Driving Notes

AARP offers a safe driving course for its members. I'd been putting off taking it, even though it gives me a whopping $49 off my annual insurance premium. For three years - are you more impressed now?

From having driven commercially for 29 years, somewhere around 2 million miles, and being required to take defensive driving courses every two years - which never changed except for the person teaching them - I doubted I had anything to gain from signing up except some nebulous unknown discount. The big stuff was indelibly engraved in my brain ; avoid head-on collisions by going right, aim for a bush rather than a tree if given a choice, follow the 2-second rule for distance, adding a second for each complicating factor like a motorcycle or bad weather. There was the refresher for rules of the road, like signs and who yields when, and the vehicle check before getting in.

That last I mostly ignored as well, since my cars told me if tires were low, they were always mostly new and didn't leak, plus I checked the pavement as I backed out of wherever, and was dedicated to proper tire replacements, and maintaining oil changes which got me regular notices of what fluids needed topping off about every 2-3 weeks. By driving that many miles, I got a feel for each vehicle and could tell if tires were getting low by how they rode, as well, after a few years, as to which noise meant what. I could take my car in and tell the mechanic what was wrong with it. Once my regular mechanic quit, the series of strangers receiving my car ignored what I was telling them was wrong, but came back with the information that the problem was whatever I'd said it was. But hey, just a girl, right?

A couple months ago I finally signed up for AARP's course, online and with 60 days to complete, easy to get through, and offering all the opportunity anybody would need to repeat any part of it, whether a page or a chapter, even the whole thing.

It was worth it. I was surprised. Sure, the first bits were repeats of defensive driving lessons, though the 2 second rule was changed to 3 seconds. Reasonable enough. Then came the lessons on what kind of things are in new cars these days. I don't plan to ever buy one, but rear backing views, preemptive braking, and occasional audio map directions, now that those systems are more right than wrong, might prove beneficial. I might also consider something with a seat that keep me high enough I can see the curbs before/as I turn. Maybe.

The most helpful parts were on changes as we age. After I got over laughing at the people scared of driving at highway speeds or anywhere near a semi, and telling myself I cured all snow/ice issues by moving to Arizona, I settled down and found out what to look for in myself which could in the future cause safety issues behind the wheel. I probably ought to stop putting off that yearly eye exam (due to covid - now that masks are required by all in doctor's offices here) and check my peripheral vision and whether it's changing. Are all those drivers who appear out of nowhere as crazy as I think they are? Well, sure, but do I need to pay more attention due to my eyes or their bad habits?

The answer is, as always, "Yes."

An extra note here. I took Rich to a place he need to be this morning. Part of the route is undergoing repaving. Today. I find I am perfectly capable of registering consciously that fact, and still wonder after a few blocks what is wrong with my car making it smell like something's overheating?

Another extra note: During the garage sale, my low tire pressure light came on. A quick visual check informed me it was drive-able for setting out the signs, but later that day It took it in for air, one of those free top-ups offered with my oil changes, requesting they let me know which tire was  low so I could keep an extra eye on it. The result was, "All of them were down 2 pounds." He went on to explain that it was the result of the high pressure we were having.

OK. The high pressure would be pushing on the outside of my tires, squeezing them, thus making them raise their pressure, trying to find a way to escape. Their size would be different, but we weren't checking size. Now I can get failing physics or not even taking it in the first place, and settling for a job putting things in automobiles for close to minimum wage. Somebody has to do that. But with filling tires as part of that job, how do you get air pressure exactly wrong? After all, you push on something, it pushes back, with as much pressure it already had to push back with. When there are leaks, it doesn't push back quite as hard because there isn't as much for pushing. Now if we want to talk air temperature as a cause.... But it's not winter down here, so there's no excuse but a very slow leak to account for the low tire pressure.

Shooting Down Michele Bachmann

 I had the "pleasure" - nay, just the experience - of living in Minnesota while she was in the legislature, making a very ... mmm ... distinctive name for herself, and getting reelected anyway. When there was an LGBT protest (for gay marriage?) on the state capitol steps, she was photographed hiding in the bushes nearby to spy on whatever horrible things she thought they might be planning.

On another occasion, when a woman wished to ask her a question while both were in the restroom, Bachmann ran out screaming that she had been sexually assaulted by the woman. The claim was quickly debunked.

She paraded her religious views as part of her qualifications for office in the extreme right wing back then. Nowadays it's not quite that unusual, but still far right. She made for herself a reputation for being ridiculous to those on the left, and apparently is still maintaining it.

