 1 and 2 and three CH47 helicopters flying in trail formation heading to I assume LAX from visiting Jay Leno at the Burbank studios. The cost of this jaunt had to be enormous but it was pretty amazing seeing this air armada after having just been at the Reagan library the day before where I saw a former Marine 1 helicopter on display. I waved to Mr. Obama and hopefully he saw me. I like to be respectful to the CiC.

Wiley E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing (WECSOG)

2011-10-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Wiley E. Coyote is famous for the ad hoc seat of the pants engineering of his plots to destroy his opponent the road runner with various types of violence and mayhem. WECSOG calls for using force, improvised tools and approximate measurements to fix and modify firearms. Since I'm not a gunsmith I don't have the tools or equipment to do precision work on firearms so I have desisted from working on my guns. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Of course I work on them! Recently the Missus went shooting with me for the first time in years. She was shooting the Ruger MkII target and having a great time when the front sight blade flew off and was lost. Bummer! I ordered a replacement front sight blade and figured I would simply fit it into the slot on the front sight mount, put the pin in and be done. Not! The blade wasn't drilled for the pin so I had to drill it so that the hole in the blade insert would match up with the teeny-tiny hole in either side of the mount. Fortunately a couple years ago young daughter bought me a drill press for Christmas. Allow me a side discussion for a minute: for years I have executed repairs and modifications to the dwelling, vehicles, guns, tools, and other things with about a total of seven tools, these being 1. hammer; 2. pair of screw drivers; 3. crescent wrench; 4. hacksaw; 5. power drill; 6. pliers; 7. clamp. It is amazing what can be done with minimal tools but it usually involves compromises and excessive force. Recently I have decided I should grow up and start buying proper tools to work with. It is amazing what can be done with proper tools! After years of trying to drill holes in thing while holding a power drill and making a mess of the job I asked for and received a drill press. It came in handy for this job.

The drill press from young daughter with the barrel clamped in place and the bit hopefully lined up to drill through the existing hole in the mount, through the blade and into the existing hole on the other side of the mount. Of course I don't have the proper clamp for the job, but I decided to press on in the best tradition of WECSOG!

The barrel ready to be drilled. Will I make a horrible botch of it?

The blade drilled and everything lined up and done properly. Yay!

Next I tried to tap the pin into the hole. I tapped gently - then I tapped a bit harder. The pin was not going to go into the hole. What to do? I put on my thinking cap, crossed my fingers and decided I would press the pin into the hole using my bench vise. Fortunately the sight mount is flat on either side. I put the assembly into the vise and slooowly tightened it, keeping everything straight and the pin went in. Woo!

The completed job. Actually looks professional!

Along with the drill press, this year I got an actual tool chest to replace the two tool boxes and other hiding spots for the various tools I have accumulated. Now I do feel grown up!

Eagle Project - Done!

2011-10-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

Young son's Eagle project is finally done! For anyone who stumbled on this blog and don't know the back story on his Eagle project here goes: With less than six months left before his 18th birthday young son decided that he needed to start working on a project to obtain his Eagle rank. The usual types of projects such as improving landscaping at a school or building park benches just didn't appeal to him. I suggested something to aid the Marines in Afghanistan as I serve with a warrant officer whose son is currently in Afghanistan. Craig decided to design a comfort kit contained in a gallon ziplock bag for 200 Marines (BTW Ziplock brand bags are worthless. Most of the zippers didn't work. Get Hefty brand bags instead). Each kit would have a paperback book, pair of crew socks, bag of beef jerky, bag of sunflower seeds, pack of chewing gum, pack of tic-tacs, small tube of toothpaste, dental floss, tube of chapstick, and a 4 pack of AA batteries. He estimated his capital requirement to be $4,500 for supplies and shipping. His project advisor put him over many hurdles to get everything just right and with only about three months left, turned him loose to start the project. Not much time!

He started his fundraising and approached many local businesses most of which either gave only $10 or sent him on his way empty handed. Kudos to Trader Joe's for a contribution of $50! He went to a VFW post and received $380 from them! The Knights of Columbus provided $250. Yay Knights! Relatives and friends contributed a lot of cash too. He set up at two different grocery stores and gave shoppers a list of the items that he needed and asked them to buy just one of them. The outpouring of support from the community was amazing! With six weeks to go he had the items and enough cash to buy what hadn't been donated. He and the Missus went shopping and cleaned the grocery stores out of beef jerky and sunflower seeds. The big day came for packaging and packing the kits into cartons for shipping. Three hours later all was finished. A week later young son and your truly loaded up the Jeep with 480 lbs of kits and drove to the donation point for shipping to Afghanistan. Two weeks after that the project book was delivered to the council office for review and approval. Almost done! Now young son will have his board of review. Then he will be an Eagle scout. Yay!!

Young son addressing one of the work crews at the Grouch's place of employment do ask for help with the project. The employees of the city were very generous with donations of both goods and money.

Young son soliciting outside one of the grocery stores. Even though I am an Army guy through and through, helping the Marines was a worthy thing to do.

The crew after making the packages and the boxes ready for shipping. Twenty cartons and 480 lbs of goods!

The "Lost Boys' memorial bike ride

2011-10-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Time to update the blog! What a difference a week makes This past week it turned rainy and cool and even with the sun out it has been decidely cool. No more pool time here. I shut off the pool heater and overnight the water went from 81F to 72F. But last weekend was hot and sunny here in Happy Acres, the location of Grouch estates. On Sunday I decided that it was time to get old wobbly out and go for a good bike ride. It's called old wobbly because both wheels are bent from the crash in April and I still haven't gotten around to getting them fixed. The weather was warm, the sun was out, the wobbling wheels imparted a nice motion like gently rolling waves and life was good. I decided to take a ride through the industrial center with its myriad of wide streets deserted on Sunday for some hassle-free riding. This was the venue for all four Grouch offspring to pilot the auto de jour to learn to drive. I came to a bike path on the perimeter of the plan that looked like it didn't get much action which was perfect for me. First stop was an access road that led to a water tank set high up on a ridge. On an impulse up I went. That sucker was steep! I was in low-low-low gear and still huffing and puffing. I encountered two guys, one speed walking and one running up the hill. The walker suggested I select a lower gear to make it easier for me. Too bad I was already there.   I made it about 9/10th of the way up but just couldn't go any further without hurling so I decided to take a pause to catch my breath and settle the stomach.   The runner passed me up and said that I made it further than just about most bikers he usually encounters. That was nice of him to say even if it probably wasn't true. From the vantage point I spied the old iron railroad bridge used in the 80s teenager vampire flick "The Lost Boys".
In case you haven't heard of it, here's a link to the movie :http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093437/
And, for those folks who say the bridge in their town is the correct bridge, I offer this link to the movie which shows the bridge I was on: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4sm7d_the-lost-boys-bridge-scene_shortfilms   Hmmm, difficult to see from my picture, but take my word on it!
The local paper had an article about movie locations in our happy valley and this is one of them. This was used in the scene where the vampire gang is jumping off of a bridge at night and they fly away, or something like that. It's been awhile since I've seen the movie.   So anyway access to the bridge has been off limits all these years. It was those pesky no trespassing signs that stopped me from checking it out. Now it has been incorporated into the burgeoning municipal bike trail system so off I went to check it out.

The bridge has a date of 1888 on one end and 1898 on the other. 10 years to build this thing? A nice iron bridge that spans the creek bed which is about 30 feet below. From the deck you get a nice view of the local amusement park where young son works as a ride operator when he isn't being a scholar

After riding across and back again I continued along the path, under the freewayette (looks like a freeway but has stop lights on it) until the paved trail ended and it turned into gravel and dirt and had several signs telling wayward cyclists that we didn't belong there. So I turned around and encountered this sign. I've got to say, only in California will someone see something like this:

Will the sensitive ant's and animal's feelings be hurt if they are spoken to harshly? Will their self-esteem by impacted? Give me a break! I finished up by riding home, taking a dip in the pool and falling asleep on the lounge poolside. Life is good!

A great survival story not too far from here!

2011-09-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44728314/ns/today-today_people/

I've driven this road many times over the years. Not very far from Grouch estates. I can testify that the road is indeed twisting with some very sharp drop offs. It is a canyon road through some rugged country. The Grouch daughters spent a weekend at a camp along this road and were delivered in the old Samurai. Lucky we didn't fly off the road!

TODAY staff and wire

updated 9/30/2011 7:16:23 AM ET

CASTAIC, Calif. — A 67-year-old man found alive days after his car plunged 200 feet off a mountain road built a makeshift camp, ate leaves and drank water from a nearby creek to survive, his daughter said.

After several days of radio silence from their dad, David Lavau's kids reported him missing to police. As rescue workers conducted an official search for the missing man, the Lavaus set out on their own.
The family members were the ones who located David Lavau at the bottom of a ravine in the Angeles National Forest in California Thursday.

Doing my civic duty

2011-09-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

I reported for jury duty on Thursday. I was on standby since Monday and thought I would make it through the week without being called but I was nabbed Thursday.   I won't discuss the case or anything of value. Instead I will complain and grouch about my fellow citizens who were caught in the dragnet with me.

Grouch #1:   6 people got themselves excused from the trial because they could not comprehend English well enough to participate. 1 was a store owner and 2 worked in retail businesses that had customer contact with English speakers.   Most have been in the country over 20 years. All are citizens which requires a command of the English language. All could communicate very well with the judge. But, they couldn't understand well enough to serve. Give me a break!

Grouch #2: The judge told the group when we were released for lunch to be present for duty by 1:30. If anyone was late then we wouldn't start and the proceedings would be delayed and we would all be stuck in the process that much longer. At 1:30 three people were missing. At 1:40 they strolled in from lunch, laughing and carrying on about being late. They couldn't have cared any less about the whole thing.   So the judge told everyone at the end of the day to be present the next day at 10:30 to start.   Well, you guessed it: 2 were no-shows at 10:30. One arrived at 10:35. The second showed up at 10:40. Myself and the rest of the chumps were there by 10:15.

The judge was very nice and very well spoken. I enjoyed listening to him. I was dismayed at the disrespect that the people who were late were showing to him. I imagine after the final selection he put his foot down about being on time. At first I didn't want to serve on the jury but as the process rolled along I began to get interested in it and was starting to look forward to being on the jury. But no, I was dismissed by the defence. Was I too smart to serve? Too dumb?   Should I be insulted?   Anyway I am now 5 for 5 called for jury service and not selected. This is as close as I have gotten. Maybe the next time!

What to do with obsolete business cards?

2011-09-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

When I left my last place of employment I had recently gotten another box of business cards. Being the frugal type that I am I took them with me figuring that I would find some use for them. I didn't want to leave the cards behind and have what happened to me in Michigan when I worked for Pepsi happen again. I got a call from a woman at work one day asking about the job I promised her. I told her that I didn't know what she was talking about. She insisted that I had promised her a job and gave her my card in a bar in downtown Grand Rapids. I asked her what I looked like and she described the beverage warehouse manager.    That rascal had lifted one of my cards and handed it out in the bar! I told her what happened and she either believed me or figured she wasn't going to get anywhere with me anyway and hung up. I let the warehouse guy know what I thought of his trick. He thought it was funny and after awhile I did too.

So, now I have this whole box of business cards sitting in the garage on my workbench. When I left for the range this morning an idea occurred to me and I grabbed a handful of them. I stapled 10 cards to my rifle target and set the target out at 50 yards. They make great targets for a .22 rifle! I had the triple satisfaction of getting free targets, getting good fun, and putting bullet holes through the logo of that blankety blank company that I used to work for!   What could be better?

