Falcon's Log 37
June 5, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys (Cont.)

I've been re-assigning the forward area and hanging all the spare lines up there. In the shot below, all the small lines are
hung on the new eyes I dug out and installed. The 4 biggest lines are still out on the deck drying, but they will be hung in just
a little while. They are dry enough and the way they lines are hung, they do not lay against the bulkhead, but hang away from
the sloping wall and will finish drying there.
The rest of the lines are hung and I'm listening to music - loud -
from the computer. Life is good.

It's hot here today and working in the unventilated bow is very hot,
but I'm doing the work in short bursts and now it's done. Out in the
main cabin there is enough of a breeze for it to be comfortable.
The nights are unbelievable. Warm, but comfortable and inviting
for star-gazing and peaceful relaxation. It's quiet and beautiful
here and I love it.
June 6, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

At 6:08 this morning a light rain woke me up and I got up and closed up the boat. There was no real wind, however, so I left
the companionway doors opened and opened the main cabin hatch about 1/4 way up and a nice cool breeze is flowing
through. Miraculously, the failure of my camera has not only stopped, but it is somehow healing. At least, it seems that way.
Yesterday and today it has begun operating normally again, and I SO don't want to risk it, so I took these pictures from the
companionway, under the propped hatch.
I got a call from Espin last night saying he'd received my mail and that a young guy was leading the golf tournament by three
strokes. Tiger is lost somewhere in the middle of the pack. I'll check on the Golf Channel online to see what's up. Yesterday
being Saturday caught me completely off guard. Honestly, I thought it was Thursday. I love retirement.

I've started bridging the solar charger during the day so the battery being charged is also including the 8D that is permanently
bolted to the engine buss (for now) and that is being recharged and kept topped up during the day. I just started doing this
yesterday and will see how it works. After a week or so, I'll run this battery dead and then allow it to recharge alone to be sure
the 'deep cycle' aspect gets exercised.

The rain has cleared up and the sun is out and the whole boat is opened up again. It was 94 degrees in here yesterday and I
guess that means the heat wave that has been tormenting the West has arrived and will give us a dose of it's treatment. Have
no fear - I'll be fine - I've stopped wearing socks. And shoes.

I'd forgotten one long line outside yesterday and hung it today. I'll bet I was supposed to say 'hanged', but, hey. I'm cleaning
and sorting and can't say how long it will take to finish. Today I started by cleaning the area in front of the stove to make it
easier to use. Well, one of the items on the floor there was the knapsack I have that is STUFFED with computer peripherals
and cables and do-dads and old crap. It is now empty and may find a new use on my grocery shopping two-wheeler or just on
my back for light trips or to carry my shower kit and fresh clothes ashore. Either way, I will chuck out about 80% of the stuff
that was in it and put the rest in a much smaller container or small drawer I'll build specifically for the purpose.

I still have some huge storage issues aboard but can't address them for at least another 2 months. I simply won't have the
money before then. For now, I just have to move stuff around and make the best of what situations I do have available. I will
store all the extra bedding and books and heavy clothes, charts and miscellaneous odds and ends beneath the bunk and see
how that looks. Since I won't be showering on board while the other facilities are right on shore, I can use the large shelf I
built in the head for my clothes and a few other things, and hang a net bag beneath for laundry. The whole forward section of
the front sink shelf will now be available to store 'project' items that are presently on the floor, and it's entirely possible that I'll
have a clean and clear boat to work in. Won't that be nice? I may carpet. Or paint and paper.

Taking advantage of the sunshine and the constant charge going to the user battery, I just did a 2 1/2 hour stint posting the
last of the emails for Donny and Barbara's FIRST Bahamas trip. Soon, I will start posting the ones for their second trip, from
which they have already returned. I know, I know, but I'm busy.

After lunch - another good pot o' stew - I went back to work on posting the first two emails of Don and Barbs last trip. Seven
left to do. I hope I get them done before Dulcinea takes off again.

I got 166 amp Hours out of the solar panels today. So okay, now, I'm just saying, not for nothing, I TOLD people I could get as
much as 170 amp hours a day out of this rig. I am SO hurting my arm patting myself on the back. I might possibly crack that
number soon as the longest day of the year (June 22?) is coming up soon. We'll see. I'll have a cupcake to celebrate.

I just spent an hour talking to Bob from Texas with the Tartan 41. Like me, he is a long time sober alcoholic and we just had
an hour long 'meeting' of sorts on the fantail, watching the sun go down. Now I have to watch Smilla anguish over her Sense
of Snow for a couple of hours, and heat up todays tasty soup for supper.
June 7, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

Okay, I have to protest the evil weather gremlins of the night. For three nights in a row, there has been lightning and then
rain, and I have gotten up and closed up the boat, and the weather instantly seems to clear up and I sleep in a hot, stuffy boat
all night. The first thing I do in the morning is open the whole boat up and let it cool down and air out. This has to stop and I
insist someone put an end to it.

