I'm Always Mentally on Vacation: January 2012

It Is Coming Along

This ties the guest house to the main house and gives me more outdoor living area.

Looking good day 2.

Day 3 and I can see me here grilling and chilling.

A nice detail around the gate.

Getting ready to add the crushed stone to bond it all. Then comes the deck renovation.

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Old and New

New Left - Old Right

This is not a big deal to most of you but it is a big deal to me. I am a huge fan of corporate logos and a huge fan of the Carolina Panthers.

I love a good recognizable logo like Burger King, Quaker Oats, Coke, etc. The shape and colors are works of art.

I like the upgrade for Carolina. This leans we’ll likely see a few tweaks to the uniform too with Nike taking over NFL apparel from Reebok.

Poetic Remix

Stopping By Porkchops on a Snowy Evening

Whose porkchops these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his porkchops fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the porkchops and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The porkchops are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Saturday 2 Weeks Till STX

Tanner is growing some nice butt dreadlocks.

The patio begins.

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.

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.

Dive Gear

I am coming up on my third season of scuba diving. For the past few weeks I have been cleaning and servicing gear for my upcoming trip. All my regulators have been serviced and even one regulator was replaced. My redundant air system is in the shop being serviced now. It will go with me to the island.

The New observation deck
at the dive quarry.

Different dives call for different equipment, whether it is a boat dive, shore dive, lionfish hunting dive, photography dive, drift dive, you name it. There is a specialty item needed for each type of dive.

You can’t take it all underwater, so I am planning now for what I think I’ll need. No matter what, I end up with pockets stuffed and a lot of equipment strapped to me.

I used to think it was nonsense to take a knife. Now I take two in case of entanglement. I used to think it was nonsense to take a light. I always have one…two on night dives. You never know when you want to look under a rock. I am one of the few divers I know that have two redundant air systems, and I always take one depending on the dive depth.

My new smaller camera tucks right into a small pocket so it will always be with me. The old camera was bulky and had to be hand held throughout the dive.

Then there are wetsuits to consider. I think now I will take a shorty and a rash guard. The rash guard is a body suit that offers protection from stinging plants and animals but little thermal protection. A shorty wet suit over this should keep me warm in 80 degree water.

How I feel Today

I love some classic James Brown music. I love some vintage Led Zeppelin. Remix the two, and you have a foot stomping delight for wReggie. Enjoy.

National Wisdom

A person or group, is a sworn enemy of the state, and is trying to take what you and your family, and nation have. You have been sworn to defend the nation from all enemies. You kill the sworn enemy who was trying to kill you just moments ago. This is good. Your President is proud.

Piss on him. This is bad. Your President is ashamed and will prosecute you for pee peeing on a dead Taliban soldier.

Better to kill than to relieve.

Immersion

Every morning I read the local online papers of St Croix. I want to know what is new, what is real news, crime, government, etc. Then I logon the local forums to get the dirt where plain locals banter back and forth about the goings on island wise.

Last day there June 18, 2011

Then I’ll eye the webcam so see what is going on before I check Facebook and find out more accurate local news I want from friends down on the island. Who is doing what, where are the popular places, who saw dolphins.

Then sometime during the day, usually during the commute, I’ll tune in the local radio station to here advertising, weather and news. I love the local radio commercials.

In a matter of minutes, almost automatically, I know more about the St Croix community than I do my own community. Theirs is more interesting to me, and certainly more of a challenge being 1500 miles away.

All of this is done for me via an RSS reader so I spend very little time getting the news I want.

When I get there, I feel like I’ve been there.

30 Days

wRescue

I have been studying for my rescue diver certification almost every night. The study is fascinating to me because rather than focusing on dive skills, it focuses on diver psychology.

Human psychology is why I like my business. It is not the business I like per se, but the human reaction to it that sets me off.

Dealing with a panicked diver is proving to be more interesting to me than I had imagined. Distressed divers are a victim in the water, but a patient out of the water. I can give oxygen and CPR and hit them with a deliberator. I can wrap wounds, stabilize and report to authorities their condition.

I must be careful not to drown myself in the rescue, and I must try and think what is going on in their mind to protect me…..while I am helping them.

What I have found most fascinating so far is that if I every assist with a helicopter rescue from a boat deck that I must stand clear of the basket or rope, until it discharges static electricity on the deck of the boat. Failure to do so will likely electrocute me. How cool is that? Who would have thought static electricity was involved?

TV Drama...This May Sound Selfish

Since I can remember I have stopped what I am doing every weekday evening at 6:30 PM, and watch the National News on one of the three networks. It is not that I find them the most trusted sources, I just want a digest of the news that the rest of

America

is watching.

When I was a kid up through college it was Walter Cronkite. Eventually I migrated over to ABC News and I watch Diane Sawyer now.

But when local news of a tornado runs over into my National news I get pissed.

It is embarrassing that Southerners get so many tornados. It is downright inconvenient when it affects my nightly news digest.

