8 is enough, Bruce, Blow it out, Tarpons, Birdman

Saturday we started off with an outdoor landscape blitz.  I weeded and then weed whacked as Cindy buzzed around on the tractor, giving the grass a much needed trim. After attending to a few other to do’s we headed out for some errands, the biggest of which was finally picking up some baby chicks.  We figured if there was ever a time to do it, it was now since since Cindy is home studying for her PT cert.

Rural King always has a different collection of chicks each time we are there.  On Saturday they even had baby ducks and baby turkeys.  It seemed odd to see baby turkeys look pretty much identical to baby chickens since they look so different as adults.  As far as baby chickens they had almost all black varieties there which was a bit of a bummer, I was hoping to get two baby buff orpington chicks in our flock.  I did want to get some black chickens as well, I just didn’t expect to get all black chicks.  We wound up getting 6 in total, two each  of three varieties, Jersey Giants, Plymouth Rocks, and Astralorps.  Along with the chicks we picked up a bunch of supplies including a heat lamp, watering nipples, food and more things needed to care for week old chickens.

They give you a little box to transport the chicks.  Cindy had it open and was talking with the chicks most of the way home, it was cute.  Our at home “brooder” was a clear Rubbermaid type container in the master bathroom tub.  I sunk a hook in the ceiling so we could attach the heat lamp to a chain where we can easily adjust the height of the lamp to change the temperature.  Baby chicks need to be kept warm.  When they are first born they are supposed to be kept at 90-95 degrees.  Each subsequent week the temp gets dropped by about 5 degrees.

Initially we had a metal tray for food and a small water dispenser.  It did not take long for us to see that this was going to be a problem.  In a couple hours the chicks had kicked most of the food out as well as spilled about half of the water.  In addition baby chickens defecate constantly, you need to clean out the brooder three to four times a day.  To cut down on the mess we switched to a circular plastic feeder with holes to access the food instead of letting the chickens walk in it.  I also used water nipples to create a hanging water bottle.  The nipples release a small amount of water when the chickens hit them with their beak.  It is a much cleaner, less wasteful way to disperse water.  Plus at Rural King the chickens had the same water set up so they knew what to do.

As Cindy finished up getting the chicks settled in I did some tractor maintenance to prepare for the upcoming arduous mowing season.  The Craftsman tractor got an oil/filter change, air filter replacement and a new set blades.  The YT 4000 should be ready to roll.

Saturday evening we attended the first Florida Tarpons home game of the season.  I have been a season ticket holder since the arena football team formed several years ago.  You would think that after several years I would remember to dress warm for the game since the indoor arena, which is also used for the local ice hockey team is always cold.  Instead I sat there shivering in my shorts and flip flops.

This year the budget evidently once again was sufficient to support cheerleaders, The Reel Girls, something that was absent last year.  Six of them cheered right in front of us for most of the game.  Analyzing their efforts was a good sidebar to the game.  We enjoyed our typical football collection of food including a slice of pizza, a soft pretzel and some roasted nuts.  I washed it down with three Budweisers.  The Tarpons got their first win of the season after two road losses.  Their win was mostly because two of their best players from prior seasons returned, Chris Wallace, a 39 year old QB and a 6’8″ wide receiver that goes by the nickname of Optimus Prime.  Overall Cindy and I had a good time.

My right knee was a swollen, sore mess so doing endurance training was off the menu for Sunday.  Instead I headed out early to pick up Nicki and Sadie who are staying out at the house for a couple days.  It was the first time the dogs have been at the house since most of the flooring was replaced.  I was curious how they would react.  For the first few minutes they were curious, patrolling the house to survey the changes however in no time the newness had worn off and they were just chilling out.

For a good portion of Sunday morning Cindy and I were attending to a variety of small to do’s.  I took apart the pool vacuum to fix a couple things that caused poor suckage.  I then worked on the washer.  For awhile the tube that is used to drain the tank before cleaning the filter has been clogged.  If I squeezed the tube I could feel it was clogged with sand/dirt.  At first I used a straightened wire hanger to try to loosen up the sediment and then sprayed liquid into it.  That accomplished nothing except packing the dirt in there tighter.

I turned to my crutch, the internet to look for suggestions on how to clear the tube.  One tip was to blow out the tube with air.  Well I have an air compressor and an inflater tip that would fit the hose quite well.  I was sort of worried 120 psi might rupture the hose.  So I cranked up the compressor, jammed the end into the hose and pushed it tight as I pulled the trigger.  I did a short burst at first that seemed like it went nowhere however when I squeezed the trigger a second time the pressure released and I could hear the air entering the wash tub area, cool.  A small trickle of water started to drain from the hose, a good sign.  I ran the washer through a couple rinse cycles while blowing out the tube a few more times to clear it best I could.  I am hoping to be more regular with the washer maintenance to prevent future clogging.  I was glad to see/smell that the washer filter was no longer a rancid/slimy mess as it was when I last removed it, thanks to more routine tub clean cycles with bleach.

For the rest of Sunday I mostly just chilled out, played WoW and did a few pull ups out back.  It felt foreign to be able to just sit around and not be actively involved in some sort of work.

Over the weekend we watched the Bruce Jenner interview on the DVR.  I have to say it felt quite weird to see Bruce Jenner, the man whom I clearly recall from the 76 Olympics kicking ass and taking names in winning the decathlon gold, talk about his upcoming gender reassignment from man to woman.  I was surprised to hear that he actually starting taking female hormones way back in the 80’s for a period of 5 years.   Like anyone else, I have seen the various stories about Bruce and his plastic surgery weirdness over the last 10-15 years but I had no idea it was connected to his desire to become a woman.  I thought it was just vanity and a misguided, Michael Jackson-esque, idea of what looked good.

Instead the interview revealed the lifelong torment that Bruce has experienced, living life as the ultimate man while secretly feeling like a woman.  Both Cindy and I felt compassion for him.  The compassion is somewhat tempered by Jenner’s decision to be a very prominent part of the Kardashian reality tv phenomenon, one the most Idiocracy-like shows on tv, although I am proud to have never seen it. He also is documenting the whole transition in a an E show so although I do feel bad for him, there is no doubt he is cashing in on his gender confusion in a major way.

One thing that I couldn’t quite understand was why he would want to undergo this transformation at his age.  Bruce Jenner is now old enough to collect Medicaid benefits (65 years old), what exactly is the point?  That being said, it’s his life, if living out the rest of his days as a woman will bring happiness, good for him.

All in all I think the special was well done although it still just feels bizarre to see the guy on the Wheaties box talk about wearing a dress.

We saw Birdman last night, the film that seems to have a love/hate relationship with most people.  For me I would say it was a swing and a miss.  The ambivalence about Michael Keaton having super powers was annoying.  Although overall I though the film was sort of dumb, there is no denying Keaton did a nice job playing a whack job. I’d give the film a B, Cindy would probably rate it lower.