Retired for One Year

Today it hit me that I have been retired for one year.  It doesn't seem that long ago when I was out-processing, and I couldn't wait to get home that day.  I have no regrets about going out when I did.  I miss the people I worked closely with and I am in occasional touch with them.  It was great getting to serve on that kind of team.  But situations like that are not forever, and for me it was time to get out.

Looking back, I thought I would have done more road trips than we have.  I want to reprise that one we did when we went up to Four Corners and back.  Dang, that was some really neat scenery we saw when we were up there!  But as I said in my  last post, we want the next one to be Alamogordo.

As for all those projects I told myself I was going to do..........well I've started a bunch of them.  And I'm still working on those.  The "Ugly Money" page has three times as many images as it did a year ago.  My coin collection has been worked on.  I've done a lot of reading, alternating between previously read books and those that have been on the shelf for more years than I would like to admit.  And with another heat advisory (this one "severe") underway there's been a lot of reading.  And very little yardwork.  

In spite of all of that, there have been a lot of necessary but not fun tasks at hand.  Today we took a truckload of items to Goodwill.  Some from my mother's house, some from the master bedroom closet, and some books that I know I will not be re-reading.  I guess this begs the question, what books am I keeping?

I still have all of my college textbooks.  On a rare occasion I will pull one out, thumb through it, mainly to see if I still understand what I studied 45 years ago.  Not a lot of it was used as a reference during my career.  I think the degree I earned is evidence that I was trained how to think like an engineer.  There wasn't a single course I took that addressed satellite engineering or aircraft engines.  But I had an understanding of why they worked they way in which they worked.  

I've also kept the Tom Clancy and James Bond novels.  All are interesting reading.

The Isaac Asimov novels are remaining in the bookshelf.  I have read all of them at least twice, maybe three times.

The recipe books, which I really need to dig out and get some ideas on what to cook.

So, what do I foresee in the coming year?  I'm not going to dwell on that in this post, but I can list some goals.

One, some more traveling, preferably via road.  We are looking at getting a trailer and living out of that during our adventures.  I have researched solar panels which we intend to use to power the trailer, and I've somewhat recently purchased a ham radio rig that's ruggedly designed for portable use.  

Two, have my coin collection and currency collection better organized.

Three, some more reading.  

Four, more genealogical research.  I'm not sure if I should dig some more into my Bonsall roots, or to concentrate on my Pilkington ancestry.  As of late it's the Parkers I've been looking into.  

The bottom line is that I will keep busy.  The challenge is to live long enough to get the rest of the things I want to do done.

7/9/26: Thursday

I can't say that there's been a whole lot that's worthy of report here.  We either have high heat warnings or high wind warnings, and we need more rain than we're getting.  I've spent some time scanning my QSL cards for my ham radio blog, and some defaced banknotes for my "Ugly Money" page that's on this blog.  The defaced nots are also posted on a webforum that I frequent, along with others who share this unusual enthusiasm for collecting these kinds of things.

I'm also going thru my US banknote collection and getting that organized.  I have a healthy collection of foreign banknotes, and I want to get that inventoried, organized, and post scans of that on a new page.  I have many archived scans that I could start with.  Foreign money has interested me for many years, and my collection of foreign currency is viewed as an art collection.  

And just think, in a matter of a few weeks I'll have been retired for a year.  I hear from tech recruiters on an almost daily basis and it's rare for me to respond.  I've seen two of the jobs that smell rather badly of attempts at industrial espionage.  I don't like to discuss what I've worked on in the past except in very generic terms.  I've worked on orbiting satellites, satellite ground stations, circuit cards, aircraft engine monitoring systems and cancer detection equipment.  I miss the good times when I was a satellite engineer and the overseas travel that I got out of it, but I'm not going back to it.

That said, I won't rule out updating my resume and throwing it out there.  One former supervisor has the right of first refusal if I do go forward with this.  Plan B is another supervisor who I know but did not work for.  I can think of a Plan C and a Plan D if I want to.  But I've got to work on getting my mother's house sold.  The work on the house itself that we've wanted done to it completed this afternoon and I expect we will have this one the market before the end of the month. 

And after that, I want to do a road trip.  I'm looking at Alamogordo, northern New Mexico, northern Arizona and historic 66 on this one.  Maybe then I'll entertain the idea of making some good money on the side.

Dang, I almost forgot.  Last week while doing some genealogical research I discovered that I am related, although distantly, to Jeannie C. Riley of Harper Valley PTA fame.  We share a 5th great grandfather, that being John Parker, born in 1725.  Her descent from there comes down a different son from this John Parker.   As far as I can tell that branch of the family was one of the pioneering families of what was then the Mexican state of Texas.  

There is also some information about this John Parker's forebears which, if reliable, goes back further than 1725.  If that information is true it would explain why there is a Massachusetts/Connecticut connection to the Parker family, which keeps coming up from more than one source, and one of those is reliable.  I know that the Parkers owned land in Virginia and North Carolina because I've seen the property tax rolls as well as other documentation.  But did they own land down south while living up north?  I can't prove they were in New England at this point in time.

I think with that I'll call this a post, and watch some Looney Tunes.  

Those were some of the best cartoons ever made.

Buc-ee's Has Come to Arizona

If you don't already know it, Buc-ee's is a famous chain known for huge amounts of gas pumps, a huge store, a huge selection of items, and is fast developing a following.  I have known about them for some time but have never been to one.  I've had a few people tell me I should go at least once, but I don't plan on going out of my way to get to one anytime soon.

Anyway, they opened up their first Arizona location in Goodyear, right off I-10.  I honestly would have thought they would have opened in Eloy first.  The opening was a big event here in the state, with hotels being booked to capacity and law enforcement having to re-route traffic.  I don't know if the hubbub has died down yet, and I don't have occasion to pass thru Goodyear.  If I need to use I-10 west of Phoenix metro, I take the bypass thru Gila Bend to avoid Phoenix.

I could criticize those who camped out for a few days before the grand opening, which if I do, then I'd have to hope that no one ever finds out I stood in a long line here in Tucson when In-N-Out Burger opened their first location here.  The honest truth of the matter is, those people who are fans of Buc-ee's aren't out robbing liquor stores, and I consider them more desirable to society than lottery addicts.  

As for why I don't see myself going to Buc-ee's, it's for these reasons.  One, I'm something of a Quik Trip loyalist.  They opened up in Tucson some years back and it's my convenience store of choice.  Two, if you buy something to eat from a Buc-ee's kitchen, they don't provide a place for you to sit down (some, but not all, of the Quik Trips do).  Three, I don't like crowds very much.

Now if I happen to be on the road somewhere and need some gas, I might stop there to check it out.  I'm sure I would go in and wander around some, to see what they have.  I might even grab a brisket sandwich to see what that's all about.

All of that said, it has to be noted that what we have here in Buc-ee's is an American success story.  They are doing something right to have the kind of following that they have.  Bucky Beaver is on his way to becoming as recognizable as Ronald McDonald.  

