Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions

December 15, 2025December 14, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 80 Comments

This post was published in 2014 by Marie Ann Bailey and me. Since we all tend to drive in bad weather, hopefully it will still be helpful.

10. When driving in heavy rain, do not think it’s a good time to tap into your inner child and race your car through flooded areas of the road. If you do, at best, you’ll just irritate the drivers around you who will be splashed in your wake. At worst, your car will stall at the next intersection, where you find out that the “water” you were racing through is really the effluent from a broken sewer main.

9. When driving in heavy rain, do not forget to turn on your headlights so your car will be seen by other vehicles. If you do forget, at best, you may just have a couple of near-misses as cars turn abruptly in front of you because they didn’t see your dark gray car approach the intersection through the gray sheet of rain. At worst, you may wind up wishing your car had been a neon pink color instead of dark gray after you get the bill for the fender-bender you caused.

8. When driving in heavy rain, do not think that you can safely drive at the speed you drive in good weather. If you do, at best, the drag from the inches of standing water on the road will slow you down anyway. At worst, you might suddenly find yourself hydroplaning and, even more unfortunately, heading straight for the broken sewer main.

7. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think that you can save time by having the ice on your windshield defrost while you are driving. If you do, at best, everyone else will have stayed home, and you’ll have the road to yourself, thereby avoiding crashing into anyone. At worst, your insurance company won’t buy your story that the two small holes you scraped from your windshield should have been enough for you to avoid hitting the tractor-trailer when you passed into its lane.

6. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your fellow commuters will find it amusing if you put a sleigh and reindeer antlers on the roof of your car and honk at everyone to let you through because you are Santa Claus. If you do, at best, the other motorists will let you through because they think you’re crazy and want to get as far away from you as possible. At worst, the other motorists will let you through straight to a highway patrol car waiting just for you.

5. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your passengers will find it funny if you pretend to have snow blindness. If you do, at best, your passengers will help you to pull the car over so one of them will take over the driving (which was your intent anyway but you knew they wouldn’t do it if you just asked). At worst, your passengers will help you to pull the car over, but then leave you stranded on the shoulder because they know you were faking.

4. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it would be a good idea to suddenly pull over and collect the hail because you’ve never seen it before. If you do, at best, you’ll just have some motorists honk at you while you pack a few hailstones into your lunch bag. At worst, you’ll have a hard time convincing your boss that you’re late for work because when you stopped to collect hailstones, you got knocked out cold by a big one, and that is why you are acting drunk at noon.

3. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it is a good time to pull out your golf club and try some putting, no matter how obsessed with golf you are. If you do, at best, you’ll get the usual honks and rubbernecking from other motorists who are trying to figure out why you’re on the shoulder of the road swinging a golf club. At worst, see #4.

2. When driving during a heavy weather warning, do not think this is a good time to reenact a scene from your favorite Storm Chasers episode. If you do, at best, the storm cell never materializes, and you simply waste a tank of gas looking for it. At worst, you wake up in another state but without ruby slippers.

1. When driving during a hurricane, … oh, please, just don’t!

Views of the Neighborhood – Holiday Decorations

December 14, 2025December 13, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 49 Comments

We are heading out to look at the lights in the neighborhood. There were so many, but we will be able to see a sample. We are catered by Caroling of Austin, and our entertainment is Michael Bublé.

Biscuits & Gravy – buttermilk biscuits, sausage gravy, fried egg

Spinach & Feta Egg White Omelet t – grilled red onion, cherry tomato, breakfast potatoes, choice of toas

Buttermilk Pancakes– vanilla bean yogurt, seasonal berrie

Crispy Chicken & Waffles – maple syrup, honey butte

Sweet Corn Cake Benedict – jalapeño cheddar corn cake, avocado, tomato & corn sals

Huevos Rancheros – sunny eggs, crispy tortilla, black bean, jalapeño, avocado, queso fresco

Green Chili & Chicken Enchiladas – Fried egg, yogurt crema, cilantro, avocado, lime

Hop on the bus

Although not lit, I thought you would enjoy this one.

A snow person family at Mary Kay Ash’s old house.

Big spread of lights.

Large tree.

This was a dignified display

A couple of houses all decked out.

A grand assortment of blow-ups.

