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Saturday, March 30, 2002
You have probably grown tired of hearing me describe my "great" weekends which, I'm sure, only seem great to me. Well this weekend wasn't so great. Janice and I are both sick, but apparently with two different ailments. She had a high temp and symptoms I'm sure she'd rather I didn't post online. I was feeling better than she was, so I went to Wal Mart to pick up some medicine for her. As I entered, I saw a guy stealing a pair of shoes. He had put on a new pair of shoes and was leaving the store. He wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree. He didn't take the tags off. There was no one to report it to except the greeter, who seemed to old to do much about it, plus Janice was waiting for medicine, so I watched the guy leave with his new shoes.
I'm not feeling all that bad, so as long as I keep my Kleenex box handy, I can get stuff done around the house. I spent the last two days working on the bookcase. I get about an hour's worth of work done every four or five hours, but it beats surfing the 'net all day. Movies: We recently bought "Wizards", which is an old animated flick I hadn't seen since college, over 20 years ago. It had a cult following and was probably released directly to college theaters. Really dated, but still interesting. We also bought Pearl Harbor. We've never seen it, and we'll probably watch it tonight for the first time. We bought it because it was so cheap in the used tape bin at Lackluster Video. We also rented O Brother Where Art Thou. Really top knotch movie. I've had the songs in my head ever since I watched it. Oh well. Have a good Easter. Wednesday, March 27, 2002
I have to apologize. Before I made yesterday's promise I should have checked the Geocities terms of service. They don't allow dirty pictures, not even for the sake of incerased traffic (a worthy cause).
You'll have to use your imagination. Tuesday, March 26, 2002
Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. My stats have been suffering as a result. They haven't gotten out of the single digits in over a week.
To make up for this, and get the hit meter back up, I'm posting a picture of myself naked tomorrow. There will be full frontal nudity and everything (well, as full as I'm capable of). This will be a one-day deal only. Don't miss it.
Good news! according to The Death Clock I will live until the year 2055. If Janice straightens up her attitude, she'll outlive me by a few years.
Actually, the death clock is pretty fickle. Giving the same information, I get a different date of death every time. The best I've done so far is 2057. I'll be 99 years old then. Is that really good news? Friday, March 22, 2002
Have you ever wondered where you can find corpses for sale?
You know how hard I work to find you stuff that's interesting and novel. Well, today I bring you a toy airplane powered by a living housefly. The website even gives you tips for catching flies.
We're getting closer and closer to the future. Siemens intoduces the virtual keyboard, which is just a projected image of a keyboard, but it works... so they say. Well, the boat hunt is on again. The TSBBers finally succeeded in talking me out of buying a Catalina 22. Not that it's a terrible boat, but as one of them said it's a great first boat. It's not a great second boat. I want to take the approach that this will be the last boat I ever buy. That means finding one of sufficient quality that I'll stay happy with it. I've made so many comments about my love for Com Pac 23s that someone said that I should get one, because nothing else will measure up for me. I still need to research it a bit, and it means I'll have to buy an even bigger tow vehicle (it weighs 1000 pounds more than the C22, and a full ton more than my current boat), but it would definitely be a keeper. The picture above is a Com Pac 23. It's the newest model, I believe. I'll be looking for an older one. Still, there are several around that I can stretch the budget around. Who knows what will happen. Tuesday, March 19, 2002
Hawaiian Happyface Spider. There's something inherently untrustworthy about them. Friday, March 15, 2002
Okay, I know you've heard enough boat stuff, but this is funny. For over a year, the only boat I really wanted to buy has been a Catalina 22. When I finally started really looking at them, my buddies on the Trailer Sailor board told me not to be too stuck on that one boat. They even emailed me lists of other models they recommended. They finally convinced me to at least consider other boats. Now that I've looked into other models, and I have been impressed, they're telling me I shouldn't be boat shopping if I don't know that I'm looking for. People are funny.
I should have trusted my instincts. I'm getting a Catalina 22. But I've decided not to be in such a hurry. I'll wait for a bargain to come my way. Does this look like me? I made this picture using Flash Face, one of those fun internet things. It has dozens of noses,eyes, etc, to choose from, but it is agist. It might look like me, but not the 2002 me. More like the 1985 me. My face has much more character now. Yeah, that's it, character.
It's time to start blogging again. I've decided that it would be premature to buy a boat right now, since I don't have a big enough tow vehicle yet. Catalina 22s are more common than I thought, and when I'm ready to buy one, there will be plenty available. I have been advised to consider other models, so I'll be doing research for a while.
