Falcon's Log 4

Falcon's Log 4

November 24, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Today I did the molding inside the glass sliders. Now, the glue has to cure and I'll remove the tape and silicone the hell out of
every crack and gap around the edges, and that'll be that. I hope.

Next, I went over all the battery connections on the truck and replaced the bad end on the primary positive terminal. That
required torches and vice grips and jacks and timbers and a Cajun Queen. Pain in the ass. After that, I researched radius arm
bushings for the front of the trucks suspension - about the only thing that really needs replacement at this time. I found them
on line for $25, plus tax, plus shipping, plus waiting. Instead, I took a quick ride down to the closest American Discount Auto
Parts and asked for the bushings. Exactly the same Moog part number for $30, right now, in my hand. Rock the house. I shot
the fasteners under the truck with lube and the mornings work is ready to commence. After I do the tape removal and caulking
inside the building. Either way, on Wednesday, I will be heading to St. Pete over the Skyway Bridge in the truck. THEN!!!
THEN!!! I get to work on Falcon and move forward in my lifelong dream of GETTING THE HELL OUT OF HERE. All things
come to those who wait.

November 25, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Crazy day. Crazy - crazy - crazy. Okay, maybe not. I started out early working on changing the radius arm bushings on the
truck. Well, some things went okay and others became impossible when I rinked the head off my late great long-arm 1/2"
ratchet. Hmmmm - well, that sucked. Nick finally showed up to work on getting the Seafood Shack ready to open, so I
cleaned up around the truck and went inside to work on finishing the sliders. After removing the tape and gathering up all the
sealer and tools and blah blah blah, I JUST got started when Nick asked if I'd look at a problem in the giant walk-in freezer,
and I mean giant - you could freeze all the Dolphins on one side and the Mets on the other and no one would know they were
missing for a year. Anyway, there was a huge crack that might be a problem and if I could spare some silicone and blah blah
blah. You get it. Then Donny popped up and wanted to know if I wanted to take a ride to Marine Salvage with him.

Sure, why not. I found a 1 pound spool of sweet black thread for $12 and snatched it up, but Donny couldn't find what he
needed. On to Sam's club, where he shopped for gobs of Thanksgiving things and I bought pizza and the first three Star
Wars movies - for times when I can't think and don't want to make the effort to try. Then off to Sears for me to get a 3/4" drive
breaker bar and 13/16" deep impact socket. That'll get them dang tighty nuts off. No deal, the best they had was a 1/2"
breaker bar and, oh wait . . . . . here's tonight's sunset.

Another day when I should have been gone down the drain. Okay, well, where was I? Right, I got the breaker bar and a
six-point standard deep socket. Good enough. I can't work on it tomorrow because I have to shoot over the Skyway and get
to the VA hospital to do my lab-rat duties - I'll get some pics on the way and post them - and the next day is Thanksgiving, so
that's out, so, we'll see when I get back to it.

Then Donny has to go get the food into the reefer and I go to the boat to eat and drink for the last time until after the 'fasting'
blood tests. Who knew they meant not to eat? I just thought it would be over with quick, but apparently, if you eat too much
ice cream, honey and whipped cream just before one of these tests, they think you're hanging onto life by a thread and start
prescribing all sorts of potent medications. Myself, I don't feel like I'm that close to the edge, so I don't take the medication and
simply choose to believe Doctors get their degrees out of cereal boxes. I'm better now, though, and do the fasting thing.

So, anyway, long story longer, I got the wrong Star Wars movies, so I gathered up the broken wrench and headed back to
Sears to exchange it for a new one, then stopped in at Walmart and bought the right Star Wars movies. There was a lot
more, but who cares. Like when I got lost and had to ask a cop how to get back to Sears.

November 26, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

I slept in a bit this morning - long enough to get a sweet headache - then started doing a bit of this and that on the computer,
and decided to go check out the truck's dragging left front caliper, so I'd know if I was going to have to pull the front wheel
and address the sticking caliper situation prior to heading into the city. Well, first thing you know, I forgot that the boat was
open, the computer was on, I didn't have either the camera or my cell phone, and I was halfway to the Skyway Bridge. Not
having the cell phone really pissed me off because I couldn't even call the camera and have it meet me at Bay Pines VA
Center. I scabbed a couple of Internet shots to fill in for my incompetence.