And I just might be missing out on something if I don't check it out.

To Virginia and Back

Last week Sheila, Courtney and I boarded a plane to take us to Sheila's sister out in Chesapeake, VA.  After connecting in Atlanta (my first time thru that airport) we arrived at their local time at 1:00 AM.  The folks at the Avis counter were top notch in that one, and Delta Airlines managed to regain some points with me.

I had met my sister-in-law when she was here in Tucson, but I had not met the rest of her family.  They were great hosts and I felt an instant connection to my brother-in-law.  Side trips were made to Virginia's Eastern Shore and down to Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina where I got to visit the spot where the Wright brothers changed the world on one cold December morning over 100 years ago.  

While in the Tarheel State, I sampled some eastern North Carolina barbecue, which I had when I was last there in 2012.  This time it was a different place, and no offense to anyone there, but I just wasn't impressed with it.  Don't get me wrong, it had flavor, but my palate seems to be more favorable to what I had in Texas and what I've had off of my grill.  It's that I won't go out of my way for eastern NC barbecue, but I hope that sometime next year I will be in the western part of that state to try it Piedmont style.

Virginia is a beautiful state, and was when I lived in Manassas in 1975.  My memories of Manassas are very fond, and for a long time I wanted to go back there and live.  While in Arlington on business in 1989 I drove to Manassas and saw that it had changed so much that I wouldn't even consider living there now.  It's grown, the traffic was worse, and I'm sure that it's reached the intolerable point some time ago.

I should post some pictures of this, which means I might create a photo album page at some point in the future.  I'm still too jet-lagged to do anything like that today.  We got back late Wednesday night, and I'm slowly unpacking and getting things back to where they used to be before we left.  We enjoyed that trip very much and definitely want to do it again next year.  

There's still some traveling we want to do.  Our next road trip will take us over into the Land of Enchantment, as that I want to visit the Space Museum in Alamogordo as well as some other places.  After that I'm thinking Prescott and Sedona.

Before I go, one announcement that I didn't think I'd be making.

I'm giving some thought to coming out of retirement.  No, I am not bored or anything like that.  It's that some of the jobs that the recruiters have been contacting me about look like they'd be really fun and interesting to do.  I have turned down lots of interview requests recently, but I'm thinking, why not update my resume, throw it out there, and see what happens?

Ideally it would be a part time contracting gig, and one of my former employers would offer me that, and possibly another former employer.  The money would be useful and would help further my recreational pursuits.  

It's something to think about some more, but I can't tell you which way I will go on this.  

But as busy as I have been in retirement, if I go back to the workforce then I could get some rest.

Mexican Restaurants in Tucson

For very many years I have had a weakness for Mexican food.  There are some good places in San Jose.  I know of a good one up in Mesa.  There was one in El Paso I was at many years ago that was good.  Not that I'm biased or anything, but I think Tucson has some really excellent places, and after a great meal that we had two nights ago, I figured I would do a blog entry about what we have here.  And all that I mention are recommended.

The Mexican cuisine here is heavily influenced by our neighboring Mexican state of Sonora.  If you know where to go here you can get Mexico City style or New Mexico style.  In no particular order, here are the places we like to eat.

In South Tucson, we have had a lot of fine meals at Guillermo's Double L.  This place features Sonoran cuisine, with the #1 combo meal on the menu being my go-to.  My most recent visit was with two friends who were co-workers when we worked at Paragon Space Development.  

Over in Catalina, north of Tucson on state highway 77, is Carlota's.  I've met the same two friends up there as well.  I was introduced to it on my first day on the job when I was with Tucson Embedded Systems.  Their lunch combinations are all good.  They have since moved to the western side of the highway and have expanded their menu.  Folks, they have some selections that I haven't seen anywhere else.   You can't go wrong here.  And it's Sonora style.

On the east side here in Tucson, is Poco & Mom's.  This place features New Mexico style.  As far as I've been able to determine, it's the real deal.  I have eaten New Mexico style in Deming and Silver City.  This style has some more zing to it than Sonoran style, which means "mild" is zing and "hot" is rocket fuel.  The breakfast sopapillas are a favorite.

Also on the east side is the family-run Los Nopales at Golf Links & Harrison.  My way home from work took me by this place, and I noticed that their parking lot was always full, even on a weekday.  A full parking lot is usually a barometer of how great the food is, and when Sheila and I tried it we learned why the parking lot is almost always packed.  It's Sonoran style, generous portions, and family-run.  They close on occasion for vacation, during Holy Week, Fourth of July week, and of course Christmas.  We were there two nights ago.  

Over in midtown, there is La Parilla Suiza.  This is Mexico City style, with some selections you're not going to see elsewhere.  Sheila and I had our first date there.  There are other La Parilla Suiza locations and I've heard that one or two of the others are not as good as this one on Speedway, but I haven't verified that.

While we're still on the Mexico City style, this can also be had at any of the Guadalajara Grill locations.  This was founded by a husband and wife team, and they added a second, and maybe a third location, before they divorced.  Two of the locations mysteriously burned down to the ground when the divorce proceedings started.  That was some fifteen years ago.  Anyway, they are back in commission.  I've always enjoyed the food here, but I happen to like the others you just read about somewhat better.

One other Eastside Tucson gem is El Sur on 22nd.  This is a family run restaurant, somewhat hole-in-the-wall, and excellent honest Sonoran cuisine.  The drawback is the parking is a bit challenging.  And the inside is almost always packed too.

Finally, one local chain here is La Herredura.  We are partial to the one on Tanque Verde near Bear Canyon.  Their menu selection includes some seafood dishes that I don't see elsewhere.  One seafood dish pictured in the menu, I'm guessing it's filete ajo or something like that, is a favorite.  Their #7, red chile and green chile combination, is another excellent selection.  I need to get back there in the near future.

With that, it's a wrap, and a bit different type of article than the others I've written here.  

Sunday, 3/29/26; Checking In

In a few days I will have been retired for eight months.  I have made the observation that on some days I am busier now than I was when I was in the workforce, and my last job as a Product Test Engineer was one of the busiest jobs I ever did in my career.  I still get dreams that I am back there, and if the dream continues long enough I think "wait a minute, what am I doing here?  I'm retired!"  One of the reasons why I am busy is that I give myself a lot of things to do, some of it necessary, some of it fun, and very little idle time, if at any.  I have taken to forcing myself to do some recreational reading for one hour a day or so, and I'm currently working on one of the James Bond novels written by John Gardner.

For many years I have been something of a James Bond fan.  I remember watching "Diamonds Are Forever" when ABC had it as a Sunday night movie back when I was in junior high.  I figured back then when it came to the movies, you had to pay strict attention to what was going on in the beginning if you were to understand the rest of the movie.  I couldn't get my head around that as a junior high schooler, but I did take note of the stunts, especially when our hero was climbing the outside of a hotel in Las Vegas.

