Scatter Splatter - Blog

Hottest Period I Can Remember Here

2026-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

The past several days have been the hottest period I can remember. We had four days in a row where it got above 100. Many years we don’t really get over that point, but it has happened several times recently.

It seems that normally when it gets so hot, the humidity has to drop a bit. The other day some drier air did mix in, but aside from that afternoon, the dew point has been between 70 and 80, making for very humid conditions and a high heat index.

It was the worst that I have felt in a long time.

Last evening we had explosive thunderstorm development as the heat is breaking down. I can’t remember seeing a storm grow so fast or a storm for when it’s in the 100s.

Right here in Mount Joy we got some very heavy rain, and it knocked the temperature down into the lower 70s, which was refreshing after this hot period. There were also some very gusty winds. That storm basically formed over us. By the time it moved out, judging by the reports, it was very destructive.

One thing My Pixel 9 Doesn't Do That I Miss

2026-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

A little over a year ago, I upgraded my phone from the old Note 20 to a Pixel 9 Pro XL. I don’t miss all the Samsung crap that is installed, and I never used the pen. The only reason I bought that phone was because of the larger screen.

It served me well for years until the charging port started getting wonky. That was really the only reason I upgraded. I thought about getting it fixed, but I knew Samsung was going to stop security updates this year, so I bought the Pixel. In almost every way to me, that phone was better. There weren’t all the preinstalled Samsung copies of stuff and the other bloatware Samsung adds.

The camera is worlds better, I think, but it’s generations ahead, so it should be. The one thing I noticed quickly, though, is it doesn’t do so well zooming in on closer things. Being visually impaired, at some point I learned with the old Note 20 that I could use my phone as a tool to read things. I used it countless times to look at menus. That is a lot quicker than using my magnifier, but the magnifier is fine for that too.

One place we went to in Florida had less-than-ideal lighting, so I couldn’t really read the menu there, but it worked out.

The place that I really learned to find it helpful is looking at items on display in a store. They’re too big to actually use the magnifier or the monocular. Particularly, it was useful on price tags.

The other day my girlfriend got a new Samsung phone, so I checked out the camera. Guess what? It worked as the old one did with being able to use it to read things and such. I guess the fact that doing that is what I tried is really telling of how much I missed that. Until then I didn’t have the upgrade bug at all.

I guess I will keep an eye on Swappa. Prices are very high there still. Another option is to keep an eye on 4 of July sales and stuff and go from there. I hate to spend on it considering my Pixel is fine aside from that one little thing that turned out to be very useful to me.

I think maybe the newer version of the Pixel might be able to do that too, but I have no way of testing it. I miss the days when stores like Best Buy might have more of a variety. Now they basically have Samsung and Apple and a few cheap ones, possibly.

I am not planning on upgrading, but usually when I get these thoughts in my head, it happens pretty quickly. My Pixel is new enough at least that it seems like it could be worth trading in for a discount. Sometimes I hate being so cheap.

Every so often I wish the cheaper Chinese ones were more available and usable here. Don’t get me started on the power that be hiding behind security because Google makes a business out of tracking. If you think that’s not being sold to the government, I have a bridge to sell to you. I don’t know what the quality of them is, but competition is always a good thing.

Strict Pullups In A WOD

2026-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

I woke up feeling pretty good this morning. It was a little cooler and less humid too. There was a decent breeze, and the light rain outside sounded nice, so it had me in a good mood.

Bench press felt great. Well, great for what bench press can feel. It is not a lift that I enjoy or even think is all that useful. I only do it for balance. If I had to press, I would rather do strict presses anytime.

The weight felt heavy, but the movement felt good as I warmed up and worked my way up through the sets. The heavier sets felt pretty heavy, but that is to be expected. Some days I feel like I might fail the last set before the AMRAP but not today.

The final AMRAP at one plus reps called for 180 pounds. It felt heavy on my hands, but the rep itself felt pretty easy. The weight just felt heavy on my palms. I could have gotten more than one easily, but I felt like I wanted to stop early once more this cycle.

I relaxed on my tablet for a good while, lying in bed and enjoying the sounds from outside and the light rain falling. Last night I was up late watching the Phillies. I just found the rain to be very calming, and after a shitshow of a week last week, I needed to just chill for a bit.

While scrolling on my tablet, I was thinking I want to get a workout in too. I wanted something different that might be a little more challenging than the ones that I have been doing.

I stumbled on one that had push-ups, step-ups, and kipping as an option for strict pull-ups. That is what I chose to do. It was a ladder of each movement. As much as I criticize street parking, I like that they almost always offer a strict pull-up option that is half the reps.