Yesterday I heard a clip of her  defending Trump's view of how this election is going to be "stolen" by people bringing in extra ballots to sway the result. Here's her explanation, as well as I can recall. Supposedly hundreds of thousands of ballots are going to be printed in "evil" countries like China. From there they will be shipped via other countries yet unknown into this country, there to sit in places like Minnesota barns while waiting to be used. Bad actors in charge of tallying ballots will decide they need 40-some thousand of them brought in to tip the vote away from Trump and the decided-upon number will be brought over from the barn and added to the ballot piles.

OK, I know a thing or two about Minnesota elections. (As should she!) First, there is no precinct anywhere in the state where 40-some thousand ballots can be slipped into the count unnoticed. And it's the precincts which EACH have their own individual ballot. One single paper ballot covers every election from the national level down to the precinct level. A precinct will be anything from a township to a small town or up, where the most significant office to be filled covers all those particular voters. 

Take Shafer, for example. I mean the city, not the township. I personally sat out the post-election counting of several elections' worth of ballots for the city of around a thousand humans, not voters, at its highest by the time I left. Mayor, council members, and everything at higher levels - county, state, national  all were on a single piece of paper, distinct from every other precinct's ballots. Nobody could possible "sneak in" more than a handful of ballots, even if there were some foreign country who would bother to identify each ballot from each precinct and print such limited amounts of each. Besides, the election judges marked each voter's name on the registration rolls, and the counts had to match.

In Arizona, my ballot outer envelope is given a distinctive bar code which identifies me. Not 2003 other people also. Just me. My filled in ballot goes into that big green envelope to be mailed back in, since I am on the Permanent Early Voters List down here, and that happens for every election. When my ballot reaches the site where it's counted, before opening it the sealed envelope is run under a barcode reader, links to a copy of my typical signature to compare to what's on my envelope, and only when approved as coming from me does it get opened and the ballot sent to where it gets counted. A digital record is kept stating that my ballot was received, found to be mine, and added to those to be counted. I can go online or even make a phone call to verify it got there and was counted.

I have a son who was an election judge in Minnesota, and a good friend who was an election judge here in Arizona. Both know their respective systems, and both trust the protocols, which include right from the top that there be representatives from both major political parties serving as election judges and ensuring the process. I trust our voting systems in both states.

Years ago Minnesota had a senate race, Franken vs. Coleman. Early results put them about 300 ballots apart, Coleman ahead. That close, the state legally requires a recount. All ballots were brought to the capitol, lawyers from both sides looked over the shoulders of those counting, and the whole process was videotaped and aired live. We all could see why certain ballots were rejected, such as voting for both men at the same time, or adding identifying marks to the ballot which might be used to prove one voted for some candidate for a reward. Some which were previously tossed out by the machines due to a voter both checking the printed name and also writing-in the same name in were deemed admissible.  After months, the contest was declared by a few hundred votes in favor of Franken, the Democrat, and he was finally sent to Washington. 

(For those who don't know, the five months between Franken coming in and Ted Kennedy leaving due to his brain tumor were the ONLY months that the Democrats had a majority of the Senate which could fully support Obama. Those who claimed Obama was weak because he had two years of Democratic control are either ignorant or lying. Just saying.)

But back to Bachmann now. Let's look at the idiocy about storing ballots in barns. I know a thing or two about Minnesota barns.  They aren't just walls, hay, and boxes. Even if typical farm animals live elsewhere, like cows, sheep, horses, pigs, and whatever, along with their fragrant and flagrant messes, lots of other things reside in the barn. Like mice. A plethora of bugs. Pigeons and/or other birds. Spiders. In other words, a whole bunch of critters which will use their various capabilities and appetites to get in to those boxes, chew nests and tunnels, leave filth, and otherwise ruin most anything stored there for more than a couple days, while having a grand old time doing it. Perhaps you have to be Michele Bachmann to buy into that part of her story.

But then she wouldn't be Michele Bachmann without a huge dose of ridiculousness, would she?

So, folks, just get out there and vote, will ya? Or stay home and vote. Either way. VOTE!!!!

Observational Tidbits

I went to the pool yesterday, and after fortifying myself with water, ibuprofin for my ankle, and a few carbs, I managed my full hour. Yes, tired after, but not exhausted. Best part, no bugs chomping on me for as long as I lasted. (Yes, better, not gone, at home.)