My mission today will be to finish posting the emails for Don and Barbs second trip. As I need to take breaks, I'll continue on
the miscellaneous other projects going on inside here. I got the 25 or 30 feet of heavy 10/3 cable stripped yesterday and the
stiff yellow jacket, along with the stranded 'rounding' inside are off and now in the trash. I will be using this wire to distribute
power inside the electrical panel. More on that later. Right now, time for emails and then to work on the postings.

Well, it turns out, once I started formatting the emails for posting, that there were NOT only 7 remaining - there are 14
remaining. But they are awesome and most of you will love them, so it's well worth the work. Back to it.

I now have 9 out of a total of 16 completed, and I know people are liking it because the traffic on the website is very high. I did
some formatting of these emails that makes them easier to post, but it has still been a marathon. Ha ha ha ha - a pun - get it?
Yeah, that's right, I'm going bonkers. My head aches and my neck hurts, but I'm going to take some aspirin and keep at it.

It's been overcast almost constantly today. The solar panels are still producing around 10 amps, but if that's as goos as it
gets, that's just breaking even and I may have to fire up the engine later on.

Only 4 left. To tell the truth, I didn't think I'd get this done today. Now that I've said that, I probably won't. Better just stick to it.

There. It's done, and only 2:11 PM. Okay then.

Even with considerable cloud cover, the Outback is showing 125 amp hours so far today and it's only 5:30. It could go a little
higher, but not much. I really think I've done all right, considering I've spent almost 10 hours on the computer with both
monitors burning all day. I'm glad to have the Bahamas pages done and that there is finally a little breeze cooling things off.
I'm going to eat something and watch a movie and relax for a while. See you all tomorrow.
June 8, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

The first thing I do in the morning is check email and I got a website Contact from Rachel, a friend from Cortez, who told me
that the "NEXT" button at the bottom of 'Don and Barb's' cruising logs #7, sent you to 'Falcon's Log 8'. Oops. Sorry. All fixed
now. And please, if anyone notices glitches like that, DO give me a 'heads up' so I can correct it. Anyway, there are still pages
8 and 9 to read on Don and Barb's last cruise.

It is only 9 AM and the website is already logging 969K of traffic. The stuff I posted yesterday is getting viewed, for sure. I'm
going to head into shore to get rid of trash, shower and check out whatever else I may need in the locker to begin working.
I went out to take a shot or two of a very bland sunset last evening, when I noticed that the Sun looked much bigger than
usual and there was a distinctive scar on the surface. I wondered if the low angle to the horizon was magnifying it and also
shielding or filtering it enough to reveal a giant sun spot. Then my camera died and I had to run inside and change the
batteries, yes, yes, and set the time and date - I'M TRYING TO DO SOMETHING HERE, CAMERA - but by the time I got
back outside all you could see was Sols forehead - and a little cloud off to the left that probably explains the dark scar on the
first shot. Still, it was fun.

I got the stuff tossed that needed tossing and the stuff in the locker, got 5 gallons of water and $20 from the ATM so I could
get a cold drink from the machine. That IS a treat once in a while. The new batch of soup I made today is REALLY good. I
added a little EVOO and some cilantro. Very tasty. It's 5:30 and I have over 146 AH out of the panels. I ended up getting 138
yesterday.

I'm drinking the water out of the tanks now and it's fine. I think I do get a hint of some plastic taste on it, but it's not enough to
bother me. I think it will lessen or go away completely in time. Todays site log was 1.2 megs and I think I downloaded a
program today that will allow me to post videos on this site. That'll be fun.
June 9, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

There was quite a 'light show' early last night, but no rain and, amazingly - for how close some of the lightning was, no noise.
Just a lot of bright flashes in the sky.

Sick of not being able to view the videos I took on the trip, I loaded up every video player and coder I've downloaded over the
years. Most are old, reliable units like Real Player, Div X and QuickTime, but I also tried a 2008 version of MediaCoder,
which is supposed to be a video codec converter - but I haven't yet been able to make it work, and VLC Media Player, that I
don't know anything about, but it seems to work pretty good. I don't mind doing this stuff to this system because I'll be gunning
it out of here in another month or so.

I've already started loading the software I intend to use on a 500 GB SATA drive and will continue to work that item into
shape until I get the new motherboard, then I'll start all over again with it. The upside is that I will have a faster, more efficient
and less power-robbing computer to work the publishing on. I've also begun to read through the significant 'Self Publishing'
library I have on board. Unfortunately, it appears that most of the books are probably out of date.

I'm not sure if it matters anyway. There is an element of any 'newish' industry that demands forging your own path and not
strictly relying on information assembled by individuals intent, not on disseminating accurate information, but simply selling
their own book. Such an attitude in the 'instructional' genre leads to a tendency to 'say anything to fill the pages'. The task at
hand for me is to 'mine' the books for intelligent and inspired information and ideas.

