Occasional thoughts and deeds of an Engineer
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  • Waves 5 feet today

    Posted on August 24th, 2008 cwmoore No comments

    Teh lake Michigan waves were 5′ today and SAM lasted about 15 minutes before wanting to turn back.  We were accompanied by Artha and Bill who own a Seaward 23.  This is the day we had been waiting for  with 10 – 20 kt winds from the north.  Unfortunately the wind was up long enough to kick up some of the famous LM waves that are steep and have a short period.  About every 10th wave was much bigger than the others and we shipped some water for the first time.  We ate lunch with them on-board Inspiration and had a good time.

    Later I did a period of meditation and SAM did some bible studies and we drove home tonight instead of in the morning.  It was a perfect day except for the waves.

  • Fun with the Family

    Posted on August 10th, 2008 cwmoore No comments

    My son arrived early and caught me eating at the hospital.  The culinary adventure was made on the recommendation of several seniors that eat there all the time.  I was the very last and the only one there as they close the doors at 1900 hrs.  I had Broccoli, Beef Stroganoff and peach pie for a total price of $2.85.  It was actually good to the taste and the environment was not nearly as sterile as I thought it was going to be.  And to top it off it was much better for me than McDonald’s.

    Speaking of McDonald’s there is a contingent of the morning coffee people that are boycotting due to MD’s stance on various orientations and one guy has been kicked out due to the Managers opinion.  Maybe it is time to find a new place for coffee anyway.

    We had a great time with my son & grandson the past few days.  The first day we kayaked a relatively short distance down Long Lake and then down the Pigeon River to Bower Lake where we took out the boats.  SAM went too so it was a foursome and we had to borrow a paddle from Barry because we have only three for four boats.

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    Saturday we went to Fun Spot and spent nearly the whole afternoon there – Son & Grandson did all the rides while Sam & I sat in the shade and watch all the people pass us by.  The evening was spent watching Sci-Fi channel about Noah’s 2nd Arc.  It was PL days so we went to the chicken dinner at the Mennonite Church and met nearly the whole town there.  Afterwards was Bluegrass type music.

  • Another Vacation: Week 32

    Posted on August 6th, 2008 cwmoore No comments

    This week has been a vacation week and an active one.  SAM is working and I have the time to myself.  I was going to the boat this week but there has been so much precipitation that I cannot accomplish the work I had set out to do.  Specifically, I wanted to replace the deck plugs that had screws showing and ones that were filled with epoxy/ wood paste by other owners.

    Instead, I have been in PL.  I have kayaked some long routes with Barry – we they were long for me – down local rivers.  First we did Pigeon River from US20/US327 to Mongo on Tuesday and it was about 4+ hours and today we did the Fawn River from Greenfield Mills to Dauber Rd ( 6 miles).  Fawn River was filled with tight turns and required a lot more paddle work but we did not have blocked river due to fallen trees.  The Pigeon was open too.

    Tomorrow is our 25th anniversary so it will be taken with something special.  Then Friday and Saturday Marc will be here with David.  We enjoy our grandchildren very much and cherish each moment we get to see them.

    I hope to take Marc and David on a short paddle down Long Lake and then Pigeon River to Little Bower Lake.  It is not too long a paddle and the hard part is getting to the river down Long Lake.

  • What’s Up?

    Posted on August 3rd, 2008 cwmoore No comments

    We are having fun! That is what is up.  This is the fastest summer on record for us.  Kayaking, sailing, work on the boat, closing in on retirement, job instability and church.  all this leads up to no blogs.  Here is the plan.

     The boat has a secure winter storage.  There are many weeks of retirement work on the boat for this winter.  Actually it will probably extend into the summer with a late launch.  Then I need some crew to help get Inspiration to the North Passage for the summer which will probably be on anchor or mooring.

    The work scene is underlined by the lack of sensitivity for senior citizens who make too much money and have opinions.  This is causing difficulties in a Matrix organization that incents Project Managers to use the lowest cost labor that can get the job done in their opinion.  Of course, I am not the cheapest labor and I have opinion formed by years of experience.  The Matrix organization answer is to deny those people work on the premise that the job bid price will not support cantankerous nabobs.  I might add the Pm’s are about 35-40 years old and have little sensitivity or training in group dynamics or other essential skills for senior managers.  The high senior manager answer is to control finances extremely well – this I give kudos to the Corporation.  The Pm;s are pressed into a situation of high pressure and what do you suppose gives?  Us aged anachronism’s of the past!  So much for age discrimination that is alive and well.

    What else is happening?  I am on vacation this week and plan to kayak with Barry tomorrow on a stretch of Pigeon Creek between Howe and Scott.  We will take a chainsaw and brush cutters and open a reasonable navigable channel so normal people can kayak or canoe the river.