Mark's rants and raves

Where'd it go?

2012-02-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

After getting that little snow surprise the other day

I was motivated

so I grabbed my camera and headed outside.

Darn!

Too late.

It's Feb 13th for heavens sake.

Global warming/Climate change much?

2012-02-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

The forecast was for a dusting of snow.

They were correct.

I remembered to bring in the dogs and cats

before I went to bed.

But I forgot about the poor gargoyle.

The snow will probably be gone in a few hours

so I better go enjoy it.

2012-02-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

For you NBA fans, Paul Pierce just passed Larry Bird for total points scored by a Boston Celtic.

That's as crazy as saying Kobe Bryant just passed Shaq on the all time Laker scoring list.

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Have you heard the phrase, there is no "I" in team?

Those Philadelphia 76ers are proving that this year, with a great record so far with a bunch of no-names on the team.

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Rick Santorum just crushed the Republican field, sweeping 3 states last night.

That's like Chris Paul scoring a triple double.

It's impressive but it doesn't assure a Championship...or a Presidency.

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With all this Republican hair pulling going on, John Boehner holds the position of understudy these days.

And that's ok.

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I'm reading the book, "The Obama's".

I've learned the First Lady is no push over.

I like that.

*******************************************************************************

I'll try to be more focused during my next post.

Back in time

2012-02-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

I received a letter yesterday from my cousin who lives on the other side of the U.S.

Actually, it's a copy.

It's handwritten.

It's 8 pages long.

8 pages, and both sides are covered with ink.

Who writes letters that are 16 pages long?

My Aunt Mary was the author of this piece of work and she wrote it to her brother, who turned out to be my Dad.

It was written on January 4th, 1945. How cool is that?

Aunt Mary wrote this letter while she was in Lexington, Mass. and she sent it to my Dad who was stationed in Hawaii during this time of the war.

The letter is an in depth detailed look at the family Christmas of 1944.

She left no stone un-turned.

She detailed who came and went, what they were wearing and what kind of mood they were in, who decorated the tree and what my Grandmother ( who I never met) was eating.

Because of her words, I could picture the excitement of Christmas morning 1944, with my Aunts and Uncles, the gifts under the tree and the exhaustion that so often comes with preparing for this special day. Some things never change.

She signs off by writing, "Love to you from one who prays for your safe return and hopes, next year, you will be here to hang the bells yourself."

Aunt Mary had a way with words.

2012-02-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

After meeting with the family football expert

Rosie is quite confident the New York Giants will win the Super Bowl

27-24

2012-02-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

Rosie, our dog pictured above, seems like a chilled out layed back mongrel.

Actually, she's just biding her time

waiting for a family member to leave a sandwich close to the edge of the counter

at which time she will pounce with the speed of a cheetah devouring the previously mentioned sandwich.

That's just not right.

*****************************

You may have heard the Super Bowl will be played this Sunday.

It's been 2 weeks since a NFL game has been played.

Those 2 weeks have given the the media time to dissect, investigate and question everything Super Bowl related. There has been interviews with players everyday, the same questions asked again and again.

I'm tuned in everyday, listening to those same questions being asked again and again.

I'm not right!

*****************************

Last year on this date Pennsylvania was snowed in.

The temperature today is expected to reach 50 degrees.

I've never made golf plans in February before.

Something just isn't right.

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I have really been enjoying these Republican debates.

Watching the participants attack each other has been the most entertaining TV I have watched since "Cheers" went off the air.

That's just not right.

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Have you heard of the workout program called P90X?

The X stands for EXTREME.

I'm on day 5.

I'm typing this post with my nose because I can't move my arms.

That's just not right.

****************************

Happy weekend to all.

Change?

2012-01-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

Change is coming.

And the TSA is tickled pink.

It turns out, as travelers in the U.S. rush through airport security checkpoints, they often forget to retrieve their pocket change that they must remove from their pockets before going through the scanners manned by licensed TSA peeping toms.

This must happen a lot.

It's been reported that the TSA, in 2010, pocketed more than $400,000 in change.

That is not a typo. Four Hundred thousand bucks!

That could buy a lot of surgical gloves.

Republican Rep Jeff Miller from Fla, proposed legislation suggesting that the forgotten change should go to the USO.

This is one time I agree whole heartily with a Republican Rep.

But guess what.

He couldn't get the votes needed to make this a reality.

Shocking.

"You should get a MAC"

2012-01-27T05:42:00.001-08:00

"Get a mac", they tell me, so easy, problem free.

So I did. Bought one for my wife for Christmas.

The house is wireless, so she should be ably to sit at the table and drink her tea as she checks my blog.

One click on the MAC, get on the internet and surf baby.

Purchased "Apple Care", but I shouldn't even need it because "Mac's are trouble free, you should get one."

WRONG!

Seems her new Macbook pro has issues. "Get a Mac, their problem free."

As I sit here at my dining room table on my little Eee notebook with Windows 7

I am writing to say I am so glad I got the "Apple Care", BECAUSE I'M GOING TO NEED IT.

Mr Macbook pro doesn't seem to want to get a internet connection when turned on in my house.

"Get a Mac, they're really nice."

I wonder if Apple Care, covers laptops thrown from the dining room table out into the front yard by way of a closed window?

We shall find out very soon.

Fly like a bird

2012-01-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I fly home.

A puddle jumper will take me from Corpus Christi

to Houston

where I will run like O.J. through the airport

to catch my connecting flight

to the city of brotherly love.

I managed to get through 2 3/4 books this hitch

mainly because I'm trying this new tactic of

reading while sitting up

rather than prone.

Reading and prone

just doesn't work for me.

I watched the President's speech tonight.

It really is fun listening while monitoring Twitter.

I don't tweet while he speaks

just doesn't seem right.

Watching Gabby Gifford,

the congresswoman who was shot in the head

last year

enter the building.....

a little emotional I'd say.

I love sports.

I can watch almost anything on TV.

I once spent the good part of the evening

watching curling, for heaven sake.

But today

on one of the many ESPN channels

they were covering

the practice of the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl

is a football game that NO ONE

cares about

and ESPN was covering the PRACTICE

of a game no one cares about.

Except for maybe the Mom's of the players.

R.I.P. Joe Paterno

2012-01-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

Joe Paterno passed away the other day.

I feel bad for Paterno's wife Sue and his children.

Having experienced the loss of my parents, I can say unequivocally, it sucks.

The difference is, when my dad died he wasn't smack in the middle of a very disturbing scandal.

Joe was.

His former players have his back and that's somewhat understandable.

The anger is evident.

One former quarterback blames the media for his death.

The people of "Happy Valley" are beside themselves, still blaming others for Joe's shortcomings.

People are coming out of the wood work singing Joe's praise.

(Shhh. Don't mention the scandal.)

There is no shortage of people wagging their fingers and yelling.

But for Congress to fly the flag at half mast?????

President Obama called????

If there is a riderless horse pulling a carriage at the funeral, I'm going to loose my mind.

I wonder what that kid who was in the showers thinks?

Joe Paterno has been judged by everyone with an opinion for the last few months.

Joe Paterno is now with the only judge that really matters.

Costa Concordia

2012-01-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

What a shame.

Because of a Captains ego and stupidity, 11 people are dead and 21 people are missing in the waters off the Coast of Italy. Unless you live in a cave, you've heard this terrible story on the news.

Francesco Schettino, who obviously couldn't drive a launch in New York Harbor, was given command of a ship, it's cargo? Human beings.

He thought it would be cool to take the ship off course, within 800 feet of land, so he could salute the town folk?

I just spent an hour or so watching all the video the internet has to offer, and I still can't believe what he did or what his response to the grounding was. Stupid. Shameful. Childish. Cowardly.

These are just a few words that come to mind.

There is some discussion among so called experts, wondering aloud if the Captain screwed up by dropping the anchor after he ran aground.

Hey, there is a ship the size of THREE FOOTBALLS FIELDS laying on it's side, do you think the Captain screwed up?

I've been trying to come up with an analogy to explain to you land lovers, just how unbelievable it is that he ended up where he did when he was supposed to be MILES from any land. The channels are marked and where they are for a reason. If you stay in the channel most likely you won't murder your passengers.

I've never been on a cruise liner, but I've worked on ships bigger than that and presently work on a stout little ocean going tug and there is no difference in the training that is ongoing for the crews. It is tedious, repetitive and weekly. We run scenarios for fires,

groundings, damage control and abandon ship. In the 38 years that I have been training weekly, I never heard, upon a grounding scenario "GO BACK TO YOUR CABINS." Not even once.

From what I've read it looked like the Keystone Cops were running the show on that beautiful cruise ship. With the technology in my industry today, every move you make as a Officer on a ship is documented and recorded. Your vessel is tracked by on board computers as well as computers at the company offices. Many vessels have voice recorders, recording every word that is spoken in the bridge. The engine rooms have cameras, and every move I make in the engine room is recorded.

Before you even leave a port, voyage plans are filled out, submitted and filed, stating in great detail every move the vessel will make while traveling between point A and point B. To think that this hotdog, took that big ship, soooo far off course, risking the lives of all those passengers just so he could salute "his fans" ashore, it's maddening.

The cowardly actions of the Captain, leaving the disaster while passengers, under his charge, struggled for their lives is reprehensible. And the ego to order dinner an hour after he ran aground?

I can't help but think of all those innocent passengers who placed their trust in a Captain and a crew that obviously were not professional enough to do their jobs.

You don't get many chances to screw up on the water. Many many years ago I read a quote that I have never forgotten.

"Sailing, like flying, isn't inherently dangerous, but is mercilessly unforgiving of human error."

Infractions!

2012-01-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

You've heard the argument against wind power generators.

They're ugly.

Just not pleasant to look at.

They ruin the view.

Yeah

I guess they're right.

On another note.

I have what I like to call, INFRACTIONS, and I like to use them.

They're not heavy and you can take them anywhere.

You have them too, but maybe you don't even know it.

These infractions can be used when something happens that just isn't right and you just wish there was a referee there to blow a whistle, throw a red flag and signal INFRACTION!

This could happen anywhere. As an example, If you live in Philly and you walk around wearing a Cowboys jersey, that would be reason enough for me to yell INFRACTION!

Fun huh?

If Jerry Sandusky's face even appear on TV, I yell INFRACTION!! ( among other things)

Who do I yell this to, you might ask.

I don't know, I just yell it.

Super Bowl ticket prices start at $2000. INFRACTION!!

Infractions occur on the boat between ship mates all the time.

Just because I share a galley table with you, don't feel obligated to tell me intimate details of your marriage. The glazed look in my eyes should indicate to you my lack of interest. INFRACTION!!

Because of the nature of tug boat life, at anytime during the day there is surely someone in bed.

Knowing that, do not walk the alleyways of the tug talking as loud as a "barker" on Bourbon Street. INFRACTION!! Inside voice only please.

Don't leave me a note asking " when you get time can you make me a cake, purdy please?"

INFRACTION-INFRACTION!!

Do not use the toothpick that is in your mouth to test the cake to see if it's done.

Ooops. INFRACTION!!

Happy weekend people.

Football Sunday

2012-01-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

It's kind of a gloomy, chilly day here in Texas.

Just perfect for settling in and watching

the 2 NFL playoff games.

In a perfect world

we would just pick up the remote,

point it at the TV

open a beer or a Kool-aid and enjoy the game.

Here on the boat we have a direct TV

satellite system

that was bought by both crews.

For $10 a month

we get to enjoy 999 channels but

because of the particular "package" that was purchased

we can not receive the channels that broadcast the football games.

I can watch the speed channel and Nascar today

until my eyes roll back in their sockets

but no football.

