Stage 2...

Just a little post to let the readers of this interwebloggy thing know that the seller of the sailboat below and I have reached an agreement on the purchase price of the boat. I now have until Feb 21st to arrange for everything I need arranged, including insurance, financing, survey, blah blah blah... and agree to the purchase.

Its all very cool, and awesome.

She is currently docked in New Jersey... I plan to move her to a more bikini-friendly location this summer.

What parachute?

Life is filled with defining moments. Yesterday was the start of an elongated moment which will last a few months, and propel me into an even longer life experience... perhaps. 3 or 4 years in the making, and I have finally a concrete step towards an idea sparked forever ago... finally made a move towards a personal paradigm shift.





I made an offer on a sailboat yesterday, and I have to say, it feels awesome, and makes me nervous at the same time. Awesome due to finally moving towards the idea I have dreamt of for a long time... nervous because I don't know how to sail.

Here are a few images from Yachtworld's listing of the boat... she is a 1982, C&C 34. C&C changed some interior elements for 1982, which made me think this is the right boat for me. She is a centerboard design, rather than the fin-keel... which means she has a draft of either 4'-0", or 6'-11" depending on board position.

The process will take some time, but by the end of February I should either be taking ownership, or finding something else to consider. There will be some work needed to get done on her... I will be adding a refridgeration unit, possibly a water-maker, and some solar panels.

I will be holding interviews for deck-hands (bikini clad girls get an automatic second interview).

Christmas / New Years slacker...

So, I have not been such a good blogger... or friend. I think the rule is that I am supposed to post some stuff for Christmas, and for New Years... and I didn't. Now that the first month is half over, I will attempt to fix that. As my first offering, here is my nephew's version of Jingle Bells... too cute.

Merry Belated Christmas





More to follow.

Office Posters

Every office has that go-to guy, the one who has been around before shoes were invented, knows everything, and has millions of stories. Our office has one, he used to be a partner, then kind of retired... but does not know how to not work, Dick Roediger. A few years ago, we found an old photo of him from back in the day when he was a lady killer. Opportunities like this are too hard to pass up, and during slow times at work, I have to do something interesting... so I borrowed his headshot, and a movie poster... and... tada:



Since that time, I have made one for every holiday, or every day I get bored. I have made alot of these. Here are some of the better ones. More to follow.

Halloween this year:


Random bored time:


This year's Christmas has a few posters.

Best advice I heard all night

A beautiful, young red-headed friend of mine once told me:
"Never make someone a priority, when they make you their option!"

And, (now) I always say "always listen to hot red-heads."

Spam of the day

Spam is not the normal thing people like... but I was bored, so I read some of it. Spammers are always trying to out trick the anti-spam-bots with new and clever ideas. One of the newer ways is to steal lines, words, and paragraphs from various websites and assmeble them into meaningless dribble, which might make you read it. This makes for interesting combinations... here are a few I found this morning. Note, these are taken directly from the e-mail, no alterations.

com allows site owners to "claim" a word for their very own
If I copywrite that word, can I earn royalties?

This site is selling out words quickly, New Specials Each Week! Perfect for wedding and baby showers, kids' parties, or any occasion.
With Christmas right around the corner, you might be unwrapping your very own word.

OUR December HOT PICK IS: ARSS
No comment

Words disintegrate to reveal new letters.
Guess there are use-by dates for all those "words" you bought earlier.

Each month we will send one of our giant Mrs.
They ran out of regular sized Mrs a while ago.

Wind your way through the hive tunnels to find the exit, and smother hapless beekeepers by swarming with the rest of your hive to show the puny humans your queen is boss!
Puny humans... all your queen are belong to us!

And if that scale scares you think about writing a simple program that helps a single student learn something new.
Scale?

But at its heart - computer science
rocks!

With the MS version, you have to look in the UNDO files.
Geekdom version of X-files... a straight to Beta-max release.


Costly mudlogger it reached maximum
Mudloggers are expensive.