In the 1984 timeframe, my interest in the movies got going.  I rented the VHS cassettes from a rental store where I had a membership, and I watched them all..........and understood them better.  My favorite was "For Your Eyes Only" which I saw in a movie theater in the summer of 1981 when I was visiting a friend in Maryland, and really enjoyed the stuntwork in that one.

Anyway, that year I was collecting all of the Ian Fleming-authored novels, and learned right away that his novels quickly diverged from the movies early on.  "Diamonds Are Forever" is one such example of that divergence.  Although Las Vegas was in the novel, the plot was different.  

Fleming got away from us too soon if you ask me, and it wasn't for many years when John Gardner was approached about bringing James Bond back into the novels.  I have all of them, have been re-reading them, and enjoyed them.  

Now some of the Bond fans panned Gardner's novels.  The first in the series was a decent read, and yes, the critics were right that Gardner wasn't Fleming.  But Gardner did not set out to be Fleming, and the subsequent novels are entertaining and I'm having trouble putting The Man from Barbarossa down.  I know that there are post-Gardner novels out there and I have a few of them that I haven't gotten to yet, and the next recreational read might be a Tom Clancy novel, or one of the many books that Thomas Sowell authored.  There is one of Dr. Sowell's in the bookshelf that I want to re-read, and I might be bringing that up in its own separate blog post.

As for some other activities, there is of course, ham radio, but I'm currently on a hiatus from the airwaves.  As passionate as I am about that hobby, I find it helpful to take the occasional break from it so that I don't burn out on it, so to speak.  Thus, this afternoon had two, maybe three hours of reading, and if it isn't a novel then it's articles from radio magazines in an effort to better understand the digital modes I have been experimenting with.  But here comes something else I am considering.  Learning a foreign language.

Now I took three years of Spanish in junior high school, and if I had kept that up I would be fluent in it.  At my peak I could have been dropped off in South America and been able to find my way home.  Those three  years made it easier to learn Italian, which I needed since I knew I would be spending time there.  I found Italian to be a very fun language, and got to where I could be conversational in it.  It came in handy while over there on a business trip in 1997 as that one of my co-workers and I got lost in Rome, it was night, and we needed directions.  I was able to converse with the manager of a benzina station and understand his instructions on how to get back to the hotel.  He slowed down his speaking, and my comprehension was 100%.

In that same trip, it came in handy when my supervisor and I went to a restaurant.  I was able to order the pizza, with the toppings that we wanted on it.  The waiter was so impressed to meet an American who could speak his language, and when we asked him to call a cab to take us back to the hotel, he drove us over in his car instead!  And folks, a compliment of that magnitude doesn't happen very often in a lifetime.  

Anyway, I have learned a little Portuguese, as that I talk to Brazil quite often over the air, and I like giving the signal report and my location in Portuguese.  The operators over there like that very much, even though I think many of them want to practice their English.  I have thought about developing my Portuguese some, I have thought about trying to recapture what I knew in Italian and Spanish, but there's also French and German that I could learn, even though the odds of my going to Germany or France, much less Quebec, aren't really there.  I guess the justification here is to tell myself that I've broadened my horizons.........somewhat.  

There are lots of online language lessons out there, and my most recent dabbling in them was for the purpose of learning how to count to ten in French.  I know how to count to ten in English, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, and with more practice I will add French to that list.  We'll see.

With this I now close this post, and head upstairs.  And I think I will knock off one more chapter in The Man from Barbarossa.

The Kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie

The now week-old kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of news anchor Savannah Guthrie, has made national headlines in addition to consuming a lot of local attention here.  I haven't been one to comment on current events lately mainly because I don't have anything to add to what's already been said.  I risk that with this posting, but nonetheless here we go.

The news of the Bitcoin ransom broke shortly after this, with my thinking that there might be a few out there trying to scam the family as that scam emails starting popping up in my spam folder with one of the email accounts that I have.  The scammer claimed to have access to my files and had been watching me with a webcam, which is not possible as that the computers I use have them all disabled.  Sure enough, someone from California was caught demanding a ransom via Bitcoin, and in spite of covering all of his tracks he was caught.  And I hope he's locked away for so long that when he gets out there is no one left alive who remembers what happened.

Of course, as I write this, Nancy Guthrie remains kidnapped, and there is no proof one way or the other that she is even alive.  Ransom demands are still coming, the investigation is ongoing in addition to being intense, and although I have read up on all of the publicly available details that doesn't tell me how close the Pima County Sheriff's Department is to solving this case.

And since I don't know, I will speculate some on this.

There is something that's not right with this.  By that I mean, whoever did this had to have some inside knowledge of the family and residence.  This suggests that a family member, either by blood or by marriage, knows some things about this that the rest of us doesn't know.  This also suggests that there is a motive behind this that is connected to some inner drama of that family.

I say this because the victim here, Nancy Guthrie, is difficult to keep alive relative to most of the rest of us.  She is in need of some medications that must be taken on a daily basis for starters, and since to our knowledge, those medications weren't taken with her, this suggests that whoever did this really isn't interested in keeping her alive.

Also, this happened in the dead of night.  Whoever did this is well familiar with her residence.  He or she knew which security cameras to unplug, may have known that an understaffed sheriff's department would not be quick enough in responding to prevent this (and/or knew something about the company doing the monitoring, if applicable), and had to have had entry somehow.  

Would Nancy Guthrie have let some stranger in who knocked on the door in the dead of night?  Or was this a forced entry?  I don't know how the intruder got in, but I can speculate that the intruder or intruders knew some things about that residence that were just not known to the general public.

Of course the kidnapper(s) could have scoped it out beforehand.  Is it possible that it was someone who came over there to fix the air conditioner or clean the pool?  That kind of person might have had the knowledge needed for this.

Like most of the rest of us, I would like to see Nancy Guthrie emerge from this alive and well.  I am hoping that a family member or close associate is NOT involved, because that would be, in my opinion, one way for this situation to be much worse than it would be otherwise.

I could also be wrong about all or some of this, and if I am, then it won't be a blow to my ego.

1/24/26: Odds, Ends, and Musings

These are very interesting times we are living in.  I could go on about what's been happening in Minneapolis recently, but I am not.  Anything I could say about it has already been duplicated many times over on social media platforms and comments sections of news sites that choose to have them.  And as it is, this really isn't something I feel like discussing, thus this post will be odds, ends, and random musings.  So here we go.

As of the past couple of months I have developed an appreciation for hot sauces like never before.  This started some six months ago when I started putting some on some of the food that I eat, and bolstered more by that trip to New Mexico last November.  I have since broken open those bottles that I've brought back.  I've since discovered that most of the brands I got over there can be gotten over here, with one exception, and that being the La Anita red sauce that I got in a four ounce bottle.  That was one of my favorites of that bunch, with El Yucatero being almost rocket fuel and is used somewhat sparingly.

