Category Archives: Rancho Roly Poly

Cold winter ahead

Posted on December 15, 2015 | 4 comments

Never mind the climate lies from Paris and the White House, nor the warm December we’ve been having so far in Central Texas, the cold is coming. Boy, is it coming, according to WeatherBell Analytics forecaster Joe Bastardi:

  • Overall, a snowy, colder than normal winter is expected in the South and East
  • Core of winter will be later rather then earlier
  • December could be very warm with February very cold
  • El Niño is a big influence but not the only factor

Snow here would be a minor miracle. It happens occasionally but only just. But in so generally warm a climate, a bitter cold and wet month (i.e. February) would be plenty impressive enough.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Rancho Roly Poly, Texana, Weather/Climate

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Milestones: Mr. B. goes to driving school

Posted on December 14, 2015 | 5 comments

Gotta sign Mr. Boy up this week for driving school which starts Dec. 21, over the Xmas (PC version: winter) break. He’ll do it from 5 to 7 p.m., weekdays through Jan. 15.

Much better than the way I learned, with my short-tempered father in a department store parking lot, back in the day when stores closed on Sundays.

Then, as I understand it so far, we’ll take the school’s graduate certificate to the state and get him a learner’s permit. Which will require me to ride with him as he drives (oh, joy) Mrs. Charm’s car with automatic for a few months before he can qualify for the full license. Learning the manual transmission in my car will come later.

Time sure flies.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, The Culture

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Damn cedar fever

Posted on December 5, 2015 | 2 comments

Mr. B set a recent, personal record for sneezing Friday—15 times in two minutes. His eyes were watering and the roof of his mouth itched. Oh, lord, that’s cedar fever most likely. Never bothered him before.

Then this morning I see KVUE weather reporting their daily rooftop air sample on Friday captured the first cedar (actually juniper) pollen of the season. Bit early for the annual Texas curse, but there it is.

Now we’ll have to hope and pray that El Nino delivers the forecast wet winter to help take the pollen out of the air. Otherwise he and I both will be struggling with the stuff before Xmas as well as after when it’s more generally a problem.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Texana, Weather

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Rule 5: Ashley Graham

Posted on December 3, 2015 | Comments Off on Rule 5: Ashley Graham
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Ms Graham is an old favorite here at Rancho Roly Poly

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Rule 5, The Culture

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Bitter cold

Posted on November 28, 2015 | 4 comments

The wind chill, that is, somewhere around 30 at dawn today with a light rain. Which is about 40 degrees below what it was around noon yesterday, when I was the prisoner of a car dealership while trying to get Mrs. C.’s Altima safety inspected before updating its registration.

Had earlier discovered the battery was dead (after months of sitting in the garage unused) and so had to wait for AAA to arrive and replace it. Then, after almost two hours at the dealership, I was informed that the safety inspection could not be completed.

Seems Nissan’s new-fangled (well, 2007 in this case) computer system can’t set itself and its multiple safety systems anew after a battery change until about 60 miles have rolled over the odometer. Ain’t automotive progress just wonderful?

At least we haven’t had any flooding yet. But it’s supposed to keep raining all day.

4 Comments

Posted in Mrs. Charm, Rancho Roly Poly, Science/Engineering

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Heavy rain

Posted on November 27, 2015 | 8 comments

Another holiday, another flood. Looks like. Heavy rain started around 2 a.m. and has continued off and on. Our goofy gutters are overwhelmed, as usual. I expect to see the back forty’s waterfall materialize before long. Good thing the sandbags are still in place from Halloween. A strong El Nino will prompt that.

At least it will take Mr. B.’s mind off the Luby’s Thanksgiving disaster. Food wasn’t very good. Like a school lunchroom, Mr. B. said, and you can imagine how a high schooler feels about school lunchrooms. Its only virtue was that it was cheap and the pie was good. For Xmas, it will be Threadgill’s for sure.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Texana, Weather

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Shooting Sunday

Posted on November 22, 2015 | Comments Off on Shooting Sunday

If I can get Mr. B. up, we’re going target shooting again this morning. We’re getting better, with the Ruger .22 semi-auto and my old .38 Smith & Wesson revolver. He likes the latter best, finally getting used to the double-action trigger. Says it looks more menacing than the Ruger.

I like the way the .38 smokes in the aftermath of each round. Mostly from the cylinder rather than the barrel, but I’ll take it. Now to see if we can get most of our rounds in the center, though center mass is pretty good. Just like to get more accurate. Before we move up to a 1911 and its bigger kick.

UPDATE:  I love the smell of cordite in the morning. Heh. Lots of center-mass for Mr. B. and most of my .38 rounds in the silhouette’s head. Good work. Chatted about possible dove and deer hunting next fall and winter.

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Posted in Guns, Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Texana, The Culture

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