I noted three different men at the pool. The first was perhaps fifty-ish, reasonably fit, and came with a woman I'll assume is his wife or partner. (These days if you're not already paired, there's that little hitch of social distancing.) Anyway, he arrived in tennis shoes. In order to take them off, he leaned against a pillar, standing on one leg, and struggled. I did note a handful of empty chairs nearby where he could have sat for the process, but.... Who was he trying to impress? Himself? Or might I have to rethink the relationship I presumed with his pool partner?

I noticed him again before he left, putting his shoes back on, sitting down in one of those chairs this time. Guess he got over himself. He'd only been sitting in the spa pool for about 10 minutes, so I doubted it was exhaustion.

Next, a bit later, was a portly gentleman with an amazing headfull of white hair, practically running his walking laps, even through the deeper water. How did he get the energy? Should I mentally congratulate him on his energy and stamina or wonder what he was taking these days? If I'm to last my full hour the pace is steady and somewhat slow. For the 20 or so minutes he was there, he lapped me three times.

The last man of note rolled in on a scooter, parking it about 3 feet from the steps into the walking pool. He looked to be approaching or into his 90s, and it was a very slow entrance to the pool, though he picked up his speed once in the water. I lapped him a few times, even though I noted he took a few shortcuts, using the breaks in the dividing walls separating the parts of the serpentine pattern laid out in the pool. I use those too, but these days only to move myself away from being either behind or ahead of a cluster of people going a different speed than I prefer and whose clustering prevents my distancing at safe levels. Sure, they're wearing masks since that's a requirement to use the pool, but that virus thing is all a hoax, doncha know. Get closer, I can't hear you.

The previous visit to the pool, I'd overheard bits of a cluster conversation about somebody who'd recovered from a mild dose of the virus but now had all kinds of medical problems and the doctors were trying to figure out what they all were and how to help him. Now if we could have combined those two clusters....

Irony could have been recognized? 

The center staff might have noticed people weren't social distancing as required?

Once this elderly gentleman climbed tortuously out of the pool (yeah, I've been there), he rode his scooter about 20 feet to the top of the stairs down into the spa pool. It occurred to me later that he'd not taken his required shower before entering the pool in the first place. Did anybody else notice? Care? With all the chlorine, did I even care?

I opened up this laptop this morning in preparation for blogging, stopping for a weather check first as I usually do. Wheee! Windows opened for a few minutes yet.

On the weather page are ads. Kinda like every other page, right? The one which caught my eye was captioned, "Realistic Game For Men Over 50." I might have been interested enough to check out what they thought they meant either by "realistic" or targeting the older demographic, since that would be both unique and long overdue, had I not seen the photo accompanying this claim. It showed a woman, of course. She wore enough clothing to let you know she wasn't completely naked, had a figure only available in fantasies, held a flaming snake wrapped around one arm, the other arm holding a staff with a winged dragon for its top, coincidentally also breathing a string of fire winding around behind her and over to the snake. The background looked like ancient Roman ruins before they became ruins, barely more than shadows lest they might distract from all the realism of the game.

I guess the (wood?) (metal?) part of the staff could be considered realistic? Kinda doubt that would be why any man might want to play that game, however.

Garage Sale Lessons

I don't want you to believe all these lessons had not been learned before the sale yesterday. Some were learned long ago by others and shared. Or attempted to be in a few cases. Let's just say we all trust that next sale will be... Great! And with better weather than 104 by noon.

Don't have it for only half a day, the only reasonable response to extreme heat. This basically translates to skipping AZ summers altogether.  Since summer here lasts as long as winters in Minnesota, that leaves about half a year to hold sales.

Don't wait to set up until the day before.  A week seems more feasible. Especially in the heat you didn't avoid.

While gathering items for sale, remember to put prices on them as soon as they are gathered and any cleaning or other preparation is completed.

Provide a "Covid Station" for shoppers, with hand sanitizer, bleach wipes, and masks to those who can't be responsible for themselves and the safety of others. (Do I sound snarky? How perceptive. Let's see if we're all still doing this a year from now, shall we?)

Locate tables, boxes and whatever other raised surfaces you can for smaller items well ahead of time, as well as clothes racks, jewelry stands, and any other specialty display items.

Have at least two people for the sale, one for the money and the other for questions, helping carry, personal breaks, etc.

Be sure to get to the bank at least a day before the sale for change. Get more than you think you need.