I ran into one of my employees at the range. We were both surprised to see the other there.  He and his group had a cool lifesize (deadsize?) zombie head and torso target that is filled with a gel. When it is shot the gel oozes out. Now that is cool!   They dressed it in a shirt and hat for added realism. I've got to get one!

Wisdom from Bob Hope

2011-09-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

9-11-01

2011-09-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went for a haircut to get ready for drill with the California State Military Reserve.   The TV at the shop was showing the news. The young man said he hoped that there wouldn't be any mention about 9/11. "I'm tired of it" he said, "they should just stop talking about it."   He went on "it was just a bunch of sand n------s anyway who got a lucky hit on us. Enough about it.   Besides, no one remembers the Maine or Pearl Harbor anymore now anyway."   I sould have walked out but he was halfway through the haircut so I said that 9/11 is our generation's Pearl Harbor.   I let the conversation stop. I didn't want to talk to him anymore.

Several days before 9/11 I saw young daughter off at the airport as she left for basic training for the Air Force. I stood at the window at the gate and waved goodbye to her, thinking about the big adventure that awaited her.   The morning of 9/11 I rode by bike to the commuter train station as usual. It was dark at 6 a.m. and as I pushed my bike along the train platform I heard a couple men talking about a small plane that had crashed into the World Trade center in NYC. They were laughing about the stupid pilot that could do something so dumb.    I had read a book about a B-25 bomber that crashed into the Empire State building in 1945 so I knew it could happen. I also knew that this couldn't be a good thing. When I got off the train in Burbank I plugged my little radio into the earbuds and set off for the 8 mile commute to work. The oldies station I usually listened to had pre-empted their music line up and were instead co-broadcasting the coverage from the AM all news station in L.A.   As I listened to the live coverage and realized what had happened I started to cry. Yes I admit it, I was bicycling along with tears streaming down my cheeks. I cursed out loud whoever had done this and said that nothing, absolutely nothing would be the same again. I thought about my daughter who was just starting basic training. I thought about my son who was still in high school and my family and friends who were serving in the military and those who lived scattered all across the country. Could any of them be on an airplane?

The Missus and I went to Texas to see young daughter graduate from Air Force basic training several months later.   The air base was on a war footing and security was tight. We were proud to see her graduated and be an airman in the Air National Guard. I volunteered to serve on active duty immediately after 9/11. The military was ramping up for a response and for war. But apparently the Army didn't feel they needed a guy who was out of the Army for 5 years after 20 years of intermittent service.   I got a nice certificate of appreciation from the Army for volunteering as a consolation. Older son joined the CAARNG and went off to basic training in South Carolina. Young son, the Missus and I went to his basic training graduation. The training battalion did a ceremony to commemorate the deaths of seven Army rangers who had recently been killed in Afghanistan. The combat deaths in that zone were so low that the deaths of seven soldiers was remarkable. Little did we know what was coming.   I joined the California State Military Reserve, a state defense force, after my request for active duty with the National Guard was also turned down. I faced facts and acknowledged that there is no fool like an old fool and accepted that the best I could do to help in the war was to serve where I could.

Older son went on to serve on three activations, one in Iraq. Young daughter still serves with the CANG. Life has changed significantly for all of us and for the world. Who is winning and who has lost? Others will write about that at great length.  I will say that in one area that really matters, supporting our servicemen and servicewomen, this country has come together. Young son's Eagle scout project of constructing and shipping 200 comfort kits for a Marine battalion in Afghanistan is a great success due to the very, very generous support from the community. Compare this to Vietnam and post Vietnam when to be in the service was frequently treated with contempt by the non serving population. I joined post Vietnam and was harassed when in uniform and even got harassing phone calls at home when I was in the National Guard from someone who knew I was in. Now people recognize the sacrifice that the military is making for the country.

So, here we are, 10 years after 9/11/01.   Life has changed permanently for all of us. We are at war and probably will be for a long, long time. Will there be other 9/11s?   All we can do is love our family and our friends and make life matter each day.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Young Son's Eagle project Part 2

2011-09-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in the previous blog that Young Son's Eagle project has been approved and it is time for him to shift into soliciting mode. He estimates that he will need the equivalent of $4,000 in cash and donation of goods to create, pack, and ship a minimum of 200 comfort packages to a Marine battalion in Afghanistan. As he was struggling to get the project approved the Scout advisor told him that is project lacked the 'wow' factor. The advisor should have seen Young Son in action this weekend to see that the public sees the 'wow' factor in this project!

On Saturday he set up a table outside a grocery store and he and a friend greeted the customers as they went into the store to shop. He asked them if they would buy just one item on his list for the comfort kits and donate them to his project. By the end of the day he had about $300 in goods and close to $100 in cash! People stopped to talk to him about it, folks promised to meet him at the next store that he will be at the following Saturday with more goods and shoppers gave him encouragement and praise for his project. How's that for 'wow'! Only a couple of grumpy people snarled at him as they went by and for this day and age that is a pretty good showing!

Today Young Son and I drove to one of the VFW posts in town so he could talk at their meeting and tell about his project. The group of vets were a gruff group but put him at ease and encouraged him as he spoke. When he was done one of the vets called on the rest to get their wallets out and kick in some money for the project. Young Son left with $300! Other folks have donated goods and cash. Some of the business in town donated small amounts of money, Trader Joe's being an exception, this store gave him $50. Way to go TJ's! He is half-way to his goal of $4,000 and thanks to the generosity of family, friends, neighbors, and total strangers his project will undoubtedly be a success. 200 Marines will each get a package with useful items to alleviate the misery of weeks in the field away from base. Even though I am an old Army dog I can acknowledge the outstanding job our Marines are doing in Afghanistan. Young Son's project is a noble undertaking and I'm proud of him for doing it!

Eagle Scout comfort kit:

1 zip-lock gallon bag containing:

1 pr crew socks

1 paperback book

1 pack beef jerky

1 tube chapstick

1 dental floss

1 tube toothpaste

1 pack sunflower seeds

1 pack tic-tacs

2 pack chewing gum

1 pack wet wipes

4 AA or AAA batteries

1 letter of appreciation from a grade school student

1 letter from Young Son

The world's most useless machine

2011-09-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

I thought the most useless machine was the Black and Decker electric grass trimmer I bought last month that lasted exactly one use before jamming beyond recovery but no, this is the world's most useless machine:

Not only is it useless but it has a bad temper!

Bad dog Roscoe?

2011-08-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

So, the other day a letter arrives from the company that puts out those dog-a-day desk calendars; the one that has a different dog for each day of the year and you tear off the page to reveal the next cute dog in line. So anyway, the letter tells us that we are to be congratulated for having our dog Roscoe selected for the bad dog-a-day calendar for 2012! Bad dog! Not good dog Roscoe! How did this happen? The Missus was not about to take this lying down like a sleeping dog, no sir. She called the company and spoke to an actual person who informed us that sometime, long, long ago when Roscoe was barely out of puppyhood the Missus sent a picture of him looking particularly cute to the dog a day calendar company. Some many years later they apparently worked their way down through the pile of applicants and lit on this picture for their sister publication Bad Dogs. The Missus thought the picture was cute and not bad and the lady of the phone agreed that the picture showed a cute dog but they needed a dog for sometime in 2012 and Roscoe is the one. Oh well, as they say, no publicity is bad publicity as long as the name gets spelled correctly. At least we will get a free calendar out of the deal.

And in the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished department: When I am in the swimming pool and see a poor bee struggling in the water to save itself (I guess they come for a drink, get too close and...splush! in they go) I will give it a lifeline, get it onto the pool deck where it will dry its little wings and buzz off to get more nectar for the queen and fertilize some crops while it is at it. After all, the bee population is declining and someone has to do something to save agriculture and mankind from starvation. So there I was in the pool, literally minding my own business without a thought in my head when suddenly I was viciously and without warning stung by a honeybee! The sucker got me on the shoulder and ended its life in the pool. Older son was called on to get the stinger out of my injured flesh. Stupid bee, didn't it know I am one of the good guys?

Finally: young son's Eagle project to construct 200 comfort packages for a Marine battalion in Afghanistan is underway. Any family members who may read this and want to contribute to the project, now is the time!

Citizen Grouch Recommends....

2011-08-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of movies that the Missus and I saw the other night that I thought were ok and you might also:

"The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon. I thought it was a thoughtful movie about free will and unrequited love. The Missus said it didn't do anything for her. You decide.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810119644/info

"Hereafter" again with Matt Damon! I thought it was ok, well acted and all but didn't really go anywhere. The Missus thought it was a pretty darn good movie. You decide.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810121908/info

A book that I'm reading and really enjoying!

"Stealing Mona Lisa" by Carson Morton.

http://stealingmonalisa.com/

A really charming and fun tale of con artists in the field of art forgeries in 1911! I'm only about 4 chapters into it and am having a great time reading it. I hate to say it but it reads like a fun movie and I'd love to see it made into a movie some day. When the potential art forger is complemented on his ability to paint left-handed ala da Vinci and is told that perhaps the reason he is so good is because he paints left handed, the forger replies: "...the reason I'm so good," he switched the brush to his other hand, "is because I'm right-handed." I laughed out loud when I read it and I could see the scene from the "Princess Bride" where the dread pirate Roberts and Indigo Montoya are sword fighting and have this exchange as Indigo fights hard against Roberts with his sword in his left hand.

"I admit it, you are better than I am." "Then why are you smiling?" "Because I know something you don't know." "And what is that?" "I am not left handed!”

Ok, only "Princess Bride" fanatics will make the connection, but it tickled my fancy. Check out "Stealing Mona Lisa"

A book I finished recently and also enjoyed but probably best appreciated by those who like aviation, adventure, history, or maybe historical military aviation fiction with an adventure theme.

The Delta by Marshall Harrison

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0891414363/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

A fictional account of a FAC (forward air controller) in Vietnam who spotted targets and controlled air strikes on the enemy from a high wing single engine spotter plane called a Bird Dog. A great tale and based loosely on the real-life exploits of the author who spent time in Vietnam as a FAC. Probably only to be found on Amazon or in a library as it has been out for a long time.

Lame parents

2011-08-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

So the Missus and I were limping last week. First I visited the foot doctor for some work to the right foot. I got some injections into the tendons for my toes which left me limping and directions from the doc to limit my walking for several days. Then the Missus got a lump carved out of her right leg - nothing serious, a cyst with fluid in it - but she too was told to limit her walking. When youngest daughter heard of both of these issues she exclaimed that her 'parents are lame'. What can you expect from someone with a degree in English?

Useful web pages

2011-08-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some websites that are interesting or at least useful for killing time.

http://cleverbot.com/ For those lonely days when you are stuck at home with no one to talk to.

http://forums.gunboards.com/ If you are inclind to be interested in firearms check out this site.

http://www.minneapolisfed.org/index.cfm So your dad only paid $50 for that curio back in 1955. See how much that really cost him in today's money! (The answer is $406 - so I hope it was something really nice!)

http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html Where are Americans moving to and away from?

http://www.nationalreview.com/ For thinking, rational, right thinking people.

http://120.138.21.35/gwit-flash/?lang=en&hl=en_US So you think you are a marksman (or woman)? Give this a try.

http://scotlandinthegloaming.blogspot.com/?expref=next-blog Beautiful pictures!

http://mojaveroad.blogspot.com/ My favorite off road journey in California

http://iwl.me/ "I write like this" It says I write like Steven King. Unfortunately for Steven King, he writes like like H.P. Lovecraft. Go figure.

http://www.tenbyten.org/10x10.html "100 words and 100 pictures that define a time" Check it out!

http://www.pricegen.com/localizesurname.htm Map your surname research resources

Have fun!

