Pesky Neighbors and Night-Vision

I have seasonal pesky neighbors. I mean seasonal because the wife left the husband and took the pesky teenage daughter with her, for most of the time. The rest of the time she likes to visit dear ole dad and run with the neighborhood teenage boys, getting them into trouble they wouldn't have gotten into with her at mom's house. Lately, they've been on a fruit throwing binge and guess who's fruit they like to throw. That's right, they like to throw sweet, juicy navel oranges at each other, the bigger the better. The tree in question is 20 feet into the backyard and there's an azalea tree just blocking the view to it. This tree has been providing beautiful, sweet, juicy fruit for years and now I have to compete with this pest to enjoy my own oranges. No, I don't. The deputy told me on a trip out that for him to do anything about the thefts he would need evidence and I found a way to get it. I have a video camera AND a nightvision scope that I put together along with halogen security lights to finally put an end to this stealing stupidity. It was either that or put pendant lights all over the trees in the yard and that wouldn't be practical. I asked the deputy to not pursue it legally but rather to show the father and let him know I wanted to avoid that. The deputy was really cool about the whole thing and said he wanted to talk to the father anyways because of other reports from neighbors in the area. The oranges have been left alone ever since and neighbor trouble avoided.

Homemade Pizza Works Very Well!

My wife and myself have entered into an agreement. We've decided to make either a pizza or calzone for the two of us every week, alternating who makes one by week. The family that cooks together and all that sort of rot, what! Sorry, that sounds too British for here. We've both come up with some interesting ideas and most of the pizzas have been quite good. I've switched my wife from a tomato based pizza person to a white pizza person, and she's happy with the change. I've always been a white pizza person since trying my first white one at Pizzeria Uno in Massachusetts years ago. What did they do? They discontinued it in favor of a crappy pizza and we never went back there again. I guess they make their pizzas out of a box because they told us they couldn't make them anymore because they were off the menu. Hmmm, not so fresh pizza I guess. How do you get really fresh pizza? Make it yourself! The first one I made got a little out of hand and the extras were piled on like a wedding cake topper! Talk about being full after a few bites, yow! I tamed all my subsequent pies down to a manageable height and weight and haven't looked back since. Every other week becomes a new challenge in imagination and resourcefulness! I did break away a couple of weeks and made calzones and even the half size ones were VERY filling indeed. This week I'm going to make a pizza, white of course, with shredded chicken, garlic, sliced cherry tomatoes, and four types of cheese. Yum-mee!

Pool Toys Galore - No More!

This is the first house that I've ever had ownership in and it came with the very first pool I've ever had, in-ground yet. Of course you know what had to happen once we settled in. That's right - pool toys. What a waste of hard earned money. The proverbial "hole in the water you throw money into". I know that's supposed to be for a boat but that's in the garage, still unused. See what I mean? You have to buy pool floats and noodles. Those of you who aren't familiar with the noodles it's a simple item, a long 3" - 6" tube of abrasive foam that will leave your underarms raw after 1/2 hour of piddling around floating while you hang on to this foam tube to keep from drowning. Simple! Next came the ever popular pool mattress, in various configurations. We spent $50 on 'cool' floating chairs with very uncomfortable rails your legs rest on while you lose circulation. One of these loungers is still in the attic unassembled and waiting to go out with the trash when it gets cool enough to go into the attic. The cheap blow-up mattresses tend to be the best because if they fail it's cheap enough to replace. No more of the expensive floats except for a closed foam one I've had my eye on, waiting for the price to drop!

Thinking About a New Printer.

The HP printer I now have is getting on in years and has been very reliable for me in all the years I've owned it. Ordinarily, I wouldn't even consider replacing a piece of equipment that works as required, with little or no intervention to keep running, but requirements eventually change. I'm now in a position where I need to send documents to other people and businesses and I can't with the printer I have. My scanner makes a good tray table for a quick meal but that's about all it's good for now. It never was much good for high definition documentation, just text, and I have new requirements. Needless to say I'll keep my HP printer because it will work if I need it to later if there's a failure with it's replacement. Always vigilant! I don't know what I'll need for scanning software as I'm sure that's changed since I used to scan a long time ago so that'll be a concern as well. I've had my eyes on the Kodak printers because of the low ink cart prices(uses a different type of ink than everyone else) and the options for faxing, photos, printing, and yes - scanning in HiDef! The prices are pretty reasonable so that will allow me some extra cash to get a really good sw package for my PC to use with it. On to the store!

Beyond Black Friday.

I have the awful habit of sometimes buying things on impulse, putting them in the garage, and forgetting about them for several months or longer. One such purchase I made on Black Friday of last year, 2009. Black Friday, for those of you who have been on Alpha Centauri the past decade or so, is the day after Thanksgiving Day where merchants drop merchandise sales into high gear and try to stimulate the retail holiday buying season with 'how can you not buy this' prices! I bought a set of LED flashlights at a really good price because I can use good flashlights that provide bright light while conserving battery strength. Well, the set looked great but I think the company should have purchased better spring plungers because the lights will light up but go right out or dim at weird intervals. It's too bad too because these flashlights did throw a heck of a beam and I stand corrected on one point. One light in the pack did work as it should have and the ones that I really wanted to work don't. Oh well, Black Friday is coming up again. I wonder if they'll have flashlights?