Monday, March 10, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Hello, it's me...
It seems like I have been busier than a pizza delivery guy at a weight watchers convention lately. Work is crazy as staff has been reduced to stay on track with this slow economy, but there is still plenty to do. I have a new boss, which is OK. He doesn't' suck but he certainly is an operations guy and not a sales guy. It should work out.
Last Saturday my Kayak, Rosie, took me on a nice 4 hour cruise on the Rainbow River. My friends Aimee and Ray went with me as my guides since it was my first trip. If you don't know the Rainbow, its a river created by one of Florida's huge freshwater springs. The water is 72°, crystal clear and runs over six miles before it drops into the Withlacootchie River headed for the Gulf of Mexico. It's a two mile paddle upstream to the head waters then six miles back to the "getout" point and my arms felt it the rest of the day. Rosie handled fantastic and got lots of comments by other kayakers and scuba divers that were also enjoying the river. I thought I might be sore Sunday but I felt great and considered going back, but I had way too much on my plate to do that.
We have another trip planned on Good Friday since it's a holiday for us. Aimee, her friend Val and her two nephews and I are going to Crystal River to paddle with the Manatees. Hopefully the water in the Gulf of Mexico will be still be cold enough to drive them up into the river. It's pretty awesome to float along side one of those gigantic animals. When you see them on TV they seem rather small but when one surfaces close to you and they are almost as long as your kayak, you find a little respect for their size.
Can't wait to wet a paddle...
Last Saturday my Kayak, Rosie, took me on a nice 4 hour cruise on the Rainbow River. My friends Aimee and Ray went with me as my guides since it was my first trip. If you don't know the Rainbow, its a river created by one of Florida's huge freshwater springs. The water is 72°, crystal clear and runs over six miles before it drops into the Withlacootchie River headed for the Gulf of Mexico. It's a two mile paddle upstream to the head waters then six miles back to the "getout" point and my arms felt it the rest of the day. Rosie handled fantastic and got lots of comments by other kayakers and scuba divers that were also enjoying the river. I thought I might be sore Sunday but I felt great and considered going back, but I had way too much on my plate to do that.
We have another trip planned on Good Friday since it's a holiday for us. Aimee, her friend Val and her two nephews and I are going to Crystal River to paddle with the Manatees. Hopefully the water in the Gulf of Mexico will be still be cold enough to drive them up into the river. It's pretty awesome to float along side one of those gigantic animals. When you see them on TV they seem rather small but when one surfaces close to you and they are almost as long as your kayak, you find a little respect for their size.
Can't wait to wet a paddle...
Friday, February 22, 2008
Finally, a day off...
I decided that enough was enough and I took today as a vacation day. It seems like I have had the throttle to the wall the past several weeks, as there have been lots of things going on at work. The newest change, just yesterday, is that I now have a new boss, one that works in Ocala rather than Pennsylvania. I like the guy, so hopefully this will work out. He is VP of Operations, which is a change from my last boss being VP of Sales and Marketing. But enough about work, for crying out loud, because I'M ON VACATION!!!
The Daytona 500 party worked out well. I had lots of my friends over: Dave, Gail, Pearl, Chuck, Emily, my brother Orin, Aimee, Ray, my Nebraska Cornhusker friends Jan and Bob, plus Miles and Nicole were hanging out with us too. Between all of us we ate 5 slabs of ribs that I smoked all morning... they were awesome!!
The racing was good, especially the last 30 or so laps. The best part is that Kurt Busch didn't win. Hooray!!
I'm really looking forward to this years NASCAR season...
The Daytona 500 party worked out well. I had lots of my friends over: Dave, Gail, Pearl, Chuck, Emily, my brother Orin, Aimee, Ray, my Nebraska Cornhusker friends Jan and Bob, plus Miles and Nicole were hanging out with us too. Between all of us we ate 5 slabs of ribs that I smoked all morning... they were awesome!!
The racing was good, especially the last 30 or so laps. The best part is that Kurt Busch didn't win. Hooray!!
I'm really looking forward to this years NASCAR season...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Less filling, tastes great...