English Pantomime

2011-08-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

English pantomime...wah? Has the Grouch lost his mind completeley now? So there I was flat on my back at 20,000ft...no wait a minute, that's what they said in WW2.

Actually there I was flat on my back on the living room floor doing my exercises when for some reason I flashed back to a Christmas many years ago when the Missus and the young ones and I went to a theater to see a unique brand of live English theater called a pantomime. This was a hilarious one man version of the Wizard of Oz that involved hand puppets, audience participation, songs, and some mild double entrende. At the time I thought it was just a very funny show until several years later when listening to NPR radio they had a piece about English pantomime and I thought 'that's what we saw!' and promptly forgot all about it....until tonight. The phrase pantomime popped into my head, I jumped up from the exercise floor (ok I rolled over, got slowly to my knees and stood up creaking like a windjammer in a storm), hobbled to the computer and typed in English pantomime and learned all about it again! In case anyone else wants to be educated, here is a link to a Wikipedia entry about it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime

If you ever hear about a Christmas pantomime showing near you, don't hesitate, don't delay, get your ticket and go!

Being the rabbit

2011-08-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

So today I got to enjoy one of the side benefits of my great (and I do mean great) job by being a passenger in a police cruiser during EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator Course) training. I was there to see first-hand the stress that the cruisers are put through during the one to two day training. The maintenance shop was concerned that a set of tires was lasting one day during the training and I needed to see first hand why this was. I attended the class room portion a couple of weeks ago and today I was at the driving area for the hands-on portion. I was invited to do the course myself but being too chicken to make a fool by slinging cones in all directions I demurred but did accept a ride in the passenger seat in the 'rabbit' driven by an instructor.

The rabbit is the car being pursued by the officer undergoing the training and is the culmination (read fun part) of the course. Before we did the rabbit part, we did the drive backwards as fast as you can and turn 90 degrees part. The idea on this is that an officer can escape a shooter by driving backwards and then turning into the first street he/she comes to. We only (only!) got up to 45 mph going backwards before making the turn. Believe me it was a strange feeling, almost like falling but never hitting the ground. The instructor liked it so much we did it again! This was for my benefit only since the officers being trained did it on their own.

Next we were the rabbit for the hound. We took off through the cone pattern and randomly turned left, right, or straight, weaving through the simulated streets a high enough speed that I had to brace myself hard with my left foot on the firewall and my right knee against the door to stop from ending up in the driver's lap. We did two sessions, each for about two minutes. It was a blast but part way through the second session I realized that the old stomach maybe wasn't up to this much yanking and banking and this was going to be my last ride as the assistant rabbit. It was a hoot to do and the instructor was nonchalant as we seemingly randomly dodged through the various choices in the cone pattern.

When I got out of the car I saw that yes the tires would probably be worn out by the end of the day.

The Missus goes to the range!

2011-08-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

So the Missus decided to go to the range with me on Friday which was a pleasant surprise. The joke around the house with her and young son is what to do when the zombie apocalypse occurs. The solution usually involves lots of shooting of zombies (hopefully no one we knew before they were zombified) and when I suggested to the Missus that she may want to do some shooting to be ready when the zombies show up at our house she said that she wanted to go with me to the range so off we went!

She declined to try the AR15 or Russki Saiga .223 that I brought to try some reloads that I developed but did a great job picking up the fired cases. We didn't spend too much time at that part of the range and then headed to the members only private range for some private shooting. The targets at this range are all steel plates mounted on stands and give a satisfying 'bingggg' when hit.

At this range she shot:

Rossi pump .22 magnum rifle. This one was ok but a bit fiddly for her to remember the loading and pumping the action each time to chamber another round. The Missus did ok and any zombies coming to consume her had about a 40% chance of closing to biting distance.

Marlin 795 .22 semi auto rifle. She really shined with the Marlin! No zombie stood a chance of getting anywhere close to her. She took to the loading drill immediately and smacked the loaded magazine into the rifle with authority! She was simply deadly with this piece. When one of the magazines was giving us trouble she cautioned me not to get it mixed in with the good magazines so as not to have it fail when the zombies showed up. Good advice! (I fixed the magazine)

AR15 rifle with .22 kit. Fun but too heavy.

Hi Standard Sentinel 9 shot .22 revolver. This was a non-starter for her. Double action was way too stiff and opening the cylinder was a 5 minute struggle each time. This one is only for arm length distance.

Sig Sauer P6 9mm pistol. Too much gun for the Missus. The flinching was on the mega side of the scale. Enough of that.

Ruger Mk2 target .22 pistol. This is what she was waiting for. She loved this pistol and was doing excellent work with it until the front sight blade flew off the pistol! The pin that holds the blade in place broke and the blade flew off to follow the bullets. Who ever heard of such a thing! And just when she was enjoying herself too. So much for that pistol for the day.

She finished up with three rounds out of the home defense Remington 870 riot shotgun. First she practiced loading and working the action with dummy rounds and then two live rounds from the shoulder and one from the hip. Not much fun at all for her! At least she knows how to use it.

So, any zombies who may be even thinking of coming to Grouch acres for a snack better watch out for the Missus with her trusty semi auto .22s! We had a great time (at least I had a great time - she had an ok time) and she rewarded herself with a maple twist donut on the way home.

That's my girl!

Sunday update

2011-07-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Not too much to write about recently which is why I haven't written anything. Let's start with a weather report: Today was overcast, cool, rainy, and then sunny, hot, and humid. Where am I living again? I thought this was southern California where it is supposed to be sunny and hot this time of year. Next bit of news is that older son who has been looking for a place to buy put an offer on a cute little 3 bedroom house which was accepted the other day by the owner. Yay for him! Except, this will be a short sale and the mortgage holder has to agree to the short sale. This drama will play out over another two months or so, stay tuned.

Citizen Grouch's book recommendations:

Just finished reading "Escape from Shangri-La" about a C-47 that crashed in a hidden and inaccessible valley high in the mountains in New Guinea at the end of WW2. A true story, it was well written and informative and read like a novel. It ended with a feature that I enjoy in books and movies, the 'what happened in their lives after the story ended' part. A good read, check it out at your local library (which is where I found it)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_22?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=escape+from+shangri-la&sprefix=escape+from+shangri-la

For the Wilbur Smith readers, he has a new book out, "Those in Peril". A good read but in a bid to be relevant he has amped up the sex and violence which coming from an 78 year old author is somewhat unnerving to me. I liked the earlier Wilbur Smith who would look away when the sex and violence got too heavy. Modern times I guess.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/those-in-peril-wilbur-smith/1028388312?ean=9780312567255&itm=1&usri=those%2bin%2bperil

Last night the Missus and I joined some friends to hear Celtic music at a concert at the park in our fair city. We were hoping for traditional Irish music of which we got a bit but it seemed that the group was hoping for some gigs at weddings and the like because they played more rock and pop than Celtic music. At least they were indeed from Ireland so I guess that made the billing correct: we heard music played by Celts. It was a nice night out, the weather was perfect and the company pleasant. Can't ask for more in life.

The song game

2011-07-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I commented to the Missus about the number of pop songs that have girl's names in the title as compared to boy's names, probably twice as many or more. We never figured that out but we did start writing down the titles of songs with a female name in it. My rule is that it should be a song that a person has a reasonable chance of hearing it on the radio. The Missus being the competitive sort that she is was willing to include any song title published since the Gutenberg bible was printed. I protested, she slipped some in anyway. So here in no order whatsoever are the songs that we have come up with. If you can suggest more, we'll add them to the list!

BLACK BETTY

WHO'S HOLDING DONNA NOW

TRACY 69

MARY'S A GRAND OLD NAME

GOOD NIGHT IRENE

IF YOU KNEW SUSIE

COME ON EILEEN

MUSTANG SALLY

WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE

BARBARA ANN

MICHELLE MY BELL

GLORIA

LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

ROSANNE

LUCILLE

LAYLA

MARY IN THE MORNING

PROUD MARY

HOLLY HOLLY

HELLO DOLLY

DOWN EASTER ALEXA

MAGGIE MAY

BOY NAMED SUE

BRANDY

OH SHERRY

MANDY

RHIANNON

LADY MADONNA

RUBY DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE TO TOWN

I'LL TAKE YOU HOME KATHLEEN

DAISY

SANDY

THEY CALL THE WIND MARIAH

CINDERELLA

JEANNIE WITH THE LIGHT BROWN HAIR

ANGIE

CECILIA

WINDY

HONEY

REBBECCA LYNN

JOLENE

CARLENE

ANNIE'S SONG

DANCE LITTLE JEAN

LAY DOWN SALLY

ELIZABETH

MARIANNE

LOLA

JUDY IN DISGUISE

ELVIRA

HEY PRUDENCE

OH BETH

HELLO MARY LOU

TELL LAURA I LOVE HER

JULIE DO YOU LOVE ME

HEY THERE DELILAH

PADDLIN' MADELINE HOME (I don't think this is a real song!)

867-9309/JENNY

SUNNY COME HOME

JACKIE BLUE

SHANNON

CARRIE ANN

MY MARIA

JOSIE

PEG

SUZIE Q

ANGIE BABY

SARA SMILE

AMANDA

HELEN WHEELS

NORMA JEAN RILEY

VERONICA

ALONG CAME MARY

JOANNA

LYNDA

MARIAN THE LIBRARIAN

SUSAN

THAT'S MY LITTLE SUZIE

AMIE

JULIE DO YOU LOVE ME?

Added:

RUBY TUESDAY

HANG ON SLOOPY

MONA LISA

MAYBELLENE

ALONG CAME MARY

TAKE A LETTER MARIA
BILLIE JEAN
DIRTY DIANA

Visiting Flagstaff AZ 2011

2011-07-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

After our fantastic trip to Pittsburgh just a couple of weeks ago the Grouch family decided we needed a vacation! So the Missus, young son, and I set off in the hybrid Escape sans dogs for a trip to Flagstaff AZ to see the sights. We only had 3 days to see what needed to be seen so we wasted no time. Young daughter was to meet us in Flagstaff as she was driving by herself.

We set off for AZ via I40. The highway in California was in horrible shape and the rest stops were all closed for repair. We didn't see any repairs going on and it almost made for some desperate times but eventually we made it to AZ and the road improved almost immediately and the rest stops were open! The Escape climbed a steady grade going up to Flagstaff eventually besting 5,000 ft. We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express and even though staying there did not make us an instant expert on an important subject we did enjoy the great breakfast and comfortable beds. The Grouch was interested to see the number of foreign guests at the hotel outnumbering U.S. citizens by a goodly number. We decided that we had the following goals:

1. Meteor crater
2. Winslow and the corner where the flat bed Ford slowed down

3. Montezuma's Castle

4. Sunrise crater

5. Downtown Flagstaff

6. Native American building ruins
7. souvenirs

We did the meteor crater and an impressive sight it was. It was very hard to grasp the scale of what we were seeing it was so enormous. After that a quick run to Winslow to see the corner and the route 66 sign and on the way back we passed an exit that seemed perfect for the Grouch. Down to Montezuma's castle which are impressive cliff dwellings that we realized we had seen in 1995 when we stayed in Sedona, but they were worth a second look. Up to Montezuma's well. Over to Sunset crater and the lava flow and then on to see more Indian ruins. Back to old downtown Flagstaff. More Indian ruins. Then, in the Escape for a 8 hour drive back home. It rained every day, sometimes fire hose quantity rain. It was a good thing we had umbrellas and a rain coat! It was a great time and we will be back.

http://www.meteorcrater.com/ meteor crater

http://www.nps.gov/moca/index.htm Montezuma's castle

http://www.arizona-leisure.com/sunset-crater-volcano.html Sunrise crater

http://www.arizona-leisure.com/wupatki-ruins.html Wupatki ruins

http://www.winslowarizona.org/ Winslow

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-twoguns.html Two Guns ghost town

Click on the pics for a larger view!

