Drambuie Hauled Away

Last Thursday Jason and I took Drambuie to Bennett Brothers Boatyard to have her hauled. Although the temperature was around 60 degrees it was still chilly with a NE wind blowing 15-20 knots off the water (water temp was 55 deg.). The trip was uneventful but long since we fought the current the entire trip plus wind against us two-thirds of the way. Last year the trip took four hours, this time, six.

The most fun was getting the Isabel Holmes Bridge to open during rush hour. The bridge is one of two which cross the Cape Fear from Wilmington to points south including Myrtle Beach. The first picture shows Drambuie waiting to be hauled with the bridge in the background. Okay, I have to admit, even with rush hour traffic I doubt we stopped more then 20-30 vehicles.


The boat wasn't actually hauled until Monday due to backlog at the boatyard. The local currents forced the haul outs to be tightly scheduled to the tide and sometimes have a narrow window. I drove the boat to the lift and other then playing a little ping-pong off the pilings it went smoothly. Since they wanted to haul two boats during slack they had me move up before the current fully stopped so that plus a quartering wind made it a little challenging. It wasn't graceful but my litany has become "no one hurt, nothing broken = good docking."


Shortly after haul out she was pressure washed and I was surprised and pleased to see that the bottom paint was still in very good condition. The only area encrusted was the propeller and shaft.


If all goes according to plan, she'll get a paint job on her bottom and be put back in the water on Thursday. If done early Thursday we will bring here back home that same day.

Conservative, Liberal or Transgender?

If you've wondered where you fall on the political spectrum, especially compared to some famous politicos, check out this website Answer the 25 questions to find out where you fall on the political spectrum.

I've long considered myself a centrist and that is exactly what I scored, Colon Powell and I have something in common. What I found interesting is the difficulty in answering some questions which showed how I'd like to have my cake and eat it too - lower taxes but don't cut programs. All the politicians like to promise that but you know its really impossible, after all, they'd have to reduce government to do that.

The quiz doesn't tell you if you're transgender, I just threw that in to catch your interest.

Random Thoughts

Thought

thought thought
thoughts thought

thought thought thought thought

thought.

Medical Advice

Thank God Hazel and I woke early this morning. If we hadn't, we never would have seen the TV program. We brewed some coffee and sat up in bed to watch the morning news. Not easily done in this area as none of the local stations were broadcasting news.

But what we did find was paid programming on Colon Flow. Colon Flow! Wow, it was so informative. There were these two women discussing the seriousness of poor colon flow (you know, sort of interview style). Did you know you can accumulate up to 4.5 lbs of fecal waste per DAY! This was supported by a neat bar chart (the claim, not...)

Think about it, if you do not have a bowel movement for a month you could be a 135lbs heavier. Poor colon flow can lead to a bloated feeling. And, after a month, the gaseous discharge would certainly cause you to be seriously shunned, not to mention how upset people might be at your constant interruptions. Further, they told how you could develop a protruding stomach - you think?

Well there is good news. There is a remedy, but I missed that part due to contemplation of the serious consequences, I was overwhelmed. Whew!

Stolen Social Security Number

An article in the New York Times discusses how insecure your social security number is. That's no surprise, especially when states, even now send out letters with your number on the exterior of the envelope.

For my part, I've long resented the use of my number by colleges and others as a identification number. It was never intended for that use and too many institutions liked to automatically use it rather then assign their own number.

Anyway, in the NY Times article is reference to a website called stolenidsearch.com that will check your social security number to see if it is in a database of compromised numbers. You might want to check yours.

The website is trying to sell their service and it brought up another pet peeve I have. I've found websites now try to get you into the sign-up process before they reveal the cost. They must figure once you start you are likely to continue to sign-up regardless of cost. I resent that too. I'm pretty resentful aren't I?

Frankly, I think stolenID search is way too pricey at $49 (after a $20 discount). There are other ways to monitor your financial privacy.

Golf Sentiment

"Golf fairways should be made more narrow. Then everyone would have to play from the rough, not just me."
- Seve Ballesteros

My sentiments exactly.

Porch Remodel

Last year was devoted to getting Drambuie cruise ready and the townhouse remodeled. This year I will be devoting the bulk of my time to our house. One of the projects was to modify our porch so we could more easily see our yard and the pond.











Many of our neighbors have had their porchs enclosed with windows, making sun rooms. In my mind that tends to isolate them from the outside and more important, would drain our bank account. So, using Photoshop, I did a before and after image to see what it would look like if I increased the screen height. Not too bad, so the work commenced last week.


And here is the end result, nice huh?

Like Souls

I think the Internet is wonderful. It allows us to find those that have views like ours. No longer do we need to feel like lost souls.

And there is that nice republican in Cleveland.

Living With Ed

A new show premiered in January on HGTV, "Living With Ed." I think it is a gem with plenty of humor plus an environmental statement. Actor Ed Begley portrays himself and co-stars with his wife, Rachelle Carson. The show is set in their real life home in Hollywood and is based around Ed Begleys real passion for the environment.

The PR blurbs for the show describe it better then I, "Actress Rachelle Carson often sees red over living green with her quirky, eco-obsessed husband, the Emmy-nominated actor Ed Begley Jr. The result is HGTV’s hilarious and feisty new family docu-soap, Living with Ed."

The chemistry between the two is fantastic. Hazel and I thoroughly enjoy watching the show as well being environmentally inspired - I bought some low energy light bulbs yesterday. Now, I wonder if the property owners association would let me put solar panels on our roof?