Rudolf the big-horned cow pulling Santa’s sleigh and half a Merry Christmas sign lit up.

Speaking of horns – A University of Texas helmet as a centerpiece.

The Grinch stole Santa who stole Halloween.

Looking like icicles.

A blow-up extravaganza.

Santa riding a dinosaur. Go figure, but you have not seen strange until the next shot.

What did I say? Our favorite Halloween house is ready for the holidays.

Well that’s it for this week. Next week we will go to the Lakeway Trail of Lights. It is time for music and Food. I hope you have a great week.

Saturday Stream of Consciousness – Prompt – “Usual”

December 13, 2025December 12, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 62 Comments

Wanting something different instead of the usual two cups of coffee, the flat white button looks appealing. No wait. Maybe a cappuccino. How about a latte or really go big with a latte macchiato? The red blinking light behind the eyeballs tells me to make a quick decision. An espresso is the choice for its mainline attribute. One sip and all the warning buzzers and anvil pounding cease. They are replaced with the Westminster chimes of the doorbell and the ear drum-shredding cacophony of the two protectors of the manse.

A quick toss of a beef bone into the soundproof room and a slam of the door brings back the joy of silence. The security monitor shows a skunk resembling Pepe Le Pew on the porch. As usual, the call is made through the intercom regarding the nature of the skunk’s visit. It is determined that an envelope awaits a signature. My mind questions how to handle a skunk delivery person, and why would anyone use a skunk for that purpose?

With a sigh, the security system needs to be shut down.

The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the security system’s shutdown process. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The Klingons are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.

The skunk hands me the envelope and the clipboard. While holding my breath, the transaction is complete. No time to even consider a tip since my air supply has run out, and the blue alarm flashing in my brain signals little time before passing out. A slam of the door, a huge exhale, and a massive inhale restore the hemostats.

The envelope has a message from Linda Hill. It reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “usual.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link https://lindaghill.com/2025/12/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-13-2025/

“Well, that was pretty usual.”

“Sounds like a review.”

“Well, it seems you could juice that preamble up a bit.”

“Tell me how.”

“Dump the security shutdown and maybe add in a different way to present Linda Hill’s prompt.”

“*crickets*”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You just cut the heart out of the preamble. Besides, there are a few who get a kick out of the shutdown, like Tom and our late pal Dan.”

“Okay, okay, how about the visitor?”

“What about the visitor?”

“You have some cartoon character show up.”

“Folks like to remember those characters.”

“But you don’t talk to them.”

“I know just the memory is enough. Tell you what.”

“What?”

“We could let the VooDoo bit go.”

“Are you crazy. Let’s just leave everything as usual.”

“Uber?”

“Over there.”

“That looks like an International Harvester pick-up from the 50s.”

“It is a beauty.”

“Room for the three of us.”

“Yup. One thing, though.”

“Talk about usual.”

“We have to pick up a car on the way to the pub.”

“Then what?”

“Well…we have to fix it.”

“Do you know anything about fixing cars?”

“No, do you?”

“This is another fine kettle of fish you have gotten us into.”

“It’ll be okay.”

“Here’s what we are going to do. The guy picks up the car. We drive to the pub in the car and fix it there.”

“Great idea. Then if we can’t fix it, at least we will be at the pub.”

“Let’s go.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA- TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

December 12, 2025December 11, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 91 Comments

This week’s good news story comes just in time for the holidays from The Good News Network.

Singing with Other People Improves Health More Than Singing Alone

Good News Network

–

Dec 11, 2025

Singing has been linked to numerous benefits for health, well-being, disease resistance, and recovery from injury. Still, when singing in a group, these benefits are greater than those of solo singers.

The research, though not new, still makes for a pretty darn good reason to join a caroling group or church choir for the holidays, or to take New Year’s Eve as an opportunity for some karaoke.

In this era of research into health and wellbeing, with more information available than ever, and expert voices contradicting recommendations at every turn—even those long thought to be made up of ‘settled science,’ it pays to set down some first principles.

Here’s one that serves as an effective guiding light in almost all situations: human health is the most resilient when existing in accord with our species’ evolutionary history.

Homo sapiens is a social animal, with virtually every facet of his lifestyle dependent in nature on his fellow man. Given that social isolation is deadly to our species, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that harmonizing our voices together makes us feel better than belting out a song on our own.