Of the major brands, my favorite are the Cholula sauces, with their red sauce and their chili garlic sauce being the favorites there.  Zing, but not rocket fuel.  I still have those chili pods that I brought back from Silver City and yes, I really need to get off my sitting end and make some from scratch.  I have found that adding sauce has helped some with my digestive tract.  The issues I had been having have since passed with using sauces.  I am convinced that there are health benefits to these sauces.  I don't usually add them though when we're out to eat at any Mexican place, since the local favorite dishes don't need any additional ingredients.

Also over the past couple of months, I've been very busy in ham radio.  The thinking is that the solar peak has passed, and the we're in the downward slope of the solar cycle.  I am trying to make the most of these conditions while we have them.  I'm up to 159 countries worked already.  I've also made some good friends via the local ham radio club scene, as that I'm active in two clubs and I've learned a lot.

Over in the precious metals market, I'm amazed at what gold and silver has done, especially silver.  I have kicked myself many times over for not buying more gold back when it was $310 an ounce or so, but I did stock up on silver coins when silver was $4.50 an ounce.  I wanted to get some dates/mints that I didn't have, and the side benefit was that I regarded it as a long term investment.  I could sell off 10% of what I bought and recover the dollars that I put into it, but it goes without saying that the dollars I recover are worth less than what I spent back in the day.  I can make the argument that I should have bought more silver, but I stopped when I felt like I had had enough, aside from the one ounce bullion coins that some countries have issued.  Now that silver's broken the $100 an ounce barrier, I don't see myself buying any.  I'm wondering if we have a bubble here that's getting ready to burst.  My gut tells me there's still some upside potential, but I'm also old enough to remember silver breaking the $50 an ounce barrier back in 1980 and how far it fell from that level before it picked up again.

As for retirement, I'll admit that I've toyed with the idea of coming out of it and returning to one of my former employers as a consultant, but that won't be happening until April at the earliest if I do.  If the work is interesting I could see doing some.  Thing of it is, I have given myself too much to do, some of it fun, some of it necessary, and things aren't where I want them to be.  My problem is that if I get too close to the goalposts then I move them further back.  Maybe deep down inside there's this fear of not having enough to do.  I have changed jobs on the grounds that there wasn't enough to do.  I am busier now than I was a year ago, and yes, I sometimes joke about going back to the workforce so that I can get some rest.

Yes, there's more to do.  More recipes to try out.  More books to read.  Some foreign languages to study.  Some things to sort out.  Some guns to shoot.  Some fish to catch.  Some places to visit.  And some family history to research.

And speaking of which, there is an unverified trace to William the Conqueror, as well as an unverified trace to Charlemagne.  I have read where ole William is the ancestor to quite a percentage of those of British blood, and I've got at least a pint of British blood flowing thru my veins.  I probably ought to go ahead and pop for one of those DNA tests.  

With that I'm going to call this one a wrap, and maybe in the next entry or two I'll do some musing about Star Trek.  

Cheers, beers, and don't forget to pet a dog or a cat!

Tuesday Evening, 12/23/25

Well here we are, my first holiday season as a retired person.  I find that I am nowhere near as stressed as I used to be at this time of year.  I don't have to travel anymore these holidays, and if I need something at the store then I can go in the midmorning before the 9 to 5ers get off work and make things more crowded.  It is busy at the church I'm a member of; I am supporting most of the services we are having this month.  I will be glad when Christmas is behind me as that we seem to have this lull of a few days before New Year's Eve arrives.  My boss at Radio Shack said that New Year's Eve is Amateur's Night as that the professional drinkers stay home.

Anyway, we have been blessed with some really fine weather.  When it's in the low 80s in the early afternoon, I want to be out on the shaded back patio with a good book or a radio and with the dog.  The view to the back of me is the back wall of a public storage place that's on the other side of the wash, and that wash is gated off so the only foot traffic is that of javelinas and roadrunners.  Well, some coyotes might get back there too but I won't know for sure unless I remember that I eventually want to get a motion-sensitive trail camera to see if anything really happens back there when I'm not looking.

As for Christmas, I'm sure that the family I married into will be gathering together for some quality time.  Years ago I would usually be off to San Jose to visit my family and friends up there, but with each passing year I have less and less reason to go there as that a lot of the people I was close with have either moved out or are planning to.  As I am tracking down the histories of the families I am researching that I am descended from, everyone scatters and that seems to be a common thread throughout most of human history.

Meanwhile, in the news, it's being reported that the Powerball jackpot is up to $1.7 billion.  The drawing is tomorrow night, and maybe for grins I will pick out some numbers here and we'll see if I have "won", which I won't, because I'm not buying a ticket.  When I had to go to Albertsons for some scrip I noticed a line of five customers itching to make a donation to the Powerball jackpot, and I overheard one of them getting $20 worth of tickets.  

Well it's their money, and it really isn't a societal ill that needs addressing as long as the casual lottery players aren't robbing liquor stores to get money to buy the tickets.  The lottery addicts, on the other hand, are spending much more of that on every drawing, and those are the lottery players that have the problem.  The addicts really wouldn't be that much of an aggravation if they would stop insisting on holding up the line at the Circle K wanting to "go over" all the scratcher games................"are there a lot of winners with this game?  How long will this game go on?  How many winning tickets did you sell with this one?  How often do you see a thousand dollar winner?  What are the new games that are coming out next week?"  And on and on and on.  

As for the casual players, or maybe even the addicts, I'm sure many of them are saying to themselves, "if I win this jackpot, I'm going to do good things with this money.  I'm going to donate some of it to charities.  I'm going to give gifts to my friends and family members.  I don't want to be like one of those rich people who I hate."  The reality is, they're going to go into hiding first, and then face problems they never imagined.

All right.  Enough of that.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

I want to find time to send out some emails to some people I am close to, and hopefully the day won't get away from me like some of them have been.  I have been spending a lot of time with ham radio and getting my logs caught up.  I joined six other hams yesterday for an outing at Saguaro National Park, where a station was set up and we participated in the long running Parks on the Air program.  I QSOed enough hams to be credited with my first activation, but I'm going to have to first register with POTA and get that credit.

There is also a Summits on the Air program, and an Islands on the Air program, which gets people with licenses on the airwaves and communicating.  Yesterday's outdoor operation was a great deal of fun, and we'll be doing more of these in the near future.  We're also talking about going over to New Mexico and operating from there.  

In the meantime, Merry Christmas!  

A Visit to the Land of Enchantment

One week ago tomorrow Sheila and started my third road trip since retiring.  We wanted to retrace the route we took back in August 2016, but with one major difference:  overnighting for two nights in Silver City NM.  Like the last time, day one was spent driving to Deming, where we stayed at the Comfort Inn & Suites, as we did in 2016.  For the evening meal we walked over to the family-run El Camino Real Mexican restaurant........which was of the New Mexico style, my favorite.

The enchiladas I had were almost nightmare grade, which I mean in a good way.  Beyond zing and almost rocket fuel.  In New Mexico, the custom is to have eggs served on top of your enchiladas, which I did.  The next morning it was off to Silver City, with a stop at City of Rocks State Park, which I recommend.

