I’m Officially A Drone Pilot
Back in February (which now seems like forever ago), when I was still house-sitting out in the beautiful Okanagan Valley (and before the world as we know it was turned upside down) I decided to sign up for a training course in preparation for obtaining my drone Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations. Up until that point, I was limited to my “Basic Operations” certification.
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And The Sixth Decade Begins
As self-isolating birthdays go, yesterday’s was a pretty good one. I mean, I was pretty much on my computer for much of the day but that somewhat suits me – you know, in lieu of doing something outside, of course. Speaking of which, I’m happy to report there were no ill effects experienced after Sunday’s longish ride – other than my needlessly sunburned hands and maybe being a bit (or more-than-a-bit) pooped afterwards.
As seen in my previous post, in addition to more-than-a-little computer time, yesterday also saw me take a few moments to make another (silly) video – this time featuring my latest batch of banana bread. Considering the talent and subject matter, it turned out reasonably well. Well-enough anyway.
Oh, and I forgot to mention in my previous post that after my ride on Sunday I got together (no closer than two metres, of course) with a few friends for what has become the now frequently seen driveway/front yard “party”. It was a fun visit and I ended up leaving with a container of birthday baking they made for me – hard to wrong with brownies and cookies. And there was Guinness too. Add that to my third loaf of homemade banana bread and I’m living the dream.
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The Value of Experience
Reports of my summer bike being ready to roll may have been a bit premature. In my defence, when I made that statement I truly believed it and it was based on a test ride. However, the test ride in question was clearly not as rigorous as it should’ve been. A subsequent test with significantly more torque being applied revealed some of the gears were less than functional. Actually, there was really just one problematic cog – 7/8 of them were fine. On the downside, the one that wasn’t fine was the highest gear (i.e., the one I use the most). Naturally, it would be expected that the gear I use most would be the one most likely to be worn. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a spare cassette lying around and, with bike shops closed, I was a bit stuck. However, a lot can be gained from experience – particularly from less than ideal situations.
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Raisins: Mystery Solved
After my recent foray into baking – including my obvious substitution of chocolate chips for chopped walnuts – I was led to ponder raisins. After all, in my experience a LOT of baked goods feature raisins and I really don’t know why. Correction, I never used to know why. I believe I have figured it out.
For the record and full disclosure, I don’t like raisins. That said, I don’t dislike them as much as I used to. I remember a time where my dislike for raisins used to be so strong that I would even struggle to watch OTHER people eat them. Seriously. And I also remember the moment I got over my dislike of raisins … or at least my COMPLETE dislike for them.
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