RenegadeRider

I was in San Diego last week.  I went to assist in a Money and You workshop. Later I joined a friend and we attended an organ concert at the Spreckles Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.  The organist was a gentleman from the U.K.  He was definitely a master.  I didn't think I would enjoy organ music, but I enjoyed the experience very much.

Hot August Nights, Reno's classic car extravaganza, is going on now through Sunday, Aug 11.  Some 4000 to classic cars are officially registered with an estimated 2000 or 3000 more just prowling around. As part of HAN Chevrolet brings its best in the form of the Corvettes of the Ron Fellows Driving School.  We were able to ride a "hot lap" in one of their Corvettes.  The Corvettes have something in excess of 600 horsepower and I must say, the ride, for lasting slightly over 30 seconds was still quite a thrill.

My cousin Garald passed from this plane Sunday evening.  He had been battling prostrate cancer for about 9 months before the cancer prevailed. Some of my favorite times were when we would go to visit his father's farm.  He was always Gary to me.  His parents called him Garald.  He and I, and sometimes Cousin Tom, would explore the fields and the creek and other things on the farm. Somewhere I lost touch with him except for news through his sister Lynette.  My four years with Uncle Sam may have contributed.  He moved to the Bay area and I was living in the Midwest.  I think I may have seen him once when he came back to visit the farm. Rest in Peace, Gary.  Godspeed.

I didn't realize it has been so long. Anyhow, Reno is coming back to life after the winter. Irises The irises have passed their peak and the peonies are now blooming. We experienced some frost damage.  I had great expectations for the tomatoes but now try again.

Took a drive to day to a place called Apple Hill (just east of Placerville, CA) We were scouting a new trip for the group. The area has a lot of apple and other fruit growers. Since it draws large crowds from the cities I think the traffic will be a bit too crazy. But I know you just needed to see this sign. FYI: The GPS told me this was the right route.

The Great Reno Balloon Race is now finished for another year and a super time was had by all.  Now I may finally be able to catch up on my sleep. I volunteered to crew for an unknown needy pilot (without crew).  I get to play around balloons and even occasionally get a ride.  Yes, I still enjoy it.  And I get to meet a lot of fun people. Sunrise  Inside the Envelope After Leaving the Field

The cactus was blooming. Notice the bee or wasp enjoying the flower. It's amazing how quickly the blossom fades away.

The Canadian coast guard was on alert today, preparing for what it fears could be a massive invasion of  boat people from Wisconsin. “Word has gotten around that we have policemen, firemen, and basic school lunches up here,” Mr. McGlindon said.  “You can’t blame these boat people for seeking a better life.  But we are under orders to intercept them.” In Canada, officials fear that refugees from Wisconsin will brave the treacherous journey across Lake Superior in the hopes of giving birth to so-called “anchor babies” on Canadian soil. Read more:  http://www.borowitzreport.com/2012/06/05/canada-bracing-for-wisconsin-boat-people/

Free citizens of Wisconsin: on Tuesday, you have a chance to choose between two agendas. You can kowtow to the public sector union bosses who are proxies for Barack Obama. Or you can choose fiscal sanity and a sustainable future for your children. If I lived in Wisconsin, I would walk on broken glass to cast a vote for Scott Walker... and to repudiate the destructive agenda of the current administration and its union backers. Thanks, Doug Ross@ journal:  http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2012/06/citizens-of-wisconsin-on-tuesday-its.html

On Tuesday this week the Reno Corvette club wrangled a tour of NAS Fallon, home of the Top Gun weapons school .  We arrived with 38 cars and after the expected security inspection we entered the base. The first stop was the observation deck of the control tower.  The Public information officer told us some of the facts about the base,  It was originally established about 1942 because the were fearful of another Japanese attack along the west coast.  Fallon is about 300 miles from the coast.  An added benefit was that while the costal areas often experienced foggy conditions, Fallon was nearly always clear. We were also shown one of the debriefing rooms, similar to what the air crews would visit after a mission along with a simulation of the video. After the briefing we enjoyed lunch at the officers club. This was on of the best events for THE RCC members all year. Corvette and Naval FA-18 fighter aircraft

They told me I don't have a bubble. How Thick Is Your Bubble? » Quiz maker software

Does this remind you of anyone you know? This video calls it "Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder", but I must disagree a bit.  I've exhibited these characteristics for many years.