The pull-ups are something I haven’t done any of in a long time. I have gained maybe 10 pounds or even 15 since last time doing so. I wasn’t sure how they would go. The small earlier sets of courses felt good. Even the latter sets of 6 and 7 felt good. I had to do those and singles to rest my palms, but I got them done, and I didn’t get to failure. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by that. That always makes me feel good because I was unable to do any pull-ups when I was in high school. Here I am in my 50s doing them.

The step up, though, really felt like they had my legs dragging. My legs have been dead weight since doing those squats yesterday and then the hang snatches with the bar later. They feel fine. Just tired and no energy.

I wanted to do something different for a WOD today.

Squats Felt Good Again At 275!

2026-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

This morning I woke up feeling pretty good. It was humid, though, so I was eager to get my squats in as soon as I thought it would be a reasonable hour to do so. The air conditioner is not in the garage window yet, and I don’t see myself needing it anytime soon. We have just had a few humid days so far this year. Today was one of them.

I drank and enjoyed my coffee while browsing the web a bit.

At about 7:30 this morning, the garage was bright enough from the daylight that I decided it was a good time to head out and get started. The thing that stood out more than anything is the bar felt heavy on my shoulder the whole day. Even just the empty bar felt that way. I still thought they felt good enough to keep moving.

I took my time working my weight up in weights, enjoying the fact that I was out there doing something that I enjoy, and it also helps clear my head.

As the weight went up, so did the heavy feeling on my shoulders, but all in all, they felt great. The final AMRAP was the one plus reps at 275 pounds. Before I even got under the bar, my plan was to stop at one rep on this day, so that is exactly what I did. It felt pretty easy. I recorded it with my phone, and it looked easy and great, so I was pleased with it.

For a little while after I was done, I relaxed a bit but wanted to get to a WOD too. It was humid and warm out there by then, but I wanted to be a little more uncomfortable than I had been lately with it. I wanted to use the barbell for snatches. I settled on an older workout that called for hang power snatches, and I just used the empty bar for it. Last time I had used 65 or 75 pounds, but with that tightness in my hip, I would rather not overdo it.

This workout was more about reintroducing that explosive hip opening and seeing how things felt during and after the workout. By the final half of the WOD I was pushing the intensity of the snatches and going full speed. I started out a little slower to get the feel for them and see if I was going to feel any twinges. Fortunately, I did not feel anything out of the ordinary. Otherwise, if I did, I would have stopped. I felt nothing later either apart from the expected leg tiredness.

Assuming nothing pops up tomorrow or the next day, I feel like I am ready to start pushing it with the bar and at least snatches now.

Music today was Boston.

New Trial Firefly Petunia Are So Much Better!

2026-06-17T00:00:00+00:00

Over the winter I had been debating on whether to get the firefly petunias again or wait and look for them locally.

I noticed that the company had created new ones that they called trial or something. These new ones had colored flowers instead of the white. They had solid pink ones and white and pink striped ones. The girlfriend loves pink so I had to get those.

The company also claimed these new ones would glow brighter and grow more vigorously. I can confirm that they glow much brighter which really surprised me. I thought the pigments of the flowers would block some light, but they are visible even when it is dusky.

The do seem to be growing much fast than the plain white ones from last year and are bushier. The plants have all done very well except for the one a critter ate almost down to the roots. At one point that one was down to a basically bare green stem, but it is recovering and getting loads of leaves now.

I am thrilled with them. So glad I took the chance because they are so neat to see. These newer ones are bright enough to be visible even with the neighbors’ blinding floodlights that could illuminate blocks if not blocked by buildings.

Every so often the pink striped ones are mostly white. Other times the pink is deep and almost purplish.

Squats Felt Great Again!

2026-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Today it is much cooler and much less humid than the past few days. Saturday wasn’t that humid, but we had places to be so I just got a quick workout in before that.

I have been hitting WODs a bit harder as my soreness is all but gone. Not really going overboard with it I would say but definitely bumping both the intensity and weights.

I felt good this morning, and the cooler air had me ready to get out into the home gym to get under the bar as soon as I was finished with my coffee.

At about 7:30, I got changed and headed out. Even just the empty bar felt heavier than it should have but felt great at the same time. Actually, I don’t think it is so much that the bar felt heavy, but I think it is more that my skin is a little more sensitive. I sat out in the sun a lot at the graduation party on Saturday and got a bit of sunburn. Nothing major, but it is there. Just enough to make the skin feel tighter and more sensitive.

