Altivo Overo's Blog, page 3

Maverick update

Amid a lot of irritating nuisances yesterday there came a surprise bit of goodness:

Ford sent an e-mail telling me that my long-awaited Maverick pickup truck is now scheduled to be built in April. That will be eight months since I ordered it and put down my deposit.

I continue to be amused by "criticisms" from various sources. Consumer Reports listed four things they didn't like about the Maverick. One was that "it doesn't sound like a truck." Idiots.

It's a hybrid vehicle. Yes, they don't sound like a dinosaur farting. Or smell like one for that matter. They DO, however reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption, both of which characteristics I happen to like very much.

I can use a little humor. The season of mud is upon us, definitely not my favorite time.

comments

Rant about noise, skip if you wish

Background: On August 24 of last year I actually ordered a new vehicle, a Ford Maverick. In case you aren't exposed to vehicular media, that's a compact pick-up truck, not the muscle car that once was sold under the same name. My truck has yet to even be scheduled for production, so I've not even seen it. Ford is moving awfully slow at producing these, apparently in part because they got far more orders than anticipated, and most of the orders were for the hybrid power train that they didn't expect would be so popular. After all, it doesn't have as high a horsepower rating. (Come on, Ford, climate change is real and your customers are aware of it whether you are or not.)

Anyway, this has spread my e-mail around to any number of sources for auto and truck stuff, filling my mailbox with a lot of trash as well as some useful information.

I chose the smallest truck because it was 1) all I needed; 2) much more fuel-efficient, especially in the hybrid version; and 3) attractively priced. It helped that reviewers compared its driving characteristics favorably to my previous car, a Ford Escape, and that they described it as "smooth and quiet."

Now come several articles along the lines of this one:
https://carbuzz.com/news/new-dual-tip-exhaust-now-available-for-ford-maverick

Jeez, if people want a noisy, smelly truck, why don't they just buy one? Why are they buying one designed to be fuel-efficient and quiet and immediately modifying it to make offensive and irritating noise? There are thousands of new and used trucks available to make disgusting noise with. Most of them will also do "0 to 60" much faster than a hybrid Maverick does.

I guess this is why I'm an equine. Humans are irritatingly stupid.

comments

Holiday message

Here we are, the Solstice is done, the days are getting longer already. It's the Eve of Christmas Eve, and I imagine the shopping malls are crazy and crowded. But out here in the boonies, everything is eerily quiet. The din of passing traffic on our closest roads is much reduced and even the neighbors' noisy cows are unusually silent. The sky is partly clouded, but the sun breaks through at intervals for a few minutes. Our shopping is done, the cards and packages mailed and the personal gifts wrapped to exchange tomorrow evening as is the family custom here.

Ham is thawed in the fridge, but I still have to make a mince pie and a "festive" salad. Otherwise, the peace has settled on us for a few days. (I hope.) With the temperature around 40°F the horses are out in their yard without blankets on. No doubt they will roll in the mud but that's their way of celebrating.

To all our friends, wherever you are and whatever holidays you celebrate, here is good cheer and best wishes. A new year is coming, may it be better and less dark than the last few have been.

You can find our holiday message, with illustrations, at This Link. (Approx. 4 MB photos and text.)

comments

Birthday cake

From yesterday. This was made from scratch using dark cocoa, butter, and Guinness. It is very rich and not suitable for everyday eating I'd say.



comments

Less than an hour left

In just 24 hours and 45 minutes, or so, I will no longer be 71 years old. My birth certificate says I was born at 10:54 pm EST on December 14, 1949 in Detroit. The clocks here are CST, so as of 9:54 pm tomorrow, I'll be 72. (And still getting asked for my birthdate when I buy wine at Walmart, for what that's worth. Not much, I suspect.)

I don't make a big deal out of birthdays any more. Well, I never did, actually. Even the big 21, which was a huge deal on my college campus when I was an undergraduate, became a nothing. That's because the state changed the legal drinking age to 18 when I was 20. So all the perks that my peers got at 21 (like 21 free silver dollar pancakes at IHOP for instance) I missed out on. No big deal, actually.