Well, that was good. I just spent an hour going on about the writing, then looked at the section and cut it. Some other time,
some other place. Not here and not now. I'll be back later.

It has been a hot and pleasant day with just enough breeze to keep it cool here in the boat. I left for about 3 or 4 hours to sit
in the lounge, get a cold soda and talk with Bob and Gary. Gary didn't stay long, but Bob and I talked about all kinds of things
from booze to motorcycles to bears fighting lions. We only left when they started closing the place up at 5:30. Before I went in
there, I spent a few hours researching those 'Self Publishing' books and found that, while many of them were upwards of 15
years old, they are still selling and one in particular that I paid $12.95 for, now lists for $55 new (Same exact book!!) and used
ones are listed for as much as $125!! Upgrades of the most popular book are slammed as puffed up nothing compared to the
original versions, one of which I am reading right now.

Anyway, I decided I'd better start doing my 'Self Publishing' homework so I'll have things of relevance to mull over while the
sewing machine drones on and on and on in the near future. I might also start 'hi-lighting', after a fashion, by scanning
important stuff and making a computer file with those things in it. I am finding a lot of information relating to the construction
and production of non-fiction self-help manuals that is of very little interest to me and only worth a cursory scan as I whiz past
it.

Tiger Direct has received my package - the punk motherboard - they got it on the 4th of June, 5 days ago, but I still don't
have the money back in the account yet, so I can't go nuts and cross the street for a cheeseburger. It'll be Pinto Beans for me
tomorrow. Yummy.
June 10, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

I called my cousin Aimee last night and got all the updates on the family. A brief history: Aimee's father is my mother's brother.
His name is Angel. When we were very young, as in, 'just out of diapers' young, our parents moved in together and we all
lived in the same house. Eventually, Aimee's family totalled 10 and mine 7, but by that time we had lived in our own houses
for some time. Still, the families remained very close and I even spent several summers living with them in New Hampshire,
where they had a small farm and many, many animals.

Aimee is the oldest of the children in her family and six months my junior, though she looks about 20 years younger than me.
She has always been beauty, grace and femininity personified and she still is. Her personality is much like my sister,
Jeannine, being friendly, generous and quick to laugh.

We talked for an hour and I got all the updates on everyone and I brought her up to date about my own children. We have
been out of touch so much for so long that she never knew I had a daughter, and my daughter is now 30. Living on the fringe
as I have all these years has cost me.

I got an email this morning - a website Contact, actually - from a guy in Georgia who wants the anchor as a temporary item on
his recently completed 1943 GPA. We are presently emailing and I have to find out how elaborate I have to get with the
packaging - from UPS's point of view - and what it will cost to ship.
This fast moving front galloped over us last evening just before sunset and created another great light show after dark. This
time, I could hear it as well as see it. I think I felt a few raindrops, so I closed up most of the boat so I wouldn't have to rush
around to every hatch and porthole if it did rain, but it never did.

I dinghied in and walked to the UPS Store, which is right next to Publix, so it's a mile off. I checked the cost to package and
ship the anchor to Georgia. All told it will come to about $70, but at least all I have to do is drag it a mile on my new little
two-wheeled shopping cart and drop it off, then I can go into Publix and do a little food shopping. I did stop in there and get a
bottle of water, 5 nectarines and a package of turkey franks to throw in with todays pinto beans and black eyed peas. It's all
cooked now and initial tastes say it's very good. It needs to cool some.

I checked into PayPal and sent off the bill to Steve from Georgia. I've never used PayPal to collect money before, only send
it, so this will be a new experience. It may be a method I can use on this site to sell the books. We'll have to see how big a
piece they charge for the transaction.

Well, I accidentally hit the wrong key when updating the site and it reloaded the entire thing, taking at least an hour. In that
time, Steve wrote back and paid PayPal (they took almost $4 - fair enough) and sent me his address. First thing in the
morning I'll send the anchor off, happy to have the cash, but more happy that a genuinely nice piece of hardware will get used
in a good way and not wasted. I hate waste. Thanks, Steve.

I got a call from Espin to share some news about a new Vega in the family up there. Volker's girlfriend has decided to move
off her 30' Hunter and onto a Vega just like Espin's. It needs a little TLC, but comes with a brand new trailer that'll come in
handy. He is also installing a holding tank in Minnie Pearl and has a 'space' problem that he's grappling with. We talked about
it a little - he was trying to come up with some fresh ideas - but we couldn't. They've been getting tar balls from the oil spill on
the beaches for about a week now. That calamity is going to change the face of Gulf Cruising for years to come.

I am still reading up on the business of self publishing. There's a lot of good information in the books I have, but it is true that
a lot of it is just plain dated. Still, I think I can bring the information I need up to date with a little extra online research when I
get to that point.