Since it's playoff time we took matters

into our own hands.

We bought a rabbit ear antenna for $9.99

and 100 ft of coax cable at Radio Shack.

We ran the wire through the galley

and out the back hatch.

We went up one deck and hooked our wire

to our $9.99 antenna that we had professionally installed

on a 5 gallon bucket.

Gotta go.

It's game time.

More Rebuttle

2012-01-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Dear anonymous,

I would like to thank you for providing me easy blog material, this is like taking candy from a baby.

I would like to provide you with a link to check out, in it is Paterno talking for the first time.

Open a nice Kool-aid and enjoy.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/college-football/paterno-speaks-i-didn-t-know-what-to-do-1.3453014?qr=1

This is some of what he said concerning the conversation he had with the coach who witnessed the sexual abuse.

Paterno: "I didn't know exactly how to handle it, and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was, ( now these next words are key ) so I turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn't work out that way."

So Joe, when it didn't work out, you did nothing more?

So, as expected, Joe was more concerned about his beloved university, than the 10 year old kid.

This bit of news just surfaced today because of a interview he did with the Washington Post.

It's been documented that Mcqueary didn't get into great detail when he met with JoePa, but he told Joe enough that he "....didn't know exactly how to handle it....."

How much detail do you really need? The words Sandusky--shower--10 year old boy really should have been enough for Joe to do something other than go to his boss.

The full interview with the post is here http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/joe-paternos-first-interview-since-the-penn-state-sandusky-scandal/2012/01/13/gIQA08e4yP_story_3.html

In it Joe also says "I didn't know which way to go, and rather than get in there and make a mistake...."

Does that really sound like a guy who didn't know anything?

It really is sad. So many Happy Valley residents think Joe is a victim.

He's not fired.

He's retired.

Still collecting a check.

He made over 1 million dollars in 2008.

Poor Joe.

Hey, when you're the face of the company, that comes with responsibilities.

If you're the Captain of the ship and the mate runs aground, the Captain gets fired too.

When you're the face of the university, and you hear a first hand account of a former coach sexually abusing a 10 year old in the football team showers......

and you "....don't know exactly how to handle it....."

then you should be fired.

Have a Happy Valley Sunday!

Rebuttle

2012-01-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

It seems some people disagree with my thoughts on the firings and non firings of the people associated with the once mighty Penn State football program.

I just love a good debate.

What surprises me most is what happened at a meeting that took place last night in "Happy Valley" with the alumni that were present. They made it clear to the reigning president of that school, that they were unhappy with the firing of one Joe Paterno. One guy shouted out, "why was he fired?" ( see drinking the cool-aid previous post )

Um, can I answer that? You see, old Joe knew that a 10 year old boy was sexually abused in one of the football teams locker room and for years he never reported it to the authorities. Dear alumni, in the human world, that is a bad thing, so, that's why he was fired.

If you witness a burglary or a woman getting beaten on a street corner, or, lets say a 10 year old boy getting raped, would you report it to your boss or call the police? Maybe it's just me, but I'm calling the cops.

As far as the school acting by firing JoePa before "the culprit was convicted?"

Let's review, shall we?

An adult saying he was abused by Sandusky many times when he was 10 yrs old.

An assistant coach saying he SAW Sandusky having sex with a 10 year old boy.

A head coach who admits the assistant coach told him about Sandusky having sex with a 10 year old boy.

I'm sorry, but convicted or not convicted, that really is enough for me. And lets not forget, there are FIFTY other instances we haven't even talked about yet and Sandusky himself saying on national TV that he likes to "horse around" with boys in the shower.

Case freekin Closed.

Let's take this to another level. Let's remove this scenario from the sacred hallowed grounds of "Happy Valley," ( hairs on back of neck standing up ) separate it from a living legend of a football coach and use an example we can all relate to. Let's pick another workplace environment we can use, let's say, a teacher for lack of a better idea and swap some characters around.

Ready, let's play.

School principal =Athletic Director

Head of Art dept = Joe Paterno

art teacher = Mike Mcqueary

Math teacher = Jerry Sandusky

10 yr old boy = 10 yr old boy.

The art teacher one day sees the Math teacher in a empty room having sex with a 10 year old boy.

The art teacher reports this to the head of the art department. ( instead of slamming Math teachers head against any solid object.)

The head of the art department goes to the Principal and reports what the art teacher told him.

For the next 8 or so years the Math teacher is seen frolicking through the halls with other 10 yr old kids.

Then one day, the police arrest the Math teacher because there are over FIFTY ONE complaints against the Math teacher.

It turns out the principal didn't call the cops.

The head of the art dept must have realized this because the Math teacher was seen in school with young boys, for many years, but he didn't feel it was important enough to call the cops.

The Art teacher must have realized no action was taken concerning the vicious disgusting act he witnessed, because he saw the Math teacher in school, with young boys, for many years, but he also didn't feel it necessary to call the cops.

So, you really don't think the Principal, the head of the Art dept AND the Art teacher should be removed form their jobs? I'm more concerned about the well being of children than I am about the employment concerns and reputations of a couple of coaches.

Your appreciation for the "law" is commendable, but they already waited 8 years to act, and firing Joe Paterno is the nicest thing they could do. JoePa didn't say anything for one reason. He didn't want to bring shame to his beloved University.

How'd that work out for you Joe?

Have a great rest of the week.

2012-01-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Put a bunch of guys together for a long period of time and they gossip like a ladies sewing circle.

I know. I can say, "guess what I saw.." and 2 hours later every crew member on the boat and the barge "knows what Mark saw."

I'm sure a college football program is no different. Two dozen coaches who spend hours and hours and years and years together are probably quite skilled in the art of gossip.

Which brings me back to Penn State and those nasty child abuse issues.

They made the news again today.

First, I need to make a correction. I like to admit it when I'm wrong. In a previous post I believe I stated that assistant coach Sandusky was charged with 41 counts of child sex abuse. I stand corrected. IT IS 51!

So, I find it very hard to believe that this juicy bit of gossip, which went on for years, concerning a Penn State football coach and young boys wasn't talked about between some coaches in hushed tones behind closed doors. Many people knew and did nothing.

The Penn State president who was in office while Sandusky patrolled the showers has resigned.

The new president, who has been in that position for 2 months, stated today that he will be stepping down as soon as his contract runs out. Chicken.

Joe Paterno, Penn State's sainted one has been fired in disgrace because of his non action concerning a 10 year old boy being raped by one of his assistant coaches.

Joe Paterno's son, himself a quarterback coach on this non dream team, was fired today. His dreams of following Dad's footsteps and becoming another icon on campus for years to come are over. I think maybe the dogged investigation is nipping at his heels.

The general feeling from everyone I talk to is the same when discussing the goings on at PU. Most people are angry and almost everyone is disgusted. Many are both. Except for many students who seem to be in some kind of denial. I think it may be the cool aid they're being given.

Having lived across the State from where Penn State is located, I'm far enough away not to have been inundated on a daily basis with everything Penn State, but close enough to realize there's a strange vibe up there in those mountains. I can tell you this, it's a unique place. The hair on the back of my neck stands up when I hear the words "Happy Valley" and see these devoted zealots pontificating about Penn State and how they "do it the right way." Hey, you had a child rapist on the campus for years, WAKE UP.

This strange loyalty seeps out from the gates of the campus into the general population in the area. By "the area" I mean anyplace in Pennsylvania that had a story about Penn State or Joe Paterno as the lead story on every local news channel, even before they were famous for housing a child molester.

I was recently at a gathering in which the folks in attendance live in "the area" and naturally the subject of Penn State child abuse problems was brought up. It's funny, these intelligent adults look normal with no outward sign of sickness. No red blotches on their skin. I can only assume that the coolaid the kids are drinking on campus is also sold in the local stores of "the area," because some comments were made suggesting Mike Mcqueary, the assistant coach who saw Sandusky raping a 10 year old boy, did enough by telling his daddy instead of the cops.

I beg to differ.

The saga continues.

Back to the grind

2012-01-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

I've come back to reality today after thoughts, yesterday, of joining the Navy Seals, ( see previous post ) specifically Seal Team 6. ( They would so have me. )

While walking to the wheelhouse from the lower engine room today, it has been decided, because of an increased heart rate, that maybe it will be wise to stay where I am doing amazingly exciting and interesting work like......

changing main engine air filters.

or changing main engine oil filters.

Ok, it's not the same rush as taking out high value targets like terrorists

but it does pay the bills.

Time flew by today and as I was in the engine room I was wondering about what the boys were preparing for dinner. I thought I smelled fresh bread which got my imagination going.

I just knew when I walked up to the galley my senses would be overwhelmed, the counters full with platters of steaming hot just prepared delicious food.

Wrong again.

This joint is as sterile as a hospital O.R.

STILL HUNGRY HERE.

2012-01-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

I wanna arm wrestle someone, or do some push ups or something.

I have testosterone flowing threw me like water threw a fire hose.

Reading about Seal Team 6 will do that.

One of my Christmas presents from my daughter Bryn is the book, "Target Geronimo," which is the story of Seal Team 6 killing Osama Bin Laden. A great read if your into such subjects.

I haven't even gotten to the part about Bin Laden, because the author, Chuck Pfarrer, sets the story up by giving the reader a little back ground on the Seals, what it takes physically to become a member of this storied group and some summations of other tasks they have taken on in the past.

Remember when the pirates stormed the ship Maersk Alabama and took the American Captain hostage? It was Seal Team 6 that was called in to free one of our own.

All they did was parachute into the water, swim a couple hundred yards with full battle gear, get on the ship, set up sniper positions on the stern of the rolling ship, watch the lifeboat that housed the 3 pirates and the American Captain for a couple days through gun sights, monitor what the pirates were saying with high tech James Bond type stuff, while the life boat was being towed a great distance behind the ship.

When the moment was right, 3 sharp shooters took out 3 naughty pirates with one shot each, while keeping their pulse at a normal relaxed state.

I WANT TO JOIN THE SEALS!

If I wasn't afraid of parachuting, swimming in shark infected waters and guns in general, I think I would be perfect for the job.

2012-01-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking,

If a dog is man's best friend

why does mine steal my food

every chance she gets?

I took my car to the Toyota dealer

because I had 2 strange lights lit on the dash.

I left $900 poorer.

A week later the lights came back on.

I took it back to the dealer

and this time he said he would give me a discount

and only charge me $700.

I decided to leave without having any work done

to the car.

A day later the lights went out.

I'm confused.

My tugboat weighs

1600 gross tons and it floats.

But remove any small part of it and throw it

over the side

and it will sink.

I find that interesting.

Have a great week.

I can't believe it's over

2012-01-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

A quick look at the blogs I follow tells me that people are moving on from the holidays.

I feel like I'm in this little time warp, because just days after the ball dropped in Times Square, I found myself catching our boat, while underway for Corpus Christi and spending the next 3 days at sea, without internet or news.

I was still digesting my holiday meals as I climbed over the gunnel of the tug, and still haunted by the images of a Philadelphia New years Day tradition called, The Mummers Parade.

There is no way I can explain to you what the Mummers are about ( see Google ) but I can assure you, you have not seen anything like it, anywhere.

And you should be thankful.

It is the one thing about Philly that I am not proud of, but I've watched it every year since I was a kid.

It's like a car accident. You just have to take a look. I can't explain my reasoning or the parade.

So today I sit at a dock back in Corpus Christi Texas, 8 days after the Mummers stutted down Broad Street in Philadelphia, still feeling some holiday cheer, so here is my last holiday post.

I spent most of the holidays doing research.