Some scientists believe humans actually sang before we could speak: that we gradually expanded our capacity for vocalizations by mimicking the tones of nature.

Singing activates the vagus nerve, which modulates our body’s ability to calm itself. The activation is done through long and slow expirations and inhalations needed to sing whole verses and long notes, which doubles up with a thorough activation of numerous neural pathways on both sides of the brain, and a release of feel-good endorphins.

David Cox, exploring this topic for the BBC, wrote that singing also produces other measurable physical effects, including regulation of the heart rate and blood pressure. Singing in groups or choirs, Cox says, has even been found to boost \immune function in ways that simply listening to the same music cannot.

Some of this might be explained by the demands singing puts on the pulmonary system, which has been calculated to be as demanding as a brisk intensity walk. With cardiovascular exertion, there is health and greater physiological alignment, including in the immune system.

However, science has also shown that complete strangers can forge unusually close bonds after singing together in a way not seen in team sports, for example. This is called the ice-breaker effect, and very much captures the fact that singing can reveal the interior character of a person more than chit-chat can.

“I can’t speak for all the cultures of the world, but in the West, singing seems very much an extension of speech,” said GNN’s managing editor Andy Corbley, who was trained as a singer and worked as a children’s vocal coach before entering journalism.

“In my work, I found the children who were most eager to tell me about their life outside of classes were also the ones who projected their voice the most in the studio. I had one student who was a selective mute, and who wouldn’t speak with me—couldn’t even say hello—but after 90 minutes of coaching, was able to sing the words she ordinarily wouldn’t speak.”

“To my mind, it shows how singing begins with trust: trust in yourself that your words have value and power, and trust that those around you will listen to those words. That’s a very powerful, sort of, social contract.”

The good news about this story is it is good for the health to sing with others instead of avoiding them. Today’s JohnKu talks about getting together. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

The science shows it,

One case of good assembly . . .

Singing with humans

Thursday – Anything Possible – Twiggy and Tempest Make a Decision

December 11, 2025December 10, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 84 Comments

“So Tempeste. What do you feel like doing today?”

“I was thinking about heading outside for a little toy ruckus. What about you?”

“I could use me some good old nap time.”

“You just had a good night’s sleep, right?”

“Well, yeah, but it is chilly out, and a nice snuggle would be nice.”

“There is a matter of exercise.”

“I can do it right here. A couple of push-ups and it’s done.”

“I guess you can kid yourself if you want to, Porky.”

“Did you just body shame me?

“It’s not a shame you are just big boned.”

“Well, I hope not. We are just built differently, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I love exercise, and you love naps.”

“Here I go. Ten pushups.”

“I would still rather go outside.”

“Well then, why don’t you just go?”

“Like you said, it is chilly out there.”

“You crack me up. Yeah, it is chilly, exercise or no.”

“Okay, maybe a nap is the best course after all.”

“Tell me this isn’t better.”

“You were right. This is better.

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Meeting”

December 9, 2025December 8, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 55 Comments

Today, I opened My GRL randomly to Page 25 and, with eyes closed, pointed to the page. My finger landed closest to the word” meeting.” That is our prompt today.

“What’s this meeting about?”

“I don’t know. I got a message to show up here at 9:00.”

“Yeah, me too. Makes me a little nervous.”

“Why’s that?”

“When the Boss calls a meeting with no subject, my mind always goes to a dark place.”

“Now that is silly. The Boss never calls meetings for bad news.”

“Well, this could be a first.”

“Besides, this is the holiday season, and we are way too busy for bad news.”

“All well and good. I’ve heard rumors that Amazon and free deliveries are putting the squeeze on traditional holiday outlets.”

“That may be true for some, but all our gifts are custom-made. Are you worried about a layoff?”

“That has crossed my mind.”

“Believe me, if there was going to be a layoff, it would have happened in the spring, not in the middle of the holidays.”

“That does make sense. We are needed right now.”

“You feel better?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Good. You’re fired.”

“W-what?”

“Just playing with you. Relax. Everything is okay.”

“You had me there.”

“One more point. The entire team needs you to guide the sleigh. Especially if it is foggy.”

“Thank you, Prancer. As the last to join the team, you can see why I might worry.”