Yeah, I know, skanky junk shots, but since you and I are the only two reading this log, I figure you'll let it go just because so
many other shots are so good. The truck ran fine and I topped up the tank when I got back and figured the exact mileage to
get a feel for how much I can expect to pay to drive it. It gets 13.9987975 miles per gallon, which I will round off to 14,
because that makes it easier to say. It needs a little brake work to stop them from dragging, and a thermostat to get the
temperature and efficiency up, and once I get a ton or so of the storage weight out of it, it might do a tad better. We'll see. It's
not a muffin-sized Hybrid and I wouldn't expect it to do too much better mileage-wise. It eats muffin-sized Hybrids for snacks
and farts green afterwards.

Eddie and Sandy are here and they are close friends of Warren and Lauri, sooo . . . . . , Sandy got a call from Lauri where
Lauri said that 'they lightly bumped into Espin's boat and he became unreasonably irritable and wouldn't drink with them'.
Huh. So there you have it. The view from another shore, if you will. Of course, the easy path is to chart a course perfectly
centered between the two extremes and allow equal deviation from the facts on both parts, but not me - I prefer to know who I
can trust in the future. I'll know when Espin returns and I have a look at the boat. Isn't this exciting? Drama and stuff. Yeah.
Now, if I can just have an affair with a celebrity model and get caught and have to run away in Falcon at 6 miles an hour.
Yeah. That's the ticket. A low speed chase. With Rosie O'Donnell savagely paddling a canoe after me screaming and calling
me a Gigolo stick figure. I'd be scared, and grinning.

November 27, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

They took so much blood from me yesterday that shriveled up like a little white raisin, but I'm all better now. I ate beans and
the gas inflated me. Double checking with the shop manual and Eddie, we decided it was pure good luck that my ratchet
broke and I was unable to get the bolts off that I was trying to loosen under the truck. Releasing them seems to also release
the front spring in a rather explosive, kill the closest guy, method. Reading the step by step procedure outlined in the manual
relates an extremely gingerly method of removing the wheel and shock and spring and radius arm (entirely) to facilitate
replacement of said bushings. Well, it needs doing, and I might as well replace the front disc brake pads as well, after having
smoked the left front one pretty good the other day.

Today is Thanksgiving. Yay. Okay, not really. Just another day. Would be different if I were up north with family, but I'm not. I
am going over to Don and Barb's for Thanksgiving dinner, and that's nice. Of course, over there, there'll be no football or
watching the kids torment each other or bracing for Uncle Boozer's eventual rant and collapse, but it should still be fun.

To the left are the new tools I had to get to not do the job I still have
to get done somehow and eventually will - as long as the job doesn't
get crazy. Jobs get crazy like this: I have to change the radius arm
bushings because it seriously affects the handling of the truck -
especially under braking - and the new, very expensive front tires
will wear out FAST if I don't. While I have the front end apart, it only
makes sense to change the brake pads - they're cheap and critical
and if I don't, I may have to soon anyway. I suppose if I'm changing
the front brakes, I should check the back, but what if they're bad
and need to be changed as well? I should get all four wheels of
brakes and do them all. Since I'll have the front shocks half off, and I
KNOW they're bad, I should pick up new shocks all around and
change them out as well - it's not that big a deal. I need to put a
thermostat in anyway, so all the coolant should be changed and
upgraded to good antifreeze that protects the block, and I hear a
'ticking' sound all the time that I can't help but think is either a lifter
or an exhaust leak. I should check into that.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

I should do what I have to and not switch from a boat project to a
truck project! When I'm through with Falcon, the rolling warehouse
gets SOLD!

Also in the picture is the 4 channel 400 watt car amplifier I'm
installing in Falcon to eliminate the desktop speakers and play my
music through the boats mounted speakers. Under $50. Yeah.

So, I'm walking on the dock and run into Mike, a guy who lives on 'Sea Shack', which was once owned by Ham Jones, who
owns the Seafood Shack, and Mike scraped off the 'food' part of the name to make the boat his own once buying it. Anyway,
Mike says, "You know that guy 'Troy' who works here at Waves and bought your car?"