I wanted to find out if watching people exercise on TV was at all beneficial to me physically.

So I honkered down on the couch and watched as many football games as a human can possibly watch in a 2 week period, while eating food prepared for me by various members of my family.

And the answer I came up with was, it definitely is not beneficial physically in any way,

but it is a heck of a lot of fun.

Here is just a ......taste.......of what I had to deal with.

Christmas diner

Portabella Napoleon

sauteed spinach

tomato base on a bed of potatoes.

The ever present

cheese board

Daughter Erin

makes home made pizza

It turns out

pizza making is a contact sport.

After some minor first aid

she was back at it.

My normal bowl of oatmeal

was pushed aside for the holidays

I hope everyone has a great 2012.

2011-12-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

I've been in a great mood

ever since I got home.

My life has been nothing but Christmas cheer

and family traditions like watching "White Christmas"

multiple times.

Hey, how awesome are those sisters? Sisters???

But today I made a mistake

by putting on CNN.

Talk about a Christmas buzz kill!

A man dressed as Santa with a gun.

The inevitable house fire on Christmas Eve.

The year in review of Government take-overs and protests.

No mas!

I want to milk this Christmas feel-good

for all it's worth.

So off with CNN and on with more food

prepared by my daughter.

I'll catch up with CNN next week.

Holiday Fun

2011-12-26T10:54:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Holiday started with a pollyanna at my sister's house, which is just an afternoon of laughs. Santa surprised us as he arrived in the neighborhood on a fire truck, making my day and that of all the little guys and gals who were at the party.

I failed to get a group shot of my family at that party ( I know..I know..)

that is why there is no photographic proof here of that day, but believe me, it was a great kick off to our holiday season.

Below are various images of our holiday.

This guy keeping an eye on our Christmas is my Dad.

Why he is hanging in my tree and the tree of my siblings is a long story that is worthy of it's own blog post some day. Suffice is to say, my Dad was quite the character.

A Christmas brunch, after a Christmas Eve meal and before a Christmas Day supper.

I AM SO FULL.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

I sure did.

SANTA!!!

2011-12-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

There REALLY IS A SANTA CLAUSE !!!!!

Christmas at Longwood Gardens

2011-12-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

I've neglected the old blog since I've been home, been busy making a list and checking it twice,

but we did make time to visit our favorite Gardens, at Longwood.

They put on quite a Christmas display.

I did learn one thing.

Photographing at night without a flash,

I need a tripod. But here are a few that came out somewhat,

hoping to give you an idea how beautiful this place is during the holiday.

A Bridge of a Different Color

2011-12-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

This is the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge and research shows that this bridge was, for 10 years, dark, light-less.

But throw $2,000,000 worth of LED lights at a bridge and you have a pretty good light show going on.

Every minute or so the pattern of lights change, lighting up the river in different colors.

Below the lights look like candy canes. I'm blaming the rain for me not being able to get a better photo.

These different photos were captured in a time frame of about 10 minutes, so, as far as bridges go, it's quite spectacular.

But when I read the cost to install a computer controlled light show on this bridge, my first thought was, "couldn't the 2 million dollars be used elsewhere in the city of Corpus? Don't they have hunger and homelessness in Corpus Christi?

Or does having a bridge that lights up and changes from minute to minute, draw the attention of outsiders, causing them to venture to the city to see the lights, where they might spend a night in a hotel and drop some cash in the local businesses? Does the city in some way feed the hungry of the city because of the lights on the bridge? I can only assume the lights were not put there for this merchant seaman's benefit. (although it does make for a interesting blog post.)

Should Mark stop questioning the reasons for the extravagant bridge lights, as he uses a camera, the cost of which, he's sure, could feed quite a lot of hungry people?

( I really miss Herman Cain and the way he talks in the 3rd person.)

Anyway, Mark doesn't know the answers, but he thinks the lights are pretty cool.

Is waterboarding or Bonanza worse?

2011-12-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today we are nestled nicely at a dock in Corpus Christi, TX, waiting for more favorable weather before we head back to Louisiana.

Because we were at sea the last few days, we didn't have television, which is a problem for some, not so much for others.

But praise be to the most high, we have TV today and our deckhand is laying on the couch in the galley, with a pillow, watching yet again, MORE EPISODES OF BONANZA.

For anyone who is a fan of those crazy ranch hands named Little Joe and Ben Cartright, you will remember they first graced out TV sets in the 1960's.

People, let's be honest, most of the fans of that TV show, ARE NOW DEAD.

Why does it have to be on our TV EVERY SINGLE DAY?

I mean, who can't get enough of Little Joe and Adam and Hop Sing, right?

The answer my friends, I CAN!

Dear CIA. Forget about "waterboarding" ( an information gathering tool, not torture) for gathering information. Do you want information from a suspected terrorist?

Put them in front of a television for a couple of days with reruns of Bonanza playing all day every day, and you'll get your information.

As of this moment, I'll confess to anything.

Underway in the Gulf of Mexico

2011-12-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

We had a nice

2 day long trip planned

as we were told to go to

Corpus Christ Texas from new Orleans.

The first day was beautiful

and we made great time.

But the 2nd day

the weather picked up a bit

and our 2 day trip

turned into a 4 day trip.

Now, we're in Corpus Christy

with plans to head to Lake Charles, Louisiana Sunday.

And one more thing

totally unrelated.

Lebron James, the NBA player

who took his talents to South Beach last year

has 2 million more followers on twitter

than the Associated Press does.

That seems odd to me.

Canine's 10 Commandments

2011-12-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

If you're a dog owner, you need to read these doggie 10 commandments.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/ALQ7Z8/static.stara.fi/uutiskuvat/koiranomistajan10kaskya.jpg

Some-Dayyysssss.....

2011-12-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days

where the smallest thing annoys the heck out of you?

Well, I'm having one of those days.

One of our deckhands, has anointed himself

King of the Galley

and honestly, he does a really good job of organizing things.

This morning when I was getting some coffee,

I heard him "heavy sighing" in the pantry,

like someone just wrecked his car or something.

What he was doing was

stocking and restocking and reorganizing the shelves.

It seems, someone had the nerve

to take the little honey bear out of it's designated spot (me)

and put the little honey bear

with the syrup!

He went on at length

on why things are the way they are in the pantry

and bla-bla-bla-bla......

as if keeping the condiments in order

was crucial to keeping the boat afloat.

It was then

that I realized what my mission for the day

was going to be.

Mr. salad dressing all in a row........

meet Mr. king size ketchup bottles.

Within hours

of me playing mix and match in the pantry

he had everything back as it should be.

Everything in its place

and a place for everything.

Tomorrow..........

I'm going to mess with his hats!

Bittersweet gathering

2011-12-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

As I get older, I find myself attending more funerals than weddings. That's one unpleasant part of the game we call life.

I attended my Aunt Eileen's burial service a few weeks ago, which was held in the beautiful and historic town of Lexington Va.

It was only because of geography and circumstance, that I was not real close to her.

My loss.

As funeral services often go, there was a gathering of relatives, some of whom I haven't seen in 30 years or so. It was so nice to reconnect with distant relatives that I almost feel guilty that it took a death in the family for this to happen.

I'm sure Aunt Eileen understands.

For you Civil War buffs, she was buried in Stonewall Jackson Cemetery (yes, I'm name dropping) where her husband, my Uncle John, was buried in 2007.

You're familiar with the phrase, "They lived a full life" right?

My Aunt and Uncle John took that phrase to another level.

Aunt Eileen was a football coach's wife, zig-zagging the country with her husband as he took jobs in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Lexington before settling in Atlanta Georgia for the last 40 years or so. Uncle John's most successful stop was as football coach at Virginia Military Institute, where all he did was become the winningest coach in VMI history.

Aunt Eileen spent her retirement years staying very active, studying with local artists to stay sharp, and kicking some 5th grader butt while watching the show, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" At the age of 63, she earned her real estate license, "just to show that she could," said her daughter Mary.

They traveled during retirement, staying in Elder-hostels and taking classes. I remember my Uncle John telling me he took a Math class in a certain hostel in California. "Keeps the mind sharp," he said. I believe he was in his 70's at the time. One favorite form of exercise for him was sculling. He went on and on, telling me how great sculling was for his body and his mind. Again, he was in his 70's when we had this conversation. He lived for 20 more years. The man knows what he's talking about.

They raised their family Catholic, proud of their Irish heritage and the whole family reeks of Southern Charm.

Before my wife and I left Lexington, we stopped in the local Celtic shop to look around. I struck up a conversation with a woman who was behind the counter, and she asked me what I was doing in Lexington?

I replied that we were in town for a funeral.

She asked, "Mrs. McKenna?"

I said yes, she was my aunt.

Her eyes welled up. "Oh, she was a sweet lady" she said emotionally.

I don't know how they knew each other, but my Aunt and Uncle left Lexington in the 60's.

Obviously, Aunt Eileen left an impression on people.

Self Promotion, sort of.

2011-12-02T22:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm not here to promote anything I am personally involved in, but I would like to share with you a project my Daughter Erin is involved in.

Actually, that does make me personally involved, doesn't it?

Anyway, she's putting together a documentary, ( in her spare time) which is presently in it's infancy.

This story is taking place as we speak, in Kenya.

The film will document the inspiring work some world class coaches and athletes are doing with Kenya's poverty stricken youth, using Kenya's national past time, running, to empower.

Erin explains it better than I over here, Tumaini Film Project. Do me and yourself a favor and check it out.

Cain and Christmas

2011-12-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

I sure hope Herman Cain can "bob and weave".

It's quite possible some Mikasa fine china is coming his way via his wife, as we speak.

Today was the day he was to have a sit down with her.

Subject matter?

The 13 year relationship he had with another woman.

Ooops.

I would love to be a fly on the wall during that meeting.

Here we are in December with Christmas approaching fast.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

This year I'm trying to embrace the true meaning of Christmas.

It's not about the decorations or the tree and not even the egg nog.

We may not admit it, but we know what's important.

It's Amazon's "Wish List."

I mean really, how awesome is that?

Merry Christmas!

Status Update?

2011-12-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

Pre-Twitter?

Muddy Mississippi

2011-11-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

There is a reason they call it

the Muddy Mississippi.

It's really muddy.

And speaking of mud.....is there a reason the story of Bernie Fine, the latest teacher of kids turned alleged child molester, is buried on page 3 of Monday's USA's Today?

Has it become that common place that stories of child molesters are treated with a HO-Hum attitude?

Old Bernie lost his basketball coaching job at Syracuse University the other day.

It seems the administration didn't think to highly of the fact that Bernie liked to play doctor with a former ball boy for the team. Again, and I know this sounds familiar, allegedly this went on for many years.

HOLY SANDUSKY!!!

Espn, who went after the Penn State coach ( Sandusky) like a dog with a bone, now mentions in passing Bernie Fine's problems after the "Top Ten Plays of the Week" and before the latest news on the NBA lockout.

Page one of USA today had a story on the Occupy protest, like that's news, and a story on the holiday retail sales numbers over Thanksgiving. I was wondering about those numbers.

Page 2 of the USA Today had a story on Newt Gingrich and a Wisconsin Governor.

Page 3, finally a story on Bernie Fine, right next to a story on the trained horses at our border fighting the drug trade.

I'm sorry, but Bernie Fine and Jerry Sandusky's photo should be plastered on page one, everyday, with a story of what monsters they are.

Allegedly.

2011-11-29T18:42:00.000-08:00

Have you ever sat at a rail road crossing in your car

and watched the trains rattle by in front of you?

Do you count the cars as they go by?

I do.

Always have.