Don't stack one item for sale on top of another item for sale, using the second as a pedestal, rendering it invisible. Or bury sale items for any other reason.

Have signs made up well ahead. Make sure the arrows are large. Have plenty of packing tape to fix sign to boxes - masking or other tapes won't stick to cardboard more than two minutes - and scout locations for best customer attention ahead of time. For each box set out, bring along a rock to place inside so it won't blow away. Something ugly doesn't invite theft, so keep the pretty rocks at home. Broken concrete works well enough.

If this is going to be a recurring event, arrange for leftover items to have compact, organized storage or arrange for it to be off-site. Patience is shorter each time a sale looms and stacks of junk swarm over the household. 

A Penny Tip For Lindsey?

I'm tempted - though it's a bit of work - to send Senator Lindsey Graham a penny tip. He's trying to raise campaign money right now, whining that he's being out spent and out raised, and behind his opponent. This, in practically the same sentence as saying he's going to shove thorough the Justice Committee whomever tRump proposes to do the impossible and fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's shoes as a justice on the supreme court.

Yeah, good luck with that goal, whoever you are. Those shoes will never be filled!

But Lindsey says he's going to push the nomination forward. Just like he said a bit ago that he wouldn't do so, letting the person elected for the next term as President pick the nominee, the same rationale the Republicons used to steal a nomination from the black guy, and we could hold on to the tape where he said it. It was held, and I watched it. Repeatedly. Likely you did too this last week. 

Lindsey has a legacy, a very long history of flip flopping on... everything. The last time he had any core values, they were borrowed from John McCain. Now that we've lost McCain, Lindsey is just another tRump puppet. (tRumpuppet?) And because that hasn't exactly worked well for him, he's now whining about needing more campaign money. (Does he think we believe he'll be any less bought and paid for by the big money interests if he convinces us to contribute our little amounts? I mean, Lindsey? Seriously? Lindsey?)

But we were "mean" to Kavanaugh when he lied his way through the Senate to his confirmation. No, those several times were never rape, the witnesses all lied, and... did you know he likes beer? Actually, I truly believe the bit about beer. But Lindsey was offended that Kavanaugh was questioned about the facts and witnesses were actually called. How dare they?!! So it's time to "get even"? And he needs more money?

I go back a long ways, to when one of the few jobs a young female could get was as a waitress. You learn about tips real fast if you want to survive in that position. And a single penny traditionally speaks very loudly in tipping. It you place it on top of your normal tip, it proclaims your service was excellent, your customer well pleased. 

But when you leave just one solitary penny as a tip, you tell your waitress that yes, you are a person who tips, but the service really sucked! So I'm seriously considering a penny tip for Lindsey. It'll go out the same time I send a larger check to Jaime Harrison.

Not Stopping

What's not stopping? All of it, it seems. 

The bed bugs aren't completely gone. Among other things, I discovered I have shorts with thick fabric in multiple layers over thick elastic, all of which never quite dry in the dryer, and thus don't heat up enough to kill the buggers. Better, yes. Gone, no. I did remove all the clean clothes from my drawers and take them to the local laundromat for a long hot dry cycle, then seal them in bags so I don't have to keep repeating this. Major house spraying will need repeating, of course.

 There's a pandemic out there, and the stupidity and stubbornness and determination to spread it as far as possible  - yes, I'm saying it's purposeful - haven't stopped. I still don't care if you don't care if you die. I still do care how much you spread the damn thing, so WEAR YOUR BLOODY MASKS!!!

The economy is fubar, partly from tRump's "policies" and partly from the pandemic. Unless, of course, you're one of those folks with lots invested in the stock market who are making millions off other's misery. Ever notice how often the one follows the other? When the poor get desperate enough they'll work for nearly  nothing so the corporations can rake in huge profits and divert them to their shareholders... another book for another time.

Intimidation of voters isn't stopping, but rather ramping up. Virginia just opened their early voting locations and already the Magats are out with signs attempting to block entry, as well as driving crazily through the parking lots to scare anybody away from leaving their cars to go inside. More will surely come - both intimidation and voters. We need to stand strong in this everybody, make your plans  for how to be sure you vote and it gets counted.

