Putting the Brakes on Re-Tiring

After the usual Saturday morning Barre class (exhausting!) and the monthly DAV meeting (fun!) I had to face doing something about my beloved car's brakes. I've owned my Saturn since 1999; bought it new, and few others have ever driven it. I could tell by the squeaks that something had to be done, and I was not surprised since it had been a lot of years and a lot of mileage since I'd last done them. A little online research fetched me plenty of complaints about repairs spiraling over a thousand dollars so I had to consider options.
I have contemplated going carless. The bus system here is good enough that I could do everything I need to do via metro, and for things that are optional there's always rentals. However, I'm not really ready to take that step.
I stopped by the JiffyLube that has always treated me well. The mechanic there said they didn't do brakes but recommended the Les Schwab down the block. That was as close as I was going to get to word-of-mouth so I gave it a try.
The diagnosis was under a thousand to do the brakes and replace the tires, which I knew I had to get done soon also. I agreed, and spent a few hours just noodling around the Alaska Junction, practicing leisure. It's not easy to have nothing to do, but I resisted the urge to invent a chore to get done on the grounds that the weather was excellent and I had to try a little human relaxation every now and then.
I picked the car up and paid the worker off. I drove around doing my Saturday chores and everything was excellent.
This is not a post with a lesson. This is a record of a success. Note: car mileage 202914

Swearing in new officers today at DAV Chapter 23

I've been a lifetime member of DAV Auxiliary for several years. It's a good group of people with a purpose. That said, I'm kind of happy to be in the Aux rather than a regular member, since it frees me from the duty of running for office. I can help out at meetings or on projects, but have no responsibility at all!

Daily Joy

I had found myself sharing mostly material that was urgently angry, justly outraged, important and unhappy. There is so much wrong in the world and we must share the news.
But a constant output of negativity turns you into an orc.
I resolved to post one thing each day that brought me joy, one sweet to offset the sour, one light with which to drive out the darkness: a cat photo, a flower, a wry observation. Something, anything!
The act of looking for one positive thing clears away mental hobgoblins. It becomes a habit and a source of energy. Try it!
#DailyJoy

Oh snap!

This beauty is in a planter in front of work

Nothing But Blue Skies Shining On Me!

Pareidolia

I met this happy little person on the way to my bus

A nice two layer effect down the block

About sending astronauts to Mars

I love science fiction, Star Trek, all that stuff as much as anybody. I read my first science fiction around 1964 (my mom gave me a copy of "Astounding" with "The Cold Equations" and "Agent of Vega" in it).
But as a matter of physical reality and economics: we can put hundreds of robots on Mars for the price of 1 astronaut, and they will get more done. Humanity is just not well adapted to zero-gee, zero-atmosphere, etc.
Now I'm going back to read the next installment of "Schlock Mercenary" - the best space opera ever!

Grillin' and Chillin'

Patriotic Memes June 2019

If Trump is going to take over the National Mall's July 4 celebration, we should all get patriotic t-shirts for him to see.

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My original version of this was wordier, but I think it's better leaving more to the reader to infer. Had I this to do over again I would have gone for a more diverse set of models but really I was just rushing this idea into existence and found one site with a model showing off a dozen ways of wearing a T-shirt so I fair-used that. I'm just a hack!

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Trump's distraction on the Southern border is just more of the same. Why should he change, it works for his base.

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