"Ghost Town" of Chernobyl

I'll not post this today. Wait a few days because today is Valentines Day. But this travelogue on Chernobyl called Ghost Town and Land of the Wolves is too powerful and sobering not to see. I quickly gained immense respect for the author, Elena Filatova and recommend you visit her website where she has chronicled other places and events such as the Soviet Gulags.

Elena may have a flair for the dramatic but is still a superb chronicler. Her references to Wormwood should be balanced against Wikipedia information. The entire chronicle may take an hour and a half to read. Each page is a "chapter" in her URL address so you can read a segment and return later to a new section by altering the chapter number in the URL to resume the narrative. Please take a look and then decide how much you want to read.

I also suggest reading more about the Chrnobyl disaster in Wikipedia.

We live about ten miles from a nuclear power plant. I told Hazel if we heard their siren that we would run for the car and drive like hell. On the other hand, there are always risks in our lives, I suspect we are safer living here then driving on the Bay Area freeways. (By the way, you can HEAR that siren!)

Restaurant Reviews for San Francisco

Probably the most popular is Yelp. But also check out the Gastronomy section of Adamcadre. I like Adam Cadre's unique approach to website design.

Foxmark

I now use Foxmark to keep my Firefox Bookmarks synchronized between the desktop and laptop. It's great!

Church Calisthenics

We were in church singing the processional hynm "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."

Now that is a good song to start the service as it is a fast and lively way to greet the day. As a matter of fact, it is anarerobic if you truly sing it per the notes.

Beethoven wrote the music and Henry J. vanDyke wrote the words:

"Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Op’ning to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

I wonder if Beethoven really expected his music would be put to words? In any case, as a good Episcopalian I got to feel righteous for getting in all that good exercise. Oh, and it was cheaper then the athletic club membership...what, 10%? You gotta be kidding!

New York Snow

When I was a boy the type of snowfall upstate New York is receiving was one of the more exciting events in my life. It meant eating breakfast and anxiously listening to the school closings on WBEN. When we heard "all Buffalo public and parochial schools are closed," we knew that our school district would soon be listed as well. Whee.

But watching homeowners shoveling snow off their roofs reminds me of one year when we lived in Chicago. We received over 90 inches and as is the case now, many people were clamoring onto the roof to shovel it off. In Chicago, this did not happen in very often so people were not experienced with rooftop snow removal. Many came off the roof much faster then they went on - and sometimes continued to the hospital.

What the news reports do not mention is that it is not only the snow weight that is a problem but freezing and thawing of the lower layers develops a solid layer of ice. Thus you have the weight plus the expansion of the ice creating crevices for water intrusion. I was on the roof with a garden hose run through a window to a hot water tap. The hot water melted the ice at the roof level and, using an axe, I chopped the ice into blocks and shoved them off the roof. If that had been a more common occurrence I'm sure we would have been pushing snow off the roof long before it caked into ice. Better insulation might have been a good idea as well but I had a better one, we moved to California.

Our Furry Grandchild

Last summer we got to see our grandchildren Tyler and Maya for the first time. Then when we returned to the Bay Area in September, Travis and Aki were married. The special event for our Januray 2007 trip was to meet our furry grandchild, Jax.

Jax is already into politics. We were sitting on the sofa, looking at the San Francisco Chrnonicle. It soon became apparent that Jax is a republican when he started to take issue with some of the newspaper comments. At first it was rather civilized and he simply pointed out liberal (bashing) comments about George W. Bush that he considered objectionable.

As he studied the paper he became more agitated and really began to get his teeth into the subject.


Before we were done it was a regular dogfight.

Superbowl

I feel some blogs coming on, sort of like a cold. Or maybe its a feeling of constipation...anyhow, got to "dump" this one to be timely.

The Bears are going to win tomorrow! The pundits are wrong. Not only that, Chicago will win decisively!

Posted so that Monday I can say "I told you so." Yes, I won't hesitate to tell you so - y'all should recognize my astuteness.

Postscript: The game is over and..uh oh, did I say Bears, gee I ment to say Colts, just can't keep my animals straight anymore.

Hazel's Birthday

Hazel will celebrate her birthday in a few days. I won't say how old she is, that's her prerogative (she is younger then I - you know, child bride thing).

If you are curious I will give a couple hints. When she was sweet sixteen, her dates had to pay $.25 for a gallon of gas. For the economists, the Dow Jones was 680. If you bought a $1000 mutual fund indexed to the market (those funds didn't exist then), it would have grown to be a bunch more. And...Bobby Darin wrote Dream Lover to hint about her meeting me.

She was born just after Tommy Smothers who's birthday fell a day before hers - OK, he is some years older too.

She welcomes birthday wishes.

Global Warming

Ok, I've gotta weigh in on the global warming thing. However, if you are expecting something insightful, stop reading. Of course I reserve the right to write more later and remove all doubt of my ignorance on this topic.

I have heard the conservative talk show hosts disparage the concept, often ascribing it to the category of trash-science. But I wonder what Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh would say if President Bush clearly affirmed that man caused global warming instead of Al Gore (I don't mean that Al caused global warming but that mankind was responsible)?

Golf Clubs

When I decided to resume my golf carer after about a 35 year hiatus I did a little research about which clubs to buy. I was advised to just buy a set of irons and maybe a three wood to start, drivers being more difficult to control. Certainly seemed like profoundly good advice since I struggle to control any of the clubs. Bought a used set of irons (3 or 4 years ago) and soon after a three wood. Since then I've focused on getting the balls to go down range rather then sideways or behind me - striking fellow golfers (there sure are some grouches out there).

