stationchief

And don't forget tomorrow:

Thought: If April showers bring May flowers but there were no April showers and we have nothing but cactus? Happy May everyone!

Better late than never to get my April in. Got my first covid moderna shot last week and same time next month will be shot #2. Looking forward to the side effects. My sister said hers made her really sick for a day but her husband's just made him super tired. We'll see. Wish I had better news to report. Three weeks ago my ten-year-old emotional support cat, "Bud Bud", passed on to the rainbow bridge. He had gastrointestinal problems throughout his life, but the last two days before he died were pretty sudden. It was hard on me for a while. Many years ago he was a stray off the streets that would hang out with me before I had my motorcycle accident that crippled my spine and put me out of work. Then my fall at home that caused me to have a spinal fusion. He realized I needed someone to watch over and care for me so he decided it was time to settle down and become a house cat. He insisted I adopt him and become his daddy and he becomes my companion animal. That was six years ago and he gave me many years of joy, love, and companionship. His ashes now rest in his urn over my desk right above where he would always sit to watch me work every day. You will be missed my big boy, my emotional companion, and my best friend. I will always remember all the wonderful years we had together. I will see you again one day.

Happy St. Patty's Day! Don't forget your green!

Happy Valentine's Day my fellow GD valentines! And Happy Birthday to the U.S. state of Arizona, the state I just can't ever get away from. You don't look a day over 109, old friend.

Happy February all Finally over my covid and after several months finally got to go have dinner with my sister and her family. Not being able to taste or smell right sucks the most but that's gonna last a while longer. Ah well. We got a ton of rain last week and temps hit all time lows. Nearby cities got snow flurries and local ski resorts up north got snowed in with as much as ten feet of snow per day or more. Looks like we made up for our dry spell in 2020.

Well, rabbit rabbit as they say. Month went by fast. Still feeling drained and foggy from covid helps time fly, but I'm getting a little better day by day. The not being able to smell or taste much sucks the most. And that's going to last the longest. Did get some tests done and my chest x-ray shows no more pneumonia and blood work plus nasal swab shows no more covid. So yay there! Just got to isolate some more then I can slowly start getting back to the real world.

So, I got my first Christmas present last week. All weekend I had severe sharp pains in my lower left side and trouble breathing which I thought was because of it. Late Sunday night couldn't take it anymore so was shipped off the the ER and after some tests they found out that not only was I passing a kidney stone (OUCH!) but I had covid pneumonia. Did a covid test and sure enough, Merry Christmas, you're positive for coronavirus. I think the stone's pretty much gone now so I'm well enough to type at least. But I'm technically supposed to quarantine for 10-14 days for the covid. The test was "officially" done on the 14th so depending on how I feel it can expire by Christmas, but I really don't want to jeopardize everyone in my family, especially my parents who are in their 80's and will be there. The medicine they gave me ran out and I'm still feeling a little sick so I think it's gonna be a Zoom Christmas this year.

Fine, I'll make my December post. Everyone have a great and wonderful holiday season and stay safe until we see each other again next year. There. You happy now? Merry Christmas and bah humbug (just kidding )

Y'all want a GD t-shirt, do ya? Here's your shirt: Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving with friends and family, stuff your faces, but don't forget to leave enough for sandwich leftovers.

Amazing what you find in your mailbox...

Happy Halloween month! And everyone in the path of these greek alphabet hurricanes on the east coast please stay safe

Hope those who were in the path of the hurricane on the southeast coast last week are still safe and dry. My parents sent me an image from Baker, FL. Said they were just getting a ton of rain and sent me an image. Looked like their front yard had turned into a creek!

Everyone suffering the wrath of Laura please stay safe

Power! We have POWAAAAH! P.S.: But no internet That got knocked out by the outage but at least they're working on it. No finishing binging 'Star Trek: Discovery' for a while.

Our monsoon has finally hit with a vengeance. Our monsoon haboob (dust storm) finally blasted through last night at super high winds taking out trees and rooftops with our travel at zero visibility. Not to mention taking out power on my block in the middle of the night. Still no power as of this morning. 80 degrees in here and having to use the internet on my phone. When it rains, it pours

Just heard this one on the morning news... Weather reporter: 'More possible record highs coming up so don't expect the monsoon to come back anytime soon.' Reporter: 'I wonder what happened to our monsoon season?' Weather reporter: 'Well, we reported earlier we've been one of the record highs of COVID in the nation, ya know. I think we scared it away.' Couldn't post this until I cleaned up the juice I spit out after I heard that!

We had an interesting week over here in Tempe. Last week we lost a part of our Union Pacific freight train rail bridge which has stood over Tempe Town Lake for over a hundred years when a few cab cars carrying lumber and hazzardous materials derailed, collapsed and engulfed the tracks in flames causing traffic delays and evacuations. Yesterday morning at 8:15 a.m. in a very cool effort they imploded (KABOOM!) the remains of the south end of the damaged bridge so they can replace it ASAP and continue our normal goods imports/exports. Watch the Union Pacific rail bridge fire here: And see the demolition of the damaged remains here: So sorry for those being laid off or still haven't got their jobs back On the bright side you can get a free month of CBS All Access

I don't think anything ever made me feel so good starting my day than watching this! Been a while since I've seen most of those people, especially Alan Ruck.

Record highs coming close to smacking 120 degrees. Good thing everything I have to do is in the early morning. If I went out in the afternoon I'd melt like an ice cream cone. Someone once asked me what it's like to live in ths southern Arizona dry heat. Take your oven and pre-heat to 350 degrees. Once pre-heated, stand in front of your oven and open the door. That gush you feel is what it's like opening your front door in the AZ summer.

Happy birthday month to me!

Or just save 'em for next year unless we get twice as many folks taking part then.

I made it to June? I actually made it to June!

Going to be 107 degrees today, record heat and excessive heat warnings around the state. This is late June weather, not May. Have mercy Mother Nature UPDATE: According to the morning news... 109 today and 111 by the weekend. Might wanna re-sync your calendar, Morhter Nature, you're wa-aaaaay off.

"If you can read this... Back off to six feet! Social distancing!!" A 'normal' Black Friday is a moot point as I believe stores that are still licking their wounds will be continuously counting their losses and reacting to it. Far as the deals, with all the brick and mortar versions of stores that have gone away online shopping has become insanely more popular. I think the 'in-store only' line-up doorbusters will be nearly, if not completely, non-existent this year and we will have a lot more online doorbusters. But then again, with the pandemic being completely unexpected this year, I don't think anyone can predict what will happen six months from now