"Yeah," I say, because what else could I say?

"He wrecked it," Mike says with a grin. "I saw him walking last night and offered him a ride and he got all emotional and told
me he wrecked the car."

Less than a week. It took him less than a week to wreck a perfectly good car. Maybe it's just banged up and he can get it
fixed reasonably. There you go. Always something going on here at the center of the Universe. Now, how am I going to
connect with a celebrity? I know, you're thinking Lace Rose Alenius, but no. She apparently hooked up with some guy in New
York City and had a baby. There has to be another way. My poor car. My sons poor car. Well, better Troy than me.

November 28, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

It is the day after Thanksgiving and I am still a little full. It is also still unseasonably cold here and I have to get back to work
on Falcon. Outside the deep horn of a large tugboat that tied up here yesterday sounds a couple of low blasts as they leave
the dock. It's 7 AM and the sun is coming up. Soon, it will begin to warm up in the boat. Well, and outside, too. I went up to
the showers and when I came back I thought I should take a couple of pictures of the dawn because it's so different on a cold
morning with no boats or people moving around. It's so peaceful and serene, like when only Indians lived here, you know, if
Indians would have built tons of cheap condos and crappy shacks and call them 'Paradise Villas' and other things like that.
Maybe it's not the same. I ended up not taking and photos. But I DID set up an account in Flikr so I can upload full resolution
copies of some of the pictures in this site.

It is now 5:48 PM and after a beautiful day, the sun is down and it's getting cold outside. I did a lot of aimless wandering
around and getting nothing accomplished, though I did do a fair amount of socializing and helping out a new arrival at the
marina with his lines and getting tied up securely. They are Ken and Sandy on board a Schucker 438, which is a pretty nice
trawler type cruiser. I'll provide pictures of folks and boat tomorrow, Nice people.

I gave away my two old save files of MP3 songs - 10 CD's in each set - one set listed by Song and the other, the same songs
listed by Artist. I've had them sitting on my desk for about four months, wondering if I should toss them out or mail them to
someone ( I was going to send them to my friend Dawn in Rangely, Maine, but I've already sent her an earlier set with about
95% of the same songs, so it seemed silly) so I gave each set to two different boats on the dock.

Right now, 'La Vie En Rose' is playing on my computer as I write. It always makes me wish I could go to Paris just to walk
around in nice areas near the sidewalk cafés and quaint apartments. Wide sidewalks with small trees and iron benches
where people sit to watch other people.

I got started on the fuel tanks today and got the first one in position, though there is a good deal of finishing up to do. Still, it's
movement in the right direction and makes me feel a little better about making progress toward getting out of here. Heard
from Christine in State College, Pennsylvania yesterday and called her back today to chat a little. She's doing fine - I'm doing
fine - it's all working out.

Heard from an old schoolmate from back before there were cars and we all rode dinosaurs, Gunny Tom Lang - Hoo Ra and
Semper Fi dude. Long time no see and no hear. Just for a picture, Tom looks like the Dad on Orange County Choppers. Just
to give you an idea about Tom, in 1962 or 3, before ANYONE had heard anything about them, he walked up to a bunch of us
one day and said, "There's this new group in England called the Beatles, and you wait and see - they're gonna be the BEST
band EVER!!" And that's no lie. Tom Lang was the first to tell us all about the Beatles. Man, talk about a flash from the past.

Tomorrow I will totally kick ass on these tanks and get that fuel bad aboard and the dock cleared off. Maybe. Unless
something happens or some smokin' hot babe tries to sell me magazine subscriptions. That could tie me up for a while,
though I won't buy any - I may have to read a few cover to cover.

November 29, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Long hard day. Installed the fuel tanks, amid an occasional mutter oath, though surely, none so bad as to warrant concern.
Good grief. I hurt all over, and I still have hose clamps to install and deck fills to remove, shorten, polish, and re-install, plus a
little other detail work. Oh, damn. Yeah, and the installation of several heavy duty braces underneath. Anyway, making
headway and pleased with todays progress.