It's like, if I have to sit there while these trains go by

I want it to be worth it.

I want to set a record and count

the most cars I have ever counted before, ever.

Have you ever wondered what was inside all those cars?

I do that too.

I also wonder what is inside these things

These deck barges carry dry goods.

Under those covers could be lumber

or steel

or machines

or sugar.

Anything that can be moved

is moved

by deck barges.

I wonder what is inside.

I wonder if my Christmas IPod

is under one of these covers.

I hope Santa reads my blog.

Like Huck Finn I'm on the Mississippi

2011-11-28T17:46:00.000-08:00

As we pushed our barge up the mighty Mississippi River today

I couldn't help but think of Mark Twain's

Huck Finn.

I'm lying.

Actually I was thinking of the book

Shattered

and wondering to myself

why it has taken me 2 months to read.

I've been reading it for so long

I have no idea what the beginning of the book is about.

I'm nearing the end.

The end is very good,

the beginning, I have no idea.

You see, I read it when I go to bed.

I really should start reading it while in the sitting position.

That's my Thanksgiving resolution.

Virtual School

2011-11-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

K12 Inc., which is based in Virginia, is a company that thinks it is a good idea for kids to go to "virtual" schools instead of the schools with windows, doors, teachers and class bells.

They would think that, because they are the leading suppliers of virtual schools in the country.

Ronald Packard is the CEO of this invisible school company and he says, "For many kids the local school doesn't work."

Where was he when I was going to school?

I tried that line on my Mom, "Mom, this grade school thing just doesn't work for me."

Her answer was to grab me by the arm and force me to walk through those big school doors as I cried like a baby on that first day of school. I remember it like it was yesterday.

That is my first of many memories of going to school, yes, into an actual building, and learning while interacting with other children. I'm sure for some people, for various reasons, being home schooled was the best thing. I know of a few people who went that route and things seem to have worked out beautifully. But for the population as a whole, to spend 12 years sitting in front of a computer, going to "virtual school", my opinion is that isn't such a great idea.

Think of all the things the virtual students would miss.

Recess for one. How awesome was recess?

How about the 8th grade dance? Talk about learning to deal with pressure. As the girls stood on one side of the room and the boys stood on the other, the mood was similar to what must have been felt at the standoff at the OK Carrol.

These are priceless memories that can't be had in virtual school.

High school Prom is another argument. If I was schooled virtually, I would have missed out on dancing in a tacky gymnasium with the smell of High Karate cologne in the air. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

And detention. If you're in virtual school, there are no detention slips. I even learned things while attending Saturday detentions. We had to kneel on the tile floor for 1 hour and I learned that, that hurts like hell.

Who knows, maybe it will work out. I think that the socialization that comes with attending school is almost as important as the lessons that are taught.

If everyone is attending virtual school, will we have a population of kids with the social awkwardness of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg? ( yes, I know he is a gazillionair )

Tug boats have Thanksgiving too.

2011-11-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

Like a typical family

gorging themselves with Thanksgiving turkey

and all the trimmings,

our tugboat had a Thanksgiving of sorts today

filling up on fuel, water and supplies.

Below a barge pulls up alongside us

to transfer some much needed supplies.

You know how those big military

transport planes refuel while underway,

fueling on the fly

without stopping?

Well, what we do is nothing like that.

Also on this Black Friday

our deckhands decided it would be

a good idea to go grocery shopping.

I cringe every time I hear the words

Black Friday and shopping

in the same sentence.

I asked the deckhand where he was going.

He answered, "Walmart."

I said, "You do know it's Back Friday don't you?"

He replied, "The grocery isle won't be crowded."

I reminded him that Walmart

has been running Black Friday commercials

on TV, every 5 minutes for the last 3 weeks.

My words did not phase him.

He left the boat for his trip to Walmart

at 10:30 this morning.

He returned to the boat at

5:45 PM.

Silly man.

2011-11-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

We had crew change today so I flew to New Orleans this morning.

It's Thanksgiving Day, so I was curious to see what the airports would be like on such a big Holiday. Here's what I learned.

First, the lack of traffic on the roads to the airport was quite noticeable which was very cool.

Generally speaking, the people traffic at the airports was down quite a bit,

not so many people milling around the concourse which meant the line at the coffee shop was quite tolerable and the men's room was almost empty. One goes with the other.

My plane was packed to the gills, which tells me the airlines cut back

on the number of flights.

The ratio of children to adults was much higher for obvious reasons, which scared me, but my flight was uneventful as far as those little antsy, screaming passengers go. Everyone must have been on their best behavior.

The boat was heading up the Mississippi River so our crew took a pilot boat out to the tug and hopped on as the tug just kept on going, never missing a beat.

Let me get back to the message at hand. Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks, as we all know.

I have proof that this is indeed the case.

On my desk at home is a framed note my Dad wrote to my Mom many years ago.

My sister shared this with me when we were doing the old, cleaning out of the parents house.

I really liked it, so I framed it.

Pretty cool, wouldn't you agree?

"Law enforcement grade pepper-spray"

2011-11-22T04:55:00.000-08:00

By accident, I have become somewhat of a expert on pepper-spray.

Did you know they have "law enforcement grade" pepper-spray?

That differs from the "college student who lives in a not great section of the city" pepper-spray.

There are obvious differences.

The "college student who lives in a not great section of the city" pepper-spray looks like a device used to make ones breath smell better.

The "law enforcement grade" pepper-spray has the look and feel of an industrial paint sprayer, something NASCAR might use to paint "Go Daddy" on the side of one of their muscle cars.

The law enforcement grade spray was used yesterday to cover the faces and bodies of the students at UC Davis who were non-violently protesting a raise in tuition. The campus police, who are basically one step removed from the title of night watchman, thought this was good opportunity to practice their paint spraying skills by calmly covering the students with their chemical weapon of choice.

I thought I was watching a protest in Cairo Egypt. What the hell is happening in our country?

And why are UC Davis campus police wearing riot gear and carrying chemical weapons?

Are the mechanical engineering students at Berkeley that much of a threat?

And what were the protesters doing to attract the attention of the arrogant over weight donut eating cop that calmly covered the students with pepper-spray?

They were sitting. Yep, sitting.

How dare they?

The rent a cop in question is seen calmly walking up and down the line of students who were sitting on the ground, spraying them as if he was walking down his driveway with a can of "weed-be-gone".

Imagine if one of those kids was your child.

The college President said a review of the police policies on campus is underway.

I think that is a super idea.

What's going on here????

2011-11-21T05:20:00.000-08:00

For the last few days I have been trying to figure out why this blog had disappeared into space.

Every time I tried to to sign on I was told it had been disabled.

While investigating this matter, WHICH IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE ( thank you blogger)

it was hinted that I may have broken one of their policies.

Upon review, I have figured out, that my previous post with a picture of leaves in my backyard,

may have been the catalyst for them disabling my blog.

The leaves are also unacceptable to my wife.

Why my blog has suddenly returned?

I have no idea.

Confused

2011-11-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

Like shoveling your driveway

1 hour after a 6 hour snow storm starts

I raked leaves over the weekend,

and my back yard was leave-less

until this morning.

I would like to continue on this subject

but I can't,

because as Herman Cain so eloquently put it

the other day when asked a question,

"I got all this stuff twirrlin around in my head."

An Evening in DC

2011-11-15T05:18:00.000-08:00

My wife and I were invited by my daughter

to her apartment for lunch.

After lunch we went for a walk

and saw some really cool stuff.

2011-11-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's a crazy world, especially this week.

Stories of child abuse at what was a formerly highly respected University.

An icon gets fired last night because he didn't have the guts to report this child abuse that he knew about in 2002.

The same school that claims it is trying to do the right thing by firing it's head coach, doesn't do a thing to the assistant coach that saw an alleged rape in a locker room shower stall and did not report it to authorities.

ESPN got Joe Paterno fired and ESPN will get the assistant coach fired. The school only cares about it's image, not the welfare of the victims in this terrible story.

The NCAA has punished football programs for far less than the rape of a child.

Penn State should not be allowed to play football for 15 years. That's the amount of time it took Penn State to do something about this crime.

I've been watching this story on TV far too much. So I did today what any normal person would do when they need a break from craziness.

I checked out the Chtyanthemum display at Longwood Gardens.

*********************************************************************************

For more thoughts on the Penn State scandal, check this out.

Mike McQueary is Smack in the Middle of Penn State Scandal

************************************************************************************

Public Display of Affection

2011-11-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

I know

it's kind of creepy.

Blogger put duplicates below and I don't know why and I can't delete them.

My Gather article today:

Herman Cain Is One Smooth Operator

******************************************************************

Public Service announcement

2011-11-08T15:28:00.001-08:00

This is a public service announcement.

If you see, or know about, a young child that has been sexually abused by an adult,

you are supposed to say something to the authorities,

BECAUSE THAT IS WRONG!.

I need to make this statement because many adults at Penn State University have had knowledge for over a decade, that child abuse has been taking place at this famous University, and they have said nothing.

This is not me saying this. It's all here http://cbschicago.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/sandusky-grand-jury-presentment.pdf

in this grand jury report. And just a little heads up, reading it will turn your stomach.

Penn State University, always bragging about how proud they were to run clean athletic programs have fallen from grace in a huge way.

Joe Paterno, or Joe Pa as he is lovingly known by his admiring fan base, is the head football coach at this once proud institution was told of an incident, in 2002, involving his assistant coach and a 10 year old boy in the locker room showers. The disgusting details are in the above linked report.

In case you missed that, I said the boy was 10 years old. So what did the respected, teacher of children do about this? He told his athletic director. Wow Joe Pa, that's impressive. How about telling the cops, or didn't you want to smudge the respected name of the great Penn State?

It turns out the A.D. didn't think it was worth mentioning either, because this behavior went on, at Penn State for about 15 years. We're talking about the lives of young children here.

What kind of monsters live in what they call Happy Valley?

I know of 8 kids who aren't very happy, the kids who testified in the grand jury investigation for the last 3 years, who were sexually abused.

Obviously, many people at Penn State put the well being of their precious University before the well being of the children. I can't think of a crime worse than that.

If there is any fairness in this world, many people at Penn State University will be fired and many will be put in prison. This story is unfolding as I write this. Coach JoePa went to football practice today like it was just another day in Happy Valley. The arrogance of these people make me sick.

JoePa will be gone soon, after a 46 year run as the head coach, as well as all the monsters who covered up these sickening crimes.

So, to repeat, if you see a 10 year old boy being raped by a grown man,

say something to the cops.

IT IS WRONG!

Occupy Deer Run

2011-11-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

I couldn't sit on the side lines watching any longer.

As the protesters for occupy whatever were gaining strength in numbers

I felt a moral obligation to join the ranks, so I took to the streets today

( actually I took to my front porch)

to have my voice heard.

Occupy whatever seems to be a chance to voice whatever it is

you are unhappy with in your life.

Occupy Wall street, an American Revolution was actually started by a bunch of Canadians,

an activist group called Adbusters. They are protesting social inequality between the "Have's" and the "Have Not's".

FYI, I'm a "Have Not."

Anyway, this seemed like a good cause which has been proven by the on going demonstrations in cities throughout the United States and the world.

A light bulb went off for me when I saw that 70 Harvard students took to the streets,

let's call it Occupy Harvard, to protest. Now I'm confused. I thought this was about those with money and those without.

Doesn't it cost $50,000 a year to go to Harvard? What's their beef?

Well, 70 students got fed up with the economics course they were taking and left the class room, taking to the streets. They want to be heard.

So, on their cue, I'm marching today.

