I have disrespected "Yellow Boys".
My Old iPhone
As you know I upgraded to the latest and greatest iPhone ever a few weeks ago. This left me with the second generation iPhone the 3G.
Prior to the release of the 4th generation iPhone one could purchase my model iPhone for $99 at Wal-Mart. This came with a contract commitment to AT&T.
I noticed on eBay that my old iPhone was selling anywhere from $200 to $240 so I put mine out there. My phone has been bid up to $182.50 already. This almost covers the price I paid for my new phone.
Crazy world huh?
After seeing iPhone and eBay I am considering changing the arrangement of Wreggie to wReggie.
My Planet
Greetings people of the planet Zeldor! The temperature got to a “Real Feel” of 114 yesterday. Then an electrical storm of epic proportions followed. Then literally steam hung over the land.
Chickens in the Spotlight
What a screwy unpredictable week it was. On again, off again jury duty consumed my time.
Gigi and I had a fantastic supper last night. I sprung for a big bag of crab legs and one of those cuts of beef that charges $16.99 a pound. I roasted corn on the grill and baked a few potatoes and picked up a fresh loaf of sour bread. It was a meal meant for butter.
All washed down with a great, cheap bottle of wine. It amazes me how good a bottle of Gallo cab can be for the price. Leave it to a woman to make a good cheap wine.
I’ve been taking advantage of the local abundance in produce. Peaches are at a peak now and they are very cheap. If they go bad I toss them to the chickens. Same for corn. These chickens will eat most anything. Tanner and I enjoy watching them eat.
Time is wasting now even though it is very hot here I know that winter approaches and I need to get a chicken coop built. I think I’ll build an 8 by 8 coop with a window and a few nesting boxes. It will have a few catwalks and a chicken door to the fenced area and a door I can use to get in and clean. Then rig a heat light with thermostat and a regular light with a timer so the chickens get faked out about daylight. This helps them to lay.
Then I’ll paint the coop the Caribbean colors I used on my steps.
Update......
Jury duty is coming right along. I was chosen on Tuesday then rejected along with three other middle aged white guys. I am due to report back in a 1 PM today.
I am planning another coast dive this time off the coast of NC to dive a wreck known as The Hyde.
Coastal diving in NC is a hit or miss and mostly miss because of the frequent high seas, hence the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” reputation. It is common to have off shore waves of 5 to 7 feet for days on end. This doesn’t bode well for travel offshore and especially are poor conditions for getting on and off a boat.
So my planned dive of August 5th is very optimistic.
This dive is supposed to be loaded with sand tiger sharks and sandbar sharks along with nurse sharks. None are necessarily harmful I am told but the idea scares the hell out of me and thrills me all at once.
Ossifer of The Court
I am a sworn officer of the court now so treat with some respect please. Yep, jury duty started yesterday.
I would guess there are 60 of us representing all ages, sexes, races and various backgrounds. Mostly we sit and move around to various rooms and take instructions. Finally we are led into a real courtroom and the selection begins.
This trial called for 6 to be selected and they go through 10 before 6 are decided on. By noon I am free to go but I have to be back this afternoon for another jury selection.
There is virtually no way to get off being in the pool only a deferment.
The dive I took yesterday resulted in a less experienced diver bursting his right eardrum. It will take a few weeks to heal and much contemplation about diving.
Sunday Afternoon
There is a lot to be said for not diving too deep Yesterday I did two dives on a single tank, both 25 feet deep. I was down 50 minutes total and still had enough air left for an additional 20 minutes.
One tank in to dives is efficient. The water was warm. There were lots of fish…in fact they followed us.
We decide to go around the wall of the quarry. There were areas of old submerged trees, some places had heavy grass weed growing, and yet others there was only a sold stone wall.
The dives gave me time work on neutral buoyancy, controlled breathing and make a few decisions about equipment. My mask in gone for one like I have in St Croix. I bought it yesterday. It is cheap relative to dive equipment but it works and that is what matters.
We all practice safety measures like mask flooding and buddy breathing.
I was also trying out a very cheap and new 5MM wet suit I bought online. It kept me very warm. So cheap that if I get 5 more dives from it I’ll essentially would have spent the same on rental fees.
