“There is no monument dedicated to the memory of a committee.” – Lester J. Pourciau
Friday, July 31, 2009
Rental Car Mystery
I was recently on a business trip to Colorado, where I rented a car—a Hyundai, I think. Operating and driving a rental car is always a bit of a trick since each car is just a little bit different. I usually take some time at the car rental facility to familiarize myself with the mirror controls, windshield wiper controls, lights, etc. One night I was driving in Boulder and it was raining, I had the front wipers on, but wondered if there were rear wipers on this car. Since rear wiper controls are often tucked away in various places, I started scanning the dash and probing for buttons with my finger. To the left of the steering column was a button labeled “ESC”. I was pretty sure this was not for the rear wipers (which, turns out, the car did not have), but I wondered what it could be. I was oh-so-tempted to press the button, but had visions of myself flying through the roof on a rocket powered ejector seat, so I used restraint. Still wonder what it did…
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 07/31/2009 at 08:13 AM
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Almost Summer?
On Sunday we had our first “cloudless day” in a couple of months. To me, a cloudless day is one where at times that I’m likely to be outside (or want to be outside) there is no cloud in the sky. On Sunday, that was from about 8:00 a.m. till bedtime 
The temperatures are still pretty low—with high 70s during the day and low 50s at night—and that is keeping the pool cold. Still, we managed to brave the pool for a couple of hours. I think it was around 75 or 76 degrees.
The best part about a cloudless day is that it makes a good canoe day. So, Sunday very early we toted the canoe to Green Turtle Pond and finally got in some nice paddling around. The lake was warmer than the pool.
It has been a very beary season. Lots of bears and you can follow them on Lynne’s blog.
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 07/14/2009 at 11:23 AM
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
First Swim of the Season
While I did go waist deep in the pool yesterday to lure Bella in (see Lynne’s blog on the topic), today we went all the way. I was planning to be first with my chest in the water, but Lynne slipped and dunked herself first. After that we swam a few laps. The temperature was 70°—and it was 79° outside, but it sure seems like more than 9° difference. Still, we each got in 4 or 5 laps and also laid on some new inflatables for a while.
The cool water felt good after a morning of yard work. Trimmed the hedges, mowed the areas not reachable by Johnny, trimmed some branches from a tree.
Last night the dogs started barking in the middle of the night. I came downstairs and both Hailey and Alex were in the office barking madly. (Bella was still crashed on our bed.) I turned on the outside light and saw a bear in the front yard area where we feed birds in winter. I closed all the sliding glass doors on the back deck, fearing he might come in through just a screen door, and went back to bed. This morning, Lynne observed that the basement door was open. We often leave it open for the dogs, particularly Alex, to lay in the cool basement during the day when it is hot outside. It would be just our luck that the bear would decide the basement was a great place to sleep for the night. So, with my encouragement, Lynne crept into the basement and checked it out (I watched from outside), but no bear. We need to remember to close that door from now on.
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 06/07/2009 at 01:47 PM
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Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Countries Visited
To the best of my recollection, I’ve visited these 33 countries. I guess that is about 14% of them. I’ve passed through airports in others, but won’t count them.
create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 04/07/2009 at 12:44 PM
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Visited States
To the best of my recollection, I’ve visited these states: (Been to Hawaii, but never left the airport…)
create your own personalized map of the USA
or write about it on the open travel guide
Posted under: Stuff You Gotta Know! • by Rick on 04/07/2009 at 12:37 PM
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