Deer Run is the name of the development that I live in which is located in New London, PA., the political hotbed of Chester County, PA.

We may be a couple hundred miles from Wall Street, but our voices are loud.

This sleepy town of just over 5000 people have voices too.

I'm not sure what I'm marching for but I will be here day and night.

A walk in the park

2011-11-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

White Clay Creek

is where we went for a walk yesteday.

A perfect Autumn day.

********************************************************************************

My article in gather News today:

Armed Police Are Roaming the Hallways of Some City Schools

*******************************************************************************

My daughter's Art Show

2011-11-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

This was one very exciting night.

My bird friend.

2011-10-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 1/2 weeks that we've been anchored,

this little guy has lived with us here on the boat.

He has been seen everywhere. On the bow, on the stern, and on top of the wheelhouse.

One day he was dive bombing us in the laundry room, but then he made his way back outside

where we've seen him off and on.

Last night around 1am, I walked outside and almost stepped on the little guy as he sat

on the step outside the back door.

A closer look and I realized he was sleeping.

He was all crunched up in a cute little ball, protecting himself from the wind.

I wanted to scoop him up and bring him inside, it was a little chilly last night by Texas standards, but I didn't want to give him a heart attack as these big human hands grabbed him.

Instead, I went to the galley and grabbed a piece of bread, and broke off tiny little pieces

and put them in a pile next to him.

We all wake up sometimes and want a snack, right?

A few hours after I saw him, the boat moved from Galveston to Texas City, just a few hours ride up the river.

As we now sit at the dock, I've made frequent rounds of the boat,

looking for my furry friend. I haven't seen him yet.

Did he jump ship when we pulled anchor?

Did he abandon us for a bigger more spacious boat that was in that same anchorage?

I'll keep looking, just in case.

Hopefully he's ok.

Idiot commenters

2011-10-29T21:05:00.001-07:00

I posted about Etouffee the other day and naturally, John Rambo left a comment that had nothing to do with the southern dish.

John Rambo must not like Etouffee.

He felt obligated to go on a rant about hating American women, on my blog.

Up until this post and his comment I thought I was playing with grown-ups here in the blogger world. It turns out I was wrong.

So now, not only was I forced to do that "verification" thingy because of computer scams,

I need to do the "moderator" thingy because of idiots like Mr. John Rambo.

Frustrating. Rambo is a hater who is trying to make a buck. I have no idea how that is going to happen. I believe Mr Rambo has visited me before, but I tossed it up to computer scam.

Mr. Rambo has gotten through the security of the dreaded "verification", so he must be human.

But he is a human that is not welcomed here.

This blog is called marks rants.....not John Rambo rants.

Bye John Rambo.

Flipper

2011-10-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

I mentioned the other day

my lack of photographic opportunities

because we have been anchored in one place for sooo long.

The last few days this area as been a hot spot

for my dolphin friends.

I could go out on deck any time and see many of these sleek beauties

all around the boat.

As if they were camera shy

every time I would grab my camera

they would seem to disappear.

I could never quite seem to get a clear shot at them.

Until today.

Gotcha!

Etouffee

2011-10-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

In the past I have written about eating Etouffee, the southern dish most popular in the New Orleans area of the U.S.

I can tell you this. It certainly is not popular in the Philadelphia area. There aren't a lot of craw fish shacks up my way.

I've had this dish once before while on the boat in Fouchon, LA. It seems crawfish are easy to come by down there. But one mistake was made, claims born and bred southerner and blogger buddy Diane, we had the gall to use a Etouffee mix, FROM A BOX.

I found out that's a big no-no in bayou country. Diane is not bashful.

But let it be said, today I had the real thing. Our Mate on the boat is from Mississippi. He's been making Etouffee all his life, so he claims. Today, he gathered together some shrimp, crawfish, rice and whatever else goes into this dish, and whipped us up a beautiful Etouffee meal. There wasn't a Etouffee mix box anywhere to be seen.

They say New Orleans is known for their music and their food.

There is a reason for that.

The photo I took of my creole dish would have been sitting right here if Blogger would,ve cooperated and let me up load a photo. But it didn't. maybe tomorrow.

**********************************************************************************

My Gather News article today talks about an out of control air trffic controller;

Michelle Obama's plane incident wasn't the first for the controller

**********************************************************************************

2011-10-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

I think I have photographers block.

Is there such a thing?

I just can't find anything interesting to photograph.

That happens when you spend 2 full weeks anchored in the same place without moving.

I look at the same shoreline everyday.

The old heart gets racing when the tide turns,

and the boat spins around on the anchor, (yippee)

to give me another view of a different shoreline, different that is

from the shoreline I got to look at for the previous 6 hours.

6 hours later, another tide change, another shoreline........

well, you get the picture.

Though I've had a lack of photographic opportunities,

my window for writing has opened just a bit more.

Check out my article in the Gather News about an out of control flock of crows.

People are shooting at the Terre Haute crows

*********************************************************************************

2011-10-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of the phrase

"worker bees and thinker bees?"

It's actually a phrase

take my word for it.

As you can see Mike is a "worker bee."

I like to consider myself a "thinker bee."

I think Mike

should keep working.

**********************************************************

My latest article for Gather News;

A must for politics, build a social network

**********************************************************

Some Fall spectacles are better than others

2011-10-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

I love Autumn. I mean, who doesn't?

I have been inspired today with blogs like this at This old house2 and Delights of the Heart, that show Autumn at it's finest.

Just looking at these photos you can feel the crisp air. Can you hear the crunching of brittle leaves on the ground as you walk?

I do believe Autumn to be the best season EVER!

So I thought I'd share Autumn from my point of view.

Can you see the colorful leaves way over there on the beach?

Do you see the tree's leaves changing from green to yellow?

Of course you can't.

Because I'm in freekin Texas!

As the trees on my property in Pennsylvania are putting on Autumn show,

I'm in Texas where the four seasons are;

Hot

really hot

hell hot

and hot again.

*********************************************************************************

Please check out my article at Gather News.

The new White House usher is a Woman — That's a first!

Shackled

2011-10-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel shackled to your job?

Count your blessings.

***********************************************************************************

More selfish self promotion of my writing gig below.

New York Senator votes 'no' then 'yes' to same sex marriage

Floating birds

2011-10-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

I walked out on deck last night at 1am and saw the most interesting thing.

We're at anchor near Galveston Texas, again, and the boats flood lights are on so our unit will be lit up, easy for vessel traffic coming and going to see us.

An area of the water about 50 ft square is illuminated by these lights.

It seems the lighted area of the water is quite an attraction to the local seagulls.

It was floating room only as there were hundreds of gulls floating in this area.

The bundle of birds floating together would drift slowly toward the stern of the boat as the tide was coming in. As the birds drifted out of the light and into the darkness they would fly about 50 feet up into the front edge of the illuminated water, then settle in, bobbing in the water. Those birds that just landed would ride the tide for about 45 seconds before they would again enter the darkened area, prompting them to fly again, back up to the far edge of the illuminated water before landing for the 45 second ride back down to the stern.

It was like watching a choreographed dance.

I tried to get a photo of this dance but because I had to use a very slow shutter setting to capture the light, I also caught streaks made from the floating and flying birds.

Still working on my night photography.

*****************************************************************************

For your viewing pleasure, read my article in "Gather News"

No Monument for Coretta King, and That's Alright.

In Texas prisons, no lunch for you

2011-10-21T23:23:00.000-07:00

I hate to break it to the blogging world, but my time here may be limited as i am now a PAID writer. That's right, moolah for me baby.

I am now a writer for the very well known news outlet, "Gather News."

You haven't heard of it? Oh, you will, with me on staff.

Am I a journalist? Christ, my dad just rolled over in his grave. Heck no.

I'm thinking retirement is just around the corner. The compensation is unbelievable.

For every 150 views my article gets on Gather, I receive two fifty.

No, not 250 bucks. 2 dollars and 50 cents.

On second thought, I'll be here for awhile.

Feel free to check out my first published article.

In Texas prisons, no lunch for you

2011-10-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

I guess you heard about the exotic animals that were set free yesterday by a disturbed Preserve owner in Ohio.

What a sight that would be. Lions and tigers and bears oh my!

Sorry, can't write a story about that group of animals without saying "Oh My" can you?

The outrage by people around the world because of the necessary killing of these beautiful animals was expected. The folks who don't know the whole story think this was an outrage.

From what Jack Hanna says, they had two options. Put down these beautiful animals who were unfortunate enough to have a disturbed owner, or let the animals have the school children who would be roaming the streets of Zanesville in the morning, for snacks.

We're all animal lovers, well, except for Michael Vick.

I think it's safe to say that Jack Hannah, the Nationally know vet and animal lover, made the right call.

There are millions of people starving at this moment around the world.

Where's the outrage?

A movie screening

2011-10-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend my first movie premier, a screening actually.

Not just anyone can attend a movie screening, you have to know someone.

Project 21 gave budding screenwriters, as well as established movie makers, 21 days to write, film, produce, edit and submit a short film less than 10 minutes long.

My brother Patrick thought this would be a fun thing to do.

The fact that he has never written a screenplay before didn't phase him.

He didn't know a cinematographer and the only sound equipment he ever operated was a $20 boom box purchased at KMart. The actor pool came from contacts my daughter Erin had, as she was in the theater club in college.

Hastily written emails and phone calls provided him with the actors, photographers and sound equipment he needed. The screenplay was already written.

Locations were found, meetings were had, and 21 days later he submitted his finished short film titled, "All My Love, Dad." He wasn't alone. Films from a half a dozen countries and 13 different States were entered. The screening date was finally set.

As my wife and I drove to the event which was being held in Philadelphia, I was actually nervous. We were going to watch about 15 films, my brothers being one of them. I didn't know what to expect. My only wish was that the crowd in the theater didn't stand up and start throwing tomatoes. Hey, this was his first film. My daughter played my sister in the film. The cinematographer was a college student and my brother with no directing experience was the director.

Hell yeah I was nervous!

I shouldn't have been. As we sat in the audience and watched the different films, I think I can say as unbiased as I can be, that his ranked in the top 5 of the ones we saw. It was great.

Everyone involved did a great job, the acting was top notch and look and sound of the film was professional.

The crowd reaction was good, everyone seemed to enjoy it.

It was a very exciting experience for all involved, even for the family members who attended.

I've never been to a movie screening before, but I think I'll be going to another because he's putting pen to paper as we speak, for his next venture.

Below are some of the stars. The tall guy in the back is the cinematographer standing with my daughter Erin and the screen writer, director, producer Patrick.

To check out the details go here to IMDb.

2011-09-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

I always lock my house doors when I leave, even if I'll only be gone a few minutes.
Leave your car unlocked at the grocery store? I don't think so.
We lock them, put any valuables that are in the car under the seat, then arm the security system.
That's the world we live in.

Someone didn't get the memo.
As I was driving to the grocery store this morning I came across this farm

and noticed some thing unusual.
No, it's not unusual to see vegetable stands in my area, but it is unusual
to see a self service veggie stand.

Who's guarding the veggies? Where is the fence?
Where's the security for the eggplant?

It made me happy to see that there still is a little trust in the world.
If you want some of this farmers home grown goodies, just put your money in the coffee can and have a nice day.
Very cool!

As I ran my errands today, I cruised by my first house, which I bought in the early 80's.
The house sat on acre lot which was bare as a parking lot, the only green on it were weeds.
Those large healthy trees in the back yard were planted by my wife and I, which we brought home in pots in the trunk of our car.

The large tree in the foreground of the next photo was a gift from my neighbors, in memory of my Dad when he died in 1989.

It's fun to see how things have changed.

