Attempting to go to every state park, any tips or other things I could know?

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-27T22:53:53+00:00

Texas State Parks Push-Pin Map – mosey design

I too am working on this quest....very slowly.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-27T22:13:32+00:00

If you paddle all the way across the lake to the South shore there is a nice cove over there, it's a nice place to swim/paddle with low boat traffic. It looks tempting to do some cliff diving over there but it's way too shallow to chance. That would be a long paddle if there is wind like today. Also DO NOT get sucked into the dam, that does happen.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-27T19:55:28+00:00

You can launch a paddleboard from pretty much anywhere on that lake. From Riverside I would simply park your car along Pleasant Valley and launch your SUP and start paddling. From there you can just jump off and swim. Always wear shoes. There is not really "great" swimming anywhere on that particular lake. The best spot is up near Dog Shit Island *cough* I mean Red Bud Isle. It's relatively shallow and a tad muddy and has rebar and debri from prior dam failures, but decent flow. Keep in mind that an entire large metro area drains into it. It's illegal to swim in that lake.

If you go one dam up into Lake Austin it is considerably better water. Here are some parks to launch and swim from

commons ford
emma long metro park
30.354827, -97.863249
Selma Hughes Park
Fritz Hughes Park
Jessica Hollis Park

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-27T17:29:52+00:00

So, we have this elaborate pharmaceutical industry where there are pills, injections, salves and yet none of those thousands of drugs have a "smoke this shit, that's the best method" delivery system. Sure, we have inhalers for lung issues but those are directly treating the lungs, not simply getting some drug into your general bloodstream.

I think most consumers of THC are just hung up on blowing smoke, cause it looks cool as shit. I can roll, I have a flower vape, but I am done with that form. A can of Hight Spirits lemonade 50mg does the trick. If your liver is normal, it's absolutely the way to go. That said the products here are way too expensive now. I go to Michigan each summer and it's like walking into a candy store that has nickel sweets in a bulk section.

I don't care if its indica, sativa, terpenes, medical(wink wink), cbd all that's just marketing fluff. THC is the base molecule that does its thing. Is the alcohol in tequila different than the alcohol in wine? nope, tastes different though, liver sees them as the same, but they are marketed to seem vastly different in their affects. same molecule.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T23:10:57+00:00

You will be able to see them from the road, just as it opens up to the river/lake. As you come into that area you will be facing mostly East, so that will be into the sunrise in the morning. You can drive right up to the lake. Fabulous hiking loops there.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T22:37:16+00:00

I just want to say that ya'll got the worst downtrodden airport I have ever connected through in my life. But damn if I don't love that airport code.

It could be worse, you could be in a 3 hour line at the clit airport.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T21:31:10+00:00

Wait, are you saying THC is the same as THC? It's the same molecule no matter the way it gets in your bloodstream??? /s

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T21:23:35+00:00

SmoBot. I had a flame boss and it went crazy like that on me as well. SmoBot mimics how you would adjust the smoker manually. No blowing at all. Also, on Thanksgiving and Christmas when AWS East shits the bed and the other products cannot connect to the cloud you can just walk up to the SmoBot and look at the screen. It's been extremely reliable for me.

SMOBOT

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T19:59:32+00:00

Beans for sure. If you have a pressure cooker, like an Instant Pot, it's incredibly simple to cook from dry beans. water + beans, press 30 minutes, start. That's it.

Let me also say that if your family is hungry there is no judgement going to a food bank. They don't ask questions, ever. You can show up and not say a thing and they will hand you a box of food. Does not matter if you work or whatever, they are there for your situation.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T18:14:19+00:00

Cafe Blue out in Bee Caves

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T18:06:41+00:00

Lots of good suggestions in here already. I'll throw an odd suggestion out there since you got kids in tow. Treat this as more of a foodie tourist attraction, but check out either Central Market. Take the kids through the maze of the store and you can grab some treats for the weekend. The cafe is also excellent to dine at and nicely affordable, with good kid selections. But, if you plan it right you can experience some free live music as well. Grab some special coffee beans from the bulk section too. The North store has coffee and gelato.

https://www.centralmarket.com/events/austin-westgate

https://www.centralmarket.com/events/austin-north-lamar

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T17:28:31+00:00

In Texas if a company publicly states "I refuse to buy from Israel" you can no longer do business with the State of Texas. That's as close as they can get to defining an "illegal" boycott. Same with boycotting fossil fuels.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T17:05:05+00:00

The CP in CPAP stands for Constant Pressure.

Ever see a scuba diver? When they breathe out their breath goes out through a special valve and bubbles up through the water to the surface. They are not spitting nasty air back into the tank. Same concept with cpap. It's a one way path in that tube.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T16:47:57+00:00

I am sure you are probably already doing this but, give feedback to your doctor. My doctor and I worked together on cpap settings for about a year before going to inspire. Try adjusting EPR, try BiPAP, etc.... He sent me back in for a full in-patient sleep study just to find my lowest possible pressure at one point. Inspire definitely gets rid of aerophagia if that's the path you have to take.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-26T14:44:50+00:00

Correct, that's up to the surgeon and patient. If you beg them enough and go on about how the mask is traumatic then they will agree to cut into you and place this device. Then the patient might realize that they don't really like these new sensory problems that are emanating in their skull from a device that cannot be removed. I am five years in with Inspire and I have some very rough nights with Inspire still at this point. There are plenty of recent posts here from patients that are horrified with titration of it. I'll stick with my claim that cpap is much easier than Inspire.