Outdoor Space

The long rows of winter are on us. Long dark nights followed by dreary days. Thankfully the cold has spared us so far.

My old pal Peaches enjoying the
last deck referb 10 plus years ago.

I am about to begin a back deck/yard upgrade. This weekend I will have a mason come in and grade and prepare the plot between my deck and guest house to receive a rather large patio made of pavers.

Then I’ll set my fireplace out there after a few modifications Mic recommended, and make this an outdoor living area and transition between the two structures.

After that I will remake the deck. It needs to be resurfaced badly. In addition I want to build new railings and features to bring about a better entrainment place for me to cook and serve food.

Part of my plans calls for me into shaming my old contractor into an encore production and build me a matching shelter over a part of the deck that matches the shelter he built last year. He is the same guy that did all the work on my home last year along with the now famous chicken coop. He reads this blog so I consider my shaming done now. I’ll see if he takes the bait.

All this would be nice to have in place by Spring.

___________________________________________________

32 Days till Travel

I am looking so forward to being on the plane headed to the island.

Kind of Close

I guess it was bound to happen at some point. On Saturday I suffered from we male divers call premature inhalation. My dive buddy felt slighted but didn't make a big deal of it. I was embarrused.

It seems that the cold of the water, the depth of the dive and frankly I was a bit intimidated by my buddy's experience...all this led to premature inhalation.

Old fool running out of air.

It was going just fine for a while when I noticed I was consuming air at a high rate. Before I knew it I was down to 500 pounds and that is the point I should have been on the surface.

Yet there I was 55 feet down under, and I still had to work my way to the surface and do a safety stop.

I motioned to my buddy that I was low on air and began my assent. I had no idea where I was in the quarry. My air was rapidly dropping so I put my hand on my reserve regulator just in case. Down to 200 pounds and I was still doing my safety stop.

By now the pressure needle was buried near zero and about that time I surfaced. We were 200 yards from shore.

He looked a bit peaved at having a good dive cut short.

In thinking this out I noticed at the begining of the dive that I was at 2800 pounds and normally I start with 3000. This tank was filled last summer when the heat caused it to read 3000, but now in the cool of winter it gave up 200.

Plus I was diving in a dry suit whick uses air too.

I need to be a little more careful next time. Thank goodness I had a big reserve tank just in case.

Useless Foods

I abhor extruded food with the rarest exceptions like pasta, Crunchy Cheetos and ground meat.

Bugles are the worst offender followed by Pringles. I put curly fries in this family too.

Fritos are a hybrid and provide useful scooping in chili and sauces. Plus Fritos have a rich corn flavor and lots of salt.

On the drink side let me mention Fresca and Tab. Does anyone really drink that crap? They are a waste of good water.

My Dive Group on 1/1/12

This is the crowd I dove with on New Years Day. I didn't know the guy was filming, but he managed to capture the quarry well. I dove with him yesterday just the two of us.

Me taking a picture of me with my new camera.

Yesterday was dive 65.

Dive buddy Garth yesterday.

And remember....friends don't let friends eat curly fries.

Fries

In the world of French Fries I say crinkle cuts rein supreme. Who can argue the fact that the extra surface provided by the wavy ridges adds extra flavor and extra salt surface? When dipping in ketchup, again the crinkles are hands up superior. They just scoop up ketchup.

I like my crinkle cut fries a bit over cooked, either baked or fried.

Second in line of tastiness is the shoe string fry typically found at fast food restaurants. I love the texture and again additional surface exposing the potato to all the goodness of the fryer.

Third in my line of French Fry preference is the steak fry. It sizes up with the crinkle cut fry, and is smooth like the shoe string. We have these types of fries and my club. They are darn good.

WARNING - Curly fries are an abomination. I don’t eat them and you shouldn't either.

Tonight

I’m kind of excited about the weekend.

My dear old departed friend Peaches

We just finished a great seafood and pasta meal with red wine and good friends. All the animals are fed and I am settling in with one last glass of wine.

Tomorrow at 8 AM I get a massage from Sherri. She is outstanding. My low back is longing for this.

Then I’ll blow leaves until midday and have some warm soup.

Finally the NFL playoffs begin at 1 PM on Saturday and Sunday…. 4 games of 8 teams struggling to stay alive. It will be exciting.

And I’ll most likely nap a bit here and there.

Just for tonight, all is right in my world. Good night.

Three Things You May Not Have Seen

According to lonelyplanet.com, my very own US Virgin Islands is the number one destination spot for 2012. I knew it, and I am going. Twice….maybe thrice. I have always found St Croix in the mid 80’s, clear blue water, white sand, cheap rum, lush vegetation, good food and nice people.

I bought a new dive camera that shoot stills and video and works above and below water. It was designed for extreme sports and is water proof to 130 feet and shock proof. I installed a wireless card that takes the images from the camera and sends them to my iPad automatically without wires or cables.

When I travel, I no longer carry a computer with charging cords and assorted cables to process pictures and blog. Just a lightweight table with charger and everything else is wireless.