The next stop was the Bayard Food Basket, a local supermarket, where we got some items and beverages for our stay in Silver City.  After getting back to the truck, I kept thinking about that large package of dried Hatch chilis.  I went back, bought a bag, after we ate a somewhat late lunch at a Mexican/Salvadorean restaurant called La Mexicana.  

Our stay in Silver City was the historic Murray Hotel.  It was our first time in a historic hotel, and we liked it.  The only drawback is you have to hope there is street parking nearby and finding it was a challenge.  We fortunately landed a spot within half a block, but we also knew that we couldn't dare do any side trips or we would lose that spot.  That was OK, we wanted a full day downtown, so we booked two nights.

While there I did some online research about those chili pods.  Now that I have them, what do I do with them?  I found a recipe for chili sauce from scratch, and I thought I had better buy more bags of these.  On our way out we stopped at the Silver City Food Basket, where I picked up three more bags.  It was slow, so the cashier gave me a quick rundown on how she makes chili sauce from them.  I intend to be making a batch in the near future, with near future meaning this week.  I also picked up some hot sauce brands that I don't see here in Tucson, so as you're guessing my home cooked meals are having a Southwestern twist to them.

Saturday we drove to Willcox, where we stayed for the night.  Lunch was at Big Tex BBQ, which I highly recommend.  We spent Sunday morning driving to the Chiricahua National Monument where God's signature is all over the creation that is found there.  The rock formations are unique.......towering cylindrical shapes that reach up to the sky!  That afternoon we were back in Tucson, and I've spent today mostly resting.  

We love road trips, but it's really great to be home.  Our next trip hasn't been planned yet, but I'm guessing we will visit Laughlin NV, Oatman AZ, and if my cousin's available, we'll stop off and see her in Lake Havasu City where she and her husband now spend their winters.  

There's not very much else to report, and that's a good thing.  I have some projects to take care of, and I want to spend some time on the air.  

Retirement is great!  I miss some of my co-workers, but not the corporate crap.  I won't rule out going back next year as a part time consultant.  

11/3/25: A Warm Monday in the Old Pueblo

One great thing about living in Tucson is the mild winters.  Those of you up north or back east probably don't want to hear me tell you that we are in the mid 80s this afternoon.  The sky is clear with a few clouds here and there, and the desert is just as beautiful as it ever was.

There really isn't much in the way of news to pass along, so it's going to be random thoughts this afternoon.

One of my retirement projects has been re-reading an anthology collection of history articles back when I was taking History at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose.  We had a great history teacher, a Mr. Ron Zarcone, who was a gifted lecturer and made it interesting.  I have kept almost all of my college textbooks since, and these two anthology volumes were on the re-read list.  I haven't read these since 1977.  Although all were not assigned reading, all of them are interesting, as I am working my way thru articles of what Christopher Columbus really knew before sailing across the ocean, details about indentured servitude, and the Salem Witch Trials.  It makes me wish I had continued studying history after college, and although I have read some books about history I have only scratched the surface.  That's one favorite activity.

Another is going thru my coin collection, but that's been on pause these past few weeks.  I have had to work on two necessary projects recently, and one was taken care of last week.  The other big one?  Not much left to do on that one except for a phone appointment with a senior manager helping to get my second pension activated.  

And as you might guess, ham radio has kept me busy too.  We had really great band conditions during a major worldwide contest the last weekend of last month, and I picked up two new countries.  The 10 meter band was the best I've ever heard it in a half century of this hobby.  A total of 48 countries were worked, thanks to the sunspots and low geomagnetic activity.

I said half a century.  It isn't lost on me that I have many memories that are half a century old or more.  I was still in high school, taking electives in electronics, and fifty years ago at this time we were preparing to move from Virginia to California.  I did not intend to stay in San Jose for as long as I did, but a lot of the memories there are good too, and two lifetime friends were made there.

Now here I am in Tucson, retired, and still not missing work.  It was a great field to be in and I lived really well because of it.  I don't miss a lot of the corporate crap that I went thru.  It was fun, but there were times when it was brutal.  Now I go back to it if I want to, and this time in an advisory capacity.  The thought of doing that is intriguing, but not until I catch up on some things and do some more fun stuff.

With that, I think it's time to wrap this post up.  

To Trashcan and Back

Earlier this week I was in Las Vegas, for the first time since I left to return home in February 2016.  I was originally going to be there last week but a medical issue in the form of infection erupted, and Sheila had to go there with one of her daughters while I stayed home to get medical attention.  It wasn't serious, but it likely would have gotten that way if I didn't get a doctor to look at it.

Sheila came back, and on Monday we drove up to retrieve her son who she drove up there some days prior.  If I hadn't had the infection we would have made side trips to Rhyolite and a few other places.  As it was, we drove up Monday, I was too tired to do much of anything the next day, and on Wednesday we drove home.

While I was up there we did drive around the old neighborhood where I lived, and by Bigelow Aerospace, where I worked when I was up there.  The only employees remaining at Bigelow are the security guards who don't have very much to do unless some coyote trips the perimeter alarm.  As for who I knew when I was living up there, we've all scattered to our separate ways, and the only one I'm now in touch with is Ron S. who is on the east coast and will be retiring.  I would like to get out there and see him, he's a really great guy.

Anyway, I was really glad to be home when we got back Wednesday night.  Yesterday I had a follow-up appointment with the specialist about my infection and I am well on the mend.  Today I was exhausted for some reason and some things I needed to do were put off until Monday.  I have spent a lot of time playing radio, and Mark and I have been experimenting with some interesting modes on the ham bands.

As for Las Vegas, I think I would now enjoy a three day stay there, provided it's Downtown and not on the Strip.  I definitely want to see Rhyolite again; it was the first ghost town I ever visited and it's something I want to see on those rare occasions when I'm in the area.  I hope that on the next trip we overnight in Fallon, and then drive across to Ely, and then back down to Las Vegas before we start the trip home.

Being able to do this when we want is one of the many blessings of being retired.  I am enjoying this much more than I thought I would.  I haven't forgotten some conversations I've had with a previous employer and I have reason to believe I will be working part time next year.  

In the meantime?  I feel the need to research some more family history.  There is evidence, not  yet corroborated, that I am a descendant of William the Conqueror, thru my paternal grandmother.  There's some more research I want to do re the Parker family who settled North Carolina and Virginia.  I am way overdue in creating pages on the Bonsall and Pilkington families.  

I think with that, I'm going to call this a post.

The Lottery: Is It Really Worth It?

From time to time when I'm trying to buy something at a convenience store, I'm stuck behind what can best be described as a lottery addict.  We had one here some years back who would frequent this one Circle K, stopping there on a Sunday morning, and getting fifteen people or more backed up behind her because she wanted to run thru a whole stack, I'm guessing a hundred of them, to see if she won anything.  And I'm sure that winnings, if any, were used to purchase lottery tickets for the next drawing.  Her husband would stand by with this pained look on his face, probably not being able to afford very much fun things in their retirement because his wife was a lottery addict.  