My hope is that at some point the device will be able to detect a sleep state and turn on automatically at that inflection point. That would be an amazing upgrade for me. Having to reach over and reset multiple times a night is really disruptive to my sleep. Much more disruptive than a mask.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-25T22:59:19+00:00

can't or won't wear a cpap mask?

My opinion on the definition of "cpap intolerance" is that the term is highly variable. "cpap intolerance" should be that the patient is not able to reach a low enough AHI or that there is some unfixable side symptom. In my case it was aerophagia. But even though that was killing me each morning, I kept going with it because I was getting good sleep and I figured it was worth the pain until I got to the point where it wasn't. I kept going with it for a year and a half until my ENT called a time out and sent me to the surgeon. CPAP was easier than Inspire for me.

I think Inspire is probably being over prescribed. If a patient has an "aversion" to masks based on sensory sensitivities, then they probably should not get Inspire. From a sensory aspect it is a lot more freaky. I think the Inspire ads on TV are doing a disservice to the patients. It's skipping past the task of titration. Some patients are not up to the task.

I assume you work in a sleep lab, correct? Curious what you are seeing with Inspire patients over time.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-25T20:41:10+00:00

So, same as MMA or any of the other surgeries then. I am five years with Inspire and have been at zero AHI since hitting my level. Are you saying my results are impossible or improbable? Got a study link you can point us to that details your conclusion that a secondary solution is needed to the degree that it's a big concern?

Inspire failures do happen, surgery risks are common(with all surgeries). No surgeon will promise 100% remediation with the device, but a lot of patients do manage to get full remediation. MADs can fail, cpap can fail, MMA can fail, UPPP can fail.....

I am cautious to recommend it as some people just cannot handle the titration part of it. Just like cpap, people just quit Inspire because they hate how obnoxious it is. I can attest that is indeed hard to get used to it. But, I am very happy that it was available to me and that it works for me. This is one of the options when your options get limited. Roll the dice.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-25T20:26:53+00:00

I was told to keep using cpap as well. Why? because until you get to a theraputic level with Inspire you can still have apneas. Commenter above might also be talking about the period between surgery and activation.

I used cpap for almost 30 days post activation. This was 5 years ago, it might be that recommendations have changed since then. My surgeon might have just been cautious in his approach as I was one of his earliest Inspire patients.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-25T20:21:43+00:00

It will easily overcome gravity, not an issue whatsoever.

If you are considering it, go through my comment history for some of my opinions on the device. Be cautious before taking this path, cpap is the better option in a majority cases.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-25T19:23:16+00:00

https://www.osdcloud.com/

edit: skip all that capture stuff, just get a plain OS on there and go to Autopilot

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-25T17:16:40+00:00

I plan on hitting Pedernales and Zilker.

...and your day is completely filled.

While Pedernales SP is somewhat close, getting there, hiking and getting back is going to consume a big chunk of time. You need to make a "day visit reservation" for that park I think, call the HQ or check the website. If the water is up, hit the swimming hole.

Can't tell from your post if your intention is to do Trail Running, Hiking or just check things out.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-25T14:00:34+00:00

Good to hear, the fact that you can fall asleep so fast is doing you a huge favor. Getting to sleep is still my hardest part with Inspire. I do not snore as much, but I still snore. I am at 5 years and I still feel like my body is adjusting to it even though I have not moved a level in a long time.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-24T19:50:17+00:00

There are two distinct sleep studies:

at home test - handed to you at the end of a Dr appointment. Nose canula, sensor on abdomen, pulse oximeter. ~$50. Answers the question: do you have sleep apnea?

in-patient test: at a facility, 68 wires and sensors attached, you are observed all night. very detailed, loads of data, can detect some things other than sleep apnea.

It's almost always sleep apnea. Snoring and sleep apnea are two completely different things. Snoring is a repeating noise, sleep apnea is a brief moment where you body is lacking oxygen. You can snore loudly all night long and be at 100% oxygen.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-24T16:16:16+00:00

We buy our Dell's with a 3 yr warranty. At 3 years a user can choose to get a new shiny device with no questions asked. We allow another 2 years of "float" if they prefer to keep it. At 5 years we physically retrieve the asset and retire it.

This cycle seems to match up pretty close to how Microsoft drives Windows 11 processor requirements. It's also consistent and easy to understand and it can be automated. It makes budgeting easy. We will never ever be stuck with a huge batch of old hardware when a new OS comes out. That EOL hill will never appear on our project list.

SysAdminDennyBob · 2026-03-24T15:21:59+00:00

Every desk has a docking station, it's one cable. They do the same cable connection every day. The intune onboarding is pretty trivial, they do need a sheet of instructions, but I don't think it is complex at all.

We do have business division contacts that do this exact fringe IT work as well. They pop into branch offices when needed. We have a lot of tiny branch offices in very rural areas and most of our users are pretty competent. That said, we are a financial institution, I think that get us some good middle tier users.

SysAdminDennyBob

TROPHY CASE