I just saw my first mosquito on the boat, but it seems to me that I've 'felt' a couple of others at night before. Either way, it's not
a problem - they don't seem to bother me.
June 11, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

One of the things about the Marathon City Marina is that there is a substantial turnover of boats passing through. I could
probably be posting more pictures of the different boats because they are interesting.
This mornings sunrise was pretty good, but it also made it hard to take pictures in that direction. Another thing Espin and I
talked about yesterday was the little dinghy behind this sweet old - nicely yellow - 35 foot Chris Craft sailboat. The dinghy is
the same one that Donny Capron gave me, only his is a newer version - I think (it has molded fiberglass seats) - and mine is
a sailing version. The first thing the owner wanted to know was 'what is it?', a question I had no answer for, and the second
thing was, 'what is that rub rail?'.

Well, for that I had the answer: I told him it was that white sanitation hose - not the pricey stuff from West Marine, but the
cheaper version from Home Depot - split with a Skill Saw and forced over the dinghies fiberglass rail. I explained that Espin
had seen it on another dinghy somewhere and did it to his, and so I also did it to mine. The other guy has lime green
swimming noodles split and cable-tied around his whole dinghy and said he was going to go the white hose route very soon.
The soft foam noodles don't last well.

Later on, while Espin and I were talking, he told me he'd seen the idea here in Marathon, so it's come full circle. Someday it
will be called a Boot Key Bumper in honor of its origin in Boot Key Harbor. Whether that's even true or not. It seems true.
Though Geoff will probably come up with a funnier name that will stick harder. I'll have to see if Donny remembers the make
or model of the dinghy so I can pass it on to this guy.
I have a power boat on either side of me. One is tiny 'Gypsy' - I'll get a better picture later - and the other is lofty 'Golden Spirit'.
To be sure, Golden Spirit requires a golden paycheck to fill the tanks, while gypsy has two little outboards, and I think one of
them is on the dinghy. I have to tell you, I like Gypsy better of the two, though spirit is obviously ten times as spacious.
No sooner do I write it, but I look out the porthole and the
couple is dropping the pennant and leaving, so I got what
pictures I could. The "CDory" insignia on the side - I think - is
for Cape Dory, and from this angle I think I see 3 outboards.
The little one on the transom must be for trolling or slow
cruising on the Intracoastal to enhance sight-seeing. Anyway,
it IS a sweet little package and I highly commend their efforts
in getting that inflatable on and off the cabin roof.

I will be heading in to trundle the anchor down to the UPS
Store this morning. It will be good to get that done. It might
make me feel so 'accomplished' that I'll spend the rest of the
day napping and feeling that I've already done a days work. I
better remember to bring Steve's address.

Okay, I'm back and the anchor is shipped. I took down to UPS
on my little shopping two-wheeler. Gary was all excited about
giving me a ride down there yesterday, but when I saw him this morning and said I was heading to ship the anchor, he
panned on the subject. I'm glad. Sometimes guys like him that run hot and cold are good to keep at arms length. I'm always
wary of guys too anxious to 'help', feeling they are, rather, writing checks they intend to cash later, or in more direct language,
greasing me up. I always have a tendency to remain reserved around new acquaintances until they sort themselves out
without my help.

I didn't go food shopping, as I thought I might after shipping the anchor. The reason being that the money Steve put into
PayPal won't hit my bank account until next week, so I had to tap into my next months rent for the mooring to do the shipping.
The rent isn't due until the 19th and the money should be there by the 14th, so no problem. I'm also expecting the refund from
Tiger Direct to hit the account at any time. All together it adds up to over $200, which suddenly makes me flush, and then
some.

I've spent the better part of the day reading, once again, and have hit the bottom of the stack of out-of-date books. There is
some VERY important information concerning paper weights and types, formatting and complete book layout. There are also
sections concerning resources for specific needs and research, but all the information on the printing industry is just junk.
These guys, and mind you, I'm talking about books published in the mid nineties, recommend keeping a pad and pencil with
you at all times so you can jot down ideas and take notes. Well, they'd never heard of the electronic devices virtually
everyone has on them at all times now. There were times I pictured young Jimmie Olson, cub reporter for the Metropolis
News, with a Post-it in his hatband announcing PRESS as he scrawls details of his latest scoop. Good grief, Charlie Brown,
how long ago was the nineties? I'll spare you the comments about carbon paper and copy machines.

Anyway, that's over. I also have to drain and flush and refill my gearbox with ATF. For some reason, sometime in the past I
overfilled it with gear lube. It's not supposed to have gear lube in it. It's supposed to have ATF - automatic transmission fluid.
Delving back to the dark ages when I was still in Naples, like, 7 years ago, it occurs to me that after cleaning and checking
the gearbox, I might have filled it with gear oil to prevent any rusting until I got the right lube and put the unit to work. Hmmm.
Must have forgotten about that. That means the gearbox has about 500 miles of use with good oil rather than that watery red
stuff. Still, I have to go back to what they say or the rubber will eventually pay the price.