The lighter sets felt like I was moving really well. Still, I took my time working my way up in weights to make sure I continued feeling good. As I got moving, they felt better, like almost always happens. They did the normal of putting me in an excellent mood.

The final set called for the 3+ AMRAP. I did the 3 at 260 pounds with more in the tank. Before I even started with the empty bar today, I had decided I was doing the bare minimum. Sticking with that is really my plan for this cycle. My shoulder cracked but was fine. I guess I just haven’t been under weights a whole lot, and it loosened things up. I was happy with how they felt. It felt heavy but easy. The annoying thing is I forgot to record that last set. I was even planning on it but forgot to set up my phone. I guess I was just deep in the zone.

A little while later this morning I got a WOD in too. For the WOD it had the stupid and useless hopovers that they love so much, but that was fine today. I grabbed the 30-pound dumbbells for the hang squat cleans. Hate that term! I have not done the more explosive squat down like that since my hip was not right. Today was time. I went full speed with them, and they felt great!

Music today was Alice In Chains.

Great To Squat Weight Again

2026-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

I think I had mentioned it before, but a couple of weeks ago I tweaked my hip by tripping over the kettlebell I believe, while carrying 40 pounds. At the very least, I twisted my knee doing that. It hurt a lot the first couple of days but felt better as I rested and did a little moderate or light intensity stuff on the bike or rower.

Last week it felt good. I knew we had a Phillies game to go to later in the week, so I took off that week from lifting since I’d be on my feet a lot down there. I did start to ramp up the WODs though. The game was good and a fun one to be at. The Phillies seem to really have gotten their act together after the awful start they had this season. I got to see my aunt there too, who lives 3000 miles away but happened to be visiting Pa and was going to the same game as us with her dad.

This morning I was feeling good and decided to stick with my plan of getting under the bar for my squats to see how it felt. Worst case, I could stop. I took my time with warm-up sets and paid attention to how they felt. Thankfully, they felt perfect. I felt like I was moving really well.

As the weight increased, the squats felt even better for me. The bar didn’t feel heavy at all on my shoulders like it sometimes does, which really did surprise me. I really didn’t feel any tightness until the last set.

For the last set, I did the minimum programmed at 245 pounds. I took my time and set up each rep and worked my way through that set of 5 reps. I did feel like one side was a little stronger, but I am pretty sure I was off-center on the bar a bit.

It felt so outstanding to me to get back under the bar. My Monday squats always seem to set my mood for a great start to the week. I feel great now. Time will tell if I develop any stiffness later.

Later on today at some point I will get a WOD in too. I need to find something that isn’t going to make me feel worse if my core acts up again so I know whether it is from the squats or something else. I don’t anticipate any problems, but I want to take it easy.

Of course, street parking messed up the website, making things prettier and less functional. That will make it fun to look through older WODs I have done if a workout doesn’t look like what I want or doesn’t grab my attention from my favorites. Typical with modern websites. Upgrading is making things more broken, and a major upgrade could be moving a button or changing a color, all the while worsening it for usability.

Music today was Deeds Of Flesh

Back To WODs With Light Weights After A Week Or So

2026-05-31T00:00:00+00:00

Over the past week or so I have been doing straightforward, just-move-type WODs. They were either slower bodyweight-type workouts to just keep moving. I have also been using the rower or bike at a moderate pace again just to keep moving and get some blood flowing. Each day my deep core has felt a little better.

This morning when I got up, I had very little tightness, and yesterday morning I had a little short-lived tightness. Yesterday I grabbed a 20-pound dumbbell and did one of the on-ramp WODs at a slower pace. For that one I did alternating hang snatches with the single dumbbell. I thought the slight twisting in my core would help things loosen up even more and be a good test. I was right. Surprisingly, I felt good after the WOD and even this morning when I woke up.

I decided I wanted to get another workout in that used some light weight. I didn’t want anything complex or intense. Just using, stretching, and firing my core was the goal for this. I settled on one that was meant to be heavier push presses and hopovers, but I did strict presses with the 20-pound dumbbells. Those felt good. The WOD was slower than I typically get for this one, but speed wasn’t my goal. Moving and feeling things out was.

I relaxed for a bit, then decided I would hop on the rower for a bit of a workout. The WOD was intervals of easy and hard. For the hard, I kept it more moderate, but I did push it a little more than I have been in the past week or so. Today, like every day for me, it is just more of a priority to listen to my body. I tend not to care too much about scores or their stimulus. I know how my body is feeling and want it to feel good.

