Tampa Taxi Shots

I spent a good month at home in Clearwater Beach Florida relaxing and getting caught up on things I had placed on the back burner. Having the time to watch many of the movies I wanted to get caught up on was a real treat. Sleeping in with no alarm and just rolling over and getting more sleep was something I had not done in years while the taxi business went down the drain. Now, I had it going my way. I really did miss being a cab driver but it has been at least 12 years since I had been one. LYFT ultimately allowed me to return back in time and recapture what I had missed so much. I was never cut out to be a private ambulance driver and that is what the taxi industry is becoming. No thank you, I moved on and right now it feels great. Relaxing in #ClearwaterBeach during my month long retirement. pic.twitter.com/uA417NEkVN — Tim Fasano (@TimFasano) June 11, 2019

This is the bush in the backyard who's flowers seem to be drawing in the butterflies. That is why I am calling it my butterfly garden. It does seem to be only one kind of butterfly but I imagine others will eventually make their way to it. It could be the time of year when everything is blooming.

Now that I am not working, I have lots of down time. There is no reason to stay in the crib and watch TV or poorly made Bigfoot videos when I have a beautiful swimming pool down the lane. The weather has been fantastic and the water is warming up.still a little cool. Swimming is fun and its great exercise. It is non weight bearing which makes it easy on the joints. That is important when you are getting older and are still a little heavy. Anyway, its just fun. Check it out.

I have retired from taxi driving for good. I turned the keys in and walked away from 24 years on the streets. In a way, like Ronald Reagan said, the taxi business walked away from me. Anyway, I am home and doing nothing but getting caught up on a bunch of personal stuff. I am loving it. Check out this video about how I spend most mornings now. I have applied to work for Lyft and was approved, of course. I should be getting a new car next week and will be driving for them. Ride share has become the new taxi companies and they deliver what I am looking for. I have two monthly checks coming in which are enough to live off of. So don't worry about me. Its just that I was not exactly ready to retire but the circumstances gave me no choice. It does feel good, by the way.

The open space is for the new flowers It has taken a while to things growing. I have never done this before but it is finally taking form. My garden out front is now a source of pride for me. The addition of the bamboo will allow the vines grow tall. They have pretty flowers that a different color to the garden. The rains we have had lately have helped the greening of all of this. Weeding is also important and you have to be careful to not pull up your own plants. It started raining when George came over George has come over and been a great help. While he was here it started to rain. Good for the flowers but not for George. The bamboo I added today The vines are climbing up the Bamboo The pretty flowers on the vine

Explaining to the camera what I had just witnessed I watched the solar eclipse from Clearwater, Florida today. I was home recovering from walking Pneumonia. Believe me, I am sick. I slept most of the night and morning so I had the energy to go outside. I am glad I did. We did not get a totality but it was 91% coverage. Let me tell you, that last 10% is hugh. It never did get as dark as I thought it would get but I did get a good view with a pair of welders glasses. Starting to get dark out here This event had a historical connection for me because I was able to film the total eclipse of March 7, 1970. What is sad is I can't find any films of that eclipse on YouTube. I guess its sad to think I am that old. I am sick, however. I do need to recover. The welding glasses I was using

I've never felt better The Deep State has shot their wad. Has anyone bothered to tell us what the crime is Trump is supposed to have committed. I have historically been consistent on these matters. On the day the Republicans impeached Bill Clinton, I stated it "was a sad day in America." The reason was the Republicans were on a witch hunt and had nothing on Clinton. Now, its not the Democrats trying to get a payback, its the news media. We cannot continue like this. Trump will be cleared before this gets going. (Check out the video below) I have added onto my home gym from last year I know. I need to clean the soap off the mirror

New flowers for my garden Blogger is now offering modern type of designs to chose from. They have not updated their templates in years and I find these to be refreshing. This design has what is called a Hero post. I guess that is the last post you did. If it is one you choose, I have not found a way to do that yet. I just started working with it and hope I can get all the functions to work. This post is an experiment to see what will happen.

This is from my new blog TimFasano.com . I will now put all of my workout stuff on this blog and try to keep Tampa Taxi Shots about taxi driving. I will try. Check out the new blog. My backyard gym I took it outdoors today to enjoy a very nice February day this time of year in Florida. The equipment you see is everything from an EZ Bar to a slam ball, kettlebell, dumbbells, dip bars, and an overturned planter to put my feet on for raised pushups. I did the incline bench press inside. Then, I took the same dumbbells outside for the farmers walk. DO THIS  IN A CIRCUIT 3 Times Incline Bench Press - 12 reps Split Stance Squat - 10 each leg Farmers Walk - 60 yards Dips - 10 reps Walking Lunges - 10 each leg Elevated Pushups - 10 reps Romanian Dead Lifts with kettlebell - 10 reps EZ Bar Curls - 10 reps My motto on rest intervals..."take as much as you need..as little as possible."