Well, yesterdays upload glitch gave me concerns as to just how well the new AirCard and the AT&T service did in restoring
the website. These people are known to drop the ball, so to speak. So, I started going through the sight one page at a time.
The first thing I realized was that I had to add pages 7, 8 and 9 to Don and Barb's Home Page panel. The next thing was that
there were huge chunks missing from Ken Keenahan's pages. As I worked my way through every single page (now there are
something like 100 pages) I found at least a dozen more with big voids. Everything is fixed now, but I hope this new system
I'm working on developing will be more stable than this old one. If anyone ever sees anything wrong, please give me a
heads-up through the Contact Page, and if anyone thing the Contact page needs help, please send me that information as
well, like, how it might be made better.
A couple of little things happened around me during the day. The first one was that 4 55 gallon drums showed up on Golden
Spirit while I was bringing the anchor to the UPS Store. My guess is that they are headed for the Yucatan. The other thing is
that John, from the 35 foot Chris Craft 'Yellow Bird' (nice name, good color) came over to borrow a Zerk grease gun - that I
don't have - and we talked at length about the alignment of the center carrier bearing on his propeller shaft. He has been
noticing a 'cycling rumble' under load. He was also familiar with the 35 foot Chris Craft that was left at Regatta Point Marina
that Chris Garrett almost bought. We talked about that boat as well, and her new owner.
June 12, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

I was awakened at exactly midnight, and I mean, right on the dot, by a torrential downpour and lightning so close it made me
flinch. It kept going full tilt for at least half and hour and I remained awake until at least 2 AM. I thought the dinghy would sink
for sure, but this morning there was only 3 or 4 inches of water in it.

I rowed ashore - after bailing out the dinghy, which I only dared to get into by leaving my wallet and cell phone on Falcon's
deck (in case the dinghy sank when I got into it) - then got a cold drink out of the soda machine (it's VERY hot here today)
and tossed out the trash. I took that last big bag of scraps and odd cloth out of the locker and emptied it and sorted
everything out, then decided to walk down the street to a combination deli/liquor store and see what the subs there cost.

That's when I realized I'd left my wallet and cell phone on Falcon's deck. So, I rowed back out to boat, got the cell phone and
wallet and also grabbed the iron, an old towel to place over the nylon and vinyl materials when I flatten them, and a bag of
webbing and cordage, and brought them to the locker. It was almost a mile to the Deli and when I got there I was in line
behind three other people. There were no signs anywhere about the subs, but when it was my turn, the guy behind the
counter handed me a menu. The cheapest sub was $10, plus tax. I only had $10 and was hoping to get a cold drink as well. I
said it was a little too steep and put down the menu then turned to the door. The guy behind the counter said something
about 'unemployment' or something, and when I glanced at him he made this big 'two thumbs up gesture' as I walked out the
door. I still have not the slightest idea what he was thinking or what vague point he was trying to make, but whatever it was, I
think it missed the mark.

Anyway, I was just half a block from Publix and I went in there and got a giant sub and two quarts of cold green tea for $10
and walked back to the marina. In case you can't guess, I'm back out on the boat where a very slight breeze is making the
afternoon tolerable.

I think I will be starting the sewing tomorrow. It seems like I have just about everything in there that I should need. I'll do some
digging around here for the rest of the day and see if I can come up with anything else. Oh, I just thought of something. A long
straightedge. I'll put it on the deck outside right now.

My bridle snarled the mooring buoy last night and my neighbor told me about it, so I untangled it this morning. I may have to
install a third 'preventer' line to guard against that in the future.

The solar array got 169 AH today, just from the magic 170 number. I also just took down the white sun shade I've been using
over the main cabin for years now. It started shredding. Too much sun and wind, I guess. Time for either major repairs or a
whole new unit. No telling which way it'll shake out, but I will start the whole sewing hullapalooza with the next section forward
of the Hardtop and go from there. I may have to get bread and peanut butter and start brown-bagging it into the work room
every day. I wonder how many new friends I'll make? You know, no one down here looks at this site and most of them don't
know about it. That way I can purloin them or skewer them with my rapier wit, you know, if I had that stuff. Also, I'd like to
avoid coming back to the boat to find "YOU SUCK!" painted on the side with a spray bomb. Of course, that could happen
anyway. I have one of those faces that asks to be poked with a stick. I really do, but most polite people don't mention it.
Tonights sunset was unusual and colorful. It really is great here.
June 13, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

There are mosquitoes in the boat. Well, one. His name is Fred and he talks so much it's like having three. Luckily, I have a
can of Bengal Flying Insect Killer on board. It has a Tiger on the can so it must come from India. If it kills Indian Tigers, it'll
handle this one Skeeter. It says 'Garantizado' on the cap and that gives me confidence.