I don't go to that store any more, due to a different reason, but a week or so ago I got behind another lottery addict.  She had a 3/8 inch stack of scratcher tickets, and I put down my items and walked out because I don't like having to be behind people with obvious gambling problems.  And now that I'm writing this, I'm going to bring up one other anecdote.

While I was in Las Vegas and working for Bigelow Aerospace, one of my more strange co-workers told us during the morning break that he was going to spend $160 on Powerball tickets that weekend.  Strange as it may seem, Nevada state law does not allow for a state-run lottery even though nearly every other form of gambling is legal.  So when the Powerball jackpot gets big, many of the residents of Trashcan will drive down to the California Lottery store just over the state line across from Primm.  Others will drive over to Dolan Springs AZ.  Anyway, when my co-worker told us this, I had a response.

"Why don't you write out a check to the lottery and mail it in?  You won't have to spend all that time driving down there and waiting in a long line, and besides, the result is going to be the same."  He just looked at me like I told him I had lunch with Elvis Presley on board an alien spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mars.  Needless to say, he didn't win the jackpot, as that he was back at work the following Monday.

Anyway, I got to thinking about the lottery, that is, the Powerball, the Megamillions, and the Arizona state lottery.  I have no recollection of ever buying a Powerball ticket or anything like that.  In years past I would buy scratcher tickets if I was out of state, so that I could have a souvenir of my visit, but I haven't done that in many years.  One reason I don't play Powerball is, is that some chump is going to win the jackpot and I won't be that chump.  A second reason is, that when I once worked out what the return would be on California scratchers when they started out in 1985, I figured that for every $100 you spent on scratchers you could expect to get $23 back.  Their lottery said that 50% would be paid out in prizes, the schools would get most of the rest, but half of that 50% was going to to subsidize the jackpot.  That's not a very good return.  And the first two jackpots went to an illegal alien and a welfare recipient who blew his entire check on the lottery.  

Now let's look at what happens to some winners.  If you google "lottery horror stories", you're going to get a lot of results.  Read thru them sometime.  There have been broken marriages, homicides, bankruptcies, and all sorts of bad things happening to jackpot winners.  Is it worth it?  Many of the winners wish they had never played in the first place.  Their lives did not change for the better.  

Now let's look at something else.  If you win the jackpot, do you really think that your life is all of a sudden going to get easy?  At that point, you become known, even if you try to hide it.  You will get hit with all sorts of people wanting handouts, and many of your family members and other relatives will turn against you if you don't share your money with them.  Sure, you could buy them houses and Cadillacs, but will that be enough for them?  

In my view, it isn't worth it.  A sudden influx of wealth will bring you all sorts of problems you're not prepared for, and repeated attempts to buy your way out of those problems can leave you in a position that was worse before you bought that ticket.

Call me insane if you want to, but the one reason why I don't play the lottery is that I don't want to the problems that come with winning the jackpot, and I'm not going to be foolish enough to think that I would be immune to those problems.  The way I see it, I am a blessed individual.  I got to do the things I most wanted to do.  I got to meet the people I most wanted to meet.  I have a neat wife, a nice house, and lots of simple pleasures.

In other words:  I have already won the jackpot, and I'm not going to trade that for the other jackpots that are out there.

If you wish to spend money on the lottery, that's your business, even if you're not one of those lottery addicts I described earlier.  If you become one, you need help, and if you win that jackpot good luck with that because you're going to need it.  

As I said......in my own way, I have already won the jackpot.

Our First Road Trip, Post-Retirement

On Tuesday of last week Sheila and I took to the road, expecting to be gone anywhere from five days to one week, and largely making it up as we went along.  We knew that the Petrified Forest National Park was going to be one destination and we knew that we would take scenic routes to get there.  Destination for night number one was Globe AZ, which I've passed thru before but did not stop.

We took AZ77 up thru Oracle (getting off to drive its main drag), with a stop in Mammoth to check out some lots that were for sale.  Sheila wants some property outside of Tucson, which I'm sympathetic to but for me it has to be a great location for ham radio.  There was a lot in Mammoth which would have been great, but it wasn't buildable due to terrain.  We eventually found ourselves in Globe, where we had a nice meal at Irene's Real Mexican restaurant.  Well, I liked the meal..........Sheila didn't like the enchiladas.

The next was a drive over to Show Low, thru some really awesome scenery, especially that of the Salt River Canyon.  Show Low is a candidate location for a second home, but its drawback is the awful traffic they have there.  From there it was up to Snowflake, which was checked out.  Snowflake looked more like a town in Oregon than in Arizona.  To me its drawback is the distance from Tucson, because I would want to be in a place I can get to within a day.  

After Snowflake it was on to Holbrook, where we put down for the night.  Holbrook reminded a lot of Needles CA.  Both out in the middle of nowhere, both with historic US 66 running thru the main drag, and both where you stop for only one night before you continue on.  The major difference is Petrified Forest National Park, which I visited once in 1986, but something I wanted to see again.  That place has some scenery that you just can't get tired of looking at.  We plan on going up there again sometime within the next six months.

We knew that when we left Holbrook, that we would take in the Four Corners monument.  We also knew we would do that after stopping somewhere for the night.  That stop was in Cortez CO.  In retrospect we maybe should have stopped in Shiprock NM, but we had reservations in Cortez.  The drive gave us lots of scenic formations to look at.  As for Cortez, I think of it as a decent place to stop, and maybe on a future trip we'll stay there again.  The next morning, Thursday, it was off to the Four Corners which was something I've wanted to see since high school.

Four Corners is way out in the middle of nowhere, but if you have an appreciation for southwestern scenery like I do then you'll enjoy the drive there.  There were a lot of visitors there.  As I was standing in line waiting my turn to stand at the quadripoint, it was weird looking down and seeing one foot in Arizona and the other in New Mexico.  I got my picture taken (Sheila did not want to be photographed), and then walked around in all four states some.  The decision had been made the night before to drive to Flagstaff, and again I loved the scenery that the Navajo Nation had to offer.

I can't say that I liked that section of US 89 some eighty miles north of Flag.  That was pretty desolate and there was a lot of traffic.  Flagstaff was something of a madhouse on Friday afternoon at 2:30, and I'm sure being near Northern Arizona University didn't help.  We stayed at a Quality Inn and loved being within walking distance of a Himalayan restaurant.

After that it was the drive home, not made pleasant by the Phoenix metro traffic, but at least it moved.  I was worn out something fierce the next day and now I am enjoying retirement at home.

I took lots of pictures on this trip, but I'm not sure that posting them here would do what I saw any justice.  I would have to download them from my phone, and right now the "to do" list in my planner has ten items, and I'll settle for getting three of those knocked off the list tomorrow.  I'm also going thru papers here; sorting, filing, shredding, organizing..........a lot has built up and the next challenge is to live long enough to see everything done.  

