Geezer

There are 386 posts filed in Geezer (this is page 29 of 39).

Williamsburg

Fife and drum parade

Colonial Williamsburg

We returned this afternoon from a weekend trip to Williamsburg to surprise Kelly’s dad for his 70th birthday. After showing up at his doorstep unannounced Saturday morning, we finished breakfast and headed out to see Colonial Williamsburg.

Thanks to a press release from the Governor’s office, I knew ahead of time that Colonial Williamsburg (or “CW,” as it’s known to locals) had free admission to veterans this weekend in honor of Veterans Day. We were able to score free tickets for my family, which was a nice perk.
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On my way

I found this picture (slide, actually) in my collection of stuff and scanned it in a few months ago. It was taken on one of my very last days of boot camp, mid-April 1988, by the photo vendors of the now-defunct Boardwalk and Baseball theme park near Orlando, FL. I was on my way in a few days to my very first duty station: my A-school training at Fort Devens, MA. From left to right are James Kading (I think), Christopher Patrick, Richard Royston and me.

I have no idea where these guys wound up. Boot camp isn’t a place you have a lot of time to socialize. There was only one sailor in my company I got to know better, only because we spent 6 months together at the aforementioned A-school. I wonder what these gentlemen here are up to now.

Daylight complaint-saving time

I managed to make it through the whole day yesterday without my usual twice-yearly rant about daylight saving time. The truth is that Kelly and I completely forgot about DST ending and woke up thinking it was later than it actually was. Other than resetting far too many clocks it was a smooth transition for us.

Since I’ve blogged before about DST’s dubious benefits, I came across an interesting National Geographic look at DST. Some excerpts:

Likewise, Matthew Kotchen, an economist at the University of California, saw in Indiana a situation ripe for study.
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Sample in a jar

Wikimedia Commons pic by TurboTorque


I went to a job interview recently which went fantastically. The work was right up my alley, faces lit up when I described what I do, and one interviewer even exclaimed “he’s just the guy we need!”

Then I got handed off to the corporate HR staff, which sent me a 16-page job application to fill out. That wasn’t so bad, but on the porch today was a overnighted package with forms in it for a drug test.
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Checkup

I got a physical this morning; the first one I’ve had in a few years. There are a million other things I’d rather do than get poked and prodded by a doctor so I put it off for as long as I can, but I figured I was now overdue.

I’m pretty darn fit for a 42 year old, it turns out. Blood pressure is an excellent 114/68, pulse 74 (though I took my pulse last week and clocked it at 50, lower than my previous best – ha!). Even my cholesterol is trending very nicely in a healthy direction, with only a slightly elevated LDL.

The one thing I’m looking at is a low white blood cell count and a low platelet level. Outside of my initial visit as a new patient it was the first time the doc quizzed me on my family history. That raised my eyebrows a bit, and later I found that these numbers can sometimes indicate something bigger. My doc didn’t seem overly worried, though. I’m due to get another lab run next month and hopefully these numbers will be back to normal.

On another health note, I reached my target weight today! I set a goal last year to drop back to 170 pounds and this morning I was there. I feel great!

Sinking sun

Stepping out this morning on my daily dog-walk, I noted that the sun was no longer awake before I was. We’re facing the end of summer and in spite of the mosquitoes and oppressive, record-setting heat the thought makes me a little sad, I have to admit.

It’s been a great summer. We’ve seen the kids through swim meets, T-ball games, soccer games, and sleepovers. We’ve spent many afternoons at the pool and had a wonderful time building our garden and enjoying the bounty it’s provided. We’ve taken trips to see Kelly’s parents and gone on the best-ever camping trip to Grayson Highlands. Soon, we’ll be taking our biggest trip of the summer as we head off for a week on Orcas Island in Washington state.
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The Brewery and Farmhouse to be razed

I’m bummed to learn that The Brewery, one of Raleigh’s oldest music venues, is closing its doors for good this weekend. The building’s been bought and will be razed for a mixed-use development. The last band will take the stage Friday evening.

I’ve seen many shows at the Brewery and made some fantastic memories there. It was small (or shall we say, intimate) and had a lacking beer selection, but those are about its only faults. You could stand anywhere in the room and have a great view of the band. And it had the best sound guy anywhere: the bands always sounded great. I’ve seen many local and national acts there: Cracker, Mojo Nixon, Whiskeytown, Dig, Southern Culture On The Skids, and many, many others.
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Space shuttle

This morning at 11:26 AM, space shuttle Atlantis may or may not make its final flight into space. This will be the last mission of NASA’s shuttle program.

I remember watching on TV as space shuttle Columbia made the very first shuttle launch back in 1981. Of course, I also saw a few rocket launches for things like Skylab and space probes like Voyager, but the shuttle program was different. It was touted as essentially a space bus: making spaceflight routine with a reusable vehicle.

It didn’t turn out that way, as the reusable aspect of the shuttle made it incredibly expensive. Shuttles turned out not to be as reliable as they were initially touted. I remember being in my high school’s library, watching video of Challenger exploding as my math teacher sat nearby, weeping. It was a cruel reminder that nothing about riding rockets would ever be routine. The flagship shuttle, Columbia, proved that when it disintegrated above Texas during landing in 2003.

If all goes well, Atlantis will make a safe trip to the International Space Station (ISS) and then roll its way into a museum. With it, a space program stretching into the early 1970s will come to an end. I’m not sure what comes next for American space exploration but I hope it continues in one shape or another.