The Next Experiment

I went to Lowe's this evening to buy some gray PVC pipe. Home Depot, which is almost next door, didn't have gray. White or black, but not gray. And why gray, you may ask? Because the instructions said so. And supposedly, because it bends better when heated. Yes, heated. Not boiled. Not melted. And certainly not ignited! Just heated.

And what is The Next Experiment? Ah, that is the rub. As those of you who know me may remember, I hate cold. I hate drinking cold drinks. I hate showering in cold water. I hate being cold. And most of all, I hate sitting on a cold toilet seat. So how in the world did I get talked into going on a snow camp out by a bunch of Boy Scouts? I don't know.

I suspect that it must have had something to do with the challenge of a new experiment to take my numb (with cold) mind off of the fact that I am going to have to sleep, eat and play in the cold for about 24 hours. We are going to make snow caves to sleep in, also. That, too, will be fun after the numbness leaves my hands from digging in the snow.

So, I quickly went to the internet and let Google find me everything about snow shoes. Too much information. So I let Google find everything about making snow shoes. Better. After reading one blog about how they had made the cool looking shoes (shoe?) above I wanted to know how. I sent off an email. But I am just not the type of person who can sit and wait for a response. This time I let Google find me Snow Shoes DIY. That lead me to a page that appears to be produced by the same guys (Redwood Scouter) who did the previous page about making these things.

He says that you have to heat and bend this PVC (gray PCV, to be exact) and then drill it and string it. I wonder if one strings it too tight if you could make music while you walk? Perhaps another experiment in the making. Hmmmm...

I have a torch. I bought some PVC. Not just any PVC. Not white or black PVC. I bought GRAY PVC! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. And I will let you all know how this saga plays out. Just the cold facts.

As Tears Go By

My Cannon G3 PowerShot bit the dust Monday. I have had this camera since about 2002, have taken it everywhere from sailing the Pacific to Canada to Mexico to Catalina Island to the Caribbean and from D.C. and New York to many points between there and Phoenix. It has been my rather large, clunky friend for these past seven or eight years now and I am missing it all ready.

The passing was quick and painless - at least for my friend. One minute it was working fine and the next, ZAP! and it was all over. And a rather loud ZAP it was, too. Sort of a pop with great intensity.

It all happened when I was plugging it into my computer to download the pictures off the memory card. When the cord touched the camera it was lights out for my buddy. I had warned him about giving me static. But his life was coming to a close. The third set of batteries was already in use. One lens had been dropped and the crystal lens chipped. And, compared to his more youthful rivals, he was beginning to show his age.

So now, when I think of my newly-passed friend, I'll be thinking of the Stones song, As Tears Go By, as I sit and watch as tears go by...

New Hair for my Bride

Gaye has been wanting to do something with her hair for awhile now. She tried pulling her bangs to the side but that wasn't working, at least not fast enough. She was looking a lot like a teenager as she continually swept her hair to the side of her face, so maybe it was giving her that youthful look she was searching for.

I guess not. She tried colors. It gets a little bit redder each time. She may look like an old-time police car with the "cherry" on top if she isn't careful. I had to ask if she had cataracts just to be sure that she wasn't seeing it a lot less red than it was. She doesn't take to teasing about that sort of stuff as well as guys do, you know.

So she went to see Nikki to get it cut again and they finally agreed on this one. I think that it looks good. I would call it a "fun" style with out too much work except that she still spends a fair amount of time in the mornings getting the doo to do what it does.

I think that I'll get mine done next. That one all the guys my age seem to be wearing looks better and better. You know the one that I mean - the one with the hole in the middle. And when I start the moustache again, I'll just tell her that I'm just trying out another "men's doo". I'll let you know if that works.