The wet suit is now hanging out back on the porch and Tanner keeps thinking an intruder is standing there.
Pink Tank
I bought another scuba tank the other day. Now I have two tanks. It is typical to dive twice whenever one goes to the trouble.
The tanks were on sale for $139. The only one that had been prepped was pink.
“That’s fine“, I said, “I am comfortable with my manliness.”
And so I have a yellow tank and a pink tank.
Do You Believe in Pixy Dust?
I am being told with a straight face that 3 million jobs total have been saved or created since we were fleeced in the 800 Billion dollar stimulus package. But it gets better…..by year end that number will be 3.5 million precisely as predicted. How amazing.
That comes out to a quarter of a million dollars per person just to keep a guy working or a quarter of a million dollars per person to create a job that pays substantially less.
I am then told this is good.
In the Wall Street Journal this morning it is reported that 6 more banks failed yesterday and the pace of failure is twice what it was last year.
I am told the economy is getting better but certainly don’t ever expect the United States to be the best ever again. Our time for that leadership has passed.
The above was reported news….now for the opinion part. The middleman is killing us. Could I have done better? Most certainly yes. Give me ¼ Million and I would have a heck of a lot of folks working to keep up with my demands.
Things I Have Been Thinking About
Winter. The days are getting shorter and I don’t care for that. If I were a rich man I would create a well lit, warm and humid room with a gravel or sand floor. It would have a water feature and sweet sounds of summer. I would visually have murals or LCD screens with tropical scenes. I would have a comfortable chair and would dig my toes in the sand and maybe watch football.
Football. I am so looking forward to NFL football. I like about everything surrounding NFL including the silly man oriented commercials. I like live games, televised games and the rituals surrounding games.
Diving. I will dive Sunday with a couple of friends. I am going to the NC coast in 3 weeks or so and will dive. I will do to St Croix the first week of September and dive.
Work. My work has taken a turn in the fact that my assistant is on maturity leave. I am having to attend to details. I am a big picture person and not a detail person. I paint but I don’t like to sand or prime.
Chickens. These hens are getting big. I estimate that they should begin laying in about 4 weeks. I have egg cartons everywhere that I have saved or friends have saved.
Jeep. It has been so hot and we have had so many frequent downpours that I haven’t been able to enjoy my Jeep. It sits under a tarp ready for fun.
Golf. It has been so hot that a round of golf would be miserable.
My Back. I have developed a chronic knot in my left shoulder blade that required an emergency massage when I was on vacation and a follow-up massage this week with my regular therapist. I discovered the source of my pain was holding a phone pinched between my left ear and shoulder. My increased phone use is because my assistant is out.
My Lot In Life. Overall I am a very happy person. Whenever I rub elbows with anyone wealthier, powerful, well connected or just seemingly has in all I think, that person can’t be any more happy or satisfied than I am.
Enjoy My Island...See Why I go and go
A couple of screw ups….they quote two pinko democrats that I didn’t need to see and the part about eco-tourism is followed by a lady offering a drink in a Styrofoam cup.
Dive 10
I did a quarry dive this evening. Basically the goal of this dive was to visit the bottom at 96 feet.
My days are very busy now. My assistant had her baby early and I am trying to do her job and mine. What takes her 5 minutes takes me 45. I appreciate her more.
Plus I had to take a 3 hour regulatory test this afternoon. I was ready for some physical challenges.
The day was beautiful. We suited up for the cold water we knew we would encounter.
Finally we entered the water and it felt good. We dove.
I kept pressurizing my nose and ears as we headed down in the greenish water. It was cold. We turned on lights and kept going down.
I was gulping air. As you go deeper the air compresses more so the volume of air increases. Plus a cold body requires more air. The air is very dry and cold. It dried out my throat.
We used a rope to find our way to a sunken boat. No fish are down there. It is too cold. The visibility is maybe 6 feet.
We wondered over and down to a platform on the bottom and my computer read 94 feet. I looked at my air and I had gone from 3000 pounds to 1000 in short order. We made our way slowly to the surface.
The warm water felt good as we made our way to the surface.
It was my deepest dive to date.
iPhone 4
My new iPhone 4 is ready for pickup at the Apple Store.
I am as happy as a dog with two peckers.
What a Difference a Week Makes
Good Monday. Let’s see…I am back home and it is work time.