“You’re good kid. Oh look. Here comes Santa, and if I’m not mistaken, he has a bag of oats slung over his shoulder. Looks like the reason for the meeting is a par-tay. Now smile.”

Top Ten Things Not To Do When Shopping at the Last Minute for the Holidays

December 8, 2025December 7, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 80 Comments

This post was initially published by Marie Ann Bailey and me on December 23, 2013. I thought it might be a good idea to publish it a little early to perhaps avoid last-minute shopping.

Top Ten Things Not To Do When Shopping at the Last Minute for the Holidays

10. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not battle another for a parking place. If they are similarly crazed, you may just lose the front end of your car. At the same time, the other driver yells “Wakanda Forever” at you as if they are Angela Bassett in Black Panther.

9. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not take your children with you. At best, they will get in the way. At worst, they will be a witness to your stepped-up aggressive behavior when you Taser another parent for the last remaining Lego City Police Boat Chase set.

8. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not leave home without a list. If you do, at best, you will no doubt forget something or someone. At worst, you will be tempted to grab armloads of stuff with the rationale that what doesn’t work can be returned, only to find out after the holidays that you were wrong.

7. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not think you are going to get anything on sale. If you think you will, at best, you will be disappointed. At worst, you will be afraid to go home, given what you have spent.

6. When shopping at the last minute for the holidays, do not forget the sizes on your list. If you do, at best, you may just misjudge. At worst, you will get your mother-in-law an extra-large, and you’ll never hear the end of it (even if it is the right size).

5. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not think expensive will take the place of thoughtful. If you do, at best, you will spend too much and become everyone’s favorite gift-giver. At worst, none of your gifts will be appreciated, and all of them will be returned for cash.

4. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not have everything gift wrapped at the store. If you do, at best, it will appear as if you did not put your heart into the gifts. At worst, you could be accused of giving gifts you bought for someone else.

3. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays do not buy gifts that you yourself would not want to receive. If you do, at best, you might just get it back someday. At worst, the gift might be as tasteless as you thought it was, and now you are the embarrassed recipient.

2. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not stop until your list is complete. If you do, at best, the person you left off will give you the best gift ever, and you’ll have to admit that you got them nothing. At worst, your excuse of running out of time will be the straw that broke the camel’s back, since you had a year to make it right.

1. When shopping at the last-minute for the holidays, do not stop humming your favorite carol. If you do, you might break out in tears, and nobody likes a crier this time of year.

Views of the Neighborhood – Lakeway Lights On

December 7, 2025December 7, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 65 Comments

Today, we are going to the lighting ceremony for the Lakeway Walk of Lights sponsored by the Lakeway Parks and Recreation Department. We are catered by Barley Swine of Austin. Our entertainment is Andrea Bocelli.

Fixed Menu

Cured Hiramasa – compressed apple, ginger milk foam

Butternut Squash – brown butter – jalapeno vinaigrette, guajillo queso

Shishito Tamale -masa, shiitake, Texas Iberico coppa

Grilled Tilefish- chermoula, persimmon curry, sweet potato

Pig Face Carnitas – sweet chile peas, braised cabbage, preserved orange

Akaushi Ribeye – 30+ day dry aged, salsa macha, poblano crema, scallion roll

Marigold Whip – hibiscus jam, habanada – orange granita, candied lime

Sunflower & Miso Layer Cake – apple jelly, chocolate ganache, peanut

S’mores fixen’s

Wood fire for s’mores.

The bookmobile.

Craigo’s pizza.

Big screen cartoons.

Ninja Warrior Challenge.

Cookie decoration.

Yup, that says it all.

Hot chocolate and water.

A special place to write and send letters to Santa.

The donut man.

The switch is used to turn on the lights.

Nice crowd.

The Grinch.

Mayor Tom Gilmore starts the countdown to ignition.

Santa and Mrs. Claus head for the switch.

The lights are on.

Here is a preview. More to come.

Time now for food and music. I hope you have a great week.

nbsp;

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Tower”

December 6, 2025December 5, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 43 Comments

The Colombian’s calming liquid flows from the spigot. Shaking hands wrap around the cup as if it were a gift from the gods. (May just be) The first sip races to the brain and calms the caffeine-deprived nerve endings. When all seems at peace, the stillness is shattered by the Westminster chime of the doorbell. The eardrum-splitting barks of Twiggy and Tempeste threaten to clear a city block. A knuckle bone tossed into the soundproof room, followed by a slamming of the door, restores peace to the valley. A check of the security monitor shows Smokey the Bear standing on the porch. The inquiry process through the intercom determines that an envelope must be signed for and that Smoky is moonlighting from the park service.

