I've Had It

Wishing you a HEALTHY, HAPPY, and PROSPEROUS 2011!

See you TOMORROW!
01 January 2011!

Ships from my roof

Cruise ship in the pix above, Cargo ship in the pix below

I've been seeing a lot of ships from my roof, I like to think that none can get by without me seeing them, but the truth is that I don't go up there that much. The other day, I saw my first Cruise ship on the North side of Grand Cayman. I can see them from the roof when they are in town, but they never pass North, usually along the South side of the island coming from Jamaica, or from the West from I-don't-know-where. Cargo ships are not rare, but this is the first ever cruise ship I've seen to the north. The cargo ship is almost exactly to the north, heading west, and the cruise ship is Northeast, heading east. The ship in the pic if you click the link above is way south, in town.

Most cruise ships are frikkin' HUGE! Bigger than an Aircraft Carrier. (Ive never seen an aircraft carrier from my roof... YET!)

"Then and Now" or "Slow Growing Bananas"

Dec 2009

Dec 2010

I was looking at my posts last year at this time. I noticed how big my banana plants were, compared to how big they are now. Hardly any difference. I water them and nothing happens, it rains and they put out new leaves immediately. Somebody told me there is something missing in the city water, but I can't remember what it is, and can't find the message again. ( As I type this, I wonder if it was a comment on last years post) I don't think I'll ever get any bananas off of these plants anymore.

Rooftop Camping and movie

On December 24th, for three, maybe four, years in a row now, The Wife and I have gone camping. In our our apartment, we used to go across the street to the beach, but since we moved into the house, we go on the roof. Here's a few pics of the "setup". We have a projector that accepts an input from a DVD player and we hang a sheet up on the wall for a screen.
There's a mattress in the tent, and we bring up all the blankets and pillows and it's quite cozy in the tent.
We also have a larger tent, with 3 rooms and you can stand up an walk around in, that we use when we have visitors.

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Good Football weekend, bad weather

The wind is blowing pretty hard, and it looks all cloudy out the window. I am supposed to go diving today, but I am beginning to have my doubts that we're going out on the boat.

My Washington Redskins won! And the arch rival Dallas Cowboys lost. Nobody could ask for more from a football day. There were a lot upsets and big comebacks. Good weekend for American football.
I've been hearing about a big snowstorm in the US. I looked at the Virginian Pilot OnLine Newspapers Traffic Camera nearest my house in Chesapeake Virginia and it looks like they got a lot of snow. If you want to see it, look at the map below, near the bottom center there is a "pushpin" with a red arrow that I added pointing to it. Luckily, my pushpin is on top and on a 'point' so it's easy to find and easy to click. Open the traffic camera link and click on the same pushpin on the webpage. That camera is only a couple hundred meters from my house, as the crow flies, (it's about a 5 minute drive because you have to get off the highway and crap.)

This is all for my post today, have a fun day, I hope you still have time off for the holidays. I have to get ready to allegedly go diving in the cold cold 79 degree Fahrenheit Cold Cayman water.

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Old Posts

I was looking at my posts from last year, December of 2009, and I saw THIS post, I really like this post. We watched that movie again, and I remembered.
Also, in December of 2009, I took some pictures of the yard, and I can really tell the difference in the plants and stuff. I am going to take the same pictures again, for a future post and comparison.

I have a little netbook, as you may recall, and I am attempting to put the Linux Operating system on it. It seems like everything works except my wireless internet connection. It is a really safe test-run, because you can boot your machine from a flash drive, and you don't have to make any changes on your computer till you decide you like it.

We had a good Christmas and now look forward to the big New Years Party we're having!

Coffee Consistency

I've been having problems with Coffee Consistency. I measure the coffee, and the water, and get wildly differing results. Yesterday, I made a pot, it was perfect, We drank it all, and I made another, exactly the same way, and it was terrible.

When my Wife makes it, it is perfect every time.
I can't figure out what I am doing wrong....

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I Feel Funny

But I can't think of anything funny, so I'm just going to tell one of my old jokes that you've probably heard before about a million times:

There were these two little boys, one was 5 years old and one was 7. They were upstairs in their room one morning, and the 7 year old was explaining to the 5 year old how they were getting pretty old, and pretty big, and it was time for them to start using a few cuss words. Of course, the 5 year old agreed.

About that time, their mother called them downstairs. They ran downstairs and their mother asked "What do you boys want for breakfast?"

The 7 year old replied, "Aw Hell Mom, just gimme some pancakes."

