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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer

Paul B

NJRC Member
How are you doing Paulie and Diana. You guys always read my Dribble.
I am going for my morning walk now as it just got light enough outside that I can see my feet. Monday I am getting another cortizone shot in my knee that allows me to do backflips and run away from these Deer :biggrin:

They won't give it to me in my replaced knee. For that one they use WD-40
 

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Good morning! Wish I had someone to go on walks with each morning. Weather is getting warmer.

Did you get your second covid shot? Hope you don't feel ill from it. Many feel terrible on the second one.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
I do know that many people do. My neighbor had to go to a Dr. for a severe rash and is on meds for it. She is not going to take her second shot because of it.

I just got a little arm ache which is normal. (And Manly) :cool:
 

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
I got my first girl sissy shot yesterday. :)

my wife's sister just came down with covid. shes 18 and lives in the ukraine. anyway, im sure she'll be fine.
My son's boss has two kids., and one niece. 16 year old daughter who is a cheerleader, a 8 year old son and a 10 year old niece. 16 year old got covid 2 weeks ago during cheer practice ...whole team got. Friday the 8 year old collapses and is taken to the hospital. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Tuesday the niece is taken to the hospital due to covid that she got from the 16 year old. She had a kidney transplant last year and had been doing well since. They have her intubated as of this morning.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Thats horrible. :confused:

Diana when I was in the Army 100 years ago and we were going to Viet Nam they gave us shots. A lot of them. 6 at a time from about 5 different "guns". No needles, they just shot the stuff into your arm. We had to walk down a skinny hall way with our arms crossed. There were little windows every few feet and someone in each one with a gun that shot 6 vaccines into your arm, both arms at a time. When you got out of the other end, everyone was bleeding down their arms.

But it was good because that afternoon and the next day we had to do push ups. :confused2:

It took all the "Girlyness" out of you.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
From 2010

I am lucky enough to live on an island surrounded by water that is also full of Islands and all of my life my favorite thing to do is to wander around at low tide in a tide pool.
Yesterday I did just that all by myself. My wife and I went out in our boat to relax and get away from a hectic week and while she read a book in the boat, I took the dinghy to shore to be alone with my friends.
Most of those friends have shells, antenna, fins or feathers.

As I rowed to shore daydreaming I was distracted by the oars hitting the sand and mud of the bay bottom.
I put on the insect repellent (because bugs are not my friends) and I started walking in the tide pool which is about 100 yards across and is composed of mud areas, sand areas, weedy areas and shallow water.

I Pulled the inflatable dingy up on a sandy area and walked through the stream of seawater that feeds the pool.
The first thing I came across was blue claw crabs mating. They were huge and did not appreciate me disturbing them. There were many of them all with the same idea of chasing me away. I don't blame them but they should have gotten a room.

When ever I come across a piece of wood or discarded part of a boat or pier I lift it to see what is living below.
If the object is stuck to the bottom I know there will be nothing living there because of the lack of oxygen it will just be black mud full of stinking hydrogen sulfide. Most heavy objects sink in the mud and that is what happens, but if the object is not too flat and not stuck in the bottom I know it will be just full of life. When you lift an object like that there are dozens of crabs running away, mostly Japanese Shore crabs that took over the native green crabs that are now completely gone. After the mud clears you find huge worms and sometimes clams.
Large amphipods will be jumping from the lifted object to my arm and everywhere else.
Occasionally you see an eel or two dart out.

I always replace the object before I move on. The next area is just filled with oysters and you really can't walk without shoes. The pool shrinks down to about 20 feet across and goes under a road. In that 50' long tunnel with a barnacle covered cement floor you find more blue claw crabs that can't get away or dig in. They just threaten you with their claws as they scamper left and right. The tunnel ends at the other side of the road and becomes fresh water as that is a spill basin for a large lake that emptys here into the sea.

Sometimes you see freshwater turtles resting in the cement spillway that is about 5' high.
Walking back under the road you notice mussels stuck all over the walls covered in barnacles as everything in the Sound is.
I return back to my dinghy on the opposite side of the pool. This side has very low sand dunes that stay wet and are covered in marsh grass. The place is full of 1/2" to 1" wide holes in the sand that are homes to fiddler crabs. If you look ahead about 15' you see the males out of their holes holding up their large claw signaling to the females. I walk through a small salt water stream that leads to a marshy area. Here is where I call horseshoe crab city. The place is just full of tiny newborn horseshoe crabs some just barely visible.

They spend their time plowing through the fine mud which is perfect for them as the tiny crabs can't yet push the relatively heavier sand.
You can't venture too far into horseshoe crab city because a few steps in and you will sink up to your knees in a sticky ooze that will steal your shoes.
Walking back I look up and there is the resident Osprey in a high man made nest. That is a sea eagle that "guards" the place and is awe inspiring to see catch a large fish and carry it back to feed his chicks.