Last I heard, around 70% of Americans support the right to abortion. Whether you want one or not, you believe others have the right to chose for themselves and their circumstances, frequently life threatening. You don't believe in forced birtherism - the real name for pro-life, since those proponents seldom care for those lives the second they start breathing. The Senate will quickly take up the appointment of tRump's latest nomination to the Supreme Court - you know that guy who knows "all the best people" - a complete about face on what they professed to believe when stopping Merrick Garland's appointment because ... lies, lies, lies, and naked power grab. How many women will now die? That's the bottom line here, along with racism and the fear that white folks are being outnumbered by breeding less that the brown ones do and that's somehow terrible. Go ahead and rape them, force them to give birth, and make sure the rapists have rights to the kids.

What? Haven't you been paying attention to all those little incremental legal changes?

Obviously, the stress is not stopping. I just spoke yesterday with someone who does follow news and politics, and is now taking - and increasing her dose - of Prozac because of how extreme things are getting. This person is highly rational, well informed activist, has a great circle of supportive friends and family, and is doing her best to find a way to cope with what is going on in the world she lives in. 

There just aren't many breaks, chances to stop and relax, feel you can contribute to changes, return to your center. I've been lucky enough to have found a few. 

I finally returned to the pool. They are actually keeping the people to a small enough number that social distancing is possible. Some people will walk together, but the one's I've seen walk in are already together, so likely in the same household. Masks are required. As long as I feel safe there, I will continue, as this is my one guaranteed respite from the bugs. Sooooooooooo nice!

I manage to keep blogging for part of my stress reduction plan. But it doesn't work for everyone. Rich, for example, doesn't blog. So I found another break for him, though I practically had to stuff him in the car to do so. It was after his second day of spraying the house in depth, this time the living room. There was nearly no place in the house to get away from the chemicals, certainly none comfortable when you're not sleeping. Since the furniture was super saturated, and we needed to avoid it while it was still wet, it was time for a drive.

I took a large triangle route, around 72 miles. First we went northwest along Hwy. 60 nearly to Wickenburg.. Hwy. 74 joins it there and takes you back east to the 17, should you care to go that far. I didn't.  About two miles shy of there we cut south a bit to the 303, heading back into civilization and home. It wasn't just driving bug and chemical free and in good AC. Along 74 that whole way it was the scenery: low mountains, desert vegetation, critters. Most of it is a reserve around Lake Pleasant. We didn't see the lake, as any spot close enough to do so costs money. I did, however, inform Rich of the time Steve and I drove through and spied the herd of protected burros, right after foaling season when we saw two white babies. Despite other traffic, we found a spot to pull over to watch them, as did a few other vehicles.

Eyes peeled, we mostly saw plants and hills, plus a few vehicles whose drivers firmly believed in their right to pass on a curved hilly road in order to fulfill their mandate to surpass the speed limit by about 15 mph. There was one roadrunner who appreciated our legal speed enough to show off his own speed in crossing right in front of us. We could tell when we were in burro country because suddenly the dead grasses and small bushes were uniformly cropped to about 12" in height. 

We kept our eyes peel sharper.

After passing Pleasant Lake and turning off 74 to head south, I finally gave up hunting for any burros. Just then, hind feet on the pavement, front on a small dirt rise, and teeth busy in a bush, an actual burro! Not the herd, just one, but still, after all that wait, Rich got to see one.

He named him Eeyore on the spot. I couldn't disagree, as even with a mouthful, he did look kinda depressed. I guess I would be too if I had to wear a hairy coat out in full sun at 109 degrees and all I got to eat was mostly dead bushes and dead grass, with none of my buddies around and having to depend on the good steering of strangers.

Lucky for me there was mint chip ice cream at home! And People! And 81 degrees! Shade! Shorts! And temporarily, no biting crawling bugs!

(They were hiding in my pajamas, and in my ....)

RIP RBG

I was hoping not to have to write that title for another 6 months or so. At least until we got Trump out of the White House. Obama was robbed of a choice for justice thanks to Moscow Mitch, holding that nomination as well as hundreds of bills passed by the House on his desk. I'm pretty sure he'll be fair and let this opening go to the next President, right?

Yeah, I didn't think so either. The drool is already running down his chin.

Ruth, you were tiny in stature but a giant in life and your contributions to this country. You will certainly not be replaced in kind, particularly from anyone in that list of incompetent ass-lickers on the list Trump just couldn't wait for your passing to display  to the world.

It was your continuing survival despite your fight with pancreatic cancer which kept our hopes for some balance and sanity in this country alive.

When you -yes you, reading this - wonder why you should regularly do your single most important civic duty by going out to cast an informed vote,  IT'S THE SUPREME COURT, STUPID!!!

 I'm going to take some time to go mourn now.