The morning breeze is picking up now and it's cooling off in the boat. I close it up - for the most part - at night so I don't have
to jump up and desperately close all the portholes and hatches while getting soaked. Naturally, in the morning it's a bit stuffy
inside. As I work the sun shade system I'll be coming up with ways to improve it where I still keeps the hot sun off the boat but
allows good ventilation without exposing the portholes and hatches to rain.

I soaked some red kidney beans overnight and will add some split peas to them now so they will all be ready to cook at
lunchtime. The sub I had yesterday was packed with fresh, crisp veggies. Now I have to get into my beans and rice regimen
again for a few more days. It'll all be sorted out soon. I'll have a working ice box, plenty of money and a good supply of fresh
veggies, fish, fruits and even some meat.

After doing all my morning standard computer stuff, which isn't really all that standard, I started updating all the 'back-up' files
and condensing the huge folders of duplicate files. About halfway through it, the computer snapped 'blue page DOS' on me
with one of those scary, "Your unit has turned to scrap" messages you just HATE to see. Sure enough, my CPU had it's head
in the hopper and was blowing lunch about as hard as it could.

After several (about a dozen) attempts to boot, with the results getting worse each time, I realized the CPU fan had died and
the CPU was crackling. Great. That's what I like to discover. That the $200 dual core heart of my system has become a
half-dollar sized Frisbee. I let it cool for an hour, then took the system apart and substituted and old, spare CPU fan, scraped
as much 'heat conducting goop' as I could from the old one and started trying to boot it again.

Now, it was worse than ever. It wouldn't even try to start. No LED's, nothing. It got better after I plugged it back in, but still, for
a minute there I was a little discouraged. Obviously, I have it working again. I'm going to turn it off now and go do other work,
and I may have to reserve cooler periods of the day to do computer work.

All I got done was a shower and some lame TV. I tried to do sewing work, really. But the first obstacle was this young mother
with her beautiful baby boy planted right on the table. She was just doing Internet on another table. When she finally left, I
had these two guys hanging out and the three of us just kept talking and talking until I finally threw in the towel and said I was
going to watch some TV in the lounge. It would have been excellent if I'd been able to catch some golf, but no such luck. One
TV was being controlled by a Hispanic woman watching soccer in Spanish and the other was a bunch of guys watching
horror films and laughing their butts off. That was actually okay for a while, but it got old quick and I returned to the boat.

The motherboard is running a little rough. It took about 6 or 8 tries to get it to fully boot and post. I can't complain - at least it
works. I can't wait to see that money in my account. First, the rent and the phone gets paid, then I take a close look at next
months due debts and such. All I have to do is make past 6 more weeks of close care and I'm home free. Then I'll be able to
think about a new motherboard, or a laptop, or some other options with the computer. Meanwhile, for right now, I have to limit
my time on the unit. But I am looking at cheap new laptops as an awesome backup system.
June 14, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

The last time I used the computer yesterday it required something like 15 boots to get going. This morning, it just fired up like
nothing was ever wrong. It's like living with a teenage daughter. I will name it 'Alice' and expect weirdness at any moment. In
fact, I will name it 'Two-headed Alice' and expect weirdness all the time.

I'm going in early to start sewing. I think the place opens at 8:00 and I want to be there then. Maybe if I get into the project I
can expect a little 'alone time' to work. I just noticed I'd left the previous post in pretty bad shape yesterday - at the end. I
guess I was feeling rushed by Two-headed Alice's tantrums and just closed without looking back to re-read it.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but the center sun shade over the main cabin has shredded a tad and it is now off and folded in
the storage locker. It has been up there for the better part of five years and I knew the material and thread were ready to give
up from sun-rot. It's not a surprise. There is a reason why Sunbrella and other similar materials cost an arm and a leg just to
look at. It just occurred to me that it was a good thing those guys were there yesterday and interrupted my flow, because at
the time, I was in some kind of 'tunnel vision' mode and was about to start repairing the torn sun shade I'd just brought in. Bad
idea. I'm supposed to finish the intermediate unit first, then deal with a NEW forward, main cabin sun shade.
I got the intermediate shade modified and re-sewn everywhere the thread was rotten. The left shot above is the work area
and the table I was using. It didn't take long for me to opt for the stool and make the job a bit more comfortable, but there was
a nice breeze flowing side to side in there anyway. The shade is already mostly installed and it immediately dropped the
temperature inside the boat. That big hatch lets in a lot of sun.
I used the Velcro assisted hidden zipper method I employed the first time I made and installed this, only this time, instead of
just sewing it to the Sunbrella Bimini, I had to drill and screw it to the Aluminum and stainless frame of the hardtop. I did take
the time to add the nice looking dark blue binding to finish the edge better than it had been, which was not at all. I didn't take
the time to try to pluck out the seven thousand tiny little shreds of rotted thread, but just ran another pass over the bad thread.

There is still some finishing this needs, but I have to come up with ways to connect the lower corners to the hardtop first, and
I'll need to be satisfied that the leading edge can remain as it is and that I can effectively continue forward from there to the
front sun shade.