Speaking of wireless doodads, I picked up this nifty thermometer that measures meat temperature and smoker temperature remotely.

I can set up a 16 hour smoke and go to bed. What I’ll do is set the darn thing to wake me up if the planned temperature gets too high or too low. Then I set the receiver by the bed and come up with some good dreams. When I wake up…I have BBQ!

I Had to get this Off my Mind

I have three things I wish to discuss this morning and those being; Geology, Philosophy and Collards.

I find geology fascinating. I love rocks, fault lines, volcanoes; plate tectonics….you name it. I seriously considered majoring in geology back in college. To this day, I’ll pull over in my truck if I see an interesting road cut, just to examine what went on geologically.

St Croix is very geologic and is near an active plate. I spend a lot of time looking at rocks and hills both above and below the water.

It would be so much fun to sit through a semester or two of university level Geology 101 again. The lab work was fun too.

Logic is another subject I love. We absorbed a lot of logic in philosophy back in college. I used to love studying the classic arguments of logic. I remember many to this day.

Recently I have had a resurgence of love for the common collard. I eat them fresh, frozen or canned. I swear the canned chopped collard would be good on a hotdog.

When I make them fresh, I add sugar.

I love the nutrient rich juice left over called “pot liquor”.

Whole Collard leaves could easily be used in ethnic recipes that call for grape leaves. I even thought about making redneck sushi where I would roll pork BBQ with a layer of rice, then wrap it in a collard leaf and slice and serve like sushi. Add sauces for dipping.

I had the Upper Hand

Yesterday I attended an old fashioned “Reading of the Will” with an attorney and surviving spouse at her home.

The estate is large enough where we have to take our time making the correct decisions for the survivors.

As solemn as the moment was yesterday, I had moments where I was guffawing inside.

I volunteered to pick up the attorney at his office, have lunch to prep, and make the hour drive up to her home. I greeted the attorney in my pick up truck and offered a dozen eggs as a gift. I was dressed business casual and he had on a suit. He didn’t quite know what to say.

He invited me to lunch so he was paying (business rules) and all I got was a bowl of soup and water. This threw him again. I just wasn’t that hungry.

Then we arrive at my/our client’s home and she greets him formally with a hand shake and gives me a bear hug.

I love it when I can make stuffy and formal feel unnatural when it is generally accepted.

In the end we will take good care of her. I am going to make numerous calls today with her via conference call to assist her in settling and notifying various agencies.

Tweaks Before I Travel

I am starting to make little piles and lists of thing that I will take to St Croix.

Sundays dive revealed a bad connector on my inflator hose, and the dive computer was telling me that the battery was low. I fixed both issues today. I would hate to discover the problem down there where getting parts can be a hit or miss.

In case you are shocked to hear that, yes, I have a dive computer, they are very common. The computer consists of a small puck of electronics that calculates a whole host of things to keep me well within the boundaries of safe diving. Divers constantly refer to the computer during a dive.

And finally I think I got a permanent fix hopefully for my favorite mask. I dropped off my Spare Air tank to be serviced. I would hate to have my backup emergency air fail on me when needed,

Yellow boys were located yesterday and the famed swimming trucks will make the trip again this year. Yellow boys have become the Bret Favre of swimming apparel.

Things are starting to fall into place.

Rasta Clause is coming.....

In 40 days.

This Year is Fine so Far

What a thrilling day for me personally. I got back in the water for the first time since Gigi’s surgery.

It is unusually warm here now, and today’s high was 65. The water at the quarry was 50 at the surface, and 40 degrees at 60 feet of depth. The surface air temperature made prep was very tolerable.

More importantly is the community at the quarry. There were at least 2 dozen folks there working on Quarry Facilities, cooking food, and diving. All volunteers who love diving.

I belong to this non profit diving club, The PDRA, and they support 3 area quarries. Annual dues are $70, and we all agree to abide by the rules of the quarry and common dive practices. For that, we get a key to the quarry, and a card saying we are in good standing.

We have shelters, set up benches, sunken buses and boats, underwater platforms, an outhouse, electricity and water….and a bunch of knowledgeable fun loving divers. We share food, beer, and dive stories.

The Boston Butt was fantastic. It was moist, it had a nice bark and smoke ring, and very tender with a hint of apple smoke. I may have to make a few of these next year for tailgating.

A good day.

Post One, Day One

Happy New Year every one! I personally don’t say Happy New Years….it drive me crazy.

As of 7 AM I have a Boston Butt (shoulder) on the smoker for an all day slow cook with apple wood.

And as southern tradition holds, we will cook a giant batch of collards and have black eye peas. Corn bread is good but not required. This is the traditional New Year day meal that our parents taught us to make for good luck in the coming year.

In an hour or so after feeding the herd and flock I’ll head up to the quarry and get off a few dry suit dives.

Then back to the home where I’ll watch our final game of the season and hope for an upset.

It sounds like a good day.

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