Losing a pet....

... Always sucks.

In this case it was a 16 YO cat the SCSon named "Lear".  I need to find a picture to import here.

She had always been somewhat sickly.  Shortly after adoption she needed some serious intervention to cure "intestinal bugs".  We got her as a rescue and I'd like to think we gave her a good home for the past 16 yrs.   More recently the SCQueen secured special dietary feed and the cat had lost a lot of weight.  She was pretty much skin & bones :-(

Now that Arizona is in our cold season, She spent her time in the "Warm Spots" she found in the house.  Some times that was following sunbeams through the South facing windows, but also the corner of he refrigerator where heat is exhausted.

Lately she had pretty much lost control of her bowels, leaving calling cards all over the house.  Fortunately most of the Sand Castle is tiled so cleanup is relatively easy compared to other flooring systems, even if messy and inconvenient.

Today she succumbed to her ails at home, in comfort and accompanied by the SCSon.

Still sucks to lose a pet.

Well that was fun...

NOT....

3+ hours in the dentist chair.  Popped a crown flossing after lunch.   I could not get comfortable in the chair and my back muscles are still tense hours later!  The visit also wiped out the annual Health Care Savings Account :-(  My bad I should have estimated better. 

OTOH, I got a broken filling & old crown replaced with a temporary... I hope it lasts.

And I took in most of the Killer Elite via NetFlix on the office ceiling (my choice).  Jason Statham, Robert Dinero, Clive Owen. 

I've caught the end of the movie in the past but it was nice to get [most of] the first 80%.

Watching the flick, I kept wondering "When was this released" and "How old is this flick"  given the landscape limited to '70's era cars.  "Hey that Merc' was my first car!"   2011?  Holy cow where'd they find all those early 70's cars to abuse?

So, How was your Tuesday Matinee?  Hope it was better than my ride in the Dentist Chair!

The other question is how long will the temporary last.  My over/under is 4 days:-(

edited to add...  The temp crown lasted ~29 hours.   I made it through 3 meals but midrats of chips & beandip I caught my self using that molar too late :-(  Next question... Can I survive the next 12+ days with a partial temporary crown?

Nicely Done!

The SCQueen and I went out to dinner at a local Mexican fast food type restaurant (we had a gift card).    Over in the corner were about 8 kids doing what 5-7 year olds do, exercising their lungs.  Dad yelled out "Gunner, knock it off!" as the SCQueen was filling her soda.

She turned around and asked "Excuse me, what did you call him?"  "Gunner".  "What a cool name" She gushed!

After dinner she stopped by their table again where they introduced their other kids Dillon and Barrett.  (Subtle - I like it!)  Mom noted all three names have double letters.

I think the SCQueen was a bit sad that we hadn't thought of it first :-(  That would have really set off my anti-gun relatives (If they figured it out :-).

Nicely Done.

Dodged a bullet today...

Lost my wallet.

I prefer sweats in the winter as they are far more comfortable.  Today I had some business at the airport working on the tug moving SCS-1 into and out of the hangar.

I had a carb I was going to swap onto it until I found the fuel inlet was 180 degrees out :-(.   So at least while I have it off, I can spray it out with carb cleaner.

Off to the Home Depot down the road to purchase same.  I recall throwing my wallet in the right front pocket leaving the truck.  Found what I needed and made my purchase with cash from the other pocket.  Returning to the airport, I realized my wallet seems to have jumped out of my pocket.

I searched the truck, under and along the seats but nada.

Returned to Home Depot thinking about what credit cards etc I need to cancel.  As I put the keys in my RF pocket, it occurred to me "Probably lost it when pulling my keys out to drive home."  Checked my previous parking spot, also nada.

Walked into HD and approached the customer assistance desk.  There were three women there all with 100% attention to their phones.  I announced my self "Good afternoon... I was in here a few minutes ago... and my wallet is missing".  2nd woman: "What is your name?"  "SandCastle Dad".  And she produces the wallet.  CA#1: "Did you know you're not on FaceBook?"  as she showed she was searching for me on the platform.  Me: "Yes...  that's not an accident!"

I thanked all three and I thank the honest citizen that brought it in from the parking lot.  There my or may not have been an emergency Benjamin in the wallet.  I have not checked to see if it is still there...   (Nor do I care)

A good friend years ago advocated "every 6 months or so, you should take your wallet to a copy machine, put the conents on the face and make a copy and file it away."  That way if/when you lose it, you'll at least know what you've lost.

Good Call...  need to reinstate that policy.  Starting Tomorrow.

I won the lottery!

I entered the CMP 1911 lottery back in September.

They received 8000 1911's from the DOD, but also received 19000+ orders during the 1 month open order period.  

CMP declared the process would be that every packet received would be assigned a random place in line.  With the additional admonishment "Don't call us, it'll only slow the process down".  And I have taken that to heart.

I was elated to receive an email with my number: 2606.  WhaHoo!  I feel like I've won the lottery.  They promise a call in a few weeks asking for grade & payment.

I can't wait..  But I will ;-)  This process started roughly a year ago.  I can wait a few more months..  And I will.  Go CMP!  TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY! ;-)

OTOH, I didn't connect with a single number on the Power Ball.

I'll take my chances with CMP :-)

NFW on political "dynasties"

I don't ever want to see another "Kennedy", "Romney", "Clinton", "Bush" or "McCain"

Please all of you.. just go away.   I don't want to see any of these names on my ballot.  I will never vote for you.  Just go away!  Nor do I want you as an appointed senator.   NFW!  Stay Home!  Get a real job and earn your keep.

New Shoes

The truck's tires were down to the wear markers.  The tires were OEM equipment with 55K miles.  No idea if that is over or under the design life.  No matter.  Baby needs new shoes.  The tire pressure warning has been on for months and despite verifying inflation, refused to reset.

The SandCastle Queen showed me a Sam's Club flyer.  If I read it right, I could save $80 on a set of four tires and get free installation (normally $60).  But it was a one day only sale.  I called to verify the deal.  They said "We're booked with appointments for the rest of the day but if you buy the tires we can install them later this week and book the savings.  Fair enough.

The SCQueen and I head on over and not only are the tires in stock, they have an opening in the shop right now, appointments be damned!.  Sure, let's get 'em done.

Before even starting work, they inspect the lug nuts.  I've not run into this before but they explained some manufacturers have used Aluminium lug nuts that plastically deform under heat and the pressure of the tire.  They will reject the job before it starts if their socket will not fit over every lug nut.

But here's what really impressed me: When re-installing the tires, they started every lug nut by hand.  I've had lug nuts cross threaded by ham handed installers living out their NASCAR crew member fantasies burning on the lugnuts with the airgun only.  Then they finished off the lug tightening via a torque wrench that he had just set to proper torque referring to the paperwork.  They even logged the serial number of the torque wrench on the receipt.

That's the way it should be done!  And I didn't even have to ask.  Good Job Guys!

(Nor did I get paid for this review either.  I just want to note a job properly done.)

Oh and while we were there we managed to find ways to spend another C-note :-(