Author: William Douthwaite

Posted in movies

Superman!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Yesterday we took two of our grandsons to see the latest “Superman” movie at our local theater which now features XTS: “laser-projected, wall-to-wall screen, thunderous 24-channel audio system, and zero-gravity recliners with imbedded shaker-seat audio, that lets you feel every scene.” It was just as comfortable, large, and “thunderous” as advertised.

At least I thought so. The couple sitting to my right made comments throughout the movie expressing their dissatisfaction. They spoke in hushed tones, but I could hear every word. They were about my age, but apparently hadn’t been to a movie in a while.

  • “How are I supposed to know how to make this seat recline?” (Lol, my six-year-old popcorn-munching grandson can explain it to you.)
  • “How many of these previews are they going to show?” (I like the previews. I wanted to lean over and say, “They’re just getting started!”)
  • “Why is it so loud?” (Before the lights went down, I noticed twelve large speakers running the length of each wall. I was pretty excited to experience the state-of-the-art sound system.)
  • “I don’t like this. There’s too much violence.” (Yes, there was a lot of fighting, a lot of robots got blown to bits, and building after building collapsed, but Superman saved a lot of lives. This was nothing compared to some of the gruesome scenes I’ve seen on streaming TV.)
  • “Why is it so cold in here?” (Welcome to Florida, folks. Bring a sweater, because our AC works just fine!)

I liked this movie. I laughed out loud numerous times, especially when Krypto (Superdog) made his appearance. Spoiler: Lex Luthor, with all his knowledge and technology, loses again. A new crop of actors does a great job playing Superman and Lois Lane.

Go see this movie.

Posted in animals, zoo

Sloths have come to our corner of Florida

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by David Gomez on Unsplash

Judging by the highway billboards, sloths are one of the biggest new attractions in central and northeast Florida. The Jacksonville Zoo spent a lot of money marketing their new sloth exhibit. The Daytona Aquarium and Rainforest Adventure features a picture of a sloth on their sign. The Orlando Science Center houses a sloth in their small rainforest habitat. If you’re a sloth, there’s a good chance you can find a job in our area.

We became sloth fans after watching Flash at the Department of Mammal Vehicles in the animated movie Zootopia. We were excited by the opportunity to visit all these new exhibits.

We did get to see the sloths, but we were underwhelmed. At the Jacksonville Zoo, the two sloths had moved into a monkey display not far from the penguins. Since they weren’t out of their shelters, we didn’t see them. At the Orlando Science Center, the sloth was just a ball of fur up in a tree. And at the aquarium, the sloth was just visible on a ledge in a very dark enclosure.

I don’t know why I expected more. That’s what sloths do. They aren’t very active. They “hang around.” Nice work if you can get it.

Posted in Home improvement, Life

Some sad-looking sod finds a home

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I needed 25 square feet of sod to patch a place in the backyard where we had a sandbox for the grandkids when they were younger. The sandbox hadn’t gotten much action in the past year, so I tore it out, spread out the sand where the yard needed some leveling, and tossed out the wood from the box and lid.

I was certain that our Home Depot got a delivery of sod every Saturday morning, so I had no doubt I could pick up some nice pieces of grass. I was so wrong.

When I arrived, there were hardly any pieces under the big “Sod” sign. A woman driving a red Jeep Gladiator was picking through some pieces, rejecting most and having a Home Depot guy put some in her truck.

I carefully surveyed the scene. I saw enough sod for my project. I only needed twelve pieces, so I went to the cashier for my purchase. I said, “I thought you got new sod on Saturdays.”

He replied, “No, the truck comes every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“No problem. I saw enough out there. I need twelve pieces.” He rung up my sale and I pulled my van around to the pile of picked over sod.

The remaining sod was a little yellow around the edges, a bit dry, and broken apart. But I found twelve acceptable pieces to load up. When I got to the last piece, another man stepped up, looked at me and said, “That’s all there is?”

