I'm Always Mentally on Vacation

A Good Week

It was a super week for me. I have been very busy with a full schedule. When I’m busy, I have fun working.

Today, I met with the attorney and CPA that I referred to my client who recently died. We had a brainstorming session on behalf of the widow. We wanted to make our most thought out recommendations to her. It was wonderful to see how we all fulfilled our moral and ethical obligations in her best interest. There were a lot of good ideas tossed around.

Over the years I grew very close to this client and his wife. We discussed their children, and grandchildren, and all matters of possibilities for her. I meet with her Tuesday to discuss our meeting and I am excited.

My favorite and “go to” dive shop was robbed Monday night. I mean they were wiped out by professionals. The place was trashed, and we all felt violated.

Our dive community is tight. We like the managers of the store, and most customers know each other. We dive with each other at the quarry, and trust each other literally with our lives.

Sunday we are all going into the dive shop and help them recover, by cleaning, stocking, and getting the store back to normal.

This will be good.

Gigi made improvement this week. This is good too.

It was a good week.

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I am Eligible but, No Thanks

After virtually no consideration, I have decided not to seek the office of President of The United States.

In the words of a wise island man I once heard say, “Two dollah, gimmee two dollah, gimmee two dollah”.

My Known Universe

What can I say….my favorite planet. This is a recent release from NASA that shows the entire earth at incredible resolution. Go ahead and click here to reveal the detail. Look at all the stuff going on down on this beautiful world.

Power Lines

My brain usually filters out power lines to reveal a more pleasant world. Today my power line filter broke, and I could see them.

How crude that we live in 2012 and we still string up vulnerable power and communication lines on dead trees.

Extremely Unproductive

By now I had plans for my patio to be in place and deck surface being demolished for a new surface. Enter the cold rainy season and I have pallets of pavers and a pile of crushed stone in my driveway. I think it will still be a few weeks now before we dry out enough to proceed.

Meanwhile, I sit back and watch you people (bloggers) be so productive in the cold darkness of winter, while I just curl up in a ball and wait for spring. I need so much to paint, but I can’t make myself commit. I need to have the living room carpet removed for a more dog friendly floor covering, but it remains undone.

I used to think that if I had the money then I would just hire everything to be done, but it doesn’t work that way. It is difficult to find qualified and honest workers that will do the job correctly and on budget.

I called a roofing guy two weeks ago for an estimate to patch a few soft placed on the number one dwelling. It hasn’t stopped raining enough for him to show up.

It’ll get done eventually.

My Line of Thinking

I found it necessary to upgrade my air capacity now that I have been running with a more experienced crowd at the Quarribean. Yesterday I bought a steel tank that takes my air up about 50%.

This may work out perfectly if I take the side mount classes in St Croix. Then I could dive with my two aluminum 80s or my single 117. If I use either system, I have stepped up my bottom time just by purchasing one additional tank.

Just a note on the space shot: I have suspended development until I complete my latest scuba classes and get back from St Croix. I am still looking for a March Launch.

Dive 66

We planned this Sunday morning dive last week, when the forecast called for warm and sunny temperatures in the mid 60’s. A few days ago that forecast changed drastically.

I arrived at the quarry at 9 AM and the other 3 guys were already there and suited up.

The wind was howling and the temperature was 30. We all suited up, and the many layers made the change comfortable under the circumstances.

My friend from the dive shop brought me a steel tank with 120 CF. I usually dive an aluminum 80 CF tank. The steel was much heavier which means I needed less weight. It also held a lot more air.

We planed the dive place and depth, all to try and see the paddlefish.

After a 47 minute dive I still had 1/3 of my tank with air. I could have gone another 15 minutes. I may have to buy a steel tank.

Wherever the paddlefish were, they decided to move elsewhere in the quarry. We didn’t even see a paddle fish turd.

FAQ II

So what do I look for in this familiar live cam picture?