"What!" the mother exclaimed, "We'll have none of that around here!" and gave the boy a little smack on the cheek. "Now you go back to your room!!" Both boys started crying, and the 7 year old ran off to his room.

The mother turned to the 5 year old and asked, "And what do you want for breakfast, young man?"

The blubbering 5 year old replied, "I dunno, but you can bet your ass it won't be pancakes!"

Weird Repeat Dream

I had a dream I was driving my Landcruiser underground. Like straight down a hole. The only thing keeping it from falling was because the roof was scraping. I had to wriggle to get around corners and bumps in the ceiling, walls and floor. There were horizontal parts and straight down parts. The whole thing was black dirt, it wasn't rock, that's why I didn't get stuck. I could just force my way though.
There were some people ahead of me, but I don't know who they are. (I think I knew in the dream, I just can't remember now). I never saw them in the dream, they were way down there. There was a girl I used to work with giving me some equipment when I first drove down in the hole. From the expression on her face, she knew it wasn't a good idea to go down there.
I got way down before I started even wondering how I was going to get out. When I started wondering how I was going to get out, the dream turned bad, it wasn't scary before that.
I've had this dream before.

Then I woke up and started worrying about stuff. I knew there was no going back to sleep.

Week Flying By

This week seems to be flying by. I know it's only Tuesday, but it still seems like the week is almost gone already.
Yesterday my first cousin and his family came on a cruise ship. Our moms are sisters. The stay was nice, but very short. We came and saw the house, first time they'd ever seen it. Then we went to the beach for a little while. Above are snorkeling pics. Then we went downtown so they could do a little shopping, and then we took them back to the ship. They got off the ship at 8:30 and had to get back on at one PM. A very short visit.
Today have to get some new tires for the Wifes car. I'm trying to get a website up, as I already mentioned, and I just feel like there won't be enough time in this week.
We got up and had a look at the Eclipse last night. It was about half way, and if you were only going to look once, we looked at precisely the best time. You could see the curve of the Earths shadow on the moon.
Now the days are getting longer again. Summer is on the way!

Cruise Ship Visitors

Today my cousin and his family are coming on a cruise ship! My Wife and I have the day off to go spend it with them! We're getting ready to go down to the Cruise Ship Terminal to pick them up!

Sunshine Award

I have been awarded this Sunshine Award by Elettra. Thanks for the award! I supposed to pass this award on to 12 people. Coincidentally, there are 12 listed in my Sidebar, and that's the 12 I choose.

Thanks Elettra!

Check out Elettras blog, Ad Maiora, HERE. She can see the Mediterranean Sea from her house! (Say that 10 times real fast!) She always posts cool pics. Wait for her page to load, and there will be a 'Translate' button at the top for if you don't speak Italian. Very Cool Blog!

Christmas Lites and A Company Car

Last night The Wife and I went to a party by the pool at a fellow Rebreather Divers house in South Sound. It was very nice. There was lasagna and I ate three huge pieces. Then on the way home we stopped and I took a phonecam video of someones yard with their excessive Christmas Lights. This is from the street, the lights went almost all the way around the house, and you could go in and walk around. We didn't go in because I had to pee... The Wife wants to go back.

Yesterday morning I had the windows done in my wifes old car, which is going to be my new company car. I think it came out very well. Now I just need some business! (I don't have the website up yet as I am having problems with the domain administrator or the internet provider, not sure which yet!)

Sunburst

I took these pictures yesterday, the sunburst looked really cool with the eye, but not so great on the camera. I adjusted the exposure to get a better sunburst but then it looked like a good sunburst on a very lugubrious day. It was actually a nice morning with white, fluffy clouds and that cold north wind we've been having wasn't too bad yesterday. Today is looking pretty good too.

Sneaky Football Play

This middle school football team pulls off one of the most sneakiest plays ever!

List of Fours

I was tagged by my Wife to do this list of fours.. I haven't done any tags in a long time.... The FIRST thing that comes to mind, is if it is a list of fours, why are there nine questions, why not only four?

1. Four TV shows that you watch:
I don't even know 4 TV shows.... Family Guy, Simpsons.... That's all I can think of. I don't watch TV. I watched The Simpsons when it first came out, wasn't it 20 years ago already? Family guy I watch on the computer or DVD
I did see part of one once about a doctor who acted like he didn't give a rats ass, but I have no idea what the name was, but it looked pretty good. And the one with the punk rock crime lab girl, that one's pretty good. I saw the one where one of her co-workers stole her cupcake.