I get to my inflatable and walk out into deeper water all the while starring through the shallow water to see if I missed anything. I did. I count about a dozen hermit crabs and they make me smile because they disappeared from this area years ago and I have not seen any in a long time. They are always running and remind me of when I took the Subway to Manhattan for so many years. I pick up a few just to say hello then put them back. In a few seconds, they turn over and start running again. Then must stay in great shape with all that running.
I row back to the boat to find my wife smiling at me because she knows I am at my happiest after I spend my time with such good friends
Project6.png
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
As I am waiting for my wife to get ready to to out to breakfast I was perusing the other threads.
Like 90% of them are about diseases and the other 9% are about possible diseases. The other 1% is somebody's birthday.

I can't believe there are so many problems in this hobby. I feel bad for these people but it is not their fault. Many people just don't know how to keep fish healthy and I get the idea that people think if their parameters are good, the fish shouldn't get sick.

Fish don't care about parameters. You could put a fish in a tank full of sawdust and kerosene with a shot of battery acid and a pH of 2 and they wouldn't get ich, velvet, intestinal worms, or dropsy . They would certainly die, but they wouldn't get sick :oops:

I am not going to say it again....................OK one more time, we are making the fish sick, no one else, it is us.
Fish should never get sick and I am blue in the face from saying it. Now I have to go and wash my face and go out to breakfast. On Sundays we do that. :cool:
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
This morning I finished this cool Steam Punk lamp. It is "really" Steam Punk because it was made from an oiler from a 19th century steam Locomotive. It is solid brass and weighs about 10lbs. It has "firelights" and those glass tubes have fluorescent liquid in them that I made from the stuff in highlighters. They have ultra violet LEDs under them.

Lamp.jpg
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
My tank is running excellently. All the fish that were spawning are still spawning and I am happy that my new long nose butterfly and my copperband are getting along like brothers, or sisters. ;Bucktooth

They hunt together and hang out like best friends. I like that. My Janss pipefish is past his lifespan but still looks great as does my little blue stripe pipefish.

All the other fish look great, batter than I do. ;Joyful

I know so many people have so many problems and I feel for them. I am not sure why there are so many problems. Maybe I have been doing something wrong. :rolleyes:

My DIY algae scrubber is scrubbing perfectly and my 25 year old DIY skimmer is skimming nicely.

I would imagine my reverse UG filter is doing what it is supposed to do but I can't see it so I don't know.

Brittle stars are doing the macarana and I assume dancing with the bristle worms of which I have many.
No problems to report so far but I hear after 51 years problems start to pop up. ;)

Hammer.jpg
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
This morning like every morning I took a walk. I walk about two miles so it's not like I will be entering the Olympics or anything. It was 23 degrees and it was just before the sun came up.

All of a sudden I got this uncontrollable urge to do the Macarana and I twisted my knee. One of my knees was replaced a while ago with aluminum or "Mastic". (some kind of fish food copperbands are supposed to like but I am guessing)

I almost fell down as it was a little painful and I contemplated calling the paramedics just because I wanted to see if they had a helicopter. Then I realized it wasn't that bad so I limped home and put some of that "heat rub" stuff on the knee.

Now everyone knows none of that stuff ever does anything for pain but it smells so good. I have a few different kinds, some smell like pine trees, some like cedar and some like camphor so I use all of them at the same time.

I am still in pain but I smell like a forest filed with mosquito repellent which is kind of refreshing.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
So today we had an appointment for my wife at the DMV. She can't use her right leg so I installed a device in her car where she can drive with her left foot.
The thing extends your gas pedal to the left side of the brake and the device just lifts out when I use that car.

When she got this thing I went to the Police station to ask them what I was supposed to do and they said, just put it in and don't tell anyone. They never heard of the thing.

That didn't seem right so I went to the town hall and they also had no clue and said to do the same thing. I figured I had to go to the DMV and tell them something, so I did. They also had no clue about it and sent her to a larger DMV who also didn't know the procedure so they gave her a written test, eye test and a road test even though she went to a special needs driving school for this which was a $1,000.00 and the device is another $300.00.
(I think they used Salfert test kits)

So all they did was give her a new license with a restriction on it. She is not allowed to drive a stick shift.
There goes her dreams or driving a tractor trailer cross country. :(

And on our way home Walgreens called her to tell her to come in tomorrow for her second Covid shot. :)

 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Hey Paulie, it's getting warm, almost boating season. :biggrin:
I still got to get my boat waxed and detailed, put in 3 batteries, give the marina 6 or 7 grand and I am ready to go. :p

My wife got her 2nd Covid shot today and that is a big headache off my mind. It was a horror getting shots for both of us but now I probably won't get ich. :culpability:
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Look at this fantastic bread I baked yesterday. I put the spices on it that come on an"Everything" bagel.

For St Patrick's day my wife is making corn beef and cabbage and I will bake Irish soda Bread (even though I am Sicilian) :)


Bread.jpg
 
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