dead bird hanging around

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There’s been a dead magpie hanging in the tree outside our window for a week now.  I thought Parkbridge management would take it out, but no such luck.  I went with gloves and mask to retrieve it.

He must have died of old age.  He wasn’t eaten or pecked apart or chewed up.  Imagine, dying of old age doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing – just hanging out in a tree.

flat tire, new rims

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Well this is embarrassing!

But these tiny spare tires are supposed to do up to 80km/h.  Wow.

Even last winter when A&C were visiting, two tires went flat.  Cheap iron rims.  They rusted and continually lost their bead.  Matt B., a tire guy I know at Elrich, told me these would probably last 3 or 4 years, especially if only used in winter.  He knows his stuff,  Not using them during hot weather loosens the bead, moisture gets in, and the metal begins to rust.

So I went to Kia to order rims.

What do you think?  I know, I know, they’re a lot of money for just a set of rims.  The point is a) I hated those winter beater car iron rims, b) I wanted something nicer to match the summer rims, and c) I hated pumping up my tires every few days.

intro to mentor

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D.F. is my Mentor, set up by ASET.  We emailed a few times and spoke today by phone.  What an interesting conversation!  He’s in the architectural world, and I’m his 4th mentee.  The first 3 were all young people.  I’m his first old guy.

We talked about marketing one’s self, the industry(s), expectations of employers, personal backgrounds … lots of things.  I’ll sit and think about what he said for a while before embarking on any more comments.

He did give me homework though.  Yes, homework again!  Not easy homework, either.  I am to create an “elevator speech” for our next conversation in a few weeks from now.  …  I had this ages ago in the ESL world, although I didn’t know it was a thing, per se.

Uniden PC-122

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I won an auction for a Uniden PC-122 CB/SSB radio.  This is the same radio as the Radio Shack TRC-465.  It’s a solid little radio.  I am thinking that MV can use it when we travel together.  We’re always fighting with battery power and range with some 2-way radios that we have.

For those who don’t know, SSB (Super Side Band, or just Sideband) radio is a type of radio signal that has no carrier wave but sends a signal through pure modulation.  Eh?  Read up if you want.  These radios operate on the same frequencies as regular CB radios, either just above (Upper Side Band) or just below (Lower Side Band).  The upside of SSB is increased range.  The downside is that the receiver cannot lock on to any carrier wave but must adjust their receiving modulation up or down to hone in on the signal.