We reach AZ, land of sunshine and smooth highways

Hot, dry, and dusty

Climbing up the mountains towards Flagstaff

The meteor crater, over 500 ft deep! But it used to be over 700 ft deep when it was first created 50,000 years ago

The Grouches minus the Missus who is taking the picture, as we touch a meteor for luck

Young son standing on the corner hoping a girl in a flat bed Ford will slow down to take a look at him

Young daughter smack in the middle of route 66

Two guns ghost town that away

Two Guns - at least part of it

Even the graffiti in AZ is historic

The Grouches exploring an Indian ruin

The ruin

Traversing the lava field at Sunset Crater (an extinct - for now- volcano)

Glad the lava has cooled off!

For once the Missus is in the picture!

The citadel ruin and Young Daughter tries to keep her footing as the wind and rain comes

Yep, another ruin!

Montezuma's castle. Montezuma had nothing to do with building it but the name stuck

Pittsburgh Visit 2011 Part IV

2011-07-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

On our second to last day in the 'burgh we visited Oakland for the grand nostalgia tour. First we stopped in Mt. Lebanon to visit our favorite aunt who says she always knew I was the right one for the Missus. Bless her heart!

Next we headed to the Science Center, always a favorite. We did all of the interactive exhibits and toured the WW2 submarine tied up in the river next to the center.

Then we headed to Oakland to visit the nationality rooms at the University of Pittsburgh our Alma mater. These are classrooms decorated in a theme of a country, mostly European, that reflect the heritage of the people of Pittsburgh. Definitely worth a visit. Keep in mind that you need to register to tour the ground floor rooms but not those on the third floor. Who knows why only the first floor! http://www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/

We met the Missus' other best friend from Pitt days and headed to the Carnegie Art and Natural History museum. We got caught in a sudden downpour that despite our umbrellas soaked us but good. The museum is full of wonderful and amazing art and natural history but I had eyes only for the display of the Berber fending off the lions. This is an icon from my youth and the one exhibit I always had to see when visiting the museum. I read somewhere a while ago that the museum wanted to ditch the exhibit but aging baby boomers like me put up such a fuss that they decided to keep it and even spruced it up. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09362/1024019-51.stm

Friday was spent resting and getting ready for the trip home. President Obama was in town for a visit and with the resulting traffic snarls we decided to stick close to home station. The Missus and I went for a walk by the airport on a path that paralleled the parkway west. We realized that all traffic had come to a stop on the highway and that a helicopter was orbiting overhead. Suddenly we heard the roar of a large jet aircraft taking off and then climbing over the trees and gaining altitude was Air Force one! What a sight to see! I guess that the secret service closed the highway to keep traffic away from the airport while the plane took off.

Saturday we sadly headed home and left friends and family behind. Hopefully some will come to visit us in Southern California!

My favorite aunt and the Missus

The Pittsburgh Science Center

Part of the very elaborate model train display originally held at the Buhl planitarium which is now closed. I was off to see this display many years ago around Christmas with the boy scouts when I fell on an icy driveway and got a concussion. Later the head pain became so severe that the outing had to be cut short to get me home.

Young son tries his hand at being a weatherman on T.V. at the science center

The WW2 submarine

Young son tries to bring the sub to life

Hail Pitt!

Nationality room - Czechoslovakia?

India room

Here it is! The Arab (Berber) courier v. the lions!!

One of the Arizona fires spotted as we returned home

The Missus has a birthday and young son does some cooking

2011-07-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to memorialize the Missus' birthday! So here it is immortalized in photos. Also, young son and a friend decided to cook mac and cheese from scratch. Why? Who knows, but they had a great time doing it so I thought I'd share.

Click on the pics for a larger view:

The Missus contemplates the task before her: blow out the candles!

The Grouch family minus one

Who can resist bunny ears?

The mac and cheese after at least one trip to the store and mulitple pots, dishes, and utensils used and discarded.

The co-chef pronounces the product a-ok!

Best Vacation Ever revisited

2011-07-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Several posts ago I wrote about the best vacation ever that I had as a kid. You can read about it here:

http://citizengrouch.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-vacation-many-years-ago.html

Much to my surprise my brother responded that he not only remembered the vacation but he had pictures from it! It was 1959 which put the Grouch at 5 years old. When we all met at younger sister's wedding I was given copies of pictures from the vacation. Neither he nor my other sister could remember where we went. Younger sis wasn't around then so she had no opinion about the vacation but older sis said she hated it. Best vacation for me, worst for her!

Click on the pic for a larger view!

The Grouch and Dad and Mom. Who knew my parents were young once and cool looking too!

Four soon to be Five. The birth of my young sis was devastating for me, the baby of the family. When my mom called baby sis her 'little pumpkin' I was crushed.

Oldest sis stokes the wood stove. How could anyone not like this place?! I miss you Connie.

Interlude - 4th of July 2011

2011-07-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the 4th of July! My all-time favorite holiday of the year! As (almost) always we started the day by attending our city's parade which has been going on with a few interruptions for wars and other disasters since the last economic grand slam to hit this nation: in other words since 1932! Either folks are reading my blog posts about the parade and are deciding to attend to experience it first hand or perhaps the residents are just becoming more aware of the old 'the early bird gets the worm' adage but when we got to our usual favorite in the shade spot we found (a) it taken over by the parade reviewing stand and judges and (b) people who got there before us! We went across the street to sit in the sun and wait for about 2 hours. Did I mention that it was going to be hot enough to melt lead ingots into molten puddles that day? But just before the parade started the judges moved down about 20 feet which opened up an opportunity for the Grouch party to literally scramble across the road just as the Deputies on motor cycles approached with the start of the parade! We don't do things by half measures, no siree!

This was the first parade in decades to have an actual marching band in it! The high schools combined into a pick-up band, distributed the music to the kids before hand, they showed up at 6:30 a.m. the morning of the parade to try it together and off they went! What a talented bunch which included young son! As always the parade is an eclectic group of displays and participants. The theme this year was the anniversary of women achieving the right of vote. Some of the participants made no attempt to conform to the theme but then that is what makes this a lot of fun.

After the parade we stayed in door to beat the 104F heat. Later that evening it was off to see fireworks. A great day for the Grouch family and for our country. Happy birthday America!

Click on the pics for a larger view!

Watching the parade with our friends

A group keeping to the theme of the parade

Here come the band!

Young son blowin' that 'bone!

The fifes and drums

Polynesian dancers?! Wow, they could shake those hips!

Summer Santa

Our very own ghostbusters!

My favorite - the motorized L-Z Boy recliner with a space theme!

The end to a great day!

Pittsburgh visit 2011 part III

2011-07-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

The night before we set off for the wilds of downtown Pittsburgh we visited with a close friend of the Missus going back to high school. Since names are not to be mentioned in the blog, if you read this and recognize the picture you will know who we saw and if you don't, well then it doesn't really matter! We drove to Pittsburgh and parked at Station Square (a former train terminal), shopped a bit and got the duck tour around town and in the river. For those who aren't in the know, a duck tour means you get to ride in a WW2 DUKW, essentially an amphibious GMC 2.5 ton truck. First we drove around town and then into the river. Volunteers were selected to pilot the craft in the water and the whole Grouch party volunteered. The Missus was quick to tell the driver of the craft that she had experience having driven (piloted?) one on the Boston river. He kept his eye on her and a good thing too as she was trying to drive and take a picture at the same time! http://www.justduckytours.com/content.php?p=10 After this fun we walked across the bridge over to the main part of town. We visited the Andy Warhol museum which Young Son really was anxious to see http://www.warhol.org/ I thought that many of the artists displayed in the museum were playing a joke on us when I viewed their efforts but the rest of the family liked what they saw so that was all that mattered. The weather was hot and humid and I was feeling the effects!

After the fun in the city we walked across yet another bridge, this one closed to traffic, to the PNC park to see the Pirates play the Baltimore Orioles. We met one of the many sisters in law and her kids along with my mother in law at the park and saw a great game. The stadium is great and much more pleasant than the old Three Rivers stadium and somewhat reminiscent of the long departed Forbes Field. When the game ended we took the water taxi back across the river to Station Square, the car and back home. What a day!

The Missus and her best friend from high school who is a real sweetie!

Young son pilots the dukw and wears a cap appropriate to the task

The Missus piloting the dukw after the actual captain suggested that she put the camera down before we ran hard aground!

The Ground showing his nonchalance will piloting the dukw. This craft didn't react like a land vehicle and constant course corrections were needed to keep going the correct way. The river current was pretty strong.

The crew of the SS Minnow, I mean the Miss Liberty.

One of the dinosaurs on display in downtown Pittsburgh. We liked this one because of the Heinz tie-in. There is a story to the dinosaurs but we don't have time to review it now!

The 'burgh

Nothing like a ball game! The 1971 Pirates team was on the field to be recognized by the fans. It brought back memories for us old duffers who remember the glory days of Roberto,Maz, Willie and Danny Murtaugh. Those were the days!

Pittsburgh visit 2011 part II Fallingwater and Ft. Necessity

2011-07-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

When the Grouch and young son met up with the Missus we set off for Fallingwater, the home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930 for the Kaufmann family (A Pittsburgh department store empire that was bought out by Macy's). I visited the place with a friend back in the 70s and in my rebellious phase disdained everything about the home and the bubbling enthusiasm of the docents. This time more mature, or at least older and maybe wiser I viewed the home again and the setting and appreciated the beauty of both home and the grounds. Young son who is more sophisticated than I was at the same age really liked it. After we finished visiting the house we set off for Ft. Necessity which is close to Fallingwater. The Missus teaches about the fort in her American History course for her 5th grade class and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it. As a bonus we got to view the burial spot of General Braddock not more than a mile or so from the fort. A two-fer!

http://fallingwater.org/ Fallingwater

http://www.nps.gov/fone/index.htm Ft. Necessity

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM12DF_General_Braddocks_Grave

Pictures are below, click on them for a larger view

Fallingwater (but then you figured that out on your own!)

Walking to the visitor center - a very nice facility that did not exist in the 70s.

You have arrived! No pictures allowed inside.

The water was running very strong during our visit. The last time I was there it was hardly more than a trickle.

Young son and the home.

The Missus inside the gate at Ft. Necessity looking formidable yet alluring

The troops do a battlefield walk at Ft. Necessity

The marker for Braddock's grave

Braddock's grave marker. The original road cut through to Ft. Pitt by the British and locals passes within yards of the monument and traces can still be viewed. History is fascinating!

Pittsburgh 2011 visit part I

2011-07-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

Young son and I left cool and sunny Burbank for warm and humid and sometimes rainy Pittsburgh on a Thursday on Southwest. I expected delayed flights, lost luggage, and who knows what else but...everything went according to plan! We stayed overnight at the in laws who were very nice to put us and the missus (who came later) up at their place. Friday morning we set off for State College for the wedding of young sis to a really nice guy whose name I shouldn't mention (only to keep opsec). I plugged in the trusty GPS nav system and off we went. All went well until about an hour from our destination when the GPS did not recognize the freeway that we were driving on! Suddenly according to it we were driving cross country and it incessantly told us to turn around. It sneakily guided us to an off ramp but I realized what it was trying to do and got back on the freeway. I had been this route a couple years ago when elder Grouch was in a home spending his last days near young sis who did a heroic and thankless job of watching over him. Anyway just as I was thinking that we were going to be in trouble if the GPS didn't start recognizing the highway it snapped back to reality and guided us to our hotel were we met up with older daughter and little ladybug. These are all code names of course. We went to the wedding, young son got out and danced with his cousins and a great time was had by all. Unfortunately the computer did something when I downloaded those pics and young son's moves on the dance floor are lost forever. Here are the pics that I was able to save. Click on the picture for a larger view!