I said, “Yep. I just need one more piece, and the rest is yours.” He shook his head as he looked over the pile of dirt and pieces of grass. “I suggested, “You might want to try Lowes.”

He said, “I was just there. I guess I’ll have to come back.”

Back home, I carried my below average sod through the gate into the back yard and covered up the sandbox footprint. I watered it well and said, “Good luck.”

Much to my delight, thunderstorms drenched our neighborhood the past two afternoons. Nothing waters the yard better than rain from above. I have a good feeling about that below average sod. Just wait until the sun hits it and it starts to grow. It will feel right at home.

Posted in dogs

A hot afternoon at the dog park

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’ve often said, “You can tell how hot it is by the length of their tongues.” Today’s 90-degree afternoon prompted lots of long-tongue panting after just a few minutes of racing around the dog park.

A beautiful black lab and a friendly springer spaniel greeted us at the dog park gate. They had been there a while, so they were a little tired from the heat. Before long a couple of airedales joined us, but they were all about swimming in the pond.

Two five-gallon buckets and a small bowl of water were under the pavilion. All the dogs lapped up what sounded like quarts of water every few minutes.

The spaniel was on high alert, racing after electric bikes and scooters on the other side of the fence. Our great dane joined him for a few chases, but soon tired of that game. The same spaniel jumped the fence and took a dip in the pond, too.

The lab must have been there for a while. He laid down in a nice cool spot in the dirt and watched everyone else run around. His owner shared that the far gate to the pond was only held shut by a bungee cord. His dogs knew how to push their way in and out when they felt like taking a dip. I told them not to teach my dogs any tricks like that.

A Disney-themed birthday party was in full swing in a pavilion just outside the dog park fence. Partiers were surrounded by pink and purple balloons as familiar movie songs filled the air.

When I took a walk around the pond to prompt our big dog to sprint and burn off energy, I saw no dogs in the adjacent small dog park. Zero. Too hot I guess.

My two happily trotted to the gate when I said, “Ready to go for a ride?” Half-an-hour was enough to wear them out. When we got home, they continued to pant for another thirty minutes, before stretching out on the cool tile floor.

I’m glad we went for a short ride across town to the dog park on a steamy afternoon. They’ll crash for the rest of the night, tired and content.

Posted in backyard

The Polywood furniture arrived today

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I was excited when our Polywood patio furniture arrived today. We dragged our rusty “rust resistent” metal furniture out to the curb last night in anticipation of today’s delivery.

Polywood furniture is made from recycled plastic and comes with a twenty-year guarantee.

I was in the garage when the big Fedex truck stopped in front of our house. When the driver hopped out, I asked, “Can you put it in the garage?” He replied, “It will tear up your screen tracks.”

I asked, “How about in front of the garage?”

“I’ll corner it right there.”

After he set a double-sized pallet in place, I said, “You know how it goes: the wife orders and the husband assembles.” He told me his wife left to visit her family in Arizona, leaving him 4 IKEA dressers and 8 end tables to assemble. I chuckled as he drove away.

I unpacked all the cushions first. Next came the chairs, which were mostly assembled. The heaviest piece was the tabletop, which I dragged on the cardboard box onto the backyard patio.

I attached a few chair arms and parts of the table legs. A few of the table leg supports were attached with an Allen wrench-headed screw, which immediately stripped even though I used the correct tool.

It wasn’t a huge problem. I had to run some errands, so I would stop by Home Depot to get some replacement screws.

It took a few minutes, but I found some lag bolts that looked the same. Back home, they fit perfectly, and the new table and chair set looks great.

I can’t be the first to have that issue, but I sent an email to Polywood anyway. I’m kind of an expert on assembling furniture, so I know the issues and what can be improved.

Posted in Life, tourism

A very different aquarium experience

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A couple of years ago I wrote about a visit to a disappointing aquarium in Fort Worth, TX. When the Daytona Aquarium and Rainforest Adventure opened in the old Burlington Coat Factory building, I was skeptical. “Great, ” I thought, “A few fish tanks and a turtle.”