Apparently Cedie and Abby got hold of some bones at the campground and did some damage to their lower intestine. There was bleeding and Gigi and to take them both to the emergency Vet late last night.
My assistant had her first child last night about the same time so I am flying solo.
The dog bill was $340.
Strange I Tell You
I dreamed one of my business partners died in an automobile accident. I was devastated. I helped with the arrangements and helped his widow deal with the emotional and financial aspects.
In a few days my partner reappeared after checking in doing all the admin and admissions required of the newly dead. He looked and acted different so I asked him questions to confirm it was really him. He said he had talked to his dead family members and agreed to look up my dad.
He said he had a lot of business on the books that he wanted to give me and he found a lot of dead people needing my services. He explained that now that he was dead he could no longer legally work in the living world or dead world but knew that I could because I was alive.
I started meeting some dead clients…some that had been dead for decades and centuries and it was quite creepy.
I don’t remember much further but the whole thing was weird.
Long Overdue
For those of you who expect from this blog the occasional dog crap story I am please to tell you the following.
Tanner is our newest border collie and most troublesome because he is a driven border collie. He is distracted easily is very obsessive.
This is Tanners first long RV trip. He has become used to walking on a leash and doing his business on a schedule.
About the third day this conversation came up.
Me, “Have you seen Tanner shit?”
Gigi, “No, I thought maybe you had seen him.”
For 9 long days Tanner hasn’t done number two without any apparent ill side effects. In fact I had started to assume he was absorbing his dooky because I knew he was full of it.
Well, this morning it turns out that Tanner was making me an ass hewn outrigger for my little boat. Poor dog…I don’t know how he was walking around.
He deposited this kayak right in the middle of the road. I was proud and embarrassed all at once.
Scuba Sausage
Yesterday I basked in the enjoyment of my dives. Honestly there was little else to do.
The heat wave that the Northeast has been suffering worked its way over South Georgia. We have been fortunate in that we have had mid to upper 80’s, low humidity, no rain and no bugs. But yesterday we hit a solid 100 and the humidity was high.
The power came on and off about 6 times. Around 5:30 PM the 50 amp circuit box powering our RV fried.
I reported the problem and ran over and robbed a 30 amp lead from an unoccupied site to keep one of the two air conditioners running until the repair was made.
Before long I was back up and cool.
Good news for me …I have found what looks to be replica Yellow Boys swim trunks at Diver’s Supply. I emailed my local Diver’s Supply retail store to get me 2 along with a 5 MM wet suit.
Hopefully I’ll get in 2 or three more dives in the next month at the quarry plus Gigi and I may go to Southport, NC for a long weekend I could dive off shore of NC.
In NC most coastal dives require each diver to carry a scuba sausage. It is a brightly colored inflatable long bright marker in case the current takes you away at the surface. One is much easier to spot at the surface holding a 6 foot orange sausage.
And you though a scuba sausage was going to be naughty didn’t you?
The Dives
This total lack of any bandwidth has put me in a blackout with the outside world. I suppose all the smartphones and PC have drawn down an inadequate system and rendered it useless. I used to be able to make calls here and go online.
I had a heart to heart with the manager and he was unaware my wireless node was down. He apologized and said he will boot the system.
Yesterday I finally got to make my dives.
We met at 6:30 AM (ugh) at the dive shop. We loaded our personal equipment into push carts.
Everyone checked behind each other to make sure no one forgot anything. I like that about diving in that there is a culture of looking after the other guy no matter how obnoxious.
I paid for my boat ride ($160) and an extra tank of air. I brought one tank of my own. We rolled the cart to the dock and loaded the boat.
I was a bit nervous because this was my first long tip off shore since the only time I was ever sea sick. God help you if you ever get seas sick. Plus I didn’t know what to expect 26 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean.
We were well loaded for this small boat. The captain could only push the speed to 13.7 knots. There were six people and lots of dive equipment on board.
A few miles out our youngest passenger became seas sick and started hurling over the rail. Some people make the funniest sounds when they puke.
After 90 minutes or so they killed the motor and the dive master grabbed the anchor and dove down to the wreck. He had to secure the line onto the wreck so the boat wouldn’t drift. A few moments later he surfaced and we began entering the water one by one grabbing onto the drift line and working out war forward to the anchor line.