It has me feeling good to be getting back to normal a bit. If all goes well this week, I am looking forward to getting under the bar again in a week or so and picking up where I left off. Fortunately, my weights were light since I had just restarted that, so there isn’t as big a setback. Had the weights been heavier, I would have lowered it just to play it safe.

Music for today was Catch The Rainbow

Hopped On The Assault Bike

2026-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Last week I had such a great week lifting, and everything felt amazing. Fast forward to Thursday evening. We were walking to Joy’s for supper and a couple of drinks when my foot hit one of the many pushed up sidewalks in this town. My ankle rolled, and my knee gave out. I didn’t fall as my core saved me. I twisted it, though, and it felt like fire shooting up deep in my core on the side I twisted.

It felt fine afterward. A little stiff but fine. Jump to Friday: I was walking up to the house and did the same thing when my foot caught underneath one of the pushed-up sidewalks. There are, I think, 3 like that within our block. That did not feel fine afterward, and my back, albeit slowly getting better, has been extremely stiff all week. The sad thing about that one is it is a rental property. I know it is. I know the landlord.

I have been doing something out in the garage each day this week, but I have been pretty limited with what I do. I have been sticking with bodyweight stuff or even just the rower. Even doing that, I have been keeping it to a lets just get some movement in type of workout.

The movement was nice and all, but the intensity is what I thrive on. This morning I came up with the idea of hopping on the assault bike. I thought I could keep that as intense or easy as I want depending on how I feel with it. Not only that, but that bike is a full-body deal. No matter what I do, it is going to get my heart rate up and get blood flowing in all of my muscles. It felt good to feel the movement in those deep muscles. I could feel them stretching as I was moving. I slowly ramped up the intensity too.

The soreness has not been debilitating for me. The worst of it is when I first get up from sitting or lying. Once my body hits a certain position, I feel the instant spasms. They go away almost right away now. Earlier in the week they hung on a bit longer, but now it passes. That’s how I know it is getting better.

Now that I think about it, I remember my foot catching in the sandbag handle when I was putting my shit away from doing deadlifts last week. I had a 35 plate in my hand on that side, and as you can imagine, that pulled me when my foot abruptly stopped. I guess that is what started the anger off.

I am a strong believer that one can almost always find a way to work around the issues they encounter. Hell, I do that with my vision. I am quick to say that people are making excuses when they choose to just sit on the couch rather than finding something they can do. I hold myself accountable too and try not to let that happen to me unless I have to. Like the other winter when I was violently sick.

I do this to keep that attitude reinforced in my mind. I don’t want to get lazy and not be able to move when I get old. God knows I’ve seen enough of that around me. Sure, I will be able to do less, but that doesn’t mean I’ll do nothing but stare at the TV all day.

The bike worked well today. It felt awful in every way I had hoped it would. I have been neglecting that for some time, but I need to make more use of it now.

Two Squats At 265 Pounds Felt Great Early This Morning

2026-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

Last night, I did not sleep all that great. It was hot in here, but not hot enough to go in the attic and get the air conditioner and put it in. I did bring it down into the bedroom after doing my squats. It wasn’t hot, really. Just uncomfortable to me. This was the first warm night of the spring, so that is a factor. Once it cooled off outside, the fan helped.

With the incoming heat this afternoon, in the middle 90s, I wanted to get my squats in before it warmed up too much. We don’t have the air conditioner in the garage yet. It was more humid than it has been, but not too bad.

I started with the empty bar and took my time working through the warm-up sets. My foot had been bothering me over the weekend, so I wanted to make sure that it felt okay as I worked up in weights. The lighter sets all felt great. Even the working sets felt pretty good too. My foot wasn’t giving me an issue at all.

The final AMRAP set called for 1+ reps at 265 pounds. I have said it in the past, but this is always a special number to me. That had been my ugly max in at the old Crossfit gym. Anytime I make that weight, it’s special to me. I wasn’t sure how it would feel right now, as I haven’t really squatted heavy in half a year.

The first one felt great. Of course it felt heavy, especially on my shoulders, but it has been a while since I was under significant weight. I went for a second rep just for good measure, and that felt perfect too. They looked great in the quick recording I took with my phone too. Something has changed a bit with the way the mechanics feel, but it feels like a good thing for me.

I was happy with how they felt. It is just so good to me and makes me feel even happier to be getting under a bar again. I had missed that a lot, but there was too much going on to focus, and I didn’t want any false starts.

I wound up never doing a WOD on this day. I waited around too long, and it got too hot. One day won’t kill me. I did get some time out on the patio getting some nice hot sunshine on me. That felt good, and it was nice to relax before having to do some annoying things later in the day.

Music today was Candlemass