Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
This past weekend our lovely Queens City of Charlotte had a close encounter with winter. Being a nominally “southern city,” this is not the place people expect to see snow. As a matter of record, Winnie and I chose to retire here partially based on believing we’d see less wintery stuff than in Woodbridge, Virginia.
However, snow has now come to Charlotte. It’s not nearly as exciting as that may sound.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Being an officially a retired person conferrs a lot of free time. Which means I no longer have excuses reasons for not doing a lot of projects I’ve been putting off for, well, most of my adult life.
One particular project is building my home workshop. After fits and starts and early iterations in previous homes I’ve lived in, I’m finally building my dream workshop.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
And so, it finally happened. After over a year of false starts and running up a down escalator. Last week, Friday August 29, my office held a small but pleasant retirement ceremony for me, then I was gone.
I am now officially retired from full time work and back home in Charlotte. I guess, let the fun begin?
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
I am officially in the home stretch to my second retirement. While these past several months have felt like I’m running up a down escalator, I’m still plugging. And the clock keeps ticking, as clocks always do.
With an official retirement date of August 31, I can see light at the end of this tunnel – and it’s not a train.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Over the years I’ve lived in the Washington D.C. metro area (“DC”), I’ve tried various techniques for commuting. All these techniques have been focused on making the best of a truly sucky situation. The best technique was, of course remote work and just not commuting at all. But, since the end of March I no longer have that option.
So, my latest and probably last pre-retirement commuting technique involves commuter trains and bicycles. Call it “alternate commuting for this modern age.”
Estimated reading time: 51 minutes
Winnie and I recently returned from two-weeks of cross-country adventures in Peru. During our trip we took a boat ride around marine sanctuary islands; rode a dune buggy in sand dunes; flew over hard desert to view the lines of Nazca; spent three nights in a jungle lodge keeping our snacks locked away safe from monkeys; hiked a portion of the Inca trail between Cuzco and Machu Picchu; and toured a number of Incan archeological sites. We also drove over an 18,000-foot mountain pass; viewed Lake Titicaca; got altitude sickness; and (briefly) lost my luggage to a Peruvian airline. It was quite the trip.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
In a few days, Winnie and I will be heading out on a vacation trip I’ve wanted to do since about 1979. We’re headed to Peru for a two week tour of this magical South American country.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
I’ve recently added another seemingly popular answer to my Quora account. This time, I had the opportunity to describe one of the very few instances when I was happy to see a police officer. My story also describes when a person received a very direct, and very sudden, Karma response to their actions.
My story is one example of a case when Karma really bites.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Another one of my Quora answers seems to have hit the mark. Given the number of upvotes, and response comments, I thought it was worth sharing on this humble blog.
The question was “Is it true that the longer you stay in the military, especially as an officer, it will be harder to transition to the civilian world when you get out?”
My answer described my difficulties in making my transition from Navy to Civilian life. Spoiler alert: My answer is a resounding “Yes!“
This and That, Mad King Edition
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
So the days go by, one at a time, as days always do. Here in America each day brings a new atrocity from our mad king trump. Every time we think he’s gone as low as he can go violating our laws, our ethics, and our humanity Americans have long taken for granted, our mad king goes lower. And lower still.
Meanwhile, our mad king’s brown-nosing quislings continue to fall over themselves in their endless quests to kowtow. While us non-trump-fluffing shell-shocked Americans watch our civil liberties melt away and our retirement funds shrink as the price of essentials rockets to the skies. And we watch the nightly news in helpless fury at new horror each day brings.
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