2011-09-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

Generally speaking, I'm not big on reunions.
I'm not sure why. For instance, I've been out of High School since 1973,
and I've only been to one reunion, our 25th.

My wife came with me and we both had fun, but I haven't been back since.
Hmmmmm.

There was another reunion of sorts this past Saturday. It was a gathering of merchant seaman who used to work for Sun Transport Inc. Sun Transport was basically the marine division of Sun Oil Company. They had a fleet of oil tankers and a bunch of tug and barge units. I started working there 2 months after high school graduation on an oil tanker named the SS Eastern Sun. I worked there for 24 years, and like everyone who was at the reunion, we all thought we would retire there. But Sun followed the lead of most of the big oil companies and sold their fleets. Now, when they need to move oil from point A to point B, they hire another company to do it.

So, in 1997, Sun sold their last boat and the employees, many of which were my friends, scattered throughout the industry looking for jobs. Some continued on and others found completely different paths in life.

I often think of those friends. I sailed with some of those guys for more than 20 years, sharing some pretty crazy experiences. Then, like the end of a good movie, the curtain came down, and out the door we went.

Now it's 2011, and a former mate, who now works in a management position for one of those companies Sun now hires to move product, thought it would be fun to have a reunion.

This past Saturday, Sun Transport held it's 2nd annual reunion at a State Park.
Lots of guys were there I haven't seen in 20 years or more. Mike and Kevin and Bob were there, guys who started about the same time as me. Jack and Margeree, and Patty and Gordon. Names from the past. Names that bring back good memories.

My wife was there and said she had a blast. I hear everyone did. I couldn't tell you. I was on the boat. Didn't make it.
My wife wasn't there representing me, she was there because she is a Sun Transport Alum. I met her on a oil tanker in 1980. It was her first trip.

Anyway, the reports are in. It was a successful gathering.
Maybe next year I'll make it.

2011-09-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

See this line under the words I am writing?
I have no idea why it is there
and I can't figure out how to make it go away.

So, until I can type without this happening,
I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Meanwhile, I'll work on this issue.

2011-09-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

All of us here in the States have heard a lot about hero's lately, as well we should.
The recent anniversary of 9/11 reminds us all of all the hero's that stepped up that day.

Today, at the White House in Washington, DC another hero was honored by the President when he was given our nations highest honor, the Medal of Honor.
His name is Dakota Meyer and he is only 23 years old.

Serving in the Marines in Afghanistan he went above and beyond the call of duty, over and over again, which is why he was awarded this honor today. His story is quite impressive.
While he and his fellow Marines as well as some Afgan soldiers they were training, were heading into a village to talk with the Elders, they were ambushed and many Afghan soldiers were dead or dying as well as 4 fellow Marines who had been pinned down. Disobeying orders, he got behind the gun on top of one of the Humvees and not once, not twice, but 5 times road into the middle of the ambush to pickup the wounded or the dead and bring them back.

He saved 36 lives that day. The 4 Marines were killed, but he was determined to bring them back. He did.

He now works in the construction business. When a fellow worker came up to him during work and told him the President of the United States wanted to speak with him on the phone, he said he couldn't take the call right then, because if he didn't work, he didn't get paid.
President Obama said he was glad he could arrange to make the call later, at lunch time.

It was a very impressive story.

Just a thought. I think if you are a Medal of Honor recipient, you should not have to work in construction, or anywhere else for that matter, for the rest of your life.
****************************************************
On a much lighter and more frivolous note, here is my first installment of,
"What you won't see at my house and probably not your's either."

RAT GUARDS

If you look very closely at this ship and follow the lines from the dock to the top of the bow,
you'll notice 3 little yellow circular things up near where the lines go through the bow.
They are to prevent rats from crawling up the lines and onto the ship.

Next......

Nooo, not just a charcoal grill

but a charcoal grill right next to a 1000 lb anchor.

2011-09-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Years ago when I started in this business, all the ships and tugs had professional cooks on board. You want to talk about being spoiled.
The cooks and the "steward dept" handled all things related to food.
They shopped for it, prepared it and cooked it.
All we had to was eat it.

Like any restaurant, some meals are better than others.

As times changed over the years with cutbacks and downsizing, the merchant marine industry was affected. More to the point, our stomachs were affected.
Where most if not all shipping companies still employ cooks, many of the tug companies decided to save money by removing the position of cook on their vessels.

My company is one of them.
The good news is, they didn't remove the food budget. They give each boat X amount of money per month and it's up to the crew to figure out who is going to go shopping and who is doing the cooking. For the most part it works out really well. Depending on the crew, sometimes we eat like kings.

Sometimes not.

Really????

A little class

2011-09-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Interestingly enough, just a day or two after my post about the overuse of graphic images as a reminder of what happened on 9/11, my daughter posted this video, that was put together by the faculty and staff of Salasianum High School, of which she is a part of.

A beautiful, thoughtful remembrance of what happened that day, a message just as powerful as the graphic gruesome images the networks like to run, but I would think much less painful for the families of the survivors.

2011-09-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

Do you have a paperboy? You know, one of those kids who walk the neighborhood with a bag strapped over his shoulder, throwing newspapers on your front step with the accuracy of a hall of fame pitcher?

Our paperboy showed up yesterday, and delivered a strike.

Notice the gentleman on the bow.
He's winding up to throw a rolled up Texas newspaper to the crew of the barge.

This practice of the Pilot boats delivering newspapers to ships and tugs when they are delivering pilots, has been going on forever. It's a nice touch, I must say.

When I first started in this business, they would often deliver, along with the newspaper, a carton of Marlboro cigarettes.
You don't see that anymore.

Something about health risks.

2011-09-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today, the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City, and our country, I sit, and like most people, take a moment to remember that terrible day.
Ten years after the fact and those two little numbers, 9 and 11, when said as a title, bring back the horror, disbelief,anger, saddness and grief that all of us felt that Tuesday morning.

It is a day none of us will ever forget, especially those who were touched by that tragedy on a personal level. I'm one of the lucky ones, I was not touched personally. I didn't loose a family member or friend that day at the hands of a few sick misguided individuals. But as an American and a human being, I was affected, like we all were.

Here's what I don't need, and maybe this is just me. I don't need to watch footage over and over again of the Twin Towers collapsing into a pile of rubble, with thousands of people inside. This wasn't the demolition of some old building that was scheduled to come down, this was a terrorist attack on two buildings that had real human beings sitting at their desks, innocently drinking coffee and preparing for their workday that lay ahead. How can this scene continue to be shown on TV?

Another thing I don't need to see are the planes, loaded up with bussiness people, vacationers and families, from every conceivable angle flying into those buildings and killing all the innocent people aboard. I can't imagine for a minute, how I could stand to watch that if I knew my son or daughter was sitting in row 7A of that plane. What if my mother was working on the 19th floor of the South Tower? Do I really need to revisit again and again that building crushing her to her death?

I don't want to hear that the reason they show it is so we won't ever forget. Just say the numbers 9/11 and my head is full of images. I don't need the networks to show me, while they are trying to boost their ratings. I can't look at a fireman, in any city or country, and NOT think of that terrible day.

There are other ways to remember that day and those thousands of innocent people. The Freedom Tower which is being built on the site, is a beautiful way as well as the memorials made from the foot prints of the original Towers. We should never forget, and those memorials will make sure the generations that come after us know of the sacrifice those people made that day.

I think showing publicly, the murder of thousands of American citizens over and over again on TV should be against the law. I don't think the family members of the fallen need CNN to remind them of that day.

I don't either.

2011-09-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

The human mind really is a strange thing sometimes.
Both complex and confusing.

Recently out boat spent 3 or 4 days tied up to a dock in Texas.
Pictured below is one of our deckhands, Mike,
a hard working self starter if there ever was one.

When we're not actively docking the boat or making up to the barge
Mikes job is basically to chip and paint. It's a never ending job.

After a few days we received word that we would be leaving the dock
and traveling just a short distance to a ship anchorage
where we would again stay for a few days.
When Mike heard we were leaving the dock, he exclaimed,
"Man, I'll sure be glad to get out of here."

I thought to myself, why?
Mike will do the same thing tomorrow that he did yesterday, which is
chip and paint.

Now we're at the anchorage and Mike is painting.
I hear we'll be leaving in a few days.
I bet Mike's ready "to get out of here" too.

I wasn't as productive as Mike today,
but I did make a cake!

Noooo, not from scratch.

On a unrelated note,
The White House Team has a position titled "Director of Digital Strategy".
I swear.

He deals with the White House website, Facebook, Twitter and who knows what else.

Macon Phillips holds that position presently.
See Mrs Phillips, all those hours as a kid in front of the TV playing Nintendo really payed off.

A shadow, a Movie and a rant

2011-09-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

I am shamelessly promoting my brother's new movie and "4 Maples Productions" his new Movie Production Company. Please check them out and support yet another starving artist, emotionally I mean, not monetarily.
If you click on the link above, that will take you to the "4Maples" FB page. If you scroll down that page you will see the movie trailer for his first movie which open in Philadelphia in a few weeks. The name 4Maples, is a takeoff of what my Dad used to call our house when we were growing up. Yep, he named our house. We had a maple tree in our front yard that actually had 4 trunks that were growing together. Our maple tree is actually 4 trees in one. Hence, 4Maples.

You know how those big lavish estates have a name, like "Rolling Hills" or "Sunset Estate?"
Jackie Kennedy had a name for her childhood home called "Hammersmith Farm."
Well, my Dad figured, what the heck, we're the 4Maples.

The only difference between those big lavish estates and 4Maples was, we weren't big or lavish, just a comfortable split level house in a working class neighborhood outside of Philadelphia.
But we had a name, and now my brother does for his movie company.

I'm sure there is a smoother, much better way for me to link that trailer for my blog friends to see, but I just can't figure out how to do it, for which I will surely hear about it from my brother.

On a much less festive note;

After listening to the remarks on TV of all the people from all walks of life, once again giving their negative opinion after Obama's speech last night, I have concluded that nothing has changed. Why would I think differently?

Let me be clear when I say I am really glad that we still live in a country where we, it's citizens, can voice our opinions in public without fear of being targets of a well oiled AK-47 rifle.
That being said, give the guy a break. Just throw him a little bone.
He could come out and give his speech in Greek, and the Republicans and half of America would disagree whole heartedly with everything he just said.
He could mime the speech and people would be pissed.

Anyway, because of the juggernaut that is the Republican spin machine and the yahoos in the Tea Party, it is quite possible that a person of Republican descent or a Celestial Seasonings Tea lover, will occupy the Oval Office after the next election.

If that happens, I expect this crisis our country is in to be all gone in say, 6 months or so.
They've been talking a good game. Remember when the biggest political talking point was gun control?
Well, my "Quiet Time" drinking friends, the stakes are raised now.

Be careful what you wish for.

2011-09-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

We pulled away from the BP refinery in Texas with a fully loaded barge, just moments after I listened
to part of President Obama's speech to Congress, where he talked about closing
the loopholes Big Oil takes advantage of.
I couldn't listen to the whole Address because I had to go prepare to leave the dock. ( work is so irritating sometimes.)

I hope it works this time, the loophole closing thing that is.
He's seems passionate about it.
I thought he was going to start dropping the F-bomb , he seemed so fired up and fed up
with today's politics in DC.
But I'm so jaded these days, I am afraid his speech was all about him getting re-elected, and there will be more of the same bickering come tomorrow.

The subject matter of his Address was the "American Jobs Act" he is sending to congress
and he expects them (Congress) to sign this bill, "right away."
He said "right away" about 10 times in the 1st five minutes.
His tone of voice reminded me of my Mom, telling me as a youngster to clean
my room, "right away."