In the parking lot of the hotel we found these ducklings who were cut off from mama duck and were frantic to reach her. They ended up forming a ducking pyramid and climbed over each other to get to mama. Kind of like the corporate world!

Young son attempted to give the two remaining ducklings a boost over the curb to get to the rest of the family.

Young sis and about to be husband at the wedding held outside in the country. It was a beautiful setting.

Exchanging the vows

Young son looking cool and older daughter looking beautiful!

That is all for now. Stay tuned for parts 2 through ?

The Grouch is on vacation!

2011-06-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

So, the Grouch and the Missus and young son are on vacation in the 'burgh. For those in the know you know where we are. The rest of you can look it up. Young son and I traveled to State College to attend my youngest sister's wedding to a very nice guy. The Missus would have gone too but being a teacher she was obliged to stay through the end of the week for the last day of school. She traveled two days after us and we met here in the 'burgh. The wedding was great and it was fun seeing my siblings, nieces and nephews and their kids and meeting the relations from the new side of the family. Older (chronologically speaking) daughter and our granddaughter little ladybug met us at S.C. and then we semi-convoyed back to our temporary home station. We both got caught in an humongous traffic jam of Taylor Swift fans who were going to the ballpark for a concert and totally plugged up the freeway. After sitting for about an hour and inching past a route that would have taken us around the jam it suddenly dawned on me that all I had to do was tell the GPS to take an alternate route, get off and it would plot the trip for me. Duh! 8 minutes later we were past the jam and flying to the in-laws who are graciously putting us all up for the week. Yay! The front part of the convoy had left us about two hours before because I drive too slowly (only 8 MPH over the speed limit) and beat us home but not by much!

Older brother gave me pictures from the greatest vacation ever that I referenced in a previous post and I will show them when I am back in town. I am in most looking like an obnoxious five year old which I undoubtedly was.

By the way, any thieves, bandits, highwaymen, or road agents planning to plunder Grouch estates whilst we are gone: Older son is home, is a combat vet, and is heavily armed. Good luck.

A summer vacation many years ago

2011-06-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

So I was walking over to the train station today to pick up the whale that I left there yesterday morning when I took the train to work. I drove home from work yesterday evening in the Stratus because I have drill this weekend and a 120 mile round trip is best done in a 26 mpg vehicle with an automatic transmission for the inevitable stop and go return traffic rather than in the dauntless Jeep that gets 20 at the best and 15 in traffic. So anyway I was walking to the station and reflecting on a summer vacation that my family took many years ago. I don't know where we went or how old I was (probably less than 10) but it has stuck with me forever. We stayed in a neighbor's vacation cabin that was near a small river. A train line ran behind our cabin and others all in a row. A train bridge crossed the river (probably more like a wide creek) and my mother warned all of us kids to stay off the bridge because a train could come when we were on it and we would be hit and killed. Some teenagers were supposedly on the bridge and all killed when the train came. Of course we went straight to the bridge and discussed whether we would jump into the water if the train came or try to run to the end and jump out of the way. A man came along the track each morning on one of those hand cars that you see in silent movies - the kind that you move along by pumping the lever up and down. He would deliver stuff to the people in the cabins; milk and newspapers and the like. I don't think we ever got anything though. Once a day the train would go by, moving slowly and the train crew would wave to me. I think it was a steam locomotive but who knows for sure with so much time passing. It was a intensely exciting time for me as a small boy and I loved every minute of it but I think I was the only one who did because we never went back. It is funny what sticks in a person's mind. I'm sure we did things on that trip that I do not remember but the sight of the man on the handcar and the train slowly trundling by with the engineer waving to me will be with me forever. My parents gave me a gift that summer that I have treasured for over 50 years.

Added on Monday: My brother (who is not a grouch like me) emailed to tell me that the vacation I remember happened in 1959. I was five years old! He also remembers the train and the hand car. How about that!

A play, the Mojave bird farm, the Dutch Cleanser Mine, Burro Schmidt, and more

2011-06-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the missus, young son and I saw the musical version of "Footloose" at the local community theater. I'm generally suspicious of musicals made from movies - it seems kind of backwards since movies come from musicals usually but in this case it worked. Before and during intermission 80s music videos played on a screen onstage and some of the songs used in the production were 80s favorites. I liked the number performed to "Holding on for a Hero" that featured Indiana Jones, Mr. Clean, Superman, and Underdog. I mean what could be better than that? The cast was talented and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. For once the theater was sold out which had to be gratifying for the cast. I had a great time and so did everyone else.

These are aircraft parked for sale or scrapping at the Mojave airport

On Sunday I set off for the Mojave desert for a bit of exploring with some friends. The weather was gorgeous, in the 70s, sunny, and breezy. We saw some sights, did some off roading and had a great time. If you click on the pictures you'll get a larger view!

A wind farm near Mojave. When you are close to the turbines you can feel a low frequency sound almost more than you can hear it. it sounds like an ocean freighter's engines in the distance.

This is the Dutch Cleanser mine where the stuff was dug out to use in the cleanser of the same name. The cliff is made of a talc like mineral. The floor and walls felt hollow when knocked on. The mine was active until the '20s.

Here's the Grouch in front of the mine.

The intrepid convoy

The group contemplating the Burro Schmidt tunnel

Everything you need to know about the tunnel. Yes we walked through it and found a colony of very large rats in the tunnel. Why they chose to live there is a question although I guess every mine needs some rats in it. The tunnel comes out on the other side of the ridge and give a spectacular view of the Mojave.

Starry night

2011-06-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

I have some updates from the past weekend to blog about but no time tonight. So instead I will give you this video to watch. I loved it.

Enjoy

http://vimeo.com/dakotalapse/plainsmilkyway

Recovery time update

2011-05-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

The bruising is almost gone now and a recent Xray shows a finger of bone growing past the split in the collarbone to bridge the two pieces and hold everything together. The main pain I still have is in my neck (all the time) and in my shoulder when I stand or walk for any amount of time. Today I went to the range for the first time in over a month. Only .22s and some German army training ammo and only for about 1.5 hrs. I wore a shooting jacket with recoil pad and only fired about 50 rounds of .22s and 20 rounds of the no recoil training stuff. I quit when the injured area started to hurt from the rifle butt being pressed against it. This week I start PT which is scheduled for 6 weeks but I'm guessing I will cut that short once I learn what they are having me do. I can do the same thing at home for free. So far by 5:30 p.m. I have only taken 2 Tylenols which is half of what I had been consuming just a couple days earlier. Progress!

Eternal Valley Memorial Day weekend 2011

2011-05-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

Young son and I went to Eternal Valley on Saturday for the annual placing of flags on the graves of veterans interred there for Memorial day. The Grouch family has been involved in this event for many years as each of the four Grouch kids participated in the various levels of scouting. This will be our last year I imagine because young son times out on scouts when he hits 18 in October. I usually go in uniform to show my respect to the veterans buried in the cemetery. This year one of the other fathers was there in his ACUs. Another LTC, he was in Iraq with the same unit as older son in 2007 and we did lots of nostalgia talk about the Army. He didn't look as worn out as me, maybe because he was about 7 years younger than me. Just wait!

In the grand tradition of this event we arrived at the designated time and then waited another 40 minutes for the folks in charge to get organized and get the program under way. The boys placed a flag at each veteran's grave marker, stepped back and saluted and then on to the next grave. The turn out over all was a bit smaller this year than in years past so the scouts who were there stayed on to continue the job until every veteran's grave was marked. The picture shows just one section of the very large cemetery. The boys did a great job.

Click on the photos for a larger view

Saluting at a Vet's grave after placing the flag

The Grouch and young son

A 22 year old helicopter pilot who died of his wounds in Vietnam. See below for his story

WO1 Patrick D. Erb

06 Jul 49 15 Mar 71

Sylmar CA

This was WO1 Erb's first aircraft commander mission. On 25 Feb 71 they were resupplying troops on or near a pinnacle LZ (LZ Scotch), which is near the Rockpile. LZ Scotch was obscured by smoke from Laos, had marginal visibility, dead trees around the approach, and a departure route that limited maneuvering. A major firefight was being fought at the base of the pinnacle, and the Dolphin aircraft was advised to expedite departure. Richard Bricker was the crewchief riding on the left side, right behind Doug Erb, who was on the controls. The aircraft took fire on climb out, caught fire, exploded, and fell to the ground among the trees. Bricker recalls they had just lifted off the LZ (Scotch) when Bricker saw a bright flash through the trees, and moments later felt the impact at the access doors (at the base of the tailboom). The explosion/impact knocked the aircraft sideways to the right, causing the aircraft to impact with the trees, which in turn caused the disintegration of the aircraft as it fell 10 feet to the ground. The aircraft was engulfed in flames before it hit the trees or the ground. The crew chief, SP4 Bricker, and the gunner, SP4 Mike Walsh, were blown out of the burning aircraft during the crash and survived. Walsh heard someone cry out and found Burch. He carried Burch to a log, that they hid behind, until rescued by the Infantry. Simultaneously, Bricker, who was badly burned, cried out for Walsh to get him, but Walsh could not because of the intensity of the enemy fire. The Infantry came down the hill and assisted in the recovery of the crew to the mountain top, where they were flown out. During the crash, the pilots rode the aircraft in and were unable to get out the burning aircraft from the front. To get out, they both had to run through the intense fire in the cargo compartment and were severely burned. All crewmembers were able to walk away from the aircraft under their own power and were taken to the hospital at Quang Tri by a following 174th Dolphin aircraft. Both pilots had burned their lungs running through the fire and succumbed to pneumonia weeks later in Japan, which was commonplace. The severity of the burns was the reason they remained in Japan and were not shipped back to the states for recovery. Erb was in the bed next to Walsh when he (Erb) died. Walsh and Bricker were sent to the Burn Center at Brooke Army Hospital, Ft. Sam Houston, TX. Walsh was the least injured of the four, but was medically retired from active duty. Bricker, who also walked under his own power to an aircraft that lifted him out of the LZ, is alive and well in Piggott, Arkansas and has six children. He has had over 300 skin grafts and is loving life via his children (who found this website).

Source: Fred Thompson Sep 89; Bill Early Jul 91; COL Bob Berk, Pentagon, June 1992 who was an attending nurse in the burn ward in which that they were treated; Fred Thompson and Mike Walsh phone conversation-May 1993; Mike Walsh VHPA reunion Jul 1993, Phoenix; Fred Thompson and Richard Bricker phone conversation, Mar 99.

http://www.174ahc.org/174ahc3.htm#WO1Burch

Not much to say....

2011-05-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

Except it is Friday! No work today and the first of a four day weekend. Yay! The Stratus got its first fill up for MPG purposes yesterday. 26.4mpg for 60% highway and 40% around town driving. Not bad compared to the 16.4 that the whale has been turning in. Speaking of the whale it didn't want to start at the train station yesterday to take me back home. A quick tap on the fuel relay and it started. While I had the hood open a nice lady drove up and asked if I needed a jump start. I didn't know if she meant me or the car but I declined.

More to follow on Memorial day activities this weekend. This will be probably the last time that I place flags on the graves of veterans at the local cemetery. I've been doing it for years with all four children when their scout units participate in the program. Young son is in his last year of scouts and I guess that will be the end for me too. I usually put on my uniform to do so as a (now old) soldier to show respect to those who've gone before. Since 2001 young service members have been there in uniform with their sons or daughters or brothers or sisters. Seeing these warriors with their combat patches is something to see for me. As it was said during the civil war, they have seen the elephant and will never be the same again. Older son has seen the elephant. Who would have thought that we'd still be at war 10 years after 9-11? I hope that peace will come someday and men and women will not have to offer their lives to protect ours.