I wish everyone the most Merry Christmas ever.

I've tried to keep this a secret for all these years, but now it's out.  I Guess you never knew about my other life. It's kind of like the story about Herbert Philbrick .  But, I was only on the side of good and not evil. I just came across this/these novels about Judge Donald Robak in Indiana.  I must admit that even though I am the principal character, I have not read any of the books.  Let me know what the story is about.  I might even read them. Robak in Black .

A few short weeks ago Steve Jobs succumbed to pancreatic cancer and left this plane.  Now pancreatic cancer has claimed another Steve.  Our dear friend, Steve Adamson will surely be missed.  Godspeed, Steve, and RIP.

The Reno Corvettes drove in the parade for the Truckee High School Homecoming.  Seven Corvettes participated.  We carried the Homecoming King and Queen and members or the Court. Sophomore Prince & Princess, My Passengers   My charge was the Sophomores.  The Sophomores float theme was Alice in wonderland.  I'm not sure of the themes for the other grades because once I received my asignment I no longer had the lluxury off exploration.  Soph's Alice in Wonderland Float Now, every adventure requires something going wrong and this was no different.  The kids had a music CD to  entertain us along the parade route.  The problem was that mine would not play.  In case you should wonder, I had never played a CD in the entire time we owned the car.  I had no idea if the system worked or not.   We tried every possible combination and then I turned it over to the "engineers".  They eventually settled on plan "B". ...

While returning home last evening from visiting my sister in Oregon we passed through the town of Lakeview, OR.  We noticed a group of people working on a display project to remember the attacks on our nation ten years earlier.  We stopped and visited with  them and commended them for their spirit. It was fairly late in the day so the photo doesn't quite do the scene justice, but I'll try to explain what we saw.  As you can see, they had reproduced the twin towers.  The flag displayed from the top of the towers honors the heroes of flight 93.  The chains surrounding the boundary of the display was composed of paper links glued together, much like we may have made back in grade school to hand on the Christmas tree.  Each link bore the name of someone that had perished in the attack.  Every one of the victims was included.  They told us of the ceremonies planned for the next day, including having the town fire truck displaying a huge Ame...

It's that time of the year.  A local supermarket had a promotion selling Hatch chili peppers .  And for anyone that would buy an entire 35 pound sack, they would roast it at no additional cost.   35 pounds is more than we thought we could use so we had to scramble to find some one to share the treasure with.  Dianne planned to be near the store so she was sent on the mission. The product was available in three different grades, hot, medium and mild.  I knew Dianne was a lightweight so I requested medium.  I think mild would have been boring. While they roasted the peppers, we still had to peel them.  For anyone not familiar, roasting tends to burn an outer layer of skin that you might not notice without the roasting.  After roasting, this burnt skin needs to be peeled away and discarded.  It's amazing how much was discarded during cleaning.. I might not know the best method to remove the skin, but an entire 35 pound sack takes a da...

I managed to score a large bag of spent grain from a local brew pub.  It was fresh out of the brew kettle and was very wet.  The brewer recommended that I dry it promptly or it would spoil quickly.  I used baking pans with the oven set at about 225 degrees.  Other methods for preserving the grain include freezing and refrigeration. My basic recipe was the same as the no-knead process that was mentioned earlier here.  In my case I used one pound of flour and one ounce of the dried grain. Otherwise the process was identical. The bread was fantastic and was even made better by toasting.

Bring your attention to the plog (Photo Blog.  Yeah, the term was new to me too.) from the Denver post.  The images are from a book by French photographers, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, The Ruins of Detroit.  This is a perfect illustration of what happens when Democrats are put in power. http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/07/captured-the-ruins-of-detroit/2672/