Espin got back and related all the details of the crash and the Thanksgiving raft-up at Cabbage Key. I have to trust his
account, as his description of Warrens actions is completely consistent with Warren. So, let's see. Pictures. Below are the
Schucker 438, and owners Sandy and Ken.

We now have 'New' Ken and 'Old' Ken, also known as 'Ken who was here before New Ken'. We don't see as much of them
around here now, since they got married, but I did catch them at the boat today, so I thought I'd add that series of pictures as
well. Below is 'Prime Time' and Ken and Gloria.

I DID get the Velcro attached in Paul's boat and will be starting on the dinghy project today. I'm fairly certain it should be quick
and straightforward. If it tries to be otherwise, I'll bring it into line. During 'drying times' in the project, I'll get started on the
truck projects and should finish them long before the dinghy is done.

December 14, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Last night was the annual Christmas Boat Parade and it had warmed up enough to be comfortable outside, and several dock
parties were in progress. Once again, blustery winds and cloudy skies threatened to choke out a sunset, but at the last
minute it lit up the sky in spectacular fashion. Forgive the ham-fisted cobbing together of the shots, but this isn't the Louvre.

The wind blew pretty hard all through the
barbecue and the sudden appearance of the
sun was a welcomed surprise.

It is raining and blowing like stink outside right
now, so all projects are on hold for the
moment. We'll see what the afternoon holds.
The evil weather people say it will be getting
much colder, though it was quite warm last
night, and even up at about 73 degrees this
morning at 5 AM. It's cooling off now, though.

It remained stormy and sprinkled through
most of the day and I spent most of my time
watching mindless TV and dozing. A damn
nice change. It was a great day to relax and
catch up on some much needed rest.

Still, tomorrow's gonna be another working
day and I'm just trying to get some rest. That's
all, I'm trying to get some rest. (Paul Simon -
American Tune)

December 10, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Done! Yay! Paul's cushions are done! (Imagine me hopping up and down like Gollum after he bit off Frodo's finger and got
the ring back - you have to imagine it because I'm NOT going to do it - but that's how I feel.) I still have to staple in the 'hook'
side of the Velcro locater tape on the backs of the cushions, but that won't take long. I may just take a picture or two today.
The 'loop' part of the Velcro is sewn into the cushions.

The weather has been good for the past couple of days, but we have another one of those northern cold fronts rolling over us
again between tonight and tomorrow. This is some kind of 'since before recorded weather' record as this in now our 8th or 9th
cold weather front in six weeks. I'm SURE it has nothing to do with Global Warming because Republicans say there is no
such thing and they're NEVER wrong.

Now I have to re-organize my job priorities and start finishing up a dozen partially completed projects. The first may be the
dinghy on the dock. That shouldn't be too bad and I can wrap it up in a week. Also, the truck work should only take about two
days. After that, two or three more days will finish up the fuel tanks. The water system will only take another two or three
days, and then the floor can go into 'Falcon'. Once the floor is in, the holding tank and head will be the next project and I can't
really guess what that may take, time-wise.

There was a girl sleeping in the head when I got there at 5 AM this morning. She jumped up and ran so fast that I hardly got a
look at her, but she looked young and I felt bad for her. I'm supposed to call the Police if I find trespassers on the property at
night, but I didn't see the point as she was gone in a flash and I would have a hard time giving a description. Besides, I'm not
sure the Police would have considered it a valid trespasser call - more like a nuisance call. The girl is homeless and living on
the streets. Even in Florida during good weather, that sucks. I cannot find it in my heart to hurt her further.

December 9, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Yesterday was tiresome. First because I had to lead the way to two places on the other side of town - and got lost three times
- and second because it was all about shopping - in a rush - and I'm no fan of shopping in a rush. I ended up spending $100
on discount groceries, new cheap sneakers, socks and underwear and a few other things. Actually doing pretty well,
dollar-per-booty-wise.

George called and said he would be taking the boat out today. He called exactly while I was trying to pick out the sneakers
and after trying to talk to him and keep shopping for a while, I had to beg off the phone, promising to call back. When I did call
back, he'd gone to the store. When I got back to the marina, things became pretty hectic and I never got to return the call. It's
still not yet 6 AM this morning, so I'll wait until a little later before calling.