2. Four things you are passionate about:
my wife,
work,
diving,
being outdoors
my Blog

3. Four words/phrases you say a lot:
I don't give a rats ass.
Most excellent,
What the Fuck!??!!
Shit.

4. Four things you've learned from the past:
Sometimes you just gotta stop, and ask yourself just what the hell are you doing?
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Listen to the smallest voice in your head.
God will seldom do anything for me, I have to take the action, God handles the results.

5. Four places you would like to go:
Italy
Greece
Brasil
Visit my house in Virginia, USA.

6. Four things you did yesterday:
Went and picked up a check
Went to the bank
Went to the cigar store
turned in a lesson for my Network + course

7. Four things you are looking forward to:
My cousins visit next week
2011
My next trip to Costa Rica
Sunny hot weather again

8. Four things you love about Winter:
When winter starts, the days start getting longer, meaning summer is on the way.
The holidays
New years eve
Good sleeping weather

9. Tag 4 people to play along: Of course, if you didn't get tagged, and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged. And if you got tagged, and don't want to do it, you are under no legal obligation to do so.
Yellowdog Granny
Coffee Slut
Chris H at Diet Coke Rocks
Kelle at Never Done Farm

Before and After

Last weekend the lot next door to our house got cleared so they could build another house. They really only knocked down one big tree, a Birch. The lot had been cleared about three years previously, but I do hate to see our quiet street get more and more crowded. Below are before and after shots, each image is really two, pasted together to form the beautiful panorama you see.

Good Party

The party last night was a success. The food was great. The beef was good! I would have liked a titch rarer, but it had a little pink in it. I think I mentioned earlier that I developed a theory that my meat thermometer is about 20 degrees off, I think it's more like 10. The tenderloin was good, no doubt about it. I cooked it a new way. First, I cranked up the grill to full power. The temp was saying 450 when I put the beef on. Closed the lid, and turned it after 5 minutes. 5 minutes later that, I turned off the two center burners, and lowered the outside to about the middle. The grill was hovering about 350, but I don't really trust that thermometer. After about 30 minutes, I started checking the beef with the meat thermometer. Then let it sit for about 15 minutes before you cut it. This lets the juices get reabsorbed by the meat. I didn't do this, I waited about 5 and should have waited longer. When I cut it, the juice poured out on the tray, and the beef was just a little dry.
The Wife will post pics when she wakes up, I am sure. Not of the beef, of the party!
Don't quit reading now! I posted two posts today, look beeelow for a videeeo! (Hey! that rhymes)

Natalie Time Lapse Video

This is a cool video from the news very recently.

"Natalie’s father took photographs of her everyday life for ten years. Her loving father then made a time lapse video of her growth from a toddler to a ten-year-old girl.

The whole video shows the growth of Natalie just in one minute and twenty five seconds"

Do a search for "Natalie Time Lapse Video" and you will see where I got this. I bet it took a LOT of painstaking work to make this video.

Party Tonight!

Tonight we're having my wifes co-workers over for a party. We have a whole tenderloin I'm cooking on the grill. I could have gotten Prime Rib for less money, but you know what? To me, Prime Rib isn't that great a cut of meat. I haven't been impressed with prime rib in a long time. Maybe I'll give it a go again someday, when I'm cooking it myself. On the grill.

Below is a picture of a Yacht I took off of Seven Mile Beach. This type of yacht is pronounced YACHT, not YOT. There are no silent letters in the really fancy YACHTS. Click the pic to enlarge and notice the helicopter is in a helicopter case. And there is a boat on davits on the side that is bigger than most peoples main boats. And it looks like a really fancy RIB speedboat on top under the covers. The smoke stack makes me think that is has gas turbines, one of the newest, best propulsion systems out there. This is one sweet ride!
I don't know who owns it, but anyone with a YACHT like that is surely one of my regular blog readers, all the most successful people are!

Weather Comin

There's nasty weather coming for sure. I took these two pics this morning and crudely pasted them together. That's the east on the right and the north on the left. It's already raining as I type this. Click pic to enlarge

Tomorrow we're having a party, so I hope it's not raining tomorrow. Dang it! It can be nice all week and get crappy just in time for the weekend.

Below is a video you just gotta watch. It's a commercial for an english language school. It is hilarious! It's only 42 seconds long. WARNING! The song on the video may get stuck in your head. You are warned!