A friend of mine who is going through some relationship "issues" (that is such a girl word!!) sent this to me.
Who was it that said "A picture paints a thousand words"?...
Who was it that said "A picture paints a thousand words"?...
Sunday, February 3, 2008
A Three Hour Tour...
Yesterday was the maiden voyage of the Kayak. I took it to a little lake in the Ocala National Forest called Mill Dam. Not sure how it got that name considering that there never was a mill and there is no dam.
Anyway, she floated and tracked well but it became obvious that boat wakes are going to be a problem. Even the smallish wakes from the couple of fishing boats that were out gave me a little panic attack as I was towards the middle of the lake when one caught me by surprise. Oh well, getting rolled will be inevitable I suppose. I'm just glad it didn't happen yesterday... the water was a little cold!
They say a boat without a name is bad luck, so I'm going to name her Rosie. That's was my Grandmothers name so hopefully that will bring me extra good luck.
But then again, every rose has it's thorns...
Anyway, she floated and tracked well but it became obvious that boat wakes are going to be a problem. Even the smallish wakes from the couple of fishing boats that were out gave me a little panic attack as I was towards the middle of the lake when one caught me by surprise. Oh well, getting rolled will be inevitable I suppose. I'm just glad it didn't happen yesterday... the water was a little cold!
They say a boat without a name is bad luck, so I'm going to name her Rosie. That's was my Grandmothers name so hopefully that will bring me extra good luck.
But then again, every rose has it's thorns...
Saturday, February 2, 2008
"Drinks well with others"...
Ok I admit it. I'm having a bit of a party binge. In December I had two parties here at my place and I'm only 15 days away from having another one. It's the First Annual Daytona 500 Racing and Backyard Tailgate Party. Hosted by yours truly.
For the first time in 10 years I am not going to the Daytona 500. I know, I know, what am I thinking?? That race has been the one of the things I have looked forward to every long, hard, ugly winter. It sort of marked the coming of Springtime for me. But several things have influenced my decision not to attend, and here they are in no particular order.
1. Ticket prices. Last year I paid almost $500 for my ticket package that included 2 seats for two races. Good seats, but not fantastic seats, and I had to pay for them almost a year in advance. My friend Chuck decided to go about a month before last years race and his tickets were only about $300 and his seats were so close to mine I could almost throw a hot dog at him. Does anyone see something wrong with this?
2. Ticket prices. Over $500 for 2008? WTF?!?!? I'm not made of money.
3. Start time. The race used to start promptly at 12:30pm. By the time the race was over, there was still daylight, it wasn't really cold (most of the time) and you could take your time getting into traffic for the drive home. We used to hang out, have some food, listen to the post race shows on the radio and let traffic thin out. Now the race doesn't start until after 3:30pm, and for the past couple of years, with rain delays and other issues, the race doesnt end until around 8pm or later, which means we have to hustle to the car and get into the traffic queue so we can get home before sun-up so we can get to our jobs the next day. We gotta work to pay for next years tickets, right?
4. Parking. The race starts at 3:45ish as we know. But in order to find a suitable parking space for less than $75.00 that is close enough to the track that you don't require a lunch break during the walk, I have to leave my house before 6am. And all for a dirt lot parking space. I hate tailgating in the dirt.
5. Weather. I understand that it's Florida but out of the last 10 years of attending that race I have sat in the freezing cold and / or rain at least 7 of those years. It seems that the days before and the days after are always nice and balmy. I am betting that since I'm not going this year, race day in Daytona Beach will be 75° and sunny.
6. Rude fans. When I first started going to the race, the fans were all nice, friendly and courteous. We laughed with each other, teased about favorite drivers and shared snacks and beverages with each other. No sense missing some of the race just to get another beer, so have one of mine. Some where along the line that began to change and I can't really put my finger on when that happened , but it seems to coincide with the time when ticket prices began their upward surge. Maybe the richer you are the bigger prick you can be?? Or have we've all just become a bunch of racing snobs?
Anyway, I'm not going and I'm using the money I would have spent for tickets, parking and gas to have a bash for my friends. Want to come???