That said, retirement is great.  I can take an afternoon nap anytime I want to.  I can get up at 3:00 AM and go on the air.  And now I've got time to work on some family history.  I want to get additional pages up, and get caught up on email.

With that, time now to call it a wrap.

Out.

Retired!

Last Thursday I officially retired, separating in the morning as that last minute things come up, which they did.  The previous night was a bit rough with a family member needing an ER visit and I was short on sleep that night.  I popped awake at 4:15 AM, and thought I  might as well get this day out of the way.  There was some confusion about the process.  And it wasn't a great week for my boss, as that he lost two other engineers to other departments and only one of the seven offers outstanding were accepted........and he lost that person to another department.

I was not prepared for how tired I was going to be that day.  I knocked off two naps of about one hour each, and I was still dog tired after that.  My body clock is still waking me up around 4:30ish.  No big deal, I can take all the afternoon naps that I want.  That time of morning is great for ham radio as that I can get Japan and Australia on the lower frequencies, and I've been on the air quite a bit.  

As for regrets..........only one.  I should have added one more "gripe" to the exit survey that I begrudgingly filled out.  I did complain about the unsafe drivers that we have working there, and about how some managers spring the "Friday Surprise" on you ten minutes before you start what you think is going to be a weekend off.  I did remember to point out that managers who spring this on  you still get to watch their kids' soccer games or go skydiving while you have to explain to an angry wife about why you can't make that day trip to Patagonia.  

Well, the "Friday Surprise" was an almost weekly occurrence when I was at Paragon Space Development, which has struggled with high turnover in addition to business volatility.  Almost everyone I knew there has since also left, so I have no idea what's really going on there any more aside from noticing that they are hiring again.  I'll pass; I'm done with manned spaceflight.  

Which I guess now begs the question, am I done?  I won't say that I am.  All I know is that I am taking the next six months off, and I may or may not seek a part time position as a consultant after that.  The pay for that is really well, and one former employer has unofficially spoken to me about part time work.  I am in the financial position of not really needing the extra money but I can see having to feed the travel appetite somehow.

As for retirement itself, I don't feel "retired" just yet.  That might change this evening as I go out on the back patio with a radio and a cold drink, and tune in those distant stations on the AM band, and knowing that this time I can stay up as late as I want to.  Tuning in to distant stations is what got me into my career field many years ago, and I'm going to have to tell that story sometime.  

And as I'm making this transition, there are some things I have resolved to do.  One, get a gym membership going.  Two, start eating better (that starts today).  Three, go out on walks a lot more often, which heat advisories as of late have constrained that.  But, it's cool enough around sunrise to do that, and the dog likes going out on walks too.  I think the dog and cats are going to like my retirement maybe even more than I will.

One important point I want to make.  This is not an end.  It is a beginning.  And I pray for health.

Retiring is a Lot of Work

Yes, you read that right.  Retiring is a lot of work.  There has been a lot of fighting with the third party benefits center that my employer uses.  I'm convinced that the people who run that hate all of mankind and every living creature that the Good Lord made.  Well, save for one.  I'd better not identify her or she'll get fired.  that lady has gone out of her way twice to help me.

At work, my replacement has been identified, and he is coming up to speed.  He'll  be seasoned in the months to come, but I also know a lot is being asked of him.  He's seen his fair share of trench warfare, maybe even more than I have seen, and I think he'll do well..........if they can keep him.  Morale in our department is still low and since I've announced my departure, two other engineers have announced theirs, and we've got some others actively looking.  I expect my phone will ring in six weeks, with them asking me to come back as a contractor, but I'll tell them again, I am taking the rest of the year off.  I see myself being open to that kind of discussion early next year, but not before.

Meanwhile, I'll have to say some good things about the Social Security people.  They have been very helpful, and more efficient than I would have considered them capable of being.  That has to say something when a government operation is more efficient than a similar private enterprise is.........and that something is not complimentary to the private sector in this case.

The big day is 7/31.  I have been counting the days and it's worse than being a kid and waiting for Christmas.  Three of those days will be consumed by a medical matter.  I am in need of a minor outpatient procedure and that is scheduled for the 29th.  I have had one exam, and another specialist is doing another on the 23rd.  I should be able to drive after that.

A lot of people have been wishing me well.  Their kind word are appreciated.

I will be glad when this is over.  I'm going to need a vacation when I'm done retiring.

Thursday 5/22/25: Some Memories and Some Looking Forward

On this day in 1983, I officially wrapped up a job that I had at Radio Shack.  My final exams were done, my graduation was less than a week away, a new job was pending, and a road trip was planned.

Here I am years later, fondly remembering that time, and looking forward to retirement.  The planned date is the end of July and we are already planning the next road trip.  There are more trips we want to do and those are being planned as well.  The DFW Metroplex is one destination and the Tidewater of Virginia is another.  I expect more travel too.

The one concern I had about retiring was that I was going to second-guess myself about it.  Well, that's not happening.  I get tempted on some days to hand in my resignation and get this over with.  I figure that the temptation will be recurring.  I am trying to get some projects at work completed, and I'm optimistic that they will be done in time.  If not............well I'm sticking to the planned date of 7/31.  

Aside from that, not too much else to report.  I am making a four day weekend out of this weekend and I plan on resting and relaxation.  

I also will be remembering those who served.  That includes some family members who are no longer with us.

I'm Retiring!

A few weeks ago I made the decision to go ahead with retirement.  I've been in this kind of financial position for some time, but held off for a number of reasons.  One was that I was really enjoying my job, and two was that I was really enjoying the people I work with.  Yet there has been this desire to take a sabbatical, and I could use one of about six months.  It is possible that I may come back as a part time contractor (I already have one previous employer wanting me back).  It's just as possible that I'll be out somewhere with a fishing pole.  I can tell you that Sheila and I would like to do some traveling, both here in the Southwest, as well as the East Coast.  

I notified my new boss of this decision early Thursday afternoon.  I knew a week ago that this would be the week.  The hardest part about this was keeping it bottled up inside of me.  Sheila knew, Mark knew, and so did a few others.  I didn't say anything about it at work.  I really wanted to vent.......I went blog silent as this was being mulled over.  I didn't want to spill the beans just yet.

Interestingly enough, I slept really well last week........until Friday night, the day after I informed my boss.  I haven't brought it up at work.  I told two co-workers that I am close to, and asked them not to say anything about it.  Word will eventually get out, and I'm going to let that take its course.  And there's a reason for that.

Morale in my department has been plummeting.  I can go into why I think it is plummeting, but it's best not to.  I didn't want to be seen spiking the football while many of my co-workers are unhappy.  In other words.........savor, but don't gloat.  I've seen situations before where once morale goes south, it never really comes back.  It's only overcome when there has been a huge turnover in personnel.  The low morale is undoubtedly a factor in the timing of my decision, but even if it weren't I still need a huge chunk of time off.  There are guns to shoot, fish to catch, coins to collect, books to read, and ham radio to keep me busy.  If there's a concern, it's that I might be busier than I am now, and I might have to dedicate time for relaxation.  