I spent considerable time on the evening of the 7th and yesterday dealing with a very fluky "Media Coder" program out of
'Source Forge.Net', which is an awesome software development site. I was working to convert my 3000 song library of
favorite tunes to MP4 files so Ken and Sandy can load them on their IPod and plug it into the boats stereo system. I finally got
it done, but ended up having to use two different conversion formats, one - the best, in my opinion - resulted in much smaller
files than the other - which I had to finish with. I couldn't discern a difference in sound and would have preferred the smaller
file size, but it might be true that someone with better ears could easily tell the difference.

Today, I HAVE to finish Paul's cushions and put that job behind me so I can get back to Falcon work full time. The guy in the
diver picture is not me, but obviously has the hair I lost, so I want to talk to him. Other than that, I just put the shot in to bring a
little color to the log.

December 7, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Pearl Harbor Day, and a Sunday as well. That only happens once every seven years. Hey! Maybe it's good luck! I should
play the lottery! Or not.

I cut the foam and fitted it, and cut most of the material for the covers, for the cushions for Paul's boat. I never felt comfortable
enough in the weather to drag out the Sailrite and start sewing. It stayed cloudy all day and got windier as the day went on.
Sure enough, it started pouring sometime after dark and I had to dash to the cockpit to save the new cushions from getting
drenched. Hardly anyone says 'dash' any more.

I also managed to get the deck fills pulled, sealed, and re-installed. And I formatted a hard drive for Ubuntu. The more I
research, the more confident I am becoming with the Linux based Operating System. I just need to know that I'll still be able to
work this site (Windows based SiteBuilder) and that my publishing efforts (Windows based Adobe and Word) will still be
effective. I have found that I can embed Windows XP in a virtual box within Ubuntu, as well as any Windows based programs
I want to use. The problem then is, 'what are the benefits of Ubuntu?'. Internet security and the resistance to spyware may be
the only real answers.

November 30, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

The weather word today is for high winds (up to 35 knots, so not THAT high) and lots of rain. Otherwise, warmer than it has
been. A stormy day, but not bad. Just bad enough to allow me some time off to recuperate from the strain of getting those
tanks in yesterday. What a job. And still lots to do, but the hardest part is done. The first picture shows one of the old plates
used to support the tanks. It was intended to be temporary, meaning that it would eventually require additional support and
reinforcing, however, I elected to replace them completely with new wood and solid steel reinforcement.

It's difficult to illustrate just how small the tank areas are once the tanks are in them. I can just barely squeeze in beside them.
I first placed the newly shaped plates in (I reshaped them so they would touch the bulkheads all around, allowing me to
further strengthen the mounting by attaching cleats both to the bulkheads and the plates using adhesive and screws), then
stuffed the tanks into the area (a major job in itself), then I would crawl in myself and with considerable effort, get my lower
legs and knees beneath the tank. Next, I siliconed the short piece of hose that connected the tank fill to the deck fill fitting and
forced it onto the tank, then forced the tank up and pressed the hose onto the deck fill. Then the ridiculous exercise of
somehow maneuvering the plate, which was below my lower legs, over the legs one at a time and into position beneath the
tank, all the while holding the tank up with one hand. Getting the four threaded rod supports through their respective holes
was where most of the cursing came in, except for the first assembly of the first tank, when I suddenly realized I'd forgotten to
install the four sections of hose over the threaded rods to protect the tank. I call myself names when I do things like that. Bad,
bad names. As you can see, I got the protective tubing on.

Every time I look at anything on the boat I can see how much work is still left. The snarl of wires behind the tank is the new
harness that I pulled back out of the way to facilitate the tank work. It will need new hangers and new lashings once the tanks
are squared away.

December 1, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Hurricane season is over. I can not be here for the next one. I will be . . . will be . . . somewhere else. There, I've said it.