George got me this cool covert camera for Christmas to film field work. I can also use it in the taxi because it is hands free. It sort of like a GoPro. I think it has great potential. I only had to spend most of my Xmas day figuring it out. The original files are not compatible with Windows 10. I had to find an easy way to convert them. Plus, the record light has to pulse when it working and the directions do not tell you that. Lots of bugs, but I think I have it all figured out.

Sitting at my computer at home I have been able to resolve many things in my life that will finally give me the time to make considered post to this blog. Believe me, life can really get in the way. It can come at you from many directions and you are not always prepared for that. One of the cruel ironies of life is that it will advance weather you are ready for it or not. Resolution is a good thing. And I believe I have crossed some watersheds to get to where I am at now. I have many things going on in my life but the most important was to work on my health. When you are looking at death, that does become your priority. That situation is improving, and so am I. 2017 should be an awesome year for me on many fronts. That will be great because I can honestly say I have not had an awesome year in the last 8 years. The Obama years were not great for me. Lets just leave it at that. The time and effort I have put into the workout program I am on has been well worth it. It is finally...

I'm using a fire hose (heavier than ropes) for Conditioning. I am restoring my health with the exercise and my blood pressure is now 128/70 taken at the doctor's office yesterday. I have also lost 16 lbs since my last visit in August. Remember when I used to wheeze and cough all the time - that was congestive heart failure! I am restoring my health by working out like a CrossFit enthusiast.

My new battle ropes In April 2015, I lay in an emergency room at 298 lbs with a blood pressure of 222/165. They thought it was over. So did I. I could not have felt worse..dizzy, passing out, ringing jack hammer sound in my ears. Years of sedentary lifestyle, and bad food, had caught up with me. Luckily, I made it thru the day and decided to do something about it. I started swimming for exercise and a year later competed in a Masters swim meet. My weight was going down but I still needed to do something else. I then started a weight training and HITT cardio program. I started keeping a tracker on my phone on June 30 2016 and you can see the progress. I am down 24 lbs (probably 30 lbs in fat because I have gained muscle size) I am feeling better but I still have a long way to go. I love all the exercise toys and today I got a new one...battleropes!!! (The guy in the photo is not me). But, give me some time and I will get there - even being over 60. I got them today and when I got ho...

Right after I set up the bench. Some assembly required. When you work a ton of hours, you don't always have it in you to get to a gym. You just don't have the time and that is not an excuse. That is reality. I am in the process of setting up a home gym to make it a lot easier on me.  I just got this adjustable bench today and it has been a hugh asset to my training You may be asking, why a home gym? Don't you do swimming? After a year of dedicated swimming, I did not get the results I was looking for. I have not given up on swimming. I have only switched gears in how I approach fitness. I really enjoy the weight training and the cardio. This is my direction for now.

We had a blast on the Forth of July.

View from my living room I am watching the INFOWARS.COM Nightly News. Why? The network news channels are owned by corporations with agendas that dictate what is broadcast. Donald Trump says thay are LIARS! That is correct. I have had it with the horse shit and propaganda. Alex Jones is self promoted and is in bed with nobody.(who's Bill Clinton in bed with? Hillary?) Anyone with a brain cell knows they are being jerked around. Your mind is being jerked around.

My gym Some views of my new "condo" in Clearwater. I'm close to the beach and its in an awesome area that has everything I need. I lived in Tampa for decades. I am really glad to be in a better living situation. I new 2016 would be a good year for me. With my improved work conditions, apartment, workouts, its going great. My dining area...I don't have much yet My kitchen A long view of the living room My office

The duck says hello This is my crib in Clearwater. I have the basics covered, table and chairs, pots & pans, bed, chest of drawers, and so forth. My sister in law sent me pillows, blankets, towels, bowls, years ago. I can now use them. It is my home and I am happy here. I'm starting over People have done that before.

I plants seem to be on their way. I may have a green thumb after all. The trick is relying on rain and not letting your plants drown.

On my front porch I've never planted a damn thing in my life. Since Uber will become a legal operation on Wednesday, I thought I would do something to memorialize what I've done for the last 20 years. I put some seeds in the potting soil to make it grow. The plants have flowers and are called Cosmos. They are supposed to grow to about 4 feet tall and the flowers are multi colored. I hope they look sort of like the wild flowers of Texas. Perhaps after the backyard becomes full of them. Its nice to have a front porch and a backyard. That is something I have been reaching for all along. Only in a metaphorical way. Like dreams that will never come true. Maybe. Keep in mind, Uber/Lyft may become legal but they will not be regulated. The fact that we will have to charge a higher price mandated by law gives them an unfair competitive advantage. This is something our Idiot politicians are unable to see. No wonder I voted for Donald Trump. He was right when he said politicians ...