Dogs mention poodles equally


Harry invisible children
How does one know if an invisible child is harry?


STRONGEST WINDS OUT OF INTERIOR PASSES


Get reasonable price suffer.
Another great Christmas present idea.


Yes, the headline above is the correct way
of asking "what's your problem?


Theres no containing those show up dogs.


I am sure there will be more to follow.

Searching for a new home

As many of you know, I have been on the search for a boat... actually, this search started a few years ago, then took a break, and has been in full swing for a few months now. I have settled on a few boats which I am looking at more closely. I traveled to Boston a few weekends ago to look at this boat in particular... and thought I would post a little about her, so people can get an idea of what I am looking at.

This is a C&C 34 built in 1980 (the yachtworld listing). She is very well equiped with a decent sail inventory, and some excellent electronics. The previous owner did alot of racing with her, and she always performed well, which is good to hear.

There are a few issues that need figuring out. The only big issue, which I was informed today by the broker that is not such a large issue, is that the keel-hull joint has a crack in it, from grounding in reverse. It has had this crack for a while, and the owner had the keel pulled, and re-seated some years ago, and the crack came right back. It does not appear to be structural, and is not, according to the broker, leaking into either the hull, nor the keel. This is likely a purely cosmetic issue, and not something to necessarily be worried about, however, if I do decide to make an offer on her, a marine surveyor will look more closely at this to be sure.

That is the only big issue as I can see it... although there was a little water in the bildge, so it was difficult to see the keel bolts, and the condition of the bildge. Generally, the interior was dirty, and since the mast was removed, various parts were spread around, making her look a little messy. She just needs a good cleaning.

Here is a video I took of the interior... at one point I turn the camera sideways, don't hurt your neck trying to make sense of it, and don't worry, I turn it back after I realize I am dumb for rotating it. And, yes, I did film the head.

All good things...

14 years is a long time to have a vehicle. I think most people switch cars every 3 or 4 years... few keep their car for longer than 6 or 7 years. Some times people become very connected to their vehicles (right mum)... and after 14 years, and 200,000 miles, I certainly have become connected to my truck. That's why it hurts so much to have found out that she has a terminal condition, and she only has a few weeks to live.

We were on the way to Chicago, when it appears that the minor coolant leak got very much worse. She has apparently blown her head gasket, warped her heads, and damaged the piston rings. This is an unserviceable situation, and engine transplant is the only solution for her. Right now, she leaves a toxic cloud of smoke if I try to drive her... so thick it blocks out the sun.

She has been everywhere with me... we started in 1993 by traveling the country following the national jetski circuit. Since that time, she has taken me anywhere I asked of her, and back again... even after becoming critically ill, she still made sure to bring me home.

We have camped at the lake many a night. We saw many a drive-in movie. She has gotten me through so many storms. She has protected me in 2 accidents, and twice when we flew off the road due to ice. She drove my world across the country for graduate school. She has moved countless friends... many more than once. Every girl I have dated since high school has been in that truck.

In short... I love her, and it hurts like losing a favorite pet. She has proven to be more reliable, and faithful than any of the afore-mentioned girls. I know if I needed her too, she would take me on one last trip, even if it meant her great pain.

Soon, I will be putting her to sleep. Goodnight my truck. Sleep well, and have good dreams.

Scuba Map V2.0

So, this is mapping application which is smarter, and simpler to use. The platial map made me make a post to a forum (which I have no idea where that forum is... or who reads it), before it would add a marker to my map.

This one, by Community Walk is pretty handy. Actually, it is simple to setup, simple to edit, and I think simpler to navigate. Let me know which is your favorite.

CommunityWalk Map - MysticGringo - Scuba Map

Scuba Map

I am trying to find a mapping application which I can display here. I am trying a few different ones, but so far like Platial map Creator the best. This is built on Google Maps, so that means it is cool.

Feel free to pan around, and zoom in on the sites I have marked.