I was the second one in the water and took a quick look around for any sea monsters. The water was warm and the visibility was good at about 60 plus feet. I could see the wreck below in around 80 feet of water.
The waves were around 2 feet and there was a surface current so working to the anchor line took some effort.
Soon we were all together and we descended down the anchor line. At 45 feet the current stopped and the visibility improved. Below me was a WWII tanker that had been sunk decades ago to provide an artificial reef. I can say it was a success. There were many varieties for fish, some familiar like the barracuda and tuna and many I didn’t recognize. There were star fish, blue fish, crab spiders, sea cucumbers, and many turtles.
We dove through the decking and into the various compartments of the ship. Most of the overhead decking had been removed so vertical escape would not present a problem should an emergency arise.
One of our divers was a master diver and he had backup air so he dived alone. Three of us and the dive master hung close for safety. We constantly asked each other about air (hand signals) and personally I was doing great. My breathing was slow and controlled and I wasn’t consuming much air at all. I was very relaxed and was enjoying my new environment at 70 feet. I had obtained neutral buoyancy and could hover about 2 feet over the ocean floor.
I found a turtle and moved in closer for a look. A few minutes later I turned around and I was completely alone in what was the boiler room. I looked again. I looked up to see if I could find any bubbles. Nothing….not a soul in sight. I move around a bit and still nothing…until I spotted the lone diver.
Dive instruction says if you get separated from your buddy you are to look around for no more than 2 minutes and then surface. I hated this because I was having such a good dive and I had so much air left. I thought about asking to buddy with the lone diver (hand signals) and about that time I felt a tug on my fin. It was my dive master less two divers.
We stayed down 45 minutes after doing our 3 minute decompression stops at 15 feet.
I came to find out that the two other guys gulped up all their air and were done at 30 minutes.
The second dive was an hour later and I had one issue at the bottom when my tank became loose. I signaled to my buddy and turned around and he tightened my strap.
Far too soon it was all over. The second dive was only 38 minutes and at 60 feet. We did the first so deep and long that that 38 minutes was the maximum time our dive computers told us that we should be down.
I got on the boat, the guy was still heaving over the side and we took off our equipment and talked about the dive all the way back to shore. We docked about 3 PM.
We loaded our equipment and met at the bar next door for cold beer and more stories.
When I got back to the RV Gigi and picked had picked up some hamburgers and corn. I grilled them both while I rinsed me and my dive equipment and the campsite.
This was a fun day.
An Open Letter to The Jekyll Island Authority
I’ve been coming to Jekyll Island for 19 years and somehow this year the island hit me as distant, cold and the whole place seemed sad and under siege. I can’t explain it but I can tell you what I saw.
What we noticed that was different on Jekyll Island this year.
There was no gasoline available to buy. There was no notice that the only gasoline retailer was closed until I was on the causeway headed to the bridge. An announcement on the web site would have been effective. Maybe an email via the newsletter could have been more effective.
There is a lot of new construction on the waterfront.
There is no place to get a nice fast, inexpensive breakfast on the island. The Huddle house was closed several years back and nothing filled the gap.
Fees have gone up and will go up next year as seen in my 2011 reservation. $49 a night for a spigot, electric plug, cable TV and sewer pipe is almost $1500 a month. This should be profitable if demand remains the same. All being the same I may look closer to home.
I noticed that there were no endless busloads of church kids anymore.
Merchant attitudes were bad. Up at the strip center they were bitter about having to close down without an offer to lease at the new retail center. The attitude showed.
Mobile phone service continues to be the worst of any place I visit including remote areas of the Caribbean. Phone service is no longer a luxury or novelty. Phone service is expected and Jekyll Island doesn’t have it.
There is a new store down at the pier at Clam Creek. Nice and needed even though I have never seen anyone catch an editable fish off that pier.
This time of year is a cornucopia of plenty. It would be nice to see some vendors on the island selling vegetables, food, prepared or unprepared seafood, something to infuse some life and happiness in this place.
Some things you cannot do at Jekyll Island: confidently swim in the ocean, snorkel, or scuba. Natural ocean water sports are deemphasized here. Shark fishing is popular.