So today I finally started work on the bookshelves. I didn't get a lot done, but we're finally off to a start, and I hope to get plenty of work done on them in the next few weekends. I'm patterning them after a 100 year old china cabinet that we have in the dining room. I's a massive thing, ten feet tall, and would have made a very nice bookcase, so why not tie the two rooms together with a single design, though I intend to paint the bookcase. The china cabinet has a natural finish. I'll let you know how it turns out. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 It's just not that easy to get white people mad. There was a skit on Saturday Night Live that demonstrated it once (it was about as funny as they ever are, which isn't much). You call us honkeys and we grin and say "yep, that's us alright". So when the University of Northern Colorado re-named their team “The Fighting Whities", they were probably a little disappointed in the reaction... or lack thereof. Sorry. Monday, March 11, 2002
Boat update:
I gave the boat an inspection Friday, without the seller present, which meant that I could only inspect the exterior. The seller was to meet me Saturday for the full inspection. I took pictures with my digital camera and posted them on the Trailer Sailor website to get opinions from the TSBBers before meeting the seller. The opinions were overwhelmingly against buying the boat. The reason? The boat has been too neglected and needs work. That in itself is not a reason to avoid buyng a boat, but since it's a Catalina 22, the prevailing opinion was that there's no reason to buy a fixer upper when there are so many good C22s on the market. The money I save buying this boat will be quickly spent in fixing it up, plus I'll lose a season of sailing. They advised me to spend a little more for a turnkey boat. I have another C22 in mind, but it would take some wheeling and dealing to get that deal to work. The seller has made a slightly complicated offer that includes me buying his boat, but someone else's trailer. A lot of dominoes have to fall to make that one work. That deal would cost me $2000 more, but would be a better package over all. Stay tuned.
I don't know how I managed to not hear about this, but I just learned this weekend that the light towers (not sure what they're really called) will be turned on today. These are a set of floodlights laid out in the footprint of the twin towers. They will point straight up and create a replica of the towers made of pure light. The artists rendition was a thing of beauty. I wish I could be there to see it. I'm sure there will be plenty of coverage on the news. Look for it. Thursday, March 07, 2002
I've been reluctant to post here lately because all I've been thinking about is buying a boat, which is a topic that causes most people to glaze over as soon as I bring it up. So I go by the assumption that my readers will feel the same way. But according to my stats, most of my readers are from the Trailer Sailor board, so I suppose you won't glaze over, but if you came here from TSBB, you already know all there is to know about my boat buying experience.
But in case you're interested: I have narrowed my search to a field of one. There's a C22 I'm looking at for a fair price and I'll be giving it a thorough inspection during the next two days before I make my decision. Since I don't need a boat, there's no pressure. Another boat will come along if I pass on this one. But I do have to say, if all checks out, I'm inclined to go ahead and take the plunge. With or without the new boat, it will be a different sailing season this year. Shane has lined up sailing dates all over the place, including New Orleans, Mandeville, Morgan City, Florida, and Texas. That's a lot of traveling. If I participate in half of those, I'll have a great year. I'm hoping to go on ALL of them. I'll report back as things progress. Monday, March 04, 2002
See if you can figure out what's wrong with this picture. Hint: Stare at it for a while, and be sure to turn up the volume. There's a clue in the sound.
Thanks to JB.
I seem to have an embarrassment of riches. I was recently prepared to drive two states away to buy a Catalina 22, now they're popping up all over, and for fair prices. None of the boats I've seen have all the stuff I'd want, but that's a good thing in a way.
If, for instance, the seller had put in a really nice GPS a couple of years ago, and spent $300 for it, he'd still consider that to be a $300 enhancement to the boat, even though the newer, less expensive models might be much better. I'd rather pay a lower price for a bare boat, and add nice new up-to-date stuff. One thing I may not have mentioned: I CAN'T TOW THE BOAT I'M BUYING! That's right. My truck is too small to tow a C22, so I'll have to use the boat as a camp, and as a project, until I get a bigger vehicle. That means I won't be adding any fancy electronics for a while. I'm not going to have them sit there with their warranties expiring, while I'm saving up for a new vehicle. I'm hoping that when I'm ready to add a stereo, that marine MP3 players will be commonplace. That'd be nice. Friday, March 01, 2002 After posting about the Catalina 22 that I'm considering buying, Tom from Florida emailed me with words of approval. He used to own one and he echoed my thoughts on its qualities. He sent this picture of his C22. He had the optional enclosure for the pop top, which adds extra living spave while anchored. Archives11/01/2001 - 12/01/2001 12/01/2001 - 01/01/2002 01/01/2002 - 02/01/2002 02/01/2002 - 03/01/2002 03/01/2002 - 04/01/2002 09/01/2002 - 10/01/2002 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 |