1. My favorite Dive Boat. I can watch them load and unload.

2. The snorkel boat to Buck Island, Captain Big Beard.

3. The town Square. The town Square is very small on St Croix….and it is yellow.

4. Street light. It is a gathering place at night. I put the red tape on the pole just to say I was there. It was September of 09 when I defaced public property.

5. A great sitting place to chat away and have a beer. Yes you can carry an open container around town. How nice.

6. Another great sitting/beer spot.

7. The Deck Bar. This handy little bar dispenses cold drinks to passers by.

8. Coconut tree. I watch the palms blowing in the wind. I see it grow every year. It is my adopted tree.

9. Trash. I can tell just how much partying went on the night before by how many beer cans and cigarette butts are stashed here.

10. Where the tourists stand to talk to folks back home while they view them from back home on the live cam.

FAQ

From time to time I get questions about St Croix, so I want to take the time to answer some of the common questions I receive.

How is the Bacon on St Croix? It is delicious. Remarkably, it tastes very much like the bacon here in the states. I always make sure that I buy plenty so I can keep my strength up for island activities.

What language do they speak? English is the native language. It is a wonderful and colorful language that I managed to pick up quite well as a child. It has funny letters in front of some words that don’t get pronounced so they are meaningless and only there as an ornament to complement the word. The word “gnat” is a great example. Funny though, in St Croix they don’t have a word for snow.

Are there any giraffes there? I have not seen one but that doesn’t mean a giraffe isn’t there. I plan to continue my search for a giraffe in the coming weeks.

Somebody Try This

I don't own a soldering iron or I would.

Things

Sadly I saw this morning that the oil refinery on St Croix is shutting down ASAP. That means a direct loss of about 2,000 jobs plus. It accounts for about 20% of the gross domestic product on the island. I know some friends loosing their livelihood.

It was the one industry St Croix could count on. How can a petroleum company not make money? The world economic slowdown did them in.

Gigi fell again Monday night. It was a hard fall. If she was a horse, I would shoot her. She loosened a few screws but should be okay if she will take it easy.

This I know, all bad things will pass.

The weeks worth of hay.

Annual Physical

I had my annual physical yesterday. They noticed my weight was down, and thankfully they have me an inch taller than I really am, so my body mass index was good with the extra inch in height.

I was amazed that my blood pressure was dead on normal at 120/80. I take meds for this and it always creeps up every year. Next my pulse was textbook normal at 72 bpm. I usually register over 80 bpm.

Then came the exam and questions. Thumping and poking, listening, looking in my ears and throat, walking and reflexes, then the boxers come off and all that stuff gets checked.

Here come the questions…Are you happy? Do you feel good? Tell me how you exercise? Does the little fellow still work? Why do you have 5 dogs? How is your wife? Is you mother still going strong? Sisters are good too? Need any refills? Let’s go to the lab.

I think it went well. I'll have to see the blood tests to be sure.

A Simple Business Plan

I would like to have this stylish classic.

And operate it here. I could lie in my hammock between customers.

Phfantasy Phfootball

There are few other teams in the NFL that I admire and respect. First I am an NFC guy so sans the AFC entirely. Then it comes to a handful of teams that I will pull for if my Panthers are out of it.

Teams that come to mind are the Packers, Giants, Saints in a pinch, but without a doubt The San Francisco 49ers are among the teams I respect. The admiration came about when the Panthers were in the NFC west back in the 90s.

So this weekend the 49ers host the Giants at Candlestick. Imagine if you will preparing a feast of sourdough sandwiches with salami, phfantastic sides like potato salad. The pack assorted adult beverages to keep away the cold. Heck Napa’s finest is just a stones throw away as is good old Anchor Steam Beer.

Board a small craft on the Sacramento River somewhere in The Delta. Cruise down the river all bundled up with radio, portable TV and iPad in hand and head to Candlestick.

Then arrive and bask in the glory of history and the NFC Tile game from the comforts of the boat.

Congratulations San Francisco. Make us proud.