Portmeirion aka "the Village"

2011-05-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

Just about every day the Missus gives me a page from her '1,000 places to see before you die' calendar for my reading pleasure. Some of the places I've heard of and some I haven't but today's page was very familiar. It was for Portmeirion, North Wales, GB.

What, you haven't heard of Portmeirion? Have you heard of the 'village'? Do you know Number 2? How about Number 6? "I am not a number, I am a free man!" Do you know what happens when Rover comes? Nothing good I can assure you! Portmeirion is the location for the village which is where Number 6 got sent when he thought he resigned from the intelligence service. But instead of resigning and going on the tropical holiday he planned, he became the Prisoner.

I think I will add Portmeirion to my places to visit. I hope they will let me leave when I'm done.

New car, new shoes

2011-05-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today is day two for ownership of the used Dodge Stratus that is my get around town car at work. It looks nice, the interior is clean and at the present time everything works on it. I feel like a prosperous person now as I drive in it, unlike the feeling of seediness that accompanied me when as I tooled around in the Lincoln with the ripped seats, peeling paint, and horribly stained carpeting.

After I damaged my shoulder (and my neck, and my back) in the bike crash the Missus bought me a nice pair of dress loafers for work so I could put them on without straining to tie them. They are the first pair of loafers I've owned and besides feeling like I'm wearing slippers all day I feel grown up and prosperous wearing them.

When I get in the Stratus wearing the loafers I feel positively plutocratic!

Why one should always look presentable in public and other tidbits

2011-05-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

So, a couple weeks ago I went to LAX to pick up the missus who was returning from Boston. She took her 5th grade class there for a week of touring historic sights in the Boston area. The missus is braver than I to travel with a herd of 5th graders plus their parents. She doesn't get paid enough for this but she is a better person than I and a saint besides. Anyway it was soon after my dramatic accident and I wasn't feeling too great. I went to the airport dressed somewhat eclectic: ASU shorts; red Hawaiian shirt, hiking boots, and black hooded sweatshirt. My hair was somewhat unkempt and I pretty much looked like a homeless guy. I wondered why the missus wasn't enthusiastic in her greeting of me when she arrived. I realized I was a bit disheveled and not looking my most dashing. Fast forward to drill yesterday. An E6 came up to me and said that he had been sitting next to me at the airport that night. You had on a red Hawaiian shirt he exclaimed. I smiled weakly and changed the subject. You never know who you'll see when one is out and about.

Coming home from drill as I was passing by the Burbank airport I spied a B17G on approach to the runway, wheels and flaps down, just kind of hanging in the air. I was so surprised to see it I drifted out of my lane and suddenly realized what was happening and jumped back to where I belonged. 65 years after the end of the war and there are still planes from that conflict in the air. Simply amazing.

For the past year I've been using a borrowed '95 Lincoln Towncar as my get-around-town car to keep at my job site. It has over 170k miles and I've put about a grand into it to fix it up and keep it running. I appreciate the use of the car but it has had a hard life. There are holes in the seats, hideous stains on the carpet and the paint is peeling from the body. My boss seems reluctant to ride in it when I've had to give him a lift. My co-workers call it the beast or the whale. I decided I should get something a bit more presentable and found an 05 Dodge Stratus with 41k miles last weekend at the local car swap lot. I paid the guy on Saturday and when he deposits the check on Monday I'll be able to pick it up and take it to work. The whale will go back to the original owner. I figure with what I put into it to keep it running I've rented it for about $5 a day (business days) which isn't too bad. Now at least my boss won't cringe when he gets a ride in my car.

This afternoon the city had a car show and lunch truck exhibition at the auto row in town (where all the car dealers are). Here are some pictures from the event (click for a larger view). You may not be aware but in L.A. lunch trucks are not roach coaches, they are haute cuisine and ethnic eateries on wheels. We sampled the German bratwurst truck but more on that soon.

The missus liked the looks on this street rod

Young son busts a move next to a cool car

The German lunch truck had luscious bratwurst and other German delicacies served up by a young woman with a delightful German accent. I could have spent an hour ordering food just to hear her talk. Made me nostalgic for my time in Germany many years ago. We also patronized the Potato Tornado tuck there they spiral cut a potato, speared it on a long skewer and deep fried it. Yum!

Recovery time

2011-05-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

So I would have to say I hurt more now than I did the day after the bike accident maybe because I am trying to use my arm too much. My bruise has turned some interesting shades of purple and yellow - please ignore the dopey expression on my face. I was happy to be able to get my shirt off without crying. Older son helped pull it off for me. This situation makes it important to me to be able to do things without asking for help even if it hurts doing it. I guess it confirms to me that I am not helpless and still have the ability to fend for myself although I am asking for help where I have to.

I called the Sheriff's office the other day to see what report they had on the incident. Someone called in a bicycle collision with a pole. That was me. I guess as I was maneuvering to avoid the trash can and bus bench on the sidewalk I didn't notice the bus stop sign post and hit it. That in turn dumped me onto the bus bench and some of the resulting damage is shown. I sent a letter to the editor of the local paper thanking those who helped me out when I had the crash. Since I don't remember who they were I thought that the newspaper was the best way to do it. The letter was published today. I hope the good people who helped me get to see it.

Time for more Tylenol.

Mojave Desert Trip

2011-04-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Over my birthday weekend I traveled with some friends to the semi-ghost town of Randsburg in the Mojave desert. Randsburg was a thriving gold mining town up through the 20's until the gold was no long economical to mine. It is now a desert trip attraction and a great place to get a burger and a beer when off roading in your Jeep. I haven't done either myself at Randsburg but that is what I have been told. It was sunny and in the low 80s when we arrived.

(click on the photos for a larger view!) This the the Randsburg Inn but don't let the sign fool you, it is a junk store and not an Inn. There is an Inn but it was closed when we were there. Perhaps it opens later in the season? Next is the main street of Randsburg. The most modern building is the Kern County fire station which is pretty nice. I wonder if being station there is a hardship tour? The Grouch standing in front of the city jail. It was pretty small so either criminals were smaller then or the city fathers didn't want the miscreants to get too comfortable in there!

After leaving Randsburg we drove into the hills and came to a great rock pile outlook for lunch and surveying the surrounding territory. We looked for wagon trains and outlaws but didn't see any so we set off for a dry lake bed that we saw in the distance.

This lake bed is covered with salt and sometimes even water if the rainy season is in fact rainy. This time about a fifth of the lake bed had water on it at one end. The lake bed is used as a model rocket launch range and young son has been there in the past with his boy scout troop launching rockets. When I went with the troop we found remnants of WW2 .50 cartridge cases and bullets laying about on the lake bed. I can only guess it was an aircraft gunnery range. The pictures of the cases and bullets are from that trip of several years ago. The rifle cartridge in the center of the two cases is for scale.

Walking on the lake bed was an interesting sensation, it was like walking on a sponge. We looked for interesting artifacts but the only thing we found was a meteorite! Right in the middle of the white expanse of salt was a small cluster of rocks which is what I had read is how meteorites are found. I checked the rocks (more like pebbles) and they contained iron so it is a good guess that I was looking at the last of meteorite! Too cool! Sorry, didn't think to take a picture of that discovery.

We finished up with a self tour through the Mojave desert tortoise preserve. We didn't see any tortoises but we did see this extremely well camouflaged lizard! The Army should adopt this camo pattern for desert use.

It was a great trip with great weather and great friends.

http://randsburg.com/

The grouch takes a fall

2011-04-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning I set off for the train station on my bike as usual. I was running a bit late and needed to make some time so instead of taking my usual 'safe' route through a shopping plaza and avoiding the sidewalk in front of the plaza which has obstacles like trash cans, sign posts, and benches I opted for the sidewalk. after all the sidewalk would save at least a minute or two and when catching a train a minute can make a difference, right?

I was on the sidewalk.....then I was on a gurney being loaded into an ambulance! I saw a deputy standing nearby and some other people. A man asked me if I wanted him to take my bike home? Sure I said. He looked like an NCO I served with in the Army. I still don't know who is was. Next thing I was in the emergency room. I recognized the signs - another concussion with the memory loss. I had a severe one when I was in grade school. Very painful and lots of memory loss over a 24 hour period but this time not as bad. Xrays showed a broken collar bone. My body tells me that I have a pulled groin muscle too.

What happened? I don't have a clue. Several years earlier I veered off a sidewalk to avoid a group of teens, flipped the bike, did a great PLF (parachute landing fall), sprang to my feet and righted the bike and rode off with no injuries much to the open mouth amazement of the boys on the sidewalk. Well, not so this time. This is what happens when I turn 57!

Everyone is being very nice and helpful but I worry about next week when I have to go to work. I can't even get myself dressed at this point. Oh well, I am sure it will work out.

The Doolittle Raid: April 18 1942

2011-04-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

April 18 1942: The U.S. strikes back at Japan with a most audacious plan: launch land based twin engine bombers from an aircraft carrier against mainland Japan. 16 planes on a one-way mission. Five Doolittle raiders remain with us today.

The movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" based on the book by the same name is a very accurate portrayal of the events. Here is a clip from the movie:

From 69 years later we cannot fathom those desperate times and the sacrifices that were made to insure that we live as we do today. Stop and say a prayer for those who died for us.

Reminiscing

2011-04-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

I went to the range today - yes, on Friday - I'm a beneficiary of mandatory commuting reduction by my employer so I work 9/80 and get every other Friday off. So, off to the range. I was wearing my ACU boonie cap with my LTC rank on it and got approached by a nice young man with the same cap with E4 rank. He called me 'sir' and asked about my AF T-shirt (Keesler AFB courtesy of young daughter) combined with the Army cap. We chatted and learned that we both had been in Germany with the Army but separated by 22 years. The Warsaw pact forces that we stood guard against in my service were the allies that he trained with during his service. We talked about volksmarches and bratwurst and some of the other GI favorites. My stories for him were about as remote as what an occupation force veteran's tales would have been for me when I was in Germany in the 70s. I don't realize the passage of time until something like this happens. To me the details of 30+ years ago seemed to have happened maybe 10 years ago at the most.

If you are curious about the U.S. Army in Germany click on the link:

http://usarmygermany.com/Sont.htm

Go to this link to see Harvey barracks - the photo that is used shows the buildings occupied by the unit I was assigned to during my tour in Germany:

http://www.thirdreichruins.com/wehrmacht_posts.htm#kitzingen

Grouch(y) updates

2011-04-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Young son was on spring break all this past week so I took the opportunity to take some days off and spend them with him.

Tuesday we visited the Ronald Regan presidential museum and library in Simi Valley. I hadn't been there for awhile and it was fun and interesting to see the newly revamped museum. Air Force One is on display inside the museum and I was able to add it to the presidential planes I have seen and been in. I have also seen FDR's 'Sacred Cow', Truman's 'Independance' and Eisenhower's 'Columbine'. A traveling exhibit of a gigantic scale model of the White House was there too. I felt misty-eyed and near tears in some places going through the museum. Nostalgia for a time when things seemed hopeful for America? Remembrances of my youthful past? I don't know but I felt emotional throughout the whole visit. The view from the museum grounds is amazing and peaceful. I highly recommend a visit.
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/

Wednesday was spent working around the house. I planted some trees that young daughter brought home from her recent trip to Mississippi (a pine tree and three strange looking southern tree things) and young son did school work and washed his new car for the first time.