Well, I think I've made enough progress to consider buying a driver. There are a bewildering assortment and now the manufacturers have come out with some rather unorthodox shapes and designs. Obviously these must have the secret elixir that will shave 40 strokes off my game, getting my score below a hundred.

So, my research has intensified and I think Callaway may have the club for me. Always liked a company that called their club "Big Bertha." Now they have a square headed club called the FT-i (not as catchy but not a deal breaker). The icing on this cake is that Callaway consulted BMW in developing the design. OMG, gotta have a club like that...there is just a little problem with the price, they sell for $625. Anyone got a used FT-i they'd sell me for $50?

Home Again

We are home from the bay area and it is nice. Alhtough I sometimes wish we still lived in the bay area, this is home now and we have developed new friendships and interests.

I do miss living in the bay area, I miss the many fine restaurants, many interest you can pursue which often have the most expert people in the country to teach you. And, of course, I miss get togethers with family and California friends.

I hope to post a few more photos of the grandchildren and maybe photos of the city. It is fun to go to the city as a tourist. I don't think the shots of San Francisco are particularly good. The sunlight was harsh against the shadows on the city streets - too much contrast for any really decent pictures.

Now that I'm back I've started pursuing my new sport. I started doing this a long time ago purely by accident, now I seem to spend more time in its pursuit and find it passes the time, can be very challenging, and is often frustrating. My new sport is looking for things I've mislaid.

Cattle Can Fly

The airlines continue to experiment with various ways to rapidly load and unload passengers. Given our status as “cattle” I think I have a suggestion. Perhaps you might think of more ways and can add them to the comments section.

Much of the loading time is consumed by people taking too long getting settled in their seats. You know, removing coats, stowing bags which only fit with much pushing and shoving under and over the seats, grabbing the wrong seat, etc.

The NFL and energy credits provide a solution. First, give the flight attendants stop watches and whistles. When a passenger takes longer then 10 seconds to stow their gear and get seated, blow a shrill whistle and penalize them $5 per second for “Delay of Flight.” If a passenger goes against the flow to put baggage overhead, they would be ejected from the flight for “illegal procedure” - and required to pay a $20 fine as well. If the passenger cannot lift his/her luggage into the overhead bin, whistle and fine them $20 for “false start.”

Now, the energy credits concept come to bear through distribution of revenue gained by fines. The revenue is distributed to those passengers that were able to assume their seat in less then 10 seconds. Distribution is pro-rata based on time under the specified 10 second limit.

Okay the idea needs a little work. I can envision some unscrupulous seatmate surreptitiously holding luggage while the other endeavors to hoist it into the bin and thus drawing a penalty. Even if flawed isn’t this a brilliant idea? Aren’t you glad you took the time to read this post?

Tyler meets Maya

Since we don’t see our grandchildren for months at a time it is remarkable to see the changes. And, when we meet again, it is a process of getting to know them again. Tyler seemed so angelic when we first met him the other day.

Tyler seems to be a bit of a Romeo. In the photo below you can see he is making moves on Maya (check out his right hand). Pretty blatant isn't he? Later, he had his arm around her. The kid has fast hands.









He has a good line and Maya thinks he can tell a mean joke. We wanted to know what he told her but he refused to repeat himself. We suspect it wasn’t very clean, you know how kids can be at this age.



Maya pretended to not always like it but then privately confided that Tyler seemed pretty cool.

San Jose Car Show

Josh, Chris. Travis and I went to the San Jose auto show. Although smaller then I expected (San Jose has a larger population then San Francisco), the show was still fun and it is nice to view cars without salesmen hovering. Apparently the show was a little hard up for women to pose by the cars – wonder what he got paid.

One of the things that impressed me the most was the windshield wipers on the Lamborghini Gallardo Spider. Those were big suckers! Bet the cost a bunch to replace, first there is the fuel cost to get to the dealer (sorry, your local auto parts probably carry them), and then, I expect a minimum of $200 labor to inspect the wipers plus another $200 for the replacements. Now, since you own an Lamborghini, you don’t want to appear cheap so when the service manager tells you your tires need rebalancing, your engine sounds a little out of tune, etc. well, figure a couple thousand more and, of course, you’d feel cheap to say no.

Hilllary vs. Obama

There is a lot of media excitment and hence, the public excitment about Barack Obama. I think, however, Matier and Ross in their San Framcisco Column have pointed out an extremely important distinction between the two.

They tell how San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsome and L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were outside a recent reception at the Italian Emabassy in Washington, D.C. Hillary Rodham Clinton walked up to them saying "My mayors!" and started to discuss with each of them their respective pet issues of health care and education.

Later the mayors were inside at the reception when Barack Obama walked by. He did not recognize either mayor.

I think this ancedote is very telling, when the rubber meets the road, Hillary will persevere in obtaining the Democratic nomination. I think she will surpise us in the strength of the contest she will wage. Whether she will win will depend heavily on who the Republicans put against her.

Arnold

Matier and Ross are political reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle. I enjoy their column because they seem to be well connected and give some interesting insight to the local political scene. It didn't take deep sources to write the following which appeared in today's Chronicle.

"Speed Bump: Busted leg or no, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't letting up on his public appearances.

Many thought the Governator might take a break after his inauguration and State of the State speech. Instead, he's hobbling along, coming down San Francisco for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast Monday, then off to Los Angeles that night for the Golden Globe Awards.