The second sewing project I completed was the shortening of a pair of plain, bright white slacks to shorts. It was hard, you
know, giving up the dream to one day become an Ice Cream Man and drive around suburbia eating up most of what I was
supposed to sell. I always thought that was just the best job in the world. Too bad, but you just can't do everything. Besides, I
need more shorts. Noe that I can shorten and hem them at the speed of light, I can buy cheap slacks at Goodwill and make
all the shorts I want for $2 each. Down here, shorts can cost more than trousers at Goodwill. Makes you wonder.

I got a Birthday Card from Barb and Don with 'breakfast' money in it and the PayPal transfer is in the account. That makes me
flush and I will traipse on down to Publix tomorrow and get a bit of fruit and vegetables to liven up the beans and rice. When
the money from the returned motherboard hits the account, I'll pay the phone bill and still have extra cash at the end of the
month. Whew. Over the hump now, seriously. I've actually turned down an offer for extra cash if I needed it, and I am
extremely grateful for the offer, but the whole idea of the present exercise is for me to have paid for everything needed to get
out of Cortez and get going here and once again be out of debt and on my way. And I'm almost there. In about 16 more days,
I'll be out of debt and headed back up, money-wise.

You know, maybe the most significant thing about this money talk isn't that I am perpetually behind the 8-ball, because that is
not the case. The truth is, if you want to do this, you can. Just don't give up and don't be afraid to stick your neck out once in
a while. When I came up against the wall in April by spending to get a new licence, towing insurance, emergency equipment,
haulout supplies, and some other stuff I didn't see coming, a friend stepped up and made sure I would be able to get out of
the Rivertown Yard once I got into it. Down here, Barb and Donny picked up the mooring for my first month. I have only been
here for 25 days and in 16 more days all those debts will be cleared.

Now, let's all keep our fingers crossed that my motherboard doesn't abandon ship on me before I can get a replacement.

Espin is considering an I Phone and it sounds like a good idea. I think Barbara has one or something like it - maybe a
Blackberry. I'm starting to think about one of those little 10 inch computer pad things that are plenty for Internet stuff and
email, especially here where there is free WiFi in the common area. Then, I can still use the big unit for the writing and
graphics work, and do all this stuff on the little unit, and still have access if Two-headed Alice spins out on a curve and eats a
tree. A backup for the backups.
June 15, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

I've had someone ask when exactly my birthday is, and it's June 17th, Bunker Hill Day, and yes, I was there. If you look
closely at the painting of the Battle Of Bunker Hill in the Boston Museum Of Fine Arts, in the back you can see a guy with
wide eyes, shrugging and saying, "Guns! We were supposed to bring guns?!" That's me.

I went back into the locker at 4 PM yesterday and made sure I had plenty of cloth left for the sun shade. This morning, I have
to bring in the drill and the chamfering bits and a few other hand tools so I can remove a ton of grommets and strip apart the
large items that I'm getting the material from. This time, instead of using an old sail for a sun shade, I'm going to use Sunbrella
or canvas in a dark color to stop more of the sun and, hopefully, get a cooler boat. I will use the last two zippers I have to join
the intermediate and the new forward shades together. The gap between the old ones let rain straight into two of the
portholes. One over the computer and one over the DVD player. Neither items are particularly fond of water.

I didn't do any sewing today, but I did strip the old forward shade and toss the rotted sailcloth. Then I took a walk to Home
Depot and found that light tan plastic screening that is so useful on the sunny sides of Biminis and hardtops to allow the
breeze through but block most of the sun: $30 for 6 feet by 20 feet. I also found Thompson's Water Sealer: $14, AAA
batteries: $10, last resort webbing for the shade edges: 27 feet for $14. I didn't buy anything, I just know where to go to get it
for now. Although, it seems to me that I found the webbing much cheaper on line. I just have to check on that.

I brought the blue shade back from the locker to see if there isn't some way to use it without completely taking it apart and
starting over. I was using it as a dock shade in Cortez and it looked pretty ratty there, but if I wash it and restitch some of it
and waterproof it, it might serve here for a while. It might also save me a good deal of time and effort.

When I tried to wake up Two-headed Alice she tossed a conniption and wouldn't start for over an hour. A little place I go at
times like this is called 'My Wits End', and when I arrived there today, I swapped out the BRAND NEW FREAKIN' RAM for
some old stuff, and Two-headed Alice came to life. It appears the more recent RAM I got has either got a resident virus or one
of the chips has committed Hari Kiri. Either way, Alice is operating fine again - until her next episode of blatant disregard for
my mental health. Anyway, I'm going outside to start tying the blue bruise over the top of the boat to see how it works. I'll wear
a hat today because I sunburned my head yesterday.

The blue forward shade is going to work just great. I will have to make several trips back and forth to get the whole situation
completed - maybe more than several - but the situation on board the boat is MUCH better. Well, except when approaching
sunset - the low sun still busts through and feels hot. I think some judiciously arranged screens made from that garden shade
material will work just fine.

