I’m missing a summer of T-ball practices I expected to attend. Picture above: Big Sky Baseball in KY.
***
This story out of Tampa is frightening. This is how dictators rise into power and stay there – private armies. Gov Desantis said he wanted a state force for emergency response. What’s really happening is a private militia being formed. This story ends very, very badly. FL residents, flee while you can.
***
The last few days I find myself in the middle of a Nextdoor argument with a jerk who is complaining about the music from our beloved winery in the valley below. I swore off Nextdoor during the 2020 election period when arguing with MAGA types online proved to be useless (logic just doesn’t apply). But the winery…it’s one of the best things that ever happened to the valley we live in. And this one guy buys a place across the street from it and decides he doesn’t like the noise (music), so he’s going to war with the owners. The Pareto principle in evidence again – 90% of problematic behavior originates in 10% of participants. Anyway, I feel passionate about this and the local family that spent millions making sure that the 75+ acres below us didn’t become a weed-infested fire hazard, or high-density housing (yes, I can be a NIMBY), or a strip mall / gas station. Instead it became a beautiful agricultural and entertainment business, with vineyards, lakes, Tuscan-style buildings, hiking trails, music in the afternoons, and wood-fired pizza. Best thing that ever happened for property values in my zip code. So yeah, I’m gonna weigh in on this. And the fact that I have so little else to do during convalescence is a thing.
Update: Looks like the Nextdoor police shut down the discussion thread. Probably for the best.
***
Just two more days of IV infusion. I’m pretty stir crazy by now. I know it will be tough getting active again after all this forced malaise, but that’s just the next challenge. Walking, golfing, sweating, and swearing, here I come.
***
Yesterday I received a reminder of how ingrained broadband Internet access has become to modern life. As the temps got into the 90s yesterday, our Internet access became flaky. Then gone. My own trouble shooting indicated that it was a carrier/last mile problem, not an in-the-house LAN problem. Spectrum more or less verified that and let me know that they would have a technician out here to investigate, pronto. As in a week. After begging and wheedling, I managed to secure a technician appointment for Monday evening. So we would only have to last 3-4 days without Internet service.
This all just highlighted the need for a backup service, something that could be deployed fast. So I contacted the major wireless carriers and settled on a VZ LTE in-home broadband device (5G service not available in bucolic Gird Valley) to be delivered this weekend. I’ll give it a try.
***
Professional golf is being played this weekend in Lexington KY (lived there), Akron OH (lived there), and Scotland (got married there; love the place). Weird coincidence.