He's done quite a job of working through the pain, although some think the painkillers have kicked into gear a bit unexpectedly at times.

Like at the post-inaugural luncheon when he introduced Eunice Shriver, telling the crowd: "She's 86 years old, and she flies out here all by herself. Eunice - you don't look a day over 90!"

Whoops."

Flying to San Francisco

We are in the bay area now, our flight went smoothly, although it was long. This time we flew from Wilmington connecting through Charlotte.

Previously we’ve flown from Raleigh since it tends to be less expensive – although not as convenient. The problem with the Raleigh route is it took us through Dallas on the way to San Francisco. I had come to view these trips with trepidation since it was like playing roulette with the schedule. If there are no delays, the trip takes around 8 – 10 hours including connections but last July it took 20 hours (and serious frustration with American Airlines). Other trips have seen troubling delays.

A few days ago, passengers trying to get to DFW from San Francisco had a trial much worse then ours. They were delayed about an hour or so leaving San Francisco due to mechanical problems. That delay caused them to be diverted to Austin because severe thunderstorms had grounded Dallas flights. If the flight had left San Francisco on time they would have arrived Dallas okay. Unfortunately, the diversion to Austin not only added time to the trip – it had them sitting on the tarmac for 8 hours. They did not get relief – assignment to a gate only when the captain, on his own initiative, demanded and got a gate, permitting the passengers to deplane. American Airlines was prepared to keep them out there longer.

During those 8 hours, other flights came and went but American Airlines did not want to relinquish a gate and delay any of those other flights. Holding on the tarmac is understandable, to a point, but 8 hours? Keep in mind these passengers had been on the plane through the hour plus delay in San Francisco as well as flight time to Dallas. Thus 11 – 12 hours on the aircraft for what would have normally been around 2-1/2 hours. There was no food and the toilets were overflowing.

The Wall Street Journal did an excellent job reporting the story – I think it was in the January 5th issue (or close to that). There is more, the treatment of these people was shoddy, not only by their experience during the “flight” but afterwards as well. Once at the terminal, the passengers had difficulty finding an American agent to assist them in rescheduling their flights and when located, had an attitude of “business as usual” – read the article if you can... I believe they are owed an apology by the airline. An acknowledgement of their trial and appreciation by the American how inconvenienced they were. It’s interesting to read some of the reasons why American wasn’t more helpful.

I am not surprised by American’s behavior. It mirrors what I have seen and experienced. It reflects an attitude toward their customers of disrespect – we are cattle. Toward that idea I have some suggestions in an upcoming blog. For now I think I will practice mooing.

Oh, and we flew USAir this time, the trip took 9-1/2 hours. We were well treated and the flight stewards seemed to be enjoying themselves.

San Francisco Bound

Hazel and I fly to San Francisco to visit our sons and their families. Not the best time of year to go there because it can often be chilly and rainy. Never the less I look forward to visiting the city again. I've been their countless times but always get a thrill. There is that sense that I'll discover some new place or thing - and sometimes do. I also hope to take more photos of Market street in my goal of matching the painting in our living room.

Will post more on this after we have safely arrived. Hoping, however, that we do not get this flight.

I know we will miss our friends and southern neighbors. But looking at baby videos like this one reminds us we will soon see our granchildren. So we jet off to California.

DMD

Golf zealously guards its past and traditions. And, I've wondered at times if golfers shouldn't simply get used to noise - people talking, gum popping, etc. After all, other sports have to deal with it. But I also acknowledge the intense concentration required, and with it, the hushed expectations of the crowd which conveys a type of respect and acknowledgment of the sport.

Golf struggles with change and clings to its traditions with fervor, kinda like the Catholic church struggling over ordination of women. In the past there was a sense of doom pervading golf when carts were introduced. Then there is the time when its pedigree confronted potential damage when blue collar pros were permitted to change in the locker room. I won't even comment about acceptance of minorities and women on the links.

Now it is high tech. The latest threat is the DMD or "Distance Measuring Device." The DMD uses lasers to measure the distance to distant objects. No longer do you have to guess the distance to the green (never mind that you have distance markers.) The USGA is ambivalent and sort of rules against them. I can't decide whether to spend the $400 for a DMD so I know the exact yardage to the pin.

As I think about it, I could care less. Whatever the distance I have to go, its going to take me twice the strokes of the next guy. If the DMD says I have 200 yards to go, it won't account for all the detours I'll make from rough to rough to trap to pond. A pedometer is more useful, I can at least know how far I walked that day.

Now, what I need ia a "BLD". A ball locating device (BLD) would indeed be revolutionary. I could pay $400 and justify it by all the balls I would recover. I imagine I would realize payback within a year. Its that or buy one of those new "forgiving" clubs and hit the ball straight...naw, that would take the fun out of it, not to mention exercise.

Watch out Senators!

Nancy Pelosi has now been elected Speaker of the House. An historic occassion.

There may a trend here. Did you know that 33 women have served in the Senate and of that number, 16 are presently in office.

Before you know it, Senators will have to learn how to put the toilet seat down.

Wed In The Park

Just put a new link on my blog, WedInThePark. Check it out (hope you can read Japanese).

What are they saying?

Yesterday Hazel and I were watching a golf challenge match on TV. An ad for Cialis came on and I noticed that they had a text message on the screen advising us that they advertised in Golf Digest Magazine. Were they trying to infer something?

If I take Cialis will this make me a better golfer? Improve my swing, my drive, my ...?