Since the envelope means the front door needs to be opened, unfortunately, the security system shutdown process must begin.

The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the shutdown process of the security system. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The Klingons are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.

Smokey hands me the envelope and a clipboard with the signature block checked. After the signature, the clipboard is passed back to the paw that is obviously intended to be graced with crispy cash. Since it is the holiday season, the paw gets a coupon for one free lunch at Chick-fil-A. The bear seems happy since it is lunch for twenty.

Once inside, the envelope is opened, and a message from Linda is inside. It reads:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “tower.” Use it as a noun, use it as a verb, use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2025/12/05/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-6-2025/

“That tower word has been on this Saturday post for eons.”

“Yeah, so?”

“One would think you would come up with something different.”

“Well, one is very mistaken. Besides the first words out of your mouth, use it differently.”

“I was thinking more on the lines of Tower of Power.”

“Please.”

“Or maybe Tower of London.”

“There will be a lot of those.”

“Radio Tower?”

“From the 1940s, I suspect.”

“Eiffel Tower?”

“With photos, I hope.”

“I am suspecting that you are not going to change your prompt rendition.”

“I think you are a very wise person.”

“Can we change the subject?”

“I can only think of one other subject. Voo Doo Rangers at the pub.”

“Did you order the Uber?”

“Right over there.”

“Looks like a 1970 Chevy truck.”

“I think you are right.”

“So it only holds three.”

“That’s all we need. One little problem.”

“There always is. What do we have to do on the way to the pub?”

“Nothing.”

“I can’t believe it. So what’s the problem?”

“We have to pick up some hay on the way back.”

“Okay, that is not a big deal. We will have already had our Voo Doos.”

“The hay place closes at eight o’clock.”

“Wait a minute. We normally stay till ten.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem.”

“Maybe there is a solution.”

“What’s that?”

“Drink fast.”

“I’m down with it.”

Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

December 5, 2025December 4, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 75 Comments

Ed Bambas the veteran – credit, Samuel Weidenhofer

Today’s Good News story comes from the Good News Network.

TikToker Crowdfunds $1.5 Million for 88-yo Army Veteran After Viral Supermarket Moment

By Andy Corbley – Dec 4, 2025

In time for the holidays comes the incredible story of a stranger using GoFundMe to change a life.

Encountering 88-year-old Army Veteran Ed Bambas working at a local grocery store in Detroit, Australian content creator and TikToker Samuel Weidenhofer decided to try and raise some money to allow the man to retire.

The veteran, who lost his wife some years ago, works 8 hours a day 5 days a week after losing his pension when General Motors went bankrupt.

But Americans being one of the giv-iest breeds on the planet, the GoFundMe exploded with interest, such that, despite the moonshot goal being set at $1 million, a life-changing $1.5 million has been donated in just a few days.

A Mr. William Ackman donated $10,000 to this veteran who he never met, but it’s reflective of the overall response, both in the donations and the words of support section, where between veterans and active duty service members, and the general public at large, the message was clear: we’ve got your six.

“Every dollar we raise will go directly to supporting him: helping with living expenses, medical care, and the small joys that make life meaningful,” Weidenhofer wrote.

“Ed fought for his country, he worked his whole life, and now it’s our turn to fight for him. If you’ve ever been moved by someone’s courage, if you believe our elders and veterans deserve dignity, please consider contributing. Even sharing this story can help us reach more people who want to make a difference.”

Having met the fundraising goal, Weidenhofer is working around the clock to set up a bank account and trust in Bambas’ name where the money can be deposited safely and securely.

In a December 2nd update, Weidenhofer said that there is a planned surprise event for Bambas, who doesn’t know he will be able to retire with dignity after a life of hard work.

The good news in this story is how many were touched and then wanted to help Ed Bambas. Today’s JohnKu talks about generosity. I hope you have a wonderful week.

An obvious need,

Was broadcast to many people . . .

The response was love.

I’m not sure the TicToc video will play but here it is.