Dining After Dark

When the sun sets in the desert, the temperature drops very quickly. Fortunately, my neighbors have a propane heater built into their outdoor table, so we were able to dine in comfort...

Glenn & Sheila

96 Ranch Road

The 96 Ranch Road south of Florence, AZ got its name from an old abandoned ranch...

It appears to have been a nice home years ago

Unfortunately, time and vandals have taken their toll...

On the way to the ranch, you pass a number of huge, 100+ year old saguaros including a very unique half-crested one...

Bitcoin Soaring

Bitcoin has been setting all time high price records since Trump was elected President. I started mining it years ago when it was $100 per coin. I now have ~$6000 (at current values) which I use to buy Amazon gift cards. If you have a high end computer with excellent cooling, may I recommend a Windows based program called Kryptex that mines cryptocurrency 24/7 and still allows you to use your computer for other purposes.

You can also purchase Bitcoin via sites like Coinbase, but remember it is highly volatile which makes it a risky investment; whereas mining has very little risk.

Bad Influence

They say you can judge a person by the company they keep. I think I may be in trouble...

Missy, Darby, Dale

You may note that while they were drinking beer, I was drinking ice tea. I was the "designated passenger" on the ride.

Blog Blocked

Yesterday morning, I received this notice from Google indicating my blog had been made unavailable to blog readers because it violated their Community Guidelines...

Hello, As you may know, our Community Guidelines (https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy) describe the boundaries for what we allow-- and don't allow-- on Blogger. Your blog titled "http://ncmotorcyclists.blogspot.com/" was flagged to us for review. We have determined that it violates our guidelines and have made the URL http://ncmotorcyclists.blogspot.com/ unavailable to blog readers. Why was your blog removed? Your content has violated our REGULATED policy. Please visit our Community Guidelines page linked in this email to learn more. If we feel that a blog's content does not fit within the expectations of our Policy, we no longer allow it to be publicly available. If you believe we made an error, you can request an appeal https://www.blogger.com/go/appeal-blog?blogId=14759407. You may have the option to pursue your claims in court. If you have legal questions or wish to examine legal options that may be available to you, you may want to consult with your own legal counsel. Sincerely, -The Blogger Team

I immediately appealed the decision as I was in danger of losing 14 years of posts and photos. Fortunately, that evening they reinstated my blog...

Hello, We have re-evaluated your blog against Blogger Community Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy. Upon review, the blog has been reinstated. You may access the blog at http://ncmotorcyclists.blogspot.com/. Thank you for understanding. Sincerely, The Blogger Team

In my opinion, it would have been more appropriate for them to have given me a warning first and then the opportunity to make corrections instead of just banning the blog outright. My guess is that it was due to some autonomous bot and when a real person looked at the blog, saw nothing that violated their Community Guidelines.

Suspicious Voting

President Trump has been severely criticized for suggesting there was fraud in the 2020 election. Here is a chart listing the number of popular votes for each candidate in the last four presidential elections...

Note that in three of the four elections including the last one, the Democrat candidates consistently received around 66 million votes each. However, in 2020 the year of the pandemic when states extended voting hours and expanded early voting via absentee ballots and ballot boxes, Biden got 81 million votes. I do not consider myself to be a conspiracy theorist, but I have to wonder how many of those 15 million additional votes might be due to fraud?

Backway To Mt Lemmon

I took the Jeep the backway to Mount Lemmon from Oracle, AZ. It's a crooked, dirt trail that requires a high clearance vehicle. Although I enjoyed the ride, there were not enough "WOW" moments for me to want to do it again anytime soon.

I thought the paved road coming up from Tucson was much more scenic and would be a good Sunday drive, particularly, in the hot summer months.

Fine Wine

My neighbor, Missy, works for a very wealthy individual in Wisconsin, who collects and drinks expensive wine. At the end of the summer, he gives her a bunch of bottles that he no longer wants. As a thank you for some work I did for her, she gave me two bottles of Ornellaia 2016. Out of curiosity, I went online and was able to find it on sale for only $279.99...