New Years Celebration

Move over Times Square. We here in North Carolina have our New Years celebration and it just may empty your streets as they rush to Mt. Olive. It is the Mt. Olive Pickle Drop! For the eighth time, The Mt. Olive Pickle Company will drop a pickle into a redwood tank. The tank is located at the corner of Cucumber and Vine in Mt. Olive.

And, being more rational then New Yorkers, the drop will occur at 7 p.m. North Carolina time, December 31st. That happens to be midnight Greenwich Mean Time (also known as Universal Time Coordinated or Zulu Time). After all, isn’t that the official start of the New Year – New York is NOT the center of the Earth despite what they think. sniff

Workbenches

This past year has been largely devoted to working on the boat and other necessary tasks or trips. When we moved into our house in 2005 I had developed an immediate list to to-dos. A few were completed such as new shower doors in the master bath, but most are in a holding pattern.

Completing the varnish work on the boat finished most of the major time consuming tasks so now to the house. Last week I finished one of the priorities, workbenches for Hazel and I. I get to use my workbench to do other home projects; Hazel uses her for stained glass. She has been making stained glass lamps, windows, and etc. for years and looks forward to more.

There are two problems. One of the projects she worked on were stained glass windows for an upstairs bedroom in our California room. Modeled after Tiffany’s “View of Oyster Bay” panel.

Hazel was constructing two panels, each about 33”x 44”. Having completed one and cut all the glass for the second, she decided to bring the panels to North Carolina in the hope we could use them. So far, no luck.

The other problem is that she liked the finish on the worktable so much she doesn’t want to mar it by working on it. That I can fix as soon as I find my hammer.

Christmas 2006

On Christmas we drove to Penick Village in Southern Pines to spend the day with Lil. I think we all had a good time (despite what one of the pictures suggest :-). The dinner menu included roast duck and prime rib - in very generous proportions and very well prepared.

Hazel had had surgery on the 14th of December. It was related to our three sons using her womb as a trampoline, practice soccer field, etc. As you can see, her recuperation has gone well.

Although many residents had probably gone home, the dining room was quite full and it struck me that we seemed to be the only family that had shown in large numbers. Penick Village permitted us to use a meeting room so we could have our private gathering.

Hazel and I were there with Jason who was spending Christmas with us. Kay and Meta, Hazel's sisters and their families were also there. The only people unable to attend were our other two sons, Travis and Josh and their families. They are living in California so that makes for a rather long drive.
















Jason, while visiting us made a drastic mistake. He agreed to let us give him a haircut. I've got Hazel trimming my hair so it seemed like an easy proposition to cut Jason's hair. He told us the setting he used for the trimmer and we dived in. Unfortunately, the setting seemed to be different on our trimmer. Since we started on the back he couldn't see what was happening until it was too late. Actually the battery ran low on the trimmer after the first few swipes so he had to walk around for a couple hours with a peculiar cut - long in front and very short in back - until the trimmer recharged. Anyway, the end result was a haricut that should last him a long time...maybe six months even. I wonder if that is why he isn't smiling in his pictures.














Please forgive the mix of font captions, I am experimenting with Blogger and Photoshop to obtain more freedom in my posts.













Meta, Bill, and Margaret




Will and Taylor




Jason and Chris can barely contain their excitement.













Bill, Will, Chris, and Taylor
















Ferdinand

Dangerous Hospital ER

The local radio stations are not wealthy and are prone to technical glitches and sometimes less then professional programing. Thus, while listening to the local traffic report this morning I was not alarmed. The commentator told of an accident earlier today which was not immediately reported to the police because "his injuries were not significant until he got to the hospital ER."

That's a proactive ER!

Person of the Year

Since I've been named person of the year, do I get a small memento? For example, a million dollars or at least a small plaque? Do I have to buy the magazine first?

No! No Vietnam

I have always felt ashamed by the way our country (and myself) treated our soldiers during Vietnam. The ugly protests, desecration, and disrespect for those in uniform. I opposed the war, I also opposed the shabby treatment - but I was silent, for that I am ashamed.

I will not be silent again and as opportunity presents will strongly oppose a return to that type of behavior. I would encourage a very large, peaceful, orderly turnout of the many Americans that respect and support our troops. Who understand their sacrifice, the need for a military, and are proud of its high professionalism. Through our presence let others know that many have "backbone."

I respect others opposition to the war and feel torn about it myself, but I WILL NOT TOLERATE a return to Vietnam era protests when service people were ill-treated. I am also disappointed with the Chapel Hill-Carboro Chamber of Commerce . I have emailed them about my disappointment and encourage you to do the same. The business community must step forward too.

Kids Going Shopping Too?

Suggestion for parents. If you have a camera phone or a small digital camera, take a picture of your child before you take them to the mall. Should you become separated, you will have a visual record of what they are wearing and can show it to store employees and security.

Surprise Movie

Hazel and I watched the "Worlds Fastest Indian" last night. Had it sitting around for awhile as I was feeling dubious about watching it. Finally relented and was pleasantly surprised that we enjoyed it. It stars Anthony Quinn and is about a New Zealander that set world records on his modified Indian motorcycle. As it dealt with someone our age, it is nice to see that we may yet set some world records.

San Francisco Painting

We own a painting by Anthony
Holdsworth which depicts a
downtown San Francisco view
of Market Street. On our trip
there in September I thought it
would be neat to make a photo
of the same scene and match
it as closely as I could to the painting.