As the tanks get closer to being ready to accept the 100 gallons of fuel again, I've begun wrestling with the overall
complications of balancing the boat in a satisfactory manner. I put that last 1500 pounds of ballast in the rear of the bilge
before leaving Naples because the boat, at that time - with 400 feet of chain, two anchors, two very heavy davits, and a huge
windlass installed on the bow, appeared very stern light. I put all the trim ballast on the rear deck and the boat balanced. I
made the decision to pour the lead into the aft keel and did so, knowing that I could remove most of it easily if I had to.

Mistake. Removal is a bear. Just to see how bad it would be, I approached it gingerly today and got started. After six hours of
pounding chisels and sharpened tire irons and 3 foot crowbars with 20 ounce framing hammers and a 3 pound sledge, I have
succeeded in making a fair start and have removed about 100 pounds of the lead. I'm sore all over. A long time ago, someone
in Germany's Nazi Party wrote, "That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Right, if you're 18. If you're 61, it just makes
you sore. And tired. Though I could whoop up on most other 60 year olds, or outrun them, whatever the situation calls for. I'd
like to get at least 500 pounds of the ballast out, and 800 pounds would make me happier still.

Falcon has gobs of storage space in the rear, so I can trim the load easily from front to back to keep her in balance.

Here's a couple of shots of tonights sunset, because a book without pictures is for people more grown up than me. It started
getting a little cool outside where George, Espin, Geoff and I were sitting around enjoying a gam. The other three were
drinking, so they would soon not notice the cold, no matter how much they shiver, but I don't drink and don't hang long at
situations where everyone else is. Bad Ju Ju.

I don't know what I'll do tomorrow, but I'll definitely make headway somewhere on this endless project. I may well work on
something that requires muscles I haven't already used up today. See you then.

December 2, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

A cold day today and I didn't work on the boat much, but I did get a lot done. I went to the auto parts store and got a new
thermostat for the truck, as well as some engine gasket sealer, an air chisel kit with bits, some air tool oil and three gallons of
"kill the neighbors pit bull" green death anti-freeze. It is the best antifreeze to protect your engine, but you have to dispose of
it like the poison it is. The air hammer/chisel is a fairly inexpensive item - $30 - and I'll probably only use it for this 'remove the
lead' job, but it will save so much time and energy that it's well worth the cost. I have a compressor to use to drive it with.
Hmmm. Maybe you'd like to see the spot where I'm working?

Yeah, yeah, I know - what a nightmare. And mess. It's years of old bilge water and oil drippings and very special grub that
cannot be suitably described. Oh, well. Once I get 5 or 6 hundred pounds of lead out of there, I'll pressure wash it, paint it
with white epoxy and re-install the CLEANED bilge pumps. It'll all be such fun. THEN I'll finish up the fuel tanks and fill them
again. THEN I'll finish the last details on the water system and FINALLY!!! Put the damn floor in the boat. I'm all giddy. I would
go into details about what the three pictures above are showing, but there's nothing there that can make anyone go all like,
"Oh,yeah! That's cool!" It would be different if there was a boob peeking out of somewhere, but there's REAL slim chance of
that in this local. I mean, 'the bilge of my boat' local, by the way.

December 3, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Always something - it's always something. Last night I got an automated call from the VA telling me my appointment to go over
the blood tests, which was scheduled for January 5th, has suddenly been moved up to December 4th - tomorrow. This is
disturbing on a couple of levels. In the first place, I was all set to get down and dirty and do some much needed upgrades and
repairs to the truck, and I'm not really all that pleased about suddenly having to take the trek over the Sunshine Skyway and
into the land many streets again so soon. But the second reason is what makes me frown a bit in silence. The Va NEVER
makes a quick move like this unless they find some big and bad in a lab - something that requires quick action, additional
tests, or instructions on making out a will.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the doctor just misses me a lot and wants to have a pleasant chat. Yeah, that's the ticket. A
pleasant chat.

I did laundry and went to Walmart to check prices on the food and bought coffee, then spent most of the day socializing on
the docks with everyone. I was going to work on the truck today, but I'm too concerned that something important might rink
the job into a cocked hat and I'll have to beg a ride to the hospital tomorrow, if that's even possible. Better to leave the truck
alone and take an easy and early drive to St Pete. That way I can get there early so I can glare at strangers while I fret.