Age 65 might have been big because I could retire and claim my pension benefits then, but Congress messed that one up by changing the "full retirement" age to 66 at right about that time. I retired at 65-1/2 anyway. The difference in social security benefits was very small. I couldn't retire at 65 for a more important reason. Illinois did not officially allow my partner and I to be legally married until we were both 64. We took advantage of that immediately, having been together for 32 years already. However, my private pension funds required that we be legally married for a full year before they would recognize our marriage and that was important for inheritance reasons should I die first. So I waited until that was settled. Red tape is so much fun.

Anyway, I remain in reasonably good health and have no intention of kicking the proverbial bucket any time soon. As for buying the farm, we already did that way back in 1998. So here we are.

BTW, husband is baking a birthday cake right now and we expect to share it with friends tomorrow. It's one of his famous recipes, a double chocolate bundt cake with Guinness in both the cake itself AND the chocolate glaze. I'm not a real serious chocolate fan, but this one is definitely good.

comments

Venus, Saturn, Jupiter

For those with an interest in the sky, and lucky enough to have a clear nighttime view:

We were enchanted just after sunset last night by the brilliance of Venus. If it's clear, you can't miss it. Extremely bright and high above the horizon if you face southwest.

I was sure it was Venus even without consulting any references, because nothing else shines like that (at least here.) Now, just shortly after Venus becomes visible, Jupiter appears as well and is also very bright though Venus easily outshines it. Face south and look up a little higher and a bit to the left, there it is.

If you wait a little longer, until more background stars appear, then imagine a line between Venus and Jupiter. About one quarter or so of the distance away from Jupiter and along that line, you will see Saturn a bit above (Northwards) of the line. Saturn is sometimes much brighter than it is right now, especially when it is located opposite the sun, but at the present it seems like a rather undistinguished star unless you have a telescope or binoculars handy. With those you can see the rings that are Saturn's earmarks.

The telescopic aid usually reveals at least a couple of Jupiter's moons as well, bright points close in to the planet itself, but I didn't check last night to see what was visible that way.

In any case, I can't recommend Venus highly enough. It's brilliant and a beautiful blue white color right now. Take a few minutes to look at it.

comments

The end...

...of NaBloPoMo that is. Today is November 30, the last day of the month. I believe I have faithfully made a posting every day this month as required.

Have a picture of the end, featuring Archie and Asher in the sunset. It was up into the 50s (F) today, so no colorful blankets.



comments

Great visit, too short

Had two friends from Canada as visitors this evening. They are on their way back to the Vancouver area after a family event in Ontario. I have known them for years on line, but this is the first time we have met in person. It was a good time for all of us. I declared it a second Wolfenoot, and after we put the horses in for the night we sat down in the dining room under the wolf and moon cutout that hangs in the window there, and had home-made pizza, round brownies (I made them in muffin cups,) and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (made by Gary.) All the food was round, and the pizza had meat on it as well as vegetables.

We talked about music, farming, reading, writing, cooking, and more. Gary demonstrated his hurdy-gurdies and explained how they work. Then they went on their way westward, having booked a hotel room in Rockford.

Tomorrow is a rehearsal day, and I need sleep. I also have some sheet music I should edit before then, but I'm too sleepy right now.

comments

OK time for Christmas

The holidays have officially started. Since we are having visitors tomorrow, not only did we tidy up a bit, but we put up the tree and ornaments. Still have a lot of dusting and cobweb removal to do in the morning, though.

The sun was out most of the day, but a brisk breeze from the west made it feel ten degrees colder than the thermometer said it was. I did blanket both boys since they spend their days out in the open unless the weather is really inclement. When I brought them indoors they both seemed to hint that they wanted me to leave the blankets on, but I take them off because I'm afraid of them getting snagged on something in their stall and being stuck there for hours. (Or struggling to get loose and hurting themselves, worse yet.)

Came into the house chilled enough myself that I started up the woodstove. That made it too warm however, and I've let it just about burn out.

comments

Wolfenoot Dinner

As promised, roast turkey with stuffing and side dishes.







comments