The problem is that I had forgotten to bring a snapshot of the painting so had to work from memory as to camera position and, of course, the time of day and lighting would be different. Luckily, the fog broke a little so I was able to get some blue sky. Never the less the closest photo (I shot several) came out substantially different in color balance, has a light post and crane not present in the painting, and varies in perspective. Okay, time for Photoshop to come to the rescue. I thought this would be a great chance to see what I could accomplish through photo manipulation.


I altered the tint, lightened the shadows, shifted the perspective, and removed the lamp posts and the crane. I had to add a building toward the end of the street angling off to the right (not very visible on this blog). That was rather hard since I didn't really know what to use but it came out okay and I developed more skill with Photoshop. Overall, I think it would be easier to simply return to the city and take another photograph, this time with a snapshot of the painting for reference.

Mayfaire Cinema

Wilmington has a new movie theater complex, Mayfaire Cinema. Today I decided to see whats playing so went to Movietickets. com. Even though I thought I knew where the complex was located, I clicked on the map button. Now I have to say this must the first complex totally oriented to the boating public.

I wonder how the employees get to work?

Helsinki Complaints Choir

I'd send this to my email addressees if I did that sort of thing. And, while I was at it, Manchester bollards too.

Blogger Trouble

Was trying to post a new blog with some images and repeatedly get "We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request." Upon researching the problem I suspect it was a spammer attack on Blogger. Noted on the Blogger Forum that many others are having a similar or identical problem. Also possible that it is a software bug in Blogger Beta. Anyway, this may slow my posts.

Surely nothing I'm doing, I never make mistakes.

Parental Advice - Chapter 123

I strongly recommend that you have a sit down dinner at least once a week (daily is better) at the dinner table - not in front of the TV, with your children. Travis and Aki, this means you need to have a sit-down dinner with Jax.

MPAA Home Theaters

The MPAA also seems to be a nice target for satire.
MPAA Home Theaters

Drambuie Update - Again Again

Drambuie has finally got a new Honey Teak coat. It is done! A major job that took more then two months but it turned out pretty good. Now reassembling all the hardware. Spent today working on the winch - actually two winches; removing the old grease, regreasing and reassembly. Messy job. All that remains is replacing the ground tackle system - bow rollers, anchors, etc.

Next we will take her to Wilmington to be hauled and her bottom repainted. Wilmington is about 25 miles and a fairly easy trip except for docking at the boatyard. If the current is running that may a little dicey so will try to time it for slack tide.

Walter Leon Hester

1947-2006

The Final Flight

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free,
I’m following the path God laid for me.
I took His hand when I heard His call,
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I’ve found that peace at the end of the day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah yes, these things I too will miss

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow,
My life’s been full, I savored much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.


May God's arms hold you Walter, our good friend and our neighbor.
We miss you.

Human Traits

Today I heard NPR interview author Chip Walter as he discussed his new book "Thumbs, Toes and Tears." As NPR says; "author Chip Walter explores the physical and behavioral traits that are unique to humans."

I heard a portion of the interview and learned a couple of interesting facts. First, I have opposing thumbs. This surprised me because I always thought they got along.

The other thing I learned is that we have a 100 muscles in our neck which enable us to vocally communicate in a unique way. I don't doubt this but upon reflection conclude that I have met some people that must have more neck muscle then that. Maybe 200 or even 300.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Even NASA gets a little misdirected at times. Even so they have some cool pictures on their Astronomy Picture of the Day .

Alien Lawsuit

Bless the Internet. You can get the truth there even when the TV media fails to provide it on the evening news. For example, I learned that Judge Judy may soon be hearing a golf related lawsuit. An alien claims he/she/it was hit by a golf ball. The ball is stamped "Element 21" and was presumably hit by a Russian Cosmonaut. Already there is debate whether it is within Judge Judy's venue since a Russian hit a Canadian golf ball from an International Space Station which hit a visitor from the cosmos. Stay tuned, this sounds like a big one.

Doggy Tales

Every pet lover has to regale (bore) others with stories about their unique and precious animals. It’s my turn to tell you about our dogs, Koko and Brue.

This morning, as I was taking a shower, Koko came into the bathroom as she usually does and lay on the bath mat with her back toward the shower. After I finished she quietly got up and left the room. She is an equal opportunity dog and does the same for Hazel. We are mystified why she does this and has done it for several years; perhaps she is guarding us from some fanciful rapist (you know, I was naked and…).

Those who know Koko from her salad days will remember that at the slightest opportunity for escape she would race out the door with us in pursuit. Age has mellowed her. Today, when we returned from the grocery with a loaded car trunk, we propped the storm and entry doors open to facilitate unloading the car. Koko politely remained in the house and even gave us room to tramp back and forth from car to kitchen. My how age changes us.

Now, whereas Koko likes to make frequent forays into the backyard (always on a tether) to reconnoiter for cats, our other dog, Brue, prefers a more somnolent lifestyle. Her idea of a cat hunt is to sit inside the house looking out for stray cats.
She will also whimper at the door when Koko wants back into the house.

Brue is intensely loyal (maybe protective too but I can’t attest to that). Brue was given to us because she needed more companionship then was available from her owner. The owner was working and away for many hours. We soon learned that Brue had the same problem with us; she was lonely and showed it by eating our wastebaskets.

Fearing we would have nothing to put our trash in we correctly concluded that Brue needed a full-time companion. A search of the dog pounds resulted in Koko joining the family. Brue craves attention, companionship, and food from us. Koko is more independent and in the evening will often go into my office to sleep alone. She tells us she hates our TV choices.

Are you bored yet?