I am very much at peace about this decision.  It is time for me to step down, and let someone else ride this horse.

As for my last day, that's still being worked out.  Maybe the end of August.  Maybe the end of July.  Professional courtesy obligated me to give 90 days' notice, and I told my boss I would not go out before those 90 days.  He's going to have to work with HR to open a req for my replacement, and even if he gets someone I wouldn't want to be the person that replaces me.  The nature of my present assignment is that it will take six months to break that person in, and another six months of seasoning.  It's been a challenging assignment and a fun one to boot, but I don't a lot of people would have said that if they were in my shoes.

So.........a career that started out in microwave tubes, and went on to missiles, experimental missile payloads, satellites, satellite ground stations, circuit cards, manned spacecraft, cancer detection equipment, life support systems, aircraft engines and test stations for flight hardware is drawing to a close.

Most of it was fun, and I've learned not to have regrets over "what might have been".  

If there is anyone who is more blessed than I have been, I'm not aware of it.

Sunday 2/2/25: Warming Up in the Old Pueblo

 The past week or so saw below normal temperatures.  Today we are above normal and it will be that way for the rest of the week.  February can be a great month here and it can also be a cold month.  I would have thought we would be in for snow this winter, since it does that every third winter or so, but not this time.

Since I last checked in, we were up to San Jose and back for my mother's memorial service.  It was a great service and the whole process went a whole lot smoother than I thought it would.  We took three days to drive up there mainly because I-40 was used instead of I-10.  You can do it in two even using I-40, but I budgeted an extra day of driving since we wanted to bypass L.A..  Even if L.A. wasn't having their fire problems you still don't want to pass thru if you don't have to.

The first night saw us in Needles, where gas was $5.89 a gallon.  We discovered that one road that takes you into Mohave Valley AZ that the locals know about, and got gas there at $3.49.  Gas along I-40 and I-5 varied.  In Barstow and Lost Hills you could get it for around $4.00, but in Kettleman City figure on popping at least $5.70.  In San Jose it varied between $3.85 at Rotten Robbie's to $4.89 elsewhere.  At a Chevron in Morgan Hill where we stopped for a bio break there was a sticker with a QR code that said the high prices were due to taxes, and scan the code to figure out how to fight back.

Well the best way to fight back is at the ballot box, but the mentality of 80% of California voters suggests they aren't capable of processing the concept that if you vote differently you will get different results.  

Anyway, the drive back was also along I-40 and we came home in two days.  We made a mistake stopping for the night in Mojave.  We've stayed there before with no issues but we will never stay there again.  No, we weren't harmed or injured, but Tehachapi would have been a better choice.  (You do NOT want to stay in Barstow unless you want your car broken into overnight!)  

Meantime, I have started the process of getting my mother's estate settled.  I have distributed the first part of the assets with the second part being done pending sale of her house.  I don't see that happening until later in the year, as that we've got to get it ready, and finish going thru her things.  It is going to be a long process.  I have also had to re-arrange some things financially.  All of the debts save for mortgage and HELOC have been paid.  The mortgage is fixed at 3.5%, and with the CD I set up two days ago paying 4% I am in that unique position of the bank paying me more interest than I am paying them.  I can settle the mortgage right now if I want to, but right now it's free money.  

I guess this now brings up the retirement question.  I've had a few co-workers ask me when I'm going to do it.

Last December, when I was asked, the answer was "some time between tomorrow and one year from tomorrow."  A date has been tentatively selected but I am not announcing it, as that it's still subject to change.  I am being treated very well at work and it's been years since I've enjoyed a job as much as I've enjoyed this one.  I will admit there is a desire to take a sabbatical, and come back part time as a contractor.  

And if the sabbatical goes on for a year, no big deal.  I have places I want to visit, books that I want to read, and things that I want to do.  

12/26/24: Nearing the End of the Year

It's now at the time of the year where some of us get to slow down some after a frantic four weeks or so, relax, reflect, and recharge, and yes, I'm in that boat.  There's a lot to catch up on so I may as well get started.

Work has been treating me very well.  The schedule of performance reviews was accelerated to early this month as opposed to the usual February, and I did very well this past year.  To be honest, that was the best performance review I've ever had in my career.  It helps in that my boss and I have known each other for a long time, having worked together at Paragon Space Development here in Tucson.  I was really jazzed up about that review; I had been banking some comp time that day and I went home early so that I could reflect on that.  It was one of those moments where I had to invoke one of my recent sayings:  savor, but don't gloat.  I suppose I ought to expand on that some.

When I was offered a job at another company in early 1996, I was glad to get out of the company that I worked for, and into something really neat that I could do.  One of my co-workers who had also left said something that I've never forgotten:  savor the moment.

Now we fast forward to where I'm older, and hopefully wiser.  My mindset towards things when things are going good has changed somewhat.  It's trying to remember to thank God for the fortune, but it's also to not get caught up on gloating.  Perhaps you have seen some end zone celebrations while watching a football game.  Players can't help but celebrate a touchdown.  It's human nature.  Yet the Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry told his players not to celebrate.  He told them "act like you've been there before".  In other words, have some class about it, and don't rub it into your opponent's face.

I can see where Tom Landry was coming from on that.  Excessive celebration will have the effect of motivating your opponent to fighting harder to win, and some of us, when we want to do something badly enough we will figure out a way to get it done.  If you gloat, that can come back and bite you.  That's one reason.

The other reason, is something I read in the Sermon on the Mount.  There Christ warns people about celebrating your good deeds.  I take that more as a warning against virtue signaling, and virtue signaling is one thing the world could use a severe shortage of right now.  Now can you celebrate inwardly?  I say you can.  Savor, but don't gloat.  

But what about celebration?  And is there a time to gloat?  Here is where what I'm about to say reflects my personal opinion.

If you land a new job, yes, take your wife and family out, and celebrate with a nice dinner.  If you reach a marriage milestone like I'm about to, yes, celebrate (and on that one you had better if you want to stay married...........!!!!!)  And if you want to jump up and down in the privacy of your own living room when something good happens, go for it.  You're not putting on a show for anyone.  

But when is it time to gloat?

Again, my personal opinion is coming into play here.

If you're a ham radio operator and you get someone on Pitcairn Island, then you can gloat.  And there are two reasons.  One, over 99% of the rest of the population won't care about that, so it's not like you're rubbing into anyone's face.  Two, the other ham radio operators will congratulate you and say "good job!", and then ask you how you pulled it off.

Anyway...........we are nearing the end of another year.  One of my former employers is trying to get me to come back.  I haven't told them no, but I haven't told them yes either.  My next job is retirement, and that next job starts sometime between tomorrow and one year from tomorrow.  I'm not ready to announce the intended date, which is subject to change.  Let's say that I'm not close enough to it to where I feel the need to let my management know about it.  

I have also been busy enjoying my time off, mainly in the pursuit of hobbies and simple pleasures.  Yeah, there are some things around the house I need to do, and I've worked on it here and there.

That's it.