I called AT&T and they said the 'Lightning' card I have for cellular internet is not compatible with Windows XP 64 bit. Well,
ain't that just a fork full of suck. I've decided to muddle through with this until I can afford about $600 for a sweet new laptop
running Windows 7 in 64 bit with at least 4 Gigs of RAM and a 250 Gig hard drive. I also think the AT&T card is once again
going punk, but my guess is that this time they will not exchange it. Obviously, I'm still figuring out how to deal with it. It
overheats and shuts itself off and it's a little hard to expect it to stay cool in this area. I may have to come up with a cooling
situation using an old PC fan and a piece of light dryer hose - don't want the fan so close it interferes with the signal.
Meanwhile, If the posts are brief for a while, sorry, but until I can sort all these issues out, we'll have to make do with what I
have.
June 16, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

Last nights sunset was one of those slightly unusual ones due to some of the varied cloud patterns we've been seeing for the
past couple of years. Those of you with an eye for the sky know what I mean - cloud formations of high contrast in type with
sometimes as many as three or four different types in the sky overhead at once. What it means weather-wise I have no
supportable notion, but camera-wise it makes for some interesting evening shots. Heavy, thick low-level clouds and wispy
high clouds with smooth, shark-like clouds in the middle sliding between made for some interesting shots. Here they are.
The lowest cloud looks like a crocodile walking along the ground and the right picture is a closeup of the Crocodiles Eye. I
just noticed that.

I've spoken to Espin a couple of times recently, including my calling him last evening to talk about his, 'in with the I Phone, out
with the Laptop', mission and to put my name at the top of the list to buy his Laptop if and when he makes that move. I wish I
could remember exactly what it is, but since I was there when he picked it out, I think I remember thinking it was the best
'benefits per dollar' package we found at the time. I don't even remember how long ago it was, but I think it was less than a
year ago. Time flies.

Very shortly I will be going in and sewing again. I'll have to take some very close measurements of the mainmast and its
precise location, first, or this is going to be a mess. I'll also need to get back to Home Depot and pick up some 2 inch Velcro
material to make the joint between the intermediate and forward shades complete.
The area I'd used yesterday was occupied by Gary, so I set up a table in an open area and worked there. What a pain the
re-sewing and repair of the old blue shade was - and I'm still not done. Of course, now I'm obliged to keep going by virtue of
the fact that I have 5 hours invested in it. No big deal. I'll make it work. Besides, once I get it all fitted and doing the job, it will
be much easier to duplicate in new material later on. It really is the complex repairs in the middle of the thing that takes up all
the time.

I'm back to the boat and have the whole system installed again and it does work great. By the time I'd worked from 9 AM until
2 PM, I just didn't feel like going to Home Depot to get the Velcro, so I just came back to the boat and ate. After I post this, I'll
watch some of the Fellowship Of The Ring and consider what to do next.

Yesterday, the solar array hit the magic number of 170 AH. I KNEW it would happen before the Summer Solstice. You
probably won't hear much about that anymore. Now that the big number has been hit, the mind-boggling excitement is over,
don't you think? Yeah, me too.
June 17, 2010 - Moored In Marathon, Florida Keys

Well, I can finally stop stuttering over my age when people down here ask me how old I am. "63. Well. ALMOST 63. I'll be 63
this month." Now I am. Oddly enough, when I was a child I thought 63 - well, anything over 50 - would be much older and the
truth is, I see plenty of people who seem to fit the vision I had of 'growing older' back then. I just don't feel like they look. I
know plenty of other people my age and older, some MUCH older, who are like me - in shape active, energetic and with no
notion of slowing down or 'retiring to old age'. It's play time. Time to have fun and not have to get up in the morning and go to
work. You know, unless you want to. Or you have to get your sun shade done.
On the left is part of last nights sunset. I would have gotten better shots, but it was hot and I was just in my skivvies and didn't
want to go out on deck like that. On the right is this morning's sunrise before it brightened up. Below is what it looks like right
now. The clouds have grown substantially.
I will probably wait for a while to see if we have a morning
shower before heading in to sew. The blue shade has about a
hundred tiny holes in one side and I'm wondering what I
should do with them. To tell the truth, I'm thinking of using my
leather punches - I have a complete set from about 1/8 inch all
the way to about 1/2 inch - to make little 1/2 inch round
patches and stick them on with Gorilla white wood glue. It
works great for things like that. I will also be rolling
Thompson's water sealer over all the cloth later on.

Also today I am going to start organizing all the backups and
writing files and begin writing again. It's why I'm here and once
the boat is comfortable and the power is reliable, it's time to
get busy with the publishing. This is what it has always been
all about - being able to sustain and maintain and write
without interruption or interference. I am at the 'finish line', so
to speak, of getting here. It has only taken 27 years.