Anniversary Advice

Advice to our married children. On each and every anniversary take a picture of yourselves. It would be interesting indeed to look at your photos after 30 or 40 years of marriage. Hazel and I regretted not doing that but decided to start this year. This is our 39th wedding anniversary picture.

Grandchildren Part 2

Maya and Tyler

OJ Simpson TV Special?

It sucks!

Drambuie Update - Again

Fall is without question the best weather of the year regardless of where I've lived. Today was glorious, as was yesterday, with temperatures in the mid-70's and a light breeze. Which has been a good thing because Hazel and I are still laboring on Drambuie trying to complete the revarnish before the weather gets colder.

We are getting to the final stages and hope to finish within the next week or so. I figure we have put in over 160 hours thus far and another 10-15 hours to finish. People that do this for a living charge around $5000 to $6000 (I had originally figured $8000 but other IP owners have given me better rate info) and it is nearly all labor. Considered doing it for others. Nawwwwwww!

Once finished with the varnish I can resume more pedestrian type work on the boat such as climbing the mast. The views are good. These shots were taken about a year ago. A lot of open slips in the photo but the marina has filled considerably. More snowbirds are also stopping here, most are on their way to the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, or the Florida Keys. Be nice to join them.

Sportscasters

What is this world coming to? Heard a football sportscaster comment on a players run, saying he ran up the field with alacrity. Whoa, is this some secret plan to dumb up America?

Tears

Its election day. Its raining. I wonder if the Lord is crying for joy or sadness.

Nicholas Sparks

I had to go to Sam's Club Saturday and found the parking lot crowded and people flowing into the store. The reason? Nicholas Sparks was signing copies of his new book Dear John. There was a long line waiting for him to autograph their copies, many had arm fulls. If there hadn't been a line I might have been tempted to get an autographed copy since I like his writing (and he is a neighbor North Carolinian).

I spoke with a woman standing in the check out line. She was holding one of his books and I learned she had waited for an hour for his autograph (sorry Nick, too long for me, maybe I'll drop by your house). Another customer asked her the name of the book and the woman told her "Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, but I hear it isn't one of his best". I don't think the customer had ever heard of Nicholas Sparks. And gosh, an hour for less then best.

I was curious about what he looked like and followed the line around where I could view him getting writers cramp. He is a nice looking fellow, perhaps in mid-late thirties (he is actually 41). I felt a twinge of envy. Always thought being an famous author was a nice career. Good money, celebrity, and people buy you dinner. Maybe I can still write....

"It was a dank and stumpy night..."

Weather Report

It has turned colder, we've had a few evenings when the temp was in the mid-low 30's. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny crisp fall day. I was wearing a tee shirt while working in the yard but when not working a long-sleeve tee on top was more comfortable. Due to the many hot and humid days here this weather is great.

I actually look forward to "some" winter when working conditions are cool. When I was young, though, I was always depressed by fall. Fall was the precursor of long cold northeast winters that seemed endless. Having written this, I now hope this winter won't last too long.

No Problem

I've got a pet peeve. What ever happened to "you're welcome" when responding to a thank you. "You're welcome" came about around 1900 and is tried and true with no confusion to our illegal aliens regarding meaning.

Oh no, now its "no problem" which surprises me because I didn't realize I was a problem. I then feel very sorry that I might have been a problem. Perhaps I should stop saying "thank you" so I won't be a problem to be dismissed as "no problem."

Drambuie Update

After 6 weeks work the varnish is finally stripped, teak sanded and its ready to coat. Hazel and I applied the first coat yesterday but felt it was a little too warm and caused slight bubbling. Planned to start early today but the sun beat us to it so further work has been postponed for a few days. Earlier indications are that it will turn out good. I look forward to posting a picture of Drambuie with her new coat. And, Hazel and I plan to go out to dinner to celebrate.

Exxon Money

Talking about BP reminded me of the ABC newscast last week. I was very irritated by the newscast, not at Exxon (although they may deserve some of my irritant) but at ABC. The show trumpeted the huge profit Exxon had made and played with the numbers such as "this is $$$$ per second...," "more in 30 seconds than many families earn in a year" and "you paid for...at the pump,". In my mind this was flagrant yellow journalism. Designed to incite (entertain?) it was strongly biased reporting. Nowhere in the newscast was the net profit percentage given, or for that matter any other data which would enable analytic evaluation of the report. Its all relative and for me to get excited I need to know what the norms are.

Does this mean I endorse the high profits earned? Not necessarily but it does appear that Exxon does a good job managing their business and I always thought that was desireable.

Slug Update

Haven't seen slug for 4 or 5 days. Don't really miss him, in fact, glad he seems to be gone. His personality matched his name and as for his looks...ugh. But then, maybe I misjudge the poor thing. I don't think he has a cell phone so maybe he has gone to use someones phone to call his mommy and daddy like a good son.

Slumload BP

In 2005 sixteen people lost their lives in an explosion at a BP refinery. In a 60 Minutes interview, Carolyn Merritt, appointed by President Bush to be chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, said BP management knew enough about the problems to have prevented the disaster.

"Absolutely," Merritt says when asked whether the blast was preventable. "The problems that existed at BP Texas City were neither momentary nor superficial. They ran deep through that operation of a risk denial and a risk blindness that was not being addressed anywhere in the organization."

BP is the 3rd largest petroleum producer and got that way by acquiring old companies and then cost cutting. Seems like a pattern here. BP is the owner of the Alaskan pipeline that started gushing into the Arctic Ocean. There were charges (from employees) that they stopped using a chemical preventative that slowed or stopped corrosion of the pipe.