I bet the weather will be awesome...
For the first time in 10 years I am not going to the Daytona 500. I know, I know, what am I thinking?? That race has been the one of the things I have looked forward to every long, hard, ugly winter. It sort of marked the coming of Springtime for me. But several things have influenced my decision not to attend, and here they are in no particular order.
1. Ticket prices. Last year I paid almost $500 for my ticket package that included 2 seats for two races. Good seats, but not fantastic seats, and I had to pay for them almost a year in advance. My friend Chuck decided to go about a month before last years race and his tickets were only about $300 and his seats were so close to mine I could almost throw a hot dog at him. Does anyone see something wrong with this?
2. Ticket prices. Over $500 for 2008? WTF?!?!? I'm not made of money.
3. Start time. The race used to start promptly at 12:30pm. By the time the race was over, there was still daylight, it wasn't really cold (most of the time) and you could take your time getting into traffic for the drive home. We used to hang out, have some food, listen to the post race shows on the radio and let traffic thin out. Now the race doesn't start until after 3:30pm, and for the past couple of years, with rain delays and other issues, the race doesnt end until around 8pm or later, which means we have to hustle to the car and get into the traffic queue so we can get home before sun-up so we can get to our jobs the next day. We gotta work to pay for next years tickets, right?
4. Parking. The race starts at 3:45ish as we know. But in order to find a suitable parking space for less than $75.00 that is close enough to the track that you don't require a lunch break during the walk, I have to leave my house before 6am. And all for a dirt lot parking space. I hate tailgating in the dirt.
5. Weather. I understand that it's Florida but out of the last 10 years of attending that race I have sat in the freezing cold and / or rain at least 7 of those years. It seems that the days before and the days after are always nice and balmy. I am betting that since I'm not going this year, race day in Daytona Beach will be 75° and sunny.
6. Rude fans. When I first started going to the race, the fans were all nice, friendly and courteous. We laughed with each other, teased about favorite drivers and shared snacks and beverages with each other. No sense missing some of the race just to get another beer, so have one of mine. Some where along the line that began to change and I can't really put my finger on when that happened , but it seems to coincide with the time when ticket prices began their upward surge. Maybe the richer you are the bigger prick you can be?? Or have we've all just become a bunch of racing snobs?
Anyway, I'm not going and I'm using the money I would have spent for tickets, parking and gas to have a bash for my friends. Want to come???
I bet the weather will be awesome...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Down a new path...
My brother quit his job. Yep. After almost 10 years working for corporate
I’m hoping that this blog will eventually be hosted by his company under my own domain name.
Then you’ll see some sizzle…
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
It's been a few days...
I can't believe how busy I've been lately. I figured that once the holidays were past and I was back to work I would have some down time. Wonder when that starts??
I'm trying to get the kayak finished up in time to paddle among the manatees over at Crystal River. I think I still have a few weeks before they move back out into open water.
I've done most of the trim work on the kayak...got the hatch finished, the tie-down straps are ready to mount and the final coat of epoxy went on the topside tonight.
Next step is painting the hull. I bought the paint already (at $36.00 per quart!!), a nice deep green and I may get the first coat on Thursday night if the weather holds. It can't be applied lower than 50°F and the fumes are highly toxic to breath so I'll need to do it outside. Three coats. Then Urethane for the topside, install the tie-down straps and it's done!!
I'll post up some pictures when it's done...
I'm trying to get the kayak finished up in time to paddle among the manatees over at Crystal River. I think I still have a few weeks before they move back out into open water.
I've done most of the trim work on the kayak...got the hatch finished, the tie-down straps are ready to mount and the final coat of epoxy went on the topside tonight.
Next step is painting the hull. I bought the paint already (at $36.00 per quart!!), a nice deep green and I may get the first coat on Thursday night if the weather holds. It can't be applied lower than 50°F and the fumes are highly toxic to breath so I'll need to do it outside. Three coats. Then Urethane for the topside, install the tie-down straps and it's done!!
I'll post up some pictures when it's done...
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