Thursday I went to work for half a day and the young son and I went tuxedo rental shopping for the prom that he is going to next Saturday.

On Friday we went to see the animated movie 'Rango' voiced by Johnny Depp. We both loved the movie and I laughed so hard I had tears leaking out! This is a demented, funny movie and it moves to the top of my favorite funny animated movie list. A short list to be sure but it is at the top.
http://www.rangomovie.com/

After we came home the weather turned threatening. The sky got dark and the temperature dropped. Soon it began to rain and then hail! I managed to take a short video of it and here it is for your amazement and entertainment:

Saturday (today) was my drill weekend and I put on the ACUs that camouflage me just fine for hiding in a pile of gravel and made the treck to Los Al. The missus was very nice and let me take her hybrid Escape for the journey which got 35 MPG on the 120 mile round trip and saved us some money compare to the gas sucking Jeep which gets 20 MPG on a good day with a downhill run and a tail wind. At $4.05 a gallon for gas I appreciated the extra MPGs.

That's all folks!

The difference between England, the UK, and Britain (explained)

2011-04-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Another video, this time both educational and amusing. Click on the link for a bit of history.

united-kingdom-great-britain-england-difference

Afraid of heights? You will be after watching this!

2011-04-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

For no particular reason I decided to link this:

El Camino del Rey video

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caminito_del_Rey

(From Wikipedia): El Caminito del Rey (English: The King's little pathway) is a walkway or via ferrata, now fallen into disrepair, pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro, near Álora in the province of Málaga, Spain. The name is often shortened to Camino del Rey (English: King's pathway).

Three Dog Days made me aware of this a couple years ago. I could never do this but I read today that a pill exists to at least temporarily overcome phobias. Maybe with a little help I could do this hike someday!

Granddaughter pays a visit

2011-03-31T21:48:00.000-07:00

Citizen Grouch and family were graced with our granddaughter over several days recently. She stayed with us overnight and then returned a couple days later to go to young son's school band pop concert.

(click on the pics for a larger view) First she and the Grouch had a picnic in the back yard.

Then there was swimming in the heated spa. Ahhh!

Later when young son came home early from school the three of us went used car shopping. She got to climb in and out of all the cars on the lot and sit in the VW Golf that we ultimately bought (the next day). That next day when the Grouch was picking up the car she went to a quilt show with Nana (aka the Missus).

Several days later granddaughter joined the Grouch and the Missus(aka Nana) to see young son perform at the pop concert.

She got to try being one of the flag girls and she loved it!

Isn't she beautiful and who is that handsome man?

Young son after the concert with his biggest fan!

Golden Gate Bridge

2011-03-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

A quick post to show a fantastic picture taken by young Son last weekend on his high school road trip for the school band. They visited Sacramento and San Francisco and he took this along the way.

The four levels of used car shopping

2011-03-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've been out shopping for a used car for young son for the past week or so. Used car prices were already high and the availability low and with the earthquake in Japan used car prices started climbing again. In my efforts to find an affordable car with a reasonable chance of being serviceable I found myself, like Dante in his journey through Hell, descending ever deeper through the levels of used car dealerships.

Level One: New car dealerships    This level is the pleasing to be in. The facilities are clean and bright. The sales people are cheerful and positive, attentive to your every possible need. They ask about your day and your family. They offer refreshments and a cool place to sit in a soft chair while you discuss your needs and desires for a used car. The only problem is that these establishments are not really for mortals shopping for an affordable car. Their cars are not much less in price than the new cars they sell. This level is not for those who need an affordable car. In fact the sales staff will soon instinctively sense that that you do not belong here and will turn away from you and leave you alone as if in a wilderness of parked vehicles. There is nothing here in this level for the seeker of affordable used cars.   It is time to move on to the next level.

Level Two: Nationwide used car dealerships  This level is deceptive. It seems that a descending another level into used car hades would bring the buyer a more affordable car while giving up some of the ambiance of the new car dealership. Ah, but not so, grasshopper. The prices are just about the same! The stay here was even shorter than at the first level. We must continue to descend in the journey to find a ride for young son.

Level Three: The local U-sell it lot and private party sellers This level should be where the damned come together to succor each other. The seller must dispose of his vehicle for a variety of compelling reasons. He is motivated and in a bind because he is way behind and is willing to make a deal...oh wait, that was the Devil with the fiddle made of gold in that song. But still the seller usually wants to sell. The buyer wants to buy and it is the perfect representation of capitalism.   One would think in these hard economic times cars would be priced low for fast selling, but no. Actually cars are priced high and the seller is not willing to deal for a fiddle made of gold or anything else. I think it is because of bad times that this is happening. The sellers need as much money as they can get due to being out of work or whatever. In the good times folks will flip a car to go buy something more fun or bigger or flashier and not worry too much about what they are losing in the sale because they've got more money coming in. But not now, not here, and not for me. So we move on.

Level Four: The corner used car lot This level is where the cars go that level one and two couldn't or wouldn't sell. This is where buyers go who have no cash and can't get financed by the big stores. These are the places that have financing close to the rates that Tony the shark charges.   This is the place that the desperate go to.   These are the places with too many sad cars crowded into too small of a lot, with tattered furniture in the office with water stains on the ceiling and burned out lights in the marquee. This is where I found myself.    I visited three of these establishments, sent forth by Yahoo cars which I searched diligently each day for possibilities. One car seemed promising and I took an hour off of work to zoom over to the store. I found a packed lot full to dirty cars and swarthy men in black leather coats and shaved heads passing cash back and forth. The manager was a young woman in tight jeans and stiletto heels who showed me the car. It was filthy, had a major engine oil leak and the steering wheel was cocked to the right. She assured me that all was fixable and when did I want to pay for it? I left.   I called another place but when I wouldn't promise to buy the car on the spot without inspecting or driving it the seller told me that the car was sold and hung up on me.   In desperation I took young son to a tiny establishment to look at a 2005 VW Golf with 45k miles. The place was owned by two middle aged Iranian brothers. We looked at the car. We drove the car. We asked each other what the catch was? It was priced fairly and seemed to be ok. I agreed to buy the car and tried to give them a deposit. They told me to come back the next day and do the deal.   So I did and found them in the process of showing the car to someone else! The seemed surprised to see me but chased off the young couple and proceeded to do the sale. The car has had a fender replaced at one time, the rear tires will need to be replaced soon, and the arm rest is missing a latch. It was a repo and the worry is the former owner abused it knowing it was going away but it made the drive home without breaking down so maybe it is ok.

The question is this: have I finished my journey through the levels of used car hades or have I merely stepped from the down escalator to the express elevator to the bottom with this used car?   Time will tell.......

The last of the Aztek

2011-03-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

Young son and I went to the body shop today to finish emptying out the valiant Aztek that saved me from injury in the assault by the brutal double bottom gravel carrier. It goes off to the auction yard next week and probably will be rendered into parts after that. The initial impact by the trailer tire was in the back where the metal is pushed in. Then he passed along the side of the car and did the rest of the damage. I can remember picking the car up on a February morning 6 years ago. Who would have thought that it would end this way?

Aztek update and more sad news

2011-03-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

There is much to recommend USAA insurance!   Within 3 hours of the accident the Aztek was moved from the tow yard 20 miles to a local body shop. The owner called me and I went over to talk to him about the car. He thinks it may be repairable but only with mostly used parts. He feels that USAA won't agree to new stuff since a new fender by itself is $688 and it is going to need all the sheet metal, the mirror and some steering components replaced. We will see. He is impressed with the sturdy construction of the Aztek and felt that other cars would not have stood up nearly as well to the multiple impacts. In the meantime wer're faced with how to get young son to and from school for a month which is how long the repair will take once it is authorized.

Yesterday was a a crazy sad day. To recap, I was picked up by the Missus at the tow yard and took her back to her work and drove her car home. I was cringing all the way home expecting another vehicle to hit me. I felt shaky and sleepy at the same time. Shock?   So I figured that Wendy's would fix me up. I was still in uniform and the manager gave me my lunch for free. That was nice. But, I got a call from someone at my former company to tell me that Carlos, my helper in Texas was dying and had only hours to live. This same person's son was murdered in his front yard in sight of his mother and children several years ago. I went to his funeral in Dallas and did my best to comfort Carlos and his wife Pam. Now Carlos is dying. I called Pam and she called me back last night.  She said Carlos had said recently that he missed me and wished he could hear from me again.

She put me on the phone with Carlos. What do you say to a guy who is dying? Get better soon?   Sorry I hadn't called earlier when you were still feeling ok?   Pam told me when we were done talking that I put a smile on Carlos' face and brightened him up.   How can one family have so much tragedy?

My mother had a book of poetry that I read when I was growing up. I don't care for poetry but one poem made a big impact on my as a kid. I still think of it and found it on the internet without any trouble.

Around The Corner

By Charles Hanson Towne

Around the corner I have a friend,

In this great city that has no end,

Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,

And before I know it, a year is gone.

And I never see my old friend's face,

For life is a swift and terrible race,

He knows I like him just as well,

As in the days when I rang his bell.

And he rang mine but we were younger then,

And now we are busy, tired men.

Tired of playing a foolish game,

Tired of trying to make a name.

"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim

Just to show that I'm thinking of him."

But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,

And distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner, yet miles away,

"Here's a telegram sir,"…. "Jim died today."

And that's what we get, and deserve in the end:

Around the corner, a vanished friend.

The Entabulator

2011-03-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

This guy is my hero!

Double bottom Gravel hauler 1 - Aztek 0

2011-03-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

So, today is my every other Friday off day from work. It is also a special day, that being my 33rd anniversary of our wedding on a cold snowy day in March as I was in transit between Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD and duty with the mighty 66th Maintenance company, 87th Maintenance battalion, 2nd Support command, 7th Army, USAREUR. How's that for impressive?   Today my plan was to take young son to school in the Aztek, bring said car home, change in ACUs, buy gas for the Aztek, scoot down the I-5 to Los Alamitos JFTB, obtain my CAC (common Access Card) at the base, scoot by old office and say hello to my former co-workers, swing by the Missus' school, give her an anniversary present and take her to lunch, go back home and pass by the trophy shop to pick up the $160 trophy I am donating to the unit (I thought it would be $60 but oh well) go to the high school and pick up young son, take him to his 2nd job interview at Magic Mountain and then back home for dinner out with the Missus.

Well, I got as far as scoot down the I-5.   As I approached the 118 cross over a double bottom semi gravel truck decided he liked my lane better than his. When I saw him start over I braked, blew the horn and moved to the left but got hit by one of his duels. BANG! Then BANG-BANG-BANG as the Aztek got dragged along by the trailers. I tried to turn away but the car seemed to be caught by the trailer. There was much screeching from the poor Aztek. The semi drove on and I thought he was going to flee so I blew the pitiful single-note horn on the Aztek and followed after him. The car tires were making a loud screeching sound like the longest skid imaginable. He pulled over about a 1/4 mile down the road and I pulled over behind him. The whole right side of the Aztek was pushed in and the front tires were pointed in different directions. Poor Aztek!   It managed to stay upright and more or less under control. I guess the rally package paid off.

When I got to the semi and spoke to the driver he told me he spoke no english. His driver's license was from Mexico and his insurance from Bargain Insurance Agency. Great!   A VW bug had also pulled over and the driver told me she had seen the whole thing and saw the truck hit me and thought the Aztek was going to roll over during the accident. I was pretty hazy on what transpired.   When the CHP officer was taking my statement I couldn't even say for sure what lane I was in or what time it happened. I thought I would react more steadily than that!   The tow driver later told me when he saw the damage that every car v. semi accident he's seen on the freeway resulted in the car rolling and being demolished. He was amazed that the car stayed upright. He also had never seen an Aztek before!