Seems to me that BP is the slumload of the petroleum industry. Better not trust the quality of their fuel if that is the case, think I'll shop elsewhere.

Retirment Note

Retirement is tough! I've discovered that since I'm not working I no longer really have weekends or, put another way, everyday is a weekend. That being the case, and being a type A list maker, everyday is a workday to work on that damn list. No time off! Retirement is tough! I know many will feel sad for me.

Slug to the Rescue?

Worked on the boat again today. I was standing in the dinghy along side the boat while stripping varnish. Our friendly alligator (I've named him Slug) patiently floated nearby keeping an eye on me. What a sweetheart. Slug stood by in case I fell overboard and he could rush to my rescue.

Alligator Thoughts

Shortly after we moved to St. James we met our next door neighbor. She told us that the week before they (Fish and Wildlife) had removed a 6-1/2 ft alligator from the pond behind our house. Then, this year while in California, we were told they removed a 9 ft. alligator from the pond behind our other the neighbor's pond. Hmmm, are these alligators real? Yeah, I've seen small ones at nearby Orton Plantation but none here. Why only when we are gone?

Well that has changed. Our marina now has a resident gator and I've seen him/her. Only 4-1/2 ft it still qualifies. Not only have I seen it but it likes to watch me when sanding the teak on our boat. It lurks in the waterway and watches and I wonder; do I look like a tasty dinner? Not likely, too old and stringy. No, maybe it is in awe of my skilled work and wants to learn from me. I may be its mentor.

Today I was told that fishermen had seen 5 alligators in the channel entrance to the marina. Maybe my gator has told others about me and they are coming to see. Maybe I can sell tickets.

How Many are Me?

Thanks to SiliconValley.com I found this web site that tells how many people are in the US with the same name as I have.

HowManyOfMe.com

There is: 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Hate to burst their bubble but I know of another site that shows me that there are three or four of us running around in our skivies.

The Olde Days

I joined a camera club that meets in Wilmington. That requires a 50 minute drive to the meeting so not very convenient (yeah, I know in the California Bay Area I would do it without a second thought).

It was the nearest club I could locate on the internet. At the meeting I found out a club has recently been started near me. Wow! I'm interested so came home and checked the internet again - still no hits. How did we learn about these things in the Olde days?

Sometimes the internet takes away old skills such as how to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together - anyone ever succeed that way? They sure don't on Survivor.

I'm not a Purist

I enjoy working with Photoshop and have no compunctions about using it on my photos. Of course, I attempt to obtain my best shots in the camera but do not always succeed. While traveling I took a picture of a building across the street from where I stood. It was a narrow street and my perspective forced lens distortion. Not sure why I shot the building in the first place but it offered me an excellent chance to learn more about photoshop.

I love that program, its designers constantly improve its capabilities and not simply bloat the program to sell more software. The image on the left is before and the right image is after "adjustment" (sounds like a chiropractor).

Active Retirement

Retired

The definition for retired is "no longer active in your work or profession" but in reality it has a much greater connotation. I'm retired. And I dislike the term. Retirement infers someone that becomes inactive in life, not just work.

It brings to mind old men hanging out at the barbershop, or country store, or local pub. They are on the sidelines watching others and sometimes making comments to their companions about life observed.

That is not my retirement. I swim laps, work out with weights, sail, drum, bowl, bike (occassionally), enjoy photography and photoshop, read, etc, etc,...and blog. I wish there was a better term to describe this stage of my life. I'm not retired!

Drambuie's New Coat

Drambuie is getting a new coat. Over the past two years, every time I got on her, she would nag me.

She'd say "Just look at me! I know you couldn'’t strip me when we first met but good grief, we'’ve been together for two years. I don't think you are committed to our relationship."

I'd say, "Dram, you know I'm committed, think about all the time I'’ve spent playing with your engine. But yes, you are right, I promise to do something about your appearance as soon as..." She'’d interrupt me with "“there you go, 'as soon as" -– it'’s always one thing or another. It'’s too wet, or too hot, or you have something else to do that's MORE important than me!"

She won; I'm now giving her serious attention. I have her half stripped and struggle to get her totally naked. Even though she wants a new coat she seems to have tight hold of the old. She is probably just shy. However, once in a new coat (actually there will be five) I am sure we will both be happy and ready for more intimate times.

Thus far I've spent three weeks (or more) working on her and expect at least three more. I devote the morning and into the lunch hour each day (when not raining).

The process is tedious and time consuming. Typically the way it works is (1) strip the old varnish with a heat gun, (2) use two applications of chemical stripper to get residual varnish out of the grain, (3) sand with coarse sandpaper,
(4) sand again with a finer grit, (5) wet sand with a very fine grit - some do not go to this trouble but I like the high smooth gloss achieved, (6) apply three coats of base coat and (7) apply two or three coats of gloss urethane, (8) buff and admire. Then start remounting all the hardware that was removed. Hopefully by putting a coat or two on each year IÂ’ll never have to strip her again.

Learning about Blogger

I started a post back in September and just finished it. Blogger insists on placing it at the date when I first started my draft. So, look further down for September 28th.

Mt. Tam Hike

I like to work with Photoshop and this post includes a technique I learned in Photoshop magazine.

Cow Abductions

Busy as I am I simply had to take time to alert my faithful (and otherwise) readers to a new terrorism that is quietly striking fear in the cattle industry. PLease check out: Cow Abductions