Thursday Thoughts

It's Thursday. It is a perfect looking day, not a cloud in the sky. Yesterday I finished lesson 3 in my network + course and went to the beach. Today I have an appointment at 11 and may do the same again, (go to the beach, not necessarily complete a lesson).

I haven't mentioned it here before, but I started my own company. I say I've started it, but I feel like I haven't really started it yet. I think I'm waiting till I am sure I have everything in order before I start publicizing it. But I'm starting to think that I will never have everything in order, so I should just go ahead and go.

I have been doing a few jobs, but not making enough money to pay the bills. But I haven't done anything to get business yet, no advertising or publicity, so far it's been all just word of mouth.
I did go around to the local radio stations and passed out a brochure I made, but it was experimental and the brochure was somewhat crude. I have no clue what is good and what is not, salesmanship-wise. I can fix your equipment, I just can't market my own company.
Today I nave a meeting about a contract. Wish me luck

A Good Idea

I found this pic on the web. It is actually a good idea. It conserves water, and you can start a new way to design bathrooms. Think about it, in every bathroom you've ever been in, the toilet is up against the wall. With this design, it doesn't have to be, and it can me made less obvious that the sink is the toilet tank. You could be standing behind the toilet instead of in front of it.

Hi, How Are You

Last night I went to sleep at 8:00 PM. I just couldn't stay awake any longer. I didn't hear the wife come to bed.

Now it's 1:15 and I am awake, dressed and studying. I have finished 2 lessons for my Network + course. Which to me is very little. This course is different than the other courses I have taken, because the questions are essay instead of multiple choice. I have to email the answers in. So far I haven't received the scores for the tests I've sent in, and wonder what is going on. I'll have to call later today if I don't hear from them.

I don't really like posting posts like this. I think this is the kind of post that doesn't draw comments. I disliked yesterdays post even more. It seemed funny when I posted it and stupid after. Sometimes I post a post and then it really bugs me afterwords. I think I have only deleted one post after it was posted, pretty recently too. Deleting a post bothered me also.

I think I have to ask a question or raise some hairs to get comments. Here, it is cold, the wind is blowing, the humidity is low. The thermometer says 79 but it is still cold. I'm wearing a jacket and long pants.

Later today, the company that installed our kitchen cabinets is coming over to have a look. They are falling down. We kept hearing noises, First we thought there was a frog or gecko on top or inside making noise. Then, after I secretly, deep down decided that I knew the house must be haunted, the wife discovered the inside shelves were slowly coming down. Then I found that one corner was loose and lowering, slowly creaking down. I shored it up with some wood. We'll see what the cabinet people say.

Have a nice day.

Muted Monday

above is just my speed...

Above and below, stupid, I know

Happy Monday!

A Cool Link For you

This is a link that was sent to me by JKS. I didn't know about it till he sent it.

It is a link for the Royal Palms Beach Club Webcam.
Keep looking, you'll eventually see me on it!

The only thing wrong is the patio webcam link goes to the beach webcam and the beach webcam link goes to the patio webcam.

Gordon

I put a chair really close and waited for the birds, soon they came and I was about 2 meters away.

Another Piece Gone

Another little piece of my ocean horizon is being taken away by construction. I used to love to look for hours at that particular spot on the horizon! That was my favorite spot on the horizon, featureless, far far away, yet somehow different than all the other featureless, far far away pieces on the horizon. Alas, you will be missed!

Heinz Sweet Relish squeeze bottle: Crappy Product

This is a crappy product. It squishes the juice out on your hot dog bun, and leaves all the pickle in the bottle. Don't buy it. Get a jar. Use a knife.
This is my post for today. Dammit. I've been waiting a long time to post this post.

Movie: Inception

Last night we watched the movie 'Inception'. It was the second time we have seen it. It is a really good movie that must be watched more than once. Very complicated. People go into the same dream, then go to sleep in the dream and all enter another dream. In the second dream they go to sleep again, and everybody enters the dream of a third person. A dream within a dream within a dream. The purpose is to get information or plant an idea.

At one point, they are in a van that is going off a bridge, and the van is in free fall. (The people in the van are really in a airplane, dreaming they are in a van. They're asleep in the van, dreaming they are in a hotel. They are asleep in the hotel, dreaming they are in Switzerland or somewhere. Some of them even go to sleep in Switzerland and dream deeper) Because the van is in free fall, in the dream the people in the van are having, there is no gravity. during this time, a guy blows up an elevator, and it falls. Well, if there was no gravity, it wouldn't have fallen. To me, that is the only obvious error in the movie. This movie is definitely worth watching, more than once!