You cannot find a consistently good restaurant with consistently good service with the exception of the main dining hall at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.
This place needs desperately to move beyond the picture postcard stage of development and needs some real life breathed into it. I hope dear Jekyll that you are in an awkward stage of development and you will out grow this. Please let this place be more than a tired old stuffy museum.
A Little Bitching
I love God and Country but get so irritated when people blubber over a flag or a cross like it is the real thing that is to be loved. They are just symbols.
The cell service and free wifi down here at
I suppose if I needed 911 I could ring a bell or something.
Da 4th
The 4th was fantastic. First of all it was full contact tailgate grilling and frying. We cooked all kinds of steak, burgers, hot dogs, sausage, and fried wings. It was a meat fest. A good time was had by all and it was fun to be back in the grilling saddle.
The night before I bought a coconut to show the kids where the white fluffy stuff on a mounds bar comes from. We ate the meat to one half and I left the other half to the wild critters.
For days now we have watch squirrels come worship and bow down before this coconut. Then they stick their heads inside to eat the oily nut. One squirrel tried to bury the nut but gave up. This coconut will become squirrel legend.
Welcome to the RV
RV Policies
• You are here because you are a friend or family so don’t bitch about my dogs.
• If you are not sure how to use the bathroom just ask. Especially if you plan to leave a big job. Dislodging your turd after you are gone pisses me off.
• There are mosquitoes outside and it is hot. Plan accordingly.
• You are welcome to a few adult beverages but next time bring your own.
• Same for soft drinks…you knew it was going to be hot and you would get thirsty.
• We start getting sleepy about 8 to 9 PM. Plan to leave accordingly.
• In case of fire run to the door and leave.
• Don’t make any noise that will make the dogs bark. It pisses me off and it is not funny.
Grand Dining Room
The RV Grand Dining Room continues to be the scene of social gatherings and gourmet experiences. Beautifully restored in the redneck mode, the room is dominated by cheesy wall coverings and fake woodwork. The next door neighbors can be seen through expansive windows. The glow of candlelight and piano music create an atmosphere of romance and anticipation of the gourmet meal to come, if we play piano music and light candles.
Courtyard at the RV
Casual, Redneck-Inspired Cuisine at Our RV Awning
The Courtyard at the RV, Jekyll Island, a less formal dining option, is located in the center courtyard and under the awning. The awning, designed in 2007 by A and E Awnings, was inspired by a late night infomercial. Guests are offered the option of dining inside or outside, but don’t keep going in or out or you’ll let flies in the RV.
RV Amenities
TV
WiFi
AC/Heat
Refreshment Center
Coffee Maker
Toilet
Microwave
Jekyll 2010
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One should not be rush on a major RV trip lasting 10 days.
I have become spoiled of late taking so many jaunts to St Croix where I pack a bag, grab the computer and stay in a villa after a 3 hour flight.
RVing requires a tremendous amount of effort from cleaning, checking out systems, packing, provisioning, and then the usual stuff of just being away for 10 days. There is the house sitter, cutting grass, a few last minute maintenance items, cleaning, settling things at work and paying bills.
Early this week we were plagued with constant thunderstorms that halted any out door endeavors such as grass cutting of getting hay for the horses. The storms also curtailed last minute readiness in being ready to leave at 9 AM on Thursday.
The final component of all this is traveling with 4 dogs. As you may recall we have had a change in crew by loosing two very seasoned travelers in the last 6 months. Drop in Tanner with the 3 remaining and things aren’t so pleasant.
Finally, treat all the dogs with flea and tick treatment that causes all but Cedie to get a diarrhea outbreak from hell.
Any very lastly Tanner had such an obsession with Boscoe the parrot that Tanner had to be restrained while Gigi protected Boscoe and refereed occasional outbreaks between Abby and Tanner.
We arrive to Jekyll Island late, rain falling and walking shits.
But you know….This is the miracle of life and I am living it.
Boring Morning
This morning was the most boring mornings in quite sometime on the Internet. No big news except what was expected…Tiger is getting divorced. The economy sucks and is sucking more every day. A Hurricane. Not any real zingers on Facebook. No real thoughtful blog posts (no one in particular).
So, I’m going to pack up my dog and pony show and head to the South Georgia Coast.
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