Today we took three granddaughters (ages 6, 4, and 2) and we were pleasantly surprised. It’s not Sea World (and they don’t charge Sea World prices), but it was a great experience. The habitats and tanks were well done, and we could see most of the reptiles, fish, amphibians, and mammals up close and personal.

After we bought our tickets, we spent time trying to find the creatures in Frog Swamp, Lizard Lair, Snake Den, and Gator Alley.

We got to touch lots of sting rays in Ray Bay. They (the rays) were happy to see us because they thought we had food in our hands. Sorry, not this time.

The fish tanks in Shark Reef and the Amazon were filled with lots of tropical fish. We loved touching the starfish, sea urchins, and hermit crabs in the Touch Pool. The shrimp were shy and kept their distance.

The Rainforest was open, giving us a view of a sloth, lemur, monkeys, and a few birds.

We spent a lot of time in the extensive gift shop on the way out. It was well stocked with every size of all the stuffed creatures we had just seen, along with lots of t-shirts and jewelry.

I enjoyed my visit, would come back, and recommend it to anyone in the Daytona Beach area!

Posted in Life, trash

More fireworks than ever

Posted on by William Douthwaite

On July 5, it was easy to find out who was launching the impressive fireworks on Independence Day. As you can tell from the remains on the street, this year’s neighborhood celebrations were bigger and better than ever. The American Pyrotechnics Association estimates that $2.2 billion was spent on fireworks in America in 2024. I’ll bet it was more this year.

My dogs voiced their indignation as colorful explosions filled the night sky above the trees surrounding our block. A handful of “quiet moment” treats didn’t do much to calm them down. Fortunately, the evening parties near our house didn’t last long, and we all drifted off to sleep.

A friend who works in the emergency room described a patient who walked in with two blown-off index fingers, three degloved fingers, and only half of one thumb. I learned that degloved describes an injury where all the soft tissue is torn away from the bones. Yeah, I know, that sounds horrible. But this guy wrapped his hand in a towel and drove himself to the hospital.

The US Consumer Products Safety Commission reports there were 14,700 fireworks-related injuries and eleven deaths in 2024. I’m more than happy to let someone else light the fuse so I can watch from a distance.

Posted in trash

A sofa-eating truck

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some folks up the street just moved out of their rental house. They left sofas, mattresses, shelves, and all kinds of trash on the curb in their wake. When I walked by, I thought to myself, “There’s no way the trash guys are going to take all that away.”

I was wrong. I was very wrong.

The big dog and I walked towards that house as the trash collectors approached. I watched with fascination as they fed two full-length sofas, three chairs, two mattresses, and a host of other trash into the back of the truck. The truck ate the furniture before my eyes. In minutes, it was all gone, and the truck rumbled off to the next stop.

I will always be amazed at the things we throw away. From sofas to dishwashers, all those things we work so hard to purchase end up crushed in the back of a truck.

That moment gave me, and should give you, perspective.

Posted in Life, trash

Friendly neighborhood Spiderman!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

One of the unexpected benefits of walking the dogs a couple times a day is finding treasures along the way. So far this year I’ve found two folding utility knives, a Philips head screwdriver, a clear plastic 18-inch ruler, and twenty cents. That doesn’t include the dress-form and inexpensive guitar I rescued from a rental clean-out trash heap.

Last week I found this one foot tall Spiderman action figure in the middle of the street. It was on a curve in a road with undeveloped wooded lots. With no houses nearby where his owner may have lived, I picked up the superhero and brought him home.

Spiderman debuted in a Marvel comic book in 1962. He’s been featured in many comic books, television shows, and movies since then. Some of my grandchildren are fans of Spidey and His Amazing Friends, a kids variation of the character. But they recognized the classic figure with a resounding, “Whoa!”

He now keeps watch over the toy room alongside a foot-tall Tyrannosaurus Rex, Woody from Toy Story, a Doc McStuffins doll, and the entire cast of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.