The smoke is just horrible and the temperatures are warming back up a bit. I am stuck inside – I had planned on a hike yesterday but the air quality was too bad to get out. Meghan was reassigned to a different fire in Montana and sent me a few pictures on her way there day before yesterday. Yikes! The air quality there is even worse than here and the columns of smoke are massive.

Just look at how far the smoke spreads out behind that ridge. Of course, the mountains create their own weather and the fires can add to it; they do the same thing when it comes to fire tornaodes, heat columns and such. If you look at the Fire Warch app you can really see how fast these fires grow and it is incredibly fast. Be careful with fires and it is best to not have a campfire unless they are absolutely necessary. Be sure to check local regulations where you are camping – DO NOT TRUST TV NEWS for regulations as it may not match restrictions where you are. You WILL get a ticket for illegal fire during a fire ban, and possibly worse depending on circumstances.

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I started out this day doing a cardiac stress test late morning after driving two hours. No coffee and no food until afterwards. It was actually nothing like I thought it would be. Some friends had told me what theirs involved and it was just like they said. It was not a bad experience at all. Some EKG, a little utrasound, a walk on the treadmill at increasing speeds and angle, a few more ultrasound pics and that’s a wrap.

My cardiologist will get back to me next week after she sees the results & charts and we will see what the plan is. I may not really even know completely until I see the electrophysiology cardiologist in case he sees something that can/should be done sooner.

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I did get exercise on the treadmill obviously, but I did get out for a walk tonight. It is still smoky and I almot turned around and came back but I foound it was okay with just a faint smokiness, plus I need to get more exercise anyway and I really miss walking and hiking. Gotta be a little careful with the heart stuff going on but I do need to get out when I can. I don’t think tomorrow will be a good day but I was gonna get out Sunday morning while tourists are leaving and many others are in church. It is also some exercise inside out of the smoke.

I have a Costco Executive Membership (I got it for just a few dollars to get the last few months of my membership upgraded) and I got a decent rebate check for no longer I had the upgrade. I did that because I was gonna buy the MacBook and wanted the cashback on it plus I used a cashback credit card and got ANOTHER 3% cash. I also get in an hour before the regular members so it is a lot less crowded. I will be shopping there more plus getting my fuel so the cashback will add up to maybe cover the extra difference to upgrade. I think I can make it pay.

I sold my Apple Mac Mini M1. It was working fine but as of this year the software is no longer being upgraded (but security updates will still be sent) so I took the couple hundred bucks and got that and the mouse cleared out of my inventory. Those Mac Minis are great computers but I decided on this MacBook Air and it is awesome. Plus, the money from the Mac Mini will go to paying off the MacBook Air.

I am also thinking of getting a new iPhone 17. I still have a large Apple gift card for my iPad Pro trade-in so that would cover nearly half of the price. And, I just saw an article that Apple may raise the prices Monday on the 17. I do not need to spend the extra money for the camera of the 17 Pro since I will still have my 15 PM and it works fine. The 17 is supposed to be a great all-around phone at a good price and $300 cheaper than the Pro. I just do not know which will be the travel phone yet, but I gotta at least decide to buy it pretty quickly. I am trying to hedge my bets (like the MacBook Air) and make the most of my money so I may pull the trigger tomorrow. I should be able to also get no interest monthly payments through my Apple Card but they have kinda screwed that up a bit so I need to check and I would also get 3% back.

That is it for now. That’s for taking the time to have a look.

Shawn