Not wanting to drink alone, I shared my good fortune with my other neighbors last night. Nothing like a $300 wine with your smashburgers. The sad part of the experience was I could not tell much of a difference between it and my $10 bottle of wine with the screw top. Apparently, I do not have a sophisticated enough palate.

Rummaging Rodent

My neighbor has a large rat running around his tool shed at night, so we setup a trail cam to monitor its activity and see if we could trap it. Although we got some great video clips, the rat was too smart for the trap. Watch how it plays with and moves the trap without tripping it...

 

Tonight, we are going to switch the bait from cheese to peanut butter, drop some poison bait and then see what happens.

Update 10/27/2024: That rat outsmarted us once again. It is so big that it was able to reach the peanut butter without putting enough weight on the plate to trip the trap. However, it did take the poison bait, so we may get it that way. Video posted at https://youtu.be/cApdJcVSIv4.

Update 10/28/2024: It appears we may have gotten the rat with the poison bait as it did not reappear on last night's video...

Mesmerizing Sunset

Click on image to enlarge

SoloCam S340

I recently added a eufy SoloCam S340 to the front of my park model. One nice feature of the camera is the ability to track and follow moving objects...

 

They are "spray painting" the streets in the park this week. It is a temporary fix to make them look good for returning snowbirds. I was told they will resurface the streets next year.

FEMA Failure

The federal government cares more for illegal immigrants than for its own citizens...

 

Elon Musk and private individuals have done more for the victims of Helene than the entire Biden/Harris administration.

Another Democrat Debacle

Click here for full story

More Liberal Hypocrisy

Kamala Harris drops millions on private jet spending despite calling climate change an 'existential threat'...

Apparently, it's okay to pollute the environment if it is for political purposes such as fund raising
Click here for full story

Old Age Humor

 

Surveillance Cameras

I recently purchased two wireless solar surveillance cameras to cover both entrances to the house. Last night was a good example of how effective these cameras are as an unknown vehicle was recorded checking out my place a little after 8:00 pm. Although it was probably someone who did not realize I tend to go to bed with the chickens, it's reassuring knowing that I will have video evidence if an intruder steps onto the property.

 

Arizona Heat

I believe I have come up with a way to beat the Arizona summer heat...

Coyote

When you live out in the desert, you get to see a lot of interesting critters...

 

Siphon Fire

A fire in the Superstition Mountains north of me has burned over 2,000 acres and is 0% contained. There have been a number of evacuations east of Apache Junction, but I am far enough away that there should be no problem here. This is the view from my front porch...

Click on image to enlarge

Update: You can now see the flames from the fire...

Unleashing Elon Musk

This is the type of thinking that we need in government...

 

Toad Heaven

We finally got some monsoon rain & wind and I am pleased to report that my awning is still intact and my new roof does not leak. One group that enjoyed the downpour are the desert toads...

Click on image to enlarge

Storage Shed

One disadvantage to living in a park model is not having quite enough storage space for all your stuff. Today, I had a Suncast resin shed delivered which then had to be assembled. I suspect a good handyman could probably put it together in less than an hour. However, it took me almost three hours (which I think qualifies me to be on a state road crew). Once again, I was reminded of how bad my endurance is, particularly, in the desert heat. I would work for 20-30 minutes and then need a break. I am hoping that consuming mass quantities of alcohol and ibuprofen will dull the pain tonight. As I have often said "getting old is not for sissies".

Baby Rattlesnake

When I opened the front door this morning, I was greeted by a baby rattlesnake wanting to join me for coffee, so I called Scott, our professional snake removal expert here in the park. He told me that he had recently removed another rattlesnake near my home which makes me wonder "where is the rest of the family".

Click on image to enlarge

818,000 Fewer Jobs

How can you trust an administration/government that overestimates job creation by 818,000...

 

Nails & Screws

One hazard from having work done on my awning and roof is the number of nails and screws left on the ground around the house...

And just when I think I have found them all, I'll walk by a couple of days later and find a few more. It's like a never ending scavenger hunt.