December 4, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

We've had a lot of cold here recently and have complained a little in that whiny, "I can't REALLY complain because after all,
this IS Florida", way of saying, "What the hell!! This is Florida!! Where's the damn heat?". So, it's still fun. Then my sister
Jeannine from Georgia sent these pictures from Switzerland, and I felt much warmer.

It feels VEERRRRY warm here now. I may go to the beach and sun for a while. After the 'Ride Of Doom' to the VA.

Back from the VA. I know the space looks small, but it actually encompasses 4 1/2 hours. What a beautiful day it has turned
out to be. The view from the Skyway was spectacular. By the way - there was no 'medical emergency' that called for the
appointment to be moved up. Instead, it was a combination of: a.) the doctor is going on vacation and didn't want to wait until
January to fulfill a long overdue appointment, and b.) I have a prescription that is supposed to be filled continually. Because I
was bitten by a radioactive spider and now have secret 'spidey sense', I can survive these lapses in medical attention, while
others grow fat butts and begin to sing like Mel Torme. It's awful. Nevertheless, my only apparent serious condition is that I
don't do enough aerobic type exercise to lower my cholesterol. It's like 44 good and 177 bad, so I'm going to have to hurry up
and get the truck emptied so I can sell it, then either walk, jog, or ride a bike to get around. That, with good diet, will do the
trick.

Geoff took Sam and left on his boat "Lex Sea" today for a few days of cruising. Sam is the dog. He is the dumbest dog that
ever barked at a wave or a dripping faucet, ferociously. 'Lex Sea' is a big, fast trimaran, but I think Falcon could take it, if Lex
Sea just stayed tied to the dock.

Below are a couple of shots of tonights sunset, one through palms from the top of Seafood Shacks fire escape. Very arty.

December 6, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Yesterday I pulled the fuel fills out of the deck and shortened them about 3/4 of an inch each. They are good, new SeaDog all
stainless steel items, so it took a bit of doing. I also had to smooth and round off the cut end prior to re-installing them. I'll be
pulling them out quickly today to apply some sealer between the flanges and the deck. Falcon is a 'no leaks allowed' zone.
Once that's done, it'll be time to secure the tank support plates to the surrounding bulkheads and install and secure any
additional support I feel comfortable with. Then attach the fuel tank vents and refill the tanks.

It's getting about time to make the cushions for Paul's boat. I'll make some headway on that today and see if I can finish it up
quickly. I'm SO not wanting to do other people's boat work any more.

Yesterday, I also did a little 'condensing' of the site by enlarging some pages and doubling up the content on those pages,
cutting the number of pages in some sections in half. I may do a little more stuff like that. We'll see. I don't want to cripple the
loading of pages in the site and make it too slow for someone to enjoy. There is 'someone' out there reading. Someone.
Somewhere. Are you there? Hello? Hello? . . . . . . . . . Rats. Oh, well.

December 11, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

This morning we await the passing of a line of violent squalls and tornado prone thunder cells. This system has been bearing
down on us for a few days, so it's not a surprise. Still, last night we all got together on the dock and had a bit of a gathering,
which we are prone to do, and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and ate until we were stuffed. I took a couple of pictures but
only got about half the people that were there, and a stormy looking sky that appeared to shut out the sun. At the last minute,
however, the sun poked out below the clouds and made a short, bright sunset.

Above is a shot of the Island of Moorea, in the distance, from Tahiti, a better place to be homeless.

December 20, 2008 - Seafood Shack Marina - Cortez, Florida

Yeah, I know - been a while. Six days, to be exact, unless you only count the five missing days. I did this thing, you know, by
accident, where I went on line to see if I could remember my old RuneScape account from years ago, when I went on to
accompany my sisters grandson so he wouldn't be alone. Back then, because it was winter or something and I could just sit
on line and play all day, I racked up some impressive gains - in the free site - and got bored and begged off, leaving the child
with his new-found friends and no longer in need of a companion. So, the other day, I got back on, and I have been grinding
away at it again, and once again driving up some impressive gains. So now I'm bored again and off. I'll tie it off securely again
and go back another time.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I also managed to get going on the dinghy project.