Whatever

Everclean Car Wash

The photo above is from just after Thanksgiving the last time the Mini was clean. Since then we have had snow storms every two weeks like clockwork. Everything from a 1/2″ to 6″ and that meant the helpful folks of the Klamath Fall road department have been distributing cinders on the roads after each one. This has led to a very dirty car, especially the nearly vertical flat back of the car. It has become entirely brownish-red except for where the clean sweep of the rear wiper.

As much as I love washing our cars I am not about to go outside when the temperatures are below 40°, so this afternoon we ran out on some errands with the last stop being a drive-thru car wash. It is not perfect, so probably tomorrow I go down to the garage and break out the Mequier’s Quick Detailer and finish the job.

Times Miata Driven since 11/01/22: 7

 

Groundmiata Day

Backed the Miata out of the garage and it didn’t see its shadow so we are in for for an early spring no matter what Punxsutawney Phil says.

Times Miata Driven since 10/28/22: 7

 

Fourth Favorite Natalie

For the last 4 or 5 years we worked at the Valve Store™ we had a an HR Manager named Natalie Zeitoun. And like every other HR Manager that worked there after the guy who did it before Emerson Electric bought ASCO, she was a young up and coming Emerson hot shot on their way up the corporate ladder (not that there is anything wrong with that.)

One day she visited my department area to, you know, seem friendly and concerned with the happiness of the “associates.” When she passed by my cubicle she asked, “How’s my favorite manufacturing engineering draftsman?” I’m the only one that fits that job title. I replied, “I’m great, but I hate to tell you this, but your only number 4 on my list of favorite Natalies.” “Oh, who are the first three?”, she asked. “Well, lets see, at number one is of course, Natalie Merchant. And while I love everything Natalie Merchant does, this recent concert were she does several songs in duets with Abena Koomson-Davis are really outstanding.

Number Two is Natalie Hurley who was a character in the Aaron Sorkin TV show Sports Night which folded after 2 years:

And coming in at Number 3 is Natalie Portman, AKA Miss Elizabeth Swan in TDPM1:

My 4th favorite Natalie took it in stride, and retorted with I was actually only her second favorite Brian here at ASCO, she likes Brian Howell, a Quality Engineer, a lot better.

17 miles to the Running Y Ranch for a tandem ride.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 34

 

Et Tu Lands End with the Supply Chain Issues?

I am a freak when it comes to arm length, not full on simian, but my arms are longer than the standard adult long sleeve shirt is made. Admittedly there is a mental component involved as well, I just can’t stand the feeling or look of the long sleeve being above the wrist level.2 After trying to get long sleeve shirts that fit from several online place that sell Big & Tall sizes, I found the my holy grail in the Lands End tall large size.

Because I wear long sleeves even in the summer I end up buying two or three new shirts every other year or so. So when the latest Lands End catalog arrived in the mail with a 40% off offer and I was down to just 2 decent shirts left in the dresser draw, I decided to restock. The two I have are white and a medium blue, so I picked out three darker shirts, a black, a navy blue and a charcoal. When I got to the cart there was a $9 shipping charge and I hate paying shipping (damn you Amazon Prime.) I could get free shipping if the order was over $100 and my total was a few dollars shy, so I went to the sale area to see what was available to put me over the hundred dollar mark.

I found a large tall blue & white striped tee in their “upscale” supima cotton for cheap that would work. Back to the cart and noticed that three of the 4 shirts were on back order. Not just a week or two either, 2 shirts were two months out and the third was 3 months out. The only shirt that was going to be here in the next few days was that throw in from the sale page…

19.8 miles to Home Depot and back the long way.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 24

 

When Did That Happen?

Day one of another trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico: Klamath Falls to Carson City.

Filled up the CX-5 here in Carson City at the 320.3 mile mark. Google maps says our mileage between points should have been 280, but we roamed a bit of Nevada’s capital city before arriving at the hotel and that also includes a bunch of driving around Klamath Falls the two days before starting our journey.

The first part of the drive, through mostly northeast California, we were practically all alone on the road, but into Nevada at about 20 miles from Reno the road widened and it started to fill with cars. It has been a while since we’ve seen this much traffic, about 6 months to be precise, it was the last time we ventured out of our little city in November when we did this trip the last time.

We are ensconced in our usual Holiday Inn Express for the evening and are watching a decade old 27″ TV without an onscreen guide or even a cheesy little printed and laminated one. We have resorted to scrolling through the channels looking for something to watch.

I stumbled onto the Women’s NCAA basketball tournament and stopped to watch it for a bit. I have absolutely had zero to do with college basketball since I was involved with my former workplace’s March Bracket Madness back in 2018. When did the women start playing 4 ten minute quarters instead of 2 twenty minute halves?

Potpourri

Jigsaw Puzzles – We are still doing the jigsaw puzzle thing and enjoying it, mostly. This last puzzle looked like it could have been a nightmare judging by the cover if it was one of those with all the same shaped pieces, but it had a bunch of really weird shaped pieces. This did help a lot in spite of numerous times the piece that did go in a spot looked nothing like they’d fit when you picked them up to try them. When we finished this puzzle there was one piece missing. While we would usually shrug, circle the spot where the missing piece was on the box cover photo and re donate it, this time we opted to stop spreading disappointment and chucked it in the recycle bin.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – We are three quarters of the way through with Season 4 with only two more episodes to go on this coming Friday (its really Thursday ’cause time zones, but whatever.) While we are enjoying it, we are not nearly enjoying it as much as the previous seasons. So it was with not a lot of excitement that I learned they’ll be doing a Season 5. I’ll probably watch it, because, what the heck and I still read Beatle Baily in the comics and it hasn’t been funny for decades.

Jack Reacher – Back a month ago after I had watched the Amazon’s Jack Reacher TV series I mentioned that they had introduced a character from the book that really wasn’t in the first book that this series was based on. It is a U.S. Army Master Sergeant from the 110th MP Special Investigations Unit that Reacher was in charge of. Her name is Frances Neagley, but through out the series whenever Reacher says her name it sounds like he is saying Nealy. I wondered if they changed the name of the character for TV, but they didn’t, on the IMDB page it is listed as Neagly.

Miata – The below listed Miata miles comes from yesterday and because it was only 6 days from the last time it was driven, it started right up on the first try. This means that somewhere between 6 and 11 days is the point where the battery voltage drops below the point where the car will start.

7.3 mile round trip to the dentist.
Times Miata Driven since 01/01/22: 11

 

Since The New Year

Right now the Miata is getting driven on average about 1 out the 7 available days of the week. Since the beginning of 2022 it has traveled a bit less than 100 miles, 98 to be exact.

I would say we go for a 2 to 3 mile walk on average about 5 out the 7 available days of the week. Since the beginning of the year we have walked a few miles less the Miata has been driven, or 89 miles.

Because I’m a weird individual, even if I will have no use for one, I have to carry car keys in my left front pocket or I will feel unsettled. Usually when we go for a walk I carry the Miata key because it gets less use than the Mini’s, so that means that key has been walked nearly as far as it has been driven.