I have a bad feeling that the Aztek is history. I hope not but considering its age and the damage it will probably be totaled which means that we're out a perfectly good car. Oh, and I had just spent $50 on gas! I wonder if I can syphon it out?

Thanks Aztek, you probably saved my life. If I had been in the Jeep it surely would have rolled many times.

A sad day in the neighborhood

2011-02-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

Another casualty of the modern depression: our favorite little burger joint "Cousins" is out of business. For those who don't know Cousins, it opened in 1990 in a small store front between a donut shop and a 7-11. The Missus and I went soon after it opened and ordered our food but discovered we were short a couple bucks to pay. We told the owner who was also the cashier to cancel the order and we'd come back another day. He told us not to worry about it and processed our order. They did well, prospered, moved across the street to bigger digs, opened two more Cousins in town. The cool thing is that the stores were in fact owned by Cousins! The food was great although a bit pricey but of course you get what you pay for. One store shut down a couple years ago as the recession turned into our depression but the other soldiered on. Our local Cousins was still our favorite but was getting competition for our business from a new chain that moved in: "Five Guys". We didn't stop going to Cousins but we didn't go as often. On our walk yesterday we passed by Cousins. The doors were locked and there was an eviction notice on the door. I guess there is a chance they will show up somewhere else but I don't have a lot of hope. And yes, I feel guilty for not patronizing them as much as I had. Sad times....

The end of American Civilization

2011-02-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

I'm seeing more and more of these dog strollers in action. I saw a young woman proudly pushing a stroller down the sidewalk the other day. She had a smile on her face and I thought how nice, taking the baby for a stroll. Then when she passed me I saw that there was a dog in the stroller! Yet again a dog in a stroller! This is at least the 5th one of these I've seen and not just in the land of nuts. I even saw one in use in Lovelock NV, in the heart of rodeos and ranching!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final sign of the end of American civilization. People have lost their minds. In the far future scholars will wonder what the break point was for the decline and fall of America. This was it.

Movie night

2011-02-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday I introduced young son to the best swashbuckling movie made in the last 35 years. I saw this movie shortly before I left for basic training and I was mesmerized by it. I've seen it over and over again since then and although not everyone (or anyone) seems to have the same appreciation for it that I do it was fun to watch it with him and see him enjoying it too. It is semi-historical and somewhat prophetic in its treatment of the conflict between the West and Islam and the swaggering attitude of the U.S. in its refusal to accept bad behavior on the part of bad people. The movie? Wind and the Lion.

The Risuli versus the United States and a beautiful woman in peril. Manly deeds done well, the U.S. trumping the weak and scheming European powers, and the Marines carrying the day. What could be better!
Tomorrow we may sit down to watch 'The Wild Geese'.

Old guys doing one last merc job in Africa and discovering that idealism does matter. It is a very 70s movie but moving in its own way. The Missus cannot watch the scene at the airfield, it is too sad for her.

A long time ago in a place far, far away...

2011-02-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

A long time ago the Grouch attended the U.S. Army Ordnance advance course at Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD. This is a course that teaches all sorts of cool stuff to officers that show promise and potential for bigger things in the Army. How I got into it I have no idea. I guess their guard was down when I came along. Anyway, as part of the U.S. outreach to other militaries around the world foreign officers also attended this course (and others too). My class had two Egyptians, two Tunisians, a Turk, A Kuwaiti, and a Philippino attending. Since then I have sometimes wondered how the foreign officers fared in the turmoil and strife in their countries. Did the Kuwaiti Captain survive the invasion of Kuwait in 1991? Which side did the Egyptians and Tunisians choose in the recent upheavals that their countries went through? Where are my fellow officers today that attended the class with me? I remember that the Missus and I were invited to the quarters of one of the Egyptian officers for a dinner. I don't remember much at all about the evening except that the Egyptian wife did not speak English at all and that she was very pretty but of course not as pretty as the Missus.

Can you pick the Grouch out from this line up? Just look for the debonair officer (and click on the picture for a larger view).

A long time ago indeed. The past is a different country....

Army day

2011-02-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday was drill day for me. I was planning on getting a haircut Friday afternoon after work so I would be STRAC and setting a good example for the soldiers in the unit. Pop quiz: what does STRAC mean and where did this come from? See answer below. Anyway, my haircut plans were foiled. A southbound train struck and killed a horse and rider about 3 p.m. and stopped the train at that point. It took two frustrating hours to get home on my northbound train and the barber shop was closed so no haircut for me. I was looking pretty shaggy on Saturday. The day was long and I was tired by the end of the day. Traffic going home wasn't bad so the Missus, young son and I took the opportunity to rendezvous at mass at 1730 or 5:30 for you national guard types reading this. I was in my ACUs and felt a bit conspicuous in my camo and clunky boots and disheveled hair. Near the end of mass I heard a voice next to me in the church aisle saying "thank you" and realized a little boy was standing there holding out a business card. I must say I was a bit confused as to what was going on. Did he mistake me for someone else and was trying to return something to me that wasn't mine? He had a big smile on his face so I took the card and thanked him in return.

I looked at the card and this is what I saw:

Needless to say I was pretty humbled by this and felt a little ashamed too since I will never be putting my life at risk these days. I was glad to make his day though and I guess an old guy with gray hair too long will have to do until the real deal shows up. Today the Missus and I went shopping at Walmart and Home Depot. I was wearing the t-shirt that I bought at the PX at Ft. Jackson in 2002 when oldest son completed basic training. It reads "Proud Dad of American Soldier". Two people said to me while shopping "thank your son for me". It is heartening to hear that folks are still thinking of servicemen and women.

Pop quiz answer: STRAC refers to Strategic Army Command, a formation from the 50s and early 60s known for its sharp appearance and generally squared away nature. Calling someone 'strac' says that the soldier is sharp and well turned out. I'm probably the last guy in uniform still using this term.

According to Wikipedia, STRAC "....is Army slang term for "a well organized, well turned-out soldier, (pressed uniform, polished brass and shined boots)." A proud, competent trooper who can be depended on for good performance in any circumstance. Gear clean and tight; Weapon clean and ready; Mind clear, organized, and ready for action. S- skilled T- tough R- ready A- around the C- clock. STRAC

Scotland in the Gloaming

2011-02-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

I came across this blog awhile ago and frequently return to it for the beautiful images of Scotland. Take a look at it, it is worth seeing.

http://scotlandinthegloaming.blogspot.com/

Thanks Susan

2011-02-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

My new job doesn't want me using the cell phone they issued me for personal calls so I went and got a TracPhone. It is one of those pay as you go phones that are beloved by terrorists and drug smugglers since there isn't an account connected with it. Oh, by the way I'm neither a terrorist (or tango if one is an 'operator or even a 'special operator') nor a drug smuggler, just a grouch trying to save a buck. So, it really steams me that I am getting repetitive wrong numbers, phone solicitations, bill collectors, and urgent calls from AT&T about my account since each call uses up my prepaid minutes. I put the phone number on the 'do not call' roster but I am still getting the AT&T calls, so I called them. After being transferred to three different people and going on hold for at least 15 minutes I had enough, hung up and called them again. Susan answered. Susan had a nice Texas twang and a slow way of talking. I jumped right in and started expressing my righteous indignation over the situation. Susan got me stopped and with a couple polite questions got the problem identified. Someone used my phone number as the contact number for a cellphone account that is past due. Did they use the number randomly? Was it a number that they used to have but gave up? Did someone know that it is my number and used it on purpose? Who knows! However Susan filed a case number for me and promised the calls would stop. She did it in such a gosh-darn pleasant manner that I was smiling while talking with her. Susan sounded like she was all right. I apologised for coming on strong when I first spoke with her and she told me that it was ok, she'd be frustrated too. We ended up wishing each other a great weekend and happy days to come.

Thanks Susan, you made my day.

Sick(ly) update

2011-01-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

Heading into Thursday night and starting to feel human again. Everyone around me at work is hacking, coughing, and sneezing. That place is worse than being in day care for kids when communicable illness is involved. Everyone is passing this cold thing back and forth! I hope to be well enough on the weekend to take the 67 year old rifle that looks almost new to the range this weekend for the first time for me. We shall see.

Young daughter is off on a two month adventure at an AF service school in the deep south. I will miss her weekend visits with her lively band of friendly pooches. Have a good time and come back safe and sound M!

Sick of being sick

2011-01-24T10:07:00.000-08:00

So this past Friday was the beginning of a three day weekend for me. I had big plans which involved going to the range to try out a WW2 Lee Enfield that just found its way into my gun locker. But I have been fighting a cold all week and I thought that I would feel better the next day so I pretty much stayed home taking weak-sauce cold medicine. Saturday was a bit worse but I was brave and took my father in law and young son to the Griffith observatory in (of course) Griffith park. The weather was beautiful and the observatory was recently remodeled and looked great. I felt a little worse but kept taking that medicine. Sunday the cold hit me with both barrels. I went to the pharmacy and got the cold medicine that you have to sign for. It was a little more effective, meaning I could actually not cringe from the sinus pain for about an hour out of every four that the medicine dose was supposedly covering. I spent the night on the couch so as not to disturb the Missus in her sleep. I didn't sleep except one time when I did fall asleep about 3 a.m. only to be woken by one of the dogs crashing into the dog gate that keeps them in the kitchen and out of mischief. It sounded like a jail break in progress. No more sleep for me. I emailed my boss at 1 a.m. to tell him I will be a no-show today. So now I am home, feel absolutely miserable and actually would rather be at work. Who could imagine? May I be done being sick now please?

Speed Racer

2011-01-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

One of the perks of my job is that I get to play with machines and equipment. As the city fleet manager I was invited today to the Orange county fairgrounds to do a 'see and drive' on the new Chevy police sedan, the Caprice. It is made in Australia and is a purpose built police car. The 365 hp engine helps it go really fast and the stability control helps it stay on all four wheels. The Chevy guys laid out a twisty course with cones in the empty parking lot and we got to drive the cars. Lots of squealing tires and smoke from the rubber as the cars twisted and turned. We got two runs, one to recon the course and the second to have fun. There was a co-driver in the shotgun seat to make sure we didn't turn the car upside down on the run. The guy was pretty casual when I got in (old grey haired guy - huh - he probably thought) but I got his attention on the first run and then got down to business on the second go. I knew I was doing good when I saw out of the corner of my eye that he was doing the classic mashing of the phantom brake pedal while his arm was straight out to break his head first slam into the windshield. Silly man, I had it completely under control. The car and I were one. When I exited the car one of the uniformed cops said to me 'You where having fun out there!' which was a compliment since some of the other drivers pussy-footed through the course.

Old grey haired guy huh?

Snow!

2011-01-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Today started as a rainy overcast day. About mid-way through mass the rain turned to sleet and then to beautiful snow. The congregation started to murmur and the organist broke into several bars of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". Young son raced outside to witness the 'act of God' as he put it along with other young and enthusiastic kids.

After we got home in the afternoon he and I went Christmas tree hunting with the Jeep and trailer again. This is the main source of our winter firewood supply. the Missus felt I am sufficiently grown up and last father's day gave me a chain saw which I put to good use yesterday to cut up 5 trees. We rounded up another 5 today which will give us enough wood in a year when it is dried out for most of a winter's recreational fire season which is about one night a week.

The snow got heavier and the Missus took some pictures:

It continued to snow until this evening but now the temperature is dropping and the slush on the roads will probably freeze. Tomorrow's commute could be an adventure! The non Grouch family members should know the last time any snow accumulation occurred was in 1989 when we got several inches of snow overnight which pretty much shut this area down until the afternoon. It will be interesting to see what the morning brings!