I hope they obey, like I did.

A few notes:
John Boehner, the Republican leader who sits behind and to the Presidents left as he speaks, well, he just makes me uncomfortable. He wasn't even speaking. Just looking at him makes me nervous. It looked like he was fighting back tears the whole night. It's just strange.
They need to come up with a different camera angle next time.

Maybe they should schedule the next speech to Congress about 3:30 in the afternoon.
Maybe all those old grey haired guys who were nodding off....wouldn't.
This 8PM starting time is just too late for some of those old boys.

2011-09-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Days end in Texas City, Texas.

2011-09-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

What do spoons call "spooning?"

*
*
The State says Casey Anthony owes them $516,099.32
because of the wild goose chase's she led authorities on.
I say they should just round up to
$516,100.
*
*
Do you get those emails that say
"Forward this email to 10 people and God will grant you 3 wishes?"
FYI, if you send one of those to me
the chain stops right there,
like a truck running into a brick wall.

Is God using email now to give blessings?
When Al Gore invented the internet
did God say,
"It's about time Al. I got some blessing to do?"

I don't think so.

2011-09-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

It's getting more difficult for me to support our President with the same enthusiasm I had during his historic"Campaign for Change."
I made 100 cold calls on his behalf before the big election. I did not enjoy people cussing at me and hanging up on me, but I did it, for the cause.
I feel like we're a on a first name basis because of my work on the campaign.

That being said, "Hey Barrack! Get it together. Just because the Republicans have beat on you for the last couple of weeks over your proposal of tighter environmental regulations, that's no reason to cave in and back off something, that you said many times, was important to you."

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the environmental issues we have, are still that, issues.

Please revisit photo above.
Please note the amount of trash stuck between our boat and the dock, here in Houston, TX.
I was on the phone with my wife looking over the side of the boat at this trash pile and said,
"Excuse me honey, but I am watching a crab walking ON TOP OF the trash, trying to find the water." ( where's my camera when I need it?)

Mr. President, I'm a little disappointed.

2011-09-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

I looked around today
at my location at a dock in Houston, TX

for something pleasing to the eye to photograph.

This is all I found.

It's been triple digit hot here in the Lone Star State for weeks.

On another subject, I saw my girl Sarah Palin
talking on CNN today.

I have no clue what she was saying,
but more importantly
I think she's been working out.

2011-09-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

My thoughts today are with my blogger buddies from the north east who haven't posted since
Irene swooped in with her nasty attitude last week.
I hope all is well.

Just some photos of the activity I saw today in the Houston ship channel.
It's quite busy here.

2011-09-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

A few months back I mentioned that my brother Patrick was writing a screenplay for his movie.
I know what you're thinking, "yeah right and I'm writing a book."

His first movie ( actually those of us in the business call it a film ) has it's world premier at the Philadelphia Film and Animation Festival sometime between September 30th and Oct 2nd.
How cool is that?

Oh, I'm going.
This will be my first red carpet walk and I'm looking forward to it.

Here's the deal. "Project 21" gives aspiring film makers 21 days to create a short film. There are awards and prizes involved.
Patrick had the screenplay written already because, well, the dude is constantly writing something.
So all he had to do was find some local actors, find a location, find someone to film it (on the cheap and by cheap I mean no pay ) find someone with sound equipment and knew how to use it, edit the movie, produce it and submit it...all in 21 days.
He directed it, so he had that covered.

He did it and the name of the film is "All My Love, Dad." It's based on a true story.
Briefly the story is this.
When my brother Patrick was born, my Dad wrote him a letter, that day.
He put it in an envelope, stamped it, and sent it to his new born child.
That was unnecessary. Dad lived in our house, always did. He could have handed it to him, or put it in his crib. But he didn't.
My Dad was cool like that.
Pat didn't get his hands on this letter until he was an adult and my Dad had passed away.
I don't know the contents of this letter. I didn't want to spoil the films ending.

The movies submitted to "Project 21" vary in subject matter.
Comedy, horror, romance, you name it.
It's quite obvious Patrick is going for the "tear jerker" category.

It's also obvious that what my older brother and sister have been saying for years is true.
Patrick was "the favorite."
I mean really, My Dad WROTE HIM A LETTER.

Keep your fingers crossed for my film making little brother.
This is good stuff.

2011-08-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

I miss Sarah Palin.
She was just fun to pick on.
But that party is over.

Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Congresswoman has taken center stage.
Sarah Palin couldn't hold a stick to the stupidity that flows from the mouth of this particular elected official.

Sarah was funny, silly even.
Michele is scary.
I mean Halloween III scary.

Minnesota's pride and joy said that Melissa Etheridge, the recording artist who happens to be lesbian, has breast cancer because she IS lesbian.

Oh, and good news folks, carbon dioxide IS NOT a harmful gas.

What has the American political arena come to?

Bye Bye Irene

2011-08-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

The last of hurricane Irene as she leaves town.

Wewere without power for most of Sunday,
but our hurricane emergency kit came in handy.

Not very smart

2011-08-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays post, an inconsiderate and weak attempt at humor concerning the subject of the hurricane that is pounding the east coast and ruining many peoples lives as I write, has been deleted.
The reason?
Stupidity.

2011-08-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

I got my "Spanish ON" the other night
by way of southern France
via Longwood, PA
which is next door to Kennett Square, PA
the mushroom capital of the world.

Entiendes??

My wife and I and some friends
had the pleasure of seeing The Gypsy Kings,
the other night.
If you've never heard of them
I suggest you catch their act if you get the chance.

A bunch of talented Spanish musicians
who hail from the south of France
ended up in my little corner of the world.

I'm glad they did.

Playing with shadows

2011-08-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

A friend asked me yesterday how the new camera was working out.
Which made me realize I had been too busy lately to play with it,
until last evening.

I took my new girl for a stroll in my woods,
playing with all the different settings.

Quite fun.

A fri

The...earth...moved....under my feet.....

2011-08-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today was just another normal day.
Had breakfast.
Did some painting.
Had lunch.
Did some more painting. ( bedrooms not art )
Experienced my first earthquake.
What?

Did you hear about the earth quake that shook up the east coast today?
Very weird.

The epicenter of the 5.9 quake was east of Richmond VA
and I felt it clear as day in my house in Pennsylvania.

I was in my workshop in my basement when I felt it.
Within a few seconds I had a variety of thoughts,
first, my dogs must be rough housing very enthusiastically above me,
and then I pictured my washing machine on spin cycle coming through the ceiling,
but then when I heard the ping ping ping of a tool rattling on my tool board I thought, I think this is a earthquake.
I'm guessing it lasted 15 - 20 seconds.

For my friends in California who experience this on a regular basis,
we don't.
In fact, this is my first one in 56 years.

My daughter, who happened to be home for a visit ( to drop off some dirty cloths and have her mom make her some food ) said that my wife, upon feeling the tremor, yelled EARTHQUAKE, grabbed the dogs and ran outside..................................leaving me in the basement!
Let me repeat.
She grabbed THE DOGS!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

2011-08-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

The President of the United States is on vacation.
Oh, how relaxed he must be.

Put yourself in his shoes for a minute.
Imagine you're at your favorite vacation spot and you just spent the day doing whatever it is you do to unwind.
It's early evening and as you and your family sit around playing board games you decide a trip to the local ice cream shop would be nice.

So, you send out your advance team ( secret service ) to check out the area. You remove any trash cans that could pose a treat ( trash receptacles seem to be a huge threat these days ) and strategically place sharp shooters on the roof of the adjacent Antique Shop.

Once you get the "All Clear" call, you fire up the 4 car motorcade and casually drive to your destination, after the route has been double checked by bomb sniffing dogs. Of course, the Press follows in vans, each member wanting to be the first to find out what flavor of ice cream the President will order. Is he a chocolate guy? Vanilla? Will he loose voters from peanut farmers if he doesn't order something with nuts? Every step, word and lick will be documented.
His vacation must be sooo relaxing.

The anger, discontent and confusion felt by many Americans about the state of our country is not a new thing.
The President is in good company.

While reading a book titled, "Presidential Courage" the other night, I came across these words.
"...his national adoration was fading.....some wanted him impeached, some cartoons showed the President being marched to a guillotine."

Those words were written in 1795 about George Washington.
Some things never change.

A large canvas

2011-08-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

My wife and I visited my daughter Keely's new apartment yesterday
just off the Temple University campus in North Philadelphia.

The view out her front window should be an inspiration
for an art student.

Talk about working with a large canvas.....

2011-08-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

I picked up my new camera the other day.
It's really no big deal.
Just another camera.

I arrived at the store in time to watch an employee unlock the door.
I was the first one inside.
It was just a coincidence. No big deal.

The clerk suggested I open the box and check the contents.
"NO," I said. "I'll take her home."
He wouldn't understand. I just wasn't comfortable with cleanliness of the store.

As the Brinks guards and I headed for my car, I stopped and gave directions to the police escort that would accompany me and my camera to my home.
I was adamant, "No stopping, just get us home."

Upon arrival, I took the package inside, down to the basement,
to the room that was sterilized, lined with plastic.
You just can't be too careful.

I stood at a table and carefully opened the box.
I lined up the 3 boxes that were inside the big box,
next to each other, with the reverence of a Priest preparing his altar for Mass.

After putting on my surgical gloves I open each box
and placed them on the sterile white cloth.
The camera body.
The lens.
The battery.
I stepped back and took it all in.

It was then the angels started singing.
AL - LE - LUIA ! AL-LE-LUIA!

It's really no big deal.
I got a new camera the other day.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh.

She's sleeping.

2011-08-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to bring up today's stock market woes
because that might encourage more people to panic and sell sell sell,
causing my retirement account to fall fall fall even more.

Instead I'm going to show you New York.
Not the New York you expect, but the New York
not many people take time to look at.
Who can blame them? With the Manhattan skyline sceaming
LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, sometimes smaller beauties get over looked.

These shots are random photos taken from my vantage point
as we traveled the short distance today from our office dock in Brooklyn
to Stapleton Anchorage, which is in the shadow of the Verrazano Bridge.
Our job tonight is to off load a ship.

And then something rudely got in my frame

2011-08-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

I'm attracted to old stuff. I don't know why, but I am.
If I'm home channel surfing and I come upon the TV shows "American Pickers" or "Antique Road Show", well, lets just say the "honey do list" has to wait.
I just can't get enough of old oil cans and tarnished tea pots.

The same is true for buildings.
Give me a brand new building with mirrored windows and glistening steel support beams, or a building with broken windows and cracking cement that serves as home to the local pigeons, then I'll take the bird house.

The new one seems snobbish
The old one tells the stories, old interesting stories, but you have to listen.

This old structure,

is one I see a lot when we're working in New York Harbor. It catches my eye every time.
During it's hay day in the 30's and 40's this building which sits perched at the waters edge in Brooklyn, NY, was the processing center for grains used by distilleries and breweries that were shipped down from upstate NY. It was built in 1922 and closed in 1950.

Just imagine the amount of people who raised families in the area because of paychecks received from an office in this old stout structure.
I would guess in the 1920's, people were proud to say they worked "at the terminal."

Today it sits vacant, except for the rats, and rots.

The thousands of lunch pail toting workers who worked there over the years are now replaced by a few freelance graffiti artists who found a new canvas.

That's too bad.

2011-08-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'm fascinated for some strange reason
about what people eat.

My Dad used to eat "goody" for a snack.
White bread soaked in a bowl of milk
and covered with sugar.
I always thought "goody" was a pet name
he gave this particular snack.
It wasn't until I was reading a book with the subject matter
being Ireland
that I learned that this was an actual dish the Irish ate.
No wonder "my people" drink so much.

When I came on this boat
I noticed the cereal selection was healthy,
cereals with almonds and stuff like that.
Not one Frosted Flake box to be found.

It turns out, the selection I was looking at
was the left overs from the last crew.
That all changed when we got a chance to go shopping.

I couldn't wait to find out
who wanted to be crunch-a tized.
It turns out Carl is the man.

Have you ever seen the show "The Deadliest Catch?"
Well Carl is a real life Deadliest Catcher.
His career on a tug boat is in it's infancy
as he spent the better part of his adult life
braving the elements in the waters off Alaska
in search of king crab.
He'd still be there if the Exxon Valdez spill
didn't ruin his livelihood as well as hundreds of other fisherman.

When I asked him what he thought of the show
The Deadliest Catch, he disgustedly said,
"Oh those rookies..."

It's a fact that commercial fisherman
is the most dangerous industry there is anywhere.
Carl tells me stories that keep me awake at night.
But when I see Carl chowing down on a big sugary bowl
of Captain Crunch before he goes to bed,
I usually say something like
"Oh, is Mr. Deadliest Catch eating some Captain Crunch
before he goes nighty night?"

Then I run to my room.......fast.

2011-08-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

I started a post a few days ago about a special guy, and finished it today, not knowing that it would be published down my list, on the date I started it. Anyway, check out his story here if you like.

2011-08-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

So, congress is on vacation for the rest of the summer,
to celebrate the great work they did over the last few months.

Some FAA workers are working for free
because congress won't give them the money they need.

I think there is something wrong with this picture.
*
*
You know the feeling you get when you buy your first car?
It's very similar to the feeling you get when you buy your first DSLR.
Only I can't take it for a spin until I get home in another week.
*
*
My daughter Keely flew to North Carolina today
and didn't jump out of the plane this time.
That was reassuring

2011-08-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my daughter mentioned to me that she was exploring the idea of sky diving.
My response was, "Oh really, well, do me a favor and don't talk to me about it again until after you do it."
That's real parenting people. Denial, denial, denial.

Anyway, I'd like to give her credit for listening to her dad, because I never heard another word about it, until after she chose to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, free fall for almost a minute then land gracefully while attached to her instructor. Just minutes after landing, she called, and I got an adrenalin rush just listening to her describe it.

She paid to have a video made. Oh great, now I get to watch, like I am right there, my daughter being shoved out OF THE OPEN DOOR TO AN AIRPLANE!!
To say she was having fun is quite the understatement. She had a smile on her face she couldn't wipe off, for hours.

Personally, I think she's nuts.
I wouldn't do that for $200,000.

But D.B. Cooper did. His name's been back in the news, 40 years after he hijacked an airplane
and demanded $200,000 in small bills. He let the passengers catch their connecting flights, before he demanded the plane to take him to Mexico.
D.B. never did get to eat an authentic burrito, because he decided to jump out OF THE OPEN DOOR OF A PERFECTLY GOOD AIRPLANE, somewhere over the coffee crazed area of the Pacific North West with $200,000 strapped to his body.

He was never seen again, but rumors have it he made it.
Personally, I hope he did.

2011-08-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Karen, over at This old House posted the other day about her visit to Mystic Village.
Went I went up to the wheel house today as we headed south in Long Island Sound to New York from Providence, I looked at the chart plotter and saw we were directly abeam of Mystic.
Here are my photos from my point of view.

What I learned is this. I need to step up and buy a better camera.

2011-08-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

I like difference makers. You know, people who make a difference.
People who are significant. True role models, not fake Nike endorsed dunk the ball role models, but real ones.

Some people are difference makers on a Global scale. Barrack Obama,( but he's loosing some of his magic), all 3 Kennedy brothers, even the two President Bush's were significant in their own ways.
On a smaller stage, my wife Mary Ellen and our friend Jane B., both of whom work with people, and their significance in the world though not as far reaching is no less important than those working on the world stage.

Another difference maker who worked the smaller venues in my world just recently passed away.
He was the track coach at LaSalle University, one of the "Big 5" colleges in Philadelphia.
My daughter Erin went to LaSalle. She also ran track for 4 years.
She knew Charles Torpey intimately.
I didn't.
But I know he was a difference maker. I like that.

I met Torpey twice. The first time was during my daughters freshman year, a quick hello.
The second time was in her senior year, at an awards banquet I attended with Erin.
I didn't get much out of him that time either. I don't actually think he cared one way or another about parents, because he was too busy focusing on what mattered to him, and that was his athletes.

Torpey could be described as "a character."

One thing was clear from the beginning. This grumpy track coach was making a serious impression on my daughter. She would call me on a daily basis and fill me in on the latest coaching techniques and the shananagans of coach Torpey. I remember one phone call when I was told that Torpey just went haywire in his office, screaming at the team, dropping F-bombs like he invented them, and then kicked everyone out and sent them home. For my daughter who had been hugged and stroked by her coaches in high school, this was quite an eye opener.
This wasn't high school sports any more.

But there was a method to his madness, otherwise why would the hundreds of athletes he coached over the years love him so much. Their loyalty to him is amazing.
All those that loved him, probably hated him at one point or another.
I loved watching him at track meets. Talk about a guy who was passionate.
While he was watching one of his runners during an event, I felt sure he was going to break a blood vessel or something, all red in the face and screaming.
He would push his team to their limits, testing them.
Just like you have to do in life.

My daughter bitched about Torpey for 4 years. It was also evident to me she loved this coach like no other, because he was more than a coach.
Erin's been out of college for 6 or so years, but when she would be in the Philly area, she would stop by to see coach Torpey. Every phone call she has with her fellow team mates, Torpey's name would come up.
He was a difference maker.
There was a line in his eulogy , "he knows you better than you know yourself."
That's why he was such a great coach.

My daughter recently shared with me some classic Torpey stories.
With a smile she recounts, " he once made the whole team sit on the 8 hour bus ride home after a particularly bad effort by his team, no talking allowed, no sleeping, no reading, no listening to music, nothing....just sitting."

After another bad effort, he made his team pick up all the trash in the whole stadium.
An environmentalist before it became fashionable I would say.

Here's my favorite. Erin was the type of kid who got very nervous before each and every event. There was no talking her out of it. She was quite good ( yes, still holds some LaSalle records...dad bragging here) but she got nervous before each event for 4 years.
Once, as she was exhibiting to Torpey a particularly bad bout of nerves, Torpey said to her, "Finucane, your not going to f**king war, your throwing the shot put. No one is going to shoot at you and you don't have to shoot anyone."

Her stories about him made me laugh. I think I would have liked having a beer with that guy.

"Someone said about him, "He was someone that could have an impact on you in a very short time. He invades and occupies your mind and your heart..."

Yep, he was a guy who made a difference to many young people and he influenced their lives for ever, in a good way.

For a guy who seemed so rough around the edges, why did all these people want to please him, want to succeed for him?
Because he was special.

I just thought I'd share this story with you, in case you like difference makers too.

2011-08-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

One difference between the boat I'm on now and the one I am usually on is, the TV reception is better on this one, which means I see more "news" than usual when I'm working, which means my mood is effected....in a negative way.

I remember as a young boy, watching my Grandpop yell at the TV.
I'm almost to that stage.

This evening, as I watched yet another nauseating news report about the circus that is Washington DC, I wondered what the real answer is to our debt ceiling/too much spending situation?
If I listen to the Republican view point, I can't believe them because they have an agenda.
If I listen to the Democratic view point, I can't believe them because they have an agenda.
Isn't the answer found in Economics 101?

Ok, maybe that's a stretch, but it has to be a math formula. Right?
When I went to a financial planner years ago, he looked at my "books" so to speak, and said, ok, this is what you have to do to reach this particular goal.
Maybe we should call him.

I wonder if we put together the worlds best economic minds, showed them our nations "books", as well as our goals, and asked them to come up with a formula.
They can't be swayed by politics, just by numbers.

I wonder if the answer would bare any resemblance to the answers we've been getting from our childish, stubborn politicians?

No spikes please.

2011-07-31T19:47:00.002-07:00

I got my hands on a newspaper today
for the first time in a week and a half.

In it was a photo of a woman
with a foot long spike in her head.

One result from
the recent bombing in Oslo.

Ahem......
Dear newspaper editors,
please refrain from printing photos
of people with
FOOT LONG SPIKES IN THEIR HEADS!!!

I do think a written description
would suffice.

New York to Boston

2011-07-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

A trip past New York City

and under the Brooklyn Bridge

into Long Island Sound....

entering the Cape Cod Canal at dusk.

Tomorrow morning we'll be in Boston.

2011-07-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Again I sit here at anchor, but not on my regular boat.
It seems the regular engineer on here has a "record" of some sort, and I don't mean a music record.
This boat might be going to Canada for a trip.
Canada won't let said engineer across their border, so here I am, temporarily I hope.
I wonder what the fellon (as I like to call him) did?
Did he tell an off color French joke?
I don't know the details, but the authorities are adamant.

The crew is nice enough, but it's just not the same as sailing, working and living with the crew on my regular boat, that I have spent over 2 years with.
You get to know your crew mates like family.
For instance, you find out who likes corn dogs and who hates relish.
I know one particular guy washes one set of cloths each and every day. Kinda stupid I think, b what he does.
The mate won't do his laundry until every last stitch he has is in the dirty laundry bag, then he tries to stuff 2 weeks worth of cloths into the washing machine all at once.
Mike likes his coffee strong, the Captain likes flavored coffee.

Just like a family member, you just know.

On this boat everyone is nice. The Captain has let it be known, that I should treat this boat like my regular boat. He has good intentions, but I'm still the visitor.

It's like when a friend gives you their beach house for the weekend. They say, make yourself at home. But when you arrive, there are framed pictures of their family members everywhere.
Used toothpaste tubes under the sink, a reminder that the owner was here not too long ago.
There's beer in the fridge, but it's light beer, another reminder I'm in someone elses house.
I can never get comfortable borrowing a beach house. I sit in one chair and I'm afraid to touch anything.

It's similar on a boat. The regular chief has his ways, evidence is everywhere. I live out of my suitcase, because the lockers in my room are full of the "felons" cloths, another reminder he will be back someday.

Anyway, it's the same anchorage I've been to on my regular boat, with the same beautiful sky.

2011-07-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

TIME OUT! ENOUGH!

John Boehner....go to your quiet chair and take a time out.
Mr. President, you too. Take a time out!
Both of you just sit there and don't make a sound. Think about what you are doing.
If you can be quiet for 5 minutes, I'll let you speak again with your "inside voices" only.
And John, STOP CRYING! Your killing me.

This nauseating reckless game you're playing must stop now.
We're dangerously close to making our last minimum payment before the bank takes the house, and all the politicians can do is worry about who is going to be the next President.

We need a change. No more Democrats and no more Republicans, instead the SHARKS and the JETS. No more us against them.
We need to work TOGETHER.

I want to go to the Senate floor and tell everyone to stand up.
I will then play "The Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga over the sound system, at which point all the stubborn Sharks and Jets will start running this way and that on the Senate floor, while frantically waving their arms over their heads like their britches are on fire.
When I stop the music all the reckless irresponsible people who we put in office, will take a seat, no matter which side of the isle they happen to be on.

Then they can get to work saving our Country and my retirement fund.

If the V.P. Joe Biden happens to be visiting the Senate the day I play musical chairs, he does not have to participate in the frantic arm waving.
He can just sit there and look cool, like only Joe can.